fall 2019 R EL AT I O N SH IP S
for ALUMNI and FRIENDS of OHIO UNIVERSITY
P R E S I D EN T ’ S M E S S AG E
Our OHIO ties Dear OHIO Alumni, College is about much more than classes, laboratory work, and internships; it’s also about relationships.
careers. For our students entering the healthcare field, it’s key to be able to build strong ties with their clients, the healthcare establishment, and the communities they serve.
While technology and digital forms of communication are changing how students connect with faculty in the world of higher education, Ohio University’s professors are ensuring that we don’t lose these relationships. They’re exploring innovative new ways to interact with students and establish even stronger connections.
The relationships at OHIO also involve the personal attachments made with people you meet on campus or in the community, relationships that can last a lifetime. I met my wife, Ruthie, during my undergraduate days, and am thankful for that college experience every day.
Our faculty members also teach our students how to effectively establish relationships with the people they’ll be working with throughout their
Connections also include OHIO’s links to our global partners, like our historic relationship with Chubu University in Japan. I consider Chubu
Bobcat Beacons of Excellence FROM PRESIDENT M. DUANE NELLIS Ohio University is building its first new green since the 1960s. The Union Street Green
construction is underway and will feature our new Medical Education Building. The three-story, 120,000-square[OPPOSITE PAGE] President M. Duane Nellis [LEFT] and a delegation from OHIO traveled to Japan’s Chubu University in December 2018. Nellis and CU’s President Osamu Ishihara met in CU’s Center for International Affairs in the background. [ABOVE] Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine first-year students mark their beginnings in medicine by attending another beginning: the groundbreaking ceremony in June for the college’s new Medical Education Building on Union Street. Photos by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02
University President Osamu Ishihara a friend, and I know that many of our students, faculty, and staff have made wonderful friendships through our shared international programs.
foot building is scheduled to be finished in 2020. The city of Dublin, Ohio, recently
transferred more than 27 acres of additional land to Ohio University as
part of an economic development agreement. An OHIO first-generation student seeking
a career in social work recently received a $50,000 scholarship from Top Hat, a leading active learning platform for higher education.
The relationships we make at OHIO are unique. They keep us connected whether we are part of this fall’s first-year class or if we graduated decades ago. The Bobcat Family is more than just people who spent time together in classes or on the College Green; it’s people who connect with each other, lift each other up, and change each other’s lives for the better. That’s Ohio University.
A team of OHIO Russ College mechanical engineering students became one of
three finalists in SourceAmerica's® annual College Design Challenge, where new workplace solutions for people with disabilities are created. A recent study showed that OHIO’s
Innovation Center contributed to 297 jobs in Athens County in 2018, M. Duane Nellis President @OHIOPrezOffice
generating $12.9 million in employee compensation. The center recently received three awards, including the Randall M. Whaley Incubator of the Year Award from the International Business Innovation Association.
REL ATIONSHIP S
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I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.
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—BRENÉ BROWN, PH.D., L.M.S.W. Students meet and collaborate among the cherry trees earlier this spring. The trees were gifted to OHIO by Chubu University. Read “From Japan, with love” about the decades-long relationship between the two institutions. Page 22
features 22
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OHIO + Chubu U
A legacy of lectures
Celebrating 45 years: A look at OHIO and CU's impact on students and research
Two gifts bring creatives and scholars to OHIO
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The ombuds
Patient relations
A university’s ombudsperson helps everyone relate
Surgeon puts servant leadership into practice
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A chuckle or two
A moving discovery
Zanesville Campus prof promotes using humor in the classroom
OHIO in pictures
D EPA R TM EN T S 03 From the editor 04 Contributors 05 Green scenes
OHIO stories in photos + words
20 Calendar 27 Ohio University Press Featured book
30 Infographic What’s been kept
10 First date on College Green in 1968. Photo courtesy of the M ahn Archives & Special Collections
42 OHIO time machine 44 Bobcat tracks
Class notes, Bobcat sightings, Future Bobcats, Alumni authors
52 In memoriam A 45 rpm record with sleeve from the archives in Alden Library. Delve into this issue's infographic to see more objects in OHIO’s archives and read about the stories behind them. Page 30M ahn
Archives & Sxqxqpecial Collections
56 Last word
Jana Houser opens up ohiotoday.org Visit ohiotoday.org for multimedia stories that compliment the stories inside this issue. Find Ohio Today Radio's new podcast episode, “Gifted,” on ohiotoday.org/radio.
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ON THE COVER
Professor Julie Suhr [LEFT] and her 2018-19 mentee, Nikkiya Addison, became close and remain in touch. Read Suhr’s reflections on her experiences as a mentor to firstgeneration students in “Mentors matter,” page 08. Cover photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel , BSVC ’02
gatefold photo by K at Morrison, BSVC ’16
Being human is to relate to one another, to our environment, and to ourselves. At OHIO, relationships help us understand our world; foster well-being; connect us with creative work; provide cultural experiences; and, of course, bring us together on College Green. Alumni, faculty, staff, and students share stories about their OHIO relationships inside this issue and at ohiotoday.org. —Editor Kelee Garrison Riesbeck, BSJ, CERT ’91
Members of the student-run Growth International Volunteer Excursions (GIVE) connect with fellow Bobcats in August during the annual Student Involvement Fair on College Green. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02
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From the editor
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CO N T R I B U TO R S
Ohio Today asked a sampling of this issue's writers and designers to share what they took away from the stories they wrote or created. Their answers follow.
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1. What’s been kept “Fascinating university history, especially to someone like me who has only been here a few years, and on top of that, is from England.” Page 30 —John Grimwade, OHIO's School of Visual Communication, johngrimwade.com
2. I will walk with you “This story was my first encounter with community health workers, but I hope it won’t be the last. These individuals are the essence of Mr. Rogers saying, ‘Look for the helpers,’ and there can never be too many of those.” Page 16 —Cat Hofacker, BSJ ’18, is the staff reporter at Aerospace America.
3. From Japan, with love “It was inspiring to research and learn more about the long-standing relationship between Chubu University and OHIO. A trip to Athens next spring to see the cherry trees in full bloom has already been planned!” Page 22 —Jen
4. I’m listening. Let’s talk “Before reporting this story, I had a notion of the ‘paradox of the Golden Rule,’ but I didn’t have that terminology. I’ve since used the phrase in conversation—it’s very useful.” Page 34 —Mary
Jones Donatelli, BSJ ’98, is a Cleveland-based freelance journalist and author and serves on the OHIO Alumni Association Board.
Reed, BSJ ’90, MA ’93, is the author of Hocking Hills Day Hike (getoutpublishing.com).
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Photo by Brett Ziegler
Prized profs “Teaching, for the most part, is a mystery,” says Tim Vickers. He’s managed OHIO’s University Professor Award program for 21 years. University Professor awardees are nominated, interviewed, and selected by undergraduate students annually. It recognizes professors who have a flair for connecting the subject matter with students in a way that inspires and delights. Awardees often says it’s the most meaningful professional award they receive. What does it take to get the distinction? To embody a specific realm of knowledge and be able to connect it to today’s discerning (and increasingly distracted) students? Vickers, director at the Office of Instructional Innovation’s Center for Teaching & Learning, can’t put his finger on it, but has seen throughout his career the impact gifted teaching can have.
“Still to this day, I don't know what that is. There’s indicators, predictors of what will make a good teacher,” he says. “The impact on their students is beyond the content of the course. It’s a way of turning someone on to a major that they didn’t know existed or just to a way of thinking or being in the world.” In the newest Ohio Today Radio podcast episode, “Gifted,” we track down 2019 University Professor awardee Jana Houser [ABOVE, with students during a storm chase], two-time awardee James Petrik, and a few students to uncover what a gifted teacher does before, during, and after class that earns them the respect and attention of students in today’s higher ed market. Listen at ohiotoday.org/radio. —Kelee Garrison Riesbeck, BSJ, CERT ’91
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The multimedia installation Lacuna invites visitors into a world of complex relationships: stillness with movement, primitive versus digital, silk and plaster. The work by College of Fine Arts faculty C. David Russell, BFA ’93, and Mateo Galvano premiered at the Currents New Media Festival in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in June. Visit ohiotoday.org to enter a virtual gallery of the work and for a Q&A with the artists, who reveal how the work relates to their understanding of the world. Images courtesy of Russell and Galvano
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Mentors matter
Professor Julie Suhr [LEFT] and first-generation student Nikkiya Addison, Suhr’s mentee in 2018-2019. They remain in touch. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel , BSVC ’02
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Julie Suhr entered Luther College in 1984 and became the first person in her family to go to college. Today, Suhr serves as a mentor to Ohio University’s first-generation students. Ohio Today asked her to unpack how those relationships have shaped her. Her story follows. —Editor Recently I received an email that brought me to tears. An alumna let me know she was returning to school to earn a doctoral degree after years of working in the mental healthcare field. While we kept up through email for a few years after her graduation, we lost touch when her first child was born. Through email she shared with me that as she contemplated her return to academia and to her goal to become a professor like me, she found herself wondering where she might have ended up had I not been her undergraduate mentor. While my official role was her Ronald E. McNair Post baccalaureate Achievement Program research project adviser, we had bonded over our shared experience of being first-generation, or “first-gen,” college students. I think she valued that part of our relationship more than all the edits I made to her research paper! Back then, Ohio University didn’t have an official mentoring program for first-gen students. My own college experience was considerably enhanced by a professor who was willing to mentor me and help me overcome the barriers my first-gen status had on my access to knowledge and opportunities. So, when OHIO officially began pairing first-year, firstgen Bobcats with campus faculty and staff through the Ohio First Scholars program, I welcomed the chance to join.
Interestingly, my most recent mentee connected with me not in my role as her mentor, but in my role as director of our doctoral program in clinical psychology. She was an incoming firstyear student who hadn’t even been to orientation, yet she was already seeking advice about how to earn doctoral degrees in psychology! I answered her brief email with a barrage of information, revealed our shared status as first-gen students, and invited her not only to have coffee with me during her campus orientation visit, but offered to personally connect her to Ohio First Scholars program Director Angela Lash. As a result, the program paired us up and we have developed a strong relationship that will continue beyond the official “first year” of the program. I receive as much as I give in my first-generation mentorship relationships. I am far removed from my own college years, and the world has changed tremendously. Still, many basic barriers remain for those without generational connections to the academic culture. It is helpful for me to hear from my mentees how those barriers manifest in today’s culture, so that I don’t forget to think about them with all of my students. There is nothing more rewarding to me than seeing a first-generation student that I have mentored walk through commencement—or go on to become a professor, like me! —Julie Suhr, professor of psychology, director of clinical training and clinical neuropsychologist Dr. Suhr’s area of specialty is clinical neuropsychology, which she views as an integration of clinical psychology and neuroscience, or as her students put it, “keeping the psychology in neuropsychology.”
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Bobcats
go on a date Many a Bobcat romance has fizzled or bloomed on and around the Athens Campus and they all have one thing in common: that first date. Some dates began life-long love affairs. Many didn’t. Ohio Today explores popular places on campus and in the City of Athens, then and now, where students meet for their first outing.
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First dates, Uptown, 2017 [BELOW] and 1961 [LEFT]. Photo
at left from the 1961 Athena Yearbook, courtesy of the Mahn Center for
Archives and Special Collections . Photo below by John Halley, MFA ’87
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First dates, on College Green, 1957 [ABOVE] and 2019. Photo above from the 1957 Athena Yearbook, courtesy of the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections . Photo below courtesy of Julie Ciotola , BSJ ’20.
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First dates happen while dancing, too. [ABOVE] A crowd dances on Court Street during Boogie on the Bricks, Uptown Athens’ annual summertime party, in 2019. [BELOW] Before DJs and Spotify, couples juked to the music. Photo above by John Halley, MFA ’87. Photo below from the 1949 Athena Yearbook, courtesy of the Mahn Center for
Archives and Special Collections .
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As hundreds of students settled into Jeff Hall this fall, they discovered they’d be sharing the space with an unlikely resident —Kay-Anne Darlington, a global health instructor and a member of OHIO’s Faculty-in-Residence program. Visit ohiotoday.org to hear how the experience has changed her perspective on teaching, and how the program is demystifying and improving student-to-faculty relationships across campus. Photo by Ellee Achten, BSJ ’14, MA ’17
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I will walk with you Community health workers are known by a lot of names: outreach worker, patient advocate, public health aide. Some think “cheerleader� could be added to the list.
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In August, community health worker trainees use virtual reality tech to immerse themselves in the impact of Narcan, an anti-overdose drug. Photo by Ellee Achten, BSJ ’14, MA ’17
They are trusted community members who connect those in need of health services to healthcare resources and advocate on their behalf. Whether it’s setting up a doctor appointment or offering encouragement, community health workers, or CHWs, aren’t just helping faceless patients: They’re helping their neighbors, sometimes the same people who live down the street. “Community health work is truly about the relationship and (about) being a cheerleader for someone who really needs a cheerleader…someone to give them positive support and recognize those tiny, tiny incremental changes,” says Kerri Shaw, the field director in OHIO’s undergraduate social work program and a CHW training director.
and taking vitals as before. With the expansion, students now also learn about cultural competency and become intimately familiar with resources in the community that help people in recovery, Shaw says. “It’s kind of magical to see the energy in this group and feel the compassion,” Shaw says. “It’s palpable when you start working and talking with them how passionate they are about serving this population. And not just serving: accompanying them on this journey of recovery.” Their presence could make all the difference to someone struggling with addiction, says Ruth Dudding, BSH ’87, a specialist at the Athens County Health Department and a course instructor.
In underserved communities or where the population may be mistrustful of healthcare professionals, those relationships allow CHWs to be a “conduit to that relationship in a way that feels culturally respectful,” Shaw, AB ’96, MSW ’04, says.
“It’s a journey that people are on, and they need somebody along with them for the whole journey,” she says. “That’s not always something that somebody in the clinical setting can provide.”
Since 2015, OHIO’s CHW program has trained and certified people to fill these vital roles. This spring, a $1 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission allowed OHIO to expand that work and create a CHW program focused on helping people recovering from addiction.
Newly certified workers will serve at health departments, nonprofits, churches, government agencies, and more. But one thing unites them, says Dudding: This is their calling.
The first cohort started training this summer, meeting weekly throughout July and August. Students learn basic healthcare skills like CPR
“It’s been my experience that we don’t train people to be community health workers,” Dudding says. “We recruit people who are already loving people in their journey, despite their difficulties.” —Cat Hofacker, BSJ ’18
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With a complex mix of excitement, anxiety, anticipation, and accomplishment—and sometimes with a little help from Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones [ABOVE, RIGHT]—thousands of families shared brief but poignant moments in their relationship this August as parents said goodbye and good luck to their children who, perched on those crowded curbs, embarked on their new lives as Bobcats. Photo above by
Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02.
Photo at left by Akira Fisher, BSVC ’23
Greenscenes scenes Green
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calendar For more upcoming OHIO Alumni events, visit ohiotoday.org/calendar
Nov. 9
Nov. 22–Dec.7
Nov. 24
Public Telescope Night
Tantrum Theater
OHIO Observatory, Athens Peer into the night sky to look for lunar craters, star clusters or distant galaxies!
Forum Theater, Athens, Ohio Rhinoceros by Eugène Ionesco. A play that explores themes of conformity, fascism, and morality.
Singing Men of Ohio WinterFest Concert
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Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium Celebrate winter with one of OHIO’s finest all-male ensembles.
Alumni and the OHIO community remembered the life and legacy of Professor Emeritus Æthelred Eldridge (1930–2018) in September. The event featured a dance party with live music by his daughter ‘Karla Kay’ Eldridge and the Victorious Kaybirds under the Seigfred arch, with his well-known mural, “Vision of Golgonooza,” as a backdrop. Exhibitions of his work were displayed through mid-October in Baker Center's Trisolini Gallery and at the Majestic Gallery in Nelsonville, Ohio. Photo by Dennis Savage
Nov. 30
Feb. 12, 2020
March 27, 2020
OHIO vs. Detroit Mercy
Resume Do’s and Donuts
Celebrate Women
Convocation Center, Athens, Ohio Men’s Basketball takes on the Detroit Mercy Titans.
Baker Center, Athens, Ohio Connect with other OHIO alumni employers and students while having your resume reviewed.
OHIO’s Lancaster Campus Theme: Women Organizing, Mentoring, Empowering, and Networking
Calendar
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From Japan, with love THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CHUBU AND OHIO UNIVERSITIES ENDURES AND PROSPERS ANEW, 45 YEARS ON.
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More than 6,700 miles separate Ohio University and Japan’s Chubu University. Yet they share some striking similarities. Both are located atop hilly terrain—one in Athens, Ohio, and the other in Kasugai, Aichi, Japan; both are adjacent to rivers, the Hocking and Utsutsu, respectively; and both have cultivated a mutual appreciation and a long-standing friendship with the other for almost half a century. “I cannot think of any other [strategic] partner that has this deep of a relationship and commitment,” says Ji-Yeung Jang, OHIO’s director of Global Affairs. “We’ve built a truly meaningful partnership.” The relationship dates back to 1971, when Professor Tomoyasu Tanaka joined OHIO’s faculty in the physics department. Tanaka worked with his friend and colleague Hiroshi Katsumori, also a physics professor and the vice president of CU at the time, to initiate an exchange program. From that initial collaboration emerged today’s OHIO-CU study abroad programs, faculty exchange programs, scholarships, fellowships, and the Tanaka-OHIO Award for Excellence given to CU professors. The bond has been sealed with the exchange of gifts and gestures of friendship over the years. OHIO gifted a replica of Cutler Hall’s cupola built for Chubu University, while CU supported the 2004 dedication of the Yamada International House on OHIO’s Athens Campus.
Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel , BSVC ’02
OHIO impact
Perhaps CU’s most notable gift to OHIO is the delicately fragrant grove of Japanese cherry trees that line the Hockhocking
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Adena Bikeway alongside the Hocking River. (Visit ohiotoday.org for more about CU’s cherry tree gift.) While these gifts visually mark the bond between OHIO and CU, the primary thread that cements the relationship is the exchange of talent and knowledge. The OHIO-CU visiting professorship exchange allows OHIO faculty to visit CU via the Kohei Miura Visiting Professorship, now in its 46th year, and CU faculty to visit OHIO via the Robert Glidden Visiting Professorship, currently in its 16th year. During his five weeks in Athens last fall as the Glidden Visiting Professor, Yutaka Hirata enjoyed weekend runs along the bike path, meals at locally owned restaurants, and weekly lab meetings over craft beers, not to mention the opportunity to study the inner workings of lobster brains with Biological Sciences Department faculty. “Working with Professor Scott Hooper and his lab members was fascinating, and I learned a lot of neurophysiological and computational techniques that I didn’t have in my lab,” says Hirata,
Professors Scott Hooper [LEFT] and Yukata Hirata collaborated in Hooper’s lab in fall 2018. Here, Hooper welcomes Hirata back this fall for more collaboration on the research. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel , BSVC ’02
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OHIO’s Chubu University Visiting Professor Chris Thompson attended almost every one of CU’s Thursday “Conversation Table” events at the university’s Center for International Affairs. The weekly event encourages dialogue between students and faculty. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel , BSVC ’02
whose specialty includes studying motor learning and memory in primates and fish. “I also learned an important skill in the Hooper Lab: how to catch a huge, active lobster!” Hirata’s experience spawned more collaboration between CU and OHIO. In September 2019, Hirata returned to OHIO’s Athens campus with eight CU faculty for a research information exchange meeting. It’s all part of further developing and expanding the relationship, says Hirata. “Despite the long-lasting, strong partnership between OHIO and CU, somehow scientific and engineering research collaboration has not been well-cultivated. I wanted to initiate a movement toward fruitful research collaboration that involves both our universities’ faculty members and grad students.” September also marked a big month for Hirata’s counterpart Chris Thompson, last year’s CU Kohei Miura Visiting Professor. Every fourth weekend of September, Thompson leads a group of students in tsunami relief efforts in Japan’s Iwate Prefecture, a region badly
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damaged in the 2011 magnitude 9.1 undersea earthquake. This year marks the ninth year Thompson and both OHIO and CU students have been serving that region. “Our trips started as weekend cleanups and have evolved into community development work,” explains Thompson, adding that the group gives English lessons and takes part in neighborhood cultural festivals. Thompson, associate professor of linguistics, plays a vital role in keeping the Chubu-OHIO relationship alive, co-chairing the Chubu University Relations Committee and acting as OHIO’s Japan Study Abroad Coordinator. Both Hirata’s research exchange meeting and Thompson’s involvement play an important part in the stalwart relationship between OHIO and CU, says Jang. “We’re always looking for ways to open more doors between the two institutions and internationalize our campus.” —Jen Jones Donatelli, BSJ ’98
Two Chubu University students show OHIO’s Nora Davis [FAR LEFT] and Scarlett Woosley [FAR RIGHT] the difference between the front and back of each bowl during a tea ceremony hosted by CU’s Center for International Affairs in December 2018. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02
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Brides in the Sky STORIES & A NOVELLA As the wagon train slowly moves west, Holladay reimagines what has become a mythic American journey. At a key juncture in the trip, an unforeseen decision takes place involving a charismatic male leader. It’s an almost casual, spur of the moment action, yet one that will forever haunt one of the sisters.
Relationships, especially ones framed by ideas of sisterhood, are at the heart of Brides in the Sky, a new collection of stories by Cary Holladay. In the title story, set in 1854, two close sisters become further entwined after marrying two brothers. When this tightknit group decides to strike west on the Oregon Trail, they form new relationships with fellow travelers, some from other countries, some from other states.
“The sisters’ trek isn’t just a journey across the continent,” says Holladay, professor and coordinator of creative writing at the University of Memphis. “Their relationship is on a voyage, too, changing under the influence of their new husbands, their fellow travelers, and the struggles on the Trail.” In another story, “Shades,” we’re in what could be the present day with a completely different notion of sisterhood: a sorority house during pledge week. Again, the story focuses on two young women. One of them, Natalie, also possesses a mysterious air others find attractive. Yet despite the allure, her loyalty is called into question by other sisters, especially Roma, a leader whose
Ohio University Press
life seems consumed by love for the sorority. The story opens with Natalie picking up barbecue from a restaurant for a major sorority function. She returns not just with food, but—astoundingly— with a young boy and a made-up story about their relationship. Roma, who senses Natalie’s untrustworthiness, realizes the gravity of the situation, but allows the night’s festivities to proceed with the boy still in the house. As with “Brides in the Sky,” a decisive moment threatens to forever alter the life that follows. “One person can have a seismic effect on others,” Holladay notes. “When I started writing ‘Shades,’ I thought the story was about Natalie’s impulsive decision to kidnap a child. Then Roma stepped in and took over. The story is about what’s in Roma’s heart—her yearning, her powerful sense of what the future will bring. I write to explore these mysteries.” —Jeff Kallet is the publicist and sales manager at Ohio University Press
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OHIO's Kennedy Lecture Series welcomed Julie Cohen, co-producer and director of the Oscar-nominated documentary, “RBG,” in September. Photo by Ellee Achten, BSJ ’14, MA ’17
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OHIO gifts share knowledge, wisdom, and love Not many small Appalachian towns can attract such notable speakers as feminist activist Gloria Steinem or National Public Radio’s Ira Flatow. But two of Ohio University’s public lecture series have been bringing dozens of renowned figures like these to Athens for decades, enriching the relationship between OHIO and its surrounding communities through the open exchange of knowledge.
really available to everyone on campus and the community surrounding it.”
The Kennedy Lecture Series, established in 1962 by a gift from Edwin L., AB ’26, HON ’65, and Ruth Kennedy, BSED ’30, hosts speakers who appeal to a broad cross-section of the OHIO community to discuss significant issues in American life.
“Because we are scientists, as world or local issues were arising, we were very dismayed by the lack of understanding—often even in the media—of scientific issues,” says Grasselli Brown, a former University trustee who retired as director of corporate research and analytical science for BP America.
The Frontiers in Science Lecture Series was born from the generosity of Jeanette Grasselli Brown, BS ’50, HON ’78, and her husband, Glenn Brown, in 1991. It hosts speakers who are adept at sharing their research with a general audience.
“Science is fun. It really is,” she continues. “I hope that learning a little bit more from experts … would make people say, ‘Maybe I’d like to do that.’”
Both seek to give the greater OHIO community access—at no cost—to “people who have important things to say,” says Judith Rhue, chair of both series’ speaker selection committee. “That’s what makes [these gifts] so special – because it’s not private, only available to a few people who have the opportunity to go,” says Rhue, a professor of family medicine. “It’s
Grasselli Brown and her husband established the Frontiers in Science series due to a desire to share their own relationship with the field, which is rooted in their long careers in science, with the broader public.
For Rhue, both the Frontiers in Science and the Kennedy Lecture Series exemplify OHIO’s role in its immediate community, as well as within society at large. “We’re a public university, and so our goal is to educate and to share that education for the public good. This is one aspect of that,” she says. —Peter Shooner
OHIO giving
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What’s been kept Tucked away in Alden Library is the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, where University Archivist Bill Kimok works to preserve and capture OHIO’s rich history through donated objects and the stories behind them. A look at select items from the archive follow. —Photography by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02, & Erin Wilson
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1. The football from OHIO’s 1932 14-0 shut out over Navy. 2. OHIO’s football team, 1903. Arthur Carr, fourth from the left, back row, was one of OHIO’s first Black student athletes. 3. This university songbook was compiled in 1915 and includes songs like “Alma Mater, Ohio.” 4. OHIO’s first Dean of Women Irma Voigt received this well-used gavel and its holder from her “girls” in 1924. 5. Sign from the grand, Gothic-styled Ewing Hall, formerly located behind McGuffey Hall. 6. WOUI’s first broadcast in 1949 was saved onto this record. WOUI later became today’s WOUB Public Media. 7. A flyer from President John F. Kennedy’s campaign stop in Athens in 1959. 8. Before Instagram, OHIO student life was documented in scrapbooks like this one by Jan Rienerth, BS ’65, AB ’66. 9. This well-loved felt Bobcat is an early depiction of OHIO’s mascot, established in 1925. 10. In the ’60s, men and women were to abide by separate sets of rules, outlined in these handbooks. 11. A State of Ohio flag that flew atop Cutler Hall for decades. 12. A ~5,000-year-old stone axe found in 1961, used by the Adena, probably to strip bark.
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Infographic
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1. Poster for OHIO President Claude Sowle’s weekly, call-in radio show. 2. An issue of Afro-American Affairs, published by students and faculty in the Black Studies Program, founded in 1969. 3. The Green Goat, a student-run humor magazine, poked fun at university administrators and campus police. 4. The helmet of John Wilhelm, WWII correspondent and the
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journalism school’s first director. 5. Audio tape from one of OHIO President Claude Sowle’s regular press conferences, c. 1970. 6. OHIO baseball captain Frank “Cap” Gullem’s bat, unique carrying case, and his shoes, complete with ominous-looking metal cleats. 7. This 1907-08 pocket-sized handbook was carried by the then male-only student body. 8. A 1919
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photo of Alpha Phi Alpha men, members of OHIO’s first Black fraternity. 9. Sign from Monomoy Theatre, a lab for theater students for 57 years. 10. Made of white porcelain, this plate commemorates the 1904 Athens Homecoming. 11. Saucer and a cup depicting Cutler Hall’s cupola (provenance unknown). 12. An early-20th-century 100 percent wool OHIO sweater.
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13. OHIO pennants, old and new, illustrating the evolution of the university’s mark. 14. These 25 cent football programs had game-day information and plenty of ads promoting local businesses. 15. An East Green LGBTQ Ally t-shirt advocating for allies to “Stand and be counted.” 16. OHIO women booked dance partners at formal parties in these DIY dance cards.
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17. A stair banister from Cutler Hall, salvaged during the hall’s 1947 remodel. 18. Alpha Epsilon Rho, the honor society for electronic media, produced this 45, “Sounds of Ohio University,” in 1959. 19. A ticket to President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign speech in Athens on College Green. 20. A brick salvaged from South Green’s Fenzel House, demolished in 2017.
Infographic
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21. Sideline ticket from the 1999 OHIO v Ohio State game. 22. OHIO Baseball’s score book from 1970, the year the team placed 4th in the College World Series. 23. In 1974, students attended the fourth annual Ohio University Music Festival in the Convocation Center. —Copy by Jamie Clarkson, BSJ ’20, and Kelee Garrison Riesbeck, BSJ, CERT ’91. Illustration by Sarah McDowell, BFA ’02 and John Grimwade.
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I’m listening. Let’s talk. Have you ever wondered exactly what a university ombudsperson does? “It starts with a lot of listening,” says Ohio University Ombudsperson Mac Stricklen, who half-jokingly refers to the ombuds as “the official office of ‘I wasn’t sure where to go with this.’” A student feels that a professor has treated them unfairly; a faculty member has concerns about promotion and tenure; office staff are not getting along with one another; an alumnus/na needs help getting a transcript released. Once other official avenues have been exhausted, problems like these might end up in the Ombuds office because the ombuds exists to make sure every member of the university community receives fair and equitable treatment. “I’m the mender and maintainer of relationships,” says Stricklen, BS ’95, MED ’97, noting that it is often a relationship issue that is central to the problem he’s been approached to consider. “Almost everything someone brings me—even if it’s a technological or procedural thing—often comes down to a relationship that is not working the way one or both think (it should be) working.” Stricklen points to the paradox of the Golden Rule: Often we do treat others as we would like to be treated, but often that is not necessarily how
they want to be treated. In service to untangling this paradox, Stricklen serves as a deep listener, a sounding board, and a creative problem solver who approaches an issue not through the lens of evaluating one’s performance evaluation, but through the lens of conflict resolution. “You can’t be an advocate for the person or an advocate for the institution, but you can be an advocate for fairness,” he says. “Mac is amazing. He is such a good listener,” says College of Fine Arts Dean Matthew Shaftel. He appreciates the ombuds’s role as a neutral third party, a person who is neither co-worker nor boss. “He makes all the people in the room feel validated and listened to.” Shaftel says he readily relies on the ombuds if a professional conflict in his college is exhibiting a strong emotional component. “There are two dialogues,” Shaftel says. “There’s the surface one and there’s the emotional one. Mac is…evaluating the emotional one.” In the end, many conflicts that employ the ombuds’s services are resolved without appealing to legal or human resource professionals, saving time and bandwidth. “Often what (people) are asking me to do is double check the fairness,” Stricklen says. “The good news is that I almost always find it.” —Mary Reed, BSJ ’90, MA ’93
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Illustration by Andrea Ucini
OHIO impact
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Dr. Frank Papay embraced servant leadership early in his career thanks to his relationship with his mentor, the late Professor Rush Elliott. Photo by Tim Harrison
To serve & to heal FALL 2019 R E L A T I O N S H I P S
Frank Papay would arrive in early morning at Professor Rush Elliott’s house on Athens’ east side. It was 1974 and Papay was summering in the city to paint houses and earn money to pay for fall tuition. What he remembers most isn’t the paint color used on the house Elliott, AB ’24, EMERT ’73, shared with his wife, Frances. Instead, Papay remembers the connection he made with the revered scholar during long morning walks. “And that’s when I really, really got to know him,” says the now world-renowned surgeon. “I developed a real deep relationship with him and his wife. And now, as I go through life, I think, ‘Jeez, if I can only be half that impactful through people’s lives.’ That’s pretty amazing.” Elliott’s gifts as teacher and mentor introduced Papay, during those formative years, to the foundation of servant leadership, a model in which a leader puts “the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong” ahead of self, wrote Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970. Today, the servant leadership model is baked into Papay’s practice as a surgeon and team leader at Cleveland Clinic. It’s central to how he relates to patients and their families and with his colleagues—doctors who are rising in their careers as surgeons, future leaders, and, perhaps one day, mentors themselves. Papay, AB ’75, is a craniofacial surgeon and chair of Cleveland Clinic’s Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute. His career arc includes expertise in cranial facial surgery, serving babies born with cleft lip, cleft palate, and other facial deformities. His tasks at the Clinic are to, “advance the evolution of surgery through technical innovations, createe new surgical techniques, and grow across medical specialties.”
Papay was heralded in 2008 for leading a surgical team that performed America’s first face transplant, and again in 2018 for leading a team of 11 doctors who performed Cleveland Clinic’s first-ever full-face transplant on Katie Stubblefield. At 21, Stubblefield became the youngest person in the United States to receive a complete face transplant. The case, documented through a story in National Geographic, gave Papay world-wide recognition. Yet, as a student of servant leadership, what’s central for him isn’t fame. It’s serving patients through building solid relationships with them and their families, in some cases for years after surgery. “Because that’s the expectation you place on yourself in order to really see that person from childhood through well into adulthood,” he says. “The relationship isn’t just one surgery, especially in cleft lip and palate. It’s performing multiple, multiple surgeries throughout that lifetime or at least the early-year lifetime of those individuals. So, I’m developing a relationship with the child, with the parents. I’m also making a commitment to them that I will follow through with this till they’re done, or I’m done, or both.” Papay asks his staff to share their personal sense of each patient before they arrive for the first appointment—launching the relations before the first meeting. Why all the pre-work? Because strong internal communication is key to making sure patients have a positive first impression, he says. “They sort of tee it up. … You can end up getting it from the front desk, then you get opinions from the people in that room, then the nurses ... and, then, me last,” he says. “You’ve got to make sure everybody’s on the same page … everything is perception.”
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“What impacted me was really the support that the mother and father gave and how family is so important. How that family came together despite this horrendous thing that happened to not just Katie, but to the family. That, I just...I’m amazed of how that happened.”
A patient’s first impression of the doctor—and vice versa—impacts not only the strength of their relationship but health outcomes as well, says Parul Jain, associate professor of journalism at OHIO’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and an expert in doctor-patient communication. “Research about first impressions can involve many things, including how a doctor dresses (white coats influence credibility), their bedside manners, and communication skills,” Jain says. “First impressions can be significant in setting the tone for the long-term care relationship.” Once a solid foundation in communication and that first impression is established, the task of building trust commences. For Papay, trust plus communication equals a solid relationship, he says. The research backs this up, says Jain. “[The] research is unequivocal in suggesting that [a] good patient-provider relationship leads to enhanced trust, satisfaction, compliance, adherence, and overall better health outcomes for the patient,” she says. When the dynamic between Papay and his patients shifts—when they go from sitting across from
him in an examination room to lying supine on a gurney headed toward a surgical theater—having a strong relationship is crucial, he says. “Trustworthiness, to me, is a sense of predictability in somebody’s actions and personality and statements,” he says. Papay says he always talks to his patients prior to surgery, offering a supportive touch of the patient’s hand or forehead. “I say, ‘Listen, I’m here, you’re fine. I’ll take great care of you.’” For Katie Stubblefield, the complete face transplant recipient, and her family, especially her parents, Robb and Alesia, their relationship with Papay was paramount to her successful health outcomes. Papay remains in awe of all of them, especially of Robb and Alesia. “What impacted me was really the support that the mother and father gave and how family is so important,” Papay says. “How that family came together despite this horrendous thing that happened to not just Katie, but to the family. That, I just...I’m amazed of how that happened.” Like Elliott, Papay champions the surgeons, leaders, and future mentors who will follow him. “My job is to make them better than me,” he says. “I think…impactfulness is a key component. “I want to help them, guide them about what I’ve learned, right or wrong, through this.” How employees relate to work culture has evolved, and leaders must keep up, Papay says. Boomers were expected to “work hard and achieve what you can achieve,” he says. Today’s workers seek more of a work-life balance. “And so, we have to respect that.” As more women enter medicine, leaders must embrace that evolution, too. “How do we, through a group of collective action surgeons, work together? If somebody has a baby, they can take time off, or somebody has young
WINTER GTOI O N DS WHI LI PL S FALL 20192018 REL A
school-aged children, they come in a little bit later,” he explains. “We have to understand that and bring in the relative aspects of diversity.” “As a servant leader, I have to understand even though I’m not a woman or of color, I have to, to the best of my abilities, ask from their perspective what’s the best way to achieve where they can go in their lifetime, better than where I’m at right now?” Papay meets with Melanie* during Ohio Today’s interview. Melanie had a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with carcinoma in situ in her breast, a cancer designation indicating abnormal cells have remained where they first formed. Because Melanie has a family history of breast cancer, she underwent a double mastectomy. “It wasn’t a big decision for me to do that,” she says.
Melanie and Papay are addressing her keloids, ropy scar tissue that can develop after surgery. Four of Papay’s staff are in the room, ready to give Melanie care. A Fraxel machine, the device that reduces the keloids, is rolled in. Before he begins his consult with Melanie, Papay invites her to tell Ohio Today her story. She does so, with confidence and detail. He’s grinning. “So, as you can see, she’s well educated,” he says proudly. Then he turns his focus to her and does what he’s there to do. Serve. —Kelee Garrison Riesbeck, BSJ, CERT ’91 *Only Melanie’s first name is used to protect her identity.
Dr. Frank Papay with Melanie and Abby Harlan, CNP [LEFT], at the Cleveland Clinic’s Richard E. Jacobs Health Center in Avon, Ohio.
Photo by Tim Harrison
OHIO impact
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Mark Shatz and his son, Ethan Shatz, a first year, take a swing with Rufus as he studies the finer points of psychology. Photo by Ellee Achten, BSJ ’14, MA ’17
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Funny is good Students in Mark Shatz’s general psychology class can be sure of one thing as they prepare to take his multiple-choice exams: Choice “E” is never the correct answer. From the moment students enter his classroom and receive his syllabus—salted with references to Yoda, Judge Judy, and “The Simpsons”—through the last day of class and the final exam—where choice “E” is always a joke—Shatz infuses humor as a tool to build relationships that facilitate learning. “I view humor as an educational and social lubricant,” explains Shatz, professor emeritus of psychology at Ohio University Zanesville. “When used properly, it enhances connections—to people, material, and places.” Shatz was a brave professor who took—and aced—the late OHIO faculty member Mel Helitzer’s class, “Humor Writing for Fun and Profit,” known for its intimidating final exam: a five-minute stand-up comedy performance before a live audience. Shatz went on to emcee the course’s final, teach the class at the Zanesville Campus, and co-author the second and author
the third editions of Helitzer’s top-selling book, Comedy Writing Secrets. Today, and because of Helitzer’s influence, Shatz is an expert on the systematic use of humor in the classroom and infuses comedy into his body of work in educational psychology.
“When you use humor, you’re more likely to get people to show up to class. You’re more likely to get people to pay attention and participate,” he says. “You create the experience, and you can increase the likelihood that learning is going to occur.”
Shatz says relationships that take place in an educational setting come in three forms and enhance the learning process: student-to-student, student-to-teacher, and, most importantly, student-to-material.
Shatz views humor as an invitation, bridging the student-teacher gap, allowing for interactive instruction that brings lessons learned to life, and encouraging the belief that learning is fun.
“If you build the first two conditions—you build a sense of community and you make the teacher accessible—then it makes it so much easier to teach students the material and connect them to it,” Shatz says. “One of the ways I facilitate those connections is through the use of humor.”
The inviting and fun nature of humor plays particularly well at Ohio University, he says.
Shatz has a refined and nuanced view of humor. It isn’t so much about jokes—although jokes, typically at his own expense, occur inside his classroom. Instead, humor is about fun, making the instruction more interactive, interesting, and memorable.
Bobcat culture
“I invite students, in part, in the classroom by using humor,” Shatz says. “I think Ohio University, and Athens in particular, does it by being unpretentious. When you walk onto campus, it invites you in. When you stand at Court and Union, you feel enclosed. You feel invited. That’s what makes OU, OU. It invites people to have a relationship—with the area, with the University, within their field of study, and so forth.” — Angela Woodward, BSJ ’98
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1969 SUMMER SCHOOL
For many, taking summer classes doesn’t spark joy, especially when they are required in order to graduate on time. But summer in Athens is also somewhat magical: The pace slows down—encouraged by the humidity baked into the region—and there’s plenty of parking. The same was true 50 years ago in the summer of 1969. When not in classes like ENG 177 Literary Themes in Ellis Hall, students could be found riding a free bus to Stroud’s Run State Park for a lazy afternoon of fun and sun. Free bus rides to and from the park are long gone, as are cooling stations like Crystal Pool on the west side of Athens and the Natatorium on University Terrace, both in place in 1969. What hasn’t
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Photos courtesy of the M ahn Archives & Special Collections
changed is that students in summer school still explore beyond the Athens County border and visit Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills State Park and Lake Hope State Park in Vinton County. And like in 1969, attention turned to the arts by night. Students still take in productions by Ohio Valley Summer Theater, and movies at the Athena Cinema. What they can’t do today is pay 25 cents for movie marathons at the Templeton Blackburn Memorial Alumni Auditorium through OHIO’s “Movies in Auditorium” or MIA program. Ah, those summer days in Athens, then and now! Where new relationships with OHIO, Athens County, and parts beyond are formed. —Hardika Singh, BSJ ’21
OHIO time machine
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Class notes, tweets and posts
* denotes tweets @OHIOAlumni or post on OHIO Alumni LinkedIn
1957
In February, Richard J. Green, BSED ’57, and his wife, Joy, were given the 2019 Illumination Award by Hope West Hospice of Grand Junction, Colorado, at the HopeWest Gala-Black Tie and Boots for their longtime volunteer service.
1968
Richard McKeown, BSED ’68*, became a member of the board of directors for ProLung Inc. as the board’s designee for Leavitt Partners, a health care intelligence business company, where he serves as chair. ProLung Inc. focuses on reducing the time to diagnosis for lung cancer patients. He resides in Salt Lake City, Utah.
1970
Terry L. Nance, BSED ’70, was inducted into the state athletic directors hall of fame. He resides in London, Ohio.
1971
In April, Richard E. Hart, BGS ’71, received the 2019 Don Ihde Distinguished
Alumni Award from Stony Brook University’s department of philosophy. Hart is a workshop leader at the university’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Hart and his wife, Diane L. Mertz-Hart, BGS ’72, reside in Smithtown, New York.
1972
Amy Camardese, BSED ’72*, professor of education and chair of Westminster College’s School of Education, in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, was presented with the college’s 2019 Distinguished Faculty Award in May.
1976
Kenneth Dixon, BSJ ’76, was inducted into the Connecticut Journalism Hall of Fame in May in recognition of his more than four-decade career as a journalist. Dixon resides in Shelton, Connecticut. Barbara Waldron, AAS ’76, BS ’77, officially retired in April as a self-employed nurse anesthetist. She resides in Athens, Georgia.
1977
Colleen A. Geraghty, BGS ’77, retired in March as district chief judge of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges in Boston, Massachusetts. Geraghty’s career spanned almost four decades. Jon R. Smith, BSED ’77, was awarded the 2019 Head Athletic Trainer of the Year Award by National Athletic Trainers’ Association Intercollegiate Council for Sports Medicine in the Community College/ NJCAA setting. He resides in Binghamton, New York.
1979
Gina Ruffin Moore, BSJ ’79, recently joined the board of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati, Ohio. Moore is a member of the city’s Princeton City School District Board of Education. She is an employment and training supervisor for the City of Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer District. She is the author of Cincinnati: The
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Black America Series (Arcadia Publishing). Timothy Neal, BSED ’79, was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in June 2019 for his 40 years of work in the field of athletic training. He and his wife Anne Clark Neal, BA ’79, reside in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
1981
James Aton, PHD ’81, co-authored with Jerry D. Spangler The Crimson Cowboys: The Remarkable Odyssey of the 1931 Claflin-Emerson Expedition (University of Utah Press), which won the 2018 Don D. and Catherine S. Fowler Prize for best book on anthropology. Aton resides in Cedar City, Utah. Gay Eyerman, BSC ’81, was the executive producer for “The Cuyahoga 50 Years Later: Celebrating the Comeback of the Burning River,” which received a Great Lakes Regional Emmy award in June 2019. She resides in University Heights, Ohio.
BOBCAT SIGHTINGS OHIO alumni go on adventures hither and yon! First LTs Timothy Kurfiss, BSS ’16, [LEFT, HOLDING FLAG] and Caroline Pirchner, BSVC ’16, grandstand the green and white while in training with multinational soldiers in South Base, Serbia.
Gregg Mambourg, BBA ’70, [LEFT] and Craig Roser, BBA ’70, freeze for a photo with their Bobcat flag at 6,817 feet on Montana’s Whitefish Mountain.
Mark Kuhar, AB ’80, [RIGHT] and his son Marko, a first-year at OHIO, form an “O” and an “H” for old OHIO at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Denise deSilva Litter, BBA ’02, [LEFT] and her mom, Donnajean Williamson deSilva, BSED ’69, navigated North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park in August. The Ebony Bobcat Network Connects event in Cincinnati/ Dayton in June welcomed [FRONT ROW FROM LEFT] Tekeia Howard, BSJ ’97, Reynell Frazier, BSED ’74, Simar Kalkat, ’23, Ashley Ferguson, BSJ ’06, Isabela Gibson, BSJ ’21, parent Keith Vukasinovich, Milan Vukasinovich, ’23, and parent Donna Thompson.
From left, Corbin C. Nyeste, BBA ’10, Anna Nyeste, BSSPS ’09, Amanda Blair, BBA, CERT ’10, and David Blair, BBA ’10, flash some Bobcat pride on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como.
Bobcat tracks
—Compiled by Hardika Singh, BSJ ’21, and Editor Kelee Garrison Riesbeck, BSJ, CERT ’91 Send your photos with names, grad degrees, and grad years to ohiotoday@ohio.edu or to Ohio University, Ohio Today, 112 McKee House, 1 Ohio University Drive, Athens, OH 45701.
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1984
In early 2019, Pamela Labbett Koch, BSJ ’84, completed her 30th year at News/Talk 1480 WHBC in Canton, Ohio. Koch, who goes by Pam Cook on air, has served as the station’s news director since 2002 and as the station’s program director since 2004, the station’s first female to hold the title. She has been the host of Canton’s Morning News program since 1994.
1985
Pamela E. Pierce, BSC ’85, became the
first woman and person of African-American descent to be appointed as a president and CEO of Metropolitan Development Council (MDC), part of a network of 1,000 community action agencies nationwide. Mike Mangen, BSRS ’85, MSPE ’86*, is the new defensive coordinator at Northmont Senior High School in Clayton, Ohio, his alma mater. He resides in Union, Ohio, with his wife, Teresa, BSH ’86.
Peru
2020 TOURS Jan. 18-Feb. 3 • Oceania Cruise: Tasman Sea Traveler April 23-May 4 • Wonders of Peru May 8-20 • Oceania Cruise: Legacies & Legends May 12-June 3 • Essential Europe June 9-19 • 42nd Passion Play Oberammergau July 1-5 • Costa Rica Eco Explorer July 2-13 • Oceania Cruise: Celtic Charms
A S S O C I AT I O N
For a complete list, visit ohio.edu/alumni/invest/partnerships/travel
1988
Robert A. Cain, DO ’88, recently was named president of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. Cain currently serves as the associate dean for clinical education at OHIO’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
1989
In April, Ted Hirschfeld, MSPE ’89, began his role as a clinical athletic trainer for University of North Carolina Orthopaedics at UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
1990
In February, Robert T. “Ty” Huffer, BSSPS ’90, was named president of TUG dba The United Group based in Monroe, Louisiana. Huffer has been with The United Group since 2014.
1991
Kathie Mancini, BSC ’91*, was appointed in August as regional president at Humana, a health and well-being company. Mancini will lead Humana’s Medicare business for its East Central operations. Mancini resides in New Albany, Ohio.
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1992
Stephanie Burress McCloud, BSJ ’92, MA ’93, was appointed in January as the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation’s administrator/CEO by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. She resides in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. In June, Heath Monesmith, BBA ’92*, was promoted to president and chief operating officer of the industrial sector at Eaton, a power management company. Monesmith has corporate responsibility for Eaton’s Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions. Monesmith resides in Salon, Ohio. In April, Jason K. Wright, AB ’92, bankruptcy attorney for Welman, Weinberg & Reis, Co., LPA, based in Cleveland, Ohio, became licensed to practice in the State Bar of Arizona and before the District of Arizona’s U.S. District Court and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The firm now offers direct representation in 16 U.S. states. Wright and his wife, Teresa, BSH ’93, reside in Olmsted Falls, Ohio.
1993
Tad Dritz, BSCHE ’93*, became a new bioeconomy expert at Lee Enterprises Consulting, Arkansas, which specializes in new technology development and deployment with a focus on biofuels and bio-based processes. In April, Krystal A. Fields, MA ’93, was appointed to the Michigan CitizenCommunity Emergency Response Coordinating Council, which assists in executing and supporting emergency response principles, strategies and practices within Michigan’s governmental agencies and private sector organizations. Fields resides in Detroit, Michigan. Kathryn M. Simcox, AB ’93, MSS ’19, became the lead volunteer and tour guide at the new National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio.
1994
Mary Meadows Montgomery, BA ’94, began serving as judge at Montgomery County’s Common Pleas Court in July 2019. She was elected in November 2018 after 21 years as a
prosecutor. She and her husband, David, live in Oakwood, Ohio.
1995
Janelle Coleman, BSJ ’95*, became the new executive vice president of external affairs for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Fred Harner, MSPE ’95*, became the new senior vice president of content and media for XFL, a football league, in June. Harner will lead the XFL’s content strategy and all digital and social media initiatives for the league and its eight teams. He resides in New York, New York.
district. This year marks Clinkscale’s 22nd year in education. He resides in Columbus, Ohio. In April, Holly Fisher, BSJ ’98, CEO and founder of Fisher Creative, was named 2019 Marketer of the Year at the American Marketing Association Charleston Chapter’s Spark! Awards. The award honors exceptional creative, communication, and marketing campaigns in more than 20 categories. She resides in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
In August, Amanda La Kier, BSC ’95*, began her role as the new chief development officer for Jewish Family & Career Services in Atlanta, Georgia. La Kier will lead the agency’s development efforts which include grants, fundraising events, and volunteer activities. She resides in Dunwoody, Georgia.
Megan Luck, BSH ’98, graduated from The Christ Hospital’s Aspiring Leaders Academy with The Christ Hospital Health Network in Cincinnati, Ohio, in spring 2019. She works at the Internal Medicine for Christ Hospital Physicians.
1999
In April, Allison Dolan, BSJ ’99, was appointed as the chief content officer at the Cincinnatibased Educational Theatre Association, a membership association
Relive the bricks this fall with The Bobcat Store!
1998
Ernest Clinkscale, BSED ’98*, was appointed as the principal of Hawthorne Elementary School in the Westerville City Schools
Bobcat tracks
Use code OTFALL2019 to receive 15% off your entire purchase.
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for theater educators and home of the International Thespian Society, the honor organization for middle and high school theater students. Jon Oldham, BS ’99, was appointed in January as the administrative/presiding judge of the Akron Municipal Court. Oldham oversees the administration, docket, calendar, the observance of the rules of superintendence, and the timely reporting and termination of all cases in the court. Oldham resides in Akron, Ohio. Karla Mullenax Wludyga, BSJ ’99, was promoted to director of organizational development at PRADCO, a talent assessment, development, and management company based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Wludyga resides in Concord Township, Ohio.
2000
Demaree Kympton Clark, BSJ ’00, summitted Uhuru Peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro on March 8, 2019, in celebration of International Women’s Day. She and her husband, Brian Clark, BBA ’99, reside in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
In May, Nathan Daniel, BA, CERT ’00, MS, CERT ’12*, became the new executive director of the Great Peninsula Conservancy, a regional land trust in Bremerton, Washington. Daniel works to increase civic engagement and community science projects with universities and state agency workers. Graham Gaston, BA ’00, was appointed as deputy head of media operations for global information and technology company Bloomberg L.P.’s Asia Pacific region. Gaston is based in Hong Kong. Lisa Gustavson, MA ’00, founder and owner of Sojourner Tours, won Lux magazine’s 2019 award for Best Intimate Food and Culture Tours–France. The company is rooted in sustainable tourism and specializes in boutique tours of France. Gustavson resides in Georgetown, Texas. In May, Angie Rich, BBA ’00*, became the chief fiscal officer at Lorain Public Library System, Lorain, Ohio. In addition to overseeing the day-to-day financial operations
of the Library System, Rich advises the library system’s board and CEO on all financial matters. Rich resides in Independence, Ohio.
2001
Erik D. Fields, BSIT ’01*, was promoted to vice president of manufacturing at Nissan Motor’s Canton, Mississippi, plant in June. He resides in Madison, Mississippi. In May, Amy Owens Gerade, BA ’01, received her doctoral degree in leadership in schooling from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Gerade is the director of high school curriculum for Danvers Public Schools in Danvers, Massachusetts. She resides in Billerica, Massachusetts.
2002
In June, Casey Christopher, BSC ’02*, was appointed as vice president of member relations for the Independent Community Bankers of America®. She supports ICBA members through community bank-focused education and best-in-class products and services. Christopher is chair
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of the OHIO Alumni Association Board of Directors. She resides in Westwood, New Jersey.
2003
Jeremy Vittek, BSED ’03*, was appointed as vice president of academic and student affairs at Belmont College in St. Clairsville, Ohio, in April. Vittek resides in Tiltonsville, Ohio.
2004
Gregory Banyay, BSME ’04, MS ’06, recently received his doctoral degree in civil engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. He and his wife, Jennifer Vangorder Banyay, BSSPS ’05, MS ’06, reside in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania.
2006
Stephanie C. Haney, BA ’06*, joined WKYC Studios in Cleveland, Ohio, where she’ll produce content for the studio’s channels.
2008
Kevin Fox, MA ’08, was selected as a 2019 Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow in recognition of his commitment to geographic education.
FUTURE BOBCATS
Liam Jeffries pauses during playtime so mom, Anna Sudar Jeffries, BSJ ’09, and dad, David Jeffries, BSC ’11, can snap a photo.
Just arrived! Cooper MacNeill Hataway dreams of the day he’ll join his parents, Jessica Hataway, BBA ’02, and MacNeil Hataway, BSHCS ’05, as a Bobcat.
Wallace Carter Lang is suited up and ready to cheer on the Bobcats with his proud parents, Patrick Lang, BA ’99, and Jenny Farmer Lang, BSED ’05, MED, CERT ’14. Rowan Caroline Matthews is all smiles for the camera and for her parents Lindsay Harmon-Matthews, BS ’06, DPT ’09, and Jack Matthews, BSCS ’06.
—Compiled by Editor Kelee Garrison Riesbeck, BSJ, CERT ’91 and Hardika Singh, BSJ ’21 Send your photos with names, grad degrees and grad years to ohiotoday@ ohio.edu or Ohio University, Ohio Today, 112 McKee House, 1 Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701.
Bobcat tracks
Jace Rowan Prater catches some z’s while dressed head to toe in Bobcat gear. Proud parents are Amberle Prater, BA ’11, MED ’13, PHD ’18, and Jake Prater, BSAT ’13.
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Fox traveled to the Arctic this summer through the fellowship. He teaches AP Human Geography at George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Dr. Kenneth D. Pugar, BS ’08, DO ’13*, joined the staff at Clinton Memorial Hospital’s Clinton Neurological Services in Wilmington, Ohio, in June.
2010
Nathan Blue, BSAT ’10, and Abigail Kornowski Blue, BSH ’13, were married on June 23, 2018, in Lakewood, Ohio. Carlyn Bentz Devlin, BBA ’10, was a top 10 finalist for the 2019 Women in IT Awards Series in the “Rising Young Star” category. Devlin is the managing director at Clark Schaefer Consulting in Columbus, Ohio.
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Research by Courtney Vastine, MSW ’12, was published in the April 2019 issue of PsychoOncology Journal. Vastine is an oncology social worker in breast and gynecologic oncology at Baylor College of Medicine. She resides in Houston, Texas.
FALL 2019 R E L A T I O N S H I P S
In June, Jennifer Halliday, BA, BSJ ’13*, was appointed as creative director and office manager of WW Hospitality Marketing, a full-service marketing agency based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Halliday resides in Roaring Springs, Pennsylvania.
2015
Victor R. Moore, BSA ’15, was recently hired by the Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky Airport Board as an aviation specialist. He has a bachelor’s degree in aviation from the Russ College of Engineering and Technology. He resides in Cincinnati, Ohio.
2016
Jessica England, MSN ’16*, was selected as the medical director for Elmcroft, a senior living community in Lima, Ohio, in June. England’s 20-year career includes serving in long-term care, hospice, and palliative care settings. She resides in Rockford, Ohio.
2017
Maygan Beeler, BSJ ’17, is the editor of Milestones, an internal newsletter for
The Shelly Company, recently won a PRism Award for public relations excellence from the Public Relations Society of America, Central Ohio Chapter. She resides in Canal Winchester, Ohio.
Program for the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps. She is enrolled at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and will join JAG upon her expected graduation date of 2021.
Katie Zimmerman, MSRSS ’17*, was named the head coach of the newly formed women’s ice hockey team at Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts. Zimmerman resides in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
In June, Tammy Razmic, MHA ’18*, was appointed as chief operating officer at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, an acute care hospital in Palm Beach, Florida. Razmic manages the daily operations and oversees the development and implementation of long-range plans, goals, and objectives for the center.
2018
Ambrosia McKenzie, BA ’18 (history), BA ’18 (math)*, was accepted into the Graduate Law
Bobcat tracks
Alumni Authors
Ohio University alumni publish books across subjects and genres. Here are releases within the last year. —Compiled by Hardika Singh, BSJ ’21, and Editor Kelee Garrison Riesbeck, BSJ, CERT ’91
Mindreacher, thriller (self-published), and Mary Knew: A Biography of Mary from Ancient Scriptures, biography (self-published) by Irene Baron, MED ’90 • Sol LeWitt: A Life of Ideas, biography (Wesleyan University Press), by Lary Bloom, BSJ ’65 • Tim’s Senior Moments, essays (self-published), by Tim Bryce, BSC ’76 • Mountains Piled upon Mountains: Appalachian Nature Writing in the Anthropocene, essays (West Virginia University Press), by Jessica Cory, BA ’09 • Reading for Action: Engaging Youth in Social Justice through Young Adult Literature, social justice (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers), by Janine J. Darragh, BSED ’94, MED ’99 • Chapel Services For Sports Teams, spirituality (self-published), by Jim Gillespie, BSED ’69 • If These Walls Could Talk: Chicago Cubs: Stories from the Chicago Cubs Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box, sports nonfiction (Triumph Books), by Jon Greenberg, BSJ ’01 • American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt, historical fiction (William Morrow Paperbacks), and Dark Storm, suspense (MIRA), by Karen Harper, BA ’67 • Pawpaw is My Favorite Flavor!, children’s literature (Monday Creek Publishing), by Kaitlin Kulich, BSJ ’18, CERT ’18 • Hocking Hills Day Hikes, travel guide (Get Out! Publishing), by Mary Reed, BSJ ’90, MA ’93
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Remembering fellow alumni
1940s
Delven W. Devore, BSED ’42, MED ’50 Edna (Federer) Miller, BSED ’42 Ruth E. (Hopkins) Pack, AB ’42 Jean C. (Cannon) Everhart, BSED ’43 Harold I. Salzmann, AB ’45 Martha P. (Smith) Seal, BSHEC ’45 Elsie (Kollin) Eltzroth, BS ’47 Joanne D. (Duke) Gamblee, BSJ ’47 Betty L. (Jandes) Becker, BSCOM ’48 Mary F. (Morrill) Anderson, AB ’49 John E. Collins, BSED ’49, MED ’53 William F. Duer, BSED ’49, MED ’56 Robert J. Freeman, BSCOM ’49 Shifra S. (Gerber) Gold, AB ’49 James W. Knellinger, BSCE ’49
1950s
Dennis K. Baker, BSAGR ’50 Frederik DeWit, AB ’50 Gerald A. Drake, BSED ’50 Ralph A. Gabriel, BSED ’50 Milton E. Ganger, AB ’50 Charles L. Gibboney, BSCOM ’50 John P. Jones, BS ’50 Catherine R. (Richards) Knecht, BSHEC ’50 O. R. Mallernee, BSED ’50 Mildred L. (Ohlinger) Bailey, BSHEC ’51, MED ’68 Leonard Berkley, AB ’51 David E. Byers, BSCE ’51 Patricia L. Dineen, AB ’51 William H. Eyler, BSCE ’51 Lois A. (Erdman) Farrell, BSCOM ’51 Donald W. Green, BSJ ’51 Patricia I. (Irwin) Kircher, AB ’51 James R. Kochheiser, BSCOM ’51 William G. Pearce, BSED ’51 Norman L. Rozell, BSED ’51
Richard S. Warren, BSAGR ’51 William S. Worth, BSAGR ’51 Carl E. Busch, BSIE ’52 Helen (Tomaski) Elliott, MED ’52 Sara I. (Spademan) Eyler, BSED ’52 Roy A. Hendershot, BSCOM ’52 George E. Higgins, AB ’52, MBA ’56 John J. Miller, BSED ’52, MA ’77 Jo A. (Brunner) Sanders, BSED ’52 Ardath P. (Pierce) Shelton, BSED ’52 John D. Ward, BSJ ’52 Richard R. Bobo, BSCOM ’53 Annabelle (Cranmer) Ferguson, BSED ’53 Thomas C. Rickles, BSCOM ’53 Margaret K. Scott, AB ’53 Robert L. Snuggs, AB ’53 James E. Vincent, MFA ’53 Ann L. (Knappenberger) Burdorf, BFA ’54 Lionel P. (Bowers) Levreault, MS ’54 James O. Linn, BSME ’54 Fred L. Meck, BSED ’54 Arthur C. Rhoads, BS ’54, BSME ’59 Davey L. Turner, AA ’54 Joan E. (Lee) Berlin, AB ’55 Karl A. Johns, BSCOM ’55 Tom Kuby, BSJ ’55 Raymond J. Lipicky, AB ’55 Helen L. Barnhill, BS ’56 Jerry M. Bishop, AB ’56 Ralph W. Cater, BS ’56 Sally M. (Hamilton) Fairbanks, General ’56 John M. Kotila, BSEE ’56 P J. Lymberopoulos, BSCOM ’56 Doris E. (Thompson) Myers, MA ’56 Donna (Denis) Sullivan, AB ’56 Jon P. Tipton, BS ’56 Lorraine S. (Girsch) Biear, BSJ ’57 Thomas G. Brunk, BFA ’57 Donald G. Conley, BSCHE ’57 Gordon W. Keller, AB ’57, MA ’59
FALL 2019 R E L A T I O N S H I P S
Constance J. (Walton) Linneman, AA ’57 D. James McDonough, BSED ’57 Ronald E. Punkar, BFA ’57 Donald F. Chambers, BSCOM ’58 Suzanne (Fantz) Enochs, BSS ’58 Walter Fleishhacker, BSCOM ’58, MBA ’60 John P. Kresse, BSED ’58 William H. Reinhart, BSAE ’58 David E. Bowling, MED ’59 Forrest N. Dye, BSCOM ’59 Harold W. Risner, BSED ’59 Norman D. Sanders, BFA ’59 Edward T. Velkoff, BSCOM ’59 Charles L. Woods, BSCOM ’59
1960s
Beverly J. (Zarick) Ferrell, BFA ’60 G. Thomas Graf, BSED ’60 Bernard G. Lancione, BSCOM ’60 Julaine R. (Rodig) Mokren, BSJ ’60 Peggy J. (Kowalka) Morton, BSJ ’60 Dana L. Sherman, BSED ’60 Robert E. Hunter, BSED ’61 Phyllis L. (Herbell) Leonhardt, BSED ’61 Judith A. (Sprague) Becker, AB ’62 William H. Frye, BSED ’62 C. W. Hasty, MS ’62 Charles A. Leist, BSEE ’62 James F. Papp, BSCOM ’62 I. L. Rinehart, MA ’62, MED ’93 Ronald J. Rotaru, BSJ ’62 Michael I. Rothburd, AB ’62, PHD ’70 Robert J. Stojetz, BSED ’62 Richard E. Weinland, BSCE ’62 Claire M. Ball, BBA ’63, MBA ’64 Helen (Howdyshell) Helser, BSED ’63 James T. Rissmiller, BSJ ’63 Patrick J. Switz, BS ’63 Sylvia J. (Peuhl) Thomas, BSED ’63 John A. Woggon, BSED ’63
Richard W. Dickinson, AA ’64, BSED ’68 Paul E. Gregory, BSED ’64, MED ’72 Esta M. (Blackwood) Gressette, BS ’64 Tang T. Van, BSED ’64, MS ’65 Arthur L. Buell, PHD ’65 Walter E. Dimmerling, BSEE ’65 Patricia S. Emnett, BSED ’65 Richard A. Gooding, BSED ’65 Richard H. Hall, BSED ’65 Irene F. (Witham) Horner, BSED ’65 Janis J. (Kissner) Miller, BSJ ’65 David W. Mills, MED ’65 Melvin L. Moeschberger, MS ’65 Linda K. (Fields) Niceswanger, BSED ’65 William G. Sherman, BBA ’65 Helen B. (Sankey) Slaughter, BSED ’65 Leon M. Williams, BBA ’65 JoAnn (Hayes) Cooperrider, BSED ’66 Raymond L. Sanborn, BSME ’66 Ronald M. Seiverth, BBA ’66, MBA ’67 Richard S. Birnbaum, AB ’67 Randall N. Bothmann, AB ’67 Wayne F. Drotleff, BBA ’67 Rose F. Isch, MED ’67 Thomas W. Kelty, AB ’67 Alexander Koslow, BSED ’67 Rosalie (Borchert) Phillips, BSED ’67 John Waksmundski, BSED ’67, MS ’68 Sheryl L. (Loper) Abraham, BSED ’68 Robert W. Baker, BSED ’68 Thomas R. Benua, MBA ’68 Rodney K. Chambers, BS ’68 Estella Curry, BSED ’68 Gladys A. (Angle) Kirk, BSHEC ’68 Alice Lillich, BSHEC ’68 Jay D. Morrow, BBA ’68
Galen L. Oliver, BSJ ’68 Eric A. Peterson, BBA ’68 David R. Pullman, MS ’68 Charles W. Wilson, BS ’68 Charlene M. (Paul) Ballard, BSED ’69 Roger E. Bennett, BSJ ’69, MS ’70 Margaret M. Condon, MAIA ’69 Janet E. (Osborn) Doherty, BSED ’69, MED ’73 Marian Drost, BFA ’69 Suzanne E. Estler, MA ’69 Rebecca A. (Wolfinger) Fish, AB ’69 Thomas M. Perkins, BSED ’69 Mary S. (Handley) Peters, BSED ’69 William M. Schmidbauer, AB ’69 Patricia M. (Montague) Taylor, BSHSS ’69
1970s
William H. Barbour, BBA ’70, MBA ’81 Edmund R. Demers, PHD ’70 Terry P. Downey, BSJ ’70 Terrence L. Gaines, BSEE ’70 Elaine G. (Garbaciak) Holmes, BSED ’70 Diane F. (McClure) Paulsen, BSED ’70 Ernest R. Pinson, PHD ’70 Robert J. Snider, BBA ’70 Yolanda M. (Paska) Unger, BSHSS ’70 Charles F. Wiedenmann, BSED ’70, MED ’73, PHD ’78 Ralph G. Williams, BSIT ’70, MS ’71 John E. Collins, BSED ’71 Ruthanne (Seibel) Edgington, BSC ’71 Carmine M. Garofalo, BBA ’71 James H. Halleran, BGS ’71 Patricia H. Smith, AAS ’71 George W. Werden, BSED ’71 Thomas J. Hanno, BSED ’72
In memoriam
James A. Lambert, AB ’72, MED ’81 Diane M. (Vaught) Miller, AB ’72 C W. Roessler, BBA ’72 Mary E. (Maurer) Dewhurst, BSED ’73 John J. Gorski, BSC ’73 Richard W. Greene, BBA ’73 Suzanne Kovalchik, BSED ’73 Shirley R. (Yenke) Pope, AB ’73 Michael D. Riley, PHD ’73 Frances D. (Tharp) Dunlap, BSED ’74 Freda A. (Stalder) Green, BSED ’74 Douglas R. McMurray, BSIT ’74 Henry E. Mooney, BSED ’74 Larry D. Murdoch, BFA ’74 Paul Nutter, BSIT ’74, MBA ’85 Dolores (Stortz) Parish, BSED ’74 Larry H. Riley, BBA ’74 Robert R. Robinson, BSC ’74 Artis J. Salyer, MED ’74 Patricia (Anthony) Grean, BFA ’75 Ronald J. Hangen, AB ’75 Julie A. (Hasper) Scamehorn, AA ’75, BBA ’94, MSS ’02 Robert L. Abel, BBA ’76 Richard K. Burke, AIS ’76 Charles R. Butler, BBA ’76 Rollin D. Harris, BSED ’76 Gary F. Bope, BSED ’77 Charlotte A. Good, BSHSS ’77 Suzanne (Kelley) Johnson, BSJ ’77 Elaine (Toler) Mahaffey, BS ’77 Steven R. Coons, MA ’78 Mary E. (Studer) Dudley, EMERT ’78 Joan K. (Snyder) Short, BBA ’78 Lewis F. Downey, AAS ’79 Rebecca J. (Holloway) Hammond, BSED ’79 Thomas A. Hutto, PHD ’79
1980s
M. J. Andres, BFA ’80, MFA ’84 Phylora M. (Young) Bolander, BSED ’80 52 53
Sally H. (Howell) Kennedy, MED ’80 Barbara Mendelson, BSN ’80, MLS ’86 Jeffrey A. Fisher, BBA ’81 Leslie A. (Horvath) Scherry, BSED ’81 Christopher A. Huskey, BSED ’82 Frederic E. Gagel, BS ’83 Steven D. Solomon, BBA ’83 Barbara F. Gessel, BBA ’84 Ingrid R. (Ruppert) Haley, AAS ’84 David M. Magee, BSRS ’84 Trong B. Tran, BSEE ’85 Mary J. Yuenger, BSN ’85 Todd A. (Williams) Dean, BFA ’86 Dan C. Wegner, BSC ’86 Alice R. (Barrick) Wright, AA ’88, BSED ’91 Linda M. Campbell, BSED ’89 Peter M. Carnahan, BGS ’89
1990s
Davidah A. (Walton) Groves, BGS ’90 Darrin E. Lewis, BSC ’90 Joseph B. Peet, BSED ’92 David J. El’Hatton, BSC ’93 Ted F. Palmer, BSHSS ’94 Jennifer R. Ramsay, AB ’94 Phillip L. McFarland, AA ’95, BCJ ’98, BSS ’97 Kirsten R. (Stanley) Bradshaw, AA ’96, BSS ’97 Brenda S. Reams, BSN ’96 Joseph J. Ide, BBA ’97 Matthew C. McCabe, BSIT ’98 Patrick D. Wickline, BS ’99
2000s
Jackie K. Lambert, AA ’00, AAB ’02, BSC ’04 Nathaniel P. Anderson, CERT ’01, BS ’01, BBA ’14 Deborah G. Osborn, AAS ’05
Brock A. Bennington, BBA ’07 Stephanie L. (Andrews) Michalek, BS ’07
2010s
Cynthia L. Brown, BSN ’11 Jeffrey D. Craiger, BA ’11 Emily T. Glaser, BSN ’12 Gene G. Massey, MSRSS ’13 Alec (Abby) A. Militano, BA ’13 Denise L. Harris, BSN ’14, MSN ’16 Chris Dorich, MSRSS ’18 Jonathon D. Hogue, MS ’18
Faculty/Staff
Vicky J. Adkins, Albany, Ohio, former painter, Facilities Maintanence, April 18 Violet Cooper, Millfield, Ohio, retired longtime (30 years) cook, Culinary Services, April 5 James E. Crouse, BSC ’74, Athens, Ohio, former television producer and director of the Telecommunications Center, Scripps College of Communication, Feb. 23 Sheryl M. (Evans) Evener, Las Vegas, Nevada, retired administrative assistant, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Feb. 23 Robert G. Helsel, Athens, Ohio, former professor emeritius of mathematics, College of Arts and Sciences. Golda S. Hunter, Chauncey, Ohio, long-time (31 years) cook, Culinary Services, March 20
FALL 2019 R E L A T I O N S H I P S
Albert G. Leep, Athens, Ohio, professor emeritus of curriculum and instruction, The Patton College of Education, Feb. 26 John E. Miller, BSED ’71, MED ’80, Ironton, Ohio, former student services associate, Southern Campus, Feb. 10 Felicia V. Nowak, Athens, Ohio, professor of biomedical science, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Feb. 10 Mary J. Roberts, Coolville, Ohio, custodial work supervisor, Custodial Services, Jan. 6 Ruth A. Russell, Millfield, Ohio, retired custodial worker, Custodial Services, March 3 Norma J. (McAllister) Rypma, The Plains, Ohio, retired student loan specialist, Office of Student Financial Aid, Feb. 1 Andrea S. Webb, BSH ’88, Lancaster, Ohio, former coordinator of the childhood immunization program, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, March 26 —Compiled by Jennifer Shutt Bowie, BSJ ’94, MS ’99. Includes alumni who passed away between January 1 and April 30, 2019. Information provided by the University’s Office of Advancement Services.
MISSION STATEMENT
Ohio Today informs, celebrates, and engages alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends of Ohio University.
Editor, Director of Content, Advancement Communication and Marketing Kelee Garrison Riesbeck, BSJ, CERT ’91 Art Director Sarah McDowell, BFA ’02 Contributors Ellee Achten, BSJ ’14, MA ’17 Max Catalano, BSVC ’20 Julie Ciotola, BSJ ’20 Jamie Clarkson, BSJ ’20 Nick Claussen, BSJ ’92 Jen Jones Donatelli, BSJ ’98 Akira Fisher, BSVC ’23 Mateo Galvano John Grimwade John Halley, MFA ‘87 Tim Harrison Cat Hofacker, BSJ ’18 Atilla Horvath, BSVC ’98 Kat Morrison, BSVC ’16 Jeff Kallet Ohio University Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections Ohio University Press Mary Reed, BSJ ’90, MA ’93 C. David Russell, BFA ’93 Dennis Savage Peter Shooner Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02 Hardika Singh, BSJ ’21 Nancy Stevens Julie Suhr Andrea Ucini Erin Wilson Angela Woodward, BSJ ’98 Brett Ziegler Proofreader Emily Caldwell, BSJ ’88, MS ’99
Printer The Watkins Printing Co. Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations & Executive Director of the Alumni Association Erin Essak Kopp Assistant Vice President of Communication and Chief of Staff, Advancement Jennifer Shutt Bowie, BSJ ’94, MS ’99 Senior Director of Creative Services and Digital Communication, Advancement Communication and Marketing Sarah Filipiak, BSJ ’01
ERRATA Errata for the spring 2019 issue follows. Ohio Today regrets the errors. The names of Peter Kotses and Scott Ruesher were misspelled. On page five, the degree and graduation date for Shawna Bolin, BSHCS ’97, were omitted. The sun dial depicted on page 17 was installed in 1907.
Ohio Today is published three times a year. Its digital companion is ohiotoday.org. Both are produced by University Advancement, with funding from The Ohio University Foundation. Views expressed in them do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff or University policies. Editorial office address: Ohio Today, 112 McKee House, Ohio University, 1 Ohio University Drive, Athens, OH 45701. Send questions, comments, ideas, and submissions (such as Class notes, photos of future Bobcats, and information about books by Bobcats) to the above address, via email to ohiotoday@ohio.edu, or call Ohio Today at 740.593.1891. Make address changes at ohio.edu/alumni or via Ohio University, Advancement Services, 1 Ohio University Drive, 168 WUSOC, Athens, OH 45701. Send details for the “In memoriam” column to the latter or via email to advinfo@ ohio.edu. The OHIO switchboard is 740.593.1000. Copyright © 2019 by Ohio University. Ohio University is an equal access, equal opportunity, and affirmative action institution.
“Gifted”
OHIO’s University Professor Award is given by students to faculty who enlighten and delight. What does it take to truly connect with today’s digitally distracted and savvy college students? Find out in, “Gifted,” Ohio Today Radio podcast’s new episode.
Listen at ohiotoday.org/radio.
Masthead
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Houser is a 2019 University Professor Award recpient. Listen to her story in “Gifted,” Ohio Today Radio’s newest podcast episode, at ohiotoday.org/radio.
Photo by Max Catalano, BSVC ’20
Last word Assistant Professor of Geography Jana Houser joined the OHIO faculty in 2013. Houser researches severe weather and has been chasing extreme events like tornadoes for more than 15 years. Her love for this area of meteorology is infectious: Students readily sign up for her stormchasing experience class and spend their spring break on the road gathering data on severe weather, wherever it may be.
Ohio Today asked Houser to unpack who she is and her views on life. An excerpt of the interview follows. Which would you pick: being worldclass attractive, a genius, or famous for doing something great? I would choose being famous for something great because I want to make a difference in peoples’ lives and in humanity. I think from the standpoint of making progress as a society and culture, it’s important to be making strides forward.
FALL 2019 R E L A T I O N S H I P S
What is the best piece of advice you’ve received? Don’t be afraid to ask questions. For many people it’s intimidating to admit you don’t know something, but learning to be OK with not knowing something is important. Visit ohiotoday.org for the complete Q&A. —Hardika Singh, BSJ ’21
What can we learn from half of a fossilized rodent tooth? In paleontology, sometimes a find that is not much larger than the head of a pin can yield surprising insights into our planet’s past. One example is a partial tooth discovered by Ohio University researchers in 2003 in southwestern Tanzania. Although this discovery was not a complete skeleton or even a complete tooth, it preserved just enough information to lead to a discovery about how the earth’s plates are moving in the East African Rift. —Professor Nancy Stevens
Nancy Stevens and Patrick O’Connor excavate a site in Tanzania in 2019, where they have worked together for more than 18 years. Photo by Ben Siegel Wirtz Siegel , BSVC ‘02
Still more
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P A I D Advancement Services Ohio University 164 WUSOC 1 Ohio University Drive Athens, Ohio 45701-0869
This 12-inch figure created out of sticks, leather scraps, twine, and wire is a central character in a stop motion film included in Lacuna, a multimedia installation by two College of Fine Arts faculty that invites visitors into a world of complex relationships. Image courtesy of C. David Russell
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