Northern Magazine Summer Fall 2012 by Northern Magazine

northern kentucky university

M A G A Z I N E

summer-fall 2012 volume 10, no. 2

Meet president Mearns

From prosecuting mobsters and domestic terrorists to becoming NKUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fifth president: the dynamic life of Geoff Mearns s u m m e r - fa l l 2 0 1 2

M A G A Z I N E

volume 10, no. 2

Editor

Brent Donaldson ’05

designer Dionne Laycock ’90

copy Editor Tira Rogers ’01, ’05

photographer Timothy D. Sofranko

publisher Deidra S. Fajack Director of Alumni Programs Gerard A. St. Amand Vice President for University Advancement

CONTRIBUTORS Carol Beirne Kelly Chalfant ’09 Chris Cole, ’99, ’04, ’09 Tara Derington ’13 Rick Meyers ’77, ’90

Courtney Pugh ’13 Rich Shivener ’06, ’11 Molly Williamson Elissa Yancey

Alumni association executive committee David McClure ’83, President Tracy Schwegmann ’95, ’08, President-elect Gregory L. Cole ’82, Immediate Past President Jim Cutter ’82, Vice President Deidra S. Fajack, Secretary/Treasurer

CORRESPONDENCE Northern Kentucky University Office of Alumni Programs 421 Johns Hill Road Highland Heights, Kentucky 41099 phone: web:

(859) 572-5486

alumni.nku.edu

email:

alumni@nku.edu

Comments, questions, concerns? We want to hear from you! Email us at northernmagazine@nku.edu.

Before We Get Started

A m e s s ag e f ro m t h e p re s i d e n t As the new president of Northern Kentucky University, it is my pleasure to welcome you to this edition of Northern Magazine. In this issue, you will read incredible stories about our alumni, supporters,

friends, and the university. And you will get a chance to learn a little about me and my family—and why we are so excited to become members of the NKU community. I was drawn to this special opportunity for many of the same reasons that you were attracted to NKU. The university has a wide range of excellent, innovative academic programs, and the campus becomes more vibrant every day as the quality and number of facilities continue to grow. The most compelling attribute, though, that drew me to NKU is the people. As you know even better than I, the university has hundreds of faculty and staff who are dedicated to the success of our students—in the classrooms, in the laboratories, and ultimately in their careers. The students are ambitious men and women who embrace this educational opportunity with determination, not a sense of entitlement. And there are thousands of alumni who continue to contribute in many important ways to the success of our university. During the search process and since my appointment was announced in April, I have had the opportunity to meet many members of the NKU community. They have different roles and responsibilities, and they have diverse backgrounds and perspectives. But I have been most impressed by what they have in common: a deep and growing pride in our university and our progress, and a palpable optimism and enthusiasm that the university has a very bright future. I share that pride, that enthusiasm, and that optimism. I look forward to working with you and for you to fulfill our collective aspirations. Finally, I’d like to finish this introduction with something I’ve been waiting all summer to say: Go Norse! Geoff Mearns n o rt h e r n

Co nt e n t s NORTHERN MAGAZINE

S U M M E R - FA L L 2 0 1 2

regulars

features

president’s page

norse nuggets

northern news

alumni journal

class notes

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Hit the Ground Running

From prosecuting domestic terrorists and mobsters to becoming a law dean and university provost, this is the fascinating life story of NKU’s fifth president, Geoff Mearns.

Battle Tested

If you thought final exams were tough, try taking them in a warzone. Andy Bingaman did, and it changed his life forever.

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How They Roll

Meet the women who go from being mothers, florists, business managers, and teachers to jammers, blockers, power slides, and whips as the Blackand-Bluegrass Rollergirls.

Alumni Awards 2011

Several of NKU’s best and brightest receive our top honors. Let us introduce you.

On the cover:

An up-close-and-personal look at NKU’s fifth president, Geoff Mearns. Before becoming law school dean and then provost at CSU, Mearns was a former federal prosecutor who convicted high-profile members of the mafia. He was also a special U.S. attorney for the Department of Justice during the Oklahoma City bombing trial. Northern magazine is online! Check us out at northernmagazine.nku.edu.

ALUMNI AWARDS

NORSE nuggets

Norse Nuggets

Carl Spackler approves Join the Young Alumni Association Friday, September 14 for the 10th annual Willie’s NKU Alumni Association Golf Outing. Enjoy a day on the links with family and friends at the Willows Golf Course in Kenton County for an event that includes lunch, 18 holes, beverages, and dinner at Willie’s Sports Café in Covington. Prices are $85 per person or $340 for a foursome. To register, visit alumni.nku.edu and click “Event Calendar.” nort h ern

Space Norse

Welcome, everyone

Have you seen I.T.?

NKU and NASA, best friends forever? NASA’s Aerospace Education Services Project has selected NKU to join a professional development project for educators. The project is designed to improve education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (the STEM disciplines). NKU educators will work with NASA specialists developing a strategic plan to bring resources and materials to their regions and to better develop STEM areas of study.

Your alma mater is a welcoming place. In fact, in a new listing of the most disability-friendly colleges and universities in the U.S., we were recently named one of the best. College Success for Students with Physical Disabilities (Prufrock Press Inc.) notes that NKU is among the relatively few universities in the country—and one of only two in Kentucky—that goes beyond the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

This past spring CIO Magazine named NKU to its 2012 list of the CIO 100—a select list of organizations from across the globe that exemplify overall excellence in information technology. “The award demonstrates the importance of technology in the education ecosystem in the 21st century,” says Tim Ferguson, NKU’s chief information officer. NKU was honored for this achievement at CIO 100 Symposium and Awards Ceremony in August.

NKU President Geoff Mearns, on the hate mail his father began receiving after working for two presidential administrations setting up desegregation guidelines for public schools and traveling throughout the South to mediate disputes with the school districts. See page 15.

Grease is the word

The river artist

Black, gold, & green

Eccentric families. Infamous kings. Love, cars, and drive-ins. NKU theatre has it all, with performances of You Can’t Take It With You, Royal Gambit, and Grease comprising an ambitious fall season. Come see for yourself why NKU theatre is the critics’ pick. FYI: Tickets go on sale Monday, August 27, 2012. Call (859) 572-5464, or visit theatre. nku.edu to purchase or for more information. Season runs Sept. 27–Dec. 9.

Been awhile since you’ve seen campus? Time a visit to your alma mater with a new exhibition by renowned artist Paul Sawyier (1865–1917). An impressionist who studied under Frank Duveneck in his early career, Sawyier is highly regarded for both his portraits and his gorgeous pastoral paintings of early 20thcentury Kentucky. FYI: Sept. 22–Dec. 9 in the W. Frank Steely Library. For more info call (859) 572-5636.

NKU is in rarified air once again as one of only 322 colleges and universities in the nation to be recognized by The Princeton Review as the greenest higher-ed institutions in America and Canada. The Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges gives future college students a chance to learn about schools committed to environmental sustainability and stewardship. WKU and UofL were the only other Kentucky universities recognized.

It’s really about the players’ and coaches’ capability to make the players more prepared than they have ever been on game day. Andy Dalton can be looking at a play Tuesday night instead of 12 to 14 hours later on Wednesday. Cincinnati Bengals consultant Geoff Smith on the team’s switch from three-ring binders to iPads to store and study their playbook. The Bengals partnered with Pomeroy and Northern Kentucky University to update its IT infrastructure and make the digital upgrade.

nku buzz s u m m e r - fall summer fa l l 2 0 1 2

NORSE NUGGETS

When we moved from Cincinnati [to Cleveland] I was a 15- or 16-year-old kid, and all of the sudden for the first time we had an unlisted number. We were locking the doors at night. He showed me copies of the letters he had received that had to be turned over to the FBI. When you are 15 or 16 or 17, you understand that this is not something trivial. It’s not a joke.

NORTHERN NEWS

Battle for the White House Presidential primary nominees debate at NKU After all of the pundits have turned red in the face for the last time, and after every political attack ad goes dark, and after the media conjecture has run its course— and after all the campaign money’s gone—the next president will be either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. It’s going to be an interesting presidential election. But first, let’s have a debate. Jon Huntsman has been to every Republican National Convention since he was a delegate for Ronald Reagan in 1984. Huntsman was a White House staff assistant for Reagan and later became deputy assistant Secretary of Commerce under George H.W. Bush. When he was named the U.S. Ambassador to Singapore in 1992, he was the youngest head of a U.S. diplomatic mission in 100 years. Despite being tagged by the media as a moderate, Huntsman holds fiercely conservative free-market beliefs and from 2004 to 2009 was governor of one of the most conservative states in the country, Utah. So it was a bit of a surprise earlier this year when the Republican presidential nominee essentially scolded his own party and skipped the 2012 RNC Convention this past August. “I will not be attending this year’s convention,” Huntsman said, “nor any Republican convention in the future, until the party focuses on a bigger, bolder, more confident future for the United States. I encourage a return to the party we have been in the past, from Lincoln right on through to Reagan, that was always willing to put our country before politics.” One the other side of the aisle, two-term New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson just led the energy forum at the Democratic National Party’s convention and is, despite perhaps some residual hard feelings from the Clintons for endorsing Obama in the Democratic primary in 2008, still a spokesperson for the party in the media and at political functions. Before becoming governor, Richardson served as a Congressional representative for 15 years. He’s also served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. So let’s ask: Where is the GOP now? Lost in the woods? Or firmly on the path to success? What happened to Hope and Change? Are they alive and well? Or was it a dream to begin with? Is the inevitable tack to the political center a mirage? Or can we all really just get along? There are so many questions and so little time. Here is your opportunity to ask Jon Huntsman and Bill Richardson your own questions, in person, at your alma mater. Don’t miss it. Tuesday, Sept. 18 in the James C. and Rachel M. Votruba Student Union ballroom, Northern Kentucky University. Call (859) 5725486 or visit alumni.nku.edu for information or to order tickets.

Lady Lou Long-time NKU communications professor and founding faculty member Lois Sutherland was posthumously inducted into the Cincinnati Society of Professional Journalists Hall of Fame this past June. Lois began teaching English and journalism at UK’s Northern Community College in Covington. She was a charter member of Northern Kentucky State College’s founding faculty, serving as its first journalism instructor and founding adviser of its student newspaper. In 1977, after NKU n o rt h e r n

Lois Sutherland goes to the Hall of Fame had been granted university status and was large enough to establish a Department of Communication, Lois was named interim department chair and guided its first year of operation. It was during this period that faculty colleagues dubbed her “a female Lou Grant” for her resemblance in attitude as well as appearance to the crusty news editor with a heart of gold portrayed by Ed Asner in two 1970s TV series. “Lois was a groundbreaking woman as both a working journalist and an

educator,” says Dr. Michael Turney, a professor emeritus of communication at NKU who worked with Lois for many years. “As a newspaper reporter in the 1940s, she was one of the first women to do locker-room interviews with major league baseball players. In the 1950s, she was one of the first women to do public relations work for Procter & Gamble. And, in the 1960s, she started the journalism program and campus newspaper at the institution that eventually became NKU.” —Rick Meyers ’77, ’90

NORTHERN NEWS

No Harm, No Fowl Meet NKU’s wild goose chaser Dionne Laycock

Hatching in the iNKUbator

Rodney D’Souza’s INKUBATOR program at Northern Kentucky University is designed to help students turn their ideas into feasible business proposals and prepare them for the competitive world of startup accelerators. —Elissa Yancey

What makes the iNKUbator unique? D’Souza: I founded the INKUBATOR at NKU through research. What I found was that there was a funding gap for really early-stage or idea-stage entrepreneurs. In addition to this funding gap, there was a lack of targeted resources for these very early-stage ideas. The INKUBATOR is designed to fulfill this very need and help idea-stage entrepreneurs get to the next level. What kind of skills or personality traits do you think it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? D’Souza: It is really difficult to define a successful entrepreneur in terms of traits. Skills, however, are a different story. Skills such as understanding one’s knowledge and resource gaps and being willing to fill them with the right people. The skill of always hiring better than oneself. The skill to accept when an idea or concept is failing and being willing and able to pivot accordingly. Being coachable and willing to accept people’s feedback. Most importantly, hard work and persistence—I think Edison said something like “The value of an idea lies in the using of it.” I could not agree more. What are the greatest challenges you face in making that vision a reality? D’Souza: As with any startup, the biggest challenges we face right now are funding this program and finding the right people to work with student teams as well as people to help run the program. You started your academic career at NKU. Then you received two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. elsewhere. How does it feel to be back? D’Souza: When starting my M.B.A., I was accepted to schools such as UMass, UNC, and GSU. Because I knew, understood, and liked the culture at NKU so much, and what the university stood for, when I applied for jobs out of my Ph.D. program, I only applied to one place—NKU.

The dozens of Canada geese who for years have lounged around NKU’s campus—littering lawns and sidewalks with their special variety of “goose bumps,” loitering in the quad, and harassing professors and philosophy majors—have proved to be a peculiar problem: How to get rid of them without actually getting rid of them. Meet Lady Zachlyn, a 3-yearold American rottweiler who used to spend her days roaming the 150-acre farm in Harrison County where she lives with NKU groundskeeper Holly O’Malley. Just months into the job the campus is noticeably altered. A year ago it was estimated that NKU had a constant population of 50 geese. “Now we have three who really don’t want to leave,” Holly says, “and the rest are just flybys who stop in and go, ‘Oops, time to go!’” “Some days she’s not really into it,” O’Malley admits. “She knows she’s not going to catch them and it’s just like, ‘Oh, yeah, here we go again.’ Other days she’s so hyped that she’ll bark when they fly off, like, ‘Don’t come back!’” So far, they haven’t. —Brent Donaldson

This is an edited version of a story that originally appeared earlier this year on www.soapboxmedia. com. To find out more about the iNKUbator program, visit cob.nku.edu/inkubator.html. s u m m e r - fa l l 2 0 1 2

NORTHERN NEWS

Dawn of a New Era

Meet NKU’s fourth women’s hoops head coach NKU entered a new era in women’s basketball this summer when athletic director Dr. Scott Eaton announced that Dawn Plitzuweit (pronounced Plitts-zoowhite) was selected as the Norse’s fourth head coach. Plitzuweit, who spent the past five years as the associate head coach at the University of Michigan, replaces longtime NKU head coach Nancy Winstel. “I am extremely thrilled and honored to be named the fourth coach in the rich history of Northern Kentucky women’s basketball,” Plitzuweit says. “I would like to thank Dr. Scott Eaton and President Votruba for this incredible opportunity to lead the Norse into the next era of Division I women’s basketball. “I would also like to thank Coach Nancy Winstel for all of her dedication in building this championshipcaliber program at NKU. I am eager to get

started and am looking forward to building relationships with the current players, our incoming freshmen, the coaches in the area, our future recruits, our alumni, the fans, and the entire NKU community.” Plitzuweit helped Michigan post a 20-12 record and advance to the Division I NCAA Tournament in 2011–12. Prior to Michigan, Plitzuweit spent five years as the head coach at Grand Valley State University. Under her direction, the Lakers earned four postseason berths and won the NCAA Division II national championship in 2005– 06. During the 2006 Great Lakes Regional semifinals at Springfield, Mo., Plitzuweit guided Grand Valley State to a 91-70 win over NKU. The following season, Plitzuweit’s team participated in NKU’s Travel America Classic and coasted to a 74-58 victory over the host Norse in Regents Hall.

“We were very familiar with Dawn and her ability to get the best and the most out of her players,” Eaton says. “She knows the game and is an outstanding recruiter and a great person. Her players have excelled in the classroom as well as on the court, and she is a great fit for NKU as we make the transition to Division I.” Plitzuweit was named the Women’s College Coach of the Year by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan in 2006 as well as the Molten/Women’s Division II Bulletin Coach of the Year. During her playing days at Michigan Tech, Plitzuweit was a four-year starter (1990–91, 1992–95) and led the Huskies to a 99-22 overall record. Plitzuweit helped her team to one GLIAC Tournament title and four trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Plitzuweit closed out her career as MTU’s all-time leader in rebounds (866), assists (439), and steals (331), while ranking second in points (1,398) and games played (121). Her individual achievements include back-to-back GLIAC Player of the Year awards, three consecutive all-conference first-team honors, and three league alldefensive team nods. She earned WBCA All-Academic accolades in 1993–94 and was named Michigan’s NCAA Woman of the Year in 1995. Plitzuweit graduated from Michigan Tech in 1995 with a degree in biological sciences. A native of West Bend, Wis., Plitzuweit and her husband, Jay, have a son, A.J., and a daughter, Lexi.

Nancy Winstel, Norse Legend After winning 636 games in 29 seasons as the women’s basketball head coach at Northern Kentucky University and building the program into a national powerhouse, Nancy Winstel announced her retirement this past spring. A bona fide legend in the coaching profession, Winstel’s accomplishments are extremely rare in any sport, at any level:

• Two NCAA Division II national championships (2000 and 2008). • Career record of 636-214 as the Norse head coach. • Named the national coach of the decade by Women’s Division II Bulletin in 2009. • Six-time Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year. • WBCA Division II National Coach of the Year in 1999–2000, posting a 32-2 record that season and winning 24 consecutive games en route to the school’s first-ever national championship. • Guided her first team to a 17-10 record in her first year as head coach at NKU in 1983. The next year NKU posted a 19-9 record and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament. • Coached NKU to six consecutive 20-win seasons, including a visit n o rt h e r n

to the 1987 NCAA Division II Final Four—the first time NKU had ever been in the national spotlight for any sport during NCAA postseason play. • Spent three years as the head coach at Midway (Ky.) College prior to arriving at NKU, which brings her total collegiate coaching record to 675-255 in 32 seasons. • Winstel’s 675 victories rank No. 3 all time in NCAA Division II history. • Played for then-Northern Kentucky State College’s first women’s basketball team in 1974, scoring 787 career points in three seasons. Averaged 8.3 rebounds per game.

NORTHERN NEWS

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2012–13 NKU basketball season tickets are here!!! Here are some home games and highlights from the 2012–13 men’s and women’s schedules:

Basketball season tickets for Northern Kentucky University’s inaugural campaign as a Division I member are now on sale, with three ticket packages available for purchase. Coaches level: $150 · Tickets to all NKU men’s and women’s basketball home events · Access to the Vault for an additional $50 Bankers level: $250 · Tickets to all NKU men’s and women’s basketball home events · Complimentary Vault access · Presale opportunities for all The Bank of Kentucky Center events Courtside level: $550 · Tickets to all NKU men’s and women’s basketball home events · Complimentary Vault access · Presale opportunities for all The Bank of Kentucky Center events. · Luxury courtside seating.

Men’s Basketball Schedule Saturday, December 1 at Ohio State, time TBA Saturday, December 22 at Navy, time TBA Saturday, January 5 South Carolina-Upstate, time TBA Monday, January 7 East Tennessee State, 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 11 Lipscomb, 7 p.m. Thursday, January 24 Mercer, 7 p.m. Saturday, January 26 Kennesaw State, time TBA Thursday, February 14 Florida Gulf Coast, 7 p.m. Saturday, February 16 Stetson, time TBA Thursday, February 28 North Florida, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2 Jacksonville, time TBA Women’s Basketball Schedule Monday, November 12 at Miami (Ohio), time TBA Tuesday, November 27 Youngstown State, 7 p.m. Thursday, December 20 UNC-Wilmington, 7 p.m. Saturday, January 5 South Carolina-Upstate, time TBA Monday, January 7 East Tennessee State, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, January 12 Lipscomb, time TBA Saturday, January 26 Kennesaw State, time TBA Monday, January 28 Mercer, 7 p.m. Saturday, February 16 Stetson, time TBA Monday, February 18 Florida Gulf Coast, 7 p.m. Thursday, February 28 North Florida, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2 Jacksonville, time TBA

For a full season schedule, visit nkunorse.com. For more information regarding 2012–13 NKU basketball season tickets, please contact Alicia Lawrence at (859) 572-7894 or LAWRENCEAL@nku.edu to set up a seat selection in The Bank of Kentucky Center. s u m m e r - fa l l 2 0 1 2

Hit the ground n o rt h e r n

t’s a perfect afternoon in May, just one month since NKU announced Geoff Mearns as the fifth president in the university’s 44-year history. In a few weeks, Geoff, his wife, Jennifer, and their five children will pack up everything they own and move from Shaker Heights, Ohio, to their new home in Northern Kentucky. “Somebody’s coming to look at the house at 7,” Jennifer says as Geoff walks through the door. It’s 5 o’clock, and Geoff has just arrived home from Cleveland State University, where he was the former dean of the law school and most recently the university’s provost. Also arriving home are Clare, 16; Christina, 18; and Geoffrey Jr. and Molly, the 14-year-old twins. (Bridget, 20, is still finishing the semester at Ohio University, where she’s studying to become a math teacher.) When Geoff Jr. and Molly enter the house they’re careful to stash their

backpacks in a closet, out of sight of the house hunters who will arrive at 7. Cellphones vibrate below the chatter. We discuss the transition unfolding right in front of us—a new job, a new city, a new home. There are media requests to deal with. There are bids on this Shaker Heights house to consider and new houses to look at in Northern Kentucky. And now two staffers from the NKU alumni office are sitting here in the Mearns’ living room, armed with recorders and peppering them with questions that veer all over the map. (Fun facts: President Mearns has just about every album James Taylor ever made. He’s also an avid reader of detective stories, especially those of Swedish writer Henning Mankell.)

running By: Brent Donaldson s u m m e r - fall summer fa l l 2 0 1 2

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Photo courtesy of The Cincinnati Enquirer/Gary Landers

Together it’s enough to rattle a Zen Buddhist, but today the family is putting on a clinic in calm. Two hours fly by. We talk about higher education and Geoff’s academic career at Cleveland State. We talk about the challenges and excitement of becoming the next president of NKU. We cover Geoff Mearns’ nine-year career with the U.S. Department of Justice and the emotional toll of being a federal prosecutor for the Oklahoma City bombing trial. We talk about the Gambino crime family and the risks of prosecuting high-profile members of the mafia. And we discuss running marathons, and the Olympic trial that got away. It’s near the end of the interview when a subtle pattern emerges. When Geoff Mearns ponders a question, and as each coiled strand of thought unravels in his mind, there’s a subtle kinesis that begins in his bright blue eyes, travels up his forehead, then quickly down to his mouth, which spreads into a half-smile just before he speaks. It’s comforting somehow, as if the act of listening is so physically engaging that it elicits this playful, involuntary reaction. But after you’ve had a few conversations with President Mearns, you understand that what you’re seeing isn’t so subtle at all. You realize that, as much as any other talent, it’s the way Mearns listens that has propelled the man like a rocket through two parallel and complementary career paths.

eoffrey S. Mearns was born the fifth of nine children in August 1959 in Charlottesville, Va. His mother, Patricia Mearns, who passed away this past August, was the beloved two-term mayor of Shaker Heights between 1992 and 2000. His father, known in circles far and wide as “Ted,” is a former faculty member at Northwestern and Case Western Reserve University, as well as dean of the law school at the University of Cincinnati and an associate dean of law at the University of Virginia. Of the nine children in the family, five have law degrees. “We don’t have rebels,” Ted Mearns jokes. He remembers Geoff as a highly optimistic child. “Geoff was happy, positive—all things were possible. A little bit romantic. You know when you go out in the backyard with a basketball n o rt h e r n

and pretend it’s the end of the game, and there are 10 seconds left, and then 6, 5, 4, 3 ... and you shoot and when it goes in, you scream, ‘We win the game!’ Just enjoying the imagination and looking ahead— Geoff had a lot of that. He had a lot of not looking at the downsides of things.” “My father is my best friend,” Geoff Mearns says. “People don’t always view their parents that way, but because my father was a professor and he was in academics, he was around. I remember him reading, preparing, grading. He was home for dinner every night; he was at all of my cross-country and track meets. My parents treat people the way I hope my kids treat people, which is no matter what your title or position, you show everyone the same level of courtesy and respect. It wasn’t until I got a little bit older that I better understood what it meant to my father.” It could hardly have meant more. Geoff’s father was teaching constitutional law at UVA when the Kennedy administration hired him to assess the progress of desegregation that had taken place in Virginia since the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. The Board of Education. Years later, when President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Ted Mearns was put to work setting up desegregation guidelines for public schools, and for years he traveled throughout the South to mediate disputes with the school districts. It was after attending Walnut Hills in Cincinnati in the early 1970s that Geoff Mearns began to grasp the gravity and importance of his father’s work. Precipitating the family’s move to Cleveland in the mid-1970s, the Mearns were receiving what Ted calls “very ugly” anonymous hate mail and threatening phone calls. Ted remembers carefully removing some of the letters with tweezers so he wouldn’t contaminate them with his fingerprints.

It was all a lot for a young Geoff Mearns to process. “That was an interesting time,” he says, “because in the ’60s we didn’t lock the doors at our house. We had a published telephone number. When we moved from Cincinnati [to Cleveland] I was a 15- or 16-year-old kid, and all of the sudden for the first time we had an unlisted number. We were locking the doors at night. He showed me copies of the letters he had received that had to be turned over to the FBI. When you are 15 or 16 or 17, you understand that this is not something trivial. It’s not a joke.”

eoff Mearns graduated from Yale University in 1981 with a B.A. in English, a degree he quickly employed as a teacher at a private college prep school in Morristown, N.J. But ask him about this time in his life and he’ll tell you: the job, while wonderful, also afforded him time to pursue his main goal during this period: contending in the 1984 Olympic trials. The plan was to attend law school in the fall of 1984—after, he hoped, racing in the summer trials. In 1982, the year he met his future wife, Jennifer, Geoff completed his first-ever marathon in 2 hours 16 minutes, averaging less than 5 minutes and 12 seconds per mile. In 1983 he qualified for the Olympic trials with a time of 2:17. But a few months later a stress fracture in his heel dashed his Olympic dreams for good. “That was not a good day,” he says. “But that’s what happens when you train 120 miles a week for four months in a row.” Geoff Mearns graduated Order of the Coif from UVA’s law school in 1987. He and Jennifer married the following year, just before Geoff accepted a job as a federal prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice. There is enough tension and drama in the cases Mearns prosecuted with the DOJ to satisfy true-crime readers for a long, long time. But two cases provide a snapshot into the enormity of his tasks as a federal prosecutor. Mearns began his career with the DOJ in the Eastern District of New York: Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and Long Island—the heartland of organized crime, as he calls it. Two weeks before Christmas Day in 1990, members and henchmen of the Gambino crime family—including mob boss John Gotti and Thomas “Tommy” Gambino, the mobster son of the infamous Carlo Gambino—were arrested in New York City on charges that included racketeering, extortion, and murder. Mearns’ mentor at the DOJ, John Gleeson, was able to convince John Gotti’s right-hand man, Salvatore “Sammy Bull” Gravano, to testify as a government witness against members of his own mafia syndicate. That included Tommy Gambino, whom Mearns successfully convicted on May 11, 1993. Approximately four years later while Mearns was stationed in Raleigh, N.C., United States attorney general Janet Reno enlisted him as a special prosecutor for the worst act of domestic terrorism the country has ever seen. On April 19, 1995, at 9:02 a.m., the blast outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building killed 168 and injured more than 800. After the Timothy McVeigh conviction, Mearns represented the United States in the case against McVeigh’s accomplice, Terry Nichols. Mearns says it’s hard to capture what it felt like to be part of that small prosecution team. “If you talk to any of the members of the team,” he says, “what they remember most are the victims, the families of the people who were killed. These people embraced us not just as their lawyers but as people who were there to seek justice for their mothers, their children. There were 19 babies who were killed. To be an advocate for people who have lost so much and who are putting their hope and faith in you is hard to describe. It was a privilege and an honor.”

s u m m e r - fa l l 2 0 1 2

Photo courtesy of The Cincinnati Enquirer/Gary Landers

ith cases like these and the cases Mearns took at private firms such as Baker & Hostetler and Thompson Hine, it’s little wonder he was tapped to be the dean of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at CSU in 2005. Mearns is widely credited with raising the passage rates of graduates on the Ohio bar exam as well as renovating the school’s law building and increasing donations from alumni and law firms. Of his tenure as provost that started in early 2010, numerous colleagues spoke of how Mearns greatly improved the relationship between faculty and the university administration. “Geoff has a way of making everyone feel at ease immediately,” says Michael Schwartz, the widely popular former president of CSU. “That has been his leadership style: listen carefully, reason with people, and then decide the course to take and go there. He was instinctively a very good leader. You might say that you disagreed with him; you could never say that you hadn’t been respectfully heard.” “He is a master of protocol,” adds Craig Boise, the current dean of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law who formerly worked with Mearns at Thompson Hine. “If there’s a decision n o rt h e r n

that needs to be made, which constituent needs to be consulted? Whose opinion needs to be part of the process? Where do you vet the idea? At the same time, he doesn’t allow the process to subsume decision making, and that’s what you want—somebody who’s not paralyzed by the process.” That last point could prove vital. President Mearns will have to steadily navigate a number of complex realities facing public higher education. “I know that in Kentucky as in many other states, state support for public higher education has been declining,” Mearns says. “Not necessarily as the result of any legislative policy but just as a result of fiscal reality. One of the challenges is to persuade the legislature and others that Northern Kentucky University is a worthwhile investment, that their investment in this institution is so important to the future economic vitality of this region and to the commonwealth.” At the same time, technology is changing education in ways unimaginable until recent years, and steering an “up-close-and-personal” university like NKU will be a delicate operation. “This is an institution where faculty know their students,” Mearns says. “They know their names, and the students feel that the faculty are personally invested in their success. I think that for this institution the challenge is to maintain that personal educational experience but use technology to enhance that experience as opposed to getting in the way of it.” After only a few weeks on the job, President Mearns’ itinerary has been ambitious: meeting with staff and faculty, assessing the university’s strengths and areas of needed improvement, engaging with the community, and then taking this information and, step by step, charting a course. It’s been his style all along. “He leaves things better off than he finds them,” his father says. “He meets everything that’s coming at him. He’s got that litigator’s gift of never being surprised by a question because you’re prepared. That’s an asset.” “After 50 years in higher education,” adds Schwartz, “I’ve seen some otherwise promising presidents fail, and as often as not, it is because they commit the sin of ‘arrogant grandiosity.’ You will find none of that in Geoff. Jennifer and the kids would not permit it, and he’s not that kind of guy anyway. I am not surprised he has become a president. When talent meets with intelligence and passion, as in his case, nothing should be surprising about Geoff.”

Jennifer Proud Mearns t was candidate’s night, 2009. The Shaker Heights school board incumbents and challengers were gathered at an open forum to discuss their vision for the school district. Hoping for an election victory the following month, one by one the candidates read their prepared statements. It was a rather staid affair, with the board hopefuls rarely looking up from their notes as they read in their monotone voices. Jennifer Mearns was a newcomer on that year’s ballot, though she was certainly no stranger to the school district—she and her husband, Geoff, had four daughters and one son attending Shaker Heights schools. Ready to speak, she moved the microphone closer and introduced herself. The district had an excellent reputation for producing large numbers of National Merit Scholars, she said, but the state report card numbers and high taxes were hurting the city’s ability to attract and retain residents. She vowed to use her experience on other local boards and her 25 years in business to improve the situation. Mearns spoke with confidence and personality—she even laughed once or twice. And she didn’t look down at her notes. It’s hard to say if she had any with her. When the votes were tallied three weeks later, Jennifer Mearns had nearly a thousand more than the second-place finisher. Mearns’ victory that day was a testament to many things. The sixth of eight children (seven girls, one

boy) in a family that moved constantly when Jennifer was a young girl, she developed her outgoing personality and wit at an early age. “Right when Geoff accepted the position as NKU’s president, I said, ‘Well honey, you can’t screw it up,’” she says. “I must say I was a little bit uncertain at first because I wasn’t familiar with Northern Kentucky or the university. But when I went down with Geoff to interview and I met people and got a better understanding of the opportunity, I felt like this was a great fit.” For the past eight years Jennifer Proud Mearns has owned and run JPM Consulting, her executive recruiting firm where she works with corporate clients to recruit top-level talent. Prior to starting her own business, Mearns spent many years in the marketing and communications industry, and for years she traveled the world handling media relations for the men’s professional tennis tour. “It was great,” she says, “but I was working a lot, and with three children at the time it got tougher and tougher to travel that much. I had to find a new career.” Mearns went on to start JPM Consulting in 2003. Back at NKU, Jennifer Mearns wants to do what she’s always done. An avid runner, Mearns is usually hitting the pavement by 6 a.m., presumably to keep in shape for the numerous roles she plays on any given day. “I’m at my best when I have a lot to do,” she says. “When I don’t have a lot to do I’m not as efficient, so it plays to my strength to have a lot of things going.” To wit: throughout her adult life she’s been involved in numerous community service efforts while simultaneously raising a family and running her own business. Luckily, recruiting executive talent, it turns out, serves a dual role for Jennifer. “Each new search, you have to get to know what people do,” she explains. “So it’s really good at cocktail parties. When I ask, ‘What do you do?’ people are always interested because I have follow-up questions. People will say, ‘I’m in banking,’ and I will ask, ‘Well, what part of the bank? Are you in commercial banking? Investment banking?’ And they are like, ‘Why are you asking me this?’ It’s habit.” Not so incidentally, Jennifer Mearns has a degree in business from Bryant University. She later served for nine years on Bryant’s board of trustees and, ironically enough, on two of the university’s presidential search committees. Her experiences meant that, when the NKU presidential search committee selected her husband as a final candidate for the presidency, she had a very good idea of the process he was about to experience. “She was an excellent counselor,” President Mearns says. On the behalf of the entire NKU community, to that we say, “Thank you, Jennifer. Welcome to NKU.” s u m m e r - fa l l 2 0 1 2

18 By: Chris Cole (’99, ’04, ’09)

Andy Bingaman’s journey to NKU used to be a common one. The son of an Air Force pilot, Bingaman spent more of his youth playing video games than doing homework. After moving to Northern Kentucky at age 7 from his birthplace in Myrtle Beach, Bingaman didn’t enjoy high school much and was less than enthusiastic about attending college. But a lot of his friends were attending NKU, and, besides, it wasn’t as if he could afford many other schools. It was during his junior year at Scott High School that the young man realized his best chance of paying for college: joining the Kentucky Air National Guard. After graduating from Scott High with a GPA hovering just above 1, Bingaman was set to begin his military service when terrorists attacked New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. Andy left for basic training a week later. “It was scary at first because everybody thought, ‘This is World War III. World War III literally just started,’” Bingaman says. “But it was motivating because I was joining the military in what is now presumably a time of war. At basic training, the instructors were able to leverage that to scare the bejesus out of us.” n nort o rt h heern rn

OOO

After basic training and completing Air Transportation School in 2002, Bingaman brought his paltry high school GPA to NKU. And he promptly flunked out. Still unsure what to do with his life, Bingaman simply lacked the motivation to study. Just two weeks into the semester, he stopped going to class, moved off campus, and started working random jobs. But that was a lifetime ago. You see, while his path to NKU was familiar, his adventure to graduation was anything but.

OOO

It was a deployment to Germany to support Operation Iraqi Freedom that changed everything. For four-and-a-half months Bingaman delivered food and cleaned military aircraft. It was the first time in his life he’d ever had real responsibility or made real money. He also met the future mother of his children there. When Bingaman returned home he found a full-time job providing security for an Air Force base in Louisville. It seemed his life was finally getting on track, but in the back of his mind he knew he had unfinished business at NKU. When work at the base dried up after Bingaman’s son was born, the new father found a job installing satellite dishes. In 2006, he managed a fleet services department during a five-month deployment in Qatar and managed nine airmen. It was there that Bingaman realized he needed leadership training. He reenrolled at NKU in 2008. It was while studying for his online Sociology 100 class that Bingaman had an idea. After each assignment, he could compare his grade to the class average—it was all there online for anyone to see. The competition unlocked Bingaman’s inner gamer. At the end of the semester, he earned the first "A" of his life. Success begat success, and soon Bingaman was bonding with professors and acing all of his classes. “I had a lot more riding on it this time,” he says. “I’d already started a family and built a house; I had bills, a mortgage, two car payments and a full-time job.” Bingaman’s transcript started to read like a baroque musical score— lots of staccato F’s followed by a string of A’s. Nothing stood between him and a college degree. Except Afghanistan.

OOO On September 11, 2010, Bingaman left for Bagram Airfield in northern Afghanistan. Except for the 15,000foot mountain range surrounding him and the constant dirt and smoke, he says it felt like home. Still enrolled in three online classes at NKU, Bingaman’s responsibilities included handling and inspecting hazardous materials

such as medical supplies, bombs, and human remains. He worked 12-hour shifts six days per week and slept in a 20-foot steel shipping container that served as the living quarters for himself and three roommates. On his one off day each week Bingaman would study 18 straight hours in an empty conference room. He was fortunate—the room was where the army brass had their meetings following an attack and was therefore equipped with excellent Internet service. He was also fortunate he was never in the room during an attack. Not that the possibility didn’t cross his mind. “I’d think to myself, ‘You know, I’m making some good headway on a 16-page paper, and if we get attacked, it’s going to throw my writing process off and I’m going to end up getting writer’s block and not be able to finish.’” That’s not to say there weren’t attacks, but things would have been much different if Bingaman had been in the infantry searching for IEDs along Afghani highways. “Being inside the wire on the base, it’s kind of like a thunderstorm,” he says. “You’re always in a thunderstorm; and you might get hit by lightning. You probably won’t, but these guys are just lobbing these things in from miles out, so they’re very inaccurate. You just hear a boom. It might be 100 yards away or a mile away. The base is huge, and you have no idea if it hit a building, a tent, or an empty field. It’s kind of scary not knowing. If lightning hits you, that’s God’s work. If a rocket hits you, it’s because somebody out there with a tube got lucky, you know?” This was the new Andy Bingaman: battle-tested and ready to face whatever indirect fire life throws at him. Bingaman returned to NKU from Afghanistan early last year, finished his organizational leadership requirements, and crossed the stage during commencement at The Bank of Kentucky Center in December. It’s something that simply wouldn’t have been possible without NKU’s online course options. “Over the past two years, NKU has very purposefully grown the number of courses and programs available online,” says Vicki Berling, NKU’s executive director of educational outreach. “Andrew is a perfect example of the type of student who needed the convenience and flexibility of the online format.” Bingaman couldn’t agree more. It’s safe to say that in a warzone, he needed all the flexibility he could get. The father of two, Andy laments missing his son’s first steps and his daughter’s first birthday while he was deployed overseas. But he had some growing up to do, too, and gone was the kid who’d barely survived high school and flunked out of college. “By the time I got to Afghanistan, I’d already had this two-year history of A’s,” he says. “I hadn’t done any less than an "A", and I didn’t want to let a deployment to Afghanistan stand in my way. So I just focused. It kind of brought everything into focus.” Bingaman just wrapped up his 11th year in the National Guard and doesn’t plan to quit anytime soon. “I will be in the Guard until I’m either forced to retire or I die,” he says. “I love it. It’s just a way of life now.” s u m m e r - fa l l 2 0 1 2

Tiffany work

Petal to the Metal

n nort o rt h heern rn

How Ṫhey Roll Black-n-Bluegrass Rollergirls have a fistful of NKU alums

omething akin to a human NASCAR race, roller derby is most definitely a contact sport. And with 50 members and counting, the Black-n-Bluegrass RollerGirls team is a tour de force of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association. As jammers, blockers, power slides, and whips, these NKU alumnae hit the roller derby scene in 2008 and now play home games at The Bank of Kentucky Center. With names like Smashin’ Punk’n, Shaken and Stirred, Damnit Janet, and Kung Fu Hussy, here are the teachers, account managers, entrepreneurs, and therapists who balance work, home, and roller derby, all for your entertainment. —Rich Shivener '06, '11 NAME: Debbie Scheibly JOB: General assignment work at UPS. “They call me fuel

boss at work.”

GRAD YEAR: 1993 MAJOR: Law enforcement FAVORITE PROFESSOR: “My favorite professor was Professor Gunther. The professor had a unique style and depth into criminal law that truly captivated me and always had me looking forward to going to class.” BEST MOMENT AT NKU: “I was very proud that I ended up graduating with a 3.5 GPA, because in high school I wasn’t the best student.”

ROLLERGIRL NICKNAME: Neva Shakeababy POSITION: Jammer, blocker TEAM MEMBER SINCE: 2011 BEST DERBY MOMENT: “We had our first game at Northern, and I scored 35 points in one jam. My goal is to be a full-time jammer, and I think I actually proved it.” WHY SHE ROLLS: “I’m totally in love with derby right now. There’s much to learn, and I feel like the girls have embraced me. It’s not just another sport.”

NAME: Becka Obermeyer JOB: Account manager for Phototype (design firm) GRAD YEAR: 2011 MAJOR: Master of Arts in communication FAVORITE PROFESSOR: “Dr. De Blasio, who teaches public relations. He just had a unique way of mixing the professional with the academic.” BEST MOMENT AT NKU: “Orientation. I was a transfer student, and just going and meeting the new students and professors really resonated with me.”

ROLLERGIRL NICKNAME: Beka Rekanize POSITION: Jammer TEAM MEMBER SINCE: 2008 BEST DERBY MOMENT: “I don’t know if it’s my proudest moment, but I broke a girl’s leg last season. But I didn’t do it on purpose; I just skated through her legs when she was trying to trip me.” WHY SHE ROLLS: “I and two other skaters did a promotion event called Women Own Wellness in Anderson Township, and

the women we spoke to were just enamored by our experiences. And when I was driving home, I started thinking, ‘Wow, I take this all for granted’; I complain about my play time, my teammates ... but I realize how lucky I am to be a part of this team. It was a really humbling experience.”

NAME: Michelle Cravens JOB: Language arts teacher at Gallatin County Middle School GRAD YEAR: 2007, 2009 MAJOR: English, literature; Master of Arts in teaching FAVORITE PROFESSOR: “Either Fran Zaniello or Brandelyn Tosolt. Those two were my biggest influences.” BEST MOMENT AT NKU: “My first day of my women’s studies class, when I first realized what I wanted to do and what I wanted to be.”

ROLLERGIRL NICKNAME: Smashin’ Punk’n POSITION: Jammer TEAM MEMBER SINCE: 2008 BEST DERBY MOMENT: “Last year I got ‘jammer of the year’ for the “A” team, and I wasn’t expecting it. I’m kind of notorious for flying under the radar on the team.” WHY SHE ROLLS: “There’s no better outlet after coming home from teaching eighth graders all day than coming here and hitting someone. Now my students come and watch, and they go to school wearing my T-shirts.”

NAME: Susan Fesiler JOB: Animal control officer GRAD YEAR: 1996 MAJOR: Criminal justice FAVORITE PROFESSOR: “It was Jim Whalen. I liked anytime that we had police officers as instructors because they had so much experience in the field.” BEST MOMENT AT NKU: “When my husband and I met at a role-playing game meeting that was held on campus. And when I made Dean’s List, which was a big thing for me.”

ROLLERGIRL NICKNAME: Shaken and Stirred POSITION: Pivot, blocker TEAM MEMBER SINCE: 2010 BEST DERBY MOMENT: “The very first bout I played in 2010. We won by one point in the last jam. It was so close the s u m m e r - fa l l 2 0 1 2

Red Emma

irish iris

melissa adams

Amy thomas

22 Susan Fesiler

Shaken and Stirred

michelle cravens smashin'punk'n

Kung Fu Hussy

stephanie rogg

Beka Rekanize

Damnit Janet

becka obermayer

Neva Shakeababy

Debbie Scheibly

n o rt h e r n

Janet Berberich

Michelle caridi

sinobite

whole time, which was super, super exciting.” WHY SHE ROLLS: “It’s something that’s all mine and with my own group of friends.” [Incidentally, Fesiler and her husband perform circus-like acts, including fire eating and sword swallowing.]

NAME: Michelle Caridi JOB: Human resources manager at Emerge IT Solutions GRAD YEAR: 2004 MAJOR: Psychology FAVORITE PROFESSOR: “Dr. George Manning. We always

NAME: Tiffany Work JOB: Florist at A New Leaf GRAD YEAR: 2004 MAJOR: Business management, entrepreneurship FAVORITE PROFESSOR: Giles Hertz. “When I was there,

said that we majored in Manning.” BEST MOMENT AT NKU: “I would say my favorite time at Northern was Dr. Manning’s class called ‘Tea Group.’ It was a full, three-credit-hour course, and, basically, it was a study on human interaction. Friday we had traditional coursework, and Saturday you just talked for eight hours. We learned so much from that.”

the entrepreneurship program was not a major, and it was just becoming a minor, and he taught a lot of those classes.” BEST MOMENT AT NKU: “When I was involved with that club, we would take a trip every year to Chicago. Just the ride, conference, and everything was great.”

ROLLERGIRL NICKNAME: Petal to the Metal POSITION: Jammer, blocker TEAM MEMBER SINCE: 2007 BEST DERBY MOMENT: “There have been so many. We used to get buses to travel to the games, and a lot of the bus trips are very memorable, but I can’t tell you about them.” WHY SHE ROLLS: “It’s very addicting. It’s fun. It’s like a family.”

NAME: Janet Berberich JOB: Owner of Eye Candy Design GRAD YEAR: 1995 MAJOR: Graphic design; marketing minor FAVORITE PROFESSOR: “Probably crazy Kevin Boeher. He was a great painter and life-drawing teacher.” BEST MOMENT AT NKU: “It was in a sculpture class, and on the first day, our instructor gave us a raw egg and told us to fly it off the second-floor balcony with some cardboard and straws. My egg was the only one that survived.”

ROLLERGIRL NICKNAME: Damnit Janet POSITION: Blocker TEAM MEMBER SINCE: 2007 BEST DERBY MOMENT: “The pool parties ... and walking

ROLLERGIRL NICKNAME: Sinobite POSITION: Blocker TEAM MEMBER SINCE: 2010 BEST DERBY MOMENT: “I never skated a day in my life when I started derby, so learning to skate and getting that call about making the team was so exciting.” WHY SHE ROLLS: “My husband took me to a game on a date night, and I said, ‘Oh, my god, I have to do this.’ He said I was insane. It’s only my second season, and I’ve had surgery and a concussion, [but] I’m going to keep playing until they haul me off in a wheelchair.”

NAME: Stephanie Rogg JOB: Project manager at INC Research (a pharmaceutical research company) GRAD YEAR: 1999 MAJOR: English, literature

FAVORITE PROFESSOR: “Dr. Robert Collier. He was old and funny, and he taught Shakespeare.” BEST MOMENT AT NKU: “My first day teaching English composition after getting my master’s degree. It was like coming full circle.” ROLLERGIRL NICKNAME: Kung Fu Hussy POSITION: Blocker TEAM MEMBER SINCE: 2011 BEST DERBY MOMENT: “When our 'B' team almost beat

Naptown Roller Girls at our first-ever tournament appearance. We had been seeded in last place because we weren’t part of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association yet. Naptown was first into The Bank of Kentucky Center for the first time! There have seeded.” been a couple of times where you’re hit so hard it knocks the WHY SHE ROLLS: “I had been divorced; I have had cancer; pee out of you.” WHY SHE ROLLS: “I think just having a winning season last I had just had a baby; and I had not really been doing anything year and just knowing where we started and where we are now.” for three years and decided I needed exercise. Shaken and Stirred and I were in college together; she told me about it and it sounded like fun.” NAME: Amy Thomas JOB: Mental health therapist NAME: Melissa Adams GRAD YEAR: 1998 JOB: Case manager for Necco Foster MAJOR: Social work GRAD YEAR: 2007 FAVORITE PROFESSOR: “I had a literature teacher that MAJOR: Social work was incredible. I took English composition and Shakespeare FAVORITE PROFESSOR: “Deborah Henry (my former courses with him.” advisor).” BEST MOMENT AT NKU: “My favorite time at NKU was BEST MOMENT AT NKU: “Being a member of the Social hanging out in the ‘ceramics trailers’ before they had ceramics Work Club.” rooms on campus. They didn’t have air conditioning, but it was cool.”

ROLLERGIRL NICKNAME: Red Emma POSITION: Blocker TEAM MEMBER SINCE: 2008 BEST DERBY MOMENT: “Winning MVP and Best Defensive Blocker.”

WHY SHE ROLLS: “Derby kind of consumes your life. It can be your whole social life, recreational life; it’s not just a traditional sport. And I’m one of the captains of the team, and skaters value me as a leader.”

ROLLERGIRL NICKNAME: Irish Iris POSITION: Blocker, jammer TEAM MEMBER SINCE: 2008 BEST DERBY MOMENT: “Winning the ‘Miss Super Trooper’ Perseverance Award.”

WHY SHE ROLLS: “It started with Petal to the Metal; we tried out together. I do it as a stress reliever, and for the atmosphere of the team—the girls. They’re like a big family to me.” s u m m e r - fa l l 2 0 1 2

Faculty/Staff Distinguished Outstanding Strongest Service Young J. David Bender Influence Alumnus Lee A. Whitley ’76, ’79 Award Kent Curtis

ALUMNI AWARDS n o rt h e r n

J. David Bender is a proud graduate of NKU and Chase. Kent Curtis is celebrating Bender is vice president of his 42nd year with Northern the NKU Foundation and a Kentucky University. Curtis longtime member and a past joined Northern Kentucky president of the Norse AthState College in July 1970 letics Club board. He serves as one of the four original on the advisory boards for administrators. Their first the criminal justice program classes were offered in the and the Pi Kappa Alpha fall of 1970 at the Park Hills fraternity and is a past campus—originally the president of the NKU Alumni UK Northern Community Council. Bender received the College. Chase Exceptional Service Curtis has served NKU as Alumni Award in 2008 and the first registrar and direcwas selected as one of 40 tor of admissions, the first successful alumni featured associate provost, chair of in the NKU Entrepreneurship the department of technolInstitute’s publication, Lesogy, and coordinator of the sons in Entrepreneurship. Bachelor of Arts in organizaIn addition, David tional leadership program. Bender is past president The OL program was the of the Northern Kentucky first online baccalaureate Bar Association and has completion degree offered served as vice president and in the commonwealth under president of the Children’s the auspices of the Council Law Center board. He is on Postsecondary Education. a sole practitioner in Ft. During his tenure at Thomas, where he lives with NKU, Curtis has taught 17 his wife of 29 years, Nancy. undergraduate courses and Their daughter, Alyse, is a six graduate courses and 2008 NKU graduate, former has served on 12 master’s SGA president and student thesis and nine doctoral disregent, 2011 Chase graduate, sertation committees at the and licensed attorney in University of Cincinnati, the Ohio and Kentucky. Their Union Institute, and NKU. He son, Jonathan, recently has authored or coauthored completed a Fulbright Grant 15 books, including the conducting breast cancer fourth edition of The Art of research in France and began Leadership (McGraw-Hill/ medical school at the UniverIrwin), released in spring sity of Michigan. 2011. The second edition of Stress: Living and Working in a Changing World (Savant Learning) was released in spring 2012. Curtis and his wife, Mary, have three children, 10 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

’01, ’04 Lee Whitley is a proud NKU alumnus who has enjoyed remaining active and helping many current and former NKU students. Whitley has been employed at Target for more than nine years and has held six progressive assignments at the company. For the majority of his tenure there, Whitley has worked at a regional level supporting multiple stores across numerous states. His current role, investigations team leader, involves leading a mobile team of 20 members who are spread throughout Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, and Louisville. In his efforts to engage in community service, Whitley has, for the past two years, challenged his direct reports to participate as a team in one volunteer event per quarter. This past year alone, Whitley’s team participated in the Martin Luther King Day of Remembrance by helping to rehab a community center in Louisville; volunteered at Crayons2Computers in Cincinnati; and helped at a food pantry/toy store during the week of Christmas to help provide food and toys to families in Columbus for the holidays. Here at NKU, Whitley has served as the chapter advisor for Tau Kappa Epsilon for the last three years.

Outstanding Alumnus Chase College of Law Michael F. Lyon ’75 Michael Lyon is a senior partner with the Cincinnati law firm of Lindhorst & Dreidame Co., L.P.A. After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in English and philosophy from Xavier University in 1969, Lyon earned his Juris Doctor from Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law in 1975. Lyon’s practice as a trial lawyer is devoted primarily to the preparation and trial of medical malpractice cases for the defense. He has tried more than 200 medical malpractice jury trials in more than 20 cities in Ohio and Kentucky during his 37-year legal career. Lyon is a fellow of the International Society of Barristers and is the first Ohio lawyer to be elected diplomat of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Lyon has been named an Ohio Super Lawyer every year since 2004 and was named one of the Top 50 Lawyers in Cincinnati for 2012. He is a founding partner and member of the board of advisors of Chase College of Law’s Center for Excellence in Advocacy. Lyon lives in Cincinnati with his wife, Jacki, a professor of English at Xavier University. They have six children.

Outstanding Alumnus College of Arts and Sciences Joseph D. Meiser ’01 Joe Meiser creates sculpture, installation, and performance art. Raised in Cincinnati, Meiser graduated from NKU in 2001 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and then worked briefly as a toy sculptor—first during an internship at Hasbro and later as a freelance artist. He then began his graduate studies at Ohio University in 2003. During this period, Meiser also developed collaborative projects with ArtWorks for two summers, producing interactive sculptures that were exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. After graduating from Ohio University in 2006 with his Master of Fine Arts, Meiser went on to teach art classes at Bowling Green State University in northern Ohio. Since 2009, Meiser has been an assistant professor at Bucknell University, where he teaches sculpture and drawing. Meiser recently received an award from the Tanne Foundation and a C. Graydon and Mary Rogers Fellowship, which he has held for three years. Meiser has exhibited his artwork in numerous venues across the country, has presented regularly at art conferences, and has given lectures about his artwork at several universities. He lives and works in Lewisburg, Pa., with his wife, Shawna.

Outstanding Outstanding Alumnus Alumna Haile/U.S. College of Bank College Education of Business and Human James C. Phillips ’81 Services Phillips has built brands and businesses during the past 30 years in more than 50 countries in a range of marketingrelated disciplines, including strategic marketing, brand management, business development, sponsorship marketing, innovation and new products, and sales. Phillips is currently a principal at Strategy First Partners, an Atlanta-based brand and marketing strategy firm he cofounded in 1999. SFP works globally in a wide range of industries, with clients including Dell, MetLife, Starbucks, Converse, Target, Office Depot, Sara Lee, Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase, The Home Depot, and Timberland. Previously, Phillips spent more than six years with The Coca-Cola Company in a range of roles within its global strategic marketing division. Phillips also directed marketing assets, leveraging the company’s investments in global sponsorships, including the Olympic Games and World Cup soccer. Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, Phillips spent eight-plus years with Procter & Gamble in a variety of brand management assignments. Phillips holds a Master of Business Administration from University of Kentucky and a Bachelor of Science in management and marketing from Northern Kentucky University.

Laura S. Clarke ’93, ’06 Laura Clarke is an assistant professor of special education at Ball State University and one of four members of her family who have ties to NKU. Clarke’s mother, Emma, and brothers Andrew and Scott all have degrees from NKU, and her sister, Lelia, is beginning postgraduate classes in education here this summer. Clarke not only earned her undergraduate degree in English and journalism at NKU, but she also met her husband, Dan, in a history class with Dr. Michael Washington. After furthering their relationship in two English classes, the couple married in 1994. After they had their first two children, Catherine and Daniel, they discovered that Daniel had autism. The discovery prompted Clarke to return to NKU to earn her master’s degree and teaching certifications in special education and early childhood education. During her teaching career Clarke has taught adjunct classes for NKU, Eastern Kentucky University, and the University of Cincinnati, and she is now part of the special education faculty at Ball State University. Clarke has written and administered more than $61,000 in grant funds and has presented more than 25 professional development and conference presentations since 2007.

Outstanding Alumna College of Informatics Kara Clark Williams ’01 Kara Clark Williams currently serves as vice president of communication and strategic initiatives for Vision 2015. As vice president, Williams works with organizational partners and volunteers to oversee project implementation in the areas of educational excellence, livable communities, and effective governance. She also coordinates communication efforts and public engagement and produces publications and marketing pieces for the organization. Williams is a graduate of Leadership Northern Kentucky and is chair of the leadership program. Williams is actively involved with numerous volunteer activities associated with Northern Kentucky University, the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky chambers of commerce, Senior Services of Northern Kentucky, Legacy, and a variety of other civic groups. She was also a member of the Vision 2015 leadership team during the visioning process. “I can think of very few alums who have made such a significant impact on Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati in such a relatively short period of time,” says long-time NKU communications professor Russell Proctor. Williams earned her Bachelor of Arts in organizational communication in 2001 and and currently resides in Cold Spring, Ky.

Outstanding Alumna College of Health Professions Elizabeth (Beth) A. Cooper ’94 Beth Cooper is a graduate of both the respiratory care program and the Bachelor of Science in health science program at NKU. She was a member of the second cohort of respiratory care program graduates in 1994 and was in the first health science cohort program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Upon graduation in 1994, Cooper secured employment at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where she has served as a bedside therapist and a resource specialist. She is now in her current role as a respiratory clinical manager of the emergency department, which encompasses both the Burnet and Liberty campuses. She has been involved in a variety of clinical improvement initiatives at Children’s and currently serves on the Emergency Services Evidence Based Practice and Equipment Oversight Committee. Cooper is currently a member of the NKU health sciences advisory board and hopes to become an integral part of encouraging professionals in the state to achieve higher education. In 2006, Cooper was named the Greater Cincinnati Respiratory Care Practitioner of the Year and awarded for great clinical practice.

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ALUMNI JOURNAL

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alumni journal Gatherings Fun in the Sun As the summer draws to a close, the big news is that NKU’s fifth president, Geoffrey S. Mearns, along with his wife, Jennifer, and their five children, have joined our NKU community. I encourage all NKU alumni, friends, and donors to join us this year for a warm welcome for the Mearns family. We had another fantastic Spring Fling on campus where we celebrated the many contributions of our alumni who have chosen a career with their alma mater. Special thanks to our alumni council volunteers that so graciously served Raniero’s pizza to our guests. We also had a wonderful Alumni Awards Celebration this year, and I encourage you to read about the many successes of our award winners on page 24—you will be amazed by their many accomplishments and talents. In a first for NKU, your alumni office hosted an outing to Kings Island for kids of all ages. We had fun NKU T-shirts and enjoyed a beautiful day at the park. This year the Young Alumni Association hosted a gathering at Cincy’s on Sixth on the beautiful patio area. I would like to welcome the new leadership to the Young Alumni Association: President Adam Billiter, President-Elect Mark Gallondorn, Vice President Alyse Bender Hoffer, and Vice President Communications Kristi Mortensen. It wouldn’t be summer without a little baseball, so we ventured to Louisville for a Louisville Bats game. We met so many wonderful alums for a great day of baseball with a big win for the Bats against the Durham Bulls. As far as sports go we have many new firsts coming up. We are officially a Division I university and look forward to seeing you at our receptions that we plan to host in conjunction with our upcoming soccer and basketball games. We will have alumni day at the soccer game on October 21, and we plan to host events for basketball as well. Make sure you check out all of the details on our website at alumni.nku.edu. I hope to see you on campus soon! GO NORSE! Deidra S. Fajack Director Alumni Programs and Licensing n o rt h e r n

1. NKU Alumni and friends enjoy a gorgeous day at the Louisville Bats game. 2. NKU’s 2011 alumni award winners were recognized May 9. 3. Alumni, family, and friends at the Louisville Bats game. 4. Alumni president Greg Cole and NKU President James Votruba join David Bender, Distinguished Service Award winner, showing their Norse Pride by Norsin’ Up! 5. NKU alumni and friends gather at the District ChopHouse & Brewery in Washington, D.C. 6. Enjoying the first NKU Day at Kings Island. 7. Larry Savage, Humana’s regional chief executive officer, and Tim Cappell, president of Ohio-Humana, brave the rainy conditions to pose for a picture with President James Votruba at the 14th annual President’s Invitational Golf Outing. For the second year, Humana served as the golf outing’s title sponsor, helping to provide even more students with scholarships and opportunities to participate in and study abroad through the NKU honors program. 8. Distinguished NKU alumni pose with staff at the Washington, D.C. event in July.

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CLASS NOTES

CLASS NOTES 1978

Frank Trusty and the 56-year degree

Gregory Rust (anthropology), the director of photography for Xavier University, is also the photographer for the Cincinnati Reds and Cincinnati Bengals. In addition, he has chronicled the American Indian movement in photos for the last three decades, and these are often on exhibit.

1980 Donald C. Moore (Chase College of Law) has been nominated president-elect of the Ohio Association for Justice. Moore has belonged to the OAJ Board ofTrustees since 2006 and served as secretary, treasurer, and vice president.

1981 Joseph M. Beechem, Ph.D. (biology and chemistry) has been appointed senior vice president of research and development at NanoString Technologies, Inc., a privately held provider of life-science tools for translational research and developer of molecular diagnostics. (See page 30.)

1982 Paul L. Whalen (Chase College of Law) has received a degree from Ft. Hays State University. He is writing the website “History of Kentucky Governors.”

1986 Jeffrey Pappas (music) was named director of the University of Tennessee School of Music August 1. He will oversee the move of the school into its long-awaited new building, the Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, opening in the fall of 2013.

1991 Jay Blanchet (computer science) has recently been hired to maintain bestin-class analytical solutions and databases at dunnhumbyUSA. n o rt h ern nort ern

notable norse “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” —Henry Ford Dressed in full graduation regalia and aided slightly by a cane as he approached the commencement stage this past spring, Frank Trusty was not a typical NKU grad. Like Sinatra, Trusty did things his way: NKU class of 2012 with a double major in chemistry and physics. It was the first commencement ceremony he ever attended, though it wasn’t his first degree. His last one was from University of Kentucky, in law, in 1963. “I didn’t necessarily enjoy physics at first,” Trusty says, “so I hit the UK catalog and came across law. I thought that would be fun.” Decades later, Trusty’s name is synonymous with Northern Kentucky law. He practiced as a public defender and litigator. He was the assistant commonwealth’s attorney and later the head commonwealth’s attorney for eight years. When he decided to, as he put it, “spend more time refereeing and less time playing,” he was elected judge and served on the Kenton County Circuit Court until his retirement in 2010, marking an end to his 47-year career. After decades on the bench there was never a question about what was next for Trusty. “I was going to be a chemist,” he says, “and by George, I am!” Trusty schlepped his books between classes just like every other student. He didn’t mind being the oldest kid in the class, nor did he mind being jokingly referred to as “the angry old man.” He was back at NKU purely for the love of learning. With his newest achievement fulfilled, Trusty doesn’t have any intentions on settling down. When he’s not sitting at his kitchen table attempting to master the theories behind dark energy, or offering pro bono services as assistant commonwealth’s attorney, or spending time with his wife of 46 years, Marilyn, and his four children and 12 grandchildren, he’s sending out résumés to local high schools where he’d like to teach. “Maybe one of these days I’ll decide what I want to be when I grow up,” he says. “Mom and dad would be happy. They would say, ‘Frank finally got his chemistry degree— after 56 years.’” —Kelly Chalfant ’09

Julie Goodridge (informatics) has been chosen to lead Jet Professionals as its national sales manager. Goodridge, a licensed private pilot, has 20 years of aviation experience including seniorlevel roles at Werner Aero, CAE, FlightSafety, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

notable norse

1994 Anne M. Maxfield (psychology) was named president and CEO of Villa Madonna Academy. Maxfield, who has 26 years of experience growing nonprofits and businesses, began her official duties July 2.

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Jonathan Schmolt (chemistry) has accepted his first pastorship at Saint Brigid Roman Catholic Church in Meadville, Pa.

1995 Chris Sturm (marketing) is part of the first class of eight companies with UpTech, a part of NKU that will invest up to $100,000 in each firm. UpTech startups receive office space, professional support services, and applied research assistance from NKU. Sturm’s latest venture is Instrument Life.

1997 Robin Pelfrey (anthropology) has received a second Bachelor of Science in nursing from Eastern Kentucky University and is currently employed at St. Elizabeth Healthcare as a care coordinator, where she performs utilization reviews and discharge planning for patients. She is also working on her master’s degree in health informatics at NKU. Aside from work she enjoys spending time with her 9-year-old granddaughter and a 3-year -old grandson. Dennis F. “Denny” Sketch (speech communication) was named chief advancement officer of Villa Madonna Academy. Sketch, who has 14 years of experience in higher education, nonprofits, and business, began his duties July 9.

The Busiest Bea

How to win a marathon with one week of training Of all the training strategies you could employ for the Cincinnati Flying Pig marathon, the least advisable may be 30-year-old Kenwood resident Rachel Bea’s: “I decided the Friday before the marathon that I was going to do it,” Bea says. “That’s how I do things.” In Bea’s case, however, we can make an exception. After one week of training, she won the 26-mile race and achieved a personal best time of 2:54.41. This isn’t to say that running a marathon on a whim is a good idea for everyone. Or anyone. But Rachel Bea (’12), a phys-ed teacher at Ryland Heights Elementary School in Covington, Ky., is the kind of person who eschews morning coffee for a 10-mile run—and that’s only one of several workouts she performs every day. She is physical fitness personified. Being from a family of avid runners, Bea discovered her natural ability after her parents encouraged her to join the cross country team in high school. She went on to run track at Valparaiso University in Indiana, where she graduated in 2004, and later at NKU while earning her graduate degree. After her intercollegiate athletics career ended in 2010, Bea stuck around to help out with NKU’s track team and is now an assistant coach. Steve Kruse, head coach for NKU’s track and cross country teams, says Bea was the first person he thought of when NKU granted his request for an assistant coach. “She’s just been a wonderful person to work with—highly motivated,” he says. After Bea’s 10-mile morning run and a full day of teaching physical education at Ryland, she sometimes runs with the NKU women’s track team during practice, and she often follows up with a bike ride or swim. It’s this routine that allows Bea to run a marathon “at the drop of a hat,” according to Kruse. Her training program at Ryland involves running one or two miles with the students three times a week. This year she worked with the kids to prepare them for the Flying Pig “final mile” race. When asked about her plans for the coming years, her answer is simple. “I’ll be doing the same thing I’m doing now,” she says. “I love what I’m doing.” —Courtney Pugh ’12 s u m m espring summer r - fall fa l l 2 0 1 2

Theresa M. Mohan (Chase College of Law) has joined the law firm of Wallace Boggs, PLLC in Fort Mitchell, Ky.

2001 Charles McMillan (computer science) was recently promoted by Fifth Third to principal quality assurance and software tester. He began his career with the bank in 2010.

alumni on the move CLASS NOTES

CLASS NOTES

2000

2002 Daniel P. Meloy (Master of Public Administration), the police chief of Colerain Township, has received the Achievement in Innovation Award from the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration.

2003 Becker Bucher Detzel (education) has received her Master of Arts in special education from Georgetown College. She teaches in the Bellevue Independent School District and lives in Edgewood with her husband, Rob, and their 5-yearold son, Preston. Matthew Haskamp (physical education) has been promoted to principal at the Ruth Moyer Elementary School in the Ft. Thomas School District. Haskamp lives with his wife, Katie, and their 3-year-old daughter, Julianne, in Mariemont, Ohio. Jim Swain (informatics) is the new revenue manager for the 21c Museum Hotel in Cincinnati. He was previously the sales manager of Marriott’s RiverCenter property.

2004 Mark Nadobny (secondary education) was awarded a scholarship with the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia to study for two weeks in China and South Korea. This photo was taken at the Great Wall of China at Mutianju.

2005 Kevin Bauereis (biology) has recently completed his second year of anesthesiology residency at the University of Kentucky despite a lifelong battle with n nort o rt h heern rn

Genetic Conditioner Joe Beechem is changing the world, one double helix at a time As Joe Beechem was sitting in Dr. Larry Giesmann’s “Introduction to Biology” class at NKU, he had a revelation. All life on the planet was just a variation in the order of four simple letters—A, T, C, and G— inside a single molecule common to all: DNA. People, trees, and bugs were all constructed using an identical four-letter code. “This fact was more profound than anything I had learned in any of my philosophy classes and more meaningful,” Beechem says. The revelation prompted Beechem to switch his major from English and philosophy to chemistry and biology and embark on a journey that has taken him around the country—teaching, researching, and developing scientific tools and processes. But before the 1981 NKU grad became the senior vice president of research and development for NanoString Technologies in Seattle, Wash., he was a Park Hills, Ky.,

coed sharing the halls of the science building with his mother, Gladys, who had returned to school at the age of 61. It was a time when genetics was just emerging as a science. “Genetics used to be all about fruit flies,” Beechem says. “Today, life science is the first line of attack on many of the key societal worldwide problems. We are unraveling biology and using it to see how and if or when a person will get cancer.” At NanoString, Beechem and some of his colleagues create diagnostic assays that measure the genetic material inside cancerous cells. In turn these assays enable MDs to determine the proper mode of treatment for each individual patient. For all of Beechem’s passion for his work, he was reluctant to enter the commercial biotech field. For many years Beechem was a tenured faculty member at Vanderbilt University. He had his own laboratory and was offered endowed professorships at a couple of universities, almost moving his whole family to New York City in

cystic fibrosis. Upon completing his residency he plans to become a pediatric anesthesiologist.

1996. Then he was approached by a West Coast startup that offered him the opportunity to use his expertise in fluorescence spectroscopy and apply it to real-world problems. “I was conflicted about whether I wanted to stay in academics or leave to go commercial with a biotech company,” Beechem says. “I had written a lot of scholarly work and I thought, ‘Am I doing all this work just to fill up a library?’ I had three daughters, and I wasn’t doing anything in my current work to help them in any practical way at all.” Now 12 years into his career in the private sector, Beechem has developed multiple products, for which he holds several patents, many in the area of reading individual DNA molecules to improve cancer and disease detection. He has also collaborated with the Mayo Clinic and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center on biomarker discovery research projects. Because genetic technologies are so universal and fundamental to how

life works, Beechem’s inventions can be employed in fields outside healthcare. What is used to analyze breast cancer tissue could also be used to help fight diseases in crops or to engineer a new natural energy source. Beechem credits NKU professors like W. Vernon Hicks, Thomas C. Rambo, and Larry Giesmann for inspiring and challenging him through courses like quantum mechanics, physical chemistry, linear algebra, and field and molecular biology. William Oliver, the chemistry department chair at the time, encouraged him to dream big and apply to graduate school at somewhere “famous” like Johns Hopkins, where Beechem was accepted and awarded his Ph.D. Beechem says his undergraduate preparation at NKU completely rivaled that of other Hopkins students, most of whom had attended Ivy League schools. When he thinks about his published and patented works, Beechem says he would rather his legacy be something more meaningful. “Before I hang up my cleats, I want to inspire the next generation to realize how amazing life on this planet really is,” he says. “Science fiction is completely tame compared to reality. I want to inspire people to understand the intimate interconnectivities between all life on this planet—past, present, and future—because when you understand this, you want to make it a better place. Science recognizes no geographic boundaries. Race, religion, sexual orientation, what you look like, etc., are all irrelevant to science. Science just wants to answer the question, ‘How does it all really work?’ Science helps people to see and feel the true wonder of things. If I can get people to do that, I feel my life will have been a success.” —Molly Williamson

Christina Caravello Delis (Chase College of Law) has opened The Law Office of Christina M. Delis in Covington. Her firm provides legal services to individuals and small businesses with a focus on civil litigation and family law.

2006 Chava Shanklin (social work) and her husband, Wilburt, welcomed their first child, Rachel, on June 7, 2011. Andy Hixson (marketing) and his wife, Ashley, (2007, public relations) are happy to share that Andy has been appointed president of Mid-West Division of LVI Services – the nation’s leading provider of integrated facility management services. Andy and Ashley live in Independence, Ky. with their 3-year-old daughter, Charley.

2007 Travis Crawford (Master of Public Administration) has been selected as the Delaware River and Bay Authority’s new supplier diversity manager. He is responsible for the development, implementation, and maintenance of the authority’s supplier diversity program and works in the finance department under the supervision of the procurement manager. Ryan Potter (public relations) has been named to the Verizon Wireless President’s Cabinet. This honor is reserved for those ranking in the top 1 percent nationally in sales during 2011. Michele “Shelley” Simpson (education) received the 2012 Terri Lynne Lokoff National Child Care Teacher Award. This award is given to early childcare teachers who design enhancement projects that illustrate the educational, social, and emotional benefits for the children in their care.

2008 William “Andy” Moore (education) has been named the principal at Locust Grove Elementary School in the Shelby County School District in Crestwood, Ky. s u m m e r - fall summer fa l l 2 0 1 2

CLASS NOTES

Rarified Hair

alumni on the move

entrepreneur Niq Ellis’s hair salon has NYC buzzing Off West 17th St. at the edge of New York City, Three Squares Studio resembles an art gallery more than a hair salon. Inside its glass façade the studio features a shifting array of local artwork under an open ductwork ceiling. Clients sit on circa 1920 drafting chairs that sit atop reclaimed 19th-century pinewood. But it’s the styling chops that bring clients like Marc Jacobs, Norah Jones, Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester, and Jeff Gordon through the door. Suddenly, Three Squares Studio is the New York City hair salon for the haut monde—the lucky few with the means and desire for a first-class ’do. The talent behind Three Squares Studio belongs to Niq Ellis (’04) and hairstylist Jordan Blackmore, whose friendship goes back to their days at Ryle High School in Union, Ky. It was in the halls of Ryle where Ellis and Blackmore made a pact—to be in business together by the age of 28. After graduation Ellis worked through college at a salon in the Florence Mall (“I positioned myself in a business that surrounded me with women,” he says) before landing a job with Beauty Systems Group, a network of salons and sales folk selling professional hair and beauty products. After receiving a “rookie of the year” award, Ellis made a leap of faith and moved to New York City where he landed a job with the industry darlings of hair products, Bumble & Bumble. A rollercoaster ride of job offers and traveling followed, leading Ellis, of all places, back home working for Paul Mitchell. That’s when his

nnort o rt hheern rn

old friend Jordon called. He was ready to start that business they’d always talked about. Seven days after the call and at the tender age of 27, Ellis was back in NYC where Three Squares Studio, named after a dream Blackmore once had, was in business. Ready to celebrate its third anniversary this September, the studio has reached a level of success beyond imagination. On top of being the go-to salon for the NYC elite, Three Squares Studio is credited in magazine fashion spreads around the globe. GQ, Elle, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Vogue—every big-name national publication on either coast is after their talent. Blackmore, the visionary, and Ellis, the business guru, are suddenly the Big Apple’s dynamic duo of hair. “There is always a team, like Paul Mitchell and John Paul DeJoria,” Ellis says. “I feel like it was just meant to be for us.” Of course, the success of Ellis and Blackmore is built foremost on a foundation of friendship. But for Ellis, who manages much of the business at Three Squares, a lot of credit goes to one of his former professors. “I still remember my sales professor from NKU,” he says. “She was the professor who meant the most to me, motivated me, inspired me, and made me feel like I would succeed as a salesperson after graduating. Her name is Dr. Doris Shaw. I loved her ‘no b.s.’ attitude. She was tough on us, but it was to make us better. She is an amazing teacher. I thrived on being challenged from her and she knew it!” —Tara Derington ’13

Stacy Scherder (anthropology) is currently working in the adult medical program at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services in Boone County, Ky. and is completing her Master of Social Work at NKU with a focus on gerontology.

2009

Marcus McGhee (criminal justice) is completing his Master of Public Administration and was selected as the Outstanding Student by the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration. McGhee currently is a legal assistant supervisor for the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney.

Justin Otto (Master of Public Administration) is going to Venlo, Netherlands, for 2011 six weeks to work for Stryker Medical Kayla Camp-Warner (Master of Public Devices before graduating on June 23 Administration) was recognized as an from the Miami University MBA program. Early Careerist by the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the American Society for Joy Wood (education), Kevin Wood (’10 Public Administration. mathematics), and their daughter, Hailey Wood, welcomed their second daughter, Robert Howard (executive leadership and organizational change) has been Grace, on May 26. promoted to chief information officer at the Armstrong Atlantic State University. 2010 John Treas (political science) and his He will provide vision and leadership for wife, Samantha, welcomed Silas Ward university-wide information technology services, including systems for teaching, Treas on February 28. research, and administration. Anthony Mercer (art) has joined Hyperquake as a design facilitator. He has Aleia Brown (Master of Arts in public experience in consumer goods packag- history) accepted the curator position ing, brand development, and digital and at the National Afro-American Museum environmental design and continues to and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio, explore the multidisciplinary possibili- shortly after her graduation. This is the ties within design while further develop- first institution dedicated to sharing and preserving national African American ing his client and business skills. history.

Tell us what you’re up to!

Mystery Solved! Well, partially. Only one identification from the last Mystery Photo! If you ever shopped at Flicks IGA in Burlington, Ky., you might have run into the guy on the bottom right with your grocery cart. “I have your answer to your mystery photo. It’s me! I’m the guy in the forefront on the right. I graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in business administration and was a member of Alpha Delta Gamma frat. Also, the Frisbee dude in the air I think is throwing the Frisbee between his legs to the guys behind him. Hope this helps. Send all gifts and prize notifications to this address ;)

nort h ern

Name: __________________________________________________________________________Address: __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Telephone: (___________)_____________________________________________________Email: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Grad year/major: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What’s new with you? New baby? Spouse an NKU grad? New job or a promotion? Earn another degree since you left Northern? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Send to: NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY Office of Alumni Programs 421 Johns Hill Road Highland Heights, KY 41099

Are you firmly planted in the digital age? Then fill out our online form to let us know what’s new with you. If you’ve got a new baby, we’ll send a gift for your baby! alumniconnect.nku.edu.

N EW L E A F PA P E R environmental benefits statement Northern Kentucky University saved the following resources by using New Leaf Reincarnation made with 100% recycled fiber, 50% post-consumer waste, and processed chlorine free.

trees

water

18,227

fully grown

gallons

energy

solid waste

greenhouse gases

3,987

6,738

million BTUs

pounds

Calculation based on research by Environmental Defense and other members of the Paper Task Force.

www.newleafpaper.com

888.989.5323

s u m m e r - fall summer fa l l 2 0 1 2

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CLASS NOTES

Oakley and Eva Forever

B Y : M o l ly W i l l i a m s o n

Oakley Farris will be the first to tell you that if it had not been for his wife, Eva, he would not be as successful as he is today. Just donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tell his wife that. The two say they are constantly at warâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;over the story of how they first met, over why her deviled eggs are so awful, over how much money he made per week when they first got married. And the list goes on. But obviously something must have stuck. Together, the still-happily married Farrises have donated $3 million to NKU, supporting Griffin Hall; building the Oakley and Eva G. Farris Amphitheater; naming the Eva G. Farris Reading Room in Steely Library, the Eva G. Farris Special Collections, and the Eva G. Farris Auditorium in the Math, Education, Psychology Center; commissioning the Abraham Lincoln sculpture outside Nunn Hall; and endowing the Eva G. Farris Business Scholarship. Unbelievably, in Covington their generosity is even more visible. They paid for two murals near the Roebling Bridge, helped remodel the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, supported Covington Latin School, and gave generously to the Covington archdiocese.

nnort o rt hheern rn

In the beginning The pair met by chance during a Florida hurricane. Oakley Farris traveled the nation by bus selling thread, pins, and needles for the Harry Segal Co. Eva was returning to her Havana, Cuba, home from a year of studying business at Columbia University in New York. Her father and brother-in-law had just died, and her sister was escorting her home. Oakley invited the ladies for a drink in the hotel bar. He gallantly ordered them each a Coke—a gesture he says was “cost effective” versus ordering a more expensive alcoholic beverage. Soon, Eva and Oakley began dating long distance. They wrote and spoke on the phone and, after two years, married. Eva soon moved into the twofamily house in Covington that Oakley bought for his parents. “He said the only reason I am wasting my time with you is because you can’t understand a word I say,” Eva jokes.

The Dealmaker That type of determination was nothing new to Oakley, who began working as a small child selling produce out of a wagon. Young Oakley would sell strawberries—three boxes for 25 cents—to his neighbors. One day, when he was stiffed his quarter for the second week by a classmate’s mother, he heard her son say, “That Oakley will do anything to make a buck.” “That [comment] really stuck with me, but you know what? He was right,” Oakley says. “I will do anything to make a buck.” Oakley started a candy bar business. He would buy 24 chocolate bars for 70 cents and sell them for a nickel each to farmers drying their tobacco. He earned a 50-cent profit on each batch of bars. But he knew he could make more money if he got inside the building where machines turned the tobacco into cigarettes. When he found an open door, he was greeted by a “giant of a man” who told Oakley to leave. As Oakley left, he gave the man a big smile and a

“Without her,” he says, “I would still have sideburns and be taking the bus.” Oakley Farris

Taking the wheel For Eva, every day brought a new challenge. She grew up in a privileged home. Her dad was a professor and her brother a lawyer, so her family always had a maid and a cook. “When I came here, he wanted me to iron his shirts,” Eva says. “I didn’t even know how to wash a pair of hose.” She might not have been a great homemaker, but she was a savvy businesswoman. When Eva married Oakley, she took over the couple’s finances. She learned to drive and bought a car to surprise Oakley, who swore off driving after failed attempts to drive in the Army. She began driving him around the country on his sales calls. Eva encouraged Oakley to turn the duplex into an apartment building and rent out the attic, living room, and two-car garage as furnished studio apartments. Soon, the two set a goal. They typed a contract that stated by a certain date they would own 20 apartments. Oakley and Eva each carried a contract and posted one on their bathroom mirror. “We breathed it day and night,” Oakley says. “It became a part of our being. We started with nothing, but before that deadline, we had more than 20 apartments.”

candy bar. The next day, before the man could open his mouth, Oakley handed him a candy bar. The man said he could go in and sell his sweets. Though Oakley read books about successful businessmen, he had to look no farther than his backyard for inspiration. His father was a master at bartering, trading chickens and cows for what the family needed. Oakley didn’t even realize the family was poor until a little boy let him in on the fact one day. Oakley learned to rely on himself, and in the process, he picked up the skills that made him a successful salesman. His smile, positive attitude, and persistence became his greatest weapons. “I always relied on my personality,” Oakley says. “Even if they turn you down, don’t frown. Don’t be rude.” Giving back Oakley continues to make deals with everyone he encounters—whether it is hitching a ride or arranging a philanthropic gift. But one item is nonnegotiable: he insists that every Oakley gift must bear Eva’s name. “Without her,” he says, “I would still have sideburns and be taking the bus.” s u m m e r - fall summer fa l l 2 0 1 2

nonprofit organization u. s. postage Office of Alumni Programs

PAID

421 Johns hill road

burlington, VT

Highland Heights, KY 41099

permit no. 540

NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Mystery Photo!

Are you ready for some football? These men are. They are men with wiry beards and panhandle muttonchops and mustache bristle as thick as a wild boar’s mane. What’s on your pants 32? No matter, just keep your eye on the guy next to you; he looks like he’s about to give number 26 a Wet-Willie. Disgusting, yes. But that’s what men do when they’re not playing football. Dear readers, don’t let these men forever warm the bench of time. Help us identify them so we can sew their names proudly on the jerseys of Norse history. Please email your

Photo credit: Schlachter Archives

guesses to northernmagazine@nku. edu. Hut-hut! Hike!

Northern Magazine Summer ­ Fall 2012

Northern Magazine Summer Fall 2012