WINTER 2019
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A BREEDING GROUND FOR DOG TRAINING
ONU JOINS TOGETHER TO FIGHT AN EPIDEMIC
AT LONG LAST, THE AMERICAN DREAM
SERVICE ACADEMY
ALLIED IN HEALTH
THE JOURNEY
Simeon D. Fess, BA 1899 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 6th/7th Districts, 1913-23 U.S. Senator, Ohio, 1923-35 Cyrus William Beales, BSPh 1899 U.S. Representative, Pennsylvania - 22nd District, 1915-17
Raymond Clinton Cole, LLB 1900 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 8th District, 1919-25
Robert F. Jones, LLB ’29 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 4th District, 1939-47
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Delbert Latta, LLB ’44, AB ’50 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 5th District, 1959-89
Thomas W. Reed, JD ’06 U.S. Representative, New York – 29th/23rd Districts, 2010-present Edward Oscar McCowen, BS 1908 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 6th District, 1943-49
For more than a century, Ohio Northern University graduates have held national and statewide elected office in impressive numbers, including the members of the U.S. Congress seen here. Today, as we seek to encourage our current students to serve others, to embrace their civic duty and to aspire to be community leaders, we can point with pride to so many excellent role models, past and present. – Dan Dibiasio, ONU president
Arthur Raymond Robinson, LLD ’26 U.S. Senator, Indiana, 1925-35
Homer Alonzo Ramey, LLB 1916 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 9th District, 1915-19
Arthur W. Overmyer, LLB 1903 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 13th District, 1915-19
Ralph D. Cole, LLB 1900 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 8th District, 1905-11
WINTER 2019
Mike DeWine, JD ’72 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 7th District, 1983-91 U.S. Senator, Ohio, 1995-2007
CONTENTS FEATURES
/9 TO-GO, AND GO, AND GO, AND GO… ONU DINING’S NEW SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE TAKES HOLD
Frank T. Bow, LLB 1921 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 16th District, 1951-72
/10 SERVICE ACADEMY HOW ONU BECAME A BREEDING GROUND FOR DOG TRAINING /3
Frank B. Willis, BA 1984 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 8th District, 1911-15 U.S. Senator, Ohio, 1921-28
/15 QUESTIONS ASKED 3
ALUMNI SEARCH FOR HEALTH CARE ANSWERS
/19 ALLIED IN HEALTH ONU JOINS TOGETHER TO FIGHT AN EPIDEMIC
/25 THE JOURNEY HOME ONU SWEETHEARTS EARN THE CHANCE AT THE AMERICAN DREAM
Benjamin F. Welty, BS 1894 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 4th District, 1917-21
COLLEGE NEWS
Kirtland I. Perky, 1888 U.S. Senator, Idaho, 1912-13
Mike Turner, BA ’82 U.S. Representative, Ohio – 3rd/19th Districts, 2003-present
/30 ARTS & SCIENCES NEWS /31 BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION NEWS /32 ENGINEERING NEWS /33 PHARMACY NEWS /34 LAW NEWS
INBOX
"UDDER" LOVE FOR CLARK HALL
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We’d like to thank everyone who shared Clark Hall memories, especially Bob Schutz, BSCE ’72, for this gem.
Our band “Zefron” was playing a very well-attended street dance in front of Clark Hall using the front porch of the Theta Chi House for our band platform, when the Ada police informed us that we would have to end our playing or go acoustic because a farmer a mile east of Ada called to complain that our music was disturbing his cows to the point that they wouldn’t produce milk. It seems that the shape of Clark Hall was bouncing our sound into the heavy clouds that night and the sound was carrying all the way to his farm. It was a true lesson in physics and sound attenuation (and perhaps in the musical tastes of milking cows)!
Standard Bearers A group of ONU alumni returned to Indian Lake, Ohio, for their annual reunion Sept. 26-30. Those in attendance were, front row from left to right: Pam Dunbar Tiffany, BSEd ’70; Terry Holcomb, BA ’69; Jim Mandel; and Terry Webb Kearns, BSEd ’70. Back row: Dick Tiffany, BA ’70; Mike Lhamon; Randy Young, BSBA ’70; Dan Foster, BA ’69; Bill Quayle, BSEd ’69; Dale Kearns, BSEd ’69; and Tom Ross, BSME ’69.
POLAR BEARS IN THE WILD
LACHANCE ENCOUNTER
Last issue, we introduced Polar Bears in the Wild and encouraged readers to send us photos of polar bears in unexpected locales. Thanks for playing, Betty!
ONU alumnus Evan LaChance, BFA ’15, arrived in Fort Collins, Colo., to work on West Side Story not expecting to know anyone working on the show. But after chatting with Kyle Smith, BFA ’05, he realized that he wasn’t the only Polar Bear in the cast. “Turns out that we are very similar people and have had a great time comparing our times in Ada,” says Evan.
O N U M AG A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
Say what? When our inbox overflows, some of it spills onto the pages of ONU Magazine. Send letters, story tips and quirky news bits with an ONU connection to
magazine@onu.edu
“I was reminded of my ONU roots when I saw this by the San Francisco ferry building the other day.” — Betty Schulz, BA ’66
OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
President Daniel A. DiBiasio Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs Maria Cronley Vice President for Financial Affairs William H. Ballard Vice President for Enrollment Management William Eilola Vice President for University Advancement Shannon Spencer Vice President for Student Affairs Adriane Thompson-Bradshaw Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Juliet (Harvey) Hurtig, BSEE ’91 Executive Director of Communications and Marketing Amy Prigge, BSBA ’94 ONU Magazine Editors Josh Alkire Senior Writer and Editor Barbara (Long) Meek, BA ’90 Director of Alumni Relations Sheila Baumgartner Associate Director of Communications and Marketing
Brian Paris Associate Director of Communications and Marketing Art and Design Nancy Burnett Art Director Rebecca Legge, BFA ’17 Graphic and Digital Designer Photography Trevor Jones University Photographer Send Class Notes via email to: alumni@onu.edu POSTMASTER Send address changes to: ONU MAGAZINE 525 S. Main St., Ada, OH 45810-1599 ONU MAGAZINE is published by Ohio Northern University, 525 S. Main St., Ada, Ohio 45810-1599. Phone: 419-772-2000 Fax: 419-772-2932 OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY was founded in 1871 and is a private, co-educational, student-centered institution of higher learning that offers quality, nationally ranked sciences, arts and professional programs in its five colleges: Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, Engineering, Pharmacy and Law.
When Ohio’s election results were counted last November, history repeated itself. Not only did a second Ohio Northern University graduate, Attorney General Mike DeWine, JD ’72, win the governor’s race – replicating what Frank Willis, BA 1894, did more than a century ago – the new governor shares something else in common with his fellow alumnus and former head of state. In a rare but wonderful coincidence, both DeWine and Willis share the distinction of holding three high-level elected offices. In addition to each of them serving as Ohio’s governor, they were also elected to terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. I was so taken by the University having two alumni earn this political feat, I made a request to our new archivist, Matthew Francis, to research how many ONU graduates have served in the U.S. Congress, either the House or Senate, and how many had been elected governor. What he found amazed me. In addition to DeWine and Willis, 16 other ONU alumni have been elected to the U.S. Congress, serving as members of the House or the Senate and representing citizens from five different states. One of those House members, Delbert Latta, LLB ’44, AB ’50, served for the longest time as an Ohio Representative, for 30 years. His son, U.S. Rep. Bob Latta, now serves pretty much the same district and has since 2007 – a district, by the way, that includes Ada, Ohio. Two of the 21 alumni are current U.S. House members. We are proud that Rep. Mike Turner, BA ’82, won re-election in November to his seat in Ohio’s 10th District for a ninth term. Turner’s district is located in southern Ohio and encompasses Montgomery, Greene and parts of Fayette counties. He formerly served as mayor of Dayton, Ohio. The other ONU alumnus who is a current U.S. House member is Rep. Tom Reed, JD ’96, who serves the 23rd District in upstate New York. Reed returned to campus in 2013 to deliver the commencement address at the Pettit College of Law and to receive an honorary doctorate. By the time you read this issue of ONU Magazine, DeWine will have been inaugurated as Ohio’s 70th governor. We are proud that he is an ONU graduate and a distinguished public servant and that his JD from the College of Law was a springboard for life in public service. The University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws in 1995, and both he and his wife, Fran, have been back to campus several times, most recently in 2017 when he delivered the law college’s commencement address. As I focus on the ONU alumni who have served in our nation’s Congress or as the head of our state, it’s still important to remember the many ONU graduates who have responded to the call of civic service – as state representatives, state senators, federal and state judges, state supreme court justices, county prosecutors, and public board members. And that list expands geometrically when alumni who have given or are giving military service to our country are added, service for which the University is deeply grateful. With all best wishes in the new year,
onu.edu
FROM THE PRESIDENT
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Laura Germann Writer
Dear alumni and friends, ONU President Dan DiBiasio at the inaugural gala with (from left) Robert Smith, BSBA '75, Mike DeWine, JD '72, and Frances DeWine.
CAMPUS NEWS HOMECOMING WELCOMES ALUMNI BACK TO CAMPUS October 2018 saw Ohio Northern University’s annual Homecoming event, which, despite the inclement weather, saw many signs of that unique Polar Bear spirit.
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A highlight of the weekend was the traditional Homecoming parade, with former faculty and staff members Alfred Cohoe, Terry Keiser, BSEd ’64, and Paul Logsdon serving as grand marshals. The festivities also included a tailgate lunch, the Homecoming football game against the University of Mount Union, a reunion reception at The Inn at Ohio Northern University, a performance of Mystic India: The World Tour, a Bollywood Dance Spectacular, and a celebration of 30 years of women’s soccer at ONU. The 2018 William L. Robinson Young Alumni Award recipients, Elizabeth (Fomum) Ekole, PharmD ’06, and Brendan Thompson, BSME ’03, were recognized during
ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME WELCOMES NEW INDUCTEES
ceremonies prior to the football game. The three-day weekend also saw activities themed to specific colleges and various campus organizations as well as cultural offerings and informative talks, including “Women’s Rights are Human Rights,” a poster presentation on gender-based inequality, violence and discrimination, in the Elzay Gallery.
A new class of Athletic Hall of Fame inductees was enshrined over Homecoming weekend. The inductees were Karlee (Kanuckel) Badenhop, BSBA ’07, a management major who competed in volleyball; Karen (Lee) Budd, BS ’05, a biology major who competed in tennis; Michael Kluse, BSBA ’00, a management major who competed in basketball; and Matt Tepe, BSBA ’91, a finance and accounting major who competed in football.
O N U M AG A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
To be inducted into the ONU Athletic Hall of Fame, one must have made great contributions to the field of athletics through their athletic performance at the University or meritorious efforts made on behalf of athletics. Athletes must have attended Northern at least 10 years ago and must have earned two letters in one sport or one letter in three or more sports. All nominees must have demonstrated good citizenship both at ONU and beyond and served the athletics program in any capacity that contributed to the overall program.
RESEARCH SHOWS STUDENTS SPENDING MORE TIME IN RENOVATED LIBRARY The 2016 renovation of Heterick Memorial Library’s first floor received rave reviews for its thoughtful design approaches that put student needs first. In particular, the Oscar J. and Judith D. Mifsud Collaborative Learning Center was expressly designed so that students of various academic pursuits could work together, something they had long requested. Now, two years later, Bethany Spieth, instruction and access services librarian, and Dr. Katy Rossiter, assistant professor of geography, wanted to evaluate the success of the renovation. Were students actually using the redesigned spaces? To determine how students were using the new first floor relative to the second and third floors, Spieth and Rossiter began an assessment program in which they counted how many students were in each area of
Bethany Spieth
Dr. Katy Rossiter
the library at four different times each day. They then created maps using Esri’s ArcGIS 10.3 to analyze and visualize the data. Initial results showed that the first floor has, in fact, received the most use of all three floors in the library, both by total number of students and in terms of capacity. Spieth and Rossiter presented their findings at the Academic Library Association of Ohio Annual Conference, where they won third place in the 2018 People’s Choice award category.
NEW ENGINEERING BUILDING GETS A NAME /7
The Lehr Society honors Life Members In October, Ohio Northern held its 44th annual Henry Solomon Lehr Society Banquet. Established in 1974, the Lehr Society is ONU’s premier recognition society for the University’s strongest supporters, who provide the University with an extra measure of flexibility to further enhance the ONU experience. Ohio Northern is most appreciative of the significant support of the following individuals who have contributed $100,000 or more to the University during their lifetimes. The 2017-18 Life Members of the Henry Solomon Lehr Society are: • Greg Allenby, BSME ’78, and Tricia (Ahlers) Allenby, BA ’78 • Amy J. Beaschler, BSBA ’80 • Jason Duff, BSBA ’05 • David Hileman, BSPh ’86, BSBA ’87, and Melinda (Durbin) Hileman, BA ’87 • Candada J. Moore, BA ’78, and Steven W. Mershon • Janice (Pilarczyk) Shorts, BFA ’81, and Lee Shorts • Jonathan Smalley, BSCE ’71, and Cathy (Kirkland) Smalley, BA ’73 • David W. Walker, BSEE ’72, and Barbara T. Walker • Hanley H. Wheeler III, BSPh ’82, and Mary (Murphy) Wheeler, BSPh ’82
In September, Ohio Northern University announced plans to name its new engineering building after Dr. James Lehr Kennedy, the great-grandson of ONU founder Henry Solomon Lehr. The James Lehr Kennedy Engineering Building will be dedicated in fall 2019 and has been funded through a successful capital campaign, including a $10 million irrevocable estate pledge from Kennedy and a U.S. Department of Agriculture construction loan. An open house will be held during Homecoming on Oct. 5, 2019
CAMPUS NEWS
CAMPUS NEWS On Jan. 14, 2019, Ohio Northern alumnus Mike DeWine, JD ’72, was sworn in as the state of Ohio’s 70th governor. During his inaugural address in the Ohio Statehouse rotunda, DeWine committed to serving all Ohioans, and he reinforced his desire to help children by stating that his administration “plans to intervene early in the lives of at-risk kids; to address their physical and emotional needs; and to give them better, higher-quality educational opportunities.” DeWine also spoke about his desire to resolve the opioid crisis in Ohio and to protect and preserve Lake Erie.
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Prior to becoming governor, DeWine served as Ohio’s attorney general from 2011-19. The lifelong public servant also represented Ohio in the U.S. Senate from 1995-2007 and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983-91. He was the lieutenant governor of Ohio from 1991-94 and a state senator from 1981-82.
FRIENDSHIP IS THE IMPETUS FOR NEW STUDY ABROAD SCHOLARSHIP Phyllis Howser Scholp understands the impact that living in another country – even for a short period of time – can have on an entire life. Early in her teaching career, Scholp taught at a U.S. Air Force base in Japan. During that year, she traveled extensively within Japan as well as to Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. It was a life-changing year of experiencing other peoples and cultures. At Ohio Northern University, students are afforded similar lifechanging opportunities through programs offered by the ONU Study
Abroad Office. For some students, the lack of financial assistance for these programs has been a barrier. Now, thanks to Scholp, it doesn’t have to be. Scholp never had the opportunity to study abroad while she was a student. But as someone who knows just how impactful that experience can be, she decided to break down financial barriers and help students follow their dreams – wherever on the Earth they may be. Hence, the Karen Condeni-Phyllis Howser Scholp Study Abroad Scholarship was born.
Karen Condeni, BA ’74, was the first person Scholp met at ONU when she and her daughter Kathy made a college visit in 1992. The now-retired director of admissions for ONU was instrumental in all three of Scholp’s children, Kathleen Ross Scholp, BA ’96; Christopher Scholp, BSME ’97; and Matthew Scholp, BA ’00, attending ONU. “No matter the issue or concern, Karen was very graciously my go-to person for nine years,” says Scholp. Today, Scholp and Condeni remain close friends. When Scholp decided to give back to Ohio Northern for the wonderful education her children received and all the love and joy her family experienced through ONU, she thought of her friend Karen. She’d been her go-to all those years, and now she’d be her go-to namesake for an endowed
O N U M AG A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
scholarship she established at ONU. Because of their shared interest and friendship, Condeni insisted that both of their names be on the scholarship. Condeni is a Polar Bear through and through, first as a student, then as an alumna and administrator, retiring after serving as a vice president. Three of her four children attended the University. She also is a donor to the scholarship. “I was greatly humbled and honored that my friend Phyllis would establish a scholarship in my name,” says Condeni. “This scholarship was established to enhance the international experience of ONU students through studying abroad. Both Phyllis and I support the diversity of such experiences as a foundation to a well-rounded education.”
TO-GO,
AND GO,
AND GO,
AND GO...
A year after McIntosh Dining Hall’s massive renovation, the way Ohio Northern University students and faculty eat on campus continues to change for the better. When we think about healing something as large as an entire planet, it may seem counterintuitive to think small. But the way ONU assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering Lauren Logan sees it, if all of us can start with a small change to our behavior when it comes to limiting our waste footprint, together we can make a massive impact toward sustainability.
The program came on the heels of a successful to-go program that used disposable paper containers to provide convenient, nutritious meals for students. The program was so successful, in fact, that it became one of those be-careful-what-you-wish-for scenarios when considered from a waste point of view. Logan discovered that in the spring 2018 semester alone, ONU’s Dining Services distributed approximately 1,750 disposable containers each week. “While very successful with the students in terms of its accessibility, our to-go program was doing quite a bit of damage from an environmental standpoint, which is really what encouraged us to look at this alternative,” says Noah Ristau, general manager for Sodexo at ONU. Since its introduction, Choose to Reuse has quickly generated significant participation, with an average of 300 containers coming in and going out of the dining hall each day. At the very beginning of the semester, that number was only around 65 per day. Logan has been a faithful participant in the Choose to Reuse program since discovering it her first week on the job at ONU. She keeps her green
“I like that it is something that’s working. Typically, we don’t see programs work right away. So it was kind of interesting, especially to an environmental engineer whose job is to design and build with attention to environmental impact. Some of the most successful things are individuals coming together, changing their behavior for the programs,” she says. Today, we know that a large source of pollution comes from convenience. Logan’s article cites a report from Recycling Advocates that estimates that waste produced by a single person simply getting their morning coffee in a non-reusable cup is 23 pounds annually. Sometimes it’s not only small acts, but small acts on the smallest contributor to global waste that can have a major impact, such as the recent trend to eliminate plastic drinking straws. "Especially now with the straws and such things, a lot of people, once they find out what it’s doing, realize, ‘Wow, all that for a little convenience.’ So most of the time, I think people didn’t realize that it built up like this. Now, they’re willing to change their behavior because they see it,” she says. Logan’s article not only applauds ONU and Sodexo’s sustainability efforts, but also validates the program’s success as something to make an impact beyond just ONU’s campus. “I’ve already been contacted by Ohio Northern students who’ve been anxious to learn more about this program because they have friends and peers who are students at other universities that are also associated with Sodexo and would like to see this program implemented at their school,” says Ristau. “It’s been a great networking opportunity, both external, through friends of students, and also internal, as I reach out to my peers and colleagues to talk about our success and suggest the demand that’s there.”
TO - G O, A N D G O, A N D G O, A N D G O. . .
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This was the bottom line of Logan’s recent scholarly article, “Choose to Reuse Program is a Sustainability Win,” for the Environmental & Water Resources Institute quarterly journal EWRI Currents. In the article, she examines Ohio Northern University and Sodexo’s Choose to Reuse to-go dining program. Launched in fall semester 2018, the program facilitates the use of reusable green meal containers for diners to enjoy meals on-the-go from McIntosh Center’s main dining hall. For a one-time opt-in cost of $5, diners receive a container that they can use, return and exchange for a clean one each time they take a meal to-go.
container in a dedicated spot in her office, where it’s ready to go the next time she decides to take it to-go.
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SERVICE ACADEMY
IN JUST FIVE YEARS, OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY HAS GONE FROM TEST CASE TO HOTBED OF SERVICE-DOG TRAINING.
O
f all the venerable qualities Ohio Northern University possesses, its “family atmosphere” is one that virtually every graduate can attest to. Many students come to a small private school like ONU for precisely that reason – to not just go to school, but to feel part of something. Some discover it once they are here. Still others only realize it after they’ve gone. But there is another kind of student that does more than join the family. There are those who make it stronger.
You see, for the Dunhams, a family atmosphere means more than just being close-knit and having someone there for you when you need them. A family atmosphere needs love and companionship, and it needs those things unconditionally and in abundance. In short, a family needs a dog.
a college student, it was raising a puppy, right? And there were other considerations as well. The most obvious was cost. Dogs are expensive, and as her graduate program ended, the added financial burden of repaying her student loans would begin. And the second was whether or not she and her husband Nicholas Waggamon, PharmD, ’11, at such a busy time in their lives, really had the time a puppy would require.
As they spent more and more time with Bern and Bren, the girls found themselves captivated by the dogs’ sense of purpose and their capacity to serve. These formative experiences would stick with both Jaki and Jessica when it was time for them to have animals of their own.
As luck would have it, a solution existed just 20 minutes away. The nonprofit organization 4 Paws for Ability operated a service dog training program in Xenia, Ohio, that was always looking for responsible individuals to raise the puppies that eventually go on to become trained to serve humans with disabilities. Not only did 4 Paws for Ability take care of all of the costs associated with owning a puppy, the network of foster families meant there was always someone who could take care of the puppy if they had to travel. On paper, it sounded like an ideal situation for a dog-lover like Jaki who was just getting started with life in the “real world.”
In February 2013, Jaki was finishing her master’s degree in public history/ museum studies when she started thinking about getting a dog. She had gone without a dog in her life due to being in school. If there was one thing that didn’t mix with being
“It was super selfish, and I won’t even pretend like it wasn’t. I started with ‘4 Paws’ because I love dogs and I wanted a dog. But I am still with ‘4 Paws’ today because I love the people here and I love the program,” she says.
“What people probably don’t realize is that a working dog is never really off-duty,” says Jessica. “They would be calmer at home, but they were still on high alert. My father wanted us to know what they were capable of.”
S E R V I C E AC A D E M Y
Jaki has raised 13 puppies for 4 Paws for Ability, and she is also the permanent owner of Sam, one of the dogs in the organization’s breeding program. In addition, she works part-time for 4 Paws as their social media manager and digital communications specialist. What began selfishly, as Jaki puts it, is now a true example of selflessness. In spring 2013, after only a few months of puppy-raising, Jaki’s interest in the organization was already growing. She learned that puppy-raising wasn’t just limited to people like her in the community, but that many college campuses had 4 Paws for Ability-affiliated student organizations that train and socialize service dogs in training. At the time, little sister Jessica was finishing up her sophomore year at ONU, so Jaki made a phone call. “When my sister found out that there were these ‘4 Paws’ chapters at schools like the University of Kentucky and Ohio University, she was like, ‘This would be perfect for ONU,’” says Jessica. “And I wanted a dog, so I said, ‘OK, let’s try it.’” What followed was a coordinated effort by Jessica and Jaki to gain approval from ONU to permit Jessica to foster a service-dog-intraining program on campus. Armed with data from 4 Paws for Ability’s various college programs, the pair
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Jessica (Dunham) Brinkman, BA ’15, is very familiar with ONU’s family atmosphere, both figuratively and literally. The Dunhams are a legacy family at ONU. Mother Joyce (Diller) Dunham, BA ’15, and older sisters Jaki (Dunham) Waggamon, BSBA ’10, and Josie Dunham, BFA ’13, preceded Jessica at Northern, blurring the lines between her ONU family and her actual one. Maybe this extra layer of connective tissue is why the youngest and eldest Dunham sisters hatched a plan to make ONU even more like the family they knew.
The Dunham sisters grew up in a dog-friendly household. Their father, an officer with the Lima Police Department’s K-9 unit, brought his work home with him in the form of Bern and Bren, two very large German Shepherds. In addition to tracking suspects or sniffing out drugs, these dogs were the family pets. But a working dog is very different from a typical pet, so Jessica and her sisters would go to training with their father so they could learn the proper commands and became “deputized” handlers within the confines of their home.
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pitched the idea to ONU first lady Chris Burns-DiBiasio, who was not only receptive to the idea, but also intrigued by the service component it would bring to campus. “Jaki was a big help. She had spreadsheets and charts and all this information from the other colleges. We had two binders and we gave one to the first lady so she could look further into it and see if it was something she thought would be good for Northern. I remember her asking us what ONU would need to do as a college to allow students to achieve this goal. Even then, the University was looking for a way to
HONOR ROLL Since its inception in 2014, Polar Paws has graduated the following dogs into the 4 Paws for Ability program, all while giving their handlers an on-campus experience they will never forget. PRE-FALL 2014 Dosido F. Golden Retriever/Lab Handler: Jessica Dunham, BA ’15 FALL 2014 Viking M. Golden Retriever Handler(s): Northern House Residents SPRING 2015 Nikolai M. Golden Retriever Handler(s): Northern House Residents
say 'yes' – not an excuse to say ‘no,’” says Jessica. University approval came with conditions. Jessica had to seek the approval of her dean as well as every single professor she had in the upcoming semester since it was their classes that would be affected by the presence of a dog. When none objected, she and Jaki worked on the next steps, namely getting a puppy for Jessica to raise and train as a service dog in training. Dosido, an 8-month-old golden retriever/lab mix, set foot on campus in September 2013 with Jessica at
Talya F. Golden Retriever Handler(s): Jordan Mikesell/ Northern House Residents FALL 2015 Avias F. Labrador Retriever Handler(s): Matt Stroh, BSCE ’16, and Michael Hackleman Roslin F. Golden Retriever Handler: Katy Avers Ziggy M. Labrador Retriever Handler: Matt Sutton, BSCE ’16 SPRING 2016 Babs F. Golden Lab Handler(s): Allison Ditch and Allison Campbell Chester (previously McCoy) M. Goldendoodle Handler(s): Jacob and Ally Dingess
her lead. It didn’t take long for her to become a bit of a sensation on campus. Professors and students alike couldn’t get enough of her. “I am very introverted, so it was hard for me to get used to dealing with the attention that came with having a dog on campus. Everyone got really excited when 'Dosi' would show up in class. It was a little overwhelming at times, but it was great for her, and I think it was ultimately good for me too,” says Jessica. All that attention is why 4 Paws for Ability has come to rely so heavily on college programs for their service-
D’Angelo M. German Retriever Handler: Jenn Dunbar, BS ’17 Munch M. Goldendoodle Handler(s): Mackenzie Zembower, BA ’17; Sharyn Zembower, BA ’05; Audrey Livingston and Suzanne Short Neville M. Newfoundland Retriever Handler: Katy Avers
dog-in-training program. Today, they have 23 affiliated college programs. A key to a service dog in training’s development is socialization, and college campuses offer a wide variety of events and social situations for the dogs to experience. Additionally, the dogs in college programs are assigned more than one handler, which is beneficial to both the dog and the students because, as Jessica can attest, it can be a lot for one person. “There were times, like during midterms, when it was a little nerveracking. My time management really had to change to accommodate Dosi. I went from being a sophomore who did whatever I wanted to having this tremendous responsibility,” she says. Anyone who has ever had a puppy knows how hard it is. Potty training,
SUMMER 2016 Ducky M. Goldendoodle Handler(s): Jacob and Ally Dingess Reveille aka “Rev” M. Poodle Handler(s): Taylor Fleischman, BSBA ’18; Richie Wallace; Kerrigan Hoover Levee M. Golden Lab Handler(s): Katy Avers
Primrose aka “Prim” F. Collie Handler(s): Matt Sutton, BSCE ’16; Jordan Mikesell, and Ashley Grisnik, BS ’18
FALL 2016 Boo F. Golden Lab Handler(s): Ashley Grisnik, BS ’18; Allison Ditch; Megan Loos
Scarah F. Golden Lab Handler(s): Allison Storch, BS ’17; Caleb Joseph, BSME ’16; Ryan Jackson, BSME ’16; Forrest Reed, BSME ’16; Danielle Johnson
Boulder M. Golden Lab Handler(s): Luke Glischinski, BSN ’18; Jordan Adkins, BSBA ’18; Dan McMullen, BSME ’18; Melissa Griewe; Cheyenne Mader; Sydney Burdin
Boy Gregory aka “Greg” M. Goldendoodle Handler(s): Whitney Rader; Hanna Morelli; Joe Williams, BA ’18 Inspire aka “Spire” M. Golden Lab Handler(s): Bryant Hagemann; Allison Clemens; Charis Kasler; Richie Wallace; Lizzie Patterson, BSBA ’17; Cam Jenkins Jammie F. Goldendoodle Handler(s): Mackenzie Zembower, BA ’17; Lizzie Patterson, BSBA ’17; Bryant Hagemann Lornadoone aka “Lorna” F. Goldendoodle Handler(s): Paula Wells, BSN ’18; Ashley Mast, BS ’18; Rachel Borgman; Ellie Schroeder; Charis Kasler
obedience training, waking up in the middle of the night to let them out – it can be a lot. And it is even greater with a service dog in training. But still, there wasn’t a moment when Jaki didn’t believe her little sister would be up to the task. “My sister is super dedicated. You can have nothing else prepared for yourself when you go into a ‘4 Paws’ program, but you have to be dedicated. It’s not easy work, and she did a great job,” she says.
Eagle M. Golden Lab Handler(s): Katy Avers SPRING 2017 Monk M. Goldendoodle Handler(s): Jacob and Ally Dingess RossCo M. Golden Lab Handler(s): Ashley Grisnik, BS ’18; Allison Ditch; Megan and Rachel Loos; Melissa Griewe; Ellie Schroeder Saber F. Golden Lab Handler(s): Richie Wallace; Lizzie Patterson, BSBA ’17; Cam Jenkins; Allison Ditch; David Chitowski Stripe M. Golden Lab Handler(s): Taylor Fleischman, BSBA ’18; Kerrigan Hoover; Allison Clemens
For the past four years, Dosido, or “Dosi” as she’s known today, has spent her time loyally at the side of 10-year-old Hank Kovach in Chicago. Hank suffers from myoclonic-astatic epilepsy, also known as Doose Syndrome. Children with this rare condition can experience 20 to 1,000 seizures a day, and it can coincide with mild to severe intellectual disabilities. Hank has a severe form of the disease, and as a result, he is nonverbal and needs constant care. When Hank was 5, his parents decided to pursue a service dog to help with his care. His parents, Megan Turner and Gerard Kovach, found 4 Paws for Ability due to their reputation of successfully placing service dogs with children. They applied for the program, and Hank was paired with Dosido, who was trained as a seizure-assistance dog. Unfortunately, Dosido’s training in seizure assistance proved to be ineffective due to the sheer quantity of seizures Hank experiences. There are different types of seizures, and many do not include convulsions. Some are difficult to detect visually. But Dosido could detect them, and what they learned was that Hank was seizing more often than he wasn’t. To Dosido, this state became the new normal. But that is not to say that Dosido does not provide service to Hank. Far from it. Dosido is trained to track Hank’s scent and find him if he wanders off, something that has happened from time to time. Dosido is also trained in tethering, which means she and Hank are physically connected together. It is a means to prevent Hank from wandering and, in the busy urban environment in which he lives, incredibly important for Hank’s well-being. Dosido is also able to disrupt Hank's behavioral outbursts. Since he can’t speak, Hank communicates through behaviors. To an outsider, it might appear like a child throwing a fit. But really, it is Hank trying to express what he’s feeling. A few years ago, Hank’s behaviors were, as
S E R V I C E AC A D E M Y
Megan puts it, “at an all-time high, and only Dosi could bring him down.” “Dosi does so much for Hank. There are things that she was trained to do to help him, but what she brings therapeutically is equally important,” says Megan. “When Hank is lying on the couch and not feeling well, he reaches out for Dosi. He can’t tell us how he feels. He is unable to express, ‘I am sick. I need to go to the hospital.’ So when he reaches out for Dosi and wants kisses from Dosi, I know he’s not feeling well.” Megan has also noticed the dog’s effect on other people. When they are out in public together, she sees how having Dosido with them helps other people understand that Hank has a disability, because he doesn’t physically appear to have one. She sees people become more empathetic and patient when Hank struggles with behaviors when they see Dosido and her red service-dog harness. Dosido’s impact on their family has been equally profound. 4 Paws for Ability talks about the 4 Paws magic to explain how so often things just seem to fit together perfectly. For Megan, that magic is apparent every day. It’s what turned a non-animal person into someone who now loves an animal with all her heart. It’s in the way Dosido shows the same devotion and emotional support to Hank’s older sister Ruby when Ruby is coping with her little brother being back in the hospital for another extended stay. It’s how Megan can turn to Dosido when Hank wanders away and say, “Go get your boy,” and she knows there is a zero percent chance she’ll fail. “I was not a dog person before we got Dosi. But, oh how I love this dog now,” says Megan. “My son’s diagnosis is considered a catastrophic diagnosis, and the comfort Dosi provides our family as we all deal with the daily struggle isn’t something I think I expected. But, I’m so grateful for it.”
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It can’t be overstated how important the training is at this stage for dogs that hope to go on to become service dogs. Beyond the socialization, the handlers train the dogs in basic commands using strictly positive reinforcement, and their efforts can determine if the dog passes on to advanced training. This is also the
Where is she now?
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stage where a dog may develop a natural proclivity towards one of the service dog disciplines that 4 Paws for Ability trains dogs for, such as autism assistance, diabetic alert, mobility assistance, seizure alert, Alzheimer’s assistance or facilitated guiding. According to Jaki, there are definitive traits that some dog breeds have that make them more suited to certain types of training. For instance, breeds with a demonstrated heightened sense of smell can make for better alert dogs, which need to be able to smell the chemical changes within a human’s body when certain medical situations occur. That’s the science part. But Jaki believes that there is something else as well – a kind of magic that happens when a dog’s skills click with what a child needs.
FALL 2017 Chromia aka “Mia” F. Labrador Retriever Handler(s): Allison Clemens, Charis Kasler, Adam Clemens, Madison Mosier, Elisabeth Schroeder Cosmo M. Newfoundland Retriever Handler(s): Whitney Rader; Jenna Deininger; Joe Williams, BA ’18 Edwena aka “Ena” F. Golden Lab Handler(s): Richie Wallace, Allison Ditch, David Chitkowski, Megan Kerr, Megan Loos Frenzy M. Labrador Retriever Handler(s): Rebecca Olashuk, Cam Jenkins, Alexis Franks, Ellie Schroeder
“The magic is when it all comes together,” she says. “When a child with no friends bonds with a dog and his parents get to watch them take on the world together? When strangers approach their child to ask about the dog instead of staring at him or dismissing him? When they see their child engage for maybe the first time? That’s magic.” Dosido went back to 4 Paws in November, having completed her socialization training at ONU. She was evaluated and deemed an excellent candidate to begin specialized training as a sanctioned seizure-alert dog. When the day came to take her back, Jessica asked her father to drive them both. She wasn’t sure she’d be in any condition to drive back to school after saying goodbye.
Buddy (previously Harpymon aka “Harpy”) M. Goldendoodle Handler(s): Sharyn Zembower, BA ’05; Emily Baker Kip M. Poodle Handler(s): Sydney Burdin, Bailey Logsdon, Arianna Sanchez Allegra F. Golden Retriever Handler(s): Katy Avers Jordy M. Golden Lab Handler(s): Melissa Greiwe, Megan Loos, Ellie Schroeder SPRING 2018 Olivetti aka “Olive” F. Labrador Retriever Handler(s): Melissa Greiwe and Joe Williams, BA ’18
“Giving her back was really hard, and when I think about it too much I still cry,” says Jessica. “She was such a great dog, but I knew she was never mine to keep. She was mine to train so that she could help someone else. It is one of the most rewarding things that I will ever do in my life.” For both Jaki and Jessica, what started as the simple longing for canine companionship blossomed into something far more enduring. Since Dosido, ONU students have fostered 50 dogs on campus through 4 Paws for Ability and ONU Polar Paws. Officially formed as a student organization in 2014 by Lance Rice, BSME ’17; Matt Garrity, BSBA ’16; and Matt Stroh, BSCE ’16, Polar Paws continues to be a prominent student group to this day, and ONU’s family atmosphere is a bit cuddlier as a result.
Saigo M. Papillon Handler(s): Emily Baker, Alexis Franks, Dominic Sara Fowler M. Golden Lab Handler(s): Sydney Burdin, Arianna Sanchez, Bailey Logsdon, Katie Doseck, Miranda Greatorex October aka “Tobi” F. Golden Lab Handler(s): Allison Ditch, Megan Loos, Megan Kerr, Carah Porter, Madi Lendon, Peter Smith Ginsing M. Goldendoodle Handler(s): Becky Olashuk, Ellie Schroeder, Libby Sartschev
It all started with Zeeke Although not affiliated with Polar Paws or 4 Paws for Ability, the first-ever service dog in training to spend time at ONU was actually a golden retriever named Zeeke. J.J. Coate, BS ’08, trained Zeeke for her senior Honors Program project, and he was such a fixture on campus that the University awarded him an honorary degree – a Bachelor of Science in canine companionship – during the May 2008 undergraduate commencement. Zeeke was from Canine Companions for Independence.
SUMMER 2018 Ebenezer aka “Benny” M. Golden Retriever Handler(s): Carah Porter, Jess Stitts, Megan Bell Napa F. Goldendoodle Handler(s): Becky Olashuk, Libby Sartschev Vega F. Goldendoodle Handler(s): Becky Olashuk, Libby Sartschev, Colette Rzeszutko FALL 2018 Monterey aka “Monty” M. Golden Lab Handler(s): Megan Kerr, Allison Ditch, Chandler Holesovesky, Dominic Sara
Elvira F. Golden Lab Handler(s): Carah Porter, Megan Bell, Jessica Stitts Dorada F. German Retriever Handler(s): Megan Loos, Madison Lendon, Peter Smith Tiki F. German Retriever Handler(s): Kate Shepard, Madison Schultz Olvera F. Newfoundland Retriever Handler(s): Chad Masters Scizor M. Golden Lab Handler(s): Katie Doseck, Miranda Greatorex Julida F. Golden Retriever Handler(s): Melissa Greiwe
Asked
The husband and wife team of Charlie Kim, BSBA ’98, and Carla (Bender) Kim, BS ’97, know the stakes when it comes to health care. They, more than most, see the equation clearly from its many sides: research and development, administration, clinical care, economics, human emotion, success, failure, resolve. Healing isn’t an easy profession. It is hard enough to help a single patient battle a disease, let alone work toward improving an entire system that affects millions, if not billions, of people. And then there is the other side – when you find yourself within the system. The Kims know that side too, and it’s why they do what they do. That equation appears differently
when you are inside – when you or someone you love is the patient. Outside, in the lab, research is a process – slow and methodical. When you are inside, it’s a miracle. In a boardroom, the business of health care is strategic – long-term growth over short-term gains. But when you are inside, and you see where profit is affecting your outcome, it’s insufferable. It’s wrong. So what do you do when your position in the world gives you the opportunity to make things better? That question is just one of many that Charlie and Carla have asked throughout their respective careers. And they are good at finding the answers.
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Questions
Is it safe to use
that there is a national registry of automobile ownership. If your car’s brakes are defective, the manufacturer has the means to contact you and get you the information you need. There is no registry for medical devices. But Charlie will tell you that medical device manufacturers should be able to notify its customers if one of its products faces recall. The key is in the barcode. “When you buy a bag of Brussels sprouts at the supermarket and it is scanned at checkout, the barcode information for that specific bag is recorded along with other information, such as store ID info, the time and date and maybe even the name of the person who scanned it. Regardless, the information is recorded, and the means exist to pull it back out if needed, such as during a recall,” he says.
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In the business world, supply chain is crucial to success and, as such, companies dedicate considerable resources to it. Everything is scanned, recorded, stored and tracked electronically, and that information has never been more readily available to consumers. It’s become so ubiquitous that mobile phone manufacturers like Apple have integrated scanning technology into the cameras in their phones. But there are two large, important industries that use barcodes and return nothing when scanned.
Charlie Kim, BSBA ’98, is an entrepreneur and CEO of Soom, a technology company built to do one thing – bring clarity to complexity. Soom is doing the kind of work that no one really sets out to do – the kind of work that is typically handled by governments, not startups. The nascent firm isn’t just wading into the world of big data, it’s trying to wrangle it into doing what it should be doing – improving lives. Through his company, Charlie is trying to spark a global conversation using words that are up to 50 alphanumeric characters long. The words in this case are bar codes, specifically the bar codes imprinted on medical devices used by people all over the world to overcome health challenges. It is a very specific lexicon made up of a highly complex syntax, but it holds tremendous power. Charlie believes it can do for others what nothing could do for him during the worst moments of his life. Soom is going to reassure parents, home health nurses and caregivers that they are always doing the right thing in the treatment of their loved ones. Charlie and Carla’s daughter Isabella was born with a rare airway disorder that required the ongoing use of a medical device called a tracheostomy tube. The device allowed her to breathe. In fact, it was the only thing that allowed her to breathe. As Isabella grew, she needed larger tracheostomy tubes. Over the months and years, the tubes – like many products – underwent design changes. Usually, these changes improved the product. On occasion, they did not and had to be recalled. The idea of a product recall isn’t new, nor is it particularly rare. But the difference between a medical device recall, and say, an automobile recall, is
“Two industries that we have no choice over using are medical devices and pharmaceuticals,” says Charlie. “We are told to use them by someone else, namely our doctor. So, we presume they are safe and use them on the full faith of whatever the system is that created them. However, there are many devices and pharmaceutical items that are out there in circulation that are on recall and are unsafe to use.” For the Kims, the safety of Isabella’s tracheostomy tube was a life-sustaining issue. When her tube began causing her problems, they had no idea what was happening. After considerable time looking into it, they learned that the tube had been redesigned using a different angle and it was causing airway obstruction to patients whose bodies had grown accustomed to the previous design. No deaths were reported, but 12 cases were referred to the Food and Drug Administration, prompting the recall. However, the Kims were not notified, and Isabella continued to use the dangerous device. Not even Isabella’s doctors were notified of the recall. When Charlie asked, they became defensive. They were insistent that it wasn’t their fault. We didn’t give it to you. It came from a distributor. How were we supposed to know you had that? “We weren’t looking to point blame. Once you step back from the tragedy that almost happened, you just want to know how this kind of thing can be prevented,” says Charlie. “It’s our daughter. She’s a child, and she looks to us to take care of her. She can’t do it herself.” How were we supposed to know you had that? That is the question that stuck with Charlie the most. Even though it was rhetorical, he felt it should have an answer. So, he decided to take it at face value. The doctors were asking him, Charlie Kim, how they were supposed to know. He would find out, because, ultimately, he had another question he wanted to answer. One for all the families like his – the parents, caregivers and anyone not formally trained in medicine. And that question was: Is this thing safe to use?
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It took years of research and development to untangle the data that did, in fact, exist for medical devices. They completed the arduous task of figuring out the intellectual property pathway so they could connect disparate databases together in order to deliver all the relevant information related to a device to an app on a mobile phone. Everything from model number, date of manufacture and country of origin, to operating instructions and, yes, recall information would be in the palm of a parent’s hand.
What causes diseases
In the United States, Soom is partnering with the Open FDA project, an initiative within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to “create easy access to public data, to create a new level of openness and accountability, to ensure the privacy and security of public FDA data, and ultimately to educate the public and save lives.” Soom is pioneering the incorporation of private data as well, so that public and private data is available to the end user. Charlie hopes it can serve as a model for health care at every level. “Health care is moving out of the hospital and into the home, so it is imperative that we give confidence and clarity to people who are not primarily trained to take care of a loved one at home. The only way to do that is to give them absolute assurance of information, and for that information to not be tainted with advertising or bias. That’s why an open-source solution is so important,” says Charlie.
“You have to react,” he says. Ultimately, that’s what Soom is aimed at doing. It’s why they are breaking down the silos of public and private data, why they are collaborating with industry leaders and the FDA. They hope to work with Apple so their technology allows someone to just hold their phone up to a medical device to instantaneously know what the device is and whether it is safe to use. In all the years Charlie and his team have been working to answer that all-important question, he has been reluctant to share his company’s genesis. Even though, thankfully, Isabella is fine now, he and Carla have a tough time telling people about what they went through as a family for five years. The truth is, they almost lost Isabella several times. Charlie didn’t name his company. He left that to the company’s dedicated employees and marketing folks. But his imprint is as indelible as it is undeniable, and that is why, even though his company was not named by him, it is named for him. Just as it is named for Carla and Isabella and her big sister Madeline. It is named for what started them down this path, how they got through the hard times and the relief they felt when things finally turned around. You see, soom, in Korean, means breathe.
There is a bit of folly in thinking that there will ever be a cure for cancer. Cancer, after all, is not one disease, but many – more than 100. Carla’s work focuses on the lungs, but it does not focus on lung cancer, singular. She is advancing our understanding of lung cancers, plural, along with other diseases of the lung through groundbreaking research at the Carla Kim Laboratory in Boston, Mass., where she pioneered the use of stem cell biology approaches for the study of adult lung stem cells and lung cancer. As a young girl growing up in Fremont, Ohio, Carla loved school, and she loved to read. And the lessons didn’t end when the school day ended or when she was dismissed for the summer. Her family provided her with workbooks full of exercises in math and science that she would dutifully complete page-by-page, step-by-step until they were finished. She consumed it all, and the more she learned, the more she wanted to know. She enjoyed all subjects, but biology captivated her interest the most. As she got older, she started thinking about careers in biology. Did such a job exist in which the learning never had to end? “I had no clue that you could have a research lab, that running a lab was even a job people did,” she says. “But I was interested in knowing what careers were out there. I actually wrote a letter to the National Institutes of Health and asked for information on careers in biology. This was pre-internet and you couldn’t just Google that kind of thing. They sent me a pamphlet with all these jobs in biology, and it changed everything.”
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When Charlie speaks about what at-home caregivers need, you can believe him. He and Carla have both made emergency decisions they weren’t formally trained to make. In those situations, there isn’t time to call the manufacturer’s customer service line or look it up online.
Cancer researchers get asked one question more than any other. Have you found a cure yet? Dr. Carla (Bender) Kim, BS ’97, is one of the leading lung cancer researchers in the world. She holds a joint appointment at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, a global nexus of medical research, so she definitely gets asked. She doesn’t mind though. She knows the power in asking questions. She asks them all the time.
Dr. Kim established her lab at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2006 and successfully earned tenure at Harvard Medical School in 2017. In addition to running a high-impact research program, she also serves Ohio Northern on the Board of Trustees, where her profound problem-solving abilities and natural curiosity help guide her alma mater into the future.
So now Carla knew that jobs in biology existed. And true to form, when she learned something, she immediately asked the next question. For the teenager, that question was how?
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Carla enrolled at Ohio Northern to study biology in the mid-1990s, a time when the burgeoning field of genetics was all the rage. Only a few years earlier, the international scientific community set out to map the human genome. Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park turned genetic engineering into entertainment. In Scotland, scientists cloned a sheep named Dolly. Since taking an AP biology course in high school, Carla was fascinated by genetics, specifically the field of gene therapy, which was gaining momentum in medical research. Following her freshman year, Carla went home to Fremont for the summer and got a job at a local grocery store. It was the last job she ever held outside of research. But it was also that summer when she took the next step toward her goal of having a career in genetics. “I had the opportunity to shadow a genetic counselor. At that time, genetic counselors mostly helped people make decisions about the chances of having a child with a genetic disorder. And it was frustrating, because what I saw was that the counselor ultimately couldn’t intervene. They had no effect on the outcome. In fact, they couldn’t really do anything. It was the physician who was ultimately in charge of making the decisions for the patient,” she says. Carla didn’t want to be a physician, but she did want to help people. She was quickly learning at Northern that she really loved doing research, and, under the mentorship of Drs. Linda Young and Rodney Anderson, she built a foundation of knowledge strong enough to support any career. Years later, when her daughter Isabella dealt with severe health challenges of her own, that knowledge-base was there to help her and her husband, Charlie, come closer to being doctors for their own daughter than they ever could have imagined. The following summer, Carla was a full-time research assistant to Anderson using yeast cells and learning how to prepare DNA. Most of what she did that summer didn’t work, but that didn’t daunt her; those rare times that an experiment worked and she could learn more, she loved enough to continue. From there, Carla’s educational journey ramped up to warp speed. She spent the following summer at the University of North Carolina, where she learned how to culture mammalian cells and experimented with
gene sequencing as a summer research fellow. Graduate school followed, and Carla earned her Ph.D. in genetics from the University of Wisconsin in 2002.
By now, Carla had a new interest: stem cells. At Wisconsin, she was using models in mice and cells grown in the lab to study the ways human DNA repairs itself when it is damaged. She discovered that a group of mice had deficiencies in all of their blood, indicating that perhaps something was wrong with their blood stem cells. Adult stem cells (not the embryonic kind) are present throughout the body and are responsible for the formation of certain cells. Researchers believe there might be stem cells for all the organs of the body. Carla quickly realized that, if she could better understand stem cell behavior, then perhaps it could lead to a better understanding of how diseases, specifically cancers that target particular organs, form.
Based on the strength of her doctoral research, she was accepted into a post-doctoral training program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) working in the lab of renowned cancer researcher Dr. Tyler Jacks. There she began concentrating on the lung, the area that remains the focus of her laboratory today. “We study lung cancer, but we also study many other lung diseases using technologies and methods we developed around these cells we think are lung stem cells. Our biggest breakthrough was inventing a way to culture these cells in the lab to form what we call organoids,” Carla says. “Organoids are little structures that we can grow in the lab that mimic the different parts of the lung. We can create tiny versions of windpipe or an airway or even the little alveolar sacs where the gas exchange occurs. And we are applying what we’ve learned to many different lung diseases, including diseases that affect premature infants when their lungs are not formed or cystic fibrosis.” Carla never wanted to be a doctor. Doctors treat patients once a disease takes hold inside them. They focus on what a disease does to a person, not how the disease, itself, works. “What I realized was that I was more interested in learning how to figure out what causes a disease, and what we can do about those causes. I don’t look at what I do as finding a cure for cancer. I look at it as how can we enhance people’s lives and make their lives better if they have cancer or a lung disease like emphysema. And we can do that by better understanding these diseases.” Think of it this way: What if a person has a malignant tumor, and researchers find a way to “turn it off,” to alter it at the cellular level so that it just stops? That person would still have cancer, but she would be living unimpeded by it. And that is the perspective of researchers like Carla Kim. Modern medicine currently has all kinds of ways to treat cancer, but some of them have terrible side effects that negatively impact the quality of life for the patient. Finding treatments that actually improve lives is what is really important. For some things, maybe there won’t be a cure. But what if treatments could be developed that allow patients to live and enjoy life to the fullest? Carla would call that a win.
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ALLIED IN
HEALTH Ohio Northern University has joined the fight against the opioid addiction epidemic that plagues rural America. Armed with knowledge, passion and action, the full force of ONU is poised to make a difference.
137%
Increase in drug-related deaths from 2000 to 2014
137%
Died of a drug overdose in 2017
Increase in drug-related deaths from 2000 to 2014
72,000
Americans
Died of a drug overdose in 2017
Drug Overdose
Drug Overdose
Auto Accidents Suicides Gun Violence
ping statistics prove, it’s that opioid addiction is more than just a problem; it’s an epidemic the magnitude of which the United States has never seen before. It’s not going away on its own, and realistically, an all-out solution is likely far off in the future. Ohio has been called “ground zero” for the opioid epidemic, and many of the most heavily impacted groups have been rural communities – just like those in Hardin County. Virtually no life is untouched by this problem. Everyone agrees that something must be done to stop the madness; the lives and well-being of our families, friends, neighbors and coworkers depend upon it. And so we raised the million-dollar question: What can we do? What can we, Ohio Northern University, do to stop this behemoth problem from devouring our community?
Auto Accidents Suicides Gun Violence
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72,000
Americans
If there’s one thing these jaw-drop-
epidemic, to find ways to contribute. By standing up and declaring its intent to help, ONU mobilized like few times in its history. And while this problem won’t be overcome in a day, all of Ohio Northern is committed to seeing it overcome.
A CALL TO HELP Junior psychology major Paige Goodwin may be a small-town student on a remote, rural campus, but she has learned that it only takes a ripple to start a wave of influence. That’s why, when she had an inkling of how she could help with the opioid issue in her own sphere of influence, she took hold of it in an inspiring and proactive way.
137%
Increase in drug-related deaths from 2000 to 2014
72,000
Americans
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Died of a drug overdose in 2017
Drug Overdose
Auto Accidents Suicides Gun Violence
Ohio has the second-highest overdose death rate in the entire country –
39.1
(U.S. rate is 19.8)
It turns out that ONU is poised to do a lot. And the wonderful part about what has transpired over the past year is the way that the University community has responded. In January 2018, Ohio Northern put together an institutional battle plan. Dean of the Raabe College of Pharmacy Steve Martin successfully submitted an application and proposal, endorsed by ONU President Dan DiBiasio, for a grant offered by the Cardinal Health Foundation through its 2018 Generation Rx Community-Level Response Grant Program. Ohio Northern was chosen as one of only eight recipients of the grant. On May 2, 2018, DiBiasio issued a letter to the entire ONU community announcing the launch of a University-wide initiative to explore solutions to the opioid epidemic in which he stated: “For the past several months, a group of deans, faculty and staff
with interests and expertise related to the epidemic have been meeting to consider ways that Ohio Northern University can help address the challenges of the opioid epidemic in our community, our state and our nation. Based on the work of this Northern Opioid Alliance, Ohio Northern is designating the opioid epidemic as a special topic for study and service in the upcoming 2018-19 academic year.” Unbeknownst to the Northern Opioid Alliance, activity was already occurring on campus. Students and faculty had turned their attention and expertise to the opioid epidemic in their own right. After the University declared its intention to take on this crisis, the combined effort grew as more initiatives across campus came into the fold. The call to action led members of the campus community, some who had never considered that their areas of expertise might have a role in combating a drug
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Goodwin grew up worlds removed from the escalating drug problem in a sheltered, rural community in Ashland, Ohio. For most of her adolescent years, the thought never occurred to her that people her age could get caught in drug addiction. In her mind, it was a problem isolated to the outcasts of society. Certainly, nothing like that could ever happen in her own community, to someone from a “good family” or to someone her own age. But that wasn’t the truth. When she was in high school, a boy from her area died from a drug overdose. He was from a prominent family and went to the same church that many of her friends did. It didn’t make sense to her. “I lived in a very tiny world. From that point on, I just kind of decided to open my world a little bit at a time, and then it became very apparent to me that it was a much bigger issue,” she says. The memory of this incident came back to her a handful of years later when she was working as public affairs
director for WONB, ONU’s on-campus radio station. She was having a casual conversation with her boss, station director Nicole Tebbe, about what she was going to put together for “community clips,” short 15-minute radio segments about happenings in the ONU and Ada community. One of them tossed around the idea of interviewing Hardin County Sheriff Keith Everhart about a new program the county had implemented called drug recovery court, an effort to treat and rehabilitate drug addicts instead of just incarcerating them.
thing she found – eye-opening statistics, innovative new treatments, correlating issues – ignited a passion within her that couldn’t be quenched.
That one little idea was all it took to set off an unexpected chain of events.
“There’s so much to be researched. There’s still so much we don’t know. I’m fascinated by the research that’s being done right now,” she says. “There’s so many aspects to it. You can look at the cause of it from so many different perspectives, just as you can look at the treatment of it from so many different perspectives.”
“I wanted to use my platform to talk about things that mattered,” Goodwin says. “If I could just educate one person and spark a fire in them so that they could turn that into doing something to help, that was pretty much my whole goal. I wanted to learn as well. The epidemic is something that I’m really passionate about, but I didn’t feel that I knew a lot about it.”
aware? That one little idea turned into something much bigger – a comprehensive radio series looking at the opioid crisis from multiple perspectives. She interviewed not only Everhart, but six others – Dr. Keith Durkin, ONU professor of sociology; Dr. Kelly Hall, ONU chemistry lab instructor; Dr. Harold Schueler, ONU assistant professor of forensic biology; Dr. Tristin Kilgallon, ONU assistant professor of criminal justice; and Diana Carroll-Aghdam and Arin Tracy, representatives of the Kenton-Hardin County Health Department. To prepare for the interviews, she inundated herself in research. Every-
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The series aired from Feb. 24-March 31, 2018, on WONB, a radio station with a potential reach of more than 325,000 people in parts of 13 different counties. The series was also posted to the station’s website and Facebook page, where listeners could also live stream it. It’s been submitted to a competition for the Society for Collegiate Journalists, and the Ohio Department of Health even published it. If anything showed Goodwin the good that can come from simple education and awareness, it was her first interview with Everhart. After many years as a law enforcement officer, Everhart had a change of heart regarding addicts. For most of his career he viewed drug users as “bad apples” that needed to be behind bars. His job was to put them there. But then the Hardin County Drug Recovery Court program started, and though he was skeptical at first, he started becoming more
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When it comes to solving problems, Goodwin’s ONU education taught her that one of the most valuable weapons to arm yourself with is knowledge. The opioid epidemic is no different. She thought about how she’d been in the dark all those years before. What if she could help educate those around her? She was already in a position with WONB to reach an audience of her peers and community. What if the message she could send was that anyone can be a part of the solution just by being
With each interview, she uncovered more and more that she didn’t know. She intentionally let her guests steer the conversation, referencing their own personal experiences and specialized expertise on the crisis. She had a list of questions to fall back on, but she found herself increasingly captivated by the knowledge her interviewees had to offer.
involved, directly interacting with the participants of the program. His thinking started to shift.
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“When I started talking to these people, I didn’t look at them as just another suspect,” he says. “Most of them are good people. The majority of them – they’ve just made horrible decisions. A lot of different reasons for those horrible decisions, but they’re not bad people. You’ve got to give them a chance.” That's precisely what Everhart did. He hired one of the graduates of the program to be a dispatcher at the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office. He took in another active participant to work maintenance. One of the program’s basic principles is to place recovering addicts in a safe environment with safe people, and the way he figures it, “What’s safer than a sheriff’s office?” Everhart’s open to hiring more graduates of the program, if the opportunity presents itself, and he’s vowed this about the opioid epidemic: “No one’s going to be able to say, ‘Well, Hardin County didn’t try.’ As long as I’m sheriff, we’re going to try.” Goodwin hopes that stories like this can encourage her listeners to believe in solving a problem that seems unsolvable. “Even though I’m 20 years old, I’m a junior in college, I don’t feel that I can make a huge difference, but that’s not the case at all,” she says. “That’s what I wanted mostly for people to get out of it, that everybody can make a difference because anybody putting in a little bit of effort to fight this, just educating yourself, that’s going to be the most impactful thing.” Goodwin embarked on the project because she saw a need and she wanted to help. She just wanted to do something, to help in the
only way she knew how. What she didn’t realize was that as much as the project needed her, she needed the project, too. Entering ONU, Goodwin was a biology major with her sights set on medical school. She’d wanted to be a doctor for as long as she could remember. She faithfully treaded the path of a future physician, taking the required courses, attending lectures and labs, day after day. She was doing everything the “right way,” but inside, it felt anything but right to her. “I was going down this path where I was unsure,” she says. “I’d wanted to be a doctor for so long, and I was doing fine in my classes, but I didn’t love what I was learning about.” She’d lost her passion. Then, the radio series happened. She found her passion again; except, it wasn’t what she’d expected. She was especially captivated by probing the connections between adolescence and substance abuse, which she found in the field of developmental psychology. It was at this point that she evaluated the path she was on. Was becoming a doctor really what she wanted, or was she just going through the motions? Almost immediately after the radio series aired, she finally knew the answer. She went with her heart and changed her major to psychology with a concentration in behavioral neuroscience. After she graduates from ONU, she plans to attend graduate school, where she wants to research substance abuse and how it affects brain development. She still enjoys some things about biology, and she will even graduate with a biology minor, but since she’s made the switch, the visible shift in her demeanor and general outlook
on life has done a 180-degree turn. She’s the happiest she’s been in a long time. And she knows where the credit is due. “It was totally fate or God or whatever miracles you believe in; that’s definitely what happened to me,” she says. “I don’t know if I would’ve ever switched my major if I hadn’t done the series and realized that I was so passionate about finding a treatment, getting a grasp on this crisis and the substance abuse. It was totally the way it was supposed to happen.” Looking back, Goodwin can pinpoint the tipping point – that pivotal moment that left her hungry to learn more. During her interview with sociology professor Keith Durkin, he mentioned a study he’s working on examining juvenile prescription opioid abusers in the Hardin County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division. He shared with her his most eye-opening finding so far – 100 percent of the subjects in his sample have some sort of mental health problem, such as ADHD, general anxiety disorder or depression. The logical conclusion to draw, Durkin says, is that children, even as young as 10-12 years old, are turning to whatever sources they can find – their parents’ or grandparents’ medicine cabinets – trying to numb the pain of an underlying issue they neither understand nor know how to deal with. “I realized these kids didn’t try drugs for the first time and they’re not consistently using drugs to feel better to get high as you think of most drug addicts – they were doing it to self-medicate,” Goodwin says. “That stuck with me a lot, just because we live in a society where there’s still a lot of stigma around mental illness.”
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For Goodwin, this data was a turning point that put her on the path of a future career dedicated to helping solve the opioid crisis. For Durkin, it’s one piece of the puzzle in his quest to uncover answers to the crisis through data analytics.
MORE THAN DATA Durkin never imagined himself as a heroin addiction researcher, and the fact of the matter is, in the history of modern sociology, nobody else did either. Now, his entire office is stacked with boxes upon boxes of research and data on the modern opioid epidemic. It’s his life now – sifting through hundreds of pages of surveys, studies, articles, statistics and charts. He plugs it all into stateof-the-art data analytics tools to pinpoint larger trends, causes and correlations. Studying the ravaging effects of opioids in 21st-century America is almost a science unto itself. “When I went to grad school, heroin was isolated to homeless people, musicians and hipsters in the city,” he says. “You didn’t study it.” In 2016, Durkin began to do just that. Not only had heroin addiction reached societal levels, it got increasingly worse. Since he started looking at the data, opioid overdose has become the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, surpassing fatalities caused by vehicle accidents and guns. In 2017 alone, 72,000 Americans died of accidental overdose, the majority of which were due to opioids – that’s more than the 58,000 Americans killed during the entire Vietnam War. In addition, the state of Ohio now has the secondhighest overdose death rate in the entire country, outmatched only by West Virginia. Durkin calls it “the worst crisis in public health since the Spanish flu.”
Durkin’s educational foundation is in criminal and deviant behavior, namely substance abuse. Since the early ’90s, he’s been studying alcoholism and other types of addictions, but when the heroin epidemic began to rear its ugly head, he knew it was an instant game-changer. “I’ve spent 20-plus years as a researcher in substance abuse, and this was different,” he says. “This drug is different. There is something definitely dangerous and deadly in how it qualitatively changes people. This interacts with the body chemistry in a way no other drug does.”
up with are dead of overdoses, and it’s always the same obituary – ‘died suddenly at home.’ We don’t think of how an entire community and an entire generation is just ruined by this stuff.”
It’s come to the point where virtually nobody is untouched by this crisis, even on the small, remote campus of Ohio Northern University or rural Hardin County. The two main studies Durkin is working on right now focus on Hardin County, specifically adult addicts in the Family Drug Court and juvenile opioid abusers in the Hardin County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division. He analyzes data from surveys the offenders are required to fill out. As he pores through the data day in and day out, he has come to view these numbers differently than he used to.
If the research and data has shown him anything, it’s that the only way to approach the scourge of opioid addiction across America is by all means necessary. In his June 17, 2017, column for The Lima News, Durkin called for “experts in criminology, sociology, medicine and psychology, as well as practitioners in the field” to work together toward a solution.
“That’s not a data point; that’s someone’s kid,” he says. “These are human beings. I live around them. I coach their kids. Several people that I grew
For new and expanding industries, northwestern Ohio is a land of opportunity. There’s plenty of space and plenty of earning
THE ECONOMICS OF ADDICTION
potential for companies to stake their claim and put down some new roots. “Our region is growing in importance in terms of its geographic location relative to the population in the United States,” says Dr. Jimmy Wilson, ONU assistant professor of management and geography. “This is why so many industries are interested in our region for distribution centers, warehouses and manufacturing facilities. This is also why our state and federal governments are willing to invest millions of dollars toward improving the transportation infrastructure.” But there’s one thing that’s not plentiful here – a workforce. The sad fact is that for many employers in our region and across Ohio, the biggest challenge faced in recruiting and retaining workers for skilled labor positions rests in one simple requirement: passing a drug test.
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The annual economic toll
including health care, enforcement and loss of productivity
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And while the heroin is bad enough; he knows there is something even more sinister on the horizon creeping into the heroin supply – fentanyl, a drug 30 to 50 times more potent than heroin. It’s so strong and so pure that even just a few grains of it can kill you. It’s the reason that Durkin’s figures show that the rate of drug abuse is going down and the rate of overdose death is going up – it’s not just lowering people’s quality of life; it’s instantly killing those who step into its path.
Jon Cross, president and CEO of the Hardin County Chamber and Business Alliance; Jeff Sprague, president and CEO of Allen County-Allen Economic Development Group; and Dan Sheaffer, project specialist with Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development, discuss how the local drug crisis has challenged businesses and industries to recruit and retain qualified workers.
ONU decided to make Dreamland the 2018 summer common reading for all incoming Polar Bears.
“Opioid addiction is a medical, legal, psychological, social and spiritual problem,” Durkin says. “We need a multifaceted approach to a multifaceted challenge.”
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Believe it or not, dozens of wellpaying skilled labor jobs go unfilled today because so many in our workforce fall short of this expectation. This discussion point was the springboard for the Dicke College of Business Administration’s “Opioids and the Effects on Labor Panel” on Oct. 25 in the Dicke Forum. Organized by Wilson and sponsored by the Northern Opioid Alliance, the public event shed light on the challenges faced by local employers and economic development professionals and the ways they are combating this often-overlooked consequence of opioid addiction. “Passing a drug test might sound very basic and simple because there’s a lot of responsible people here in this room,” said panelist Jon Cross, president and CEO of the Hardin County Chamber and Business Alliance, “but out there in the workforce, there are those challenges, trying to find those who have good skills, who want to work and who are clean.” The panelists explained how they are taking a collaborative approach to this issue by training employers and employees in various industries
to recognize the warning signs of addiction. Teaching soft skills and providing mentorship to K-12 students is important to preventing drug use before it starts. And businesses need to work with hospitals and mental health services providers to provide support that goes hand-in-hand with drug and alcohol testing. The event raised the opinion that it’s not just those with scientific skill sets whose help is needed; it’s everyone. “This solution doesn’t rest in one particular area,” said panelist Jeff Sprague, president and CEO of the Allen County-Allen Economic Development Group. “You can put blame on one particular group, but that really doesn’t solve the problem. So how can we come together as a community to answer this call?”
EXPERT GUIDANCE While not completely unaware of the opioid epidemic, many fall 2018 incoming students didn’t know enough about the issue, its origins or, most importantly, how they can be part of the solution. That’s why
Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic, authored by California-based journalist and former Los Angeles Times reporter Sam Quinones, chronicles the story of how the opioid epidemic came to infiltrate rural, small-town America, particularly through the heartbreaking lens of Portsmouth, Ohio. It provided first-year students a window into the epidemic many of them had never encountered before, and it started to get them thinking: What can I do to help? That discussion point was expanded when Quinones himself came to campus on Oct. 18. While here, he spoke personally to classes and delivered a public lecture in the Freed Center for the Performing Arts. His message in both settings was clear: You can make a difference. “If you want to be a part of change, finding those local groups who are trying to help, working, adding your expertise, adding your energy to it is absolutely essential,” he says. “You will be breaking down those horribly debilitating silos that have crippled America for so long, break through those partisan differences that 24-hour news tells us is so important, and come to a place where you are working with your fellow Americans, regardless of what they believe politically, to achieve something far deeper than you ever thought possible.” His message really resounded with freshman marketing major Kali Heaston. Prior to reading Dreamland and listening to Quinones speak, she didn’t know very much about the epidemic other than that it was a growing problem. Quinones’ account of the different factors
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that contributed to the epidemic, including pharmaceuticals, advertising and politics, surprised her. What struck her the most, however, was his portrayal of the widespread, tumultuous pain the issue has caused. The experience empowered her. She looked at her own expertise in business and assessed how she could make an impact there. “As a business student, we are encouraged to look at practical solutions that, while they may seem odd sometimes, are still effective,” she says. “When we wrote a paper for TREX (Transition Experience courses) based on Dreamland, we were asked to focus on the effect of opioids on the workplace. We focused on positive things employers can do, such as offering safe drug-disposal days, training employees and managers on signs of addiction to watch out for, and encouraging a sense of community among employees.” The opioid crisis is forcing society to put everything on the table in search of a solution. Just a few years ago, the idea that a business would do anything other than fire a drug user on the spot was unthinkable. But as this generation of business students learns the trade amidst this crisis, odd, yet effective, solutions are what’s needed.
THE
JOURNEY
HOME
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U.S. Army veteran Daus Hempker and his fiancé, Jessie Alianiello, BS ’18, woke from a physical and emotional nightmare to the chance to live the American dream.
THE JOURNEY HOME
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Jessie, second from the left, and Daus, second from the right, pose with the ONU Model United Nations chapter for a team photo.
In September 2010, Daus Hempker was on patrol in southern Afghanistan when he stepped on a pressure-plate IED (improvised explosive device). Daus was six feet away from the IED when it finally detonated. He was momentarily knocked unconscious and awoke to the sounds of screams. He ran to administer aid to a nearby soldier and realized that he’d taken shrapnel all throughout his abdomen. He would later learn he’d suffered a severe head injury as well. He and the fellow wounded were picked up by a Black Hawk helicopter and flown to Kandahar for triage. In 2012, Daus had shrapnel inside his body that still needed to be removed. It was a massive undertaking. Surgeons made an incision from his sternum to his navel and essentially removed all of his vital organs in order to reach the affected area and subsequently put him back together. Unfortunately, the surgery wasn’t completely successful and resulted in subsequent surgery to remove a remaining piece of shrapnel lodged next to his aorta. Even with all physical traces of the IED gone from his body, the debilitating pain remained. “The pain was excruciating; I have never experienced anything like it,” he says. “I would have smooth muscle spasms throughout my digestive system when I ate, slept too long or had bowel movements. It was absolute torture.” His life had been spared, but he felt anything but healed.
Daus returned home to Ada, Ohio, and coped with his new reality the best he could. He enrolled at ONU, majoring in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE). In 2015, he was paired with Jessie Alianiello, BS ’18, to complete a project for ONU’s Model United Nations team. It would go on to become a national award-winner, and they would become inseparable. “We’re really best friends,” she says. “I mean, we do everything together. We truly enjoy being around each other, and when we met at ONU, we had started spending pretty much all of our free time together. We have a lot of the same interests. We’re both very relaxed people, but we have very similar goals and mindsets.” Daus seamlessly chimes in, “It just works.” It started out just like any iconic romance, but in real life nothing worth having is ever easy. Inside, Daus bore deep, invisible wounds, physically and mentally. During his more than six years of service in Iraq and Afghanistan, he earned the Combat Infantryman Badge and a Purple Heart. His time in the U.S. Army was a great source of pride, but it was also the reason for his physical pain. As a result, he hid much of his life before ONU from almost everybody. “I never let anyone know that I had these severe issues going on, and I would immediately leave the scene if I began to feel the slightest bit of pain,” he says about his time at ONU. “It was just destroying my life. I just
O N U M AG A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
couldn’t continue on, mentally, physically, spiritually, any of that. As much as I wanted to go to school and get it done, I couldn’t.”
that,” she says. “For me, it was kind of hard at first to wrap my head around the fact that I wasn’t going to graduate in four years.”
Jessie realized the severity of Daus’ situation when she noticed that he wasn’t eating or sleeping. When his weight dropped to 115 pounds, she knew she needed to do something drastic to help. She was just one year away from graduating, so it wasn’t an easy decision, but, together, they both decided to drop out of college so that Daus could confront his health issues head-on. They knew the only way they could overcome this hardship was together.
At ONU, she was met with the utmost support and understanding. She was approved to attend ONU as a transient student, taking classes through Columbus State Community College and transferring them over to ONU to count toward her degree requirements. She’d already completed her capstone experience before she’d dropped out, but she hadn’t done the final presentation. Her faculty advisor graciously helped work things out for Jessie so that she only had to physically come to Ada for a few class sessions and to give her final presentation.
There were days when neither of them thought they could make it through. With no way to treat Daus, just the simple act of holding each other’s hands often proved to be the strongest medicine. They also found a significant source of healing in a loyal, four-legged companion named Alala. Daus and Jessie rescued the pit bull from the Franklin County Dog Shelter, and she, like Daus, has scars. In fact, it was because of her scars that nobody else wanted her. She would’ve been euthanized, but Daus and Jessie saw something in her they could not ignore – a kind-hearted soul just aching to be loved.
“It was a very rewarding feeling,” she says. “All the people who doubted that I was going to come back – I did. I did it in spite of everything that we’ve
At the beginning of 2018, Daus underwent surgery to have a pain pump inserted under his skin that runs into his spinal cord and micro-doses him with pain medication every hour. The surgery was successful and provided the pain relief Daus so desperately needed. They had finally found their long-awaited answer.
been through. Long nights of him not
“Comparing myself from then to now is like comparing night and day,” Daus says. “I can eat with little to no problem, I can have bowel movements with no problem, and I can live a normal, healthy, functioning life, which would have never been possible before. Now, it is just a matter of healing emotionally and mentally after all those years of suffering.”
anywhere else.”
feeling well, I still pushed through and
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“He has been through so much,” Jessie says tearfully. “Just struggle after struggle. And seeing him go through the pain that he has and not being able to do anything about it is the worst feeling in the world.”
In May 2018, Jessie finally crossed the finish line. She proudly walked at spring commencement, a bachelor’s degree in biology in hand, and Daus was right there celebrating with her.
got homework done. Graduating from ONU was a very great feeling, and I wouldn’t have wanted to graduate from
After all the struggling, all the sacrifice, all the heartache, things were finally on the upswing. Jessie was so committed to getting Daus well again that she’d given up everything she’d worked so hard for, and she wouldn’t have had it any other way. But after all that she’d sacrificed in the name of unconditional love, she knew she still needed to do something for herself. She needed to finish her degree at Ohio Northern. “I always had these expectations to graduate in four years and get my degree, the very standard path. I never once in my life thought that I would deviate from
THE JOURNEY HOME
Jessie and Daus pause for a special moment on campus during Jessie's graduation day at ONU.
Along with the home, they would also receive monthly financial advising sessions for a period of three years to teach them things like budgeting, tracking spending, building credit, paying down debt, building up savings and home maintenance skills – all to ensure they were financially secure on their own going forward. After risking his life for his country and the seven-plus years of debilitating pain that followed, this good news was like a breath of fresh air for Daus. But there was still something else he needed to do. “I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for Jessie,” he says. “I wouldn’t be who I am. She makes me an overall, just better person, and what she did for me, I could never repay her for that. None of this would’ve happened without her, so she is everything.” Daus knew exactly what to do. He took Jessie out to a dinner at the Refectory Restaurant & Bistro in Columbus, and there, he popped the question he knew he was born to ask her. Of course, she said “yes.”
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But good fortune wasn’t done smiling on them yet. PulteGroup, a home construction company, launched its Built to Honor program in 2013 to provide combatwounded veterans with mortgage-free homes in partnership with the Military Warriors Support Foundation, which provides mentoring support and financial advising services to the home recipients. The new home in Pataskala, Ohio, was to be PulteGroup’s first Built to Honor home in its Cleveland/Columbus market, and the recipients of the home had to be just as special. In Daus and Jessie, the Built to Honor program couldn’t have found more exemplary recipients. “Just by spending time with Daus and Jessie, you see how deserving they are and how he doesn’t consider himself a hero,” says Macey Kessler, corporate communications manager for PulteGroup. “He’s a very humble guy. His story is inspiring – how he pulled himself out of depression, coming back into civilian life. Their love story is incredible. It’s quite an honor to do what we do best, which is build a home to give to such a deserving and wonderful hero for our country.” Daus and Jessie were notified on May 23, 2018, that they were chosen to receive the new home mortgage-free.
With the painful past now securely behind them, Daus and Jessie now press on with their sights set on a bright future. When you walk into their home, it doesn’t take you long to notice that it's a dwelling abundant with love, honor and thankfulness. And while the house is a wonderful start, they’ve always known that it isn’t the physical structure that makes a home – it’s the love inside. Daus and Jessie will marry on Aug. 31, 2019, and they look forward to starting a family soon. Daus is planning a return to ONU in the near future to finish his degree and, hopefully, help others like him at ONU. “I think that civilians have a hard time understanding the complexity of veterans’ illnesses, both physical and mental, and how debilitating it can actually be for them,” he says. “While I was at ONU, they didn’t have a veteran chair on the student board. Once I return, I would like to spearhead the creation of such a position.” In the meantime, he is chipping away at his last three semesters as an ONU transient student, taking classes at Columbus State before he returns to ONU to finish up his last few classes. He hopes to attend law school someday. When he thinks about his life since that day on the road in Afghanistan, he is reminded of the Bible and the story of Job. Inscribed on one of the beams in their new home are the words:
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“And in the end the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before, for all the adversity he had overcome. The Lord blessed him more in his later days than in the beginning, and he lived a long and prosperous life.” While their house did come fully furnished (a special surprise for them when they first received their keys), there is still one nook waiting for its finishing touch – a study area where they will hang both of their ONU diplomas along with that Model UN project that made history. It’s “the culmination of everything,” as Daus puts it – a perfect representation of their partnership – then, now and all their days to come.
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THE JOURNEY HOME
ARTS & SCIENCES
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AWARD-WINNING
WONB’s “The Pep Talk” radio program took second place in the Best Sportscast Audio category of the College Broadcasters Inc. 2018 National Student Production Awards. The nominated episode aired Nov. 17, 2017, and included an interview conducted with Jay Battle, a Baldwin Wallace University basketball player who knelt during the national anthem during the 2017-18 season, by producer and host Grant Pepper, BA ’18. This same episode was also awarded first place in the Radio Sports Package category of the 2018 Society for Collegiate Journalists annual contest last spring. Winners of the 2018 National Student Production Awards were announced at the National Student Electronic Media Convention on Oct. 26, 2018, in Seattle, Wash.
NOC President Alexis Burden and Secretary Hannah Stemen attended a suicide prevention conference in Columbus, Ohio.
NURSING STUDENTS ATTEND SUICIDE PREVENTION CONFERENCE The ONU National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) on Campus (NOC) is a recent campus initiative spearheaded by nursing students in 2017. This much-needed organization seeks to dispel the stigma of mental illness while serving as a peer-to-peer support resource within the campus community. Recently,
“The annual suicide prevention conference was an eye-opening experience that allowed us, as students, to not only gain ways to help from the peer viewpoint, but also learn what to expect from the faculty and staff as well,” recalls Burden. “We were able to hear from several speakers about the statistical rates for anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, as well as suicide rates for the population of college students in the United States. This put into perspective the impact college has on these thoughts and how there are resources on every campus, but many people do not think they need help or they do not have enough resources to meet their needs.”
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A&S STUDENT RECEIVES STUDY ABROAD SCHOLARSHIP Olivia “Via” D’Agostino, a senior from Howard, Ohio, has been awarded the Marie McKay Global Citizen Scholarship from Athena Study Abroad. D’Agostino has been studying in Cusco, Peru, where she hopes to improve her fluency, learn more of the Peruvian culture and learn to more effectively communicate. D’Agostino is an Honors Program participant pursuing majors in both creative writing and Spanish, as well as minors in psychology and literature.
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
DICKES BRING EXECUTIVE WEEK TO A SUCCESSFUL CLOSE great-uncle Allen founded Crown in 1945 as a manufacturer of temperature controls for coal-burning furnaces and then television-antenna rotators. Many other products followed before Crown found its greatest success in the material handling industry in 1960.
In September, James F. Dicke II and his son James F. Dicke III came to campus to discuss the 70-year history of the Dicke family business, Crown Equipment, with an absolutely packed house of ONU students, faculty and staff in the Dicke Forum.
James F. Dicke III took the stage first, delivering what he described as a “corporate overview.” He discussed the current state of the company, giving the specifics of Crown’s extensive global production, sales and service network. He discussed Crown’s 29 product families, ranging from a non-powered pallet mover to the highest-lifting turret truck. The company has 19 manufacturing plants in 11 countries and regional headquarters all over the world. With 15,500 employees worldwide, Crown saw a sales volume of more than $3 billion last year. James F. Dicke II addressed the crowd next. He discussed his family history, talking about how his grandfather Carl and his
VITA TEAM RECOGNIZED FOR VOLUME OF WORK
At one point, a student asked how the company got its name. In response, James F. Dicke II told a story about how his family used to operate a “hobby farm” that raised the Crown breed of mink for its reddish-brown fur, which was very popular in the 1930s. The farm was known as Crown and used invoice forms pre-printed with this name. Not wanting to waste materials, Carl and Allen decided to use the mink farm’s invoice form for their fledgling temperature-control company, thereby naming it Crown, as well – at least temporarily until a better name came up. This never happened, obviously, and James F. Dicke II is still not completely sold on the name. “They thought Crown was not a good name, and it’s not,” he said, to great laughs. The name may not be great, but the company is. And after this presentation from the Crown leadership team, a room of ONU business students has a better understanding why.
ONU’s Beta Alpha Psi Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) team was recognized at the Beta Alpha Psi annual conference in Washington, D.C., from Aug. 9-11. ONU’s Mu Delta chapter was recognized at the annual conference for the most individual tax returns processed per Beta Alpha Psi member in the Midwest region. In 2018, the VITA team prepared 306 tax returns for local residents.
COLLEGE NEWS
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Crown Equipment is a world-class producer of forklift and material handling equipment based in nearby New Bremen, Ohio. The Dickes’ keynote presentation capped off the Dicke College of Business Administration's Executive Week, an annual event during which ONU business students have opportunities to interact with and gain insights from professionals in the field.
A question-and-answer session concluded the event, with the Dickes fielding queries about the stock market, Crown’s role as a corporate citizen, and the tornado that damaged Crown Equipment’s Celina, Ohio, manufacturing plant in November 2017.
ENGINEERING
TAU BETA PI CHAPTER WINS
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BIG
During its national convention, Ohio Northern’s chapter of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, received the R.C. Matthews Outstanding Chapter Award for 2017-18. This award recognizes high-grade work by the chapter in both routine and special affairs. It is based on how well chapter service projects fulfill the objectives of Tau Beta Pi and on the quality and promptness of chapter reports to the headquarters. This is the fourth time in the 45-year history of the ONU chapter that it has won this national award (along with 12 honorable mentions). Also at the convention, ONU’s chapter received the Chapter Project Award (for conducting a superior program of chapter projects/ activities) and the Chapter Excellence Award (for outstanding member engagement, headquarters reporting and chapter operations).
JEC NAMED ‘MOST OUTSTANDING SMALL COUNCIL’
Four members of Ohio Northern’s Joint Engineering Council (JEC) attended the National Association of Engineering Student Councils’ Midwest Regional Conference 2018 at the University of Cincinnati in October. During the event, JEC was named “Most Outstanding Small Council” for the Midwest region. “Overall, I think it was a very rewarding and overall awesome experience to be a part of this conference. I think we all pulled away a lot of really good information that can be extremely helpful in bettering our council and college as a whole,” says JEC President Andrew Scarpino, a senior mechanical engineering major from Canton, Ohio.
BAJA SAE EARNS TOP-10 FINISH The ONU Baja SAE team finished in eighth place out of 107 teams at the 10th annual University of Louisville Midnight Mayhem Competition on Oct. 13 in Bedford, Ky. The team finished 10th in endurance, ninth in barrel climb and 13th in maneuverability. Midnight Mayhem is an exhibition race held under the lights from 8 p.m. to midnight for studentbuilt vehicles conforming to the rules of the Baja SAE.
O N U M AG A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
PHARMACY
PHARMACY COLLEGE CONTINUES IMPACTFUL COLLABORATION WITH VANCREST ONU pharmacy students have discovered that they don’t need to travel far to help others – and learn some things along the way. Under the watchful eye of Kelly Kroustos, associate professor of pharmacy practice, ONU pharmacy students have provided outreach through Vancrest of Ada, a community-based care facility in Northern’s backyard.
“We also help celebrate the holidays with the seniors by purchasing individual gifts for each resident in the long-term care side, singing carols, passing out cookies and celebrating with our seniors,” explains Kroustos. “We serve meals, dance and help the ladies of the facility with hair, nails and jewelry for the Valentine’s Day party. And for St. Patrick’s Day, we dance!”
“The direct patient care to seniors with all backgrounds and health conditions allows our students to grow as future health care professionals and connect in personal ways with the amazing seniors at Vancrest,” Kroustos says. The partnership began shortly after Vancrest’s Ada facility opened in early 2016. ONU pharmacy alumnus Luke Sargent, PharmD ’02, director of clinical services at Pharmacy Solutions (Vancrest’s in-house pharmacy), reached out to Ohio Northern to discuss a clinical partnership. Since that time, ONU students have conducted a variety of activities with the seniors, including interaction through fidget blankets, music therapy, robotic animals, baby dolls and art therapy with the dementia population. “The Raabe College of Pharmacy has been welcomed into the Vancrest of Ada family. I could not have asked for a more amazing group of colleagues and educators for my pharmacy students,” Kroustos says. “They provide outstanding patient care and serve as amazing examples for our future health care professionals.”
AMY FANOUS RECOGNIZED
Amy Fanous, PharmD ’12, received the 2018 Civic Leader Award during the recent Next-Generation Pharmacists ceremony in Boston, Mass. Fanous is director of the ONU HealthWise Mobile Clinic. The Next-Generation Pharmacist Awards is a national program that salutes pharmacy professionals who are defining the industry’s future. Pharmacy Times and Parata Systems are the co-founders of the prestigious awards program, which recognizes pharmacy leaders across a range of practice settings who embody the innovation and inspiration in pharmacy and the future vision of the profession.
COLLEGE NEWS
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Kroustos serves as the consultant pharmacist at Vancrest of Ada for patients residing in its long-term care, rehabilitation and assistedliving facilities. She reviews medications and works with the health care team to provide and meet the seniors’ needs. At Northern, she helps coordinate the pharmacy students’ experiences at Vancrest as a co-advisor of the student chapter of American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP).
Also, in partnership with Union County Health Department and through grant funding, ONU pharmacy students who are part of ASCP provide falls-prevention home-safety education and falls-prevention gift baskets, which contain many highly needed falls-prevention items.
LAW
ONU LAW RANKS AMONG THE TOP SCHOOLS IN OHIO FOR JOB PLACEMENT
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ONU Law alumni who graduated in 2017 rank third among Ohio’s nine law schools for bar passage-required job placement, according to data released by the American Bar Association (ABA). With a placement rate of 71 percent in bar passage-required positions, ONU Law ranks above both the statewide average of 63.9 percent and the national average of 68.7 percent. Altogether, 81 percent of the class of 2017 were employed in bar passage-required or JD-advantage positions within 10 months of graduation.
DEIDRÉ KELLER NAMED ASSISTANT DEAN OF COLLEGE OF LAW Deidré Keller, professor of law, was named assistant dean of the Claude W. Pettit College of Law at the start of the school year. Keller joined the College of Law faculty in August 2010 as an assistant professor. She has taught Property, Law and Literature; Internet Law, Legal ProblemSolving and Analysis, and Intellectual Property. Her teaching interests also include the First Amendment (freedom of speech), copyright and trademark law. Prior to joining the ONU faculty, Keller practiced law in Atlanta, Ga., with the firms of Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan LLP and Seyfarth Shaw LLP.
“ONU Law gave me the skills, education and experience I needed to begin my career as an attorney,” says Katie Plumer, JD ’17. “During my time at ONU, I was introduced to multiple alumni who practice law in the Pittsburgh area. These connections allowed me to find my first job practicing law at a mid-size firm in downtown Pittsburgh. I landed exactly where I set out to be thanks to ONU’s connections and dedicated faculty and staff.”
O N U M AG A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
The ONU Law Career Services Office has been structured to give practical and personalized instruction; individualized counseling; and guidance on preparing application materials, researching opportunities and interviewing. Career Services also hosts outside speakers on a wide range of legal topics, encompassing employment in various-sized law firms, the government sector, the corporate arena and the public-interest field. “The ONU Law faculty helped introduce me to other alumni in the various fields I wanted to go into,” says Michael Gionta, JD ’17. “Ultimately, I ended up partnering with one alumnus who I was introduced to, and now we run a successful sports agency together. I would not be where I am today without ONU Law.” The class of 2017 is the most up-to-date employment data maintained by the college, because the ABA does not collect information until nearly a year after graduation – giving students enough time to take the bar exam.
A
WOW
MOMENT Thanks to Polar Bear Club donors like the Hilemans, ONU’s student-athletes received an eye-opening “wow moment” that showed them just how much donors want them to have the best facilities possible.
The weights, racks and flooring for the new space were provided by a generous gift to the Polar Bear Club by ONU alumni Dave Hileman, BSPh ’86, BSBA ’87, and Melinda (Durbin) Hileman, BA ’87. The Hilemans were instrumental in the overall success of the inaugural year of the Polar Bear Club, with a $100,000 matching gift.
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On Sept. 22, 2018, the re-opening of DialRoberson Stadium’s weight room provided Ohio Northern’s student-athletes with a newly renovated space featuring brand new equipment. This makeover provides a more efficient use of the facility by a greater number of student-athletes in the same space, thus enabling them to improve their ability to perform at a higher level.
In May 2018, two Ohio Northern University exercise physiology students had a similar experience when they stepped inside the University of Oregon’s Hatfield-Dowlin Complex, the home of the university’s football operations center, built in 2013. Corey Briggs and Wil Rankin were about to begin their summer as strength and conditioning coaching interns for the Oregon Ducks football team. The facilities and equipment they were able to work with were state-of-the-art. Rankin, an ONU football player, drew a parallel between Oregon and ONU. He saw how a supportive donor base could enable student-athletes and coaches alike to perform at their full potential. “The players and coaches get to focus on coaching and success instead of budget or gear costs,” he says. “When you can have all of these things, along with a great staff, it can lead to a successful program.”
POLAR BEAR CLUB
The cornfields of Ada, Ohio, may be a long way away from the mountainous terrain of Eugene, Ore., but here at Ohio Northern, it’s the same story. Thanks to the Hilemans, our student-athletes got their “wow moment,” and it’s also thanks to other generous donors that they will get many more to come.
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O N U M AG A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
1960s
Clair Myers, BA ’62, established and programmed the Highland County Arts Council's concert series in Monterey, Va., directed Kindertransport at Messiah College, and wrote and published a historical booklet on Walnut Grove, an 18th-century farm/plantation that was the home of the Stuart Family, including Jeb Stuart of Civil War fame.
1980s James Ross, JD ’81, began his second year of a two-year term as chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association House of Delegates, the association’s policy-making body, at the conclusion of the PBA Annual Meeting on May 11, 2018, in Hershey, Pa. In November 2013, James was elected to a 10-year term as a Beaver County Court of Common Pleas judge.
1970s
1990s
Joanna (Mullins) Pinkerton, BSCE ’98, was appointed president and CEO of the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) in Columbus, Ohio, in April 2018. In September, COTA received the national “Outstanding Public Transportation System Achievement Award” from the American Public Transportation Association. Joanna resides in Circleville, Ohio, with her sons Colton and Grant. Ben Richards, BA ’99, was recently named superintendent of Valley View Local Schools in Germantown, Ohio, where he resides with his wife, Jennifer (Addair) Richards, BA ’03, and their children. 3 Brett Shelton, JD ’99, was promoted to head of International IP for Sky PLC, a British company with 15.2 billion euros in annual revenue, and chair of the board of directors of Sky International AG.
2000s
Michael Cox, PharmD ’00, recently had joint publications in the New England Journal of Medicine and Lancet Oncology based on data generated from global, multi-center trials, which he has led at Loxo Oncology. He is currently the head of pediatric clinical development at Loxo Oncology, a company focused on developing highly selective medicines for pediatric and adult patients with genomically defined cancer. He resides in San Francisco, Calif. Rebecca Brinkman-Clayman, BA ’01, presented a poster session at the national PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) Forum in October 2018. She is involved at the state level in the development and coordination of an early childhood PBIS project that is being implemented statewide. 4 Joshua A. Gray, JD ’01, has been selected as 2018 Pennsylvania Super Lawyer. Joshua is an attorney
C L AS S N OT E S
with Chartwell Law in the firm’s Harrisburg, Pa., office. He and his wife, Valerie Gray, JD ’02, reside in Middletown, Pa. Emily McLaughlin, BS ’01, was promoted to associate dean of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y, supporting the professional development and curricular initiatives of the faculty. She also is an associate professor of chemistry. Donald “Rich” Miller III, BSPh ’01, was appointed to the State Board of Pharmacy for a term beginning July 1, 2018, and ending June 30, 2022. He is currently the healthcare specialty supervisor in Ohio for Walgreens. He resides in Blacklick, Ohio, with his wife, Azure DeGeorge Miller, PharmD ’02, and two children. Jennifer Coventry, BA ’02, married Matthew Waters on April 8, 2017. They reside in Wadsworth, Ohio. Dawn (Nation) Ward, JD ’02, sat for and passed the February 2018 California bar examination, making her licensed to practice law in California, Ohio and Illinois. 5 Jill Tara Worthington Straley, JD ’02, and Neil K. Straley married Aug. 10, 2018. Jill presides over the Van Wert Municipal Court in Van Wert, Ohio. Michelle (Cianciosa) Kelly, JD ’03, and her husband, Justin Kelly, welcomed a son, Logan Muncy Kelly, on Nov. 24, 2017. Angela (Trotto) Snyder, BA ’04, was promoted to informatics analyst at CareSource, where she provides the operations team with insight to make company-wide decisions. She resides in Englewood, Ohio. 6 Josh Suffel, BSME ’05, and Sarah (Buzard) Suffel, PharmD ’09, welcomed a daughter, Avery Christine, on April 30, 2018. She joins big brother Aiden, 3, and the family resides in Avon Lake, Ohio. Paul Yohe, BSBA ’04, was recently promoted to supply chain ERP analyst for Nationwide Children’s Hospital. He resides in Columbus, Ohio.
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Diane Burch, BSBA ’85, was named president of the Kettering Executive Network Board of Directors for 2018. Leonard Beller, BSEE ’71, was awarded Patent US 9866501 B2 in Carol Nolan Drake, JD ’85, is president January for virtual switch enabling and CEO of Carlow Consulting LLC communications between external as of January 2017. The firm handles objects and simulation objects. federal legislative advocacy for clients 1 Karl E. May, BA ’71, of Cleveland, and corporate governance consulting for boards of directors. Ohio, has been named “Lawyer of the Year” in the category of Litigation Olga Joanow, JD ’89, was promoted – Securities in the 2019 edition of to associate vice president of faculty Best Lawyers, the oldest and most relations, USF Health and associate respected peer-reviewed publi- dean for faculty relations at Morsani cation in the legal profession. He College of Medicine at the Univerwas selected as Best Lawyer in two sity of South Florida. She resides in practice areas: litigation – securities Tampa, Fla. and securities regulation. “Lawyer of the Year” recognition is reserved for a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area. Tamara Lynne (Jones) Nicola, JD Charles Marshall Thatcher, JD ’92, was elected unopposed to serve ’75, retired in September 2018 at as a county court judge in Naples, the end of a 43-year career in legal Fla. Tamara will hear misdemeanors, education. A law professor emeritus traffic, small claims and civil cases living in Vermillion, S.D., he is the where the amount in controversy does second-longest serving member not exceed $15,000. She resides in of the faculty in the 114-year history Naples, Fla., with her family. of the University of South Dakota Martin Cosgrove, BM ’93, was named School of Law. director of music at St. Patrick’s Patricia S. Hofstra, JD ’78, has been Catholic Church in Rockville, Md., named to Crain’s Custom Media on July 2, 2018. list of Chicago’s Notable Women Lawyers 2018. She works at Duane Betty (Nill) Jones, BSPh ’93, was Morris LLP. named compliance manager in the Accreditation Division of the National 2 John H. Genovese, JD ’79, Hon. Association of Boards of Pharmacy D. ‘14, has been named to 2018 (NABP). She resides in Mason, Ohio. Florida Super Lawyers, which honors the leading attorneys in the state. Dawn Ackerman, BS ’95, received the A founding partner of Genovese 2017 Legacy Award from the National Joblove & Battista P.A, John was LGBT Chamber of Commerce. She also recognized as “Top 100” in is the CFO of Outsmart Office Miami, Fla. Solutions.
Michelle (Beason) Roush, BA ’96, graduated from Rush University with a Master of Science in physician assistant studies in December 2017. She resides in Naperville, Ill.
CLASS NOTES 13
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Katrina Thompson, BA ’05, JD ’08, of Barnes & Thornburg, was selected to a national list of notable attorneys on July 4, 2018. The Business Journals’ Influencers: Law spotlights 100 executives who are having an impact on business and legal matters in communities across the nation. Heather (Westendorf) Karmansky, PharmD ’06, played an integral role in the FDA approval and launch of first-in-class drug Lutathera (Lu-177 dotatate), a radiopharmaceutical for the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in adult patients. 7 Brooks Fiesinger, BS ’07, and his wife, Jessica Fiesinger, welcomed a daughter, Miura Elise, on April 6, 2018. Miura joins sister Evora, 6, and the family resides in Franklin, Ohio. Kristin Gable, BA ’07, earned a master’s degree in educational administration through the American College of Education in August 2018. 8 Molly (Klingler) Gilbert, BA ’07, and her husband, Kevin Gilbert, BSCE ’10, welcomed their first child
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when they adopted Harper Grace, born Feb. 20, 2018. Emily Shrider, BA ’08, graduated from Ohio State University with a Ph.D. in sociology in December 2017. She is currently a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 9 Mindy (Moser) Barber, BSCE ’09, and her husband, Brad Barber, BSCE ’09, welcomed a son, Henry, on Feb. 5, 2018. The family resides in Cincinnati, Ohio. 10 Erin (Millar) Barber, BA ’09, and her husband, Alan Barber, welcomed a daughter, Kayleigh, on July 24, 2018. The family resides in Powell, Ohio. Jeff Otte, BS ’09, and Dani (Noe) Otte, BS ’09, were married in August 2014. Jeff graduated from Orthopedic Surgery Residency from Mount Carmel Health in Columbus, Ohio, in spring 2018. The two are now moving to Nashville, Tenn., for a one-year pediatric orthopedic surgery fellowship at Vanderbilt University.
Sarah (Buzard) Suffel, PharmD ’09, was promoted to director of pharmacy services for Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohio. She resides in Avon Lake, Ohio, with her husband, Josh Suffel, BSME ’05, and their two children.
Aaron Baker, BS ’11, was recently hired as a tenure-track assistant professor in chemistry at Huntington University in Indiana.
2010s
14 Geoffrey Lawson, JD ’11, married Shirley Liu in New York City in May 2018. Geoffrey started employment with SpaceX in September 2018 and resides in Los Angeles, Calif. He also launched a small e-business, Curio Cubes, that lets him stay connected to Ohio.
11 Kathleen (Baker) Bauer, BS ’10, co-authored The Complete Guide to Continuous GME Accreditation, published by HCPro publishing. She married Ryan Bauer on June 2, 2017, in Parma Heights, Ohio. 12 Tim Crum, PharmD ’10 and Christina (Webb) Crum, BS ’09, welcomed a daughter, Madison, on Nov. 15, 2017. The family resides in Findlay, Ohio. 13 Kristi (Russell) Reed, BM ’10, and her husband, Dan Reed, BS ’11, welcomed a son, Dominic, in July 2017. Kristi joined Grants Plus as a consultant in August 2018. They reside in Cincinnati, Ohio.
O N U M AG A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
Kelly Fields, BSBA ’11, earned her real estate appraisal license in spring 2017.
Jeannette (Loyer) Manger, BS ’11, graduated from the Wright State University biomedical sciences program with a Ph.D. in science education/molecular genetics in December 2017. She and her husband, Eric Manger, welcomed a son, Glenn, in February 2018. Emily (Spangler)Tyll, BA ’11, married Kenneth Tyll Sept. 8, 2018. They reside in Alger, Ohio.
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Andrea (Lang) Weisenburger, BS ’11, and her husband, Jack Weisenburger, welcomed their first child, Oliver, on March 21, 2018. They reside in Marysville, Ohio. 16 Stacey (Tedrick) Locke, PharmD ’12, and her husband, Matthew Locke, welcomed a son, Maddox William, on April 30, 2018. They reside in South Charleston, Ohio. 17 Marsha (McMunn) Robinson, BA ’12, was recently named assistant director of alumni relations for Harvard Law School. She married David Robinson on Sept. 2, 2017. They reside in Boston, Mass. 18 Nicolas J. Sasso, JD ’12, was recognized by Legal Aid of Arkansas with the 2017-18 Pro Bono Service
Award “for selfless commitment to ‘the cause of the impoverished, the defenseless or the oppressed’ through volunteer service” on April 30, 2018. Nicolas is an attorney with Rothman Gordon Elder Law. he resides in Monroeville, Pa. 19 Chelsia Stack, BSN ’12, recently completed a Master of Science in Nursing-Family Nurse Practitioner degree and passed the board exams to become a certified nurse practitioner. She is newly employed with Mercy Health System as a certified nurse practitioner in the walk-in clinic. She married Mike DeRenard on April 8, 2017, in Cleveland, Ohio. Jonathan Iseman, JD ’13, joined Title First as vice president and counsel of its commercial division in September 2018. His primary responsibilities include managing the division and developing new commercial business. He was previously commercial title manager for Chicago Title Insurance Company.
20 Bridget Davis, BSEE ’14, obtained professional engineer (PE) licensure for the state of Texas. She resides in Abilene, Texas.
Luke Creager, BS ’15, graduated with a doctorate in physical therapy from Wheeling Jesuit University in December 2017.
21 Tessa R. Scott, JD ’14, has joined Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP as an associate in Buffalo, N.Y. Tessa is a member of the firm’s Asset Receivable Management and Consumer Financial Services team, defending creditors against claims involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other consumer protection statutes.
Caroline Page, BFA ’15, received her Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law, with honors, and was admitted to the Alabama State Bar.
Alyssa (White) Fonguh, PharmD ’14, and her husband, Jude Fonguh, opened Ogemaw Pharmacy in West Branch, Mich., and recently celebrated their one-year anniversary in business. The couple resides in St. Helen, Mich. Emily (Brown) Ankey, PharmD ’15, married Steve Ankey April 14, 2018. They reside in Pittsburgh, Pa.
C L AS S N OT E S
22 Abby (Copley) D’Imperio, PharmD ’17, and Chuck D’Imperio, PharmD ’17, were married June 16, 2018. Chuck is a pharmacy manager with Kroger in Springboro, Ohio, and Abby is a hybrid clinical pharmacist at Kettering Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio. The couple resides in Springboro, Ohio. 23 Rebecca (Carman) Legge, BFA ’17, married Devin Legge Sept. 8, 2018. They reside in Bellefontaine, Ohio. 24 Blaine Ricketts, BSME ’17, and Heather (Comer) Ricketts, BS ’17, were married March 24, 2018, in DeGraff, Ohio, where the couple resides.
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15 Kyle Stinehart, BS ’11, BSBA ’11, and Ashley (Tyger) Stinehart, PharmD ’12, welcomed a son, Jacob, on May 8, 2018. Jacob joins siblings Olivia, 4, and Noah, 2, and the family resides in Columbus, Ohio.
REMEMBERING THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE 1930s Marie (Hover) Cribley, BSEd ’39, Seattle, Wash., July 17, 2017.
1940s Edwin Charles Hart, BSPh ’42, Minerva, Ohio, Feb. 10, 2018. Marguerite (Bible) Kleinoeder, BSEd ’45, Elyria, Ohio, June 5, 2018. Fredrick Arnold Kusta, BSME ’47, Vestavia, Ala., Oct. 19, 2018. Donald R. King, BSME ’48, Burlington, Iowa, July 19, 2018.
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John A. Zink, BA ’48, Lima, Ohio, Sept. 16, 2018. John Serbin Jr., BSCE ’49, Wadsworth, Ohio, Oct. 2, 2018. William K. Turner, LLB ’49, Goshen, Ohio, May 20, 2017. Richard S. Wilkins, BSEE ’49, Provo, Utah, Oct. 23, 2018.
1950s
Barbara (Jones) Martz, BSEd ’51, Lima, Ohio, April 28, 2018.
J. Philip Gehres, BA ’55, Newton, N.J., Nov. 25, 2017.
Robert D. McMillen, BSCE ’51, San Mateo, Calif., Sept. 7, 2018.
Irene (England) Guyton, AA ’55, Ada, Ohio, May 19, 2017.
John N. Watkins, BSCE ’51, Heath, Ohio, July 12, 2018.
Richard H. Ridgway, BSPh ’55, Dayton, Ohio, March 8, 2018.
The Hon. Benjamin “Ben” Logan II, BSBA ’68, JD ’72, passed away Sept. 24, 2018. Known as a fair-minded jurist and great mentor, he worked on the 61st District Court in Grand Rapids, Mich., for almost 30 years until his retirement in 2014. Ben graduated from ONU with a Bachelor of Arts in accounting and history in 1968, and he graduated from the Claude W. Pettit College of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1972. Since 1993, he served the University as a member of its Board of Trustees. He was also very active in the NAACP and fought tirelessly for the cause of justice and civil rights. Ben supported ONU as a member of the Lehr Society, and the Judge Ben Logan Memorial Scholarship fund at Ohio Northern University is named in his honor.
Donald G. Arp, BSCE ’50, Albuquerque, N.M., June 11, 2018. John H. Collier, BSEE ’50, San Diego, Calif., Jan. 26, 2018. Jack W. Mullholand, BSPh ’50, Fremont, Ohio, May 21, 2018. Keith A. Bastian, BA ’51, Delphos, Ohio, Oct. 1, 2018. Robert M. Brickner, BA ’51, Moscow Mills, Mo., Oct. 17, 2017. Eugene V. D’Innocente, BSEE ’51, Avon, Ohio, Aug. 15, 2018.
William A. Neeley, BSPh ’58, Findlay, Ohio, Sept. 27, 2018. Patrick J. Neidig, BA ’58, Tampa, Fla., Sept. 30, 2018. Rita (Ellis) Price, BSEd ’58, Clyde, Ohio, Sept. 14, 2018. Ruhl E. Warden, BA ’58, Lima, Ohio, Aug. 14, 2018. George C. Selover, BSPh ’59, Akron, Ohio, Oct. 20, 2018. James R. Woodworth, BA ’59, Greenville, Ohio, June 21, 2018.
1960s John A. Briggs, BSEd ’60, Greenwood, Ind., Sept. 2, 2018. Lynn A. Clapp, BSEE ’60, Greentown, Ind., Sept. 29, 2018. Ted R. Greiner, BA ’60, LLB ’62, Avon, Ohio, Oct. 3, 2018. James Eltzroth, BA ’61, Wadsworth, Ohio, June 23, 2018. Frederick Honneffer, BSPh ’61, Ashland, Ohio, April 24, 2018. Mark K. Weaver, BSPh ’61, Wilmington, N.C., May 20, 2018. Larry B. Huguenin, BSPh ’62, Batson, Texas, July 9, 2018. C. Fredrick Mehl, BSPh ’62, Wellington, Ohio, Oct. 12, 2017. Laurence John Miller, BSPh ’62, Lagrange, Ohio, Jan. 12, 2017.
Homer H. Herke, BSPh ’52, Cleveland, Ohio, June 14, 2018.
Betty (Kersker) Bassitt, BSEd ’56, Sebring, Fla., June 19, 2018.
Philip R. Bachert, BSEd ’63, Orchard Park, N.Y., May 5, 2018.
Graham H. Chesnut, BSPh ’53, Spearfish, S.D., June 6, 2018.
James Mougey, BSEd ’56, Denton, Texas, May 25, 2018.
James P. Fisher, JD ’63, Lima, Ohio, June 27, 2018.
Fred M. Kahn, BSPh ’53, San Diego, Calif., June 18, 2018.
Norman F. Riggs, BSPh ’56, Avon Lake, Ohio, July 12, 2018.
Marilyn (Mayer) Hall, BSPh ’54, North Ridgeville, Ohio, Sept. 13, 2018.
Frank L. Dusini, BSPh ’57, New Philadelphia, Ohio, May 7, 2018.
Elizabeth (Bradley) Raup, BSEd ’63, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, May 1, 2017.
Marvin R. Jacobs, BSPh ’54, Buda, Texas, April 5, 2018.
Lewis Ciminillo, BSEd ’58, Boynton Beach, Fla., April 2, 2017. Thomas J. Lowrey, LLB ’58, Akron, Ohio, June 12, 2018.
O N U M AG A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
John T. Moyer, JD ’64, Keswick, Va., Aug. 13, 2018. Dominic S. Lefoer, JD ’65, Boardman, Ohio, Sept. 1, 2018.
The Hon. Allan H. Davis, JD ’68, retired Hancock County probate and juvenile court judge, died Nov. 20, 2018, in Findlay, Ohio. Allan’s tenure as the county’s probate and juvenile court judge spanned more than 40 years, and he was believed to be the longest-serving probate and juvenile court judge in Ohio’s history. He got his start at Ohio Northern University’s Claude W. Pettit College of Law, graduating in 1968. While at ONU, he was elected president of the Student Bar Association. He was a generous donor to ONU, and in 2016, he established the Allan H. Davis Lecture Hall at ONU Law. He supported ONU as a member of the Lehr Society.
itus Dr. David Weimer passed away Jan. 8, 2019, in St. Marys, Ohio. Before joining the Ohio Northern faculty, he was a research associate at Princeton University, an educational missionary at American College in India, a senior scientist at Lockheed Missile and Aerospace Company, a faculty research fellow at the NASA Lewis Research Center, and a faculty research fellow at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He retired in 1990 after 25 years at ONU, and in 1996, he and his wife, Jane, were selected as Ada Citizens of the Year. He is survived by sons Kirk Lee Weimer, BA ’79, and Paul Christian Weimer, BA ’82, and daughters Carole Miller and Holly Geiger.
Paul D. Rizor, BA ’73, JD ’76, Lima, Ohio, Sept. 29, 2018.
Gary F. McKinley, JD ’66, Marysville, Ohio, Oct. 2, 2018.
Robert H. Blythe, BSPh ’75, Troy, Ohio, June 19, 2018.
Edward J. Ransom, JD ’66, Margate, Fla., May 10, 2018.
William F. Stewart II, BSPh ’75, Columbus, Ohio, May 12, 2018.
Donnell D. Stock, BA ’66, Peculiar, Mo., Aug. 11, 2018.
Calvin J. Domenico Jr., JD ’77, Sarasota, Fla., May 1, 2018.
Jean M. Doin, BSEd ’67, Schenectady, N.Y., Sept. 15, 2018.
Bruce Willard Homans, BSPh ’77, Bedford, Texas, May 30, 2017.
John S. Dickson, BSEE ’68, St. Ann, Mo., May 17, 2018.
Thomas Woodrow Hardin, BA ’78, JD ’81, Dover, Ohio, Sept. 17, 2018.
Helen M. Ruhlen, BSEd ’69, Marysville, Ohio, May 3, 2018.
Deborah Kruger, BA ’78, Lima, Ohio, June 30, 2018.
Christine (Studer) Vedra, BSPh ’69, Whitehouse, Ohio, May 4, 2018.
Steven L. Story, JD ’79, Pomeroy, Ohio, June 16, 2018.
1970s
1980s
William D. Needle, BA ’70, Lexington, Ky., May 30, 2018.
Sue (Wilson) Terrett, BSPh ’83, Barnesville, Ohio, June 19, 2018.
Eunice (Ropp) DeHaven, BSEd ’71, Bradenton, Fla., June 6, 2018.
Salvatore J. Nardozzi Jr., JD ’86, Dunmore, Pa., Oct. 1, 2018.
Kurtis B. Mealy, BA ’71, Ludlow, Pa., June 17, 2018.
Jean (Lowery) Hutchison, JD ’87, Ocala, Fla., May 22, 2018.
Jan Charles Stotz, BSME ’71, Fremont, Ohio, Oct. 11, 2018.
Charlotte D. Beebe, BSBA ’89, Lima, Ohio, Aug. 2, 2018.
Robert L. Adams, BSBA ’72, Plymouth, Mich., Dec. 1, 2017.
1990s
Dr. Linda K. English, BSEd ’72, died Aug. 7, 2018. Linda was the director of admissions for the Claude W. Pettit College of Law and assistant dean of students at ONU. She was one of five children, all of whom attended ONU: Timothy English, BA ’75; Thomas English, BA ’78; Mary (English) Edwards, BSEd ’66; and G. Jerry English, BSEd ’64. Roger L. Ayers, BSEE ’73, Olathe, Kan., July 1, 2018.
REMEMBERING THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE
Dena Marie Russo, BSBA ’90, Lorain, Ohio, Sept. 6, 2018. Christopher Duane Osborn, BSPh ’91, Westerville, Ohio, July 18, 2018. John Harvey Gastineau, BSPh ’98, Buckingham, Pa., May 24, 2018.
2000s John Robert Skidmore III, BSCE ’04, Circleville, Ohio, Sept. 8, 2018.
2010s Andrew Jonathan Osowski, PharmD ’12, Cleveland, Ohio, June 16, 2018.
/4 1
Professor of physics emer-
Thomas R. Atkinson, JD ’66, Marietta, Ohio, May 15, 2018.
Charles J. Hickey, Stamford, Conn.,
FRIENDS
April 27, 2018.
Dr. Charles B. Hedrick, Hon. D.
Nancy D. Barker, Ada, Ohio, Aug.
’80, passed away Feb. 4, 2018,
17, 2018.
old Hinderliter,
in Cincinnati, Ohio. The former
Harold Beckett,
ONU professor
manager of employee rela-
ONU lecturer
of religion for
in music from
34 years, passed
1993-2003,
away Aug. 9,
tions at Procter & Gamble and World War II veteran became
passed away
a member of the ONU Board of Trustees in 1965 as a representative of the West Ohio
2018, in New Castle, Pa. He also
Sept. 20, 2018.
served as chair of the Department
He was proud
of Philosophy and Religion for 17
that many of his former students
years and as interim dean of the
Conference of the United Methodist Church. He was
went on to have successful careers
Getty College of Arts & Sciences
named vice chair in 1973. Charles and his wife, Mary Jo,
in music. Harold was the father of
for one year. Harold had three
two children, Thomas Beckett and
children, two of whom were ONU
were generous supporters of Ohio Northern, donating more than $1.4 million. Through the Charles B. and Mary
Jeffrey Beckett, BM ’89.
Jo Hedrick Scholarship, their legacy of supporting ONU
Martha S. Berton, Olathe, Kan.,
continues.
June 21, 2018. Jean W. Conover, Willow Street, Pa., May 5, 2018. Kathryn L. Crider, Bowling Green,
Dr. Albert “Al” Baillis, professor of /4 2
The Rev. Dr. Har-
Ohio, July 23, 2018.
law emeritus, passed away Sept.
Andrew Joseph Fisher, Mansfield,
19, 2018, at his residence in Ada,
Ohio, June 14, 2018.
graduates, Joel Hinderliter, BSEE ’83, Diane Wendlandt, and Eric Hinderliter, BA ’94. Marilyn Immler, Avon, Ohio, May 19, 2018. Margaret C. Jones, Kinsman, Ohio, July 4, 2018. Joan M. Laux, Hollansburg, Ohio, May 26, 2018. Robert L. Liston, Whitehall, Ohio,
Ohio. In 1957, he joined the law
Mary Jane
faculty at Ohio Northern, where
Frazer passed
he rapidly advanced to professor
away Sept. 12,
Ruth Moser, Fort Smith, Ark., Aug.
2018. She was
21, 2017.
of law in 1962. He spent the bulk
the wife of the
of his 35-year teaching career at Ohio Northern University, and he is remembered as an outstanding classroom teacher who
late Rev. Dr. E. Eugene “Gene” Frazer, former
Feb. 22, 2018.
Ruth H. Smull, White Stone, Pa., March 30, 2018.
member and chair of the ONU
Diane K. Thede, Ada, Ohio, May
combined a sincere, friendly disposition with an ability to
Board of Trustees. He and Mary
1, 2018.
critically and objectively analyze evolving legal principles.
Jane were both very supportive of
From 1975-77, he served the University as acting dean of the Claude W. Pettit College of Law. He received the University’s Faculty Award in 1982 and was named the first holder of the Ella A. and Ernest H. Fisher chair in 1984. Baillis retired from Ohio Northern in 1993, and
the University. The E. Eugene and Mary Jane Frazer Scholarship fund is named in their honor. Stephany J. Harris, Dayton, Ohio, May 28, 2018.
for the rest of his life, he continued to possess a strong
Mary E. Hawkins, Findlay, Ohio,
sense of loyalty to the University and the Ada community.
May 4, 2018.
O N U M AG A Z I N E W I N T E R 2 0 1 9
Naomi L. Wittenmyer, Findlay, Ohio, June 27, 2018.
Save the Date MARCH 2, 2019 Venice Alumni Luncheon Venice Yacht Club 1330 Tarpon Center Drive Venice, FL 34285 MARCH 28, 2019 Cleveland Social Hour Edgewater Yacht Club 6700 Memorial Shoreway, N.W. Cleveland, OH 44102 APRIL 3, 2019 Columbus Social Hour Copious Notes 520 S High St Columbus, OH 43215 ALUMNI WEEKEND May 31-June 2, 2019 HOMECOMING Oct. 4-6, 2019 /4 3
Find more alumni events at www.onu.edu/alumni.
INTRODUCING THE ONU BOOK CLUB! Connect with fellow alumni and friends through a mutual love of reading. The Office of Alumni Relations is excited to announce the launch of the ONU Online Book Club! Join this online community to connect with each other and enjoy reading a variety of books with other alumni and friends. There is no cost to participate – you just need a copy of the book. The book club will run through book-club-management company PBC Guru with coordination from the Ohio Northern alumni office. How it works: Once you join the book club and get your copy of the book, you will have access to an online forum where alumni and friends can discuss the current book and network with each other. The group will spend two months on each book before voting on the next one to read. The first book will be Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover. About Educated: Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. To learn more or to sign up, please visit www.pbc.guru/onu.
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