“Every Voyage is the Best Voyage Ever.”
Dr. John Tymitz
For more than five decades, John and Dixie Tymitz have been woven into the fabric of Semester at Sea. Their story is not just one of leadership, but also of love – for their family, students, and colleagues – and a lifetime of adventures through their commitment to Semester at Sea.
Recently, the Tymitz legacy reached a new chapter when the John and Dixie Tymitz Endowed Scholarship Fund surpassed $1 million, a milestone made possible in large part by a major gift from Jim and Becky Fehsenfeld, longtime SAS alumni and supporters whose lives were shaped by John and Dixie’s steady presence.
But to understand what that milestone truly means, you have to rewind the story – to a boy who once studied a globe and a girl who dreamed of acting under the spotlight.
Before the Sea Came Calling: The Early Years of John and Dixie
There is a globe in John Tymitz’s childhood memory.
The night before it appeared, his father had been sitting around a table with friends discussing their ancestors’ origins. John overheard them talk of countries and people he had never heard of. The world suddenly sounded enormous, but he couldn’t picture it.
The next morning, he asked his father to show him. “He says, ‘Alright, come here. I’ve got the globe out,’” John recalled.
His father began pointing out the places they had discussed. John remembers being captivated. “And that moment kind of sparked me even more to want to be involved in the history and movement of peoples,” he said.
That early fascination with geography, ancestry, and the movement of people across borders became a major thread of John’s life. It shaped his academic path. It shaped his teaching. After growing up in Chicago near O’Hare Airport, his curiosities took him from junior college in Chicago to a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree at Southern Illinois University, and eventually a Ph.D. at Oklahoma State University.
Soon, it led him to his first faculty position at Central State College in Edmond, Oklahoma (now the University of Central Oklahoma). This is where he met the love of his life: Dixie Tymitz. And eventually, it led him to a ship that circles the globe.
Growing up in Missouri, Dixie built her own life, rooted in performance, theatre, and education. She discovered theater in high school. Seeing Shakespeare performed live changed her life. “I just fell in love with performing,” Dixie said. She began to study humanities and theatre and went on to earn graduate degrees in her craft in Indiana.
Alongside her career in theatre and teaching, Dixie had two children, Jonathan and Scarlet, with her first husband, Robert. Tragically, Robert was in a fatal accident when the children were young. Eventually, seeking a fresh start, Dixie took a job teaching humanities and acting at Central State College.
By then, it was the late 1960s, and John and Dixie were both new faculty members at the college. John remembers sitting in his office one afternoon when he noticed “this very nice-looking woman walking past the office, singing to her heart’s content” in the faculty office spaces.
The woman singing in the hallway was Dixie. A shared colleague then introduced them. And that moment became the beginning of a partnership and a love that would shape the rest of their lives.
Then, everything changed when the sea came calling.
The two soon began dating. Dixie had dated a few times here and there after her first husband’s passing, but she was understandably cautious, especially with two young children at home.
One afternoon, something unexpected happened. John had come over to their family home, and Dixie stepped into the bedroom briefly to grab something, leaving him in the living room for a moment with the two children, Scarlet and Jonathan. When she returned, “one of them had hold of one of John’s legs, and the other had hold of the other leg, and the three of them were just laughing and smiling together.” They had never done this with any other suitor who’d been around them thus far.
“Well, there was my sign, right?” Dixie recalled.
John and Dixie married in 1968 and began raising Jonathan and Scarlet together.
Scarlet Mamans, Dixie and John’s daughter, said, “When he [John] came into our lives, he just kind of fit. He has always been so kind and accommodating. We are so lucky to have two loving parents who love each other and love us and are good people. My brother and I couldn’t have asked for more.”
“My dad [John] coming into our lives definitely put us on a completely different trajectory than it would have been if we had stayed living in Oklahoma,” said Dixie and John’s son, Jonathan Neyland. “I have been very fortunate to have loving parents who really cared about us.”
Quickly, the new family of four’s home became a place of learning, loving, and laughter as John and Dixie both advanced in their faculty careers. For a time, it looked like a more traditional academic life.
“Let’s Go, John!”: The Tymitz Family Joins Semester at Sea
Flash forward to 1972. Through colleagues, John and Dixie heard about a program called World Campus Afloat, a floating university, then affiliated with Chapman College in Orange, CA, that took students around the globe. The concept immediately connected to John’s lifelong fascination with global locations and history, and it resonated with Dixie’s perpetual sense of adventure.
After some initial conversations with Chapman College representatives in their home, in which John and Dixie “didn’t even realize they were being interviewed,” the two were invited to sail as faculty members.
With two young children at home, the decision was not so simple. “It was an experiment at first,” John said.
But Dixie simply replied, “We can do this. Let’s go, John!”
In Fall 1972, John, Dixie, and their children embarked on their first voyage, beginning what would become decades of family life intertwined with Semester at Sea leadership.
That leap became the first of more than 20 full voyages for John, and at least five voyages for Dixie.
By Spring 1974, John was offered a full-time contract with the home office at Chapman College as the program’s Assistant Director of Administration. The family moved to Orange, CA, and John continued to sail different voyages, in positions ranging from Interport Coordinator to Executive Dean. Dixie also joined several more voyages as a humanities and acting faculty member, and their children sailed for many more voyages, too, as some of the original “Ship Kids.”
In the mid-1970s, Chapman College faced some financial issues, and it had to cut sponsorship of the World Campus Afloat program. But John and Dr. M.A. Griffiths, John’s mentor and the Executive Director for World Campus Afloat, fondly called “Griff,” were not going to let the program dissolve. With major partnership and support from C.Y. Tung, the Hong Kong shipping magnate who “had dreams of a United Nations university on a ship” – and whose purchase of the SS Universe proved pivotal – the program gained the stability it would need to survive a critical turning point.
With eventual expansion in mind, the Institute for Shipboard Education was founded in 1976.
In 1977, the name “Semester at Sea” began to take shape. John shared that in its early years, the full name of World Campus Afloat was known formally as “World Campus Afloat: A Semester at Sea.” Over time, the subtitle began to eclipse the longer name.
The University of Colorado became the sponsoring institution for a time, followed by the University of Pittsburgh in 1981.
In 1984, when Griff retired, John was named the Executive Director (later renamed the Chief Executive Officer). With Dixie’s steadfast support and involvement on several more voyages, he served in this role until his retirement in 2007, solidifying a legacy that continues to shape the program today.
Today, John continues to work with Semester at Sea as Trustee Emeritus. Scott Marshall, the President and CEO of ISE and Semester at Sea, shared: “From his first involvement as a faculty member in 1972, John has sailed over 20 full voyages and overseen more than I can count. When he’s reflecting on that history, John often says, ‘Every voyage is the best voyage ever.’ His quote reminds me of the importance of treasuring each and every voyage and voyager for their unique value and potential to transform. It is these simple and yet profound words of his that inspire me to show up daily for our voyagers.”
For the many who have sailed with John over the years, those words are much more than just a saying – they are a reflection of the man himself.
Dr. John and Dixie Tymitz: Through the Years
A Grounding, Capable, and Kind Presence: Reflections on John Tymitz
Randy Lewis, who first sailed with John on the Fall 1975 voyage as the Director of Student Life, has known John and Dixie for more than five decades.
“Fifty-one years ago, I sailed with John Tymitz for the first time,” Randy said. “From the first day we met, I knew there was something different, even extraordinary, about him. I left the Fall 1975 voyage thinking: ‘here is a man whose integrity and kindness set him apart from others – a man not willing to settle for a life that was less than the one he was capable of living.’ He remains one of the most sincere, sensitive, and inspiring individuals you will ever meet.”
Randy would sail three more voyages alongside John. “In his many roles with Semester at Sea – Dean, CEO, and Trustee – John has been responsible for turning a once-fledgling program into one of the most recognized and honored comparative study abroad programs in the country,” he said. “He has stood with the likes of Mother Teresa, Desmond Tutu, Arthur C. Clarke, and the King of Ghana.” And yet, Randy emphasized, “John has created the ‘big show’ without being ‘the big show.’”
Aparna Kothary, who first sailed as a student on the Fall 2005 voyage, later returned as Development Coordinator in Spring 2013, and eventually served on the SAS Board of Trustees, said: “John is such a wise person. He is such a quiet force of positivity and community. I learned from John that you don’t always need to be the very outgoing, gregarious person at the front of the room to be a leader; you can be yourself and be honest. So much of it has to do with your presence. John made me realize there are so many different ways to lead, and I feel so lucky to have witnessed that type of leadership.”
Dwight Allison first met John after his son sailed in Spring 2005 on a parent trip John led, and later sailed a full voyage with his wife in Fall 2006, before serving on the Lifelong Learners Council, the Alumni Council, and eventually the Board. “John’s strength is people, and it has always been,” Dwight said. “He connects with anybody that he meets. You always feel that you are sort of the most important person in the room with John, and then he can also re-engage and reconnect with people 5, 10, even 20 years later.”
Cindy Zomcheck, who sailed as Resident Director in Fall 1986 and went on to sail on nine additional voyages, including serving as Dean of Student Life and as Advancement/Lifelong Learner Coordinator (and now serves as ISE’s Enrollment Coordinator), said: “John is both very professional on every voyage, but he also is very caring and personal, developing relationships with everybody. He is always calm, cool, and professional, and you always feel like you are in really good, capable hands. You can’t think of John and not smile.”
He is always calm, cool, and professional, and you always feel like you are in really good, capable hands. You can’t think of John and not smile.”
Cindy Zomcheck
Beth Hoff Blackmer first sailed as a student on the Fall 1983 voyage. Only a week into Beth’s first voyage, a typhoon damaged the ship – but that just showed her what John was made of. “John was Executive Dean on my first voyage, and he was such a good leader through that,” Beth said. “He was so calm, collected, and positive. He kept people feeling safe.”
Beth later returned beginning in Fall 1984 to assist with ship turnarounds and oversee retail store operations, including running the ship’s store during a full voyage, and went on to serve on the early Alumni Association Board, all the while staying connected to John. “John’s passion for this program has never wavered; he’s always just believed in it,” she said. “John is just a good man.”
Jim Fehsenfeld, who first sailed as a student in Fall 1973 and later returned as a Lifelong Learner, also described John’s leadership style. “He has emotional calmness,” Jim said. “He always tried to be as fair as possible with students and listen to the full story before he would make a decision about anything.” Jim recalls watching John manage crises at sea, such as rerouting the ship when labor strikes disrupted planned ports or adjusting program plans on the fly. Despite these hiccups, John always led with calm adaptability, which impressed Jim deeply.
Cathy Light, who first sailed in Spring 1991 as the Field Office Coordinator and later served nearly 23 years in the home office in operations, field office, academic affairs, executive leadership, and HR leadership roles, said: “John is one of the most important people that I’ve ever known in my life. He is truly an authentic servant leader, and bar none, the most exceptional leader that I’ve ever had the experience of knowing or working with.”
Cathy experienced John’s leadership not only in the ship and office settings, but in one of the most personal moments of her life. When she unexpectedly went into labor with her second son and realized her husband wouldn’t be able to arrive in time, she remembered something John had once said: if she ever needed someone, she should call him. So she did.
In the middle of a meeting with the University of Pittsburgh’s chancellor, John excused himself, raced down the street to the hospital, and sat with Cathy until her husband arrived for the delivery. For Cathy, that moment captured everything about who John is: a leader who shows up, without hesitation, when it matters most.
Dr. Lloyd Lewan, who worked alongside John in the program’s early years, has known him for more than five decades. Having served both as a longtime Dean on voyages and in major leadership roles at the home office during the program’s formative period, his admiration for John is unmistakable: “My respect and my admiration and affection for John come with every word I say. John’s a good and decent man, and he has served so well in so many capacities.”
Few, Lloyd believes, have given more to the program: “Few have provided what John’s given to Semester at Sea, and he should always be honored and valued by anyone who sails on the ship. I’m so grateful he is my friend, and most importantly, I thank him for keeping the flame of Semester at Sea so safe and alive all these years.”
Woody Freese, who sailed as a Resident Director in Fall 1989 and Assistant Dean in Spring 1997 before later working in the Pittsburgh home office as Director of Operations, also reflected on John’s longevity with the program. “John is one of the most genuine and caring individuals that I’ve ever met,” Woody said, noting that in every single conversation, John asks about his daughter and partner and wants to know, “When are we going to get together next?”
Reflecting on John’s legacy, Woody described “a complete unbridled passion and love for the program,” adding, “His extraordinary passion for Semester at Sea is unparalleled.”
But passion like that usually doesn’t sustain itself alone. Behind John’s commitment – steady, grounded, kind, and equally committed – there was always Dixie.
Dixie Tymitz: A Shared, Joyful Commitment
Before there were extended titles with Semester at Sea on John’s resume – Dean, Executive Dean, Executive Director, CEO – there was a pivotal decision made in a young faculty home with two small children. Dixie was at the center of that decision, with a simple but profound: “Let’s go, John.”
Across voyages and decades, it’s apparent to many that Dixie has always been John’s most motivating force. Cathy offered perhaps the clearest image of this idea: “I’ve seen very few people love somebody the way John loves Dixie.” She calls it “true love, no matter what. She has always been there by his side.”
Randy Lewis shared, “John’s love of Semester at Sea and all that it stands for is exceeded only by his love for his family.”
Michel Renou, who has been associated with Semester at Sea since the 1970s, sailing as an Interport Lecturer and Lifelong Learner, among other roles, said, “John and Dixie welcome everyone with their hearts, whoever they may be. [They both] shine light and love.”
A professor of humanities and theatre, Dixie served on several Semester at Sea voyages as faculty and led countless on-ship performances, while also building her own career in academia and theatre. When not at sea, Dixie has appeared in films including Sudden Death (1995), The Merry Wives of Windsor (1980), and Black Dahlia (1998). She’s been the star on many stages, with performances such as “Everybody’s Girl,” “Love Letters,” “Shirley Valentine”, and “Madhouse in Goa.”
“Dixie is just a force,” Cindy Zomcheck said. “She literally lights up a room.” Together, she says John and Dixie are “the dynamic duo.”
Beth Hoff Blackmer remembers Dixie’s zest aboard the ship: “She is absolutely so full of fun and joy.”
Woody Freese reflected, “Dixie is truly one of the kindest, genuine, authentic individuals I’ve ever met.”
Beyond Dixie’s kindness and light, she is also known for her inspiring teaching. “She has always been really good at working with students. It’s something she really excels at,” said Dixie and John’s son, Jonathan Neyland. “I know that all of her students have always loved her and really enjoyed her classes.”
Becky Hall Fehsenfeld, who was a student in one of Dixie’s acting classes on the Fall 1973 voyage, shared that Dixie’s class was one of the most formative experiences of her life. Dixie demanded discipline, evening rehearsals, hard work, and vulnerability. Becky recalls that the results were “life-changing,” and the confidence and work ethic she developed in that class stayed with her long after the voyage ended.
Becky was one student impacted by Dixie Tymitz – and there are thousands more.
Across the decades, institutional transitions, and voyages around the world, Dixie and John have remained aligned: partners in risk, challenges, adventure, and joy. Now, Semester at Sea is celebrating John and Dixie for yet another reason: this time, it’s rooted in scholarship funds that are changing the lives of Semester at Sea students today and for generations to come.
How Gratitude Became $1 Million in Scholarships
Becky Hall Fehsenfeld first sailed as a student in Fall 1973, sailing with both John and Dixie. Dixie was teaching acting, and Becky enrolled in her class, where the discipline and concepts she learned were transformative.
Becky later sailed again in Fall 1975, assisting John as a work-study student. When Becky left the voyage, she wanted to give John a gift, but couldn’t afford anything that felt worthy of what he had given her.
So, she handed him something far more personal: her journal. Thirty years later, in front of a room full of people, John returned it to her. He had saved it all that time. “That’s the kind of teacher that I only think you get once in a lifetime,” she said – the kind who understands that what students entrust to you is sacred, and who quietly holds on to it until the moment is right to give it all back.
Jim Fehsenfeld’s story intersects with John’s in an equally profound way. After all, it was John who introduced Jim to Becky. Becky remembers the moment vividly. She recalls that she was “at a street fair in Orange (California), and there were a bunch of people I knew from Semester at Sea 1973, and John introduced me then to Jim. I have to thank John, because he gave me Jim,” she said.
But Becky and Jim’s deep connection to John and Dixie doesn’t end there. When Becky eventually married Jim, it was John who walked her down the aisle at their wedding. For Becky, who had lost her father, the moment carried extraordinary weight. John later became the godfather to their daughter.
Over the decades, Jim and Becky have now sent more than 25 friends and relatives on Semester at Sea. “Somebody else gave me the funds to help pay for my first trip,” Becky said. “If I in any way could ever bundle that up and put it together as a gift, and if anybody could feel the feelings I felt, then I want them to have it.”
Jim added, “We felt it was important to help kids who could not afford to join a voyage on their own, because I really believe that it can be a life-changer.”
These are just a few of the reasons why Jim and Becky gave a recent major gift to push the John and Dixie Tymitz Endowed Scholarship Fund beyond $1 million.
Because of the incredibly impactful role John and Dixie Tymitz have had in their lives – guiding them on their individual SAS voyages, helping Jim and Becky to meet, walking Becky down the aisle at their wedding, and becoming a godparent to their child – contributing to a fund that honors the Tymitzes’ enduring legacy felt instinctive to Jim and Becky Fehsenfeld.
But the true measure of the gift, and the $1 million milestone, isn’t found in only the number itself but in the stories of the students whose voyages it makes possible.
A Lasting Legacy: A New Generation of Appreciation for the Tymitz Family
For Ashanti Horton and Emma Howerton, recently receiving the John and Dixie Tymitz Endowed Scholarship did more than fund a semester abroad; for both of these students, it changed what they believed was possible in their lives.
Ashanti, who sailed on Voyage 135 in Spring 2025 as a junior at Elon University, is, as she explained, “a first-gen student from a low-income background.” Going to college, let alone studying abroad, had never felt guaranteed. “Without the John and Dixie scholarship, I don’t think I would have been able to go on SAS at all,” she said.
Thankfully, with this support lined up, what she found on Semester at Sea reshaped Ashanti’s future. “Semester at Sea was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” she reflected. “I learned that this is what I want to do with my life,” she shared, noting that Semester at Sea showed her she wants to be involved in programs related to higher education and study abroad. She would even like to work for the Semester at Sea home office team eventually.
Now applying to graduate programs with hopes of working in higher education, Ashanti sees the voyage as the moment everything clicked. Thinking of John and Dixie, and the funders who helped support this scholarship, she said, “I’m so extremely grateful, and I thank them.”
Emma, who sailed in Fall 2024 during a gap year before beginning her nursing studies at Ivy Tech in Indianapolis, found that scholarships were essential to support her SAS voyage. She described the experience as transformative. “Going on Semester at Sea made me a lot less fearful,” Emma said. “I really feel like I can do anything now.” Reflecting on the couple whose names supported her journey, she shared, “I think they sound very selfless,” and added, “I think their story’s amazing.”
With support from the John and Dixie Tymitz Endowed Scholarship, two students stepped onto the same ship and later stepped off with greater clarity and courage. Ashanti and Emma are just two of the students who have, and will continue to, benefit from this scholarship over the years, solidifying the legacy of John and Dixie Tymitz as well as those who give in their name, long into the future.
The Story (and the Light) That Carries Forward
In its simplest form, John and Dixie Tymitz’s story could be summed up as a wonderful tale of love: for one another, for the children they raised together, for their careers, and for the enduring legacy of Semester at Sea.
Of course, it’s so much more than that.
It’s a childhood fascination with a globe that leads to a curiosity about history, cultures, and people.
It’s taking a big chance when John decided to ask the colleague he first met in Oklahoma, “singing to her heart’s content,” for a first date.
It’s a marriage described as “true love, no matter what.”
It’s the moment Dixie said, “Let’s go, John,” when the couple was first approached to join World Campus Afloat.
It’s a program that would become a career, a home base, and a leadership commitment for more than 50 years.
It’s students feeling safe at sea in the middle of a typhoon.
It’s more than 20 voyages worth of people – countless students, faculty, staff, crew members, and people across the world – impacted by the kindness and calm leadership of John, and the joyful, adventurous spirit of Dixie.
It’s leadership alongside the ISE home office staff, steering the program we all know and love through global events and institutional shifts – and coming out stronger.
It’s 10 SAS marriages officiated, a bride walked down the wedding aisle, and a colleague and friend who was supported at her bedside as she was in labor.
It’s more than $1 million in a scholarship fund, enabling the next generation of voyagers to say “yes” to the life-changing experience that is Semester at Sea.
It’s saying time and time again: “Every voyage is the best voyage ever.”
It’s a flame kept alive for more than 50 years.
Because of John and Dixie Tymitz, and their shared story encompassing a lifetime of love and adventure, that flame will continue to burn in every port, every classroom, every reunion, and every student who steps aboard believing their voyage, too, just might be the best voyage ever.
Strengthened by the lives they’ve shaped and the scholarship that carries their names, the light of John and Dixie Tymitz’s story will shine on for generations of voyagers still to come.
You can make your gift to support the Dr. John & Dixie Tymitz Scholarship fund, by clicking the button below.
