Summer 2012 Miamian by Miami University Advancement

MIAMIAN Summer 2012

Vol. 30, No. 3

Our Miami

Embrace the bumps E

arlier this summer, right before orientation started, I met with the 20 SOULs (Student Orientation Undergraduate Leaders) who are introducing our incoming freshmen to college life. During our conversation over lunch, the SOULs asked me if I had one piece of advice that I’d like them to share with the Class of 2016. I gave them two. The first was carpe diem – seize the day. That is what Miami is all about. That is what life is all about. Take opportunities when they come your way, even if they don’t look like you think they should. Several alumni in this Miamian have done just that. Mark Cupkovic ’77, a cellist, went to New York City hoping to join the philharmonic. He now oversees the New York Botanical Garden. Jessica Rohlik Smith ’01 accepted an unpaid internship with the Buffalo Bisons Triple-A baseball club, slinging T-shirts into the crowd and dancing on the dugout. Now she is the account manager for Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 team, which earlier this year won the Daytona 500, the Super Bowl of NASCAR racing. Brad Moore ’08 was teaching English at a South Korean university until two of his students asked him to play drums in their band. Now Brad is an irreplaceable member of Busker Busker, one of the hottest bands in Asia these days. I hear that he’s idolized by 10 million women. My second piece of advice was to expect that there will be bumps in the road, some bigger than others. Everybody faces them. They are coming, and it is much easier if you expect to experience bumps and take them on, asking for help when you need it. During a bike ride four years ago, Mark Stephan ’80 experienced an equipment failure and landed on his head, paralyzing him from the neck down. Despite the fact that he has no feeling below his neck, he has worked relentlessly to re-learn how to walk with the aid of crutches, far surpassing even the most optimistic prognosis of his doctors. His latest adventure – biking across the U.S. – involves both seizing the day and handling its bumps as he fulfills a lifetime dream while raising funds for the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago so that others can recover from accidents like his. On his 3,129-mile journey from San Diego to St. Augustine, he has faced tarantulas in Texas, water moccasins in Louisiana, two trips to the ER, flat tires and uphill climbs. But he is indomitable. Friends who have joined him expecting to cheer him on, including Miami classmates and fraternity brothers, have returned home inspired by his courage and fortitude. I’ve been following Mark’s blog (www. StephanChallenge.com) and am struck by comments submitted by several riders, including this one, who joined Mark and his team Memorial Day weekend: “The image of Mark grinding up the lengthy hills surrounding Austin is indelibly etched in my mind’s eye.

Photo by Katy-Robin Garton for Sprout Films

Mark Stephan ’80 endures triple-digit temperatures, drenching thunderstorms, and hefty head winds to complete his 3,129-mile bike ride across the southern U.S. Difficult for most, his journey is even more inspiring when you find out that Mark is a quadriplegic.

I know that in the future when a difficult situation arises, this image will show itself, and the  path will become clear. Obstacles are constantly in front of you, just like the hills Mark climbs each day. When the obstacles are overcome, you are taken to a place higher than you have been before.” And despite this courage and effort, because he has no balance, Mark will take the simple step of asking strangers to steady him as he gets up on a curb. He also has asked strangers to take his phone out of his pocket for him or money out of his wallet. He says that 99.9 percent of people are incredibly gracious and want to help; he just needs to tell them how. For a fulfilling life, we must be willing to seize opportunities even if they are not easy. Putting ourselves in new situations, like those first days of college, can be uncomfortable, but if we’re not making ourselves uncomfortable at times, we’re not growing. Similarly, we should expect and embrace the bumps and the obstacles that we inevitably face. We should seek and give help but never stop trying to reach the highest goals.

You are invited to write to President David Hodge at president@muohio.edu. Follow him on Twitter @PresHodge.

Contents

MIAMIAN

Summer 2012

Vol. 30, No. 3

Features 6 The Joy of Gardening

As director of horticulture at Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Ill., Joy Kaminsky ’97 thoroughly enjoys her sunny career, often getting up and out by 5 a.m. to inspect “her” 500 acres of gardens.

8 In Harmony With Nature

Eighth notes and penny nails. Cellos and carpentry. These represent quite a dichotomy in the career and life of Mark Cupkovic ’77, the most talented cellist to oversee the New York Botanical Garden.

12 Busker Busker’s Drummer Rocks

When Brad Moore ’08 started teaching English at a South Korean university, he never imagined he’d join a band that would rocket to the top of the music charts within months of their first TV appearance.

14 Inner Triumph

Quadriplegic Mark Stephan ’80 pedals across America. Marketing manager Jessica Rohlik Smith ’01 joins her NASCAR driver in Daytona’s Victory Lane. Miamians chase Olympic dreams, and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ’12 earns his diploma at last. Challenges are good.

Departments On the Web www.MiamiAlum.org/ Miamian • Glee club sings Alma Mater’s Myaamia verses (video link) • NASCAR marketer Jessica Rohlik Smith ’01 gives 2012 Last Lecture (video excerpts)

2 In your words 4 Along Slant Walk 18 Class notes 30 Obituaries 33 One more thing … Staff Editor, Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96 Art Director, Michael Mattingly Senior Designer, Donna Barnet Web Developer, Suzanne Clark Copy Editor, Beth Weaver

• More letters to editor

University Advancement, 513-529-4029

Web exclusive:

Alumni Relations, 513-529-5957

• First editions: books written by alumni

On the cover Digging her outdoor job, Joy Kaminsky ’97 is horticulture director at Cantigny Park near Chicago. Photo by Rich Malec

Interim Vice President Brad Bundy/bundybm@muohio.edu Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations Ray Mock ’82 MS ’83/mockrf@muohio.edu

Office of Development, 513-529-1230 Associate Vice President Brad Bundy/bundybm@muohio.edu

www.muohio.edu/alumni Address changes may be sent to: Alumni Records Office, Advancement Services Building, Miami University, 926 Chestnut Lane, Oxford, Ohio 45056; alumnirecords@muohio.edu; 513-529-5127, Fax: 513-529-1466 Miamian is published four times a year by the University Advancement Division of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056. Copyright © 2012, Miami University. All rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Contact Miamian at 102 Glos Center, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056, 513-5297592; Fax: 513-529-1950. Miami University is committed to providing equal opportunity and an educational and work environment free from discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, or veteran status. Miami shall adhere to all applicable state and federal equal opportunity/ affirmative action statutes and regulations. The university is dedicated to ensuring access and equal opportunity in its educational programs, related activities, and employment. Retaliation against an individual who has raised claims of illegal discrimination or cooperated with an investigation of such claims is prohibited. Students and employees should bring questions or concerns to the attention of the Office of Equity and Equal Opportunity, Hanna House, 529-7157 (V/TTY) and 529-7158 (fax). Students and employees with disabilities may contact the Office of Disability Resources, 19 Campus Avenue Building, 529-1541 (V/TTY) and 529-8595 (fax).

In your words All on same team 100 and counting

When I turn 100, I want to be just like Harold Morgenstern ’37. Except female. And with red hair. Harold and his hair caused quite a tizzy Alumni Weekend. Everyone seemed amazed that a gentleman only four days shy of his 100th birthday could still have such a full, snow-white head of it. Actually, the oldest alumnus at Miami’s June reunion seemed amazing from head to toe, inside and out. Happy 100th, Harold. From Pompano Beach, Fla., he still drives. He also still works, volunteering nearly eight hours every weekday in the microbiology lab at Florida Medical Center. “I don’t like playing cards around the swimming pool.” And he still recalls his Miami days, which began as a “fluke,” he told me after we found a quiet corner in Shriver Center to chat. In 1933, he was visiting his hometown of Westfield, N.Y., when he bumped into his former Presbyterian pastor, then preaching in Oxford and living on High Street in Old Manse, which was decades away from becoming a university building. “The pastor told me if I could get through my freshman year at Miami, I could stay in the finished basement at Old Manse if I helped take care of the house, shovel snow, and cut grass.” With it being the heart of the Depression, Harold knew a good offer when he heard one. He signed up for classes in the new business school and moved into Fisher Hall, where Marcum Center is these days. Joe Bachelor ’11, as in Bachelor Hall, was Fisher’s freshman adviser and a favorite of Harold’s. The Presbyterian minister died during Harold’s sophomore year. The accounting and marketing major stayed on at Old Manse until the end of that academic year to assist the widow and her children. Fortunately, his professors helped him remain in school. “I worked for Professor Dennison for $15 a month. That paid for my food in Ogden Hall.” Even in the ’30s, campus life wasn’t all work and study. Harold gave me the impression that he attended nearly every Saturday night dance in McGuffey Hall. Can’t say I’m surprised since he’s still a bit of a flirt with the ladies. Soon enough he settled on one girl, Jayne Hopkins, a 1937 classmate of his. “Even though I was a Presbyterian, I attended the Methodists’ Halloween party.” As fate would have it, so did Jayne. Married 54 years until Jayne’s death in 1992, they have four children. Three came with him to Alumni Weekend. “My personal outlook is optimistic.” Seems to work. He is a fit and active centenarian. I overheard more than one person say he doesn’t look a day over 80, not a compliment you hear often. Harold attributes his good health to avoiding vices, well worth the tradeoff. “I have a lot of fun at a hundred. The young girls, they all want to hug me.” Yep. Life’s pretty darn good at 100.

Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96, Editor

Your article about basketball coach Charlie Coles’ retirement (“The Ultimate Miami Man,” Spring 2012 Miamian) reminded me of a proud moment for Miami athletics. During a winter 1998 weekend when Miami’s men’s basketball team was playing in a tournament game at Western Michigan, our Miami women’s synchronized skating team happened to be competing in Kalamazoo as well. When head skating coach Vicki Korn heard that Charlie Coles ’65 had gone into cardiac arrest, she told our skating team to put on our “reds” (Miami gear) and head over to the basketball arena. The team was about to play their next game – without their beloved coach. When the basketball team entered the arena, 30 skaters were standing in our bright red gear singing the Fight Song at the top of our lungs: “Love and honor to Miami, college old and grand. …” I’ll always remember the players looking up in grateful surprise and joining us in the Fight Song – and that moment of unity between Miamians during a time of uncertainty. Susan Begany Brockhaus ’00 Arlington, Va.

Toasting cuatro chicas

I found the article about the cuatro chicas interesting (“The Four Chicas’ Great Argentine Adventure,” Spring 2012 Miamian). In the summer of 1941, my father took a leave of absence from teaching Spanish at Miami for a job with the State Department; I went through fourth grade at the American Grammar School in Belgrano, Buenos Aires. In December 1941, just before school was out for the summer, Ward College (which included the American Grammar School) had a celebration at the Swift Packing Co. There was a circle of burning coals about 20 feet in diameter. Workers dressed up as gauchos,

2 MIAMIAN

In your words

MIAMIAN Vol. 30, No.

Spring 2012

on Thursday, “Lady, why don’t you just stick to CocaCola.” On Friday, he brought ’ in two wines Four Chicas in Adventures from his own g in Winemak wine cellar. Pat ranked them both high at 17 and 18, and the professor remarked, “I take back what I told you yesterday.” ice article about alumni winCharles ’48 and eries in Miamian, but there is a Pat Steketee Cortright ’48 wonderful one developed by Hank Naples, Fla. Johnson ’65 in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., by the name of Chaumette (www. More about Babbs chaumette.com) that deserves an Regarding the Spring 2012 Miamian article all its own. Class Notes, which mentions the Historic French vertical log new book written by Ken Babbs ’58, construction, beautiful tasting some readers may be unaware of room, gourmet chef and restaurant, the significant role that Mr. Babbs veranda dining, wedding chapel, has played in the major cultural banquet facility, villas, full-service events in this country over several spa, excellent wine, and beautiful decades’ time. This letter is not the views. place in which to detail Mr. Babbs’ Check it out. life and its influence, and it’s cerGeorge Cook ’65 tainly premature to refer to him in St. Louis, Mo. the past tense. However, I think it’s safe to Editor’s note: We have heard of say that he has served as cultural other Miamians in the vineyard touchstone in a manner that is business since the Spring Miamian perhaps unique in the history of article: Richard ’65 MS ’67 and Carol Miami grads: an excellent student; Howell ’67 of Bent Creek Winery, an outstanding athlete who played John Duplay ’66 of Duplay Family under the iconic basketball coach Vineyard, and Doug Hengehold ’93 Dick Shrider; a captain who flew of Hengehold Family Winery. a helicopter in Vietnam; a man who befriended and had an endury wife and I certainly enjoyed ing relationship with Ken Kesey; the articles on wine in the a founding member of the Merry Spring Miamian. Having a daughter Pranksters; a major representaliving in Sonoma County, we have tive of the bridge between the beat had our share of wine. generation of the 1950s and the Several years ago, we attended counterculture of the 1960s, and an Elderhostel at the California much of what’s exemplified by both University of Pennsylvania and one of those movements; a man who course was wine tasting. Each day, continues to be actively involved in we sampled two wines and rated a variety of issues. them to the American Wine InstiThere aren’t many who have this tute tasting chart. Our professor breadth of experience, and even was on a budget. fewer who have been major players My wife was always the lowest in these events. grader, and the professor remarked walking around with one hand in a glove, the other holding a bottle of wine, some of which they poured over meat closest to the fire. All the alcohol evaporated during the process, and the taste was great. The cuatro chicas might try this with just one piece of meat to draw a crowd. David Barr ’54 Kettering, Ohio

Summer 2012

I remember reading about him in an article in The Student during the stressful, tumultuous, and sometimes isolating times when I attended Miami from 1966 to 1970. I was inspired by his example. David Cowden ’70 Bridgewater, N.J.

In the band?

When I was a student at Miami 1947-1949, my dance band, Scotty McPherson and his orchestra, played all over campus plus Western College.

The only members I remember by name are Ted Brown and Bob Barnes. (They are pictured in back row playing trombones.) I bought the band from them as they needed more time for studies. Sitting next to the pianist is my singer in a business suit. I’d appreciate hearing from members. If you were in the band or know of band members, please send their names, addresses, and/ or contact information to Miamian. Hobart McPherson Blacklick, Ohio

Send letters to: Donna Boen, Miamian editor 102 Glos Center Miami University Oxford, Ohio 45056-2480; Miamian@muohio.edu; or fax to 513-529-1950. Include your name, class year, home address, and phone number. Letters are edited for space and clarity. To read more letters, visit Miamian’s website at www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian.

Along Slant Walk Along Slant Walk

MU-UM friends

Jeff Sabo

Creative name change

The two Miami presidents meet.

When University of Miami President Donna Shalala WC ’62 returned to Oxford in June for her 50th reunion at Western College for Women, she visited Miami University President David Hodge at Lewis Place.

The School of Fine Arts is now the School of Creative Arts as of July 1. “The classic definition of the term ‘fine arts’ identifies art forms concerned primarily with the creation of objects or works for aesthetic value, and this remains key to our mission,” explains James Lentini, dean of the school. “At the same time, there has been a strong desire to find a name that centers the fine arts in a context that can also speak to the breadth of our efforts. “We look forward to extending the reach of our highly successful degree programs in the departments of architecture and interior design, art, music, and theatre, while at the same time expanding our footprint

The two Miami presidents chatted

Goldwater Scholar

amicably for several minutes until the rest of Western’s 50th anniversary class arrived for a reception with the Hodges. A Cleveland native, Shalala majored in history at Western and after graduation became one of the first Peace Corps volunteers, serving in Iran. The former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was also president of Hunter College and chancellor of University of Wisconsin-Madison before becoming president at the other Miami in 2001. No “Miami was a university before Florida was a state” T-shirts were in evidence at the Lewis Place reception. 4

efforts to assist alumni and friends in making planned estate gifts, allowing her a more manageable travel schedule. Whitehead, a lawyer who began her Jayne Whitehead Hon. ’06 development career in gift planning, has extensive experience in the field. In 2006, she was honored by the Miami University Alumni Association with Honorary Lifetime Membership for “exhibiting the level of dedication to Miami that is typical of alumni.” Brad Bundy, associate vice president for university advancement since 2001, is interim vice president while a national search is under way for Whitehead’s replacement.

The School of Cr

eative Arts

through collaborations with academic areas across campus that stretch the boundaries of the fine arts.” One major development for the school is a new interactive media studies degree, expected to be available in 2013. A Bachelor of Arts, it will offer such tracks as game design, interactive business, Web development, and design and animation. A new minor in music theatre has also been approved.

Whitehead’s new role Jayne Whitehead Hon. ’06, vice president for university advancement since 2000, has assumed a new role in the division due to health reasons. Now senior director of development for gift planning, she leads

Prashant Rajan, a senior from Mentor, Ohio, with a double major in biochemistry and zoology and a double minor in molecular biology and neuroscience, is one of only 282 students nationwide to receive a Goldwater Scholarship, the premiere undergraduate award in mathematics, natural science, and engineering. In his independent study research, Rajan endeavors to understand how the HIV virus hijacks host proteins to regulate the expression of its genome. He also has conducted clinPrashant Rajan ical research at the Cleveland Clinic in pediatric neurology the past two summers. This summer, he has a molecular oncology research position at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

MIAMIAN

Along Slant Walk

Beckman Scholars Dirk Auman and Christian CerdaSmith are new Beckman Scholars, recognized for their outstanding undergraduate research. Auman, from Reynoldsburg, Ohio, is a senior biochemistry and engineering physics double major with a minor in computer science. Conducting independent study research Dirk Auman with Chris Makaroff, chair and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, he is involved with Makaroff’s research on the isolation and characterization of genes required for meiosis in the plant Arabidopsis, a member of the mustard family. Cerda-Smith, of Lakewood, Ohio, is a senior biochemistry and zoology double major. He conducts independent study research with Michael Novak, professor of chemistry and Christian Cerda-Smith biochemistry. “His project involves the synthesis and chemical characterization of the likely metabolite responsible for the antitumor activity of a class of benzothiazole-derived drugs that are currently under development,” Novak said.

Other honors and happenings Miami’s Over-the-Rhine Residency Program, where students live, learn, and work near downtown Cincinnati, is a regional winner of the 2012 Outreach Scholarship/W.K. Kellogg

Foundation Engagement Award and a finalist for a national award. • Six Miamians have received Fulbright English Teaching assistantships to various countries. The U.S. government’s premiere scholarship program, the Fulbright encourages U.S. students and professionals to go abroad and increase student knowledge of English language and American culture and to benefit from unique resources around the world. • The Gamma Gamma chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon in the Farmer School of Business is the top chapter in the U.S., earning the Lewis F. Gordon Top Gold Chapter Award. • The regional campuses are now offering a new Bachelor of Science in criminal justice. • Miami will add another to its schools and college when the regional campuses become a new academic division in 2013-2014. Reflecting the Ohio Board of Regents’ goals for more four-year degree programs to meet local workforce needs and changing economic conditions, the new division will offer flexibility and autonomy to the regionals to develop such programs.

Myaamia Alma Mater Members of the Miami Tribe and the Miami University community shared a few tears as the glee club sang two new verses of the Alma Mater in the Myaamia language. The verses were debuted in Shriver’s Heritage Room during a March evening that celebrated the 40-year relationship between the tribe and the university. At the Endowment Dinner, President David Hodge told the Miami Tribe members from Oklahoma, “We’re separated by many miles; for you to entrust in us the opportunity to provide the place where we could help to preserve your culture, to enhance your culture, to

Summer reading

preserve your language, to enhance your

When Jess Goodell was not much older than many students at Miami, she was a Marine in the Iraq War. She shares her perspective on service, education, and the power of voicing one’s own story in Shade It Black, Miami’s 2012 selection for its 31st Summer Reading Program. Goodell will speak on her experiences at University Convocation Friday, Aug. 17.

language is a great gift.” To watch the entire program, filmed by Andrew Strack ’07, and hear the glee club’s performance, go to www.myaamiaproject. org and click on YouTube in the top right corner.

Summer 2012 5

he Joy of Gardening By Dave Wieczorek

“The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses.” ~ Cornwall artist Hanna Rion

MIAMIAN PHOTO BY RICH MALEC

MALEC

old house,” she says. “When gardens have been maintained for several years, they can tend to grow over one another and not have a distinct feel in each space. You have to respect the original vision and integrity of Lipp’s design, but you can make modifications to that vision while expressing your own creativity.” Kaminsky, who has a staff of 35 horticulturists, foresters, and grounds crew, treats the gardens with a sort of restrained tenderness. When she was younger she had to learn not to take it “personally to heart” if flowers got trampled by visitors or a storm ruined an entire section of a garden. “That became mentally exhausting,” she says. “Now I have a better balance of understanding. I can put my heart and soul into it, but ultimately Cantigny is here for everyone to enjoy, not just me.” Kaminsky always knew she would end up doing something under the sun. She grew up in Akron, where she helped tend the family vegetable

“I like to take gardens and pull the dust covers off them as if they were an old house.” – Joy Kaminsky ’97 garden, and spent several summers on a family friend’s farm in Pennsylvania milking goats, collecting spring water, and riding horses. While trying to figure out a way to have a career that would allow her to be outside, she worked a couple of college summers at the Grand Canyon, but that wasn’t for her. “I decided I could help protect more green space by connecting people to plants on a simple level.” At Miami, Kaminsky, who earned a master’s in biology from Cleveland’s John Carroll University, came under the influence of botany professor Roger Meicenheimer. She took his classes in dendrology – the study of trees and woody plants – and worked 10 hours a week in his lab.

Cantigny Park’s director of horticulture, Joy Kaminsky ’97 (in photo on Page 6) oversees one of the Midwest’s largest display gardens.

“Joy was one of my favorite undergraduate students,” says Meicenheimer, who still talks taxonomy with Kaminsky. “She struck me as someone who was on target with what she wanted to accomplish in life.” That determination shows no signs of waning. Kaminsky often tools around Cantigny at 5 in the morning inspecting “her” 500 acres. “The job is always on my mind,” she says. “My brain does not shut off.” One of her long-range projects, if approved by Cantigny’s board, is to replace two long rows of mismatched trees – zelkova, hybrid elms, and silver maples. McCormick had a double row of elm trees – an allée – that lined the entry of his estate. Over time, they declined due to Dutch elm disease and additional rows of mismatched trees were planted. She has proposed revitalizing the original intent of the allée by removing the hodgepodge trees and replanting. “I want to be here to see those trees grow to their full maturity in 20 or 30 years,” Kaminsky says. “If we do it now, I can watch them grow, I can nurture them. I want to have a long career here at Cantigny.” And why not? “I wake up happy every day.” Dave Wieczorek is a freelance writer in Chicago.

Summer 2012 7

PHOTO BY MARY RACINE

oy Kaminsky can stand in her front yard, turn in a circle, and in every direction admire tens of thousands of trees, plants, and flowers and know that all of them are her responsibility – whether they live or die, and whether they bring, well, joy, into lives of visitors. “This is the best job in the world. I’m so lucky. Can you imagine?” says Kaminsky ’97, who majored in botany. “I get to create beauty every day. You really can’t be cranky when you come to work at a place like this. I’m fortunate to have this kind of position and a career that I love.” That’s how Kaminsky has felt every day since being hired as Cantigny Park’s director of horticulture in June 2010, after serving as director of the Bayard Cutting Arboretum, a New York state park on Long Island, and before that as director of horticulture and conservation at the Cleveland Botanical Garden. She and her husband, George Columbus, live in a small house at Cantigny, located in Wheaton, Ill., 25 miles west of Chicago. Wild turkeys peck at their back door. Their front door is 30 yards from Kaminsky’s office and the park’s 18,000-squarefoot greenhouse. Cantigny, pronounced Can-TEEN-ee, is composed of formal gardens, the McCormick and First Division museums, and a 27-hole golf course on the former estate of Chicago Tribune publisher Robert McCormick. The park’s name honors the French village where McCormick served with the First Division in World War I. During a two-hour tour of the park, it becomes clear why Kaminsky says there are no two days alike here. The 30 acres of gardens – the heart of Cantigny – were designed and built in the 1960s by renowned landscape architect Franz Lipp. Kaminsky is gradually putting her personal touch on each of Lipp’s 27 “rooms.” “I like to take gardens and pull the dust covers off them as if they were an

n Harmony With Nature By Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96

“Nature’s music is never over.” ~ English novelist Mary Webb

PHOTO OF MARK CUPKOVIC COURTESY OF NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN

New York Botanical Garden’s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, nation’s largest Victorian glasshouse.

Not inclined to feel sorry for himself, Cupkovic picked up a hammer and nails and sharpened his carpentry skills working on his brother’s rock video with singer-pianist Billy Joel. Then he opened his own construction business. He was still playing his cello whenever he could. “Another Miami graduate, Dan Levy ’84, had come to New York. I played stand-up electric cello in his band, Dreams of Flying. We did a

“People have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes to make things happen.” – Mark Cupkovic ’77 number of recording sessions and used to play down in Greenwich Village at Sun Mountain Café. We had a little following going. That was fun.” After he married Jane and their son, Jac, came along, Cupkovic settled into a life balanced between his carpentry and his cello. Now some 19 years into his career at the New York Botanical Garden, he’s gratified to see how much pleasure guests take from strolling through its

paths and conservatory in the Bronx. He was equally enchanted by the place when, while on the grounds to build a children’s garden, he was asked to join the staff full time to help restore the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. The Victorian-era, New York City landmark is the garden’s main attraction and currently houses a tropical rain forest, a cactus-filled desert, and an ever-changing landscape of flowers and foliage. Cupkovic became facilities manager. Then assistant director, director, associate vice president, and most recently vice president. As such, he oversees the 60 people responsible for maintaining the grounds and its intricate infrastructure. “People have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes to make things happen. You’re going into a Victorian glasshouse that was built in 1898. When it’s 80 degrees inside with humidity and 10 degrees outside, the only thing that separates the frigid outside from you and the wonderful orchids, palm trees, desert flowers, and all of the Caribbean gardens is 18 thousand panes of glass an eighth of an inch thick. “In order to make that happen, there’s boiler equipment and computerized controls and misting

Summer 2012 9

PHOTO BY JOSEPH De SCIOSE

ven during summer’s most humid of days, a garden can be an oasis, with weatherworn benches beckoning you to sit and find solace in the midst of icy pink hollyhocks and lavender phlox. Unless you’re like Mark Cupkovic, who can’t stay still longer than 30 seconds before he’s off the bench and kneeling in the dirt, sketching out a footpath with a stick and piling up pebbles to indicate the perfect place for a gazebo. Cupkovic ’77, is an idea man, which makes him the ideal person to oversee the New York Botanical Garden’s 250-acre physical plant. Still, that wasn’t his dream job at age 22. Immediately after graduation, the kid from Parma, Ohio, who attended Miami on a cello scholarship, headed to the Big Apple. In those days, he was far more interested in philharmonics than philodendrons. Aspiring to become principal cellist of New York’s august orchestra, he started private lessons at Julliard. Looking back, he sees now what he didn’t then. “When I was in southern Ohio, I was a big fish in a small pond. When I came to New York, I was like a minnow.” All too soon he was packing his bags and cello and returning to Cleveland, where he sweated in a steel mill during the day and performed in a community orchestra at night. When a Miami music buddy invited him to San Diego, he accepted and joined the San Diego Opera, the San Diego Repertory Theatre, and the La Jolla Symphony. As in New York and Cleveland, he also took on a day job, this time as a shipping clerk for a pharmaceutical company. It wasn’t long before a director called him back to New York to play in the orchestra for Marilyn. Unfortunately, the curtain rang down on the Marilyn Monroe musical soon after the six preview shows, and he was once again unemployed in NYC.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN

The most musical of landscape construction instructors, Mark Cupkovic ’77 performs Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G major at his students’ graduation ceremony.

systems and so much thought behind it so people can enjoy this moment of paradise in the middle of New York City.” His cello professor would be pleased, if perhaps a little surprised, to know that he attributes his gardening success to her. “Elizabeth Potteiger, she was the best. She really sort of saved my life and taught me how to see things through until they’re complete. She wouldn’t let me move on to the next page of music until I really finished what needed to be done. I carried that aspect into the construction industry subconsciously.”

She also would be tickled to know that her pupil went back to college and earned a teaching certificate. Cupkovic teaches two classes for the School of Professional Horticulture. And every year for the past 16, when his students graduate, he plays his cello at their commencement ceremony. Editor’s note: Mark just received another promotion and is now vice president for security and operations at the New York Botanical Garden, with 110 employees reporting to him. Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96 is editor of Miamian.

secrets to beguiling blooms

Bill Zehler knows all the dirt on Miami’s Oxford campus. And the compost. Plus most of the flowers. Miami’s horticulturist for 15 years, Zehler grows nearly 50,000 annuals a year from seed. He tends to the university’s annual flowerbeds and the Conrad Formal Gardens on the northeast end of campus. You don’t get that much dirt under your nails without learning some tricks of the trowel. Here are five of Zehler’s gardening tips:

1 2 3

For drama, limit your color combinations to two or three and mass plant. “There’s nothing worse than looking at a random flowerbed that has 10 different colors and five different heights,” he says. Mass planting also cuts down on weeding, which Zehler and his small crew take care of by hand. No chemicals for them. “If you plant the flowers closely enough together that they just touch whenever they get to full maturity, then they crowd out the weeds.” Good soil encourages good plants. His first year on the job, Zehler ordered tons of compost to raise all the flowerbeds 8-12 inches above the sidewalks. Then he amended the soil with pine fines, which he also uses as mulch because he likes the way its darker red offsets flowers. “If your soil is really bad clay, you can add perlite or vermiculite, the ingredients in most potting mixes.”

4 5

Potted arrangements look best when flowers are packed in tightly. Pots require extra care, such as weekly fertilizing and, depending on the flowers and the heat, daily watering. “When you see wave petunias in a pot looking straggly, that’s because somebody’s not watering them morning and night.” Then there are the bugs and four-legged critters. How does Zehler deal with all the deer eyeing his precious pansies? Let him list the ways: Human hair. “Who’s to say that it works a lot, but the good thing is that it puts nitrogen into the soil.” Bone meal. “How much and how often is debatable. We’ll apply it maybe once or twice a season.” Coyote urine, cayenne pepper, wood ash, commercial deer repellent products. Anything deer find distasteful. “The thing about deer is once they get used to something, it doesn’t bother them anymore.”

10 MIAMIAN

PHOTO BY SCOTT KISSELL

Miamiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Arthur Conrad Formal Gardens in the Summertime Summer 2012 11

Busker B

12 MIAMIAN

r Busker’s Drummer Rocks By Betsa Marsh

Who hasn’t had that Superman fantasy? The one of ditching Clark Kent’s day job and whipping that cape around your shoulders, suddenly becoming an icon to millions. Brad Moore ’08, a diplomacy and foreign affairs major, held that day job, teaching English at Sangmyung University in Cheonan, South Korea. He and his girlfriend, Danielle “Dani” Bacon ’08, a management and organizations major, were content to teach English, learn Korean, and help their students, as they had since heading to South Korea right after graduation. Then, life took a cosmic zigzag. Brad discovered his inner superpower as a drummer in a boy band, and now he’s a pop idol with millions of fans screaming his name. No red cape, but he and his two bandmates in Busker Busker are more than willing to don red clown noses and animal suits in pursuit of superstardom. Busker Busker began as a street band in Cheonan, about an hour south of Seoul. Lead singer/guitarist Bum June and bass player Hyung-Tae were happy with their Korean drummer; then the young man was called up to military service. The two Sangmyung University pals knew professor Moore played drums: Would he like to join? Moore was in, and he stayed in when Busker Busker was asked to audition for Superstar K3, a Korean TV show similar to American Idol. “To our surprise,” Moore said, “we kept passing each round. We qualified to be a part of Super Week, which took the top 150 from nearly 2 million contestants. We landed in the Top 48.” Sadly, Busker Busker was eliminated. But when their last TV song, Juliette, was aired, “It exploded on the Internet,” Bacon recalled. A Top 10 band dropped out and Busker Busker was back in. “We had to choose to move forward as musicians or not. We’d regret not trying, so we quit school, they as students and I as a professor, and we went into isolation for the duration of the TV show.

Brad Moore ’08 and Dani Bacon ’08 announce their Miami Merger during a concert and show off their marriage certificate.

“I couldn’t have contact with anyone, including Dani, for two months. They moved us to an isolated house with no Internet.” It sounds like work camp. “We were put on a strict diet of tofu and salad. I lost 25 pounds. We had to record and practice all day and often would go over 24 hours without any sleep. The rules were to make us look as though we were going through a ‘transformation.’ ” Of course, the Superman ending would be a first-place sweep, but Busker Busker came in second. “We were so exhausted that we decided to go into hiding and reconnect with family and friends before jumping right into the music industry. Dani and I went back to America for a month.” On native soil, the couple could only marvel: Had it only been three years since they’d traveled with Dr. Sooun Lee’s Pacific Rim program at Miami to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Hong Kong? “Brad was an excellent student,” Lee recalled, “very interested in Asian culture. He was very busy building local friends. I saw great potential in him.” “While the trip was originally just a fun vacation and learning opportunity,”

Bacon said, “it undoubtedly influenced us to eventually move to Asia.” When Moore joined Busker Busker, Lee tuned into K-pop. “The K-pop contest is worldwide to 14 countries, more global than American Idol. “Now, 10 million Korean women know Brad.” Which makes the star open quarry in his new home of Seoul. “Being in public is increasingly difficult,” Moore said, “as we’re recognized and flooded by almost anyone who sees us on the street, and me even more so being a foreigner. “The experience is extremely overwhelming, amazing, and stressful all at the same time. There are times, after being chased down by fans or having to hide to do grocery shopping, that I wish I could go back to being just a street performer and professor. “But the roller coaster is positive overall, going from struggling street performers to the current No. 1-selling artist in Korea. Thankfully, I have Dani and my bandmates along for the ride.” The couple married in May 2012 and plan a Korean wedding in August. The band’s debut album, Busker Busker 1st Album, full of love, loss, and reconciliation, was No. 1 on the K-pop music charts for 10 weeks. It’s now No. 3, replaced by the band’s new mini album. The band is on a concert tour, and Dani is helping to manage the group. They’ve both completed master’s degrees in TESOL (Teaching English to Students of Other Languages). “When my music career starts to die down, we would both like to start teaching again in Korea.” Since he first took up drumsticks at 15, Moore has been one to follow his bliss. “I majored in diplomacy and foreign affairs and focused on the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. I had no plans for how I could apply my major, but I’ve always found that living for the moment has a way of creating opportunities.” Betsa Marsh is a Cincinnati freelancer.

Summer 2012 13

INNER TRIUMPH

Going the distance By Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96

he morning of April 15, Mark Stephan ’80 strapped on his helmet, settled into his three-wheel recumbent bike, and began pedaling 3,129 miles from San Diego, Calif., to St. Augustine, Fla. Such a trek would be difficult for all but the hardiest among us. For Stephan, who is cycling eight hours a day, this is a Herculean effort as he is a quadriplegic who needs a fulltime caregiver to accomplish life’s simplest tasks. And Stephan never settles for simple. Still, on Day 18 of his ride somewhere in rural New Mexico, he admits this latest challenge he’s concocted is “nuts.” “We were in the desert a week ago with temperatures at 126 degrees. We were cycling and trying to keep fluids in us. My body’s nervous system is obviously damaged. My functionality is at a very low level, and I’m thinking, ‘This is crazy.’ ” Called Steph by his friends and family, including his wife, Margaret, the 53-year-old father of four from Winnetka, Ill., doesn’t need this ride to prove himself. He began life in a

wheelchair with a degenerative hip disorder. Around age 12, he built up his strength, left the chair behind, and eventually took on 17 marathons and two Ironman competitions. Then during a recreational weekend ride, a wheel came off his bike. He flew over the front handlebar and was paralyzed from the neck down. Doctors told him that this time he wouldn’t get out of the wheelchair. Four months later, he used a walker to leave the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC). Two years after that, he climbed 103 floors of the Willis Tower (aka Sears Tower). So why this latest endeavor and on a bike, no less? Part of this is about fundraising and visibility for RIC. He hopes to collect close to $1 million by the time he finishes in Florida July 1. But there’s a bigger motivation. “Spinal cord injury is such that most of the recovery takes place in the early stages following the accident,” he explains. “I’m 4.5 years post-injury, and I’m still getting some function back. For me, it’s about whether I can push my body to a point where I can still see change.” As with most true challenges, this journey poses risks – obvious ones, such as safety on the roads, and the less obvious. Because he has no sensation below his neck,

he and his team closely examine his body daily for “skin breakdown.” What would be an annoying blister for most could lead to a deadly infection for Stephan. Despite the concerns, he thoroughly enjoys riding again as he’s missed the independence and the camaraderie. That’s why his team is hauling a trailer with 13 bikes and inviting family, friends, and strangers reading his blog (StephanChallenge.com) to pedal with him for a few days. Several Miamians have joined him at various locations. “We bond, we tell stories, we laugh, or we ride quietly. People have been generous in their own time in coming to help me get through this,” he says. Although the free beer at day’s end is a nice incentive, Stephan believes the experience has a more lasting impact on those who join him. “When people get out of their day-to-day routines, they sometimes have a different perspective on life.” Mark Stephan ’80 on his recumbent bike accompanied by Paul Pomfret, longtime friend and one of many guest riders who kept him company on his 3,129-mile trek across the U.S. Photo by Katy-Robin Garton for Sprout Films

“If I can climb one flight of stairs, I can do 103. If I can pedal one rotation on a bike, I can do 3,129 miles.” ~ Mark Stephan ’80 14 MIAMIAN

Photo of Jessica Rohlik Smith ’01 and No. 17 driver Matt Kenseth by Action Sports Photography.

Coming full circle When Jessica Rohlik Smith ’01 started as marketing manager at Daytona International Speedway, what she knew about NASCAR wouldn’t have filled the cup holder in a race car, assuming race cars came with cup holders. Some nine years later, she is the account manager for Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 crew, handling all their media and PR obligations, plus coordinating sponsors’ requests. When her Roush Fenway Racing team won the Daytona 500 in February – an event Smith compares to the Super Bowl – she felt as though she’d “come full circle” professionally. “I started my NASCAR career at Daytona, and now I can say that I’ve been to its Victory Lane in the biggest race of our sport.” Pretty impressive, especially for a woman whose first job out of college was an unpaid summer internship with the Buffalo Bisons, Triple-A affiliate for the Cleveland Indians, Smith’s hometown team. At the ballpark she did anything and everything – pulled tarps off the field, took tickets, slung promotional T-shirts into the stands, and danced on the dugout. She even dressed up as various mascots, although she’d like a do-over on one of the costumed events. “I was the Buffalo State Bengal for a mascot softball game, and somehow I managed to hit a line

drive straight into the crotch of the mascot whose team I was working for. I believe I got booed, but all I can remember is standing there in disbelief staring through the costume’s two eyeholes while the catcher, dressed as an ice cream cone, yelled at me to run!” From Buffalo, she moved to the Jamestown Jammers and the Savannah Sand Gnats. Then she changed gears, leaving behind the ballpark for the racetrack. After three seasons at Daytona, she joined an agency in Charlotte, N.C., and started handling PR, media, and sponsor obligations for driver Ricky Rudd, eventually joining Roush Fenway. Now in her third year with the same 27 men, the speech communication and marketing major spends 38 weekends a year, from February through late November, traveling and cheering and teasing with them. “I love all the guys on my team. It really is like having 27 brothers around every day. They become, in a sense, your own little funny family on the road.” That includes Kenseth, who she describes as smart and witty. He’s from Wisconsin, as is Smith’s husband of seven months, Robert. Nicknamed “Cheddar Bob” in the garage, her husband is a mechanic and gasman on the No. 9 car with Richard Petty Motorsports.

Because the newlyweds both work for Ford teams, they fly together, but beyond that, except for the occasional dinner, they pretty much stay with their respective teams while on the road. Once the race starts, Jess can be found in the pit, taking notes for the website and tweeting on a race that typically runs three to four hours with cars often inches from each other at 200 miles per hour. Yes, she’s come a long way. During one of her first assignments at Daytona’s Speedweeks 2004, she gathered the drivers together and prepped them for a Q&A. Her task seemed easy enough, although she was thrown a bit when everyone showed up in street clothes. “You just kind of assumed, at least I did, that they were always going to be in their firesuits. I ended up circling a group of guys around me and began to tell them where to sit and that their microphones would be on their chairs … only to find out that I had circled up the PR reps.” The drivers happened to be behind her … laughing. “That night I went home and made flashcards of the drivers and their numbers, and from that moment on, I worked hard on learning all of them so that I wouldn’t do that again.” Jessica Rohlik Smith ’01 gave the 2012 Last Lecture. Read her speech at www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian.

INNER TRIUMPH

Summer 2012 15

INNER TRIUMPH

Chasing Olympic dreams

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

Chris Heaton ’09, left, and Aaron Fleshner

Dan Huling ’06 (#3) in front

With the world’s attention focused this summer on the 2012 London Olympics, Miamian pays tribute to Miami’s five undergraduates and three alumni who competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials a few weeks ago. Dan Huling ’06 was leading the 3000-meter steeplechase final at the U.S. Track and Field Trials with only 400 meters remaining. Then he faded on the backstretch, finishing seventh. His Olympic dreams were dashed. “I was feeling good, and all of a sudden I wasn’t. I just don’t know what happened,” he told The Plain Dealer. The Geneva, Ill., native and marketing graduate lives and trains in Columbus.

Megan Brunn ’11

Five Miami swimmers also competed in the trials: Megan Brunn ’11, a marketing graduate from Dallas – 100 breaststroke; and undergraduates Maddie Kete, a business major from Bay Village, Ohio – 50 freestyle; Maegan O’Connor, an exercise science major from Fishers, Ind. – 100 butterfly;

AP Photo/Matt Slocum

Leah Thornton of Helena, Ala. – 100 and 200 backstroke; and Bekka Westrick, a kinesiology major from Fairfield, Ohio – 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle. Two Miami divers qualified for the trials as well. Chris Heaton ’09, an exercise science graduate from Centerville, Ohio, came in fifth with diving partner Aaron Fleshner in the men’s 3-meter synchronized springboard final. Heaton placed 13th in the senior men’s 3-meter springboard. Sophomore Lacey Houser, a kinesiology major from Danville, Ind., placed 16th in the women’s 10-meter platform preliminaries. On Day 12 of the 70-day Olympic Torch Relay, former Miami exchange student Helen Broad carried the flame through Oswestry, England. A resident of Bickley, Malpas, near Chester, England, Broad participated

in the ISEP-Exchange program, living in Clawson Hall on Miami’s Western Campus spring semester 2007. During spring break, she volunteered in a Katrina relief project. She is also volunteering at the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic games.

Helen Broad ’07

Miamians’ Olympic Moments • First Miamian in Olympics – Jim Gordon ’31, finalist, 400 meters, 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. • First Miamian to win gold – Bill Mulliken ’61, 200 breaststroke in 1960 Rome Olympics. In stunning upset against Japan’s Yoshiko Osaki, Mulliken’s victory marked first U.S. breaststroke event win in three decades. • Only American to win Olympic gold in 5000 meters – Bob Schul ’66, 1964 Tokyo Olympics. In last lap of final, held in heavy rain, prerace favorite Michel Jazy opened up a 10-meter lead. Schul came from fifth place, caught Jazy 50 meters

before finish line, and pulled away for a clear victory. • Only Miamian to participate as athlete in two Olympics – Jack Bacheler ’66, 5000meter finals at 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, ninth in marathon in 1972 Munich Olympics. • Becca Williams ’97, first alternate, track and field, 1996 U.S. team. • Tonia Stubbs ’87, alternate, handball, 1996 U.S. team. • Dan Boyle ’98, gold medal, Canada’s ice hockey team, 2010 Vancouver Olympics. • Jay Colville ’26, trainer, U.S. boxing team, 1956 Melbourne Olympics. U.S. boxers won two golds.

16 MIAMIAN

son

Roethlisberger wins his ‘Super Bowl in life’ By Mike Lopresti, USA TODAY May 6, 2012

OXFORD, Ohio – Graduation day, for a 30-year-old NFL quarterback … Here’s a picture you don’t see every commencement. The new graduate, smiling with family, holds up his diploma in his right hand. On the same hand – the championship ring from Super Bowl XLIII. Now on the stage, receiving his certificate, Benjamin T. Roethlisberger. “How could I tell my children one day how important an education is, if I didn’t have one?” Roethlisberger explained. “This is pretty special to me. I’m proud to not just say I’m an alum. Now I’m a graduate.” That’s why he was here Sunday morning, marching with 600 fellow classmates in the Miami School of Education, Health & Society. Just another guy in a red gown and white sash, walking slowly in to Pomp and Circumstance, then taking his seat in the ninth row. All this, nine years after he left Oxford for the Steelers. Most of the assembly didn’t know Roethlisberger was coming. When he suddenly appeared in the lineup with his class, the cell phones quickly came out and the texting began. “I’m going to be sitting there thinking, ‘When I was in college, this person (next to him) was probably in middle school,’ ” Roethlisberger said before the ceremony. “I’m going to be the old man out there, but it’s worth it.”

Worth it, because he promised his parents in 2003, when he left Miami four credits short for the NFL, that one day he would graduate. Lots of pro-bound athletes say that, but how many end up meaning it? A career gets in the way. Money gets in the way. Life gets in the way. In this case, winning two Super Bowls got in the way. “I had every intention,” he said of graduating. “Actually, I didn’t think it’d take this long.” Roethlisberger’s autumns have been kind of busy. And something always seemed to prevent him from enrolling in time for the winter term. AFC Championship Games, for instance. But the Steelers were quick outs against Denver the past season – consult any Tim Tebow fan for details – and the morning after the defeat, his Miami academic adviser sent him an email. Roethlisberger figured it was a note of condolence. Instead, it was a call to class. Roethlisberger was in the red zone for his diploma. Time to get it done. “He responded in less than 20 minutes,” said Melissa Chase, associate dean. “He never asked for a shortcut. It was always, ‘What do I need to do?’ He did everything we asked of him. “I know this was always a very important goal for him.”

What they asked of him at the end included a paper on Tibet. “Which I knew nothing about it,” he said. Analyzing the New England defense was never like this. But luckily wife Ashley, with two degrees, makes a swell study buddy. He ended up with an A, and possibly more knowledge of Tibet than any quarterback in the NFL. Done and done. Sunday would be a fine early Mother’s Day present. “Nine years later,” Roethlisberger said, “we finally got it. … When I told my parents, my mom teared up.” There was never a question of not marching. This day was for the family. Audrey Roethlisberger’s first reaction at seeing her grandson in a graduation gown? “It fits.” The NFL has its brightly-lit, centerstage emotions. There’s something more quaint about a graduate glowing at commencement, even one wearing a small jewelry store on his right hand. Roethlisberger has not had many better days that did not include touchdown passes. “To me, this is just as big, if not bigger, than winning the Super Bowl. This is the Super Bowl in life.” So when’s the work start on the master’s degree? “I’m done writing papers.” From USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. Reprinted with Permission.

“To me, this is just as big, if not bigger, than winning the Super Bowl.” Photo by Jeff Sabo

INNER TRIUMPH

Summer 2012 17

Class notes Class notes

Miami Explorers

1943

Next reunion: June 13-16, 2013

He is referred to in the Marine Hymn in the line, “From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli.”

1948

Next reunion: June 13-16, 2013

Traveling to Australia and New Zealand Feb. 5-18, 2012: (front, l-r) Sharon Ott Klare ’68, Ann Clippinger Hawk, Charlene Leininger, Deanne Wissner Hoaglund ’60, and Diane Wren; (back) Mark Macechko ’01, Cindy Hoaglund ’86, Nancy Moeckel ’94, David Clippinger ’53, Joan Clippinger, Katie Wren ’11, Tom Leininger ’65, Ken Phelps, Linda Hoover Phelps ’71, and Bill Klare.

Ken McFarland ’74, Elmer Girten ’43, Heidi Kristin Reger ’96 MArch ’01, and Diane Rausch Huffman ’75 represent three generations of Miamians making music in the Bowling Green (Ohio) Area Community Band. All of them played in musical groups at Miami. The men became band directors and the women an architect and an attorney, respectively.

1946

Richard Herrmann of Cincinnati, with daughter Susan at the World War II Memorial June 7, 2011, during an Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C.

1953

Next reunion: June 13-16, 2013

Miamians enjoying the Samba Rhythms Cruise Feb. 25March 9, 2012: (first row, l-r) Geraldine “Kay” Kennard Walla ’62 MEd ’65 PhD ’77, Mary Alice Lowther Leasure ’56, Sally Nieman Seabold ’57, Patricia Zwiebel ’74; (second row) Ellen Yamasaki Edwards ’63, Margaret Tobergte, Diane Hall ’74; (third row) Jack Albukerk, Lynne Drucker Albukerk WC ’64, Renata Joyner, Colleen Finegan, Richard O’Connell, Richard Edwards, George Leasure ’54, Deborah Joseph Swanson ’70, Stephen Swanson ’70, Ted Goble ’68, Sarah Lynch, Bonny Swarr Feldbush ’63, Thomas Feldbush; (fourth row) Erika Dockery, host, Lee Joyner ’54, David Tobergte ’71, Hall Crannell ’56 MA ’58, Gary Walla, Patricia Brooksbank Welti ’60 MEd ’62, Nancy Goble, Donald Welti MEd ’63, John Viall ’68, David Lynch, and Rebecca Viall.

Dorothy Curlett Bachman is in a five-Miami-Merger family represented here: (l-r) Jean Ann Bachman Kelly ’78, Bob Bachman, Dorothy, James Bachman ’71, and Susan Bachman Wesling ’74. Trudy James Sundberg of Oak Harbor, Wash., has written O’Bannon: Lieutenant Presley Neville O’Bannon, USMC, Hero of the War with Barbary Pirates in Tripoli. Her book is about the first man to raise the U.S. flag in victory on foreign soil, concluding a war with African pirates during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency.

Norene Harshbarger Hogle of Mukilteo, Wash., recently volunteered in Moshi, Tanzania, teaching English and helping with children in an orphanage.

1954 Carl Lindbloom ’54 MArch ’56 was honored by the Borough of Hopewell, N.J., when he retired after 35 years as a consultant to the town’s planning board. An architect, he has illustrated and co-authored several editions of The Illustrated Guide to Development Definitions.

Submit your own class notes online and see longer versions of these entries with more photos at www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian. 18

MIAMIAN

Class notes

1956 Gail Pitsenbarger Brandewie of Piqua, Ohio, was inducted into Lehman Catholic H.S. Hall of Fame Aug. 6, 2011, as a faculty/ staff member and dedicated ongoing supporter.

ing a guide dog, a therapy dog, a tracking dog, and a search and rescue dog.

Next reunion: June 13-16, 2013

Carl Bergman, recent board president of Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity, was named a 2011 Ohio Habitat Volunteer of the Year, one of only two so honored.

1959 William Manchester of Philadelphia established a $185,000 planned gift, endowing scholarships for students with financial need and Miami’s LGBT students. The gift came as Miami celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Gay Lesbian Alliance and the 15th anniversary of the 1809 LGBT Alumni Association.

1961

Lena Smith Carter has written several books, including Axioms for Life III.

1964 Nancy Hopkins Vermond of St. Marys, Ontario, Canada, has four grandchildren and one greatgrandchild and loves retirement. Jeffry Weiler and Harry Cornett Jr. ’67 are among 15 attorneys at Tucker Ellis & West in Cleveland in Best Lawyers in America for 2011.

Tom Castlen of Commack, N.Y., with grandson Andrew and some members of Miami’s quidditch team at the Quidditch World Cup on Randall’s Island, N.Y.

Jean Hower Foust wrote in before Alumni Weekend 2012 and said that she was anticipating her 50th reunion and looking forward to renewing her friendships with Delta Gamma sisters, Mortar Board friends, and home economics buddies. John Thompson, a professor of illustration at Syracuse U., has created original paintings for a new series of U.S. postage stamps celebrating dogs at work, depict-

Donna Dunn Killen of Conifer, Colo., administrative director of A Mountain Retreat, is on Phillips Theological Seminary board.

1970 Don Crain, an employment and labor attorney for Frost Brown Todd in Cincinnati, is in Ohio Super Lawyers, 2012 edition.

1972

1966

munity Health Resources (CHR), receives the Connecticut Community Providers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award: (l-r) Jill Benson, vice president of system operations, CHR; Alyssa Goduti, vice president of business development and communications; Pat and Connie Kendall Sidley ’72, Howard Sovronsky, COO, CHR; and Heather Gates, president and CEO of CHR.

1973

Next reunion: June 13-16, 2013

Todd Bailey, a general litigation attorney for Frost Brown Todd in Cincinnati, is in Ohio Super Lawyers, 2012 edition. Susan Gwyn, president of SunDance Corp. in Boston, received the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Applied Health Sciences at the U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for outstanding contributions to the rehabilitation services industry.

John Weld Peck, a partner with Peck, Shaffer & Williams in Cincinnati, was selected for the 2012 edition of Best Lawyers in America for his work in public finance law.

1967

1962

1968

David Miller, retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, received the Gen. George T. Babbitt National Distinguished Service Award for 2011 from Lt. Gen. Judy Fedder and Logistics Officer Association.

Linda Buran Houk ’72 MS ’81, CEO of Information Systems Solutions, received the 2011 Small Business Leader of the Year Award from Montgomery County (Md.) Chamber of Commerce.

Pat Sidley, chief financial and administrative officer at Com-

Patricia Werstein Keats, director of library and archives for The Society of California Pioneers in San Francisco, put together a “Singing the Golden State” exhibit. The show, Jan. 25Dec. 7, 2012, displays sheet music, sound recordings, instruments, and memorabilia from the state’s early days. Melinda Rea is the marketing director at SkillSource business consultancy’s new Mason office.

Submit your own class notes online and see longer versions of these entries with more photos at www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian. Summer 2012

Class notes Carolyn Taggart, a Porter Wright partner, is Best Lawyers’ 2012 Cincinnati Product Liability Litigation – Defendants Lawyer of the Year.

she met up with retired Miami psychology professor Bill Stiles.

1974 Mary Beth Fronczak Culler is a member of the team of museum educators at The Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio in San Francisco. Richard Herrmann, professor and chair of Ohio State U.’s political science department, spoke at Ohio State’s Winter Quarter Commencement.

1975 Rob Allanson is vice president of sales at Summit Funding Group. Robert Brown is managing director of the Boston office of Perkins+Will, a global design firm. E. Richard Oberschmidt, a real estate attorney for Frost Brown Todd in Cincinnati, is in Ohio Super Lawyers, 2012 edition. Marcia Wexberg, a trusts and estates attorney for Calfee in Cleveland, is among 2012’s Best Lawyers in America.

1976

Abu Bakar Bin Jaafar MEn ’76 received the U. of Newcastle Alumni Convocation Medal for professional excellence. Abu, an environmental scientist, was senior adviser to the Malaysian government for two decades. Now retired, he is adviser to the Malaysian National Security Council.

1977 Dianne Bettinger Howerton, a graphic designer who owns 3girls Design, was featured in a Bowling Green Daily News article that features local residents and what they are reading. Priscilla Batsche Ungers is one of The Cincinnati Enquirer’s 2011 Women of the Year. She has invested almost 30 years in working with disabled children.

Michael Sims, CEO, Butler Rural Electric Cooperative, received the 2012 J.C. Brown CEO Communication Leadership Award.

(l-r) Kathy Amstutz, Sue Scott Meeker, Geralyn Stanton Petrauskas, Jenny Slagle Naab, and Missy Ault Rainous.

1979

Phyllis Barone was featured in clickondetroit.com for her work as a golf columnist in Michigan.

Scott Doran ’79 MS ’83, of the firm Chester Willcox & Saxbe in Columbus, is in Ohio Super Lawyers, 2012 edition. He practices environmental law. Ann DeVoe Loreaux and husband moved to Lebanon, Ohio, and purchased a historic bed and breakfast as their home (not a B&B), so they have lots of room for visiting friends and family. They’d love to hear from friends at AttorneyAnn@yahoo.com. William Nester, professor of government and politics at St. John’s U., has written Napoleon and the Art of Diplomacy: How War and Hubris Determined the Rise and Fall of the French Empire. Glen Pratt, a partner in public finance law in the Columbus office of Peck, Shaffer & Williams, is in the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

1980 1978

Laurie Heatherington, professor of psychology at Williams College and president of North American Society for Psychotherapy Research, hosted NASPR’s annual meeting in Banff, Alberta, Canada, in September. While there,

Jeffrey Abrams will be 2014 president of the Indianapolis Bar Association. He is partner-incharge of Benesch’s Indianapolis office and on the firm’s real estate & environmental practice group. Robert Shroder was appointed a Miami trustee by Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Bob is president and CEO of Humility of Mary Health Partners, a region of Catholic Health Partners in Cincinnati.

Steve Olson is the manager of actuarial services for Swerdlin & Co., a family owned actuarial and employee benefits firm based in Atlanta.

1981

Next reunion: June 13-16, 2013

Richard Bain, a partner with the Cleveland law firm Buckley King, is mayor of Pepper Pike, Ohio. Winning 71 percent of the vote, he took office Jan. 1.

David Maxwell is associate director of the Center for Peace and Security Studies and the security studies program at Georgetown U. Recently retired as a Special Forces colonel after 30 years in the Army, he spent nearly 25 years in Asia. He is earning a doctorate in liberal studies at Georgetown and lives with his family in northern Virginia.

Larry Bishop was in Florida Today for his work as a dermatologic surgeon for MIMA and for giving back to the community by raising money and volunteering. Larry and Cindy Oppenheimer Bishop, an attorney mediator, live on Merritt Island. Friends from Class of 1980 – then and now. Second photo is at October 2011 reunion in Nashville:

Anne Johnston is a continuing disclosure paralegal in the Cincinnati office of Peck Shaffer & Williams.

Submit your own class notes online and see longer versions of these entries with more photos at www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian. 20

MIAMIAN

Class notes

1984

Kathleen Seith Corso received the Silver Circle Award from the Suncoast Emmy Chapter board of governors for her exemplary work in the TV industry. During her 28 years in news, she has been a reporter, anchor, and story producer and is currently a special projects producer with WPLG-TV, the ABC station in Miami-Fort Lauderdale, where she lives with husband George.

James Barr IV is executive vice president and chief digital officer of OfficeMax, the ninth largest online retailer, headquartered in Naperville, Ill.

1983

Tom Cox expected to spend his 50th birthday with Sigma Nu alums Jim McNulty and Jeff Ryan. However, several more brothers showed up at Copper Mountain, Colo., in February to surprise him: (front, l-r) Andy Reed, Chris Snyder, Tom Pender, Tom McCarthy, Chris Bowman ’85, and Jim; (middle) Dave Bennett ’85, Bill Brown ’85, Kevin Pilarski, Jeff, Paul Schneir, and Tom; (back) Todd McManamon, Dean Witting, Dan Keefe ’85, Mike Whitacre.

Next reunion: June 13-16, 2013

Cathy Cohen, David and Mary Winton Green Professor in Political Science and the College at the U. of Chicago, was interviewed for Confessions of an Aca Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins on her views of black youth and political participation, according to blackoncampus.com. Dave Eshbaugh is the individual partnership officer for the Virginia Garcia Memorial Foundation, which supports the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, providing health care to Washington and Yamhill counties in Oregon.

Jeff Davis, a business litigation lawyer for Quarles & Brady in Milwaukee, was named a top attorney in Wisconsin for 2011 by Wisconsin Super Lawyers.

Jerry Felix and four Miami undergraduates won the inaugural Innov8 for Health initiative for improving patient care while reducing health-care costs. John Martin MBA ’83 is the director of the Shale Resources and Society Institute at the U. at Buffalo, SUNY. Kenneth Merten, U.S. ambassador to Haiti since 2009, is the new U.S. ambassador to Croatia. Appointed by President Barack Obama, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate March 30.

Spotlight shines on artists

Ann Taulbee ’81

1982

Celebrating College Day at Avon H.S., MU alums sport their Miami gear: (l-r) Lisa Ross Richardson, German teacher/WL chair; Jared Emmons ’04, Spanish teacher; Jennifer Griffin Eckert ’91, science teacher; and Flo Bonasso ’07, Spanish teacher.

At the awards ceremony April 3: (l-r) Jim Lentini, dean, School of Creative Arts; opera baritone Robert Honeysucker MM ’71; scenic designer Klara Zieglerova MA ’92; Luxembourg architect Jim Clemes ’80; sculptor Fletcher Benton ’55; and President David Hodge.

Miami’s School of Fine Arts (which became the School of Creative Arts July 1) honored four of its graduates with Distinguished Artist Alumni awards April 3. Fletcher Benton ’55, artist/sculptor, has his work featured in such venues as the Hirshhorn Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the AlbrightKnox Art Gallery. His “folded circle two squares” is in front of Miami’s art museum. He received the 2008 International Sculpture Center Lifetime Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture. Jim Clemes ’80, Luxembourg-based architect, and his firm of 55 architects, Atelier d’Architecture et de Design, have designed several modern Luxembourg buildings and are involved in town planning initiatives including the Banque Générale du Luxembourg building, Centre Hospitalier Emile Mayrisch, and the Belval Railway Station. Robert Honeysucker MM ’71, opera baritone, was honored as Musician of the Year by The Boston Globe in 1995. He has won the National Opera Association’s Artists Competition and received the New England Opera Club’s Jacopo Peri Award. He teaches at the Boston Conservatory, the New England Conservatory Extension, and the Longy School of Music. Klara Zieglerova MA ’92, scenic designer, designs extensively for theater productions in the U.S. and Europe. Her design of Jersey Boys earned her a Tony Award nomination for best scene design of a musical. It also earned her Australia’s Green Room Award 2010 and Best Set Design of the 2009 London Theatregoers’ Choice Award. Most recently, she designed the set for the Broadway musical Sister Act.

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Class notes Lisa Shasky has written the book Naked Feet Living: Finding Your Real Self at Work and in Life.

1985 John Foster, senior vice president of talent and organization at Hulu, spoke about wellness and innovation for Miami’s College of Arts and Science Alumni Lecture Series April 12. Michael Hughes ’85 MS ’87, during a Q&A with Miami’s eReport, explained the university’s Statistical Consulting Center, which he has managed since 1988. Lisa Economy Kay is a marketing consultant in the Cleveland office of Findley Davies, a human resource consulting firm.

Dan Krassenstein, Asia Operations director for Procon Pacific, was elected to the 2012 AmCham Shanghai board of governors. Elizabeth Michael Lau, in Creative Entertainment at Walt Disney World, received one of the inaugural Walt Disney Legacy awards for dreaming, creating, and inspiring. Married: Karla Schroyer and Bill Rieth. Bill is president/CEO of United Way, Elkhart County, Ind.

1986 Dan Evers is economic development director for Licking County Chamber of Commerce. He also handles the Grow Licking County Community Improvement Corp.

Angie Bryant Leondedis is vice president of communications for the Children’s Hospital Association, which has offices in Overland Park, Kan., and Alexandria, Va. Angie and husband Peter live in Overland Park with their twins, George and Alex, 12. Toasting a lasting friendship formed in 1982 among six South Quad girls, the women and their significant others celebrated their 25th anniversary in Cincinnati during a holiday dinner: (l-r) Nancy Miller George, Eric George, Rick Rothhaas, Doug Altemuehle, Jennifer Cook, John Yociss, Jeff Niemer, Trina Schapker-Niemer, Monica Ocarz Rothhaas, Krista Altemuehle, Donna Osborn Goheen, and Ron Goheen.

1987

Bill Hemmer, an anchor for Fox News, and Steve Schueler ’88, Procter & Gamble general man-

A Legacy of Love and Honor

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Class notes ager, are Delt Fraternity brothers who reunited at the Super Bowl this year: (l-r) Bill; his mother, Georganne Hemmer; Steve; and Vera Smirnova. Douglas Lutz, a bankruptcy and creditor/debtor rights attorney for Frost Brown Todd in Cincinnati, is in Ohio Super Lawyers, 2012 edition.

and vice chairman of Andrews Osborne Academy. He lives in Kirtland Hills with wife Karen and sons Quinn and Kirt. Rob Stieg ’88 MArch ’91 is principal of SHP Leading DesignDenver, an integrated design and construction firm. Rob and wife Susan Johnson Stieg ’88 live in Denver with their children, Mitchell and Isabelle. Brian Wagner is senior vice president, chief marketing officer at Philips Healthcare Imaging Systems in Andover, Mass., where he lives with wife Aleksandra and daughter Anastasia.

was honored at a Talawanda school board meeting with a plaque thanking her and her RedHawk teams for hosting the Class at the Court game each season. Daniel Mitchell MBA ’90, in Cambodia, is founder/CEO of Grandis Timber, a venture with Capricorn Forest Fund K/S. Grandis Timber acquired 10,000 hectares of deforested, concession land near Phnom Penh and is planting teak trees. Despite the company’s land rights, residents are allowed to stay. Many are working with the company.

Born: to Christina Merriman Schmid and Dave, Mason Robert, Dec. 8, 2011. Bradley Wright, partner-incharge of Akron headquarters of law firm Roetzel & Andress, is secretary-treasurer for USLAW NETWORK.

1988

Next reunion: June 13-16, 2013

Born: to Neil Cousin, Adam Jonah, Dec. 9, 2011. Rick Sippola, president of Chautauqua Consulting, an investment bank for middle market companies, is council president of Kirtland Hills (Ohio) Village

Deidre Donaldson is the chief clinical officer for May Institute, a national provider of educational, behavioral, and rehabilitative services for individuals with special needs. Scott Drake is president and chief executive officer at Spectranetics, a medical laser manufacturer in Colorado Springs. Jeffrey Logel of Cincinnati, 1809 LGBT alumni board member and trustee, was honored with the 2011 Legacy Medallion, awarded for extraordinary leadership and service to Miami’s LGBT community.

1990 Born: to Jim and Becky Kayes Boerner ’90 MEd ’99, Gabriel, Jan. 24, 2012, joining six brothers and sisters. Jim works at Procter & Gamble. Becky is a stay-athome mom and home educator. Maria Fantanarosa, Miami women’s head basketball coach,

Ellen Kozlowski Guidry is pictured with her three daughters, all wearing MU shirts after she returned from her 20th reunion at Miami in June 2011. Erika Haupt, partner-in-charge of Roetzel’s Columbus office, is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

1989 James Paterson MA ’87 of Hartland, Mich., earned an MS in human resources and organizational development from Eastern Michigan U. in December 2011. He is an organization development consultant for Butzel Long law firm.

a Top Women in Finance award from Finance & Commerce Inc. in Minneapolis.

Pat Pujolas published his first work of fiction, Jimmy Lagowski Saves the World. Jeff Tennery and Marisa Evans ’09 helped take Baltimore mobile ad company Millennial Media public in March. Jeff is Millennial’s senior vice president of global monetization solutions. He and Denise Loren Tennery live in Charlottesville, Va., with their five children. Marisa is an account manager at Millennial.

1991 Michael Cantor is managing director of Allegro Realty Advisors, a Cleveland-based national corporate real estate services firm. He and wife Amy Diamond Cantor, an account rep for Market Day and owner of Gifts to Celebrate, live in Solon, Ohio, with their three children. Kristin Erickson, vice president at PrinSource Capital and the president of Tournaround Management Association, received

Sheldon White, vice president of Pro Personnel, Detroit Lions, received the Johnnie Cochran Salute To Excellence Award, given to front office executives and head coaches of high achieving NFL football teams in 2011.

1992 Gary Agee has written A Cry for Justice: Daniel Rudd and His Life in Black Catholicism, Journalism, and Activism, 1854-1933.

Theresa Squires Collins is on the Progressive Education Network board of directors. She is pictured with Pedro Noguera, a

Submit your own class notes online and see longer versions of these entries with more photos at www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian. Summer 2012

Class notes presenter at this year’s PEN conference, which Theresa helped organize at the Francis W. Parker School, where she is on the English faculty.

Scott Fink is a partner with Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co. An attorney in the Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, office, he focuses on bankruptcy.

Denise Gifford is a realtor in the West Chester, Ohio, office of Sibcy Cline Realtors.

Marty Howard ’93 MA ’96, CPA, is with Cooney Faulkner & Stevens in Cincinnati. He specializes in providing tax and business advisory services to family-held businesses and their owners.

Ann Grayson is an of counsel attorney and a partner in Barnes & Thornburg’s Indianapolis office. She focuses on medical device products liability and toxic tort defense. Born: to Michael Kelly and Dena, Ryan Michael, Sept. 29, 2011. Laurie Goetz Kemp of New Albany, Ind., a partner with Kightlinger & Gray, is in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 for employment law–management. She practices in Kentucky and Indiana in employment and workers’ compensation matters. Tim Kirtley is executive vice president, chief credit officer for Peoples Bancorp, Marietta, Ohio. He oversees credit policies, maintains sound credit operations, and directs the bank’s credit approval process, lending philosophy, and loan portfolio management. Michael Loynd wrote All Things Irish: A Novel.

1993

Next reunion: June 13-16, 2013

Shefali Razdan Duggal was chosen by the National Diversity Council as one of the 2012 Most Powerful and Influential Women of California. She is among the top fundraisers for President Obama’s re-election campaign.

Jennifer Rothchild, associate professor of sociology and gender, women, and sexuality studies at the U. of Minnesota, received a fellowship with the Institute for Advanced Studies for spring 2012. She was part of the global cultures group within the Quadrant program. Cmdr. Anne Odegaard Soracco is stationed at Coast Guard Activities Europe as an international port security liaison officer to several countries in Africa and Europe. She lives in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, with husband Michael and their two daughters. Mike Weaver, pastor at All Saints Lutheran Church in Worthington, Ohio, has written Your Life … Improvised: 7 Improv Secrets to Help You Be Happy, Live Freely, and Connect with God and Others Naturally. Born: to Aimee Gerard Willetts and Kent, Katherine Grace and Jack Logan, Jan. 25, 2012, joining Aaron, 4, in The Woodlands, Texas.

1994 Cipriano Beredo III is Cleveland deputy practice group leader for law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey’s corporate and corporate finance practice group.

Born: to Christopher and Gina Giannitelli Coy, Elena Grace, Jan. 5, 2012, joining Cara, 7. Brad Hirsch is vice president/ assistant general manager, Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, overseeing gaming operations, food and beverages, facilities and security. David Schwab, Octagon First Call’s managing director, is a 2012 SportsBusiness Journal Forty Under 40 Award winner. Respected in the sports and entertainment industry, David and his team are the go-to resource to help brands, nonprofits, and others assess the value of using celebrities in marketing, PR, and ads.   Jason Singh is senior director North America for OneSight, a nonprofit dedicated to providing healthy vision, eyewear, and sun protection. He leads all OneSight charitable programs coordinated by North America, including fundraising, operations, and planning/execution of Global, Regional, and Vision Van Clinics. Damon Williams ’94 MS ’96, vice provost and chief diversity officer at the U. of WisconsinMadison, is on the Presidential Commission on Inclusion for the American Council on Education (ACE). He leads an ACE webinar on leadership topics from his books, Strategic Diversity Leadership: Inspiring Change and Transformation in Higher Education and The Chief Diversity Officer: Strategy, Structure, and Change Management (Stylus Publishing Press, Fall 2012).

1995 Born: to Todd and Betsy Hoza Harootyan ’94, Maxwell Aram, Dec. 20, 2010, joining Emmett, 2, in Chicago.

Karl with wife Julie Butz Ieuter after receiving the RUBY Award, given to a person under 40 from Great Lake Bay Region for outstanding professional accomplishments and improvements to the region. Karl is an owner at Ieuter Insurance Group in Midland, Mich. Julie is a territory sales manager for Parker Hannifin. They live in Sanford, Mich., with their three daughters. Gillian Izor earned an MS in library science from the U. of Kentucky in May 2011. She is assistant director at Germantown (Ohio) Public Library. Daniel Master MA ’95 was in The New York Times for his work on an archaeological dig in Ashkelon, Israel. Associate professor of Bible and archaeology at Wheaton College, he is also field director of one of the largest and most important excavations in Israel, the Leon Levy dig. Liza Ray Orr is vice president and general counsel of Equity Advisor Solutions. She lives with her husband and two children in Denver. Mike Short is office managing shareholder in the Columbus office of Littler Mendelson, the U.S.’s largest employment and labor law firm for management. Justin Testerman is the chief operating officer for the Tennessee Charter School Incubator, the nation’s first statewide charter school incubator.

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MIAMIAN

Class notes

1996

1997

Kevyn Adams was inducted into Miami’s Athletic Hall of Fame Feb. 11 for his outstanding hockey career, both in the MAC and professionally.

Chad Boettcher is executive vice president, social action and advocacy, at Participant Media, an entertainment company that focuses on documentary and narrative feature films, TV, publishing, and digital content about real issues that shape our lives.

Born: to Paige Manley Canepari and Jake, Henry Asher, Sept. 3, 2011, in Chicago. A.J. Euckert is city administrator for Dacono, Colo., a community of 4,500 about 20 minutes north of Denver and home to Colorado National Speedway. Jeff Peters is the spaceflight safety assurance officer, in charge of ensuring safe spaceflight for the world’s first commercial space line, Virgin Galactic. He is relocating to Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Heidi Kristin Reger ’96 MArch ’01, Matthew, and daughter Elizabeth (family on left) met up with Mary Kochera Sasmaz ’98, Cumhur ’96, and son Ozan in Bodrum, Turkey, in 2007. The Regers were visiting Turkey while living abroad in the Republic of Georgia. The Sasmazs were on an annual trip to visit family. Dustin Swinehart was inducted into Miami’s Athletic Hall of Fame Feb. 11 for his outstanding accomplishments in soccer. Born: to Tara Gawrilow Szerpicki and Victor, Benjamin Nicholas, May 16, 2011, in Cleveland.

Michael Holzman is a member in the Washington, D.C., office of Dickinson Wright law firm. He specializes in employee stock ownership plans. Jamie Cook Hull is a partner in Cassiday Schade law firm in Chicago. She has experience in insurance coverage and commercial litigation and appellate matters. Born: to Ken and Carolyn Cerny Manley ’96 MBA ’01, Corinne Estelle, Dec. 28, 2011, joining Madelyn, 4, and Ethan, 2. Paul McLoughlin II is dean of students at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. Paul oversees several facets of the campus life division, including recreation services, residence life, student development, and student life programs. W. Joseph Scholler, employment and labor attorney for Frost Brown Todd in West Chester, Ohio, is in Ohio Super Lawyers 2012. Born: to Jeffrey and Jacqueline Wall Smith ’98, Lauren Nicole, Nov. 18, 2011, in Beavercreek, Ohio. Born: to Sarah Pfouts Sullivan and Kieran, Oscar, May 10, 2011.

1998

Next reunion: June 13-16, 2013

Sarah Chaney performed the role of Lewicki in the New York

City production last November of Costa Rehab, about two injured Iraq War vets sliding toward burnout in the rehab unit of a stateside Army hospital. When a third vet joins them, the trio gains new hope.

Born: to Kevin and Summer MacLeod Fisk, Camden, Jan. 14, 2012, in Amman, Jordan, joining sister London, 2. They are living in Amman for two years while Kevin works on assignment with the Department of Justice.

Born: to Elizabeth Myers Dean and Ryan, Riley Erin, Nov. 3, 2011, joining Brady, 4, in Solon, Ohio.

Steve Gadlin appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank to pitch his cat drawing business to a panel of millionaires and billionaires.

Ben Helwig is a senior associate in the tax, benefits, and entrepreneurial services practice group of Frost Brown Todd ’s West Chester, Ohio, office. Andy Hicks has written a financial thriller, It Seems As It May. Born: to Brett and Stacy Johnson Johnson, Ellie Marie, Sept. 7, 2011, joining big sister Katie in Denver. Brett is vice president of investments at Archstone. Stacy is a senior business development manager with Allergan. Kerre Ovens is a project manager on the design team at Vocon in Cleveland. Born: to Jon Roller and Tina, Raylan Hess, Nov. 30, 2011. They live in San Leandro, Calif. Adopted: by Suellen Schlievert and Seth Green, Makenna Edget, born July 13, 2010, in Ethiopia. Makenna joined the family in Washington, D.C., Jan. 3, 2012. Vanessa Kentris Smith is the director of agency relations in the Chicago office of digital marketing technology provider EDO Interactive.

1999 Born: to Brooke Berens and Gailyn Taylor, Ruby Baxter Berens-Taylor, March 23, 2012, joining big brother Zander.

Benjamin Lamielle, a dentist in Columbus, has received the Ohio Dental Association’s N. Wayne Hiatt Rising Star Award. Christopher Lewis MS ’99, Cooley Law School director of enrollment programs and student services in Lansing, Mich., earned the Distinguished Service to the Profession Award for Region IV-East of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. Born: to Shawn and Rebecca Patton McCollum ’00, Megan Rahne, Sept. 2, 2011, joining Caden, 6, and Connor, 3, in Fairfield, Ohio. Both Shawn and Rebecca work at Union Institute and U. in Cincinnati, Shawn as senior web application developer, Rebecca as a project manager. Born: to Kelli Miller Robinson and Andrew, Lachlan Pierce, Aug. 9, 2011, joining big brothers Drew and Rhys in Beverly Hills, Mich. Kelli is a director with Stella & Dot. Andy works for a business valuation firm. Born: to Marisa Ellis Schoening and Timothy, Julia Marion, Feb. 26, 2011, in Columbus. Amanda Sokolow was inducted into Miami’s Athletic Hall of Fame Feb. 11 for her outstanding accomplishments in field hockey.

Submit your own class notes online and see longer versions of these entries with more photos at www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian. Summer 2012

Class notes David Spencer MBA ’99 of Dayton, is president and chief operating officer of Corbus, which offers IT, as well as supply chain management and project management services. Troy Sphar is an associate in Swanson, Martin & Bell law firm’s Chicago office. He practices in commercial litigation and business disputes, as well as employment litigation and counseling. Born: to Mike and Jennifer Stuller Zugelder ’00, Ava Grace, June 7, 2011, in Cincinnati.

2000 Pete Berlute, CPA, of Minneapolis, is second vice president and assistant controller for the Securian Financial Group. Born: to Kathryn Mittman Check and David, Austin Michael, June 27, 2011. They live in Wayzata, Minn. Born: to Don and Samantha Curran Dwinell ’99, Keira Ryann, Dec. 7, 2011. Stephanie Kimbro MA ’00, a small-practice attorney in Wilmington, N.C., received the first Xemplar award for her leading role in establishing virtual law offices. Yvette Simpson was featured in The Cincinnati Enquirer for being one of the youngest and newest members of Cincinnati City Council. She is also a lawyer and a recent director of Miami’s pre-law program. Jennifer Knight Teal is director of finance for Gahanna, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. She had been the city’s deputy director and then interim director.

Born: to Joseph and Jane Golebiewski Tomlinson ’01, Eleanor Quinn, Oct. 20, 2011, joining Caroline, 2, in Chicago. Joe is a project manager at Aon Hewitt. Jane is a graphic designer and owns Ink Umbrella Design. Born: to Nichole Swigart Willis and Dallas, Skylynn, April 15, 2011.

2001 Eugene Droder III, an employment litigation defense attorney for Frost Brown Todd in Cincinnati, is in Ohio Rising Stars, 2012 edition. Born: to Brian and Liza Brackman Luebke ’02, Wren Elise, Dec. 27, 2011, joining Seth, 6, and Grant, 2.

in Cincinnati, is in Ohio Rising Stars, 2012 edition. Nick Faehnle is a member of the architecture team at Vocon in Cleveland. Sean Lane started technology firm BTS in 2008 with two employees. Now it has nearly 80 and three subsidiary companies and is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award winner in Maryland. BTS was in The Baltimore Sun for caring about its employees. The newspaper says the private firm’s job is managing cellular networks on the battlefield. Born: to Laura Caruso Liatti and Peter, Logan Matthew, July 2, 2011 joining Andrew, 3, in Cleveland.

Born: to Matt and Brooke Bennett Schmit ’02, Bennett Harrison, Dec. 27, 2011. They live in La Grange, Ill. Guy Temple is an attorney for Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren’s litigation practice in Milwaukee.

2002 Neil Desai, a business litigation attorney for Frost Brown Todd

Born: to Joe and Ashley Syphard Rozier, Joseph Jules V “Jay.” They live in Cincinnati. Born: to Chris Thomas and Lauren, Griffin Christopher, Dec. 20, 2011, in Chicago. Born: to Lisa Privette Vinnedge and John, William Kenneth, Aug. 10, 2011. Lisa and John met as students at Miami Hamilton. Kelly Wanstrath, of Macedonia, Ohio, is senior research manager at Hitchcock Fleming & Associates, marketing and communications agency in Akron. Born: to Nicole Peltier Wheeler ’02 MS ’03 and Jason, Owen Daniel, Nov. 9, 2011, joining Luke, 2, in Maple Grove, Minn.

Deb Meno was featured in The Indianapolis Star for her doggie day care centers in Indianapolis, Puppy Playground. Deb, who also raises service dogs for children with disabilities, owns a 90-pound Swiss Mountain dog. Born: to Jeremy Negrey and Erika Trapl, Olivia Grace, June 24, 2011, joining Ben, 3, in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Jeremy is a technical writer and team leader at Hyland Software. Erika is an assistant professor at Case-Western Reserve U. School of Medicine.

Lynch in Cincinnati. Jackie teaches third grade in the Indian Hill School District.

2003

Next reunion: June 13-16, 2013

Andrea Lucarelli received the 2011 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Arizona Associate Award for exceptional dedication to the community and built environment and to the AIA and for the quality of her work. Andrea is a project manager at a design firm in Phoenix and earning her architectural license. Paul Nowicki earned an MBA from U. of Chicago’s Booth School of Business in December 2011. Born: to Robert and Jacqueline Brown O’Brien, Brennen Patrick, Jan. 19, 2012, joining older brother Cullen in Mariemont, Ohio. Rob manages investments for individuals and businesses at Merrill

Born: to Ryan and Darlene Zidek Anderson ’04, Benjamin David, June 8, 2011. They live in Pickerington, Ohio. Heather Bayless and husband Dukno Yoon MFA ’03, internationally recognized artists on Kansas State U.’s faculty, were featured in recent Ornament magazine cover stories. Dukno also had a piece purchased and displayed at the Powerhouse Museum in Sidney, Australia. Born: to Sean and Erica Johnson Brislin ’02, Conor David, Aug. 28, 2011. Daniel Burke, an Armstrong Teasdale lawyer in St. Louis, is on

Submit your own class notes online and see longer versions of these entries with more photos at www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian. 26

MIAMIAN

Class notes the Clayton Century Foundation major gifts committee. The CCF, a nonprofit, serves as a private partner to the city of Clayton in support of restoration and enhancement of Clayton’s cultural, recreational, and environmental assets.  Alison Goebel returned to campus to discuss her ethnographic fieldwork in a small Ohio city. Her findings are used to draft laws and create new programs. Born: to Jon and Meredyth Sajna McKenzie ’04, Julia Jean, Dec. 23, 2011. They live in the Cleveland area. Jon is a fraud investigator and auxiliary police officer and Meredyth is a freelance writer.

Josh Hooker, director of engineering at the recently renovated Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, received the Rising Star from Manchester Grand Hyatt.

Matthew Rose is Akron General Medical Center’s Emergency Medicine Resident of the Year. He began his career with Emergency Medicine Physicians in 2010. Julie Von Holle Urbanski wrote The Trail Life: How I Loved it, Hated it and Learned from it. Married: Tim Wells and Hilary Samples, Sept. 10, 2011, in Chicago. They live in St. Louis.

2004 Jim Ambuske ’04 MA ’06 is an associate editor on the editorial board of Essays in History, a journal devoted to publishing new historical scholarship.

The girls of the “Hooterville” house recently gathered once again in Ligonier, Pa., with their families for their annual reunion: (l-r) Kathleen O’Malley Freyvogel, Meghan Mahoney Orr ’02, Kelly Beck ’02 ’03, Erin Beers Vore ’02, Emily Huie ’02, Meghan Monahan Morgan ’02, Gail Jenner Cicak ’02, Lauren Steidl Brown ’02, and Sarah Buckley McWhorter ’02 MA ’06.

Brenna Mansfield Pelerin, an estate planning and probate lawyer for Howard & Howard in Royal Oak, is in Michigan Rising Stars, 2011 edition.

Lt. j.g. Ryan Salcido (left) and Lt. James Laird ’03 are in com-

CAS

AWARD WINNIN G

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G O L D AW

{ 10 Year Anniversary }

G P ROG

WINTER COLLEGE 2013 AR

D WIN

MARCH 1-3, 2013

SANIBEL HARBOUR Resort & Spa FORT MYERS, FLORIDA

For more info, call 513-529-5990 or visit www.MiamiAlum.org/ WinterCollege.

Submit your own class notes online and see longer versions of these entries with more photos at www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian. Summer 2012

Class notes bat gear about to fly on a mission in support of OEF. Both officers serve in electronic attack squadron 141 out of Whidbey Island, Wash. Born: to Brett and Gretchen Elberfeld Taylor, Zoe Amelia, Feb. 13, 2011. Gretchen is a sixthgrade teacher with Dublin City Schools. Brett runs the Chicago Cubs site Bleacher Nation. Born: to Jessie and Katie Slaughter Young, Griffin Charles, July 8, 2011. They live in Springfield, Ohio.

product after they graduated from college and have since greatly increased the Butler, Pa., company’s growth. In only four years, they reached the 2010 Inc. 500/5000 list at No. 789 for the fastest growing, privately owned companies in the U.S. Eric Fehr is an associate at the Cincinnati law firm Cohen, Todd, Kite, & Stanford. Born: to Stephen and Rachel Bachouros Flaherty ’07, Caylee Rose, Jan. 14, 2012.

2005 Born: to Ryan and Erin Cline McKenna, Charlotte Elise, May 4, 2011. Ryan is a financial representative for Northwestern Mutual, and Erin is a stay-athome mom in Pittsburgh. David Smith is environmental education and recycling coordinator and a master’s student in Miami’s Institute for the Environment and Sustainability.

2006 Born: to Kenneth and Kristin Riekels Bishop ’05 MAT ’11, Miles Thomson, Nov. 18, 2011. They live in Singapore where Kenneth works for Facebook and Kristin is a teacher. Born: to Michael and Shelley Montgomery Buch ’05 MEd ’06, Ella, Aug. 10, 2011, in Dayton. Michael is in residency training in family practice at Grandview Hospital. They live in Kettering, Ohio. Angela Zona Carr and sister Christina grew up using Turbie Twist, a super-absorbent hair towel that stays in place. They took ownership of their father’s

control squadron flying the E-2. Ryan is attached to VAQ-141.

2007 Jackie Olsson Frejkowski, a senior financial auditor, has been promoted to officer by Fifth Third Bancorp. She lives in Cincinnati with husband Joe and daughter. Married: Kim Weigel and Geoff Peterson, Oct. 29, 2011, in Hinsdale, Ill. Kim is a high-tech public relations executive at VisiTech PP. Geoff is a psychiatry resident at the U. of Colorado. They live in Denver.

2008

an art installation by her and fellow Palestinian artist Iyad Issa. The exhibit marked the centenary of the opening of the former Nablus central train station, part of “Cities Exhibition” by Birzeit U. Museum, an annual show that allows artists to explore social history of Palestinian cities. Married: Claire Sowell and Bradley Ballinger ’07 ’10, Aug. 27, 2011, in Cincinnati, where they live. Claire is a librarian at the Athenaeum of Ohio. Brad is an operations coordinator for Iron Mountain.

Next reunion: June 13-16, 2013

Dan Miller (left) and Eric Vogt with one of their porters, Peter, after they summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in January. Eric shows off his Miami T-shirt at the top of the mountain. Lindsey Sacher is an associate in the litigation group in the Cleveland office of Calfee, Halter & Griswold. She practices in health care, securities, and labor and employment litigation, as well as public law litigation.

Whitney Barth is assistant director of Harvard’s Pluralism Project, a research initiative focused on new religious diversity in the U.S. and the challenges of creating religious pluralism for religious communities and public institutions. Pulkit Datta’s first documentary film, The Forgetting Game, premiered in New York City in November as part of the prestigious NewFilmmakers series at Anthology Film Archives. Alex Elesev MCS ’08 organized a rally in Kansas City Feb. 4 against election fraud in Russia.

Lt. Joel Strong (left) and Lt. j.g. Ryan Salcido ’04 hold up their Miami fraternity and RedHawk flags on board CVN-77, USS George H.W. Bush. Joel is a pilot in VAW124, the airborne early warning/

William Harrelson of Troy, Ohio, earned a JD from the U. of Dayton School of Law May 7, 2011. He has joined his dad, Robert ’79, in practice with Faust, Harrelson, Fulker, McCarthy & Schlemmer. Sahar Qawasmi MArch ’08 was in The New York Times global edition for “Palestine Connected,”

David Szaronos, in the Peace Corps in Uganda the past two years, helped found a vocational school and start a micro-enterprise through Ave Maria Bead Co., chosen as one of two Peace Corps Uganda success stories this year. He plans to start classes this fall in social entrepreneurship at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. Alyssa Thomas has started Comfort Me Boutique, a clothing boutique in Chicago, with her mom and sister. The store focuses on both style and comfort.

2009 Married: Stephanie Lawrence and Frank Swiatek, Oct. 30, 2011, in Columbus. Stephanie is a proposal analyst for Neace Lukens. Frank is a real estate professional for Coldwell Banker. They live in Worthington, Ohio.

Submit your own class notes online and see longer versions of these entries with more photos at www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian. 28

MIAMIAN

Class notes

Return for Homecoming Saturday, Sept. 22 Come back to Oxford for Homecoming on Saturday, Sept. 22, when Miami kicks off against the University of Massachusetts at noon in Yager Stadium. Tailgate Town starts at 10 a.m. on the west lawn of Millett. For game tickets, call 513-529-4295 or order online at www. MURedHawks.com.

Married: Kari Peters ’09 MEd ’10 and Bradley Beers ’10, July 30, 2011, in Pataskala, Ohio. Kari teaches fifth-grade science at Valley Forge Elementary in Huber Heights. Brad is a contract negotiator at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. They live in Kettering, Ohio. Born: to Andrew ’09 ’11 and Gena Larison Prall ’01, Keegan Eugene, May 4, 2011. Taylor Robinson was featured in The Dayton Daily News for her promotional work on the hit film Red Tails. She is a public relations and communications coordinator with Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light and Magic. Megan Stengel, Mandy Eckman, Tess Schuster, and Bethany Skaff received the Small Biz Spotlight award from Start Your Own Small Biz, an online resource center. These four met in an entrepreneurship class at Miami, created a business plan for an assignment, and after graduation launched that plan as Libre Clothing, a clothing line for chemotherapy, dialysis, and other infusion patients. Married: Abigail Stuckert and Scott DuCharme, Dec. 17, 2011, in Bay Village, Ohio.

(l-r) 1st Lt. Samuel Willcoxon (Delta Co. 2D Tanks), Capt. Joseph Buffamante ’03 (also Delta Co. 2D Tanks), and Lt. Col. Kevin Collins ’95 (commanding officer of Combat Logistics Battalion 26) during Operation Bold Alligator, a multinational amphibious operation exercise headed by the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy off the East Coast of the United States during the month of January.

2010 Karli Eirich is head of wardrobe supervisor on the off-Broadway show Traces at Union Square Theater, N.Y. Fusing traditions of circus with the energy of street performance, Traces is described as an explosive display of raw emotion and physicality in an intimate urban setting where the human body is pushed to its limits as a group of friends leave their mark in a run-down warehouse through acrobatics, music, and dance.

Married: Katy Eisentrout and Rob Gerth, Sept. 24, 2011, in Sharonville, Ohio. Katy is earning a doctorate of physical therapy at Ohio State U. Rob is a financial analyst in the corporate development program at J.P. Morgan Chase.

While exploring in Italy and Greece, Maria Leahy and Mike Eilers take a moment in Venice to share their Miami pride. Maria is a marketing coordinator for Swank Motion Pictures in St. Louis. Mike is an operations management engineer for GE Aviation in Cincinnati. Andrew Reynolds was featured in a Miami Student article for having one of his crossword puzzles chosen by The New York Times. According to the article, this has been a hobby of his for years, and it took him seven attempts before one of his puzzles was accepted by the Times.

2011 Kelly Bennett, Miami’s social media specialist, is the “woman behind the curtain” when it comes to the university’s presence

on Facebook, Twitter, youTube, Pinterest, and foursquare. Katie Ginley wrote an article for The Daily Muse about starting a business before her junior year with her friend, Sarah. She shares nine tips from her own experience running Tan with Kare.

Matt Sajna celebrated his graduation in May 2011 with his brother-in-law and sister, Jon ’03 and Meredyth Sajna McKenzie ’04. Student manager and bullpen catcher for the varsity baseball team while at Miami, Matt was interning with the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and is now bullpen catcher for the Akron Aeros baseball team. Steve Thomas ’11 MAcc ’12 got together with his brothers Charlie and Jack to start Seaview Outfitters (www.seaviewoutfitters.com), a specialty outdoor store in Uptown Oxford in 2011. Inspired by summer treks and jobs in Hope, Alaska, they decided to open a store that would carry everything someone would need for the outdoors – apparel, equipment, and accessories.

Send your news to: Donna Boen, Miamian, 102 Glos Center, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056-2480; Miamian@muohio.edu; or fax it to 513-529-1950. Miamian does not run engagement or pregnancy announcements. Limited space prevents including wedding photos in the print Miamian, but they are included in the Web version. Please send in details after your event.

Submit your own class notes online and see longer versions of these entries with more photos at www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian. Summer 2012

Obituaries Velma M. Patterson ’28, Santa Barbara, Calif., April 6, 2011. Retired, accountant, UCSB. Helen Steed Anderson ’36, Merritt Island, Fla., Nov. 9, 2011. Alice Heisman Fitch ’36, Salem, Ohio, May 1, 2012. Former teacher. Charlotte Schmidt Keesecker ’36, Willoughby, Ohio, Dec. 26, 2011. Retired, head librarian, WilloughbyEastlake Schools. Alberta Herrmann Burke ’37, Cincinnati, Ohio, March 8, 2012. Retired, teacher. Eileen Weikart Gonser ’37, Livonia, Mich., May 19, 2012. Retired, teacher, of learning disabled children in Westerville City Schools and home economics, Canton and Springfield, Ohio. Eleanor Mitchell Lewis ’37, Cleveland, Ohio, March 12, 2012. Franklin Reifsnider ’37, Murrysville, Pa., Oct. 11, 2011. Retired, purchasing manager, printing division, Westinghouse Electric; former educator. Ruth Hayes Appleby ’38, Merritt Island, Fla., Feb. 4, 2012. Retired, teacher.

Alice Dolan Murray ’42 MA ’44, Charlotte, N.C., April 15, 2012. Former teacher. Nancy McConnaughy Ehrman ’43, Sarasota, Fla., May 6, 2012. Donald W. Applegate ’44, Toledo, Ohio, April 29, 2012. Retired, president/ former owner, Lucas Products. Dorothy Curtis Baldwin ’44, Euclid, Ohio, March 10, 2012. Retired, teacher. Hope Sturtevant Hasenau ’44, Casselberry, Fla., April 20, 2012. Bernard M. Mansfield ’44, Galion, Ohio, May 11, 2012. Retired, doctor, private practice. Evelyne Mathias Shaver ’44 MEd ’70, Oxford, Ohio, March 4, 2012. Retired, teacher, Harrison area schools.

William S. Diles ’49, Athens, Ohio, Feb. 16, 2012. Founder, Diles Hearing Center. Gene Garrison ’49 MA ’54, Dayton, Ohio, Feb. 23, 2012. Retired, WrightPatterson AFB, Defense Department. Anna Mae Dunn Horst ’49, Sanford, Fla., April 10, 2012. Retired, music teacher. Donald R. Jefferies ’49, Findlay, Ohio, April 27, 2011. Retired, music teacher. Camilla Cook Quinlan ’49, Venice, Fla., Feb. 2, 2012. Wife of Don ’50. Margaret “Sis” Ruchhoft Soller ’49 ’50, Youngstown, Ohio, April 18, 2012. Former teacher. Wife of Fred ’50. Jean Haines Stone ’49, Medina, Ohio, March 20, 2012.

Robert F. Wessel ’44, Fairfield, Ohio, Feb. 4, 2012. Retired, lawyer. Husband of Helen Brinker Wessel ’44.

Richard J. Braun ’50, Hamilton, Ohio, Jan. 27, 2012. Founder, The Darkroom of Fairfield; former owner, West Side Ford.

Adelaide Morton Fox ’45, Boca Grande, Fla., Oct. 19, 2011.

Charles T. Lotreck ’50, Norwich, Conn., Jan. 16, 2012. Retired, hospital administrator, MDI Hospital, Bar Harbor, Maine.

Robert T. Winney ’45, Tenafly, N.J., Jan. 22, 2012. Manufacturers representative, granite and bronze industries. John W. Ault ’46, Sebring, Ohio, March 8, 2012. Retired, career agent, IRS.

Philip R. Mitchell ’50, Greenville, Ohio, Jan. 25, 2012. Retired, State Fidelity Savings and Loan.

Margaret Caldwell Nerison ’46, Montevideo, Minn., Jan. 29, 2012.

Ruth Gaenge Moeller ’50, Eaton, Ohio, Feb. 3, 2012. Retired, operator, Moeller Home Furnishings and KramerMoeller Funeral Home.

Doris Rohn Bright ’39, Wooster, Ohio, Feb. 14, 2012. Former obstetrical nurse, McDonald House (Cleveland).

Mary Louise Caldwell Pross ’46, Berea, Ky., March 1, 2012. Professor emerita of health, Berea College.

Robert E. Raymond ’50, Zanesville, Ohio, Feb. 11, 2012. Engineer/entrepreneur specializing in hydraulics.

John H. Ellis ’39, San Diego, Calif., April 16, 2012. Retired, colonel, Marines.

D. Jeanne McVicker Rinal ’46 MEd ’61, Lebanon, Ohio, March 16, 2012. Retired, teacher, guidance counselor, Hamilton and Taft high schools.

Homer E. Sorrell ’50, Middletown, Ohio, March 15, 2012. Retired, teacher and coach, Middletown Public Schools.

Jeannette Winifred Metzger Forbes ’38, Dayton, Ohio, March 3, 2012. Former high-school English teacher.

Thelma Bowen Gage ’39, Celina, Ohio, March 16, 2012. Former dietitian. Jeannette Cubberley Holmes ’40, Boca Raton, Fla., Nov. 7, 2011.

Harry J. Henderly ’47, Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. 16, 2012. Owner, Henderly Design Studio.

George L. Beyer Jr. ’41, Accokeek, Md., Oct. 9, 2011.

Helen Lodge McCaskie ’47, San Antonio, Texas, March 14, 2012.

Lee C. Kunce ’41, Greenwood, Ind., Jan. 18, 2012. Retired, manager of packaging materials and pharmaceutical services, Eli Lilly and Co.

Jack S. Carr ’48, Hamilton, Ohio, Feb. 6, 2012. Founder, Modern Appraisal Co.; former professor, real estate appraisal, Miami Hamilton.

Glen D. Owen Jr. ’41, Avon Lake, Ohio, March 23, 2012. Retired, salesman, Pella Windows and Doors in Cleveland.

William E. Steed ’48 MEd ’51, Hamilton, Ohio, June 3, 2012. Retired, administrator, teacher, coach, Butler County School system.

Margaret Eberle Belt ’42, Modesto, Calif., March 5, 2012. Registered dietitian. Ruth Neff Brey ’42, Kansas City, Mo., Feb. 12, 2012. Retired, manager, U.S. General Services Administration.

Matthew J. Yuricich ’50, Woodland Hills., Calif., May 28, 2012. Retired, matte painting artist for 200 movies with 20th Century Fox, awarded Oscar for Logan’s Run. Katherine Smith Makarius ’51, Dayton, Ohio, Jan. 12, 2012. Ruth Flowers Richardson MA ’51 Spec Ed ’69, Dayton, Ohio, April 11, 2012. Retired, associate director, guidance and counseling, Dayton Public Schools. Joan Ashley Rothermel ’51 MEd ’70, Sandusky, Ohio, March 17, 2012. Watercolor artist.

Richard O. Beyland ’49, Centerville, Ohio, Jan. 31, 2012.

Nancy Sowry Stewart ’51, La Mesa, Calif., Nov. 9, 2011. Wife of William Jr. ’51.

Negley J. Cribbs ’49, Dayton, Ohio, Jan. 8, 2012. Retired, from NCR.

Patrick J. Canavan ’52, Hanover, Pa., Dec. 9, 2011. Retired, professor of fine

30 MIAMIAN

Obituaries

arts, Towson State University and University of Maryland Baltimore County. Dan R. Grigg ’52, Cincinnati, Ohio, Oct. 29, 2011. Husband of Jane Longnaker Grigg ’52. Marianne Grubbs ’52, Germantown, Ohio, Nov. 10, 2011. Retired, elementary school teacher, Euclid Public Schools. John F. Maurer ’52, New Philadelphia, Ohio, Nov. 29, 2011. Retired, office manager, Miller & Kyler law firm; former president, Surety Savings & Loan. Husband of Phyllis Ball Maurer ’53. Jeanne Arent Weber ’52, Birmingham, Ala., March 7, 2012. Robert W. Ellis ’53, Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 5, 2012. Former president and owner, Graphic Laminating and Graphic Technology Systems. Raymond J. Kosiba ’53 MAT ’55, Rockledge, Fla., Feb. 21, 2012. Retired, senior administrator, Brevard Community College; owner, woodworking business. Catherine Haley Lange ’53, Sandusky, Ohio, Jan. 23, 2012. Retired, teacher. Doris Kaiser Mayans ’53 MEd ’60, Cincinnati, Ohio, Feb. 21, 2011. Retired, vice principal/curriculum coordinator, Blue Ash Schools. Curtis N. Swinehart Jr. ’53, Lahaina, Hawaii, April 4, 2012. Carol Siegle Tincher ’53, Oxford, Ohio, Feb. 28, 2012. Retired, teacher, Ross, Hamilton, and Talawanda schools. Donald E. Boyd ’54, Clayton, Calif., Feb. 5, 2012. Retired, manager, stock investment portfolios, Wells Fargo Bank. Frederick C. Williams ’54, Beaufort, S.C., March 19, 2012. Retired, architect, Williams Shepherd in Dublin, Ohio. Husband of Mona Bleiler Williams ’54. Marshall L. Clark ’55, Tucson, Ariz., March 24, 2012. Retired, attorney in Xenia, Ohio. Husband of Nelda Sciarra Clark ’55. Marvin T. Fricklas ’55, Freeport, N.Y., March 9, 2012. Retired, social studies teacher, Lawrence Public Schools. Margaret Woodruff Furry ’55, Rocky River, Ohio, Dec. 17, 2011.

Frederick C. Stahlheber ’56, Mansfield, Ohio, March 28, 2012. Retired, accountant, Sprint. Naomi Green Gabbard ’57, Booneville, Ky., March 15, 2012. Retired, elementary teacher, Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Schools. Sally Brunn Hager ’57, Berwyn, Pa., Nov. 13, 2011. John M. Hoke Jr. ’57, Dayton, Ohio, March 26, 2012. Beverly Y. Vandernick ’57, Ashtabula, Ohio, April 17, 2011. Retired, health and physical education teacher, Riverside Middle School, Painesville, Ohio. Richard Cohn ’58, Glencoe, Ill., April 14, 2012. Retired, president, Acceptable Equipment Leasing. Julia Worley Echerd ’58, Billings, Mont., May 4, 2012. Thomas J. Evans ’58 MEd ’60, Hamilton, Ohio, Feb. 2, 2012. Mary P. Melvin ’58, Oxford, Ohio, March 18, 2012. Miami professor emerita of teacher education, 1965-1994. Naomi Ferguson Stock ’58 MEd ’63, West Chester, Ohio, Feb. 1, 2012. Wife of James ’59 MA ’63 PhD ’74.

Grace Baker Patrick ’61 MEd ’63, Amherst, Va., Jan. 22, 2012. Thomas G. Mick ’62, Hamilton, Ohio, April 14, 2012. Retired, utility superintendent, city of West Carrollton. George Schantz Jr. ’62 MBA ’64, Greenwood, Ind., Feb. 29, 2012. Former professor, IUPUI and University of Indianapolis; employee, Eli Lilly. Dorothy Bodine Johnson ’64, Yuma, Ariz., April 29, 2012. Retired, teacher, Kofa High School. Wife of Irv ’66. Frank J. Kupka ’64, Naples, Fla., May 13, 2012. Formerly with Kroger and Sell Inc.; owned Stitch Tech embroidery. Shirley Harden Kuch ’65, Germantown, Ohio, April 23, 2012. Retired, highschool home economics teacher, Valley View Schools. Lynn M. Carlisle ’66, Aiken, S.C., May 17, 2012. Artist, painted watercolors of horses and dogs. Joann Gariety Shipley ’66, Haymarket, Va., April 5, 2012. Retired, librarian, Franconia Elementary, Alexandria, Va.

Kohei Ishikawa ’59 MArch ’60, Twin Lakes, Ohio, April 8, 2012. Architect.

William F. Taylor III ’66, Cleveland, Ohio, Dec. 6, 2011. Army veteran; photographer.

William A. Dvorak ’60, Lawrence, Pa., April 8, 2012. Retired, Xerox. Husband of Patricia Nott Dvorak ’60.

Jeanne Carson Gable ’67, Rochester Hills, Mich., Feb. 2, 2012. Wife of Michael ’67 MA ’71.

Margaret Bone Lehr ’60, Rehoboth Beach, Del., May 11, 2012. Retired, faculty, elementary education, Ball State University; elementary teacher.

Robert J. “Jeff” Green ’67, Tucson, Ariz., April 3, 2012. Lifelong football coach. Husband of Patricia Fargo Green ’67.

Donald F. Meeder ’60, Jupiter, Fla., April 29, 2012. Retired, executive, Meeder Financial. Husband of Sandy Southworth Meeder ’60. Irene Hughes Souers ’60, Middletown, Ohio, April 20, 2012. Retired, teacher, Middletown Christian School. Richard L. Bird ’61, Wabash, Ind., Nov. 25, 2011. Retired, owner/operator, Wabash Abstract. Sally Butzberger Bosse ’61, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Feb. 7, 2012. Former elementary teacher, Huntington, N.Y.

Elwyn A. Axtell ’56, Akron, Ohio, Oct. 12, 2011.

Ehite Megerssa ’61, Silver Spring, Md., Feb. 15, 2012. Case worker, Anchor Mental Health Association.

Jack E. Markham ’56, Sun Lakes, Ariz., March 23, 2012. Retired, civic affairs.

Karen Young Offen ’61, Cushing, Maine, May 1, 2012. Retired, director, WIC,

Summer 2012

eastern Connecticut. Wife of John ’61.

Lena McKee Parker PhD ’67 PhD ’86, Fairfield, Ohio, Sept. 10, 2011. Susan Anderson Vandenberg ’68, Painesville, Ohio, March 29, 2012. Former teacher, Ratner Schools. Dennis A. Dunkelberger ’69, Miami, Fla., Jan. 30, 2012. Advertising executive in Dayton and Miami. George A. Streza ’69, Chandler, Ariz., Oct. 30, 2011. Retired, general surgeon, greater Phoenix area. Lee C. Buch ’70, Columbus, Ohio, March 3, 2012. Retired, psychologist, lieutenant colonel, Air Force. Peggy Pence Fritz ’70, Virginia Beach, Va., March 27, 2012. Melba McCoy Long ’70, West College Corner, Ind., Feb. 2, 2012. 31

Obituaries

Frederic M. “Mike” Hertenstein ’71, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, March 5, 2012. Systems architect, AT&T. Walter A. Smith ’71 MBA ’72, Atlanta, Ga., June 29, 2011. Percy W. Perkins ’72, Grand Bay, Ala., Feb. 2, 2012. Former Navy lieutenant; retired from Northrop-Grumman. Anne Myers Pettett MEd ’72, Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 30, 2011. Retired, teacher, Sycamore Schools. Edward P. Suplicki ’72, Mystic, Conn., April 15, 2012. Retired, Navy lieutenant commander; retired, Navy contractor, DDL Omni. Janet Noble Tiberghein ’72 MEd ’76, Durham, N.H., March 3, 2012. Retired, teacher, Newmarket Schools. Daniel K. Brown ’73, Los Angeles, Calif., March 18, 2012. Business owner, industrial real estate. Lawrence M. Mandel ’73, Overland Park, Kan., April 19, 2012. Retired, podiatrist. Michael L. Scales ’73 MEd ’88, Hamilton, Ohio, March 20, 2012. Teacher, Harrison (Ohio) Schools. Francis J. Schiller ’73 MEd ’75, Belmont, Mich., Oct. 12, 2011. Greg J. Johnson ’74, Loveland, Ohio, March 24, 2012. Advertising manager, Harvey Whitney Books. Jon M. Rogers ’74, West Chester, Pa., April 2, 2012. MD, owned business overseeing development of new drugs. Michael D. Watson ’74, Solon, Ohio, Jan. 30, 2012. Founder and CEO of Waseca Energy. Husband of Patricia Hawk Watson ’74. Georgia Barrett Gillespie MEd ’75, New Albany, Ohio, Jan. 24, 2012. Retired, second-grade teacher, Ida Weller School (Centerville, Ohio). Dennis B. Loar ’75, Fairfield, Ohio, March 25, 2012. Husband of Dionn Tron ’73, retired Miami associate vice president for University Communications.

Harry L. Arthur ’78, South Russell, Ohio, Sept. 6, 2011. Attorney. Lindsay Brinkmeyer ’78, Cincinnati, Ohio, April 9, 2012. Sharon Matthews Bosarge ’82, Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 3, 2011. Retired, product marketing manager, OCLC. Wife of George ’77.

Wayne D. Elzey, Brookville, Ind., March 27, 2012. Miami professor emeritus of comparative religion, 1970-2002. Thomas L. Hartman, Oxford, Ohio, Feb. 14, 2012. Retired, Miami employee in physical facilities department.

Gawayne J. McKnight ’82, Hamilton, Ohio, Feb. 3, 2012. Formerly with Kroger.

Alfred L. Joseph Jr., Oxford, Ohio, April 1, 2012. Associate professor of social work and family studies at Miami, 1994-2012.

Karen Lavender-Lader ’84, Oxford, Ohio, Jan. 11, 2012. Former parent educator, Ohio State University.

Ruth R. Keller, Eaton, Ohio, March 7, 2012. Retired, Miami secretary, Arts and Science.

Anita Rose Johnson MEd ’86, Middletown, Ohio, April 5, 2012. Retired, teacher, Princeton City Schools.

Patricia Newman Landis, Trotwood, Ohio, May 17, 2012. Wife of Darrell ’53.

Mark E. Pusey ’86, Twinsburg, Ohio, Feb. 20, 2012. Karen Mohr Dwyer ’88, Rochester, N.Y., March 29, 2012. Ensign, Navy supply corps.; first permanently assigned female to USNS Spica in Subic Bay and to USS Camden. Pamela K. Robinson ’88, Middletown, Ohio, Feb. 6, 2012. Former RN administrative nurse, Garden Manor. David L. Goodrich ’89, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 19, 2012. Manager, Cincinnati branch, Oppenheimer & Co. Jonathan D. Reierson ’97, San Francisco, Calif., Jan. 30, 2011. Judy A. Staples ’98, Monroe, Ohio, Dec. 19, 2011. Michael A. Bierl MS ’05, Tolleson, Ariz., Feb. 1, 2012. MD. Christopher S. Dalrymple ’07, Monroe, Ohio, Jan. 29, 2012.

Nancy Roudebush McGary, Harrison, Ohio, April 13, 2012. Retired, secretary, Miami’s anthropology department. Mary P. Melvin (see ’58). Carl Morgenstern, Royal Oak, Mich., Feb. 19, 2012. Attorney; former Miami trustee; former professor, University of Cincinnati College of Law. James E. Paulus, Hamilton, Ohio, April 11, 2012. Outreach coordinator for Miami Hamilton. Ida Rosenberger, Hamilton, Ohio, March 14, 2012. Retired, King Library catalogue department, 1963-1988. Charles M. “Chic” Rumpler, Oxford, Ohio, Feb. 8, 2012. Worked at Miami 25 years, retiring in 1985. Melba Jean “Corky” Gilmore Scotford, Naples, Fla., May 21, 2012. Emerita, student activities program director, 1966-1986.

Faculty, Staff, Friends

John S. Tung, Oxford, Ohio, Feb. 29, 2012. Miami professor emeritus, mathematics, 1962-1993.

Ruth E. Brock, Oxford, Ohio, May 22, 2012. Retired in 1992 after 25 years as food production leader at Miami.

Roy Bowen Ward Jr., Oxford, Ohio, May 20, 2012. Miami professor emeritus of comparative religion, 1964-2007.

Connie Burton, Hamilton, Ohio, Jan. 31, 2012. Retired, administrative associate at Miami, 1985-2009. Jack S. Carr (see ’48).

Rose Clarke Nolte ’75, Fairfield, Ohio, Dec. 16, 2011. Retired, head nurse, Mercy Hospital (Hamilton, Ohio).

Elizabeth Sue Willey Cook, Waynesville, Ohio, Feb. 17, 2012. English instructor at Miami Middletown since 1997.

Richard H. Remsberg ’77, Miami, Fla., and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 1, 2012. Former radio broadcasting executive; teacher of English as Second Language.

Paul Daniel, Adamstown, Md., June 3, 2012. Miami professor emeritus of zoology, 1959-1989; curator of Miami’s Hefner Zoology Museum, 1989-1999.

In memory of If you would like to make a contribution in memory of a classmate, friend, or relative, send your gift to Miami University in care of Wendy Mason, Advancement Services Building, Miami University, 926 Chestnut Lane, Oxford, Ohio 45056 or call Wendy at 513-529-3552.

32 MIAMIAN

One more thing …

Lunch with Putin, Dinner with Chávez By Stephen Schueler ’88

hile working for Procter & Gamble the past 23 years, I’ve visited 119 countries and lived outside the U.S. for 13 of those years, becoming particularly close with new friends and neighbors in Argentina, Venezuela, South Korea, and now Moscow. During that time, as a general manager for P&G, I’ve sat in on some fascinating business lunches. One of my most memorable was in Moscow with Vladimir Putin. As you might expect, we were all on edge waiting for Russia’s imposing president to make his entrance. As if we weren’t nervous enough, a TV station was filming the event. To fill time, we talked. Conversations in German, English, and Russian enveloped the large, round table as the president of Russia’s largest bank, Russia’s finance minister, and other business leaders from around the world became better acquainted. Fortunately for me, I was sitting next to former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröeder, whose English was excellent. When Putin entered, conversation stopped immediately, and we all stood up. As we introduced ourselves, I was puzzled by Schröeder, who just minutes before had been conversing easily in English. He spoke to Putin in German, which was translated into Russian. Schröeder later explained to me that he switched back to his native tongue because, “at these meetings, you don’t want to be misunderstood.” Talk about nerves. We were on our best behavior, we sat up straight, and still we fretted about knocking over our water glasses. When some business leaders raised questions about the economy and government support, Putin said, “I think our finance minister has something to announce.” The television camera immediately zoomed in on us and started broadcasting live over Russian television. Taking his cue, the minister said that the government was lowering the lending rate by .5 percent.

Stephen Schueler ’88 in front of the Catherine Palace, the Rococo summer residence of the Russian tsars near St. Petersburg.

What an incredible experience. In all my years, I have not met a more intense individual with more piercing eyes than Vladimir Putin. I found him to have a distinct leadership style – strong, quiet, determined, and intimidating almost to the edge of fear. If I had to pick a polar opposite to Putin, it would be Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Whereas Putin’s eyes pierce, Chávez’s eyes sparkle, and he is incredibly charismatic. The first time I met him was at a business dinner in Caracas. The dinner was to last two hours; it ended up being four. His talk was supposed to be 30 minutes; it was 90. The speech was arranged as an intimate setting with business leaders. At the last minute he decided to broadcast it over the radio. He was presenting his new ideas to help the poor. I remember feeling the ideas were a bit unusual – one was to give every family chickens to have their own eggs for breakfast. He was emotional, vocal, and passionate. You could hear in his voice that he cared for the people in his country and wanted to improve their lives. I may not believe in their ideas or ideals, but after observing these two vastly different leaders, I do believe that the world needs stellar leadership more than ever before. Insights from my travels have shown me that for leaders to succeed, they must create compelling visions,

must align their countries to their visions, need to create a road map of a plan and steps to deliver their visions, and then need to examine the results and learn from them. Many leaders seem able to successfully manage one or two of these steps, but few do all well. When they fail, we see the consequences, as in Libya, Egypt, and Syria. Societies are becoming more demanding and holding their leaders more accountable, with the hopes of making their countries better places to live – a worthy goal for all our global neighbors. Stephen Schueler ’88, who majored in marketing, says his Miami education provided a strong foundation for his international experiences. This summer, he is moving from general manager for P&G Eastern Europe to general manager, global retail operations, which also means he is returning to P&G’s Cincinnati headquarters. Proud of his Miami degree, he is pleased that his brother, Todd ’00, and his sister, Tara ’07, followed him to Miami.

“One more thing” is a place for you to share your own reminiscences and observations about everyday happenings. Submit essays for consideration to: Donna Boen, Miamian editor, “One more thing,” 102 Glos Center, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056 or email to Miamian@muohio. edu. Please limit yourself to 700 words and include your name, class year, address, and home phone number.

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Tasty Toasted Rolls that drip melted butter and white powdered sugar on the front of your red Miami T-shirt. A stroll with your honey down Slant Walk to revisit Upham Arch and The Hub, smiling as the Beta Bells start chiming in the distance. Peeking into your former freshman dorm room, which looks so tiny, and suddenly recalling shower buckets, plasti-tac, and decorated door boards. Belting out the Fight Song accompanied by the alumni band. Parading with your classmates past the Sundial into festive red and white confetti raining down on you in front of MacCracken. During Alumni Weekend 2012, dear old friends created new memories. Relive the fun times by poring over the weekendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photos at www.miamialum.org/AW12PhotoAlbum.