Profiles of ability
and conviction

Herbert E. Chinworth '42x Dustin Brown '99 Ra'chelle Spearman '03

A life well-spent honors teaching ‘back then’ and for generations

AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST and philosopher William James said, “The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”

Herbert E. Chinworth ’42x has used his life well. Building on his own Manchester experience, Chinworth served on a landing craft for the U.S. Navy during World War II,
earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering and then climbed The Dow Chemical Company ladder to supervise its
catalyst plant in Ludington, Mich.

All along his journey, Chinworth never forgot his Manchester education. Like generations of Manchester students, he studied with faculty who stoked his curiosity and stretched his mind.

When the College issued a donor challenge to build a new Science Center, Herb and Arlene Chinworth saw an opportunity. They honored one of Herb’s mentors, chemistry Professor Harry R. Weimer ’29, by funding a wing in his name.

They didn’t stop there. In the spirit of “Science is a Verb” (an active verb) in the Manchester vernacular, the Chinworths also funded a high-tech laboratory and classroom equipment for hands-on learning.

The couple’s generosity stretches to an endowed scholarship and gifts to the Pathways program – and in remembering the “peas and carrots” annual sustenance of The Manchester Fund.

At Commencement 2012 this spring, the College awarded its “dear friend” Herb Chinworth an honorary Doctor of Science degree “in recognition of life of ability and conviction and a life used well.”

BY MELINDA LANTZ '81

Improving the human condition,
from the White House

AT THE AGE OF 31, Dustin Brown ’99 is one of the youngest senior executives
in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. In his office in the Executive Office of the President complex, his long work weeks immerse him in federal programs that improve the lives of millions of Americans.

As deputy assistant director for management, Brown heads the Office of Performance and Personnel Management, strengthening dozens of federal programs. His efforts improve living conditions in low-income urban areas, lower the violent crime rate in Native American communities and increase renewable energy use in U.S. homes.

“Dustin has made real and lasting contributions to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of government to better deliver for the American public,” says Mark Bussow, performance team leader for the Office of Management and Budget.

With his Manchester degree in political science (and a Spanish minor), the Fulbright recipient studied international relations in
Ecuador and then earned a master’s degree in public administration at Syracuse University’s Maxell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Brown and his wife Heidi Howiler ’98 Brown make their home in Maryland with their two young sons, Noah and Emery. They remember their alma mater with annual gifts to The Manchester Fund.

Last fall, Manchester honored Brown with its first Young Alumni Impact Award for continuing to live out the Manchester Mission in his professional and personal life after graduation and continuing to make a significant impact on the world.

BY CHAZ BELLMAN ’13

Commitment to inner city challenges
sends alumna to Principal’s Office

RA’CHELLE SPEARMAN ’03 is poised and confident as the leader of the Imagine Schools on Broadway in Fort Wayne, despite continual interruptions from those tall and small.

As the principal strolls a hallway of the charter school, a distraught young girl approaches, announcing she has searched and searched and cannot find
the $4 she brought for the school book fair. Spearman offers up the necessary funds from her own purse. After all, the child wants to read!

Spearman quickly found her niche in charter schools. As she approached her MC graduation, she committed early to a new Fort Wayne inner city charter school, wanting to teach in her hometown. But plagued by enrollment and financial challenges, the school closed the following year. She taught at another charter, and then took some time off to decide if this path was the right one for her. In the end, Spearman realized her commitment is to charter schools and to helping inner city children succeed, child by child.

When Imagine Schools opened its charter in Fort Wayne, administrators turned again to Spearman for the classroom. Before long, she was in the Principal’s Office of the 420-student elementary school. She’s also key in bringing year-round school to Fort Wayne – the first such program in the city.

Spearman remembers her MC training and mentoring. She says her professors gave her a sturdy foundation to stand on in times of
need.

BY KATHRYN MILLER ’13