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August 24, 2007 > News > Ryham replaces Worth as Lovett RA

Ryham replaces Worth as Lovett RA

By Lily Chun | Thresher Editorial Staff

Leaving behind a legacy of a book club and a research symposium at Lovett College, as well as countless bowls of homemade chili, former Lovett Resident Associate David Worth left the position in July to get married. Mathematics instructor Rolf Ryham takes Worth’s place this fall.

“Lovett feels fortunate Dr. Ryham was able and willing to step in,” Lovett master Bernard Aresu said.

Aresu said Ryham accepted the position within a week of the offer. Lovett master Carolyn Aresu said Ryham’s quick acceptance was due to his habitual presence at Lovett.

“He would be here every night during finals helping out people,” she said. “He was [around Lovett] all the time without even being an RA.”

Ryham, who began as a math instructor last August, said he was always around Lovett because it was the college he was assigned to when he was hired. New faculty are routinely assigned as associates at colleges when they first arrive.

“I was doing a lot of stuff with the ultimates college team and Beer Bike, but I just wanted to be in the race,” he said. “I like to eat over there and talk to the kids. A lot of people in my classes are from Lovett.”

As the new Lovett RA, Ryham said he does not know if he plans to continue the Lovett book club, but he has other ideas he wants to share with the college.

“I was thinking to integrate personal things like classical guitar,” he said. “My girlfriend and I also like ballroom dancing, so it’d be cool to do a salsa night just to teach some dancing moves to the students.”

Although Worth has left the RA position, he will still be around teaching communication courses and coaching the speech and debate team. Worth was one of two Lovett RAs for four years beginning in 2003. Last year, English Professor Joshua Gonsalves became an RA at Lovett.

Lovett Undergraduate Research Symposium and a book club are two things Worth will be remembered for, Carolyn Aresu said.

Worth said a student came up with the idea for a book club, and it stayed small with around 10 students attending.

Worth began LURS last year in conjunction with the Lovett Academic Fellows, so Lovett students could see what their peers were interested in academically.

“Sometimes you see people in the commons, and you only think of people in one way, and you forget they can do tremendous things,” Worth said.

To participate, students sent proposals describing research projects they were conducting, regardless of what field they were studying. Afterwards, the proposals were sent to faculty associates who appeared at the symposium and would vote and accept a certain number of projects. Students then presented the projects at Lovett. Worth said many people attended, including President David Leebron and Dean Robin Forman.

Carolyn Aresu said students responded very positively to requests for submissions to the symposium.

“Fifty percent of students participated, and you have to keep in mind this was during crunch time — the end of April near finals,” she said.

End of article

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