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Tribute
Issue 19 // Fall/Winter 2013
The Miami University Campaign For Love and Honor IN THIS ISSUE
Armstrong Student Center Opens to Students in January Two-week kick-off celebration planned for Center’s opening. PAGE 2
Schmidt Scholarships Support Creative Arts $1 million gift from William E. and Casiana Schmidt establishes scholarship fund. PAGE 3
$1 Million Applegate Gift Supports Business Students Scholarship to support students interested in investment management and banking. PAGE 4
Sheffield Honors Father’s Passion Sherry Sheffield ’67 creates athletics awards in father’s memory. PAGE 5
Fess Gift Supports Men’s Glee Club Alumnus gives back in honor of his own Glee Club experience. PAGE 6
TO R E A D F U L L V E R S I O N S O F T H E S E A N D PA S T G I V I N G T R I B U T E S TO R I E S , V I S I T F O R LOV E A N D H O N O R .O R G /G I V I N GT R I B U T E
Miami University: Equal opportunity in education and employment Produced by University Advancement 11/20 POST 6K
The Miami University Campaign For Love and Honor
Armstrong Student Center Opens to Miami Community this January A student dream more than a decade in the making comes to life Jan. 27, 2014, when Miami University students return for the spring semester and officially take over their Armstrong Student Center.
student leadership. It will include facility tours, music through the ages, student performances and a DJ dance party.
As construction and landscaping work nears its conclusion, plans are underway for a twoweek grand opening designed to introduce the campus and community to all the Center has to offer. It will be two weeks of themes, open houses, mixers, guest lectures, music, cooking demonstrations and more.
The Armstrong Student Center will be officially dedicated Feb. 7, 2014, with a special event welcoming the Miami community and all the alumni and friends who supported the effort.
The first large-scale student-planned event is the Snow Ball, a semi-formal event celebrating
The idea for a new student center was backed by student leaders for more than a 2
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decade until the board of trustees approved the project in 2008. The highly efficient design incorporates the former Gaskill and Rowan Halls and joins them together with a new central structure. The effort enjoyed remarkable support, with more than 10,000 alumni and friends contributing to its success. 1. The Shade Family Room is already open for prospective student tours; 2. Bob and Doris ’52 Pulley Diner will be open 24/7, serving 1950s-style dining fare; 3. The three-story Bicentennial Rotunda is at the heart of the Armstrong Student Center; 4. The Commons will feature five dining concepts and will be the place to be seen within the Center; 5. Harry T. Wilks Theatre will seat approximately 500 and fill the need for a mid-size performance venue on Miami’s campus.
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Creative Arts Scholarship Fund Shares Couple’s Passion for the Arts By Vince Frieden Associate Director, Development Communications Growing up in a small Kentucky town, William E. Schmidt may not have had all the opportunities he would have liked, but there was always music, kindness and a generous nature in his home. The small town boy with big dreams grew up to become a fighter jet pilot and instructor for the U.S. Air Force and Indiana Air National Guard. He went on to realize great success as an entrepreneur. And he has kept that generous nature, sharing what he has earned by embracing and supporting the communities and the world around him. Bill and his wife, Casiana, recently shared their love of the arts with Miami University’s College of Creative Arts, making a $1 million gift to create the Schmidt Creative Arts Scholarship Fund. This fund will provide essential scholarship support to each of the College of Creative Arts’ four departments— music, theatre, art, architecture & interior design—as well as the affiliated Armstrong Interactive Media Studies program. “Students who are gifted athletically have access to scholarships, but students who are talented in the arts don’t always have those same opportunities,” Schmidt said. “For me, my college years were the hardest and best of my life. I think it’s very important to share that opportunity with others.”
The couple’s support of the arts is a lifelong passion. Their William E. Schmidt Foundation is focused on grant-making and partnerships in support of musical arts and education, with a special emphasis on encouraging youth in the arts. Perhaps their most visible contribution is the Schmidt Youth Vocal Competition. It began as an Indiana-based competition but has a national presence today, featuring more than a dozen sites, coast-to-coast. Miami became one of those sites in 2009 and was honored as the national headquarters for the competition in 2012. The relationship has flourished from there. “Bill and Casiana have created extraordinary opportunities for young performers to enjoy and thrive within the arts community, and that passion is evident in this generous investment in Miami students,” said President David Hodge. “We are grateful for the bond they have formed with Miami University and are honored to call Bill and Casiana personal friends and part of our Miami family.” Though the Schmidts are not Miami alumni, they have grown to love and place great trust in the University’s ability to shape young lives. The impact of their gift will be felt in the future generations of Miamians who will share the couple’s commitment to advancing the arts in their communities and around the world.
“For me, my college years were the hardest and best of my life. I think it’s very important to share that opportunity with others.” —William E. Schmidt “We believe in Miami,” Casiana said. “Miami is a place that not only excels in educating fine graduates who go on to share their gifts with society, but, equally important, it imparts those graduates with a moral and ethical compass. Empowering young people like that is the best legacy one can leave.”
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The Miami University Campaign For Love and Honor
$1 Million Applegate Gift Creates Scholarships for Business Students By Vince Frieden Associate Director, Development Communications Fred C. Applegate’s story is not unique simply because he wanted to go places in life. It stands out because of the way he moved to get there. The 1967 Miami University graduate rose from a lower, middle-class home in Milford, Ohio, to the forefront of the ultra-competitive investment industry. Then, just as Applegate had arrived, he reassessed his priorities and walked away, deciding it was time not only to live his life but to make life better for others. Applegate’s generosity recently returned to his alma mater through the announcement that he and his wife, Laura, have named Miami beneficiary of a $1 million gift from their living trust. It will be used to provide scholarships for students in Miami’s Farmer School of Business who are interested in careers in investment management and banking. The gift comes not only from Applegate’s gratitude for his own Miami Experience but also from his desire to assist students who share his drive to succeed. “I was a have-not kid, and I want to help other have-not kids who are willing to work hard,” Applegate said. “Miami gave me a chance to grow up and spread my wings, and if I can help make that type of experience possible for today’s students, that’s something I feel good about.” As a student, Applegate was cadet commander over Miami’s Air Force ROTC detachment— then the largest in the nation with more than
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1,000 cadets. He was also an officer in Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. Applegate earned a one-year military deferment after earning his bachelor’s in business and went on to earn an MBA at Miami. When his enlistment was up, Applegate, thought back to an investment management course he had taken with Dr. Bruce Olsen and decided that was his passion. He began is investment career in 1972, and his climb from there was steady. In 1984, he and a partner started Nicholas-Applegate Capital Management. It began with three employees and $16 million and by 1992 had grown to 350 employees and $10 billion in assets. But the price of success was high. Applegate had worked grueling hours for eight years and spent much of that time on the road. He was struggling with health issues and haunted by a vision. “I kept remembering the old Hertz commercial with O.J. Simpson hurdling through the airport,” Applegate said. “I’d had to run through so many airports myself, and I could just picture myself falling over from a heart attack in some airport.” He retired in 1992 at the age of 46 and began the work of transforming the course of his life “I wanted to get my health under control, travel and make friends—I was on the road so much
“It’s easy to be generous to Miami and students who are focused on succeeding.” —Fred C. Applegate ’67 I had not even had the time to make friends,” Applegate said. “I also wanted to get involved in the charitable community in San Diego. So for the past 21 years, I’ve done all those things.” In addition to serving on the San Diego Foundation Board’s Investment Committee and the San Diego Air and Space Museum Board of Directors, Applegate has reconnected with Miami. He is a past foundation board member, gives the occasional guest lecture in the classroom and acts as a career advising resource to senior finance majors.
Sheffield Athletics Award to Honor Those who Make Miami Proud By Vince Frieden Associate Director, Development Communications
is my way of thanking Miami for the prominent part it played in his life. His award is not about achievement as much as it is about passion.”
Of all the letters Alfred H. Upham penned during his more than 16 years as Miami University’s President, few earned a better return than the response he sent to a young William T. Sheffield ’43 during the Great Depression.
William left Miami six months short of graduation to serve as a ground school flight instructor in World War II. Following his service, he went on to earn his law degree—which at the time did not require an undergraduate degree— from the University of Cincinnati. Though his legal career was underway, William, out of respect for Miami, returned to campus as a commuter student and completed requirements for his bachelor’s degree in 1949.
Sheffield, then a recent high school graduate from Brooklyn, N.Y., had drafted letters to approximately 20 colleges and universities, asking for the opportunity to work his way through college. President Upham responded personally, inviting Sheffield to campus and stating that there were plenty of jobs available. Though he was able to attend Miami for only two-and-a-half years before being drawn into World War II, Sheffield was so grateful for the opportunity and for the guidance he received from Miami’s faculty, that the eventual attorney and judge spent the better part of his life repaying that debt through dedicated service and unwavering loyalty. “Dad was very active with Miami because he credited Miami for just about anything and everything he could,” Sherry Sheffield ’67 said. To honor both the passion and spirit of her father, who died in 2007, Sheffield has endowed two William T. Sheffield Awards of Distinction to recognize those who go above and beyond in contributing to Miami Athletics and reflecting positively on the university. The William T.
“Dad was very active with Miami because he credited Miami for just about anything and everything he could.” —Sherry Sheffield ’67 Sheffield Award of Distinction is presented annually to a coach, staff member or nonstudent volunteer and will include a monetary award. The William T. Sheffield Student Award of Distinction will be awarded to a student. “My love for Miami started with my parents,” Sherry said. “My father was a man of great honor and integrity and being able to offer this award
A former president of the Miami University Alumni Association and the Cincinnati Miami Men’s Club, William and his wife Jeanette Stockmeier Sheffield ’43 were regular and visible figures at Miami sporting contests. Sherry vividly remembers a request she made of her father in 1971, and the request he made in return. “I called him to ask if he’d pay for me to take flight lessons,” Sherry said. “He said he would, but, after his death, I was to fly over Miami Field on Homecoming and sprinkle his ashes. Fortunately, he later took that condition off, and I never finished the lessons anyway.” Sherry has now honored the spirit of that request. The William T. Sheffield Awards of Distinction will be presented each year during a Miami home football game. In that presentation and in those individuals honored, will live the legacy of a very proud and passionate Miamian.
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The Miami University Campaign For Love and Honor
Fess Honors Passions for Miami, Music through Glee Club Gift By Vince Frieden Associate Director, Development Communications When Greg Fess graduated from Miami University in 1967, he carried with him two things that have lasted him a lifetime—a highquality education that allowed him to build a successful career and a passion for music that followed him wherever that career led. Fess recently honored his Miami Experience through a significant bequest in support of the Miami Men’s Glee Club. The Miami University Men’s Glee Club New Guy Fund, which Fess has created with an initial expendable gift, has been set up to assist the glee club director in making the Glee Club experience fully accessible to all members, regardless of financial need. “To me, Glee Club is an integral part of Miami, not just for the men who sing but also for students, alumni and anyone who has the opportunity to hear them perform,” Fess said. “If a guy wants to be a part of Club, and his only obstacles are being able to afford a tuxedo or being able to offset the costs of traveling to a performance or going on a tour, then those obstacles should be removed.” Fess earned his bachelor’s in political science and went on to Georgetown University Law Center before beginning a nearly four-decade career as legal counsel in the fields of nuclear energy, nuclear weapons production, and national laboratory operations. The nature of his profession made it difficult to set down roots.
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“If a guy wants to be a part of Club, and his only obstacles are being able to afford a tuxedo or being able to offset the costs of traveling to a performance or going on a tour, then those obstacles should be removed.” —Greg Fess ’67 When the U.S. abandoned large-scale pursuit of nuclear power, he left the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C. to become general counsel at Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant in Boulder, Colo. Disarmament negotiations and radioactive leaks at the facility eventually led Fess in search of new opportunities. He worked briefly as chief counsel for the energy systems division at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio, before finishing his career on Long Island, N.Y., at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Through it all, Fess maintained one constant in his life—singing. His experiences included performing with the Gilbert & Sullivan Society in Washington, D.C., the Colorado Chorale in Denver, and the St. Cecilia Chorus in New York City. Among his highlights were six performances in Carnegie Hall and a rare opportunity to back up legendary jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck.
“You can go to any town in the country and find a choral group,” Fess said. “All I had to do was audition, and I was fortunate enough to be accepted somewhere each time I moved. It was an instant social connection, and it afforded me so many memorable opportunities to perform.” Fess, now retired in Carmel, Calif., and serving on the Miami University Alumni Association Board of Directors, performed with fellow Miami Glee Club alumni during their Alumni Weekend reunion concert last June. Like many of the performers, seeing familiar faces and singing the old songs put him in touch with his own Club memories. “When I was still an undergraduate, I remember Glee Club alumni coming back and singing with us,” Fess recalled. “You could always sense the loyalty, love and honor they still had for Miami and their college experience. I guess some of that rubbed off on me.”
Penny Scholarship Supports Marketing Students A $300,000 gift from Jean Barker Penny, in memory of her husband Robert “Bob” Penny ’48, has created the Robert & Jean Barker Penny Marketing Scholarship within Miami University’s Farmer School of Business. The Robert & Jean Barker Penny Marketing Scholarship will support experiential learning through marketing, advertising and public relations-centered programs such as Highwire Brand Studio, StrategyWorks and Chicago Marketing & Advertising Week. Robert and Jean founded Penny and Penny, a marketing agency in Dayton, Ohio, in 1949.
The firm, known as Penny/Ohlmann/Neiman throughout much of its existence and today known as the Ohlmann Group, grew to one of the largest in Dayton under their leadership. “We are honored that Mrs. Penny believes a Farmer School scholarship to be a fitting tribute to her husband,” Ray Gorman, interim dean of the Farmer School, said. “A hallmark of the Farmer School is its emphasis on experiential learning, and we are grateful that future generations of talented students will have the financial support necessary to participate in marketing, advertising and public-relations-centered programming.”
Miami Student-Athletes “Stand as One” with Red & White Club Support Student-athletes at Miami University are not waiting until they graduate to give back to their alma mater; they’re doing it now. For the first time in school history, 100 percent of current student-athletes have made a financial gift to Miami Athletics through the Red & White Club. The idea for the fund originated with Miami’s RedHawk Council, a studentathlete advisory council, to encourage studentathletes to show their support of Miami Athletics, the University and their fellow RedHawks. Overall, 547 studentathletes participated. “Our student-athletes wanted to do something special this year—to leave their mark while “standing as one,” said associate athletic director and senior women’s administrator, Jennie Gilbert. “This initiative gave them an opportunity to show their commitment to each other, to the athletic department and to their university. The RedHawk Council leaders did an amazing job in communicating the purpose and making this happen.”
Will Sullivan, a junior guard on the Miami men’s basketball team and a member of the RedHawk Council, views annual giving as a small way to make a major impact. “This gave us the opportunity to show that our commitment as athletes can go beyond our respective courts, fields and arenas of play and extend to the financial support of Miami Athletics,” said Sullivan. “The Red & White Club is an important organization that allows us to compete for Miami University and get a great education. This is just a small way to show our commitment to Miami University Athletics and the Red & White Club, as well as our gratitude for all those who support us through their donations.” Any gifts made to the University through the Red & White Club support scholarships for current Miami student-athletes. The funds raised by Miami’s student-athletes in this effort will provide books for two student-athletes for a semester.
Award Commemorates MUDEC Alumna To say the semester she spent at the Miami University Dolibois European Center (MUDEC) in Luxembourg changed the course of Nancy Castellini Hecht’s ’86 life would be an understatement. Not only did the experience instill within her a lifelong taste for adventure and ignite her passion for people of all cultures, it also introduced her to a fellow history lover and the man who would one day become her husband, Mike Hecht ’86. Nancy, a lifetime resident of Cincinnati and mother of four, died in 2012. In her memory, family and friends have come together to create and support the Nancy Castellini Hecht Award, which, each semester, supports a junior or senior Miami MUDEC student with a strong record of service. “Nancy came back from that semester more passionate about stepping outside the box and learning new things,” life-long friend Barbara Dillhoff Rohs ’86 said. “I think her ability to understand and accept people was really strengthened by the time she spent living in and among other cultures that semester.”
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Campaign Steering Committee chairman of the board and director of the Convergys Corporation
Panuska Development Center 725 East Chestnut Street Oxford, Ohio 45056
Miami is enjoying success with The Miami University Campaign For Love and Honor in part because of the volunteers on the Campaign Steering Committee.
Sue Morten Rogers ’57 Regional gifts chair, former president of Miami University Alumni Association Board of Directors John H. Skillings ’71 Campus campaign chair, former interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Miami University STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS
George Bayly ’65 Former chairman, president and CEO of Ivex Packaging Corporation Richard T. Farmer ’56 Chairman of the board
Michael Kumler ’97 Director of Development, Student Affairs
and former CEO of Cintas Corporation Robert Griffin ’69 Former managing director and head of investment banking for the Americas at Barclays Capital Joseph P. Hayden, III ’74 Chairman of the Board, the Midland Company Thomas Hayden ’82 President, Cornerstone Brokers Insurance Roger Howe ’57 Former chairman and CEO of U.S. Precision Lens
Diane F. Perlmutter ’67 Retired CEO and vice-chair of Cohn & Wolfe/New York Thomas W. Smith ’50 Founding partner and president of Prescott Investors, Inc. Tom Stallkamp ’68 MBA ’72 Industrial partner for Ripplewood Holdings LLC, founder/principal of Collaboration Management John Walter ’69 Former president and chairman of AT&T David Hodge President, Miami University
Jayne E. Whitehead HA ’06 Senior Director of Development, Gift Planning
Lawrence McVicker ’64 CEO of MVOC, LLC
Whitney Riley Associate Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations
Susie Brower Sadler ’84 Senior Director of Development, Academic Programs and Armstrong Student Center
Erika Dockery Senior Director of Development, Central Programs
Sarah Templeton Wilson ’03 Assistant Director, Regional Advancement
Caroline McClellan ’07 Assistant Director of Development, Annual Giving
Mike Scott ’09 Regional Director of Development, East Coast
Design Ali Place, Graphic Designer
Writing Vince Frieden Associate Director, Development Communications
Kevin Marks MS ’85 Senior Director of Development, Campaign Services
Editors Kim Tavares MBA ’12 Director, Advancement Communications
Giving Tribute Staff
David Zilch ’84 Interim Senior Director of Development, Farmer School of Business
Steve Wilson ’94 Assistant Director of Development, Annual Giving
Jennifer Roden Assistant Director, Gift Planning
DeVona Miller ’08 Associate Director, Stewardship and Events
Torshana Towles Assistant Director of Development, Arts and Science
Evan Lichtenstein Senior Director of Development, Arts and Science
Maggie Patrick Associate Director of Development, Annual Giving
Joan Walker ’91 Associate Director, Stewardship and Compliance Officer
Jay Fridy Director of Development, Education, Health and Society
Ellen Paxton Senior Director, Regional Advancement
Morrel Wax Assistant Director of Development, Corporate & Foundation Relations
Laura Lieder Rombalski ’82 Director of Regional Development, Chicago
Marie A. Ramagli ’88 Director of Regional Development, West Coast
Mary Kay Whiston Coordinator, Gift Planning
Kevin Marks MS ’85 Senior Director of Development, Campaign Services
Jill Gaby ’91 Senior Director of Development, Regional Programs Danielle Gaynor ’09 Assistant Director of Development, Intercollegiate Athletics Clark Kelly Director of Development, Engineering and Computing Heather Kogge Director of Development, Creative Arts Gerald Korkin Assistant Director of Development, Farmer School of Business Matt Kuhn Assistant Director of Development, Arts and Science
Mackenzie Becker Rice ’99 Director, University Advancement Administration and WCAA
Brian Furnish ’01 Associate Director, Gift Planning
Wayne Embry ’58 Alumni national chair, senior advisor to the general manager of the Toronto Raptors
C. Michael Armstrong ’61 Corporate gifts chair, former chairman of Comcast Corporation
John Altman ’60 Major gifts chair and stewardship chair, co-founder and executive vice-president of Continental Polymers, and retired professor in Miami’s Farmer School of Business
STEERING COMMITTEE CHAIRS
David Shade ’66 Executive steering committee chair, Leadership gifts chair, founder, partner and CEO of Wellspring Partners Ltd. Charles Mechem, Jr. ’52 Honorary co-chair, former
Development Staff Tom Herbert Vice President for University Advancement Brad Bundy Senior Associate Vice President for University Advancement Coleman Barnes Senior Director of Development, Intercollegiate Athletics Amy Bartter ’89 Regional Director of Development, Northeast Ohio Emily Berry ’01, MA ’11 Director of Annual Giving David Bothast Assistant Director of Development, Central Programs Jennifer Clark MBA ’88 Regional Director of Development, Greater Cincinnati David Davis ’11 Assistant Director of Development Farmer School of Business Emilie Davis Assistant Director of Stewardship and Acknowledgement
Panuska Development Center | 725 East Chestnut Street | Oxford, OH 45056 | (513) 529-1230 | MUDevelopment@MiamiOH.edu | www.ForLoveandHonor.org
Giving
The Miami University Campaign For Love and Honor
Tribute Issue 19 // Fall/Winter 2013