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Long after quake, alumnus serves in Haiti Page 4
The genius of ‘Rembrandt in America’ Page 6
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ON THE COVER
Falcons everywhere are celebrating the 40th anniversary of Dave Wottle’s remarkable, come-from-behind win in the 800-meter run at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Read more as this American sports icon reflects on his years as a Falcon runner and on his Olympic gold medal performance, beginning on page 2.
Managing Editor: Pete Fairbairn Creative Director: Jeff Artz ’92 Photographers: Craig Bell Brandon Heiss ’06, ’09 Contributors: Rose Barto Joe Bellfy Bonnie Blankinship Matt Markey ’76 David Menconi Tom Nugent Ryan Smith Jennifer Sobolewski Bridget Tharp ’06 Production Manager: Linda Zieroff Chief Communications Officer: Robin Stanton Gerrow Senior Communications Director: David Kielmeyer ’88, ’92 University Advancement
2 Gold medal run brought Wottle enduring fame 4 Long after quake, alumnus serves in Haiti 6 Alumnus curates largest-ever Rembrandt exhibition 8 Supply-chain expert goes to war against malaria 10 Leadership Circle Gala recognizes top donors 11 Software factory essentially a student production 12 BGSU moves up in Peace Corps ranking 13 New deans bring fresh approaches 14 Teacher of the Year owes much to BGSU faculty 16 At the forefront of environmental stewardship 18 Alumni are hiring fellow Falcons 36 Faculty Fulbright Scholars study abroad 38 A friend in fighting cancer 39 Alumnus oversees content for Scripps newspaper group D E PA R T M E N T S
15 Faculty Impact | Alumni recall most influential professors 20 Firelands News | New honors program and enrichment series 22 BeGreat | Celebrating excellence in scholarship at BGSU 24 Bravo BG | News from the fine and performing arts 26 Falcon Frenzy | Athletics updates 28 Alumni Links | Alumni news and accomplishments
Vice President: Thomas Hiles Director of Alumni Affairs: Montique Cotton Kelly ’94, ’04 Advertising Sales: Jack Hemple 419-450-7568 (jhemple@bex.net) Printed on recycled paper
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Log on to BGSU Magazine’s website for more information. http://magazine.bgsu.edu e-mail: bgmagazine@bgsu.edu USPS 787-800: VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1/SPRING 2012 POSTMASTER: BGSU Magazine is published by the Office of Marketing & Communications. It is distributed to alumni, active and retired faculty and staff, and friends of the University. Standard postage paid at Freeport, Ohio. Change of address notice should be sent to Alumni Records, Mileti Alumni Center, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403-0053, 419-372-2424, alumni@bgsu.edu. BGSU is an AA/EEO educator and employer.
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anniversary of Dave Wottle’s Olympic gold
Gold medal run brought Wottle enduring fame Dave Wottle ’73 had his class schedule in hand, he had a room assignment and a roommate all lined up, and he was ready to start college — at a school elsewhere in Ohio. But when the talented high school distance runner realized that his best time in the mile was only three seconds shy of the record at that other college, Wottle decided Bowling Green was where he would be challenged to push himself to achieve his personal best. “What Bowling Green had back then, with great coaches and great runners, made it a very special place,” Wottle said. “I still say I never would have been able to accomplish what I did without them driving me every day.” As a Falcon, Wottle went on to claim five NCAA titles in track and the 800-meter crown in the 1972 AAU Championships. But it was his gold-medal-winning performance in the 800-meter run in the 1972 Munich Olympics that made him an American sports icon. 2 BGSU MAGAZINE
Wearing his trademark golf cap, Wottle was last in the field with a lap to go in the race, but his amazing kick carried him to the gold medal as he edged out a Russian runner by three one-hundredths of a second. The four decades that have gone by since Wottle’s historic run have not separated the man from the moment. “Words can’t express how I feel about winning that gold medal, and the impact it has had on my life for the past 40 years,” Wottle said. “Hardly a day goes by that I don’t think about it.” Wottle, who will retire in June after 29 years as an administrator at Rhodes College, Memphis, Tenn., said people still recognize him by name. “It’s never a nuisance to have people bring it up. I am blessed to have won that gold medal.” Wottle said he will mark the 40th anniversary of his Olympic gold in his characteristic reserved fashion. “I’m sure the attention over that will come and go, but I don’t think I’ll get emotional about it. I have very fond memories, but I’m not one to live in the past,” he said. “I’m very grateful that I got to be part of something special. When you’re young, you don’t understand it, but soon you realize that was your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Dave Wottle was the NCAA champion in the mile in 1973 with the record time of 3:57.1 — a record that still stands. The mile was no longer contested after the 1975 outdoor season, replaced by the 1,500 meters. He also tied the world record in the 800 meters in 1972, breaking a six-year-old American mark at the same time.
Dave Wottle briefly ran professionally after leaving BGSU, then coached track and cross country for six years at Walsh and Bethany colleges before moving into a career in college administration.
Above: In his 1972 Olympic 800-meter race, Wottle’s infamous kick enabled him to move from last in the field with just 300 meters left and pass everyone to win the gold medal by a fraction of a second. Left: Dave Wottle calls his margin of victory in the Olympic race “the threehundredths of a second that changed my life.” When the event started, he was a phenomenon inside the distance running community. When it was over, all the world knew Dave Wottle. Right: Bowling Green’s Dave Wottle, his signature golf cap, and his gold medal run comprise one of the most recognizable images in the history of Olympic competition.
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Long after quake, alumnus serves in Haiti
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Two years after the earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people and devastated Haiti, most of the relief workers and volunteers that responded to the disaster have left the impoverished nation. Not Larry Benz ’84. The BGSU alumnus and physical therapist supports one of the remaining volunteer organizations committed to permanently serving in Haiti. At Benz’s urging, staff from his more than 30 physical and occupational therapy practices and a network of other colleagues have volunteered each month since the quake through PT Help for Haiti, a group that operates a clinic in the coastal city of Jacmel. Benz regularly travels there and helps to fund other volunteers through his foundation, Neighborhood Engagement — a faith-based nonprofit he created to provide medical care and other outreach to lowincome and underserved populations. Their efforts don’t stop with health care. Neighborhood Engagement and the clinic’s volunteers have teamed with local residents to rebuild affordable housing, support an area orphanage, and create new employment opportunities and small businesses for Haitians. He encourages health care volunteers to invite their families to sign up to help with such side projects. His wife and daughter have obliged. “We’re not trying to save the world. We’re just trying to listen and to build relationships,” Benz said. “We have a lot of Haitian help. Our model is to really become part of the community so they are not dependent on us; they are dependent on each other.” Though he has been a successful health care provider and entrepreneur for more than 20 years, getting there wasn’t easy. BGSU offered a physical therapy program during his time as a student, but he wasn’t offered a place in it. Benz counts the misfortune as “the best thing that ever happened,” forcing him to pursue a graduate degree. After Benz obtained his bachelor’s degree in gerontology and biology at BGSU, he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army and immediately attended Baylor University to earn his master’s in physical therapy. As he served at military posts in Texas, Oklahoma and Kentucky, Benz gained additional health care experience by working part time at a variety of privately owned clinics. The experience demonstrated that his skills and his employers’ services were — and remain — wildly in demand. “There was more demand for physical therapy than could be accommodated,” Benz said. “It’s better and cheaper to have rehabilitation than unnecessary surgery and pain medications.” Something clicked. It seemed natural to run his own practice. Top: Dr. Larry Benz ’84 with two of his favorite young patients. Bottom right: Benz assists a patient after surgery weeks after the 2010 earthquake devastated Haiti. Bottom left: The post-earthquake scene in the coastal city of Jacmel, Haiti, where PT Help for Haiti continues to operate a physicaltherapy clinic.
“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial bent.” Benz has major success in business ventures, an executive MBA degree and a doctorate on his resume. Two nieces also earned degrees at his alma mater. Benz used his education and experience to build a consortium of 60 physical therapy and sports medicine clinics. After he sold the corporation in 2007, he promptly shifted his gaze to new opportunities. He now operates more than 35 clinics in four states, and his continuing education company, Evidence in Motion, has become a prominent name brand in the industry. He has also invested in the for-profit Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, in Provo, Utah, and opened dozens of on-site physical and occupational therapy practices through his Fit For Work company. He found his niche in the industry, and believes that careers in physical or occupational therapy offer plenty of opportunities to students. “Despite the changes in health care, and the length of schooling you have to go through, follow through if physical therapy is what you have in your heart,” Benz suggests to students at BGSU. And following his heart is one of the reasons he found himself in Haiti. Though Benz had already spent three years volunteering in one of the world’s most impoverished nations when disaster struck, it wasn’t easy to confront the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. Weeks afterward, volunteers were still uncovering bodies. Orphanages were overwhelmed. Some families broken by loss even abandoned their babies among the trash and rubble. He’ll never forget the grandmother who had tossed her infant grandchild out a window to safety before her home collapsed on top of her. It took him days to convince her to start moving and to participate in therapy, with external pins and braces supporting her shattered leg. “It’s hard, because follow-up is so difficult,” Benz said of the patients’ medical needs after surgery and therapy. “But Haitian people are wonderful. They are so thankful and appreciative of what you do.” Benz’s team of therapists helped to rehabilitate Haitians who had survived the disaster against all odds. Many were learning to live without a limb, or with another new disability. The work isn’t over. “Therapists from all over made sacrifices, gave up their patients and their practices to volunteer,” Benz said. “It’s just been rewarding on multiple levels. The proudest thing is that we are still there.” To donate or learn more about becoming a volunteer, visit pthelpforhaiti.org or neighborhoodengagement.org.
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THE GENIUS OF ‘REM
As career paths go, the military seems like an odd pathway into the world of fine art. But that’s how BGSU alumnus Dennis Weller ’77 began down the road that has resulted in his curating “Rembrandt in America,” the largest assemblage of authentic Rembrandts ever put together in the United States. Weller came to Bowling Green from Miamisburg, Ohio, as a pre-med major during the Vietnam War. Possessing a low draft number, he interrupted his schooling for an Army hitch and spent two years stationed in Germany, giving him the opportunity to begin visiting art museums — an experience that stayed with him after he returned to BGSU. A pivotal art history survey class with Willard Misfeldt, now a professor emeritus of art, moved Weller to change from pre-med to art. Misfeldt became his advisor as he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in art history. Weller then completed his graduate work at The Ohio State University and the University of Maryland. “Bowling Green was great about allowing me to find my own way and change directions midstream,” Weller said. “Professor Misfeldt had an especially big impact, just in terms of encouraging me to pursue an academic or museum career.” Another key connection at the University happened while Weller was still a pre-med major. One of the guest speakers in his organic chemistry class was a chemical company executive named Alfred Bader, who happened to be a major collector of Dutch Master paintings. 6 BGSU MAGAZINE
“He even handed out mini-posters of a painting in his collection,” Weller said. “I’ve actually borrowed from his private collection since then for shows, including two for ‘Rembrandt in America.’ So he wound up being a pretty major figure for me professionally even though I met him in chemistry class, ironically enough.” From the start, Weller found himself drawn to the work of Dutch painters, including Rembrandt and Frans Hals. “Dutch art always seemed so approachable to me,” Weller said. “There’s a humanity to it, a down-to-earth quality I like, and it’s why I decided to study Dutch art. I fell in love with its scenes of everyday life, which really resonated with me because I came from a lower-middle-class family in Ohio.” Weller took his current job as curator of Northern European Art at the North Carolina Museum of Art in 1994. He’s been involved in a number of notable exhibitions there, including a well-received 1998 show devoted to the Italian painter Caravaggio’s influence on Dutch and Flemish painters. But “Rembrandt in America” is Weller’s biggest and boldest yet, collecting some of the most famous and valuable paintings on earth — iconic masterpieces including 1666’s “Lucretia” and Rembrandt’s self-portraits. Any Rembrandt exhibit is fraught with complications because so many paintings have been misidentified as works by the Dutch Master. Weller showed considerable ingenuity in turning a potential problem into an intriguing angle, making misidentification and the cult of collecting two major themes of the show.
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“Rembrandt in America” opened in North Carolina last fall before moving to the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it shows through May 28 (and then opens in Minneapolis on June 24). The show includes a number of paintings once thought to be Rembrandts that have since been reclassified. You can almost play a game with it: “Rembrandt or not?” “There’s a narrative to the show about collecting and connoisseurship,” Weller said. “The exhibition also follows the life of Rembrandt and the arc of his career. Rembrandt went to Amsterdam to find fame and fortune as a young man, and he found both very quickly, but it didn’t last. Tastes changed, but he did not change his art for the tastes of others.” Collectively, the art of “Rembrandt in America” is worth more than $1 billion — so much that its sponsoring museums applied for and received federal indemnity, in which the U.S. government serves as the insurer. Weller’s initial curating partner was George Keyes from the Detroit Institute of Arts, which subsequently bowed out of copresenting due to financial constraints and a competing Rembrandt exhibition. “It was a complicated challenge because so many Rembrandts have lending restrictions,” Keyes said. “But we were able to work around that. Dennis did a tremendous job of selling the project’s importance to get loans. He’s a very dedicated, excellent curator with all the right instincts. It’s a terrific exhibit.”
For all the sleepless nights involved in pulling it together, Weller is pleased with how “Rembrandt in America” turned out. The exhibit shows impressive scholarship, and the work itself moves people. “I think Rembrandt was a genius in terms of the depth of emotion he conveyed,” Weller said. “Eyes are windows to the soul, which he understood and translated in his paintings. He moves people, makes them consider life and death and emotions coming together.” Dennis Weller ’77 is the curator behind “Rembrandt in America.” Valued at more than $1 billion, it is the largest Rembrandt exhibition in U.S. history.
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Supply-chain expert goes to war against malaria Dr. Hokey Min says he’ll always remember the afternoon when he received an urgent, long-distance phone call from Switzerland. The trans-Atlantic call had been placed by an official on behalf of a group of medical doctors and pharmacists at the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva — and he wanted Min’s help in a matter of life and death. While Min listened carefully, the WHO official and doctors explained that they were leading an international task force in the battle against malaria — a virulent, infectious disease that kills more than 1.1 million people, mostly women and children, in SubSaharan Africa each year. A father himself, Min was “deeply touched” by this plea. He immediately wanted to help. But the professor in BGSU’s Department of Management was an expert on “supply-chain/ logistics,” and malaria was a medical problem, wasn’t it? Not really. Imagine Min’s surprise when a WHO epidemiologist pointed out that saving African children from malaria was primarily a logistical challenge, requiring deep knowledge about global supply chains. “I was shocked,” the 57-yearold Min recalled. “As it turned out, preventing and treating malaria is actually a relatively simple problem in purely medical terms. As study after study has shown, tens of thousands of African lives could be saved each year simply by distributing bed nets 8 BGSU MAGAZINE
(to protect individuals against malariaspreading mosquitoes) and easily available anti-malarial drugs. “It sounds manageable, at first,” he said. “But there are huge issues involved in getting the bed nets and the medicines to those who need them most — those in remote areas where supply-chain systems are notoriously unreliable and inefficient.” Plagued by poor roads and ineffective transportation systems in many areas, along with endless bureaucratic delays, Sub-Saharan Africa presents “an enormously difficult challenge” for malaria fighters. What WHO needed was a specialist like Min — an internationally recognized expert on solving complex supply-chain/logistics problems for corporations and large nonprofit organizations — who could figure out how to get these vital medical drugs and supplies to the people who needed them most, and quickly. Min, who was then teaching at the University of Louisville (he joined the BGSU College of Business in 2006), didn’t hesitate. Within a few weeks of that urgent 2001 phone call, he was aboard a jetliner headed for Switzerland and a small forum aimed at attacking the African anti-malarial drug distribution problems in depth. “How could I say no?” Min recalled after more than 10 years of working on the problem. One pivotal result of these efforts is a recently published “African pharmaceutical supply-chain map” designed to help remove the malaria
drug distribution bottleneck. “As a business professor and a researcher in supply-chain/logistics management, I often find myself working on problems related to helping companies earn higher profits.
“But this challenge was different,” said Min, a native of South Korea who first came to this country in 1980. “In this situation, thousands of lives were on the line, and I soon became very passionate about trying to solve some of these distribution problems in Africa.” The results speak for themselves. Min’s study (“Mapping the Supply Chain of Anti-Malarial Drugs in Sub-Saharan African Countries”) was recently published in International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management. His article contained a series of recommendations designed to move anti-malarial drugs much more quickly and efficiently to the places where they’re needed most.
For Min, who has published more than 140 journal articles on supply-chain/logistics management in a teaching-research career full of academic honors, the Literati Award was a personally satisfying acknowledgement of the thousands of hours he’s devoted to the malaria project in recent years. Born and raised in Seoul (“Hokey” means “a bright spot” in transliterated Korean), Min said he first became interested in logistics while watching his father struggle to manage a failing trucking company in South Korea. An excellent student, he won an opportunity to study business in the United States, and since arriving, he’s taught and conducted research at half a dozen colleges and universities.
“I’ve worked on many different projects over the course of my career,” said the amiable BGSU professor, whose musician wife, Christine, is also a part-time BGSU student, “but none gave me as much satisfaction as the malaria project. “Creating that supply map was a wonderfully challenging task for a researcher — but the real payoff came from knowing the world now has another of the tools it needs to fight malaria and other infectious diseases.”
As the James R. Good Chair of Global Strategy, Dr. Hokey Min is a recognized expert on global logistics, and ideally qualified to create an innovative “supply-chain map” aimed at speeding up delivery of antimalarial drugs to Sub-Saharan Africa.
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A new tradition at Bowling Green State University has been established to celebrate special donors and friends who are committed to improving the University. The Leadership Circle Gala is a special event to recognize the generosity of those who have given substantially to scholarships, academic programs and athletics at BGSU. “The gala is a special opportunity to thank our most passionate supporters,” said BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey. “I hope every guest at the gala walks away knowing how much they are valued. We deeply appreciate every donor, at every level, because together we are building the future of this great University.” The BGSU Foundation, Inc., hosted its first gala event April 20 in the new, state-of-the-art Stroh Center. The evening was a special opportunity for BGSU students, faculty and staff to express their gratitude for donors and the positive, daily impact of philanthropic gifts on campus. Featured were student performers from the recent cast of Chicago, and Revamped Duo, the dueling violin twosome of students Sally Williams and Mark Minnich. The dinner was prepared and served by Mancy Brothers’ Catering. Invited were more than 1,400 donors and friends who are recognized in the Leadership Circle, a select group who continue to support BGSU with annual gifts of $1,000 or more. Annual giving is an important and consistent form of support for the BGSU Foundation, Inc., which offers hundreds of endowed scholarships to students. The gala also showcased those extraordinary individuals who have built a lasting legacy at the University by giving $100,000 or more in their lifetimes, a level that is also recognized as the Benefactors Society of The Presidents Club. More than 150 individuals and couples have invested in BGSU at that level and above. Also highlighted were those who give $250,000 or more, as recognized in the Jerome Society of The Presidents Club; $500,000 or more, as the Prout Society of The Presidents Club; and $1 million or more, as the Williams Society of The Presidents Club. 10 BGSU MAGAZINE
“We are delighted to recognize the wide-ranging generosity and sustained commitment of our donors, who are an essential part of BGSU’s educational excellence,” said Peggie Hollingsworth ’71, who helped to plan the event as chair of the stewardship committee of the BGSU Foundation Board of Directors. The committee also includes alumni Christine Hanson Seidman ’61, Diane Tymiak ’79, and Marilyn Fox ’71. “This is the beginning of a tradition,” observed Hollingsworth. “I hope the Leadership Circle Gala becomes a memorable occasion that donors will look forward to attending.” Learn more about the recent Leadership Circle Gala and this year’s honorees in the fall 2012 edition of BGSU Magazine. Your gift could make a difference in the lives of students through the Leadership Circle. To learn more, visit givetobgsu.com.
Editor’s Note: Emily West, of Toledo, a senior majoring in visual communication technology, designed the program and invitations for the Leadership Circle Gala. Her design was submitted through a contest open to students in the major. From left: VCT instructor Maggie Leonard works with West in the College of Technology’s new Packaging & Display Lab.
Software factory essentially a student production
Tucked in a small office off one of the narrow back corridors inside Hayes Hall is a factory. No smokestacks, no machines churning away and no hardhats or safety glasses, but there’s factory-like production, indeed. BGSU students in the Department of Computer Science are working in the Agile Software Factory, an innovative effort to stretch the walls of the classroom and provide real-world projects with clients who have specific and often highly specialized needs. Dr. Joseph Chao, an associate professor of computer science, created the program to serve as a clearinghouse for cooperative ventures with community partners that require software development. More importantly, the idea was to give students hands-on involvement in projects that would provide learning opportunities while serving the greater good. One system developed by Chao’s students, called AgileAssyst, assists people with cognitive disabilities such as autism. By using a smartphone, the parent or teacher working with the individual can build a schedule and make changes at any time. “It actually relieves a lot of the burden on the caretaker,” Chao observed. “The system syncs in real time, so they can get on the Web and make changes whenever they need to.” The majority of the work to create the actual programs is
done by students. The software development classes provide a foundation and an outline of the process to be followed, but the students also commit a substantial amount of their free time to the effort. “I actually think it is much better that way,” said Chao, who worked in the software development industry before coming to BGSU. “If it’s all done in a classroom setting, then everything is so predictable. Instead, our approach is to have the students find out what people need, and then they have to develop it. With what we are doing with the Agile Software Factory, these are real-world situations.” Chao said that his students find the work extremely rewarding, since the software products they create have assisted schools, service organizations and a variety of other nonprofits. “They are helping people who need help, and there’s a real sense of fulfillment, a sense of satisfaction, from doing that,” he said. “I’ve found that if it’s a real need, the students are more excited to spend extra time working on it. That is a major motivation factor. They want it to be good.” For more information, visit agile.bgsu.edu.
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Amanda Buchert ’10 with her host family at the Peace Corps training site.
BGSU moves up in Peace Corps ranking
For the second year in a row, BGSU has been included in the Peace Corps’ list of top universities producing volunteers. This year, BGSU moved up from 25th to 21st, with 24 alumni currently serving. The University is also ranked fourth in the state for the number of Peace Corps volunteers. Amanda Buchert ’10 is one of those volunteers. The 23-year-old from Midland, Mich., is serving in Vanuatu, South Pacific, as a teacher-trainer volunteer. She graduated from BGSU with a degree in early childhood education. Buchert says she first heard about the Peace Corps in the ninth grade, but thought she could never do it. Her attitude changed after spending six months abroad during her senior year in high school. “I realized that I could do whatever I wanted to do, including Peace Corps. Then, throughout college, the idea just grew and grew until I applied during my junior year,” she said. “At BGSU, I was involved in the International Careers Network, which brought in a Peace Corps representative once a year to give a talk about the organization,” Buchert
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explained. “I also got excited every time I saw the Peace Corps posters around campus! My professors helped by letting me out of class the day I went to the Chicago office to do my Peace Corps applicant interview.” BGSU has a Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows graduate program, which offers financial assistance to volunteers who have completed their service and who wish to earn a degree in the Master of Arts in Cross-Cultural and International Education (MACIE) program. MACIE officially became a Peace Corps Fellows program in the summer of 2008. The degree academically builds upon returned volunteers’ practical international experience and provides the opportunity to fulfill the third goal of the Peace Corps, which is to bring the knowledge and skills learned overseas to an internship experience within a community in the United States. Two hundred and fifty-five BGSU alumni have served in the Peace Corps since its founding in 1961.
New deans bring fresh approaches to technology, music Since arriving in July 2011, Dr. Faris Malhas, dean of the College of Technology, and Dr. Jeffrey Showell, dean of the College of Musical Arts, have kept up a demanding pace. A structural engineer by training whose best-selling textbook is going into its sixth edition, Malhas is working with College of Technology faculty to begin the process of strategic planning, reconfiguring programs and expanding outreach to develop the college’s potential. “We want to collaborate with the community colleges to allow for seamless transfer of students to our programs, and develop better collaboration with BGSU Firelands,” Malhas said. The Department of Architecture and Environmental Design will soon begin offering a graduate program, paving the way for it to receive National Architectural Accrediting Board accreditation. Architecture students who graduate in May could be graduates of an accredited program. In addition, “if all goes according to plan, this year’s engineering technology juniors will be graduates of an accredited program, which is very important for the credibility of the programs and to the careers of our students,” Malhas said. He also pointed out that visual communication technology is developing a graduate program in cross-media technology, and the construction management program is poised for more enrollment.
Top left: As dean of the College of Technology, Dr. Faris Malhas is working with faculty to further develop the college’s potential. Top right: As dean of the College of Musical Arts, Dr. Jeffrey Showell is working to find the resources and support needed for the college’s faculty and students to flourish.
Showell is focusing on raising the visibility of the College of Musical Arts, which he describes as “a jewel.” “It has rather amazing qualities,” he said. “I know of no other music college in academia that has such a strong undergraduate music education program along with such high performance standards and a doctoral program in contemporary music. The challenge is representing all of those.” Already he has achieved a major objective of that goal — arranging with National Public Radio to produce a series of 13, hour-long, nationally syndicated programs highlighting aspects of the college’s inner workings, from the music education program to interviews with faculty to performances — “the end result,” as Showell said. Hosting will be Jennifer Higdon ’86, a Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer. Funding for the series comes from Dorothy ’62, ’69 and DuWayne Hansen, longtime benefactors of the college. “The stars were aligned to make this happen. We couldn’t have done it without WGTE-FM’s Brad Creswell, who is producing the series, and The Wolfe Center for the Arts,” Showell said. “Before that, there wasn’t a place on campus suitable for recording.” He is also looking forward to the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music’s next New Music Festival, which, under the direction of oboist Jackie Leclair (who is “something of a creative organizing genius,” he said), will incorporate art along with an ecological theme, “broadening the festival’s appeal.” “All these things happen because of someone’s hard work,” Showell said. “My challenge is helping find the resources and support to enable them to flourish.”
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Teacher of the Year owes much to BG faculty As Tennessee Elementary Art Teacher of the Year, Ted Edinger ’96 credits two BGSU faculty members for their important contributions to his success. Edinger was inspired by both Janet Ballweg, art professor and head of printmaking in the School of Art, and Dr. Rosalie Politsky, associate professor of art education. Ballweg made an impact as “a very serious instructor who knew when to be lighthearted,” Edinger recalled. He was enrolled in her drawing foundations and computer art classes, and two independent studies in watercolor and drawing. “Janet Ballweg was both an artist and a teacher,” Edinger said. “She knew how to encourage and challenge you, not allowing you to get away with anything but your personal best.” He said Politsky was “very passionate about art education and opened my eyes to knowing my craft and being able to articulate that to others.” Edinger was honored as the 2012 Elementary Art Teacher of the Year by the Tennessee Art Education Association. He previously represented the state of Tennessee on a committee to establish art-related scoring standards for The Praxis Series. In 2009, he wrote the Tennessee Elementary Art Standards, 14 BGSU MAGAZINE
and in 2007 and 2011 he helped to write the new art curriculum for Metro Nashville Public Schools, which employs at least 90 elementary art teachers. Soon after he earned his bachelor’s degree in art education from BGSU, Edinger was one of 80 new art teachers hired by Metro Nashville Public Schools. His first teaching job was at an elementary school with more than 700 students— more than 10 times the population of his hometown of Brownsville in southeastern Ohio. “My dad was a coal miner, and he always encouraged my sister and me to leave the valley because there were so few opportunities,” Edinger said. “I believe with any specialty, you have to have a willingness to move where the jobs are.” Edinger’s community of colleagues has grown beyond the art teachers in his own school district. He shares inspiration and project ideas with more than 1,800 followers of Pinterest.com, a visually driven social media site; and others through his blog, Artwithmre.blogspot.com. Edinger emphasized that the Internet also helps him stay in contact with his BGSU mentors — who helped prepare him for his career in art education. “I can’t say enough about the education I received at BGSU,” Edinger said. “I had such an amazing experience.”
S P O T L I G H T O N FA C U LT Y W H O M A K E A L I F E L O N G I M PA C T
“Dr. Elsa McMullen believed in me and encouraged my academic, personal, and professional growth. She also helped remove obstacles to help facilitate my success and never gave up on me. Additionally, her sense of humor made learning fun.” — Susan Guda ’88 of Atlanta is credentials coordinator at the pediatric hospital Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. McMullen died in 1997.
“Mark Kelly, the former University Director of Bands, gave me a music grant award to get me to come to Bowling Green. It enabled me to attend BG even though my parents were having financial difficulties. Bill Fichthorn inspired me to change my major to finance and that has been the focus of my entire career. ” — Bruce Misamore ’72, ’73 of Houston is a member of the BGSU Foundation Board of Directors, and former chief financial officer of the Russian YUKOS Oil Co. Fichthorn died in 2010. Kelly is retired and living in Bowling Green, and the Mark S. Kelly Band Scholarship honors him. “Dr. Sue Mota ’79, ’80 (in the College of Business Administration) made coursework very challenging, questioned students’ ways of thinking, and made you learn both the material and why it would work or not. She was the first professor to challenge me by expecting more than what I thought I could deliver at the time.” — James G. Unger ’07 is a chartered life underwriter and chartered financial consultant in Columbus, Ohio. Mota continues to teach at BGSU.
“Dr. Paul Makara was an excellent teacher of violin, but also of many life skills. I learned how to break down difficult tasks with many hours of disciplined practice. Although I am not a professional violinist, he taught me to provide feedback in a sincere and genuine way so that the person knows that it is for their own benefit.” — Matt Gingrich ’94 of Painesville, Ohio, is vice president of information technology at Litigation Management, Inc. The Dr. Paul Makara Violin Scholarship memorializes Makara, who passed away in 2008.
“The ‘Three Musketeers of VCT,’ Barry Piersol, Chuck Spontelli and Dr. Gene Poor ’73, were the motivating force behind my chosen career path 20 years ago. They were each very different in their skills and approach, but each had the same zeal for their students.” — Tamra (Zinn) Cantore ’80 of Atlanta is former vice president of Sales Strategy and Affiliate Operations for The Weather Channel. Piersol is retired in Bowling Green, and the Barry Piersol Technology Co-op Fund honors him. Poor and Spontelli continue to teach at BGSU. To share how you were influenced by your favorite BGSU instructor or professor, contact us at alumni@bgsu.edu, indicating “faculty memories” in the subject line. Editor’s Note: When President Mary Ellen Mazey first emailed alumni in her monthly message, Mazey@BG, she invited alumni to share memories of the BGSU faculty who helped to shape their careers and their lives. The response was overwhelming. Generations of alumni explained how their favorite University faculty members inspired and motivated them, and continue to do so even years later. Collected here are some of those memories. BGSU MAGAZINE 15
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Alumnus shrinks landfill waste at Ohio Stadium He found his passion for environmental conservation at BGSU, and now Corey Hawkey ’05 runs the Big Ten’s most successful game-day waste-reduction program. As sustainability coordinator for The Ohio State University, Hawkey leads the “Zero Waste at Ohio Stadium” program that kept an average of 75.3 percent of the trash generated at Ohio Stadium on football game days out of a landfill last season. Not bad, considering that Hawkey is the first at Ohio State to meet such a challenge. The program was new and never tested. Now his record for a single game day is 82.4 percent of trash diverted. The university had the highest diversion rate among Big Ten schools in the recent EPA Game Day Challenge.
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The trick: Only bins boldly labeled for compost and recycling belong in The Horseshoe, Hawkey said. After Buckeye fans go home, Hawkey and his team of student volunteers join the football cleanup crew to guide discarded game-day fare to their earth-friendly destinations. Hawkey has also used his bachelor’s degree in political science in his work for environmental nonprofits in Pennsylvania and political campaigns in New York City. He links the origin of his passion back to Dr. Shannon Orr’s classroom, but also credits Dr. Candace Archer and Dr. Marc Simon for their influence. “Having a political science degree is probably the best degree you can have for this line of work,” Hawkey said, “because it teaches you how to approach different viewpoints, how to communicate and how to lead.” To learn more, visit go.osu.edu/zerowaste.
b g s u. edu /su sta i n a b i l i t y
Charge it!
Electric car recharging stations coming to campus BGSU’s school colors may be orange and brown, but students, faculty and staff will be living a little greener in the coming months. Thanks to a grant to BGSU and the city of Bowling Green from Clean Fuels Ohio, drivers of electric vehicles will soon be able to leave them plugged in at six metered spaces across campus and downtown. In most cases, the vehicles will be fully charged in less than two hours. “We were awarded a 50 percent matching grant to purchase and install three electric vehicle charging stations, as was the city,” said Dr. Nicholas Hennessy, campus sustainability coordinator. “So, that means that BGSU is supplying half of the cost of our purchase and installation, and the grantor is supplying the other half.” The University’s $7,500 contribution to the project comes through its Green Initiatives Fund, which involves a $5-per-semester, opt-out fee that helps fund campus sustainability efforts. Hennessy and Tony Palumbo, director of the BGSU Electric Vehicle Institute, are primarily involved with the project on campus. “The institute’s mission is to develop and disseminate electric vehicle technology and transfer that to the market,” Palumbo said. “As part of that outreach, we’ve attempted to do projects that support that, including electric charging. Hopefully it will promote the use of electric vehicles in the community.” Hennessy said the charging stations are very easy to use. Anyone with an electric vehicle can park in the space next to the station and hook the charger to the car. “The goal is to make charging stations readily available to the public, and to reduce the reliance on nonrenewable fossil fuels by making it easier to charge electric vehicles,” he said. The installation of the stations should be finished by the end of May.
Living the ‘no impact’ life Some staples of a college student’s life — the late-night run to McDonald’s, a bag of chips or granola bar for a quick snack — are no longer in the picture for senior Abbey Tobe. Inspired by Colin Beavan’s book No Impact Man, the environmental science major has chosen to live a year as trash-free as possible for her capstone Honors project, while serving as a resident advisor in Harshman/ Chapman/Dunbar. She got to meet Beavan when he spoke on campus in October as part of the University’s Common Reading Experience. While he attempted to eliminate even such things as toilet paper, “I am doing a similar but less extreme project, trying to create less waste with the resources I am given,” Tobe said. The snacks are off limits because their individual packaging would add to her carbon footprint. With the help of Dr. Holly Myers, environmental science, she set up a compost bin in the University greenhouse — complete with worms — to recapture any food waste. “I don’t notice the temptations as much anymore,” she said. “Although while living in a residence hall, with packages arriving every day for the students, I sometimes think, ‘I’d like to order something to get a package.’” She has become very resourceful about finding new sources such as Goodwill (“You can find some really good things there”) and reimagining what she already has to avoid adding to the emissions impact of shipping items. “It’s a big thought process,” she said. “It’s challenged me. Before, I always wanted to know exactly how things would turn out, but now I expect to fail the first time and just live and learn.” Above: BGSU student Abbey Tobe got to meet No Impact Man author Colin Beavan, whose book inspired her own project, when he visited campus last fall. BGSU MAGAZINE 17
Alumni employers nationwide are hiring fellow Falcons
BG grads are half of creative team in Ohio Tom Hileman ’95 turned his scientific reasoning skills into corporate success, and he’s bringing other BGSU alumni along for the ride. The mathematician-turned-entrepreneur is now owner of Hileman Enterprises LLC, a Cleveland-based marketing technology firm. Nearly half of his team is comprised of fellow Falcons with skills in digital marketing, custom software design and Web design. The firm has served a number of high-profile clients, including Cleveland Clinic, American College of Radiology, RIDGID Tools and Marc’s stores. Hileman, a math and physics double major, tweaked his career aspirations after two internships in surface science. He decided he’d rather write the computer software for data collection than participate in scientific study.
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But his coursework at BGSU continues to lead him to take a scientific approach to problem solving by looking at the bigger picture. That means Hileman’s marketing solutions go beyond new billboards and commercials — his creative team and technology department work together to suggest digital possibilities with measurable impact. He often finds unconventional thinking in other BGSU graduates. “We really look for very dynamic people who can juggle a lot of projects and have great passion for what we do,” Hileman said. “The most important skill is the ability to learn.” Tom Hileman ’95 has hired several fellow alumni to staff his marketing technology consulting firm. Pictured from left are Kyle Chandler ’09, designer; Brett Colasanti ’94, vice president-operations and partner; Hileman, president and managing partner; Bob Banjac ’75, ’77, vice president-sales and partner; and Mike Novatny ’99, design services manager.
Alumna recruits other BGSU artists
Falcon teachers excel in Texas classrooms Raul Fonseca ’92 was recruited for his first teaching position by the Aldine Independent School District at a BGSU job fair. Now he’s human resource director for the same district in Texas, and has hired more than three dozen Falcons to teach hundreds of miles away. The key: he doesn’t wait until the job fair in April to get to know potential recruits. Aldine counts BGSU as a partner university. Fonseca makes several visits and formal presentations, and has casual conversations with students in teaching methods courses in the months before the annual event. The district hires a steady stream of student teachers from the University. In fact, a group from BGSU just traveled during spring break to meet with Fonseca and tour his urban system in the greater Houston area. It doesn’t hurt that Aldine schools were recognized in 2009 with the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education. Selection is based on complex data, including student improvement and minimal achievement gaps between students of varied income and ethnicity. The prize offers $1 million in scholarships to graduates of the district. So, Fonseca doesn’t woo prospective teachers — the right candidates find him. “We’re not like other districts, hoping that we can convince you to come to our district,” he said. “We’re looking for a special person who knows what they’re getting into, who knows what it takes to work with kids that need teachers to go the extra mile.”
Katie Christensen ’11 expected years to pass before she achieved her goal of leading an artist-in-residence program. Her unexpected success came early and with a bonus — her alma mater was represented in her inaugural group of creative-types at the Brush Creek Ranch, located about four hours northwest of Denver. Christensen’s dream job in her native Wyoming came just weeks after earning her master of fine arts at BGSU. As director of the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, she works with a jury to identify finalists in music, writing and visual arts for the residency program at the ranch. She has the final word on all selections. The first group included Distinguished Artist Professor and professional composer Marilyn Shrude, who finished a commissioned piece, and Distinguished Artist Professor and accomplished saxophonist John Sampen, who spent the time perfecting his performance technique, bringing that back to benefit his students as well. Months later, Christensen welcomed an Ohio artist who has visited the BGSU School of Art, Stanka Kordic. The artist was inspired by the Wyoming landscape to change the color palette of some of her ethereal paintings, adding blues to beiges, Christensen said. Christensen, a printmaker, is delighted with her opportunity to help artists transform their craft and gain a new perspective in the wide-open spaces of her home state. The residency program is not yet a year old, and already Christensen has selected more than 100 artists. “It’s amazing what happens when you have the focus time to dig a little deeper,” she said. “You don’t have the distractions of daily life, like walking the dog or picking the kids up from school. You can focus on art.”
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News New enrichment series benefits campus and community When Theresa Flores spoke recently at BGSU Firelands, her message and the impact of her presence reached far beyond the scheduled talk. Flores, both a victim of and advocate against human trafficking, spoke to an audience of about 200 students, faculty and community members. The next day, she offered a training session for area counselors and other officials who earned free continuing education credit. Months later, students who were inspired by Flores continue to raise funds for outreach to trafficking victims. It was the first lecture in the BGSU Firelands Community Enrichment Series. Funded through a confidential donor, the series aims to expand the college’s efforts to bring speakers and events that have a profound effect on both the campus and the community. Rather than giving just an isolated campus presentation, Flores engaged both the student body and community at large in a way that further cements an already-close relationship. “We are a college of the community,” said BGSU Firelands Dean Bill Balzer. “We play an important role in the community as an academic and cultural resource. This series creates an opportunity for us to contribute on issues that impact our entire community.” The Community Enrichment Series will host two speakers or events each academic year. A committee will review proposals, which must meet criteria including addressing community needs and interests, and gauging the broader impact the event promises to have. Theresa Flores delivered the first lecture in the BGSU Firelands Community Enrichment Series, raising awareness and facilitating outreach to victims of human trafficking. 20 BGSU MAGAZINE
Flores’ presentation is still resonating with members of the Criminal Justice Club at BGSU Firelands. Members have been raising money to buy 1,000 bars of soap for Flores’ Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution (SOAP) program, which provides the soap, labeled with the phone number of the National Human Trafficking Hotline, to hotels likely to house victims of human trafficking. “She really brought it down to a personal level,” said Talon Smith, a BGSU Firelands student studying for an associate degree in criminal justice. “You hear statistics but you never get to hear from the victims. After listening to her, I thought we needed to do something about this.” Tracy McGinley, a lecturer in the criminal justice program, suggested bringing Flores to campus and was pleasantly surprised at how Flores’ presentation has made a real difference both on and off campus. “Education goes far past just writing papers — part of it is the responsibility to educate our community about what’s going on. At the same time, the community is very receptive to what we have to offer,” said McGinley. “Kudos to Theresa Flores, but kudos to the community we live in as well.”
An honors program to call their own
Beginning this fall, students will be able to participate in honors coursework at BGSU Firelands and, eventually, earn associate and bachelor’s degrees with University Honors. Students may choose to remain at BGSU Firelands and pursue one of the nine bachelor’s degrees available there or transfer to the Bowling Green campus and seamlessly continue with that highly regarded honors program. As an extension of the main campus program, University Honors at BGSU Firelands will specifically recognize the best and brightest on the Firelands campus. “We realize that we have high-achieving students at Firelands, and those students need the challenge that an honors program will give them,” said Dr. Paul Moore, biology professor and director of the main campus honors program. Honors classes have been offered at BGSU Firelands, but now the program will include requirements for honors degrees. In addition to coursework, students must complete an honors project in their field of study and maintain a 3.5 or higher grade point average. Some of the 600 main campus honors students have done projects that range from art portfolios to independent scientific research — and similar opportunities will be available for Firelands honors students.
Chris Fluckinger, psychology instructor and coordinator of the new honors program, said recruitment activities are ongoing, and the goal is to attract about two dozen students to start. “It’s not unusual for regional campuses to have some kind of honors program,” Fluckinger said. “But those programs are usually set up with the expectation that students will finish their degrees at the main campus.” The new program recognizes that many Firelands students want an honors program but need the flexibility the Huron campus offers. Honors applicants will typically have a high school or college GPA of 3.5 or higher, including minimum standardized test scores, and must complete an application and essay. Fluckinger said all interested students — including nontraditional students who might not have standardized test scores — are encouraged to apply. Those interested in exploring honors opportunities at BGSU Firelands should contact Fluckinger at 419-372-0656 or visit firelands.bgsu.edu/academics/honors. Chris Fluckinger is heading BGSU Firelands’ new Honors program, which is designed to meet the needs of a select number of high-achieving students.
2011 - 2012 Application for Admission Enclosed BGSU MAGAZINE 21
BeGreat
Celebrating excellence in scholarship at Bowling Green State University
Online Master of Education programs recognized for excellence
U.S. News & World Report has named BGSU’s online master’s degree in education programs among the best in the country. The ranking is part of the magazine’s listing of the Top Online Education Programs. The graduate education programs made the honor roll, which highlights programs that consistently rank high among their peers. Programs must place in the top third of at least three of the four review standards — admissions selectivity, faculty credentials and training, teaching practices and student engagement, and student services and technology. According to Dr. Bruce Edwards, associate vice president for academic technology and e-learning, the ranking is a reflection of the successful collaboration between the staff from the Center for Online and Blended Learning (COBL) and faculty from the College of Education and Human Development. “Overall, we have a high national ranking (13th) among all online campuses in faculty credentials and training,” Edwards said. “Well-prepared COBL staff and highly motivated and credentialed education faculty worked 22 BGSU MAGAZINE
together to achieve that ranking. This epitomizes the best of BGSU values: collaborative leadership, quality support for faculty and students, high standards, terrific execution, all undergirded by highly qualified professionals working at the peak of their talents.” “I could not be more pleased that the faculty members have been recognized by their national peers for the high quality of our online graduate programs,” said Dr. Brad Colwell, dean of the College of Education and Human Development. “It is a testament to our faculty’s commitment to reach out and meet students’ needs. “Having a cross-section of students from across the country exchanging ideas in online discussions adds depth and richness to our courses and strengthens the quality of the learning experience.” Other universities on the list include Auburn, Penn State, Syracuse and Wright State. To learn more about the online Master of Education programs, visit http://cobl.bgsu.edu.
Master’s program students engage with service agency Long after their homework was finished, their presentations completed and their grades filed — even after they received their degrees — students from BGSU’s Executive Master of Organization Development 2011 class continue to work on their final project: helping Crime Victim Services of Allen and Putnam counties. “The goal of the course is to assist nonprofit organizations to become more effective both in serving the needs of their populations and internally,” said Dr. Deborah O’Neil, an assistant professor of management. “We’re not fixing broken organizations, we’re helping good ones get better. The students choose the organization they feel offers the most learning and that has the most potential for help, while also fitting their experience and expertise.” In the case of Crime Victim Services, “it is the capstone class that continues even postgraduation,” she said. Several of the students continue to work with the agency to help with strategic planning and board development, two of the class’s recommendations. “They treated me as if they were paid consultants for a strategic plan I didn’t have to pay for,” said CVS Executive Director David Voth. “They were completely professional. We had a point person proactively contacting us regularly, along with the entire team working on the project.” Voth said there was a real synergy among the group that made it very effective. “Every one of those people is an experienced professional and they’re coming from different fields. They’re managers, administrators and supervisors, and they bring their professional and life experience as well as their master’s degree experience to the project.” “We helped them be more focused,” said Kim Fleshman, manager of BGSU’s Academic Resource Center and one of the organizational development graduates still working with CVS. “We also made recommendations to help them make their funding more sustainable. This has been a good experience for all of us who’ve been involved. It helps to see your work in action and apply what you’ve learned. I also feel good knowing that, by our helping the organization, they’re better able to go out and help others.” Going over the Executive Master of Organization Development class’s recommendations for strategic planning are Crime Victim Services board members (left to right) Cheryl Steinwedel, vice president for marketing and special events, University of Northwestern Ohio; Cindi Hayes, Crime Victim Services board secretary and human resources professional; Tony Miller, Allen County assistant prosecuting attorney, and Lt. Brad Brubaker, Putnam County Sheriff’s Office 911 dispatch coordinator.
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bravoBG
BGSU acquires Vincent Douglas Nickerson Collection
The Historical Collections of the Great Lakes (HCGL), part of the Center for Archival Collections at the BGSU Libraries, has received a donation of the Vincent Douglas Nickerson Collection of Great Lakes marine art. The collection includes more than 300 original vessel drawings dating from 1880 to 1910. It is one of the most extensive bodies of work by a Great Lakes marine artist in a public institution, said HCGL Archivist Robert Graham. The Nickerson collection was donated to BGSU by Ellen Drouillard Boruff of Bloomington, Ind., who inherited the collection from her grandfather, William R. Rearick, a friend of Nickerson’s and also a marine artist. Graham consulted with Boruff for several years on the collection before the donation, helping to identify the vessels portrayed in her grandfather’s collection. “One of our strengths is Great Lakes maritime history, so this is a perfect complement to existing collections,” Graham said. “It gives us a depth that wasn’t there before. To find a body of work from a late-19th-century marine artist of this magnitude is really special.” Most of Nickerson’s clients were connected to the maritime industry (vessel owners, agents, captains, etc.) and expected accurate details. The collection consists of 24 BGSU MAGAZINE
original perspective drawings, many in color, prepared to provide the details needed for the paintings Nickerson was commissioned to produce. These works often provide scale drawings as well as color schemes of Great Lakes vessels from the 1840s to 1910. In many cases his drawings are the only known details available for a particular vessel, Graham said. “This was a transitional period, when ships were going from wood to steel construction,” he said. Only a small number of Nickerson’s finished paintings survive, adding more significance to this collection. Several of them are at the Great Lakes Historical Society in Vermilion, Ohio. The BGSU historical collections staff is compiling a detailed inventory of the collection and identifying items that may require conservation. As soon as the inventory and conservation process is completed, the collection will be available for research. According to Graham, the collection may go on display at some point depending on the conservation work. However, it will be digitized for viewing online and should be available by late 2012 or 2013. Above: “The Steamship Germanic,” part of the Nickerson Collection.
Storytime hits primetime
The Wolfe Center for the Arts, which opened in December, is more than Bowling Green State University’s latest success story. It’s the perfect place to tell a good story. That, as much as anything, was evident in February in the facility’s debut production, “The Arabian Nights.” Held in the center’s black box, or experimental, Eva Marie Saint Theatre, the play offered an intimate experience by completely surrounding the stage with 118 seats and closing the gap between the audience and actors. “We did not have a space available before that would have allowed us to do this sort of production. It requires a flexible kind of audience setup,” explained director Dr. Jonathan Chambers, associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Film. Based on the collection of Middle Eastern folk tales often referred to as “A Thousand and One Nights,” the play by Mary Zimmerman tells the story of Shahryar, a cuckolded king who reacts by marrying — and then killing — a virgin each night. This goes on until he marries Scheherazade, who escapes death night after night by telling him stories. Dr. Ron Shields, chair of the Department of Theatre and Film, said “The Arabian Nights” was a successful choice for christening the Eva Marie Saint Theatre.
“Besides the creative ensemble cast and inspired directing, the design for the production was also very special, including a setting complete with imaginative locales, shifting lights, and spectacular costumes,” he said. Senior Dylan Stretchbery, who played Shahryar, said he was eager to perform in The Wolfe Center, which also contains the 400-seat Thomas B. and Kathleen M. Donnell Theatre. “The technology that the new space has to offer is something that we aren’t used to,” said Stretchbery, a 22-yearold from Bowling Green. “There are catwalks above your head, and you can hang lights from there. You can hang curtains from there. You can set the audience up however you’d like…even the floor can be lowered.” For another cast member, performing in the center was the culmination of a dream. “I remember as a senior in high school … hearing about plans for The Wolfe Center,” said Nicole Navarre, 22, a senior from Haskins, Ohio. “Being able to actually be the first in there, when the theatre program has been an everyday part of my life for the last four years, is one of the most special gifts I could ever ask for.” For information about upcoming performances, visit bgsu.edu/theatrefilmevents. BGSU MAGAZINE 25
New Falcons found call to BG irresistible Ask two dynamic young coaches what it took to lure them from jobs in the Sun Belt — one in Florida, one in Texas — to the heart of the Midwest, and you get essentially the same answer. “It was the great opportunity,” said Lou Snelling, the new cross country and track and field coach. “When you hear Bowling Green you immediately think about the history of the program — it’s in the record books. To be a part of that is a huge opportunity, and one too good to pass up.” Volleyball coach Danijela Tomic wasn’t looking for a new job when she was contacted about the BGSU vacancy by Lesley Irvine, associate athletics director. After Tomic heard about the sport’s stature in the Mid-American Conference, the commitment from the administration to the program and the new facility, her interest spiked. “I was just being courteous returning a phone call, but once I saw that volleyball is a priority here, and that a solid foundation was already in place, that changed things,” Tomic said. “Pretty soon, it was clear this was a rare opportunity.” Tomic, who headed the volleyball program at Florida International University at the time, visited BGSU and took a tour of the Stroh Center. She watched a video of the Falcons’ first match in the building and loved the electric atmosphere.
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“Things just kept getting better and better,” she said. Once she spoke to some alumni, coaches and former players, that closed the deal. The native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and graduate of Arkansas-Little Rock, was ready to become a Falcon. “Nobody said one negative thing about the program, the school or the city,” Tomic said. “I want to coach where volleyball matters, and it was clear I was in that place. By just returning that call, I opened up a tremendous opportunity.” Snelling, formerly the head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, is taking advantage of a similar resource — former Falcons. He said he has discovered an extensive network of BGSU alumni coaching in the high school ranks. “It is staggering, the number that are out there, but it just goes back to the history of the program and the success we’ve had here,” he said. “That’s a huge door opener, and we want them to be part of bringing this program back to the high level it achieved in the past.”
The Falcon Social Network Social media has turned out to be a game-changer for BGSU Athletics. Forget about simply posting game results; the University now has an array of people blogging, tweeting, and Facebooking their way into a Falcon frenzy. “We’re providing fans with all the information they want about BGSU Athletics. If you want it, it’s coming to you,” said Jason Knavel, assistant athletics director for communications. And it’s coming to you from all angles. The BGSU Athletics Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ BGSUathletic) provides videos, interviews, pictures and breaking news for thousands of fans. On Twitter (twitter.com/BGathletics), there’s an up-to-theminute take on all 18 sports. Nearly 20 coaches tweet for public consumption too, interacting with Falcon fans and taking questions. For those seeking an even more flexible, userfriendly option, consider this: a mobile app is in development for the iPhone, iPad and Android platforms that could revolutionize attending BGSU athletic events as soon as next year. “If a fan is tailgating and ready to enter Doyt Perry Stadium, they will be able to get information about what lines are shortest,” Knavel said. “Fans can get turn-by-turn directions to their seats, upload photos, follow live stats and interact via social media during the game.” Coaches have their own uses for this technology. Kerrie Beach, head gymnastics coach, frequently reaches out to parents, fans, alumni and recruits by posting informal, get-to-know-you videos of Falcon gymnasts on Facebook, along with clips from routines at competitions. Her tweets are as likely to reference meet results as a chance airport encounter with legendary U.S. gymnast Shannon Miller. The cumulative effect is significant.
“It’s really changed everything for recruits. They’re getting a much more in-depth look at programs,” Beach said. “For parents, they’re able to see more about their children who may be far away from them.” And for fans, it’s as close to the action as many will ever get. Nick Monroe, an assistant football coach, got involved with social media to stay in touch with potential recruits. But he acknowledges that his frequent updates can be like adrenaline rushes for hard-core fans, which is great for everyone. “A lot of fans read that stuff, and it almost becomes entertainment to them,” Monroe said. “It’s a great thing for recruits. It’s a great thing for your fans. It’s a great thing for your players.”
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class notes 1950s-1960s Richard Scholem ’53,
Huntington, N.Y., recently received the Long Island Dining Alliance’s Golden Fork Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as a restaurant critic. Marvin Stoll ’57, Wauseon,
Ohio, was inducted into the Wauseon High School Athletic Hall of Fame in December 2011. Linda (Welshimer) WagnerMartin ’57, ’59, ’63, Chapel
Hill, N.C., recently received the Jay B. Hubbell medal for lifetime achievement in American literature. 1970s Ruth A. (Eier) Crates ’71,
Kenton, Ohio, retired in 2011 from Kenton City Schools after 35 years as an elementary and high school intervention teacher. Robert Herbst ’71, Chester
Springs, Pa., was appointed director of professional and corporate education in the College of Professional and Continuing Studies at La Salle University. George Zumbano ’71, West
Chester, Pa., was named one of Philadelphia’s Top Rated Lawyers in the area of Civil Litigation, according to legal resource and directory Martindale-Hubbell. Janet Schaffer Alderman ’72,
’83, Elyria, Ohio, is the state of Ohio coordinator for Home of the Brave, a group of volunteers that makes quilts for families of Ohio soldiers killed in action. Alan Carey ’73, ’81, Gilbert,
Ariz., published Migrate, Adjust, Celebrate. Wayne D. Chester ’73,
Westerville, Ohio, received the 2011 DeGelleke Award, given annually to the person who has made significant contributions to the interior construction industry.
Deborah Ellis Chiodo ’73,
Joplin, Mo., is chief human resources officer at Freeman Health System. Regina (Lemaster) Kostyu
’73, Delaware, Ohio, is a human resources assistant for Oberfields LLC. Patrick M. Pratt ’73, Palm
Desert, Calif., retired after 33 years with the city of Rancho Mirage, Calif., having served the last 21 years as city manager.
L. Jay Burlingame ’82, ’84,
Altoona, Pa., was honored with the Silver Beaver Award at the final Penn’s Woods Council Boy Scouts of America dinner in June 2011. Jean Dimeo ’84 , Silver Spring,
Md., serves as vice president for content and media at Griffin & Company, Inc., a national public relations and marketing communications firm. Joanne Holbert ’84, Rittman,
Ga., is director of fund development for the National Dental Association.
Ohio, received a doctorate in counselor education and supervision with a specialty in marriage and family therapy from the University of Akron in December 2011.
Darlene Merry ’76,
Elizabeth Long ’84, Franklin,
William Woods ’75, Dallas,
Gaithersburg, Md., was named chief academic officer for the Urban Schools Human Capital Academy, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Ohio, joined Kettering Health Network as manager of media and government relations. Matthew Balensuela ’85,
Munster, Ind., has returned to Northwestern University as a senior high performance computing engineer.
Terre Haute, Ind., presented the paper Conflicting Strategies of Management and Memory at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in the Early 1930s at the American Musicological Society annual meeting in November 2011.
1980s
Sonny Hamizadeh ’86,
William E. Mihalo ’77,
Col. David Alexander ’81,
Richmond, Ky., retired from the U.S. Army after 28 years. He had recently served as a senior army instructor at Clark County Public Schools. Dr. Thomas Knapke ’81,
Celina, Ohio, is development officer for the Western Ohio Educational Foundation and recently had a building named in his honor at the Lake Campus of Wright State University. Paul Kostyu ’81, ’90,
Delaware, Ohio, is statehouse reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer. Tracy A. (Currier) Spane
’81, Holly Springs, N.C., released Life through the Eyes of a Hurricane, Doggie Dog, available through national booksellers.
Maumee, Ohio, is now a senior account executive for SSOE Group, an international engineering, procurement and construction management firm. Jennifer Higdon ’86,
Philadelphia, received a rare Koussevitzky Commission from the Library of Congress to compose a work for string quartet and soprano, for the Cypress String Quartet and soprano Christine Brandes. Mike Schneider ’86, ’98,
Whitehouse, Ohio, was inducted into the Wauseon High School Athletic Hall of Fame in December 2011. Mark Seymour ’86, Bellevue,
Ohio, obtained the state of Ohio Professional Clinical Counselor licensure in November 2011.
Darlene Zangara ’87,
Brandon, S.D., senior vice president for the Centers of Excellence Communication Service for the Deaf, was awarded a doctorate in leadership and change from Antioch University. 1990s Jamie Oxendine ’90, Toledo,
Ohio, has been appointed as a board of trustee member for the Ohio Humanities Council. It is a three-year term appointed by the governor. Jason L. Finke ’91, Nixa, Mo.,
is the 2012 president of the Missouri Association of Public Purchasing (MAPP), a chapter of the National Institute of Government Purchasing. Anthony Edward Snyder ’92,
Appleton, Wis., has received the Cubmaster Award from the Bay-Lakes Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
2000s Steve Wenzlick ’01, ’03,
Cloverdale, Ohio, has joined Mills James as controller in the creative media firm’s accounting department. Chavar Oglesby ’04, Toledo,
Ohio (performing as Chavar Dontae), recently released a short film and music video titled “On My Way.” Brian McCrodden ’06,
Brecksville, Ohio, was recently named recruitment and programming coordinator for the 2013 National Senior Games in Cleveland. Jessica M. Mocilnikar ’06,
Mentor, Ohio, recently received certification from the National Council for Interior Design Qualification. Emily Pieracini (Draper) Beckley ’08, Carey, Ohio,
James Walters ’94, Massillon,
Ohio, was re-elected Jackson Township trustee (Stark County) with 71% of the vote.
graduated from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in May 2011 with a concentration in litigation and successfully passed the Ohio Bar Examination in July 2011.
Gail Gudehus Savidge
Kathryn Bobel ’08, Hickory,
’95, ’98, Tucson, Ariz., was promoted to corporate program manager of the Engineering Leadership Development Program for the Raytheon Engineering, Technology & Mission Assurance organization. Jessica A. Mager ’96,
Westerville, Ohio, was named among the “Ohio Rising Stars 2012” by Super Lawyers, the leading attorney ratings system for consumers. Dan Smeltzer ’96, Maumee,
Ohio, was among the 2011 recipients of Northwest Ohio’s 20 under 40 award, presented by the Toledo Business Journal. Daniel Kiscoe ’97, Waterville,
Ohio, earned a master of business administration degree from Baker University, Overland Park, Kan.
N.C., is director of group sales for the Hickory Crawdads, the Single A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Amanda (Skilliter) Kinison
’08, Genoa, Ohio, completed an M.S in education specializing in integrating technology in the classroom. Nicholas Paul Rusnak ’08,
Medina, Ohio, received a juris doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School in December 2011. He will be joining the law firm Ulmer & Berne LLP as an associate in the Cleveland office. Chad Bronowski ’09, College
Station, Texas, was recently accepted into St. George’s University School of Medicine.
alumnilinks alumnilinks alumni 28 BGSU MAGAZINE
Send us your class notes
Alaina Kantner ’09, St. Louis,
Mo., was promoted to brand development manager at Grey Eagle Distributors, where she works to represent various craft beer brands in the St. Louis market.
Keep your classmates and the University current on your achievements, career, honors and activities by submitting information for inclusion in Class Notes. Articles written about you in some other media may be submitted along with a note giving your permission to include the information in BGSU Magazine. To protect your privacy, we do not publish street addresses. It is not our practice to print engagement, marriage or birth announcements, although graduates should notify the Office of Alumni and Development to receive an Honorary Falcon certificate. BGSU reserves the right to edit or omit any information submitted. Send Class Notes or change of address to: Alumni Accomplishments, Mileti Alumni Center, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403-0053. Accomplishments may also be submitted online at bgsualumni.com.
Nicholas Kulik ’09, Bowling
Green, Ohio, was promoted to director of the United Way in Wood County. Mark Lohrum ’09, College
Park, Md., won the award for Best Paper presented at the International Conference on Digital Forensics and Cyber Crime, for a paper titled Forensic Extractions of Data from the Nokia N900. 2010s Zachary Ankrom ’10,
Charlotte, N.C., was promoted to business planner for Presbyterian Healthcare. He previously worked as a business systems analyst at Presbyterian Orthopaedic Hospital. Carly Fortman ’11,
Wadsworth, Ohio, is a personal lines market underwriter at Westfield Insurance.
Rick Valicenti ’73 was awarded the 2011 National Design Award in Communication Design by the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. This coveted honor, designated by the White House, celebrates various disciplines of design used to shape the world and increase awareness through education. As a recipient of the award, Valicenti is acknowledged as a leader in the field of graphic and multimedia design. In 1988, he founded Thirst, a Chicago-based design collaborative devoted to creating art with function. A graduate of BGSU with a BFA, Valicenti returns to his alma mater in the fall with a traveling exhibit titled, “Curiosities: Rick Valicenti and the 21st Century Thirst.” An opening reception is scheduled on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Willard Wankelman Gallery, immediately following Valicenti’s presentation as part of the BGSU School of Art’s lecture series, “ArtTalks.” The exhibit will run through Nov. 11. Visit gallery.bgsu.edu for details.
Your full name (include maiden name if appropriate) Date of birth and graduation year (earliest degree) Street address City
State
Is this a new address?
Yes.
Zip code
No.
Home telephone number (include area code) E-mail address, if applicable Place of employment Position/title Work address Location (city/state) Work telephone number (include area code)
Is this
A promotion?
Are you currently married?
A new employer? Yes
No
Your spouse’s full name (include maiden name if appropriate)
Is he/she a BGSU graduate?
Yes
No
Spouse’s date of birth and graduation year E-mail address, if applicable
Pixilated image underscores Valicenti’s disciplined approach to the craft of design in the digital age.
Place of employment Position/title Work address Location (city/state) Work telephone number (include area code)
Is this
A promotion?
A new employer?
If you have additional news for BGSU Magazine, please enclose. Thank you. SPRING12
VISIT BGSU MAGAZINE ONLINE at magazine.bgsu.edu.
nilinks alumnilinks alumnilinks BGSU MAGAZINE 29
The College of Education and Human Development has recently
completed a $1 million renovation of the Education Building that includes new energy-efficient lighting and enhanced spaces for the students to meet, study and relax. The Academic and Student Services office has been moved to the first floor for improved accessibility. (From left) At a special event in February, President Mary Ellen Mazey, students Coral Curns and Kerry Fial, and Dean Brad Colwell cut the ribbon to acknowledge the completion of the project.
BGSU Welcomes New Members of the Presidents Club Dr. Mark Asman ‘65, ‘67 and Dr. Patricia Essex ‘75, ‘82 Mr. Brian Bushong ‘80, ‘92 and Mrs. Sara Bushong ‘80,‘87 Mr. David L. Glass ‘78 and Mrs. Cynthia Glass Mr. A. Gary Kovacs ‘69 Mrs. Cynthia Koppenhafer Bogner ’74 and Mr. Charles Bogner Mr. Leonard R. Lepper ‘69 and Mrs. Sandra M. Lepper ‘57, ‘60
30 BGSU MAGAZINE
The luster is steadily coming back for BGSU hockey. As the Falcons knocked off two ranked opponents on their way to the CCHA semifinals, and then took Michigan to double-overtime before falling, many saw a program whose vital signs look vibrant and strong. “That run they had did nothing but add more energy and excitement to the ongoing efforts of so many to put the program back on the map,” said Mike Pikul ’84, who played on Bowling Green’s 1984 national championship team. “Seeing success like that, it just reinforces everything we have known about Falcon Hockey for a long, long time,” said Pikul, who helps chair the “Bring Back the Glory” campaign. Junior goalie Andrew Hammond saw BG’s confidence surge. “I think we proved to ourselves that we can play with pretty much every team in this league right now.” Coach Chris Bergeron wants expectations to spike following BGSU’s deepest trip in the CCHA tournament in more than a decade. “We’re going to continue to build this program and get it back to where we all feel it belongs,” he said. “We’ve got people in place that are willing to make that happen.”
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In memoriam BGSU Magazine has received notices of the following deaths. For additional information or to make a memorial gift, please contact the Office of Alumni and Development at 419-372-2424. Alumni Elizabeth (Shumaker) Wingate ’36 Grace (Zeigler) Swigart ’37 Leona (Crockett) Sloan ’38 Grace (Bitter) Schober ’40 Erma (Longshore) Scott ’42 Dorothy (Buck) Crombie ’42 Virginia (Wright) Baerren ’43 Paul Shepherd ’43, ’45 Janice (Smith) Sayers ’47 Priscilla Power ’48 James Knierim ’48 Virginia (Anderson) Newby ’49 Edward Ioanes ’49 Dean Simeral ’49 Dennis Aeschliman ’50 Richard Budd ’50 Eileen (Pasco) Hamilton ’50 Kenneth Spear ’50 Kenneth Ziegenbusch ’50 Herbert Clarke ’50 Katherine (Kressler) Lenhart ’50 William McEwen ’50 Richard Sterner ’50 David Anderson ’51, ’52 Judson Ellertson ’51 Ralph Kleeberger ’51, ’53 Frederick Waugh ’51 Norman Doty ’51 Anthony Steere ’51 Kenneth Kisselle ’52 Barbara (Brown) Baird ’52 Elmer Scalf ’53 Donald Druckenmiller ’53 Duane Swope ’53, ’55 Charles Glaser ’54 Paul Cashell ’54 Jane (Rettig) Boxley ’55 Maynard White ’55 Elmer Gough ’56 Lois (McNally) MacMahon ’56 Rodney Sullivan ’57 James Davis ’58 Ray Gottfried ’59 Robert McKnight ’59 Donald Romeis ’60 John Drake ’61 Sandra (Cleckner) Kattau ’62 Marlene Wiegman ’62 Bette (Switzer) Robertson ’62 Thomas Bates ’63 Enid (Jonas) Brewster ’63 Jessie (Ridge) Swihart ’63, ’79 Nelson Brownell ’64 Jong Lee ’64 Timothy Lloyd ’64 Edith (Downs) Bibb ’65 Paul Guilford ’65, ’67 Vincent Polce ’66 Carol Agerter ’66 Audrey (Krebs) Katzer ’67 David Morgan ’67
Joyce (Wiewandt) Burkett ’69 Gregory Geer ’69 Marie Gradel ’69 Joyce (Wiewandt) Burkett ’69 Linda (Hoffmeister) Khan ’69 Vera (Mollenkop) WarrenHill ’69 Alice (Sutton) Hummel ’69 Gerald Klusch ’70 Floyd Brazile ’70 Mark Stover ’70 Alvin Kay ’70 David Thalman ’71 Janis (Momyer) Smoyer ’71 Thelma (Dailey) Gratz ’71 Daniel Moyer ’71 Dorothy Campbell ’72 JoAnn (Rosemond) Eckenfels ’72 Eileen (McLaughlin) Herman ’73 Vicki (Nuss) Milovanovic ’73 Paul Flathman ’74 Donald Lamb ’74, ’76 Steven Leader ’74 Stephen Carrick ’74 Joyce (Jenkins) Vacha ’74 Karen (Anderson) Wilkes ’76 Daniel Croyle ’76 Petra (DeHoyos) Reyna ’76 Nancy Albert ’77, ’79 Cherie (Chevalier) Patton ’77 James Robarge ’77 David Brickner ’77 Thomas Page ’77 Walter Quaider ’79 Mary (Bolton) Cross ’80 Eleanor (Brumfield) Rhine ’80 Debra (Wolfe) Heslop ’81 Andrew Rose ’83 Patricia (Duffy) Tadsen ’83 Linda Austin ’84 Charolette (Collins) Adair ’88 Douglas Swineford ’88 Henry Covill ’89 Eric McCloskey ’90, ’96 Gary Silverhart ’93 Gerald Kralik ’94 Katherine (Komon) Reaper ’97 Dianne (Wagner) Lijewski ’99 Seann Flynn ’05 Faculty/Staff Alyce Alexander James Beaupre Thomas Bennett Duane Borne James Bradford James Davidson Marie Gerke Veronica Gold James Graham Harold Lunde Lorenza Mendieta Ralph Nelson Bette Smith Paul Standering Gloria Sponsler Richard Zolman
A Celebration
of
Sisterhood
In memory of Rebekah Blakkolb, Christina Goyett and Sarah Hammond
A crowd of more than 1,500 students, faculty, staff and community members gathered on the lawn in front of University Hall on Friday, March 2, to pay tribute to three Alpha Xi Delta members who died two weeks earlier in a two-vehicle, wrong-way crash on I-75. Following a poignant musical prelude performed by the BGSU Women’s Chorus, BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey addressed the solemn crowd, attempting to put into words the devastation felt by the BGSU community over this senseless loss of three vibrant young women. While eulogies by family and friends were emotional, the theme of celebration tempered the profound grief as speaker after speaker recounted how each woman had been a gift in life, and would be forever remembered. Mazey also announced the creation of the Strength In Sisterhood Scholarship in honor of the three women, as well as Kayla Somoles and Angelica Mormile, who were in the same vehicle and who were still in critical condition at that time. To donate, visit givetobgsu.com.
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Connect with President Mazey and fellow alumni this summer While President Mary Ellen Mazey will be completing her tour of select alumni chapters in May, alumni events will continue throughout the summer. Stay up-to-date on events in your area by visiting bgsualumni.com or find us on Facebook at facebook.com/bgsualumni.
Meet the President events
Alumni connect through chapter events The BGSU Alumni Association is expanding. With more than a dozen active chapters nationwide and more to come, alumni have new opportunities to reconnect with their alma mater. “We always spend time encouraging people to come back to campus, but this is a wonderful opportunity to get out to them,” said Montique Cotton Kelly ’94, ’04, executive director of the BGSU Alumni Association. New chapters are forming at various locations nationwide. With nearly 170,000 alumni living across all 50 states and beyond, chapters have proven to be a valuable support system for Falcons living hundreds of miles from their alma mater, said Marna Cousino, assistant director for alumni affairs. “Chapters are a great way to meet alumni near you, network and get to know the best places and restaurants to visit,” Cousino said. Each chapter is different, and organizes unique group activities. For example, alumni in Columbus sorted more than four tons of donations for an area food bank, and Cleveland-area Falcons gathered for professional speednetworking. Mary Carrig ’82 is leader of the Los Angeles area chapter, one of the most successful, well-attended groups. At least 30 new faces already turn out for golf outings, musical acts or professional hockey games, and the Tinsel Town chapter is growing. “I love watching alumni meet one another and talk about campus,” Carrig said. “It never ceases to amaze me that alumni have so much love for Bowling Green.” Have ideas for a chapter project or event? Want to start a new chapter of the BGSU Alumni Association? Contact Marna Cousino or Heather Gallant by calling 419-3722424 or 888-839-2586.
32 BGSU MAGAZINE
Dayton, Ohio Toledo, Ohio Arden, N.C.
May 15 May 22 May 23
Classes of ’62 and ’72: Help plan your class Homecoming festivities Congratulations on your 40th and 50th years as Falcon alumni! Join us during Homecoming 2012 this fall to celebrate your class reunion in style. Start reconnecting with old friends today and help to plan your class festivities by joining your class Reunion Committee. To join or learn more, please contact Jenny Wensink, reunion coordinator, at 888-839-2586.
Annual report for Alumni Association, BGSU fundraising now online The 2011 annual report for BGSU’s Division of University Advancement—which includes the Alumni Association and the BGSU Foundation, Inc. — is available online. Read about alumni success stories from the past year, get statistics on the alumni community at large, and learn more about how financial contributions directly benefit students and programs, at bgsualumni.com/report.
Show your company’s support for BGSU and reach new audiences In addition to ads in BGSU Magazine, opportunities abound for companies and organizations to support the University through a targeted sponsorship of various media platforms or alumni and donor events. By helping to fund the Alumni Association website, quarterly newsletter or events like Homecoming, you gain exposure to a diverse, college-educated audience while at the same time showing public support for BGSU and ensuring your promotional dollars will be put to good use. For alumni demographics or other information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Cal Bowers, director of corporate and foundation relations, at bcalvin@bgsu.edu or at 419-372-9446.
Academy of Distinguished Alumni nominations accepted through April 30 The BGSU Alumni Association’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni seeks to honor BGSU’s finest and most accomplished graduates. Nominees for this award must be a graduate or have completed more than 60 hours of coursework at BGSU. Honorees will be recognized at a ceremony during Homecoming week 2012. If you know a Falcon who is outstanding, either in their profession or through philanthropic endeavors, at a national or international level, visit bgsualumni.com/awards to learn more or make a nomination today.
PUT YOUR
FALCON SPIRIT
ON DISPLAY
The BGSU Alumni Association has partnered with a variety of organizations that offer competitive benefits and special services for members, including the state of Ohio’s Falcon license plate, with all proceeds helping support the BGSU Alumni Laureate Scholarship Program. Falcons may also apply for the BGSU Alumni Association credit card, offered by Bank of America, which contributes 1.5 percent of every purchase toward BGSU alumni programs. Learn more about these and other programs including life, home and auto insurance at bgsualumni.com/spirit.
December 2011 grads: Congratulations and welcome to the Alumni Association! You will be pleased to know that the benefits of belonging to the BGSU Alumni Association are free and automatic upon graduation: stay connected with friends, keep tabs on the latest trends in your career field and enjoy discounted rates on events and services, all at no cost to you. With nearly 170,000 alumni around the world — including a network of more than 20,000 people on MyZiggy, Facebook and LinkedIn — you’ve already got a huge network of fellow Falcons to tap into, no matter where life takes you. Get info about special service discounts, upcoming events, local alumni chapters, career networking resources and more at bgsualumni.com/welcome.
BGSU MAGAZINE 33
B OW L I N G G R E E N S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
Advancement Update With state funds decreasing and the costs of higher education rising in Ohio and nationwide, scholarships for hard-working students have never been more important. BGSU students graduate with an average debt of more than $31,000, a strong indication that the generosity of friends and alumni like you is critical to keeping higher education affordable for students. Special thanks to the following donors who recently established new scholarships at BGSU: The Thomas Bennett Middle Educator Scholarship will benefit students in elementary education. Established with an estate gift from former professor Thomas Bennett. The DeCrane Education Graduate Scholarship will benefit graduate students who seek to advance from classroom teachers to become school principals. Funded through the generosity of Gregory T. DeCrane ’69, ’74 and Darlene S. (Lipovec) DeCrane ’69, ’79 of Sunset Beach, N.C. The Randy E. and Karla B. Jones Nursing Scholarship and the Randy E. and Karla B. Jones Business Scholarship were established to benefit first-year students at BGSU. Created with a generous gift from Randy E. ’81 and Karla B. Jones ’81 of Hilliard, Ohio. The Oman Graduate Student Success Fund will benefit doctoral students in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Established by Larry ’63, ’64 and Linda Oman ’62 of Birmingham, Mich. The Sandra J. Werley Reed and Stephen C. Reed Scholarship will support undergraduates who dream of careers in physical education. Funded by Sandra J. Werley Reed ’72 and Stephen C. Reed ’69 of Vandalia, Ohio. Visit givetobgsu.com to contribute to a student’s education.
New professionals join University Advancement
Two new directors of development now lead important fundraising areas for University Advancement. Kirk Ross ’01 is director of gift planning. He is a licensed attorney and certified trust and financial advisor who is committed to helping donors to develop tax and estate planning strategies to maximize the impact of their major gifts. Ross earned dual bachelor’s degrees in European studies and mathematics from Berry College. He went on to earn dual master’s degrees in history and German from BGSU, and his juris doctorate from Northwestern University School of Law. “The work we do helps students get access to educational opportunities they might otherwise never have,” he said. Calvin “Cal” Bowers ’96 is director of corporate and foundation relations. Before joining the staff, Bowers worked as a private business owner and as general manager of Falcon Sports Properties, managing multimedia and corporate sponsorship rights for BGSU Athletics. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sport marketing and business from BGSU, and a master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University. “Our efforts and successful partnerships will help thousands of students to take steps toward greatness in this world,” he said. Interested in leaving a legacy at BGSU? Should BGSU partner with your business? Reach Ross at ekross@bgsu.edu or 419-372-7617, or contact Bowers at bcalvin@bgsu.edu or 419-372-9446.
Ross
34 BGSU MAGAZINE
Bowers
20.12
Seniors Clayton Stewart and Emily Ancinec co-chair the Senior Giving Campaign, an initiative to share the importance of philanthropy in higher education with graduating students.
Upcoming graduates give to BGSU
$
The Class of 2012 is making a difference with gifts of $20.12. The student-driven Senior Giving Campaign is urging soon-to-be graduates to donate the symbolic amount to BGSU. The new campaign is an extension of the service programs for students on campus. Outgoing Falcons learn about volunteer and involvement opportunities for alumni, and how the service and generosity of alumni enhances opportunities on campus. “BGSU students are already heavily involved in philanthropy,” said Shannon Spencer ’89, ’07, director for annual giving programs for the BGSU Foundation, Inc. “This is just one more extension of that, and will help students to realize that their university is also a non-profit and functions with the help of private donations.” Senior Clayton Stewart, of Findlay, Ohio, is cochairperson of the campaign and a dual major in supply chain management and economics. He is also a scholarship recipient, participant in Dance Marathon, and the driving force behind the successful 2011 campaign to raise $25,000 for patio furniture for the William T. Jerome Library. His motivation to give back stems from his gratitude for BGSU, libraries, and the generosity of others that he enjoyed as a youngster. Libraries were sources of education and entertainment during his childhood, as his family struggled to make ends meet in Detroit.
“I’ve been in those tough spots where donations from other people have helped me out,” Stewart said. “If I can do my part to help something that I really care about, I believe that karma and the utility that you can get from that far outweigh the negatives.” Last year, gifts of $25 or less amounted to more than $130,000 in support for the University. “But perhaps more important than the amount students raise will be that they grasp the economic challenges facing educational institutions like BGSU,” Spencer said. State funding for higher education has continually declined in the last 50 years. BGSU counted on the state for nearly 70 percent of its funding in the late 1960s, and about 53 percent in the 1980s. Today, only about 25 percent of University operations are funded by the state of Ohio. “The purpose of the Senior Giving Campaign is participation, affirming the experience and opportunities that they had here as students, and showing their Falcon spirit,” Spencer said. “We hope that as alumni, they will continue to be involved.” To learn more, visit bgsualumni.com/seniors.
BGSU MAGAZINE 35
The world is their classroom: Fulbright Scholars abroad Two BGSU faculty members, one retired and one at the start of her career, are off to very different parts of the world this spring. What they have in common is both are Fulbright Scholars. Dr. Charles Crow, a professor emeritus of English, has traded the sunny climes of California for the Old World ambiance of Croatia and the University of Zagreb. Through July 4, he will be teaching graduate seminars on American Gothic literature and an undergraduate course on 19thcentury American short fiction. In contrast, Dr. Kristen Rudisill, an assistant professor of popular culture, is spending six months in Chennai, India, studying the world of “film dance” competitions, an integral part of the Bollywood film industry as well as popular television. Since his retirement from BGSU in 1998, Crow has maintained his lifelong agenda of research, scholarship and teaching abroad. “Fulbright encourages emeritus faculty to apply because we have the freedom and the time to go abroad without disrupting departmental schedules,” he said. “Zagreb is an orderly, comfortable, human-scale European city with good public transportation and a lively street life and good cafes,” Crow observed. Since arriving, he has traveled to Spain to be a plenary speaker at a conference on the American West at the University of the Basque Country, and conducted a three-day seminar on American Gothic,
36 BGSU MAGAZINE
which he describes as “another way of envisioning history and examining the haunted and darker side of experience.” While viewers in the United States have been enjoying television shows like “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance” for a relatively brief time, they have been popular in India since 1995, said Rudisill. And with its five to nine million inhabitants, Chennai provides rich opportunities to study this aspect of Indian pop culture. “It has been wonderful being back in Chennai, where the weather is perfect in the wintertime,” she wrote. “I’ve been busy working with two Tamil-language dance competition reality shows, ‘Ungalil Yaar Adutha Prabhudeva’ (‘Who Among You Is the Next Prabhudeva’— he’s a famous dancer) and ‘Manada Mayilada’ (‘The Deer Dances, the Peacock Dances’) and interviewing contestants and their parents as well as producers, judges, and choreographers. “I’ve also started taking dance classes at different studios in Chennai and am talking to students and teachers about their styles, strategies, aspirations and livelihood. I am starting to make some interesting connections regarding style, aspiration, and class/educational status that I look forward to continuing to explore during the remaining four months of my stay. In addition to the field research, I am giving several talks at various universities in Punjab, Andhra, Pradesh, Kerala and Singapore.”
Executive Business Programs at BGSU Rudisill comes well equipped for the work, having already spent more than two years combined in India. An affiliate of the L.V. Prasad Institute for Television and Film, she learned the Tamil language as a graduate student. Aimed at improving international relations, the Fulbright program offers both teaching and research fellowships abroad to faculty, administrative professionals and alumni within one year of graduation. In recent years, BGSU alumni have taught English in Austria, Germany and Mexico; researched folk theatre in South Korea and studied saxophone in Paris, for example. The University also benefits from having visiting Fulbright faculty from other countries on campus. For more information on the Fulbright International Educational Exchange program, visit bgsu.edu/international/page98594.html.
Advance your career with BGSU’s competitively priced, convenient, accelerated MBA and MOD programs designed for experienced working professionals. We have a program that meets your needs: Professional MBA – 23 month, meets two nights per week Executive MBA – one weekend per month and a Study Abroad Experience Executive MOD – 18 month, online blended program with three weekends per semester
Drs. Kristen Rudisill and Charles Crow continue a longstanding tradition of BGSU faculty who receive prestigious Fulbright Scholarships to pursue research and scholarship abroad.
Build your future and your company’s future today. For more information, call 1-800-BGSU MBA or visit www.bgsumba.com or www.modbgsu.com
BGSU MAGAZINE 39
A friend in fighting cancer For Dr. Jeff Allen ’99, it used to be enough to fight cancer by researching molecular changes associated with cancer formation. Then the Bowling Green native saw the void between the science and public policy. Allen, 35, is a leading proponent of biomedical research as executive director of Friends of Cancer Research, a think tank and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. His new goal? Promoting a scientific basis for effective health policy. “The level of understanding of the biology of cancer progresses so rapidly that it’s important that policy and government keep pace,” he said. “What we’re committed to doing is making sure that there is the most efficient pathway to get new drugs to the patients who need them most.” The stakes are high. This year, more than 500,000 are expected to die of the disease and another 1.6 million will be diagnosed, according to the American Cancer Society. Allen is determined to use his scientific background to ensure that the $5 billion in federal funds allocated to fight the disease is money well spent. “Over the last several years we have made sure that the cancer community has a leading voice in the creation of new federal drug policy,” he said. “We have taken steps to improve the scientific capacity of the Food and Drug Administration. We’ve been involved in passing laws that have helped accelerate the pace at which new treatments are being created.” 38 BGSU MAGAZINE
Prior to becoming the first executive director of Friends of Cancer Research with a background in cancer research in 2008, Allen spent time as a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health. He received his doctorate in cell and molecular biology from Georgetown University following his undergraduate career at BGSU. Dr. Lee Meserve, Distinguished Teaching Professor of biological sciences and Allen’s academic advisor when he was a biology major at BGSU, said it’s no surprise that his persevering and detail-oriented former student went on to significant work. “Jeff got interested in the research end of things and went on to do some really meaningful work in that area,” Meserve said. “We’re really proud of the progress and the path that he’s followed.” Likewise, Allen is pleased with the program his alma mater has maintained. “The general importance of scientific education as well as the need and excitement of scientific research is seriously undervalued,” he said. “It’s refreshing to see how BGSU has maintained a real commitment to the biological sciences.”
Photo courtesy of E.W. Scripps Co.
Alumnus oversees content for Scripps newspaper group
A BGSU alumnus is now shaping the content of all the newspapers owned by the E.W. Scripps Co., while also helping establish innovative new ways to deliver local news in the Information Age. As chief content officer, Mizell Stewart III ’94 directly oversees the creation and production of news, information and entertainment for print and digital platforms in the 13 Scripps newspaper markets. Stewart, who graduated with a degree in journalism, says his experience at BGSU prepared him for his current job in countless ways. “My journalism studies provided a solid foundation to support my lifelong passion for local news,” Stewart explained. “On-campus media, particularly The BG News and WFAL and WBGU radio, offered both skill development and leadership opportunities. Then, as my career has progressed, BGSU has provided opportunities to give back to the next generation of journalists.” During his years in the newspaper business, Stewart has helped oversee the coverage of a number of historic events. In 2005, he served as the acting managing editor of The (Biloxi) Sun-Herald, supervising day-today coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The Sun Herald’s coverage was recognized in 2006 with the Pulitzer Gold Medal for Public Service. He was also the managing editor of the Tallahassee Democrat during the 2000 presidential recount in Florida, coordinating coverage that generated national and worldwide attention. In the age of the 24-hour news cycle, Stewart is confident that newspapers still have a place. “Local media has a robust future — the only question is how people want to have their local news and advertising delivered. Our focus in Scripps is on delivering outstanding journalism on four platforms — print, Web, smartphone and tablet. It is a very exciting time!”
BGSU MAGAZINE 39
Your App to Feel Connected! > Visit campus every day!
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Keep up with campus news and what students are doing and thinking today, no matter where you are. The BG News App brings campus coverage right to your smartphone or tablet.
Scan the QR code now to get your FREE App today! Download from the Apple store or Android market place
Team BGSU Ride donaTe SUppoRT
Team BGSU is a group of faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of BGSU. We are riding in Pelotonia with one goal: to end cancer.
Search: Team BGSU Pelotonia
http://pelotonia.org/
END CANCER Sponsored by BGSU Center of Excellence for Health and Wellness Across the Lifespan
Discounts and group Discounts and group rates mean you can enjoy rates mean you can enjoy sports, theater, and other sports, theater, and other cultural events with alumni cultural events with alumni for less. Explore our full for less. Explore our full calendar for summer 2012! calendar for summer 2012!
BR R II N NG G II N NG G FAL FAL C CO O NS NS B TO OG GE TH HE ER R IS IS WHAT WHAT WE WE DO. DO. T ET
Falcon alumni chapters Falcon alumni chapters nationwide help build nationwide help build your personal network. your personal network. They also support BGSU They also support BGSU students and contribute to students and contribute to the local community. the local community. Your involvement Your involvement increases the value of a increases the value of a BGSU degree. Help plan BGSU degree. Help plan your Homecoming reunion, your Homecoming reunion, mentor young alumni or mentor young alumni or join a chapter today. join a chapter today.
G E T S TA RT E D N O W G E T S TA RT E D N O W
HAVE YOU YOU HAVE CONSIDERED CONSIDERED INCLUDING INCLUDING BGSU IN IN YOUR YOUR BGSU ESTATE PLAN? PLAN? ESTATE
AT B G S U A L U M N I . C O M / 2 0 1 2 AT B G S U A L U M N I . C O M / 2 0 1 2
A testamentary bequest is a simple, effective and powerful A testamentary bequest is a simple, effective and powerful way to support the University programs and activities that way to support the university programs and activities that matter most to you. matter most to you. A bequest can be structured in a variety of different ways. The A bequest can be structured in a variety of different ways. The important thing is that your gift will be used for years to come important thing is that your gift will be used for years to come to support your passions at BGSU. Bequests offer: to support your passions at BGSU. Bequests offer: • Simplicity. Just a few sentences in your will or trust are all • Simplicity. Just a few sentences in your will or trust are all that is needed. that is needed. • Flexibility. Because you are not actually making a gift until • Flexibility. Because you are not actually making a gift until after your lifetime, you can change your mind at any time. after your lifetime, you can change your mind at any time. • Versatility. You can structure the bequest to leave a • Versatility. You can structure the bequest to leave a specific item or amount of money, make the gift contingent specific item or amount of money, make the gift contingent on certain events, or leave a percentage of your estate. on certain events, or leave a percentage of your estate. • Tax Relief. If your estate is subject to estate tax, your gift is • Tax Relief. If your estate is subject to estate tax, your gift is entitled to an estate tax charitable deduction for the gift’s entitled to an estate tax charitable deduction for the gift’s full value. full value. To learn more, contact Kirk Ross, Director of Gift Planning, To learn more, contact Kirk Ross, Director of Gift Planning, at (888) 839-2586 or visit givetobgsu.com/estate at (888) 839-2586 or visit givetobgsu.com/estate
BGSU Foundation, Inc. BGSU Foundation, Inc.
G I V E T O B G S U . C O M / E S T A T E G I V E T O B G S U . C O M / E S T A T E
Bowling Green State University
Non-Profit US Postage PAID Permit No. 21 Freeport OH 43973
Bowling Green, Ohio 43403-0102
March of 2012 will be remembered as the weekend BGSU rolled out the orange carpet and welcomed the NCAA Tournament and the women’s college basketball world to the Stroh Center. Top-ranked Baylor, Ohio State, Florida and UC-Santa Barbara packed the place with highly entertaining action, and with fans who in turn filled the new facility with energy in its inaugural role as host to a national showcase event. “By all accounts, it was a home run for Bowling Green,” Athletics Director Greg Christopher said about the collaborative effort by the University and community to stage the tournament. “We really put our best foot forward.”