Northwest Missouri State University Spring 2019 Alumni Magazine by Northwest Missouri State University

NORTHWEST THE MAGAZINE FOR NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI AND FRIENDS

ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

ADVANCING

SCIENCE Matt Becker â&#x20AC;&#x2122;98 | p. 8

PERFORMANCE EXCELLENCE AASCU award winner I p.7

ON THE HORIZON

Farm improvements I p.18

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Basketball wins again I p.27

PEOPLE JUST LIKE

YOU

It’s because of the volunteer support of countless alumni and friends – spirited people like Suzie Schuckman – that Northwest continues to thrive.

“Whenever I’m driving around the Denver metro, or trapped in traffic on I-25, I know when I spot a Northwest Bearcat sticker or magnet on a car, I’ve spotted a friend. I wonder who the person driving the car might be? When did they graduate? What did campus look like when they were attending the University? It is this curiosity that helped spur my desire to become a volunteer. It is fascinating to hear the stories of fellow alumni I have met in Colorado. We have hosted events that included Northwest graduates who are 22 years old to 82 years old. The most rewarding part of volunteering is meeting other members of the Northwest community and hearing their stories of our beloved University. While all of our experiences were different at Northwest, we have one thing in common – we are all Bearcats. That sense of community and family is what makes me proud to be a volunteer on behalf of Northwest. Once a Bearcat, always a Bearcat!” Suzie Schuckman ’06 Colorado Alumni and Friends Chapter

If you are interested in volunteer opportunities at Northwest, contact the Office of University Advancement at alumni@nwmissouri.edu or 660.562.1248.

NORTHWEST

ALUMNI

N O RT H W E S T M IS S O UR I S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE Vol. 52 | Issue 3

Editor Mark Hornickel ’01, ’13 mhorn@nwmissouri.edu Designer Kim Ziegler ’16 kimz@nwmissouri.edu Design assistant Ashlee Hendrix ’08 Photographer Todd Weddle ’96 tweddle@nwmissouri.edu Photography assistant Brandon Bland ’15 Carly Hostetter Audrey Chappell Editorial assistants Tara Garcia Jessica Hoffman ’18 Kelsey Johnson Laurie Drummond Long ’92 Bob Machovsky ’15 Katie Machovsky ’16 Mitzi Craft Marchant ’91, ’09 Sam Mason ’88 Colin McDonough ’98 Grace Niemeyer Dr. Lonelle Rathje ’97, ’03 Trent Spinner Brandon Stanley ’01, ’16 Lori McLemore Steiner ’85 Brenda Untiedt ’00, ’09

ADVANCING SCIENCE

Becker, a polymer scientist at the University of Akron, and his multidisciplinary research team are devising and creating medical advances, including the Mason Shell. His most important project, and the lessons he imparts on his students, are connected to his time at Northwest. On the cover, Becker holds a resorbable bone pin.

Matt Becker ’98

The Northwest Alumni Magazine is published three times a year by the Office of University Marketing and Communication, the Office of University Advancement, Northwest Missouri State University and the Northwest Foundation Inc., 800 University Dr., Maryville, MO 64468-6001. The mission of the Northwest Alumni Magazine is to foster connections between alumni, friends and Northwest Missouri State University. The University strives to inform readers of the accomplishments of Northwest’s alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students and to positively position the University in the hearts of its many constituents to increase public and private support.

contents 14

TRADITIONS 4 Dear Friends

ENDOWED

PROFESSOR Dr. William Richardson is Northwest’s first Dennis C. Dau Professor of Instrumental Music.

WORKING

FOR WOMEN

Sherry Turner ’81 is making a mark on business in the Kansas City area

5 Northwest News 16 Advancing Northwest 20 Alumni Connections 26 Bearcat Sports 34 Class Notes 40 In Memoriam 43 Northwest Postcard

Northwest Missouri State University is an equal-opportunity, co-educational university and does not discriminate based on race, sex, disability, age, national origin or religion. Printed in the USA.

DEAR

FRIENDS The American Chemical Society (ACS), founded in 1897, is the largest professional society – with 158,000 members – in the world. It now covers all aspects of chemistry in its 32 divisions. The Society has a committee that recommends an academic curriculum that prepares graduates as “career-ready, day one” professionals. Students completing this program are awarded a degree, the ACS-approved Bachelor of Science in chemistry. That approval also benefits the University as it assures qualified instruction in courses required for other degrees. The ACS monitors these programs to ensure they continue to qualify. In 1964, new hires at Northwest – Dr. Ed Farquhar ’58, Dr. Sam Carpenter ’50 and myself, all Northwest alumni – began developing this accredited program. A few years later, with the support of thenPresident Robert Foster and additional hires – Dr. Dale Rosenburg, Dr. James Lott and Richard Landes – this goal was achieved. During the following years, students completing the degree enjoyed great success in their chosen fields. Dr. Matt Becker ’98 is certainly one of those success stories. He has been very active in the ACS, especially in the polymer division. He and his students have given numerous presentations at national and divisional meetings. He has held national offices and has been program director for national meetings. In 2015, he was recognized by his division as one of the top two researchers under 40 in the world. His biography, education statement, always lists “B.S. in Chemistry (ACS accredited), Northwest Missouri State University.”

Dr. Harlan Higginbotham ’59 Emeritus Professor of Chemistry and Physics

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

NORTHWEST FOUNDATION INC. ’18–’19 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Jennifer Dawson Nicholson ’71, Kansas City, Mo. Vice President Gary Thompson ’76, Princeton, Mo. Immediate Past President Arnold Johnson ’77, Houston, Texas Board Members Robert Barmann ’84, Platte City, Mo. Leisha Beckemeyer Barry ’84, Liberty, Mo. Rex Brod ’82, Maryville Dr. Robert Burrell ’70, Denver, Colo. John Cline ’75, Overland Park, Kan. Karen Daniel ’80, Overland Park, Kan. Paula Rector Davis ’91, Lee’s Summit, Mo. Ken DeBaene ’81, Long Branch, N.J. Myra Turner Evans ’77, Tarkio, Mo. Mike Faust ’74, Omaha, Neb. Terry French ’75, Austin, Texas Bruce Gehrlein ’86, Wilton, Conn.

Eric Geis ’01, Prairie Village, Kan. Roger Hendren ’75, McKinney, Texas Jacqueline Vincent Henningsen ’66, Omaha, Neb. David Holmes ’79, Prescott, Ariz. Carl Hughes ’76, Kansas City, Mo. Gary Hultquist ’64, Sonoma, Calif. Paul Jennings ’75, West Des Moines, Iowa Tondee Voortman Lutterman ’98, Kansas City, Mo. Marcus Mack ’77, Henderson, Nev. Angela Booth Moskow, Basking Ridge, N.J. William Oellermann ’72, Mansfield, Texas Seann O’Riley ’93, St. Joseph, Mo. Ted Place ’99, Kansas City, Mo. Patricia Hagan Poulos ’75, Graford, Texas Mary Hamilton Purdy ’72, Davidsonville, Md. Thomas Sanchez ’02, Washington, D.C. Jayma Elmore Sandquist ’90, Indianola, Iowa

Dennis Sapp ’68, Gig Harbor, Wash. Ken Scribner ’87, Kansas City, Mo. Tyler Seals ’13, Omaha, Neb. Dr. Carol Blom Spradling ’88, Maryville Brad Stephens ’96, Butler, Mo. Susan Gladstone Tucker ’76, Worth, Mo. Stan Zeamer ’70, Huntingdon, Pa.

Ex-Officio Directors Dr. Dean L. Hubbard, President Emeritus, Kansas City, Mo. Dr. John Jasinski, University President Dr. B.D. Owens ’59, President Emeritus, West Des Moines, Iowa Dr. Lonelle Rathje ’97, ’03, Vice President of External Relations and Executive Director of the Northwest Foundation Inc. lonelle@nwmissouri.edu University Advancement Lori McLemore Steiner ’85, Executive Director of University Advancement and Chief Finance Officer of the Northwest Foundation Inc. steiner@nwmissouri.edu

Shelby Lavery Bottiger ’15, Annual Giving and Alumni Relations Specialist shelbyl@nwmissouri.edu Brooke Weldon Bowles ’02, Accounting Clerk and Scholarship Coordinator bbowles@nwmissouri.edu Jana White Hanson ’02, Senior Major Gift Officer jhanson@nwmissouri.edu Carma Greene Kinman ’85, Constituent Relations Specialist ckinman@nwmissouri.edu Joel Kosch, Gift Officer joelk@nwmissouri.edu Laurie Drummond Long ’92, Development Officer laurie@nwmissouri.edu Bob Machovsky ’15, Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving rmachov@nwmissouri.edu Mitzi Craft Marchant ’91, ’09, Director of Donor Engagement mitzi@nwmissouri.edu Sam Mason ’88, Development Officer smason@nwmissouri.edu Brenda Untiedt ’00, ’09, Advancement Database, Research and Communications Specialist brenda@nwmissouri.edu

NORTHWEST NEWS

‘CAREER CLOSET’ PROVIDES BUSINESS ATTIRE, ACCESSORIES When Meghan Cavalier Sheil ’98, ’02, an early childhood instructor in the School of Education, began to see some of her students expressing anxiety about finding the right clothes for their student teaching assignments and job interviews, she was compelled to help. Sheil gathered from her closet some professional clothing that she no longer wore and set up a small clothing rack in her Brown Hall office. She invited her students to select what they needed. “They want to look good and feel nice, but they don’t always have money to spend,” she said. Sheil wasn’t the only person to see the need, and now the Northwest community is combining efforts and enhancing its work to help students start their careers with the launch of its “Career Closet.” Starting last fall, the University invited community members to donate gently worn professional attire. It accepts suit jackets, pants, shirts and dresses as well as accessories such as professional shoes, scarves, jewelry and neck ties. Clothing that is specific to a professional field – such as scrubs for a student entering the medical field – also is needed.

The Career Closet provides professional clothing to Northwest students for job interviews, networking events and other career-related activities.

“We are thrilled to have the Career Closet opening on campus,” Jill Brown, Northwest’s director of partnerships and placement, said. “We know students want to ‘dress to impress,’ but don’t always have the extra cash to do so. This project is a wonderful opportunity for the community to support Bearcats with an immediate need that will have a lasting impact.” For ways to support the Career Closet, contact Career Services at 660.562.1250 or career@nwmissouri.edu.

Northwest participating in AASCU project to expand, share student success ideas Northwest is one of six universities selected to join the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) on an effort to validate strategies as AASCU launches a Center for Student Success. AASCU, a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association, is working with Northwest to share tools and expertise as they refine and validate the Center’s offerings with the goal of scaling services to the broader AASCU membership. The project began in January and continues through March 2020. Allison Strong Hoffmann ’01, ’03, Northwest’s director of academic success and retention, is leading the University’s efforts on the project. “We are excited to work with AASCU’s Center for Student Success initiative and know it will help us reach that next level

in our student success initiatives on campus,” Hoffmann said. “The best practices will be shared with other member institutions throughout the nation, and we are very excited about this work.” In 2017, Northwest created its own Student Success Center to refocus institutional efforts on transitioning, advising, supporting and connecting students to resources that help maximize their academic potential from orientation to graduation. The University also decentralized its academic advising operations and moved first-year academic advisors and success coaches into the campus’ academic halls. AASCU’s Center for Student Success will provide individualized and structured programming to help participating institutions achieve student success goals.

BURGERS FOR BEARCATS: RESTAURANT OPENS ON CAMPUS Mooyah Burgers, Fries and Shakes, a fast casual, “better burger” chain, is satisfying the taste buds of burger enthusiasts at Northwest with its January opening. The new restaurant inside The Station welcomed back students for the spring semester, and community members and alumni are invited to grab a bite, too. The opening marks Mooyah’s first restaurant in Missouri. “Mooyah provides the type of elevated service and quality product that our students, faculty and staff members are looking for in a new brand at Northwest,” Aramark Senior Food Service Director Spencer Martin ’09 said. “Whether it’s a burger break between study sessions or grabbing some fries on the way to cheer on the Bearcats, we are excited to welcome Mooyah as part of our rich campus culture.” The menu features customizable gourmet burgers, hand-cut fries and a variety of 100 percent real ice cream shakes. NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

NORTHWEST NEWS

SMITHSONIAN EXHIBIT PROVIDES UNIQUE EXPERIENCE FOR HISTORY STUDENTS

Northwest student Brenna Michels-Gates organized a set of local artifacts loaned to the Nodaway County Historical Society for its “Hometown Teams” exhibit.

A traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program brought the trials and triumphs of American sports to Northwest last fall and gave history students experience with a big league exhibit. “Hometown Teams: How Sports Shape America” celebrated the region’s sports connections through a collection of professional displays and interactive kiosks

at the Nodaway County Historical Society. Maryville was one of just six communities throughout the country to host the exhibit. “You could see how excited people were that we were getting this exhibit from the Smithsonian,” Dr. Elyssa Ford, whose local history practicum class played a key role in the exhibit’s success, said. Joe Bell, a senior history major from Grand Rapids, Michigan, hopes to continue museum work after graduating from Northwest, and working with “Hometown Teams” helped enhance his skills. “I get a chance to not only work within a museum but actually with something with ‘the institution of the country’ – that’s huge,” Bell said. “We get a chance to not only set it up, but telling the story of what’s here and helping people understand the whole thing.” The exhibit featured topics, including the evolution of sports equipment and safety concerns, gender and race, forgotten sports and cutting-edge sports, mascots and cheerleaders.

SCHMIDT CREATES NOMINATION FOR NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES A Northwest student is enhancing his skills to become a historic preservationist by nominating a local home for placement on the National Register of Historic Places. Aaron Schmidt, a senior history major and geography minor from St. Joseph, Missouri, has worked for more than a year to nominate “The Fields House,” a craftsman-style home in Barnard, Missouri. “We are trying to get this property on the list based on its architectural merit,” Schmidt said. “It’s certainly one of the most distinguishable properties architecturally because of its scale, arts and crafts-inspired touches, and its commanding layout. The house still maintains most of its original interior and exterior features.” Schmidt drafted a 40-page report outlining the home’s historical and architectural significance, including floorplans and photos. He traveled to Jefferson City, Missouri, with the homeowner last fall to present their 6

Aaron Schmidt stands in front of the Fields House, which he researched for placement on the National Register of Historic Places.

findings to the State Historic Preservation Office, which determines whether to forward the nomination to the National Register Office in Washington, D.C., for a final decision. After completing his bachelor’s degree at Northwest this spring, Schmidt plans to attend graduate school to learn more about historic preservation.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

Savannah Baker is the recipient of an international scholarship for emergency management and will participate this summer in a 10-week National Science Foundation research program at the Rochester (New York) Institute of Technology.

Emergency disaster management student builds experience with scholarship Savannah Baker, a sophomore emergency disaster management (EDM) major from Gretna, Nebraska, is one of three students in the nation to receive the prestigious International Association of Emergency Managers Robert C. Bohlmann Scholarship for Service in Emergency Management. “This is an honor for me,” Baker said. “It helps me not have to worry about any other costs that I would have to cover while I’m (at Northwest) and having that on my résumé, for me more than anything, is an honor. I was shocked and amazed.” Dr. Mark Corson, a professor of geography and emergency management who has observed Baker’s dedication to the EDM field during the last two years, recommended her for the scholarship. Baker worked with him on a regional emergency medical services support team in St. Joseph, Missouri, to support 20,000 eclipse viewers for three days before her freshman year at Northwest. She also has distinguished herself during high-intensity, high-fidelity simulations. “I have observed her as a team leader in varied situations and she always uses the right leadership style for the situation at hand,” Corson said. “She also demonstrates active followership where she is a real asset to her leaders. Savannah deeply cares about others, and she lives the humanitarian imperative of working to prevent and alleviate human suffering in a most selfless way.” Baker aspires to work in a government agency as a data analyst after graduation. Her Northwest involvement also includes Sigma Society, the Honor Student Association and the EDM club in addition to being a Presidential Scholar.

NORTHWEST NEWS

NORTHWEST RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD FOR TEACHER EDUCATION EXCELLENCE The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) in October presented Northwest with its 2018 Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Teacher Education Award. Northwest, which also earned the McAuliffe Award in 2006, became the third institution in the nation to receive the award twice since its inception in 2002. The honor also marks the third time in four years that AASCU has recognized Northwest with an Excellence and Innovation Award. “We take great pride in this national recognition as it recognizes an amazing and dedicated faculty and staff committed to a neverending journey of continuously improving what we do,” Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski said. “Northwest’s DNA includes teacher education and AASCU’s recognition emboldens us to continue adjusting to needed teacher preparation enhancements. We are humbled and honored to receive this award and these continuing national recognitions solidify Northwest as an innovative leader focused on student success.” The McAuliffe Award recognizes the culmination of Northwest’s work to overhaul the curriculum and clinical field experiences offered by its School of Education. The faculty-led redesign of curriculum placed greater emphasis on students’ access to diverse clinical practice in urban, rural and suburban settings. “At Northwest Missouri State, we’ve been in the business of

Northwest received the Christa McAuliffe Excellence in Teacher Education Award during AASCU’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Pictured left to right are Dr. Dana Hoyt, president of the AASCU Board Directors; Dr. Jamie Hooyman, Northwest provost; Dr. Tim Wall ’01, dean of Northwest's School of Education; Dr. John Jasinski, Northwest president; and Dr. Mildred Garcia, AASCU president.

preparing great educators for more than 100 years, and receiving this recognition honors the innovative spirit our faculty showed in redesigning and strengthening our already strong programs,” Dr. Tim Wall ’01, the dean of Northwest’s School of Education, said. “Our work helps Northwest students become teachers who positively impact society and make a difference that will be wellappreciated for generations.”

NORTHWEST PERFORMS 2018-19 includes record retention rate, enrollment up 8.2 percent The academic year was another banner year for the University during which its reputation for student success garnered national recognition and institutional highs to go with its state- and peer-leading statistics.

ENROLLMENT IS UP

Compared to peers who experienced mostly flat or declining enrollment, overall enrollment was up 8.2 percent, and freshman enrollment was up 9.3 percent.

STATE-LEADING PLACEMENT RATE

With the highest career placement rate among Missouri publics, Northwest is the best in the state to ensure job placement. Its career outcomes rate – the percent securing employment or

continuing education within six months of graduation – is 97 percent for bachelor’s degree earners, compared to 81 percent by national peers, and 99 percent for master’s degree earners, compared 82.8 percent by nationally.

RECORD-BREAKING RETENTION

Northwest's fall-to-fall retention rate of 78 percent (fall 2017 to fall 2018) shattered its all-time high of 73.5 percent (fall 2006 to fall 2007). Its fall-to-spring retention rate of 92.43 percent in spring 2018 also bested its previous high of 90.97 percent in spring 2013.

INTENSE FISCAL STEWARDSHIP

92.43% retention spring 2018

Moody’s Investors Service reaffirmed Northwest’s repeatedly strong credit rating with an “A3 stable outlook.” In contrast, the overall higher education industry received a “negative outlook” rating in 2018 and 2019.

76.5 million in cost containment and efficiencies since 2012. NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

By Mark Hornickel Design by Kim Ziegler Photography by Todd Weddle 8

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

Becker, who insists on using chalkboards in his University of Akron office and classrooms because they force him to explain concepts to his students more slowly, holds a bottle of fluid his research team developed to make polymers.

ADVANCING SCIENCE How Matt Becker progressed from the science labs of Northwest to spurring innovation in regenerative medicine

With all of the honors and achievements on his résumé, Dr. Matt Becker ’98 remains unapologetically proud of his Northwest connection because his teaching philosophy and research are rooted in the experiences he had there. Prominently displayed on the top shelf of a bookcase just inside the door of his University of Akron office are photo plaques of the Bearcat football teams on which he played during the late ’90s – an experience that instilled in him the ideals of hard work and perseverance he emphasizes with his students today.

Across the room, on a bulletin board behind Becker’s desk, a thumbtack holds a photo of the grave marker for Matt Mason ’98, who was killed in 2011 with his Navy SEAL team during a mission in Afghanistan. Becker and Mason, a Bearcat baseball player, were friends and lockered near each other in the Lamkin Activity Center. Becker’s wife, Lisa Sears Becker ’98, and Mason’s widow, Jessica Boynton Mason ’00, were sorority sisters. The photo is posted purposefully at the eye-level of Becker’s chair to remind him of the reasons for his life-changing work and “that every day is important.” Becker, a polymer scientist at Akron, and his multidisciplinary research team are devising and creating medical advances that boggle the mind. Their work focuses on synthesizing macromolecular materials to stimulate and influence cell functions and, in turn, impact biomaterials, regenerative medicine and the detection of diseases such as cancer. They are making artificial blood vessels and degradable elastomers for ligaments and skin. One project involves 3D printing technology to create plastic implants capable of sealing small holes in skulls. Another project involves the development of a degradable polymer film that could be loaded with a non-opiate pain reliever and implanted into a patient after surgery, thus reducing the need for pain pills after surgery and combatting the nation’s opioid crisis. NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

Since arriving at the University of Akron a decade ago to join the faculty in its Department of Polymer Science, Becker, who serves as its W. Gerald Austen Endowed Chair of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, has launched three startup companies and has his name attached to 50 patents, either issued or pending, including more than 20 filed in just the last year. He’s raised more than $25 million for his research and leads one of the country’s biggest research groups in his field.

He wrote like a scientist Although it helped that Northwest had a strong science program, Becker enrolled at Northwest on a football scholarship in the fall of 1994. He began as an English major with thoughts of becoming a journalist. His freshman composition instructor, the late Leland May, thought otherwise. So Becker grew serious about finding a path in medicine or pharmaceutical work. 10

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

“He told me I wrote like a scientist and I should scratch that itch,” Becker recalled. “So I tested out of all English. I just had to take his honors comp class, which was really writing intensive. I had really good science teachers in high school, and I had a lot of interest in science.” That same fall, Becker was a tight end on the Bearcat football team that took a beating and went 0-11 to begin the Mel Tjeerdsma ’77 era at Northwest. The season had been so difficult to endure that Becker wanted to quit. But some “tough love” from his father, combined with the bonds Becker had started forming with some of his teammates, convinced him to stick with the program. It paid off as the Bearcats were a winning program the next season and Becker’s leadership as a student-athlete helped the program become a national championship contender by the time he finished his career. “The first couple years, it was hard to get the right team,” Becker says, noting the parallels of his football career with building his research groups at the University of Akron. “Then you get the right team and you have some success, and then it’s easier to get the next person.”

Becker models his teaching style and interactions after his mentors at Northwest. “You need something from everybody, and even though I’m pushing hard for what I want to accomplish and they’re on my team, what they want to accomplish is different than what I’m trying to accomplish,” he said. “It’s in line, but their goal is different. You’ve gotta respect that, too.”

Becker goes to Washington After graduating from Northwest, Becker headed to Washington University in St. Louis to pursue a Ph.D. He credits his football experience for much of his success, including the mental preparation and toughness to handle the rigors of graduate school. Becker was one of 32 students to begin the Washington University program and one of 16 to finish it. “My skin was really thick at that point,” he said. “A lot of those people that didn’t make it, part of it wasn’t because they weren’t smart enough. They just weren’t mentally tough enough. Some of the people that failed out were from Michigan, Princeton – good places. The Northwest Missouri State guy made it.” When Becker completed his doctoral work in 2003, he received offers to work with federal defense labs and start-up companies in California. He had post-doc offers at Harvard University and

Imperial College London. Instead, he chose to pursue a post-doc opportunity at the National Institute of Standard Technology (NIST) in Washington, D.C. After two years there, the agency hired him as a staff scientist, and he participated in its research of pharmaceutical drug distribution through solids in polymers. By the end of the decade, Becker, through his work with Walter Reed Army Medical Center to support injured veterans, had ideas for building a program in regenerative medicine. He also had established connections at the University of Akron, which is renowned for its polymer science and polymer engineering college. So when the dean of the college offered him a job, he took it. “When I went to work for the national lab, that’s really a dream job for a lot of people, and I loved it,” Becker said. “I could not do the stuff I am doing now without having spent almost seven years there. I learned a ton — what I’m good at, what I’m not good at. I didn’t think I’d ever leave, and then things change. I really wanted to do something I couldn’t do there.” NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

Like the coaching staff of the Bearcat football team, for which he played tight end from 1994 to 1998, Becker had to figure out how to recruit the right people to his research team and raise the funding he needed to achieve the medical advancements he envisioned.

Hire the best people Becker is one of 22 faculty members in Akron’s polymer science department, which is one of just four polymer programs in the country. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses to about 60 students a year. His research team averages about 25 members and has graduate students from eight countries. A fair number of them will end up at Ph.D. programs spanning the globe and then at major companies such as Intel, 3M, NIST, Exon-Mobil, Pfizer and Cook Medical. “I have good students, good colleagues,” Becker said. “I don’t treat it much different than Mel built his football team. Hire the best people you can hire, coach ’em up, lots of tough love even when they don’t want it, and try to get the most out of every person you can, recognizing they’re all different and play to their strengths. Some make it, and some don’t.” Much like the process Tjeerdsma and Co. endured when they were rebuilding the Bearcat football program, Becker had to figure out how to recruit the right people to his research teams and raise the funding he needed to achieve the medical advancements he envisioned. “I found that even like playing college football and graduate school, you need something from everybody, and even though I’m pushing hard for what I want to accomplish and they’re on my team, what they want to accomplish is different than what I’m trying to accomplish,” Becker said. “It’s in line, but their end goal is different. I am building a body of knowledge; they are building a future. You’ve gotta respect that, too. Just constantly be aware and recognize the problems before they start fires.” He adds, “If I’m doing my job, companies are tripping over themselves to hire my people.” Another Northwest memory not lost on Becker is 12

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

the hospitality coaches’ families and community members showed him and other Northwest student-athletes – something else he models for his students now. He invites them into his home a few times a year, including a Thanksgiving feast for 54 last year. “When I have potluck at my house, some pretty incredible stuff shows up,” he said. “My kids love it. I think it’s great exposure.” Becker says the mentors he had at Northwest made an overwhelming difference in the trajectory of his career. “Having really good mentors makes the difference,” he said. “I had ’em on the football team, had them in the classroom, had them in the community.” And because of the adversity he learned to overcome – whether it was suffering through defeats on the football team or struggling through graduate school – he isn’t afraid to let his students struggle a little with their research challenges. “If a student comes in here and I know exactly what’s wrong, I often don’t tell them,” he said. “I want them to suffer a little bit. Think. Struggle. Work through it. That’s part of the education process. If they can’t get over a hump, then I’ll push them over the hill a little bit. By then, they figure out that I know how to solve it and I’m not going to tell them. Then they go back and think and know that it’s solvable. It’s just part of the process of teaching them how to work through things that they haven’t done before.”

While most research groups only participate in pieces of a product’s development, Becker, pictured in his 21MedTech lab, and his group take it all the way from chemistry to widget. In 2015, his research team at the University of Akron received a $6 million grant from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materials Command for the Mason Shell.

In honor of Matt Mason A few years ago, when Becker’s research group needed industry partners to test the materials they were creating, he launched a start-up company. That idea grew and evolved into 21MedTech, an umbrella company for three start-ups Becker founded to focus on materials and drug distribution for medicine. They create building blocks to make polymers, which are plastics that degrade in the body and have applications for bone, marrow and muscles. Its largest project focuses on degradable polymers for military medicine, and that’s where Becker’s connection with his friend Matt Mason comes in. The “Mason Shell,” as it’s tentatively named, is a cylinder-shaped shell Becker’s team created to save the limbs of soldiers injured by improvised explosive devices or gunshot wounds. The shell is made of amino acid polymers and inserted into a gap in the bone using a methyl methacrylate glue commonly associated with dentures. Within a couple of years, the shell degrades while the bone regenerates and heals. Becker’s science writing has paid off in the form of millions of dollars in grant awards. 21MedTech is making the material, and the shell has

been successful in sheep, which possess many of the same bone characteristics as humans. Becker is hopeful the Mason Shell will be in a soldier within a year. “If you really want to push things like the Mason Shell – things you care about – you’ve gotta suck it up and not be afraid to fail,” says Becker, who received the Northwest Alumni Association’s Matt Mason Distinguished Alumni Award last fall. Becker’s story is far from finished, however. This summer, having developed his research beyond the capabilities of Akron, he’ll take his research group to Duke University, which recruited him this spring to join its departments of Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, and Orthopedic Surgery. “I’ll actually be embedded in a surgery department, so I’ll be in chemistry, surgery and engineering,” he said. “While I’ve been successful at Akron, many challenges remain. We’ve been able to do the things we wanted to do so far, but we want to take the next step and put these materials in humans. That requires a new team.” NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

ADVANCING NORTHWEST

TUNED INTO

TEACHING Richardson awarded endowed professorship for instrumental music Dr. William Richardson knew as a high school student that he wanted a career in music, but he thought it would be as a musician in a symphony orchestra, or in a Washington, D.C., military band. Instead, he found his niche in teaching college-age students and trumpet lessons. “I like seeing the lights come on when students really grasp a concept, especially in a one-on-one setting,” he said. “We try to equip our students with all the tools they need to be successful. Studying trumpet lessons or playing in an ensemble is teamwork, and we’re trying to get everybody on the same page so we’re all 14

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

moving efficiently in one direction. “As an individual, it’s trying to teach people to become their own teachers. The best case scenario for trumpet lessons is that I put myself out of a job by the time they’re juniors and seniors so they can make their own decisions and attack a problem. That’s how I go at it, and I’d like to think that overall we’re pretty successful with that in the music program.” Last fall, Richardson, a professor of music and the assistant chair of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, was named Northwest’s first Dennis C. Dau Professor of Instrumental Music. Richardson was selected for the three-year appointment through a process of nominations and a recommendation of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Dr. Richardson is not simply an excellent teacher and conductor

ADVANCING NORTHWEST

but an exemplar for our students of lifelong learning and professional growth,” Dr. Mike Steiner ’85, the dean of Northwest’s College of Arts and Sciences, said. “Students are rightfully impressed by his considerable ability on the trumpet but also know from watching and listening that he still strives every day to get better. As a result, our students learn valuable lessons while he continues to expand his reach and recognition as a musician, teacher and conductor.” A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Richardson joined the Northwest faculty in 1999. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education in instrumental music at the University of Central Missouri and a master’s degree at Florida State University. He holds a doctorate in trumpet performance from the University of Texas at Austin. At Northwest, he has taught applied trumpet, various courses in music and conducted the Northwest jazz ensembles. His ensembles have been invited to prestigious performances at the Nebraska Music Educators Association and Missouri Music Educators Association conventions as well as international performances in London. In 2009, Richardson received a Fulbright Scholar award and spent the spring 2010 semester as a visiting professor at the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music in Riga, Latvia. The opportunity fulfilled a desire of Richardson’s to study and live abroad, while performing and teaching in a different culture. “I loved it,” Richardson said. “I got to be a full-time trumpet teacher, and I got to play a lot.” Richardson adjudicated brass players in a youth music competition and performed at an international brass symposium in Latvia, in addition to working with some renowned musicians. “I came back with some renewed, different expectations of my students,” Richardson said. “I think the expectation that students develop technique a little bit more quickly there was one of the things that came from that, and just trying to get our students to see themselves as artists because they get up on the stage and it’s not supposed to be a deer-in-the-headlights situation. They’re supposed to present and move the audience. I met some fairly wellknown teachers in Latvia and some surrounding countries, and they all have a unique approach.” Richardson’s work as a scholarly performer also includes regular performances with the St. Joseph Symphony, the St. Joseph Big Band and numerous ensembles across the country and internationally. His extensive service also includes 18 years as director of the Northwest Jazz Festival, which brings hundreds of high school students to perform each year on the Northwest campus. Northwest announced the founding of the Dau Endowed Professorship in January 2017 after receiving a $500,000 cash gift in honor of Dennis Dau ’70, ’71, a long-time supporter of instrumental music at the University. An endowed professorship gives special recognition to a faculty

Dr. William Richardson conducts the Northwest Jazz Ensemble and is an accomplished trumpet performer.

member for continued exemplary service to their field, based on outstanding teaching, creative and scholarly activity, and contributions through professional organizations and service beyond the regional level. It recognizes individuals who maintain a high level of productivity and impact during an extended period of time and are considered role models for faculty, staff and students. Dau’s career as an educator took him to Farragut, Iowa, and then to Maryville High School, where he was a band director from 1979 until his retirement in 1999. The endowment fund remains open and capable of receiving additional contributions at any time for the purpose of funding the professorship. To make a gift in support of the Dennis C. Dau Endowed Professorship in Instrumental Music or for more information about the Northwest Foundation, contact the Office of University Advancement at 660.562.1248 or advance@ nwmissouri.edu.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

ADVANCING ALUMNI CONNECTIONS NORTHWEST

LASTING L E G A C IE S

After a 35-year career that took him from journalism and broadcasting to marketing and communication, Steve Carpenter ’76 is grateful for the preparation Northwest provided him, and he is helping to ensure future students have the same opportunities. Recently, Carpenter provided a $45,000 gift to the Northwest Foundation through a retirement annuity to benefit the School of Communication and Mass Media. “I had so many wonderful professors,” Carpenter said. “It’s a very supportive atmosphere at Northwest that opened all these doors for me.” Carpenter took advantage of opportunities at Northwest to work on both the student-run KDLX and the National Public Radio affiliate, KXCV. Armed with those résumé-building experiences, as well as some weekend work at KMA in Shenandoah, Iowa, he launched his full-time professional radio career in 1977 at KKJO in St. Joseph, Missouri. Later he moved on to WMT radio in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and then to Kirkwood Community College, where he was station manager of KCCK until ending his radio career in 1997. A public relations role opened at the college, and Carpenter accepted it, remaining there until his 2012 retirement. “Whatever steps up the ladder I’ve been able to make in my life, I could not have done it without education. I could not have done it without the great team of mentors that I had,” Carpenter said, crediting mentors that included Rollie Stadlman ’70, Sharon Cross Bonnett ’65, Cathran Cushman and Warren Stucki. “When you go to National Public Radio conferences and they say, ‘You were on the air as a sophomore?’ I’d say, ‘Yeah, and I sounded like a sophomore,’” Carpenter added. “It just warms my heart to get back and visit family in north Missouri, and I turn on 90.5. I kind of home in on the signal like a beacon, and I hear these young people who are learning, who are getting better every day, who are working their way through the broadcast stuff and the AP Stylebook, and you can just hear that learning happening. I think the best supporters of the station understand that and say, ‘This kid is going places and who knows where we’ll hear this voice in 10 years.’”

“I feel honored and blessed to have been helped and guided and aided by so many good people at Northwest. I would be a truly ungrateful person if I didn’t do something in return. It just excites me to think of some future young people that got excited by the idea of communicating and telling stories and sharing news. They don’t even know why they want to do that, but if my forethought can help future generations, that’s great.” Steve Carpenter ’76

Donating part or all of your unused retirement assets such as a gift from your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), pension or other tax-deferred plan is an excellent way to make a gift to our organization.

CONSIDER THESE ADVANTAGES: n

It’s simple to set up You’re able to maintain control of your assets n It provides a gift to Northwest in an amount you believe is appropriate, and you can still provide for your loved ones n It provides an estate tax deduction n

It provides for a cause you deem worthy at Northwest n It includes membership in the Northwest Foundation’s James H. Lemon Heritage Society n Leaves a lasting legacy at Northwest

Contact the Office of University Advancement at 660.562.1248 or advance@nwmissouri.edu to find out about the many advantages of providing an estate provision.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

ADVANCING NORTHWEST

What kind of

Tim Melvin, the manager of human resources at Kawasaki, and the manufacturer are continuing their support of Northwest with the establishment of a scholarship.

KAWASAKI ESTABLISHES SCHOLARSHIP TO AID EMPLOYEES’ KIDS Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corporation, an economic driver in the northwest Missouri region for nearly 30 years and the county’s largest employer, is expanding its support of Northwest students through the establishment of a scholarship for the dependents of Kawasaki employees. Kawasaki and the University launched the Kawasaki Kids: Powering Your Potential Scholarship last fall for full-time Northwest students who are dependents of a full-time Kawasaki employee. “We’re always looking at ways that we can support education,” Tim Melvin ’84, the manager of human resources at Kawasaki, said. “It’s a great way to do that, and it’s a great way to tell our employees that, ‘hey, you and your families are important.’” The new scholarship is available to full-time freshmen, sophomores, juniors or seniors at Northwest . Sophomores, juniors and seniors must have a minimum grade-point average of 2.0 to be eligible, and a short essay is required. “We believe it’s part of our responsibility as a corporate citizen, and we believe strongly that education is so important,” Melvin said. “It supports the leaders of tomorrow, and we selfishly hope that maybe there’s some Kawasaki leaders that are being developed there. We hear people say Kawasaki’s done a lot for the community, but the community’s done a lot for Kawasaki as well.”

LEGACY will you leave

AS BEARCATS, WE HAVE A COMPELLING NEED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. We desire lasting, positive influences on the people and causes most meaningful to us. The value placed on this leads to key questions …

“What kind of legacy will I leave?” “Am I Forever Green?” Effective estate planning makes a difference in the lives and causes you love. Some plans may even provide income and tax benefits during your lifetime. Visit our new planned giving website to learn what other Bearcats have established and to request a copy of the Northwest Estate Planning Guide www.northwestlegacy.org

SCHOLARSHIP FOR STUDENT TEACHERS HONORS LEGACY OF STAFF MEMBER The family of a Northwest staff member who assisted student teachers has established a scholarship in her memory. The family of Joyce Luke ’90 established the Joyce Luke Education Scholarship with the assistance of cash gifts totaling more

than $10,000. She had served as the assistant director of field experiences since 2009 when she passed away last November at the age of 54. “No matter what life throws at you, you have to have a positive attitude,” Mike Luke, Joyce's brother, said. “If a person didn’t know her personally, they would never have known the struggles and hardships she was facing. She seemed to always think of others before herself.” The scholarship will help ease anxiety for students transitioning to student teaching and

provide financial support for those students who may need to eliminate or decrease the hours they work other jobs because of their student teaching responsibilities. “This scholarship is vital,” Dr. Tim Wall ’01, the dean of the School of Education, said. “A university education is a valuable investment in ourselves. Every dollar of scholarship support lightens the load on a group of people who do such meaningful work without the expected future earnings in other fields.”

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

CHANGING LANDSCAPE New house, road improvements signs of future at farm The landscape of Northwest’s R.T. Wright Farm is changing to better serve students while fueling the advancement of the University’s ag programming and collaboration with regional partners. “It’s exciting,” Rod Barr ’87, ’95, ’09, the director of the School of Agricultural Science, said. “Being an alum, having been on staff now for 16 years, it’s a sense of excitement toward the commitment for the University and the support we’re receiving. We really think it’s going to transform what we’re able to do. We think we’re going to be able to make a huge impact, not only for students in the School of Ag Sciences. Our ultimate goal is that every student at Northwest has an experience at the new Ag Learning Center and the R.T. Wright Farm, no matter what the major is.” Northwest broke ground in August on a new farm manager’s house, advancing a collaborative project with the Maryville R-II School District and taking a first step toward several enhancements for the farm as the School of Agricultural Sciences’ enrollment has swelled by 53 percent in the last seven years. “This is such an important step forward for the agriculture program,” Northwest Provost Dr. Jamie Hooyman said. “With the intentional bridge that we’re building between this ag campus and our main campus, the farmhouse will be a visual example of how strongly this University feels about supporting, investing and believing in the agricultural industry.” Northwest also is improving the “front

door” of the Wright Farm, which is located on Highway 71 about two miles north of Northwest’s main campus. The University is working with the Missouri Department of Transportation on a $1.2 million effort to better connect the farm to its highway entrance and add turn lanes for traffic safety as well as defining entry features such as signage, fencing and landscaping. The University’s top priority for the Wright Farm, however, is an $8.5 million Agricultural Learning Center. The 29,000-square foot, multi-use building will allow for research and scholarly activities centered on crop, soil and livestock resources as well as space for processing agricultural products. It will include space for public and private functions such as producer and agricultural industry meetings, workshops, shows and career development events, and the promotion of agricultural literacy. “It’s really a linchpin project that will set this institution, its students and the community on an unprecedented path of success,” Dr. Lonelle Rathje ’97, ’03, Northwest’s vice president of external relations, said. The Wright Farm is an active 448-acre farm that is home to beef, swine, dairy and sheep enterprises as well as row and forage crops. The School also manages a horticulture complex and applied research and demonstration plots on Northwest’s main campus.

HALEY FISCHER

Agricultural science major Senior from Neola, Iowa

Haley interned for Iowa Select Farms, where she oversaw multiple barns and cared for pigs. She was one of 12 students throughout the country selected to be a part of the National Pork Board’s #RealPigFarming Student Social Forces team. “Before coming to Northwest, I was not expecting to get into the swine industry at all. After interning in Oklahoma (in 2017) for Seaboard Foods, I was all in. I would have never had that chance without attending Career Day and interviewing with them on Mock Interview Day.” KATIE IMHOFF

Agricultural business/ public relations major Senior from California, Missouri

Katie benefited from an internship last summer with the Missouri Farm Bureau. She connected with politicians and agricultural leaders, created social media content for the Farm Bureau and gave agriculture advocacy presentations. “My communication classes allow me to create materials that prepare me for a future career. In addition to classes, Northwest has given me the opportunity to be involved in multiple student organizations that have improved my time management, teamwork and communication skills. HELENA MCNAMEE

The new 1,300-square-foot farmhouse (lower right) on the Wright Farm is scheduled for completion this summer. It consists of three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a two-car garage with an open floor concept and full basement.

AG STUDENT SUCCESS

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

Agricultural science major Junior from Chillicothe, Missouri

Helena earned the “Social Media Rock Star” award during the nationwide Animal Agriculture Alliance’s College Aggies Online scholarship competition. The nine-week competition challenged students to create weekly social media posts about agricultural topics. She was one of 13 Northwest students to earn awards as they swept the top three prizes.

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

Corey and Brian Strider

EDUCATION INSPIRES BROTHERS’ SUPPORT FOR AG CENTER An interest in agriculture and education fuels Brian ’99 and Corey ’96 Strider in their careers, and now it’s motivating the brothers to give back to Northwest. The Striders recently pledged $25,000 in support of the planned Agricultural Learning Center at the R.T. Wright Farm. “We have to prepare our students to be able to meet the needs of employers, whether it be working for a farm or elsewhere in the agriculture industry,” Corey said. “The movement is to create an environment that is more hands-on at the farm, where students can study, observe, work through the many applications necessary to enhance their education. This facility will also offer an environment to promote agriculture advocacy, even for nonagriculture students, and show them where the industry is heading.”

After completing his bachelor’s degree at Northwest in agricultural business, Corey went to work for an ag chemical company. A year and half later, he went into banking and has been in that field since. Brian worked stints in agriculture retail and then as a district sales manager for seed companies. He returned to Hardin, Missouri, with his family in 2011 and sells fertilizer products for Nachurs, in addition to being the fourth generation to maintain the Strider family farm. When the Striders were students at Northwest, the University farm was functional but did not offer the equipment and practical opportunities its agriculture students enjoy today. Now, the Wright Farm provides opportunities for Northwest students in ag science-related majors to gain profession-based experience with beef, swine, dairy and sheep enterprises as well as row and forage crops. Students in the School of Agricultural Sciences also benefit from access to Northwest’s Horticulture Complex, which includes seven greenhouses with state-of-the-art technology, and the McKemy Center for Lifelong Learning, which houses a commodity trading room, providing up-to-the-minute commodities information and computer work stations. “It’s really good for me to see that they’re focusing more on row crops,” Brian said.

EXPERIENCES, CONNECTIONS LEAD CLINE TO SUPPORT AG LEARNING CENTER John Cline ’75 feels a loyalty to Northwest because of his experiences as an agriculture student and the way his education prepared him for a successful career. With that in mind, Cline has added his financial support to the University’s plans for an Agricultural Learning Center. “The agriculture department was very important to me and helped me land my first postcollege job,” he said. “I think my résumé with an agriculture background and degree very much assisted me. I went directly into livestock insurance sales and related to existing and new clients immediately.” As a Maryville native, agriculture has always been a part of Cline’s life. Growing up, he and his family worked hard as weekend farmers, and he worked at a large livestock auction during his youth. Cline believes agriculture is an important field for students to explore at Northwest. “They’ve done a heck of a job expanding the horizons of that farm,” Cline said. “They have a good vision. They think outside the box. They’re looking to the future as education is an ever-changing world.” He began his professional career with the Livestock Marketing Association of Kansas City in spring 1976 and traveled for the Association for three years out of Atlanta, Georgia,

John Cline

before transferring back to Kansas City. In 1984, he and a friend founded Cline Wood, which specializes in truck transportation and commercial agriculture insurance. It is based in Leawood, Kansas.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

ALUMNI CHAPTER

NEWS

Get involved today!

For more information about getting involved in a Northwest Alumni Association chapter, call 660.562.1248 or email alumni@nwmissouri.edu. Twenty-one alumni chapters comprise the Alumni Association, and more are being formed.

ST. LOUIS ALUMNI AND FRIENDS CHAPTER

The St. Louis Alumni and Friends Chapter has had a good year with Chili’s in Chesterfield graciously hosting several events. During the Nor thwest football season, members attended the Bearcats’ game at Lindenwood, and the chapter hosted a watch party Nov. 24 to watch the Bearcats in the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs. The chapter also cheered on the men’s and women’s basketball team when they played at Lindenwood Feb. 7. Members are planning their 11th anniversary celebration in May.

Bob Machovsky ’15, Linda Craven Dencker ’73, Bob Dencker ’73, Rhonda Adwell Pulse ’88, Brett Pulse ’87, Valerie Byrn ’01, Carma Greene Kinman ’85, Jermaine Simmons, Sue Johnson Hockensmith ’72 and Laura Hockensmith Schlereth enjoyed the Bearcat Zone Tailgate prior to the Northwest football game at Lindenwood in October.

(Above left) The St. Louis Alumni and Friends Chapter raffled a basket during its tailgate prior to the Northwest vs. Lindenwood football game. Mark Sorfonden ’90, of Harlan, Iowa, won the basket. (Above right) Gary Heyde ’74, Joe Bosse ’72, Kevin Terry ’73, Sue Johnson Hockensmith ’72, Dana Hockensmith, Debbie Cooper ’76, Dave Cooper ’81, Valerie Byrn ’01, Jane Alexander ’87 and Bryan Alexander gathered for a watch party to cheer on the Bearcat football team in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

The Band Alumni Chapter hosted its annual Band Alumni Day Sept. 15.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

Alumni and friends in Kansas City attended a watch party at KC Beir Co. to cheer on the Bearcat football team in the first round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs.

Members of the Black Alumni and Friends Chapter attended a reunion on campus during Homecoming weekend.

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

Mid-Missouri Bearcats took time for a photo at Southside Pizza in Columbia. Pictured in the first row, from left, are Jared Hunter ’12 and Brianne Kiger Hunter ’02, ’07. In the back row are David “DC” Colt ’78, Dave Teeter ’86, Don Claycomb ’69 and Dustin Wasson ’03.

MID MISSOURI ALUMNI AND FRIENDS CHAPTER

The Mid-Missouri Alumni and Friends Chapter hosted several happy hour-style events during 2018. The chapter is hosting several events in 2019 and invites all MidMissouri alumni and friends to join the group for a casual event in the near future. Find the chapter on Facebook by searching “midmobearcats.” For more information about the chapter contact Cherine at heckmanch@missouri.edu.

Members of the Western Iowa/Eastern Nebraska Alumni and Friends Chapter gathered for a first Thursday social at Barley’s Bar in Council Bluffs.

WESTERN IOWA/EASTERN NEBRASKA

The Western Iowa/Eastern Nebraska Alumni and Friends Chapter continue to host monthly social events around Council Bluffs and throughout Omaha. Group members attended several special events including the Omaha Area Student Send Off, the Nor thwest Alumni Awards Banquet and Nor thwest Day at the K, and the chapter hosted several watch parties during football season. The chapter has welcomed many new faces to the group and welcomes anyone to join its monthly First Thursday Social Events. Chapter members represent a range of graduation years from prior to the 1960s to today. Visit Facebook and search for “IANEBearcats” to learn more. CENTRAL IOWA ALUMNI AND FRIENDS CHAPTER

2018 was a busy year for the Central Iowa Alumni Chapter. In addition to meeting the first Thursday of every month at Rookies in Clive, the group met to watch the Iowa Barnstormers and Iowa Cubs play. During the football season, members met to watch every game at Rookies. For more information, follow the chapter on Facebook at Northwest Missouri State University Central Iowa Alumni and Friends Chapter, or email iowabearcats@gmail.com.

COLORADO ALUMNI AND FRIENDS CHAPTER

The Colorado Alumni and Friends Chapter gathered Nov. 3 at Parry’s Pizzeria in Greenwood Village to watch the Bearcats take on Fort Hays State University. The group enjoyed food, fun and making new friends as alumni of all ages and their friends rooted for the Bearcats. The group enjoyed sharing stories about the campus, professors, living in Maryville and the exciting things happening at the University today. The chapter also hosted a Bearcat basketball watch party at Stoney’s Bar and Grill in Denver on Feb. 2 to cheer on the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Members of the Central Iowa Alumni and Friends Chapter gathered for a watch party to cheer on the Bearcat football team take on the University of Central Missouri.

Members of the Central Iowa Alumni and Friends Chapter gathered at Rookies Bar and Grill in Clive for a first Thursday social.

To learn more about how to get involved, contact Suzie Schuckman at suzie.schuckman@gmail.com.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

WASHINGTON, D.C., ALUMNI AND FRIENDS CHAPTER

The Washington, D.C., Alumni and Friends Chapter par ticipated in various activities in the area last summer and fall. In July, the group took a private tour of the Library of Congress, led by Mary B. Stoll ’77, a docent there. Star ting in the Congressional Reading Room and ending in the elegant Main Reading Room, the group learned about the history and architecture of the historic building. The group also had a chance to meet new members during lunch at a Capitol Hill restaurant afterward. In September, the group met at a Washington Nationals baseball game. In October, the chapter par tnered with the Salvation Army’s Grate Patrol program, which provides meals to people living on the street in downtown D.C. Members prepared homemade soup and sandwiches at Stoll’s home and helped distribute the food to about 50 homeless people at multiple stops.

The Washington, D.C., Chapter partnered with the Salvation Army to deliver homemade meals to homeless people.

The Washington, D.C., Alumni and Friends Chapter took a private tour of the Library of Congress.

RETIREE ASSOCIATION FORMS FOR FORMER UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES

SOUTHERN IOWA ALUMNI AND FRIENDS CHAPTER Members of Northwest’s new Retiree Association include, pictured left to right in the first row, Steve Sutton ’71, Rosalie Weathermon ’74 ’00, Jolaine Zweifel ’00 and Dr. Jim Eiswert. In the second row are Brenda Untiedt ’00, ’09, advancement database, research and communications specialist for Northwest’s Office of University Advancement; Dr. Robert Dewhirst; Nancy Hardee; Dr. Janice Brandon-Falcone; Dr. David McLaughlin; Ray Courter ’68 ’75 and Dr. Richard Fulton.

The Northwest Retiree Association gathered for an inaugural meeting in December at the Michael L. Faust Center for Alumni and Friends on the Northwest campus. More than 100 individuals have signed up to join the group, accounting for more than 1,770 total years of service. Any former Northwest employee vested in the University retirement system, and their spouse, is invited to join the group. The group seeks to be a resource for new retirees and assist them in transitioning to retired life while providing a community for social and intellectual activities. Northwest retirees Ray Courter, Dr. Jim Eiswert, Dr. Janice Brandon-Falcone, Dr. Richard Fulton and Jolaine Zweifel initiated the association with the support of the Office of University Advancement. The group distributed its first newsletter in January and has additional short-term goals of creating an online directory, offering research assistance, sponsoring educational lectures and organizing 22

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

Members of the Southern Iowa Alumni and Friends Chapter attended the Powering Dreams Celebration in September to meet the 2018-19 recipient of their Southern Iowa Alumni and Friends Chapter Scholarship, Cody Hayes, an applied health and exercise science major from Clarinda, Iowa. Pictured are Darin Goins, Cindy Goodale Goins ’98, Hayes and Joan Lynch Jackson ’65. The Chapter is looking for new members for reorganization. Contact Darin or Cindy Goins at drn_goins@yahoo.com or Jackson at jwjackson165@gmail.com.

a walking group. It also could establish a scholarship program as well as chapters in other locales. “We’d really like to see us keep our involvement with the University because that’s what made us Northwest retirees,” Brandon-Falcone, a retired professor of history, humanities, philosophy and political science, said. “You don’t have to say goodbye. I know we have retirees scattered everywhere.” For more information about the Northwest Retiree Association and opportunities to get involved, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/alumni/nwretirees/ or send an email to nwretirees@nwmissouri.edu.

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

Join the Tourin’ Bearcats on their upcoming trip

Classical Greece Feb. 23 through March 4, 2020 $3,299 per person* $500 deposit due at time of reservation Deposit due Aug. 23 (limited space available) Insurance $315 per person

Highlights: • Come to know two breathtaking Byzantine monasteries in Metéora. • Experience the Delphi Museum with its priceless collection of ancient artifacts. • Broaden your knowledge of traditional Greek music with a delightful Greek dance class. • Enjoy a panoramic tour of Athens, including the Temple of Zeus, the Royal Palace, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Olympic Stadium and the Acropolis. • Visit a farm in the countryside and enjoy tasting local wines, olive oil, homemade jams, marmalades and sweets. • Tour the sanctuary of Zeus, the Olympic Stadium and the museum in Olympia. • Partake in a Mediterranean cooking experience.

Final payment due Dec. 21, 2019.

Includes:

• Roundtrip airfare from Kansas City, air taxes, hotel transfers • 15 meals (8 breakfasts, one lunch, six dinners) • Attractions

Make your reservation today. Limited availability. *Prices based on double occupancy and departure from Kansas City International Airport and taxes, fees and hotel transfers. Cancellation waiver and insurance available for purchase. All rates are per person and subject to change, based on air inclusive package from Kansas City International Airport.

For more information, contact the Northwest Alumni Association at alumni@nwmissouri.edu or 660.562.1248.

NORTHWEST

M I S S O U R I S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

ALUMNI

For more information about this trip, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/alumni/travel or to book, call the Tourin’ Bearcats Help Desk at 800.869.6806. Sponsored by the Northwest Alumni Association and KXCV-KRNW, Northwest’s NPR affiliate.

A S S O C I A T I O N

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

Northwest announces additions to Office of University Advancement

STAY CONNECTED

Northwest’s Office of University Advancement has announced the addition of two staff members to further its fundraising efforts and engagement with alumni and friends of the institution. Joel Kosch Jana Hanson Jana White Hanson ’02 joined the University Advancement staff Feb. 1 as a senior major gift officer and brings a strong background in sales with 13 years of experience in the real estate industry. As a broker salesperson, her responsibilities included sales, market development and relationship cultivation as well as shared management of the business operation. As a Northwest student, she worked in University Advancement, overseeing its call center to assist the Northwest Annual Fund. She was president of the Kansas City Alumni Chapter from 2005 to 2006. Joel Kosch began March 1 as a gift officer. A native of a farming community near Columbus, Nebraska, he is a 2011 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Kearney and brings strong relationshipbuilding experience with a proven sales record. He has a passion for learning and is pursuing his master’s degree in higher education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

GOLDEN YEARS SOCIETY REUNION

OCT. 25-26

Homecoming Weekend

HONORING THE CLASS OF 1969 CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 1969! This year marks your 50-year anniversary and entry into the Golden Years Society. Please save the date and join us for your 50-year reunion celebration during Homecoming Weekend. The Northwest Alumni Association will commemorate your milestone and welcome you into the Golden Years Society with a luncheon, class photo, campus tour and much more. Information regarding hotels and registration will be sent closer to the date. We are looking for volunteers to serve on the Class of 1969 Reunion Committee and help make phone calls to connect with members from the class. If you are interested in volunteering or have any questions regarding the reunion, contact Bob Machovsky ’15 in the Office of Alumni Relations at 660.562.1112 or rmachov@nwmissouri.edu.

DISCOVER THE MANY BENEFITS AND OPPORTUNITIES OF YOUR ALUMNI ASSOCIATION. • Attend an alumni event in your area. • Volunteer at an alumni event. • Get involved with an alumni chapter in your area. • Recruit a student. • Become a mentor. • Serve on the alumni board. Contact the Alumni Relations Office at Northwest Missouri State University for more information. 660.562.1248 alumni@nwmissouri.edu

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

GOLDEN YEARS SOCIETY REUNION, HONORING THE CLASS OF 1968

Members of the Class of 1968 gathered on the Northwest campus for their 50-year reunion Oct. 12-13, 2018. Attending alumni included (front row, from left) Belinda Goodell Tidd, Cindy Miller Walker, Lorna Stevens Simon, Dana Hendrix Tonnies, Norma Burton Strombom, Janet Nielsen Bennett, Mary Lumm Seat, Becky Taylor Owens, (back row, from left) Russell McCampbell, Donna Mullins, Richard Jorgensen, Gary Johnson, Richard Marburg, Monte Gagliardi, Mike Thomson, Connie Roiser Bintner and Marjorie Hitchcock.

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

SAVE THE DATE

Alumni 2019

AWARDS BANQUET FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019 6 P.M. SOCIAL 6:30 P.M. DINNER 8 P.M. AWARDS PRESENTATION J.W. JONES STUDENT UNION BALLROOM

The Northwest Alumni Association annually honors individuals who have given their time, talent and service to Northwest. More information, including the 2019 recipients, will be included in the fall edition of the Northwest Alumni Magazine.

NORTHWEST

Pictured at the 2018 Alumni Awards are (front row, left to right) Dale Wion, Honorary Alumni Award; John Moore ’78, Turret Service Award; Dr. Bayo Joachim, Distinguished Faculty Award; Dr. Matt Becker ’98, Distinguished Alumni Award; (second row) Paula Davis ’91, Alumni Association Board president; Ryan Heiland ’99, Public Service Award; Kelly Archer Quinlin ’00, Young Alumni Award; Dr. Joyce Wake Piveral ’70 ’74 ’82, Distinguished Faculty Emeritus Award; and Dr. John Jasinski, Northwest president.

ALUMNI

N O RTHW E ST M IS S O U R I S TAT E U N IV E R S I T Y

CHAPTERS For more information about how to get involved with your local chapter, contact the Northwest Alumni Association at alumni@nwmissouri.edu or visit www.nwmissouri.edu/alumni. ARIZONA CHAPTER Chartered March 23, 2001 BAND ALUMNI CHAPTER Chartered Sept. 8, 2001 BLACK ALUMNI AND FRIENDS CHAPTER Chartered Feb. 25, 2017 CENTRAL IOWA CHAPTER Chartered Aug. 1, 2002 CHICAGO CHAPTER Chartered Jan. 12, 2008 COLORADO CHAPTER Chartered Jan. 12, 2004 DALLAS CHAPTER Chartered June 23, 2006 EASTERN IOWA CHAPTER Chartered May 6, 2010 GRIDIRON CHAPTER Chartered May 13, 2011 JAPAN CHAPTER Chartered July 21, 2005 KANSAS CITY CHAPTER Chartered Jan. 25, 2001

MARYVILLE CHAPTER Chartered Sept. 22, 2001 MID-MISSOURI CHAPTER Chartered April 12, 2007 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER Chartered Feb. 29, 2004 SOUTHERN IOWA CHAPTER Chartered April 1, 2006 SPRINGFIELD CHAPTER Chartered April 9, 2009 ST. JOSEPH CHAPTER Chartered May 20, 2002 ST. LOUIS CHAPTER Chartered May 15, 2008 TWIN CITIES CHAPTER Chartered Sept. 16, 2010 WASHINGTON, D.C. CHAPTER Chartered June 11, 2011 WESTERN IOWA/EASTERN NEBRASKA CHAPTER Chartered June 5, 2003

2018-2019 NORTHWEST ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Northwest Alumni Association Board of Directors gathered for its fall meeting during Family Weekend in September. Board members toured the Hughes Fieldhouse, attended the Alumni Awards Banquet and Family Weekend activities, visited the Bearcat Zone and cheered on the Bearcat football team. The 2018-2019 Northwest Alumni Association Board of Directors include (front row, from left) Curtis Seabolt ’10, ’14; Allison Kahre Kreifels ’06, ’11; Anitra Germer Svendsen ’05, ’07; Dustin Wasson ’03; Joyce Seals Roddy ’75; Paula Rector Davis ’91; Linda Nichols Place ’72, ’09 ; (second row) Zerryn Gines; Michelle Mattson Drake ’99; Marsha Alsbury Leopard ’71, ’76; Sue Johnson Hocksensmith ’72; Faith Spark; Randy Cody ’99; (third row) Carma Greene Kinman ’85; Bob Machovsky ’15; Terrance Logan ’07, ’10; Bob Stalder ’88; Mark DeVore ’71, ’75; Shelby Lavery Bottiger ’15; Rich Tokheim ’82; (Not pictured: Abby Stephens Elliott ’06, ’08 and Sean Gundersen ’10, ’13).

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

BEARCAT SPORTS

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2018

BEARCAT SPORTS

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

BEARCAT SPORTS

38-0! With 6:42 left in the NCAA Division II men’s basketball national championship game and the Bearcats in a battle against Point Loma Nazarene University, Northwest senior guard Joey Witthus launched a desperation three-pointer, 38 feet from the rim just before the shot clock expired. The ball banked off the backboard on its way through the basket and all but sealed the men’s basketball program’s second national championship in three years. The play epitomized a season during which everything seemed to go the Bearcats’ way and ended with their 64-58 triumph over Point Loma March 30 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The Bearcats completed their season 38-0, finishing as the only undefeated men’s basketball program in all of NCAA basketball and just the fifth team in Division II men’s basketball history to win a national title with a perfect record. Their 38 wins also tied the NCAA Division II record for the most in a season, set last year by a 38-1 Ferris State team. They did it with a starting five of Witthus, junior Ryan Welty, sophomore Ryan Hawkins, redshirt freshman Trevor Hudgins and freshman Diego Bernard – a young core that prompted preseason observers to peg the 2018-19 season as a rebuilding one for the Bearcats. They were picked in the MIAA coaches’ preseason poll to finish second in the conference. “Rightfully so, there was a lot of expectations on this team and the whole preseason was just a fight to make sure that we proved everybody wrong,” head coach Ben McCollum ’03, ’05 said after Northwest advanced to the Final Four by gutting out a 55-51 win against Mercyhurst. “We’ve played with that chip on our shoulder.”

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

The Bearcats opened the season in November with an overtime win against the previous season’s national runner-up, Northern State, and put 100 points on the board the next night in a victory against defending national champion Ferris State. The team gained momentum with every win, and records fell as a special season ensued.

“I’ll probably reflect on it a bit later, but just the memories that we made throughout the season of getting better consistently – that’s just special,” McCollum said. “These kids have fought all season long.” Their stifling defense held opponents to an average of 61.7 points and forced 13 turnovers per game while the Bearcats possessed an efficient offense that drew national attention. The team ranked No. 34 among all NCAA collegiate basketball teams in the season’s final Massey Ratings.

BEARCAT SPORTS

Northwest shot 50 percent or better from the field in 22 of its 38 games, and its nation-leading +20.7 scoring margin fell just short of the MIAA record of +22.3, set by Missouri State in 1959-60. The Bearcats possessed three players scoring more than 500 points during the season in Witthus, Hudgins and Hawkins, and all five starters drained at least 40 three-pointers. The Bearcats tore through their MIAA schedule, capping it with a 72-49 win at Washburn. They became the first school in MIAA history to win six consecutive MIAA regular season titles and their 19-0 record in league play was the first MIAA undefeated season since the 1966-67 Missouri State Bears. They headed March 7-10 to Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri, for the MIAA tournament and returned to Maryville with their MIAA-best eighth tournament championship while becoming the first MIAA men’s basketball program to win four consecutive tournaments. Northwest also reached the 30-win mark for only the fourth time in program history and surpassed the 31-0 mark Henry Iba’s 1929-30 team set as the best start to a Northwest season.

Broken records

• Trevor Hudgins tied the MIAA record for consecutive free throws made (36). • Trevor Hudgins set a Northwest single-season record for assists (203). • Trevor Hudgins set the MIAA freshman scoring record for points (712). • Joey Witthus set the Northwest single-season record for three-pointers made (114). • Joey Witthus set the Northwest single-season scoring record for points (780). • Ryan Hawkins set the Northwest single-season rebounding record (339). • Northwest set the single-season MIAA record for points (3,130). • Northwest set the MIAA record for most three-pointers made (404). • The team set the Northwest record for field goals made (1,105). NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

BEARCAT SPORTS

Ben McCollum

Joey Witthus

Trevor Hudgins

Ryan Hawkins

Diego Bernard

Ryan Welty

• John McLendon Collegiate Basketball Coach of the Year, making him the first non-Division I head coach to receive the award • Basketball Times NCAA Division II Coach of the Year • NABC Division II Coach of the Year • MIAA Coach of the Year; led Bearcats to 100-5 record in last three seasons.

• Earned All-America honors from NABC, D2CCA and Basketball Times • Named to Elite Eight All-Tournament team • Earned NCAA Division II Central Region FirstTeam honors from Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association • Most Outstanding Player at MIAA tournament • MIAA Player of the Year and named to All-MIAA First Team

• Named Most Outstanding Player at the Elite Eight • Earned NCAA Division II Central Region SecondTeam honors from Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association • Named to the MIAA All-Tournament team • MIAA Freshman of the Year and named to AllMIAA First Team.

• MIAA Defensive Player of the Year • Named to All-MIAA Second Team and MIAA All-Defensive Team • Led MIAA in steals (83) and collected a teambest 11 double-doubles

• Earned All-MIAA honorable mention • Named to MIAA AllDefensive Team • Averaged 11.8 points per game and recorded three 20-plus scoring games

• Earned All-MIAA honorable mention • Nation's active career leader in three-point field goal percentage (50.8) and has 184 career 3-pointers to rank No. 5 on Northwest's all-time 3-pointers made chart

Men’s basketball

Top ’Cats

WINTER

SPORTS RECAP INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD A new era was born with the opening of the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse and first-year head coach Brandon Masters for Bearcat men’s and women’s indoor track and field. The Hughes Fieldhouse allowed the Bearcats to compete at home for the first time in program history. Northwest took full advantage of the new state-of-the-art facility by hosting four meets, including the MIAA Indoor Championships Feb. 22-24, where the Northwest men earned runner-up status. For the first time, Northwest had a pair of competitors honored as regional track and field athletes of the year. Kevin Schultz was named U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Indoor Field Athlete of the Year in the Central Region. Freshman Omar Austin was named Central Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. Northwest crowned seven All-Americans at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas, the most for Northwest since 1987. The Bearcats All-America performances came from Schultz (heptathlon, high jump), Austin (400m, 200m), Karim Achengli (5,000m), Jordan Hammond (pentathlon) and Mercedes Isaacson-Cover (long jump). Schultz earned national runner-up honors in the high jump and tied for second in the heptathlon. His score of 5,540 points in the heptathlon is the sixth-highest in Division II history. 30

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

Kevin Schultz

Omar Austin

Kendey Eaton

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL The women’s basketball team won the final game of its season by posting a 72-70 win at Washburn to close out the first season for head coach Austin Meyer ’06, ’08. The Bearcats captured four MIAA road wins – equaling their total in the previous four seasons. Northwest tallied road victories at Northeastern State, Central Oklahoma, Nebraska-Kearney and Washburn, going 4-6 in MIAA road contests. Northwest led the nation in team free throw percentage with 80.9 percent and set the program’s single-season record. Junior Kendey Eaton ranked No. 1 in the nation in free throw percentage (93.5) and set the Northwest single-season free throw percentage mark, held previously by Shelly Martin ’13, who shot 89.3 percent from the line in 2010-11. Eaton also led the Bearcats in scoring with 12.7 points per game, while sophomore Jaelyn Haggard chipped in 12.1 points per game. Junior Mallory McConkey led in rebounding with 5.7 rebounds per game.

BEARCAT SPORTS

TENNIS CENTER NAMED TO HONOR COACH'S LEGACY Northwest added the name of Mark Rosewell to its tennis complex in recognition of the Bearcat coach who has earned distinction as one of the most successful collegiate head tennis coaches in the nation. Northwest, on April 5, officially changed the name of its tennis courts to the Mark Rosewell Tennis Center at the Frank W. Grube Courts prior to the women’s home match against Lindenwood. Rosewell started his coaching career at the University of Central Missouri, where he had compiled that program’s best career winning percentage as a player in the 1970s. In 1984, Rosewell accepted an offer to coach the Bearcat tennis teams. He led both the men’s and the women’s teams to MIAA titles in 1987 and received MIAA Coach of the Year honors. Now, in 37 years as a collegiate coach, he has 26 regular season MIAA titles (12 women’s, 14 men’s) and nine MIAA tournament titles (eight men’s, one women’s). He has 27 MIAA Coach of the Year awards, and he’s coached 136 MIAA champions while totaling more than 1,100

career victories. “Year after year, Mark and his players represent the program, the University and the community of Maryville with class,” former Northwest tennis player John Van Cleave ’73 said. “I am so proud of the program Mark has built. While he may have graduated from UCM, he definitely bleeds green.” Rosewell’s impacts stretch beyond the fences of the tennis courts. “I graduated with a degree in public relations and I ended up not knowing what to do, and he asked me if I would ever want to come back and help the tennis team,” Dr. Regan Dodd ’00, a former Northwest tennis athlete who is now the faculty athletic representative at Missouri Western State University, said. “I really am thankful to him for helping find my path into coaching, which is what led to teaching.” The Grube Courts were expanded in 2017 as part of a package to construct the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse. Additionally, the University is formulating plans to add lighting to the tennis courts.

Family, friends and University leaders surrounded Bearcat tennis coach Mark Rosewell as he cut a ribbon to commemorate the renaming of the Mark Rosewell Tennis Center at the Frank Grube Tennis Courts.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

BEARCAT SPORTS

FALL

SPORTS RECAP FOOTBALL Northwest added to its elite status among NCAA Division II programs by garnering another playoff victory while finishing 10-3 and capturing its 29th MIAA regular season title. Northwest earned its 48th all-time playoff victory with a 42-17 rout of No. 7-ranked Grand Valley State in a matchup of the two all-time winningest programs in Division II postseason history. The Bearcats used a powerful ground game that set a school postseason record of 356 rushing yards against the Lakers. Redshirt freshman quarterback Braden Wright was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year as he led the Bearcats with 2,596 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. Wright also rushed for 514 yards and 11 scores on the ground. The Bearcats had five players earn first-team All-MIAA honors, led by linebacker Austen Eskew, offensive lineman Zach Flott, defensive back Anthony Lane, offensive lineman Tanner Owen and defensive lineman Sam Roberts. Juniors Marqus Andrews and Ryan Spelhaug were named to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Division II football team, marking the first time since 2004 that Northwest has had a pair of first-team Academic All-America selections.

VOLLEYBALL Under MIAA Coach of the Year Amy Woerth, the volleyball team tallied 22 wins for the 15th 20-win season in school history and secured a school-record 14 league victories. In MIAA regular season play, Northwest knocked off Washburn, which would eventually reach the national semifinals, in a three-set road victory. Senior Maddy Bruder became the first Bearcat in program history to earn American Volleyball Coaches Association first-team AllAmerica honors. Bruder also claimed the MIAA Player of the Year award. She became the first Bearcat to be a four-time first-team All-MIAA performer while leading the league in kills per set (4.26) and compiling a team-best 17 double-doubles. Bruder was joined on the All-MIAA First Team by senior middle hitter Sofia Schleppenbach and sophomore setter Maddy Ahrens. Senior libero Oliva Nowakowski and sophomore outside hitter Hallie Sidney secured second-team All-MIAA honors.

SOCCER First-year head coach Marc Gordon’s squad struggled for offensive consistency on their way to a 2-15 mark. In a 2-1 home opener victory over William Jewell, sophomore Madie Krueger knotted the score in the first half and sophomore Mollie Holtman registered the game winner in the second half. Freshman goalie Alexis Serna Castillo made 12 saves for the Bearcats. Junior Emily Madden recorded the seventh hat trick in school history in a 3-2 victory over Southwest Baptist. She and fellow junior Izzy Romano were each selected to All-MIAA teams. 32

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

Maddy Bruder Braden Wright

CROSS COUNTRY The season began with a pair of second-place team finishes at the Bearcat Open in Maryville. The women benefited from three topfive finishers with freshmen Keely Danielsen and Caroline Ross and senior Maria Mostek finishing third, fourth and fifth respectively. On the men’s side, sophomore Max Martin led the men’s effort with a fifth-place individual finish. The men’s and women’s teams each captured meet titles at the Emporia State Homecoming Invitational in mid-October and the teams returned to Emporia for the MIAA championships two weeks later. Mostek was 15th overall on the women’s side, leading to a seventh-place team finish. The men finished 10th as junior Karim Achengli captured a second-place overall individual finish. Achengli excelled at the NCAA Central Regional Championships two weeks later, smashing the school record by 50 seconds on his way to a second-place finish. He earned a spot at the national meet in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and his 38th-place finish earned him All-America honors. Achengli is Northwest’s first All-American runner in men’s cross country since Robby Lane in 1997. The men’s and women’s cross country teams earned All-Academic honors from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Additionally, student-athletes Kate Bush, Maria Mostek and Caroline Ross earned individual AllAcademic Awards.

TENNIS Franco Oliva’s third-place finish at the 2018 ITA Cup in Atlanta was the highest-ever for a Bearcat singles player. After earning a spot at the ITA Cup by securing the ITA Central Regional title in Oklahoma City, Olivia knocked off the nation’s No. 4 seed in a three-set battle but dropped the semifinal matchup with the No. 1-seed.

WOMEN’S GOLF The Bearcats set their single-round scoring mark Oct. 16 with 308 in the first round of the Central Region Preview. Earlier in the fall, Northwest posted a pair of rounds of 313 for a two-round total of 626, the lowest two-round total in school history, at the Augustana Invitational, where the team placed third. Morgan Thiele carded a 71 in the second round of the Northeastern State Golf Classic, which ranks as the second-lowest single-round total in program history.

BEARCAT SPORTS

NORTHWEST HONORS 2018 M-CLUB HALL OF FAME CLASS Three individual student-athletes, two teams and Mel Tjeerdsma took their places as members of Northwest’s M-Club Hall of Fame when the University hosted its annual induction banquet during Homecoming weekend in October.

Tjeerdsma points to his family in the crowd after receiving his College Hall of Fame plaque. Tjeerdsma coached at Austin (Texas) College from 1984 to 1993 before 17 successful seasons at Northwest that included three NCAA Division II national championships and four more title game appearances. He finished his coaching career in 2010 with a record of 242-82-4 and a winning percentage of 74.4 percent.

Gabby Curtis ’13 (women’s basketball)

Mel Tjeerdsma ’77 (coach, athletics director)

Andy Erpelding ’00, ’01 (football)

Scott Kurtz ’70 (baseball)

The 2010 men’s tennis team, included left to right, Calvin Patterson ’12, ’14, Ryan Westerhof ’13, Head Coach Mark Rosewell, Giovanni Auricchio and Jeff Williams ’14

TJEERDSMA ENSHRINED AMONG COLLEGE FOOTBALL LEGENDS Mel Tjeerdsma ’77 was part of an all-star cast of college football legends who filled the New York Hilton Midtown’s Grand Ballroom in December for the 61st National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner. Tjeerdsma was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame with coaches Frank Beamer (Murray State, Virginia Tech), Mack Brown (Appalachian State, Tulane, North Carolina, Texas) and 10 former players to bring the total number of players in the Hall of Fame to 997 and the coaches to 217. A packed house of 1,600, including more than 80 current collegiate head coaches and 40 returning Hall of Famers, attended the event. ESPN’s Joe Tessitore, the voice of “Monday Night Football,” emceed the annual celebration, which brings together the college football community at the end of the regular season to pay tribute to the game and its greatest legends. Tjeerdsma shares a moment with College Football Hall of Fame inductee Ed Reed during the National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner. Reed was an All-American defensive back at the University of Miami from 1998 to 2001 and went on to play 12 seasons in the NFL.

The 2010-11 women’s basketball team. Pictured left to right in the front row are Melissa Nyquist ’11, Tara Roach ’12, Gentry Dietz ’11, Candace Boeh ’13, ’16, Kyla Roehrig ’12 and Alexis Boeh ’14, ’16. Pictured in the back row are Assistant coaches Addae Houston ’07, ’10 and Chuck Fox, Shelly Martin ’13, Jennifer Jasinski, Abby Henry ’12, Meridee Scott ’14, Gabby Curtis ’13, Head Coach Gene Steinmeyer with son Sam Steinmeyer, Katie O’Grady ’08, ’14, Monai Douglass ’13 and Athletic Trainer Nick Peters ’10

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

CLASS NOTES

Sherry Turner is the founder of OneKC for Women, an alliance of resources helping to empower women and lead them to success in the business world.

WORKING FOR WOMEN Turner making mark on business in greater Kansas City area Sherry Turner ’81 has become an influential voice for advancing women in business in the Kansas City metropolitan area. She is the founder of OneKC for Women, an alliance of organizations to help women connect and succeed. It helps women grow their businesses while providing guidance and support to women trying to overcome barriers to success. Turner’s effect on the Kansas City-area business is visible through the lives of hundreds of women she helps each year. In 2015, she won the Missouri Women’s Council Award of Distinction at the Governor’s Conference on Economic Development. The award is presented to an individual or organization for having a significant impact on women and their families. “We created the alliance for OneKC for Women to help brand all of the services and resources that are available,” Turner said. “Our models and everything that provides resources is done through education, which leads to empowerment. We don’t enable any

of our clients. It’s not a handout. It’s simply resources that are available to help them determine what their options are.” Founded in 2009, the alliance brings together organizations to assist women on their journey for personal, professional and financial sufficiency. “When someone is teaching you how to pull your credit report, look at it and determine what is on it or what needs to be assisted,” Turner said. “There might be a collection on it that you are not aware of, and being educated about those things produces an amazing empowerment for the client. The more education that we have in the space of understanding our own financial destiny, the better off we will be. That empowerment has a ripple effect, meaning a lot of our clients come to us because they have been referred to a client that has already been through one of our programs. It’s got its own juice and its own way of really being exciting for other people to participate.” Turner’s motivation is to fill gaps for women in the business world and workforce.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

“There are gaps for pay equity, there are gaps for women in business funding, access to capital and access to grow their businesses,” she said. “Those are all the motivations for staying in this space because there are still things to be done and there are still problems that are not fixed.” Women all over are starting their own businesses. Turner sees doors opening with new options. Society is changing and women need to know their options. But she says there’s still work to be done. “I’ve worked in corporate, federal government, entrepreneurship with family businesses,” Turner said. “I’ve had a lot of past experiences and I’m here today because it’s not fixed. We can’t ask women to be successful in their businesses if they don’t have access to capital. We needed to fill those gaps that have those big deficits. It’s motivating but entrepreneurial. It’s business and financially focused for the client.” For more information about OneKC for Women, visit onekcforwomen.com.

CLASS NOTES

1970s Karen Jean Calvert Epps ’72 is the co-author of “Teacher You Are Enough and More: A Guide to Uplift Educators,” which was published in October. She was a first grade teacher and then a teacher librarian until retiring in 2016. She resides in Arvada, Colorado, with her husband.

Helen Johnson Ackerman celebrated her 98th birthday Feb. 1. She resides in Alexandria, Virginia.

’42

1960s Dr. Ina Barnes Lister ’62, ’78 was one of six educators honored last year by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) as Pioneers in Education. Lister taught in Hannibal and Savannah, Missouri, and later served as a principal and became one of the first female superintendents in Missouri at North Nodaway in 1986. She has served as an adjunct instructor at Northwest and a facilitator with DESE’s Northwest Regional Leadership Academy. Dr. Kenneth Smith ’62 retired with 30 years in the Florida education system and spent six years with Arabian-American Oil Co. in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He resides with his wife, Nancy, in Sarasota, Florida. Dr. E. Lee Weir ’62 was recognized last year with the Accrediting Council for Collegiate Graphic Communications’ Richard F. Hannemann Service Award for his achievements in graphic communications education. He is a professor emeritus from Clemson University and retired professor of graphics programs from the University of Central Missouri. Ken Griggs ’69 and Marilyn Hollensbe Griggs ’68 celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last August. Ken is a retired KPMG partner and the couple resides in Wichita, Kansas. Dean Sparks ’69 retired last year as early outreach program coordinator in Northwest’s Office of Admissions, where he had worked since retiring in 2002 as guidance counselor at Tarkio (Missouri) High School. As the early outreach program coordinator, Sparks had the opportunity to introduce the idea of attending college to more than 20,000 eighth and ninth graders. He and his wife, Betty Oliver Sparks ’73, ’77, reside in Tarkio.

Virgil Moore ’73 retired in January as the director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. He had been director since 2011 and spent 42 years in wildlife management, which also included work as director of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Doug Eckermann ’75 recently retired from Nationwide Insurance Company in Des Moines, Iowa, and resides in Urbandale with his wife, Anne. He spent nine years teaching and coached football and wrestling at the high school level before going to work in the insurance industry.

’71 Linda Flachsland Balducci and her husband, Jim, recently relocated to Skaneateles, New York, after residing for the last 25 years in La Jolla, California.

Randy Huffman ’76, ’86 of Galt, Missouri, recently retired after 38 years in various roles in education and works part-time with the Grundy R-5 School District. Jon Kruse ’78 works in the theater industry and recently relocated to Nebraska City, Nebraska, with his wife, Donna. They had lived in the Fort Worth, Texas, area for 36 years.

1980s

’96

Terry Miller ’80 ,’82 retired last year after 33 years as a science teacher at Kearney (Missouri) High School and 21 years of driving school buses. He also is a professional taxidermist. He resides in Plattsburg, Missouri, with his wife, Carleen.

’11

Janice Corder Phelan ’82 retired in June from the Lee’s Summit (Missouri) R-7 School District after serving as the district’s executive director of communication for 30 years. She is working part-time as a freelance writer and communications consultant. She resides in Lee’s Summit with her husband, Tim Phelan ’82. Sharon Martin ’88 was promoted last year to the rank of brigadier general in the Missouri Army National Guard. She was the first female to hold the position of assistant adjutant general in the Missouri Army National Guard. In addition to her 27 years of military service, she has been a member of the Kansas City Fire Department for 23 years and works as a fire apparatus operator and emergency medical technician.

1990s

Connie Holmstrand Russell ’91 began work last September as a career services specialist at Southeast Community College in Beatrice, Nebraska. She has been employed at the college for three years. Brian Hillyer ’94 retired from the Missouri State Highway Patrol on Jan. 1 after 24 years of service.

’91

Mark McDaniel is employed as superintendent for the North Andrew (Missouri) School District. He began his employment at North Andrew in 2002 as elementary principal. His wife, Janie Madison McDaniel ’89, ’91, is a teacher at North Andrew, and they reside in Rea, Missouri.

’92 Jason Winter was named vice president of the National Auctioneers Association last year and will move to NAA president in July to lead the world’s largest professional association dedicated to the auction industry. He resides in Harrisonville, Missouri, and owns West Central Auction Company.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

CLASS NOTES

Troy Steensen has been promoted to marketing director and officer at Security National Bank in Sioux City, Iowa, and continues his oversight of the bank’s marketing and communications strategies. Prior to joining the bank in 2016, he spent eight years managing e-commerce platforms and large-scale projects in the printing industry. He also spent five years in multimedia advertising sales including digital, print and television platforms for local and national businesses.

’03

Andy Seeley ’94 has joined the Mountain West Conference intercollegiate athletic conference as associate commissioner of external communications. He is a 20-year veteran of administration at the intercollegiate level and had served most recently as associate director of athletics for strategic communications for the University of Central Florida since 2012. Julie Morrison Cassavaugh ’96, ’98 was promoted to executive vice president and manager of First Wealth Management in Hutchinson, Kansas. She joined the firm in 2013 and has more than 25 years of trust experience. Dr. Leslie Doyle ’97 was recently named the inaugural chief inclusion officer at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri. She had been employed at Fontbonne University in St. Louis since 2005 and began work as its director of service, diversity and social justice in 2008. Hayley Hanson ’97 was named by the Kansas City Business Journal among its 2018 Best of the Bar honorees. She has practiced law for 18 years and specializes in university compliance with Husch Blackwell LLP. She has handled highprofile internal investigations on college campuses throughout the country. Her work includes auditing universities’ Title IX sexual assault processes, and she partners with institutions to prevent and address challenges.

2000s

Scott Lance ’01 was promoted to lieutenant in the Missouri State Highway Patrol and designated assistant director of the Missouri Information Analysis Center, General Headquarters in Jefferson City. He began his career with the Missouri State Water Patrol in 2004. Jill Quast Hansen ’01 joined STATS, a worldwide leader in sports data and intelligence as its chief financial officer. Her previous work includes various operational and leadership roles at a variety of companies. Kat Vorkink Anstine ’02 was recognized recently by the International Association of Women as a

Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems in the Directorate for Engineering. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in physics, with an emphasis in biophysics, where he studied tissue engineering and model cell membranes using computer simulation and analytical modeling. DeWayne McIntyre ’10 began work in November as Hy-Vee store director in Worthington, Minnesota. Previously, he was an assistant director at stores in Maryville and Liberty, Missouri. Brandon Matulka ’12 was named executive director of the Lake County (Florida) Agency for Economic Property last year. He previously worked for Loyola University Chicago in budget management and Garmin International in business-to-business sales and account management.

2019-2020 Influencer. In November, with more than 15 years of experience in marketing and strategy, she founded Bound for Growth to help community organizations with strategy, marketing, culture and improving overall performance. Dr. Jennifer Keller-McDaniel ’03 is section chief for psychology at Truman Medical Center and a licensed clinical psychologist. She and her husband, Shawn, reside in Independence, Missouri, and have one child, Miriam. Bill Burns ’06 was promoted to director at the public finance law firm of Gilmore & Bell, P.C. Working at the firm’s office in Kansas City, Missouri, he represents issuers, underwriters and other parties to public finance transactions, with a focus on health care and higher education financings. Jennifer Miller ’07 was named superintendent of the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources’ Hundley-Whaley Research Center in Albany, Missouri. She has worked for the center since 2014, beginning as a research specialist.

’01 Dawn Thelen Ream was recognized in November among the Midlands Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for her work as director of communications, marketing, events and sales at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. Ream has been in her current role for 12 years and previously worked at the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau as a national sales representative and conventions services manager.

Jason Peters ’08 recently joined JE Dunn Construction in Kansas City, Missouri, as senior compliance manager. He resides in Lathrop, Missouri, with his wife, Samantha Butler Peters ’05. Jared Verner ’08 has been promoted to director of communications at the University of ColoradoColorado Springs. He joined the university’s advancement staff in 2017 after five years as the institution’s associate and assistant director of athletics. Daniel Johnson ’09 began work last year as executive director of the Robidoux Row Museum and St. Joseph Historical Society in St. Joseph, Missouri. He resides in St. Joseph with his wife, Anna Clark Johnson ’10.

2010s

Dr. Matt McCune ’10 joined the National Science Foundation as a 2018-2019 AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the Division of

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

’07 Sara Chamberlain was elected to partnership at Thompson Coburn LLP in St. Louis. She represents clients in a variety of environmental litigation, regulatory enforcement and transactional issues.

CLASS NOTES

QUALITY INITIATIVE Timberlake helping improve life for people with diabetes

A passion for improving the health of others led John Timberlake ’86 to Bridgewater, New Jersey, where he helps patients with diabetes live to the fullest. Timberlake is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) at Valeritas Inc., a publicly traded medical technology company that focuses on improving the health and simplifying the lives of people with diabetes by developing innovative technologies. Valeritas is widely known for V-Go, an insulin delivery device that is worn like a patch, eliminating the multiple times a day patients with type 2 diabetes would otherwise need to inject insulin to help maintain their target blood and glucose goals. In December 2017, Timberlake had the honor of ringing the closing bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite Studio in New York’s Times Square to celebrate Valeritas’ listing on the capital market. “Ringing the closing bell at Nasdaq with my team was the culmination of years of commitment and hard work and something I will never forget,” Timberlake said. Timberlake guides the overall strategic direction for the organization and ensures Valeritas has the resources to execute strategies to meet its overall goals and objectives. “We don’t just change their health but impact their quality of life and their perspective on life,” Timberlake said. “We truly impact them emotionally when we help them physically. That is our company purpose and is why we get up every day. It’s because we are making a difference.” Prior to becoming CEO in 2016, Timberlake served as president and chief commercial officer at Valeritas. He was the company’s general manager from 2006 to 2008. As an accountant for six years before that, Timberlake was exposed to many different businesses. He enjoyed the pharmaceutical and therapeutic industries and was inspired to join the fight against diabetes by the patients, doctors and professionals in the field. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30.3 million people in the United States, nearly one in 10, have diabetes. More than 23 million people are diagnosed, and 7.2 million people are undiagnosed. “I grew interested in diabetes because there are so many patients we can impact,” Timberlake said. “The doctors who treat people with diabetes are very caring and enjoyable to work with.” Timberlake grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, before coming to Northwest. He continued his education and earned a master’s degree in management at Purdue University and a Master of Business Administration degree from ESC Rouen in France. At Northwest, Timberlake was a member of Delta Chi fraternity and Accounting Club, and he enjoyed intramural sports. He also met his wife, Kathleen Miller Timberlake ’84, ’89, at Northwest. “I chose Northwest because I needed to grow and mature,” Timberlake said. “I liked the size of campus and the feel of the culture. My best friends to this day are college mates, most of which were in my fraternity. All my life, those are still some of my best friends.”

John Timberlake is president and chief executive officer at Valeritas Inc. and rang the NASDAQ closing bell in Times Square, New York, to celebrate the company’s listing on the NASDAQ capital market in 2017.

SEE YOU AT THE

FAIR

Northwest Missouri State University and the Northwest Alumni Association will again partner to share our Bearcat pride at the Iowa State Fair and Missouri State Fair. The fairs are a great opportunity to connect with prospective students, current students, parents, alumni and friends.

AUGUST 8 – 18

Iowa State Fair (Des Moines) Missouri State Fair (Sedalia) See what is new at Northwest. Alumni may sign up for a chance to win a free weekend getaway to Maryville, complete with hotel room, Bearcat football tickets, tailgate tickets and Chamber Bucks. Are you an educator? Stop by our booth to register for a chance to win a scholarship to give to a student from your school who is attending Northwest. Want to help? The Northwest Alumni Association is looking for alumni and friends interested in volunteering to staff the booths. In appreciation for your time, volunteers receive free admission and a parking pass. For more information or to sign up to volunteer, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 660.562.1248 or alumni@nwmissouri.edu.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

CLASS NOTES

Kirsten Anderson spoke to students, employees and community members last fall at Northwest as part of her work to address workplace harassment.

TAKING A STAND

Anderson speaking out against workplace harassment Kirsten Anderzhon Anderson ’00 is on a mission to equip people with the tools they need to stop workplace harassment. “Everybody wants a workplace where they feel safe, they can simply do their best work, provide their best product for their employer, and when there are extenuating circumstances that prevent that from happening, then there isn’t a productive, safe work environment,” Anderson, who visited the Northwest campus last fall to share her story, said. Upon completing her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, Anderson launched her career as a staff assistant in a U.S. Senator’s Kansas City, Missouri, office. She felt respected and trusted as she represented the senator in the community, and she loved being in politics. “Regardless of political affiliation, I enjoy the strategy, the psychology behind politics,” she said. “It fascinates me.” In 2008, Anderson landed her dream job as communications director for Iowa Senate Republicans, but the role led her down an unexpected path. What started as unsettling dinnertime conversation with a coworker and a senator during a break from evening debate turned into years of verbal sexual harassment of Anderson and her coworkers. In 2013, Anderson hit a breaking point and filed a fourth complaint with her supervisor, outlining her expectations for a safer work environment. She was fired later that day. Anderson sued the State of Iowa and Iowa Senate Republicans for wrongful termination, harassment and retaliation, and a four-year court battle culminated in July 2017 with a jury awarding her $2.2 million. The state appealed the decision and Anderson later settled out of court. “We did not ask for a monetary amount,” Anderson said. “For me it was never about the 38

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

money. That amount is something that a jury, after hearing all of the evidence, felt that I deserved due to the egregious behavior, and that should speak volumes to everyone.” The decision proved to be a pivotal moment in Anderson’s life and prompted her to speak on her own terms about creating healthy workplaces while providing guidance and steps people can take to avoid an ordeal like hers. She founded Equitas Solutions to help employers respond and train their workforces to address harassment. She speaks to young adults at colleges and universities, women’s groups and conferences of all kinds. Anderson also has begun working with like-minded individuals and ramping up efforts to prompt legislative changes. “This is, societally and culturally, a really hot topic right now, and I feel like I can make a difference by changing hearts and minds and that people will listen, and that’s proven true,” Anderson said. To learn more about Anderson and Equitas Solutions, visit www.kirstenanderson.org.

CLASS NOTES

Have you seen these 1969 graduates?

These alumni who graduated from Northwest in 1969 are considered “lost” because the University does not have a current mailing address for them. Their 50-year class reunion is this fall, and they won’t want to miss out on the fun of reuniting with fellow Bearcats. If you recognize individuals on this list, please provide Northwest with their contact information or ask them to email alumni@ nwmissouri.edu or call 660.562.1248. View a complete listing at www.nwmissouri.edu/alumni/missing Lucille Acker William F. Alexander Barbara M. Barton Carolyn K. Beck Michael L. Beckman Galyn W. Bedwell Paulette Brewer Cheryle J. Case Arceile Combs Constance M. Connell Larry J. Cox Anita G. Crowley Thomas R. Croxwell Ann E. Cruse Donna J. Cushman

Jerry L. Dorsey Rosemarie C. Dreager James R. Duke Donald P. Ehlert Josephine D. Elliott Dave Ellis Barbara Fedderson Harry L. Fields Georgalee George Jerry L. George Nancy M. Ghiz John D. Gibson D. Jean Hamilton Patricia K. Harwood Gary Hendrickson

Nathaniel Drewitz ’14 is an extension educator, specializing in agriculture production systems for the University of Minnesota Extension. Previously, he was a sales agronomist at CHS Inc. in Claremont, Minnesota, and he graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 2017 with a master’s degree in agronomy. He resides in St. Cloud with his wife Katie Winslow. Ben Nuelle ’15 joined the Agri-Pulse editorial team in December in Washington, D.C., where he writes and broadcasts for the company’s subscription-only newsletter and website. He is a recipient of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting’s Doan Award and the Institute on Political Journalism Director’s Award. He also is an accomplished pianist.

Marcia M. Hensleigh Donald L. Honeycutt David W. Horsman Wayne E. Johnson Anna B. Judd Judith L. Kennedy Henry J. Kimmel Richard M. Lesan Fred L. Lewis Hilary M. Lewis Roger D. Lewis Linda J. McCullum Barbara L. McDonald Lon C. Means Stephen R. Mitchell

Diane T. Moody Paul O'Connor James J. O'Rourke Edward K. Peden James D. Peiper Russell D. Perry Linda Peterson Larry G. Phillips Susan Planalp Marilyn Rasmussen Mary B. Reed Michael R. Reis David L. Rhode William J. Roach Janis D. Roberts

Paula C. Runnelles Shirley J. Savage Marlene A. Schaper Robert W. Schuler Darwin F. Snook Mike L. Speece Sherell A. Stephens Linda J. Stevenson Sharon B. Tessman Mark A. Thomas John R. Thompson Linda L. Vanhoff Lawrence J. Waldeier James C. Watson

Sarah Costello ’16, ’18 is employed as a fourth grade teacher for the South Holt R-1 School District in Oregon, Missouri. Kody Rawson ’17 and Carrie Egnatowski Rawson ’18 were married in February 2018 and reside in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Carrie is an assistant manager for Chuck & Don’s Pet Food & Supplies in Forest Lake, Minnesota, and Kody is the Consumables Team lead for Target Corporation.

’10 Lauren Zeliff Lynch and her husband, Galen, became parents to twin boys, Kenton Charles and Wesley Alan, on Sept. 6, 2018. They reside in Maryville where Lauren is a community independent living specialist for MERIL.

WHAT’S NEW WITH YOU? New job? New child? New spouse? New address? Send your latest news to the Northwest Alumni Association at alumni@nwmissouri.edu, use the enclosed envelope or complete the online class notes form at www.nwmissouri.edu/alumni/magazine/classnotes.htm. You may also submit a photograph. Please include a self-addressed envelope for the photo to be returned, or email it, in high resolution, to alumni@nwmissouri.edu.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

IN MEMORIAM

Northwest extends its condolences to the families and friends of these individuals. Donald Anderson ’61, age 80, of Lincoln, Nebraska, died Aug. 5, 2018. He had a successful business career, beginning in finance at Farm Management and then as president of Shriver Construction in Jefferson while serving in the Iowa National Guard. After moving to Grand Island, Nebraska, he was president of Chief Construction and of the Buildings Division of Chief Industries Inc., before retiring as president and chief executive officer of MFS/York/Stormor, a division of Global Industries. He served on numerous boards and received several community awards, including the Nebraska Diplomats Ambassador Plenipotentiary Award in 2002 for exemplary leadership and lifelong dedication to the “quality of life in Nebraska.” John Anderson ’92, age 71, of Bedford, Iowa, died May 23, 2018. He taught, coached and was a driver’s education instructor in the Ogden (Iowa) Community School District and later worked as an elementary counselor in the Bedford Community School District. He had a second career as a truck driver. Steven Anderson ’75, age 65, of Massena, Iowa, died Feb. 18, 2018. Phyllis Cox ’58, age 82, of Excelsior Springs, Missouri, died Aug. 25, 2018. She worked in education and library science in Chillicothe, Missouri, and the Hickman Mills School District. She also was employed part-time as reference librarian at Longview Community College. Donald “Dean” Dearmont ’59, age 85, of Marble Falls, Texas, died Dec. 6, 2017. He served in the U.S. Navy as a radioman on a submarine. He spent his career in the synthetic rubber and carbon black business with Phillips Petroleum and then with NegroMex as worldwide marketing manager.

Patricia Deeter ’64, age 77, of Des Moines, Iowa, died Jan. 10, 2018. She taught fourth and fifth grades and worked with special needs students in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Fort Madison and Newton in Iowa. Shirley Dowden ’57, age 83, of Jefferson City, Missouri, died Aug. 24, 2018. She was a member of the faculty of Immaculate Conception School in Jefferson City, Missouri, for 34 years and previously taught in Kansas City, Missouri; Maryville; and Atlantic, Iowa. After retirement in 2010, she volunteered at Immaculate Conception and was a member of the tutoring staff in Jefferson City Public Schools. William Emerson ’67, age 96, of Columbia, Missouri, died Sept. 28, 2018. He served in World War II and the Korean Conflict and received the Navy Cross, the highest award given by the U.S. Navy. He retired as a Lieutenant Commander in 1969 and became a history teacher at Hickman High School. He served as president of the Columbia Community Teachers Association in 1973-1974 and was director of field services for the Missouri State Teachers Association in 1974-1975. He taught history at Oakland Junior High School until his retirement in 1987. In 2003, the Naval ROTC wardroom at the University of MissouriColumbia was named in his honor. Dr. R. Scott Frey ’73, age 67, of Knoxville, Tennessee, died Dec. 24, 2018. He was a professor of sociology and co-director of the University of Tennessee’s Center for the Study of Social Justice. He completed degrees at Drake University and Colorado State University before beginning his teaching career in 1980 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He also taught at Kansas State University and University of North Florida. He was a writer and researcher, publishing four books and 59 journal articles, book chapters and movie reviews.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

Reva Jo Kerns Gordon ’49, age 90, of Flushing, Michigan, died Aug. 22, 2018. She taught business and English in Malvern, Iowa, and Flushing. She earned a master’s degree in library science and served as librarian for Flushing High School, retiring in 1986. She wrote the novels “Sammy’s Red Shirt” and “The Frowning Bungalow” in addition to numerous published short stories and articles. Deborah Wright Grechus ’94, age 71, of St. Joseph, Missouri, died Oct. 17, 2018. She taught at Northgate Junior High School in Kansas City, Missouri; North Moberly High School in Moberly Missouri; and Bode Middle School in St. Joseph. She retired in 2003 after 33 years of teaching. Jimmy Gillett ’57, age 86, died Sept. 10, 2018. He served in the PLC Marine program and the U.S. Army. He taught at DeKalb (Missouri) High School and then Lafayette High School in St. Joseph, (Missouri), retiring in 1990 after 33 years of teaching. He coached and officiated numerous sports.

IN MEMORIAM

Dixie Hasty, age 91, of Maryville, died Nov. 1, 2018. She worked for Northwest in the business office and Textbook Services. Rev. Alvin Hillman ’67, age 91, of Gallatin, Missouri, died Nov. 28, 2018. He served in ministry for 43 years, pastoring churches in Mount Moriah, Gilman City, High Point, Goshen and Lake Viking. Terry Hiltabidle ’64, age 76, of Traer, Iowa, died Dec. 24, 2018. He was a mathematics teacher and basketball coach at Wayne Community Schools in Corydon, Iowa. He later worked at Shivers in Corydon as a manager and was the purchasing manager at Traer Manufacturing. Basil Hoehn Jr. ’49, age 94, of St. Joseph, Missouri, died Dec. 10, 2018. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army in the European Theatre as a Sgt. Squad Leader and was awarded the Bronze Star for Heroism. He began his career in the St. Joseph School District as a science teacher and assistant coach. He later served as assistant principal at Lafayette High School for more than 20 years and was principal at Bode Middle School for 13 years and at Cathedral Elementary School for six years. He was supervisor of student teachers at Missouri Western State College. Charles Howard ’57, age 88, of St. Joseph, Missouri, died Nov. 4, 2018. He served in the U.S. Air Force and retired as senior vice president of Kansas City Life Insurance Company. Dr. John “Jack” Kelly ’67, age 74, of West Chicago, Illinois, died July 22, 2018. After earning a Ph.D. in chemistry at Oklahoma State University, he worked 40 years for chemical companies in the Chicago area until his retirement. Wayne Kline ’74, ’78, age 72, of Gower, Missouri, died Jan. 4. He served four years in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and was stationed in Annapolis, Maryland, as a trainer for the U.S. Navy Academy athletic teams. He retired from J. C. Penny in Kansas City, Missouri.

Paul Lemon ’73, age 68, of Savannah, Missouri, died Jan. 11. He began his career, teaching and coaching at Savannah High School. He then moved into banking where he spent 25 years and finished his career with Mosaic Life Care. Cameron Leeds ’14, age 26, of Kansas City, Missouri, died Sept. 26. He worked in the parks department for the city of Liberty, Missouri. Jessica O'Rourke Loch ’72, age 67, of Kansas City, Missouri, died Jan. 17. She was active with the Maryville Chapter L of PEO, St. Francis Hospital Auxiliary, Daughters of the American Revolution, Children's Mercy Hospital and numerous philanthropic ventures. Joyce Luke ’90, age 54, of Maryville, died Nov. 11, 2018. She was assistant director of field experiences in Northwest’s School of Education and helped place student teachers. Larry Marrs ’57, age 83, of Greeley, Colorado, died March 3. He taught accounting and computers in schools in St. Joseph, Missouri, for 42 years. Dr. Dwight Maxwell, age 81, of Maryville, died Jan. 11. He taught geology and geography at Northwest from 1970 until his retirement in 2000 and served as department chair during his last four years. His 35-year teaching career also included the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Willa Breckenridge Maxwell ’49, age 91, of Cameron, Missouri, died July 19, 2018. She taught in a country school in Clinton County. Leland May, age 84, of Cassville, Missouri, died July 12, 2018. He was a member of the English faculty at Northwest for 30 years until retiring in 1999. After retirement, he owned and operated the L&L Bookshop Antique Mall in Maryville with his late wife, Linda. Dr. Phillip Messner ’63, age 77, of Prairie Village, Kansas, died Dec. 6, 2018. He began his career as a high school chemistry and biology teacher at Missouri high schools in Graham, Worth County and Trenton, where he also coached junior high football, basketball, and track. Later, he had a 37year career in higher education that included more than 20 years as a faculty member at Northwest, retiring in 2017. Margaret McCrea McConnell ’34, age 102, died Nov. 22, 2018, in St. Joseph, Missouri. She taught at various elementary schools in Kansas and Missouri for 30 years, retiring in 1973. She also volunteered at the Atchison Public Library for 22 years and received the Volunteer of 2003 Award from the Northeast Kansas Library System. Dr. Lawrence Myers ’59, age 86, of Davenport, Florida, died Jan. 8. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in science education. He spent most of his life as an educator in Iowa public schools, retiring in 1993. In retirement, he was an

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

IN MEMORIAM

adjunct professor at Edison Community College in Fort Myers and in Naples, Florida, and he published books about Civil War soldiers from Iowa and World War II Army patches. Doyle Nauman ’81, age 59, of Union, Missouri, died Dec. 1, 2018. He worked for Darling Ingredients for 24 years in international marketing and sales management. Mark Peters ’77, age 62, of Overland Park, Kansas, died Sept. 4, 2017. He worked in marketing and sales in the electronics industry for more than 30 years. Wilbur Powell ’56, age 83, of St. Joseph, Missouri, died Oct. 7, 2018. He was a teacher and coach from 1956 to 1994 at DeKalb High School, where he started the football program and coached boys and girls basketball and track. He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2016 and the DeKalb High School gym is named in his family’s honor. John Redden Jr., 72, of Maryville, died Nov. 12, 2018. He retired in 2014 after 45 years at Northwest as associate director of facilities. He played key roles in the construction and upgrades of several facilities on the Northwest campus as well as the launch of the University’s alternative fuels program. He also volunteered for decades with Maryville’s fire department. Dr. Jon Rickman, age 77, of Maryville, died Feb. 14. He joined the Northwest staff in 1976 and served for 36 years as assistant professor and vice president of information systems. He helped Northwest become the first “electronic campus” at a public university in 1987 and was a co-founder of MOREnet, a computer network serving public schools in Missouri. Gladys Cook Ritterbusch ’39, age 99, of Maryville, died Sept. 30, 2018. She worked for the Strong, Strong & Prokes law firm in Maryville from 1959 until 1990.

Vicki Forret Russell ’70, age 71, of Osceola, Iowa, died Feb. 13. She was a teacher in the Murray, Central Decatur and Osceola school systems. Dr. James Saucerman, age 87, of Gainesville, Florida, died Dec. 17, 2018. He was a professor of English at Northwest from 1962 until retiring in 1997 and served the last 13 years as chair of the English department. His 39 years of teaching also included four years at Scottsbluff High School in Nebraska. Donald Schenkel '56, age 84, died Nov. 17, 2018, in Henderson, Nevada. He was a business owner in Los Angeles before retiring to Lubbock, Texas, and Henderson. Marcia Krumm Steinbach ’60, age 84, died Oct. 27, 2018, in Bullhead City, Arizona. She taught in the Maple Valley (Iowa) Community School District until retiring in 1981 and lived in Mapleton, Iowa. She retired to Arizona with her husband in 1986. Kenneth Stites ’64, ’70, age 76, of Osage Beach, Missouri, died Feb. 13. He was a teacher, coach, and vice principal before retiring with the United States Postal Service. David Stouffer ’63, ’79, age 78, of St. Joseph, Missouri, died Jan. 16. He was a mathematics teacher at Central High School in St. Joseph for 36 years and later taught at Missouri Western State University for 15 years. Warren Stucki, 96, of Savannah, Missouri, died Oct. 26, 2018. He served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War II as a radio operator and assistant tank driver in the European Theater. He retired as broadcast engineer with KXCV radio at Northwest after previous work with American Airlines and KFEQ radio in St. Joseph, Missouri. The Warren Stucki Museum of Broadcasting at Northwest is named in his honor. Rhoda Walker Thompson ’66, age 73, of Maryville, Missouri, died June 29, 2018. Rhoda and her family operated a registered Hereford cattle operation and row crop farm in Truro, Iowa. She spent more than 30 years in education in numerous schools in Missouri and Iowa.

Diane Carroll Roos ’75, age 65, of Polk City, Iowa, died Sept. 29, 2018. She had a decades-long career in elementary-level teaching at schools in Cherokee, Waterloo and Des Moines, Iowa, retiring in 2010.

NORTHWEST ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

LET US KNOW

Barbara Travis, age 69, of St. Joseph, Missouri, died Dec. 20, 2018. She worked as a secretary at Northwest and later at the Clay County Health Department. Herbert Treese, age 89, of Maryville, died July 21, 2018. He was a 1946 graduate of Horace Mann High School at Northwest. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and received a Purple Heart. He retired from Northwest as a stationary engineer with the power plant. Melvin Tyler ’80, ’85, age 62, of St. Joseph, Missouri, died Sept. 15, 2018. Melvin had retired from UMKC as vice chancellor of student affairs and enrollment management after earning numerous professional recognitions that included the Dr. Joseph Seabrooks, Jr. Leadership Award from The African American Student Union, the ACE Award from the Diversity Business Connection Advisory Board of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Northwest Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award. He also was an assistant director of admissions, residential housing director and assistant basketball coach at Missouri Western State University for 11 years. Charlene Steiner Walker ’58, age 82, of Severna Park, Maryland, died July 23, 2018. She was a home economics teacher at the junior high and college levels, and she owned and operated a Shaklee business with her husband for 40 years. Betty Barrett Walkup ’50, age 88, of Omaha, Nebraska, died June 10, 2018. She retired as an accountant. Dorothy Acklin Weston ’72, age 93, of Skidmore, Missouri, died Feb. 15. She worked at Parkdale Manor, Nodaway Nursing Home and St. Francis Hospital in Maryville. Phyllis Murphy Wiederholt ’86, age 83, of St. Joseph, Missouri, died Jan. 9. She worked as a speech pathologist at Heartland Health. Charles Wray ’92, age 64, of Maryville, died Feb. 18. He was employed by HRM Services as a property manager. He had been human resources manager for Laclede Chain for 15 years and previously worked at Pope and Talbot, all in Maryville. Lonnae Young, age 21, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, died Feb. 16. She was a junior psychology major, a resident assistant in Dieterich Hall and a member of Sigma Society.

If you learn of the death of a Northwest graduate, please submit in writing or via news clipping the name of the deceased (and maiden name, if appropriate), year(s) of graduation from Northwest, date of death, age, city of residence and a brief listing of career accomplishments. In addition, submit your relationship to the deceased and your daytime telephone number to the Office of University Advancement, 800 University Dr., Maryville, MO 64468-6001, and fax to 660.562.1990 or email alumni@nwmissouri.edu. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity.

NORTHWEST

POSTCARD With music from the movie “Frozen” providing a prelude from a portable speaker, five Northwest students, including junior political science major Linsey Filger, jumped Feb. 21 into the icy water of Colden Pond as the University’s Up ‘til Dawn chapter sponsored its annual Colden Pond Plunge to raise funding and awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The cold didn’t bother students that evening, but the prolonged winter, with its major snowfalls and bitter temperatures, caused Northwest to close and cancel classes five times between Jan. 22 and Feb. 7.

NORTHWEST THE MAGAZINE FOR NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI AND FRIENDS

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Maryville, MO Permit No. 215

ALUMNI MAGAZINE I SPRING 2019

Northwest Missouri State University Office of University Advancement 800 University Drive Maryville, MO 64468-6001

Stay in touch with us: www.nwmissouri.edu/alumni 660.562.1248 alumni@nwmissouri.edu

YOUR PLACE TO

Connect Northwest alumni and friends â&#x20AC;&#x201C; help Northwest connect with future Bearcats by sharing the contact information of students who would look great in GREEN and want to earn a quality education at an affordable price! Show your pride by sharing with others that Northwest is YOUR PLACE to connect!

Help us grow the Bearcat family Complete the online form at www.nwmissouri.edu/admissions/leads/refer.htm

nwmissouri.edu/admissions