Miamian - Fall/Winter 2020

miami an The Magazine of Miami University

SPEAKING

UP Five Miamians Leading the Way Through Today’s Challenges

IN T H IS I SSUE:

Pushing for Change Love, Honor, and Quarantine Staying Connected

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ON P OWERFUL AN GE L I C W I N G S Like soul-mated swans, faithfully true, They soared beyond their safe space.

On powerful angelic wings, they flew Contented with this wondrous place.

Swans, a national nature symbol of Finland, top Fairport Harbor’s Finnish Memorial, designed by nationally recognized artist Gene Kangas ’66. The monument, erected in Gene’s hometown on Lake Erie’s south shore, honors all families of Finnish heritage.

Dedicated in 2003, the Finnish granite and American stainless steel sculpture is 16 feet tall. It features a map of Finland, rotating mated swans, and “The Finns,” a poem Gene wrote. He was an art professor for 32 years at the University of North Carolina and Cleveland State. He and his wife, Linda Muse Kangas ’65, co-own Creekside, a virtual art gallery.

Staff Editor Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96 Miamian@MiamiOH.edu 513-529-5957

Vol. 39, No. 1

miamian

Photographers Jeff Sabo Scott Kissell

The Magazine of Miami University

Copy Editor Lucy Baker

STORIES

Design Consultant Lilly Pereira www.aldeia.design

18 Somewhere My Love

Gary Goshorn ’73 asks to stay with his wife, Carole ’73, when her senior living facility locks its doors against COVID-19 and the outside world.

University Advancement 513-529-4029 Senior Vice President for University Advancement Tom Herbert herbertw@MiamiOH.edu Alumni Relations 513-529-5957 Executive Director of the Alumni Association Kim Tavares MBA ’12 kim.tavares@MiamiOH.edu

22 The Challenge of Change

Frustrated by inequalities, Miami President Greg Crawford moves aggressively to implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force recommendations.

26 Speaking Up Timeless trailblazer (see page 22)

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

12 F rom the Hub Time to Write a New Chapter

13 B ack & Forth

To and From the Editor

Have baklava, will travel (see page 16)

16 A long Slant Walk Campus News Highlights

10 Such a Life

ON THE COVER

Eleanor Shakespeare, an illustrator in England, created this montage of Miamian leaders. From front to back are Mike DeWine ’69, Jannie Kamara ’21, Robert Wiehe ’89, Carol Anderson ’81 MA ’82, and Deena Chisolm ’90. Go to page 26 to find out what they are saying and doing during these challenging times.

Through a deadly pandemic and racial unrest, these five lead to serve, regardless of praise or criticism.

IN EACH ISSUE

MiamiOH.edu/alumni 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

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No Masking Excitement of Move-in Week

12 I nquiry + Innovation 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.

Ageism Resurgence

14 M edia Matters

New Works by Alumni

16 M y Story

A Backpack of Baklava

32 Love & Honor

Strong Connections [Despite COVID]

34 Class Notes

Notes, News, Weddings

46 F arewells 48 D ays of Old

Windows to the Past

Miamian is published two times a year by the University Advancement Division of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056. Copyright © 2020, Miami University. All rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Contact Miamian at Glos Center, 820 S. Patterson Ave., Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056; 513-529-5957 or toll free 866-MU-ALUMS (866-682-5867); Miamian@MiamiOH.edu.

from the hub

Time to Write a New Chapter

By President Greg Crawford Communities can respond to challenges by becom-

ing either dispirited, divided, and debilitated or energized, innovative, and empowered.

Preferring to embrace the positive, we at Miami are drawing on our resilience and commitment to students and writing a new chapter of learning, discovery, creativity, justice, and service.

Our faculty, as the lead authors, are introducing numerous ingenious ways to teach our students and stay connected to them.

Political science Professor Monica Schneider, for instance, has created a video-based speaker series in her Campaigns and Elections class, giving her students exceptional access to national experts on polling, unions, Washington “ Our community media, and election law. is facing so Some of these experts would never be able to carve out time to come to her much change class in person. with resolve, Norm Krumpe MS ’05, who teaches computer science, has set up a home humility, mutual studio with the help of his wife, Miami encouragement, mathematics Professor Jane Keiser.

Located in their basement, the studio and confidence in comes with a green screen, professional our purpose.” lighting, and two GoPro cameras. How awesome is that?

With the flip of a switch, he can toggle between sharing his computer screen and his iPad screen with his students. Sometimes he even opts for his favorite old-fashioned whiteboard.

If you’re like me and keep forgetting to unmute your mic during meetings, you may find comfort in knowing that even technology experts like Norm struggle now and again.

“The first day went absolutely miserably,” he admits. “But I quickly got things going. What I’ve done is recreated the classroom in a way that I like to teach.”

Our faculty and staff have pulled together and faced COVID’s challenges head-on. As a result, we are undergoing a renaissance.

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Ellen Yezierski, director of Miami’s Center for Teaching Excellence, experienced this firsthand when — in partnership with the Howe Center for Writing Excellence and eLearning — she conducted online training in advance of fall semester.

These sessions drew hundreds of faculty. Ellen says she’s observed more discussion this year on how to improve instructional skills than ever before.

“People are applying a lot of scrutiny to the way they teach,” she says.

While our faculty showcase their inventiveness, our staff are working diligently as well. Because of their success in implementing new ways to keep our campuses safe, a fair number of our students were able to move into the residence halls in September.

To provide help, we have invested a record amount in aid — $36 million to the entering class and $114 million overall. We couldn’t do it without all of you, who have offered invaluable support, including $875,000 for the students’ You are invited to write to President Greg Crawford emergency needs fund. at president@MiamiOH.edu.

As we continue to overcome Follow him on Twitter @MiamiOHPres. both predictable and unexpected obstacles this academic year, I feel blessed that our community is facing so much change with resolve, humility, mutual encouragement, and confidence in our purpose.

We will not retreat or retrench. We will continue to invest in bold, forward-looking initiatives that meet the needs of our society and ensure the success of our students and our university, just as Miamians have for the past 211 years.

Even when up against seemingly insurmountable hurdles, the unwavering dedication of our Miami community — which you are very much a part of — shines through. This is what it truly means to be One Miami.

back & forth JUNE GOGGIN

100 Years of a Wonderful Life Editor’s note: You may have noticed that my editor’s note looks different this time.

With everything else in our world out of kilter right now, why not? Actually, I decided to forgo the usual letters pages and my column so that you could join me in sharing a delightful afternoon with June Goggin four days before her 100th birthday.

Sitting on her front porch with her daughter, Pam, so that we can remain outside and properly distanced, June laughs as she recounts favorite family stories, her mind sharp as a tack, her Maine accent as thick and comforting as corn chowder.

Some would say this upbeat story has a sad ending because June passed away five weeks after her birthday on July 31, 2020.

But I prefer to think of it another way. My last question to June was whether she had any regrets, anything she wished she’d done differently. Puzzling over the question, she thought about it, considered it this way and that, and finally said: No. No regrets. Not a one.

What a blessing to be able to say that after all she experienced. It takes work, determination, and downright gumption to look for the bright side in everything and everyone. Bless you, June Goggin. You did, indeed, live a wonderful life.

June Goggin has never watched the bittersweet classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Still, she loves the title because she thinks it describes her own life perfectly, although she recalls only sweet, no bitter.

At age 100, June has lots of years to reflect on, which she did when she celebrated her centennial birthday June 25. Many of her dear Oxford and Miami University friends paraded by her cottage at The Knolls of Oxford that afternoon, waving and honking and holding up signs of congratulations as she sat under a canopy in the driveway and waved back.

You may not know June, but if you’ve been on Miami’s Oxford campus, you’ve more than likely walked by the Goggin Ice Center on Oak Street. She’s that Goggin.

Or rather, part of the couple the ice center honors. Her husband, Lloyd MBA ’63, became Miami’s comptroller in 1947, treasurer in 1956, and vice president for finance and business affairs from 19661982. He died in 2017 at the age of 98.

STA RT I N G O U T I N M AINE

June and her daughter, Pam, read through the best wishes and funny thoughts that friends and family drop off during June’s 100th birthday parade.

June grew up in the tiny Maine town of Gardiner, which to this day she calls Gahd-na. Known as June Gallant back then, she was the first of three daughters.

Her father traveled from Canada with his brother to find jobs. They found wives, too, marrying sisters. Her father, Edward, bought into a filling station. Her mother, Florence, worked in a shoe factory.

Being from Maine, she was ice skating while still in diapers. However, when she discovered books, she decided she preferred to stay in and read and leave the outdoor sports to her friends. Always the extrovert, she enjoyed school but had to work at it. She also enjoyed her high

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school’s drama club and performing in plays. She earned good roles, but never the lead. Except that one time.

“I went to see my boyfriend (that would be Lloyd) in a hockey game. The hockey puck hit me right in the mouth, and then I couldn’t play that role that night. That was very traumatic. That was the only big role I ever had.”

But she forgave her boyfriend, and they kept dating.

She and Lloyd met in high school when she was a sophomore and he a junior. He lived in the nearby town of Randolph.

“There was so much I loved about him,” she says, wistfully, sitting on the front porch of her cottage a few days before her birthday. They were married for 74 years.

“Lloyd’s family had 15 children, and my husband was the 15th one. He was very serious, and I was rather intrigued by how serious he was.”

I N TERVI EWI N G UN D E R A TRE E

June stayed home with her parents and worked during World War II while Lloyd entered the service. They were married in the midst of the war in 1943. Time, as it does, flew by, with Lloyd entering officer’s candidate school and coming out a captain.

Afterward, his former baseball coach put in a good word for him with Maine’s governor, who helped him get accepted as a student to Bowdoin College. In the meantime, his best friend in the service gave him a tip about a job at Miami.

“His best friend was going corporate America, so he turned the job down, but he told Mr. Roudebush that he knew of a person who would be great for the job.”

Wallace Roudebush managed Miami’s finances for 45 years and was the person who hired Lloyd.

“Mr. Roudebush and he had the interview outside under a tree, and Mr. Roudebush offered him the job,” June says. “When they said something about

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$4,400 a year, Lloyd was like, ‘Ah, that’s like all the money in the world.’ ” The Goggins, who were now parents of a 2-year-old toddler, Pam, packed up their possessions and left Maine, the only home they’d know, for a college town 1,024 miles from all that they loved — their family, the ocean, and fresh lobster.

S E T T LI N G I N AT M I A M I

“Miami was like a heaven,” June says.

“The university, when I first saw it, I thought, where in the world do these wonderful schools come from? And all the students just loved Miami. Just loved it.”

The Goggins quickly came to love it, too. Those were busy years with Lloyd helping to manage a school that more than tripled in the number of students, faculty, staff, and buildings while adding new campuses in Middletown, Hamilton, and Luxembourg. The Goggin family also grew, with Pat, Penny, and Paul joining Pam. All but Penny are Miami graduates.

Up until Pam was in junior high school, they lived in Miami housing. One of those houses was moved from Spring Street, where Shriver Center is today, down to Oak, now the site of the Rec Center, a hockey puck’s throw from the Goggin Ice Center.

Lloyd worked for Presidents Hahne, Millett, Shriver, and Pearson, and they all shared “such a wonderful feeling of camaraderie,” June says. “A lot of the buildings were his idea. When he felt like he owned the place,” June says, laughing, “he was ready to retire.”

But not before Miami named its first ice arena after the Goggins. When that building was torn down, and a much larger ice center went up on the south side of campus, it, too, was named after the Goggins.

“Oh, that was such a surprise to us. I never thought anything like that would be happening to our family. Lloyd was just thrilled beyond words.”

LO O K I N G B AC K , N O REG R ETS

June still reads, although she opts for large print and good lighting as a concession to her age. She’s also a familiar sight to her neighbors as she walks around the block every day.

Living in Ohio since 1947 has not dulled her accent. Her family still goes to Maine every summer. It’s a part of their soul. But don’t misunderstand. June has no regrets.

“I feel like I’ve had it all. I can’t think of anything where I would go to my death bed wishing I had done this or I had done that. There was nothing in my heart that I desired that I couldn’t do.

That’s a wonderful thing to say. It’s been a wonderful life.”

Q& A W I T H J U N E

What do you think has been the most important invention during your lifetime? Well, let’s see. There have been a lot of things. I guess the thing we had the most fun with was when we bought a motorhome and traveled all over the country. What a wonderful invention. A house with wheels on it that can take you anyplace you want to go.

What’s the secret to living to 100?

Never thought about it until about 95, and somebody said, “Well, maybe you’ll make it to 100,” and I thought, I don’t know, but I’ve had a good, wonderful life. Nothing ever seemed to tear it apart, and we have a great family.

What advice would you give first-year students starting at Miami this fall?

I would say, obey the rules first. School has all the rules to be good for you, good for the school, and good for everything.

Just don’t do anything to spoil that. (She chokes up.) I often weep when I talk about Miami because it was so good to us. It was really, really a lifesaver.

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JOHN LEWIS

Best Teacher, Friend

By Rick Momeyer, Miami University professor emeritus of philosophy

In the spring of 1961, civil rights activist Bayard Rustin came to my alma mater, Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, to report on what at the time we called “the Negro struggle for freedom.”

After his address, Rustin asked why we had chosen “a segregated college.” This inspired a handful of us to create “CAUSE: College Advancement Under Student Effort” to assist admissions in recruiting Black students, something of a novel and not entirely welcome idea to colleges that had yet to appreciate the educational value, to say nothing of the justice, of a racially diverse, multicultural student body.

In the course of that effort, we discovered a number of colleges had for years conducted one-on-one student exchanges with Black colleges. Allegheny’s chaplain set up such an exchange with Fisk University in Nashville. Three Fisk students signed up to come to Allegheny. No Allegheny students signed up to go to Fisk. So three of us in CAUSE decided to go for our own enlightenment.

The third day there, we were invited to a picnic with a diverse mix of 20 or so people: Black and white, young and old, students, teachers, gay and straight — all veterans of “the Movement.”

One of them was John Lewis, recently released from the notorious Parchman Prison in Mississippi after completing a Freedom Ride, during which he was assaulted several times and a bus was set ablaze by Klansmen while he was in it.

John and the others told of their campaign to desegregate public facilities in Nashville and their Freedom Ride experiences.

Captivated by the passion and power of the stories and the righteousness of the cause, I signed up for a nonviolent workshop with James Lawson, who had been recently expelled from Vanderbilt Theological Seminary for doing just this sort of thing. Rev. Lawson had been conducting these workshops in Nashville for three years, so a year earlier when the first sit-in occurred in Greensboro, N.C., Nashville students were well-prepared to spread the

message of resistance. We were trained in how to nonviolently resist and protect against assault and why returning love for hate was not only right, but also the best strategy for effecting lasting change.

Rev. Lawson was a good teacher, but John Lewis was even better: He embodied and exemplified commitment, courage, and kindness in the face of the vilest verbal and physical attacks.

He was then, at 21, and still decades later at 80, an uncompromising believer in the possibility of a “Beloved Community” in which peace, equality, and justice for all prevailed.

It was that first sit-in at an upscale restaurant on our 10th day in Nashville that led to John, me, and three others being indicted by a Davidson County Grand Jury on three counts of “conspiracy” to disrupt a business. To the best of my knowledge, this was the only occasion in more than 40 arrests when John was indicted.

In the Allegheny community, the predominant conservative critique was that we had been “disgraceful” representatives of the college for getting into the kind of trouble that we did — what in later years John would famously call “good trouble.”

John was supposed to be my best man when Susan Rhinesmith and I married in June 1965, but as with a number of other missed appointments in those days, he went to jail instead!

At Miami University, where I taught philosophy for 44 years, John visited on at least four occasions, for Freedom Summer conferences (the 1964 training took place at Western College for Women, which became part of Miami 10 years later), to dedicate a memorial, to meet with students, and to give the May 2007 commencement address.

I count as one of the greatest privileges of my life knowing and being greatly influenced by this man of such singular character and unwavering courage — a man who taught me to get into trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble. “ You must be bold, brave, and courageous and find a way … to get in the way.”

—John Lewis

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New Data Science Building The Richard M. McVey Data Science Building, located on the former site of Swing Hall, will be central to making Miami’s vision of creating an academic epicenter for data science a reality, says President Greg Crawford.

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Construction is expected to begin in late spring 2021 on a data science building on Miami’s Oxford campus, thanks to a $20 million gift from Rick McVey ’81. In recognition of this contribution, one of the top-five largest single gifts in Miami’s history, the building will be named the Richard M. McVey Data Science Building.

Approximately 85,000 square feet, it will face Tallawanda Road between Withrow and Benton halls on the former site of Swing Hall. It will house one of Miami’s newest departments, Emerging Technology in Business and Design, as well as statistics and mathematics, the Armstrong Institute for Interactive Media Studies, and the Center for Analytics and Data Science.

The building will also facilitate transdisciplinary partnership with other related fields from

the Farmer School of Business and the College of Engineering and Computing.

As the founder, chairman, and CEO of New York-based MarketAxess, a leading international financial technology company and now part of the S&P 500 Stock Index, McVey is passionate about ensuring that Miami continues to advance the field of data science.

McVey, whose daughter Taylor is a 2011 Miami alumna, earned a BS in finance and was co-captain of the MAC-champion golf team in 1981. He has endowed scholarships for the golf program and Farmer. He also serves on the Miami University Foundation board, chairing the endowment investment committee.

The building is projected to be completed in summer 2023.

ARCHIVAL PHOTO OF FREEDOM SUMMER BY GEORGE R. HOXIE, COURTESY OF SMITH LIBRARY OF REGIONAL HISTORY

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Commitment to Social Justice

I’M GLAD YOU ASKED

Recognizing advocates who keep spirit of Freedom Summer alive

We asked students who watched a Freedom Summer documentary:

Influential radio talk-show host Joe

What inspired you most in Training for Freedom?

Madison received the Freedom Summer of ’64 Award — signaling Miami’s continuing commitment to social justice and honoring those who keep the spirit of Freedom Summer alive — at the university’s virtual diversity and inclusion conference Oct. 9.

Originally, he was to receive the award at the National Civil Rights Conference on Miami’s Western campus in June. However, the event was delayed by the coronavirus outbreak and has been rescheduled for June 2021.

The Joe Madison Show, which airs weekday mornings on SiriusXM radio, calls attention to social injustice around the world. In 2015, he broadcast live from Cuba, the first American radio host to do so in more than 50 years.

In March, Miami recognized Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, former national president of the League of Women Voters, with a Freedom Summer of ’64 Award. The 1974 graduate of Western College for Women accepted the award in Kumler Chapel.

From 1998 to 2002, she served as both the 15th national president of the League of Women Voters of the United States — the first African American to

Music has the power to unite, the power to heal, the power to restore.

— Luke de Villiers, a junior, kinesiology major, from Hamilton, Ohio

Joe Madison has spent a lifetime advocating for the right to vote, from directing Detroit’s NAACP to using his worldwide platform on SiriusXM .

hold the role — and chair of the League of Women Voters Education Fund.

During her leadership, JeffersonJenkins promoted the league’s strength as a grassroots organization and called for focusing on local elections and increasing voter participation.

Her book, The Untold Story of Women of Color in the League of Women Voters, was released in February to honor the organization’s centennial.

“ There’s going to be more of everything. … More news, but also more noise. That pushes news outlets … to curate and verify and debunk.”

— Brian Stelter, chief media correspondent for CNN Worldwide and host of Reliable Sources, on “The Role of the Media in American Democracy,” the Menard Family Center’s Fall Lecture Oct. 19

I was especially touched in the documentary when everyone, regardless of skin color, stood together, linked arms, and sang, swaying in rhythm.

— Hillary Truax, a junior, psychology major, from Mason, Ohio

Singing was a key part of Freedom Summer training in 1964 at Western College.

Music is a universal language, and the documentary really showed how people can connect through music.

— Jessica Pierce, first-year student, precommuniation design major, Kettering, Ohio

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NOTEWORTHY

Creating intensive learning and research experiences, Miami will launch a transformed Honors College in fall 2021. Each of some 400 students admitted every year will graduate with international study experience and having produced a publishable, professional-quality work. The students will live and study together on Western campus.

The Stats + Stories podcast by John Bailer ’82, chair of statistics; Richard Campbell, professor emeritus and founding chair of Miami’s media, journalism, and film; and Rosemary Pennington, the podcast’s moderator, received the 2021 Joint Policy Board for Mathematics Communications Award for being “engaging, entertaining, and enlightening” while bringing mathematical ideas to non-mathematical audiences.

This winter term, Miami is offering its first fully developed virtual study abroad program, MiamiConnects Virtual Global Learning. Its online workshops will let students engage with different kinds of communities and will meet Global Perspectives Miami Plan requirements, with minimal participation costs. All students will take the foundational course, Becoming a Global Citizen, then choose a location course: Malaysia, Immigration from Central America, or Tech in Kenya, and connect with students in those parts of the world.

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RISING RANKS

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Ranked among the Top 50 in the National Public University category in U.S. New & World Report, 2020

100

Both Forbes and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance ranked Miami among the Top 100 in Best Value nationwide in 2019

Under Construction To support growing demand for Miami’s

health-related programs, trustees have authorized awarding contracts up to $96 million to build a 170,000-squarefoot clinical health sciences and wellness building on the Oxford campus.

President Greg Crawford said the building is needed to fill demand for health-care jobs and align with planning for new academic programs. “Preparing students for growing careers helps expand the Ohio economy,” he said.

Miami’s nursing and speech pathology and audiology programs continue to grow, and the Boldly Creative academic

development fund has awarded funding to establish a physician assistant program on the Oxford campus.

Locating clinical health programs in a health corridor anchored by the new building will increase learning opportunities for students, Crawford said.

Funding sources will include state capital funds, sponsorship or naming opportunities, existing budgets, and newly issued bonds.

The building will be where the university’s Health Services Center is currently located. It should be completed by mid-2022.

The university is constructing a 170,000-square-foot clinical health sciences and wellness building on the Oxford campus where the Health Services Center was located. Harris Hall, formerly a dining hall in South Quad, will temporarily house health services until the new space is ready in 2022.

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Music to our ears: The Miami University Symphony Orchestra placed third in The American Prize in Orchestral Performance-college/ university division, 2019-2020. It is the nation’s most comprehensive series of nonprofit online contests in the musical and theater arts. The MUSO submission included the performance of Piano Concerto in F “Three Tone Poems for Piano and Orchestra,” composed by Roger Davis, Miami professor emeritus of music. The concert, seen here, took place at Cincinnati’s Music Hall in March 2019. “Our symphony orchestra trains and performs at incredibly high standards under the expert direction of our conductor, Ricardo Averbach,” said Liz Mullenix, dean of the College of Creative Arts.

‘Coolest’ of Rankings Miami University ranked 71st among the Sierra Club’s “Coolest Schools” 2020 for greenest colleges. Miami is the top Ohio public university on the list of 312 schools. The ranking is based on food, energy, waste, research, transportation, and curriculum.

In addition, Miami is listed in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2021 Edition, one of 416 schools selected for being environmentally responsible.

The Sierra Club and The Princeton Review use data from the institutions’

Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STAR) reports in collaboration with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Miami has spent 10 years on the path to carbon neutrality by transforming energy systems on the Oxford campus.

In September, it became a signatory of Second Nature’s Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments climate commitment, pledging Miami to carbon neutrality and climate resilience.

REGIONALS ONLY OHIO SCHOOL TO MAKE THE TOP 20 LIST The Miami University Regionals’ online bachelor’s degree program placed 17th in the 2021 Best Online Bachelor’s Degrees: Colleges with the Highest Return on Investment ranking by Online U, a new ranking system for online degree programs.

Miami is the only Ohio school on the Top 20 list. Schools were ranked by graduates’ salaries and debt payments 10 years after graduation, accounting for standard salary growth and interest on debt payments.

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NO MASKING EXCITEMENT OF MOVE-IN WEEK The incoming Class of 2024 was initially the second largest in Miami’s history with 4,200 students. But when COVID-19 forced a different kind of fall semester, the university provided options: 300 students chose to defer their enrollment to spring or fall 2021, about a fourth decided to pursue a fully online experience, and the rest selected the hybrid model, with some face-to-face opportunities.

For those who chose to live on campus, approximately 40 percent less than usual, move-in day was expanded to moved-in week to allow for physical distancing and occurred Sept. 14-20, five weeks after the semester’s remote start.

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Ageism Resurgence Don’t let COVID-19 be an excuse to marginalize older Americans

By Kate de Medeiros

Kate de Medeiros is the O’Toole Professor of gerontology and a research fellow at Miami University’s Scripps Gerontology Center. Her following column, lightly edited for space, was published in the May 14, 2020, Aging, COVID-19, Hastings Bioethics Forum.

Of all the “isms,” ageism is arguably the hardest to address because old age is neither a valued stage of life nor an identity that many claim. The coronavirus pandemic may have made that effort even harder.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified three groups at higher risk for contracting severe illness from the COVID-19: people age 65 or over, people living in long-term care facilities, and anyone with an underlying medical condition such as heart disease, diabetes, or liver disease.

While this information is important, it may have inadvertently created a backlash of ageist practices. Consider comments on a New York Times article on how to convince your older parents to protect themselves against the virus.

One reader wrote: “Well, realistically, what do they have to look forward to? What do they have to live for? Say they get sick? Most doctors won’t take Medicare patients. So, it’s bankruptcy?

Try being bankrupt when you’re very old. Homelessness?

Try that one on for size. Lodged in an assisted living facility, reduced to being a virtual prisoner? There are only so many games of Bingo that you can play. It’s a place where they wait to die anyway. Or, a ‘retirement’ home? Where they wait for the end. For the stroke that eviscerates them? The conoravirus quickly killing them would be doing them a favor, in

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a way. As it is, doors close in their faces because of their advanced age.”

Sadly, this sort of sentiment seems to be shockingly common now.

“Old” language negative, evasive, condescending How we talk about “old” — what is old, who is old, am I old — reveals attitudes about aging. The language of “old” is negative, evasive (e.g., “You’re 80 years young”), and/ or condescending (e.g., “Old people are cute”). People who don’t consider themselves to be “old” refer to “them” as a way to distance themselves. Even words like “wise” can be pejorative when indiscriminately applied to all persons in a given age range irrespective of their individual attributes.

Take, for example, “senior citizen,” a marketing term of sorts. Originating in the U.S. in the late 1930s, “senior citizen” was a way to brand the new idea of the retiree as holding an honored position within society. It was really more of a ploy to convince older workers to step aside to make room for younger ones.

“Senior citizen” is now a term people use to avoid saying “old” although definitions of “old” vary greatly. In the U.S., “old” might be the eligibility age for receiving Social Security retirement benefits (currently age 65). “Senior” living communities are generally open to people 50 and

Illustration: Shutterstock/Aleutie

inquiry + innovation

over, the age at which people are assumed to have no household dependents who would need access to community services like schools. Membership eligibility at “senior centers” in the U.S. is also often age 50, though, according to the National Council on Aging, the average member is 75 years old (and female).

“Old” in these examples is associated with services or opportunities, not physiology or functional ability.

However, we know from decades of research that most people who meet these various eligibility criteria don’t consider themselves to be “old,” although they may consider themselves to be a “senior.”

Perhaps more insidious than “senior citizen” is “elderly.”

According to an article by Herbert Covey on the history of terminology to represent older people, although sometimes mistaken as a synonym for “elder,” “elderly” evolved from the 10th century term “eld” (old age or late life).

Later, offshoots included “eldfather” (grandfather), “eldmother” (grandmother), and “elder,” which originally meant ancestor or forefather, but later reflected a position of power for wealthy men. By the early 1600s, however, “elderling,” later “elderlie” were terms of contempt toward older persons (“eldress” described a “mean old woman”).

Today, “elderly” is applied to various age groups — 65 and over, 85 and over, with little to no rationale.

Age 60 and over labeled “elderly” or “senior” “Elderly” is used to label an entire group of people based on chronological age. It is never used as a term of empowerment but rather as one that conveys vulnerability and frailty. It evokes sympathy; paternal, protectionist attitudes evident in phrases such as “our elderly”; and disdain. Most people, regardless of age, don’t identify as “elderly” but are identified by others.

In the current COVID-19 pandemic, even those age 60 and over have been labeled as “elderly” or “senior,” although few would label themselves as such.

Those of us who study aging regard old age as a cultural construction of physiological changes over time. Gray hair is a biological response; viewing gray hair as a sign of decline is a social one.

This is not meant to ignore aging or to gloss over the losses that can occur repetitive as one ages. Although biological changes happen over time to everyone, people age at different rates due to a variety of variables — genetics, lifestyle, access to health care, and so on. To assume that all people within a chronological age range are the same ignores the heterogeneity of people as they age.

Consider 79-year-old Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is a respected physician, immunologist, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Disease, and adviser to six presidents. I have yet to see him referred to as “the elderly Dr. Fauci” or as “Dr. Fauci, an active senior.”

Why? Because he is strong, smart, active, competent — descriptors taken for granted in younger people but that have to be “proven” by older people. This observation is not meant to ignore or diminish the fact that Dr. Fauci is at higher risk because of his age. He has said so himself.

Instead, it’s important to point out that the majority of people who are age 60 or over are not frail, weak, or dependent as the term “the elderly” implies. Yes, they are at increased risk for serious COVID-19 complications, but those risks are raised by coexisting conditions, for people of all ages. It is arguably different to use an age range that has verifiable connections to risk versus vague and potentially demeaning labels like “elderly” or “senior” to identify risk. The former is a scientific association; the latter is a social value.

“ Gray hair is a biological response; viewing gray hair as a sign of decline is a social one.”

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media matters

Crossing the BlackWhite Divide Mark Curnutte ’84 shares 25 years of reporting in Black Cincinnati

“The African American story, with all of its complexities, was the one I wanted to learn and the one I wanted to tell,” said Mark Curnutte ’84, author of Across the Color Line, published by University of Cincinnati Press in December. The former Cincinnati Enquirer reporter is now teaching at Miami as a visiting instructor of social justice studies and journalism.

Chloe Vyzral ’21, from Columbus, is a social justice studies and environmental science major. After graduation, she wants to gain some experience in farming and food sustainability, and then earn a master’s.

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It was a blisteringly cold January day as I trudged through the city slush to my internship at Our Daily Bread, the largest soup kitchen in Cincinnati. The numbing chill threatened to turn my mood sour, but I simply couldn’t help but feel a light elation wash over me on those lively streets.

I saw children skipping home from school, old women smoking cigarettes while chatting at the bus stops, and jam-packed little corner markets, their windows steaming up with customers’ collective exhales.

Then a passerby waved and smiled at me from a cocoon of winter garments. It was my Miami professor, Mark, the man who connected me with this incredible internship. He blended in seamlessly with the bustling ecosystem that is Over-the-Rhine. He is a devoted observer of the stories told on every street. He is the author of Across the Color Line.

Mark Curnutte ’84, the former race and social justice reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer, spent decades cultivating a bond with the Black community, illuminating its triumphs and tribulations.

“It was bigger than me. Nothing ever made more sense to me — intellectually, emotionally, spiritually — than the singular African American experience of racism, oppression, brutality, and through it all, resilience and perseverance,” Curnutte said.

For Across the Color Line, he curated 80 of his journalistic works and selected those that illustrated a narrative of experience, ranging from civil rights victories to the lived reality of generational poverty,

setting them up with an original 11,000-word introduction that explains how, for him, the professional turned personal.

The book has a symbiotic relationship with the author, as if the stories helped write the author, instead of the other way around. He explains, “Every story, in a way, added another piece to my ongoing education.”

P HOTO BY CARA OWSLE Y

By Chloe Vyzral ’21

media matters

University of Toronto: The Campus Guide Larry Wayne Richards’67 Princeton Architectural Press Featuring beautiful photos, maps, and essays, this second edition provides an updated and in-depth tour of Canada’s largest university while showcasing some of the finest architecture and landscapes in 11 curated walking routes.

Surviving in a Ruthless World: Bob Dylan’s Voyage to Infidels Terry Gans ’68 MA ’70 Red Planet Books For a history on the Infidels album, Terry was granted unique permission to write, research, and quote from Dylan’s personal notebooks, voluminous song drafts, and 49 reels of master session tapes, offering a detailed picture of Bob Dylan creating his magic.

Socially Distanced Robert Stern ’70 SociallyDistancedJournal.com This journal of fun verse and illustrations is for all ages to record their thoughts and experiences regarding the coronavirus pandemic. For you, friend, parents, and grandchildren, it is designed to evoke meaningful memories to be shared for generations.

The Take-Away Sleigh: An After Christmas Adventure Kevin King ’78 & Neil Hunn ’94 Take Away Sleigh, LLC Annie and Tommy’s adventure, during one spring day, is a whimsical journey that highlights the true meaning of Christmas. Through their story, children will be taught, and parents reminded, about the importance of giving and the value of others.

Office Optional: How to Build a Connected Culture with Virtual Teams Larry English ’90 Centric Consulting Sprinkled with funny, insightful stories from Larry and his Centric colleagues, his guidebook to sustaining remote collaborate teams shares his 20 years of experience in creating successful virtual cultures.

From the Lookout Kathleen Harris ’81 Wisconsin Historical Society Press Discover how two St. Louis socialites with big ideas, little money, and no experience keep Camp Meenahga on Lake Michigan in Door County’s Peninsula State Park running through two world wars and the Great Depression.

John R. Mott, the American YMCA, and Revolutionary Russia Matthew Lee Miller ’90, editor Slavica Publishers/Indiana U. This is a collection of public addresses and letters created during Mott’s participation in a U.S. diplomatic mission to Russia sent by President Woodrow Wilson and led by Elihu Root from May to August 1917.

The Board Member’s Guide to Risk David Koenig ’84 Independently published Focused on the role a company’s board of directors plays in governing how a company manages risk, David offers ideas that will help board members transform risk from something they fear into something they welcome and use to better serve their mission.

Pockets of Promise Laurie Stroup Smith ’98 Vinspire Publishing Laurie’s debut book follows Mariah Mast, an 18-year-old Amish woman, torn between two worlds and two men, who travels to the Amish snowbird community of Pinecraft, where she receives guidance through secret letters tucked into a special quilt.

Still I am Pushing Candice Kelsey ’92 Finishing Line Press

This is Candice’s debut book of poetry.

A finalist for Poetry Quarterly’s Rebecca Lard Award, she was nominated for a 2019 Pushcart Prize for her creative nonfiction.

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my story

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,” Glos Center, 820 S. Patterson Ave., 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.

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A Backpack of Baklava

By Cihan Kaynak ’08, master’s of computer science

It was a pleasant Mediterranean afternoon in Izmir, Turkey. I was visiting a local university to present early results of our research project that I had been working on with my classmates and senior project adviser.

While we were waiting for our return flight to Ankara, my adviser asked me about my plans after graduation. I told him I was interviewing with some companies both in Turkey and abroad. After a brief silence, he asked me what I would think about pursuing graduate studies in the U.S., specifically at Miami University.

my story

I first asked myself if this is the same U.S. I was aware of: a country which is thousands of miles away, on a totally different continent? It is so big that the total size of Turkey is almost the same as Texas? Then, after a couple seconds or so, I said: Why not?

While I was gathering my application documents, I was also pitching the idea to my friends and family.

I think the most challenging part was explaining that I would be neither in Florida nor have anything to do with the University of Oxford.

It did not take long to receive the good news: I was accepted as a graduate student with teaching assistantship to the master’s program in computer science and software engineering. I was happy and excited but had so many unknowns in my mind.

Three months later, I found myself at the Istanbul Airport holding a one-way ticket to the U.S. I arrived at the Cincinnati Airport at midnight with two suitcases and a backpack full of Turkish delight and baklava. It was a one-way ticket, after all. You just never know …

A professor from my department picked me up and dropped me off at my new apartment in Oxford. He was so nice that he even filled my fridge, which kept me going for a week.

I admit that it was a great first impression of you, Miami, although I quickly found out that my bedroom was not too far away from the train tracks.

It was so loud and shaky that I thought the train was literally passing through my building.

During the next few days, I discovered what you offered in Oxford. I took long walks on campus and quickly realized how beautiful it was.

Big old trees, vibrant lawns, and the architecture were complementing each other perfectly. I also experienced how hospitable and welcoming Miamians were.

On one occasion, I was grabbing a bite in Shriver Center. I wanted to get some French fries, but at that time I did not know how to call it in English. I literally ordered them as “fried potato.” Even today I exactly remember the confusion on the clerk’s face, but she was so nice and helpful that she quickly figured out what I meant and made my order ready.

Then, the semester started. I was attending my own classes, but also teaching a basic computer skills

class to freshman business school students. Both were challenging, but at the same time rewarding. I met my thesis adviser, whom I worked with for two years on a fun project. The staff at the department was also so friendly that I am still in touch with some of them even today.

In my opinion, the best experience you provided to me was meeting with people from different backgrounds and cultures.

One day I was learning that there is something called pumpkin pie; another day I was being taught the fine details of cooking perfect borscht. One day I was putting on clown shoes to play a sport called broomball; another day I was noticing how proud Czech people were of their beer.

In the fall semester of my second year, a company located in Kansas City had a career event at Miami University. It took my attention, and I applied for it.

I was offered a software engineering position under a work visa. After I graduated in August, I took a road trip to Kansas City to move in.

I was really enjoying my job, and I think my company must have been thinking similarly. They offered me a sponsorship for my permanent residency.

Around the same time, I met my future wife. She once told me that she would not guess that one day she would date a Turkish guy. Having been together for three years, we got married. Shortly after, a little furry Westie named Charlie joined our small family.

Recently, we celebrated my 13th year in the U.S. — and now I celebrate as a U.S. citizen. My citizenship makes me appreciate even more what this great country offers to her people.

Today, I am very thankful that I have more than just two suitcases and a backpack. Therefore, Miami, I want to thank you for widening my view and opening new doors for me. I do not know what life will bring next. I am sure it will have challenges, but I will always keep you somewhere in my mind.

Editor's note: Approximately 2,076 international students from 69 countries are enrolled at Miami this fall, compared to 2,895 from 82 countries last year. Nearly 45% of them are studying from their home countries, mainly due to COVID. To learn more about Miami's international student program, go to MiamiOH.edu/international.

The most challenging part was explaining that I would be neither in Florida nor have anything to do with the University of Oxford.

Cihan Kaynak ’08, who lives in the Kansas City, Mo., area, has been a software engineer in the health-care field since he graduated from Miami. When not working, he enjoys cooking and taking long walks with his wife, Stephanie, and their Westie, Charlie.

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Carole and Gary Goshorn on their wedding day August 4, 1973.

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* � SOMEWHERE

Alzheimer’s and COVID may slow their steps, but Carole and Gary Goshorn remain perfect partners STO RY BY

DONNA BOEN ’ 83 MTSC ’ 96 PH OTOS PROV I DED BY

GARY GOSHOR N ’ 7 3

*

This article uses lyrics from “Somewhere My Love,” perhaps better known as “Lara’s Theme” from the movie Dr. Zhivago. Carole and Gary waltzed to the ballad at their 1973 wedding for the bride and groom dance.

MY

Carole moved into a senior living facility just before COVID forced administrators to lock its doors to the outside world.

Hearing what was about to happen, her husband, Gary, asked if he might stay with her. He could, but he had only one hour to go home, pack, and return. Once inside, he would not be allowed to leave.

Agreeing, he rushed to their house, threw enough clothes, medicine, and toiletries into a bag for 10 days, and headed back to Carole and her one-bedroom place with its sink, college-size fridge, and a cot brought in for him.

On that afternoon in March, it never crossed his mind that the outside doors would be locked for months. It wouldn’t have mattered. Gary would never leave his lifelong love and best friend.

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SOMEWHERE MY LOVE THERE WILL BE SONGS TO SING

Gary Goshorn and Carole Fiedler, both Class of 1973, met as freshmen at a basketball game in Millett. He was sitting with a group of guys. She was directly behind him.

Being from Indianapolis, she told her date that no one in Ohio knew how to play basketball. A native of Huntington, Ind., Gary couldn’t resist that comment. He turned around and started talking to her.

Their first “official” get-together came later, thanks a friend of hers who lived next to Gary in Morris Hall and set them up on a blind date.

ALTHOUGH THE SNOW COVERS THE HOPE OF SPRING At age 68, Carole is by far the youngest resident of the independent living facility in Columbus, Ind., but 15 years of Alzheimer’s has taken its terrible toll on her. On both of them.

A chemistry teacher at East High School in Columbus at the time, she diagnosed herself when she was 55.

“Her mom had had Alzheimer’s, and she could sense that things just weren’t right,” Gary remembers. “She said all the formulas in chemistry that were always there, weren’t, and she noticed the numbers starting to disappear.

“She was a bright lady,” he continued, proud of her accomplishments that she can no longer recall: recipient of the national Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for Indiana, winner of the TANDY national teacher award, president of the Hoosier Association of Science Teachers, and a member of the science advisory councils for the National Science Teaching Association and the national College Board.

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Carole knew she had to retire. Gary, principal at the same high school, retired early, too, “to make everything work.”

SOMEWHERE A HILL BLOSSOMS IN GREEN & GOLD

Carole and Gary are known as the dancers at Miami’s Alumni Weekend, which they haven’t missed in 20 years until COVID turned it into a virtual event this past June.

“If the band is playing and no one is dancing, I say, ‘OK, Carole, this is our job.’ ” The polka is their favorite, and they’re pretty proud of their foxtrot. Dancing on the Miami campus goes back to their undergraduate days.

The idea was all hers.

“Carole came to me and she said, ‘I see where we can get a one-hour PE credit for taking social dance,’ ” Gary recounts. “And I said, ‘Aaaaah, no. I’m not going to dance.’

And she said, ‘No, no. If you’re going to date me, we will do this.’ ” So they signed up for social dance with Miss Olga Bibza, a nun from Europe who had won an international dance contest.

Gary ended up in Section A, with “the upper-class pompoms girls and varsity cheerleaders.”

Carole got in Section B, where there were 25 girls and one guy.

“So Carole came back and said, ‘This is not what I thought it was going to be. We’re going to drop this class,’ and I said, ‘No, no. If you’re going to date me, you’re going to take this class.’ Miss Bibza let us take our final together. I think it was a waltz, and we have been ballroom dancing ever since.”

Carole and Gary dated all the way through college. Like the proper Miami Merger that they are, they kissed under the Upham Arch. But, being a Beta, he proposed to her next to the Beta Bells.

AND THERE ARE DREAMS, ALL THAT YOUR HEART CAN HOLD

Gary is telling this story by phone from the independent living facility’s sitting room.

Because Carole finds talking difficult and needs constant assistance, he rarely leaves her side. An aide comes to relieve him for three to five hours a day. During that break, he often interacts with the other residents, now good friends, as he walks the halls.

He may be the only one there not using a walker.

“I am part of the community here. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to function out in the real world.”

Although he’s joking — humor is one of the ways he copes — he seriously wondered during the first 10 days of the quarantine how he would get through it. He said he’s currently doing well, working to focus on each day’s blessings.

To maintain contact with the outside world, he regularly calls four or five people — his sister, two or three friends, and his sons. Carole and Gary have two grown sons and five grandchildren.

Like many, he socializes through Zoom, attending a small Bible study group twice a week. He’s also “zoomed” several times with the Miami Glee Club to help plan their reunion for the 2021 Alumni Weekend. He is president of the Glee Club alumni advisory board and past president of Miami’s alumni board.

“When Carole was diagnosed, I was still active with the alumni board. Carole would

go to the meetings with me. When we would get back on campus, that would start some of the old memories for her, and I could tell it was important that we keep Miami in our life.”

To maintain those ties, they’ve participated in several Winter Colleges, and Gary serves on the College of Education, Health and Society dean’s advisory council. Carole sits next to him at every meeting.

At the beginning of this school year, he joined Dean Michael Dantley, via Zoom, as he welcomed back the faculty of EHS. In addition, Gary spent most of a day working with the Glee Club on their Move-in Miami campaign and helped Glee Club Director Jeremy Jones introduce new freshmen and their parents to the singing group’s Brotherhood.

“Miami has been important to my mental health and provided me a strong feeling of purpose in a time of isolation.”

returns to care for her.

He finds his strength to share their story through Carole, who told him about two years into this journey, “As long as I can help one other person go through what we’re going through, it’s worth it.”

To Carole’s message, Gary adds for those going through similar struggles, “Don’t give up on living. Our motto has become: Do what you can do as long as you can do it, but always with dignity.”

Donna Boen ’83 MTSC ’96 is editor of Miamian

YOU’LL COME TO ME, OUT OF THE LONG-AGO

Although the doors to the outside are finally unlocked, Gary is still living in Carole’s room. (He was thrilled in August to exchange the cot for a bed custom-made to fit in the limited space.) He goes home for a few hours every day, but he always

WARM AS THE WIND, SOFT AS THE KISS OF SNOW TILL THEN, MY SWEET, THINK OF ME NOW AND THEN GODSPEED, MY LOVE,

’TIL YOU ARE MINE AGAIN Fall/Winter 2020

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THE CHALLENGE OF CHAnGE Building a more inclusive and welcoming campus STO RY BY MARGO KI SS E L L I LLU STRATI ON BY GRACE GRI FF I TH ’22,

a junior majoring in architecture and sustainability. She created “Empowerful Music” after studying Freedom Summer in Associate Professor Stephanie Danker’s Art Across the Curriculum class. Grace explains her design: “In the documentary Training for Freedom, Richard Momeyer, a philosophy teacher at Miami and field secretary for SNCC, said, ‘Music was not about entertainment, it was about empowerment.’ … The music gave people the power to unite, create a sense of collectiveness, to renew strength, and encourage resiliency.” To see more students’ works, go to tinyurl.com/ MiamiFSstudentwork.

N E L L I E C R A I G — Miami University’s first African American graduate — was a trailblazer in life.

While earning a two-year teaching certificate, graduating from Miami in 1905, the Oxford native became the first Black educator to student teach in the community’s public schools to a mixed-race class.

Now, in death, she is the first woman of color to have a building named in her honor at Miami.

“Nellie Craig had a tremendous impact, not only at Miami, but in the larger Oxford community as she overcame racial barriers,” Miami President Greg Crawford said. “It’s important that her story continues to inspire future generations of Miamians. It is very fitting that honoring her legacy be one of the task force’s first recommendations put into action.”

Crawford appointed a President’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force in June and charged it with examining five areas designed to build a more inclusive, diverse, safe, and welcoming climate at Miami.

The committee spent seven weeks during the summer focusing on Dialogue and Allyship, Cultural Consciousness, Advocacy and Partnerships, Structural and Resource Support, and Inclusion and Accountability.

On Sept. 25, three weeks after the task force proposed a broad slate Craig while a of 44 recommendations, Miami’s trustees approved renaming the Campus Nellie student at Miami Avenue Building (CAB) Nellie Craig Walker Hall after the trailblazer.

“The task force has created a comprehensive set of ideas that will further solidify our commitment to and advance our efforts in inclusive excellence for students, faculty, staff, and alumni,” Crawford said. “We will move aggressively to implement the plan and enhance the diversity that is part of our core values at Miami.”

A team is working through the fall and winter to complete the recommendations by the start of spring semester. The ambitious timetable coincides with a heightened push for equality across the nation in the wake of escalating racial tensions.

Crawford formed the task force after spending several weeks listening to and speaking with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and colleagues. He was frustrated by the lack of progress in the face of persistent inequalities, both in the world and on Miami’s campuses. “At Miami University,” he said, “we must all work to advance real and transformative change.”

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T H E D E I PLA N FOR C HA N GE Top task force recommendations include: • providing institutional support for a robust intergroup dialogue initiative; • revising the Global Miami Plan on intercultural perspectives; • establishing a Center for Justice, Advocacy, and Community Engagement (JACE); • restructuring the Office of Institutional Diversity; • and creating a comprehensive diverse ally/ mentor program for new hires and staff.

Other recommendations range from establishing teach away/study away exchanges with historically Black universities and Hispanic-serving institutions to having Miami determine under what conditions employees can be terminated and students dismissed if proven they made discriminatory comments (racist, sexist, homophobic, etc.).

“The overarching recommendations of the committee include envisioning a clear DEI model at Miami, being more accountable and transparent about DEI, creating sustaining DEI resources, and creating a pathway to implementing the model,” task force co-chairs Anthony James, director of the family science program and interim vice president for institutional diversity, and Vicka Bell-Robinson PhD ’16, director of residence life, wrote in the overview of the report’s executive summary.

“We have a deep belief that action helps promote a campus that is inclusive and welcoming to a broader constituency,” said James, who was named interim vice president earlier this semester. He will succeed Ron Scott, who is retiring in January after 32 years.

In that role since 2009, Scott said the university has made steady progress over the years. He believes the task force’s recommendations will help build the culture of inclusive excellence that the president has promoted.

“It’s always been about trying to move the needle for the entire campus and for every group and to get everyone to understand this is about all of us,” he said.

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R ON SCOTT: DIVER SE POIN TS OF V IEW Scott’s impending retirement comes on the heels of two national honors from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, higher education’s oldest and largest diversity-focused publication. The Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award recognizes U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. Miami’s Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) was named a recipient of the Inspiring Programs in STEM Award.

Scott is proud to see Miami recognized for what he calls collaborative efforts that have led to such successes as the Bridges Program, which provides an inside look at Miami and scholarships to high-achieving high school seniors from historically underrepresented populations; the Freedom Summer of ’64 Award, created to honor champions of civil rights and social justice; and the Diversity and Inclusion Conference, which this year was held virtually on Oct. 9.

Miami was set to host the 10th annual National Civil Rights Conference last June, but that had to be postponed until June 21-22, 2021, because of COVID-19.

The theme is “Rise, Advocate, Educate, and Cooperate: The Challenge of Change.” It will be the first time the conference is held outside the South.

Still, Miami has come under fire from some who believe it has not done enough to support students of color. There was public outcry in June when the university did not terminate a retired professor teaching a summer class after he was accused of making a racist remark to Black Lives Matter protesters.

The man denied it to university officials.

In response, Crawford released a statement saying he was “deeply disturbed, disheartened, and disappointed by bigoted and harmful speech reportedly directed toward our community members and our students.”

Scott said many do not realize that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects free speech, can sometimes

limit the university’s response. While many define diversity as differences in age, gender, orientation, and ability, Scott said it also includes different points of view.

“If a student or a faculty person can say something that I don’t like, I don’t like it, but I must defend their right to do this,” he said. “Because if I don’t, we don’t believe in diversity, we only believe in my point of view.”

A N T H ON Y JA M ES: “ PR UDEN T IN OUR STEP S” James said the task force worked with the president and provost on the DEI recommendations from the start, including holding town hall sessions and establishing a $1.25 million fund to support diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Renaming CAB to honor Craig was the first recommendation turned into action.

James said moving quickly to implement the recommendations isn’t as important as moving smartly and effectively.

“While it is no secret that historic moments can create conditions that make positive change possible,” he said, “we also want to be prudent in our steps so as to not engage in too swift of action that results in unintended consequences that threaten the health of the institution.”

Many alumni have been following the process with interest, including Wil Haygood ’76, Miami’s Boadway Distinguished Visiting Professor in the department of media, journalism and film.

Haygood has written extensively about race relations during his career, including his Washington Post story that led to the film The Butler and his 2018 book, Tigerland: 1968-1969: A City Divided, A Nation Torn Apart and A Magical Season of Healing, which received the 2019 Ohioana Award for best book about Ohio or an Ohioan.

“This has been a bellwether year in exposing this nation’s tragic history of racial traumas,” Haygood said. “Institutions of higher learning simply must enter the fray to help heal this nation.”

WIL H AYG O O D ’76: EXC IT E D BY J U ST I CE COM P ON EN T Haygood found the task force’s proposals gratifying.

“We cannot seek to educate another generation of students without telling them the full story of America’s racial history. That story must include not only Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., but now Breonna Taylor and George Floyd as well,” he said.

“Miami — as President Crawford has set forth — is poised to take a leadership role in this endeavor.”

Haygood said he is particularly excited about the justice component outlined in the recommendations. The task force said by establishing a JACE Center, Miami could overcome its “piecemeal” approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion. It would serve as “a place where all efforts could be streamlined toward a common universitywide vision,” the recommendation stated.

“This nation has long countenanced a dual justice system — one for whites, and one for Blacks,” Haygood said. “We cannot endure this dichotomy any longer. The consequences are deadly and affect every one of us.”

PRIYA NA KA L I TA ’2 1 : COLLEG E E XPE RI E N C E “A TOUG H O NE ” Priyana Kalita ’21, a varsity tennis player from Assam, India, who came to Miami on a full athletic scholarship, is thankful for the opportunity to both earn an education and play the sport she loves.

Kalita — a double major in sport leadership and management (with a concentration in coaching) and women’s, gender and sexuality studies — is co-leader of Black Lives Matter Oxford. She likes what she reads in the DEI action plan but is waiting to see what is implemented.

“The environment of the college can surely be more accepting of its students from minor groups of population in various ways,” she said.

Kalita describes her college experience as “a tough one.”

As an international student, an immigrant, a person of color, a gender fluid and pansexual student-athlete, Kalita said, “Miami is not the safest place for me.

“Every day is a fight for me. First, I have to fight the comments that come toward me because of how I present my gender. Then I have to fight because my accent of speaking might be different from what people like to hear,” she said. “Regardless of that, I have found people who actually support me and value me. I call them ‘my people’ or ‘my group.’ ” Kalita believes the recommendation for a robust intergroup dialogue initiative is crucial but will only be successful if people are taught how to converse with proper terminology. She wants Miami to do a better job at teaching and respecting people’s pronouns, sexual orientation, gender identity, race, and culture.

In July, she joined 316 MidAmerican Conference studentathletes who attended the inaugural Transformative Leadership Badge Program via Zoom. She said she especially enjoyed a session on diversity, equity, and inclusion and the “friendly and easy environment” led by Rodney Coates, a Miami professor of global and intercultural studies.

R OD N EY COATES: A TA P EST RY FOR CH A N GE Miami has 19,000 students from 47 states and across the world, representing a vast array of racial, sexual, gendered, class, and ethnic identities, Coates said.

“As each individual student comes to us with unique needs, dreams, motivations, and difficulties, our role as Miami faculty and staff is to help each of our students achieve their highest aspirations.”

To accomplish this, he said, Miami must cross the various lines of race, class, gender, sexuality, and discipline. “We must recognize that while we have a direct responsibility to our respective majors, minors, and

“ WE HAVE A DEEP BELIEF THAT ACTIon HELPS PRoMOTE A CAMPUS THAT IS InCLUSIVE AND WELCoMInG TO A BRoADER CoNSTITUENCY.” students who take our courses, we have an indirect obligation to mentor and encourage all students.”

He promotes embracing the concept of One Miami, where all are treated with respect, empathy, and sincerity. “This is especially true for students who are part of marginalized communities,” he said. “These students might not know what they are fighting against, might be overwhelmed by what is happening, and have no clue of how to respond.”

This is where those who have overcome similar situations can be a guiding force, Coates said, but he emphasized that leadership roles should not be relegated to “just those faculty or staff who personally identify with particular student groups.” It’s something that must be taken on by the entire Miami community, he said, pointing out that it is at the heart of the DEI Task Force recommendations and “our continued efforts to maximize the Miami experience for all students, staff, and, yes, faculty.”

Coates believes the DEI Task Force recommendations will move the university in the right direction, and collectively they have the potential to be truly transformative.

He sees them as a tapestry — “all interwoven into a complete whole. No one piece or section accomplishes the tasks, but all working in tandem do.”

Margo Kissell is a news/feature writer in university news and communications at Miami.

To read the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force recommendations in their entirety, go to tinyurl.com/MiamiDEITaskForce.

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!

UP SPEAKING

Through a deadly pandemic and racial unrest, these five Miamians lead to serve in the face of praise and criticism

STORY BY

BY D ON N A B OE N ’83 MTSC ’ 96

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P HOTO BY STE P HE N NOW LA ND/E MO RY UNIVERSITY P HOTO VIDEO

Torchbearers, influencers, leaders — however you choose to describe the following five Miamians, theirs are major voices in a seemingly endless cacophony of discussions and opinions on how to maneuver through today’s lifealtering challenges.

Like us, they are frustrated and anxious and so very tired of the year 2020. They, too, are looking for answers. Unlike most of us, their solutions affect thousands and even millions and draw loud praise and criticism.

We must engage in this democracy on a consistent basis in terms of holding our elected officials accountable, in terms of making sure we’re registered to vote, and making sure that the resources of this incredible nation are available so that when babies go to school, they have what they need, so that when people get sick, they won’t have to worry that they’re going to lose everything, including their lives.

— SCH OLA R C A R OL A ND E R SON ’ 8 1 M A ’ 82

Respected scholar Carol Anderson ’81 MA ’82, chair of African American Studies at Emory University, garnered attention in the academic world with her 2003 book, Eyes Off the Prize.

In drafting her concept, the Charles Howard Candler Professor wanted to figure out why the United States’ narrative of pull yourself up by your bootstraps wasn’t reality for the Black community.

“In my neighborhood, for instance, I saw hard-working, Godfearing folk who were just under it.

I mean, they were doing everything that they were supposed to

do, and the neighborhood was collapsing, and the families were stressed and tired.

These are folks who are going to work every day, who believe in this country, who believe in God … and it’s not having an impact.”

In her search for answers, Anderson said, she discovered that their human rights struggle, such as the right to vote, the right to education, the right to housing and health care, was “knocked off the tracks” during the Cold War and the McCarthy Witch Hunts of the 1950s.

Anyone talking about the right to health care was labeled a socialist, or worse, a communist, she said.

Her second book, White Rage, propelled Anderson into the consciousness of the mainstream. The 2016 New York Times bestseller evolved from an opinion piece she wrote for The Washington Post, which became its most shared essay in 2014.

The premise dawned on her while she watched news reports of Ferguson, Mo., on fire after a police officer’s fatal shooting of unarmed Black teen Michael Brown.

“It didn’t matter what station I was watching. I had the remote in my hand, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, and they were all saying the same thing, ‘Can you believe Black folks are burning up where they live?’ ” She calls this one of our national narratives of the Black pathology: If only Black folks valued family, their families wouldn’t be all messed up. If only they valued education, they’d have really good schools. If only they didn’t do drugs, they wouldn’t be thugs and they wouldn’t be in prison.

“And so I’m listening to this, and I’m shaking my head because I had lived in Missouri for 13 years. I taught at the University of Missouri before I came to Emory, and I saw how the state operates.

I saw the way its policies undermine access to citizenship rights. And I’m shaking my head and going, this is not Black rage. This is white rage.”

She started to write.

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The result was her 2014 Washington Post opinion piece, “Ferguson isn’t about Black rage against cops. It’s white rage against progress.”

In it, she stated: “White rage recurs in American history. It exploded after the Civil War, erupted again to undermine the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, and took on its latest incarnation with Barack Obama’s ascent to the White House. For every action of African American advancement, there’s a reaction, a backlash.”

Her essay generated 4,518 comments in two weeks. They ranged from “This is very well stated,” to “hey look another racist liberal article. what else is new? when will democrats stop with the race baiting.”

To those who accuse Anderson of being a racist, and she has her fair share, she says, “I’m not making stuff up. It was important to me, as a scholar, to document every one of these policies.”

A leading voice on public policy with regards to race, justice, and equity, Anderson, who majored in history and political science at Miami and went on to earn a PhD at Ohio State, sees her role as “connecting dots” to convey a larger historical narrative and explain what that means for us. She believes that gives activists, policymakers, and journalists a framework to interpret and understand.

Since last year’s publication of her latest book, One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy, she has talked with numerous media, from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and C-Span to NPR and Esquire. Her interviews were virtually back to back leading up to this year’s presidential election.

When she sees citizens banging on doors in Louisville to be let in to vote and dads with leaf blowers dispelling tear gas at Portland protests, she said, her faith remains in the people, all the people.

“I need to make that really clear. The issue is never white people. It is never white people. It is the ideology of white supremacy that is so destructive. If we understand that, then we begin to have very different conversations about America.”

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This is a time when many lives are at stake, when the future of the state is at stake. You have to make the best judgment that you can.

— OH I O G OV. M I K E D E WI NE ’ 69

By Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, COVID-19 had killed more than 231,000 in the United States and cost millions their livelihoods. Even for those who have maintained their jobs and their homes, life has been forever changed.

As cold weather forces us inside, the biggest worry Ohio’s governor has is our fatigue. We’re tired of wearing masks, we’re tired of hearing about COVID, we want to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. We want our lives back.

Mike DeWine ’69 gets it. He and Ohio’s first lady, Fran Struewing DeWine ’71, have eight children and 24 grandchildren and are expecting two more by the end of December. They love nothing more than the big rambunctious gatherings that DeWine is asking people to forgo for the foreseeable future.

“We’ve had two big goals, one is to save lives and keep the spread of the virus down, and the other has been to get people back to work and get the economy moving, because we know that there are huge social consequences, economic consequences, and medical consequences when the economy is shut down,” DeWine said.

“One is dependent upon the other. You can’t have the economy moving if there’s a significant spike in the virus.”

DeWine could add a third goal: to offer steady leadership, regardless of public opinion, which can vacillate greatly.

In a poll last April conducted by Harvard, Northeastern University, and Rutgers, 83 percent of Ohio voters approved of how he was dealing with the coronavirus, giving him the highest approval rating of any governor in the United States.

About the same time, protestors angry with his stay-at-home order gathered outside the Statehouse and also picketed the home of then Ohio Health Director Amy Acton. In the months since, three

Ohio House Republicans have filed a federal lawsuit against him, the state of Ohio, and Lance Himes, interim director after Dr. Acton resigned, to remove DeWine’s emergency health order, claiming fraud.

Although such groups are vocal and gain headlines, DeWine said the number of people who don’t believe that COVID-19 is a major crisis is relatively small. For him, consent of the governed is the key.

A controversial mandatory order, for example, did increase the number of people wearing masks, but it still comes down to what people are willing to do, he said, talking by phone from the DeWines’ historic home in Cedarville, an hour southwest of Columbus.

“A great deal of leadership is letting people know this is the pathway, this is what we have to do if we’re going to survive this, if we’re not going to have our hospitals full, if we’re not going to have our emergency rooms full, if we’re not going to lose many more people than we have been losing.

“That’s probably the most important thing that I do, and we do it based on science, we do it on talking to the experts.

That’s my job to communicate twice a week or more to the people of the state what we have to do.”

The governor does it with Fran by his side. The two met in first grade, had their first date in seventh grade, and he followed her to Miami. They were married between their sophomore and junior years and had two children before they left college.

“She puts life in a proper perspective for me,” he said, with a gentle chuckle.

As for advice to aspiring leaders, he said, “What I’ve learned from more than 40 years in public office, sometimes the hard way, is that you never can have enough facts, you never can have enough information, but you’ve got to do the best that you can and talk to people who know more than you know about whatever the subject is. Ultimately, you get paid to make the judgment call.”

We can’t relinquish our autonomy.

We’ve got to build from the bottom up and, as much as possible, ignore the people at the top until we’ve done everything we can in our spaces.

— E P ID E MI O LO G I ST D EENA C HISOLM ’9 0

Deena Chisolm ’90 has enough titles to fill several business cards — Nationwide Foundation Endowed Chair in Health Equity Research; director of the Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice and vice president of health services research, both at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital; professor of pediatrics and public health at Ohio State University.

At the heart of all her credentials is this — she is an epidemiologist leading research and equity work to improve the health of children growing up in at-risk communities that are similar to her childhood home in the projects of Springfield, Ohio.

Because of her work, she was appointed last spring by Gov. DeWine to a task force that was asked to examine why African American Ohioans are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. She’s not even a little bit surprised that COVID-19 has hit the Black community hard.

“The truth of the matter is a virus like the coronavirus is going to have worse effects in populations that have worse underlying health, and we know that African Americans and some other underrepresented minorities have worse underlying health,” she said.

People of color are also more likely to live in densely populated homes in densely populated areas, have essential careers that require them to keep interacting with the public, and be less likely to have access to health care, to PPE, and early testing.

What Chisolm finds encouraging are the discussions and actions coming out of this “perfect storm,” as she calls it.

“Working on the governor’s task force was enlightening because we made some recommendations and put out some statements that were stronger than I remember the state government of Ohio ever going out on a limb.

“To actually say that they recognized that racism is part of the problem underlying disparities in COVID and other health disparities

and that we need to do something about that — that was groundbreaking.”

Where would she suggest we start in dealing with these disparities?

Maybe it goes back to her Miami years as an education major, but her first step is always education.

“We need people to understand the information that we’re putting in front of them. We need people to be able to make good decisions about their own health, the health of their children, the health of their families based on the best available evidence.” You’d expect nothing less from a self-proclaimed data devotee.

Step two on her list is figuring out how to improve the basic underlying health of the population. That means creating a healthcare system that provides access to healthy food and fitness and regular doctors’ visit.

“Every time one of these insults hits us as a society, it’s going to hit the sickest the hardest, and the more of us that are sick, the more of us that are weak, the worse it’s going to be for everybody,” she explained.

“A lot of the money we spend on sick care is better spent keeping people from getting sick in the first place.”

Her third step?

“Just listening. Having those hard discussions, sometimes crying, sometimes cussing, but at least getting to the point where you’re able to hear each other because no one side of any argument can solve this.”

Looking at the data, she doesn’t believe our society will ever return to where it was 12 months ago, and she’s talking about more than COVID, referring to challenges in the political landscape, in the interaction with police, and in health and health care, as well as the economic upheaval associated with COVID. “All that’s coming together to create a need for change,” she said. “The question is, how do we live it? Is that going to be enhanced partnerships, recognition of the fact that we’re in this together, and a sense of community engagement in making the change, or is it going to be greater discord and stress? And depending on what day you ask me and what website I just read, my answer changes with the wind.”

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It warms my heart to see us create community on our campus in a pandemic world. The past three months have been a roller coaster for this community due to COVID, ongoing racial and political tension, and financial hardship in this country.

— JA NN I E KA MA RA ’21 , MIAMI’S FIRST BLACK F EMA LE ST UD EN T BODY P RE SIDE NT

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Described as “contagiously conversational,” Jannie Kamara ’21 loves talking with people and getting to know their stories. She also demonstrates a passion for change and gravitates toward politics and social issues.

A native of Virginia who moved to Columbus with her parents and twin sister while in high school, she started telling others her freshman year at Miami that she wanted to be student body president.

Her goal was to create change, not history.

“This is a great time for monumental change because we don’t know now what normal will look like after COVID, and so setting that foundation in place is what we can do right now,” she said. “I feel honored to be that person to lead this kind of fight.”

And she leads it as Miami’s first Black female student body president.

Her three platforms are civic engagement, diversity and inclusion, and student wellness, which she established before COVID’s infiltration. All three are centered around creating community and promoting unity through student advocacy, she told Miami’s board of trustees at its June 19 meeting.

Continuing in her statement to the board, she said, “I and so many other students came to Miami to learn and understand what critical thinking is, and now it is time for us to be critical of our home in order to create a more genuine and inclusive space so that our diversity blossoms just as the campus would on a beautiful spring day in April.”

Within hours of the conclusion of that board meeting on Juneteenth, Kamara joined students, faculty, staff, and community members in a protest on the Oxford campus. The marchers started at the Freedom Summer Memorial on Western campus, walked to the president’s Lewis Place home, and then gathered for speeches at the Hub. Along the way, they called for justice for Breonna Taylor, for George Floyd, for others, and for change.

Kamara believes students feel neglected, their voices unheard. That was not easy for her to say to the trustees. Even though she’s president of Associated Student Government, she’s also still a student, a

senior studying diversity and leadership and Black world studies.

She refused to let nerves stop her, though, calling on her mantra: Be authentic and unapologetic. In case that conjures up an image of an angry and inaccessible young Black woman, that is not Kamara.

Since coming to Miami, she has, to use her word, “blossomed.” She’s so positive and energetic that friends describe her as bubbling with life.

It’s that energy and passion that drives her to ensure that students are at the center of every conversation about structural and cultural change at Miami.

“I wholeheartedly believe that students are the most powerful entities on this campus.”

We view the current medical supply chain — from PPE to testing supplies to machinery — as ‘comfortable, not confident,’ and we continue to advocate for a national and state distribution strategy (public and private) that allows resources to be distributed to all geographic areas.

— SUPPLY C H A I N E X PE RT R O B E RT W I E HE ’ 89

Testifying before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee at the end of July, Robert Wiehe ’89 made that statement as senior vice president, chief supply chain and logistics officer for UC Health. Serving southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky,

UC Health is one of 125 academic medical systems in the U.S. Wiehe had been asked to speak about protecting the reliability of the U.S. medical supply chain, a chain that showed great weakness at the start of COVID-19 as demand for masks and other supplies quickly strained the system.

Health-care supplies have been disrupted in the past, certainly. Almost all of the IV solution that comes to the United States is from Puerto Rico. When Hurricane Maria struck the Caribbean island in 2018, it nearly dried up the U.S. supply line of solution. However, the U.S. was able to look elsewhere because that was a regional disaster.

With COVID being worldwide, it’s created a much more difficult scenario, Wiehe said, telling the senators that the healthcare sector has been among the hardest hit.

In a conversation with Miamian weeks after his testimony, Wiehe, who majored in manufacturing engineering, looked back at the “mad scrabble” for medical supplies that started the end of March. He and his competitors, who turned to each other for help, have learned some hard lessons in the interim. For one, the supply chain needs to become more transparent and its users more collaborative to build trust along the network.

Also, even though hospitals are businesses, they should place more emphasis on supply chain resiliency and less on low cost, said Wiehe, who was named chief administrative officer of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in September.

Eight months into this pandemic, he believes the medical system is better prepared. Manufacturers and distributors have shored up the supply lines, and every major system is building up their stockpiles, he said.

Heading into the winter months, he said, “We’re more ready than we were. We’re all hesitant to say we’re completely confident because we don’t know what’s going to hit us, but I definitely think we’ve learned a lot, and we’re applying it.”

With most states setting new records of infection daily, the concern with this

‘We are Miami’

Miamians support Emergency Needs Fund in response to pandemic From helping students return home at the onset of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic to easing tuition burdens, the Emergency Needs Fund is another example of Miamians coming together to meet the challenges of unforeseen circumstances.

As of Oct. 13, over $870,000 has been raised through more than 1,250 gifts to the fund, which was established as a crucial lifeline of support for students who needed immediate aid in the face of COVID-19. Miami University Foundation Board members led the way in supporting the fund with 100% participation, which did not surprise then board chair Steve Anderson ’79.

“The level of loyalty and appreciation of the university is incredibly high among alumni, and certainly for those serving on the foundation board,” he said. “It’s encouraging to see my fellow board members and so many alumni step up for Miami students in this time.”

Anderson credits the Miami Experience with being critical in his own development. His bond with Miami remains strong as a result. Not only did the university serve him well academically, but it also afforded him opportunities to become active in the larger Oxford community, an experience which has stayed with him.

“That well-rounded involvement taught me much about life and what it means to be successful, and that goes beyond one’s career,” he said. “Many positive things came out of my experience at Miami, and I’m fortunate to be able to help ensure that others have the same opportunity.”

Similar stories of Miami’s influence flow from foundation board members Sue Henry ’73 and Dave Koschik ’79. Like Anderson, Miami changed the directions of their lives. All three have remained close to their alma mater, and to each other, serving together on the foundation’s board of directors.

“We go to great lengths at Miami University to make financial aid available and to make sure money is not the reason why somebody goes to college or doesn’t go to college,” Koschik said. “The idea someone would lose that opportunity because of this pandemic was something that really troubled me.”

The trio is not alone in seeing the immense importance of the university’s For more information, Emergency Needs Fund. Contributions of all sizes have poured into the fund. visit MiamiAlum.org/ The coronavirus was “such an unexpected interruption, and it imposed so EmergencyFund. many hardships on these kids,” Henry said. “There were a lot of problems that arose with housing, transportation, and technology.”

The outpouring of support from Miamians around the world was not unexpected, Henry said.

“It’s very heartening,” she said. “It sends a very clear message to our students that not only is the university concerned about them, but alumni and friends are concerned about them, their welfare, and their success and are willing to step in when needed. We are Miami.”—by Josh Chapin ’02, manager of editorial services in Miami’s university advancement division

second wave is less about supplies and more about hospital capacity.

“There are only so many ICU beds, there are only so many vents. If it’s truly, truly serious, that’s where it starts to get scary in a hot spot.

“We all have a loved one who’s been affected,” said the father of a teenage daughter. “We all want to see it be perfected. We just weren’t prepared, and we’re fixing it in flight. I hope when we come out of this that we truly learn.”

To Serve Others

Leading is rarely easy, less so during these turbulent times. However, the best of our leaders serve and serve well throughout life’s triumphs and

tragedies. Epidemiologist Deena Chisolm is a strong proponent of the servant leader model.

You can’t lead without people understanding that you’re there for them, that you’re going to make them successful, that you are only successful if the people who work with you, around you, and under you are successful.

— D E E NA C H I SOL M ’ 9 0

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

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STRONG

CONNECTIONS [DESPITE COVID] Nate Trawick ’20 inspires his student-athletes through Zoom

BY J OS H C H AP I N ’ 02

This article is excerpted from Slant Talk, the new Miami University Alumni Association blog.

To read other stories of success, resilience, and Love and Honor, go to MiamiAlumniBlog.com.

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As shutdowns started because of the pandemic, Nate Trawick ’20 reached out to his high school student-athletes with weekly Zoom calls.

Trawick’s concern for his students is no surprise to Othello Harris, an associate professor at Miami. When Harris talks about Trawick, he recalls a student who went from good to excellent.

Certain students, Harris said, give a head nod or a facial expression during class. When he sees that visual cue, he knows he’s made his point.

In Harris’ African Americans in Sports class, he could count on Trawick to give him that sign.

“He always came to class prepared to learn, knowing he was going to get something out of that class,” said the associate professor in sociology and gerontology.

“That inspired me.”

Trawick is still inspiring people. Now a physical education teacher at Vaile Elementary School in his hometown of Richmond, Ind., he is also an assistant coach to Richmond High School’s football, wrestling, and track and field teams.

When the COVID-19 health crisis closed schools and put many states on lockdown, the former Miami University football student-athlete quickly moved to keep in touch with his student-athletes. What started as a regular Monday Zoom meeting

love & honor

with Richmond’s football linemen soon expanded to motivational sessions on Wednesdays in which Trawick invited others, including professional athletes, to speak.

He opened up the forum to a wide variety of topics, giving the student-athletes an outlet to discuss events happening around them in the world today.

“I thought it would be insensitive of me not to talk about what is going on and to make sure everybody feels comfortable,” Trawick said. “That was the basis of the meeting … (in May and June) with the protests and racial tension.”

Because some of the students were shy and found it tough to talk in a big group, he sought professional recommendations for

contacts to hotlines and other meetings if any of them needed to reach out.

“It’s good for kids to find a space, especially with mental health in that age group,” he said.

He also expanded the original group to involve others around the state.

“I’m really surprised by it, how fast it blew up,” Trawick said. “I wasn’t expecting as much support as I got so quickly. I put a couple of tweets out there, and everybody gravitated toward the tweets. I wasn’t thinking about the exposure. I was really just thinking about getting out and reaching kids who want to join.”

Miami head football coach Chuck Martin replied to one of Trawick’s tweets, saying he

was “becoming the great leader that I knew you would!!!”

A standout three-sport athlete at Richmond High School — he was an all-state football player and a state runner-up in both wrestling and track — Trawick came to Miami on a football scholarship. The defensive lineman helped the RedHawks make history in 2016 on their way to the St. Petersburg Bowl as they became the first team in FBS history to start the regular season 0-6 and finish 6-6.

Trawick majored in economics with a minor in marketing. Miami, he said, has a lot of good people and good mentors – such as Harris, who told him, “The work you are putting in will make you a better young man.”

“He really pushed me and motivated me,” Trawick said. “If I ever had an issue or struggled in class, I was able to talk to him.”

He also took what he learned from Harris and applied it to his other classes.

Harris was walking in front of Upham Hall on the Oxford campus one day when he was approached by music professor Tammy Kernodle. She brought up a student who was using what he learned from Harris to make connections in her class as well.

It was Nate Trawick.

“He was such an interesting guy, such a curious guy,” Harris said. “I was always impressed by him. He wasn’t just interested in Black athletes. He was interested in history. We talked about all these things that shaped the perception of African Americans.

“He just had that kind of curiosity and determination. I thought, ‘This is somebody who is going to be OK.’ This is the kind of stuff I’d expect him to do. I’d expect him to use those things to give back to others.”

Josh Chapin ’02 is manager of editorial services in Miami’s university advancement division.

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class notes class notes By 1911, construction was well underway on Bishop Hall, named after Miami’s first president, Look familiar?

Renamed Robert Hamilton Bishop.

Stoddard Hallflu forshut natural When the down the sciences professor Orange university for weeks in 1918, the Nash Stoddard inwas 1937,turned it was into residence hall an impromptu hospital.

That called South Hall when built in led to becoming the building of MacMillan, 1836, Miami’s second the school’shall. firstItreal center. residence alsomedical held the first dining room on the Oxford campus, University Inn.

caption here

Photo courtesy of Miami University Walter Havighurst Special Collections and University Archives Photo courtesy of Miami University Walter Havighurst Special Collections and University Archives

class notes

THIS ALUMNI LIFE

WFH Fun … at First

PHOTO FROM MIAMI UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES, FRANK SNYDER COLLECTION

Like many of you, the alumni team and I have been working remotely

since March.

And it was fun when it started.

Fun to see colleagues (and you) try to figure out new technology.

Fun to help someone get the camera angle right. (“No, still close, TOO close!”) A good laugh when you had to say, yet again, “You’re on mute.”

My family got a German shepherd puppy named Jake from a rescue shelter in April, and he made many appearances in our staff meetings this spring. The fun provided a needed distraction from the real reason that we were all suddenly working and learning from home.

Because it was also scary.

Not just because of the pandemic, but because all of us were forced into a new way of living. We were suddenly very much outside of our routines and comfort zones, and, I have a feeling I’m not speaking just for myself here, we don’t LIKE to be out of our routines and comfort zones! In the midst of a health crisis, we had to quickly adapt to new ways not just to work and learn but to shop, socialize, and communicate.

Connecting with people virtually will never take the place of being together in person, but I think about how fortunate we are to have the technology at our disposal during this time.

I’m so proud of the team I work with in our alumni office.

They stared down this brave new world and said, “Let’s do this.”

We launched a new webinar platform this spring — in two weeks, all done from our homes. Love. Honor. Learn (alumlc.org/miamioh) has been a huge resource to our team and to Miami University alumni around the world to connect with each other, Miami, and Oxford.

We held a Virtual Alumni Weekend and attracted more “attendees” than had ever participated in person at Alumni Weekend. (In case you hadn’t noticed, Oxford isn’t easy to get to.) This new virtual programming provided a pathway back to Oxford that many have not been able to physically take. Reunions are still sweet and memories still precious even if they are relived on Zoom and not on Slant Walk.

And that is why we get excited each day about what we do here in the alumni association. We bring Miami memories and friends together, no matter the years and the distance, in person or online. I hope that you will find the time to reconnect with your alma mater in an upcoming wine tasting, faculty webinar, Winter College, or reunion event. And don’t worry — we will help you adjust that camera angle.

— Love & Honor, Kim Tavares MBA ’12, executive director of the Miami University Alumni Association

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Herta Liebschwager Moore

’42 MEd ’44 was serenaded by artists from the Cincinnati Opera for her 100th birthday as it was the opera’s 100th birthday as well. Her big day was actually May 14, but the party was postponed because of COVID. The group celebrated with her in her assisted living place at Berkeley Square in Hamilton, Ohio, on Sept. 25.

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John “Jack” William Byrne 3rd and Shirley Stearns

Byrne ’49, who were married June 17,

1950, in Cincinnati, celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this year.

Now living in Naples, Fla., they have three children, John William Byrne 4th ’74, Lisa Byrne Brown ’76, and David Byrne, who graduated from Indiana University in 1978. Jack was with J.C. Penney 34 years before his retirement in 1985. They then moved to South Carolina, where they lived for 33 years before relocating to Naples in 2019.

They were planning to celebrate with all their family in June at Sanibel, Fla.

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Reunion ¶ George Swatik helped celebrate the high school graduation of his grandson Zach Wallace ’24 and sent in a “We Are Miami!” family photo from the event.

Also in the photo are George’s daughters Susan Swatik Specht ’83 and Julie Swatik Wallace ’85 and son-in-law David Specht ’88.

SUBMIT A CLASS NOTE Please send news to: Donna Boen, Miamian, Glos Center, 820 S. Patterson Ave., 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.

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Nancy Fry Sturgeon, lettering in field hockey, basketball, and tennis 1944-1948, is a member of Miami’s Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2020-2021. Also Miami’s head tennis coach for two years, she taught continuing education classes and aquatics and was the fencing club and Shakerettes adviser. She is a 2019 Butler County Hall of Fame inductee.

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

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class notes

Susie Sackett Felver ’04, Brad Felver ’04, and Cindy Felver ’73 (r-l) love and honor each other by proudly wearing their Love and Honor masks.

60

John Slater ’60, Steve Clancy ’89, Lee Mazzarella

’65, and Jeff Horton ’85 reunited at a Colorado Springs Home Owners Association meeting. They all live in the Trail Ridge South area across from the U.S. Air Force Academy and enjoy views of Pikes Peak.

61

Reunion ¶ Rev. Tom Castlen of St. James, N.Y., completed writing An Activist in the Civil Rights Movement, a partial memoir. Added to the collection of the Presbyterian Historical Society, Presbyterian Church (USA), it includes a chapter on his participation in the movement while a student at Miami. Tom is the grandson of Elizabeth “Mom” Mefford, who was a men’s dorm manager in the 1940s and ’50s and “Mom” for Theta Chi.

62

Gary and Judith Hagerty Norman, 40-year resi-

dents of south Orange County, Calif., recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. After many domestic and international corporate moves, they established their own plastics and chemical brokerage business, which they managed for 25 years before retiring in 2009. After significant travels,

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they are enjoying this time of life and leisure with family and friends. ¶ After completing an MS at Oregon State, William “Bill” North enjoyed a challenging and rewarding 33-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency as an operations officer/case officer. His work took him abroad for many years, mostly in East Asia and the Middle East.

When in the U.S., he worked in CIA headquarters and was on loan/directed assignment to the State Department’s U.S. Mission to the United Nations, representing America as a delegate. Bill and wife Cheryl live in Atlanta and often travel to France, Italy, Turkey, and other favorite places. He works part time as a security consultant.

63

Four family members, Kevin Klebe ’95, Andy Smith ’91,

Peter Smith ’86, and Charlie Smith ’63,

celebrated Charlie’s 80th birthday and Andy’s 50th with a golf/spring training outing in Scottsdale, Ariz.

64

Tim Schwartz, aka T.P.

Schwartz-Barcott, has a new book out, HAPPY TRUMPS?: Happiness in the Words, Images, and Lives of Donald Trump, his Ancestors, Spouses, and Descendants. In the book, Tim, a research sociologist, says he explores as objectively as possible which of the Trumps most often express happiness about themselves and other Trumps. ¶ Like a Mask Dancing — a Tanzanian Story is Sally Wimer Stiles’ sixth book.

In the novel, based on Sally’s experiences living in East Africa, Anna Chadwick follows her husband to Tanzania, where he becomes general manager of a paper mill. Through a series of dramatic episodes and a growing understanding of the effects of poverty, AIDS, and corruption, she is able to embrace the people of the village she comes to love.

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Michael Gmoser, Butler County (Ohio) prosecuting attorney, was honored by the Ohio House of Representatives with a resolution for being presented with an Award of Distinction by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. Reelected county prosecutor in November (he ran unopposed), Mike is the author of The Farrier’s Son and is grateful to Miami English Professor Emeritus Don Daiker for doing the initial proofreading. In the novel, Spencer Tallbridge signs on as an assistant prosecutor in an office renowned for capital case convictions.

There, his early idealism and country wisdom collide with unforeseen realities of life and death for those facing the ultimate penalty.

69

Gary Fincke MA ’69 of

Selinsgrove, Pa., was named the 2019 Thiel College Distinguished Alumnus. His latest collection of poems, The Infinity Room, won the Wheelbarrow Books Prize for Established Poets (Michigan State, 2019), and Stephen F. Austin has published his ninth collection of stories, The Sorrows. His work was selected to appear in Best American Essays 2020 and Best Small Fictions 2020. ¶ Bill White has been promoted to associate teaching professor in the Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts program at Purdue University. ¶ Stu Zaltsberg was inducted into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2019. The honor came following a multi-decade career at WOWO Radio in Fort Wayne.

His air name was Art Saltsberg.

70

David Fung, after graduation, was drafted into the Army and spent two years at Fort Devens, Mass. He graduated from Northeastern University/Boston as a physician assistant in 1980 and after 25 years

class notes

in private practice, joined Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Boston doing urgent care. He retired in February 2020 and now focuses on his golf game, Unitarian Church activities, and staying fit. His wife, Cheryl, works part time as an optometrist at HVMA. They have two grown children, Andrew ¶ Jim Meador, who lives and Mira. in Uniontown, Ohio, with his wife of 50 years, kept busy during the lockdown period of COVID-19 by writing and publishing five books — a novelette, Uncle Jack’s Story: Red Boiling Springs Tennessee Spanish Flu 1918; Selected Poems of Roger O. Meador, his younger brother; a biblical science fiction novel titled God’s Time Thieves; God’s Time Thieves – Final Assignments; and Selected Poetry of Jim C. Meador.

71

Reunion ¶ David Hellard and David Drescher, who were residents of Stanton Hall and college apartment roommates, conducted their annual motorcycle trip in August 2020.

Based out of New Straitsville, Ohio, they spent two days riding the roads of southeast Ohio.

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Michele Black Abrams

received the AARP 2019 Andrus Award for Community Service Volunteer of the Year in Ohio. She thanked the Miami University Institute of Learning in Retirement (ILR) as ILR was featured as one of her key community volunteer projects. The AARP Ohio video was produced at the Miami VOALC.

74

Bobby Goldwater is serving

a two-year term as the universities sector director on the board of directors of the International Association of Venue Managers, the preeminent organization representing public assembly venues and managers

from around the globe. A member of IAVM since 1984, he last year joined an elite group of colleagues as a Certified Venue Executive, recognizing professional achievement and accomplishments in the management of public assembly venues. He is president of The Goldwater Group consulting firm, chairman of the Washington, D.C., Sports Hall of Fame, and a faculty member with Georgetown University’s sports industry management master’s program. ¶ Jacqueline Tyler Williams ’74 MS ’75 has been elected by shareholders to serve as an independent director of the board of directors for Universal Corp., headquartered in Richmond, Va. Jacqueline, who was director of commerce in former Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s Cabinet, is a member of the audit, finance and pension investment, and nominating and corporate governance committees for Universal.

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Bob Zaltsberg was inducted

into the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in October 2020. He retired Jan. 31, 2019, after 43 years in Indiana journalism, including 33 years as editor of The Herald-Times in Bloomington. He teaches management and editing as an adjunct faculty member in the Media School at Indiana University and continues in journalism as part-time special projects editor for WFIU, Bloomington’s NPR affiliate.

77

Stephen Hines was awarded the Zoetis Distinguished Teacher Award by the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. The DVM Class of 2020 chose Dr. Hines as the teacher they felt, through his ability, dedication, character, and leadership, has contributed significantly to the veterinary profession, and most significantly to their overall education. The Berger Keatts

Distinguished Professor for Excellence in Teaching at WSU, he also was chosen by the Class of 2020 to be their commencement speaker. ¶ David Zechman, a seasoned health-care executive with 20 years of executive management and CEO experience at three large integrated health-care systems, is on the board of directors of SCORE, the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors. David is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Administration.

78

Linda Wing Blake ’75 sent in this photo of her Emerson Hall corridor in 1971-1972.

“Just found this picture of my freshman year corridor,” she writes. “Next year it will be 50 years ago!”

Susan Ganzer Clark of

Canton, Ohio, was in Norway, where she had a Fulbright Core Scholarship for the 2019-2020 year.

She is retiring as a professor from the University of Akron. ¶ Attorney Andrew Zulieve of Skelton Taintor & Abbott was appointed by the Maine State Bar Association’s board of governors as leader of the group’s intellectual property section for 2020. He also volunteers with Lawyers for the Arts and Lawyers for the Elderly.

79

Judge Taryn Stambaugh Heath was named Champion of the Year by the Crisis Intervention Team for advancing best practice in

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

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class notes

Karen Rudy Brenner ’79 is an equine artist. Her new series of paintings — Horse Ballet— debuted Sept. 27 in the Columbus Hilton. The series spotlights the beautiful, dance-like movement of horses. With a focus on equine athleticism, confidence, grace, and beauty, her series gives a nod to those same elements that the world of ballet prizes.

encounters involving people who may be struggling with substance use and/ or a mental illness. She has served on the Stark County Court of Common Pleas since 2007 and chairs the Stark County HOPE Program, a collaboration of community partners assisting offenders with mental illness, and is the presiding judge of the Honor Court Program (Veterans Treatment Court).

She is married to Joseph Cholley, and they have three children and six grandchildren. ¶ Loren Heckelman is the deputy comptroller for the Navy Reserve Force Headquarters located in Norfolk, Va. He and his wife, Elena, live in Virginia Beach. Classmates can email Loren at HeckelLV-1979@miamialum. org. ¶ Reid Poole MEd ’79 of Toccoa, Ga., has retired after 40 years in education.

Throughout his career, he received local and state honors as a teacher, coach, and school administrator. His final position was as a logistics teacher at the Academy For Advanced Studies in McDonough, Ga. Reid and his wife, Jean, of 44 years live in the beautiful Georgia mountains.

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Mark Helmkamp retired at the end of July as director, salvage operations and ocean engineering from the Office of the Supervisor of

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Salvage and Diving at the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. After 40 years of marine salvage, he and his wife, Katherine Tippetts Helmkamp, plan to return permanently to their home in St. Petersburg, Fla. Mark writes, “We’ve had plenty of overseas travel, and now we will travel the country in our Airstream with too many dachshunds.” ¶ Doug Lantz was inducted into the Massillon Perry Athletics Hall of Fame.

He was an All Ohio Football Player and Michigan State varsity football letterman, Miami University varsity football player three years, 1977 MAC champion team, Scalper Award, All MAC and Hon AP All American, and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins. At the ceremony were daughter Kelsey Lantz ’14, niece Heather Helline ’09, and brother Brett Lantz ’86, who also played varsity football and rugby at Miami. ¶ Katherine McGonagle ’80 MA ’84 PhD ’88 is a research professor at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She recently celebrated her 32nd wedding anniversary to Thomas George MA ’88 (PhD 1992, Michigan State University). Thomas is a clinical professor at the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology.

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Reunion ¶ Caroline Dunn is a Humana-GermanySherman Distinguished Professor of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling in Auburn University’s College of Education. She earned an MEd from the University of Texas before teaching in Houston and Austin City schools and earned a PhD in special education from the University of Texas in 1991, the same year she became a professor at Auburn. Widely published, Caroline focuses on secondary curriculum and transition programming for students with disabilities, outcome studies, and postsecondary supports

for students with disabilities in STEM college programs.

82

Cammy Dierking, who

completed a 31-year career at WKRC-TV, Channel 12 at the end of last year and was Cincinnati’s first female sportscaster, was a guest on Redwood’s WRED-TV cable show What’s Good from the Wood earlier this year. She is now a personal trainer at Five Seasons Family Sports Club. “My passion has always been fitness,” she told John Kiesewetter on his media blog. “So much illness and disease can be prevented with lifestyle changes.” ¶ Robin Dreshfield Marks retired in July 2020 after 24 years as a speech-language pathologist at the Delaware Autism Program. She is looking forward to having more time to read and travel.

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Mary Lou Antoszewski McElhaney ’83, Doug Stuckey

’84, Sharon Repetty-Minotti ’68 and

Joe Minotti ’68, and Melissa Minotti Barhorst ’94 met while their daughters, Morgan, Logan, and Carly, were playing varsity tennis for Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic High School for four years.

Their team went to state each year! ¶ Iris Settle MA ’83 was appointed city of Stonecrest’s first chief of staff/liaison officer in the mayor’s office. In her new role, Iris serves as the mayor’s spokesperson in helping to clearly deliver his vision, in addition to assisting with making sure the needs of the deputy city manager, staff, and city council are met. ¶ Brad Swope became the assistant athletic director for sports medicine at Florida A&M University in April 2020. A native of Springboro, Ohio, he comes to Florida A&M after serving two years as the associate head athletic trainer at Tennessee State University, where he worked with the men’s basketball and track & field

class notes

teams. He has received several honors and was selected for the TATS Hall of Fame in 2019. He is working towards his master’s degree in sport administration from TSU.

85

Jeff Horton and Sandy Bruggeman Allen, proudly

wearing their Miami University Red and White, met for dinner with family and friends at Ted’s Montana Grill in Denver. Sandy recently retired and was heading from California to start a new phase of life in North Carolina.

Jeff writes, “One of the best parts of the evening was when Sandy, talking wildly with her hands, unknowingly met the arriving waiter, causing a large smash as glass slammed the table and area.”

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Pastor Mark Greiner of Takoma Park, Md., graduated in 2019 with a master’s in acupuncture from the Maryland University of Integrative Health. He immediately proceeded into an Acupuncture Relief Project’s Immersion in Third World Medicine program in Nepal.

88

J. Scott Calder has retired

from the U.S. Air Force. Scott and his family served 35 years, with 28 years on active duty, over 10 years overseas, and multiple deployments including 23 months in Afghanistan. Scott had 20 assignments, where he served as chief of surgery and chief of aerospace medicine, commanded three squadrons, three groups, and a task force, and was a command surgeon twice, with his last assignment being the Command Surgeon for U.S. Central Command.

Shari Wanchow Calder ’89 and their daughters, Brittany and Allison, were indispensable partners during this journey. Scott and Shari will be enjoying retired life. ¶ U.S. Navy Capt. Tony Frey recently retired after 30 years of

dedicated naval service. As part of the Miami Navy ROTC unit from 1984– 1988, he graduated with a BA in German and went on to earn his wings of gold as a P-3C Orion Naval Flight Officer, ultimately selected for multiple command tours around the globe. He has five children and nine grandchildren. He and his wife, Brenda, live near Jacksonville, Fla., where he is a government civil servant, supporting the U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon. ¶ Olin Hyde is the CEO and co-founder of LeadCrunch.ai. The company grew revenues by 7,248% to become No. 35 on the Inc 5000 in 2020. LeadCrunch is a global artificial intelligence B2B marketing company.

Its technology makes sense of the complex, incomplete, and often inaccurate data about millions of companies to enable unprecedented capabilities to target and engage the ideal audiences for B2B marketers. ¶ Kate Ingersoll has written a young adult/historical fiction novel, The Lace Makers. Taking place in one day, two girls bridge the gap between slavery and the Holocaust, interweaving the uncommon experiences of Emerald, an 8-year-old child living on a Tennessee plantation in the last days of the Civil War, and Karin, a teenager enduring the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp at the end of World War II. For over 30 years, Kate has been a professional educator, presenter, and yoga instructor, actively involved with writing projects throughout her career.

She has also written over 400 essays for her blog, Open Road (katiesopenroad. blogspot.com). ¶ Lisa Smith Molinari, who graduated from Miami and went on to law school before marrying a Navy man and moving 11 times with their three children, has published a humorous memoir about finding meaning in the minutia of modern family life. The Meat and Potatoes of Life: My True Lit Com dropped on May 1st in the middle

of the pandemic, but reviews hail the book as “hilariously honest, beautifully engaging, and vividly written … A must-read.” ¶ Missy Ganaway Pask is serving Chi Omega’s governing council as national secretary for the 2020-2022 biennium. Along with her six years on the council, she brings experience as a local and national volunteer, along with expertise in Greek life and business operations. She owns MGP Interiors and Design and is married to John Pask, and has two daughters. They live in Dallas. Founded in 1895, Chi Omega Fraternity is the largest women’s fraternal organization in the world with over 375,000 initiated Sisters and 181 collegiate chapters.

Best friends and 1985 classmates at their annual mini-reunion at Lake Keowee, S.C., Aug. 6-9 enjoy a stylish and comfy quarantine: (l-r) Sharon Stahl Margiotta, Sue Rice Olevitch, Jenny Walsh Aderman, Jenny Quillin Ventresco, and Amy Dedri.

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Marc Claybon has been promoted to principal in tax services at Crowe LLP, an accounting, consulting and technology firm with offices around the world. He is based in the Denver office and has been with the firm for over two years. Marc specializes in providing tax consulting, compliance, and ASC 740 services to a variety of clients in the manufacturing and distribution, private equity, and food and commodities industries. He will also focus on growing the cannabis

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

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class notes

Andy Frye ’94 writes for Forbes and spends most of his time interviewing professional athletes and sports legends.

Some of his recent interviews include Megan Rapinoe, Deion Sanders, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and golf legends Annika Sorentstam and Greg Norman, pictured here (left) with Andy.

Prior to Forbes, he did a stint at Rolling Stone in which he got to cover the 2017 World Series and interview MLB players.

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industry as the tax leader who advises dozens of cannabis companies both domestically and internationally and frequently speaks on cannabis tax matters. ¶ Sarah Coen, a national expert on enrollment and student success, is Transylvania’s new vice president for strategic initiatives and enrollment management. Sarah, who served as dean of enrollment at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., from 1999–2006, returns to the university after working for the last 10 years as senior vice president at Ruffalo Noel Levitz, a national higher education consulting organization. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Miami, where she was an NCAA Division I volleyball player and student-athlete of the year, and a master’s degree in public administration from Central Michigan University. She and her husband, who teaches at Eastern Kentucky University, have three children. ¶ Christian and Monique Delay Gartner, who became a Miami Merger in 2007, live in Cleveland, where Christian is a CFO for a fiber-based internet provider and Monique is running her own yoga studio. ¶ Tammy Guilian Gentry is a product manager for Sterility Assurance Products at STERIS in Mentor, Ohio.

Thanks to the team of scientists who worked tirelessly to develop solutions to decontaminate N95 respirators, STERIS was granted an Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA to decontaminate N95 respirators up to 10 times in their V-PRO® Low Temperature Sterilization System (prior to COVID-19, N95 respirators could only be used once). Tammy manages the sterility pouches used during the decontamination of N95 masks. She is grateful to work for a company that helps protect caregivers on the front lines. ¶ Married: Raegina Hoffmann and Steven Karwisch, April 18, 2020, in Cincinnati. He proposed on Miami’s campus. Because of the pandemic, they were allowed only 10 people at their ceremony. Friends and relatives participated in a drive-by celebration afterward. ¶ Paula Kenny Tarpey, Kensington Wealth Partners’ director of wealth management, was a contributing author to the recently released book Master Your Financial Success: Retirement and Legacy Secrets from Planning Professionals. The book is for those planning their financial future, as well as other financial planning professionals who want to learn new tips and strategies from industry professionals.

All contributing authors of the book are industry leading financial planners.

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Reunion ¶ Eric Schwarz joined the Cleveland Private Trust Co. as the managing director in June.

His firm is an Ohio chartered bank specializing in privately held businesses, family offices, and mergers & acquisitions. ¶ Laura Wheeler Smith released her 10th book, How Sweet the Sound, Aug. 4, 2020. It shares the lyrics to 30 beloved hymns and offers stories on how the hymns continue to impact lives. The book explores how hymns span generations — uniting us, freeing

us, comforting us, and so much more.

She lives in Oxford with her husband, Brett ’91, a professor at Miami, and their four kids.

92

Erin Hennessy, a recognized

leader in the trademark bar, has joined corporate law firm Haynes and Boone as a partner in the firm’s New York office. Erin has served as chief trademark counsel for Time Warner, a board member of the International Trademark Association, and chair of her prior firm’s trademark and copyright practice. She is currently acting counsel of the INTA Board, in addition to representing brand owners in the entertainment, media, retail, publishing, technology, fashion, financial services, and energy industries. The wife of a retired U.S. Army colonel, Erin has long been committed to advancing the interests of the U.S. military. ¶ Kam Ming Lim PhD ’92 was reelected as a senator of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore for a second two-year term of office (2020–2022). He is an associate professor of psychology and the registrar of the National Institute of Education, a school within NTU. ¶ Tara Smith retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation after more than 21 years as a special agent in Chicago. She was the supervisor of the Crimes against Children and Human Trafficking squad.

Earlier in her career, she worked violent crime, international terrorism, and crimes against children and served as the special agent applicant coordinator.

She had the pleasure of working with many Miami alumni at the FBI.

93

Tracy Willis Espy MS ’93 is

the new president of The Mitchell College in New London, making her its eighth. She started July 1, 2020, coming from Pfeiffer

class notes

University, where she was provost and vice president of academic affairs. She moved to New London with her husband, artist Marvin Espy. She landed at Pfeiffer right out of grad school and had been there for 20 years. Tracy, the first African American woman to lead Mitchell, received the national Zenobia L. Hikes Faculty Women of Color Award for her work improving faculty salaries and institutional diversity at

analyses for credit union clients with up to $4 billion in assets, he has expertise in several areas of lending, strategic planning and budgeting, risk management and mitigation, asset/ liability management, and assisting clients with regulatory framework. ¶ Jill Hovland Vermilyea ’93 MS ’95 was recently recognized as Sherman (Conn.)’s Teacher of the Year. She is the district’s speech-language pathologist.

Pfeiffer. Another thing Tracy said she was proud to work on at Pfeiffer was adding two health science programs that support rural health initiatives. ¶ David Rudischum, CPA, has been promoted to director, assurance & business advisory services at GBQ. He is based in its Columbus office. David joined GBQ in 2015, after having served the credit union industry for 22 years.

In addition to overseeing the financial and operational audits and financial

94

Suzanne D’Addario Brouder

(field hockey) is a member of the 2020-2021 Class of the Miami University Athletics Hall of Fame. A four-time all-conference selection, Suzanne earned first-team honors three times after being named to the All-MAC Second Team her freshman season. She was the first player in program history to earn all-region recognition three times and remains

one of only two to do so today. She currently ranks sixth in program history in goals (37) and eighth in points (86).

At the time of graduation she ranked third in both categories. She was also a two-time Academic All-MAC selection. ¶ USAA has named Bob Johnson its chief legal officer and general counsel.

He joins USAA from commercial bank Truist Financial Corp., where he was general counsel, corporate, commercial, and legal shared services.

95

Robert Winn MA ’95, professor of history at Northwestern College, was named the 2020 recipient of the college’s Faculty Excellence in Faith and Learning Award. He was honored during commencement exercises on July 18.

The award honors and encourages the calling and responsibility of Christian faculty to devote time and energy to

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

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class notes

Julie Workman Goldberg ’95 (left) and Lundy Clark ’93 ran a 70k on the Great Wall of China over three days in April 2019 for the group Wild Women on the Wall, which raises money for charities in China.

scholarship and creative expression in ways that faithfully express the wonder, truth, and beauty of God’s revelation in Scripture and creation. Northwestern’s academic deans and vice president for academic affairs selected Bob as the recipient from among faculty nominated by their colleagues. A member of Northwestern’s faculty since 2004, he is a scholar of religious and intellectual history in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages.

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Reunion ¶ Kevyn Adams has become the first Miami hockey player to be named an NHL general manager. He is GM of the National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres. ¶ Samantha Campbell was admitted to the Global Field Program at Miami University this past summer and participated in the Earth Expeditions: Connected Conservation course. In the course, Samantha completed a conservation campaign project in which she and fellow graduate students wrote an original story featuring animals and plants from the Northern Western Ghats in India. The story helps create a connection for children to inquire more about their own backyard and for teachers to be able to use it to support

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their curriculums. The story also helps connect younger generations to the conservation work of the Applied Environmental Research Foundation and the Sacred Groves. Samantha, a gardening and ecology educator at Lowcountry Montessori School, lives in Beaufort, S.C. ¶ Thomas Landry has been promoted to the Special Agent in Charge (SAIC) of the St. Louis Field Office in the United States Secret Service. Additionally, he has been selected as the 2020 Dublin, Ohio, School District’s Distinguished Alumni Award winner. ¶ Chris Xeil Lyons was hired by the city of Middletown, Ohio, as its new economic development director to launch its microsite. She is a veteran economic development professional of Southwest Ohio, with over 20 years of experience in the area.

In 2012, she became the first appointed economic development director for the city of Sharonville, where she led the city’s business attraction, retention, expansion, and workforce efforts. ¶ Lori Reinart Kroth (volleyball) helped lead Miami volleyball into an era of dominance. She led the team to the 1995 and 1996 Mid-American Conference Championships, winning the MAC Tournament in 1996 and going to the NCAA Tournament both seasons. In 1996, she was named MAC Player of the Year as well as an American Volleyball Coaches Association AllDistrict Player. She’s a member of this year’s class being inducted into Miami’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

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Justin Husher was featured

in cleveland.com for his small urban pawpaw orchard in a west-side suburb of Cleveland. The project is the result of five years of hard work. In northeast Ohio, he is a locally renowned source for the juicy fruit that’s ripe and ready to eat at the end of summer. He

sells bunches from his front porch.¶ Martin Schreiber has joined Providence Saint Joseph Health as the vice president for the Mission Leadership Institute. Previously, he was the vice president of mission for Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith, Ark., and he brings more than 20 years of experience working with leaders in architecting and developing culture in the fields of health care, education, and community services.

Most recently, he has been ministering in Peru, Kenya, and Tanzania. He started his new position out of the Irvine System Office, where the Mission Leadership Institute is based. Martin and his wife, Allie, have three children, Simon, Nora, Monroe, and a fourth due in December. They live in Tustin, Calif. ¶ Lockton, the world’s largest privately owned insurance firm, is expanding into the Ohio market with a new Cleveland office. Leading the company’s arrival as senior vice president is Monica Ghiurcan Trusley. She will specialize in strategic employee benefit and total reward strategies. Monica joins Lockton with over 20 years of industry experience. Her career began in benefits technology before moving to the broker side with Hewitt Associates. There, she partnered with clients to navigate the complicated health-care environment.

Most recently, Monica served as the director of sales for national accounts at one of the nation’s largest independent brokerage firms.

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Wally Szczerbiak is

joining the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame as a member of the 2020 Class. His honors include helping to lead Miami to the Sweet 16 in the 1999 men’s basketball tournament. He was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves as the sixth overall pick in 1999 and also played for Boston, Seattle, and Cleveland during a 12-year

class notes

NBA career. In addition to his work with CBS Sports Network, Wally serves as a studio analyst for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network.

00

After completing his PhD at the University of Maryland, College Park, Christopher Andrews moved to Drew University in Madison, N.J., in 2011 as an assistant professor in sociology and has since been promoted to associate professor. He recently published a book titled The Overworked Consumer on self-checkout lanes, supermarkets, and the larger self-service trend in American business. His book received the 2020 Bela Kornitzer Award and has been nominated for the American Sociological Association section on Consumers and Consumption best publication award. ¶ Joseph Beemsterboer is one of 27 finalists for the 2020 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals, also known as the “Oscars” of Government Service. The Sammies recognize the unsung heroes in our federal government who have made phenomenal contributions to the health, safety, and prosperity of our country. He is a finalist for the Safety, Security and International Affairs Medal. He collaborated with two other Sammies finalists and the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force team. They investigated and arrested 73 health-care professionals and other individuals in six states for the unlawful distribution of 40 million medically unnecessary pain pills, helping address the deadly nationwide opioid epidemic. He works for the Department of Justice. ¶ Tony Cochren is in his second year as director of special education for the Bethel Local Schools in Tipp City, Ohio. He completed an eight-year term on the Ohio State Advisory Panel for Exceptional Children, with the last two as chairman,

in 2019. He also completed a four-year term as a member of the board of education with the Huber Heights City Schools. ¶ Jennifer Guiliano ’00 MA ’02 has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award from Fulbright Canada to serve as research chair in digital humanities for the 2020-2021 award cycle. An associate professor of history at IUPUI in Indianapolis, she will join researchers exploring digital methods of publishing and linking data on the internet through immersion in the Linked Infrastructure for Networked Cultural Scholarship (LINCS) project at the University of Guelph, Canada. ¶ On May 1, 2020, Tania Gray Harvey opened up her own family law firm.

The Law Office of Tania Gray focuses primarily on family law, mediation, and collaborative law. She also is frequently appointed by judges as a child representative and guardian ad litem. Her practice is in the Chicagoland area.

family owned and operated real estate brokerage in Havertown (where he lives) and Hershey Mill, Pa. With over 15 years of experience in real estate, Tyler was a top sales agent before assuming partial ownership of Wagner Real Estate in 2016. He currently serves on the board of directors of CU Settlement Services.

01

03

Reunion ¶ Clark Mace (baseball) rewrote the Miami record books during his career and was selected in the 28th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks as the 848th overall pick in 2001. He is a member of the Class of 2022-2021 being inducted into Miami’s Athletics Hall of Fame.

After batting .339 in his final season with the Red and White, Clark left as the career-leader for hits (316), at-bats (901), runs (230), RBI (176), doubles (54), and total bases (477). To this day, he still leads all of those categories except doubles. ¶ Born: to Tracy Perna McNary and Scott, Chase Anthony, Aug. 2, 2020. They live in Denver.

02

Tyler G. Wagner has been elected to the board of directors for the Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union. He is broker/owner of Wagner Real Estate, a fourth-generation

Born: to Hueston and

Brittany Shearer Kyger ’12, Daniel Alan, Dec. 10, 2019. Hueston and Brittany were married Dec. 30, 2017.

They live in Oxford

The Class of 2002 is represented well here. Elizabeth Ardelian Gerhan, Hilari Hoffman Wulfeck, Julie Lindsley Hughes, Bonnie Ealy Gordon, Stephanie Daughtery Dean, Stephanie Piehowicz Culver, and Jill Haughowout PhD 02 celebrate their 40th birthdays together in Palm Beach, Fla., February 2020 before COVID. They were grateful they were able to get together before the lockdowns and quarantines.

04

Four close friends from three states got together during COVID for some outdoor fun and reuniting: Joe Krock ’03, Kevin Clapp ’04, Patrick Winslow ’03, and George Christenson ’03. Kevin writes, “We all met at Miami. We have been friends since 2001 and have been in each other’s weddings since. The cities represent where everyone lives at currently, and we were able to come together over the weekend even during COVID to have some time together with our families.”

George lives in Illinois and works at CDW. Kevin lives in Kentucky and owns his own company, Cair Heating and Cooling. Joe lives in Kentucky

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

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class notes

her dog, Ruby, doing yoga, and traveling in Europe to immerse herself in art and culture.

05

Isaac Reynolds ’09 (right) interviews General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening (left) with Sable Worthy (middle), a Class of 2020 ROMBA Fellow, at a ROMBA conference in Minneapolis. Isaac has earned an MBA in marketing and strategy from Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University. While at Fisher, he was recognized as a Reaching Out MBA Fellow and received the Robert Oscar Scholarship in International Business. He is with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Chase Associate management development program.

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miamian magazine

and works at Humana. Patrick lives in Macedonia, Ohio, and works at Moen.

They were last together at Patrick’s wedding in 2013. They met going to Miami and working part-time jobs off campus together. ¶ Siobhan Taylor started Sept. 14 as the new president of DePaul Cristo Rey High School. A Cincinnati native, she most recently served as head of high school at Marburn Academy in New Albany, Ohio. DePaul Cristo Rey is a Catholic, college-preparatory high school with a mission to educate young people who have the potential but limited financial means to go to college. ¶ Elizabeth Vereker was honored by Interior Design Magazine with a HiP award for being an industry leader in the field of environmental graphics and branding. The award honors the most innovative and accomplished design thinkers from around the world in the field of commercial design. As design director and brand director at San Francisco’s acclaimed Studio O+A, Elizabeth leads a team of designers credited with creating award-winning headquarters for companies like McDonald’s, adidas, Uber, Nike, Slack, and others. When she isn’t working, Elizabeth enjoys hiking the trails of the Bay Area with

Rebecca Balduff Dinovo MA

’05 published The Culture Builders: one company’s journey to building a sense of belonging. From her experience as human resources director and senior vice president of strategic initiatives in community banks, Rebecca provides a case study with workplace culture program examples. ¶ On July 1, 2020, Dr. Michael Macechko became the new program director for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) family medicine residency program in Northwest Arkansas. ¶ Northwestern Mutual, a financial security company, has honored Marc Rosenberg with the company’s Master Achievement Award, which recognizes excellence in practice management and client satisfaction. Marc specializes in working with young successful professionals and families. He lives in Highland Park with wife Rosie and their children, Mason and Piper.

06

Reunion ¶ Born: to Vanessa Schutz McDonald

and Neal, Rory Katherine, May 1, 2020, joining big sister Elly. They live in Alexandria, Va.

07

Nicholas Ziepfel was

elected to a partnership at Graydon at the beginning of the year.

He is a member of the firm’s labor and employment group and works out of the Liberty Center, Ohio, location. Nick often advocates clients’ interests in federal and state court and before governmental agencies. He trains and counsels human resources staff, supervisors, and employees on employment-related topics and works closely with employers to resolve workplace disputes.

08

Amanda Jackson (women’s

basketball), the program’s only player to be named MAC Tournament MVP, led Miami to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008 as the RedHawks won their first MAC Tournament since the 1981-1982 season. Miami University Athletics is honoring her by inducting her into its Athletics Hall of Fame, Class of 20202021. The three-time all-conference selection graduated as the program’s leading scorer and the record holder in field goals, free throws, and 20-point games. ¶ Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual) has hired Kevin Tessmer as a managing director for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance in Kansas, Missouri, and southern Illinois. He holds his FINRA 6 and 63 licenses, as well as accredited investment fiduciary and registered corporate coach designations.

09

Laura Jeanne Ferdinand ’09

MA ’14 was named a 2020 Northwestern University Presidential Fellow. A doctoral candidate in the interdisciplinary PhD in theatre and drama and the graduate assistant for Northwestern University Press, she was inducted into the Northwestern Society of Fellows this fall.

10

Born: to John and Erin Maney Kramp, Penelope “Pippa”

Ann, Oct. 7, 2020, joining big brother Charlie. ¶ Drew Sturtevant, along with a team of international researchers, recently sequenced and published the first report of the Jojoba genome in the journal Science Advances. Oils from the Jojoba plant are widely used in cosmetic products, and its genome should facilitate genetic and biochemical research into this plant species worldwide. ¶ Toby Uecker MS ’10 was named dean of students at South

class notes

Dakota State University. This position in SDSU’s student affairs division oversees the student conduct system, facilitates divisional assessment initiatives, guides various student success programs, and serves as student ombudsperson. Toby has served most recently at SDSU as associate director for living-learning and outreach.

11

Reunion ¶ Jennifer Finney is executive director of the Berkley (Mich.) Downtown Development Authority (DDA). She is responsible for coordinating downtown revitalization activities and serving as liaison to businesses, volunteers, property owners, governmental officials, community organizations, and others. She lives with her husband in Berkley. ¶ Born: to Jack and Meg Hudson, Katherine Laine, Feb. 14, 2020, joining big brother Johnny. They live in Brentwood, Tenn. ¶ Born: to Todd and Randal McClimans, Vaughn Michael, Nov. 23, 2019. Todd and Randal were married in 2014 by Pastor Jason Wilcoxon ’00.

12

Married: Bryn Dyar and Andy Hoffman ’10, Nov. 16, 2019, in Chicago, with many Miami alumni in attendance at a reception at the Chicago History Museum. Bryn is senior wedding producer for Lime-light Catering/The Revel Group. Andy is a managing director at CIBC. They live in Chicago and credit the Miami sailing team for their connection.

13

Married: Emily Clingan and Kevin Morris ’16, Aug. 8, 2020. Emily skated on the varsity synchronized skating team, and Kevin played varsity ice hockey. They live in Boston. ¶ Married: Carrie Cramer and Dr. Brian Ashbrock, July 20, 2019, in Middletown, Ohio. Carrie is a business analyst for Paramount Health

Care. Brian is a critical care doctor at Washington University in St Louis.

They live in St Louis.

14

Joe Ayuyu Jr. has been promoted to vice president of McDonald’s of Guam and Saipan, announced his parents, Jose and Marcia Ayuyu, the owners and operators and franchisees of the restaurant chain in the Marianas. Joe joins his parents and his sisters in running their family company. ¶ Alexandra Pickerill ’14 MA ’14 is an assistant Montgomery County (Ohio) prosecuting attorney. She earned a law degree from Ohio State’s law school in 2017. She is assigned to the Juvenile Division, which prosecutes crimes committed by underage offenders and adults with misdemeanors involving the abuse or neglect of children.

15

Leah Long Rogers, CPA, has

been promoted to manager, tax & business advisory services in GBQ’s Columbus office. She joined GBQ immediately following graduation. She provides tax services to a wide variety of clients with a primary focus on partnership return preparation.

16

Reunion ¶ Married: Leslie Roosa and Noah Henson ’17,

Sept. 28, 2019.

17

Married: McKenna Kiple and Patrick Freund ’16, Dec. 21, 2019, in Chicago. During their time at Miami, McKenna was on the cross country and track team, and Patrick was in Delta Tau Delta. ¶ Alexander Gartner and Meghan Bowers Gartner, Miami Merger in 2019, live in Lexington, Ky., where Alex is working for a global IT company and Meghan is studying at the University of Kentucky to be a doctor.

19

Allison Gartner and boyfriend

Austin Nader are attending the University of Indianapolis graduate program in occupational therapy. ¶ Collin Moeller, who works for Deloitte in its Cincinnati office, is a 2019 Elijah Watt Sells Award winner. On April 17, 2020, the American Institute of CPAs announced the 137 winners. To qualify, CPA candidates must obtain a cumulative average score above 95.50 across all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination, pass all four sections on their first attempt, and have completed testing in 2019. Nearly 75,000 individuals sat for the CPA Exam in 2019. ¶ John Winter was recognized with an Engineering Innovation Award at GE Aviation for his contributions within a cross-functional team that successfully demonstrated the viability of a new product idea.

Grace Sonderman ’20, who majored in nutrition and public health and minored in global health, is an AmeriCorps Service member in Colorado. She works on a farm that grows fresh produce for organizations trying to alleviate food insecurity.

20

Doug Costin, a former defensive lineman for the RedHawks, was listed as part of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 53-man roster.

He signed a free-agent deal with the Jaguars following the draft last spring. ¶ Erin Glynn is a reporter for the Manistee (Mich.) News Advocate. She covers the city beat for the newspaper.

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

Fall/Winter 2020

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farewells Margaret Woodard Stevens ’50, Fort Wayne, Ind., July 28, 2019.

Reba Myers Deiss ’54, Fort Mill, S.C., Aug. 1, 2020.

Alan R. Sex ’58, Evanston, Ill., June 6, 2020.

Charles B. Coley ’51, Traverse City, Mich., April 13, 2020.

John P. Gerard ’54, Los Angeles, Calif., Sept. 19, 2019.

Stewart E. Williams ’58, Germantown, Tenn., July 20, 2020.

Eleanor Jo Cox Fulton ’51, Springboro, Ohio, July 31, 2020.

Jane I. Hoel ’54, Fort Collins, Colo., April 23, 2020.

Mack J. Yoho ’58, San Francisco, Calif., Sept. 14, 2020.

Margaret Brown Graham ’51, Defiance, Ohio, March 15, 2020.

Janet E. Wilkins ’54, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., April 27, 2020.

Carol Schermer Hammill ’59, Huntersville, N.C., Oct. 22, 2019.

Nancy Myers Peterson ’51, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Oct. 1, 2020.

John G. Koelling ’55, Canandaigua, N.Y., July 20, 2020.

Nick Mourouzis ’59, Greencastle, Ind., Sept. 16, 2020.

Richard L. Petticrew ’51, Chandler, Ariz., July 28, 2020.

C. Robert Miller ’55, Aiken, S.C., Feb. 4, 2020.

Max Phillip Warner ’59, Marietta, Ga., April 7, 2020.

Donna Dazey Switzer ’51, Monroe, Ohio, Aug. 27, 2020.

Barbara Patrick Reardon ’55, Birmingham, Ala., Feb. 8, 2020.

Ralph T. “Tom” Vandegrift ’51, Tampa, Fla., July 19, 2019.

Donald Barnette ’56, Oakland, Calif., Sept. 4, 2020.

1960s Robert G. Bennett ’60, Conyers, Ga., July 21, 2019.

Clyde N. Bowden ’52, Cincinnati, Ohio, July 16, 2020.

Albert J. Habinak ’56, Stillwater, Okla., April 21, 2020.

Ann Ferneau Brown ’52, Blanchester, Ohio, July 13, 2020.

Jo Anne Wones Harker ’56, Westerville, Ohio, May 31, 2020.

Eleanor Priest Daugherty ’52, Sun City West, Ariz., June 4, 2020.

Richard E. Lease ’56, Columbus, Ohio, July 19, 2020.

Paul H. Goble ’52, Lakeland, Fla., May 21, 2020.

Louise Moir Leopold ’56, Santa Fe, N.M., June 3, 2020.

Peggy Rogers Rogers ’47, Easton, Md., Jan. 28, 2020.

Shirley Peffley Longenecker Schindler ’52, Dayton, Ohio, May 27, 2020.

Bert V. Robins III ’56, Naperville, Ill., July 13, 2020.

Robert E. Sanders ’47, Waterbury, Vt., July 16, 2020.

James A. Stebick ’52, Fallbrook, Calif., March 22, 2020.

J. Howard DuBois ’48, Oxford, Ohio, Aug. 3, 2020.

Jerry T. Walker ’52, Summerville, S.C., May 22, 2020.

Dwight L. Watkins ’48, Worthington, Ohio, Sept. 21, 2020.

John R. Dennison ’53, Darien, Ill., Feb. 9, 2020.

Geraldine “Gerry” Klein Helfrich ’57, Bay Village, Ohio, May 29, 2020.

Raymond G. Bruckman ’49, Venice, Fla., April 12, 2020.

David B. Harrod ’53, Billings, Mont., March 29, 2020.

Robert S. Nellis ’57, Northbrook, Ill., May 19, 2020.

Karen Lou Miller Mullen ’63, Venice, Fla., June 6, 2020.

Nan Kramer Friedman ’49, Cape Coral, Fla., July 7, 2020.

Janet Long Haseley ’53, Rensselaerville, N.Y., May 26, 2020.

Robert K. Rand ’57, Northbrook, Ill., May 28, 2019.

Rosemary Carano Kluth ’64, Wheeling, W.Va., Nov. 22, 2019.

Harold E. Gorss ’49, East Moline, Ill., Dec. 8, 2019.

Patricia Bowden Huebner ’53, Idaho Falls, Idaho, March 16, 2020.

Terry B. Stanton ’57, Lake Leelanau, Mich., April 17, 2020.

Geoffrey J. Porter ’64, Naples, Fla., Jan. 22, 2020.

Paul E. Morrow ’49 MEd ’53, Lebanon, Ohio, Oct. 17, 2020.

Joan “Jony” Corwin McQuiddy ’53, St. Helena, Calif., Oct. 26, 2019.

Edward W. Swanson ’57, Green Lake, Wis., March 28, 2020.

Barbara Houston Schaeffer ’64, Leawood, Kan., Feb. 23, 2020.

Mary Holmes Sheridan ’49, St. Petersburg, Fla., June 10, 2020.

Jack L. Williams ’53, Fairfield Glade, Tenn., May 13, 2020.

John E. Warman ’57, La Grange Park, Ill., Jan. 30, 2020.

Julie Katzan Conner ’65, Cary, N.C., Feb. 18, 2020.

1950s Charles E. Bancroft ’50, Carmel, Calif., Feb. 4, 2020.

James Williamson Jr. ’53, Humble, Texas, Dec. 11, 2019.

Anita Brumbaugh Wendel ’57, Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. 25, 2020.

Murray K. Lenson ’65, Beachwood, Ohio, June 26, 2020.

Nancy Sohngen Cottrell ’54, Hamilton, Ohio, Sept. 22, 2020.

Sam A. Baiocco ’58, Colleyville, Texas, May 12, 2020.

Marilyn Kauff Griffith ’66, Sarasota, Fla., July 5, 2020.

1940s Ruth Kugele Baker ’40, Cincinnati, Ohio, July 12, 2020.

Dorothy Johnson Heffner ’42, Louisville, Ohio, July 26, 2020.

Margot Graney Mudd ’43, Plantation, Fla., April 3, 2020.

Mary Lou Wheeler Omeis ’44, LaGrange Park, Ill., Sept. 2, 2020.

Jeanne Grigsby Bookwalter ’45, Grand Rapids, Mich., Aug. 8, 2018.

Loraine Tragesser Schultz ’45, Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. 30, 2020.

Lois Nielsen Carmichael ’47, Cincinnati, Ohio, June 7, 2020.

Edgar A. DeMar ’47, Florence, Ariz., Sept. 17, 2020.

Anne Wilson Dietzel ’47, Baton Rouge, La., Sept. 10, 2020.

Richard E. Eichhorn ’47, Kettering, Ohio, Feb. 18, 2020.

Patricia “Polly” Malcom Fels ’47, Phoenix, Ariz., Feb. 23, 2020.

Ruth Lutz Lockyer ’47, Frankfort, Ky., March 5, 2020.

Van L. Burns ’50, Brookshire, Texas, Feb. 15, 2020.

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miamian magazine

Frederick J. Tillman ’56, Bonita Springs, Fla., June 10, 2020.

James E. Deam ’57, Sidney, Ohio, June 14, 2020.

Ralph V. Burney ’60, Fairfield, Ohio, March 12, 2020.

Theresa Jackson Embry ’60, Richfield, Ohio, Aug. 26, 2020.

Robert W. Hayden ’60, Boca Grande, Fla., March 20, 2020.

Lynne Hunt Reynolds ’61 MEd ’66, Mason, Ohio, April 1, 2020.

Joel H. Walker ’61, Troy, Ohio, July 22, 2020.

David W. Byers ’63, Plano, Texas, Nov. 2, 2018.

Edward R. Gantner ’63, North Port, Fla., Aug. 18, 2019.

Ernest W. Hetrick ’63, Marion, Ohio, July 4, 2020.

Mary Lokey Howard ’63 MEd ’69, Camden, Ohio, Feb. 14, 2020.

farewells

R. Harrison Van Pelt Jr. ’66, Batavia, Ohio, March 29, 2020.

David C. Miller ’67, West Chester, Ohio, Sept. 22, 2020.

Edward H. Savitz ’67, Delray Beach, Fla., April 9, 2020.

John J. Russell III ’68, Phoenix, Ariz., July 5, 2020.

Erica Price Lesesne ’69, Charleston, S.C., March 4, 2020.

Johnny C. “Butch” Pieratt ’69, Middletown, Ohio, Feb. 1, 2020.

1970s Robert J. Medlock MAT ’70 MEd ’71 PhD ’84, Oxford Ohio, Aug. 2, 2020.

Terrence A. Croft ’71, The Villages, Fla., July 9, 2020.

David M. McCoy ’71, Harrisburg, Pa., Nov. 15, 2019.

Gregg A. Spieth ’71, Tampa, Fla., Aug. 15, 2018.

Helena Rich Curtis ’72, Middletown, Ohio, Dec. 4, 2019.

Peter H. Fornof ’72, Edwardsville, Ill., Sept. 7, 2019.

Eva Louise “Weesie” Polley ’72, Franklin, Ohio, July 6, 2020.

John K. Blassingame ’73, Stowe, Ohio, Feb. 16, 2020.

Diane Sellers Heras ’73, Wesley Chapel, Fla., Dec. 11, 2019.

Raymond J. Kovach Jr. ’73 MA ’77, McHenry, Ill., June 28, 2020.

Robert W. Grote ’74, Cincinnati, Ohio, July 18, 2019.

Joan Mogil Reasoner ’75, New Albany, Ohio, July 29, 2019.

Randolph L. Burton ’76, Dallas, Texas, March 30, 2020.

Paul V. Pyle ’76, Export, Pa., Dec. 13, 2018.

Denise Perko Smith ’77 MA ’91, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 19, 2019.

Michael S. Davis ’79, Oxford, Ohio, April 11, 2020.

Brian J. McCarthy ’79, Toledo, Ohio, March 13, 2020.

1980s Sharon L. “Sherrie” Gross ’80, Wexford, Pa., July 24, 2019.

Laura Bush Rowe ’81, Cleveland, Ohio, Feb. 23, 2020.

Amy Deegan Roslovic ’84, Columbus, Ohio, May 21, 2020.

Tracy L. Young ’85, Prescott, Ariz., April 27, 2020.

1990s Luis F. Silva ’90, Fairfield, Ohio, April 26, 2020.

Thomas A. Stefanopoulos ’90, Daytona Beach, Fla., May 21, 2020.

Gregory E. Biglin ’92, Ashland, Ohio, Aug. 17, 2019.

Robert A. La Mendola ’92, Fayetteville, Ark., June 30, 2020.

Constance K. Jung ’93, Hamilton, Ohio, July 9, 2020.

Heather Helmick Clifton ’95, West Chester, Ohio, July 25, 2020.

Anne Byblec Unger ’95, Noblesville, Ind., June 29, 2020.

Sara Gale Stovall ’97, Mentor, Ohio, July 6, 2020.

Joshua A. Ballinger ’98, New Albany, Ohio, July 7, 2020.

Jessica L. Jorgensen ’98, Columbus, Ohio, May 8, 2020.

Ryan H. Keith ’98, Washington, D.C., May 10, 2020.

2000s Trisha D. Alexander ’02, Franklin, Ohio, June 18, 2020.

Janet L. Stewart ’02, Liberty, Ind., July 13, 2020.

Stephen J. D’Amato ’06, Brooklyn, N.Y., Feb. 3, 2020.

Paige L. Robert ’13, Cincinnati, Ohio, June 20, 2020.

FACULTY, STAFF, AND FRIENDS George B. Arfken Jr., Clearwater, Fla., Oct. 8, 2020.

Professor emeritus of physics, 1952-1983.

Gisela E. Bahr, Oxford, Ohio, March 16, 2020. Professor emerita of German, 1972-1987.

Larry Beer ’79, Oxford, Ohio, Oct. 26, 2020. Miami’s longtime master sign specialist.

Eugene Blakley, Milford Township, Ohio, June 15, 2020.

Retired, housekeeping supervisor.

James A. Burchyett, Oxford, Ohio, Oct. 30, 2019. Professor emeritus of educational leadership, 1981-2006.

Gail A. Campbell MA ’81, Richmond, Ind., April 1, 2020.

Retired from IT in 2016.

James D. Clark, Oxford, Ohio, March 1, 2020. Professor emeritus of English, 1967-2002.

Phyllis A. Cox, Middletown, Ohio, June 5, 2020. Retired from communications.

Phyllis Dixon DeMass MEd ’59, Falls Church, Va., March 7, 2020. Teacher in McGuffey Lab School, 1959-1983; then assistant professor in teacher education.

Mary L. Evans, Oxford, Ohio, July 20, 2020. Assistant vice president emerita, students affairs, 1966-1992.

Phillip A. Fazzini ’88, Hamilton, Ohio, Aug. 20, 2020. Professor emeritus of engineering technology, 1972-1984.

Harland E. Fiehler, Frohna, Mo., Jan. 4, 2020. Professor emeritus of chemistry, 1966-1989.

Jonathan A. Ward ’14, Columbus, Ohio, May 22, 2020.

Perry L. Gnivecki, Oxford, Ohio, March 3, 2020. Lecturer emeritus in anthropology, retiring in 2019.

Conor J. Semple ’15, Rockville Centre, N.Y., July 22, 2020.

June G. Goggin, Oxford, Ohio, July 31, 2020. See page 3 for more.

Alexis M. Walton ’23, Middletown, Ohio, June 26, 2020.

Robert H. Hickey, Oxford, Ohio, Oct. 26, 2020. Administrator

emeritus, university publications editor, 1970-1990.

Robert Hitchens ’74, Columbus, Ohio, July 7, 2020. Former Miami assistant football coach after stint in the pros.

Carl R. Jantzen, Oxford, Ohio, Aug. 26, 2020. Professor emeritus of sociology, gerontology, and anthropology, 1969-1984.

H. Ralph Jones, Oxford, Ohio, April 22, 2020. Professor emeritus of marketing, 1968-1992.

Otto H. “Henry” Jung ’55, Sheboygan, Wis., Aug. 19, 2020.

Administrator emeritus of divisional support, 1985-1998.

Joseph L. Marcum MBA ’65 Hon. ’80, Hamilton, Ohio, Sept. 2, 2020. Miami board of trustees, 1988-1997.

Evalou Stauffer Middaugh MS ’78, Dublin, Ohio, Aug. 16, 2020.

Retired after 31 years as Miami’s administrative dietitian.

Richard L. Nault, Oxford, Ohio, Oct. 21, 2020. Vice president emeritus for student affairs, 1983-2008.

Katrina M. Potter, Eaton, Ohio, Aug. 22, 2020. Currently worked in Miami’s English department.

Paul J. Schiller ’64 MA ’69, Oxford, Ohio, April 21, 2020. Senior instructor emeritus of Spanish and Portuguese, 1969-1992.

Melvin G. Shidler ’84, Oxford, Ohio, Aug. 10, 2020. Construction project manager, 1978-2007.

Joan McNelly Teckman ’50, Oxford, Ohio, Oct. 7, 2020.

Professor of nursing, 1969-1980.

Becky Robinson Thompson, Connersville, Ind., July 25, 2020.

Current communications and program support specialist for Scrips Gerontology Center.

Dennis L. Witman, Hamilton, Ohio, Aug. 24, 2020. Assistant professor of business law in finance department, 1977-1999.

In Memory of… If you would like to make a contribution in memory of a classmate, friend, or relative, send your gift to Miami University in care of Charlotte Fedders, Advancement Services Building, Miami University, 926 Chestnut Lane, Oxford, Ohio 45056 or call Charlotte at 513-529-0815.

More classmates are remembered online at MiamiAlum.org/Miamian.

Fall/Winter 2020

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days of old

Windows to the Past If not for John Dolibois ’42, alumni director at the time, all of the stainedglass windows that adorned Miami’s one-time glorious 1868 chapel likely would have been destroyed when Old Main was pulled down in 1958, having been declared no longer safe by the state building inspectors.

Fortunately, Dolibois was on Slant Walk near the university’s original classroom building (where Harrison Hall is today) when he heard the sound of breaking glass.

According to an Oct. 8, 1992, Oxford Press article, Dolibois followed the sound and discovered workmen tossing the windows out of the second floor onto a rubble pile.

“After some hasty negotiating, Dolibois bought the remaining unbroken windows for $50,” the Oxford Press recounts. “They were taken to a university storage shed behind Minnis Drug Store.”

Later, to establish the Miami University Presidents Club, Dolibois, who had since been promoted to vice president for University Relations, gave a window to each of the first 12 alumni who pledged $10,000 to the Miami University Fund. He saved three, one for each of his sons, all Miami graduates.

John White ’58 tells more about the windows in his essay “Remembering Old Main, 1816-1958,” in Miami University 1809-2009: Bicentennial Perspectives. They were featured prominently in the chapel, part of a grand west wing that was built after the Civil War. “A local paper described it as a consecrated place bathed in dim and hallowed light,” White writes. “Its lofty ceilings were partitioned into frescoed panels, studded with gilt globes and ornamented in the Corinthian style.

[Some of the] Great stained-glass windows made from imported English cathedral glass were named as memorials to past Miami presidents.

“When Benton Hall (later renamed Hall Auditorium) was opened in [1908], Old Main chapel was no longer needed. It was converted into a central dining hall called the Commons — a subdued eatery, for stained-glass windows blocked much of the sunlight. When dining halls opened in new dormitories, the Commons became a theatre and was an art studio in its final decades.”

Although it’s unclear where some of the windows are today, a few are on exhibit. The window that honors President John W. Hall is in McGuffey Museum; a second one is on display at Oxford Lane Library, donated by Dolibois in memory of his son, Brian ’80; and the third is the President Robert Hamilton Bishop window, located in President Greg Crawford’s study in Lewis Place. << On display at the McGuffey Museum on Miami’s Oxford campus, this stained-glass window rescued from Old Main memorializes John W. Hall, president of Miami 1854-1866.

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“ Listen to the bells echo off the buildings and across the lawns where you spent the days of your youth.”

James Garland, president of Miami University 1996-2006

Summer 2018

3

Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage

PAID

Burlington, VT 05401 Permit No. 396

� SOMEWHERE

MY

Alzheimer’s and COVID may slow their steps, but Carole and Gary Goshorn remain perfect partners See page 18