Summer 2013 Miamian

MIAMIAN Summer 2013

Vol. 31, No. 3

Wil Haygood ’76 The Butler’s Storyteller: As Americans elected their first black president, a Miami alumnus and Washington Post writer told of the civil rights movement through the eyes of a black White House butler. Wil Haygood’s article has inspired a major motion picture. pg. 6

Searching for early signs of pancreatic cancer. pg. 10 USA Broomball tournament sweeps into town . pg. 14 Miami marketing ace hopes new Louisville Slugger logo huge hit. pg. 16

Our Miami

‘Let's give it a go’ W

ithin days of inviting Washington Post reporter and 1976 alumnus Wil Haygood to speak at our spring commencement, I received a handwritten, heartfelt thank-you note from him.

He wrote, “Please know how enormously grateful I am for this honor you have bestowed upon me. I sat on a stoop of a blighted housing project in Columbus years ago, holding a letter from the admission office at Miami that, to me at least, at that moment, would decide my fate.

I shook as I opened it. I was all alone. Miami said, in that letter: Come join us. My world cracked wide open then and there. I’d have a chance. And I meant to make the most of it.”

SCOTT KISSELL

“I will never forget those who gave me my second chances," Washington Post reporter Wil Haygood ’76 tells the Class of 2013.

I’ve since gotten to know Wil much better and learned of the many things he left unsaid in his note. He was the first in his family to attend college, and even his high school counselor discouraged him from applying.

He recalled his conversation with that counselor while sharing his experiences for this Miamian’s cover story: “I told her, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about trying to go to Miami. I think I would like it.’ She looked me stonily in the face, this little, skinny black kid who didn’t have any relatives who went to Miami, who wasn’t middle class, and she said, ‘You’ll never get admitted to Miami.’ And that hurt me. Hurt me that she had no confidence in me. You never should tell a child that. I mean, if I wanted to apply to Harvard, she should have said, ‘Well, let’s give it a go.’ ” Even at that young age, Wil had learned that “adversity inches us forward,” as he said at commencement. I would like to tell you that once Wil entered Miami, his life became easier. It did not.

That is because Miami is not easy. As a result, we tend to draw people, such as Wil, who are not discouraged.

Our incredible students persevere, sticking with difficult projects and assignments. They know how to seize opportunities and forge ahead. Much of their resilience comes through the university community. With support from fellow students, staff, and professors, our students learn not to be deterred by challenges and setbacks.

Like all of us, Wil has had his setbacks. He told the Class of 2013 how he handled his: “In the eighth grade, I went out for the junior high basketball team and got cut. I was devastated. In the 10th grade, I went out for the high school basketball team, and got cut. Again, just devastated. And here, at Miami University, I went out for the junior varsity basketball team. And got cut. It was a sad walk back to my dorm room at Hahne Hall.

“But after each time I got cut, I pulled myself up, and I went to each basketball coach the very next day and asked for a second chance. Those who had made the team looked at me like I was off my rocker. They were whispering, ‘What’s he doing here? Doesn’t he know he didn’t make the team?’

“Well, guess what? Each year, in the eighth grade and in the 10th grade, and even here at Miami University, I ended up being on the team, wearing a uniform.”

Wil advised, “The truth is that no one can ever really cut away your dream. It is lodged deep inside of you. It is a force of nature. When you lose an opportunity, don’t be afraid to circle back. Ask that person for a second chance. … Life is about second chances, but only if you ask. And, know this: When someone gives you a second chance, you give grace to their life. You give them a chance to do something unique, something bigger than themselves, something quite special. They now become part of the long string of human spirit that pulls you along.”

At the end of his talk, Wil humbly acknowledged a standing ovation. I believe he earned that ovation because he spoke to those enduring truths that define Miamians.

He showed true grit and determination, applying to Miami when those closest to him lacked faith. He demonstrated perseverance and made every second chance count. Just ask his basketball coaches and his editors about those fine traits.

As I looked out over our red-robed graduates in Yager Stadium, their proud families and friends filling the stands behind them, I thought … They will do well to follow Wil’s lead and the other Miamians who have come before. To the Class of 2013, I offer my best wishes. And to the incoming Class of 2017, I say, “Let’s give it a go!”

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

Contents

MIAMIAN

Summer 2013

Vol. 31, No. 3

Features 6 The Storyteller

With The Butler opening Aug. 16, Washington Post writer Wil Haygood ’76 talks about his article that inspired the movie, which stars Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.

10 Searching for Cancer Biomarkers

Pancreatic cancer often goes undetected in its early stages. Miami’s Ohio Eminent Scholar Michael Kennedy and his team of undergraduate and graduate students are looking to change that.

14 Boisterous Broomball

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Watching people in spongy-soled shoes try to maneuver a ball around an ice rink with a broom, it’s hard to know whether to cheer or laugh.

16 Batter Up

Miami marketing ace Kyle Schlegel ’99 joins the team that creates a new logo for the Louisville Slugger.

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Departments On the Web www.MiamiAlum.org/ Miamian • Video of spring 2013 commencement address by Wil Haygood ’76 • Trailer of The Butler, movie inspired by Wil Haygood’s Washington Post article • Favorite campus pictures taken and chosen by university photographers • First editions: books written by alumni • Extended Class notes with additional photos

On the cover Washington Post reporter Wil Haygood ’76, up close and personal

2 In your words 3 Along Slant Walk 5 Sports 19 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

University Advancement, 513-529-4029

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Vice President for University Advancement Tom Herbert/herbertw@MiamiOH.edu

www.MiamiOH.edu/alumni

Alumni Relations, 513-529-5957

Address changes may be sent to: Alumni Records Office, Advancement Services Building, Miami University, 926 Chestnut Lane, Oxford, Ohio 45056; alumnirecords@MiamiOH.edu; 513-529-5127, Fax: 513-529-1466

Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations Ray Mock ’82 MS ’83/mockrf@MiamiOH.edu

Office of Development, 513-529-1230 Senior Associate Vice President for University Advancement Brad Bundy/brad.bundy@MiamiOH.edu

Miamian is published four times a year by the University Advancement Division of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056. Copyright © 2013, Miami University. All rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

Contact Miamian at 108 Glos Center, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056, 513-5297592; Fax: 513-529-1950; Email: Miamian@MiamiOH.edu.

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 Along Slant Walk

Dear stinky flower, Editor’s note: The following excerpts come from hundreds of notes left in Miami’s greenhouse from visitors who watched the blooming of the rare corpse flower, officially known as “Botany Big Ben Harrison.”

You’d think people would stay far away from a flower that does everything it can to smell and look like rotting meat.

Yet there I was, in Miami’s Ethel Belk Greenhouse on Western campus. And I wasn’t the only one. Day after day in early April, more than 3,000 of us walked and gawked past the rare 25-pound Titan Arum, better known as the corpse flower. It was something to see as it grew taller … 3 feet Rare corpse flower smells that bad? … 4 feet … 5, but still it didn’t bloom.

The waiting was hardest on botany instructor Jack Keegan, who heads Miami’s greenhouses. He received the plant from Joan McElfresh Leonard ’86, who runs Ohio State’s biological greenhouse and has supervised two of the documented corpse flower blooms in Ohio. She cultivated Miami’s plant for 12 years, starting it from seed collected on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island.

Jack was excited. He told the media so that everybody could share in the experience. Then he placed a webcam nearby to provide live streaming. Nearly 10,000 people checked the website 1.23 million times.

Now that fans from 40 countries and all 50 states were watching, Jack started to wonder and worry. Was it going to bloom and share its fetid fragrance or simply fall over?

As he explains it, a seed puts up a single leaf that will last for maybe 10 months, then die back for about four months before sending up another, usually larger, leaf. Eventually the plant can create a single leaf up to 20 feet high and 16 feet across.

But a leaf is not a flower.

A week after its expected due date with nothing forthcoming, Jack’s fretting escalated. Was the temperature right? Was it wet enough?

Humid enough? At 1:45 p.m. April 9, someone walked into Jack’s office and whispered, “I think it’s blooming.”

Miami now has only the fourth documented bloom of a corpse flower in the state of Ohio. Two weeks after the blessed event, Jack was showing off pictures of “Botany Big Ben Harrison,” named after the 1852 Miami alumnus who became the 23rd president of the U.S. Like a proud papa, Jack gushed over the photos. “It’s so amazing. Just look at that. I was blown away by how beautiful it was.”

The bloom lasted less than 24 hours. Still, there’s a chance “Ben” might bloom again in another three to five years.

If you go to the greenhouse now, you’re likely to get a good place in line, maybe even the second spot. Jack will be happy for the company.

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Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96, Editor

belinda rutherford

Miracle grow

“Smells like my apartment in a bad month!”

“What fun! Smell not too bad if you cook broccoli or cabbage.”

“Thank you. My 2-year-old will never forget.”

“What a fabulous opportunity for everyone involved! Great job, guys.

This may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Thank you!”

“A very unique experience and beautiful plant. I feel fortunate to be here when it opened.”

“It was awesome. Now I know what dead bodies smell like for future reference.”

“Intimidating. Looks like it could eat me! Fantastic!”

“I think it’s really fascinating (and awesome) to see the whole university/ Oxford community so excited about a flower.”

Send letters to: Donna Boen, Miamian editor 108 Glos Center Miami University Oxford, Ohio 45056-2480; Miamian@MiamiOH.edu; or fax to 513-529-1950.

Include your name, class year, home address, and phone number.

Letters are edited for space and clarity.

MIAMIAN

Along Slant Walk

Jeff Sabo

Super scholars

Quadruple major James Tong Morton earns national Goldwater Scholarship.

Fire damages Fiji house

performance, received a Goldwater Scholar Honorable Mention. He will complete both a master’s in chemistry and a bachelor’s in 2014.

“Ben’s research involves an oncoprotein, known as Kras, that is implicated in more than 90 percent of human pancreatic cancer patients,” said his mentor, Michael Kennedy, Miami’s Ohio Eminent Scholar in Structural Biology. “The goal of Ben’s research is to develop a recombinant therapeutic protein that will specifically target the mutated Kras and turn the switch ‘off,’ thereby halting the cancer.”

Courtesy of oxford police

Goldman winner focuses on sustainable energy use

Scott Kissell

Oxford and state fire officials continue to investigate the cause of May 25 fire at Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) house on High Street.

Allison McGillivray ’13 wants to be a writeractivist who promotes sustainable energy use.

Scott Kissell

Goldwater Scholarship recipient James Tong Morton of Oxford is one of only 271 students nationwide to receive the premier undergraduate award of its type in mathematics, natural science, and engineering.

Conducting research since freshman year, he works with mentors John Karro, associate professor of computer science and software engineering, and Chun Liang, associate professor of botany, to develop bioinformatics software to help understand biological mechanisms linked with gene regulation and cancer.

Researching computational biology at Johns Hopkins University this summer, he is a quadruple major in computer science, electrical engineering, engineering physics, and mathematics and statistics.

Benjamin Fenton of Wilmington, Ohio, a senior biochemistry major and double minor in molecular biology Benjamin Fenton, Goldwater and music Honorable Mention.

Along Slant Walk

Miami’s $34,000 Joanna Jackson Goldman Memorial Prize is allowing Allison McGillivray ’13 to spend a year pursing her desire to be a writeractivist through energy narratives.

The English literature and professional writing double major from Massillon, Ohio, will research and create her own stories that “focus attention on an energy resource, harvested, consumed, depleted, or restored,” said her adviser, Anita Mannur, assistant professor of English.

She will then build a website to share her work, inviting online guests to engage and take a more active role in the promotion of sustainable energy use, McGillivray said.

Oxford firefighters responded to the Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) house at the northwest corner of High Street and Campus Avenue May 25 to battle a heavy blaze.

The imposing brick home was engulfed in smoke and flames as fire crews from several neighboring departments joined Oxford’s department to put out the fire, spotted a little after midnight.

Two students in the house escaped unharmed. Most had left for break, but 13 were living there during summer classes.

Miami offered immediate support.

Summer 2013 3

Along Slant Walk

Summer reading

Harrison award

With 174 million gamers in the U.S., not counting the rest of the world, why should games be used for escapist entertainment alone, asks author Jane McGonigal.

That is one of many questions members of Miami’s Class of 2017 will be considering as they read McGonigal’s Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, the book selected for this year’s summer reading program.

McGonigal will speak to

Winter term offering

the freshmen

Jan. 2-25, 2014, will be Miami’s first academic winter term. During the short period between fall and spring semesters, students will be able to choose from courses on all campuses, as well as online and abroad. They aren’t required to register and may opt for a longer winter break. Fall and spring semesters will run 15 weeks and start a week later than in the past.

Aug. 23, the

Bart Nagel

at convocation Author Jane McGonigal

Friday before classes begin. She is expected to discuss how the power of games can be leveraged to fix what is wrong with the real world – from depression and obesity to poverty and climate change.

This is the 32nd year for the summer reading program at Miami.

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Farmer School’s ‘Best’ The Farmer School of Business moved up a spot in Bloomberg Businessweek’s eighth annual survey of the nation’s best undergraduate business programs, ranking 22nd overall and remaining eighth among public institutions. The school was again the

Leadership changes

•Barbara Jones, vice president for student affairs at Miami since 2008, has accepted the same position at Boston College, effective July 1.

•James Lentini, dean of Miami’s Barbara Rose

Sally Lloyd, professor of educational leadership and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, and interim co-chair of teacher Sally Lloyd at McGuffey education, statue on Oxford campus. received the Benjamin Harrison Medallion at commencement May 11. On Miami’s faculty since 1990, she has an international reputation for scholarly work in family studies and domestic violence and is a key figure in establishing feminist theory as a major perspective in family studies. The medallion, named for the 1852 Miami graduate who became U.S. president, is presented to a faculty or staff member who has made outstanding contributions to teaching, research, and/or service.

top-ranked Ohio institution and the only Ohio school in the top 25.

School of Creative Arts since 2007, becomes senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., July 8.

Liz Mullenix, chair of theatre, will be Miami’s interim dean.

•J. Peter Natale, former CIO and senior vice president of information technology and business process at Becton Dickinson and Co., becomes Miami’s chief information officer and vice president for information technology July 1, leading an IT staff of about 150. Debi Hust Allison ’73 MS ’82, current vice president, is retiring.

Alpha Xi Delta suspended The Miami chapter of Alpha Xi Delta has been found responsible for violating the Code of Student Conduct, Section 105B (prohibited use of alcohol) in relation to a party where alcohol was served to minors.

The chapter is suspended through May 16, 2014.

Grade changers charged Miami police charged two former students for breaching computer systems to change grades for themselves and others. Following a faculty alert, police and IT security staff investigated over winter and found students used a device on classroom computers to record password keystrokes made by instructors. The university has added several steps to prevent future grade hacking. All falsely changed grades were corrected.

MIAMIAN

Sports

Along Slant Walk

New women’s basketball head coach

MU women athletes earn Top MAC Trophy Miami has been honored with the Fred Jacoby Trophy, one of two top Mid-American Conference institutional awards, for having the best overall women’s athletic teams during the 2012-2013 academic year. Miami’s women’s teams finished first in four sports – swimming and diving, tennis, field hockey, and soccer, and won seven championships in those sports.

Cleve Wright is now the seventh women’s head basketball coach in Miami history, joining the Cleve Wright at press RedHawks this conference announcing spring after his coming to Miami.

11 seasons at Gannon University, where he won 70 percent of his games and led the Lady Knights to a 31-5 record and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight last season.

The team finished the season ranked sixth in the country.

He took the Lady Knights to the NCAA Tournament in five of the past seven seasons. In 2009-2010 he was NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year.

He replaces Maria Fantanarosa ’90, the women’s coach for 15 seasons.

Miami mourns loss of legendary basketball coach Charlie Coles ’65 Family, friends, and fans returned to Millett Hall for Charlie Coles ’65 one last time June 13 to attend his funeral and pay tribute to the legendary men’s basketball coach, who died June 7.

Coles, 71, earned more wins than any other coach in Miami history, more MAC wins than any other coach in conference history, and tied for second on the MAC’s career wins list. He was also a standout player for Miami 1962-1965 as an all-conference guard.

A cherished member of the basketball community, he will always be remembered for his witty press conferences and sideline banter in addition to the legacy of his playing and coaching career.

Coles retired March 5, 2012, after 16 seasons at the helm of Miami’s

program, 22 seasons as a collegiate head coach, all in the MAC, and nearly half a century as a basketball coach at various levels.

“Charlie made you laugh and made you think,” recalled Herb Sendek, Arizona State head men’s basketball coach. An assistant coach for him at Miami, Coles became head coach after Sendek left for North Carolina State.

“He was comfortable and held court with one person or many. But I also want people to remember he was a great coach … a really, really great coach. Much of what we try to instill today is what Charlie was teaching us two decades ago.”

“Charlie Coles was one of the greatest men I have ever met,” said Thad Matta, Ohio State head men’s

Charlie Coles ’65, forever the coach.

basketball coach, who was an assistant coach, along with Coles, under Sendek. “His passion and energy for life, his family, coaching and kids were contagious for all who ever came in contact with him.”

Summer 2013 5

The

Storyteller With The Butler about to debut as a major motion picture, Washington Post reporter Wil Haygood ’76 shares insights into his article that became the impetus for the movie.

By Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96

Wil Haygood ’76 on the movie set of The Butler, filmed in New Orleans.

For more than three decades Eugene Allen worked in the White House, a black man unknown to the headlines.* Wil Haygood ’76 had run out of time. With the 2008 presidential election looming, his Washington Post editor wanted him back on the press bus covering Barack Obama’s campaign. Now! Still, Haygood, who has made a career of finding and telling lost stories, didn’t want to give up the hunt. For

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weeks he’d been asking his Capitol Hill sources if they knew of anyone who had worked at the White House when segregation was at its zenith, when the idea of a black president was beyond imaginable.

Having watched how people reacted to the junior senator from Illinois, Haygood was convinced Obama would win, and the veteran Post reporter knew the story he wanted to tell when that happened.

He saw eight presidential administrations come and go, often working six days a week. “I never missed a day of work,” Allen says.

He was there while America’s racial history was being made: Brown v. Board of Education, the Little Rock school crisis, the 1963 March on Washington, the cities burning, the civil rights bills, the assassinations.

MIAMIAN

“… he was the butler who fetched the president’s straw hat, the president’s wingtips. But he was also a black man. And he saw the ground shifting from up close.” (from The Butler: A Witness to History, book by Wil Haygood, being released in August by Simon & Schuster)

Haygood asked his editor for a few more days and received a grudging yes. Then came an unexpected phone call from Florida. The woman had worked in the HR office at the White House in the early ’60s and suggested Haygood contact Eugene Allen, a butler who had served three presidents.

Finding The Butler With nothing more than the name, and an incredibly common one at that, Haygood went to the Washington Post library, pulled out a half dozen or so phone books, and started calling every Eugene Allen. After several dozen calls, he considered quitting. He didn’t.

As a boy, Haygood got himself up at 4:30 every morning to ride two city buses across Columbus, from his East Side home in the Bolivar Arms housing project to a “white” high school clear

outside city limits – so he could play basketball. He wasn’t going to give up just because the coach at his local school had cut him. Playing basketball was his dream, and he learned early never to give up on dreams.

So he kept going down the names in the phone books. On the 57th call, Wil Haygood found The Butler. Turns out, Mr. Allen had served eight presidents, not three, starting with Harry Truman in 1952 and ending with Ronald Reagan in 1986.

Settling his lanky frame into a sofa in the front parlor of Miami’s SimpsonShade Guest House, Haygood recalled the phone conversation with Eugene Allen. Would Mr. Allen be willing to tell his story? He’d always said no before, wanting to respect his position and the presidents he’d served. Allen asked his wife, Helene, if he should invite this Post reporter to their home. She said yes. It was time.

From newspaper to movie screen

Wil spent the entire Friday before the election with Eugene, 89, and Helene, 88. He found Eugene suave, Helene flamboyant. Haygood heard about Eugene’s childhood, about the Allens’ 65 years together, and their only child, Charles, an investigator with the State Department.

And finally, after hours of chatting and watching The Price is Right with them, he followed the couple down the stairs into their basement where he was shown years of precious and personal presidential mementoes – Christmas gifts, signed books, photos of Eugene serving various First Families. Haygood couldn’t believe what he saw. This was more than he’d hoped for or imagined.

On Saturday the Post photographer took pictures at the Allen house.

Summer 2013 7

On Sunday the Allens’ son came over to visit. Gently clapping his own slender hands together to illustrate his story, Haygood continued, “Clapping her hands in joy, Helene told their son, ‘I’m so happy. So happy. I always thought your father’s service to the country would be forgotten. A Post reporter said he would write his story.

I’m at peace. I’m at peace.’ ” Helene Allen then said good night, went upstairs to bed, and died. Her grieving husband went alone to vote for America’s first black president.

Haygood’s Nov. 7, 2008, Washington Post article about Eugene Allen – “A Butler Well Served by This Election” – touched readers. So much so that it was made into a major motion picture.

The Butler is scheduled to be released in U.S. theaters Aug. 16. Directed by Lee Daniels, who produced Monster’s Ball and directed Precious, the movie stars Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.

Hobnobbing with the stars To Wil Haygood, life seems magical lately.

He came back to Miami’s Oxford campus in May to give the spring commencement speech. His niece, Faness, is a member of the Class of 2013. He arrived having just found out he had been awarded a 20132014 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for research on his book about Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, his seventh book.

Not bad for an urban studies major with a less than stellar GPA. “I certainly would not have dreamed that someday I’d be on the movie set with Cuba Gooding and Oprah Winfrey and Jane Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave. And them asking me, ‘What’s next? What are you working on next, Wil, that I might be interested in?’ ”

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Midwest roots

Keeping him grounded are his roots in Columbus, Ohio. This is where his grandparents, Emily and Jimmy, moved after they left Selma, Ala., during the black migration and where they helped raise their daughter’s five children. Wil, a twin, is the youngest.

Although his grandparents are gone from the now vacant, green, two-story clapboard on Fifth Street, he still likes to return to the neighborhood three or four times a year and remember.

In the backyard is the gnarly, old tree he camped under. A half dozen steps beyond is the alley where he and his buddies kneeled in the dirt for hours playing marbles. Around the corner … Mrs. Wilson’s oneroom grocery store with two display windows, now boarded up, one of which once held the most beautiful cowboy outfit he ever saw.

“The first memories of my life are right here, right on this porch,” he said, standing at the bottom of the crumbling steps. “Very hard to see

it this way, but still every time I come home, I drive down the street because it still touches my heart in a deep way. I was very, very, very close to my grandmother. She mostly raised me although my mother was still in the house.”

Grandmother Emily’s influence

That explains why grandmothers play an important role in some of his stories, such as his reports from New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. He covered the storm’s aftermath for 33 days.

“I saw this elderly lady walking down the street. She had left the hospital that was flooded. She was in her hospital gown. I mean, in my country, America. That lady looked like my grandmother, and I broke down crying. It was very painful. I gave her all the bottled water I had, but she needed her government to help.”

Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey play characters based on Eugene and Helene Allen, the subjects of Haygood’s 2008 Post article. The movie is scheduled to open in the U.S. Aug. 16.

MIAMIAN

Perhaps no other figure in the black community is as revered as the grandmother.

Celebrated in song, drama, and lore, she has been, through generations, the relentless optimist, the nonjudgmental matriarch, the miracle worker who finds a way when there is no way.

Now, across this haunted and distressed region, many grandmothers have themselves been put in peril, forced from their homes in New Orleans but unable to stop doing what they’ve always done for their families – worry, worry, worry, fix, fix, fix. (“Grandmothers’ Storied Powers Facing a Test,” by Wil Haygood, Washington Post staff writer, Sept. 9, 2005)

His favorites

“It’s hard to pick a favorite,” says the Pulitzer Prize finalist for feature writing of all he has written. Still pointing out landmarks as he drives around Columbus – the Olentangy where he fished for bluegill and crappie, the state fairgrounds where he washed dishes after school – he goes quiet as he considers the many articles he’s produced for The Boston Globe and then the Post the past 28 years Covering Katrina was terribly difficult. Traveling down the Mississippi on a raft to observe Mark Twain’s 150th birthday was a grand adventure. Being kidnapped by rebels in Somalia gave him nightmares after his release. After watching Nelson Mandela walk out of prison in South Africa, he looked down to find tears on his notes.

His first article was for the weekly Call & Post in Columbus. Testing the kid with no newspaper experience, the gruff, bearlike editor sent him to

While on the movie set, Haygood worked on the accompanying book. “It wasn’t just a profile of a butler in the White House,” he said. “There are a lot of White House butlers, but one born on a plantation in the South who lives to see Obama elected?”

cover the announcement of a housing grant. He returned and wrote a short story, something he understood from his classes at Miami. He included prose about the lovely gothic brick and huge windows in the room where the announcement was made, the styles of dress on the people about to dispense the money. He forgot to ask how much the grant was for.

He learned. He grew. He sweated to bring literary skills to the page, to become more than a who-what-whenwhere-why-how technician.

“I like to come up with ideas that other journalists aren’t thinking of. For instance, on the 30th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s death, my editor asked me if I could find something different and to write about it. You know, King went to Memphis to help out the garbage men. So I went over to the sanitation department. I got the idea as I was flying, and I said, ‘Geewhiz, I know it’s been 30 years, but I wonder … wouldn’t it be interesting if I can find three or four men still hauling garbage who were there when King came to Memphis? And all these years later, what do they think about that?’

I found five. That might be one of my all-time favorite stories.”

The average citizen just wanted the garbage picked up.

And the average garbage man just wanted the mayor and everyone else to know that his dignity wasn’t on the ground with the maggots and the flies and the potato peelings he had to pick up every day. (“30 Years Later, Garbage Men in Memphis Embody History,” by Wil Haygood, The Boston Globe, April 3, 1998)

Always reaching

Haygood has a theory on why he is the way he is.

“My grandmother once told me, ‘When you were born, your sister was much healthier.’ My heart wasn’t strong enough. I was in the incubator for eight weeks. I kind of think from that that there’s always been a sense in me that I’m trying to catch up, that I’m trying to make up for lost time. I know I didn’t come out of the womb the healthiest baby or with the best shot at making it in life, so I always just sort of told myself that I’m always reaching.”

Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96 is editor of Miamian. To see The Butler movie trailer and read Wil Haygood’s May 2013 commencement speech to Miami’s Class of 2013, go online to www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian.

*Excerpts from “A Butler Well Served by This Election,” by Washington Post Staff Writer Wil Haygood, Nov. 7, 2008. All photos are from The Butler movie set, taken by Anne Marie Fox/The Weinstein Co.

Summer 2013 9

PHOTO BY JEFF SABO

Searching

With a team of undergraduate and graduate students and senior research staff, Ohio Eminent Scholar Michael Kennedy is searching for biomarkers in the early detection of pancreatic cancer.

The metabolic profiling uses one of the strongest magnets in the world.

10 MIAMIAN

for

Cancer Biomarkers PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH NOT ACADEMIC TO STUDENTS.

By Betsa Marsh

hen Apple’s Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer in 2011, his passing rocked the worlds of tech and finance. And it sent a special ripple through Maria McNurlen’s life too.

“I had a special appreciation when he passed away,” recalled the junior in microbiology. “I had thought of our pancreatic cancer research as academic, but then I saw how it could be more applicable in real life.”

Summer 2013 11

In mice, the researchers are tracking the appearance of pre-cancerous lesions at four months to full-blown cancer by six to 12 months.

“In humans, it might take more like 60 or 70 years to develop pancreatic cancer; some researchers say 20 years,” said Kennedy, pointing out, “We don’t know when it happens because we don’t have a model.

McNurlen is part of a major study led by Michael Kennedy, an Ohio Eminent Scholar and professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Miami.

With his team of nearly 50 undergraduate and graduate students and senior research staff, Kennedy is using a mouse model to search for biomarkers in the early detection of pancreatic cancer. The metabolic profiling is done by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, using a powerful magnet in the basement of Hughes Laboratories.

The magnetic field of the 850 MHz magnet – one of the strongest in the world – sets the nuclei of molecules spinning, as well as progressing like tops. Different molecules from mouse urine, feces, and blood create different resonances. After the data are collected, student researchers apply statistical analysis methods to look for the mice that are in the spectrum of the disease, compared to those that are healthy.

Looking for ways to detect pancreatic cancer earlier.

“We segregate male from female mice and healthy from diseased and collect their fluids,” he said. “When we dissect the pancreases, we can correlate the cancer stage to the fluids collected. The goal is eventually to find a screening mechanism for the general [human] population.”

“We are looking for how early we can detect changes in metabolic profiles,” said Kennedy, whose Eminent Scholar laboratory on the Oxford campus was designated an Ohio Center of Excellence in Biomedicine in Structural Biology and Metabonomics in 2010.

“The earlier we can detect precancerous lesions, the better,” said Michelle Veite, a doctoral student in biochemistry. “Early detection is key to hopefully developing an antibody.”

Veite traded her pet corn snakes, which ate mice, for mice models at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Now at Miami, she oversees 3,000 lab mice and runs their samples through the NMR. “It’s a great opportunity to work with Dr. Kennedy and his instrumentation. It gives me the ability to develop as a researcher.”

The transgenic mice used in the study are crossbred not to be born with pancreatic cancer, but rather to develop it over a series of months. “The cancer emerges in a way that is suspected to be very similar to the way it emerges in humans,” Kennedy said.

The three-year study, funded by the National Institutes of Health in 2011, is yielding early results. The work will continue into 2014, so “it’s too early to say when it might be available to humans,” Kennedy said. “We see distinct changes, and we would expect to see a panel of biomarkers emerge from this.”

Kennedy has developed and applied NMR spectroscopy technique to problems of human health for nearly 30 years. From 1993 until 2006, he was a Principal Investigator in the macromolecular structure and dynamics group within the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. During that time, he built an internationally recognized program in NMR-based structural biology, serving as the PI for a program project grant from the Department of Energy’s Office of Health and Environmental Research.

“When I moved to Miami in 2006, it was a chance for me to choose a new

PHOTO BY JEFF SABO

Early detection key to antibody cure

Noting promising findings

Undergraduate Bill Wilson prepares DNA samples to determine if mice have the correct, genetically engineered traits to develop pancreatic cancer.

12 MIAMIAN

PHOTO BY JEFF SABO

direction for my research program. I wanted to find an important area and started looking at pancreatic cancer.

That’s a disease that has not seen improvement for a long time.”

Unlike some cancers that are now detected at earlier stages and show improved survival rates, pancreatic cancer often reveals few symptoms until its later stages. The National Cancer Institute estimates the U.S. will have 45,220 new cases in 2013, and 38,460 patients will die. From 2005-2009, the median age at diagnosis was 71; the median age at death was 73. From 2002-2008, the NCI tracked an overall five-year survival rate of 5.8 percent.

Freshmen encouraged to help with research

In addition to his NIH study, Kennedy also focuses on biomarkers for pancreatic cancer in collaborations with physicians at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the University of Cincinnati Medical Hospital.

“Many of our students are preparing to go to medical school,” Kennedy said, “so they are already doing medical research.”

Three years on the pancreatic cancer study certainly created “a feather in the cap” for Bill Wilson, a senior in biochemistry who starts medical school at Ohio University this summer.

“OU was glad to see the research on my resume. I’ve built up a scientific skill set that I think will be of great value in medical school.

“The research shows that you can balance work with school,” said Wilson, who earned three undergraduate research grant awards, a College of Arts and Science Dean’s Scholar award, and the Elmer G. Gerwe Chemistry Scholarship.

“The state-of-the-art capabilities at Miami for doing this work are really satisfying,” Kennedy said. “And we have the ability to get so many undergraduates involved in these programs.

“I wanted to engage 10 to 15 percent of incoming undergraduates, even those in the first-year experience,” said

Microbiology major Maria McNurlen slices pancreas sections to be stained and viewed under a microscope.

Kennedy, who co-founded the First Year Research Experience (FYRE) program.

Crediting FYRE with early hands-on experience

As team leader for FYRE, Wilson welcomed such incoming students as McNurlen. “I knew I needed research to get into medical school, and a friend told me about FYRE,” she said. “I chose the pancreatic cancer study because of medicine and my future aspirations.”

Soon she found herself dissecting a mouse “with a grad student looking over one shoulder and Dr. Kennedy looking over the other. My hands were shaking so much.”

Three years of hands-on research makes quite a difference.

“It really takes that long to get a firm grasp on what you’re doing,” McNurlen said. “I came in without even the basic science classes under my belt. We were making mouse cages, but why? Then I began to see the three ways of learning: Reading other studies and literature, learning from my peers about what they’re reading, and then actually doing it.

“Miami’s research for undergrads is absolutely invaluable. A friend who

goes to Johns Hopkins was bragging about the research there, which is very comparable to what we’re doing – but the students getting to do it were juniors. My sister went to Washington University in St. Louis, and the [undergrad research] is so far below what we have because so much of it is saved for the grad students.”

Also developing vaccines and cancer-killing virus

In addition to the biomarker discovery team, Kennedy has launched two other FYRE groups that are targeting pancreatic cancer.

One team, led by McNurlen, is working on the development of cancer vaccines. A third is using a mouse model in search of an oncolytic virus that would infect and kill cancer cells without damaging healthy tissue.

“Because of our studies and the collaborations with UC and Children’s,” Kennedy said, “students can work on human clinical research here at Miami.”

Betsa Marsh is a freelance writer in Cincinnati.

Summer 2013 13 Summer 2013 13

Boisterous Broomball “Noooooo, nobody’s there!”

“Try again! Try again!”

“Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot!”

“There you go.”

Fans in the stands at Miami’s Goggin Ice Center cheered on the Dancing Goats, the Carolina Crushers, and 31 other teams at the 2013 USA Broomball National Championships this spring. Much to the delight of the crowd, the players spent three days on the ice running, skidding, tripping, and flopping.

In the end, seven teams in spongy-soled shoes proved superior at swatting a ball around the rink.

Those seven included Miami’s club team, which won the collegiate division national championship.

Although this is Miami’s first time to host the nationals, MU’s no stranger to the game. In fact, with more than 100 teams, Miami’s intramural program is the largest in the U.S. “Broomball is our big intramural sport, so we thought it’d be awesome to have the national spectrum here,” said John Mihalik, assistant director of programming at Goggin. “Hosting a national championship is an honor.”

14 MIAMIAN

Winter 2013 15

PHOTOS BY SCOTT KISSELL

Batter Up Miami marketing ace helps create new logo for Louisville Slugger.

By C. Trent Rosecrans

A huge hit with tourists visiting the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory in Kentucky, the world’s biggest bat is made of steel, weighs 68,000 pounds, and stands 120 feet tall. It is an exact16 MIAMIAN scale replica of Babe Ruth’s 34-inch Louisville Slugger bat.

M

arketing ace Kyle Schlegel ’99 isn’t likely to need a reminder about the brand he pitches but, just in case, all he has to do is look out his office window at the 120-foot-tall Louisville Slugger, complete with the new logo he helped develop.

On Major League Baseball’s opening day this spring, the iconic brand debuted its new bat with firmer wood and more modern logo – its first redesign since 1980. The project kept Schlegel busy during his first year with the company.

After 13 years at Procter & Gamble, Schlegel made his move because one of his great loves is sports, especially baseball. The former walk-on football player at Miami is now vice president of marketing at Hillerich & Bradsby Co., a family company that has been making bats for major league players since the 1880s.

It all started when, according to the company’s website, 17-year-old Bud Hillerich slipped away from his father’s woodworking shop one afternoon in 1884 to watch the Louisville Eclipse and its star, Pete Browning, who, mired in a hitting slump, broke his bat. With Browning at his side in his father’s workshop giving advice, Bud handcrafted a new bat that Browning used to get three hits the next game.

The rest is baseball history.

With that kind of a history, why mess with it?

“I compare the brand to HarleyDavidson, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola – everyone knows those brands, everyone has some understanding and affinity for those brands, but they all need to be refreshed at some time,” Schlegel said.

The new look preserves the legendary oval and authentic stamp of approval, “Made in the U.S.A., Louisville, KY,” while introducing a secondary mark. At least 60 percent of all MLB players use Louisville Slugger, and all of those bats continue to have “Powerized” engraved next to the logo, although that almost wasn’t the case.

One early prototype they tested with Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Brandon Phillips, and Zack Cozart removed the word “Powerized”

and the lightning bolt that had accompanied it.

“We showed designs to Jay Bruce and one of the first things he said was, ‘What happened to my bat? Is it not powerized anymore?’ ” It didn’t matter that, according to Schlegel, the new version was better than any previous bat Bruce had held.

It just didn’t feel right to him.

Schlegel faced a similar situation while at P&G when he and his team helped revitalize Old Spice. During one of their early tests, they proposed a logo that replaced the familiar clipper ship with a modern speedboat. After listening to customers, they put the iconic ship back. He and his team did the same with “Powerized” and the lightning bolt for the major leaguers.

Looking around his office in the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory in the heart of downtown, Schlegel said, “Other than the people in this building, nobody looks at that

Play Ball!

Coach’s tips from Louisville Slugger.

• When standing at the plate, make sure the Louisville Slugger logo faces directly up toward the sky or down at the ground. Bring the bat back as though preparing to swing. When you slowly bring the bat back around to where it would hit the ball, the logo should still be facing directly up or down. This will allow you to hit the ball in the area where the spring and summer growth are … the strongest part of the bat.

• There are many myths and methods to breaking in a baseball glove – from rubbing in shaving cream to running over the glove with a car. Pros prefer Neatsfoot Oil to soften the leather and conform their gloves to their hands. Any number of creams, oils, and foams will do, although too much will probably damage your glove, so remove the excess product after you have applied it and don’t over-moisten the leather.

Kyle Schlegel ’99

logo more than those guys. When you swing a wood bat, you want the logo up, so that’s their registration before every single pitch. They’re looking at that logo, aligning that bat. They’ve probably seen that logo more than anyone who’s worked at the company.”

• You want a nice, round, roomy pocket for your glove when you’re fielding grounders or snatching those linedrive bullets out of the air. Place a ball firmly where you want your pocket to be and close your glove securely around the ball by tying a shoestring around it or using a large rubber band.

Then let the glove sit for a day or two.

C. Trent Rosecrans is a freelance writer who reports on the Cincinnati Reds for The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Summer 2013 17 17

Miami moments are ones you will never forget.

Encourage high school students to begin making their own memories during a campus visit.

A student-guided tour provides the opportunity to experience the beauty of campus and see where memories are made—residence halls, Goggin Ice Center, King Library, Slant Walk, and more. Help us share why Miami’s a great place to call home!

Schedule a visit: MiamiOH.edu/visit | Learn more: MiamiOH.edu/admission

Class notes Miami Explorers

Class notes

1964 Next reunion: June 19-22, 2014

Traveling down the Mississippi on the American Queen for the Alumni Association’s tour of the Civil War and Southern Culture March 22-31, 2013: (front, l-r) Donna Boen ’84 MTSC ’96, Mary Alice Lowther Leasure ’56, Linda Dejoy Colucci ’62, Cynthia Jones Brown ’71 MEd ’71, Chris Griffiths, Nancy Hanna, and Moe Griffiths ’56; (back, l-r) Mike Williams ’61, Mary Bellis Williams ’61, Dan Griffin, Mary Ann Griffin, George Leasure ’54, Roger Duncan ’65 MEd ’67, Charlotte Duncan, Carole Barr Berthold ’57, George Hanna, John King ’70, William Hunt, Dorothy Venard Hunt ’68, Ray Mock ’82 MS ’83, Steve Brown ’72 MS ’74, Bruce Folkerth ’62, Betty Folkerth, Bob Maurer ’68 MS ’70, Sandy Maurer, and Jill Mock.

1942 Lois Ruffner Plank, at 92 years young, is lead author of The Accounting Desk Book, a guide that provides clear explanations for financial services professionals on key areas of daily accounting practice. Lois developed this annual publication with her late husband, Tom, and is now working on the 23rd edition.

1957

The boys of Fort Myers, Fla.,: Jim Miller, Bill Mallory, who was

inducted into the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame May 30, Rich Voiers, Bill Hoaglin, and Pres Bliss.

Fran Zorn MA ’57, retired from teaching in April. According to her son, Eric, who paid tribute to her and her career in the April 21 Chicago Tribune, she began teaching in 1954 with a freshman English section at Miami while earning a master’s. Having taught at the U. of Michigan since the early 1970s, she will “devote herself to her own writing projects, which already include a sprawling novel that she’s forever revising,” wrote Eric, a regular columnist at the Tribune. Fran and husband Jens Zorn ’55, a U. of Michigan physics professor, live in Ann Arbor.

Tom Rogers sent in this photo of a fun-filled reunion in Naples, Fla., where, all agreed, “It’s hard to believe so many years have passed since those happy and carefree days at our beloved alma mater:” (bottom row, l-r) Marti Stanley Odle ’64, Mary Coleman Rogers ’65, Margie Culloden Wardwell ’65, Mike Theodore ’65; (top, l-r) John Odle ’64, Judy Wick ’65, Tom Rogers ’64, Don Merz ’63, Suzanne Nelson Merz ’64, Ed Kemp ’64, Kris Johnson Kemp ’65, Mary Lee Boland Theodore ’65, Dave Wetherill ’62, and Lynn Bergstrom Smith ’65.

T.P. Schwartz-Barcott has a new book, Concerning Caputo: Africa and Acts of Faith as Art, Science, and Much More (Mill City Press, January 2013). For more about his book and others written by alumni, go to First Editions in the online Miamian, www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian.

1965

Dale Claypoole ’65 MS ’72, one of Ken McDiffett’s Gear

Packers (Symmes Hall resident assistants in the early 1960s) sent in this photo from the group’s latest reunion, this time meeting at a West Virginia state park: (front row, l-r) Bill MacDonald, John Sharp, Larry Kerr, Steve Keller; (back row) Bob Gluck, Dale Claypoole, Don Deutsch, Steve Hanning, Chuck Korte, Dick Flaig, and Dave Greegor.

They made a unanimous decision to return to Miami’s campus for their next reunion in 2015, which will also be the 50th class reunion for most of them.

1966

Miamians on top of Pikes Peak: Dave Miller ’67, Lois Ziegler Miller ’67, Judy Booth Jenkins ’67, and Rick Jenkins ’66.

1967

Dave and Lois Ziegler Miller with Miami softball standout Leslie Macedo ’07 (far left) and Miami’s director of regional development for the West Coast, Marie Ramagli Stanton ’88 (center), during a private tasting at Bent Creek Winery in Livermore Valley, Calif., hosted by managing partner Carol Poling Howell ’67 (far right).

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

Summer 2013

19

Class notes

Baseball’s 1973 champs

On Baseball Alumni Weekend April 19-21, members of the 1973 team returned to the Oxford campus to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Miami's first MidAmerican Conference baseball championship, in which they finished 28-9 overall, posting a 14-4 league record. Coach Bud Middaugh’s squad advanced to the NCAA Midwest regional, where it finished 1-2. The 1973 team included 8 players who eventually signed professional baseball contracts, 5 future inductees into Miami's Athletic Hall Of Fame, 4 second Team All-MAC Selections, 3 Academic All-MAC Selections, 2 First Team All-MAC Selections, 1 First Team All-District IV Selection, and 1 All-American Selection. The team also included the MAC’s individual leader in E.R.A and Batting Average. The players returning for the reunion were introduced during a pregame ceremony at Saturday's game against Ball State, then held a dinner and reception at the Goggin Club that night. Those who came back were: (L-r) Ken McMurray ’74, Graduate Assistant Don Miller ’70 MEd ’72, Bucky Merritt ’74, Assistant Coach Dick Jirsa ’67 MBA ’70, Dave Hasbach ’74, Gene Ziegler ’73, Jack Kucek ’73, Bob Bianco ’75, Dennis Smith ’73 MEd ’75, Duane Gellner ’75, Al Mills ’74 MEd ’76, Bro Johnson ’76, Eric Florence ’73, Head Coach Bud Middaugh ’62, Sports Information Director Dave Young’s widow Marilyn Young, Steve Imhoff ’74, and Gary Cooper ’73.

1968 Michael Gmoser was elected to a four-year term as Butler County prosecuting attorney Nov. 6, 2012.

David Hughes of Greenville, Ohio, has written a novel, Road to Glory: When a Man Loves a Woman (tatepublishing.com, August 2012). His second, Road to Glory: Miles To Go Before I Sleep, will be available soon.

James Jackson and wife Kathy of Cincinnati enjoyed a trip to Normandy and Paris with the Miami Explorers Oct. 10-19, 2012. This photo was taken inside the Calvados distillery where apple brandy is produced.

26 years coaching baseball and accumulated a record of 435255. He was inducted into the Northeast Ohio Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2010.

1970

Doug Malloy ’70 MA ’80 of Houston retired March 1 from United Airlines. He flew his last trip to Liberia, Costa Rica, accompanied by his wife, son, and daughter, their spouses and two of his eight grandchildren. He enjoyed more than 42 years of flying in the USAF and commercial aviation.

1971

1969 Next reunion: June 19-22, 2014

Molly Winger Berger, author of Hotel Dreams: Luxury, Technology, and Urban Ambition in America, 1829-1929 (Johns Hopkins U. Press, 2011), won the Society for the History of Technology’s 2012 Sally Hacker Prize, which recognizes historical writing that is “clear, accessible, and useful to a broad public audience.” Molly is instructor of history and associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve U. Cliff Cook was inducted into the Bay Village H.S. Athletic Hall of Fame Sept. 1, 2012. He spent

David Drescher (left) and David Hellard have made annual offroad motorcycle trips together since 1976. Their latest was on the Hatfield McCoy Trails south of Charleston, W.Va.

These “forever friends” meet yearly. (They met at MU, of

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 course, for their 40th!). Their latest reunion was at Elaine Melech Kirkland’s home in Patterson, N.Y. They also spent a day in New York City: (l-r) Jan Knipper Rinehart (Columbus); Bonnie Copeland ’71 MEd ’73 (Baltimore); Roberta Raynak Nelson ’71 MEd ’75 (Cincinnati); Michelle Garnette Swetland (Naples, Fla.); Elaine Melech Kirkland (Patterson, N.Y.); and Patsy Garrison Matheny (Sugar Grove, Ohio).

Retired Navy Cmdr. David Luechauer, SC, USN, administered the oath of office to son Nathan into the Mississippi Air National Guard Feb. 1. He writes, “Not every day a dad, who is a Miami alumnus, a prior member of the Navy ROTC at Miami, a retired member of the U.S. Navy, and now a government worker at the Bureau of Naval personnel in Millington, Tenn., gets to put his uniform on again (after 20 years) and swear in his son into the Air National Guard, (Air Force Reserve).” Dave is in the BUPERS CIO Office at Naval Support Activity. Nathan is at the FAA Air Traffic Control Center in Memphis.

cently spent a wonderful three months in Sweden, where they lived for almost three years right after graduation when they both worked for Volvo. Here Ingemar is at the Arctic Circle just North of Jokkmokk.

1973 Movies are all about design for Bill Brzeski ’75, who led the team that created all the sets for IM3.

Pam Stewart-Derr, Linda Fuller-Cross, and Linda KlineBlank (l-r) got together recently for a roommates reunion at a restaurant. They all started out in Emerson Hall as freshmen the first year it opened in 1969.

1974 Next reunion: June 19-22, 2014

Mark Massé, a Ball State U. literary journalism professor (www.markmasse.com), received the American Psychoanalytic Association’s 2012 Award for Excellence in Journalism Jan. 18 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The award noted his “commitment to covering mental health issues with integrity and sensitivity.” His winning entry was “Transformer,” a chapter from his book Trauma Journalism: On Deadline in Harm’s Way.

1975

Ingemar and Paula Louck Svala of Vermilion, Ohio, re-

Iron Man 3’s MU designer

Jan Gieryn Magill is a tax manager in the personal finance services practice for Atlanta accounting firm Bennett Thrasher.

When brash billionaire superhero Tony Stark pursues a villain destroying his world, his armor-clad back ends up against the wall. That wall and all the other sets on Iron Man 3 were created by Bill Brzeski ’75.

As production designer for the third installment in the Marvel franchise, Brzeski is responsible for the look of this big-budget blockbuster. He devoted two years to this movie, deciding what the sets were going to be, their locations, and some of the major events, such as a big shipping dock sequence. Then he and his team brought it all to life, or Hollywood’s version of life.

“All the Marvel movies are a genesis of the first movie, but you can tweak it and change it,” Brzeski said. “You always want to try to upgrade them.”

In this case, that meant a product that’s darker visually and more realistic than its two predecessors.

That realism has generated heat from movie critics, especially a scene in which a bomb blows up in Boston.

Although the movie was finished before the Boston Marathon tragedy, he feels bad that art so closely imitated life in this instance. As he discusses it, you sense the moral dilemma for Brzeski, a 34-year veteran in the business with an extensive resume that includes The Hangover and The Bucket List.

“I don’t know whether the movies make the world more violent or just make us more aware of the violence.”

To read more about Bill Brzeski ’75, go to www.MiamiAlum.org/ Miamian.

Bill Brzeski ’75

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

Summer 2013

21

Class notes

1977 Roy Pignatiello was elected to the Euclid H.S. Sports Hall of Fame for his coaching of football and basketball at the school. Roy began teaching and coaching at Euclid, his alma mater, in 1984.

1978 William Denney PhD ’78, a Fellow of the American Society for Quality, completed 30 years as a business leader and consults in India on performance excellence. He is the ASQ quality management division vice-chair global, working to improve quality and service across the world.

Bobbie Corley O’Keefe, Carlile Patchen & Murphy of counsel in Columbus, has been selected for induction into The American Society of Legal Advocates.

1979 Next reunion: June 19-22, 2014

Philip Poletti was elected to Wisconsin State Golf Association’s board of directors Sept. 24, 2012, and is also a rules referee with the U.S. Golf Association.

1980 Gary Hentschel, president of KeyBank’s Central Indiana District, is on the board of directors of the Immigrant Welcome Center, dedicated to serving immigrant newcomers to Indianapolis. He is serving a three-year term, which expires in February 2015.

Patricia Nugent was named a 2013 Distinguished Principal of the Year by the National Catholic Educational Association, one of only 12 principals in the nation

to be awarded the honor, at the National Educational Association Convention in Houston in April.

To receive the award, a principal must demonstrate inspirational leadership, dedication to academic excellence, and a strong commitment to Catholic education. She is principal of St. Joseph School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and an adjunct professor at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike.

1981 Ronald Kravitz visited Mumbai and Delhi in October to meet India’s top law firms to recruit new member law firms for Integrated Advisor Group, an international group of attorneys and accountants that he currently chairs. He also had the opportunity to tour the slums of Mumbai and meet with many of the hard-working members of the community. In November he was invited by the Jamaican Bar Association to speak about the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act at the annual Jamaican Bar Association CLE program in Montego Bay.

1982 Born: to Michael Egan and Shannon, Annabelle Lynch, Nov. 3, 2012, joining big brother Michael, 6, in Cincinnati. Both Mike and Shannon work for INC Research, a pharmaceutical clinical research organization headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. Timothy Rudd, president of T.B. Rudd Enterprises, has purchased an Assisted Transition franchise in Middletown, Ohio. Assisted Transition of Southwest Ohio provides seniors with living options and resource information.

Michael Travis writes, “I helped land the most expensive list-

ing on the water in NH – $13.6 million. I attribute much of the success of this listing beginning as an art student and Laws Hall & Associates working with Professor Cox and Tom Effler.

We had a 20 percent chance of getting this listing. Our presentation included a video I did and marketing materials no other real estate company could produce. As a real estate agent with Prudential Spencer-Hughes (www.WaterfrontAgent.com) in Wolfeboro, I believe my art and marketing skills inspired at Miami have helped set me apart.”

Mary Lynne Quinnan Zahler ’82 MA ’86 was recently honored with the Ohio Society for Public Health Education’s 2012 Outstanding Health Educator of the Year Award. She was also one of only 3 wellness professionals to be inducted into the prestigious Circle of Leadership in 2012 for outstanding contributions to the field of health and wellness through the National Wellness Institute. Mary Lynne is currently the Wellness Manager at Akron Children’s Hospital and lives in North Canton with her husband and 5-year-old daughter.

1983

Karen Gresham Conard of Columbus is a member of a three-generation Miamian family, which added another Miamian member when Tyler ’13 graduated May 11. Celebrat-

ing his graduation are (front row) Aubrey Smales ’14 and Kelly Conard Smales ’87; (second row) Adam Conard ’11, Alex Kirkpatrick ’15, Karen Gresham Conard ’83, Tyler Conard ’13, Ginger Ralston Conard ’56, and Keith Conard ’83.

Todd Phillips, vocal music director at Canal Winchester H.S., received the 2013 Columbus Symphony Orchestra Music Educator Award for secondary education. He also directs the Canal Winchester Steel Band program, which includes a middle school band, two high school bands, and a community band.

1984 Next reunion: June 19-22, 2014

Michael Donaldson and son Parker completed the MS150 from Houston to Austin, Texas, last year. It is a two-day, 150-mile bike ride benefiting the MS society. He also was appointed vice president and general counsel for EOG Resources in 2012.

Good friends from the class of ’84 enjoyed a girls’ weekend in Scottsdale, Ariz., in October 2012: (l-r) Stacy Woodall Ed-

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

22

MIAMIAN

Class notes wards, Dana Rossio Agnew, Lisa Whinery Thorp, Tracey Clayton, Emily Jones McMillin, Donna Curtis Bush, and Linda Fricke Dres.

At Hueston Woods Alumni Weekend 2012 are three generation of Miamians: (l-r) Laura Levitt ’13 (daughter and granddaughter), Alpha Chi Omega; Jody Bowman Levitt ’84 (daughter and mother); and Gerry Lou Shunkwiler Bowman ’57 (grandmother and mother), Delta Zeta. Jody treasures this photo as Gerry Lou died Feb. 15.

1985 Antonia Ellis and Laurie Casey Moline, former roommates at Miami, presented “Outside the Bubble: One degree, two paths” Feb. 6 at Miami. Antonia, a producer in TV and film for the past 19 years, is a producer on the dramedy Royal Pains for the USA Network. Laurie is a strategic specialist at Aultman Hospital in Canton.

John Hintz of Haynes and Boone was selected as the Lawyer of the Year for 2013 in patent litigation in the New York City area by The Best Lawyers in America. This follows Intellectual Asset Management’s listing of him in the IAM Patent 1,000, the World’s Leading Patent Practitioners in 2012, and the IAM Patent Litigation 250 “The World’s Leading Patent Litigators” in 2011.

Born: to Jim Kunkle and Krista, Esther Marie “Emma,” May 28, 2010. Jim and Krista have three other children.

who accepted a donation to the foundation from Lakewood Country Club’s 2012 Linda Snider Butterfly Golf Tournament.

Tom Littman is chief executive officer of the middle-market private equity firm Kirtland Capital Partners in Cleveland. He joined the firm in 1995 and has served as a senior managing partner since 2009.

1986

Linda Courie (second from left), Suburban Hospital Foundation Board Member, was among those

Boris de Granda, a professional violin maker, was invited to lecture at the Aspen Center for Physics last summer. The only non-scientist invited to participate in their 50th anniversary celebration, Boris delivered a presentation titled “Violins, Alchemy, and the Harmony of Physics,” exploring concepts of perceptual vs. chronological time, and their relationship to consciousness and reality.

Save the date!

Homecoming Weekend OctOber 18–20, 2013 Make plans now to follow the red bricks back to Oxford for a weekend of fun and festivities amid the beauty of fall at Miami!

Weekend highlights include: • “Red-out” Miami vs. Akron football game • Homecoming Parade • Global Rhythms Concert • Tailgate Town • Miami Men’s Ice Hockey vs. North Dakota Visit www.MiamiOH.edu/Homecoming for details!

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

Summer 2013

23

Class notes Wegner Volandt enjoying Uptown Oxford during their 25th reunion.

Monique Mills Muncy’s service to Airmen and families earned her the Chief of Staff of the Air Force Award for Exceptional Public Service. Accepting the award from Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt, as her husband, Chief Master Sgt. (retired) Chris Muncy, watches, Monique, an administrative assistant for English, literature, and modern languages at Cedarville U., is the first Air National Guard nominee. It is the second-highest honor given to private citizens.

Craig Wasserman is executive vice president of ka architecture in Cleveland. He specializes in managing existing client relations and cultivating new relationships on developerfocused projects in the retail and hospitality markets. Career highlights include the new Horseshoe Casino Cleveland and the $460 million redevelopment of Westfield San Francisco Centre.

James Peacock, PhD, ’88 MGS ’90 is president of the Southern Gerontological Society.

Steve Schueler at this year’s Super Bowl with siblings Todd ’00 and Tara ’07, who followed their big brother to Miami. Steve is Microsoft’s corporate vice president of global sales and marketing.

1989 Next reunion: June 19-22, 2014

Art and Maureen McCarthy Wilde at their 25th reunion.

They also celebrated 20 years as a Miami Merger! They live in the Chicago area with their three children.

Miami alumni at June 23, 2012, wedding of Jim Whittenburg and Alana Rothman: (l-r) Peter Jurs ’94, Katherine Keough Jurs ’94, Alex Whittenburg ’13, Jim Whittenburg ’86, Alana Rothman, Maria Oen Browne ’89, Denise Boutet ’80.

1987

Kim Cordill Arceci, Maureen McCarthy Wilde, Art Wilde, Dave Volandt, and Becky

1988 Stephen Funk, a partner in Roetzel’s Akron office, was named a 2013 Ohio Super Lawyer

by Ohio Super Lawyers in the area of business litigation. He lives in Hudson, Ohio.

Tanya “Tanny” Williamson McGregor has authored a new educational book, Genre Connections: Lessons to Launch Literary & Nonfiction Texts (Heinemann, 2013). A nationally known keynoter and teacher workshop presenter who has been teaching and learning in the Cincinnati area for 25 years, Tanny has authored and co-authored three books for Heinemann publishers.

Kevin Brown MTSC ’89, along with five other co-workers at Argonne National Laboratory near Lemont, Ill., received a Pacesetter award for a project for which he served as lead. Kevin, a coordinating writer/editor who has served the laboratory since earning a MTSC (Master’s in Technical and Scientific Communication) from Miami, lives in Plainfield, Ill., with wife Michele and their two daughters.

George (Zikovich) Felis ’89 MA ’97 is now a lecturer in the department of philosophy and religion at the U. of North Carolina Wilmington.

1990 Linda Kuhel Erkkila is general counsel of Safe Guard Properties in Cleveland.

Chris Gillespie was selected as one of Sunny 95’s 20 Outstanding Women You Should Know in

2013 for her work to raise awareness about ovarian cancer and provide support to survivors and their family members. Chris is the past president and a founding member of the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Ohio.

Matt Miller authored The American YMCA and Russian Culture: The Preservation and Expansion of Orthodox Christianity, 19001940 (Lexington Books, 2013).

He lives with wife Terri and their daughters, Claire and Amelia, in Bloomington, Minn. He teaches European history at Northwestern College.

Cmdr. Jeff Walker retired from active duty in the U.S. Navy after 21 years of service. He is employed as a government defense contractor by R3 Strategic Support Group as an explosive ordnance disposal and counterimprovised explosive device analyst. He lives in Virginia Beach, Va.

1991 Celestine Smyth Arambulo, a physician in San Diego, was the second overall female in the Carlsbad Marathon Jan. 27, 2013.

She ran her personal best in 2 hours and 52 minutes. It had been 20 years since she ran her last marathon. She is 43 years old and has three daughters, ages 10, 9, and 8. She looks forward to her reunion with her college teammates in July 2013. “Go Miami!”

Juan Gilbert is listed among The Root’s top 100 black influencers and achievers. The Root is an African-American online source of news and commentary. Juan, the 2012 recipient of Miami’s Bishop Medal, was No. 94 among nationally renowned university

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

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MIAMIAN

Class notes researchers, network correspondents, Hollywood actors and producers, Grammy Award-winning artists, superstar athletes, and famed politicians.

Major Kenneth York attended the Army Command and General Staff School and was selected to attend the Army’s School for Advanced Military Studies starting in June 2013.

Elworthy Frick ’97, Kathy McConnell Barnes ’93, Jen Priboth Edwards ’95, Kristine Krastins Maleri ’91, all moms of kids at Heritage Elementary in Highlands Ranch, Colo. They were gathering for a “margarita and moms” event.

1992 Elizabeth Chacko MA ’92 was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to conduct research in Singapore on immigrant integration during the fall 2013 semester. Elizabeth is currently the chair of the department of geography at George Washington U. Kirk Hopkins’ band, GZUSLIVZ (www.gzuslivz.com), released its second album, What’s Next, on iTunes. A percussionist at heart, Kirk is also a manager of information technology at Miami.

Jeff Pegues joins CBS News as a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent July 8, 2013. An Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist, he will report for all CBS News broadcasts and platforms.

The Weston, Conn., resident joins CBS News after 10 years as a reporter and fill-in anchor at WABC-TV in New York City.

1993

Kathy McConnell Barnes sent in this photo of Meredith

James Rea ’93, Charles Cobbe ’69, and William Siegel ’79 (l-r) at the Northern District of Texas Bankruptcy Bench/ Bar conference June 8, 2012.

James is an associate attorney at McGuire, Craddock & Strother, P.C.; Charles is senior counsel at Cavazos Hendricks, Poirot & Smitham, P.C., and William Siegel is a shareholder at Cowles & Thompson. The three practice law in Dallas and specialize in bankruptcy and creditors’ rights.

Jim writes, “As fellow Miamians and bankruptcy attorneys we share a special bond. Charles and William are mentors and friends of mine. The three of us always enjoy seeing one another at the courthouse and sharing stories about our Miami experiences.

Although we work at different law firms and sometimes represent adverse interests, we enjoy a special collegial and mentoring relationship because of our Miami ties.”

Steven Reineke, as guest conductor, directed the Houston Symphony in a live performance of Leonard Bernstein’s score of West Side Story in March while the newly re-mastered film was shown in high-definition on

the big screen. The full 87-piece orchestra played live alongside the film.

Librarian of the Year award from the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade and the Spanish Association of Publishers Guild.

1995

Troy Sherrard, AIA, was promoted to partner at Moody Nolan in 2012. He and Anita Roberts Sherrard ’92, an elementary teacher in Olentangy School District, were married in Miami Formal Gardens just after graduation.

Born: to Kristen DiCorpo Thomas and Mike, Paige, March 20, 2013, joining big sisters Kendall and Sophie. They live in Bay Village, Ohio, where Kristen teaches third grade. Mike teaches third grade in Garfield Heights.

1994 Next reunion: June 19-22, 2014

Born: to Paul “Skip” George ’94 MBA ’12 and Stacy Woodruff George ’09, Paul Connor, Feb. 16, 2013, joining big sister Ella in Liberty Township, Ohio.

Born: to Kristin Klink and Melissa Hall, Ireland, Feb. 22, 2013. They live in Massillon, Ohio.

Andrew Medlar is assistant commissioner for collections for Chicago Public Library. He oversees all print and electronic materials across the library’s 80 locations as well as reference, circulation, and technical services for the system. He was Chicago’s 2007 Librarian of the Year, and in 2009 received the

Chad Gibson is an auxiliary faculty member at Ohio State University’s Knowlton School of Architecture and teaches both graduate and undergraduate studio courses in the city and regional planning department.

Born: to Kevin Hull and Kirsten, Oscar Timothy, joining big sister Annika. Kevin is executive director of the Westside Institute for Science and Education, the nonprofit supporting the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago.

He was named 2012 Adjunct Professor of the Year at his alma mater, The John Marshall Law School.

Stephen Kessing is a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, headquartered in New York City.

1996 Robert Caldwell, a shareholder at Kolesar & Leatham, one of Nevada’s largest independent law firms, was a keynote speaker on “Match Fixing and Other Frauds in Sports” at an international legal conference in Dresden, Germany. He spoke to the Sports Law Commission during the 57th Congress of the UIA (International Association of Lawyers) that brings together more than 1,000 lawyers from around the world.

Sarah Ford is a partner in the Raleigh office of Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, a law firm with five offices across North and South Carolina. She is a member of the firm’s regulatory

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

Summer 2013

25

Class notes department and practices in the employment and benefits group.

Born: to Jacqui Hama Gilmore and John, Colton Walker, Nov. 15, 2012, joining Sebastian, 9, in Wadsworth, Ohio.

Debra Leath and her sister, SSG Angela Leath ’99, completed the 2012 U.S. Air Force Half Marathon. Debra, who earned an MBA from the U. of Dayton, is a manager with TACG, a government consulting company.

Angela is a mental health technician in the U.S. Army.

Born: Shaun Schottmiller and Rebecca, Thatcher Shaun, Jan. 22, 2013. Shaun is an attorney and Rebecca is a special education teacher. They live in Midland, Texas.

Born: to Anne Spagnuolo Singleton and Jake, John Campbell, Sept. 12, 2012, in Denver. Anne is a real estate agent and Jake owns Ace Vending in Denver.

Aaron White MA ’96 PhD ’99, a biological psychologist, and neuropsychologist Scott Swartzwelder have written What Are They Thinking?!: The Straight Facts about the Risk-Taking, Social Networking, Still-Developing Teen Brain (W.W. Norton & Co.; April 20, 2013), a guide to ground-breaking developments in adolescent brain research.

Aaron is a health scientist administrator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

1997 Matt Hazelbaker, a partner in Voyager Inc., recently sold his business to The Marcott Family Partners Investment Group in Elkhart, Ind. Matt is joining The Marcott Family Partners as president of Voyager Acquisition Corp. (a steel fabrication, welding, and powder coating company) and will also serve as president of Merhow Acquisition Corp. (a horse trailer manufacturer), both located in northern Indiana.

Born to: Melissa Presutti McCord and Jason, Abigail Noel, July 24, 2012, joining brother Aiden Bailey.

Married: Todd McFall and Amanda Griffith, June 2, 2012, in Winston Salem, N.C. The wedding was a de facto Miami reunion for the good people pictured (from back left to front left): Josh Gross ’95, Brenn Schoenherr ’97, Todd McFall ’97, Amelia Kendall ’97, Katie Wren Phelan ’97, Mallory Morgan ’97, Kathleen Magnin McWilliams ’97, Nikki Hunsley ’97 and Matthew Cole ’97, Todd Foley ’97, Bill Banks, Sarah Pfouts Sullivan ’97, and Bryce Nickels ’95.

Michael Paddock is a partner in Pillsbury’s Health Care practice in the Washington, D.C., office, where he represents health care providers with respect to health care fraud and abuse matters.

JP Sklenka is director, product development, in the Cincinnati office of dunnhumbyUSA. He lives in Anderson Township.

Jennifer Freimuth Towell has been elected to serve a three-year term on the board of directors for United Disability Services’ Board, a nonprofit, social service agency that meets the needs of people with disabilities around Akron. Jennifer, an attorney, is the mother of a son with Down syndrome. A passionate advocate for individuals who have Down syndrome, she writes, blogs, and speaks on topics related to being the parents of a child with special needs (http://jendawnscowgirlup. blogspot.com).

1998 Born: to Andrew and Jill Heenan Blackburn ’99, Drew Elise, Feb. 3, 2012, joining sister Charlie as a RedHawk fan. They live in downtown Chicago.

Born: to Ed LeClear and Stephanie Perles ’97, Reid Thomas Perles-LeClear, Nov. 19, 2012, joining Lisel, 2, in Mechanicsburg, Pa. Ed is community development director for the Cumberland County Redevelopment Authority. Stephanie is an ecologist with the National Park Service.

Born: to Michael and Lisa Hartkemeyer McNamara ’00, Augustus Joseph, Dec. 31, 2012, in Fairfield, Ohio. Michael published the second edition of his

book, The Political Campaign Desk Reference: A guide for campaign managers, professionals and candidates running for office, in May 2012. The first edition was published in September 2008.

His book is a guide for building a strong political campaign from the ground up.

Born: to Josh and Laura Corbin Penzone ’00, Eliza Josephine, Jan. 4, 2013.

1999 Next reunion: June 19-22, 2014

Born: to Jodie Nixon Anderson and Joey, Quinn Michael, Oct. 10, 2012. They live in Centerville, Ohio.

Born: to Marisa Miley Brown and Ryan, Nolan Douglas and Preston James, Jan. 18, 2013, joining big brother Kellen, 2.

They live in Springboro, Ohio.

Born: to Sue Melia Burke and Jeff, Finn, Sept. 19, 2012, in Wheaton, Ill. Sue is a director of integrated marketing for ConAgra Foods and Jeff is an assistant principal with Glen Ellyn School District 41.

Born: to Jenn Shade Carpenter and Eric, Jack Kenneth, March 21, 2012, joining big brothers Benjamin, 4, and Zachary, 2. They live in Springboro, Ohio.

Born: to Elizabeth Katz Coonan and Timothy, Ross Robert Goodloe, Nov. 12, 2012, joining big brother Quinn Edward in Des Moines, Iowa. Elizabeth is an employment lawyer and Timothy is a lobbyist.

Born: to Tracie Bennett Doll and Matthew, Andrew Evans,

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

Born: to Mark Eckell and Katie, Rory William, Dec. 6, 2012. Mark is an associate compliance director for Kelley Financial Group in Cincinnati.

Katie teaches second grade at Fort Wright Elementary. They live in Independence, Ky. Born: to Laura O’Neill Ganim and Anthony, Lydia Ellen, May 18, 2012, joining Elijah, 3, in Hilliard, Ohio. Laura teaches third grade in South-Western City Schools. Anthony is a physical therapist with OSU Wexner Medical Center, Sports Medicine.

Stavros Giannoulias is a partner in the litigation group of Horwood Marcus & Berk Chartered, a Chicago-based law firm.

Stavros concentrates his practice in complex commercial litigation and trust & estate litigation.

Born: to Lorin Zarkin Pepe and Sal, Hailey Joan, April 13, 2013, in Bellmore, N.Y., where they live.

Born: to Jennifer Haller Wilder, Reagan Patricia, July 23, 2012, joining big brothers Grant, 7, and Owen, 5.

Born: to Korey Harper Yelton and Chris Yelton ’94, Maggie O’Flynn, Aug. 11, 2012, joining McKinley, 9, Miles, 7, and Macy, 4. They live in northern Kentucky.

2000 Born: to Susan Begany Brockhaus and Rob, Benjamin Robert, Nov. 28, 2011. They live in the Washington, D.C., area where Susan works for the Department of Justice and Rob

works for Campaign Marketing Strategies, a political telemarketing firm.

Chi Omega Celebration

Born: to Dan Foutz and Laura, Caden Harman, Oct. 4, 2012.

Sarah Toney opened the Toney Law Firm in Chicago in May 2011.

The firm specializes in criminal defense and DUI defense. She has also been an adjunct professor at Loyola U. of Chicago School of Law for seven years.

Married: Casey Tucker and Jennifer Alford, Oct. 26, 2012, in Caesar Creek State Park near Waynesville, Ohio. They were engaged in August of 2010 while photographing Atlantic Puffins on Machias Seal Island in the gulf of Maine.

2001 Born: to Jennifer Leopold Delmore and Matthew, Aidan Matthew, Dec. 18, 2012. Jennifer is a purchaser for Vitrolife, and Matthew works for Baker Hughes Inteq. They live in Denver.

Erin Stefanec Rhinehart, an attorney for Faruki Ireland & Cox, was recently selected as one of the Dayton Business Journal’s 2013 40 Under 40 winners.

Born: to Matt Vorell ’01 MA ’03 and Courtney Snyder Vorell ’03, Leo Asher Stanley, in April 2013, joining big brother Carter.

2002 Adam Arriola is a principal of Geile/Leon Marketing Communications in St. Louis. With his promotion, his new title is principal/associate creative director. He and wife Lauren live in Chesterfield, Mo.

Ben H. Taylor ’14

Sept. 5, 2012, joining big sister Adrian.

Singing. Laughter. Tears. Hugs. Memories. A lot of that was going around when more than 150 alumnae of Miami’s Sigma Alpha Chapter of Chi Omega came together on the Oxford campus April 5-7 to celebrate the chapter’s centennial.

The weekend kicked off with a welcome reception, followed by decade dinners at restaurants around Oxford. Saturday started with a flawless initiation ceremony for model initiate Kate Groton, performed against the beautiful backdrop of Kumler Chapel.

Then more than 300 alumnae, chapter members, and guests attended the Centennial Celebration luncheon at the Shriver Center, where they recited the Chi Omega Symphony, heard inspirational speeches, and finished by forming a Sisterhood circle and singing “Chi Omega Yours Forever” and “Shades.”

Chi Omega National President Letitia Fulkerson joined in the weekend celebration as did Miami University President David Hodge, who spoke at the luncheon. Both praised the Sigma Alpha Chapter and encouraged its members to maintain their tradition of excellence for another 100 years.

The weekend ended on Sunday morning with a tribute to the founders and the Sisters who have joined the Omega Chapter.

Born: to Jeremy and Tiffany Church Arthurs, Bryce Stephen, July 2, 2012, in Cincinnati.

Illinois Standing Committee on Military Affairs. He and wife Jenny have a daughter, Anne, 1.

Ryan Gailey was promoted to the rank of captain as an infantry officer in the Army National Guard. An attorney practicing in Rockford, Ill., and a member of the Illinois and American Bar associations, he serves on the

Brooke Sikora, MD, is a dermatologist serving Boston.

Her clinical interests include general medical dermatology, where she cares for a full range of dermatologic conditions. She also has lectured regionally and nationally on various topics to

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

Summer 2013

27

Class notes

Jeff Sabo

Broncos draft Zac Dysert ’13

Zac Dysert ’13 showing record-breaking form as Miami’s quarterback, now in Broncos’ rookie camp to prove he’s a pro.

Zac Dysert ’13, who threw for a career total of 12,013 yards from 2009-2012 as Miami’s quarterback, is an understudy to the legendary Peyton Manning with the Denver Broncos now that rookie camp is under way for the 2013 National Football League season.

Selected as the 234th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft (7th round), the RedHawk record-holder from Ada, Ohio, continues his football career in the Mile High City for Coach John Fox. Hall of Famer John Elway, executive vice president of Football Operations for the Broncos, tweeted after the draft, “We’re thrilled that Zac Dysert was available for us to take. You can never have enough quarterbacks.”

His Miami career total of 12,013 broke Ben Roethlisberger’s previous school record of 10,829 yards. In 2012 Dysert had 3,483 passing yards with 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

dermatologists and primary care physicians. She is an active member of several professional organizations including the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery, the American Medical Association, and Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.

2003 Born: to Bethany Pratt Feldmann and Kevin, Olivia Grace, Jan. 2, 2013, joining Evelyn, 2, in Cincinnati. Bethany is a stay-at-

home mom. Kevin is a principal engineer at GE Aircraft.

Colleen O’Donnell was recently appointed by Ohio Gov. Kasich to the bench as a judge on the Franklin County Common Pleas Court - General Division, effective May 20, 2013.

Aaron Rossini was nominated for a New York Innovative Theatre Award (IT Awards) for Outstanding Director for his work in Frogs, produced by Fault Line Theatre.

The 2012 nominees included 137

individual artists, 52 different productions, and 57 Off-OffBroadway theatre companies.

Of the production, Aaron said, “Cartoons were our inspiration.

Tristan Jeffers (set designer) and I had long conversations about how Aristophanes seems to be the world’s first Vaudevillian, and this play should be performed by Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and the entire Looney Toons crew. So we used our, somewhat unhealthy, obsessions with cartoons as our jumping off point for the process of creating Frogs.”

Born: to Don and Kendra Shaw Seymour ’04, Kiley Marie, Sept. 23, 2012, in Fairfax, Va. Born: to Brock Simon ’03 MA ’05 and Laura, Ayla Kay, Dec. 12, 2012. Brock, Laura, and their daughters Adeyln and Ayla live in Izmir, Turkey, where Brock is the country head for dunnhumby.

2004 Next reunion: June 19-22, 2014

Amanda Carroll was recently named in Engineering News Record New York’s latest Top 20 Under 40 rising stars competition. Amanda is an associate/ project interior designer and Northeast regional workplace practice area leader for Gensler, a global architecture, design and planning firm. A licensed interior designer and LEED AP, she has a range of projects for major clients, including British Airways and IBM. Her experience includes programming and strategic planning, space planning and design and client management.

Born: to Mike and April Butler Flagler, Owen Michael, Aug. 12, 2012. Mike is a scientist at Procter & Gamble and April is an attorney at Dinsmore & Shohl.

They live in Cincinnati.

Mike Hemme has been promoted and is now an associate at Corgan, a leading architecture firm with offices across the globe.

With Corgan since 2005, he works with the mission critical architecture studio. His clients include Walmart, Stream, and United Healthcare. Mike is in Dallas.

Greg Hogeboom, after finishing eight years of professional hockey, has retired. He was drafted by the LA Kings in 2002 and his career took him to California, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Texas, Switzerland, and Italy. For his next career, he has joined the family business and settled down with his wife, Megan Clark Hogeboom ’04 MEd ’07, in Toronto.

Born: to Brett and Gretchen Elberfeld Taylor, Clark Hadden, Feb. 28, 2013, joining Zoe, 2.

Gretchen is a sixth-grade teacher for Dublin City Schools and Brett owns and operates Chicago Cubs blog bleachernation.com.

2005 Born: to Andrew and Lisa Petersen Snyder ’04, Evan Scott, Aug. 2, 2012.

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

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MIAMIAN

Class notes

Reynold Toepfer was a contestant on the CBS show Survivor Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites, which premiered Feb. 13, 2013.

A member of the Gota Tribe, the San Francisco real estate salesman was voted out of the tribe and the game on Day 31.

2007 Christine Elech Gillian is an attorney in the Louisville office of Reminger Co. Christine focuses on professional liability, general casualty, nursing home and medical malpractice defense, premises liability, and retail and hospitality defense. She is a member of the Kentucky, Ohio State, and the Cincinnati bar associations.

Married: Kristina Wood and Lucas Richie ’04, Aug. 18, 2012, in Cincinnati. They live in Michigan where Luke is a physician and Kristina is the education manager of a symphony orchestra.

2008 Matt Miller has a solo law practice in Hamilton, Ohio, and practice in personal injury; estates, wills, and financial plan-

Married: Alyson Manley and Shaun Gabriel ’10, Sept. 15, 2012, in Newport, Ky. Seven of the eight in their wedding party were Miamians.

Grant Sefton, only a few days after graduating in December, earned an intern position in the President’s office at the Clinton Global Initiative.

Married: Jessica Schaper and Noah Finney ’10, May 20, 2012.

They met their sophomore and freshman years in Tappan, and the were engaged under the Arch on their third anniversary.

Kelsey Warsinske MS ’12 is a senior associate, custom insight, in the Cincinnati office of dunnhumby USA, a global leader in building brand value for consumer goods and retail companies. She is responsible for analyzing customer purchase behavior to deliver unique, datadriven insights for retail clients.

in Columbus. They met second semester of their senior year and were engaged in December 2010.

They live in Erie, Pa.

Married: Carla Ralich and Jeff Bregitzer, July 14, 2012, in Oxford. They live in Chicago where Carla teaches at a therapeutic preschool and Jeff works as a consultant for PwC.

Married: Christine Bearer and John Arnold, June 30, 2012, in Akron.

2006 Nathan Miller, a senior actuarial analyst at Cincinnati Financial Corp., is now an associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society, having completed the seven exams administered by CAS.

2011

shares, the award-winning, nonprofit literary magazine based at Emerson College in Boston. She is also the singer/ songwriter for the band Ellery.

Her songs have been heard in major motion pictures, TV dramas, radio, and Starbucks stores throughout the U.S. This summer she is presenting at the Great Writing 2013 Conference at Imperial College in London.

ning; divorce, custody, juvenile, and family law; criminal; landlord/tenant and other real estate contracts; business law; tax; and bankruptcy (www.matthewnmiller.com).

William Toerpe of Cincinnati has been serving in the Peace Corps as a community economic development volunteer in Ukraine since March 2011. He has created a strategic planning process that engaged 4,000 residents in deciding the direction of their city government’s policies and priorities.

2009 Next reunion: June 19-22, 2014

Patricia Casal has graduated from Ohio State U. with a PhD in biomedical engineering. She has accepted a postdoctoral research position at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, studying treatments for muscular dystrophy.

Born: to Nathan and Ashley Vandegrift Dumont, Elijah Nathan, Sept. 2, 2012. He made his debut almost two weeks after his expected due date!

Married: Allison Emery and Brian Gorman, Dec. 17, 2011,

2010

Jacob Solomon was promoted to Navy seaman upon graduation from recruit training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill. He received the early promotion for outstanding performance during all phases of the training cycle.

2012 Pfc. Julien Counts graduated from recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C. Tasha Golden MA ’12 is a new blog contributor for Plough-

2013 Andy Cruse of Cincinnati was featured by Cox sports writer Rick Cassano for joining Houston Texans’ rookie minicamp in a step toward a National Football League career. He signed a threeyear contract as an undrafted free agent. Andy was a 6-foot-4, 214-pound wide receiver for Miami with 160 catches for 1,662 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Send your news to: Donna Boen, Miamian, 108 Glos Center, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056-2480; Miamian@MiamiOH.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 2013

29

Obituaries Mary Jane Carothers Carper ’37, Leawood, Kan., Dec. 27, 2012.

Helen Brinker Wessel ’44, Fairfield, Ohio, Sept. 24, 2012.

Robert W. Stoecklein ’49, Portland, Ore., Dec. 3, 2012. Retired, Illinois Tool Works.

William E. Cromer ’38, Columbus, N.C., Jan. 10, 2013. Retired, controller/CFO, national office, Boy Scouts of America.

John D. “Jack” Derr ’45, Akron, Ohio, April 8, 2013. Retired, president, Derr Co. Husband of Janis Leighton Derr ’46.

Evelyn Hick Backus ’39, Cincinnati, Ohio, Dec. 1, 2012.

F. Jean Duvall ’45, Indianapolis, Ind., Dec. 6, 2012. Retired, executive assistant.

William F. Suhring MBA ’49, Hershey, Pa., March 22, 2013. Retired, vice president, Hershey Co. Husband of Virginia Askew Suhring ’52.

Frederick K. Randolph ’39, Dunedin, Fla., Feb. 4, 2013. Retired, lawyer.

Christine Carrico Goldman ’46, Wyoming, Ohio, Dec. 31, 2012.

Richard F. Little ’40, Granville, Ohio, Jan. 29, 2013. Retired, Schuler Inc.

Lois Hesse Niemann ’46, Fort Collins, Colo., Sept. 25, 2012. Retired, instructor, statistics and computer science, Colorado State University.

Virginia Elander Rutledge ’40, Pensacola Beach, Fla., Jan. 23, 2013.

Robert C. Lake ’41, Mount Pleasant, S.C., Dec. 18, 2012. Retired, General Motors.

Ruth Heuer Sutcliffe Marsh ’41, Westlake, Ohio, Jan. 19, 2013. Former teacher.

Harriet Cail Morrow ’41, Greenwood, Ind., March 3, 2013. Former teacher.

Lucy Long Dillon ’42, Monroe, Ohio, Dec. 24, 2012.

John M. Fisher ’47, Raleigh, N.C., Jan. 20, 2013. Founder, retired CEO, American Security Council.

John H. Gauer Jr. ’47, Fort Wayne, Ind., Feb. 27, 2013. Retired, Evans Products.

Arlyn Davis Halcomb ’47, Hamilton, Ohio, March 2, 2013. Retired, teacher.

Helen Adams Pearson ’42, Tacoma, Wash., Jan. 26, 2013.

Kenneth L. Horstmyer ’47, Key Biscayne, Fla., Jan. 8, 2013. Former president, Bonanza Steakhouses, Arthur Treachers Seafood; retired, president, Photo Quick.

Mary Williams Denman ’43, San Antonio, Texas, May 8, 2013. San Antonio radio, television, and stage legend.

George E. McNeal ’47, North Fort Myers, Fla., Aug. 9, 2012. Husband of Alice Larter McNeal MEd ’73.

Warren N. Koontz ’43, Newark, Ohio, Feb. 1, 2013. Retired, MD.

Barbara Hodapp Wohlhueter ’47, Monroe, Ohio, Dec. 29, 2012.

Jean Ferguson Platt ’43, Claremont, Calif., Feb. 18, 2013. Harvey Mudd College’s founding first lady.

Winifred A. “Winni” Dunton ’48, Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 27, 2012. Retired, attorney, U.S. Department of Justice.

Marvin J. Rassell ’43, Cincinnati, Ohio, Feb. 3, 2013. MD; retired, head of radiology, Mercy/McCullough-Hyde hospitals.

Donald R. Edmundson ’48, Delray Beach, Fla., Dec. 8, 2012. Interior decorator.

Margaret Puskas Alex ’44, Canton, Ohio, Feb. 12, 2013. Former teacher.

Marcia Clark Cross ’44, Dayton, Ohio, Jan. 4, 2013.

Kenneth L. DeBrosse ’44 MA ’50, Fort Wayne, Ind., Feb. 6, 2013. Engineer for ITT, then Conrail. Husband of Marjorie Wagner DeBrosse ’50.

George T. Jewett ’48, Gainesville, Ga., March 1, 2013. Retired, president, Chatfield Paper. Husband of Charlene Coler Jewett ’50.

James G. Pantalos ’48, Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 11, 2013. Retired, from faculty, Ohio State University School of Social Work.

Marian Stambaugh Smart ’48, Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 24, 2013.

Donald J. King ’44, Eugene, Ore., Feb. 18, 2013. Retired, PPG Industries. Husband of Jane Stevens King ’45 MEd ’66.

Samuel B. Vaughn Jr. ’48, Longview, Texas, Jan. 9, 2013. Retired, director of capital programs, Texas Eastman Co.

Joan Powell Linton ’44 MEd ’46, Pleasant Hill, Ohio, April 18, 2013. Retired, high school and college educator.

Donald L. Barnes ’49, Westfield, Ind., Feb. 19, 2013. Retired, Ball State University.

Robert L. Van Ausdall Sr. ’44, Oak Brook, Ill., March 26, 2013. Retired, Air Force; retired, chairman, Chicago Institute for Management Studies. Husband of Marilyn Thum Van Ausdall ’44.

Stephen P. Kanizay ’49, Lakewood, Colo., April 16, 2013. Retired, geologist.

Husband of Freda Barthol Kanizay ’48.

David O. Smith ’49, Fairfield, Conn., Dec. 25, 2012. Retired, fundraiser.

Patricia Wilson Van Horn ’49, London, Ohio, Dec. 13, 2012. Retired, from Van Horn Construction.

Marjorie “Marty” Reiner Waltz ’49, Hilton Head Island, S.C., March 20, 2013. Retired, teacher, Lake Erie Nature and Science Center. Wife of Dick ’49.

Willis W. Ward MBA ’49, Dallas, Texas, Nov. 3, 2012.

Robert C. Elstun ’50, Cincinnati, Ohio, Dec. 4, 2012. Dentist.

Albert W. Kettlewell ’50 MEd ’55 PhD ’73, Oxford, Ohio, Jan. 4, 2013. Miami assistant dean emeritus of School of Education and Allied Professions, 1967-1986.

Marcia Draudt Pitcher ’50, Rensselaer, Ind., Jan. 6, 2013. Retired, dietary department, Jasper County Hospital.

William H. Braun ’51, Fairfield, Ohio, Jan. 15, 2013. Retired, Procter & Gamble.

William L. Buckingham ’51, Mount Vernon, Ohio, Jan. 21, 2013. Retired, manager, Nationwide Insurance.

William D. Carle III ’51, Lakewood, Ohio, March 12, 2013. Lawyer with Ray, Robinson, Carle and Davies. Husband of Marie “Susie” Matson Carle ’50.

Thomas W. Cobbledick ’51, Greenwood, Va., Feb. 10, 2013. Retired, sales.

June Leighton Haller ’51, Dallas, Texas, Feb. 16, 2013. Former teacher.

Robert Link ’51, Liberty, Ohio, Dec. 31, 2012. Retired, finance director, Republic Steel.

Roy W. Mayberry Jr. ’51 MA ’55, Las Vegas, Nev., Nov. 23, 2012. Retired, Mason Cos. Helen Loucks Rodgers ’51, Darien, Conn., March 14, 2013. Wife of Francis “Buck” ’50.

Janice Siglar Borradaile ’52, Davison, Mich., March 21, 2013. Librarian, Flint Library - West Branch. Wife of Earl ’52.

Donald C. Goetzmann ’52, Naples, Fla., March 1, 2013. Retired, sales and marketing, Corning Glass, then Nalge Nunc.

James R. Roberts ’52, Findlay, Ohio, March 24, 2013. Retired, manager, human resources, Marathon Oil.

30 MIAMIAN

Obituaries

John O. Boyle ’53, Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 8, 2012. Retired, co-founding partner, CPA firm GBQ Partners.

Suzanne Gunn Clark ’53, Ventura, Calif., Nov. 1, 2012. Former teacher.

media center director, Carmel High School. Wife of Horst “Dan” ’54.

William C. Folker ’56, Oxford, Ohio, March 9, 2013.

Calvin Davison ’53, Washington, D.C., April 25, 2013. Retired, lawyer, founder and senior partner, Crowell & Moring.

Edward M. McCartney ’56, Lewis Center, Ohio, Feb. 8, 2013. Retired, worked in purchasing for the Air Force and for Mead Digital Systems.

Dale S. Haller ’53, Cincinnati, Ohio, Feb. 15, 2013.

Gerry Shunkwiler Bowman ’57, Canton, Ohio, Feb. 15, 2013.

Robert K. Jones ’53, Rio Rancho, N.M., Jan. 15, 2013. Retired, associate director and vice president, Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute. Husband of Audrey Palmer Jones WC ’53.

William A. Browne IV ’57, Oxford, Ohio, April 13, 2013. Retired, MD; medical director emeritus, Miami’s student health services, 1985-1998. Husband of Cornelia Clark Browne ’57.

William Soika ’53 MEd ’55, Oxford, Ohio, March 10, 2013. Retired, teacher, Talawanda High School. Husband of Sarah Jane Miller Soika ’54.

Shirley Green Mines ’57, Highland Park, Ill., Jan. 24, 2013. Former teacher.

Charles H. Duquette ’54, Wentzville, Mo., Oct. 11, 2012.

William L. Egel ’54 MA ’56, Oberlin, Ohio, Jan. 18, 2013. Retired, teacher, principal, superintendent, Fairborn Schools; teacher, Lake Erie College.

JoAnn Gossett Glosser ’54, San Gabriel, Calif., Jan. 31, 2013. Retired, teacher. Wife of Estabrook Jr. ’54.

Sue Muncey Hall ’54 MEd ’64, Oxford, Ohio, April 1, 2013. Miami professor emerita, office administration, 1967-1989.

Richard D. Macquiston ’54, Keaau, Hawaii, Jan. 13, 2013. Teacher, counselor, Pahoa and Waiakea high schools.

Robert W. Vernon ’54, Mission Viejo, Calif., Jan. 16, 2013. Retired, Ernst & Young.

Louis G. DelFiandra ’55, Greenfield, Ind., Dec. 21, 2012. Husband of De King DelFiandra ’52.

Lorraine Copeland Nelsen ’55, Lubbock, Texas, Jan. 10, 2013. Retired, teacher.

John A. Neuman ’55, Glenview, Ill., March 16, 2013. Retired, Packaging Corp. of America and Colbert Packaging. Husband of Ruth Humm Neuman ’56.

Charles M. Billman Jr. ’56, Indian Harbor Beach, Fla., March 15, 2013. Retired, Air Force fighter pilot; retired, chief operating officer, Sunaire.

Joseph J. Brubaker MEd ’56, Karnes City, Texas, Jan. 26, 2013. Retired, teacher, coach, principal, superintendent. Husband of Betty Leiber Brubaker ’59 MEd ’61.

Ann Albright Daniels ’56, Hilton Head Island, S.C., Dec. 10, 2012. Retired, Summer 2013

Doris Sonander Savely ’57 MEd ’79, Delaware, Ohio, March 24, 2013. Former teacher; retired, Oxford Lane Public Library. Wife of James ’79.

Martin J. Goldberg ’58, Chicago, Ill., Nov. 18, 2012. Retired, from IBM. Whitney D. Hardy ’58, Shelbyville, Ill., Feb. 20, 2013. Retired, lawyer.

Anthony Lotta ’58, Washington, N.C., July 12, 2012. Retired, teacher.

Duane B. Schneider ’58, Yarmouth Port, Mass., Dec. 26, 2012. Retired, English professor, Ohio University; former director, Ohio University Press.

Thomas O. Wolverton ’58, Sunbury, Ohio, Dec. 31, 2012.

Joseph C. Worley Jr. ’58, Billings, Mont., Feb. 3, 2013. Retired, employee benefits, William Mercer and Countrymark.

Lynn L. Augspurger ’59, Cocoa Beach, Fla., Jan. 13, 2013. Patent attorney. Husband of Judith Peery Augspurger ’61.

Janet Slater Anderson ’60, Morristown, N.J., Dec. 16, 2012. In publishing.

Gary D. Doxtater ’60 MA ’62, Carmel, Ind., Dec. 6, 2012. Retired, director of fish and wildlife, Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

William A. Livingston ’60, Minneapolis, Minn., Feb. 4, 2013. Presbyterian minister.

Donald L. Grove ’61, Hilton Head Island, S.C., Oct. 25, 2012. Retired, sales/ marketing manager, Anchor Hocking.

Mary Jewett Humbach ’61, Hamilton, Ohio, Nov. 30, 2012. Retired, elementary teacher.

Jacquelyn R. Woods ’61 MEd ’66, Fairborn, Ohio, Aug. 6, 2012. Retired, principal, Wright Elementary School.

Barbara Kirk Collins ’62, Eaton, Ohio, Jan. 21, 2013. Retired, English teacher, Shawnee High School.

Robert C. “Mice” Mysonhimer MBA ’63, Lebanon, Ohio, Dec. 7, 2012. Husband of Diane DeWitt Mysonhimer ’61.

John W. Pontius MBA ’63, Oxford, Ohio, Dec. 5, 2012. Retired, chemist, paper industry.

Kathryn Boone Munger ’64, Columbus, Ohio, Dec. 23, 2012. Retired, teacher, French Run Elementary, Reynoldsburg.

William D. Hudson ’66, Fort Wright, Ky., Sept. 18, 2012. Retired, senior architect with Carissimi Rohrer Associates.

Lois Geldine Kucker ’66, Ewing, N.J., Feb. 16, 2013. Retired, phys ed teacher.

Jane Combs McLaughlin MEd ’67, Connersville, Ind., Jan. 3, 2013. Retired, teacher, Connersville Senior High.

Donald J. Gix MEd ’68, Prospect, Ohio, Feb. 7, 2013. Retired, director of admissions, Blackburn College.

James L. Henle ’68, Pompano Beach, Fla., April 6, 2013.

Alvin W. Krings Jr. ’68, Norman, Okla., Dec. 18, 2012.

Dennis R. Parravano ’68, Dallas, Texas, March 10, 2013.

Mary Blair Fields MS ’69 PhD ’77, Trappe, Pa., Feb. 20, 2013. Retired, biology professor, Ursinus College.

Jill Martz ’69, Dayton, Ohio, Dec. 25, 2012. Former English teacher, Valley View Middle School.

Lynelle Warren Podwoski ’69, Painesville Township, Ohio, Jan. 10, 2013. In real estate.

Donald A. Pillsbury ’60, Villa Park, Ill., Dec. 8, 2012.

Joseph W. Schrote ’69, Monroe, Ohio, Feb. 11, 2013. Retired, blast furnace department, A.K. Steel.

Susanne Brumbaugh Coate ’61, Laura, Ohio, Jan. 27, 2013. Former science teacher, Milton-Union High School.

Timothy D. Simpson ’69, Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 11, 2013. Manager, United Dairy Farmers.

31

Obituaries

Craig E. Pairan ’70, Forth Worth, Texas, Feb. 12, 2013. Retired, pilot, Braniff Airways and FedEx. Sandra L. Mayes ’72, Worcester, Mass., Dec. 31, 2012. Attorney, Massachusetts Justice Project.

Howard W. Regenbogen ’72, Northbrook, Ill., Jan. 13, 2011. Attorney.

Margaret “Ellen” Van Pelt Bueschel MEd ’73 PhD ’80, Oxford, Ohio, March 26, 2013. Retired, school superintendent; Miami professor of educational leadership, 2001-2009.

Genevieve Harris Dicken MEd ’73, West College Corner, Ind., Jan. 3, 2013.

Retired, teacher, College Corner, Ohio.

April 2, 2013. System analyst in computer science, Dayhuff Group.

Kenneth E. “Sarge” Patten ’83, Mundelein, Ill., March 26, 2013.

Kathie Volk Maloney MAT ’86, Chugiak, Alaska, Nov. 24, 2012. Retired, teacher, Chugiak High School. Wife of Robert MBA ’72.

Lisa Ward Musgrove ’86, Franklin, Tenn., Dec. 1, 2012. Executive vice president/CFO, Franklin Synergy Bank.

Eugene Cox Jr. ’88, Oxford, Ohio, Feb. 15, 2013. Owner, Gene Cox Builders.

Pauline Derek Jackson ’90, Middletown, Ohio, Dec. 25, 2012.

Olga Holiga Redder MEd ’73, Dayton, Ohio, Dec. 26, 2012. Teacher, West Carrollton.

Natalie Anne Comer ’92, Bellefontaine, Ohio, Jan. 23, 2013. Marketing coordinator, Hilliker YMCA; Staples employee.

J. Michael Drake ’74, Dayton, Ohio, Feb. 13, 2013. With Social Security Administration; adjunct professor of biology, Sinclair Community College.

Karen Fawcett Kelly ’92, Greensboro, N.C., Jan. 29, 2013. Former science teacher.

Donna Baird Hatton ’74, Wooster, Ohio, Jan. 28, 2013. Retired, RN, Dayton VA Medical Center.

Allen W. Rowe ’74, Troy, Ohio, Sept. 21, 2012. Retired, private contractor.

H. Barry Gillen PhD ’75, Portsmouth, Va., Jan. 29, 2013. Associate professor emeritus of psychology, Old Dominion University.

Robert L. Stanley ’75, Mount Vernon, Ill., Feb. 19, 2013. Chiropractor.

Barbara Cleland Lavash MEd ’76, Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 4, 2012.

John R. Snell ’76, Tiffin, Ohio, Dec. 24, 2012. Journeyman plumber/steamfitter.

Dean P. Wyman ’77, Cleveland, Ohio, Jan. 3, 2013. Senior trial attorney, Office of the U.S. Trustee; a special assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of Ohio.

Peter P. Conrad ’78, Reily Township, Ohio, March 4, 2013. Editor, The Oxford Press; longtime Miami sports reporter.

Mark D. Dunham ’79, Port Clinton, Ohio, Jan. 26, 2013. Math teacher, Toledo Early College High School.

Robert F. Stewart ’80, Cincinnati, Ohio, Feb. 7, 2013. Sales service coordinator, SENCO. Mark B. Nienow ’81, Woodstock, Ga., May 28, 2012. At Morgan Stanley. Husband of Teresa Hirschbach Nienow ’81.

Louis J. Gawron ’82, Columbus, Ohio,

Ami Brady Brogan ’98, San Diego, Calif., Feb. 15, 2013. Former urban planner; adjunct professor.

Craig A. Patterson ’01, Park City, Utah, April 11, 2013. Avalanche forecaster, Utah Department of Transportation.

Jennifer A. Jensen ’02, San Francisco, Calif., March 25, 2013. Consultant, Navigant Consulting.

Will B. Karrow ’06, Dayton, Ohio, March 19, 2013. Formerly in Peace Corps.

James M. “Mike” Spurgeon ’15, Hamilton, Ohio, Feb. 5, 2013. Miami sophomore, in pre-nursing.

Nicole M. Sefton ’16, Hamilton, Ohio, Jan. 24, 2012. Miami freshman, in athletic training.

Faculty, Staff, Friends Robert S. Bacon, Denver, Colo., March 7, 2013. Miami professor emeritus of geography, 1971-1993.

S. Elwood “Woody” Bohn, Green Valley, Ariz., April 16, 2013. Miami professor emeritus of mathematics and statistics, 1964-1991.

John H. Bowser, Hamilton, Ohio, Aug. 8, 2012. Retired, manager of print services at Miami, 1970-2005.

William A. Browne IV (see ’57).

Leo Erik, Oxford, Ohio, March 4, 2013.

Retired, several Miami departments.

Richard E. Ginther, Oxford, Ohio,

Feb. 19, 2013. Miami professor emeritus of family and consumer sciences, 19681993; former chair of Miami’s industrial design and education department.

Sue Muncey Hall (see ’54).

Mary M. “Peggy” Simmons Harris, Brookline, Mass., Aug. 2, 2012. Teacher while husband Bob chaired Miami’s philosophy department, 1958-1969.

John R. Hoyle, College Station, Texas, March 12, 2013. Professor of educational administration at Miami, 1970-1975. Husband of Carolyn Falgeau Hoyle MS ’74.

Albert W. Kettlewell (see ’50).

Franklin D. Lamb, Oxford, Ohio, March 22, 2013. Retired, from Miami.

Archie L. Nelson, Hamilton, Ohio, March 22, 2013. Retired, Miami regional director of admission/financial aid.

Edward B. Parsons, Tampa, Fla., March 10, 2013. Miami professor emeritus of history, 1969-1988.

Richard A. Persinger, Liberty, Ind., Feb. 20, 2013. Miami associate bursar emeritus, 1963-1991.

Gene Santavicca, Marietta, Ga., Dec. 25, 2012. Miami professor emeritus of education, 1954-1979; former chairman, Miami’s department of personnel and guidance; psychologist. Husband of Faye Martin Santavicca ’57 MEd ’58.

David R. Shanks, Hamilton, Ohio, March 2, 2013. Retired, Miami staff, 1980-2009.

Kenneth D. Stewart, Stonefort, Ill., Feb. 17, 2013. Retired, Miami professor of botany, 1968-1990.

Jimmie D. Trent, Oxford, Ohio, Feb. 20, 2013. Miami professor emeritus of communication, 1971-1999; chair of speech and theatre for 10 years.

Robert A. Wood, Lawrenceburg, Ind., March 8, 2013. Retired, general manager, Southwestern Ohio Instructional Television Association (SOITA), 19681989, headquartered at Miami.

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

By Chude Pam Allen

I

was a junior in college when I wrote my parents that I wanted to be in the Mississippi Summer Project.

(The term “freedom summer” was created later by one of the volunteers, Sally Belfrage.) Since I was a girl and not yet 21, I needed their permission.

It was against the law for blacks and whites to live and work together in Mississippi, and they knew I might be put in jail or beaten, perhaps killed.

They’d let me come to Spelman College as an exchange student that spring. In 1964 I was one of 13 white students among 706 African American students. I’d been writing them about what I was learning about racism and segregation, the philosophy of pacifism, and nonviolent direct action.

I also wrote them about my new best friend. She lived in Montgomery, Ala. I couldn’t visit her home because I was white and she was black. She told me it would be too dangerous. “I am no longer an outsider,” I wrote my parents. “This system has hurt me.”

I was a devout Christian and believed God wanted me to go to Mississippi. I was willing to die for the right of whites and blacks to live together and be treated equally. I wanted to help redeem the United States from the terrible sin of racism.

I think the fact that I wrote to my parents, sharing with them what I was learning, helped them make the decision to allow me to go. It was especially difficult for my father, who was a manager in a rubber goods factory. The other managers did not support the civil rights movement. My mother, who was a nursery school teacher in our small community in eastern Pennsylvania, didn’t face the same opposition.

I arranged to ride with volunteers driving from New York to Western College for Women for our training.

My parents drove me to an exit on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to meet them.

My father parked by the side of the road and we waited. I sat in the back seat, my parents in the front. We knew we might never see each other again. We sat there all night. Dawn

came before the Volkswagen bug pulled up. The car had broken down, but there had been no way to tell us.

I climbed into the car and we started for Ohio. Years later Mother would tell me that that night was one of the hardest of her life.

We were in the second group of trainees, Freedom School teachers and community center volunteers.

On the first day we learned that three of the voter registration workers were missing. Rita Schwerner, wife of one of the missing men, stood on the auditorium’s stage and told us to call home. We were to mobilize our parents to call and write their congressmen, the Justice Department, and the president, demanding the government find the missing three and protect all civil rights activists.

Twenty-five years later in the fall of 1989 I sat on the floor of my mother’s living room and read

Parents’ courage tested repeatedly after they allowed their 20-year-old daughter to participate in Freedom Summer 1964. through the papers she’d saved. I learned that a congressman Dad had written had called him at work and told him to “get her the hell out of there.” Dad told the congressman the question wasn’t getting me out, but guaranteeing the safety of all civil rights workers. He never told me.

The night before we left for Mississippi, Bob Moses, director of the project, talked about how difficult it was to send us in, knowing three were already dead even though their bodies had not been found. Speaking softly, his eyes on his shoes, he told us, “All I can say is that I’ll be there too.”

It did not matter whether I lived or died. I believed the movement would flourish and love would triumph.

Yet I didn’t appreciate my parents’ courage. They could have stopped me from going as some girls’ parents did.

Freedom Summer volunteers at Western College “sang as one. The words ‘They say that freedom is a constant struggle’ burned in my heart.” – Chude Pam Allen, seen here at right in Holly Springs, Miss., in 1964.

Instead they told me they loved me.

It was not easy for them. They looked forward to my coming home.

But when I did, I couldn’t adjust. I was distant and uncommunicative.

My mother became so distraught she wrote to Carolyn Goodman, mother of Andrew, who’d been murdered that summer. “You lost a son,” she wrote, “but I lost a daughter.”

Of course she knew it wasn’t the same. She didn’t send the letter; I have it among my things. But her suffering was real. It took a full year before I could share my feelings with her.

That week when I was in Oxford, Ohio, was a time of soul-searching for both my parents and me. Like me, they came to understand that none of us can be free until all of us are free.

These excerpts are from Chude Pam Allen’s essay in the new book Finding Freedom: Memorializing the Voices of Freedom Summer, edited by Jacqueline Johnson, archivist of the Western College Memorial Archives. Jacky is chairperson of “Freedom Summer 1964-2014, 50 Years After Freedom Summer: Understanding the Past, Building the Future,” a national conference being hosted at Miami University Oct. 12-14, 2014. For details, contact Jacky at johnsoj@MiamiOH.edu.

“One more thing” is a place for you to share reminiscences and observations about everyday happenings. Submit your essay for consideration to: Donna Boen, Miamian editor, “One more thing,” 108 Glos Center, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056 or Miamian@MiamiOH.edu.

Please limit yourself to 700 words and include your name, class year, address, and home phone number.

Summer 2013 33

Photo by Michael Clurman

My parents said yes!

Photo by George R. Hoxie, courtesy of Smith Library of Regional History

One more thing …

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PHOTO BY SCOTT KISSELL

W

itnessing MacCracken Hall and the Tri-Delt Sundial in early-morning light is breathtaking – just like the first time you came up over the hill and saw the stately red bricks and rolling lawns and you knew, simply knew, that Miami was the college for you. To enjoy more campus scenes from 2012-2013 by university photographers Jeff Sabo and Scott Kissell, go to www.MiamiAlum.org/Miamian.