Miamian Magazine Summer 2018 by Miami University Advancement

miami an The Magazine of Miami University

IN THIS ISSUE:

Dress for Success Great Minds Extinguishing Inflammation

Summer 2018

TRIUMPH IN TIGERLAND

In his book Tigerland, which debuts at Miami’s convocation, Wil Haygood ’76 tells of improbable athletic triumph in the midst of racial turbulence

FIELDS, WATER, CLOUDS Described as an artist who “paints vibrant, panoramic landscapes and cityscapes that demonstrate an acute sensitivity to the tones and undertones of his surroundings,” Charlie Buckley MFA ’09 (www. buckleystudio.com) has taught at Ole Miss and Mississippi State University and exhibits regularly in museums and galleries. His works have won awards from the Mississippi Arts Commission and the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters. Buckley lives with his wife and daughter in Tupelo, Miss.

Staff Editor Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96 Miamian@MiamiOH.edu

Vol. 36, No. 3

miamian

Senior Designer Belinda Rutherford

The Magazine of Miami University

Photographers Jeff Sabo Scott Kissell

STORIES

Web Developer Suzanne Clark

18 A Season of Glory

Debuting Tigerland at Miami, Wil Haygood ’76 tells a story of two teams from a poor, black, segregated high school who, in the midst of racial turbulence, win championships within 57 days of each other.

Copy Editor Lucy Baker Design Consultant Lilly Pereira www.aldeia.design University Advancement 513-529-4029 Senior Vice President for University Advancement Tom Herbert herbertw@MiamiOH.edu

22 Dress for Success Power dresses that work (see page 22).

“Great Minds” campaign spotlights faculty who break barriers, alumni who shape the world, and students who transform the status quo.

IN EACH ISSUE

Office of Development 513-529-1230 Senior Associate Vice President for University Advancement Brad Bundy Hon ’13 brad.bundy@MiamiOH.edu

2 F rom the Hub

Inspiring Courage, Commitment

3 B ack & Forth Not your summer beach read (see page 48).

Send address changes to: Alumni Records Office Advancement Services Miami University 926 Chestnut Lane Oxford, Ohio 45056 alumnirecords@MiamiOH.edu 513-529-5127 Fax: 513-529-1466

To and From the Editor

6 A long Slant Walk

Campus News Highlights

10 Such a Life

Seeds of Change

12 I nquiry + Innovation Extinguishing Inflammation

ON THE COVER

These 1968–1969 East High School teammates play a pivitol role in Wil Haygood’s inspiring book, Tigerland, which debuts worldwide at convocation Aug. 24. See page 18.

Wacky, hard-working Cindy Diller Fields ’71 tries her hand at designing dresses for real women with curves.

24 A Matter of Mind

Alumni Relations 513-529-5957 Executive Director of the Alumni Association Kim Tavares MBA ’12 kim.tavares@MiamiOH.edu

MiamiOH.edu/alumni

Summer 2018

Opus Web paper features FSC® certifications and is Lacey Act compliant; 100% of the electricity used to manufacture Opus Web is generated with Green-e® certified renewable energy.

14 M edia Matters

New Works by Alumni

16 M y Story

Heartfelt Memories

30 Love & Honor

Grandmother’s Prophetic Words

32 Class Notes Notes, News, and Weddings

46 F arewells 48 D ays of Old

Treasuring the Bard’s Books

Miamian is published three times a year by the University Advancement Division of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056. Copyright © 2018, Miami University. All rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Miamian is produced by University Communications and Marketing, 22 Campus Avenue Building, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056, 513-529-7592; Fax: 513-529-1950; Miamian@MiamiOH.edu.

from the hub

Inspiring Courage, Commitment By President Greg Crawford

Miami alumni are always giving. Some volunteer their time, making themselves always available to help out their alma mater. Others donate money, funding scholarships and student services. Some alumni share their expertise and experience, inspiring today’s students with their courage and commitment. Just this past semester, we saw so many manifestations of alumni doing just that. Take Dave Dafoe ’84, who grew up in a lowincome family in Cincinnati and received a Miami education by relying on grants, scholarships, and his own hard work. Dave, who founded the Flavorman beverage development company in Louisville, has continued to give back to Miami as a speaker and volunteer. He recently opened his heart to make sure that many more young women and men from similar backgrounds will have the same opportunities he had. His gift of $30.1 million to the College of Arts and Science will provide scholarships to students with demonstrated financial need, making a new life available to our Carrying Love future generations. Dave’s gift is in the finest tradition of and Honor from philanthropy and scholarship, and we are generation to proud of the example he is setting. Take Brandon Brooks ’11, who came to generation. Miami University rather than a school in his native Wisconsin because, as he later told a reporter, “I wanted a school that was not only football, but was school first, football, and then a social life.” Brandon became a star lineman on our MAC championship team while earning a psychology degree and went on to the NFL, where he was a key part of the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl champions earlier this year. When Brandon spoke to the Class of 2018 during our spring commencement

miamian magazine

May 19, he opened up about his personal struggle with anxiety and the courage he showed to seek help. Talk about bringing a message home to our graduates and their families: “Truth be told, I’m feeling a little anxious today,” he said. “But I’ve learned through therapy to not worry or care about making a mistake. Why? Because the best thing about life is that it goes on.” Brandon, thank you for living your life to the fullest. Take Wil Haygood ’76, who earned a degree in urban studies at Miami and went on to become a prominent journalist and author, telling powerful stories that chronicle the AfricanAmerican experience. Wil is always available to help Miami. He agreed to make the debut of his latest book, Tigerland, about East High School in his native Columbus, Ohio, available to You are invited to write to Miami’s Class of 2022. President Greg Crawford Because of Wil, the at president@MiamiOH.edu. Follow him on Twitter incoming class will share @PresGreg. a real-life encounter with young people in the turbulent year of 1968, who by their examples, are teaching us the timeless lessons of breaking down barriers, opening meaningful conversations, and learning to celebrate our differences. Thank you, Wil, for giving us the gift of your experiences. Miami alumni number more than 220,000 strong. Together, they, as well as countless parents, friends, and partners, show every day their ability to give back to Miami, carrying Love and Honor from generation to generation across our campuses, our communities, our country, and the global society in which we all live.

back & forth

Cover-to-cover kudos I just want to send a note of appreciation for the Spring 2018 Miamian. I loved the inspiring stories — from honoring John Lewis to the personal treks on the higher vistas of the trail to the sunburned river ways of the “beautiful waters.” What I loved most are the articles about our growing connections with the Miami Tribe. I enjoyed reading about Miami students from the tribe and learning more about the tribal customs and language — more please! I would love to know how to pronounce these words, more on the culture and history (especially the Indian Removal Act, a period I know less about), and more on the tribal reawakening. Well done, from cover to cover, I am inspired! Go RedHawks. —Steve Hinds ’72 Needham, Mass. Kudos to Margo Kissell! Loved the “Journeys” article! Amazing individuals with unique goals woven together cleverly. Thank you. —Dian Stirn Groh ’69 Dickinson, Texas

Bullies2Buddies may be answer “No Place for Bigotry” in the Spring magazine seems to put forth laudable goals of decreasing bigotry, which all of goodwill would commend. However, what will it mean to “more actively reject” racism at Miami University? Students and leaders should think long and hard about the best response to hateful speech on social media and elsewhere. For the university to step in as a police authority and disallow it will not help today’s students address similar issues in adult life, unless our near future holds for us an authoritarian government that has decided that free speech is not so important after all. In addition, it puts the university in the business of policing behavior rather than educating. We need to remember that today’s youth have been brought up in schools that have tried to implement the failed and misguided policies of “zero tolerance” when it comes to bullying. This system has inadvertently encouraged youth to adopt victimhood status as it encourages them to report any “mean” behavior to authorities. It fails to teach them strategies to deal with people who express hateful ideas. Izzy Kalman is a psychologist who has explained the failure of such bullying policies and provided a much more effective approach, which is used in many schools. His ideas are simple and effective, and he illustrates them with

informal role plays to teach people how to deal with hateful speech. As more and more college students demand that their universities curtail free speech that they don’t like, we risk falling deeper into mentalities and behaviors in our emerging adults that set the stage for the kind of polarized, hateful, and blaming political discourse we see in our government today. As despicable as some speech is to many of us, efforts to halt it generally fail and also run counter to our ideals and our nation’s constitution. I urge all in positions of influence at Miami to learn more about Izzy Kalman’s approach, which he calls Bullies2Buddies and is applicable to all hateful speech. —Carolyn Deyo ’81 Baton Rouge, La.

Facebook comments Response to Spring issue’s My Story essay on finding humor in hearing loss: I graduated in ’55 in speech and hearing — only three of us in that second-year class. I now live in an independent living facility in Sun City Center, Fla. Eating at a table for six, all of whom have aids, we get into daily hysterics over our “mishears.”— Nancy Fay Meissner ’55

Send letters to: Donna Boen Miamian editor 22 Campus Avenue Building 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. Opinions expressed are those of the letter writers and not Miami University or Miamian magazine.

Summer 2018

back & forth

miamian magazine

back & forth

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

And she said … What’s more exciting than proposing under the

Upham Arch? How about proposing under the Upham Arch in front of 2,000 Miamians during Alumni Weekend? OK, technically Jake proposed in front of Upham. There was just no way 2,000 of us could squeeze in under the arch with him. You should have heard the oohs and aahs at the Parade Party when Jake asked Elizabeth to join him up front. Oh, yeah, the crowd caught on right away. Then he got down on one knee and pulled out the black velvet box. Holy buckets! Talk about brave. Would she say yes? The crowd hushed to hear. Elizabeth Sams ’12 and Jake Levine ’09 argued their way into romance during mock trial practices. Yes, the same mock trial program that won the national championship this past April. Jake describes it as a kind of “nerd Olympics.” So that moment at the arch was eight years in the making, what with Jake going to law school and setting up his practice in Columbus, then Elizabeth attending law school and beginning to practice as well. Jake also needed time to save for the ring. Oh, right, the ring. Jake picked up a fanny pack at Alumni Weekend as a way to carry the ring, but then lost it. The fanny pack, not the ring. That he kept in his khaki pocket after the fanny fiasco. As you might imagine, they know each other pretty well. She says his best trait is his determination to make his goals reality. And his worst trait? “I joke with everybody that he needs to learn how to load a dishwasher.” Elizabeth admits that her worst trait is a “little bit” of perfectionism. That explains why

You just never know what’s going to happen during Alumni Weekend.

she knows exactly how the dishwasher should be loaded. They are Miamians through and through. They’ve attended every Alumni Weekend since Elizabeth graduated. They even named their small Yorkie mix Mac. If they get another dog, Jake wants to call it Joe. As in Mac ’n’ Joe’s. Wonder what they’ll call their firstborn? MacCracken? McGuffey? Beta Bells!? For a lawyer who makes his living talking, Jake surprised himself at how nervous he became once he started the proposal. Despite several rehearsals, he struggled to find the right words at that crucial moment. But what about Elizabeth? Did she find the right word? Let’s just say, somebody probably should start building an addition onto Kumler Chapel pretty soon because I and 1,999 other Miamians expect to attend Jake and Elizabeth’s wedding in another year. Forget the cake. We’ll bring the toasted rolls. —Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96

Then he got down on one knee and pulled out the black velvet box. Holy buckets! Talk about brave. Would she say yes? The crowd hushed to hear.

Summer 2018

along slant walk

Mock Trial Team Wins Big Seniors on Miami’s mock trial team let off some steam before the penultimate round at the national tournament. The decision came down to two points. See the tension build as the winning school is announced at www. tinyurl.com/MiamiMock-Trial-Champs.

miamian magazine

The Miami University James Lewis Family

Mock Trial Program team beat defending runner-up Yale University to win the 2018 American Mock Trial Association National Championship Tournament in Minneapolis in April. Seniors Danielle Kunkel and Isabella Seeberg won All-American Attorney awards, and senior Da’Rya McAllister won an AllAmerican Witness Award. Forty-eight teams competed in the national tournament after starting the season with a field of more than 600 teams from more than 400 colleges and universities — making collegiate mock trial the largest academic competition in the country.

At nationals, the 48 teams are divided into two 24-team fields with the two first-place teams in each field playing against each other for the title. Yale, Miami’s final competitor, won the 2016 National Championship. With three judges voting for Miami and three for Yale, the decision came down to the final judge, who declared Miami the victor by two points. Miami’s team was coached by business legal studies professors and attorneys Neal Schuett, Lawrence Hilton, and Gus Lazares ’10; attorneys Jamie Glinka ’10, Emily Homel Arnzen ’10, and Matt Rich; law school student Ben Sandlin ’16; and Alex Block ’15, a member of Miami’s national tournament teams, 2011–2014.

along slant walk

Veterans Memorial Rising

I’M GLAD YOU ASKED

Alumni lead project to salute two centuries of Miamians who have served

During Alumni Weekend, we asked:

How did attending Miami impact your life?

A memorial to veterans is beginning to

take shape on Miami’s Oxford campus south of Spring Street, immediately west of Wells Hall. Started with the goal of preserving history, planning for the Alumni Veterans Tribute began five years ago when Rowan Hall, originally constructed to house Naval ROTC, became part of the Armstrong Student Center. Led by Dave Miller ’60 MBA ’69, David Lawrence ’64, and a committee of alumni veterans, the original plan has evolved into a broader vision of recognizing those who have served from all five U.S. military branches. “From the Miamians who marched together to the Oxford train station on their way to fight on each side of the Civil War to an extensive history of graduating U.S. military leaders, Miami has a proud tradition of alumni in military service,” Lawrence said. The memorial includes two interwoven and rising spirals that represent liberty and justice and wind inward toward an illuminated U.S. flag; an engraved band of names on the spirals of those killed in action or missing in action, symbolically placing Miami’s heroes at the foundation of U.S. freedoms; text

Designed by university architect emeritus Robert Keller ’73, the memorial has a fivepointed star footprint for the United States’ five military branches. It will be dedicated at 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day.

from the Bill of Rights, military oath, Pledge of Allegiance, and Preamble to the Constitution; and quotes from U.S. presidents including Benjamin Harrison, Miami Class of 1852. To celebrate the military service of its alumni, which is anyone who attended at least one semester on any of its campuses, Miami asks that you register yourself or a deceased family member who served at www.miamioh.edu/ veterans-tribute. A searchable, public database will be available soon. Miami currently acknowledges nearly 8,000 alumni who have served and more than 160 killed protecting our freedoms.

“ You must love yourselves and those who journey with you and seek unity among friend and foe alike, especially during these difficult times of division and strife within our nation.” —2018 Super Bowl Philadelphia Eagles guard Brandon Brooks ’11, keynote speaker at Miami’s 2018 spring commencement. To read his entire speech, go to miamioh.edu/commencement.

Miami changed my life. It made me who I am today, and I think if you let them, college can do that. I met professors who became mentors who became friends. Steve Anders ’68, North Chesterfield, Va.

Some enjoyed revisiting Upham Arch during Alumni Weekend more than others.

Without coming here, my life would be a lot different — with having three kids and meeting my husband. Natalie Reynolds Haidet ’90, Westerville, Ohio, part of a Miami Merger Watch Alumni Weekend video at https://youtu.be/SUpOz6gL66Q.

Summer 2018

along slant walk

NOTEWORTHY Distinguished Scholar Awards for 2018 were presented to Qihou Zhou, professor and chair of electrical and computer engineering, and Lisa Ellram, Rees Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management. They were honored for sustained excellence in research and other creative activity that has brought them prominence. Junior Faculty Scholar Awards recipients were Dominik Konkolewicz, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry; and Bob De Schutter, C. Michael Armstrong Assistant Professor of Applied Game Design. Cathy Bishop-Clark, professor of computer and information technology, is the new associate provost and dean of Miami University Regionals, College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science as of July 1. She had been interim dean since July 1, 2016. During her 29 years at Miami, she has served as chair of computer and information technology, associate dean, and assistant dean at the Middletown campus, and received the E. Phillips Knox Teaching Award. Kimberly Moore is the new associate vice president for Student Life and dean of students. She comes from Loyola University Chicago, where she was assistant dean of students and advised the student government. She also co-chaired the Loyola Experience steering committee, an initiative offering a framework for students to engage in integrative learning.

miamian magazine

RISING RANKS

91% #1 first-to-second year retention, fall 2016 cohort

public university in Ohio for return on investment, 2018 PayScale report

New and Improved With summer comes red geraniums, red

petunias, and red construction fences on the Oxford campus. While Central Quad’s MacCracken, Richard, and Porter residence halls are now closed for major renovations, their neighbors, Scott and Minnich, will reopen this fall. Two new halls on North Quad will also greet the students in August. Presidents Hall, just north of the baseball diamond, is among Miami’s largest residence halls. Withrow Hall is on the site of the longtime gym, Withrow Court. Its front looks familiar, as the original building’s ornamental limestone entry was carefully dismantled, restored, and reused. Swing Hall, directly to the south of Withrow, came down in June. Planners had wanted to save and renovate Swing, but they determined it wasn’t feasible. Ted Christian ’90 MArch ’09, senior project manager, said the exterior was in good condition, but the tight spacing and lack of adequate volume in the attic and basement prevented modern safety and climate control systems. “Having lived in Swing myself as a sophomore, the decision to remove it was definitely bittersweet for me,” he said. “While I will miss its handsome presence, we are confident that opening

Restored pieces from the original Withrow Court that now adorn its namesake include entry columns and entablature, fan panel, and the cartouche.

the site for future opportunities will prove to be the best path forward for the campus.”

along slant walk

We Love a Parade: Alumni Weekend’s Parade of Classes began with a rally kicked off by the cheerleaders, the alumni band, and the Cincinnati Caledonia Pipes and Drums, a nod to the Scottish heritage of Miami’s founders. Grand Marshal Jerome Conley, dean of Miami Libraries, led the parade by class year up Slant Walk, and members of the Class of 1968, the 50th anniversary class, were showered with confetti and cheers as they reached MiamiFest. The Class of 1966 enjoyed some of the confetti as well. To see more photos, visit MiamiAlum.org/AlumniWeekend.

Class of 2022 Sets Records Miami anticipates welcoming its largest

incoming class ever this fall, exceeding 3,900 first-year students. It will be the most diverse cohort to ever enroll on the Oxford campus. The Class of 2022 will represent the largest number of domestic students of color, at 17.4 percent, and first-generation college students, equaling 16.3 percent of the enrolling class. International students will make up another 8 percent. The incoming class boasts an average GPA of 3.76 and average ACT score of 28.

A slightly higher proportion of students, 58.8 percent, are from Ohio, versus 56.4 percent last year. Miami set another record in May with more than 4,000 degree candidates for its spring commencement. “Miami continues to be a destination for high-achieving and innovative student leaders from Ohio, across the United States, and around the globe,” said Susan Schaurer, assistant vice president for enrollment management and director of admission.

GIFT OF MUSIC Tammy Kernodle, professor of musicology and affiliate faculty of American studies, black world studies, and women, gender and sexuality studies, was awarded the prestigious Benjamin Harrison Medallion this spring. Named for the 1852 Miami graduate and 23rd U.S. president, it is one of the most significant recognitions Miami offers faculty. One nominator called Kernodle the quintessential performer/ scholar, a gift she has shared with students and colleagues for many years.

Summer 2018

such a life

SEEDS OF CHANGE Along with zucchini and green beans, Beth Miller, assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics, and her students are nurturing excitement as they show Oxford children how to grow fruits and vegetables in a local community garden. Part of an interdisciplinary, USDA-funded outreach program started last summer, the gardenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purpose is to help low-income families challenged with sustaining healthy lifestyles. Guided by Miller, who specializes in obesity prevention and communitybased participatory research, the college students teach the kids gardening skills and nutrition lessons. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If they see where these foods are coming from, they are more interested in trying them,â&#x20AC;? says Miller, seen here wrapping up the hose.

Summer 2018

inquiry + innovation

Extinguishing Inflammation Kinesiology and health professors study suspected connection between obesity, sedentary lifestyle, and frailty syndrome By Heather Beattey Johnston

Obesity and sedentary lifestyles put people at greater risk of developing a familiar list of health conditions, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease. But for older adults, the list also includes a lesser-known condition: sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is a loss of muscle mass, strength, and function and is thought to be a major component of the frailty syndrome that puts older adults at risk for falls, impaired healing after trauma or surgery, and other adverse health outcomes. Inflammation may lead to sarcopenia While studies have shown correlations between sarcopenia and obesity and sedentary behaviors, little is known about what actually causes it. Among the researchers working to change that is Kyle Timmerman ’00, an associate professor in Miami’s department of kinesiology and health. Timmerman was recently awarded more than $430,000 by the National Institute on Aging to explore the role chronic low-grade inflammation might play in the development of sarcopenia in adults 55 and older. “The body’s ability to generate a short-term increase in inflammation is a critical component of immune function and wound healing,” he says, “but as

miamian magazine

we age, baseline levels of inflammation start to creep up, especially if we gain weight and are less active.” Timmerman believes chronic low-grade inflammation may interfere with signals that tell the body to create the proteins that form muscles. Normally, eating or exercising acts as a “switch” that turns on muscle protein synthesis in our bodies. But as we age and inflammation increases, our bodies don’t always seem to get that message. Weight loss and exercise might help Although it may not be possible to completely eliminate age-related inflammation, Timmerman thinks weight loss and exercise might reduce it. He is testing his theory with volunteers who are at least 55 years old, are relatively inactive, and have body mass indexes (BMIs) of 27 or higher. Each is assigned to one of four groups:

inquiry + innovation

Getty images / Iratxe Lopez De Munain

Any reduction of TACE levels in the intervention groups will suggest weight loss and/or exercise do effectively reduce chronic low-grade inflammation in older adults. Timmerman’s team will also determine if reductions in inflammation are associated with an improved ability of nutrient intake to “flip the switch” that activates muscle protein synthesis.

•Diet-induced weight loss — Participants in this group receive nutritional counseling to help them lose 5 to 10 percent of their weight over six months. •Aerobic exercise — These participants are being coached in an exercise training program. The goal, after a period of conditioning, is for them to meet American College of Sports Medicine guidelines of vigorous intensity aerobic exercise three days a week. •Diet-induced weight loss + aerobic exercise — These participants receive both the nutritional counseling and exercise training. •Control — This group receives no nutritional counseling or exercise training. To determine what effect weight loss and/or exercise has on inflammation, Timmerman measures levels of the protein he suspects is responsible for the impaired signaling for muscle protein synthesis, TNF alpha converting enzyme (TACE).

Student involvement is a win-win Timmerman and his co-investigator and departmental colleague, Beth Miller, are involving graduate and undergraduate students in their research. Timmerman’s students are helping to implement the exercise assessment and training, while Miller’s are assisting with dietary assessment and counseling. The students — many of whom aspire to careers in dietetics, physical therapy, and other health professions — benefit from the hands-on experience of working with real people who are similar to the patients they will encounter as professionals. In turn, the students improve the quality of the research by taking on some of the workload and also encouraging volunteers to stick with the study. Virtually every research study experiences volunteer attrition. Sometimes it can’t be helped: A participant might move or develop a health condition that makes them ineligible to continue. Because any loss of participants affects the integrity of the data, researchers work hard to avoid preventable reasons for dropping out, such as a participant’s losing interest or becoming overwhelmed by a study’s requirements. That’s where Timmerman says student involvement, which he calls a win-win, is invaluable. “Having worked with older adults before, I know they love working with college students,” he says. “It really helps them stick with the program.” Keeping people engaged is an overarching theme of Timmerman’s work. As a researcher, he seeks to keep older adults healthy and active so they can continue contributing to their communities. As a teacher and research mentor, he helps strengthen communities of research and professional practice by inspiring and shaping the next generation.

lthough it may A not be possible to completely eliminate age-related inflammation, weight loss and exercise might reduce it.

Heather Beattey Johnston is associate director of research communications in Miami’s Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship.

Summer 2018

media matters

‘That Potato Book’ Now a Movie How an alumna created The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Mary Ann Shaffer ’56 couldn’t possibly have imagined her book,

he Guernsey Literary and T Potato Peel Pie Society movie, starring Lily James and directed by Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral), will be released in the United States by Netflix Aug. 10. Mary Ann Shaffer ’56 (in photo at left) with niece Annie Barrows.

miamian magazine

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, becoming both a best-seller and a movie. Annie Barrows, who co-authored the book with Shaffer, her aunt, wishes she’d been sitting next to her when the movie premiered in England this spring. Barrows sat with Shaffer’s two daughters instead. “I was sort of biting my nails, because this to me is like, would Mary Ann approve? Before the credits were over, my cousin had her tissues out, and I thought, ‘Thank God. We’re in.’ Mary Ann would have really enjoyed this whole process, but also the final product.” Sadly, Shaffer died before the book came out. She became ill about the same time she signed with the publisher, which is why, when the editor wanted rewrites, Shaffer asked for help from Barrows, an author in her own right. Shaffer came up with the idea while fogged in at the airport on Guernsey, an English Channel island near the French coast. Whiling away the 36-hour delay browsing books at the airport gift store, she discovered the Channel Islands had been occupied by the Nazis. She spent 20 years researching the topic until her writing group threatened to lock her in a room with a typewriter if she didn’t start putting her story on paper. She acquiesced, and at age 66, brought to life Juliet Ashton, a writer who exchanges letters with Guernsey native Dawsey Adams after World War II. Once on the island, Ashton sees how the war impacted the residents and hears of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a book club born as an alibi after Nazis discover its members breaking curfew. When Shaffer sent the manuscript to 12 publishers, all 12 wanted it. As for the hard-to-recall title, also Shaffer’s idea, Barrows says, “Crazy as it is, when you mention any one of those words, you end up with the right book. You walk into a bookstore, you say, ‘That potato book.’ ”

media matters

The State of American Hot Rodding David Miller ’70 MS ’72 McFarland Gearhead and geographer David Miller has crisscrossed the U.S. in his custom-built 1958 Chevy Apache pickup, interviewing hot rodders about what drives their passions, values, and way of life. Their stories detail a distinctly American subculture. Dinner by Candlelight: Comfort and Joy for Advent Kevin Louise Hoop Schaner ’74 Xulon Press Kevin Schaner offers essays of hope, love, joy, peace, and Christmas for anyone struggling to accept change and return to celebrating the birth of Jesus with joy. At the end of each essay are questions that can be used to help with small-group discussions. More Gospel Henry Cordonnier ’75 CreateSpace A follow-up to Henry Cordonnier’s My Gospel, the true story of one man’s conversion and life, More Gospel offers 40 true stories that illustrate God’s truth found in the Bible. Cordonnier has taught religion and health at

Lehman Catholic High School for nearly four decades. Staying Alive: Healing from Heart Disease Sherry Liberman Shrallow ’76 SLS Publishing Sherry Shrallow traces her recovery from a near-fatal heart attack through the adoption of a whole foods, plant-based diet. She explores the scientific underpinnings of such a diet, shown by clinical studies to prevent and reverse heart disease, and provides a “how to” guide. Peter Field Jefferson: Dark Prince of Scottsville and Lost Jeffersons Joanne Yeck ’76 Braughler Books Joanne Yeck’s historical nonfiction follows President Thomas Jefferson’s nephew, who proves at least one member of the family has a head for business. His life parallels the changing cultural landscape of the James River’s Horseshoe Bend and is tainted with great personal loss, making his story a distinctively American tragedy. Go! Go! Go!: Rise, Fall and Rise Again Rob Atteberry ’94 Rob Atteberry Rob Atteberry beat cancer twice, transforming from workaholic to athlete and family man. He began

his cancer journey as a young, busy executive and came out of it unable to walk or talk and in desperate need to rebuild his life. His is an inspiring story of survival. Bodyminds Reimagined Sami Schalk ’08 Duke University Press Sami Schalk traces how black women’s speculative fiction complicates the understanding of bodyminds — the intertwinement of the mental and the physical — in the context of race, gender, and (dis)ability. Bridging black feminist theory with disability studies, she demonstrates that this genre’s political potential lies in the creation of bodyminds that transcend reality’s limitations. Truth’s Illusion Kevin Cady ’09 Lulu Publishing

In the final installment of The Warren Files Trilogy, private investigators Elijah and Aurelia, having survived bloodshed and terror in the remote town of Grizzly, Alaska, must solve a case nearly a century in the making. As if scandal, mercenaries, and worldwide corruption weren’t enough, a serial killer dubbed the “Impressionist Poet” has emerged.

Summer 2018

my story

Heartfelt Memories MY STORY is a place for you to share reminiscences and observations about everyday happenings. Submit your essay for consideration to: Donna Boen, Miamian editor, “My Story,” 22 Campus Avenue Building, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056 or Miamian@MiamiOH.edu. Please limit your essay to 900 words and include your name, class year, address, and phone number.

miamian magazine

By Steve Gertz ’67

Spring 1967. Just weeks from graduation. Four years after arriving as wet-behind-the-ears newbies, and hard to believe it was almost over. College, that is. Leaving the “bubble.” About to get a truer taste of reality. We had endured winters of snow, ice, and bitter cold while listening to the Beach Boys, The Mamas & The Papas, and California Dreamin’ in the frozen upper dorm of the fraternity house at 130 E. High St., one of the premier locations to live if you were into spending the non-student half of your life Uptown sampling libations at the Purity and doling out pithy words of wisdom to unsuspecting underclassmates.

my story

It was without a doubt the best of times. We were so young but knew it all. So blissfully unaware of the trials and joys of life to come, but didn’t care. The idea of freedom with a degree would make us omniscient, and the world would be ours for the taking. But we had to get through that last trimester. Tough stuff when the weather was just starting to break. Distractions abounded. There was the very first Miami anti-war demonstration. A large group gathered at Withrow Court to protest. The Oxford police and the “Seekies” were there. While the coasts were raging, Miami was just coming into its Midwestern acknowledgment of the events in Asia. It didn’t last long, but it was a new representation of the real protests that were in store. Beyond the winding down of the four years, to add insult to injury, that last trimester for me included five, yes five, 8 a.m. physics classes every week! Incredible! The idea that physics professors for my major would be so Machiavellian was infuriating, but oh so humbling. Mornings at age 21 were for sleeping in, not early classes. No matter. Somehow I persevered and made it through, although for a while it was touch and go since I had, in my first trimester senior year, spent most nights playing Hearts with three Miami pals who had already graduated and were awaiting orders for Nam. They had picked Miami as a safe haven to hang out with their girlfriends before shipping out. I lost a lot of GPA that semester but gained a near professional ability to play Hearts. There was another distraction Uptown known as The Q, a pool hall upstairs from a food hangout. Today it’s DuBois Book Store. I managed The Q for three years, four nights a week, clocking people in and out of the time they shot pool. The Q was a local businessman’s attempt at creating a “nice” pool hall. A clean, well-lit date place on weekends and a place to get away from the books during the week. Like my Hearts experience, it led (or misled, as it were) to an OK ability to play pool. In fact, there was a time when a famous pool player of the era named Willie Mosconi was on a college tour and came through Miami to play against local shooters. I was asked to play against him because I was the guy who worked at The Q and might give him a run for

his money. Sure, why not. So the match was on. A cast of non-studiers came to watch the evening match. In straight pool, you break the rack of balls, hopefully get at least one in, and shoot until you miss. Then the other guy gets his turn. Well, old Willie broke and sank 124 straight balls before I even got a shot. The Miami crowd felt the pain. A real lesson in the difference between amateurism and professionalism. I later sold the fancy pool cue I owned to raise money to get to California, where I still live today. The Q is long gone, but the image still strong, an indelible event of youth that is a mental tattoo of the past. We made it to graduation, and it was a glorious day in the old stadium at the corner of High and Patterson. About half as many students then as now, but no one was counting. The pomp and circumstance was the culmination of what was four years earlier seemingly an eternity away. Just a guy from Long Island whose Ohio-born mom herself had chosen Miami to attend in the fall of 1941, only to have to leave on Dec. 8 to join the war effort, never to return to finish school. Unaware of much beyond Ohio, that younger me took one look at Miami as a visiting high school junior and declared, “I’m going there.” I was galactically grateful I did. As the campus emptied on graduation day, memories flashed and flooded back at lightspeed, of coping with change, walking freshman miles in the snow from Stanton to Culler, finding lifelong friends, cutting class, and wolfing down Sangies to gaining confidence as a sophomore and junior and feeling the puffed up pride of senior status, having ground through four years of studies and countless hours of classes. It all was bittersweet knowing that in such a place, such a life was led. And astoundingly, in a blur, it was over. Fast-forward to 2017: Returning to our 50th was Miami memorable. Much of that past was relived by those who made it back, and we remembered and honored those who didn’t. Miami was the first true adventure for most of us, and it was best experienced as 18- to 21-year-olds who came to school with recombinant fear and elation to begin our quest to adulthood and make our mark in the world. It could only be experienced that way once, and we did that in spades, or should I say … Hearts.

It all was bittersweet knowing that in such a place, such a life was led. And astoundingly, in a blur, it was over.

After a extensive corporate and entrepreneurial career, Steve Gertz ’67 of Sausalito, Calif., is chairman of the board of Call of the Sea, a nonprofit that is building a 132-foot, educational tall ship in Sausalito to provide experiential education under sail to Bay Area youth.

Summer 2018

A SEASON OF GLORY Wil Haygood ’76 debuts his book Tigerland at Miami’s convocation

BY DONNA BOEN ’83 MTSC ’96

miamian magazine

They were poor boys wedged into the turmoil of the nation at war and unrest. They were the sons of maids and dishwashers and cafeteria workers. They were too proud to beg, but not to ask or borrow. They were poor as pennies. Their mothers were among the great waves of those who had migrated from the deep South. Women who had fled by train or bus, escaping all those cotton fields and blades of injustice. The destination was Columbus, Ohio, a stop on the above-ground railroad where families had come praying for new opportunities. The boys had fathers, but those fathers were mostly absent.

Garnett Davis, the gifted third baseman on the baseball team, had a father, but he was stuck down in South Carolina on the damn chain gang. Nick Conner, the high jumping basketball player, had a father, too, but he had abandoned the family for another life in Cleveland. Basketball player Robert Wright’s father had murdered a man. Kenny Mizelle, who played second base, sometimes dreamed about his dead father. At least, that’s what he had been told all these years, that his dad was dead. But he wasn’t. Boys will be boys, and blood rolls thick, and when it comes to fathers, it often rolls backwards. Their mothers could only implore them to look ahead, especially so because it was a tricky and dangerous time.

o begins Tigerland, Pulitzer Prize finalist Wil Haygood’s eighth book. Subtitled 1968-1969: A City Divided, a Nation Torn Apart, and a Magical Season of Healing, Tigerland intimately shows how students and teachers at Columbus’ all-black East High School dealt with their pain and loss following the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy in the spring of 1968. Haygood ’76 announced in April that Tigerland would make its worldwide debut at Miami’s convocation Aug. 24, a month before the book is released anywhere else, thanks to a special arrangement through its publisher, Alfred A. Knopf. Haygood intends to autograph 5,000 copies for the incoming Class of 2022, which is receiving Tigerland to cap off Miami’s Summer Reading Program. He will also be convocation’s keynote speaker. A former writer for The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, Haygood penned the story “A Butler Well Served by this Election” for The Post. The article became the basis for the award-winning film The Butler and for Haygood’s New York Times best-seller of the same name. In addition to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, Haygood has delved into the lives of boxer Sugar Ray Robinson, entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., and U.S.

miamian magazine

After enduring a five-game losing streak during the season, the Tigers of East High School entered the state baseball tournament as extreme underdogs. Their march to the state tournament title stunned everyone.

Representative Adam Clayton Powell Jr. in his previous books. Tigerland, a story about virtually unknown high school athletes, seems like a departure for him. Perhaps, but Haygood can’t resist a story “sitting in the shadows,” much like the one he wrote about the White House butler. He saw the beauty and the “epic sweep” in this story about 27 remarkable athletes at East High who won state championships in basketball and baseball within 57 days of each other. In the same tumultuous year in American history, East High produced a prize-winning debate team. “If there’s a story that reaches me and grabs ahold of my heart and soul, then it’s best for me to go find that story,” he says. Haygood, the Boadway Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence in Miami’s department of media, journalism, and film, completed Tigerland this year while on sabbatical as the Patrick Henry Writing Fellow at Washington College in Chestertown, Md.

They were always hungry. It wasn’t just because they were strapping boys on the basketball team, although that was certainly a part of it. It went deeper. There never seemed to be enough food at home. No one was starving, but there simply wasn’t enough of a comfort zone where a second or third helping of food was a guarantee on any given night at home. On out-of-town games, the coaching staff would marvel at how much food the athletes ate. Sometimes it seemed as if they were making up for all the inadequate portions of food they got at home. The mothers, mindful of their athletic sons, would set aside supper for when they would arrive home from practice. But the sons coming through the door, younger siblings at home, some of them still with hungry looks on their faces, would start sharing their own meal they had grabbed from the stovetop. It was the tableau of poverty.

WATCH CONVOCATION LIVE! Tune in at 9 a.m. Friday, Aug. 24 to watch: www.Facebook.com/MiamiUniversity. OR JOIN US IN PERSON At 9 a.m. Aug. 24 on Miami’s Western campus at Freedom Summer Memorial, which honors three civil rights workers murdered in Mississippi while registering black voters. They were among 800 activists trained on the then-Western College for Women campus in summer 1964.

his book is dear to Haygood on many levels. He, too, grew up in Columbus. The son of a waitress, he often returned from school just as his mother was leaving for work. Their apartment was in the Bolivar Arms housing project, not far from the Poindexter Village projects, home to many of the East High students. He, too, lived for basketball and would have liked nothing more than to be on a state championship team. Older than him and in a different league, the East High players commanded crowds larger than their gym could contain during that magical season. As a result, many of their games took place in a converted rodeo cow palace on the Ohio State Fairgrounds, “where you could still get whiffs of the horse manure,” Haygood writes. The baseball team didn’t host its home games at East High either, but for quite a different reason. East High couldn’t afford to build a field next to the school, so it played on a diamond a mile away. Even then, it still didn’t have a dugout. As for their crowds, Haygood writes, “Sometimes there’d be only one rooting Tiger fan in the bleachers at the away baseball games, and it would be the coach’s wife.” For four years, Haygood traveled around the country to talk with East High’s championship athletes of 50 years ago. The result is a story that intertwines sports, race, history, and politics, resilience and triumph, struggle and unity. “The year that is covered in this book was so heartbreaking in America,” he says. “But as so often in tragedy, we see the rise of heroes and heroic figures.” One such figure is Jack Gibbs. Haygood considers him the book’s unsung hero.

The result is a story that intertwines sports, race, history, and politics, resilience and triumph, struggle and unity. In the fall of 1968 when Jack Gibbs — the first black principal at East High — opened the doors to the cavernous school, he did not know what to expect. The air was uneasy and unpredictable.

ibbs moved to Columbus from Harlan, Ky., when he was 15. An athlete in his own right, he was proud of the discipline he instilled in these athletes and even prouder that he sent a record number of students to college from East High after the 1968-1969 school year.

Amidst all of the pain — the martyred deaths, the glass-strewn streets, the rioting, the military tanks patrolling up and down the neighborhoods, the city’s juvenile curfew — change was indeed coming. … It was here through the fall, winter, and spring of 1968 and 1969 that a season of glory took place in the nation’s history. It was here, in the storefronts up and down Mount Vernon Avenue, that the salesmen and saleswomen began at first pinning those pictures of the slain Martin Luther King Jr. to the storefront windows. Then a short while later — to the same walls and windows — they began pinning portraits of those basketball- and baseball-playing boys from the neighborhood. So much happened that year, and not the least were the startup rumblings about segregation. … The prophet, Martin Luther King Jr., had left more than just anguish behind. A dreamer was

Coaches Bob Hart and Paul Pennell are pictured with East High Tigers who played on both the title basketball and title baseball teams during their epic 1968-1969 school year. L-r: Coach Hart, Kenny Mizelle, Ed Ratleff, Coach Pennell, and Larry Mann.

shot down. Twenty-seven limber black boys across two sports would rise up through the smoke. They had something to prove to the world. This is the story of how it all happened.

Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96 is editor of Miamian.

Tigerland: 1968-1969: A City Divided, a Nation Torn Apart, and a Magical Season of Healing goes on sale to the public Tuesday, Sept. 18.

Summer 2018

Former Victoria’s Secret Direct CEO tries her hand with online startup

Dress for

SUCCESS

BY DO N N A B OE N ’ 83 MTSC ’ 96

miamian magazine

indy Diller Fields ’71 prides Moving from corporate CEO to entrepreneur herself on being a hands-on is a huge leap, kind of like trading in Manolo boss, but shoveling the front Blahnik crystal-embellished satin pumps for taupe steps of her townhouse in the Birkenstocks. Where she once had an IT departmiddle of a New York snowment and a marketing division, she now has three C I N DY FI E LD S ’ storm takes that term to an staff members, if she counts herself. all new level, even for her. “The thing that has driven me crazy has literStartup Still, two guys and a truck ally been the operations side of the business. It’s Suggestions just, who knew? Who knew? You’re trying to get were heading her way to move 800 dresses out of 200 women to see your dresses, and you set up a her home’s second floor. Called the parlor floor in It’s not easy to start a business, and anybody townhouse parlance, her space had more closely pop-up location. You have to have access to the who attempts it needs to resembled a well-heeled walk-in closet since the inventory, so where are you going to store the have a budget in mind, and then launch of Fields’ business three months earlier. inventory so you can grab it quickly?” triple it. Really. As much as she loved “her babies” — the crepe You guessed it. Her Manhattan townhouse. Her concept was to sell direct to the consumer, sculpted sheath, the roll sleeve A-line, the broI don’t think there’s anything wrong with shifting cade fit & flare — she and her husband wanted to be hands-off, much like the Victoria’s Secret catyour strategy. It doesn’t their home back. It was past time to send her alog model. That has proven to be far more difficult sound like a failure at all. No, creations to a distribution center in New Jersey. than she expected. no, no. I think that’s what being Blizzard be damned. “I had a game plan, I had a strategy, I went after an entrepreneur is all about. it. It has not borne the fruit I had hoped. So that’s So she and her helpers made trip after trip carThe most important rying the garments down the steps, then hanging a negative, if you will. You ready for the positive?” number is what the them on rolling racks that blocked the sidewalk. She changed her focus from online to in person, customer does. Not what All the while, people walking by in the street popping up at trunk shows, specialty stores, and a she says, not what a survey major women’s conference. Her goal was for 200 cursed her for not shoveling the sidewalk. says, not what demographics Except for one little old lady who stopped in women to try on her dresses in the first six months say. What does she buy? What doesn’t she buy? And what are front of the racks and asked, “Oh, is this a dress and 15 percent to buy them. Instead, 250 women the elements that you need to sale? Can I look?” tried them on and 31 percent bought them, in three give her back so she will buy Fields handed the older woman her business months. more? Once you have the data, card and politely said, “Please shop online.” Her staff would say she “pivoted.” She’s more you move. Now that’s an entrepreneur for you — seeing inclined to say she shifted her strategy. Who cares opportunity in the midst of a snowstorm. about wordsmithing when sales are so strong. Her startup is CynthiaFields.com, which makes It’s clear to her that for her business to succeed, NYC-designed and manufactured dresses for professional women, she will have to sell in brick-and-mortar stores. She’s in talks with two high-end retailers to partner with her. dresses that “flatter the curves and shapes of real women.” She “Should I have kept plugging on with the original strategy? unveiled it as an online shopping site last September. “It seemed to me there was a white space for a price point You can have your opinion, you can have your hunches, but the between $200 and $1,000 for a woman with curves,” she says. numbers don’t lie.” Cynthia, the brand, is the aspirational woman, polished, proDidn’t take her long to learn an entrepreneur has to be fessional, classy, classic, timeless. She is always pulled together, flexible. Her staff also credits her for moving quickly and self-assured, confident. leading by example. For instance, she asked that her dresses come from Cindy, the person, is a wacky, hard-working Midwest girl born and raised in Dayton who majored in education at Miami. She the factory on hangers and in plastic bags. After friends doesn’t stand on ceremony, occasionally uses salty language, and told her the knit garments should have been folded, she is passionate in her beliefs. and her team of two took all 450 out of the bags and off the “I’m incredibly transparent. I don’t hold back. I don’t try and hangers, folded them, and resealed them in new bags. sugarcoat or muddy the waters.” “The good news is we got it done probably in about eight hours. The longtime president and CEO of Victoria’s Secret Direct Ready for the kicker? We folded them around a shirt cardboard. And then I was told that that was a deadly mistake.” came out of retirement to try her hand at this new venture. Clearly a justifiable moment for some of her salty language. She pooh-poohs her husband’s suggestion that she was bored. OK, maybe a little. Anyway, she’s excited to be back in the game, even Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96 is editor of Miamian. though its rules are quite different this time around.

Summer 2018

miamian magazine

A MATTER OF

MIND Four Miamians use their talents to influence lives BY A L ICIA AUHAG EN ’1 6

This spring, Miami launched a brand awareness campaign called “Great Minds Choose Miami” that spotlights faculty who break barriers, alumni who shape the world, and students who transform the status quo. These are their stories.

Summer 2018

G RE AT MI NDS EMPOW ER

Dark blue shorts. Small shoes. A shrunken red shirt that exposes the belly of a darkhaired boy lying face down on the shore of the Mediterranean. An officer towers over him holding a clipboard. It’s the summer of 2015, and this is 3-year-old Alan Kurdi. He is dead, washed ashore on the beaches of Bodrum, Turkey. Alan Kurdi and his family were a few of the hundreds of thousands fleeing Syria. And with this striking photograph by Nilüfer Demir, the world took notice, including Sara Al-Zubi ’19. TU R N I N G PO I NT At the time that Kurdi’s story made global headlines, Sara was a freshman studying human capital management and leadership with a pre-medical co-major at Miami. She was scrolling through the news from halfway across the world, but her connection to the boy’s story was immediate and personal. She spent some of her formative years in Jordan, near the Syrian border where conflict now pervades, before immigrating to the U.S. with her family at the age of 8. Had luck turned another way, Alan Kurdi could have been her little brother. “I realized I could no longer sit and observe for the rest of my life. I had to be part of the change that was needed.” She founded her first nonprofit in response: Peace of Mail. The organization sent over 700 letters of encouragement from people around the world to Syrian children forced away from their homes. But she didn’t stop there. PU TTI N G P EO P L E FI R ST Determined to help restructure the refugee resettlement process in a way that values people first, Sara interned with RefugeeConnect Ohio to improve local refugees’ adjustment to American life. She then co-founded ProjectEquip to create mental health training for other community activists working with refugees. Her latest nonprofit, the 3Sisters

“ I realized I could no longer sit and observe for the rest of my life. I had to be part of the change that was needed.” SA R A A L-ZU B I ’ 1 9

Foundation, is developing a mental health hotline for refugees. “I care about refugees because they have been through trauma and hardships, and when they get resettled, it’s our opportunity to give them a true second chance.” FL IG HT BE HAV IOR This past spring, she traveled to Washington, D.C., to interview for one of

the 59 Truman scholarships, the premier fellowship for those interested in public service leadership. She was accepted, becoming Miami’s first Truman Scholar since 2003. She plans to use the fellowship to continue reforming refugee resettlement programs. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with until you’re at the pool and a plane flies over and the kids are running to hide.”

Every refugee family has a different background and different needs. Sara is determined to see their stories have a different ending.

G RE AT MIN DS LEAD

He may be known as “The Jet” to basketball players and fans around the world, but through the halls of Brush High School in suburban Cleveland, Chet Mason ’05 takes slow, easy steps. It’s nearly lunchtime, and the eeerrt of the overhead loudspeaker releases hundreds of ravenous high schoolers from the confines of their classrooms. In seconds, he is swimming upstream in a river of shouts, shoves, laughter, and tugs. At 6 foot, Chet towers above most of them. In his wake, a respectful perimeter forms. A nod to him. A high five. A fist bump. He regards them with the gentle expression of eyes hardened by grit and softened with understanding. These kids, who live 30 minutes outside of downtown Cleveland, are raised in a world where parents ensure their children’s school attendance, where few go hungry, and where a successful future is within reach. Life in the inner city, where Chet is from, is a daily struggle to survive. “We didn’t have a lot. We didn’t see a lot.” There were days he’d return from school to his house on East 102nd Street in Kinsman to find no electricity. No water. No food. Basketball was the one constant in his life.

With Coach Coles pushing him in the right direction, Chet graduated from Miami with a degree in health and sports studies and the honors of Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-MAC. His professional basketball career took off that same year and led him to the Albany Patroons, Turkey’s Fenerbahçe, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the Toronto Raptors, his hometown Cavaliers, and other teams around the globe. He’s lost track of the number of countries he’s

played in but feels blessed by the opportunity to see the world. P ROV IDIN G AN ASS IST Today, he’s paying it forward through the Chet Mason Foundation, which provides free inner-city youth basketball camps, a free summer reading program, and a hunger relief program that feeds 1,000 Cleveland families every summer. “I feel it is my duty to go back and try to help those that are in poverty, those that need. Because I’ve been there.”

“ I want my legacy to be the guy that was able to assist like I’m playing basketball, but assist with helping lives.” C H ET MASON ’ 0 5

THE REBOUND His talent on the court caught the attention of coaches at Kent State and George Mason, but he ultimately chose Miami based on an instinct that head basketball Coach Charlie Coles ’65 was the man who could influence his future. To Chet, Coach Coles was the GOAT — the greatest of all time — as a coach and mentor. “What Charlie Coles taught me was more about life than basketball. People wouldn’t know Chet Mason if it wasn’t for [him] implementing certain things in my life.”

Summer 2018

“ I want to know that … there are a handful of people out there that I really made a difference for.”

GR EAT MINDS V I S UAL I Z E

The sound of heavy metal music greets visitors at the threshold of professor Dave Sobecki’s office on the fifth floor of Miami Hamilton’s Mosler Hall. Behind him, a massive Blade Runner movie poster covers most of the wall. His windowless office is a smattering of curiosities, from artificial tropical trees and an Opus plush penguin perched next to his 19 authored textbooks to a cabinet top dedicated to framed photos of his dogs, Macleod and Tessa. His journey to math education began in a decidedly different direction: creative writing. He doesn’t claim to love math the way most math professors do. He simply realized he was good at it. And good at explaining it. One PhD later, Dave found the ideal niche where his longtime dream of writing and love for teaching combine.

DAVID SOBECKI

MO R E TH AN A GA M E The basketball court at Brush High School, where Chet is the head coach, is quiet at the lunch hour, except for the echo bouncing around the gym as he walks across the three-point line. Seeing how the kids here in the suburbs are raised, he says, helps him support youth in the inner city. For those kids, sports are their one-way ticket to a shot at a better life — one he is determined to give to as many as possible. 28

miamian magazine

“It’s more than just coaching basketball. It’s coaching lives. I want my legacy to be the guy that was able to assist like I’m playing basketball, but assist with helping lives.” The young people he’s mentored through his foundation have gone on to colleges across the country and even to NBA teams. To them, he is their Charlie Coles.

MATH IN AME RICA In all his years of teaching, Dave has come to believe one of the main reasons American education is falling behind other countries is because it’s acceptable in the U.S., even cool, to be bad at math. “When I tell people what I do, easily 90 percent of the time their first reaction is ‘Wow, I’m terrible at math’ or ‘I was no good at math.’ Nobody has ever met an English professor and said, ‘Oh man, I’m terrible at English. I’m damn near illiterate!’ Because if you were, you wouldn’t be proud of that.” For the U.S. to continue as a world leader and a competitor in a modern economy, Dave says Americans must change the way we think about and teach math. That’s where his background as a writer comes into play. TRANSL ATIN G NUM B ERS Dave’s approach to math education is focused on portraying mathematical ideas and problem-solving in creative, engaging ways. From the classroom to the curriculum of every math textbook he authors, he strives to make complex topics relevant and approachable — and often edible. Like

calculating the speed of light by melting a chocolate bar in a microwave. “I want to know that when my teaching career is done, there are a handful of people out there that I really made a difference for — that my ways of thinking really changed their lives for the better.”

GRE AT MINDS I NSPIRE

She enters from stage right like a woman raised on somber jazz chords and the soul of Stevie Wonder. Her head is high. Her gaze focused on the Steinway grand. She walks over to the piano and settles onto the black leather bench as if sitting at the head of a family table she’s known for years — comfortable, confident, calm. In one fluid motion, her hands reach for the keys and begin a familiar dance as she sings: I feel like going on I feel like going on through trials They may come on every hand Oh I feel like going on Rich alto melodies fill Miami’s GatesAbegglen Theatre with a warm embrace. This is Tammy Kernodle.

a topic close to her heart, and one she’s lectured on and written about extensively throughout her career. As a professor of musicology, she illustrates how the music of Carole King and Joni Mitchell took off during the Vietnam War and feminist movement. As a scholarly consultant for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, she advised curators on how to visualize

the layered history of black music making. As a scholar, she published a biography about jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams. As a mentor, she helps others unlock their promise. “I believe everyone has possibility, potential, and dreams.” Alicia Auhagen ’16 is a writer/editor in Miami’s university marketing and creative services office.

“ I believe everyone has possibility, potential, and dreams.” TA MMY KER NOD L E

C ATCH I N G THE M E LO DY When she enters a room, stage, or classroom, you know: Tammy has it. Charisma. Joy. Presence. She has a lot of other things, too, like warmth, empathy, and compassion. “I love to meet people where they are and try as much as possible to leave them with something to think about.” That she does. In 2014, Tammy was nominated by former students for the Alumni Association’s Effective Educator Award, an award that hangs proudly on the exposed brick of her office down the hall and up the stairs from the theatre in the Center for Performing Arts. BU I L D I N G TH E B R I DG E Her impact can also be felt on the field of music. As the president of the Society of American Music, Tammy hopes to make people think differently about the music of women and marginalized people. It’s

For more stories about Miamians impacting the world, visit MIAMIOH.EDU/ GREATMINDSCHOOSE.

Summer 2018

love & honor

Grandmother’s Prophetic Words Inspired Flavorman founder donates $30.1 million to help students By Josh Chapin ’02

“ Without support, I would not have been able to attend Miami. I want to offer those same opportunities to future generations.” —Dave Dafoe ’84 (above photo) with Kirsten Gonzales ’17, associate beverage architect at Flavorman.

miamian magazine

From exploring a career in medicine to becoming one

of the country’s foremost experts on flavor, Dave Dafoe ’84 has always remembered his grandmother’s encouraging words. Just a few months before Dafoe was born, his father died in a car crash. His grandmother made it her mission to instill in her grandson the lessons she thought his father would have taught him. “She always said, ‘You can do anything. Never be afraid to try. I know that you will have a big impact in others’ lives,’ ” Dafoe said. Those words accompany Dafoe everywhere he goes. He carried them as a 15-year-old volunteer candy striper at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. They were in his head as he grew from a shy, socially challenged freshman into a confident problem-solver at Miami. And he drew on them for the courage to start his own business, Flavorman, a beverage development company based in Louisville.

Growing up in a low-income family, Dafoe knew paying for college would be difficult. He applied for grants and scholarships, but was still unsure he could afford school. After he mulled over his financial situation with his supervisor at Christ, his volunteer status was changed to a paying job, and Dafoe worked every weekend, holiday, and summer. “Without support, I would not have been able to attend Miami,” he said. “I want to offer those same opportunities to future generations of Miamians.” That’s why he made a recent $30.1 million estate gift to the College of Arts and Science that will provide scholarships for high-need students and put the dream of attending Miami within financial reach for many. Generosity to the university is nothing new for Dafoe, honored as Philanthropist of the Year during Miami’s 2018 advancement awards ceremony. He has long donated his time through speaking engagements,

love & honor

on-campus activities, volunteerism, and his work on the Miami University Foundation Board. “Dave’s life journey is extraordinary and inspiring,” Miami President Greg Crawford said. “A volunteer, an entrepreneur, and a philanthropist, Dave truly exemplifies Miami Love and Honor. His generosity will make a tremendous difference in the lives of so many students in the years to come. We are delighted he has chosen to give back to his alma mater in this way.” From his first day at Dennison Hall in 1980 to the lifelong friends he made on campus, Dafoe found that his experience in Oxford opened doors and brought a quiet kid out of his shell. “I owe my professional career to Miami,” he said. “Without that experience, I don’t think I would have had the confidence and ability to even go into a job interview.” Zoology was his major, but medical school, once a consideration for the New York native turned Cincinnati transplant, was not his passion. That was something he discovered during an interview for a lab technician position at Fries & Fries, a flavor and fragrance company now called Givaudan. As he was tasting flavors as part of his interview, Dafoe discovered he was a “supertaster,” able to distinguish and detect special flavors. Because of his unique gift, he was hired almost immediately. Dafoe later started a part-time side business that allowed him to explore new ideas around product development. Opening in 1992 and originally called ProLiquitech, Flavorman has been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek, The New York Times, the Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods, and on CNN. Flavorman grew from a consultation firm to an international, full-service custom product development and ingredient supply company. On-campus opportunities, such as judging academic projects and competitions and serving on university boards, keep Dafoe engaged and remind him of the important role Miami has played in his life. They also give him extra motivation to make his grandmother’s vision a reality. “She was convinced I would be successful in life,” he said. “I have had the benefit of having a successful career, and it made me realize I need to have a plan to share that success. “I am thrilled for this gift to come to life to help future students have the same kinds of experiences and opportunities Miami provided and continues to provide me.” Josh Chapin ’02 is assistant director of editorial services in Miami’s university advancement division.

CELEBRATING ALUMNI

The Miami University Alumni Association recognized 13 individuals and the women’s basketball team at the advancement awards ceremony May 3. Earning the Bishop Medal as a catalyst for positive change, Elizabeth “Like” Lokon MAT ’93 PhD ’97 MGS ’08 is founder and director of Opening Minds through Art. Don Crain ’70 received the John E. Dolibois Award for continuous service to Miami. Pam Archer ’82 was the A.K. Morris Award recipient, honoring her passion for the Miami University Dolibois European Center. Dean of the College of Creative Arts Liz Mullenix, the Dave Roberts Award winner, is always eager to help the alumni association. Jan Taylor, the William Holmes McGuffey Award recipient, is considered a life-changing resource by students for her career expertise. Recognized for his 25th year at Miami, Honorary Alumnus Jerome Conley demonstrates leadership and service. Honorary Alumnus Peter Kole and wife Nancy Maurer Kole ’60 have turned dreams of a college education into a reality for nearly 100 students. The inaugural president of the Young Alumni Council, Steph Andrews Mazzocco ’10 received the H. Kenneth Gambee Young Alumni Award. Saifoulaye “Sofa” Bah ’18 and Marta Stewart ’18 were the Love and Honor Cup recipients for receiving the highest number of votes on Homecoming Court. Brittany Simms Menkol ’10, the Young Philanthropist of the Year, honors her late husband’s memory with a scholarship. With service of more than 50 years, Susan Engel Naus ’67 encapsulates the Spirit of Philanthropy Award. The Miami women’s basketball team, which raised $40,000 in this year’s Love.Honor.Care. campaign, received the Student Philanthropists of the Year award. After a donation of $30.1 million, Miami honored Dave Dafoe ’84 as Philanthropist of the Year.

To learn more about how to support Miami, visit GivetoMiamiOH.org/GivetoMU.

Award winners: Top row (l-r): Don Crain, Pam Archer, Peter Kole, Dave Dafoe, Jerome Conley, Liz Mullenix, Like Lokon, Susan Naus, Brittany Menkol, Steph Mazzocco. Bottom row (l-r): the Miami women’s basketball team and Marta Stewart.

For more about the honorees, visit: MiamiAlum.org/ AdvancementAward.

Summer 2018

Miami University Libraries, Frank Snyder Collection

class notes

Boys of summer long ago: The 1912 summer school baseball team (and their four-legged friend) pose at Herron Gymnasiumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entrance. This was years before Herron was moved 522 feet to the east to make room for the construction of Ogden Hall. Herron, later renamed Van Voorhis, was torn down in the summer of 1986.

miamian magazine

class notes

Wayne Embry, a star on Miami’s basketball team and Cincinnati Royals teammate with Oscar Robertson, ranks 39 on ESPN’s list of the 100 most influential NBA players ever. “Before Wes Unseld, there was Wayne Embry, a relatively short center with a wide body who set mean screens and cleared the boards with ease. Running the pick-and-roll with Oscar Robertson in Cincinnati, Embry was a five-time All-Star and in his twilight captured a title in Boston as Bill Russell’s backup center.” After retiring from playing, he became the first black general manager in any of North America’s major pro sports leagues.

Todd Montgomery, who earned both an MS in curriculum and instruction and a PhD in urban education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, received the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Service Award from UWM’s alumni association. The award cited his deep commitment to country, community, and his two-time alma mater, plus his diverse and distinguished resume. As a Navy officer, he completed three tours in Vietnam. He’s now a project manager in Temecula, Calif., as well as an urban planner and a former educator.

Michael Briley, partner in the Toledo office of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, has been reappointed by The Supreme Court of Ohio to the Ohio Board of Bar Examiners. Mike’s five-year term ends March 31, 2023. The board develops, administers, and grades the Ohio bar examination.

George Duffield, after

graduating from Miami as an Air Force ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate, enjoyed a varied and fascinating career in the U.S. Air Force,

which he shares in the online class notes (MiamiAlum.org/Classnotes). He retired as a colonel in 1991 and became a contractor to the Air Force. He is enjoying life in Chandler, Ariz., with his wife, Marsha Wesnitzer Duffield ’70, and is working part time for Sumaria Systems where he was a vice president. ¶ Nancy Wilson Rossman has signed with Ford Robert Black in Scottsdale, Ariz., as a senior model and actress (globaltalentsystems.com). “This proves it’s never to late to start a new career.”

Thomas Bashore received the Distinguished Teacher Award from the American College of Cardiology March 12, 2018, at its annual convention in Orlando. Tom has been a faculty member at Duke University Medical Center for 33 years and is currently senior vice chief in the division of cardiology. He is still practicing and lives in Durham, N.C., with his Miami Merger wife of 48 years, Jill Eickhoff Bashore. Jill is active in community organizations and travels frequently to both coasts, as they have three children and six grandchildren living in San Diego, Princeton, N.J., and Cary, N.C. ¶ Ted Downing of Lakewood Ranch, Fla., is transforming the lives of Booker High School students. The former bank executive, entrepreneur, and teacher was recently named the Outstanding Senior Volunteer for the Sarasota County School District. He has been mentoring students at the school for nearly seven years, teaching them life skills. ¶ Mark Levin retired as city administrator of Maryland Heights, Mo., after serving in that position for 30 years. Mark is now a clinical associate professor in the School of Public & Environmental Affairs at Indiana University in Bloomington. ¶ Judy Goacher Mansfield sent in a note and

photo of five Kappa Kappa Gamma’s from the Class of ’68 who get together annually. Enjoying Portsmouth, N.H., in July 2017 were Etoile Heifner Holzaepfel, Judy Goacher Mansfield, Nancy Naus King, Holly Hecht Duncan, and Melinda Hill.

Reunion ¶ Mike “Doc” Emrick MA ’69, who leads the NHL broadcast team at NBC Sports, won a record-tying fifth consecutive Sports Emmy Award May 8. The win ties him with fellow play-by-play icon Joe Buck and is Doc’s sixth in eight years for Outstanding Sports Personality-Play by Play. ¶ Dian Stirn Groh has co-written two chapters with Becky Sprecher in the new book Hunting The Wind: Pan American World Airways’ Epic Flying Boat Era, 1929–1946 (Schiffer Publishing, July 2018). Dian’s chapters are 11, “Dreamboats,” and 12, “Flying Back in Time.” “Come on a journey back in time to aviation’s most daring and innovative era. Hear never-before-told true stories penned by still-living flight crewmembers and passengers.” ¶ Gary Mull, a member of Miami’s swimming/diving MAC champions of 1967 and 1968, organized a reunion, bringing back a number of teammates for the 50th anniversary of those back-to-back wins to be honored during the 2018 MAC Swimming and Diving Championships in Oxford March 2–4. The group, which has remained close, has organized a scholarship for men’s swimming and diving to honor their two MAC championships, as well as iconic Coach William “Bill” Lewis.

SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE Please send news to: Donna Boen, Miamian, 22 Campus Avenue Building, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056 or Miamian@MiamiOH.edu. Include your name, class year, address, and your phone number. For more class news, go online to MiamiAlum.org/ Classnotes. For online Miamian, go to MiamiAlum.org/ Miamian.

John ’70 MS ’73 and Jan Mason Getz ’71 MS ’72 sent

in a photo of themselves with another Miami Merger couple, Jennifer Hanford Freedman ’70 and Rob

See photo in online class notes, MiamiAlum.org/Classnotes. Online Miamian at MiamiAlum.org/Miamian.

Summer 2018

class notes

Freedman ’70, taken in Asheville, N.C. Jennifer and Jan were Big and Little Heart Sis in Chi Omega when Jan pledged in 1967. “At that time, you were assigned a Heart Sis before you got a Big Sis. I think we were matched initially because we were both radio/TV/film majors. We’ve stayed in touch through the years, which has been nice.”

Stuart Gilman MA ’71 PhD

’74 received a Lifetime Achievement Award for “a career dedicated to advancing ethics and integrity in public administration.” The award was presented in March 2018 at the American Society for Public Administration’s annual meeting in Denver. Stuart has worked around the world helping countries develop successful integrity and ethics systems for government institutions and businesses. Senior partner of the Global Integrity Group since 2010, he lives in Manassas, Va., with his wife of 44 years, Constance Walton Gilman ’73. ¶ Jan Knipper Rinehart ’71 MA ’92 sent in a photo of “forever friends” who meet yearly. Their latest reunion was at Elaine Melech Kirkland’s home in Patterson, N.Y. They also spent a day in New York City. Attending were Jan Knipper Rinehart ’71 MA ’92 (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).

Connie Harris retired in

2016 and relocated to her hometown of Eaton, Ohio. She left a 25+ year career in higher education fundraising and alumni relations at Earlham, Wabash, Meredith, and Muhlenberg colleges. Her final position

miamian magazine

was as vice president for institutional advancement and university relations at Heidelberg University. She is finding fun in co-chairing her 50th high school reunion and serving as a CASA, advocating for children who are in Preble County’s Juvenile Court. ¶ Sandy White Helman retired June 30, 2017, as professor of surgery and pathology at Augusta (Ga.) University and was named professor emerita. She directed the histocompatibility laboratory for the AU-affiliated hospital for 27 years, providing support for the university’s transplant programs.

Debra Hust Allison ’73 MS

’82 was elected Oxford (Ohio) Community Foundation president for 2018. She has been a foundation board of director since 2015 and is also serving as a member of the Miami University Community Federal Credit Union Supervisory Committee and the Technology Committee. Debi retired from Miami in 2013 as vice president for information technology and chief information officer.

Reunion ¶ Steven West retired as Indiana University Health Blackford Hospital (Hartford City, Ind.) president in June. He has nearly 40 years of health-care experience. He will serve as a director on the IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital Foundation’s board.

Debra Lemonds, a photo editor, has contributed to many trade books over the years, but her two most recent were “labors of love.” She designed the book and selected the photos for Eyes Like Lamps: A limited edition work of 19th-century photography from the Middle East. The second book, Dale’s Tale, is an autobiography by her father and includes two chapters on

his career as a producer/director in the early days of television at WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee. ¶ Don Sinko, CPA, of North Olmsted, Ohio, is the chief integrity officer for Cleveland Clinic. In May he received the Institute of Internal Auditors’ Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition, his article on “The Integrity Office” was published in Internal Auditor magazine.

Melissa Lorey Scheidegger

retired at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. She has been a teacher for Prince William County, Va., Schools for 31 years, most recently as a kindergarten teacher at Penn Elementary. ¶ Darrell West has published a new book with Brookings Institution Press, The Future of Work: Robots, AI, and Automation. It looks at the impact of emerging technologies on the workforce, education, public policy, and American politics. Darrell is vice president, governance studies, director of the Center for Technology Innovation, and the Douglas Dillon Chair in Governance Studies at Brookings Institution in Washington.

Douglas Haynam, an attorney

with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick in Toledo, has been recognized as one of the Leaders in their Field in the 2018 edition of Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Business Lawyers. He focuses on natural resources and environment. ¶ Married: Susan Medure and Doug Decatur (’82 UC grad), April 7, 2018, at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Mariemont, a suburb of Cincinnati. They both love chocolate, ballroom dancing, playing tennis, watching sports, hiking, attending plays, and writing together, but most of all they are madly in love with each other. They honeymooned in Hershey, Pa.

class notes

See photo in online class notes, MiamiAlum.org/Classnotes. Online Miamian at MiamiAlum.org/Miamian.

Summer 2018

class notes

the delivery of its visual literacy curriculum for industrial applications. Doug is former vice president of operations sustainability and environmental, health and safety for Owens Corning, the first organization to connect the value of the museum’s visual literacy training and safety.

80 At this year’s Oscars, Mark Mitten ’80 was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Feature Length Documentary for Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, a film he produced. Abacus tells the saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, N.Y. Accused of mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., Abacus became the only U.S. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

miamian magazine

Reunion ¶ Galloping through the vibrant, realistic paintings of equine artist Karen Rudy Brenner are horses of all colors and sizes. Her paintings “Galloping Horses” were on display July 3-30, 2018, at the Wayne County Library Gallery in Wooster, Ohio. The exhibit featured recent equine oil paintings of hers plus some of her favorites from the past 18 years. Based in Wooster, Karen has traveled to a dozen states gathering reference material. She’s visited farms and ranches, as well as rodeos, breed exhibits, auctions, the World Equestrian Games, and cowboy mounted shooting events — all of which have been featured in her work. (www.karenbrenner.com) ¶ Bob Morrison, managing partner of Morrison Valuation & Forensic Services, was elected international president 2018–2019 by the membership of the American Society of Appraisers, an international organization of appraisal professionals and others dedicated to the education, development, and growth of the appraisal profession. His term started July 1. ¶ Douglas Pontsler is the first chairman and managing director of the Toledo Museum of Art’s new Center of Visual Expertise (COVE), focused on

As we head into a new football season, Sigma Chi Brothers from across the country share a photo from last season. Enjoying pregame comradery at the Miami/ Notre Dame football game in South Bend were Paul Milton, Terry Amling ’79, Jim Patterson ’79, Tom Kennedy, Paul Gore, Bill Keller ’81, and event host John Bollman ’79. ¶ William White is director of fields for the College of Education at Ashland University. He is also the program director for Ashland’s Southern Internship Program and the Ashland Consortium of Overseas Student Teaching program.

Tracy Later Hubbard was selected as a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Fellow in 2017-2018. She traveled to India as part of her field experience and worked with schools in Pathardi.

Joseph Gibbons was recog-

nized by Forbes on its latest Best-In-State Wealth Advisors list. He is a senior vice president and managing partner of Boyd, Gibbons & Associates, a Wayzata, Minn.-based global wealth management team with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith. He offers more than 30 years’ experience in holistic approaches to wealth management and institutional-style investing. An active adviser to the RiverFirst Capital Campaign and the Minneapolis Foundation Advisory Council, he lives with John Cullen in Minneapolis and

enjoys traveling, running, biking, and skiing. ¶ Judy Pepple Greffin, an insurance industry leader and seasoned investment executive, was elected to the board of directors for Church Mutual Insurance Co. She spent more than 25 years with Allstate Insurance, most recently as executive vice president and chief investment officer, where she led an $85 billion, 300-person investment organization. ¶ Melinda Wolf MA ’82 published a book of poetry, There is a Greeting as Well as a Parting, in September 2017 through Big Wonderful Press. She grew up in Michigan, where she was the recipient of an Individual Artist Award from the Michigan Council for the Arts. She is a social worker, teacher, and writer living in California.

Alice Leonard LeVert and

Jeff Folker ’85 are members of the Lake Forest (Ill.) District 67 Board of Education. Elected in May 2017, Alice is serving her first four-year term, while Jeff was re-elected to a second term. Alice is a senior client manager in Xerox Corp.’s health-care practice. Jeff is a residential real estate broker with Berkshire Hathaway KoenigRubloff Group in Lake Forest. ¶ Timothy Quinnan ’83 MS ’85 became president of Richmont Graduate University in Atlanta in August 2017. Among his proudest achievements to date are the two independent films that he solo scripted — The Stranger and To Die and Live Again, both of which addressed the spiritual search for meaning among college-aged students. Other significant milestones in his career include serving as director of the renowned Institute of College Student Values in 2004-2005 hosted by Florida State and founding an acclaimed leadership summit symposium at San Diego State University. He

class notes

lives in suburban Atlanta with his wife and daughter.

Reunion ¶ John McKaig had a solo exhibition of recent prints and drawings at Pennsylvania State University’s Hub Gallery Jan. 19– March 3, 2018 (http://johnmurraymckaig.com). ¶ Karen Dittmann O’Hara ’84 MTSC ’04 is the winner of the 2018 Rentschler Library Haiku Contest. Karen is a web specialist for university communications and marketing on Miami’s Oxford campus and teaches workplace writing on the Hamilton campus. Her haiku was selected by a panel of four judges using a blind review process. There were 39 other entries. Her winning haiku: Window cat wonders at snowflakes dancing up, down Why can’t she catch them?

Lyle Linerode MA ’85 of Lancaster, Ohio, received the 2018 Dale Foor Cornerstone Award from the Gahanna-Jefferson Education Foundation and Gahanna Lincoln High School May 4. An educator at both the high school and collegiate level for more than 31 years, he spent 18 of those years at Gahanna Lincoln High School, where he taught English and speech classes while coaching the award-winning speech and debate team. He retired in 2014 and turned his baking hobby into a full-time business. With Lona Belle’s Home Baked Goods, he focuses on traditional, old-fashioned cookies and breakfast breads, mostly using his mother’s recipes. His baked goods can be found at farmers markets during the summer and through special order year-round. ¶ Steve Silverman, Jeff Horton, and Joe Hogenkamp reunited at the KeyBank Arena to watch the Buffalo Sabres Hockey team. Classmates

and roommates from Reid Hall, they enjoyed a dinner downtown, some great sports, and wonderful conversations about their time in Oxford.

Brian Brockhoff of

Cincinnati, senior vice president of commercial real estate at BB&T, is volunteering to help with the capital campaign for Children Inc. (www. childreninc.org). Funds raised will help complete the local nonprofit’s mission to fight poverty through high-quality educational experiences for children and family supports through multi-generational approach. ¶ After working as a broker for Fidelity for 13 years, Caren Bagby Laverty decided to write a financial book for women, A Woman’s Place Is in The Market. As an account executive, she met with many couples, single women, and widows, and many shy away from the investment world, so she wrote her book in a non-intimidating, easy-to-read manner without all the typical Wall Street jargon (www. carenlaverty.com). ¶ Angie Bryant Leondedis was named to the board of directors for CASA of Johnson and Wyandotte Counties (Kan.) in October. She has been volunteering as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) and working with children in the foster care system for more than two years. Additionally, Angie has returned to consulting work, providing heath-care communications and marketing strategy to several Kansas City firms and providing pro bono work for small, local nonprofits. She recently joined Miami’s Kansas City Alumni Leadership Board to support local alumni and student recruitment. ¶ Attending a reception honoring Kim Smith Lubel as 2018 chairman of the United Way Campaign in San Antonio was Melissa Cluxton Kazen ’84, executive vice president of Communities In Schools. Kim is former

CEO of CST Brands.

¶ Patrick McBriarty ’86 MA ’88, a bridge historian, co-leads Under the Bridgefluence, a walking bridge and bar tour with beer historian Liz Garibay. The duo shares stories of Chicago beer and bridge history and relate the interplay between the two in the making of Chicago’s past.

Christine Miles Ives has

“retired” from her position as family chauffeur for the past 21 years. Christine’s youngest son, Daniel, received his driver’s license in September and now she finds her days filled with doing all of the items on her to-do list that she never could accomplish when always watching the clock for school drop-off and pick-up times. She lives in the suburbs of Denver and has been happily married to Gary since 1994. They have three boys, Jacob, Henry, and Daniel and an amazing Labradoodle named Maggie. ¶ Michael Koenig joined Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business in September 2017 as associate dean for innovation initiatives and executive director of executive education. His position is new at Rice Business and will bring technology and transformative business education

On March 16, when Cindy Oppenheimer Bishop ’81 crossed the finish line at the Antarctica Marathon, she finished her quest of running a marathon on all seven continents. Cindy, of Merritt Island, Fla., is the second American woman to run all six world marathon majors: New York City, Boston, Chicago, London, Berlin, and Tokyo. “To think that this all began when I occasionally ran laps on Miami’s indoor track my sophomore year.”

Summer 2018

class notes

foundation implements national service programs, foster care adoption awareness campaigns, and innovative grantmaking.

Friends from Petticoat Junction, the name of their house in Oxford, continue their yearly get-together. At their latest, in Mill Valley, Calif., were (l-r) Ann Marfurt Marischen ’89, Jennifer Wells Pinto ’89, Julie Reimann Pastore ’89, Maria Langevin Turner ’88 MEd ’89, Jennifer Smith Short ’88, and Kendra Foster ’88.

miamian magazine

together. He has a passion for the beautiful game (soccer) and after a college career playing Division I soccer for Miami, he focused that passion on coaching youth soccer for the past 30 years. He lives in Houston with his wife, Jacqui, and children Connor, 16, and Elsa, 12. ¶ Robert McBride has joined Taft Stettinius & Hollister as a partner in corporate compliance and white-collar criminal defense. A senior trial attorney, he works out of Taft’s Northern Kentucky office. ¶ George Nenni sent in a photo showing Miami buddies enjoying a “super fun” long weekend in Vegas at The Palazzo. With him during the reunion weekend were residents of the Far Side (their house name in Oxford), all of whom graduated around 1987: Tom Peter, Jim Swift, Joe Buckalew, Eric Reichert, Charlie Null, Suzanne Nenni Clark, and John Van Horne. ¶ Mary Schell, chief public affairs officer for the Wendy’s Co., chairs the board of trustees for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a national nonprofit public charity dedicated to finding permanent homes for the more than 150,000 children waiting in North America’s foster care systems. Created by Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas, who was adopted, the

Rory Golden’s new play,

Die Again Romeo! Robert Diamond Coates & the Old World, debuted in June at a reading in New York City’s Dixon Place Lounge. His play is inspired by Robert “Romeo” “Diamond” Coates, a 19th-century English dandy and the world’s most celebrated bad actor. The play brings to life this colorful historic figure who crafted Romeo’s definitive dramatic death scene several times in a row on the same night after calls for “encore!” from hecklers. ¶ Edward Leach MEd ’88 was one of four alumni of Pavilion (N.Y.) Central School inducted into the school’s alumni hall of fame this spring. ¶ Ann DeVillez Lemersal, Mary Diamond McGrath, Sonnie Heichel Woodruff, and Rebecca Meyer Myers have been best friends since freshman year living in Tappan Hall. They sent in a photo of their “girls’ trip” to Vail, Colo., in September 2017.

Reunion ¶ Susan Finnie Lei sent in a note and photo. “We all lived in Bottom’s Up, an off-campus house that has probably changed names by now. We are all DGs with the exception of one KKG. We have not all been together since we graduated but remain close as you can tell. :) We rented a house in Charleston, S.C., for four days. We had so much fun reminiscing about our days at Miami University, and all agreed that it felt like no time had passed since we were last all together.” In Charleston were Kristin Gatchel Replogle, Kim Shepherd D’Erminio, Susan Finnie Lei, Aimee Reaume Mooney, Kelli Cecil Green, Missy Kohls Powell, Pam Ganschow Wefel, Judy

Walters Nash, Leigh McQuiddy Josie,

and Karen Morrow Swift. Missing: ¶ Janet Purdy, a graduate student in art history in Penn State’s College of Arts and Architecture, is a Fulbright finalist for the 2018–2019 academic year. She is among 1,900 U.S. citizens selected this year to conduct research, study, and teach abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Her host country is Tanzania. ¶ Paul Schmidt, leader of BakerHostetler’s national tax practice and its international tax team, has been unanimously elected the next chair of the firm, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Based in Washington, D.C., he counsels multinational corporations, private equity and hedge funds, and publicly traded partnerships and master limited partnerships, along with a number of industry-focused clients. Carole Ackerman.

Stacey Montagner

Browning, the first female president of Paycor, was one of eight women selected as 2018 YWCA Greater Cincinnati Career Women of Achievement for their outstanding leadership, vision, exceptional community contributions, and renowned professional success. They were honored at the 39th Annual Luncheon May 9, 2018. Stacey has risen from sales representative to president during her 26-year tenure with Paycor. While she is a role model and mentor for women working in technology or toward C-suite roles, she is also a dedicated wife and mother of two sons. The youngest was born with a genetic mutation that prevents him from caring for himself. Stacey devoted countless hours gaining support for legislation to give care and a voice to her son and others who cannot speak for themselves. She was present when Gov. John Kasich signed the legislation. She serves on many

class notes

community boards, including Miami’s alumni board. ¶ Scott Flaschner is the business development director at Precise Imaging, managing 112 medical imaging facilities serving California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida. Scott lives in the suburban Los Angeles area. ¶ Jim Westerkamp has founded Cliniceval Solutions, a global clinical research site assessment organization whose mission is to connect clinical trial stakeholders to expedite the development of novel therapies for patients.

Lauren Blake Crandall was

appointed to the Eden Prairie (Minn.) seven-member school board Feb. 26. The district enrolls more than 8,600 students. Eden Prairie was rated the #1 “Best Place to Live in Minnesota” in 2018 by Niche.com, which included the highest possible rating of A+ for the Eden Prairie School

District. ¶ Tom Harper is CEO of Networld Media Group and publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com, a free online source of encouragement, tips, and how-to for leaders seeking to apply biblical principles in their daily lives. In his new book, Through Colored Glasses: How Great Leaders Reveal Reality (DeepWater Books, February 2018), Tom explains how to reveal people’s hidden fears and ambitions by addressing a leadership challenge identified in Proverbs 16:2: “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.” “Leo Perkins wants to save the company, but his real motivation is to prevent a blow to his ego. His colleagues are dominated by their own ambitions and fears. It’s as if they all wear colored glasses, blinding them to reality. In a story full of twists and confrontations, one executive boldly speaks truth to Leo.

Her persistence — and the Word of God — lead to an outcome no one expects.” In the afterword, Tom presents scripture-based lessons to help leaders unlock reality in their own organizations. Tom lives in Louisville with his wife and three children. ¶ All members of the Class of 1991, Laura Renkes, Beth Potter Dunne, Beth Steinmetz Gunderson, Allison Avery Macerollo, Julie Smith, and Jill Penry Thompson enjoyed a reunion in Breckenridge Colo. ¶ Sara Whitner ’91 sent in a family photo with the explanation, “Getting a decent photo of this bunch … was a bit like herding cats, but here we are.” Successfully wrangled were Sara; her brother, Doug Whitner ’94; his wife, Tamara Lucky Whitner ’94; her brother, Dan Lucky ’98; his wife, Amy Kraska Lucky MS ’01; her sister, Jenny Kraska Hanna ’94; and her husband, Matt Hanna ’94.

Summer 2018

class notes

Maria Horoschak Mueller ’88 visited her son, Dylan ’20, in April while he was studying abroad at Yonsei University through the Farmer School of Business. “Dylan and his 19 classmates have had an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity through Farmer. I was actually there during the historic North Korea/South Korea peace summit. Talk about unforgettable.”

miamian magazine

David Gammel, executive director of the Entomological Society of America, has been named a Fellow of the American Society of Association Executives. He is one of only five association professionals bestowed with the honor in 2018, joining just 260 others to receive the designation since 1986. ASAE is a membership organization of more than 40,000 association executives who manage leading trade associations, individual membership societies, and voluntary organizations around the world. ¶ Jack Jose is co-author of a new book about remembering the individual student at the heart of every educational decision. Angels and Superheroes: Compassionate Educators in an Era of School Accountability focuses on how a teacher can create a classroom that helps every student feel comfortable trying new things, growing academically, and taking responsibility for themselves. Jack is the principal of James N. Gamble Montessori High School, part of Cincinnati Public Schools, which earned an Excellent rating under his leadership. ¶ Jeff Pegues, CBS News justice and homeland security correspondent, presents an in-depth examination of Russian

interference into the 2016 presidential campaign and measures to protect U.S. voting systems against future cyber attacks in his new book, Kompromat: How Russia Undermined American Democracy (Prometheus Books, July 10, 2018). Based on exclusive interviews with officials from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and cybersecurity experts, Jeff takes readers behind the scenes and into the minds of investigators following the case. He delves into the shadowy world of Russian spies, unraveling the complicated web of contacts between Russian operatives and Trump representatives during the campaign and reveals how far the Kremlin poked into voter databases and why it happened. He also investigates the steps taken to shore up election systems ahead of the 2018 midterm and the 2020 presidential election.

Sean Hussey is the new brigade commander of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the military’s medical school, nursing school, school of allied health, and postgraduate dental school in Bethesda, Md. This makes him the senior military officer at the university, overseeing the military professional development of the nearly 1,000 activeduty professional students from all three military branches and the U.S. Public Health Service, as well as the university’s active-duty faculty. “I owe a debt of gratitude to Miami University for teaching me both lessons in the classroom and lessons in life during my time there.” ¶ Crystal Jo Reiss has published her debut novel, Jane Is Everywhere (Window Seat Press, Feb. 17, 2018). While pursuing a BA in English and creative writing at Miami, she worked with creative writing professors Eric Goodman and David Schloss, among others, before moving

on to pursue her MFA at Columbia University. In her book, part adventure, part satire, and part sociological drama, “… everywhere begins in the mid-1990s as Jane initiates the journey that will take her from New York to Seattle and beyond. During the 20 years depicted, Jane’s ‘reverse migration’ becomes a search for stability and roots that leaves her questioning her ability to choose well.” Last year, Crystal Jo’s father, Miami professor emeritus of English and creative writing James Reiss (deceased December 2016) posthumously published his second novel, Facade for a Penny Arcade (Spuyten Duyvil, Sept. 30, 2017). ¶ Steve Samples has been promoted from principal to shareholder at Shultz Huber & Associates. Steve, also a CPA at the Van Wert, Ohio, office, provides accounting and tax services to businesses in a variety of industries. ¶ Nathan Schlueter, professor of philosophy and religion at Hillsdale College, received the school’s Daugherty Award for Teaching Excellence during spring convocation April 5. The award honors those who have exemplified commitment to growing knowledge, wisdom, and virtue in students. ¶ Eric Washington MA ’93, PhD, was voted Professor of the Year 2017–2018 at Calvin College. “I’m so grateful to Miami University and the history department for giving me the opportunity to study there and earn my master’s degree.” ¶ Brian Zimmerman married Heidi Riggs on May 15, 1993, at Oxford Bible Fellowship in South Quad. They have three children, Sam, Ben, and Shelby.

Reunion ¶ Nora Loftus, a partner in Frantz Ward’s nationally recognized construction practice group, has been named chair of the firm’s diversity and inclusion committee. Nora, who has been

class notes

engaged with the firm’s diversity and inclusion committee for many years and has proven to be an effective mentor to female associates, devotes her practice to the construction industry.

Graham Cochran MS ’95 is associate dean for operations in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State University. He lives in Worthington, Ohio, with his wife, Stacy, and two kids. ¶ Tonya Baker Hampton is working at the University of Cincinnati College of Law in the international programs for foreign attorneys. After many years as an assistant professor of German at UC, she decided to branch out to international and intercultural advising work. She oversees the master of laws in the U.S. Legal System, as well as certificate programs for attorneys who have received a law degree outside the U.S. and are looking for exposure to U.S. law. ¶ Kirk Koennecke MS ’95, superintendent of Graham Local Schools in Saint Paris, Ohio, delivered this year’s commencement address at Urbana University, a branch campus of Franklin University. At the May 5 ceremony, he was honored with the Innovation in Education Award.

Andy Carlson earned a master’s in health administration May 11, 2018, from the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy. He is also co-founder and chief technology officer for COR Wellness, which delivers on-site employee wellness services, as well as employee and direct-to-consumer tele-wellness coaching services. ¶ Ryan Feeney is a firefighter in Indianapolis and owner of Indy Art Forge. Among his recent accomplishments is a 9-foot bronze sculpture of Peyton Manning, which sits in front of Lucan Oil Stadium.

Aimee Mosesson Eckmann, a principal and the pre-K-12 practice leader in the global architecture and design firm Perkins+Will’s Chicago office, has been named a prestigious Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Her work has won more than half a dozen local chapter AIA awards and has been honored by such publications as Architect, Architectural Record, Interior Design, and Leading by Design. ¶ James Homan and his wife, Yves, launched Dapper + Crown, a new children’s clothing brand, last October. Based in the Los Angeles area, the seasonless children’s clothes are made in the U.S. and offer sizes 2-6 with an MSRP range of $55-$75. This family- owned business (www. dappercrownclothing.com) was created to produce classic, investment pieces that can be shared within the family, just like designer mom Yves Homan did in her homeland, the Philippines. After Jimmy and Yves had their own daughter, they wanted to bring Yves’ wardrobe tradition to growing families in the U.S. ¶ Nathan Sales is ambassador-at-large for counterterrorism at the U.S. State Department. Nominated by President Trump, he was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as the coordinator for counterterrorism Aug. 10, 2017. Before joining the State Department, he was a law professor at Syracuse University College of Law, where he taught and wrote on counterterrorism law, national security law, constitutional law, and administrative law. His scholarship has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court multiple times.

Sarah Karpanty, an associ-

ate professor and assistant department head in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, has received the graduate school’s 2018 Faculty Outstanding Mentor Award

for the College of Natural Resources and Environment. The annual award recognizes excellence in mentoring graduate students. Most of Sarah’s funded research and focus have been on the coastal wildlife population in the U.S., but she also studies these fields in Madagascar. Students who were on her Madagascar research team said she worked tirelessly to ensure their safety during an outbreak of the plague. ¶ Rick Kubat has graduated from the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy, a one-year program that provides leadership training and educates participants about the vital role rivers, streams, and aquifers play in the economic sustainability of the state. Rick is government relations attorney for Metropolitan Utilities District (MUD) of Omaha. His work as a registered lobbyist includes monitoring all legislative activities on behalf of MUD, including statewide water issues. ¶ Born: to Chad Tisdale and Lauren, Madeline Lawrence, Feb. 3, 2018. On May 6, after 92 days in the NICU, Maddy was welcomed home by her 4-year-old brother, Calvin, and 2-year-old sister, Anna, in Chardon, Ohio. Chad is a principal director with Accenture, and Lauren is owner/operator of Transitions Dressage.

Chicago keyboardist Scott Allman ’92 performs upbeat melodies and synth-backed themes with his third contemporary jazz project, ELEVATED. A special treat is his adaptation of the well-known pop song “Sweet Freedom,” made popular in 1986 by Michael McDonald. Working with celebrated producer Darren Rahn, Scott offers a host of featured guests, including sax man Jeff Kashiwa, guitar virtuoso Allen Hinds, and Grammy-winning bassist Mel Brown.

Summer 2018

class notes

Miami education graduates who work in Twinsburg City (Ohio) Schools represented our alma mater well on College Shirt/Sweater Day. L-r: Reggie Holland ’94, Ann Proudfoot Feichter ’98, Lisa Butler Schmach ’02, Jennifer McHugh ’94, Laura Manly Schneiderman ’97, and Angela Dinallo Magnes ’01.

Reunion ¶ Laura Goforth of Liberty Township, Ohio, is treasurer of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association. One of the legacy activities the group hosts is a biannual academic conference, which attracts attendees from throughout the world and has received coverage in such publications as The New Yorker. ¶ Troy Sphar has been promoted to partner at Swanson, Martin & Bell. Practicing in the firm’s Chicago office, he focuses on commercial litigation and business disputes, as well as employment litigation and counseling.

Rich Fidler was promoted to design director for Chipotle Mexican Grill. He leads an internal team of architects and designers, as well as the management of their external architecture partners. During his time at Chipotle, Rich has consistently demonstrated the ability to develop restaurant designs that are both efficient to operate and aesthetically pleasing. When adjusted for inflation, Chipotle’s restaurants today cost 50 percent less than they did 10 years ago. He lives in Worthington, Ohio, with his wife, Kristine, and their children, Keira and Arjen.

miamian magazine

Dawn Whitmore Fahner

has been named associate vice president of human resources at Miami. She has been the interim associate vice president since October 2015. She brings 16 years of professional, personnel management, and programming experience to the job and has earned Professional Human Resources certification. She enjoys spending time with her husband, two young sons, and extended family. ¶ John Stewart in 2017 became the chief investment officer at Farmers Trust Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Farmers National Bancorp based in Canfield, Ohio. Farmers Trust has more than $1.5 billion in assets under management.

Born: to Elizabeth Parke Kincaid and Darren, Caroline

Jane, Nov. 19, 2017. They live in Houston. ¶ Kristina Kins earned a master of social work, along with a certificate in nonprofit management and philanthropy, from Loyola University Chicago in May 2017. ¶ Geoff Kuehn has been promoted to senior research analyst at 84.51° in Cincinnati. He is responsible for designing and executing primary research projects, as well as designing new approaches to collect attitudinal insights. Geoff lives in Loveland. ¶ Megan O’Rourke has been promoted to anchor of primetime newscasts for FOX45 News in Dayton. She is co-anchoring with Adam Aaro weekday nights at 6 and 11 on ABC22 and at 6:30 and 10 on FOX45. ¶ Married: Heather Petersen and Jason Altepeter, June 16, 2018, at Sweet Oaks Ranch in Temecula, Calif. — the 28-acre winery, equestrian center, and wedding destination they co-own. Heather is founder and CEO of National Merchants Association, a credit-card processing company that she moved to Temecula in 2012. ¶

Steven Strang has been certified as an insurance coverage law specialist by the Ohio State Bar Association, joining only 26 such specialists in all of Ohio. He is Gallagher Sharp’s insurance practice group manager and a partner in the firm’s Columbus office. He defends insurance carriers against claims alleging bad faith, unfair claims practices, and breach of contract, lawyers against claims alleging legal malpractice, and municipal entities and law enforcement professionals in personal injury and civil rights claims.

Reunion ¶ Joe Borowski, CFA, director, valuation and financial opinion services, is now a partner at GBQ Consulting — Valuation and Financial Opinions in Columbus. Since joining GBQ in 2005, Joe has completed over 1,000 valuation engagements across numerous industries and for various purposes. He is a Leadership Columbus Class of 2017 graduate.

Jennifer Nickell Lovett

’05 MS ’07, who joined the Middle Tennessee State University mathematical sciences department in 2016, has led a five-person group to what has become her second Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators National Technology Leadership Initiative Fellowship in four years, this time for the group’s manuscript “Developing Preservice Teachers’ TPACK of Function Using a Vending Machine Metaphor Applet.”

Austin Force is corporate

controller at American Freight Furniture and Mattress, a fastgrowing, private-equity backed retail furniture company with over 150 stores throughout the U.S. ¶ Born: to Jesse and Chelsi Day Ghiorzi ’07, Cecilia Dodie, June 21, 2018, in Indianapolis.

class notes

¶ Married: Sarah Zawistowski and Jim Ott ’99, July 3, 2016. Her college

roommate introduced them in 2012. They live in Colorado, where Sarah is the manager, training and development for Prudential Advisors, and Jim is the accounting manager for Green Chef.

Jon Bennett ’07 MAT ’09

has written a book, Reading Blue Devils: A Novel, published in March. “In a poor suburban community in southern Ohio, Dieter Vogel is a failing English teacher at a high school populated predominately by minority students. He is bullied by the basketball coach, neglected by the principal, ignored by his crush, Esther, and pressured to workout with Jose, the art teacher. At the end of the first day back after summer break, Dieter is visited by Satan, who takes the initial form of a Twinkie. Satan convinces Dieter to overthrow the school mascot, Gretel the Pretzel, so that the Devil can take its place. Dieter is promised Esther’s love and the position of principal in return.” ¶ Melissa Driessnack earned a doctorate in toxicology at the University of Saskatchewanin in Saskatoon, SK, Canada, in October 2017. ¶ Karah Jennings, in commercial real estate, joined three other female panelists for a webinar on “Breaking Barriers: Panel of NAI Global Women Discuss Careers in Commercial Real Estate.” NAI Global is a leading global commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Luke and Jennifer O’Neil Adams live in Fort Mitchell,

Ky. Luke is the purchasing manager at Aristech Surfaces in Florence, Ky. Jen is a family physician at St. Elizabeth Physicians in Bellevue, Ky., across the river from Cincinnati. Their identical twins, Cora and Evie, were born in September 2016. ¶ Born: to Patrick and

Jaclyn Saurber Bloom, Jay Vernon, Nov. 3, 2017, joining big brother, Benton, 3. They live in Rocky River, Ohio. ¶ Patrick Fleming was named Volunteer of the Year at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center. A senior systems specialist in care management, he has served at the center since 2009, the same year he started with Medical Mutual. His volunteer duties include staffing the center’s 24-hour hotline, advocating for victims at hospitals and police stations, and training new volunteers how to do this demanding, sensitive work. The center handles thousands of calls for help yearly. At Medical Mutual, he participates in the Emerging Leaders program and is vice chair of the Young Professionals Business Resource Group. ¶ Born: to Tim and Jaci Laney Stiller, Dax Allen, Nov. 12, 2017, joining big brother Grayson, 2. Mom and Dad are hoping for future Miamians! Jaci is account director at Omnivore Advertising Agency. Tim is tax manager at Associated Materials. They live in Wadsworth, Ohio. ¶ Born: to Kyle and Erica Holmes Stineman ’07, Nora Avery, Oct. 4, 2017, joining sister Lydia Marie, born April 10, 2015.

Reunion ¶ Dana Paris was selected for the inaugural class of the Cleveland Jewish News and Ganley Bedford Imports 12 Under 36: Members of the Tribe. This group of young professionals represents the next wave of Jewish leaders and influencers in Northeast Ohio. Dana is an associate attorney at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller and McCarthy.

Mike Eilers is a member of Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2018, joining other young entrepreneurs and game-changers. To select this class, Forbes vets thousands of nominations, leaning on the collective wisdom

of its online community, ace reporters, and a panel of A-list judges. Mike is a data expert who developed a digital thread tool for GE Aviation. It stitches together data about materials and parts used in engines from 12 factories using seven databases in three countries, saving $4.4 million this year. Prior to his work, there was limited visibility into inventory, quality, and production levels. ¶ Noah Finney is a consultant supporting health and wellness for 84.51° in Cincinnati. Responsible for commercial partnerships and capabilities, Noah joined 84.51° last fall from Rockfish. He lives in Cincinnati’s Walnut Hills. ¶ Married: Amy Haffelt and Kip Lexner ’09, April 7, 2018, in Columbus. The wedding party included Erin Schiebel Woodson ’09, Best Man Chris Easterday ’09, Jarvis Woodson ’09, and Trace Ahmuty ’09. ¶ Amanda Gevertz Kovach MS ’10 just completed her first year teaching high school biology, which included a section on human environmental impacts. Her husband, Matt ’07, is working on a local marsh restoration project, so the two hatched a plan to get Amanda’s students at Sandusky Central Catholic School out on the site to help. Her students raised native

Wendi Littlefield ’95 has launched a children’s book series, Kindness Crusader Superhero Adventure Books (www.kindnesscrusaders. com). Her goal is to inspire young readers (ages 4–8) to perform acts of kindness in their communities. Each book and the website include AOK Challenges that everyday Kindness Crusader Kids can perform, as well as superhero gear they can wear. Because giving back is so important, the series has an official charity partner — Smiles With Style (www.smileswithstyle.org) — founded by Miami alum Jen Koch to improve self-esteem of hospitalized children.

Summer 2018

class notes

“I can die happy. It’s everything I thought it would be,” tweeted John Walton ’96 (right), play-by-play announcer of the Washington Capitals, after the team won the Stanley Cup June 7 for the first time in the club’s 44-year history. Equally thrilled, Mitch Korn (left), is the Capitals’ director of goaltending. Considered one of the top goaltending coaches in the NHL, Mitch has strong ties to Miami, starting with his assistant coaching for Miami’s hockey team in the 1980s.

miamian magazine

plants and grasses in the classroom and planted them to help restore the Great Egret Marsh Preserve, a wetland in Ottawa County near East Harbor State Park. Matt, Lake Erie Coasts and Islands project manager for the Nature Conservancy, heads the restoration.

Darren Demaree MA ’11

received an Individual Excellence Award for his poetry from the Ohio Arts Council board in April. The awards are peer recognition of creative artists for the exceptional merit of a body of their work that advances or exemplifies the discipline and the larger artistic community. The $5,000 awards support artists’ growth and development. Demaree is the author of eight poetry collections and managing editor of Best of the Net Anthology and Ovenbird Poetry. ¶ Patrick Finneran, who lives in Hilliard, Ohio, was promoted to financial adviser at Columbus-based investment management and financial advisory firm Hamilton Capital. He works to develop forward-looking financial and investment strategies for private and institutional clients as a member of Hamilton Capital’s award-winning wealth advisory team.

Married: Jordan Biagini and Kevin “Chris” O’Neil Jr., May 19, 2018, in Fairlawn, Ohio. Both work at The J.M. Smucker Co. in Orville, Ohio, Jordan as senior coordinator, digital marketing content and Chris as a senior financial analyst. Both graduated from the MBA program at the University of Akron in 2017. They live in Copley, Ohio. ¶ Alyson Byrne is in her final year of graduate school at Adler University in Chicago. She will graduate in October 2019 with a doctorate in clinical psychology, with a child and adolescent emphasis. The final year is a one-year residency in Virginia Beach, Va., that started July 1. Interning with the Virginia Beach City Public Schools, she’s working with children, adolescents, and their families conducting psychotherapy and psychological testing. ¶ Alex Trott is senior client lead at 84.51° in Cincinnati responsible for natural foods merchandising. She lives in Hyde Park. 84.51° helps companies create sustainable growth.

JM Rieger is video editor for The Fix at The Washington Post. The Fix is a three-day-a-week, five-minute newsletter, what the Post calls a “must-read cheat sheet” to keep viewers updated on politics. JM joined the Post earlier this year. Previously, he worked as a video producer covering national politics for HuffPost. ¶ Dan Ruffley has been promoted to senior supply chain process manager at Target Corp., supporting the improvement and process excellence team for Target Global Supply Chain & Logistics. Dan began his career with Target in 2013 as a distribution group leader at Target’s West Jefferson, Ohio, Regional Distribution Center and more recently held the role of production controller at the Suffolk, Va., Upstream Distribution Center. He lives in Minneapolis. ¶

Taylor Van Hove is an associate in the

Chicago office of Swanson, Martin & Bell, focusing on medical negligence and health care, product liability, and premises liability. ¶ Married: Nicole Weinrich and Matthew Dobson ’12, Oct. 14, 2017, in Kumler Chapel. They live in Cincinnati, where Nicole is a digital media specialist with Burn Media Co., and Matt is a senior finance manager at Luxottica.

Reunion ¶ Married: Kaitlin Evans and Justin Hawk ’11,

March 24, 2018. Many Miami alumni were in attendance including the groom’s parents, Jeff and Lynda Moldenhauer Hawk ’85, also Miami Mergers. ¶ Mason Krysinski graduated from medical school at UT Health San Antonio, AOA, Gold Humanism Honor Society, and accepted a residency at University Hospital in San Antonio in otolaryngology.

Mac Anderson is the chief marketing officer at Cleveland Kraut (clevelandkraut.com), a new and growing company whose mission is to bring healthy, fermented foods to America’s daily diet. According to the company’s website, “Over beers one evening, brothers-in-law Drew and Luke discovered that they both had been making and experimenting with their own sauerkraut recipes. They each had their own affinity for the fermented food. … What better place to start than right here in Cleveland, where people know good sauerkraut.” ¶ Thomas Byrne is director of operations with the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour ( HJGT), based in Orlando. HJGT is the largest independent junior golf tour in the world and runs approximately 285 two- or three-day golf tournaments across the U.S. for both boys and girls 8-18 years old. Thomas,

class notes

as head of operations, is responsible for the successful completion of each tournament. In 2017, The Nexus Group became a partner with HJGT to promote the game of golf with younger players all over the world. Thomas lives in Winter Garden, Fla. ¶ Lauren Shafer is associate client lead customer strategy and activation at 84.51° in Cincinnati. She is responsible for leveraging customer data and insights to drive merchandising strategies. She joined 84.51° from Alliance Data where she served as capability analyst. She lives in Hyde Park. ¶ Libby Mueller Stagnaro is a senior supplier communications consultant 84.51° in Cincinnati. She is responsible for helping consumer packaged goods companies within the health and beauty care segment of Kroger grow their brands through marketing and retail media campaigns. She lives in Cincinnati’s Oakley neighborhood. ¶ Matt Young MA ’15 recently published his debut book. Eat the Apple is a compilation of lyrical flash nonfiction essays about his three combat deployments to Iraq and subsequent returns home. His work has been published by Tin House, Granta, the Rumpus, Word Riot, and Catapult, among others. He is the recipient of fellowships with Words After War and the Carey Institute for Global Good. He teaches writing and literature at Centralia College in Centralia , Wash.

Married: Lauren Bakker and Daniel Gardner, Aug. 5, 2017, in Columbus. Lainey Viau, Emily Walton, and Laura Brandmeier were part of the bridal party. Lauren is an elementary art teacher in the Greenville School District. Daniel is a software engineer with Clear Creek Applied Technology. They live in Centerville, Ohio. Lauren’s parents are Miami Merger, Class of 1984: Cornelius and Lynn Stevens

Bakker. ¶ Kyle Denman was named

the 2018 Young Fashion Designer of the Year and Grand Prize Winner of the Project Runway Remake It Work Contest. “My look was inspired by an overflowing glass of champagne. The competition was FIERCE, and it was a huge pleasure to showcase my work alongside these talented designers. To think that just a little over a year ago, I began my journey in fashion design! I’m excited to see what is next.” ¶ Reis Thebault, who is finishing a master’s in journalism at the University of California Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, is interning at The Washington Post this summer. He was also offered an internship at The New York Times.

Nathan Anneken is associate

developer of the university leadership program at 84.51°, a powerhouse in pioneering customer engagement. He is responsible for developing and maintaining the core data platform that helps provide insights for 84.51° customers. He lives in Covington Ky. ¶ Sarah Compton MA ’17 has been selected as one of Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellows. She teaches life science and environmental science at Austin Career Education Center, an alternative high school in Chicago. Using her passion for science, travel, and the outdoors, she focuses on creating authentic learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom to help students make meaningful connections. Through her work, she hopes to foster the development of responsible global citizens and lifelong learners. In May, the 2018 Fellows, 40 outstanding educators from the United States and Canada, began their 10- to 17-day expeditions to their destinations including Alaska, the Galápagos Islands, the

Arctic, and Antarctica. ¶ Heath Harding, a member of the Miami’s football team since 2013, signed a free agent deal with the Atlanta Falcons in April. He was a two-time All-MAC performer and finished his college career with 290 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 10 interceptions, 30 pass breakups, and four forced fumbles, while seeing action in 51 games (45 starts). ¶ Jackie Trott is an associate media planner for 84.51° in Cincinnati. She is responsible for managing client relationships and planning customer loyalty rewards.

Olivia Rusek, an outside

hitter on Miami’s volleyball team who was named Mid-American Conference Co-Player of the Year as a senior, will continue her volleyball career as she has signed with VC Tirol of the Austrian Bundesliga league. The team is based in Innsbruck. She will join the team this fall, continuing a recent tradition of former Miami stars joining the Austrian league. ¶ Emily Williams, a writing scholar and editorin-chief at The Miami Student at Miami, started a 12-week internship on the metro desk at The Boston Globe in June. She is reporting in Greater Boston and throughout New England.

Nathan Chomilo ’05, general pediatrician and a hospital internist, received the Gretchen Hunsberger Medical Champion Achievement Award at the Reach Out and Read National Leadership Conference in Cincinnati in May. This award honors a doctor or other medical provider who has been extraordinary as a trainer, clinician, and/or clinical director; one whose exemplary personal and professional medical leadership has helped to make delivery of the Reach Out and Read program model all it can be in pediatric primary care. Nathan is medical director of Reach Out and Read Minnesota.

Summer 2018

farewells 1930s Phyllis Coppock Bryant ’35, St. Petersburg, Fla., March 14, 2018. Isabelle Longley Burleigh ’37, Santa Barbara, Calif., Dec. 12, 2017. Virginia Beck Siders ’39, Wilmington, Ohio, March 22, 2018. 1940s Elizabeth Rogers Cobb ’41, White Bear Lake, Minn., April 30, 2018. Robert D. “Dale” Nash ’41, Dayton, Ohio, March 22, 2018. Allan A. “Andy” Wasmuth ’41, Oxford, Ohio, April 12, 2018. Marion George Martin ’44, Sylvania, Ohio, Jan. 31, 2018. Laurence F. “Jake” Neubert ’44, Austin, Minn., March 8, 2018. Foster W. “Bill” Swope ’44, Elizabethtown, Ky., Feb. 18, 2018. Dorothy Bergman Rowe ’45, Elyria, Ohio, Feb. 23, 2018. Carroll W. Anstaett ’46, Olean, N.Y., Jan. 31, 2018. Paul A. Skelton ’47, Tallahassee, Fla., May 20, 2018. Mary Lou Jackson DeMar ’49, Madeira, Ohio, March 28, 2018. Kenneth T. Eiler ’49, Cincinnati, Ohio, June 8, 2018. Vincent A. Fulmer ’49, Arlington, Mass., May 21, 2018. Barbara Merrick Graeff ’49, Dayton, Ohio, Feb. 7, 2018. George W. Kilkenny Jr. ’49, Creston, Ohio, Feb. 10, 2018. James E. Myers ’49, Newtown, Pa., Nov. 9, 2017. Allen J. Wiant ’49, Austin, Texas, Feb. 21, 2018. 1950s Martha Baker Andrews ’50, Middletown, Ohio, March 19, 2018. Edwin B. “Burns” Apfeld ’50, Black Wolf, Wis., March 16, 2018.

miamian magazine

John W. Beaton ’50, Oxford, Ohio, May 9, 2018.

John W. Gatwood ’56, Dublin, Ohio, April 12, 2018.

Marilyn Jacoby Edwards ’50, Oxford, Ohio, June 10, 2018.

Patricia Harbison Kress ’56, Marion, Iowa, May 3, 2018.

Richard Kessler ’50, Kirtland Hills, Ohio, March 8, 2018.

Dorothy Fitzgerald Millikin ’56, Fort Myers, Fla., Feb. 17, 2018.

Hugh Thompson Jr. ’51, Vero Beach, Fla., April 25, 2018.

Roy L. Schnackenberg ’56, Chicago, Ill., Feb. 16, 2018.

Dorothy Anderson Daniel ’52, Doylestown, Ohio, March 30, 2018.

Gale Emerich Zucker ’56, Williamsburg, Va., March 3, 2018.

Jack W. Hallberg ’52, Hendersonville, N.C., April 20, 2018.

Robert O. Bowman ’57, Miamisburg, Ohio, April 20, 2018.

James J. Harris ’52 MS ’54, West Chester, Pa., March 23, 2018.

Wendell V. Gabier ’57, Pensacola, Fla., Nov. 9, 2017.

Trois Williams Hays ’52, Noblesville, Ind., April 5, 2018.

William R. Grate ’57, Ellenton, Fla., May 3, 2018.

Peggy Mollenkopf Mellish ’52, Elkhart, Ind., May 24, 2018.

John P. Knapp ’57 MA ’59, Ann Arbor, Mich., Feb. 11, 2018.

Eugenia “Genie” Lechner Sansone ’52, Cleveland, Ohio, Feb. 21, 2018.

Thomas I. McGreevy ’57, Oxford, Ohio, Feb. 4, 2018.

Alice McKibben Frantom ’53 MEd ’61, Cape Coral, Fla., Feb. 1, 2018. Victor F. Hauberg ’53 MEd ’58, Brookville, Ind., April 8, 2018. Kenneth H. Klein ’53 MBA ’57, Palm City, Fla., Feb. 21, 2018. Phyllis Ball Maurer ’53, New Philadelphia, Ohio, Feb. 13, 2018. David H. Marshall ’54, Decatur, Ill., April 17, 2018. Edward J. Mitroff ’54, Avon Lake, Ohio, March 6, 2018. Jeanne Graham Rhein ’54, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Feb. 11, 2018. James W. Noel Jr. ’55 MEd ’60, Worthington, Ohio, Feb. 24, 2018. Lawrence R. Senger ’55, Lake Elmo, Minn., April 1, 2018. Robert R. Taylor ’55, Beaufort, S.C., May 16, 2018. David R. Winiker ’55, Virginia Beach, Va., March 30, 2018. Jo Ann Harris Beamer ’56, Union Township, Ohio, July 3, 2018. David A. Bergstrom ’56, Southern Pines, N.C., April 8, 2018.

James E. Moyse ’57, Avon Lake, Ohio, Jan. 21, 2018. Alice Lantz Perkins ’57, Cupertino, Calif., Feb. 17, 2018. Robert T. Stone ’57, Akron, Ohio, May 7, 2018. Paul R. Weikert ’57, Phoenix, Ariz., Feb. 27, 2018. Amy Bricker Harris ’58, Phoenix, Ariz., April 2, 2018. Kenneth E. Harris ’58, Las Vegas, Nev., March 7, 2018. Edward R. Hurley ’58 MArch ’62, Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 24, 2018. Oma J. “Jean” Baker Moore MEd ’58, Dayton, Ohio, March 20, 2018. Mark H. Wagner ’58, Thousand Oaks, Calif., Feb. 20, 2018. Gary L. Bowyer ’59, Mason, Ohio, Feb. 27, 2018. Phyllis Koepke DiStaola ’59, Hamilton, Ohio, June 16, 2018. Carol F. Large ’59, Big Rapids, Mich., April 18, 2018. Jon A. Rhoades ’59, Van Wert, Ohio, Jan. 16, 2018.

Elva Schomburg Troth MEd ’59, Greensboro, N.C., April 20, 2018. 1960s David K. Hackley ’60, Minneapolis, Minn., April 6, 2018. Raymond J. Jaminet Sr. ’60, Youngstown, Ohio, March 30, 2018. Mary Haupt Jordan ’60, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 1, 2018. Ethel McIntosh Puckett ’60, Ahwatukee, Ariz., Jan. 29, 2018. Paul R. McGhee ’61 MEd ’62, Santa Maria, Calif., March 21, 2018. Robert L. Snyder ’61, Lebanon, Ohio, June 17, 2018. Sheldon L. Braverman ’62, Shaker Heights, Ohio, March 24, 2018. David W. Stowell ’62, Naples, Fla., Feb. 16, 2018. Jane Thomson Enyeart ’63, Milford, Mich., March 28, 2018. Teresa Clark Jordan ’63, Henderson, Nev., June 3, 2018. Aredis V. Kojoyian ’63, Newton Corner, Mass., Feb. 17, 2018. Jane Paetow Ritter ’63 MA ’72, Hamilton, Ohio, May 3, 2018. Kenneth G. Angel ’64, Miamisburg, Ohio, June 30, 2018. Thomas E. Daoust ’64, Glendale, Ariz., March 5, 2018. John F. Walland ’64, Bluffton, S.C., March 18, 2018. Nancy Roberts Bagshaw ’66, Madison, Ohio, Feb. 10, 2018. James M. Carr ’66, Kansas City, Mo., Feb. 22, 2018. James A. Dunham ’66, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., April 27, 2018. David R. Finkam MM ’66, Noblesville, Ind., Feb. 17, 2018. Nancy Navratil Morton ’66, Leesburg, Va., March 14, 2018. Pamela Appenzeller Minnick ’67, Mashpee, Mass., April 7, 2018.

farewells

Susan Taggart Morgan ’67, Columbus, Ohio, April 2, 2018.

Tim J. Raybuck ’72 MEd ’74, Fairfield, Ohio, Oct. 22, 2017.

Keith R. Laux ’80, Upper Arlington, Ohio, Feb. 24, 2018.

Nathaniel C. Averyt ’05, Seattle, Wash., Feb. 3, 2018.

Jerry N. Shambaugh MEd ’67, Urbana, Ohio, March 16, 2018.

Alex E. Cockman III ’73, Valdosta, Ga., Feb. 6, 2018.

Philip E. Snider ’80, Troy, Ohio, April 18, 2018.

Rocky L. Breedlove ’14 MEd ’17, Trenton, Ohio, May 25, 2018.

George V. “Van” Whaler ’67, Riverdale, Ga., Jan. 6, 2018.

Thomas P. Flynn ’74 MA ’76, Bradenton, Fla., Feb. 18, 2018.

Kathryn Duff Hardie ’81, Potomac, Md., May 5, 2018.

Mitchell G. Monte ’18, Akron, Ohio, March 17, 2018.

David G. Carter Sr. MEd ’68, Mesa, Ariz., March 17, 2018.

Richard D. Hense ’74, Houston, Texas, Feb. 9, 2018.

Betty Edwards Enz ’82, Middletown, Ohio, March 17, 2018.

William G. Fessler ’68, Maplewood, Minn., April 5, 2018.

John M. “Mack” Dickson ’75, Fayette, Ohio, May 7, 2018.

Coleen Pence Sizelove MA ’83, Oxford, Ohio, March 15, 2018.

John S. Gardner ’68, Powell, Ohio, April 26, 2018.

Rosemarie Elefante ’75, Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 20, 2018.

Brian S. Soucek ’83, Gainesville, Fla., April 4, 2018.

Betty Weldon Hadley ’68 MEd ’69, Monroe, Ohio, Jan. 24, 2018.

Steven D. Fletcher ’75, Ocala, Fla., March 10, 2018.

Charles H. “Chip” Christman ’85, Eaton, Ohio, April 29, 2018.

Ronald L. Jones ’68, Portsmouth, Ohio, May 14, 2018.

John R. “Jack” Schulte ’75, Dayton, Ohio, March 26, 2018.

Kevin J. McDonald ’85, Cleveland, Ohio, May 4, 2018.

Terry D. Meddock ’68, New Hope, Pa., April 25, 2018.

Timothy L. Williams ’75, Oregon, Ohio, April 3, 2018.

Carol Hess Williams ’86, Wilkinson, Ind., April 21, 2018.

John R. Schaumburg ’68, Chesterfield, Mo., March 15, 2018.

Leanne Heinselman Foley ’76, Centerville, Ohio, March 1, 2018.

Donald W. Stoner ’68, San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 13, 2018.

Peggy Palen Schilling ’76, Columbus, Ohio, May 1, 2018.

John F. Milholland ’69, Brookville, Ohio, Feb. 6, 2018.

Deborah Kitchen Sellers ’76, Springfield, Ohio, April 2, 2018.

Donna Maranchik Salmon ’69, Grand Junction, Colo., June 23, 2018.

Richard S. Grunewald ’77, Centerville, Ohio, Jan. 8, 2018.

Melissa Krafft Zunis ’69, Springfield, Ohio, May 19, 2018. 1970s Pamela Hodapp Hollenbeck MFA ’70, Toledo, Ohio, March 23, 2018. Richard A. Kuhl ’70, Hamilton, Ohio, March 11, 2018. Cynthia Hermanson Roemer ’70, Paramus, N.J., April 12, 2018.

Forrest T. Houlette ’77 MA ’79, Louisville, Ky., Sept. 19, 2017. “Pepper” Nadine Mendelson McGowan ’77, Valrico, Fla., June 29, 2018. Daniel L. Simmons ’77, Ashley, Ohio, May 26, 2018. Donna Gruenschlaeger Genninger ’79, Lutz, Fla., April 9, 2018.

William C. Morel ’71 MAT ’73, Gillette, Wyo., March 23, 2018.

1980s Patricia Odioso Barta ’80, Brecksville, Ohio, March 13, 2018.

Joseph E. Sexton Jr. ’71, New London, Ohio, Jan. 20, 2018.

Thomas C. Horn ’80, Cincinnati, Ohio, March 11, 2018.

Mary Revelos Skalkos ’71, Hamilton, Ohio, March 1, 2018.

Freddie J. Johnson ’80, Las Vegas, Nev., Feb. 17, 2018.

Carol A. Cartwright ’72, Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 21, 2017.

Melissa G. Keller ’80, Bloomington, Ind., April 14, 2018.

Robert J. Johnson ’72, Rockport, Texas, Feb. 13, 2018.

1990s Murray W. Grace Jr. MEd ’90, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 7, 2018. Michael S. Griffo ’90, Lakewood, Ohio, May 3, 2018. John T. Kalbouridis ’90, Lakewood, Ohio, Feb. 6, 2018. Kelly Stapleton Siedling ’90, Oakwood, Ohio, Feb. 13, 2018. David A. Steedman ’90, Evansville, Ind., May 20, 2018. Nicole N. Owens ’91 MA ’93, Crofton, Md., April 11, 2018. Kristin Lymburner Cruset ’92, Anna, Ohio, March 24, 2018. Reba D. Deal ’93, Livingston, Mont., March 7, 2018. Damon B. Hickey ’95, Hamilton, Ohio, April 18, 2018. Laura Rowe Voorhis MEd ’97, Washington Court House, Ohio, March 28, 2018. Richard T. Cook ’98, Toledo, Ohio, March 27, 2018. 2000s James C. “Jake” Judkins ’03, Toledo, Ohio, March 28, 2018.

FACULTY, STAFF, AND FRIENDS Sandra K. Blaylock, Camden, Ohio, May 5, 2018. Retired from Miami’s Rec Center, 1999–2009. Daniel L. Garber, Milford, Ohio, May 15, 2018. Horticulturist for Miami, 2007–2017. Lawrence J. Gray, Fairfield Township, Ohio, May 5, 2018. Taught classes in Miami’s Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR), from the history of bread to the American car culture. Burns “Derrell” Hart MS ’64, Oxford, Ohio, June 5, 2018. Associate vice president emeritus for student affairs and dean of students at Miami, 1968–1993. Louise Wall Heidler, Vista, Calif., June 7, 2018. Miami administrator emerita, head regional campus librarian, 1962–1987. Theresa L. Lawson ’14, New Paris, Ohio, May 22, 2018. At Miami for several years as a building supervisor and chef. William G. Mallory ’57, Bloomington, Ind., May 25, 2018. Winningest football coach in Indiana University history, began his head coaching career in 1969 at Miami. He went 39–12 at Miami, including an 11–0 MAC championship team in 1973. Elmer D. “Demar” Rucker, Dayton, Ohio, April 29, 2018. Former member of Miami’s basketball team. Marian C. Winner, Charleston, S.C., April 5, 2018. Miami administrator emerita, director of science library, 1966–1991.

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 Kevin Wilson, Advancement Services Building, Miami University, 926 Chestnut Lane, Oxford, Ohio 45056 or call Kevin at 513-529-3397. More classmates are remembered online at MiamiAlum.org/Miamian.

Summer 2018

days of old

Treasuring the Bard’s Books At the time of William Shakespeare’s 1616 death, 18 plays now attributed to him had not reached print, including some of his greatest.

Miami’s Four Folios

miamian magazine

Special Collections & Archives, on the top floor of King Library, maintains many treasures. Among the most valued are William Shakespeare’s Folios. Considered the greatest works of English literature, the complete set of all Four Folios was donated to Miami in 1949 by Dr. O.O. Fisher, Class of 1909, an industrial surgeon and avid book collector. Shakespeare’s plays were written to be performed, not published. Without the First Folio, printed in 1623, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, Macbeth, and 15 others of his most popular productions likely would have been lost to history, said Bill Modrow, head of Special Collections & Archives. Miami’s First, Second, and Fourth Folios are from a matched set once owned by Lord Leigh. The third was

once part of the collection of American businessman, industrialist, and philanthropist John Gribbel. In a 2015 blog published on the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, Marcus Ladd, Miami’s special collections digital librarian at the time, wrote, “Though the First Folio is the most famous and prized of the four, the Third Folio is arguably the rarest — it is said that most unsold copies were destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666.” For more about these Folios, including completed transcriptions by Howard Blanning, professor emeritus of theatre, visit Miami Libraries’ digital collection at www.tinyurl.com/Miami-Shakespeare-Folios. The Droeshout portrait on the title page is one of only two works of art definitively identifiable as a depiction of the Bard of Avon.

Summer 2018

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID

Burlington, VT 05401 Permit No. 396

Dress for

SUCCESS See page 22