The Safe House - Expositions

In November, legendary Denison alumnus Hal Holbrook will be on campus working with students prior to the actor's performance as Mark Twain on Nov. 2 at the Midland Theatre in Newark.

But this weekend, students get the opportunity to meet with another famed Denison alumna who is just now hitting the top.

Jennifer Garner, the 1994 graduate who won a Golden Globe Award this year for her role as Sydney Bristow on the ABC television hit "Alias," will be featured in a Provost Alumni Scholar Series convocation at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Mitchell Center on campus.

Garner, also nominated for an Emmy Award this year, will speak just after dining with theater department students. Garner, whose "Alias" character is an athletic graduate student who's an agent for SD-6, a top-secret division of the CIA, is also scheduled to meet with students Sunday afternoon.

Three of those students, Diana Craig, Mark Soloff and Jessica Pitcairn are relishing the opportunity.

"As a senior, I'm pretty nervous about moving into the real world," said Craig, a senior from Ashland, Ky., who is a faithful "Alias" fan. "Her success kind of validates my choice of school, and maybe since she's so successful, maybe I can get a job when I get out of school."

"A lot of actors try to make it, and a lot of actors fail," said junior theater major Soloff, who wishes Garner had been brought to campus sooner. "I would like to know what steps she took, after graduating, to be successful."

"It's going to be exciting," said theater major Pitcairn of Cincinnati, "to meet someone who has just succeeded, to see how she's used her education at Denison to further her career."

That's exactly what Theater Department chairwoman Cynthia Turnbull would like Garner to get across, particularly the value of a liberal arts education and how it added to her success.

"What did English and physics classes do to increase her knowledge of the world?" Turnbull said as an example, hoping that students see that not just their theater classes and experiences will make them succeed.

Theater department professor John Farris said that alumni such as Garner "get people's attention" as far as Denison's theater department is concerned.

"It provides one more major stepping stone in a long line of Denison grads who have had great success in show biz," Farris said.

Besides Garner and Holbrook, entertainer John Davidson and Disney CEO Michael Eisner are included on that list. "Having people of that sort, obviously, is great for the department."

Ann Snider, assistant to the associate provost who helped organize Garner's appearance, said the site of the convocation was moved from Swasey Chapel to the Mitchell Center because of Garner's high profile in recent months.

"Swasey only holds 960," Snider said. "We have a feeling that crowd is going to exceed that." She said 1,500 chairs will be set up at Mitchell.

"I think the students are very excited," Snider said. "They're excited to see someone graduate from here in the '90s and go as far as she has in her career."

Snider said that Garner is excited about returning to her alma mater, confirming the appearance in August.

"It was mostly fitting it into her schedule," she said.

Garner will be accompanied by her husband, actor Scott Foley.

Reporter Charles A. Peterson can be reached at 328-8586 or cpeterson@nncogannett.com

Originally published Friday, October 4, 2002

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