VIRES Fall/Winter 2016

VIRES

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A Pu b l i ca t i o n of t h e F l o r i d a S ta te Un i ve rs i ty A l u m n i Asso c i a t i o n Fa l l / Wi n te r 2016 Vo l u m e V I I I , I ss u e 2

Pa r t y a l l o v e r

Carol Marbin Miller’s Fierce Advocacy for Open Records - PLUS Gerry Thomas The Good Life After ‘Wide Right’ - AND Alan Zucker Power Player of Celebrity Endorsements

the

wor l d

International Programs

celebrates decades of success

The Moment Friday, Sept. 2, 2016 7:49 p.m.

THE BREAKFAST CLUB: In the early-morning hours of Sept. 2, Hurricane Hermine blew through Tallahassee, producing 64-mph gusts at Doak Campbell Stadium. The Category 1 storm left 100,000 Tallahasseeans without power — including 4,000 FSU students. With no electricity for microwave cooking or air conditioning, the FSU administration came to the rescue over that weekend by turning the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center into a massive comfort station for more than 2,500 students. With cool air, hot food and plenty of juice to recharge laptops and smart phones, FSU students discovered how much their alma mater cares in the midst of chaos. The ordeal included a screening of “The Breakfast Club” in the arena. Photo by FSU Photography Services/Bill Lax

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DEXTERITY AND DANCE: The majorettes of the Marching Chiefs perform with dazzling precision during FSU’s annual Homecoming Parade Oct. 14. Photo by Steve Chase For more pictures of Homecoming pageantry, see pages 46-50.

VIRES is the first torch in the university seal and represents strength of all kinds: physical, mental and moral.

VIRES

®

A Pu b l i ca t i o n of t h e F l o r i d a S ta te Un i ve rs i ty A l u m n i Asso c i a t i o n Fa l l / Wi n te r 2016 Vo l u m e V I I I , I ss u e 2

Pa r t y a l l o v e r

Carol Marbin Miller’s Fierce Advocacy for Open Records - PLUS Gerry Thomas The Good Life After ‘Wide Right’ - AND Alan Zucker Power Player of Celebrity Endorsements

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the

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Cover: To illustrate our feature story celebrating the anniversaries of International Programs’ study centers and the transformative experiences they offer, VIRES designer Jessica Rosenthal created a digital collage inspired by medieval European illuminations. The artwork depicts the iconic silhouette of the Panama hat, the stately architecture of London's Big Ben and Tower Bridge, the spirited rhythm of a Spanish flamenco dancer, and the grapes and olive tree that represent the fertile landscape of the Mediterranean, an inspiration for centuries of artistic endeavor.

Contents

Departments Catching Up With ...

University News Ten Questions Association News Seminoles Forever Class Notes

In Memoriam Parting Shot

7 8 24 46 56 58 68 72

Features

17

The Friendship-Forging, Horizon-Broadening, Life-Changing Adventure of Study Abroad

FSU International Programs celebrates 60 years of popularity and success

26

Let the Sunshine In

Journalist Carol Marbin Miller serves Floridians as a champion for open records

32

Right Down the Middle

Attorney and former FSU kicker Gerry Thomas scores in the only game that matters

40

The Rainmaker

Sports agent Alan Zucker delivers big endorsements to his celebrity clients

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THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES

THE FSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION IS PLEASED TO INTRODUCE THE NEWEST DIRECTORS OF ITS NATIONAL BOARD:

THOMAS C. HANEY (B.S. ’64) College of Arts and Sciences Tallahassee, Florida Co-founder, Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic

Edward E. Burr, Chair Leslie Pantin, Vice Chair Maximo Alvarez Kathryn Ballard William Buzzett Emily Fleming Duda Susan Fiorito Mark Hillis Craig Mateer Nathan Molina Bob Sasser Brent W. Sembler

THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

SANDRA K. McMANDON (B.S. ’93)

BRUCE W. McNEILAGE (B.S. ’88)

College of Education St. Augustine, Florida Administrator, St. Johns County School District

College of Social Sciences and Public Policy Brentwood, Tennessee Managing Member, Kinloch Partners LLC and Kinloch Homes LLC

LAURA C. RUSSELL (B.S. ’05)

ALLISSON YU (B.S. ’00)

College of Education Jupiter, Florida Community Relations, Cheney Brothers Inc.

College of Communication and Information Orlando, Florida Senior Vice President of Development, American Heart Association Greater Southeast Affiliate

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Executive Committee Steve Pattison, Chair Thomas V. Hynes, Immediate Past Chair Max Oligario, Vice Chair Craig T. Lynch, Chair Elect Robert Cox, Treasurer John “J.D.” Doughney IV, Secretary Tom Jennings, Vice President for University Advancement and Foundation President Scott Atwell, Association President and CEO Jean C. Accius Samuel S. Ambrose Daniel Bell B. Dan Berger James J. Bloomfield Flecia L. Braswell David Brobst Stephen T. Brown John Crossman Tracie Domino Kyle R. Doney Mark Ellis Eric Friall Samantha K. Garrett Michael G. Griffith Ritesh A. Gupta Jennifer M. Guy-Hudson Thomas C. Haney Marion Taormina Hargett Maura Hayes Clay Ingram Jack McCoy Sandra K. McMandon Bruce W. McNeilage Eric Muñoz Rose M. Naff Laura C. Russell Michael J. Sweeney James F. Thielen Heather C. Turner Scott Wiegand Allisson Yu

VIRES

®

A PUBLICATION OF THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 1030 West Tennessee Street Tallahassee, FL 32304 850.644.2761 | alumni.fsu.edu

PUBLISHER: Scott Atwell

FROM THE PUBLISHER When speaking at alumni events, I seldom miss the opportunity to ask the audience to consider the value of their FSU diploma the same way they think about the value of their retirement account. After all, your college degree is the greatest investment you’ll make in your life that you cannot sell or give away. Like a good stock pick, the value of your academic degree soared this fall, when our U.S. News ranking among public institutions jumped five spots to No. 38 — the highest leap of anyone in the Top 50 (see page 8). The 2016 ranking is the highest in FSU history, yet no matter when you received your diploma, its value is derived from our present-day reputation. The market is bullish on FSU!

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Jeffery Seay DESIGNER: Jessica Rosenthal COPY EDITOR: Ron Hartung CONTRIBUTORS:

Amanda McCorquodale University Communications ALUMNI ASSOCIATION STAFF: Scott Atwell Louise Bradshaw Valerie Colvin Keith Cottrell Dawn Cannon Jennings Adam Kabuka Chance King Elina Kopylov Kristen Lemire Melissa McClellan Michael McFadden Torri Miller Nancy Minev Lisa O’Malley David Overstreet Whitney Powers Jessica Rosenthal Samantha Sachakov Jeffery Seay Angie Standley Jennifer Tobias Marquis Washington Aimee Wirth

As the old saying goes, failure is an orphan while success has many fathers.

Beginning with President John Thrasher, there is plenty of praise to be spread among administration, staff, faculty and students. And alumni. Around this time last year, we recognized that high school guidance counselors who vote in the rankings were undervaluing FSU, and we asked alumni to make personal visits to those counselors. Hundreds volunteered, and our counselor rating shot up by more than 30 points.

I am grateful for those who carried the banner from coast to coast and for those who will again in the coming year. You’re helping the FSU Alumni Association live out its mission to “advance our university’s greatness.” For that, we can all take it to the bank.

Scott Atwell (M.S. ’15) President & CEO FSU Alumni Association

THANK YOU TO OUR CORPORATE PARTNERS

VIRES is a registered trademark of the Florida State University Alumni Association. All rights reserved. © 2016

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Photo by Miguel A. "Mike" Olivella

JOE O’SHEA (B.A. ’08) Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and Assistant Provost By age 19 he had already established a health clinic in the Lower Ninth Ward of hurricane-ravaged New Orleans. Two years later he was a Rhodes Scholar. By 25 he had earned his doctorate from Oxford and then published his dissertation as a book. So it’s little surprise that Joe O’Shea — at age 30 — has found his way to the “C-Suites” of the Westcott Building as an assistant provost.

“I’ve had many options to go elsewhere, but something keeps drawing me back to Florida State,” says O’Shea, who also got married over the summer to fellow Seminole Jenna Scott (B.S. ’09, Ph.D. ’15). “Being able to invest deeply in a place you really care about over a long period of time is an honor, and when you have that fidelity to a purpose it pays dividends over the life course.”

O’Shea spent the past two years as an FSU faculty member and director of Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement. A focus of his new job is recruiting students who are … well, like him.

“My experience at Florida State changed my life and I want others to have that same opportunity,” says O’Shea, who also earned a Truman Scholarship as an FSU undergraduate. “How do we recruit the best possible students from around the country and, once they get here, how do we provide them with the most engaging experience that promotes their full educational growth and launches them successfully into their careers?”

O’Shea’s Oxford focus was on the merits of Britain’s gap year, a sabbatical between high school and college, a luxury O’Shea was not afforded. O’Shea has always had his sights set on a college presidency, and today his academic address is just feet from that destination.

“I’m just trying to improve the lives of others as much as possible,” says O’Shea, ever humble, before adding: “Whatever kind of role comes from that … comes from it.”

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UNIVERSITY NEWS

FSU AT A GLANCE Highlights

Rankings: National leap FSU moved up five places in U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 rankings to No. 38 among all public national universities — the greatest gain of all of the Top 50 public universities.

New deans

The university’s excellent graduation and student-retention rates were key to its ranking. With a 79 percent graduation rate, FSU well exceeded a graduation rate prediction of 70 percent by U.S. News.

Randy Hanna

Randy Hanna, a dynamic and respected leader in Florida higher education, has been named dean of FSU’s Panama City campus and the College of Applied Studies located there.

A former chancellor of the Florida College System, Hanna was serving as a research faculty member at FSU’s Learning Systems Institute before his appointment in August.

J. Murray Gibson

Erin O’Hara O’Connor was named dean of the College of Law in May. A highly accomplished scholar in a variety of areas, including conflict of laws, O’Connor previously served as the Milton R. Underwood Professor of Law and director of graduate studies for the doctoral program in law and economics at the Vanderbilt University Law School.

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Rankings: Global stature FSU and nine other U.S. public universities tied at No. 34 on the 2016-2017 Times Higher Education/Wall Street Journal World University rankings.

Diversity award three-peat For the third consecutive year, FSU received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine for commitment to diversity and inclusion.

J. Murray Gibson, an internationally recognized materials researcher in nanotechnology, was appointed dean of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering in July. As a researcher at some of the nation’s leading institutions, Gibson has secured research funding in excess of $100 million. The founding dean of Northeastern University’s College of Science, he was instrumental in helping that college raise $26 million in philanthropic funds.

Freshman class 411 About 6,200 academically talented students make up FSU’s freshman class for 2016-2017.

• Their average high school grade point average was 4.1, with an average threepart SAT score of 1848 and an average ACT composite score of 28.

• Their most popular declared majors are business, biological science and engineering.

• Hannah and Matthew are the most popular female and male names.

Erin O’Hara O’Connor

Stay updated: fsu.edu, news.fsu.edu

Student Initiative Group delivers personal touch to strengthen academic recruiting

By Jeffery Seay (B.A. ’91) Will Boose’s decision to attend Florida State University came down to one thing: recruiting.

“No other university put as much effort into trying to get me to choose them as Florida State did,” said Boose, a junior majoring in history from Naples, Florida.

He entered FSU two-and-a-half years ago as a member of the inaugural class of Presidential Scholars.

“When I got my Presidential Scholarship, it was a big deal for me,” he said. “The summer between my freshman and sophomore year, I had the opportunity to spend nearly a month teaching English to children in Nicaragua at no cost to me.”

Grateful for the experience and growing ever more eager to convince collegebound high school seniors that Florida State would enable them to reach their full potential, Boose began developing an idea to enhance the university’s efforts to recruit the best and brightest.

As he began his sophomore year, he founded the Academic Recruitment Organization with the support of the Office of the Provost.

Nicknaming it ARO (“arrow”), he staffed it with honors students, undergraduate researchers and some of his fellow Presidential Scholars, all just as eager as he to spread the good word about their academic successes at Florida State.

“We firmly believe the best ambassadors of the FSU community are the most involved and academically successful students,” he said.

In ARO’s first year, its members made personal phone calls to 215 high school juniors and seniors and addressed 1,428 more during visits to some of the highest-ranked high schools in the Southeast.

In addition, ARO members conducted personalized campus tours for 35 high school seniors.

Twenty of those chose to attend FSU — in some cases, over higher-ranked schools. All of them joined the Honors Program and 16 joined the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program.

One of the 20, political science major Manuel “Manny” Osaba of Davie, Florida, had been on the fence between FSU and the University of North Carolina.

“I was at UNC on a tour with my mom,” Osaba said. “When I was making my decision, I realized there is nothing more helpful than a little bit of personal touch.

“Will put down whatever he was doing to show me why FSU was a great choice, including sending me a 700-word email with a thorough explanation two days before the admissions deadline,” Osaba said.

Osaba informed Boose of his ultimate decision by sending him a link to a clip of FSU’s win over UNC at the 2012 ACC basketball championship.

ARO founder Will Boose, foreground, and Manny Osaba. Photo by FSU Photography (Continued on Page 11)

Services/Bruce Palmer

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Student Initiative

(Continued from Page 9)

“Will responded, ‘Oh, that was a great game. I hope this clip is symbolic.’ And I said, ‘It is. It was a tough decision but, you know what, FSU has more points at the end of the game, so I’ll see you in Tallahassee!’”

Osaba, now halfway through his freshman year, is a member of the Honors Program and the Honors Legal Scholars Program.

He also joined ARO, ready to make his own mark in recruiting.

“Will was very dedicated in making sure that I was ready to go to work my first day as an FSU freshman, and I’m very grateful for that,” Osaba said. “I’m going to give the same attention to some high school student that I can hopefully bring to Florida State.”

ARO’s 2016-2017 goals •Increase outreach to at least 3,500 students •Increase recruitment territory to 12 states •Make at least 400 phone calls •Give at least 75 personalized campus tours

RESEARCH Biological Science Doctoral students Emily Lee, Yichen Cheng and Sarah Ogden played a key role in conducting Zika research in Professor Hengli Tang’s laboratory.

Defeating Zika A team of researchers from FSU, Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health has found existing drug compounds that can stop Zika both from replicating in the body and from damaging the crucial fetal brain cells that lead to birth defects in newborns.

“We focused on compounds that have the shortest path to clinical use,” said Hengli Tang, FSU professor of biological science.

“This is a first step toward a therapeutic that can stop transmission of this disease.”

One of the identified compounds is the basis for a drug called Nicolsamide, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved

Photo by FSU Photography Services/Bill Lax

drug that showed no danger to pregnant females in animal studies. It is commonly used to treat tapeworm. A doctor could theoretically prescribe it today, though tests are still needed to determine a specific treatment regimen for the infection.

Medicine, comes on the heels of another groundbreaking study led by Tang — which found that the Zika virus targets brain development cells and stunts their growth.

It was published in the journal Cell Stem Cell and featured in the previous issue of VIRES.

The research, described in an article published in August in the journal Nature

Read more: gonol.es/FSUZika

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UNIVERSITY NEWS sites. It will be led by Thomas AlbrechtSchmitt, the Gregory R. Choppin Professor of Chemistry at FSU, who specializes in radiochemistry and researches some of the least-understood elements of the periodic table. His most recent work has been exploring the uses and underlying chemistry of californium and berkelium, man-made elements that exist in extremely small quantities and are highly radioactive.

Jessi Halligan

Read more: gonol.es/EnergyFrontier Photo by FSU Photography Services/Bruce W. Palmer

Anthropology Early human settlement

Nuclear waste cleanup

The discovery of stone tools alongside mastodon bones in a Florida river shows that humans settled the Southeastern United States as much as 1,500 years earlier than scientists previously believed, according to a research team led by FSU anthropology Assistant Professor Jessi Halligan. The site on the Aucilla River — about 45 minutes from Tallahassee — is now the oldest known site of human life in the Southeast. It dates back 14,550 years.

A cluster of sites all over North America date to around 13,200 years old, but only about five in all of North and South America are older. Halligan’s research was published in May in the academic journal Science Advances.

FSU will receive $10 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to create a new Energy Frontier Research Center that will focus on accelerating scientific efforts needed to support nuclear waste cleanup.

The center will focus on developing technologies for recycling nuclear fuel and cleaning up Cold War-era weapon production

Read more: gonol.es/USEarlyCiv

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Chemistry

Thomas Albrecht-Schmitt

Nursing John Lowe

Native American health equity John Lowe, a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a global advocate for culturally competent health care for Native Americans and indigenous populations, has joined the faculty of the FSU College of Nursing to create the Center for Indigenous Nursing Research for Health Equity (INRHE) — the first center of its kind worldwide. It will work with multiple disciplines to create an environment where nurses not only have a voice in the research that needs to be conducted but also are a voice for communities who have not had one. In addition to studying substance abuse interventions, Lowe and his colleagues will look at many issues facing these population groups, such as obesity, diabetes and cardiac disease.

Read more: gonol.es/NursingProfLowe

Psychology More sleep means a happier marriage A study by FSU psychology Professor Jim McNulty and graduate student Heather Maranges found that when husbands and wives get more sleep than on an average night, they are more satisfied with their marriages, at least the following day. The paper, “The Rested Relationship: Sleep Benefits in Marital Evaluations,” highlights the significance of sleep as it relates to selfregulation or self-control, which influences how married couples feel and think about each other. It was published in the July issue of the Journal of Family Psychology.

Read more: gonol.es/MarriageSleep

Dance Enhancing dancer wellness Dancers, often thought of only as artists, are athletes, too, spending an average of six to eight hours daily on the physical demands of training. And yet, all too often, dancers’ careers are cut short by injuries that could have been rehabilitated or avoided entirely with a holistic approach to dance training.

This is where FSU’s Dance Science Program comes in. Established by FSU dance Professor Tom Welsh, the program takes a cutting-edge approach to dancer wellness.

Using an injury risk management program and curricular infrastructure that is exemplary among university dance-training programs across the country, the program provides injury management consultations

Tom Welsh working with a student. Photo by Jon Nalon and evidence-based corrective training practices to help dancers manage the stresses of the intensive physical training at the core of the curriculum.

Read more: gonol.es/PhysDanceProgram

Family and Child Sciences Helicopter parents can stifle collegians

Kayla Reed, seated, and Mallory Lucier-Greer. Photo by FSU Photography Services/Bill Lax

Parental involvement is crucial to a child’s development into adulthood, but FSU doctoral student Kayla Reed and family and child sciences Assistant Professor Mallory Lucier-Greer have found that crossing the line between “supportive” and “too involved” can indirectly lead to depression and anxiety for emerging adults who are navigating the waters of attending college.

In the paper “Helicopter Parenting and Emerging Adult Self-Efficacy: Implications for Mental and Physical Health,” Reed and Lucier-Greer say the practice of helicopter parenting can affect how young adults see themselves and whether they can meet challenges or handle adverse situations. It was published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies.

Read more: gonol.es/FCSparents

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UNIVERSITY NEWS Exercise Physiology

Do deep-space missions damage heart and vessel health?

Apollo astronauts have unusually high rates of cardiovascular death

By Elizabeth Svoboda In exploring the moon for the first time, the astronauts of NASA’s Apollo program became national heroes, living symbols of the glorious feats humankind can achieve. But these men’s adventures beyond the surly bonds of Earth may have put unusual stress on their cardiovascular systems, according to exercise physiologist Michael Delp, dean of FSU’s College of Human Sciences. His research was published this summer in the journal Scientific Reports.

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While many astronauts venture beyond the immediate confines of Earth, a much smaller number enter deep space, far past the limits of Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field. The Apollo program — which lasted from 1961 to 1972 — launched 12 manned missions, nine of which were deep-space. Astronauts in deep space are subject to higher levels of galactic cosmic radiation, which consists of fast-moving and heavy atoms such as iron. Past research has shown that such radiation can damage human cells by stripping electrons away from their molecules.

increase in cardiovascular problems, since they’re the only humans that have gone into deep space,” he says. In a statistical analysis, he calculated that 43 percent of deceased deep-space Apollo astronauts had succumbed to cardiovascular problems — a rate about five times higher than that seen in non-flying astronauts, and four times higher than in astronauts who had only entered low-Earth orbit. “There is evidence that [deep-space flight] may be having an adverse effect on the cardiovascular system,” Delp says. “It’s probably something we should pay more attention to.”

Knowing that astronauts such as Ron Evans and Jim Irwin had died relatively young of heart conditions, Delp was curious whether radiation exposure might have contributed to their health issues. “I began to wonder if the Apollo astronauts had an

To explore what might be happening inside the body when astronauts encounter cosmic radiation, Delp and his colleagues exposed a group of lab mice to cosmic radiation like that present in deep space.

“Soon after exposure, the blood vessels

showed impairment of the endothelium, the inside layer,” Delp says. “That’s one of the first steps in the development of atherosclerosis, a disease in which plaque builds up in the arteries.” Near the beginning of the study, another set of rodents in a simulated weightless environment showed similar effects. After six months, or roughly 20 human years, the weightlessness group no longer showed signs of vascular disease, but the cosmic radiation group did, suggesting that vessel damage from radiation may be longer-lasting.

Some observers note that Delp’s results should be interpreted with caution, since his astronaut study features a small sample size.

Only 24 men ventured into deep space during the Apollo missions, and the majority are still alive. That means just seven deceased deepspace astronauts were examined during the study (an eighth, Edgar Mitchell, died so recently that his data could not be included in the analysis). “It is a small number, so you can’t draw definitive conclusions,” Delp says, emphasizing that further study is needed.

Still, he thinks the four- to five-fold higher cardiovascular death rate among deep-space astronauts is striking, especially in light of his other work showing that cosmic radiation leads to vessel damage.

planned could last more than a year, exposing astronauts to higher doses of radiation than ever before. “There’s still a lot we don’t know about a deep-space environment — in particular, the radiation effects on the body,” Delp says. He plans to devote further study to questions such as whether blood vessels in the brain and heart are affected differently from those in the muscles, and he has launched an in-depth review of the Apollo astronauts’ medical records to see if other factors may have contributed to their high cardiovascular death rate.

To date, however, these treatments have not been rigorously tested in deep-space conditions. Research funding is limited, and there is a shortage of U.S. facilities where radiation exposure studies can be carried out. If larger studies confirm that deep space poses a threat to cardiovascular health, researchers may not have much time to come up with better protective measures, since a number of deep-space missions are slated to launch within the next decade or so. “Ten years is not very long to answer a lot of really important questions,” Delp says.

Due to known concerns about cancer and other cell damage, scientists at NASA’s Space Radiation Laboratory are already investigating ways to protect astronauts from the effects of cosmic radiation. Researchers have determined that aluminum or plastic shielding can block a quarter to a third of incoming radiation particles. Antioxidant supplements taken by mouth could potentially help buffer the radiation’s harmful effects, Delp says, as could a regular exercise regimen.

He urges agencies such as NASA to consider funding more studies devoted to cosmic radiation’s effects on health. “What we hope will happen is that they put more money into radiation research, period. I think it’s imperative that we start looking at these things now to get a handle on what people are really facing and how we can better deal with it.” @FSUResearch

Michael Delp

Though preliminary, Delp’s report may persuade the space-exploration community to follow future research on this issue as it plans a series of deep-space missions. In the coming decade, NASA plans to revive manned missions to the moon as a prelude to future Mars trips, and the private SpaceX company, based in Hawthorne, California, hopes to send astronauts to Mars before 2030. Other space programs around the world are exploring similar options.

While the manned Apollo missions of the 1960s and ’70s were less than two weeks long, the Mars missions now being

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TOTALLY RAD Thank you for supporting student scholarships for the past 30 years.

Your continued support means more students will be given the opportunity to be successful in their future. Proceeds from license plate sales fund scholarships at Florida State University. Visit us online at fsu.edu/mytag for information on purchasing your FSU license plate and rebates for first-time buyers.

The Friendship-forging,

Horizon-broadening,

of

Life-changing Adventure

STUDY ABROAD From the jungles of Panama to London’s West End,

FSU’s long-standing International Programs have given

generations of students the chance to see the world and discover themselves

By Kati Schardl (B.S. ’77)

E Each year, Florida State University sends more than 2,000 students out into the world to study in one of its International Programs.

Many have never traveled abroad before.

Some have never traveled beyond their hometowns. Almost all return transformed by the experience.

A season of celebrations marking the anniversaries of International Programs’ study centers abroad wraps up in fall 2017 with festivities in Tallahassee and encompasses events in London (45th anniversary in January 2016), Florence (50th anniversary in February 2016), Panama City (60th anniversary in March 2017) and Valencia (20th anniversary in June 2017).

“When International Programs began in 1957, we offered the opportunity for students to study in the heart of the Republic of Panama,” said James Pitts, director of International Programs at FSU. “From there, our Florence program was established in 1966, followed shortly thereafter by our London program in 1971.

“Then in 1997 we started our Spain program.

Today, we offer over 50 diverse programs in more than 20 locations around the world. We have shared the life-changing experience of studying abroad with over 30,000 students and hundreds of faculty. This year we are proud to celebrate 60 years as a nationally recognized leader in the field of international education.”

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“A whole new world opens to them,” she said.

“It gives them cultural awareness, and it makes them curious.”

Each IP student’s story is unique, although some of the takeaways are universal. Here’s what some FSU International Programs alumni had to say about their experiences.

Florenc

e

Sally Karioth, assistant dean of FSU’s College of Nursing, has been shepherding students in the London program since 1972.

She has seen time and again how the experience changes her charges.

Above, top: An Italian soldier pulls a raft carrying Florence residents through a flooded street after the Arno River overflowed its banks in 1966. Photo by Ken Kobré Above, bottom: Kay Price Harris, who was Doreen van Assenderp Cohen’s roommate and one of the many mud angels who helped out after the flood, standing outside the Biblioteca Nazionale after working to help save precious manuscripts and books.

Photo by Doreen van Assenderp Cohen

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“They go from being citizens of Two Egg (a small community in the Florida Panhandle) to being citizens of the world,” Karioth said.

“They learn about the world, and that teaches them about themselves. They are made to get out of their comfort zones and find that they are bright enough to try new things. They learn we’re all in this together and that ‘the others’ are us. And they learn that all knowledge is transferable.”

Karioth teaches a course called “Grief and Loss in British Culture” each year during the London summer program, and she also leads students on a whirlwind spring break session in Britain’s capital.

Her tutelage extends far beyond the classroom.

Karioth requires students to attend theater performances and visit museums, as well as to navigate London’s streets and mass transit system.

Florentine ‘mud angels’ Doreen van Assenderp Cohen (B.A. ’66, M.A. ’68) grew up in Tallahassee.

She chose to attend Florida State, where her father was a professor, for practical reasons — in-state tuition, quality of education and the resources to participate fully in campus life (she pledged Alpha Delta Pi sorority) and university activities.

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In 1966, at the end of her senior year, the history and humanities major had been accepted into the master’s program in library science at FSU. First, though, she flew to Florence, Italy, as part of the first group of students to attend the brand-new FSU Study Center.

She was responsible for the center’s small library, great experience for her library sciences degree. What Cohen couldn’t know when she left Tallahassee was that she would get hands-on experience saving historic books and manuscripts when the Arno River overflowed its banks in the worst flood Florence had seen since 1557.

Cohen and her fellow students pitched in to help after the waters receded. Some called the American students the “blue angels” because they showed up in Levis and sweat-shirts, but by the end of the first day they were “mud angels,” covered from head to toe in yellow-brown muck. Some volunteered at art galleries, some at hospitals. Cohen reported for duty at the Biblioteca Nazionale. catching up in between attending official festivities that included a banquet at the Palazzo Borghese, guided tours and other events.

“Being in Florence at the time of their historic flood was a unique and sobering experience,” said Cohen, who now lives in Los Altos, California.

“Being able to pitch in and help out gave us a connection to the community.

“It wasn’t until I was back in Tallahassee in library science school that I learned more about protecting and preserving historical materials and understood more about the significance of the tragedies at the libraries and museums in Florence.”

Cohen, now retired after 22 years working at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Los Altos, cites her Florence experience as “life-changing.”

“For me, the takeaway was a new sense of adventure that I would have going forward in my life,” she said. “(Another) takeaway was a better understanding of and respect and tolerance for other cultures and ways of looking at things.”

Cohen’s Florence experience continues to reverberate 50 years later. She and four others from that original 1966-67 group of students got to revisit the city when they attended the anniversary celebration for FSU-Firenze in February. They spent time sharing stories and

“Most of what we remember occurred outside the classroom — in the streets, on the trains, on the ferries, finding our way around, trying new food in restaurants, attending concerts, operas and ballets in fabulous opera houses … taking risks and surviving it, discovering new academic and personal interests,” she said.

The mini-reunion spurred an effort to track down as many of the original 128 students as possible for a more complete reunion that took place in November, with attendees staying at the original study center at the old Hotel Capri.

Above: Five mud angels attended the Florence program’s 50th anniversary celebration in February at the Biblioteca Nazionale, where they volunteered after the historic flood of the Arno River in 1966. They are (front row, from left) Margie Crowell Thompson (B.A. ’68), Harriet Roberts Coverston and Doreen van Assenderp Cohen; and (back row, from left) Mark Brandt (B.A. ’69) and Ken Kobré (B.A. ’68). Left: As a tribute to the volunteer efforts of FSU students in the aftermath of the Arno River flood, the Provincial Office for Tourism in Rome presented them with a gold medal certificate of merit. The certificate is prominently displayed in the International Programs offices.

In addition, a compilation of the group’s photos and memories, including updates on their lives since then, has been finalized and published on DigiNole, FSU’s digital repository, at fsu.digital. flvc.org. To view the compilation, search for “FSUFirenze 1966-67 Memories.”

Forging a path in Panama Most university freshmen spend their first year at school adjusting to being away from home and learning to live in unfamiliar surroundings.

The experience is amplified when that first year is spent in a foreign country.

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Just ask Lauren Stuart (B.S. ’16, B.S. ’16), who graduated from FSU in spring 2016 with bachelor’s degrees in meteorology and geography and has begun graduate studies in climate change and international development at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England.

Stuart started her FSU career as a First Year Abroad student at the university’s Panama City campus, the oldest FSU International Programs study center. The experience allowed the Tennessee native to save thousands of dollars on tuition, because FYA students who complete a year of studies abroad qualify for in-state tuition rates. It also helped her chart her future academic and professional course.

Panama

“Your freshman year of college is such a unique experience, and because I didn’t know anyone who had ever done anything like this before, I really felt like I was forging my path,” said Stuart.

“My time in Panama ended up being so much more fulfilling and life-changing than I could ever have imagined.”

Stuart chose to study in Panama because of the array of math and science classes offered at that campus. But the defining moments of the experience took place outside the classroom.

One stood out in particular — a trip to visit an indigenous community in the jungle.

Lauren Stuart at a waterfall near Boquete, Panama.

“The village was only accessible by boat, and at one point we had to climb out and push our dugout canoes because it hadn’t rained in weeks and the water only reached our shins,” Stuart said. “It was in this moment that I realized just how vulnerable underdeveloped communities are to weather and climate change, and (that’s) what ultimately led me to study climate change and international development in graduate school.”

Favorite memories from Panama include hanging out with housemates and live-streaming “The Bachelor,” and hiking the mountains around the small town of Boquete.

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“(Boquete) is at the base of Volcan Baru, which is the highest point in Panama, and the summit is the best place to see the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at once,” Stuart said. “One of my favorite memories was hiking Volcan Baru in the middle of the night and watching the sun rise over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans from the summit.”

Her experience in Panama helped Stuart set her course for life and continues to enrich her personal and academic life.

“Studying abroad allowed me to discover passions I never knew I had and helped me solidify my career goals,” she said. “It gave me confidence to dream big and the skills I needed to achieve my goals. Even four years later, it amazes me how much the experience has influenced my life and how many doors it has opened.”

From small town to big world Although Samantha Arvin, a current FSU student, originally hails from the tiny town of Baker in Northwest Florida, she usually tells people she’s from Destin, which is 45 minutes away.

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“In Baker, we have one stoplight and a Taco Town, and a few years ago we were put on the map, so we’re pretty proud of that,” Arvin said.

Arvin spent the summer of 2015 at FSU’s IP campus in Valencia, Spain, inspired by her mother to see the world.

“Growing up, she always took us on family trips during the summer, so a love for travel is basically in my genetics,” Arvin said. “I wanted something more than a tourist experience, however, and I wanted to know what it was like to live in another country.”

“I really only expected to gain language skills while I was there, but my time (in Valencia) exceeded all of my expectations,” she said. “Every day was an adventure, because everything I chose to do was able to push me outside my comfort zone.

“Every day we would go out of the classroom to talk to locals and get an ear for the language. One day, my teacher took us to the bullfighting ring and we sat in on an actual bullfighting class and watched locals my age being chased around the ring by a bull on wheels! While this was happening, we conversed with each other in Spanish about what we were seeing.”

Spain

Standout experiences in Valencia included going out with flatmates in the evening to get gelato and watch the locals in the plaza.

“Also, Valencia likes to celebrate everything, and every Saturday night I sat by my kitchen window and watched fireworks going off over the Torres de Serranos (a historical monument close to the study center),” she said.

Although Arvin can’t attend the March 2017 anniversary celebrations in Valencia, she loved her experience there so much that she now works as a student recruiter for IP. She’s not sure what the future holds after her graduation in spring 2017 with a degree in communication science and disorders. But she knows travel will be part of it, thanks to her summer studying in Valencia.

“I learned so much about myself and the world,” Arvin said. “I learned that the world is so much bigger than the little FSU bubble I had been in, and now I want to see all of it.”

Friends for life in London When Scott Wenger’s husband, Chris, proposed to him, he told Scott (B.A. ’09) he knew he would be marrying more than the man he loved.

He’d be marrying the Flat — Scott’s flatmates from his 2007 sojourn in FSU’s London program.

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“We learned so much about ourselves simply by learning about each other.”

When the Wengers got the invitation for the London program’s 45th anniversary celebration in January, both jumped at the chance to go.

“I saw the email and made a joke to my husband about how we should drop everything and head to London for the first time together (to attend) the anniversary program,” Scott said. “We both laughed it off. A week later, Chris said, ‘If we are going to go to London, we will need to start looking at flights.’ I was floored, but ran with it!

Above: Samantha Arvin, pictured (at left) near the FSU study center in Valencia and (right) on a weekend excursion in Toledo, Spain. Photos by Rachel Townsend. Below: The friends of Flat 3 prior to leaving the London program in 2007: They are (from left) Hannah Citrin (B.A. ’09), Brad Summerville (B.A. ’09), Scott Wenger, Cricket Johnson (B.A. ’09) (front), Brittany Horowitz (back), Lindsay Mangual (B.A. ’09), Jacky Marino Worley (B.A. ’09) and Joy Martin (B.A. ’09).

“He told me that he knew marrying me meant marrying the Flat, so he figured he might as well see where it all began.”

“I lived in Flat 3 with seven other students, all in the theater program,” said Scott, who graduated with a degree in theatre arts. “It couldn’t have been more perfect. We rehearsed together, toured the city, saw a ridiculous amount of theater in the West End, sang ‘The Golden Girls’ theme song at Thanksgiving dinner at the study center, hosted a murder mystery dinner and traveled all over Europe.

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London

In London, the couple enjoyed anniversary festivities that included a dinner/celebration at the London Transportation Museum and day trips, including one to Chelsea Stadium on Chris’ birthday (Chelsea is his favorite soccer team).

It reinforced Scott’s appreciation for the greatest and most lasting takeaway from his experience in the London program — the lifelong friendships he formed with his flatmates.

“We have developed a bond that I learned during the anniversary program is quite rare,” he said.

“We have an open Facebook message where we constantly update each other on our lives. We try to have group vacations at least every two years.

There have been two weddings so far where

everyone was in attendance, and each had participants from the flat in the wedding party.”

Scott went on to earn an MBA from Florida Institute of Technology and now works at North Florida Regional Medical Center in Gainesville as director of employer outreach services and company care. He said the seeds for his confidence and success were planted in Flat 3.

Above: Scott Wenger (right) and Chris Wenger at London’s Chelsea Stadium during the FSU London Study Center’s 45th anniversary celebration in January.

“This program showcases the epitome of FSU’s dedication to education and the experience you can have while learning,” he said. “If I have to summarize the program in one word, I would have to say ‘epic’!”

To find out more about Florida State University’s International Programs visit international.fsu.edu.

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TEN QUESTIONS W

ith

John Rivers (B.S. ’89)

He’s running the hottest brand in the BBQ business and, like many success stories, this one wasn’t planned. John Rivers “retired” at age 47 after using his FSU business degree to build and manage a billion-dollar health care enterprise.

But the curtain rose on his second act, 4Rivers Smokehouse, through a pair of personal priorities: the relentless pursuit of the perfectly smoked brisket and a deep, abiding faith. He calls it a BBQ ministry. We sat down with Rivers (and some wet wipes) to ask 10 Questions.  How long have you been pursuing the perfect BBQ? In 1989, my first job took me to Dallas, where I met the two loves of my life: my wife, Monica, and brisket. At a family Thanksgiving in Houston, the traditional turkey sat next to this big, black, smoked hunk of meat, the brisket. The moment I tasted it I fell in love with it. Right there I brazenly declared to my future family that I would learn to smoke the best brisket in Texas. Little did I know what I was biting off. Eighteen years later after multiple iterations of smokers and rubs, I finally closed the smoker doors satisfied that my goal was accomplished.

 How does this career compare with your first? I really appreciate the lessons I learned over 20 years in corporate America, which are of great value in running the business today. But for me, this is much more personally and spiritually rewarding. We employ a lot of young people and pray that we can be an example of how to run a profitable business from a perspective of helping, caring and love.  No plates. How come? The deeper you go to into Central Texas, where some of the best smokehouses are, the less important things like plates, silverware and even sides are. You get your meat and bread. I hesitated about going without plates, but my wife said if you’re going to build a smokehouse, do it authentic. That said, we do offer plates to any guests who would prefer a slightly “less authentic” experience if they ask.  Who has been your most important culinary influence? When I was traveling in health care, my wife recorded videotapes of Emeril and Paula Deen’s shows that I’d pore through when I returned. I’d take everything I learned into the kitchen and make it over and over until I mastered the technique. I’ve since had a chance to cook with both Emeril and Paula and can only smile when I see my cookbook on the shelves or am asked to cook alongside some of the country’s top chefs.

 You’ve won a lot of awards. Which one means the most? The time that has meant the most to me was this past Father’s Day. We’re not open on Sundays, but in the wake of the Pulse shooting in Orlando (where 4Rivers is based) our team decided to open to raise money for the victims’ families. Team members drove in from across the state to take part. They volunteered their time serving guests that were lined up around the block. Seeing the team pour their hearts into a community hurting as Orlando was made that particular day my proudest accomplishment.  Your cookbook title suggests you’re a Southern cowboy. Is that fair? Growing up in the South, I loved everything about the cowboy life and I briefly considered starting a ranch. I remember asking a family relative in Texas, “How do you cow?” He said, “Boy, don’t even bother.”  Your wife, Monica, is a vegan. How does that balance your life? As much as I eat in my position, if I didn’t have a balance of exercise and proper nutrition, things would go downhill very quickly for me. It’s also been the inspiration for the lead project of our foundation in building a farm in conjunction with Florida Hospital and the University of Florida to introduce students to hydroponic agriculture and provide fresh produce for all of the Orange County public schools. A project I’m passionate about.

Photo by Diana Zalucky

 How did it become a business? By mistake! I got a call at my pharmaceutical office about a young girl with cancer, and the caller thought it was my daughter who was sick. It hit close enough to home that I reached out to the family and offered to host a BBQ fundraiser at their church. Combining my passion for cooking with serving someone in need for the first time sparked something in my heart and I knew I had found my calling. Seven years later we’re blessed with 14 restaurants and 1,300 employees. More importantly, last year our ministry touched over 800 different organizations. We started this business to help others, and I’m proud to say that doing so remains at the core of who we are and what we do today.

 So you haven’t arrived at perfection? I don’t think you can, and how sad it would be if you did. The pursuit is more enjoyable than the arrival. I’m a creator. I build things. My DNA doesn’t stop creating, and I think it would be sad if I came to a day when I thought I knew everything there was about what I was doing.

 What was your FSU experience like? I had to drop out of a small college in Georgia after a sudden disturbance in our family left my siblings and me without funds for school. I started painting houses to earn money when one of my best friends at FSU — in the same fraternity that I had pledged — called to say he had arranged for me to live in the fraternity house. So I packed up everything I owned and came to Tallahassee, earning a job before I checked into the house. Because I had so little money it took me five-and-a-half-years to graduate, but it ultimately defined who I became. Being there built my confidence and gave me the opportunity I needed to grow. FSU offered an accepting, warm community that came at a pivotal time in my life when it could have gone in a different direction than where I it is today. For that, I will be eternally grateful.

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By Gerald Ensley (B.A. ’80) Carol Marbin Miller (B.S. ’81) likes to say her journalism career was born during the Miami riots.

In May 1980, four Miami-Dade police officers were acquitted in the killing of Arthur McDuffie, a black motorcycle rider the cops had beaten to death the previous December after a high-speed chase.

They were acquitted of manslaughter and evidence tampering despite testimony that McDuffie had been subdued before the officers began beating him — and despite admissions that they had run over his motorcycle afterward to make his death look like an accident.

The acquittals infuriated Miami’s black community, which erupted in riots for three days. Looting, fires and gunfire raged throughout neighborhoods such as Overtown and Liberty City. Fifteen people were killed and 188 injured.

Gov. Bob Graham sent in 3,500 National Guard troops. Dade County was declared a federal disaster area.

Marbin, a junior at Florida State University, was transfixed. Home between spring and summer semesters, she stayed glued to the television news and read every story in the Miami Herald.

“I couldn’t put it down or turn away,” she said.

“There were National Guardsmen in tanks on the streets of my hometown. It was so disturbing. I had never seen anything like it.”

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Back in Tallahassee a week later, she asked Steve Watkins, editor of FSU’s independent Florida Flambeau student newspaper, if she could write a guest column about the riots. Watkins published her column — and was impressed by her writing.

He asked her to join the paper, which she did, writing a weekly column on politics and culture until she graduated.

Thirty-five years later, at age 57, she is one of Florida’s most celebrated investigative reporters. A Miami Herald reporter since 2000, Marbin — as she is commonly known — has become a tireless chronicler of abuses in Florida’s social justice network.

In March 2014, she and fellow Herald reporter Audra Burch collaborated on “Innocents Lost.”

The series detailed how, over a six-year span, about 500 children had died under the supervision of Florida’s Department of Children and Families.

The series earned numerous state and national journalism awards and led to major changes in Florida’s child protection laws.

Like two fellow FSU graduates, the late Gov. Reubin Askew (B.S. ’51) and acclaimed reporter Martin Dyckman (B.A. ’57), Marbin has become a champion of transparency in Florida government.

“Carol’s drive and passion are almost unparalleled,” said Casey Frank, investigations editor for the Herald. “She’s got a tremendous grasp of Florida’s public-records laws and how to use them to her advantage. She is a very strong reporter who will not be denied when trying to get at a story that needs to be told.”

What also sets Marbin apart is her heart. She prowls the halls of Florida’s social service agencies in search of answers and justice for the downtrodden. She brings to her efforts 30 years of dealing with Florida social agencies, as well as the compassion of a mother whose child has special needs.

“There is the mythos of the old, grizzled, super-cynical reporter — but Carol is not that kind of reporter,” said Elizabeth Koh, a Washington, D.C., bureau reporter for McClatchy Newspapers, who worked at the Herald in 2015. “She knows her beat better than anyone else. But what comes across in her writing is that she cares. Despite how long she has been doing the job, she connects on a personal level.”

Barbara Banks Photography/Barbara Banks (B.S. ’78)

Over a career spanning six newspapers, Marbin has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and has won innumerable awards for her investigative reporting — much of which also led to changes in Florida laws and policies. She has written about the lack of regulations for assisted-living facilities; the death of teenager Martin Lee Anderson in a Bay County boot camp; abuses of Florida’s involuntary commitment law; the unethical practice of hospital patient brokering; the often shameful treatment of people with disabilities; and countless stories of child abuse and deaths.

Just as important, she has become one of the most ardent defenders of Florida’s laws dictating open access to government documents and meetings.

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FSU was the ‘family business’ Marbin is a proud FSU alumna.

Her late parents, Roy and Sherry, were both Miami real estate agents, and Marbin’s first job as a teenager was “working out of a trailer in a cow pasture,” showing prospective customers models of condos.

Her older brothers, David (B.S. ’76) and Evan (B.A. ’76), and a sister, Patty (’78), all attended FSU. So she enrolled after graduating from North Miami Beach High in 1977.

“There was never a question I was going to FSU,” Marbin said. “Back in the day, even idiots like me could get into (University of) Florida. But I never thought about it. FSU was the family business.”

She graduated in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminology. She had a vague idea she wanted to be a college professor and enrolled at the University of Chicago to pursue a doctorate in sociology. But she quickly discovered she had little taste for academic research and dropped out.

“I fell in love (with journalism) there and never looked back,” she said.

Her first newspaper job was in Huntsville, Texas, headquarters of the Texas prison system.

She spent several months covering prisons and once a week interviewing death row inmates, which was “absolutely fascinating.” But tiny Huntsville, 70 miles north of Houston, was “not for me culturally.”

She beat a retreat back to the Sunshine State, spending two years covering city government at the Boca Raton News. She jumped to the Herald in 1985 for an uncomfortable six-month stint covering three beats, before landing a job at the Palm Beach Post.

At the Post, she spent a “wonderful” five years covering courts. She covered the arrest of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, the trial of Carlos Lehder Rivas and dozens of trials of major drug distributors during the heyday of South Florida’s “Cocaine Cowboys.”

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Her 1993 series, “The Patient Pipeline,” revealed that Florida was rife with “patient brokers” — agents who took kickbacks for placing drug addicts and mentally ill patients in inappropriate treatment programs, often at state or federal expense. After her series, the state Legislature outlawed patient brokering. Within five years, about 50 people were convicted in federal court, including a sitting Ohio judge and a probation officer.

Marbin’s 1995 series, “A Dangerous Age,” uncovered widespread abuses in Florida’s Baker Act, in which elderly patients were improperly committed to psychiatric hospitals by nursing homes and assistedliving facilities trying to shed the cost or aggravation of caring for them. After a series of hearings across the state, the Legislature tightened state regulations governing involuntary commitment, making it more difficult to hold frail elders against their will.

Barbara Banks Photography/Barbara Banks (B.S. ’78)

The next year, she enrolled in the Columbia School of Journalism, graduating in 1983 with a master’s degree.

But in 1990, she was offered a chance to join the St. Petersburg Times (rechristened the Tampa Bay Times in 2012), one of the nation’s last privately owned newspapers. Though she was technically a beat writer covering social services, the Times gave her the opportunity to invest long periods of time in investigative reporting.

Though Marbin never goes into a story expecting it will elicit a change in public policy, dozens of her stories have done just that — by making the public aware of abuses.

“Shame is a very powerful tool,” she said. “And in the course of doing this for 30 years, I came to discover you can produce significant and positive change just with the power of shame.”

‘Innocents Lost’ revealed state failures in child protection In the late 1990s, Marbin slipped her career into neutral to deal with family issues.

In 1996, two years after marrying former Times copy editor David Miller, she gave birth to the couple’s only child. Their daughter, Laurel, suffered complications at birth that led to serious mental and developmental impairments. In 1998, Miller completed law school and began searching for a job.

The couple decided the best move would be back to Miami, where Miller’s career options were better and Marbin’s extended family could help care for a child with special needs.

She resigned from the Times and, unable to immediately land a job at the Herald, took a job for two years with the Daily Business Review in Fort Lauderdale, where she still managed to cover the occasional story about social services.

In 2000, a job finally opened at the Herald and Marbin returned to covering social service agencies full time. Five years ago, she was promoted to the four-person investigations team.

The March 2014 series detailed the sometimes shocking, always saddening ways in which the Florida Department of Children and Families failed children. Marbin and Burch investigated the deaths of about 500 children, each of whose families had been subject to at least one — and as many as 32 — investigations by DCF officials before they died at the hands of their parents or caregivers.

The series underlined the agency’s lack of funding: Though the state budget tripled over the six years of study, the DCF budget was reduced in five of the six years.

DCF was also hamstrung by its marching orders: Keep children with their parents at all costs. In case after case, children who should have been placed under agency supervision or removed from the care of their parents — many of whom were drug addicts or violent felons — were returned to their parents. All of the youngsters subsequently died, even as other family members pleaded with DCF to remove them from the homes.

The series won awards for Marbin and Burch from the Associated Press Managing Editors, the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors and the Online News Association. Their awards from journalism schools and foundations at Harvard and the University of Southern California earned $80,000 in prize money.

Better, the series led to almost immediate changes.

In May 2014, the Legislature overhauled Florida’s child protection laws, increased DCF’s budget and refocused DCF’s mission.

In that role, she has produced numerous, award-winning investigative series — though none as lauded as “Innocents Lost.”

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Below, top: Miami Herald reporters Audra Burch and Carol Marbin Miller receive the 2015 Goldsmith Award for Investigative Reporting from Alex S. Jones, longtime director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. The two reporters were honored for their 2014 series, “Innocents Lost,” about the deaths of about 500 children under the supervision of the Florida Department of Children and Families. Below, bottom: Miller talking with Miami Herald investigations editor Casey Frank (back to the camera).

“Lawmakers proclaimed that the life and safety of neglected and abused children was a higher right than the right of parents — which was a profound shift in philosophy that many thought was necessary,” Marbin said. “The problem is DCF is so hidebound, so set in its ways, so underfunded, so understaffed, so undertrained, that the desired and promised reforms have not materialized.”

Though Marbin said many investigative stories start with a tip, “Innocents Lost” was born out of her long career. She and Frank knew there was a problem with DCF’s oversight of children and set out to detail the problems.

She enlisted Burch, calling her “one of the most gifted writers I know; I wanted her ‘eye,’ I wanted a partner I could learn from.” The two women spent more than three years researching the series, while continuing to work on other stories.

“I guarantee Carol knows more about DCF than anyone working there, because she’s been doing this a lot longer than anyone who works there,” Frank said. “When anyone tries to give her information that is not entirely true, she has the experience to say, ‘Let me explain how your agency works.’ She understands their operation better than they do.”

Coupled with that experience and passion is Marbin’s kindness — honed by her experiences with her daughter, now 20. Though she rarely discussed her personal situation, she found the endless medical and personal challenges of caring for a special-needs child imbued her with empathy, patience and understanding when she needed to interview someone about personal trauma.

“Before, I pushed and pushed and that seldom worked,” she said. “Now, when I need a person to talk, I say, ‘I’d like you to talk and I think you’d benefit by it. But you think about it, and if you want to talk, call me back.’ Many do talk to me; 20 years ago, they wouldn’t have.”

Shorenstein Center/Martha Stewart

It is that compassion that most strikes Marbin’s friends and co-workers. Diana Moskovitz spent seven years at the Herald and occasionally worked on stories with Marbin.

“There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t reach back to something Carol taught me,” said Moskovitz, now a reporter for the website Deadspin in Los Angeles. “I always remember how open and honest she was with people (she interviewed). That’s the thing people want from reporters … . She is so honest with them that they respect her. It’s a passion with her.”

Miami Herald/Jose Iglesias

A champion for public records An equal passion of hers is Florida’s publicrecords law. Marbin calls it the public’s best safeguard against governmental abuses and the “most important tool in the toolbox of the investigative reporter.”

She follows in the footsteps of Askew and Dyckman.

As governor, Askew spearheaded passage of the 1976 Sunshine Amendment, requiring public officials to disclose their financial interests when running for office. Askew was a state senator when Florida — which in 1909 became one of the first states to require that records be open — passed its most recent open-records laws in 1967.

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“Askew wasn’t in the same proactive league as (other state leaders) in regard to open meetings, but he was fierce for exposing the private financial dealings that might be conflicts of interest or worse,” said Dyckman, author of the highly praised 2011 book “Reubin Askew and the Golden Age of Florida Politics.” “He thought (financial disclosure) would restore public faith in government at a time when the (Florida) Supreme Court and Cabinet had been centers of scandal.”

Dyckman spent 47 years as a prize-winning investigative reporter, editorial writer and columnist with the St. Petersburg Times. Renowned as one of the state’s fiercest advocates of open records, the now-retired Dyckman said he “relied on public-records law so often that it is hard to come up with examples” of major stories that didn’t rely on them.

“The work (Marbin) and her colleagues at the Herald have been doing vindicates the purpose and dramatizes the importance of having a powerful public-records law,” said Dyckman, who became friends with Marbin when both were at the Times. “It is the nature of every bureaucrat and bureaucracy to bury their mistakes — often literally — and left to itself, government is all too unmotivated to expose them. That’s what the press does, and it couldn’t do it without a strong publicrecords law and news people like Carol, who are able and willing to go to court to enforce the law.”

Unlike some reporters, Marbin delights in the tedious reading of hundreds of pages of documents to understand an issue.

“I love meetings. I love interviewing people and hearing their stories. But I also love reading records,” she said. “To me, there is not much more gratifying than finding that stunning revelation that is the linchpin to your series. Now and again, as you’re reading records, you’re thunderstruck: ‘Did they really write that?’”

Such revelations are happening less frequently, Marbin said, for three reasons.

Public officials are becoming far more cautious about what they say in documents and emails, knowing they might be read later by reporters.

When she and Burch began “Innocents Lost,” individual reports on abused children ran eight to 10 pages. Now, they are two to three pages and “say virtually nothing.”

Another issue is the Legislature’s constant attempt to water down Florida Statute Chapter 119, the public-records law, by creating exemptions for various agencies and meetings. Marbin said the Legislature is turning Chapter 119 into “Swiss cheese” because of all the holes in coverage.

Perhaps the most common threat to publicrecords access is the rising cost. Many agencies charge exorbitant fees to produce or copy existing records, knowing most newspapers cannot afford to either pay the fees or sue agencies to produce the records. Marbin said officials often spend meetings blatantly discussing “what (fee for public records) would be prohibitive; what do we have to charge to make reporters go away?”

In June, Marbin spoke at the Florida Society of News Editors’ annual luncheon, where she won an award.

“The threat to investigative reporting has never been more acute,” she said. “For too long, we’ve placed too little faith in the good citizens of Florida and too much faith in the lawmakers who often benefit from our silence. Voters have shown again and again they do not want to be governed in darkness.”

Despite obfuscation by state agencies and rising costs, Marbin remains convinced that investigative reporting will not disappear — because reporters won’t let it.

“If I ran a state agency, I would fill my ranks with retired reporters,” she said, “because they are taught to think critically.”

And none more so than Marbin. Frank said many Florida newspapers, including the Herald, are committed to paying the costs of fees and lawsuits for open access — to support reporters such as Marbin.

“She has people on notice that the law is the law and we are going to hold you to it,” Frank said.

“Though the state of Florida may drag its heels or raise prices in an effort to discourage stories in the public interest, I feel good with reporters like Carol around.”

Following in Carol Marbin Miller’s tradition of excellence in investigative journalism, Anthony Cormier (B.A. ’00) has won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. To read more, see page 63.

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RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE

By Mark Winegardner

Twenty-five years after his infamous missed kick, Gerry Thomas is scoring big in the game of life

In the quarter-century since he missed what would have been a game-winning 34-yard field goal by about 6 inches — the first in an infamous series of five last-minute kicks (four Wide Rights and a Wide Left) that resulted in legacy-denting losses to the University of Miami — various stories have painted Gerry Thomas (B.S. ’93, J.D. ’99) as some sort of traumatized recluse. Year after year, during the week of the Hurricanes game, some reporter or pundit inevitably mentions that Thomas refuses to talk to the media; the truth, he says, is that it’s been a good 10 years since anybody asked.

Yes, he left the limelight after that season, never to return. But you wouldn’t have had to go very far to find him.

You could have seen him in the stands at Doak Campbell Stadium, where he’s been a season-ticket holder for years, or just outside the stadium, where before nearly every game, he’s tailgating along with his parents, his wife, Heather, and their two kids.

32 Vires

Or you could have run into him a couple miles from there, in the downtown Tallahassee law office where he’s worked the past 10 years.

Or maybe you recognized him — a boyishly handsome dad-next-door — working in his yard in Waverly Hills, a leafy neighborhood a mere five miles from where he disappeared into the stadium tunnel after that 1991 loss to Miami and never played another home game.

You might say that he’s been hiding in plain sight, but that’s not quite accurate, either. In truth, Gerry Thomas may not have gone far, and he definitely moved on, but he never hid at all.

In 1991, Gerry Thomas was a quiet, straitlaced, 20-year-old redshirt sophomore from Niceville, Florida, who wasn’t listed in the preseason media guide, who’d never gotten a dime of athletic scholarship money, who couldn’t eat a meal in the team dining hall unless he paid for it himself, who’d never even stepped onto the field in a game until a month before that so-called “Game of the Century,”

which pitted the undefeated, No. 1 Seminoles (who’d never won a national championship) against their nemesis, the undefeated, No. 2 Hurricanes (who, after that narrow escape in Tallahassee, would breeze to their fourth).

Photo by Miguel A. "Mike" Olivella

He’d had actual scholarship offers. In high school, he’d starred in both soccer and football (where he also played defensive back and wide receiver).

Senior year, the football team — packed with half a dozen other guys who’d go on to play Division I, a couple who’d go pro — won the Class 4A state championship. Thomas made first-team all-state.

His mother, a schoolteacher, wanted Gerry, a good student, to go to Davidson College, but that offer was rescinded when the school decided to move to Division III and did away with sports scholarships.

Thomas’ remaining suitors were all small schools, none of which were on par academically with Davidson — or FSU, which was his first choice all along. In pursuit of a couple of his Niceville blue-chip teammates — quarterback Kenny Felder and linebacker Kevin Knox (B.S. ’93) — FSU saw enough potential in Thomas to make him an offer Vires 33

to be a “recruited walk-on,” which meant a spot on the team with a chance (however quixotic) to compete for playing time and maybe, someday, a scholarship. But a scholarship wasn’t what drove Gerry Thomas. “I came to FSU,” he says, looking back, “because I wanted to try to play for a national championship.”

Nobody really expected him to do any actual playing — except maybe Thomas himself. He never complained and never stopped hoping for a shot. For two years, he almost never dressed for games and never went on a road trip. His third year promised to be the same story. Maybe worse, since the starting kicker, freshman Dan Mowrey (B.S. ’94), was a year behind Thomas and on scholarship; he seemed to have the job sewn up for the rest of Thomas’ time at FSU. When Mowrey missed an extra point in the opening game, Thomas didn’t think much of it. It happens. Mowrey was perfect the week after that.

Then came another miss.

“That’s the sort of thing that’ll drive a coach crazy,” says Bobby Bowden, who was head football coach then. “You cannot afford to miss extra points.”

For the next two weeks, there was a supposedly open competition for the extra-point job (Mowrey still hadn’t missed a field goal, yet). Nothing changed. Mowrey missed one kick against Syracuse, two against Virginia Tech, and Thomas never saw the field.

Finally, in the seventh game of the season, Bowden gave the job to Thomas.

He never missed an extra point.

Not then, in his four chances against Middle Tennessee. Not ever.

When Mowrey started missing short field goals, Thomas won that job, too, and made five of his six pre-Miami kicks.

The coaches made noises about giving Thomas a crack at the job, but that’s what walk-ons are for — to pose (mostly idle) threats to the starters.

“Florida State’s Achilles heel,” said the New York Times, “was its kicking toe.” But now, going into the biggest game ever played in Tallahassee, it seemed that what was then probably the best team FSU ever fielded had finally been made whole by an unsung walk-on.

And then came the Michigan game.

It seemed like that in the game, too. For a while.

In Ann Arbor, against the third-ranked Wolverines, Mowrey made his first PAT. But his next one was blocked. The one after that banged off the crossbar. And the one after that wasn’t even close.

In the first quarter, when the ’Noles stalled on first-and-goal — including an underthrown pass by Casey Weldon (B.S. ’91), the starting quarterback and 1991 Heisman Trophy runnerup, that would have been a sure touchdown — it was Gerry Thomas who salvaged the drive with a field goal.

“Better get ready, son.”

They were the words Gerry Thomas had been waiting almost three years to hear.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t Bowden speaking. It was Gerry’s father, John, sitting beside him on the couch in Niceville, where they were watching the game on TV. “We’ll see,” Gerry said.

At halftime, FSU’s backup punter took a crash course in kicking extra points. He got two chances. He made them both.

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It must have been hard for Thomas not to wonder if his opportunity was gone before it even started, but he believed he’d get his shot and he was confident he’d deliver.

In the third, Weldon threw a perfect pass in the end zone to Shannon Baker (B.S. ’99). Who dropped it. In the fourth, FSU again made it inside the five and failed to score a touchdown.

Both times, Thomas banged field goals through the uprights. He had an extra point to boot and was the game’s leading scorer — 10 of the team’s 16 points.

With 25 seconds left in the game, FSU down by one, yet another drive stalled. Once more, the ’Noles called on Thomas, this time with a national championship in the balance.

“The thing about that last kick?” says Brad Johnson (B.S. ’92), Thomas’ holder (and the backup quarterback). “It was the best of the day. The most solid thump on the ball. He did everything right. His form was perfect. It was just the littlest bit off.”

“It had the potential to be a fairy tale, a storybook ending,” says Weldon. “It was in our grasp. Of all years, to come down to something like that, y’know?

And of all guys, having Gerry be the one … .”

Weldon’s voice trails off.

“If there’s one position I would not allow my son to play,” he finally says, “it’s kicker.”

Instead of camping out in the steam of the showers and waiting for the media to leave, the shy, unheralded walk-on kicker stood at his locker and faced a battalion of cameras and microphones, accepting responsibility and making no excuses.

Yes, Thomas grudgingly admitted, his teammates had taken him aside and told him the kick was just one play, one of many that could have changed the outcome of the game. But he shrugged that off.

“People won’t remember much about this game,” he predicted, “but they’ll remember that I missed.”

“

“I really didn’t mind,” he says. “I felt like I owed it to the program.”

The absurdity reached its zenith when, one day at practice, the Detroit Free Press’ Mitch Albom strode onto the field at Doak Campbell Stadium, carrying a football, then knelt in the grass at the left hashmark, 34 yards from the goalpost, and asked Thomas if he thought he could make the kick now.

Above: Gerry Thomas, No. 15, in action, attempting the field goal that would be forever known as the original “wide right” against the Miami Hurricanes Nov. 16, 1991. Getty Images/Al Tielemans

He woke up The thing about the next day It didn’t occur and played tennis with his to Thomas to be roommates, same as he would insulted. He was have if the team had It was the . a competitor, won. He went about his business, which was studying The most solid thump on the ball. confident in his abilities. and practicing. And he remained — for no reason He did EVERYTHING RIGHT. So Albom held and Thomas kicked. Not that makes sense now — just as available to the media as His FORM WAS PERFECT. once, not twice, but nine times, all of them he’d been after the good, all pretty Miami game.

It was just the much right down the middle.

Today, even a backwater junior

– Brad Johnson (B.S. ’92) college would insulate him, meting “What have you learned,” Albom asked, insufferably, out access in one or two closely monitored sessions “about the difference between a hero and a goat?” and then shutting it down. But that was a different era, the dawn of the 24-hour sports-news cycle.

The moment still riles Thomas’ real holder, who Quaintly, Bowden had an open-door media policy was off taking snaps at QB. “Nobody who knows and let his players decide if they wanted to be a screen pass from a screen door,” says Brad interviewed. Thomas, by nature, was a spotlightJohnson now, “would call Gerry Thomas the goat shunning introvert, but for the rest of the season, of that game.” To his coaches and teammates, he was too polite to say no.

THAT LAST KICK? BEST OF THE DAY

LITTLEST BIT OFF.”

Vires 35

Thomas was the guy who’d emerged halfway through the season to save the team’s kicking game and, almost, the season itself. He was not the reason they lost that dadgum football game.

But Thomas suffered Albom gladly. Or gladly enough, anyway, to give him the answer he wanted.

“It’s inches,” the kid said. “Inches.”

Inches. He did not point out that, in 1991, the NCAA narrowed the distance between goalposts by almost 5 feet. Any previous season, the kick wouldn’t have been wide at all; it would have been good. But Thomas tried not to think about that.

Going into spring practice, Gerry Thomas was the most accurate kicker in FSU history. But Bowden told him there’d be another open competition for the job.

Thomas understood. That’s football.

“What about a scholarship?”

“Win the job,” Bowden said, “and we’ll see.”

No one seemed to be particularly interested in what those things were.

“I’d already decided to give him one,” Bowden says, looking back, “but I didn’t want to do it in the spring. I regret it now, but at the time I thought it would look bad, like people would say he missed that kick and I was rewarding him.”

Had they asked, he might have told them how much he looked up to his mother and father (career Air Force; Vietnam vet; winner of a Purple Heart) and how deeply he wanted to live up to their example: strong values, strong marriage, meaningful careers, utterly involved in their kids’ lives, raising them to have broad horizons. He wanted to be part of a community, inspired by the kind of supportive, close-knit and (because of the presence of so many military families) diverse experience he’d had in Niceville (where they’d put up a big billboard honoring him — after he missed that kick). He wanted to honor the kindness of the hundreds of strangers who’d written letters telling

Photo by Miguel A. "Mike" Olivella

None of the post-Wide Right stories mentioned any of this.

Instead, he went on to tell Albom what he did think about, just as he’d told the reporters who’d come before, just as he’d tell the ones who followed: that he knows it’s not the end of the world to lose a football game, that he has more things in his life than just making a kick.

In their stories, they’d leave it vague, which made the sentiment ring hollow, allowing it to fit perfectly within their prefab goat-story narrative. Naïf from the made-up-sounding town of Niceville finds himself on the biggest stage in college sports, fails and is haunted for the rest of his days. If the kid didn’t seem haunted enough, no problem!

They seemed only too happy to keep haunting him.

36 Vires

him about the disastrous setbacks in their lives that ended up being the best things that ever happened to them.

He won the job, but Bowden told him it was still close and that, right then, there were no scholarships to spare. Keep up the good work, though, and there should be one available in the fall.

A few weeks before fall practice started, Gerry Thomas was told there’d be another open competition. As for the scholarship? “Be patient,” Bowden said.

“I’m a rational person,” Thomas says now. “I knew I wasn’t good enough to play in the NFL. I started looking around at my priorities, what I should be doing with my life.”

He decided it was time to get serious about school (he was a management information systems major with a 3.0 GPA he knew he could bring up) and get real-world experience in his field (which he did, scoring a part-time IT job at the Florida Department of Transportation).

“When two-a-days started,” he says, “I informed the coaches I wasn’t coming back. I’m not letting my team down, because they had Dan, and I’m still not on scholarship. In my mind, I’d already moved on.”

Not long after that, FSU called with a scholarship.

“I appreciated it,” Thomas says, clearly not bitter, “but I’d already made my decision.”

No regrets?

“None.” He laughs. “Not about that, anyway.”

In the week leading up to that fall’s Miami game, the spotlight again found Gerry Thomas. “I was doing all these interviews again,” he says, “and I wasn’t even on the team anymore. It was kind of ridiculous.”

What made it worse was watching interviews get edited into melodramatic stories with funereal music and hushed narration. “You start to realize,” he says, “that you’re becoming a story that you’re not.”

The game was played in Miami; Thomas watched it with friends in Mobile.

Eventually, he left, cobbling together a story in which Thomas was unrecognizable to himself.

The same went for his mother, who’d chastised the reporter on the phone only to have him “totally twist our conversation around,” she says.

Any sense that FSU in general and its kicking game in particular were somehow cursed was eased the very next year in the Orange Bowl, when, down by two with 21 seconds to play, Seminoles kicker Scott Bentley (B.S. ’98) made a 22-yard field goal to win the national championship.

Thomas was there to see it. Just as a fan. By sheer coincidence, he happened to book a room at the team hotel, but out of respect for the task at hand, he kept his distance.

Below: Gerry Thomas proudly displays his Florida State Law diploma in his office at Ausley McMullen in Tallahassee.

Photo by Miguel A. "Mike" Olivella

When, with seconds to go, Mowrey lined up for a game-winning kick, Thomas was happy for him.

When it, too, sailed Wide Right, Thomas covered his face with his hands. He felt like he’d seen a ghost.

Soon, reporters tracked him down, and that’s just what he told them.

After a while, though, he started saying he’d rather not be interviewed. He’d said all he had to say and then some. He was afraid it looked like he was seeking attention — when the opposite was true.

Somehow, declining interviews made at least one reporter from South Florida think Thomas was covering something up. He started ambushing him outside his classes, shouting questions. What do you have to hide? Are you depressed? Suicidal?

Friends started escorting Thomas to class to help ward off this creep, who, for days, remained undeterred.

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After the game, though, he couldn’t help himself.

He wanted to shake Bentley’s hand. Thomas made his way to the locker room, caught the attention of one of his old coaches, who waved him in.

He found Bentley and introduced himself.

“Great game,” Thomas said.

“Looks like we got the monkey off our back,” Bentley said.

“Thanks, man,” said Thomas.

“My pleasure,” Bentley said.

Everyone you talk to from those early-’90s teams will tell you: Wide Right never quite goes away.

“It comes up all the time with my buddies on the fairway,” Casey Weldon says. “‘Hey, FSU guy — Wide Right!’ They don’t realize it’s too soon.”

He’s kidding. Mostly.

“You’re always going to hear it every [year] during Miami/Florida State week,” says Scott Player (B.S. ’93), the punter on that ’91 team. “I don’t even hang out with many people who know I played in that game and it still comes up.”

To this day, total strangers come up to Mowrey and call him Wide Right as if it’s his name.

Thomas hears it, too, but rarely. People really don’t know who he is, he says. He’s an ordinary guy with a common name who only played half a season. Even hardcore fans can’t picture him.

He did indeed raise that GPA. He got a systems job with the Tampa office of a big accounting firm, enjoyed it but decided to go back to school and get a law degree. FSU was the only place he applied. He met his future wife — a native Tallahasseean — while he was clerking at Ausley McMullen. After a stint in Tampa, they returned to Tallahassee 10 years ago, where, again at Ausley McMullen, he gravitated to real estate law. It is, Thomas says, a perfect fit for him: quiet, behind-the-scenes, largely nonconfrontational, helping people do what they wanted to do anyway.

It may seem mysterious why, when any number of professional athletes who suffered high-profile heartbreaks like Thomas’ have kept suffering — descending into depression, substance abuse and other dark places — some college kid like Thomas moves on with perfect grace. Except that there’s no mystery here. Nothing to hide.

Above: Gerry Thomas with his son, Cooper. Photo by Miguel A. "Mike" Olivella

“I think if you make sports your life and you fail at sports, then you think you’ve failed at life,” he says.

“

“My parents always gave My PARENTS always gave me me good perspective about things. Football, while it was very important to me, GOOD PERSPECTIVE it wasn’t my life.”

Gerry Thomas is a solid guy from a solid background who’s raising a solid family. The life he’s living is solid, right down the middle it and perfectly happy.

about things.

FOOTBALL, while it was

VERY IMPORTANT to me,

WASN’T MY LIFE.”

He’s never needed anyone to call him a hero.

Mark Winegardner, a nationally known writer of fiction and nonfiction, is a professor of English at FSU. Vires 39

Early lessons in hard work and a knack for making th ings happen enable sports agent Alan Zucker to shower his celebr ity cl with high-profile endo ients rsements

By Za c Howard (B.A. ’14)

40 Vires

T

he inside of Excel Sports headquarters in midtown Manhattan looks like a cross between a man cave and a newsroom. Autographed sneakers, helmets, jerseys, bats and balls help divide the cubicles and fill each individual office. Pictures of athletes, framed magazine covers and flat-screen televisions decorate the walls. Just outside the glass entry doors, construction is underway. The agency is expanding.

It’s a quiet Friday afternoon in August, a slow time for most sports. As with many businesses in New York City during the summertime, Excel employees are allowed to leave earlier on Fridays.

Alan Zucker (B.S. ’89) peers out his window on the 29th floor, admiring a stunning view of Central Park and Columbus Circle. He won’t be leaving early today; too much work still needs to be done.

After all, Zucker is a busy man. For sports agents, there is no offseason. Representing high-profile clients, such as Peyton and Eli Manning, Joe Montana, Danica Patrick, Jim Nantz and Taylor Swift, is no ordinary workload. The Florida State alumnus considers himself more of a manager than an agent, handling off-the-field responsibilities like endorsements and marketing.

He negotiated the contracts behind the Mannings’ DirecTV spots, Patrick’s GoDaddy commercials and Swift’s elegant Diet Coke advertisements.

Midway through his third year as a partner at the blossoming company, after nearly two decades with IMG, Zucker is quick to count his blessings.

He admits those blessings come at a cost, though.

“This is not a 9-to-5 job,” Zucker says. “Anything worth doing, you’re going to have to work hard at.” Work, it seems, is something Zucker has been accustomed to since adolescence.

Growing up in Dade County, he never had specific aspirations for a career as an astronaut, fireman or star quarterback, but he did play sports yearround. Zucker’s father was a textile engineer and his mother owned a dancewear store. When he wasn’t in school or tossing the ball, he was usually working at his mom’s store, selling leotards, tights and legwarmers. It was there he says he learned the mundane elements of running a business, like markup, tax, advertising and retailing.

In addition to the nuts and bolts of sales, Zucker learned something more important from his parents’ entrepreneurial lifestyle. “My mom and dad both really taught me hard work and how to get things accomplished,” he says. “Their work ethic was second to none. They just worked really hard and taught us to do things the right way.”

The result was an ambitious 18-year-old heading 400 miles north for college, with an interest in business and a passion for sports. “I really didn’t know what I wanted to do in business. I just knew that it was exciting and something I was interested in,” Zucker says. “And something I thought I would eventually be good at.”

Signed football helmets and framed jerseys are among the remarkable items of memorabilia displayed in Alan Zucker’s Excel Sports office that reflect his professional relationships with numerous sports and entertainment icons. Photo by Caroline Petters

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Below: Along with Joe Montana’s signature on a San Francisco 49ers helmet, Alan Zucker’s office is adorned with a First Year Varsity Letter certificate, earned for his service as an equipment manager on the 1986 FSU football team. Photo by Caroline Petters Opposite top: A life-sized mannequin dressed in Danica Patrick’s racing gear and helmet stands sentinel in Zucker’s office. The shield bears a hand-written message, “Alan — You are my rainmaker and friend, it doesn’t get any better than that! Danica.” Photo by Caroline Petters Opposite center: Patrick and Zucker on the red carpet at the 2016 ESPY Awards in Los Angeles. Opposite bottom left: Zucker pictured with Eli Manning and Joe Montana. Opposite bottom right: A desktop model airplane shows Air Asia’s support of Taylor Swift’s 2014 Red Tour. Photo by Caroline Petters

Z

ucker’s first day on campus was his first day of orientation. He had seen pictures and heard good things about Florida State, but his bed in Landis Hall was a long way from home. It was in Landis that he approached a friend across the hall, an equipment manager for the football team, asking if there were any openings. “You should drop by the equipment room,” the friend told him.

So in January 1986, Zucker knocked on the door asking for an opportunity. The supervisor’s response was short and to the point: “You’re the luckiest freshman on campus. Someone just quit.

There’s the truck. Start unloading the equipment from the Gator Bowl.”

More than 30 years later, Zucker’s eyes still widen when he remembers the excitement of being part of the football team. “I truly loved it,” he says.

“The camaraderie, big-time college football, the excitement around the team at that time, to be a part of that was second to none.” Zucker calls it the “aha moment” when he realized working with athletes could make for an enjoyable career. Yet, even living out that dream today, he calls his days as an equipment manager the most fun job he’s ever had.

Furthermore, being around future Seminole legends like Chip Ferguson (B.S. ’89), Casey Weldon (B.S. ’91), Brad Johnson (B.S. ’92) and fellow freshman Deion Sanders allowed Zucker to experience being part of a great team, feel the pressure that accompanies high expectations and

witness the mindset of world-class athletes. He was also able to witness the birth of a powerhouse, led by one of college football’s greatest coaches.

“You could feel it. Coach (Bobby) Bowden had the power to teach. He was a great motivator. He was a great mind, but he was a great delegator. I think that’s the sign of a great leader.”

Despite all the glamour, being an equipment manager was still a full-time job. As a full-time student, Zucker didn’t have the free time often associated with the undergraduate experience.

Balancing studies, work and life required tremendous discipline. He considers that discipline the most valuable lesson he learned in college, but also speaks highly of the business school. Zucker cites ethics, integrity and respect as core tenets he absorbed from his classes, as well as the ability to work in groups. Marketing in particular caught his eye. “I’ve always felt like being able to present properly all started when I was in college,” he says.

It was at a career fair during his senior year that Zucker interviewed with Shaw Industries, which resulted in a job offer. He still gleams with appreciation for the company that gave him his first chance to prove himself. Following a threemonth training program in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which he calls “College 2.0,” Zucker shipped off to Orange County, California, to begin his career in sales. The gig: carpet salesman. He ultimately realized, “If I can sell carpet, I can sell anything.”

So at 21, Zucker left the Sunshine State to start a life of making cold calls and new friends. One of those friends has been particularly influential: his wife, Tempe. “I saw her across the room and I told my friend, ‘That’s a girl I’d really like to get to know,’” he recalls. “I said, ‘She’d never talk to me.’”

Following a cordial conversation, Zucker assumed they wouldn’t see each other again, but six weeks later they crossed paths while hanging out with mutual friends. As it turned out, she’s been talking to him ever since. The two have been married for 20 years.

After three years in Southern California, Zucker moved to Chicago for a promotion: He was going from selling carpet to selling rugs. What may sound pallid to the layperson was an opportunity for Zucker to transition from selling to mom-andpop stores to the likes of Wal-Mart, Target and Home Depot. Moreover, it was another chance for him to prove himself and a different challenge in a new city.

42 Vires

T

he Windy City was kind to the young couple, and Zucker is effusive in his praise of Shaw Industries, but ultimately he got what he calls “the seven-year itch.” He and Tempe were about to get married, and Zucker felt the time was right for a transition into the sports industry, his dream.

The application process in effect served as a second job. After coming home from work each day, Zucker would send out applications to Nike, Adidas, Reebok and every sports team he knew. “Sometimes when you hustle or you put enough effort into it, you just get lucky,” he says. “I just flat-out got lucky.” IMG, one of the largest companies in the sports and entertainment industry, had an entry-level position available. The job demanded selling sponsorships for women’s tennis in Chicago.

“I call it stacking,” Zucker says. “Once you get a couple of players and you prove yourself, you branch off.” In 1999, he began working with Peyton Manning, who was just beginning to carve out success as a young quarterback in the NFL. Joe Montana followed soon after, and in a relatively short time Zucker had obtained a handful of highprofile clients, while still maintaining responsibility for events and sports sponsorships. “I really enjoyed it,” he says. “It was a great opportunity to get diverse at a very young age.”

At the time, women’s sports didn’t carry the national recognition it does today. “It wasn’t like selling Wimbledon. It was a different time. There weren’t as many stars,” Zucker says. Still, his extensive success marketing a far less glamorous product proved a bulwark against failure. “It was a little bit of a tougher sell, but it was a challenge that I loved,” he says. “It was similar to my career in the carpeting business, where I really didn’t know any better.”

While the initial opportunity was less than spectacular, Zucker knew it was an important first step that could lead to bigger things. “Sports are like a fraternity. Once you cut your teeth in there, once you build roots and you grow, you build a reputation,” he says. Zucker’s big break came after meeting Billie Jean King, who allowed him to represent her with some endorsement sales. From there, he took over IMG’s primary representation of former Chicago Bears players Curtis Conway and Erik Kramer.

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Vires 43

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Now, with an extensive list of household names to his credit and an influential position at a new company, Zucker summarizes his job with three objectives: drive his clients’ revenue, build their personal brands and help them give back. What sounds like a tall order certainly is, but Zucker is quick to deflect praise. “There are so many people behind me that actually make all of these programs work,” he says. “That’s gone all the way through college to the profession I’m at now. It takes a team to do it.”

I

t’s been exactly 20 years since Zucker first got his shot in the sports world, and exactly 30 since he was hired as an equipment manager for the football team. Plenty of lucrative contracts have been signed, commercials filmed and charities funded during that span, yet one deal holds a unique place in his heart.

the wheel, and then 25 years later having the ability to work with him on his behalf to bring him back within the university was a great honor and kind of a full circle,” he says. “That was really special.”

Below: The work ethic Alan Zucker learned from his parents has made all the difference in his 20-year career as a sports agent. Photo by Caroline Petters

Zucker’s three children are all big Seminole fans.

His oldest son, Zach, is a junior in high school and beginning to consider many of the same things his father did back in his days at Miami Sunset High School. While Zucker abstains from pushing his children toward a particular school or profession, he does admit Florida State is certainly under consideration. Whether or not his children attend his alma mater, seeing them grow up and go to college would reflect his favorite part about his job.

As he puts it, “There’s a real sense of completion when you start something off from scratch and you bring it to fruition.”

Three years ago, Zucker worked on behalf of Coach Bowden, in conjunction with the Boosters, to set up Bobby Bowden Day on Oct. 26, 2013.

“To start off as student manager, and be a cog in

Vires 45

ON PARADE

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Alumni, students, faculty and staff celebrated “A Living Legacy” during Homecoming 2016. The annual Homecoming Parade provided a spectacular rallying point to stoke alumni pride under glorious skies.

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1. Like an army charged with rousing Seminole spirit, the Marching Chiefs — led by head drum major Matthew Tenoré — prepare to perform the FSU Fight Song. 2. Miss Black Student Union, Kristina Anderson, and Mister Black Student Union, Shem Rivera, hold court on their float along the parade route. 3. Marion T. Hargett (B.S. ’93), senior vice president of Olympics and sports sales for NBC Owned Television Stations who also serves on the FSU Alumni Association National Board of Directors, was one of three 2016 Grads Made Good. Hargett and her 7-year-old son, Hunter, enjoy a top-down convertible ride in the parade.

4. Steve Pattison (B.S. ’79), chief financial officer and vice president for business analysis and risk management of Restaurant Services Inc. and the board chair of the FSU Alumni Association National Board of Directors, waves to the crowd from the back of a convertible. 5. Members of the FSU Golden Girls dance troupe flourish pink pompoms in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 6. An FSU student plays to the crowd as he strums his sculpted Thomas Glover W. six-string guitar. 7. Members of the Class of 1966, this year’s inductees into the Emeritus Alumni Society, watch the parade from VIP seating under the Westcott Gate as special guests of the FSU Alumni Association. 8. FSU President John Thrasher (B.S. ’65, J.D. ’72) and first lady Jean Thrasher enjoy the parade with their grandsons — Mason, Walker and Merritt. 9. Bill Proctor (B.S. ’56, M.S. ’64, Ph.D. ’68), chancellor of Flagler College, was the recipient of the FSU Alumni Association’s 2016 Bernard F. Sliger Award. He and his wife, Pam Proctor (B.S. ’56), are all smiles during the parade. Photos by Steve Chase

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ASSOCIATION NEWS

HOLDING COURT AT HALFTIME

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Homecoming Chief Rashard Johnson and Princess Megan Federico pose with Jr. Miss Florida Seminole and Miss Florida Seminole during halftime at the FSU-Wake Forest football game. Johnson, a sports management major, represented the Black Student Union, Orientation Leaders and the Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement. Federico, a hospitality management and marketing major, represented Sigma Delta Tau, the Center for Leadership and Social Change, and the Student Diversity and Inclusion Council.

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Show your SEMINOLE PRIDE anywhere and everywhere!

FSU Alumni Association Members: Purchase exclusive alumni apparel, tailgating accessories and more from the FSU Alumni Reward Zone!

Log on to alumni.fsu.edu/rewards to purchase items.

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BREAKFAST BOWS The FSU Alumni Association lauded some of the most notable members of the FSU family during its annual Homecoming Awards Breakfast, held this year the morning of Oct. 15 in the Alumni Center Grand Ballroom.

1. Montego Glover (B.F.A. ’96), a Tony-nominated

Broadway star, Marion Hargett (B.S. ‘93), a senior vice president with NBC Owned Television Stations, and Craig Nance (B.S. ’91, M.S. ’94), the superintendent of McDonald Observatory, received Grads Made Good awards. Presented in conjunction with the FSU Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, the award recognizes people whose professional accomplishments have gained national or international prominence. Pictured, from left, are Miss Florida Seminole Kirsten Doney, FSU President John Thrasher (B.S. ’65, J.D. ’72), Glover, Hargett, Nance, FSU Alumni Association

ASSOCIATION NEWS National Board of Directors Chair Steve Pattison (B.S. ’79), Omicron Delta Kappa President Kelsey Tatum and Jr. Miss Florida Seminole Thomlynn Billie. 2. Bill Proctor (B.S. ’56, M.S. ’64, Ph.D. ’68), chancellor of Flagler College, receives the Bernard F. Sliger Award — the Alumni Association’s highest honor — from Steve Pattison. 3. Former FSU first lady Patsy Palmer (J.D. ’07) greets FSU Center for Leadership and Social Change Director Laura Osteen as ODK President Kelsey Tatum looks on.

4. Hargett, center, poses with Julie Dunn Eichenberg (B.S. ’94) and College of Communication and Information Teaching Professor Mark Zeigler (M.S. ’89). 5. Glover addresses her fellow Seminoles after receiving the Grads Made Good award. Photos by Steve Chase

THE BEST OF THE BRUNCH During the National Black Alumni Reunion brunch Oct. 16, the FSU Black Alumni presented Cecily E. Matthews with the Outstanding Student Award and recognized FSU Black Alumni Scholarship recipients Rikisha Collins, Isiah Parfait and Kristen Sanders. Pictured, from left, are Black Student Union Homecoming Co-chair Maurice McDaniel, BSU President and 2016 Homecoming Chief Rashard Johnson, Ki-Mani Ward, Amber Roach, BSU Homecoming Co-chair Mackenzie Isom, Robert Jackson, Brandon Brown, Matthews, FSU Center for Leadership and Social Change Associate Director Miguel Hernandez, Raymona Washington, Kaylynn Toomey, Sanders, Tyler Heeter, Parfait and Collins. View more FSU Black Alumni Homecoming photos: gonol.es/BAAReunion2016. Photo by Charlie A. Jackson, FSU Black Alumni

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EMERITUS ALUMNI SOCIETY Homecoming 2016 held special significance for members of the Class of 1966, who were honored as Emeritus Alumni — those who graduated from FSU a half-century ago. The Alumni Association’s annual Emeritus Alumni Society Reunion began with a welcome luncheon Oct. 14 and culminated with a ceremony inducting class members into the society Oct. 16.

1. David Sterling (B.A. ’66, M.S. ’02) reminisces with fellow members of the Class of 1966 during the welcome luncheon. 2. Charlie Barnes (B.A. ’80), past executive director and vice president of Seminole Boosters, serves as the guest speaker during the welcome luncheon. 3. During the induction ceremony, Emeritus Alumni Society member Bridget M. Chandler (B.A. ’48) and Reinhart Lerch (B.A. ’81, M.S. ’97), communication and marketing manager for the FSU Student Veterans Center, present the Student Veteran Scholarship to Jacob Durrance, spring 2016 undergraduate recipient.

Samuel Walenz, the scholarship’s graduate-level recipient, was not in attendance. Chandler was the guiding force in the Emeritus Alumni Society to establish a scholarship that rewards the academic achievements of FSU’s student-veterans. 4. Emeritus Alumni Society members Ann M. Soucy (B.S. ’66) and Eileen Lannon Seguin (B.S. ’66, M.S. ’69) share a laugh after the induction ceremony. 5. President John Thrasher (B.S. ’65, J.D. ’72) welcomes an FSU icon into the Emeritus Alumni Society. Head Baseball Coach Mike Martin (B.S. ’66), known to Seminole fans everywhere simply as “Eleven,” was inducted moments before. Photos by Steve Chase

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ASSOCIATION NEWS CIRCLE OF GOLD The FSU Alumni Association honored four distinguished alumni with induction into the Circle of Gold during a ceremony Sept. 30 in the Alumni Center Grand Ballroom. The distinction recognizes service and achievement that personifies the university’s traditions of excellence.

1. Previous Circle of Gold honorees Steve Pattison (B.S. ’79), FSU Alumni Association National Board chair, and FSU President John Thrasher (B.S. ’65, J.D. ’72) flank the Fall 2016 class of Circle of Gold honorees: Sam Ambrose (B.S. ’91, M.S. ’92), Jerry Kutz (B.S. ’74, M.B.A. ’75), Gerald Ensley (B.A. ’80) and Tonya Harris.

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• Ambrose, the senior director of marketing for Modernizing Medicine, a software

development company, is an FSU Alumni Association National Board director.

• Kutz is the senior vice president of capital campaigns and projects at Seminole Boosters.

• Ensley, a regular contributor to VIRES magazine, retired from the Tallahassee Democrat as a

senior writer in 2015 after a prolific 35-year career as a journalist.

• Harris, who retired from FSU as an associate professor of nursing in 2003, was the university’s

first black faculty member.

2. Kutz, standing between Thrasher and Bill Lickson (B.S. ’83). 3. Sally Karioth, a professor in the FSU College of Nursing and previous Circle of Gold honoree, uses her smartphone to take a picture of Ensley, who is her husband, and previous Circle of Gold honorees Jesse Solomon (B.S. ’85, Spec. ’98) and Les Akers (B.S. ’73).

4. Harris with Mark Zeigler (M.S. ’89), a teaching professor in the FSU College of Communication and Information who is a previous Circle of Gold honoree.

5. Ambrose with his children, Mia, 8, and Frank, 11. Photos by Steve Chase

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The official FSU Alumni Association app.

Now available on the App Store and Google Play

ASSOCIATION NEWS YOUNG ALUMNI AWARDS BRUNCH The FSU Alumni Association recognizes alumni who are 35 or younger and exemplify outstanding professional and personal development as Notable Noles. The distinction — formerly known as the Thirty Under 30 Awards — was given to 15 alumni during the annual Young Alumni Awards Brunch Nov. 12. The brunch gives younger alumni the chance to get to know older, more established alumni.

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2016 NOTABLE NOLES

1. Aakash Patel (B.A. ’06), a former Notable Nole honoree, and 2016 Notable Nole Melanie Shoemaker Griffin (B.S. ’03, MB.A. ’06, J.D. ’06) socialize during the brunch. 2. FSU President John Thrasher (B.S. ’65, J.D. ’72) congratulates Adner Marcelin (B.S. ’09) and 3. Stephanie Sisco (B.A. ’09), two of this year’s Notable Noles.

4. FSU students Nicole Blonsick and Beatrice Valenti share a moment with fellow members of the Student Alumni Association. 5. Former FSU President T.K. Wetherell (B.S. ’67, M.S. ’68, Ph.D. ’74) and first lady Ginger Wetherell catch up with Notable Nole Max Haney (B.S. ’12), who also received a Reubin O’D. Askew Young Alumni Award during the brunch. Photos by Steve Chase

BERNARD ASHBY (B.A. ’03) – Miami, Florida – Vascular Cardiologist, Mount Sinai Medical Center ETIENNE CHARLES (B.A. ’06) – Okemos, Michigan – Associate Professor of Jazz Trumpet, Michigan State University MICHELLE GIERACH (B.S. ’04, M.S. ’06) – Pasadena, California – Research Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory MELANIE SHOEMAKER GRIFFIN (B.S. ’03, M.B.A ’06, J.D. ’06) – Tampa, Florida - Equity Shareholder/Tampa Office Managing Shareholder, Dean Mead Law Firm

(See pages 54 and 55 for 2016 Askew Young Alumni Award recipients.)

View more photos: gonol.es/2016YAAwards

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MAX HANEY (B.S. ’12) – Fort Myers, Florida - Commercial Insurance Consultant, Risk Management Insurance

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CANDACE LERMAN (B.S. ’09, M.S. ’10) – Coral Springs, Florida - Florida Director, Rare Disease United Foundation ADNER MARCELIN (B.S. ’09) – Tallahassee, Florida - Communications Director and Law Clerk, Parks & Crump, LLC DANIELLE QUERCIA (B.S. ’07) – Washington, D.C. - Director of Scheduling & Logistics, Office of U.S. Senator Pat Toomey JAY REVELL (B.S. ’09, M.S. ’12) - Tallahassee, Florida - Vice President, Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce

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WILLIAM BENEDICT RUSSELL III (PH.D. ’06) – Orlando, Florida Professor of Social Science Education, University of Central Florida

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ANISHA SINGH (B.A ’09) – Washington, D.C. - Campaign Manager, Center for American Progress STEPHANIE SISCO (B.A. ’09) – New York City, New York - Home Editor, Real Simple Magazine ZACHARY SOBECK (B.S. ’13) - Alexandria, Virginia - Deputy Chief of Diplomatic Missions, United States Air Force JOSHUA TYLER (B.S. ’02) – Ocean Springs, Mississippi - Chief, Colorectal and Robotic Surgery, Keesler AFB, United States Air Force KELLY ALVAREZ VITALE (B.A. ’04, M.A. ’06) – Fort Lauderdale, Florida President, Strategic Philanthropy, Inc. Vires 53

ASSOCIATION NEWS

ASKEW YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD A special group of this year’s Notable Noles were recognized Nov. 12 with one of the Alumni Association’s highest honors: The Reubin O’D. Askew Young Alumni Award. The recipients have made significant contributions to their profession, their community or the university.

Askew Young Alumni Award portraits by AJ Studios Photography

1. The Askew Young Alumni Award recipients, from left, are Bernard Ashby, Etienne Charles, Max Haney, Michelle Gierach, Zachary Sobeck and Joshua Tyler. 2. Donna Lou Askew (B.S. ’55), representing her late husband, Reubin O’D. Askew (B.S. ’51), speaks during the Young Alumni Awards Brunch. Reubin Askew, who served as Florida’s governor from 1971 to 1979, spent six months working as the FSU Alumni Association’s first field secretary, beginning in January 1956. Photos by Steve Chase

DR. BERNARD ASHBY (B.A. ’03)

ETIENNE CHARLES (B.A. ’06)

MICHELLE GIERACH (B.S. ’04, M.S. ’06)

Vascular Cardiologist, Mount Sinai Medical Center Miami Beach, Florida

Associate Professor of Jazz Studies, Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan

Research Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena, California

After earning his M.D. from Cornell University, Bernard Ashby completed his residency at Columbia University, where he was appointed assistant professor while pursuing a master’s degree in public policy from Princeton. Afterward, he completed a cardiology fellowship at George Washington University, where he was elected chief fellow, and a vascular medicine postdoctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.

Etienne Charles’ deep love for researching jazz history frames his inventive style.

With a careful blending of rhythms from the French-, Spanish-, English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, Charles’ interpretation of jazz has been so profound, he was entered into the U.S. Congressional Record for his musical contributions to the islands of Trinidad and Tobago.

In her current role, Michelle Gierach leads a physical oceanography center investigating the condition of a large portion of the world’s coral reefs. She has received numerous recognitions for her work, including a Jet Propulsion Lab award for excellence and NASA’s Early Career Achievement medal. She has twice been chosen to represent NASA at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

As an FSU student, Ashby flourished in and out of the classroom, serving as a student government senator and member of the Golden Key Honour Society. After graduating from FSU, he attended Cornell, where he again displayed his leadership skills, serving as president of the Cornell chapter of the Student National Medical Association.

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In 2013 Charles released an album, “Creole Soul,” that spent three weeks at No. 1 in the Jazz Week charts, reached No. 25 in the Billboard rankings and was named No. 3 Jazz Album of the Year by Jazz Week magazine. “Creole Soul” is one of five recordings Charles has produced as a band leader. In addition to his degree from FSU, he holds a master’s degree from The Juilliard School.

Gierach received both her undergraduate and master’s degrees from FSU’s highly regarded meteorology program, where her thesis provided a technique for identifying early precursors to tropical cyclones. Since the ocean plays a vital role in weather, Gierach transitioned her studies to marine science — the discipline in which she earned a doctorate from the University of South Carolina.

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MAX HANEY (B.S. ’12)

LT. ZACHARY SOBECK (B.S. ’13)

MAJ. JOSHUA TYLER (B.S. ’02)

Broker and Partner, Risk Management Insurance Fort Myers, Florida

Deputy Chief of Diplomatic Missions, U.S. Air Force Alexandria, Virginia

Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Keesler Medical Center, U.S. Air Force Biloxi, Mississippi

Max Haney was a junior at FSU in 2005 when his father unexpectedly passed away. After receiving the blessing of then-FSU President T.K. Wetherell, Haney decided to leave FSU to take over his family’s restaurant business, which was more than $1 million in debt. Over a two-year period, he led the restaurant to a 36-percent increase in sales, which allowed it to be sold and the debt retired.

Zachary Sobeck serves the nation as deputy chief of diplomatic missions. In this role for more than a year, he has overseen the arrival and departure procedures for the air travel of more than 50 foreign heads of state.

Joshua Tyler has made a name for himself as an outstanding physician and educator.

He led the acquisition of a $5 million state-of-the-art robotic surgery platform.

As the only colorectal surgeon in the lower half of Mississippi, Tyler received approval from the Air Force to care for the local civilian population. He was named Surgical Educator of the Year in 2015.

At age 27, Haney returned to FSU, earning his degree in social and political science.

After graduation, he served as president of the Southwest Florida Seminole Club, where he led volunteers in raising $25,000 for a scholarship endowment.

After graduating in 2013 from FSU’s College of Social Sciences and Public Policy, Sobeck was commissioned as an officer in the Air Force through ROTC. For his first assignment, he was hand-picked for special duty as a flight-line protocol officer with the Presidential Airlift Wing at Joint Base Andrews. In that role, Sobeck was responsible for disseminating timecritical information about Air Force One, Air Force Two and foreign VIP visits. His work required the highest levels of diplomacy and coordination with the world’s topranking diplomatic leaders.

After graduating from FSU, Tyler earned his M.D. from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He was named valedictorian of his class and won the Air Force Surgeon General’s Award as the top medical student in the Air Force.

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Landis, Leach or Strozier: Which was your favorite campus hangout?

FSU Alumni Association

We asked FSU alumni to choose their favorite of three popular campus hangouts: Landis Green, Leach Center or Strozier Library. While the overwhelming choice was Landis Green, many offered their own favorites. Below is a sampling. tampigott Landis Green, plus the Union and Tully (pre-Leach).

juantwo3foshow Dirac Science Library.

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74 people like this.

View more comments Rita Phillips I’m so old “The Leach” did not exist. But I was lucky enough to meet Dr. Bobby Leach.

Like • Comment Kim Meyer The Phyrst — after I finished my work at Strozier!

Like • Comment JEgan SClark Second floor of Stone Building, long reading nook FSU College of Education.

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sashajessicax The Union!

(None of the above)

Tracy Maxwell Downing Loved the second floor of the Stone Building!

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PLUG IN to our social networks

Kacie B. Doran Landis! Club Stroz is a close second though.

Like • Comment Leslie Johnson Strozier, and not because I wanted to.

Like • Comment KJ Sessler Landis Green (Carey D. Landis), my great-great-grandfather!

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Twitter.com/fsualumni Facebook.com/fsualumniassociation LinkedIn gonoles/FSULinkedIn

David Mayer Courtyard of the William Johnston building.

Like • Comment Michael Fine Crenshaw!

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Instagram.com/fsualumni

YouTube.com/fsualumniassn

Elizabeth Jay Bright Strozier Library hands down. #innernerd Like • Comment Patrick Love Hot dog stand at Strozier.

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Thank You to Our New Life Members fsualumni

The following alumni and friends are new* Life Members of the FSU Alumni Association. Their support creates opportunities for our students, alumni and members who are and will always be #SeminolesForever.

Find out more about alumni membership: alumni.fsu.edu/join

1851 likes fraziermezzo Leach Center. Gotta get that #ChopStrong. divasocials The Leach!!! So many fun memories. I wish I found the gym that exciting now.

fsualumni

Patrick F. Andrews (B.S. ’05) and Amanda S. Andrews Ceil P. Bare (B.A. ’97, M.A. ’01, Ph.D. ’09) Melissa E. Beck (B.S.N. ’98) and Marc Ballard Bernard S. Bethea (B.S. ’89, M.B.A. ’90) and Cerita D. Bethea Duane R. Busse (M.S. ’78) Peggy B. Everett (B.A. ’63) David A. Frieder (B.S. ’92) Cruz L. Goetze (B.S. ’12) Kristen W. Hood (B.S. ’76) Mary G. Jervis (B.S. ’69) and Herbert H. Jervis (M.S. ’71, Ph.D. ’73) Richard C. Joyner (B.S. ’11) and Suzanne C. Joyner (B.S. ’90) Richard G. King (B.S. ’94) and Angela M. King Charles A. Krblich II (B.A. ’06) Katherine M. Krblich (B.S. ’09) Jeffrey Kuang (B.S. ’15) and Sarah M. Jahnke (M.F.A. ’15)

Duncan T. MacKenzie III (M.S. ’77) and Sandra T. MacKenzie Stephen McPherson I (B.S. ’14) Willie C. Merrell (B.S. ’77) and Teresa Merrell David N. Palmer (B.S. ’88) and Christie Palmer Liza A. Park (B.A. ’94, J.D. ’98) Mitchell A. Pernal (B.S. ’06) and Maria Pahountis Berry Pierre (B.S. ’05, B.S. ’07) and Maria Davis-Pierre Errol H. Powell (J.D. ’78) and Patricia A. Green-Powell (M.S. ’78, Ph.D. ’93) Sarah Rodriguez (B.S. ’07) Leron E. Rogers (J.D. ’99) Drew A. Romano (B.S. ’07) and Jessica L. Romano (B.S. ’07) Bethany L. Romzick (B.S. ’08) William B. Russell III (Ph.D. ’06) Valerie C. Steele (B.S. ’01, M.S. ’01) and Katherine J. Walker (B.A. ’10, M.S. ’16) Lauren E. Turner (B.S. ’06, M.B.A. ’09) Brandon N. Ware (B.S. ’12) and Terry Ware

Friends Shirley A. Marshall Peter J. McDougall III Tonya M. Moore and Tanisha J. Moore (B.F.A. ’15) *This list includes individuals who joined the FSU Alumni Association as Life Members between April 1 and Sept. 30.

749 likes diginole 100% S T R O Z

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CLASS NOTES Indicates FSU Alumni Association Life membership Indicates FSU Alumni Association membership

EMERITUS Hugh Durham (B.S. ’59, M.S. ’61) was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Mark Hillis (B.S. ’64), a member of the Florida State University Board of Trustees, was appointed chair of its Academic Affairs Committee and was appointed to the SunTrust Bank Florida Panhandle Regional Advisory Board of Directors.

1970s James M. Gossler (B.A. ’71), a retired high school choral director, was inducted into the North Carolina Music Educators Association 2016 High School Choral Section Hall of Fame.

George Tragos (B.A. ’71, J.D. ’74), managing partner of Tragos, Sartes & Tragos PLLC, was included in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of white-collar and non-white-collar criminal defense. In addition, he is listed in the Super Lawyers publication and currently serves on the executive council of the Criminal Law Section of the Florida Bar.

David Yon (B.S. ’77, J.D. ’80), shareholder of Radey Law Firm in Tallahassee, was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of insurance law. ▲ David Yon

▲ George Tragos

Robin Adams Photography

Steve Degangi (B.A. ’78), pastor of Grace Lower Stone Reformed Church of Rockwell, North Carolina, earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Sioux Falls Seminary.

William A. “Red” Dawson (B.S. ’65), a member of the Marshall University football coaching staff from 1968 to 1972, received the Distinguished West Virginian Award, the highest honor for a native of the state.

Actually Dawson was not born in West Virginia, but the native-born requirement was waived.

Stephen Montague (B.M. ’65, M.M. ’67) composed the orchestral score for “The King Dances,” a ballet that was nominated for Best Classical Choreography and won the Outstanding Male Performance Award (Classical) from the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards in London.

1966–69 Marieta Heaton (B.S. ’66), professor of neuroscience and director of the Center for Addiction Research and Education at the University of Florida, received the 2016 University of Florida College of Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award.

Tom Vlasak (B.S. ’66) and Evelyn Smith Vlasak (B.S. ’69) established the Tom and Evelyn Smith Vlasak Endowed Education Scholarship to cover tuition for one year for Floridians from Hamilton, Suwannee or Madison counties who wish to pursue a major in the FSU College of Education.

Elizabeth S. Malbon (B.A. ’69, M.A. ’70, Ph.D. ’80), professor of religion and culture at Virginia Tech, received the title of professor emerita from the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

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Marcel Bernier (B.A. ’79), partner with Murtha Cullina LLP, co-chaired the LLC Committee of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Business Law Section, which worked to enact the Connecticut Uniform Limited Liability Company Act. The act makes Connecticut a more business-friendly state.

Mark Herron (B.A. ’72, J.D. ’75), shareholder with Messer Caparello P.A., was named to the 2016 Florida Super Lawyers ranking.

▲ Marcel Bernier

Dominic Caparello (M.S. ’73, J.D. ’75), shareholder with Messer Caparello P.A., was named to the 2016 Florida Super Lawyers ranking.

Lonnie Groot (B.S. ’73, J.D. ’76), attorney with the law firm Stenstrom, McIntosh, Colbert & Whigham P.A., was appointed city attorney for Mount Dora, Fla. William O. “Bill” Monroe (B.S. ’73) has joined Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. as a government consultant with the governmental services team in the Tallahassee office.

Diahann Lassus (B.S. ’76) is president and co-founder of Lassus Wherley, a financial planning and investment management firm that was named

by NJBiz as one of the Best Places to Work in New Jersey for the sixth consecutive year.

Debie Leonard (B.S. ’76, B.S. ’83), shareholder with Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A., received the Women to Watch Experienced Leader Award from the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Floyd Self (B.S. ’77, J.D. ’86), partner with Berger Singerman, is serving a one-year term as president of the Southern Chapter of the Energy Bar Association.

Steve Demby (B.S. ’79), shareholder with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, was appointed to the board of directors of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Susan Ponder-Stansel (B.S. ’79, M.S.W. ’85), pioneer in the modern hospice movement, was inducted into the St. Augustine/Ketterlinus High School Alumni Association’s Hall of Fame for 2016.

MIKE RUEL (B.S. ’77) AND DEANA RUEL (B.S. ’77)

CLASS NOTES

If you thought the coolest thing about Mike Ruel (B.S. ’77) and Deana Ruel (B.S. ’77) is that the couple met on the trapeze bars at FSU’s Flying High Circus, think again. The intrepid duo, who both majored in biology while at FSU, just finished a six-year, 50,000-mile sail around the world.

Mike retired early from the medical sales business after he was diagnosed with throat cancer and given a 15 percent chance of surviving. “I told my wife that if I survive, I want to sail around the world to see remote locations and film animals underwater.” Mike, once a chief diver at the Miami Seaquarium, said he was inspired by the travels and work of Jacques Cousteau as well as Robin Lee Graham, a teenager who sailed around the globe in 1965.

Three years into Mike’s remission from cancer, the couple bought a blue-water catamaran and named her R Sea Kat after their three children. They set sail out of Georgia, staying close to the East Coast for a few weeks as they mastered the boat’s communication tools, water maker and solar power system.

Confident in their skills, they headed for waters most sailors avoid. “Most people sail around the equator because the winds are predictable, but we wanted to see the high latitudes as well,” says Mike.

1980s Marcie Boucouvalas (Ph.D. ’80), professor of human development in Virginia Tech’s College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, was named professor emerita by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

M. Dianne Murphy (Ph.D. ’80), former FSU women’s basketball coach (1976-1979), received the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators for her outstanding achievement and dedication to the advancement of women in athletics.

Susan Archie (B.A. ’81) won her third career Grammy for “The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records, Volume Two (1928-32),” with Jack White and Dean Blackwood, in the category of best boxed or special limited-edition package. The trio won last year for “Volume One.” Thomas Diorio (B.A. ’81), real estate transactional partner with national law firm Akerman LLP, has joined the firm’s New York office.

“Alaska was our favorite cruising ground because of the majesty of the landscape and the wildlife,” says Deana. The couple says other highlights included South Africa and Australia with its Great Barrier Reef.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing, however. Off Africa in the Mozambique channel, the Ruels encountered rough weather and high winds that required them to each take three-hour shifts throughout the night. They ended their journey safely in June 2016, dropping anchor in Miami Beach.

“My passion isn’t sailing, but the sea,” says Mike. Deana adds that as biology majors, their environmental ecology education at FSU led to a life-long passion for exploring the awesomeness of marine life.

From top: The R Sea Kat sailboat; the Ruels at Reid Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska; and the Ruels at Gros Piton, Soufriere, St. Lucia, in the Caribbean.

Jodi Feuerhelm (B.S. ’81), partner with Perkins Coie LLP, received the State Bar of Arizona’s 2016 Member of the Year Award.

▼ Janice Huff

Bob Gosselin (B.S. ’81) and his wife, Carolyn Bassett Gosselin, have opened two Chicken Salad Chick franchise restaurants in Tallahassee. Chicken Salad Chick was recently listed in Inc. Magazine as the 37th fastest-growing company in the nation. ▲ Carolyn Bassett Gosselin and Bob Gosselin

Janice Huff (B.S. ’82), chief meteorologist for NBC4 New York/ WNBC and a 2002 FSU Grad Made Good, was inducted into the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2016.

Rosemary C. Goss (Ph.D. ’82), professor of apparel, housing and resource management at Virginia Tech, was reappointed as that university’s Residential Property Management Advisory Board Professor.

Maureen Brockman (B.S. ’83) was named vice president of Community-Based Care of Central Florida’s newly formed CBC Foundation.

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CLASS NOTES Bryan Desloge (B.S. ’83), county commissioner in Leon County, Florida, is serving as president of the National Association of Counties. ▼ Dominic C. “Donny” MacKenzie

Geoff Cottrill (B.S. ’85), featured in the cover story of the Fall/Winter 2015 issue of VIRES magazine, was named president of MullenLowe Boston, a full-service, integrated advertising agency.

Bradley M. Saxton (B.S. ’85), attorney with Winderweedle, Haines, Ward & Woodman P.A., was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for 2017 and was selected as a 2016 Legal Elite attorney by Florida Trend.

Alexander S. Douglas II (J.D. ’89), partner with Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson P.A., was named to the 2016 Florida Super Lawyers ranking and selected as a 2016 Legal Elite attorney by Florida Trend.

1990s Leon Biegalski (B.S. ’90) was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet to serve as executive director of the Florida Department of Revenue. ▼ Travis Miller

Thomas Lanners (B.M. ’87), professor of piano at Oklahoma State University, served as an adjudicator for the senior division of the annual Texas Music Teachers Association/Music Teachers National Association Piano Performance Competitions. In September, he taught master classes in Shanghai for the third consecutive year and at the Zhejiang Conservatory in Hangzhou. In June, he taught master classes at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the middle school affiliated with the Shanghai Conservatory, and at East China Normal University.

Tracy Norris (B.S. ’87, M.S.P. ’91) was promoted to brigadier general with the Texas Army National Guard.

William Gary (B.A. ’88, M.A. ’91), professor of English and director of the Writing Center at Henderson Community College, was named the 2016 Henderson County (Kentucky) Educator of the Year.

Robin Adams Photography

Dominic C. “Donny” MacKenzie (B.S. ’84, J.D. ’87), attorney with Holland & Knight, is serving as immediate past president of the Florida Bar Foundation.

Patricia McEachern (M.A. ’85), Dorothy Jo Barker Endowed Professor for the Study of Animal Rights at Drury University, was named a fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics at Oxford University.

Travis Miller (B.S. ’91, J.D. ’94), shareholder and president of Radey Law Firm in Tallahassee, has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of insurance law.

Steven Fielder (B.S. ’92) joined the Florida ▲ MichelleofUbben Department Corrections as chief of staff.

JOHN CORRY (B.S. ’84) From 1987 to 2000, Coach Bobby Bowden took the once underwhelming FSU football team on a jaw-dropping run of 14 consecutive 10-win seasons — each of which resulted in a top-five finish. A new documentary, “The Bowden Dynasty: A Story of Faith, Family & Football,” will recognize the man and explore his awesome athletic achievement just in time for the 30th anniversary of that first winning season.

“This film is a thank-you to the coach,” says the executive producer, John Corry, who graduated from FSU with a bachelor’s degree in media communications in 1984. At FSU, Corry spent four years in ROTC and was later part of a combat camera squadron stationed outside of Los Angeles. In 1990, he left the Air Force, helped sell a series to A&E Network and jumped into commercial TV. For Corry, the documentary has been a longtime passion project. “Beyond his aptitude on the field, I’m endeared to Bowden because he taught us how to be winners, how to lose and how to conduct ourselves,” he says. “I have to pinch myself that no one made this film first.”

Wayne Hogan, left, and John Corry 60 Vires

The film features Bowden and his team of loyal assistants and players during the dynasty years as well as rarely seen footage, such as Bowden’s locker room talks. “The Bowden Dynasty” also gives a

glimpse of Bowden before he became the winningest coach in college football. “As a young boy, Bowden traced trick plays in the sand with his finger. He was also bedridden with rheumatic fever for a year, during which time he followed Alabama football games on the radio.”

“The Bowden Dynasty” premieres Jan. 8, 2017, in St. Petersburg, Florida, and will stream live in 400-plus movie theaters across the country as part of a national event, co-produced by another FSU alumnus, Wayne Hogan (B.A., ’79), now executive director of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame.

“Wayne was FSU’s sports information director for 14 years. He was there with Bowden for the Wide Rights, the close losses and the triumphs as well,” says Corry. “The fact that we got to team up and do something for Coach Bowden feels amazing.”

CLASS NOTES Jeffrey Hartsook (B.S. ’92) was named principal and industrial team leader of the South Florida office of Cresa, an international commercial real estate firm.

Christopher Iansiti (B.S. ’92, M.S. ’94), president of Iansiti Performance Group, was named to the Florida State University Foundation Board of Trustees.

Carey Martin (M.F.A. ’92, Ph.D. ’97), professor in Liberty University’s School of Communication & Creative Arts, received the Award of Excellence for his short film “Ohfer” at the Broadcast Education Association’s 2016 Festival of Media Arts.

Eric Reading (B.A. ’92, M.A. ’93), executive vice president of Chemonics International, was elected to the board of directors of the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign.

Tony Hitchcock Photography

▲ Eric Reading

Bert Combs (B.S. ’93), shareholder of Radey Law Firm in Tallahassee, was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of insurance law.

Beth Kemmer Merrick (B.S. ’93) celebrated her 23rd year as a professional recruiter with the Walt Disney Company in 2016. In addition, Merrick is a brand partner with Nerium International.

Brook Durham (B.F.A. ’94) co-starred in the Hallmark Channel movie “Date With Love,” which aired in May. Peter Curtis Leighton (M.S. ’94) joined Chepenik Trushin LLP as director of marketing and client relations.

Jack Pohlman (B.S. ’94), shareholder with Wiltshire, Whitley, Richardson & English P.A., received the 2016 Vocational Service Leadership Award from the Rotary Club of Fort Myers South (Florida).

Brian D. Ray (Ed.S. ’95, Ph.D. ’98), co-director of the Poe Business Ethics Center at the University of Florida, graduated with a Master of Strategic Studies degree from the U.S. Army War College.

Colin Mark Roopnarine (J.D. ’95) joined Berger Singerman as a partner on the Government and Regulatory Team.

Ryan Saul (M.F.A. ’95) was promoted to vice president of the APA Talent and Literary Agency.

Patrick Young (M.S.P. ’95), associate professor of psychology at Wingate University and a sport and performance consultant at Southeast Psych, earned certified consultant status from the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

Melissa Chambless (B.S. ’97) was promoted to senior vice president of brand marketing for TBS and TNT. She is responsible for strategic and tactical leadership for the networks’ brands, marketing campaigns and communications.

Gigi Rollini (B.A. ’97, M.P.A. ’03, J.D. ’03), shareholder with Messer Caparello P.A., was named to the 2016 Florida Super Lawyers ranking.

Betty Jeanne Taylor (B.S. ’97, M.S. ’99) is serving as assistant vice president for inclusion and equity at the University of Texas at Austin.

Jenni Young (B.S. ’97), attorney with Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney Ltd., was elected a shareholder in the firm’s Chicago office.

Brittany Adams Long (B.S. ’98, J.D. ’01) was named a shareholder in the Radey Law Firm of Tallahassee.

BENJAMIN L. CRUMP (B.S. ’92, J.D. ’95) This fall, Benjamin L. Crump will join Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and President Jimmy Carter as a recipient of the National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Award. A civil rights attorney with a firm in Tallahassee, Crump has fought high-profile, wrongful death and personal injury cases with civil rights implications. He represented Trayvon Martin’s family after it became clear that state prosecutors were not arresting George Zimmerman in the fatal shooting of their unarmed son.

“I’ve wanted to work toward ensuring justice for all communities since the fourth grade when I first learned about the contributions of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall,” says Crump, who earned his bachelor’s degree in criminology at FSU in 1992 and his law degree from FSU in 1995. “I already had these ideals before coming to college, but FSU helped me mold those ideas into a plan of action.”

In 2006, Crump garnered national attention when he represented the family of Martin Lee Anderson, a 14-year-old who was beaten to death by guards in a Florida juvenile detention boot camp. Crump not only won a multimillion-dollar settlement for the family, but the case prompted Florida to ultimately close all of its juvenile boot camps. His other notable cases include Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Corey Jones, Alesia Thomas and others who have died at the hands of law enforcement.

“I take these cases because it’s the right thing to do,” says Crump. “Ultimately, it comes down to representing the people that get overlooked and using the great law education I received to make a difference to as many people as I can.

“I’m immensely humbled to be honored with the Freedom Award,” says Crump, who also has been named one of the National Trial Lawyers' Top 100 Lawyers and one of Ebony magazine’s Power 100 Most Influential African-Americans. He also has been the recipient of the NAACP’s Thurgood Marshall Award and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Martin Luther King Servant Leader Award.

Benjamin L. Crump

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CLASS NOTES

SEMI

Alumni from around the country showcase their knowledge in every academic discipline and throughout the limitless spaces of imagination by writing works of nonfiction and fiction.

If you’ve written a book published by a traditional publisher, let us know at fsualum@alumni.fsu.edu and send a high-resolution image of the book cover so that we can add it to our Seminole Shelf.

NOLE

SHELF

Karlin Gray (B.A. ’92) wrote a children’s book, “Nadia: The Girl Who Couldn’t Sit Still,” the firstever picture-book biography of five-time Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci.

Martha Caldwell (B.A. ’82, M.A. ’91), a teacher at the Paideia School in Atlanta, co-wrote a book, “Let’s Get Real: Exploring Race, Class, and Gender Identities in the Classroom.”

James D. “Jim” Johnson (M.S. ’87) was co-first author of a study describing the discovery of ketolase, an enzyme responsible for the red pigments in the feathers of birds such as cardinals. The research was featured as the cover story of the June 6, 2016, issue of the journal Current Biology.

David Lauer (Specialist ’92) wrote a book, “It’s All Good: A Career in Education,” which chronicles his 42-year career in education that included positions as a teacher, coach, club sponsor, department chairman, staff development trainer, program administrator, high school principal and assistant superintendent.

Niles Reddick (Ph.D. ’96), vice provost of the University of Memphis-Lambuth, wrote a novel, “Drifting Too Far from the Shore.” The book is endorsed by Winston Groom, author of “Forrest Gump,” and noted Tennessee author Michael Lee West.

Elizabeth DexterMazza (B.S. ’97) wrote a book, “DBT Skills in Schools: Skills Training for Emotional Problem Solving for Adolescents.”

The book provides a universal social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum for middle and high school students based on dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills.

Martha Bush AshtonSikora (B.A. ’56) has published the second revised and enlarged edition of the book she cowrote, “The Royal Temple Theater of Krishnattam,” about the Sanskrit ritualistic dance theater in the Indian state of Kerala.

Ron Hamm (B.A. ’59) wrote a biography, “Ross Calvin: Interpreter of the American Southwest.”

Calvin was known for writing about New Mexico’s history, people, culture and climate. Hamm has written extensively about New Mexico as a journalist, author and biographer.

Andrea Panzeca (B.A. ’05) wrote a chapbook of poetry, “Rusted Bells and Daisy Baskets.”

Find books to read by fellow Seminoles at goodreads.com/FSUalumni

Is your book not on the list?

Orrin Pilkey (Ph.D. ’62) co-wrote a book, “Retreat from a Rising Sea: Hard Choices in an Age of Climate Change.” The authors detail the effects of rising oceans on coastal cities, actions to remove vulnerable populations and arguments for changing federal coastal-management policies.

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Mark Mazzatenta (M.M. ’87), an instructor of guitar at High Point University, has published “Ten Easy Guitar Duos” and “Ten Easy Guitar Trios,” with unique arrangements of classic songs such as “Shenandoah” and “Shine On, Harvest Moon.”

Send us a copy, and we’ll add it to our office alumni author bookshelf and to the list online!

CLASS NOTES

Alumnus wins 2016 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting

ANTHONY CORMIER (B.A. ’00) A reporter’s job, according to Anthony Cormier (B.A. ’00), is to nudge the world in the right direction by telling people about important things.

Things they need to know but don’t know — or would rather not know.

“Reporting is an opportunity to do good work that is important and that changes people’s lives,” he said.

Cormier — an investigative reporter with the Tampa Bay Times — did just that by spending a year scrutinizing Florida’s largest mental health hospitals for a five-part exposé with fellow Times reporter Leonora LaPeter Anton and Michael Braga of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

What the trio found was disturbing: neglected patients and unchecked violent patients running the halls, a legacy of inadequate staffing caused by years of state officials’ budget cuts.

After interviewing dozens of hospital employees, patients and their families and reviewing reams of incident reports and health and safety inspections, the reporters also created the first comprehensive database of injuries and violent episodes at Florida’s mental health hospitals.

Their reporting won a 2016 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting, an honor Cormier calls “surreal.”

“I know it is a blessing to have won it, and I also know that there are thousands of reporters and journalists better than me who never have,” he said. “I’m not taking it for granted. I am humbled and grateful.

“The Pulitzers represent the best of American journalism, and I want to continue doing the best of American journalism.”

While growing up, Cormier developed a love of reading, especially newspapers, and thought of himself as a “halfway decent, passable writer.”

Choosing to attend FSU because of the outstanding reputation of its creative writing program, he met professor of English Mark Winegardner, a novelist who would be chosen by Ballantine Books to write “The Godfather Returns” (2004), the sequel to Mario Puzo’s classic.

“Mark nurtured me in ways that no one had ever done before,” Cormier said. “He was my first real editor and was the first person that actually believed I had a modicum of talent. He encouraged me to keep going, to keep writing and that it was a way forward for me. I owe Mark so much.”

Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger (far left) with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Leonora LaPeter Anton, Michael Braga and Anthony Cormier (far right). Photo by Eileen Barroso/Columbia University

After briefly covering sports and the police beat in his first newspaper job at the Panama City News Herald, Cormier moved on to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and began his career as an investigative journalist.

There he took on long-term projects investigating police behavior and the failure of about 70 Florida community banks after the recession of 2007-2009.

“We generally take a year or longer to finish these kinds of projects,” he said. “With shrinking resources in American newsrooms, being able to take this long is a rarity and I don’t take it for granted.

Sifting through thousands of pages of documents and row upon row of data to fully understand the subject at hand takes a lot of time, according to Cormier.

“It takes digging to get to the actual, factual thing — especially when you’re dealing with a subject no one else has written about, no one else has explained,” he said. “So I am really grateful to have the time to do that, and I wish more journalists would have that same luxury.”

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CLASS NOTES Bobbie Cavnar (B.S. ’99), English and journalism teacher at South Point High School, was named North Carolina’s 2016 State Teacher of the Year.

Brandi Bradburn Holland (M.F.A. ’99) is serving as an editor on NBC’s “This Is Us.” Carol A. Russo (M.S. ’99) is serving as senior community library manager of the Northwest Regional Library of Broward County, Florida.

Kelsey Scott (M.F.A. ’99) guest-starred as Rose on multiple episodes of the ABC series “How to Get Away with Murder.”

2000s

Zachary J. “Zac” Sieffert (M.F.A. ’02) served as the first assistant camera (1st AC) on the upcoming feature film “Girl Trip” and on Rob Reiner’s “LBJ” (2016), the TV miniseries “Roots” (2016) and the indie feature “Mudbound” (2016). In addition, he served as A-camera 1st AC on “Keanu” (2016) and “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” (2016). He also served as B-camera 1st AC on the second unit of “Deepwater Horizon” (2016).

Grasford W. Smith (B.S. ’02), shareholder with Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs P.A., was sworn in as a member of the board of directors of the Palm Beach County Bar Association and will serve as this year’s co-chair of the association’s Committee for Diversity and Inclusion.

James Ciccarello (B.F.A. ’03) has served for 10 years as an editor on the CBS reality show “Survivor.”

TKG Studios/Joseph Y. Wong

Jeremey Davis (B.S. ’00), Army major specializing in field artillery, spent the summer in Central America training Honduran soldiers and police while mobilized with the Florida Army National Guard.

Michael Moragne (B.F.A. ’04) is serving as line producer on the Dreamworks series “The Adventures of Puss in Boots.”

Adele Romanski (B.F.A. ’04) is serving as an executive producer of the Starz series “The Girlfriend Experience.”

Corinne Bishop (M.S. ’05), graduate outreach librarian at the University of Central Florida’s John C. Hitt Library, is serving as 2016-2017 board secretary of the Florida Association of College Research & Libraries.

Marin Dell (M.S. ’05, Specialist ’07, M.S. ’10) joined the library of Texas Tech University’s School of Law as head of digital and electronic services.

▼ Joshua D. Curry Megan Bobiak (B.S. ’00) is working as an account executive with Anson + Stoner, an Orlando-based advertising agency.

Joseph F. Ferris (B.S. ’04) is working as the principal technology security engineer for AT&T’s Global Customer Security Services team, dedicated to the state of Florida’s MyFloridaNetwork.

Matthew Kissner (B.S. ’05, J.D. ’11), attorney with Broad and Cassel, was a finalist in South Florida Business & Wealth’s 2016 Up & Comer Awards. ▲ Matthew Kissner

Allison Harrell (B.S. ’00, M.Acc. ’01), shareholder with Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs, was selected as one of 2016’s “25 Women You Need to Know” by the Tallahassee Democrat.

Julie Drach (B.F.A. ’02) was nominated for an Emmy for Set Decoration for the Amazon series “Just Add Magic,” and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Series for her set decoration on “Key and Peele.”

Scott Knapp (B.S. ’02), partner with Broad and Cassel, was a finalist in South Florida Business & Wealth’s 2016 Up & Comer Awards. In addition, the Daily Business Review named him a 2016 Rising Star, South Florida’s most promising up-andcoming attorneys.

Manuel Rodriguez (B.S. ’02) is serving as president-elect of the Organizational Behavior Management Network. In addition, he received the 2015 Outstanding Alumnus Award from the Florida Institute of Technology, where he earned his master’s degree.

Armando Salas (M.F.A. ’02) served as cinematographer on six of eight episodes of the History Channel military drama “Six.” Kristi Santi (Ph.D. ’02), associate professor of special education at the University of Houston, is serving as vice president of the Texas Chapter of the Council for Learning Disabilities.

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Joshua D. Curry (B.A. ’03), patent and intellectual property litigation attorney with Dentons US LLP, was named a partner in the firm.

In addition, Super Lawyers named him a Rising Star for 2016.

Amy Seimetz (B.A. ’03) is serving as an executive producer, writer and director on the Starz series “The Girlfriend Experience.”

Daniel Therrien (B.S. ’03, M.S. ’09) earned a Master of Science degree in applied and computational mathematics from Johns Hopkins University in 2015.

Christopher W. Bailey (B.F.A. ’04) wrote and directed “The Parting Gift,” a short film that won the 2016 Pilgrim Graham Wade Media Prize from Christian Media Australia.

Rachel Cocciolo (B.A. ’04, M.A. ’07, J.D. ’15) joined Burr & Forman LLP as an associate in the Creditors’ Rights & Bankruptcy practice, Jacksonville, Florida.

Meghan Hernandez Kraft (B.F.A. ’05) served as associate editor on Sony Animation/Rovio’s “The Angry Birds Movie” (2016).

Gavin Lacambra (B.S. ’05) joined Collins Einhorn Farrell P.C. in the firm’s Asbestos and Toxic Tort Practice Group.

Ashleigh McDonald (B.S. ’05, B.S. ’05) is serving as director of marketing commercialization with Coca-Cola.

Angela D. Miles (B.S. ’05) was named a shareholder in the Radey Law Firm of Tallahassee.

Joshua O’Driscoll (B.A. ’05, B.S. ’05, B.A. ’05), assistant curator of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts with the Morgan Library & Museum, received the Paul Clemen Prize, which promotes the study of art from Germany’s Rhineland.

CLASS NOTES

KRISTIAN DENNY (B.A. ’92)

As a strategist, press secretary, national spokesperson and aide, Kristian Denny has helped to steer the campaigns of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry and Bernie Sanders, among other key politicians.

“When something undesirable comes up in a campaign, the trick is to force the narrative back to one’s advantage, to define it before it defines you,” says Denny, who graduated from FSU in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in English. As a junior, she had her first foray into politics through an internship with state Rep. Bolley Johnson. “My education at FSU was top-notch,” she said. “After graduating, I felt like I could conquer the world.”

Denny started by pursuing a Master of Public Policy degree from California State University. With that, she conquered public relations for a long line of candidates. Most recently she was in Iowa laying the groundwork for Bernie Sanders. She says she was especially proud of her role in a 2006 campaign in Virginia, in which Senate candidate Jim Webb upset an entrenched Republican incumbent, tipping the U.S. Senate back under Democratic control.

communications at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “It’s a race with a start and a finish, and a clear winner.”

Although the winner may be clear, the rules of the game are not. “Before social media, you’d hear about a situation first and have time to get your plan in place. But now, you’re learning about it at the same time as the public,” says Denny. “As I tell my students, with experience you learn which crises require attention and which need to play out on their own.

“In this business, you have to be very flexible, be able to think on your feet, have thick skin and keep laser-sharp focus while things are chaotic,” says Denny, who has even had to employ some of her political savvy at home. This ’Nole is married to “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd, a passionate University of Miami Hurricanes fan.

“I love the competitive nature of politics,” says Denny, who also teaches strategic and crisis Kristian Denny Ronald Rule (B.S. ’05), senior vice president with Bank of America, took part in the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, an annual homebuilding blitz organized by Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliates.

Danette Saylor (Ph.D. ’05), vice president of student affairs and success at Albany State University, is serving a two-year term on the advisory board of the NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education Center for Women.

Tanesha Tutt (B.A. ’05, B.A. ’05, M.S. ’06) has achieved the rank of lieutenant in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, where she produces a variety of communication products about public health.

Jeffrey Whalen (B.S. ’05, Ph.D. ’09) received the TechConnect Innovation Award at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo in May on behalf of his company, FullScaleNano, which specializes in bringing nanotechnology to market.

Jennifer Dombek (B.S. ’06, M.S. ’08, Ph.D. ’13), associate in research with the Florida Center for Reading Research, and Nicholaus Dombek (B.S. ’07), a teacher at Tallahassee’s Griffin Middle School, ran the 2016 New York City Marathon to raise money for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. Jennifer Dombek is an ovarian cancer survivor.

Cody Gallo (B.F.A. ’06) joined the Directors Guild of America as a second assistant director after completing the West Coast DGA training program over nearly three years.

Sara D. Jones (M.S. ’06) joined the Council for Advancement and Support of Education as an educational programs manager.

Jason Benoit (B.F.A. ’06) joined WideAwake Inc. as head of development and production.

Laura Maly (B.S. ’06), co-founder of the Wisconsinbased Wonderist Agency, has expanded the dental marketing business with a new office in San Diego.

Aimee Barth Dirksen (B.F.A. ’06) joined Fullscreen. com as executive in charge of the subscription video-on-demand service.

Miguel Nolla (B.A. ’06, B.F.A. ’06) wrote “The Guest,” a 2016 episode of the Freeform TV series “Stitchers.”

William B. Russell III (Ph.D. ’06), professor of social science education at the University of Central Florida, was named a 2016 Notable ’Nole.

Sarah Beth Shapiro (M.F.A. ’06) was named to Kalyn Corrigan’s “10 Exceptional Female Film Editors” list for her work editing the Riley Stearns film “Faults.”

Kelly Corder (B.A. ’07) was promoted to director of communications with the Florida Commission on Offender Review.

Amy Graham (B.S. ’07, M.S. ’10) is serving as deputy communications director for U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia).

Jessica D. Olcott (M.S. ’07) received a Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellowship from the Fulbright U.S. Student Program to travel to Kosovo to provide subject matter expertise and serve as a special assistant to the Ministry of the Kosovo Security Forces.

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CLASS NOTES Lenese Colson (M.S. ’08) joined Old Dominion University as a lecturer in the Darden College of Education.

Elizabeth Dauer (B.S. ’08) joined Spencer Fane LLP in the firm’s municipal practice group.

Amber Kukulya (B.S. ’08), human resources manager at Minor League Baseball, received the 2016 Tampa Bay HR Person of the Year Award in the small-organization category from HR Shield.

Cedric Nabe (B.S. ’08), who lettered on the FSU track team from 2004 to 2006 and trained for the 2012 Olympics, is serving as a senior manager for Deloitte in Switzerland.

Abby Phillips (M.S. ’08, Ph.D. ’16) accepted a postdoctoral position at Utah State University.

Sarah Deville (M.S. ’09), head of public services at the Canizaro Library of Ave Maria University, is serving as 2016-2017 board member-at-large of the Florida Association of College Research & Libraries.

Bennett Stein (B.S. ’09) joined Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. as a staff accountant in the Tax Services Department.

2010s Jaye Davidson (M.F.A. ’10) produced and edited a short film, “FAONS,” about a young writer’s struggle to publish original work during his first year of marriage.

▲ Amber Kukulya Barbara Moro (B.S. ’08, M.S. ’08, M.P.A. ’12) was appointed interim president/CEO of the Southern Scholarship Foundation while continuing to serve as director of student affairs for SSF’s North Florida campus.

Elizabeth Ann Fetner (M.B.A. ’10) was promoted to executive director of Trillium ▲ Patrick Gines Woods, a resort-style senior living community in Plymouth, Minnesota.

Ryan “Speedo” Green (M.M. ’10), performer with the Vienna State Opera, was the subject of a biography, “Sing for Your Life: A Story of Race, Music and Family,” written by New York Times Magazine contributing writer Daniel Bergner and chosen by Oprah Magazine as a “top pick for fall.”

Lee Lovett (B.S. ’10, J.D. ’14) joined Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. as a staff accountant in the Tax Services Department.

Gina Oviedo-Martinez (M.S. ’10) joined the Hillsborough County (Florida) Public Libraries as a senior librarian.

Ryan Sullivan (B.S. ’10) is working as the Windows systems administrator with WestRock, a packaging company with 45,000 employees in more than 200 worldwide locations.

Osubi Craig (M.A. ’11) is working as special assistant to the president for strategic initiatives and special projects at Virginia State University. ▲ Nathan Kupperman

HENRI CROCKETT (B.S. ’96) Henri Crockett is not your average College of Criminology and Criminal Justice alumnus. The former Florida State Seminole who spent seven years in the National Football League has used his resources from playing professional football to become a philanthropist.

Shortly after being drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, Crockett founded Team 94 (his jersey number), a nonprofit organization designed to assist at-risk youth with after-school tutoring and mentoring in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Through Team 94, Crockett was able to help several local adolescents make their dreams of going to college a reality.

After seeing the impact of Team 94, Crockett wanted to expand the reach of his philanthropic efforts. He co-founded the Crockett Foundation with his brother, Zack (B.S. ’94), another FSU alumnus and NFL player.

Since its inception in their hometown of Pompano Beach, Florida, the Crockett Foundation has been committed to improving the quality of life for children and adolescents and building strong communities for families locally and across the country.

Henri Crockett

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Crockett initially pursued criminology to provide the background for a career as a U.S. marshal. But

based on personal experiences and his involvement interning with the State of Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice Office of Probation and Community Intervention, he discovered that he found more fulfillment by directly helping at-risk youth.

“As you work with the Office of Probation and Community Intervention you start to see that those youth have a lot of potential … you start to see that these are some good kids that have just been led down the wrong path. They just need a little guidance, need a little help,” he said.

In 2016, the Crockett Foundation established the Crockett Family Fund for Excellence through the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice to award scholarships to deserving undergraduate or graduate students majoring in criminology and criminal justice. In addition, Crockett is a member of the Presidents Club Robert Strozier Society.

CLASS NOTES Susan Densmore-James (Ph.D. ’11), assistant professor of teacher education and educational leadership at the University of West Florida, was the driving force behind the successful debut of the first National Writing Project Summer Invitational Institute at UWF. Ronald C. Johnson (B.F.A. ’11) had his short film “Shade” accepted for screening at the LA Shorts Fest film festival.

Melanie R. Leitman (J.D. ’11), associate attorney with Messer Caparello P.A., was named a 2016 Rising Star by Super Lawyers.

Kathryn Lyons (B.A. ’11) is working as the managing editor of FamousDC, a website that tells behind-thescenes stories related to the nation’s capital.

Antonio Romano (B.S. ’11), associate attorney with Chepenik Trushin LLP, was selected by his peers as a fellow in the Florida Bar Leadership Academy.

Elaine Sutter (M.Acc. ’11), senior in the Tax Services Department at Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A., earned the Certified Financial Planner certification.

Joe Hackman (B.F.A. ’12), associate editor/music supervisor at InSync Plus, won Best of Show and Best Independent Trailer from the Golden Trailer Awards for his work on the feature film preview of “Spotlight” (2015), which starred Mark Ruffalo.

Haley Manrique (B.F.A. ’12) is serving as a consulting producer on MTV’s “Ridiculousness.”

Ashia Miller (B.A. ’12) won the title of 2016 Miss Georgia United States and, in August, competed in the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas.

Alyssa Roti (B.S. ’12, M.Acc. ’13) joined the Tampa office of Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. as a certified public accountant and a senior in the Tax Services Department.

Rebekah Suellau (M.F.A. ’12, M.S. ’12) wrote a play, “Kept Woman,” which was performed in November through the Araca Project, a program that gives new theater producers an opportunity to produce a show in an off-Broadway venue in New York City.

Jazmin Ghent (B.M.E. ’13), music teacher and touring saxophone artist, performed at the Ninth Annual Atlanta Smooth Music Festival in September.

Giselle Girones (B.A. ’13) served as the 2015-2016 secretary of the executive board of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers chapter at the Stetson University College of Law. Jennifer Luetkemeyer (M.S. ’13) joined Appalachian State University as an assistant professor of library science.

Pamela Rentz (Ph.D. ’13) was named dean of the School of Education at Chipola College.

Sydney Shapiro (B.A. ’13, B.S. ’13) served for two years with the Peace Corps in Zambia, where she helped build the first community library at a government primary school in Southern Province.

Lissette Calveiro (B.S. ’14) joined the Max Borges Agency as an account executive.

Moriah McLaughlin (B.A. ’15) joined Mindshare as an associate negotiator. She works on the firm’s national broadcast team purchasing commercial time for General Mills.

Saad Nawab (M.F.A. ’15) won the Best Narrative award for “Frankenstein’s Light,” his Master of Fine Arts thesis film, at the 2016 Indiana Comic Con. Edward H. Pein (B.S. ’15) joined Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. as a staff accountant in the Assurance Services Department.

Darrel Raymundo (B.F.A. ’15) joined Soapbox as a graphic intern.

Shaniqua Rivers (M.F.A. ’15) joined the Creative Artists Agency as a trainee.

Sawyer Schmookler (B.S. ’15) joined Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. as a staff accountant in the Tax Services Department.

Elizabeth Fletcher (M.F.A. ’14) won the Audience Choice Award for “Alienated,” her Master of Fine Arts thesis film, at the 2016 Indiana Comic Con.

Yiyi Yin (M.F.A. ’15) won a Platinum Remi in the Suspense/Thriller category for the Master of Fine Arts thesis film “Wan Mei” at Worldfest Houston, the 49th annual international independent film festival.

Megan Keplinger (B.S. ’14) joined Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. as a marketing and business development associate.

Ali Raza (M.S. ’16) joined Colorado State University as a program coordinator for campus activities.

Samantha Pettis (B.S. ’14) joined Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. as a staff accountant in the Tax Services Department.

Rachel Skibicki (B.S. ’14) serves on the Chick-fil-A One Digital Experience team as the menu management and digital ordering support lead. The team was responsible for developing the company’s new smartphone app.

Matt Walker (B.S. ’12) joined the Tampa office of Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. as a senior in the Assurance Services Department.

Francois Wolmarans (B.S. ’14) is working as a project manager for the Bulk Applications Group of Linde North America, an industrial gases and engineering company.

Gary Wilkerson Jr. (B.A. ’12, M.F.A. ’15) is working as a writers' assistant on the HBO series “Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons.”

Courtney Bouie (B.A. ’15) joined the FSU College of Motion Picture Arts as executive assistant to the dean.

Ira Brown (M.F.A. ’13) accepted a teaching position in Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Film-Video and Media Studies.

Erica Chan (M.F.A. ’15) won a College Television Award, also known as a Student Emmy, for her work as producer of the Master of Fine Arts thesis film “Isa and the Frog Prince.”

Samara Gerard (B.S. ’13) is working as the digital media planner for MullenLowe Profero, a fullservice, integrated digital marketing agency.

Jeremy Donaldson (M.F.A. ’15) was a finalist for the Vilmos Zsigmond Student Heritage Award, graduate category, from the American Society of Cinematographers for his work on the film “Isa and the Frog Prince.”

re c o gn i z es C l a s s N ot es c o mp li s h m en ts c t h e re c en t a n i . To s ub m it o f F S U a lu m c at i on , b li it e m s fo r pu e du @ a lu m n i . f s u . ec t m e m a i l f s u a lu ubj s e h t n ot es ” i N s s a l C “ h it w es c lu de t h e n a m li n e . P le a s e i n n ) an d c l a s s y ea r s a i de ( i n c lu d i n g m lu m n i . P h ot o g r ap h s a nt r i nt o f a ll re le va t s h ou ld b e p er bu d e t ep c c a a re ls p a st 3 0 0 p ix e . le at ( ty li a qu B) 6 ” an d on e M i n c h at 4 ” x t. 1 d b et w ee n O c I t e m s re c ei ve i ll b e c on s i de re d 1 w an d M a r c h 3 u m m er is s ue . g/s fo r t h e sp r i n on h at s ub m is s i K i n d ly n ot e t ee i n c lu s i on du e an t do es n ot g u a r i on s . at t o sp a c e li m it Vires 67

IN MEM O RIA M 1930s Etta (née Gore) Marlin (B.A. ’32) Margaret W. (née Willis) Huston (B.S. ’34) Anna (née Mitchell) Evans (B.A. ’37) Virginia (née Taylor) Rogers (B.A. ’37) Edna (née Yacobian) Bishop (B.S. ’38) Elsie (née Renfroe) Knight (B.A. ’38) Valerie V. Hunt (B.S. ’39)

1940s Edna L. (née Warren) Case (B.M. ’40) Grace E. (née Wimberley) Chavis (B.S. ’40) Lydia (née Mead) Batey (B. ’41) Marion (née Fernald) Nichols (B.A. ’41) Martha (née Davis) Schoening (B.S. ’42) Margaret (née Oldham) Solberger (B. ’42, M.S.W. ’70) Stella (née Valenti) Flynn (B.S. ’43)

The Edwards family, from left: Ashley, Leigh, Helen and Steve.

STEVE EDWARDS JR. (B.S. ’52, M.S. ’54)

Steve Edwards, a respected nuclear physicist who was educated at FSU and served the institution for 44 years as a graduate student, faculty member and administrator, died May 27, 2016, at age 85.

Edwards approached his work with dedication, integrity and a fierce commitment to academic standards, and he was a champion for helping colleagues reach their full potential to further knowledge.

After earning two degrees in physics from FSU and a doctorate in theoretical physics from Johns Hopkins University, Edwards joined the faculty of the FSU Department of Physics in 1960. He helped found the university’s nuclear physics program, which has become one of the top programs in the nation.

By virtue of his longstanding affiliation with the university, which included 18 years as dean of the faculties and deputy provost, Edwards became FSU’s unofficial historian — the definitive source of institutional knowledge and wisdom. When he retired in 2003, he became the fifth recipient of the Westcott Medal, an infrequently bestowed honor recognizing the most distinguished service to FSU. Edwards was preceded in death by his wife of 47 years, Helen Carothers Edwards.

He is survived by the couple’s daughters, Ashley Edwards (B.S. ’90, M.S. ’95), director of Tallahassee’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs, and Leigh Edwards, an associate professor of English at FSU. 68 Vires

Ruth (née Smith) Mitchell (B.A. ’43, M.A. ’45, Ph.D. ’67) Bethea (née Willis) Patterson (B.A. ’43) Ruth E. (née Nafziger) Thompson (B. ’43) Martha C. (née Powell) Beckham (B.S. ’44) Winnie F. (née Rooks) Johnson (B.S. ’44) Helen E. (née Herriott) Landers (B. ’44) Nell (née Sims) Melzer (B.A. ’44, M.S. ’67) Eleanor (née Henshaw) Ovca (B.S. ’44) Angelena (née Bryant) Roberts (B.A. ’44) Edith B. Wax (B.S. ’44) Eleanor (née Boyles) Webb (B.S. ’45) Julia (née Mays) Wood (B.S. ’45) Marjorie (née Philyaw) Wright (B.A. ’45, M.A. ’49) Catherine (née Barrs) Floyd (B.S. ’46, M.S. ’63) Gladys (née Silverblatt) Friedman (B.A. ’46) Emma (née Murray) Grissom (B.A. ’46) Jessie (née McCalla) Heasley (B.A. ’46) Alice (née Phillips) Hill (B.S. ’46) Martha (née Cargill) Miller (B.S. ’46) Katherine (née Gremli) Nash (B.M. ’46) Calista (née Hatcher) Sawyer (B.S. ’46) Elizabeth C. (née Bourland) Warnock (B.S. ’46) Evelyn (née Deas) Adicks (B.S. ’47) Marjorie A. (née Scanlan) Gibbens (B.S. ’47) Gloria A. (née Smith) Koch (B.S. ’47) Fay (née Bass) Mills (B.A. ’47) Clarice (née Journigan) Seidner (B.A. ’47) Ann (née Mathews) Cook (B.A. ’48) Nona (née Scaglione) Eurs (B.S. ’48) Jeanne (née Oldfather) Hullihan (B.A. ’48) Betty L. (née Bolles) McCoy (B.S. ’48) Barbara J. Tait (B.S. ’48) Gloria (née Douglas) Tarver (B.S. ’48) Luanne Batman (B.A. ’49) Lucile (née Harding) Derkman (B.S. ’49) Shirley (née Hargraves) Gaventa (B.S. ’49, M.S. ’66) Willard T. Gilbert (B.S. ’49) Rufus O. Jefferson (B.S. ’49) Elizabeth (née Read) Kenefick (B.A. ’49) Richard P. Lamb (B.S. ’49) Loubelle (née Tyre) Long (M.A. ’49) Martha M. (née Roach) Plant (B.A. ’49) Lavinia (née Cahill) Powell (B.A. ’49) Helen (née Culbreth) Schrenker (B.S. ’49) Mary A. (née Whelchel) Smith (B.S. ’49) Dorothy E. (née Galbraith) Tanner (B.S. ’49) Helen V. (née Jones) Watson (B.S. ’49)

1950s Herbert W. Chandler Sr. (B.S. ’50) Joseph S. Clark Sr. (B.S. ’50) June (née Whidden) Depaoli (B.S. ’50) Speros G. Diamond (M.S. ’50) Emma F. Douglas (B.S. ’50) Carol (née Dean) Jones (B.A. ’50) Beverly A. (née Staples) Rymer (B.A. ’50) Marjorie F. (née Padgett) Sangaree (B.S. ’50) Carol J. (née Thomas) Brethour (B.S. ’51) Mary (née Jones) Castello (B.S. ’51) Edna (née Groezinger) Griner (B.A. ’51) William J. Harrington Jr. (M.M. ’51) Albert C. Hartsfield (B.S. ’51) Virginia (née Douglas) James (B.S. ’51)

William A. Kratzert Jr. (B.S. ’51) Charles D. Mandeville (B.S. ’51) Laverna (née Van De Sande) McGinnis (B.S. ’51) Thomas M. Parham (B.S. ’51) Mildred (née Jones) Rankin (B.S. ’51) Jacques W.F. Allen (B.A. ’52) Herman S. Bekemeyer (B.M. ’52, M.M. ’56) Ivan I. Bradshaw (Cert.Met. ’52) Joyce M. Bryant (M.M. ’52, D.M. ’73) Bill C. Driver (B.S. ’52) William R. Holloway (B.S. ’52) Mildred (née Grotewold) Johnson (B.A. ’52) Joseph C. Lane Jr. (B.S. ’52) Janice L. (née Bridwell) Magee (B.S. ’52) Cynthia A. Mink (B.S. ’52) John E. Morgan (B.S. ’52, M.S. ’59) Marianne Morgan (B.S. ’52, M.S. ’58) Kathryn E. (née Gray) Smith (B.A. ’52) Laurence L. Snook Jr. (B.S. ’52, M.S. ’60) Helen (née Hiers) Usher (B.S. ’52) Jean (née Alderman) Wolfe (B.M.E. ’52) Edith M. Cobb (B.S. ’53) Joan (née Jewett) Crane (B.S. ’53) Martha (née Williams) Jones (B.M. ’53) Dallas D. Lloyd (B.A. ’53) Elizabeth R. (née Landahl) Momper (B.S. ’53) Charlotte (née Mauk) Morrow (B.S. ’53) Mary L. (née Keen) Olson (B.A. ’53) Jimtom Richardson Sr. (B.S. ’53) John G. Roberts (B.S. ’53, M.S. ’58, Ph.D. ’81) Frances (née McClellan) Rogers (B.S. ’53) Helen (née Smith) Turner (B.S. ’53) Robert E. Adams (B.S. ’54) Dorothy (née Hargrove) Buck (B.S. ’54) Joan C. (née von Dohlen) Charlton (B.A. ’54) George H. Frank (M.A. ’54, Ph.D. ’56) Joanne (née Williams) Griner (B.A. ’54) Stewart O. Keen Jr. (B.S. ’54) Werna J. (née Cox) Keeter Stokes (B.S. ’54) Ann J. Lacy (B.A. ’54) Thomas J. Psaltis (B.S. ’54) Suzanne E. (née McCormick) Rickards (B.S. ’54) Alice M. (née Jones) Stanley (B.S. ’54) Hazel K. (née Rowell) Bertrand (B.S. ’55) Robert C. Cobb Jr. (B.S. ’55) Calvin D. Hasbrouck Jr. (B.M. ’55, M.M. ’58) Jeanne (née Cronmiller) Lamb (B.S. ’55) Loretta J. (née Bryan) Nieto (B.A. ’55) Morris Singletary (B.S. ’55) Frank W. Summers (B.A. ’55) Donald J. Sweet Sr. (B.S. ’55) Shirley (née Wilson) Winter (B.S. ’55) Mary (née Shaw) Adcock (B.S. ’56) Tenilla (née Lynes) Allen (B.S. ’56, M.S. ’78) Gene L. Belser Sr. (B.S. ’56) Willa (née Pace) Dudley (B.S. ’56) Nina (née Wadsworth) Eng (B.S. ’56, M.S. ’59) Frederick B. Jaicks (B.S. ’56) Cynthia J. (née Phillips) Johnson (B.S. ’56) Mary P. (née Perez) McNally (B.S. ’56) Rose E. Rilea (B.S. ’56, M.S. ’60) Joseph L. Simmons (B.M. ’56) Clark W. Walker (B.S. ’56) Betty A. (née Garner) Woolley (B.S. ’56) Gerald B. Wyman (B.S. ’56)

Geraldine (née Diaz) Bajo (B.A. ’57) Frances (née Carey) Beecroft (B.S. ’57) Charlina (née Pierce) Brown (B.S. ’57, M.S. ’61) David R. Buchanan (B.S. ’57) Carole A. (née Kissling) Chadwick (B.S. ’57) David L. Davis (B.S. ’57) Arnold K. Elliott (M.S.W. ’57) Donald A. Kirkpatrick (B.S. ’57) Priscilla (née Pearce) Kuester (B.S. ’57) Jane (née Chapman) Latina (B.S. ’57) Anthony M. Leone Jr. (B.S. ’57) Sarah (née Culbertson) MacElwee (M.S. ’57) Leonard L. Rich (B.S. ’57) Fred R. Roberts (B.S. ’57) Dawn Sharp (B.A. ’57, M.A. ’62) Irma (née Cone) Sharp (B.S. ’57) Charles L. Watford Jr. (B.S. ’57) Lovett E. Williams Jr. (B.S. ’57) Henry F. Baggett Jr. (B.S. ’58) Arminta (née McNeilan) Burns (B.S. ’58) John M. Chevrette (M.S. ’58, Ph.D. ’66) Kathryn (née Parker) Gerstemeier (B.S. ’58) Brent B. Goddard (B.S. ’58) Douglas A. (née Stevens) Graham (M.S. ’58) Joel P. Jacobs (B.S. ’58) Billy L. Kendall (B.S. ’58) Robert H. Murrah Jr. (B.S. ’58) Karl B. Nelson Sr. (B.S. ’58) Janice (née Jarrett) Orr (B.S. ’58) James M. Richardson (B.S. ’58) Jacqueline (née Bird) Smith (B.S. ’58) Glenn W. Westmark (B.S. ’58) Bernard J. Bookhammer (B.S. ’59) Joyce C. (née Pratt) Brandsma (B.S.N. ’59) Curt C. Compton (B.S. ’59) Gordon M. Feather (B.S. ’59) Robert L. Fountain III (B.S. ’59) Stuart B. Keith Jr. (B.S. ’59) Samuel J. Neiditch (Ph.D. ’59) Donald A. Reedy (B.S. ’59) Andrew L. Ringers Sr. (B.S. ’59) John R. Taylor (B.S. ’59) Patrick J. Versprille (B.S. ’59) Richard W. Watkins (B.S. ’59) Delanor J. Wilson (B.S. ’59)

1960s Beverly (née Brantley) Brandenburger (B.S. ’60) Montague (née Gilham) Caldwell (B.S. ’60) Frances E. Carson (B.S. ’60) Owen R. Grogan Jr. (B.S. ’60) William H. Hale Jr. (Ed.D. ’60) Kenneth C. Howard (B.S. ’60, M.S.W. ’72) Robert E. Nussear Sr. (B.S. ’60) David W. Pichard (B.S. ’60) Warner C. Sanford Jr. (B.S. ’60) John P. Cummer (Ed.D. ’61) Mary (née Powel) Dukes (B.S. ’61) Jan (née Pearce) Feeser (B.S. ’61) Robert D. Hebert (M.A. ’61, Ph.D. ’66) Martha (née Bouknight) Johnston (M.A. ’61) Frank Malara Jr. (B.S. ’61) Barbara B. Vereen (B.A. ’61) Karl C. Wentz (B.A. ’61) Kilburn C. Clemons (B.A. ’62)

Marilyn (née Lancaster) Clifton (B.S. ’62) Ralph C. Datillio (B.A. ’62) Eddie M. Franklin (B.S. ’62) Virginia K. Fugate (B.M. ’62) Delbert G. Hicks (B.S. ’62) Phillip E. Irvine (B.S. ’62) Cleveland R. Mann (B.S. ’62) Jane G. Moulthrop (M.S. ’62) Gerald R. Randolph (Ph.D. ’62) Patricia A. Reese (M.S. ’62) Douglas E. Rickles (B.S. ’62) John C. Sanderlin (B.S. ’62, M.S. ’64) Robert J. Savoy (B.S. ’62) Richard S. Wilson (B.S. ’62, M.S. ’69) Lois V. Arnold (Ed.D. ’63) Mary (née Whigham) Baell (B.S. ’63) Paul C. Beasley (M.S. ’63) Barbara (née Lattimer) Bell (B.S. ’63, M.A. ’65) Martha G. (née Roberts) Camp (B.S. ’63, M.S. ’64, Ph.D. ’71) Henry L. Cassady (B.S. ’63) Frances (née Freeman) Crawford (M.M. ’63) Joseph B. Davis Jr. (B.S. ’63) Dean V. Dubois (B.S. ’63) Levon E. Garrison (Ed.D. ’63) Diane (née Putz) Kittendorf (B.S. ’63) Kathleen (née Fosen) Mayne (B.S. ’63) Shirley B. Reeve (M.S. ’63, Ph.D. ’75) Charles A. Rovetta Jr. (B.S. ’63) Martin R. Steiner (B.A. ’63) Judith (née Wright) Zammit (B.S. ’63) Benjamin R. Berryman (B.S. ’64) Russell E. Caswell (B.S. ’64, M.A. ’66) Glenn R. Cravey (B.S. ’64) Mellicent A. Davis (B.A. ’64) Sandra E. Fedorovich (B.S. ’64) John B. George (B.S. ’64) Paul F. Lucas (B.S. ’64) Patricia McAleavy (B.S. ’64) David M. McKinster (B.S. ’64, M.B.A. ’70) John R. Owens (B.S. ’64) Richard W. Raduenzel (B.S. ’64) Susan F. Schaeffer (B.S. ’64) Ronald J. Shows (B.S. ’64) Stephanie (née Koundouric) Vostitsanos (B.S. ’64) David K. Wiles (B.S. ’64) Theresa F. (née Lembo) Bryant (B.A. ’65) Richard B. Compton (B.S. ’65, M.S. ’66) Robert C. Davidge Jr. (B.S. ’65) William H. Grimm (B.S. ’65) Wayne J. Harrison (B.S. ’65, M.S. ’67) William R. Hawthorne Jr. (B.S. ’65) Lee R. Kasten (B.S. ’65, M.S. ’70) Wilfrid M. Kennedy (B.S. ’65) Robert W. King (M.S. ’65, Ph.D. ’67) Robert G. Kull (B.S. ’65) Charles R. LaBar (B.A. ’65, M.S. ’66) William P. Lawrence (B.S. ’65) Michael W. Marshall (B.A. ’65) Ronald R. Mason (B.S. ’65) Shirley (née Zimmerman) Petersen (B.A. ’65) Joseph A. Powers Sr. (B.S. ’65) William A. Rose (B.S. ’65, M.S. ’68) Earlene (née Young) Shirer (B.S. ’65)

William K. Stevens (B.A. ’65) Robert W. Stoner (B.S. ’65) Thomas P. Tanis (B.A. ’65) Robert A. Walker Sr. (B.S. ’65) James L. Anderson (Ph.D. ’66) Milton H. Baxley II (B.S. ’66) Lawrence A. Boroviak (B.A. ’66) Thomas E. Clark (M.S. ’66, Ph.D. ’69) Susan (née Frantz) Gill (B.S.N. ’66) Deborah (née Sanborn) Hicks (B.S. ’66, M.S.W. ’70) William E. Levy Jr. (B.S. ’66) Edna (née Vause) Lucas (B.A. ’66) William E. Moses (B.S. ’66) Faye E. (née Carter) Wagner (B.S. ’66) Robert W. Begue (B.S. ’67) Margaret (née MacVicar) Carpenter (M.S. ’67, Ph.D. ’73) Peter S. Di Croce (B.S. ’67) Katharine (née Dillon) Fairel (B.A. ’67) Judith A. (née Lang) Fischer (B.S. ’67) Dorine (née Hawk) Geeslin (Ed.D. ’67) Harry H. George (B.S. ’67) Marilyn J. (née Cooper) Guilford (B.S. ’67) Robert A. Hermetz (M.M. ’67, Ph.D. ’72) Robert W. McLellan (M.S. ’67)

Joan L. Perry Morris (B.A. ’67, M.S. ’70), who spent more than 40 years as curator of the state of Florida’s photo archives and served as photo editor of “Seminole History: A Pictorial History of Florida State University,” died April 21, 2016, at age 81.

Patricia (née Olmsted) Patterson (B.S. ’67) Deette W. Preacher (B.S. ’67) Ava D. Rodgers (Ph.D. ’67) Larie E. Russ (B.S. ’67) Diane E. Taylor (B.S. ’67) Dixie (née Joiner) Alford (M.S. ’68) Albert P. Conover (M.S. ’68) Lynn (née Luedtke) Deaton (B.S. ’68) John W. Drew Jr. (B.S. ’68) Randall G. Felton (B.S. ’68, Ph.D. ’79) Clifford S. Hewitt Jr. (M.P.A. ’68) Sharon L. Howell (B.S. ’68) William K. Johnson (B.S. ’68) Marilyn M. (née Harris) Kennedy (B.S. ’68) William A. Kutz Jr. (B.M. ’68, M.M. ’69) Beverly (née Allum) Mcnally (B.A. ’68, M.S. ’69) Robert P. Padgett (B.A. ’68, M.S. ’71) Carroll D. Summerlin (B.S. ’68) Robert A. White Jr. (B.S. ’68) Frederic Willert (M.S. ’68) Jerry P. Wood (M.M. ’68) Marilyn (née Beal) Brown (M.S. ’69) Nevin P. Edson II (B.S. ’69) Freddie (née Hamilton) Hires (B.S. ’69) Patricia C. Holst (B.S. ’69, M.S. ’70) William A. Meezan (M.S. ’69) Roger R. Obodich (B.S. ’69) Fred T. Sheeder Jr. (Ph.D. ’69) Barbara J. Swindell (B.A. ’69, M.F.A. ’72) Sharon D. (née Gorum) Wilkinson (B.M. ’69) Elizabeth C. (née Haynes) Wooten (B.S. ’69) Vires 69

RALPH C. MIKO (B.S. ’73)

Retired Navy Capt. Ralph C. Miko, thought to be the nation’s finest carrier aviator of all time, died July 10, 2016, at age 65.

Miko, whose call sign was “Mouse,” was one of the most extraordinary A-6 Intruder pilots throughout the Atlantic Fleet. During his career, he served in the Attack Squadron 176 Thunderbolts, Attack Squadron 55 Warhorses and Attack Squadron 85 Black Falcons. During his 10 major overseas deployments, including his tour as the Carrier Air Wing 7 landing signal officer, Miko participated in combat operations off the coast of Libya in 1986 and throughout Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

While serving as the commanding officer of VA-85, he received the Commander Michael G. Hoff Award as the 1988 Attack Aviator of the Year. He earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses with the Combat “V” and three individual Air Medals with the Combat “V,” among other unit and campaign awards.

Miko amassed an astonishing 4,600 flight hours in seven types of aircraft and 1,100 “traps,” successfully arrested carrier landings. The long-standing records of the Navy’s Tailhook Association indicate that he was likely the finest U.S. carrier aviator ever, with 42 “Top Ten” Awards for the unsurpassed precision of his landing skills.

Miko is survived by his wife, Jennie; their two children, Edward and Samantha; three grandchildren; and his parents and four siblings.

1970s Lawrence M. Archer (B.A. ’70) Robert C. Bird (Ph.D. ’70) Bettina S. Callaway (B.A. ’70) Wendy A. Correll (B.S. ’70) John M. Damon Jr. (B.S. ’70) Sara H. (née Holliday) Effrain (B.S. ’70) James R. Faircloth (B.S. ’70) Franklin A. Geeslin (B.S. ’70, M.B.A. ’73) A.J. Grigalunas Jr. (B.S. ’70) Richard C. Harris (B.A. ’70, B.S. ’75) Robert E. Hoffman (B.S. ’70) Stanley E. Jaros Jr. (B.S. ’70) William C. Jibb (B.A. ’70) Beverly S. Jones (M.S. ’70) Michael S. Knight (B.S. ’70, M.S. ’96) Ana M. (née Rodriguez) Llorens (M.A. ’70) Martin J. Mickler (J.D. ’70) Davine (née Harris) Robinson (B.S. ’70) Philip C. Rond III (B.S. ’70, M.S.P. ’76, Ph.D. ’90) Steven R. Saunders (B.A. ’70) Marie (née Ritti) Schweitzer (M.S. ’70) Patricia A. (née Earl) Spencer (B.A. ’70, M.S. ’73) Wanda C. Wight (M.S. ’70) Linda L. (née Pickels) Anderson (B.S.W. ’71) Charles H. Bergman (B.M.E. ’71) Norman E. Booth (M.A. ’71) Kenneth L. Frank (B.A. ’71) Donnie L. Hannon (B.S. ’71) Catherine (née Squires) Hunt (B.S. ’71) William F. Hutchings (B.S. ’71) John D. Kiernan (J.D. ’71) Jay J. Lashar (B.S. ’71) 70 Vires

Thomas Q. McCleskey (B.S. ’71) Sara (née Phelps) Moretz (Ph.D. ’71) Dale H. Rush (B.S. ’71) Leroy J. Tuscher (Ph.D. ’71) Floyd C. Zimmerman Jr. (B.A. ’71, M.A. ’74) Joel R. Braswell (B.S. ’72) Janet (née Myers) Cofield (B.S. ’72) John W. Darden Jr. (B.S. ’72) Jane (née Reynolds) Harris (M.S. ’72, M.S.P. ’78) William R. Kahn (Ed.D. ’72) Stephen D. Lee (B.S. ’72) Michael W. Morell (B.A. ’72, M.S.P. ’77) Agnes P. Palmer (B.A. ’72) Virginia F. Ritter (Ed.D. ’72) Joan (née Lamb) Towery (M.S. ’72) James P. Trezza (B.S. ’72) Kerry M. Voll (B.A. ’72) Gregory M. Winn (B.S. ’72) Dana D. Zieman (B.A. ’72) John E. Bell (B.A. ’73) Robert R. Boyle (B.S. ’73) Rex J. Cleveland (M.S. ’73) Fares G. Deban (M.B.A. ’73) Carole J. (née Hobbs) Fordham (B.M.E. ’73, M.S. ’82) Mildred D. Frensley (B.S. ’73) Sheila T. Harty (M.A. ’73) Gary P. Horowitz (M.S. ’73, Ph.D. ’77) Louise A. Hull (M.S.W. ’73) William P. Mormile (B.S. ’73) James A. Thomas (M.S. ’73) Henry N. Urquhart (M.S. ’73) Colleen A. Valente (B.A. ’73, M.A. ’75) Marsha (née Moody) Welton (B.A. ’73) Mohamad A. Atighetchi (B.S. ’74, M.B.A. ’76) Meila (née Kairiukstyte) Balkus (M.F.A. ’74) Robert K. Becker (B.S. ’74) John C. Behan (M.F.A. ’74) Elizabeth (née Leonard) Davis (B.S. ’74, M.S. ’78) Michael G. Duquette (B.S. ’74) William E. Fuller (B.A. ’74) Catherine (née Mathy) Galuska (M.S. ’74) Aver (née McCullough) Gray (M.S.W. ’74) John J. Mann (B.A. ’74) David K. Robertson II (B.S. ’74) Marjorie (née Taylor) Robinson (M.A.S. ’74) Jane D. (née Gerolstein) Russell (M.A.S. ’74) Mary L. (née Myers) Watkins (B.S. ’74) Harold W. Boddie (B.A. ’75) Nancy J. Brock (B.S. ’75) Lisa (née Blanning) Griggs (B.A. ’75, M.A. ’76) Judith D. Grytdahl (M.S. ’75) Joseph E. Gwynn (B.S. ’75) Charles S. Miller III (B.S. ’75) Theodore R. Pfarrer (M.S. ’75, Ed.S. ’81, Ph.D. ’89) Orvin L. Shiflett (Ed.S. ’75, Ph.D. ’79) John I. Alford III (B.S. ’76) Isham L. Anderson II (B.S. ’76) James A. Barge (Ph.D. ’76) William J. Bryan (B.A. ’76) Frank L. Caldwell (J.D. ’76) Jimmy W. Davis (B.S. ’76) Harold B. Dellinger (Ph.D. ’76) Carol J. Ditzler (B.A. ’76, M.S. ’77) Harry A. Garrett (M.S. ’76)

Ronald L. Jones Sr. (B.F.A. ’76, M.F.A. ’82, J.D. ’86) Richard M. Kaye (M.S.W. ’76) Harold O. Lacey Jr. (M.S. ’76) Bertha M. Mandelkern (B.S. ’76, B.S. ’98) Marianne (née Swain) McEachern (B.S. ’76) Patrick P. Murphy (Ph.D. ’76) Jean H. (née Peck) Oppenheimer (B.A. ’76) Lynn E. Pratt (B.S. ’76) Robert A. Rogers (B.S. ’76) Pandurang M. Shanbhag (M.S. ’76, Ph.D. ’79) Gregory L. Smith (B.S. ’76) Alma (née Hunter) Vann (Ed.S. ’76) Carol (née Luedtke) Anderson (B.A. ’77) Sheryl W. Campbell (M.M. ’77) Gregory G. Frisch (B.S. ’77) John L. Hodde (B.S. ’77) Catherine (née Larmoyeux) Millan (M.S. ’77) Carolyn E. (née Swain) Pippenger (B.S. ’77) William B. Sharff (B.S. ’77) Debra L. Strayer (B.S. ’77, M.S. ’77) Joseph R. Tucker III (B.F.A. ’77) Betty C. (née Roberts) Turner (M.S. ’77) Fred C. Cook (M.S. ’78) Mary J. (née Pickett) Esry (B.S. ’78) Ronald H. Hanlan (J.D. ’78) Malcolm E. Hicks (B.S. ’78) Randall R. Hill (B.S. ’78) Drew J. Rinzivillo (B.S. ’78) Erik H. Schottenheimer (B.S. ’78) Douglas E. Strong (B.S. ’78) Jillene K. Wiele (B.S. ’78) William J. Belmore (B.S. ’79) Candi E. Culbreath (B.S. ’79, J.D. ’88) John L. Dorian (B.S. ’79, M.S. ’80, M.B.A. ’81) Jack C. Jones (B.S. ’79) Machelle R. (née Daum) Mason (B.S. ’79) Teresa M. Nesman (B.S. ’79) Calvin S. Patrick Jr. (B.S. ’79) Kenneth M. Purvis (B.S. ’79) Vernon A. Smith (B.S. ’79) Antoinette M. Stitt (J.D. ’79) Stuart R. Williams (M.S. ’79)

1980s David A. Ametrano (M.A. ’80) Patricia L. Griffin (B.S. ’80) Warren E. McAllister Jr. (B.S. ’80) Peggy J. McGuire (B.S. ’80, M.S. ’89) Sam J. Mortellaro Jr. (B.S. ’80) Frances (née Kierce) Phillips (B.S. ’80) Vicki L. (née Spofford) Pollard (M.S.W. ’80) Walter R. Strebeck (Ed.D. ’80) James C. Welsh (J.D. ’80) Hetty (née Deane) Banatte (Ph.D. ’81) Alan J. Danielson (M.F.A. ’81) Mabel J. Davis (M.S. ’81) Jill (née Bennett) Dickens (B.S. ’81) Jay W. Hannay (B.S. ’81) Virginia (née Patterson) Heffner (B.S. ’81, M.P.A. ’87) Vincent B. Latham (B.S. ’81) Kayleen (née Rosenston) Lipman (M.S. ’81) Joseph P. Ramsey II (Ph.D. ’81) Charlotte W. Anderson (J.D. ’82) Fenton G. Avant (B.A. ’82)

Shay (née Feiler) Filer (B.A. ’82, M.A. ’84) Stacy C. Frank (J.D. ’82) William J. Gerstenmaier (M.S. ’82) Helen A. (née Beirne) Housewright (B.S.N. ’82) John P. Jackson (B.S. ’82, M.S. ’83) William C. Roberts (B.S. ’82) Jeffrey J. Schindler (B.S. ’82) Belinda (née Vaughn) Collins (B.S. ’83) Kurt H. Eichin (B.A. ’83, M.S.P. ’91) Gregory M. Lansen (J.D. ’83) Mamie E. Lingo (B.F.A. ’83) Colin J. McAdie (M.S. ’83) Joseph K. McGarrity (B.S. ’83) Michelle A. (née Jones) Savko (A.A. ’83) Steven E. Asbrand (B.S. ’84) Brian P. Christman (B.S. ’84, M.S. ’85) Sandra S. Howden (B.S. ’84) Grace E. (née Shellorne) McCullohs (B.S. ’84, M.S. ’88) Vito F. Oliveri Jr. (B.S. ’84) Marianne F. Reiss (B.S.N. ’84) George M. Russell (B.S. ’84) Laura (née Hammond) Smith (B.S. ’84, M.S. ’84) William F. West Jr. (Ph.D. ’84) Dwight L. Williams (Ed.S. ’84) Walter D. Grubbs (Ed.D. ’85) Olga H. (née Zayas) Lucas (B.S. ’85) Melissa C. Muntyan (M.S.W. ’85) Donna L. (née McGinnis) Scott (B.S.N. ’85) Mary (née Hamlin) Sparks (M.S. ’85) Jill E. Wood (B.S. ’85) Jacqueline Brewer (B.S. ’86) James A. Jurgens Jr. (J.D. ’86) Harry R. Bishop (J.D. ’87) Timothy S. Boudet (B.S. ’87) David A. Burkey (B.S. ’87) Annette Cannon (B.S. ’87) James C. Edwards (Ph.D. ’87) Michael E. Hajduk (B.S. ’87) Laura G. (née Werdebaugh) Higley (B.S. ’87) Moses A. Odharo (B.S. ’87) Christopher J. Shenkel (B.M. ’87) Scott T. Valone (B.S. ’87) Kathleen M. Capshaw (M.S. ’88) Lee S. Harford Jr. (Ph.D. ’88) Elora (née Blitch) Harwood (B.A. ’88) Glenna E. Powell (M.S.W. ’88) Kim D. Stacey (M.S.W. ’88) Mark B. Zannoni (B.A. ’88) John W. Gorman Jr. (B.S. ’89) Christopher C. Merrill (B.S. ’89) Trent J. Wells (B.S. ’89)

1990s Elizabeth A. (née Nix) Bond (M.A. ’90) Nontombi C. Levine (M.S. ’90) Donald G. Moran (M.S.W. ’90) Mary C. Pecora (B.S. ’90, M.S. ’92, Sp. ’92) Gwendolyn (née Brunson) Pendarvis (M.S.W. ’90) Michael B. Register (B.S. ’90) Bernard P. Cylc Jr. (B.S. ’91) Sean P. McGlynn (B.S. ’91) Meredith G. (née Swanson) Sheldon (B.A. ’91) Michael Tanks (B.S. ’91) Paul D. Rimel (B.S. ’92)

JoAnn M. (née Smith) Stalcup (J.D. ’92) Craig W. Bowen (Ph.D. ’93) Mary J. Coe (Ph.D. ’93) Jason W. Gumula (B.S. ’93) Michael D. Jones (B.S. ’93) Jeanie N. Parvin (B.S. ’93) Kevin E. Santos (M.S.P. ’93) Cheryl A. (née Thomas) Stephens (M.S.W. ’93) Brett B. Clarke (B.S. ’94) Francis D. Davis (B.A. ’94) Ira S. Eadie (B.S. ’94) Stephanie L. (née Cook) Gerrell (A.A. ’94) Catherine P. Hughes (B.S. ’94, M.S.W. ’95) Qi Mao (Ph.D. ’94) Steven P. McCann (B.S. ’94) Robert E. Bischoff-Fincher (B.S. ’95) Kimberly L. Booth (B.S. ’95, M.S.W. ’96) Dorothy F. Henderson (Ph.D. ’95) Kathryn M. Ray (B.A. ’95) Michael S. Vandermark (B.F.A. ’95) Eva Jean Winkle (M.F.A. ’95) Dawn M. (née Robinson) Ghettie (B.S. ’96) Andrew A. John (B.S. ’96) Mahala L. (née Mitchell) Walker (Ph.D. ’96) Trisha L. (née Holmgren) Williams (A.A. ’96) Sherry C. Bolden (B.S. ’97) Catherine L. Jones (M.S.W. ’97) Teresa M. Larick (M.S.N. ’97) Todd A. Willcox (M.S. ’97) Lawanda D. McLain (B.S. ’98) Deborah J. Schwartz (B.A. ’98, M.A. ’04) Deborah A. Shackley (B.S. ’98) Scott A. Bartles (B.S. ’99) Craig H. Cochran (B.S. ’99) Richard A. Lowy (M.S. ’99) John D. Mathis (B.S.N. ’99)

2000s Kristin M. Barton (B.A. ’00, M.A. ’02, Ph.D. ’07) Stephanie L. (née Bock) Small (B.S. ’00) James N. Hamner (B.S. ’01) David N. Perry (J.D. ’01) Gilbert D. Schroeder (B.S. ’01) Alisa R. Darby (B.S. ’02) Gary R. Yessin (M.S. ’02) Michael J. Gundlach (Ph.D. ’03) Wilma D. (née Hutchinson) Kelley (B.A. ’03, M.F.A. ’07) Brendon P. Bachelor (B.S. ’04) Carlos M. Bauza III (B.S. ’05) Lilly K. Lane (Ph.D. ’05) Robert C. Lightfoot (Ph.D. ’07) Erik D. Lanigan (B.A. ’09) Robert J. O’Shea III (J.D. ’09) Wayne A. Slabon (Ph.D. ’09)

2010s Joseph K. Henry (B.S. ’10) Bryan S. Funk (J.D. ’10) Gabrielle M. Arcangeli (B.S. ’12, M.S. ’13) Adele M. Bradley (B.S. ’12) Heidi A. (née Jacobs) Borstad (M.S.W. ’13) James H. Core (B.S. ’13) Ralph M. Shaw (B.S. ’13) Michael J. Smith (B.S. ’14)

Anna K. Taylor (B.S. ’14, M.S. ’15) Adam J. Jankowski (B.S. ’15) Philip S. Schlenoff (B.S. ’15) Joshua D. Anderson (B.S. ’16)

Faculty-Staff Benjamin Austin L. Diane Bernard William C. Burnett Jr. Inez M. Bryant Larry D. Chambers Lincoln F. Clark James M. Cook David W. Dalton George R. Fischer Johnnie C. Ford Myra L. (née Cloud) Gause Gilford J. Guillory Francoise Lof Hack Joseph A. Harrison Joel R. Hastings Regina (née Haiduk) Hawkins Eugene J. Hines Johnny A. Horne James A. Jones Sr. Tangala L. (née Anderson) Jones Ronald T. Kiskaden Sir Harold W. Kroto Gilbert F. Lawhon Hsiao Tung “John” Lu Karyl J. Louwenaar-Lueck William G. Moulton David J. Murphy George J. Naulty Betty Jo (née McCarty) Roberts Shane O. Rudd Rudolph J. Rummel Thelma R. (née Hicks) Selden Alan L. Stewart Judith A. (née Knudsen) Theiler Patrick L. Thomas Jacquelyn (née Gehman) Weenink

SHERRI LEE TENNYSON DYE Sherri Dye, who served as FSU’s trademark licensing director for two decades, died May 22, 2016, at age 59.

After attending FSU, Dye began her career as a buyer for Garnet & Gold, a Tallahassee retailer specializing in FSU athletics apparel. After she was hired by FSU, Dye built a career working with the university’s more than 500 licensees to promote the widespread use of the Seminole symbol on a tremendous variety of merchandise. She also ensured that the Seminole symbol was used only on officially licensed products, strengthening FSU’s brand in the process.

Dye is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Holly and Brad Ramey of Buford, Georgia; mother, Louise Wiebe of Clearwater, Florida; granddaughter, Hayden Ramey; and stepsister, Laurie Fritz of Hendersonville, North Carolina.

She was preceded in death by her father, Irving Tennyson; stepfather, Peter Wiebe; and brother-in-law, Chas Fritz.

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72 Vires

A LEGAGY OF LE A DERS HIP During a private ceremony Oct. 4 at the FSU President’s House, artist Ed Jonas (B.F.A. ’71) unveils the official presidential portrait of Eric J. Barron (B.S. ’73), as he and his wife, Molly, look on and current President John Thrasher (B.S. ’65, J.D. ’72) applauds. Barron, who served as the university’s 14th president from 2010 to 2014, led FSU’s efforts to achieve “preeminent” status from the Legislature and set it on a path toward a Top 25 national ranking. FSU Photography Services/Bill Lax

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