{"id":33608,"date":"2024-04-06T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-06T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kwu.edu\/?p=33608"},"modified":"2024-03-29T16:48:30","modified_gmt":"2024-03-29T21:48:30","slug":"reflections-with-a-kwu-legend-chopp-74-considers-influence-of-liberal-arts-kwu-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kwu.edu\/about\/news\/reflections-with-a-kwu-legend-chopp-74-considers-influence-of-liberal-arts-kwu-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections with a KWU Legend: Chopp \u201974 Considers Influence of Liberal Arts, KWU Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"block rtf align style-default align-default position-right bg-color-default\">\n\t<div class=\"block-wrap\">\n\t\t<div class=\"rtf-content cf\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>Editor&#8217;s Note: Dr. Rebecca Chopp &#8217;74 will be the keynote speaker at April 20&#8217;s Scholarship Gala. Learn more at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kwu.edu\/about\/events\/scholarship-gala-2024-presented-by-mahaska\/\">www.kwu.edu\/gala2024<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Bemoaning an unhappy fate is not for Rebecca Chopp \u201974.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The results of a classical, liberal arts education is coming to her aid and helping to put her monsters in their place. The biggest monster is named \u201cAlzheimer\u2019s.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">In Greek mythology, Perseus used gifts from the gods to slay the gorgon Medusa. Chopp sees orders from her doctors as the gifts of exercise, nutrition, creativity and sleep to keep memory loss at bay.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">By any measure, Chopp was one of the top educators in the country, the first female chancellor of the University of Denver (DU). Before that, she was the first female president of both Colgate University and Swarthmore College and held leadership positions at Emory and Yale universities.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Chopp has had a number of careers: ordained Methodist minister, professor of theology, scholar and author, besides university administrator. Her latest career is Alzheimer\u2019s advocate and activist. That quest was thrust upon her when she was diagnosed with mild cognitive disorder (MCI) and the early stages of Alzheimer\u2019s in March 2019.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cWhen I was diagnosed, it was very depressing, very scary,\u201d Chopp said. \u201cMy mother and both grandmothers had dementia. Each had different types; they were all scary to me.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The diagnosis forced her retirement from DU in 2019 at age 67, after five years as chancellor. The stress of such a high-profile job was detrimental.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She and her husband, Fred Thibodeau, mourned what the loss of a mind like hers could mean for maybe a year, year and a half. Then she did what Rebecca Sue Chopp always does when faced with a problem: She researched it and faced it head on.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She\u2019s put the results of that research into her latest book, <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Still Me: Accepting Alzheimer\u2019s Without Losing Yourself<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\">, published in February.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cYou may not have realized you were reading a book about the liberal arts, but I think this book is the most important act of a life and career dedicated to the liberal arts,\u201d Chopp writes in <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">Still Me<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"none\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Growing up in Salina instilled habits and attitudes early on in that life, mindsets that have served her well. Her family lived in town but also farmed \u2014 the best of both worlds, going between town and farm, she said.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cI think there is something to the Midwest, being raised in that rural life, that you just have to accept what life gives you,\u201d she said, such as the weather.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She learned that from listening to her farmer grandfather talk about the weather and its effect on crops.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Her father, too, and his \u201cenormous work ethic\u201d was an inspiration.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cMy father, especially, was a man who, you had to seize an opportunity,\u201d she said. \u201cHe had no education in terms of college, but he built a couple of small companies, and he always knew how to see around a corner, see an opportunity and grab it.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">He would get up in the middle of the night, she said, and work. She often got up with him and read or worked on her own projects. That established a habit of sleeping only four or five hours a night. It enabled her to add about 20 hours of work to every week, although now she\u2019s not so sure it was her best idea. Research has shown a link between lack of sleep and Alzheimer\u2019s, and Chopp now gets about 12 hours of rest a day.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Her liberal arts education is fundamental to her, besides providing mythological role models. She sees all her careers as promoting the liberal arts, considering herself a teacher even while an administrator.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cFor me, education was so enlarging, and I loved the liberal arts education I got at Kansas Wesleyan,\u201d she said. \u201cI devoted much of my life to liberal education. It\u2019s not only about job skills, it\u2019s also about the perspectives you learn in sociology and anthropology about human beings, what you learn in religion about what drives people, the perspective you learn in psychology. I really think, for me, helping others get a basic liberal arts education has been a huge driver.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cAs an educator, I have had great teachers, from first grade on,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She took Latin in eighth grade. She checked out all the books on spirituality, western and eastern, she could find in the library.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Although her family wasn\u2019t religious, \u201cI was always interested in religion and spirituality,\u201d she said.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">When her minister at First United Methodist Church, Everett Mitchell, suggested she go to Kansas Wesleyan to study religion, \u201cI thought it was a fabulous idea!\u201d she said.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">He had some scholarship money to get her started, but her parents weren\u2019t supportive.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cMy parents at that age and place really saw me as getting married and having a bunch of kids, which would have been wonderful,\u201d she said. \u201cNothing wrong with that.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">But it wasn\u2019t for her.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cI took my first class on environmentalism and religion with Wes Jackson and Wayne Montgomery in January 1972,\u201d Chopp said. \u201cI was just enthralled. There was earth, farm, land, care for that, religion, Hebrew scriptures. I just jumped fully into Kansas Wesleyan.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She was very, very busy, with a double major \u2014 religion and speech \u2014 living off-campus and often working two jobs.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cEveryone was just so supportive. I had never thought of myself as particularly smart. By the time I graduated I had a lot more confidence,\u201d she said.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She graduated magna cum laude, spending her senior year at St. Paul Seminary in Kansas City.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She was still exploring.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cI hadn\u2019t been raised in the tradition of faith, but I felt strongly called,\u201d Chopp said. \u201cIt was a great experience intellectually, but maybe I wasn\u2019t quite ready.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She married her first husband after her first year of seminary and took a break.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cSometimes a break is so important,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I returned, I was gung-ho.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Methodist Church was less gung-ho about women ministers, having first ordained them only about 20 years earlier.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Chopp was one of only two or three Methodist women clergy in Kansas at the time. She loved serving churches with her husband, but the bishop preferred advancing his career over hers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cI probably would not have gone on my own to get a Ph.D.,\u201d she said. \u201cI liked serving local churches. I loved the people, I liked preaching, I liked teaching, I liked pastoral care. But the bishop said no to my career. You know what they say, when a door slams shut, another one opens.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The door to academia swung open to the University of Chicago Divinity School, where she earned her Ph.D. and taught for several years. Then Emory University in Georgia recruited her. By then, she was divorced, with a son.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cAfter 10 years of living in cold, cold Chicago, the sunny South sounded interesting,\u201d Chopp said, and she spent 15 years there.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She was at Yale briefly before becoming the first female president of Colgate University in 2002 and the first female president of Swarthmore College in 2009.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">In 2014, she took the job at DU, because she wanted to live in Colorado.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She still lives in Colorado, near her son and his wife and an older sister, all of whom help her carry out her doctor\u2019s orders.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Her neurologist told her to live with joy \u2014 confusing, at first, but she makes it possible.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">She was also told to try lifestyle interventions: a Mediterranean-style diet, a couple of hours of exercise a day and something creative to do.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Hiking was a long-time interest of hers. Now, though, instead of hiking in mountains in foreign lands, she hikes with Budhy, a Pomeranian-Huskey mix, in the Rocky Mountain foothills near where she lives. Besides hiking, she has taken yoga, ballet, strength-training and kickboxing, among other activities.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">To create new neural pathways in her brain, she learned to paint, with her sister. After trying several artistic styles, learning mostly through classes on Zoom, she has settled on portraits, which also helps her memory. Chopp writes about what each subject means to her, and the subject will receive the portrait and essay after her passing.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Chopp has her new career as an advocate and activist. She\u2019s active in Alzheimer\u2019s groups, helping to start one, Voices of Alzheimer\u2019s, in Colorado that is just for people dealing with Alzheimer&#8217;s. She serves on boards; spoken on podcasts, such as BrainStorm, by Us Against Alzheimer\u2019s; and filmed a TEDx talk in November about her diagnosis and living with joy.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">In the four years since her diagnosis, her MCI symptoms have worsened little, she said.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The gods \u2014 like Perseus \u2014 willing, helped by her lifestyle changes, that will be the case for a long time.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Story by Jean Kozubowski<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":33609,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[150],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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