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Stevens Vice President and Khoda adviser Maureen Weatherall ’78 looked out over the audience gathered in the Great Hall and was reminded of “A Christmas Carol,” with campus tour guides, Student Council presidents and other campus leaders of the past standing before her.
But the past, she said, is really part of the present, as she spoke of how 100 years ago, 12 Stevens men decided to form a society to defend the Honor System and help create a student government — aspects of Stevens that thrive today.
“I think that you all contributed tremendously to this,” she said.
Khoda holds a special place in her family, she said, as she, her husband Jim ’78, and their daughter Katie ’08 are all Khoda members. Weatherall offered key support for the event, which students started planning a year ago to try to reconnect Khoda’s young and older generations.
Weatherall then led a lively Khoda toast – made all the livelier when she asked for the oldest alumnus in the room.
“Here I am!” shouted Bill Koestner ’51. “I beat you!” he teased Bob Murphy ’54. No one disputed him, so he won the distinction, and savored the toast.
Outgoing Khoda President Mike Manzella ’09 told the gathering that the society may have changed a bit throughout the years but its purpose has remained constant — the “quiet” support of students and student life.
Manzella pointed toward recent Khoda accomplishments, among them helping to start the Institute’s first recent Founder’s Day in 2008, now an annual event, the annual Institute address and a new student/faculty alliance.
Joseph Llano ’00 recalled a society that has constantly worked on behalf of students — and got results.
He spoke of a memorable town meeting during his student days between students and Stevens administrators, quietly organized by Khoda, that addressed many students concerns and lasted two to three stimulating hours.
The meeting brought about real change on campus, and students later said proudly: ‘I did it, I had an impact,’ Llano says.
Being a Khoda member was fulfilling because if there was a problem, you could speak with someone in power who would listen, and you could have an impact, Llano says. The “secret” part of Khoda was the private discussions between students, faculty and administrators about important issues in an atmosphere where you were asked to “tell me what you really think.”
“There was an element of trust in these relationships,” Llano says.
As Khoda members have served as student advisers to the Stevens president, they have also helped select presidents and guided new ones.
In 1951, President Harvey Davis was retiring and another president, President Jess Davis (no relation), was transitioning into the job. Ernie Schwab ’52 and other Khoda members were called in to have dinner with the new president at Hoxie House and help him learn more about campus life. “Khoda was influential in helping in his transition to Stevens,” Schwab says. “He was a wonderful man. That was the highlight of my time at Stevens.”
Later in the evening, President Raveché addressed a rapt audience, as he spoke about Stevens’ “banner year” in 2008-2009.
The Institute opened two new national Centers of Excellence that it is leading in port security and systems engineering research, funded by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense. And Stevens won the Jostens Institution of the Year award for being ranked first among 321 Eastern College Athletic Conference schools, among them Ivies and big Division I schools, in academics and athletics.
But much of the evening was about remembering the past as well as enjoying the moment.
Koestner, the event’s senior alumnus, impressed partners on the dance floor well into the evening.
This was after a full day of driving from his home in Ridgewood, N.J., with wife, Margaret, taking the “tubes” to a Broadway show and then back to Stevens for the Khoda soiree. This Professional Engineer and skier wasn’t ready to stop.
“I’m looking forward to the 110th,” he said.
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