Ohio Today Spring 2017

ohiotoday FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF OHIO UNIVERSITY

Spring 2017 : Legacy

Spring 2017

Features CHUBB FAMILY TREE The family of one-time OHIO president Edwin Watts Chubb— for whom College Green’s Chubb Hall is named—includes five generations of Bobcats. The family shared its OHIO story, just one of many that makes OHIO a family tradition.

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THE LONG VIEW FROM CUTLER HALL Part distinguished alumni profile, part presidential time line, part OHIO scrapbook. The University celebrates the legacy of 20th President Roderick J. McDavis, BSED ’70.

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PAW PRINTS There’s no doubt Ohio University’s a singular place. Who made it that way? Bobcats, of course. Betty Hollow, MED ’77, author of Ohio University: The Spirit of a Singular Place, crafted a list of OHIO’s shapers.

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The legacy of President Roderick J. McDavis includes 12 years of OHIO commencements— conferring 83,692 degrees upon 77,715 alumni. That’s 28 percent of the more than 292,000 graduates who’ve earned OHIO degrees since the University’s founding in 1804.

Photo by Ben Siegel, BSVC '02

ALUMNI FOOTPRINTS Bobcats make their marks across the decades, across the globe, and across disciplines. A sampling of standouts—graduates from the 1910s to the 2010s—compiled for Ohio Today by Betty Hollow, MED ’77.

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ON THE COVER: President Roderick McDavis’ “Last Word” column takes inspiration from his “cherished tree-lined College Green.” The cover image was created by artist Jacob Parker, MFA ’18, at the College of Fine Arts, and was inspired by and pays homage to the legacy of OHIO’s stately trees, each year marked by one more ring, another legacy carried into tomorrow.

Go online to ohiotoday.org/spring-2017 for more stories and online exclusives.

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Departments 2 First Lady’s message 3 From the editor 3 Letters to the editor 5

Your OHIO

Alumni answer a fun question.

6 Across the College Green

44 In memoriam

Recent and unfolding developments about OHIO people, entities, initiatives, pursuits, activities, events—and more!

46 Bobcat brainteaser

34 Bobcat tracks

Column by President Roderick J. McDavis.

Alumni history, perspectives, photos, news, and announcements.

48 Last word Inside back cover: Still more Photo column by University Photography Supervisor Ben Siegel, BSVC ’02

MESSAGE FROM THE FIRST LADY

Lasting impact & cherished perspective Dear OHIO Alumni, As first lady of Ohio University, my primary goal has been to partner with the president in carrying out his mission for the University.

For nearly 13 years, I have enjoyed participating in and observing my husband lead Ohio University’s historic transformation. As I continue to marvel at all that he and his capable team have accomplished, I am mindful of his steadfast belief that serving as the 20th president of his alma mater has been his life’s greatest achievement. It has been an amazing experience for me, too!

In the 52 years I have known Rod (our courtship began when I was 16 years old and he was 15), I have never known him to take on any venture without giving 100 percent of his time, energy, and effort. He thinks things through methodically, with much foresight and insight, weighing pros and cons, before making any decision. When the time comes to commit to a particularly challenging one, he is “all in” with few, if any, hesitations or regrets. Indeed, he’s always been an avid student—a reader, researcher, analyzer, and problem-solver. He acquired and honed these leadership skills while pursuing his college career and eventually his dream of making higher education his calling.

In 2008, when President Barack Obama became America’s 44th president, the first African-American to assume the highest office in the land, he surely felt both proud and humble. All the more since his four living forerunners attended the inauguration. A similar exhilaration overtakes me when Rod and I come face-to-face with our Ohio University predecessors or their families.

The University’s 213-year history comes to life when we are seated

around the same table with or are in the company of relatives of the Glidden, Ping, Baker, and Alden families. And when relatives of the Gamertsfelder family visit our home and members of the Baker and Sowle families travel back to Athens on special occasions or for special events, we are both delighted with and enlightened by the fond memories of their presidential years.

Ohio University’s soon-to-be 21st presidential family will have much to glean from their living predecessors, from the relatives of those who have passed on, from the many members of the University campuses, from countless alumni, and from city of Athens communities. All desire to inform newcomers of the rich legacy of the University and its surrounding Appalachian region. And they want to share stories about years gone by that have fostered fellowship and partnerships that open doors to the abundant successes and endless possibilities of Ohio University.

While leaving our Bobcat family and this friendly Athens town will not be easy, we are content with the fact that returning “on the bricks” for a visit from time to time will give us much to look forward to and to plan for. In the meantime I, along with Rod, treasure our time spent being a part of the OHIO and city of Athens family.

Cordially,

Deborah A. McDavis, HON '16, Proud first lady of Ohio University

President Roderick McDavis and First Lady Deborah McDavis react to the crowd during the Oct. 8, 2016, Homecoming Parade. The University’s first couple for nearly 13 years, this Homecoming moment echoes one of the pair’s favorite songs: “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole. Photo courtesy Carolyn Rogers/ WOUB News

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LETTERS

From the editor For we own thy kindly care

Grateful perspective

Bobcats often link the legacy of OHIO to the sustainment of goodwill.

At least that’s what I’ve noticed as editor of Ohio Today for the past two years. OHIO alumni, in particular, uphold a type of intrinsic benevolence, a fond willingness, an obliging verve, which their magazine reflects. I will miss this accommodating bonhomie most of all as I depart the University for a job at another institution of higher learning across the country.

The headline alludes to this supportive ambience. It borrows a line from the chorus of “Alma Mater, Ohio,” Kenneth S. Clark’s winning entry in a 1915 contest to create an OHIO song.

I experienced alumni time and again demonstrating what can also be called a resolute cheer. One graduate displayed gentle determination that the alumni magazine publicize accomplishments of her extracurricular group from some 50 years prior—and then gave heartfelt appreciation for the recounting. Another periodically sent e-mails lauding some of OHIO’s crowning glories over the eras and urging further positive developments—while grieving the death of his wife (and alumna) of several decades. And countless alumni filed personal updates about their occupation, award, marriage, alumni babies, trip, and service and thrilled to see the coverage.

How apropos, then, that “legacy,” the theme of this edition, gives way to “goodwill,” the theme of next winter’s edition. The two guiding principles dovetail, as alumni instinctively prove—and as outgoing OHIO President Roderick J. McDavis, BSED ’70, discusses in these pages.

My degrees come from elsewhere. But I became a better editor and, more importantly, a better person for what I witnessed at OHIO as gatekeeper of its alumni magazine and advocate for the “firm and loyal,” to borrow from Clark’s tune. So I considered myself a Bobcat during my watch, as all OHIO employees do during theirs. I’d like to think that I claim the designation for the rest of my life. —Peter Szatmary

I wanted to thank you for the articles in the last few issues calling attention to the gay and transgender community as part of the campus and Athens. I received my undergraduate degree from OU in 1992 and my master’s degree in 2002. Since then, I’ve left Ohio and received my law degree. I serve as deputy director for a legal services organization that helps lowincome Marylanders receive critical legal assistance. I recently was in Athens on a family visit to the Hocking Hills area. As I walked through the campus and recalled such fond memories of my time at OU, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude for the ways that my time at OU broadened my horizons and made me understand the value of a broad and diverse community. As a lesbian married to my wife for more than 10 years, I appreciate that my alma mater continues to value the voices and stories of those often overlooked. —Susan Francis,

Guido H. Stempel III, pictured in 1987. The former OHIO faculty member and journalism school director died May 31, 2016, at age 87.

Photo courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch

Professorial memory

I greatly enjoyed the piece on Dick Linke [BSJ ’41] in the winter 2017 issue.

In September of 1959, I had the good fortune to act in Professor Virginia Hahn’s production of No Time for Sergeants, in which Glenn Alsop played the Andy Griffith role, and I played the role of his much put-upon friend, Ben. Linke came to see the show, which made it even more special for all of us involved in its production. —Arthur Nolletti Jr., AB ’63,

I would like to pay tribute to the late OHIO Distinguished Professor of Journalism Guido Stempel III, EMERT ’97, former editor of Journalism Quarterly and adviser for my graduate program at the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism. [He died at age 87 on May 31, 2016.] Despite my low GRE scores, he took a chance on me. He, along with other journalism professors, was responsible for my success and award of outstanding graduate student in journalism in 1981.

With his assistance, I have been able to be a daily newspaper reporter and freelance writer since my graduation from OHIO. Although I returned to daily journalism before completing my thesis, he assisted me in defending my thesis and completing my degree. His research class and training in careful testing of questions assisted me in evaluating polls and writing critical stories about the value of surveys. In addition, he took an interest in me and was able to make time to talk with me on the telephone and discuss my career. —Candace Hughes, MSJ ’88,

Marlboro, Massachusetts

Apache Junction, Arizona

In your most recent edition, you pictured two Bobcat football players with Andy Griffith, but didn’t mention their names. I happened to be associated with the 1961 team and those two players – #81 is Dave Hutter [BSED ’64, MED ‘66], and #26 is Jimmy Albert [BS ’69]. I’m sure all of us old folks would appreciate the addendum.

Reel benefits

BSJ ’92, MS ’02, Baltimore, Maryland

Finding a Linke

—Vernon Turner, BS ’66, Marble Falls, Texas

Having just belatedly begun reading the fall 2015 edition, misplaced somewhere in my reading stack, I came across the articles on the 100th anniversary celebration of the Athena Cinema. They bring back memories—both good and some not so good—of my time as night manager of the theater freshman year. My duties, as you

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LETTERS

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might imagine, were wide-ranging: tickettaking, monitoring patron behavior, posting upcoming feature attractions, checking the projection booth to insure the projectionist was awake, and, upon closing, sweeping up spilled popcorn and other debris and locking up. Even though I had little free time between my full class load and theater responsibilities, I look back now, after all these years, with some genuine affection for the building and what it represented to me: an opportunity for critical contribution to my pocket as well as the satisfaction that, even in my humble role, I played a small part in bringing some welcome relaxation and enjoyment to people. —U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. (Ret.) Charles Orr, BFA ’55, Tampa, Florida

Funny business I loved the comments on the address errors! [“All my Bobcats: Mailing miscue creates real-life soap opera for our readers,” summer 2016 edition.] It seems I’m now connected to someone unrelated. I didn’t notice the address at the time. —Marlene Morris, BSED ’71, Cincinnati, Ohio

Flood of memories I had to do a double take at the photo of 1968 floodwater under the Washington Hall archway in the winter 2017 edition to check if I was one of the guys pictured. We had at least a similar, if not bigger, flood in spring 1963 that created the same scene. If I recall

correctly, East Green was on limited power for a day or two, and the B&O main behind was out of service for almost a week. We were literally “Harvard IN the Hocking.” Thanks.

—Tom Gray, BA ’66, San Diego, California

Designed support I really enjoyed your spring 2016 issue! As a design instructor at the Art Institute of Phoenix in Arizona and the giver of the John A. Ragazzo Emergency Medicine Scholarship, I enjoy seeing how the Athens Campus has evolved since John’s graduation in the DO class of 1980. John’s mom (a nurse, now deceased) and I set up the scholarship while he was still alive, and I was caregiving 24 hours a day. He was my partner for more than 20 years. Keep up the good graphics and journalism! —Tom Steward, Scottsdale, Arizona

Bobcats puzzling I love to do crossword puzzles, so I went to work right away on “OHIO gridiron teamwork” in the winter 2017 issue. I also get much grief from my wife of 48 years for spending so much time on the puzzles and the weirdness of the clues. So, it was with great pleasure that I posed one of the clues to her: team players from Texas State. Of course, she got it right (Bobcats), as she is one – BSED ’68 from Texas State (Southwest Texas State at that time). Funny that two Bobcats from different schools so far distant would get together. Thanks, Air Force! —U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. (Ret.) Doug Green, BSED ’67, Fairfax, Virginia

To whom it may concern The current Ohio Today (winter 2017) has a piece entitled “Also in 2001 at OHIO.” It includes a reference to the 110 playing Giants Stadium weeks after 9/11. I just wanted to share my perspective on that day. As a Bobcat, and Giants season ticket holder, I was thrilled when I saw that the 110’s 2001 schedule included the Giants/Saints game.

Then came 9/11.

I live in North Jersey. Everyone around here lost friends and/or relatives in the attack on the World Trade Center or knew someone who did. You may not know it, but the Giants Stadium parking lot was used as a “Park and Ride” for people going to Manhattan. The cars of people killed in the attack stayed there for a number of days. An eerie reminder of people who would never be coming home. The smoke rising from “The Pile” was visible everywhere.

Needless to say, immediately following the attacks, football wasn’t on anyone’s mind. We also knew that, at some point, life would have to go on.

In keeping with that, the 9/30 game against the Saints was scheduled as the first post-9/11 home game for the Giants.

We were told the game would honor the victims of 9/11 and survivors, including first responders. No one knew exactly what type of ceremonies they were going to have, but we found out that, whatever they were, the 110 would have the honor of being a part of them. To say the stadium was filled with raw emotions that day would be a gross understatement.

I cannot tell you the pride I felt seeing the 110 on the field for pregame and “doing their thing” at halftime. Proud to be a Bobcat, doesn’t quite cover it. The 110 brought the crowd to their feet and, based on the comments from the people around us, truly did help lift everyone’s spirits.

—Kenneth J. Job Jr., attended 1971-73, Rochelle Park, New Jersey

The Marching 110 spells “OHIO” during a Sept. 30, 2001, performance in Giants Stadium, just weeks after 9/11. Photo courtesy of Richard Suk, director of the Marching 110

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WRITE TO US. Ohio Today welcomes comments from readers. We reserve the right to edit for grammar, space, clarity, and civility. Send letters by e-mail to ohiotoday@ohio.edu or by mail to McKee House, 1 Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701. We regret that we cannot publish all messages in print or online.

YOUR OHIO

memories & more

SHARING THE MOMENT

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lumni and friends remembered Cutler Hall on its 200th birthday by posting 70 images to Instagram and tagging them #Cutler200. Photos shared on the social media channel depict the iconic edifice as seen in decades-old yearbooks and as captured more recently with smartphones. The shared Cutler Hall moments span every season in Athens and include weddings, graduations, International Week, reunion snapshots, and more.

To see all of the birthday greetings, go online to ohiotoday.org/spring-2017.

LEFT: “This photo was taken by William Hanahan who attended OU in the 1940s. #cutler200”—Tangocfe RIGHT: “One more from the late night photo shoot. It was great walking around campus, not only to see many of the halls that I visited during my OU days, but also to tell my son some of the stories of those times. @ohioalumni #cutler200 #nightphotography @ohio.university.” —Garycolemanphoto53

Bobcat impressions last a lifetime When asked about the legacy of OHIO, alumni across generations referenced everything from its idiosyncratic vibe to stellar schooling to town attractions to outdated rules and more.

Probably the only time in my life to be surrounded by like-minded peers. —Michael Hammons, BSED ’07

When I was a freshman (fall 1970), women’s dorms had hours. —Bobbi Kendig John, BSED ’73 I also grew up in Athens and stayed through my graduation at OU. I agree about the opportunities and benefits of growing up there. It was a unique and wonderful experience. —Lynn Mauch, BSED ’73 Having grown up in Athens, I doubt any part of my life would be the same without

Ohio University. I would not have received excellent primary and secondary education and likely not matriculated to the campus I love. I likely wouldn’t have had access to life-changing activities like ice hockey, summer study programs, or early access to college classes, nor the art and culture provided by higher education. My mom and grandmother would have very different careers and benefits for my family and me.

The campus employment, bartending job, local economy, and invaluable mentoring all would have disappeared. My connection to home and the value of learning and personal growth are all connected to the people in and around those brick buildings. —Drew White, BA ’05

Connected with OU when I was attending Buckeye Boys State [sponsored by the Ohio American Legion] in the ’60s. Obtained both

a BS and MS, left, and raised my family. All three of my children have degrees from OU [Catherine Liggett Lachman, MED ’02; Emily Liggett Stephens, BA ’02; Phillip Liggett, BBA ’06]. Next—grandkids? —James Liggett, BSCHE ’71, MS ’73

Loved those years! There’s something intoxicating about OU that you can only understand if you lived and loved it. —Jenny Bertke Williamson, AB ’89

Loved my time at OU. Great MBA. —Margaret Thomas, MBA ’81

NEXT ISSUE’S QUESTION: Creativity is everywhere at OHIO. How, where, when did you encounter it? Send letters to 112 McKee House, 1 Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701; e-mails to ohiotoday@ohio.edu; or posts to the Ohio University Alumni Association’s Facebook page (by “liking” us online at facebook.com/OhioAlumni).

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THE T. REX

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hio University Honors Tutorial College sophomore Emily Caggiano stands with a singular T. rex at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Found in 1902, it is the name-bearing “holotype” skeleton of Tyrannosaurus rex, which makes it uniquely important. In partnership with OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital, Caggiano and Professor of Anatomy Lawrence M. Witmer, PHD, CT scanned the original bones on loan from the museum, and will study them. Watch “Dissecting with Emily” to view their fascinating work. Go online to http://bit. ly/2f0AUkE. —Natalie Trusso Cafarello, MS ’08 Photo courtesy of WitmerLab at Ohio University

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In the news OHIO unearths keys to the past in all sorts of ways.

—Catherine Hofacker, BSJ ’18

NEW DINOSAUR A team of researchers led by Ohio University doctoral student Eric Lund identified a new species of horned dinosaur: Machairoceratops cronusi. Found in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, the creature lived 77 million years ago, measured 6–8 meters long, and weighed 1–2 tons, experts deduced. The finding, published in PLOS ONE in May, “narrows an evolutionary information gap that spans nearly 4 million years,” said Lund.

UNCOVERED REPTILE The Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine helped identify a new species of extinct reptile that dates back 230 million years. Through CT scans, Lawrence Witmer, an OHIO anatomy professor, and Ryan Ridgely, research associate in the Witmer Lab, confirmed that the skull of Triopticus primus, found in the Otis Chalk deposit of Texas, resembled that of dinosaurs from 100 million years later. Current Biology included the results last fall.

The animal’s shape and size are unknown.

OLDEST AGRICULTURE Two professors from the Heritage College’s Department of Biomedical Science assisted in revealing the earliest example of agriculture: termite fungal gardens in 25 million-year-old geological deposits in the East African Rift. Termites cultivate gardens to convert plants into more digestible food. The ancient “farming” likely affected Africa’s biodiversity, said OHIO’s Nancy Stevens, and reinforces a holistic approach to evolutionary biology, added colleague Patrick O’Connor. PLOS ONE published the study last June.

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A hand in handing down OHIO professors consider all sorts of legacies. Take this sample from the College of Arts and Sciences. For more examples, go online to ohiotoday.org/spring-2017.

—Editor Peter Szatmary

“I focus on the Spanish language, past and present: its history across six continents, the various dialects, and influences from African, Native-American, and Asian tongues.” —Emilia Alonso-Marks, Spanish professor and director of OHIO’s Institute for the Empirical Study of Language

“I research how colonialism in West Africa makes it hard for people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds to find common ground.” —Brandon Kendhammer, associate professor of political science and director of the International Development Studies Program

“I track the physical traces mega sporting events like the Olympics leave on the host city, both positive, such as upgraded infrastructures, and negative, including underused facilities.” —Yeong-Hyun Kim,

“I’m interested in literature from the Harlem Renaissance’s rich contribution to arts but mixed success in civil rights and from the legacy of pain and suspicion from India’s 1947 Partition.” —Amritjit Singh, Langston Hughes

associate professor of urban/economic geography

Professor of English and African American Studies

“Food transcends political barriers, cultural identities, and temporal boundaries. I work to understand its derivation, innovation, and evolution and to restore crops otherwise forgotten.” —Paul Patton, BA ’04, MS ’07, assistant

“Charlie Chaplin, whom I specialize in, made moviegoers laugh at life’s indignities through his enduring, endearing character, the Little Tramp, while revolutionizing the entertainment industry.” —Lisa Stein Haven,

professor of anthropology and food studies and director of the OHIO Archaeological Field School

PHD ’05, associate professor of English, Zanesville Campus

“I use landform and sediment evidence from Utah’s ancient Lake Bonneville to reconstruct its extensive fluctuation over time, contributing to the science of climate change.” —Dorothy Sack, professor and graduate

“I feel a mandate to help preserve Japanese folk performance in the Iwate prefecture— especially after leading practitioners perished in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.”

chair of geography

—Christopher Thompson, associate professor of linguistics and department chair

Whereas & resolved: Cutler Hall turns 200

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hen OHIO celebrated Cutler Hall’s bicentennial in October, pictures colored

by Athens County elementary schoolers surrounded Manasseh Cutler’s portrait, which resides in the hallowed space. Its cornerstone laid in 1816, Cutler Hall is the oldest edifice for higher education west of the Alleghenies and north of the Ohio River.

A birthday time capsule—to be opened in 2116— includes 2015-16 Ohio House Resolution No. 521, which reads in part: “In this modern era, in which the durability of goods and values is often measured in months and days rather than in years and decades, it is satisfying to discover that some representations of the past remain for future generations as a record of, and a monument to, previous achievements.” —Jennifer Shutt Bowie, BSJ ’94, MS ’99 Photo by Emily Matthews, BSVC '18

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A float turns at the Class Gateway during the 1966 Homecoming parade. “In the early 1960s the floats were hand tweaked, colossal,” said Terry Eiler, BFA ’66, MFA ’69. Photo courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections

Homecoming, 1966 to 2016

T “For OHIO alumni, Homecoming is a time to rekindle the fire, passion, and excitement they had as students. It’s a time to reconnect with old friends and remember that special time in their lives. But it's also a time to show future alumni—our current students— what they have to look forward to when they return as graduates.” —Dawn Werry, senior director of external relations, OHIO Alumni Association Photo by Daniel Owen, BSVC ’15

ime changes many things, but OHIO’s Homecoming isn’t one of them. Though traditions have changed over the decades, the spirit of the event remains. Alumni pour in from across the country to reconnect with old friends and old traditions. In the 1960s, students celebrated Homecoming with residence hall and house decorating competitions.

In 2016, alumni and residents alike “Painted the Town Green” during the Homecoming decorating contest.

Though residence hall and house decorating has fallen out of style, and the University no longer hosts a Homecoming dance, many traditions endure.

Bobcat fans tailgate near Peden Stadium every year, and the Marching 110 is always a favorite in the annual Homecoming parade.

“Athens and Ohio University have always felt like the small-town home that welcomes you back,” says Terry Eiler, BFA ’66, MFA ’69, photography editor of the 1966 Athena Yearbook and OHIO professor of visual communication.

“The stores, the bars, and the buildings change... but it still feels like home.”

—Catherine Hofacker, BSJ ’18

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Healthcare for those needing it most

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esse Frank, DO ’88, spent much of his 26 years in family practice as the only doctor in Marengo, Ohio, a village of fewer than 350 people in Morrow County.

“Some families I had taken care of for five generations,” said Frank of his recent departure to a position with an OhioHealth hospice program in Columbus. “It was very emotional to leave this place, where I had established these long connections.”

The next generation of Bobcat physicians hopes to continue the 40-year mission of Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine to prepare doctors to treat patients otherwise without ready access to care, among other objectives. For this reason, fourth-year medical student Grace Brantingham participates with 83 counterparts in the college’s Rural and Urban Scholars Pathways. A curricular enhancement through the Office of Rural and Underserved Programs, this offering blends classroom preparation, clinical experience, and professional development.

“We gain practical medical skills,” Brantingham said, “and the understanding that what we want to do is not only doable but also something quite possible to thrive at.”

Of 2,540 Heritage College graduates practicing medicine as of March 2016, 36 percent worked in medically underserved areas, whether in country or city settings. A 2008 study in American Family Physician found that less than 20 percent of 264,000-plus primary care physicians studied nationwide did so.

Terry Johnson, AB ’85, DO ’91, who serves in the Ohio General Assembly, noted that when the legislature created the college in 1975, “the mandate was to produce a lot of primary care physicians who would stay here in Ohio and practice in underserved areas.

Heritage College has fulfilled that mandate beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.” —Jim Phillips, BSJ ’88, communications specialist, Heritage College

The Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine offers a curriculum that “blends classroom preparation, clinical experience, and professional development.”

Many graduates will serve in communities with limited access to healthcare.

Photo by John Sattler, BFA ’87

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ATHENS RANKED NO. 1 COLLEGE SMALL TOWN “One day this summer, I was walking the one-block route from my parking spot to the courthouse when I saw someone riding a unicycle, someone playing a harp, and someone singing to a guitar and thought affectionately, ‘Only in Athens,’” says Jenny Stotts, BA ’09, executive director of the area CASA/GAL. Her colorful commute illustrates why USA TODAY named Athens the “Best College Small Town” of 2016. Judges praised “quirky Athens” for its “lush land,” “gorgeous quad,” “vibrant local music and arts scene,” and “walkable downtown,” among other enticements.

College of Business management lecturer Andrew Pueschel mentions the palpable “spirit” of Athens. He explains, “From football games and the Marching 110 to the street-packed

A 2016 USA Today survey named Athens “Best Small College Town” for its “interesting food, a great local cinema…and a vibrant music and arts scene…”

And don’t forget the smiling students. Photo by John Halley, MFA ’87

excitement of the Homecoming parade, you can feel the energy.”

Jan-Marie Bales, BS ’11, MED ’13, MED ’13, and OHIO’s inaugural “Cheermeister,” cherishes the picture-postcard allure. “If you were looking for a place to shoot a movie about college, the historical buildings, brick streets, trees, little shops, and restaurants would make for an ideal set,” says Bales, formerly at Wayne State University. “When you’re in high school imagining what college is going to be like, you imagine Athens, Ohio.”

That idyll won over Kinsey Ball, BSVC ’18.

She enrolled “despite the small-town aspect, not because of it. But since I’ve been here, I’m convinced this is the perfect way to experience college. I’m able to walk everywhere, and I’m always guaranteed a beautiful journey.”

Associate Professor of Media Arts and Studies Roger Cooper appreciates the seamlessness between College Green and Court Street. “That the University and downtown literally connect is very unique,” Cooper observes.

Mayor Steve Patterson and colleagues also unite college and community through cooperative projects including the McKinley Avenue extension, Bobcat Lane, and joint safety initiatives. Having previously taught psychology at OHIO for 18 years, he met with President Roderick J. McDavis, BSED ’70, monthly about collaborations. “Athens has volumes of character,” says Patterson. “It’s one of those places where alumni come back and reminisce about what a cool, progressive place” it is.

Jennifer Neubauer, executive director of the OHIO Alumni Association and assistant vice president for alumni relations, calls the appeal “the Tao of Athens.” With the nearest metropolis more than an hour away, students live in a bubble, and to her, that’s a good thing: “They come here, stay on weekends, live their lives, and become who they are meant to be.”

For more Bobcat takes, including an “Only in Athens” photo essay by alumnus photographer John Halley, go online to ohiotoday.org/spring-2017. —Jen Jones Donatelli, BSJ ’98, a freelance journalist in Los Angeles, California, has written for REDBOOK, Playboy, Natural Health, and Variety. She co-directs OHIO’s OHIO-in-LA program. Catherine Hofacker, BSJ ’18, contributed reporting.

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Unfolding sentences The troubling legacy of the politics of representation and identity formation preoccupies Purba Das, associate professor of communication studies at Ohio University Southern Campus. “I focus on how identities develop, which institutions create and perpetuate them, and how communicative practices are affected by them,” she explained via e-mail.

For more of the Q&A, go online to ohiotoday.org/spring-2017.

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You earned degrees in India and America in both sociology and communication, and your research blends the fields. Your motivation? The fit? I have always been interested in understanding how society works—its macro structures and institutions and ways they shape messaging and identities.

You analyze political urgencies: media coverage of racial attacks on Indians, the banning of the hijab in French state schools, the Syrian refugee crisis.

My research intersects media, culture, politics, and economics. It investigates how media construct cultural groups and ethnicities in response to various internal and external demands of modern nationstates. Hence, I study the ongoing political strife/ struggle for identities, the perpetuation of stereotypes by political interests, and the struggle for power and media representation.

You also examine the legacy of the caste system in your native India. Caste discrimination, which is still rampant, is treated by the government as well as the general public as separate from racial oppression. The absence of racial category in political discourse has led to the foundational common sense understanding that Indians are raceless. Since caste discrimination is banned by the Indian Constitution, the government takes a defensive stance, suggesting that underprivileged caste groups are protected under law and, therefore, perpetrators of caste discrimination are punishable. But the reality remains: Caste functions within the social and economic structure in everyday life.

Purba Das, associate professor of communication studies at Ohio University Southern Campus, analyzes how identities develop and how institutions perpetuate them. Here she is photographed in her native country India. Photo by Subrata Biswas/AP photography

When you’re in the U.S., what do you long for from India? The warmth of family.

When you return to India each summer, what do you miss about the U.S.? The orderliness of public life.

Hollywood movies or Bollywood movies? Both?

Neither? Neither. Pedro Almodóvar, Satyajit Ray, Majid Majidi, Wong Kar-wai, Quentin Tarantino, not in that particular order.

What do you do for fun? Travel, dance, learn guitar, learn horseback riding, try different cuisine.

OHIO President Roderick J. McDavis left in February.

His legacy, as you see it since your arrival to the University in 2008? His pledge to work collaboratively with medical facilities in Southeast Ohio to strengthen local healthcare and his pledge to work more closely with public school systems.

What do you like best about the Southern Campus?

Coming from a bigger school, Washington State University, where I earned my doctorate, I found it refreshing here to be able to develop close relationships with students. Many are first-generation college goers. They look up to professors. There is opportunity for mentoring, which I find more fulfilling than teaching. Also, the culture in Southeast Ohio differs from what I am used to; hence, it provides an excellent opportunity for me to grow.

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ACROSS THE

college green

Not your average G.I. Editor’s note: Each edition of Ohio Today covers a recent Ohio University Press book.

H

ome Front to Battlefront: An Ohio Teenager in World War II recounts a common experience with uncommon appeal. Carl Lavin enlisted in the Army after his freshman year at Miami University, joining millions of recruits. But he stood out for his precociousness, maturity, and refinement. His son, Frank Lavin— with a distinguished career in diplomacy, government, and banking—creates an enthralling story of his father’s duty, drawing from the serviceman’s noteworthy wartime letters to Canton, Ohio, where the family owned a meat packing company, and, secondarily, from the patriarch’s late-inlife recollections. Frank Lavin’s love of his remarkable father, who died in 2014 at age 89, abounds through spot-on editing and exhaustive research.

Astonishingly bright (dissecting arts, business, politics, and more) and extraordinarily self-disciplined (eschewing smoking, drinking, and fornicating for reading philosophy), Carl Lavin emerges as an insightful observer stateside and in Europe as a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) marksman. On Dec. 25, 1944, he landed with the 84th Infantry Division in France, served in the Ardennes Forest during the Battle of the Bulge, and fought in Germany.

His letters are lucid and graceful—and circumspect, per Army censorship, meaning few accounts of combat. In Ardennes Forest, he addresses parental worries: “As for the danger—it hasn’t bothered me so far. That which I’ve been afraid of coming up against, and still am, now that I’m experiencing it, is first the discomfort, secondly the inconvenience, and lastly the danger—you just can’t convince me that anything is going to happen to me.” Nothing serious does, despite his easy target: 6’2” tall and encumbered by BAR weight—hauling double the load of others—that hinders dodging and running.

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“We sometimes forget that the U.S. Army was, and is, essentially a force of teenagers … who are required to grapple with the exigencies of combat even as they are attempting to grapple with adulthood.” — From the foreword by Henry A. Kissinger

Lavin keenly assesses his surroundings, especially when censorship eased. April 1945, shortly before European hostilities end: “It’s a Spring day out here. There’s a cherry tree blossoming in front of me. …

But that isn’t all that I see from here as I write this. … In back of that cherry tree that I told you about, lies an open field.

And in that open field are the bodies of nine Americans. They were shot a day ago.”

His chronicles eclipse typical infantry stories even amid repeated requests of his parents for care packages. He asks, “[H]ave you ever wondered just why we fought? What made us expose ourselves to, and commit, those acts of violence, when they so directly oppose our desires and instincts?” His answer proves discerning, honest, and complicated: “Freedom. I have often heard, and never believed, that men would sacrifice much for freedom. But it is true. We fought for freedom. Freedom from the Army.” Because, he says, soldiers did what they had to do, “Most of us are what they call heroes.”

Lavin’s Jewishness also makes these letters memorable. Chaste romances exclude gentile girlfriends. He occasionally attends

temple and writes his rabbi. But he tells his parents that Judaism is no truer than other faiths. Lavin appreciates being excluded from a detail to kill German prisoners of war. He refrains from visiting liberated concentration camps but eventually regrets this decision.

Knowledgeable about topics far beyond the usual purview of infantrymen, Lavin also writes ably of his geopolitical exchanges with Germans and Russians. Following occasionally risky orders from those not as smart or clearheaded, he additionally yearns for an assignment better suited to him and criticizes—subtly—Army leadership.

A good soldier, Lavin nonetheless developed a lifelong dislike of all things military after discharge, his son reveals, even brown clothing.

No wonder Henry Kissinger—another soldier in the 84th Infantry—contributed the foreword. These singular letters and the keen curation of them are well worth anyone’s reading. —William A. Bloodworth, president emeritus of Augusta State University and former president of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, is professor of English and American studies at Augusta University.

OHIO’s friends include generations of Malaysians

N

ancy Shukri, MBA ’97, a Cabinet member who last summer assumed oversight of six federal agencies. Rohani Abdul Karim, MBA ’97, head of the governmental Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development. Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, BA ’78, BS ’78, chief of a bus operations consortium and president of the Badminton Asia Confederation. Dato’ Mahadzir Lokman, BBA ’84, a well-known entertainer.

These are only a few of the 2,500 Malaysian Bobcats to benefit from an OHIO education and, in the process, better their home country of about 31 million people—and the world.

“Close relations between Malaysia and Ohio University have been long established,” said Jayum Anak Jawan, Tun Abdul Razak Chair and professor of political science at OHIO and senior professor of

politics and government at Universiti Putra Malaysia. “The University has played a significant part in human-resource training in Malaysia; alumni occupy numerous important positions,” he added.

OHIO began forging transnational alliances more than 50 years ago for two intertwined reasons, explained Vice Provost for Global Affairs and International Studies Lorna Jean Edmonds. The University wanted to help developing countries and their higher educational systems while joining an American initiative to increase knowledge of other lands.

To read more about OHIO’s partnership in Malaysia, forged in 1968, go online to ohiotoday.org/spring-2017. —Nick Claussen, BSJ ’92, assistant to the vice provost for global affairs at OHIO

Other examples of OHIO’s 70 memorandums of understanding with international partners: • Chubu University, Japan, since 1973.

Numerous student and faculty exchanges.

OHIO’s 200 cherry trees are a gift from Chubu.

• Botswana, since 1980. Opportunities for education, global health, and business students, among others.

• Leipzig University, Germany, since 1992.

Offerings span the joint Ohio-Leipzig European Center and a dual-degree program.

• Ecuador, since 2000. The new Center for Research on Health in Latin America, established with Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, opened in June, 2016.

A man rests underneath the cherry blossoms beside the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway that runs parallel to the Hocking River and Ohio University’s Athens Campus. Photo by Samantha Owens, BSVC ’14

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college green

Calendar of events for alumni and friends of Ohio University | ohioalumni.org/calendar

W

herever you live, Ohio University wants to keep in touch with you.

Alumni chapters exist around the globe to help you meet and reconnect with fellow Bobcats. Of course, you’ll occasionally want to find a reason to return to campus— spring is the perfect time to visit! For a full schedule of chapter, society, and on-campus events, including reunions, go online to ohio. edu/alumni. —Hailee Tavoian, associate director of strategy, Advancement Communication & Marketing

e Save th r date fo

G

MIN O C E HOM Fellowship, fun, and adventure await you! Opt-In to our OHIO Travel Program email list and stay up-to-date on new tour offerings, excursion tips, and traveling Bobcat tales. Visit ohio.edu/alumni/ invest/partnerships/travel.cfm.

OCT. 6-8, 2017 ohio.edu/homecoming

ohio.edu/homecoming

OHIO DAY ACROSS THE STATE “OH, I DO” VOW RENEWAL CEREMONY

The OHIO Alumni Association and OHIO Athletics are partnering up to bring Bobcat Caravans back to cities around Ohio. Come meet Head Football Coach Frank Solich and OHIO Men’s Basketball Head Coach Saul Phillips as they talk about the upcoming 2017-18 season for the Bobcats. Visit ohiobobcats.com for more information.

Recommit your love to your OHIO sweetheart in Galbreath Memorial Chapel during On The Green Weekend. The guided vow renewal ceremony celebrates couples that connected with their spouses through their OHIO experience; Bobcat love is guaranteed to be in the air! Visit ohio.edu/alumni/onthegreen to register.

2017 SEASON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM MAY 30–JUN 17

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE JUL 05–22

INTO THE WEST AUG 01–19 3-ON-3 BASKETBALL ON THE BRICKS Grab a few friends and head to Ping Recreation Center on Saturday, MAY 20, for some friendly Bobcat competition. This new On The Green Weekend event is a co-ed, double elimination, bracket-style basketball tournament that welcomes all ballers ages 16 and up. Visit ohio.edu/ alumni/onthegreen for more information.

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Tantrum is a professional company founded by Ohio University’s College of Fine Arts in 2015.

Located in Dublin, Ohio, Tantrum provides education programming to the Athens and Dublin communities through apprenticeships and training to students in the theater division. For more information, visit tantrumtheater.org.

MARCHING 110 IN 91ST ANNUAL MACY’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE Join the School of Music’s centennial celebration by watching the Marching 110 perform at Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade NOV. 23. This year marks the band’s third appearance. Find the complete event list at ohio.edu/finearts/music/ about/100th-Anniversary.cfm.

M

embers of the Singing Sensations Youth Choir, from Baltimore, Maryland, perform in Baker University Center Ballroom at the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Brunch on Jan. 16, 2017.

Throughout January, the OHIO Office of Diversity and Inclusion sponsored an “inclusive OHIO and Athens community tribute that highlights equality and social justice issues.” The 2017 celebration, themed “A Matter of Legacy: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration,” included events such as the annual MLK Day of Service and a Silent March. Photo by Camille Fine, BSVC ’18

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Family tree with deep Bobcat roots “OU, oh yeah,” proclaim Ohio University faithful.

The Chubb family’s five generations of Bobcats declare: “OU, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Progenitor Edwin Watts Chubb, for whom the Athens Campus administrative building is named, arrived in 1900 to head the English Department. He became liberal arts dean in 1907 and retired in that role in 1936. Chubb also served as acting president in 1920 and 1934.

Addressing 2,600 attendees at an Allegheny County teachers’ convention late in his career, “He defined education as the ability to meet an emergency,” reported The Pittsburgh Press.

“He named Lincoln, Edison, Vanderbilt, Walt Whitman, Horace Greeley, and William D. Howells among ‘the great in America’ … [because] these men knew accurately, reasoned correctly, felt soundly, and grew steadily.”

A prolific scholar, Chubb continued writing in retirement, including an article, “Athens, Ohio,”—about “joys of living in a small town”— for The Pure Oil News. The city “possibly has more telephones per capita than any other town in Ohio,” he observed. Chubb further referenced historical figures including Charles Grosvenor, whose name adorns the OHIO building that houses the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. Grosvenor grew up in Athens; was an attorney, Union Army general during the Civil War, and a U.S. representative for 20 years; and “looks like Santa Claus but talks like Satan.”

The most recent Chubb to uphold the Green and White? Freshman biological sciences major Emma Chubb. “I knew my great-greatgrandfather was president, but I didn’t know

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about all the other family members who went here,” said the Honors Tutorial College student focusing on dentistry.

Emma’s dad, John Chubb, BSED ’89, keeps the Bobcat family lore. In a joint interview during Parents Weekend last September, he explained that the altar set at Galbreath Chapel came via donation from Catherine Chubb Munds, AB ’18, daughter of Edwin, and that John’s father, Richard Chubb, BBA ’67, married Christine Tanski, BS ’67, there in 1965.

John, a high school mathematics teacher at Akron (New York) Central School District, reveres his great-grandfather. “For me, Edwin Watts Chubb was like the president of the United States. Two buildings are named for him [the other: the-now Harry B. Crewson House, occupied by Institutional Equity].

He was on this pedestal.”

Despite the pedigree, “it wasn’t a foregone conclusion I’d go here,” added John, an Athens native. “My twin brother didn’t.” Still, John didn’t apply elsewhere. “I was very aware of the legacy,” he recalled. One day in high school, while raking a community member’s yard with a friend, he was invited inside for lemonade, “and the host, learning of my lineage, said, ‘You could never sour the Chubb name.’”

Emma agreed. Valedictorian of her high school, she chose OHIO without pressure from dad (or mom, Kathy, a former elementary schoolteacher and non-Bobcat). “Everyone smiles at you here. It’s a vibrant and accepting community,” said Generation No. 5. “A lot of people know my name. I have to do my best and live up to that.”

Proud papa put it this way: “OU makes you a better person.” —Editor Peter Szatmary

FIVE GENERATIONS OF CHUBBS AT OHIO

Generation No. 1: Edwin Watts Chubb (1865–1959), English department head (’00), liberal arts dean (’07–’36), acting president (’20 and ’34). His wife, Eve Downer Chubb (1866–1944), took classes at the Athens Campus and chaired the YWCA advisory board. The couple were married for 52 years. They rest in West Union Street Cemetery in Athens.

Generation No. 4:

Generation No. 3:

Generation No. 2: Edwin Watts and Eve Downer Chubb had two children who graduated from OHIO. Edwin Downer Chubb (1899–1957), AB ’21. Played OHIO basketball.

The bulk of his career: 31 years as an English teacher and assistant in charge of leaves and absences at Cheshire (Connecticut) Academy. His wife, Faye Farmer Chubb (1900–1992), was assistant professor of physical education and a ballet director at OHIO in the 1920s.

Catherine Chubb Munds (1895–1987), AB ’18. Involved with Alpha Gamma Delta at OHIO. Married a reverend.

Edwin Downer and Faye Farmer Chubb had two Bobcat children.

Richard Hunter Chubb (1939– 2014), BBA ’67. Navy veteran.

Played OHIO soccer. Twice employed as an electrical engineer at OHIO. Founded the Athens-based Chelco Electronics—the first business at OHIO’s Innovation Center—making speech and hearing equipment for hospitals and clinics. His first wife: Christine Tanski Chubb (1943–’70), BS ’67. Figure skater, figure-skating teacher, and power skating coach of men’s hockey at OHIO. His second wife: Nancy Blackwood Chubb (born 1936), BFA ’58. Elementary schoolteacher of music in the Athens City School District for 38 years.

Edwin Downer Chubb Jr. (1929– 2002). Navy veteran. Attended OHIO for the ’53–’54 academic year.

Graduated as a hotel administration major from Cornell University. Ran a hotel on the West Coast.

John Richard Chubb, BSED ’89, son of Richard and Christine Chubb.

On the hockey and water ski club teams at OHIO. High school mathematics teacher at Akron (New York) Central School District.

Generation No. 5:

Emma Chubb, daughter of John Chubb. Freshman biological sciences major, Honors Tutorial College. Intends to become a dentist (orthodontist). Member of OHIO Running Club, Pi Beta Phi sorority, and MEDLIFE (Medicine, Education and Development to Low Income Families Everywhere).

The Chubb family tree is illustrated here by the endangered Carolina Silverbell Tree, which is planted next to Chubb Hall. Go to ohiotoday. org/spring-2017 to see photography of the Chubb family at Ohio University.

Illustration by Jacob Parker, MFA '18

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The brick walkways that carry Bobcats across College Green converge at Cutler Hall’s front steps.

At age 20, President Roderick McDavis started his journey toward a university presidency on these bricks. Photo by Megan Johnson, BSVC '17

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The long view from Cutler Hall President McDavis discusses his life & legacy

In anticipation of his retirement in mid-February, OHIO President Roderick J. McDavis, BSED ’70, turned introspective in a wide-ranging interview conducted by Jennifer Kirksey, BSJ ’98, MA ’16, his longtime staffer.

The exchange occurred last September at WOUB Public Media’s radio station. Below are edited excerpts of insights from OHIO’s 20th president (2004-’17). To listen to the complete interview and for more video and audio content, go online to ohiotoday.org/spring-2017.

—Staff report

CHILDHOOD INFLUENCES

What was it like growing up in Dayton?

Dayton is a small, urban city. It was manageable as a young person growing up there. For my first six years [of school], I went to an all-black elementary school, which was a rarity. I went to an integrated Catholic school for sixth through eighth grades, and then to an all-boys Catholic high school.

We lived in the black community. I had two brothers. I really didn’t understand segregation or racism a whole lot then, because when you grow up in a black community, people treat you like a person.

I played baseball—Little League. I was in the marching band and the concert band [playing drums]. I ran track. Basically, I had a very positive experience growing up in Dayton.

When did you become mindful of segregation?

When I started going to integrated schools, I started to understand the majority/minority issue. Because, of course, when you go to an all-black school, everyone looks like you, so you’re in the majority. And so, when my twin brother and I started Catholic elementary school, all of a sudden we were in the minority. And, certainly, going to a Catholic high school in Dayton at that time was even a larger minority, so that’s about the time I began to understand what I was reading about and hearing about in terms

of segregation, integration, racism, and discrimination.

I remember an incident in high school. I was a pretty good baseball player. In fact, I made the all-star team, and I played for a lot of years. I remember going out for the baseball team when I went to high school my freshman year, and I didn’t make the team. Now, there were no black players on the team, but I didn’t think about that. Some of the guys who made the team played with me in the same [summer] league, and I was on the all-star team, and they weren’t. So, all of a sudden I started to understand a little bit more. From that point forward, it was always something I was very aware of—that racism isn’t just a concept; it’s something that can happen to you.

I think my parents did a pretty good job ABOVE: Growing up in Dayton, Ohio, President Roderick McDavis—pictured here in crossing guard uniform—attended an all-black elementary school, an integrated middle school, and a Catholic high school. Photo courtesy of the McDavis family

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(LEFT) President Roderick McDavis says he chose OHIO because “Ohio University was actually putting forward a very concerted effort to recruit African-American students, and the fact that I could run track here.”

(RIGHT) The McDavises seal their nuptials with a kiss on Aug. 7, 1970.

Their courtship began when they were 15 and 16 (respectively). Photos courtesy of the

McDavis family

Deborah McDavis

of helping me understand that one of the ways you can deal with [discrimination] is to get as much education as you can, because that will allow you to have a successful life, regardless of the kind of society in which you’re living.

What did you want to grow up to be?

A teacher. My parents were educators. My mom was a teacher and a counselor. My dad was a counselor. … It came naturally that I wanted to be a history teacher.

Something else that shaped your life happened in high school—you met someone pretty special.

Yeah, I did! I was a sophomore, [playing drums] in the high school band. There was another guy who was in the band … and his name was Jim Moses. We got to be pretty good friends. We had practice a little late one night, during the concert band season. ... I usually caught the bus to go home. But, at that point, it was a little late, so he said, “My mom’s coming to get me. Would you like a ride home?”

And when I got in the car, I met this wonderful young lady named Deborah, his sister. And we hit it off. She was also a sophomore, went to a different high school, and we just started to talk more. And we’re still talking to this day! That was back in 1964. So, high school sweethearts, went to different colleges … but we stayed together. And then eventually, in 1970, we got married.

OHIO EDUCATION

How did you choose Ohio University?

I actually was pretty decent in track and had a scholarship to Ohio State. So I went up there for a visit. I was pretty introverted and

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pretty shy, and when I got to Ohio State … I thought, “You know, this is not a good fit. The campus is too big. I’m gonna get lost.” So I came back home and told my coach that I wasn’t going to go to Ohio State.

And he said, “Well, there’s another university about 75 miles south of Columbus”—Ohio University—“I know the track coach there. Let me call and set up a time for you to go and visit.” So I came to visit and fell in love.

The first day I was on this campus, I absolutely fell in love with it.

During that visit, [I] decided that this was where I wanted to go to school. I just fell in love with the ambience of the campus, and the intimate feel of it—and the fact that there were a lot of other black students from Dayton … who also said that they were coming to Ohio University. So, those two reasons: the fact that Ohio University was actually putting forward a very concerted effort to recruit African-American students, and the fact that I could run track here.

During First-Year Student Convocation, you always share a story about your first semester at Ohio University.

Yeah, I was a good student in high school. I wasn’t an all-As student, but I was probably what one would consider a B student. I thought because it was a pretty tough high school—I had two years of required Latin, for example, two years of French—I had a pretty strong academic background.

[My first semester at Ohio University], I had a psychology course that I took in Templeton-Blackburn Memorial Auditorium, and it was the first class where I had an exam. … I took the exam and felt pretty good about it, but I got the results back the next day I was in class, and I got an F. And I’d never made an F on any test, on any paper, on any exam in my life. So I started to doubt whether I

assists the president before the 2008 Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine commencement. Photo

by John

Sattler, BFA ’87

was going to be successful in college. … I said, “You know, if this is an insight into the kind of thing the future is going to bring, I’m probably going to flunk out by the end of my freshman year.”

So I started to … struggle with that at a very personal level and said, “I have to change.” So I changed my study skills. I changed my social life. I started to think about what was I going to do about track. I was running at every track meet every weekend. I was practicing two times a day. I was really devoting a lot of my life to track. So I decided to change a lot of my study habits, and I got better academically. I never made another F. I got stronger during the four years that I was here.

So, the lesson … was: you never assume anything, and you never believe that there’s a substitute for hard work, because there’s not.

You just have to keep working harder and harder, and if you fail, that’s okay. Failure is not the problem. It’s how you respond to it. …

You have to accept success and failure with kind of the same sense.

Failure, you just have to get back up. …You can’t quit.

During your time here, there was a lot going on nationally.

In 1966, [there was] the civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement, [and] the Vietnam War. Dr. Martin Luther King got assassinated [in 1968]. A lot of protesting occurred, so much so that in my senior year, in 1970, [for the first time] in the history of Ohio University … there was not a spring commencement.

It was because of the shootings at Kent State, which caused thenGovernor [James A.] Rhodes to take a hard look at the state. But it also caused then-President Claude Sowle to take a hard look at Ohio University. … The National Guard was called here right after the shootings at Kent State.

I’ll never forget. I was student teaching [at Miller High School] that spring semester, and I came to the College Green when I came back into town … and [saw] National Guard about 12 feet apart, with bayonets affixed.

I think, for President Sowle, it was a tough call then, but he decided, “I’m not gonna let anything happen here,” so he dismissed all of us, gave us either 24 or 48 hours to get out of town.

I mean, Athens was like a ghost town in terms of students. Now, those of us who were student teaching got to stay because we had to finish so many weeks in order to get licensed to teach. …

Everybody else left town. But we didn’t graduate. I got my degree in the mail, at home that summer, which was really a weird feeling after spending four years on a campus: to get your degree in the mail in a post office box.

No closure?

Not until 2010. … I remember the first year I was here as president was 2004, and my first commencement was 2005. I remember walking to the back of that line of education students at that first commencement and actually walking across the stage, and that gave me a partial sense of closure. But then the real closure came in 2010, when we invited back all those graduates of the class of ’70, and about 150 or so came and participated—sat right in the front row.

We all felt like, “Okay, we finally graduated from Ohio University. …

It just took 40 years.”

CAREER PATH

When did you decide to change your path to pursue a career in higher education?

My junior year. Because of [everything that was happening nationally], I started thinking, “Is there a different way I can have an impact on young people?” There were two paths I kind of carved out: One was going into law, because I thought as a lawyer, I could influence change in society. The other was becoming a counselor, because I could influence more young people to go in the right direction in their lives if I served as a counselor in high school instead of as a teacher. A lot of my friends were going to go to law school, and I thought, “Eh, that’s too many lawyers. … I’m gonna take a different route.”

I was interested in working on a college campus in student affairs and in being a counselor. I couldn’t decide which, so I did both. I went to University of Dayton, did a master’s degree in counseling, and college student personnel work, and then, a couple of years later, went to the University of Toledo and did a PHD in counseling education with a minor in higher education administration.

It was during that period between my junior year and graduate school that I decided I really wanted to work on a college campus, and I started to think about what would that look like in the future.

That’s when I started to get that notion of being a college president, because it was a time when college presidents were speaking out on

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OHIO TENURE

President Roderick McDavis greeted the largest-ever freshman class of 2019 during Welcome Weekend. Events included the President’s Convocation for First-Year Students, where the class was given a rousing welcome by the University. Photo by Ben Siegel, BSVC ’02

issues, and I thought, “That looks like an interesting job.”

And they were influencing their universities and their communities, and I thought … ultimately, that is what I would really like to do: be a college president.

So at 20 … I really started to shape that idea and knew that there were two or three things that I needed to do. One was that most college presidents had been faculty members, so they’d all taught.

Second, most of them had been a dean, so they’d been in charge of an academic unit. And third, most of them had been a provost, or the chief academic officer. So those were the three steps that I set out for myself as I started my path toward a presidency.

What do you remember about your application for the OHIO presidency?

I was hesitant about applying. When you’ve gone to a school that has given you so much, you fall in love with the place. My first hesitation was, “What if you don’t get the job? How’s that gonna make you feel about your alma mater?” There also was a part of me that said, “How are you gonna feel 10 years from now if you pass on this opportunity?”

Long story short, after really thinking about it, I decided, “I’m gonna toss my name in. If I get it, I get it. If I don’t, I don’t.” I think it was … certainly one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, because it all came together with going back to the university that had given me so much opportunity.

Because the foundation that I got here—and I say this to students all the time—the strength of Ohio University is the undergraduate education you get. It will last you a lifetime.

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You presented a vision for OHIO in your 2004 inaugural address.

Interestingly enough, the interview process became the foundation, because my conversations with the search committee and with the chair of the Board of Trustees leading up to my appointment were all about transformation. They felt that Ohio University was ready to elevate—to go to a higher level of excellence—and that change was needed.

There were four basic pillars I thought we could build upon.

The first was how Ohio University could become a more nationally prominent research university. And what I meant by that was not only academically, but also athletically.

Secondly, Ohio University, as I said earlier, when I came here, was an institution that really worked hard to recruit students of color. And I remember when I came to interview for the presidency, we had lost a lot of that diversity. So, the second pillar was to help Ohio University become a more diverse institution … not only students of color, but international students, and then LGBT students, and other forms of diversity, students with handicaps, students who were disabled. So from a diversity standpoint, [I thought], “How do we diversify our institution and make it a place that’s as welcoming and inclusive?”

[Looking at the budget], I knew we needed resources.

We needed more money to accomplish national prominence, to get to where we wanted to be, and so there were two things we had to do: We had to secure our internal finances. … We had to work hard at making tough cuts, tough decisions, but also squirrel a little bit more money away to build our reserves, [and] I knew we needed to have another capital campaign. … The third goal was to become a much more financially secure institution.

And the last was to create more partnerships. We are the major employer in Southeast Ohio. We needed to extend ourselves into the region. We needed to extend ourselves into the state and nation. I knew we couldn’t do it alone. We needed to establish as many partnerships as we could.

So I called for the creation of a task force for the future of Ohio University [that included 46 individuals, including faculty, staff, students, alumni, and board members] because I knew that it wasn’t about one person. It had to be about the community. If we were going to have a vision for where we wanted to go, we had to have a lot of people buy into that vision.

And that became the focal point of the work that I had for 13 years. Because out of that task force came a strategic plan that we’ve tweaked, that we’ve altered, that we’ve modified, but it remains the focal point of our work, and I think it’s served us well.

Ohio University did not have a strategic plan when I started.

A presidential timeline & highlights from 12 years of service FALL 1966 | President McDavis becomes a student at Ohio University.

2004 | President McDavis inaugurated as

20th president of Ohio University.

2004 and 2005, respectively | Implementation

of Urban and Appalachian Scholars Programs.

2004-2016 | OHIO Athletics experiences

President Roderick McDavis, center, is surrounded by Urban, Appalachian, and Templeton Scholars, clockwise from left, Chrysten Crockett, BSJ ’12, Donald Lindsay, BSS ’13, Brian Davis, BSCE ’13, Naomi Jeantine, BBA ’12, and Habibat Saheeb during the 2008 Legacy Recognition & Awards Ceremony. Soon after McDavis became OHIO president in 2004 he established the Urban Scholars and Appalachian Scholars Programs. Photo by Rick Fatica, MFA ’08

renaissance. The Bobcats have won 14 MidAmerican Conference Regular Season titles and 22 Mid-American Conference Tournament titles, with football making eight bowl appearances.

OHIO teams have made 19 NCAA tournament appearances and five post-season appearances, including a 2012 trip to the Sweet 16 for men’s basketball.

APRIL 2006 | Scripps College named. In 2010 The Scripps College is named a Center of Excellence for Culture and Societal Transformation in the State of Ohio by the Ohio Board of Regents—the only college of communication in the state to receive such a designation.

FALL 2006 | OHIO's mascot gets a new name.

OHIO’s Bobcat gets the name Rufus.

2007 | Gender Identity and Gender Expression

added to University’s Non-Discrimination Policy. It is the policy of Ohio University that there shall be no discrimination against any individual in educational or employment opportunities because of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, age, gender identity or expression, mental or physical disability, or military veteran status.

President Roderick McDavis pledged to make Ohio University green by signing the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, making OHIO one of the first public universities in the state to address climate change. That included installing solar panels on the roof of the storage shed adjacent to the Lausche Heating Plant in 2012. Other infrastructure projects are planned as the University progresses toward carbon neutrality by 2075. Photo by Ben Siegel, BSVC ’02

MARCH 15, 2007 | President McDavis signs President’s Climate Commitment. Ohio University was the first four-year public university in the state to join the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, a pledge to address climate change through research, education, and institutional commitments to climate neutrality.

APRIL 2007 | The Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs is renamed.

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Previously the Voinovich Center, the School became OHIO’s first multidisciplinary school and continues to focus on applied research, leadership development, and applied learning across colleges.

FALL 2007 | The Marching 110 recognized as the best college band in America. Marching 110 is recognized by CollegeSports-fans.com as the Top College Marching Band in America (an honor they’d earn again in 2014).

OCTOBER 2008 | President McDavis founds The Interlink Alliance. The Alliance is a coalition of historically black colleges and universities and OHIO, for the purpose of developing and preparing African-American students to learn, live, and lead in the 21st century.

JUNE 12, 2010 | President McDavis finally “commences” from Ohio University.

FEBRUARY 2010 | Gladys W. and David H.

Patton College of Education named. “I came from a family of educators; my parents taught in the Dayton Public School system, and I have worked in higher education for the last 40 years.

It all started in this building, so as you can imagine, I have a very personal connection to McCracken Hall. I look forward to the next chapter of this building’s wonderful story, and I am confident that The Patton College pedigree will only improve over the next half century and beyond.” ­—President McDavis in McCracken groundbreaking story in Compass, 2015

MAY 2011 | Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine named. The Heritage College is a leader in training primary care physicians who are prepared to address the most pervasive medical needs in the state and the nation.

Approximately 50 percent of Heritage College alumni practice in primary care and nearly 60 percent practice in Ohio.

FALL 2011 | OHIO Recognized as a “Military Friendly School” by G.I. Jobs magazine.

The designation annually recognizes 20 percent of post-secondary institutions for commitment to military and veteran students.

2011 | Implementation of Presidential

Advisory Council on Disability and Accessibility Planning (PACDAP) Initiative.

“We are witnessing the welcoming, inclusive environment within our University and certainly within our community. …We are beginning to come together to lift all of us up in one human spirit to say that everybody

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In 2015, OHIO broke ground on an extensive McCracken Hall renovation. Reopened in January 2017, the building now houses all five Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education departments. “I look forward to the next chapter of this building’s wonderful story, and I am confident that The Patton College pedigree will only improve over the next half century and beyond,” President Roderick McDavis said in 2015. The college was named in 2010 by Violet Patton, BSED ’38, in honor of her parents. Photo by Ben Siegel, BSVC ’02

What do you hope people will see as part of your legacy?

There are a few things. One is how the campus transformed physically during the time that I was here and how it will continue to for the next 10 to 15 years. We are the oldest university in the Northwest Territories, and the good news is that that stake in the ground says we’re first. The bad news is that a lot of our buildings are old.

So we’ve had to fix a lot of our facilities— buildings that had not been addressed in 30, 40 years. I hope that part of my legacy is that the campus is beginning to look a lot different. It’s beginning to look like a 21st century university.

I hope the fact that we’ve become more diverse becomes commonplace at the institution. I hope that -institutionalized this sense of diversity, such that it is very, very much a part of what Ohio University is all about—and what it becomes known for in the years ahead. Not only from the standpoint of students of color, but

also from the standpoint of international students, from the standpoint of LGBT students, from the standpoint of veterans, from the standpoint of nontraditional students.

I hope people will see that Ohio University really opened its arms and said, “We want to bring in as many different people as we possibly can to reflect the larger population in the country, and, indeed, in the world, and that that transition started these last 13 years.”

The other thing I hope happens is that Ohio University’s national prominence continues to rise and that the foundation that we’ve built between 2004 and ’17 is the basis.

The last piece I would mention is that Ohio University really became more of a statewide resource. We’ve extended ourselves. We have several new campuses.

We have one new medical campus in Dublin. We have another new medical campus in Cleveland. We have a research park in Beavercreek. (Continued on page 29)

The Class Gateway, a thriving OHIO landmark and favorite photo spot, was rehabilitated in 2016 to increase access to the College Green for people with disabilities. President Roderick McDavis said actions like this “say that everybody matters in our society.”

Photo by Ben Siegel, BSVC ’02

matters in our society.”­—President McDavis in Compass, ADA25 Celebration, Oct. 8, 2015 FALL 2012 | OHIO experiences record-setting enrollment. Students on all campuses total 36,808 (the first of many record-setting years.)

Since 2009, enrollment across OHIO’s campuses has grown by more than 23 percent.

FALL 2012 | OHIO returns to semesters.

The University had changed to quarters in 1967. President McDavis was on campus for both transitions.

JULY 2014| Dublin Campus opened.

“Throughout its history, the college has done an extraordinary job of graduating well-trained physicians who both care for and about their patients. We are, indeed, Ohio’s medical school.” ­ — President McDavis in Dublin Campus Grand Opening remarks, Aug. 23, 2014

JULY 31, 2015 | Cleveland Campus opened.

A $105 million commitment from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation in 2011 named the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and built upon the college’s strengths in medical education and research. In 2017, with campuses in Dublin and Cleveland, the college is addressing some of the nation’s most pressing healthcare issues. Photo by John Sattler, BFA ’87

“Each physician trained by the Heritage College will improve an untold number of lives. The reach of Ohio University’s care will be exponential.”

—President McDavis quote on Wall at South Pointe Hospital (Cleveland Campus location)

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“Each of you is achieving a personal milestone today,” President Roderick McDavis said to nearly 3,000 undergraduates during two Commencement ceremonies on April 30, 2016. “… we honor you, your achievement, your commitment, and your passion.” Photo by Ben Siegel, BSVC '02

FALL 2014 | Presidential Advisory Council on Sexual Misconduct (PACSM) commissioned.

“We believe that our campus and community environment should be free from fear of predatory behavior or micro-aggressions that contribute to a negative culture.” —President McDavis in the invitation to serve on council

2015 | The OHIO Guarantee™ goes into

effect. An innovative tuition and fee model that enables students and their families to budget for the total cost of an Ohio University education.

JUNE 30, 2015 | Promise Lives Campaign closes, having raised over a half-billion dollars. “Through the extraordinary support of alumni, friends, corporations, foundations, staff, and faculty around the globe, we have achieved unprecedented support for OHIO students, faculty, programs, and capital projects.” —President McDavis in a letter sent to Ohio University community on July 1, 2015

SUMMER 2015 | OHIO hosts International Space University. During the spring and summer of 2015, the Russ College hosted the Space Studies Program, offered through

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President Roderick McDavis was honored with a gift from the brothers of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity during the 2017 Martin Luther King Junior Celebratory Brunch. McDavis, OHIO’s first African-American president, is a child of two educators, who taught him the power of learning. Part of his legacy was ensuring nontraditional students received the OHIO experience. “My parents did a pretty good job of helping me understand that one of the ways you can deal with [discrimination] is to get as much education as you can, because that will allow you to have a successful life, regardless of the kind of society in which you’re living,” he said. Photo by Emily Matthews, BSVC ’18

the International Space University. The event included workshops and lectures for 110 participants who were selected from more than 1,000 applicants from around the world. Astronauts and scientists shared personal experiences and insights regarding humankind’s exploration of this vast frontier.

“I came to visit. I fell in love,” President Roderick McDavis said about his first steps onto the Ohio University campus as a high school athlete. He still carries that love for OHIO as he takes his last steps in Cutler Hall as OHIO’s 20th president. Photo by Ben Siegel, BSVC ’02

We have two new academic centers. We have the Tantrum Theater now in Dublin.

We have a physician’s assistant program in Dublin. I hope we continue to see ourselves as more than just Athens. …

It’s so important for Ohio University to see itself as a statewide resource. I think we’ve elevated ourselves to that level, and ultimately, to a national resource in so many important ways.

How do you think this role has changed you?

You know, I think that I have really a much better understanding of the role of leadership. … Not until everything that happens in the institution literally passes through your office do you really begin to develop a better understanding.

[I now have] a much better understanding of the academy … that it’s people that make things work. … At the heart of what the university is all about, it is teaching and learning. At the end of the day, how well did you prepare students for the future? As long as you know that the institution, at its fundamental level, is

achieving that goal in a very superior way, you don’t have to worry.

That’s something that I think I’ve learned—I started to learn as a provost— and even more so as president—that the academics have to work, and they have to work at a high level.

When you go to a commencement, [to] look out and see 4,000 graduates, and know their lives are forever changed for the better because of what they’ve learned while they were at your institution is just the best feeling in the world. So, [I now have] a much greater appreciation for this entire academy, and for the role of leadership.

The last thing I’d say … is how you have to have other people working with you in order to accomplish whatever goals you’ve set. No one person gets it done by him- or herself, and whoever believes that deceives him- or herself, because it takes a lot of people to make an institution successful, and I think I have a much greater appreciation for that now than I did when I started. — Roderick J. McDavis, BSED ’70, &

FALL 2015 | The largest-ever and most diverse freshman class—4,423—begins its OHIO experience. The class included a record number of 618 multicultural students, up 1.4 percent from the previous year, while nonresident students were up 13.1 percent to a record 667. The cohort also excelled in key measures of academic quality, hitting a record 3.46 for average high school GPA—up from 3.43 the previous year—and a record average ACT composite of 24.1, up from 23.9 the previous year.

2016 | Campus Master Plan and Capital

Improvement Plan approved. “Investing in our infrastructure is an investment in our future.” ­ —President McDavis in a letter to University community, June 9, 2016

FEBRUARY 2016 | The EPA recognizes OHIO among the nation’s leading green power users. The University is No. 14 on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Top 30 College & University list. OHIO uses more than 60 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, 50 percent of its total power needs, and generates green power from an on-site solar energy system.

MAY 31, 2016 | The College of Fine Arts’ Tantrum Theater stages its first show in Dublin, Ohio. The Columbus Dispatch called Tantrum's production of “Little Shop of Horrors” "an impressive central Ohio debut,” writing that it “delivers the goods— and the laughs,” and predicted (quite smartly) that Tantrum would offer “more high quality entertainment to come.”

FEB. 17, 2017 | President McDavis leaves Ohio University. “Serving as president of my alma mater has been my life’s greatest achievement,” he said.

Jennifer Kirksey, BSJ ’98, MA ’16

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Paw prints Who shapes OHIO? Bobcats! Who’d make your list?

1828 | John Newton Templeton becomes OHIO’s first and the nation’s fourth African-American graduate.

1907 | President Alston Ellis sees squirrels at Harvard and decides to get some for OHIO.

1859 | Alumnus Archibald Green Brown organizes the Alumni Association.

1913 | Irma Voigt, the first female administrator, begins her 36-year tenure as organizer-in-chief.

1873 | Margaret Boyd becomes OHIO’s first female graduate.

1881 | President William Scott secures the first-ever state funds—$20,000 for building repairs.

1913 | Alumni defeat ​ Ohio State’s attempt to assume the name University of Ohio.

1882 | Cynthia Weld is OHIO’s first female faculty member (of history and rhetoric).

1893 | Charles Copeland and Mable Brown offer OHIO’s first business courses.

1895 | Engineering student Saki Taro Murayama of Japan becomes OHIO’s first recorded international graduate.

1903 | Quarterback (and eventual physician) Arthur Carr is OHIO’s first black athlete.

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1923 | Ossian Bird, OHIO’s first athletic director, hires football coach Don Peden, whose 121-46-11 Bobcat record remains unmatched.

1923 | Professor George Starr Lasher brings journalism to OHIO. 1923 | Student Homer Baird organizes the first official marching band.

1925 | Former student Hal Rowland enters a mascotnaming contest and wins with “Bobcat.” (Prize: $10.)

1935 | President Herman James restructures OHIO’s two colleges into five.

1941 | Mary Elizabeth Lasher (G≠eorge’s daughter) becomes the first female editor of The Post, OHIO’s independent, student-run newspaper.

1945 | President John Baker creates the Ohio University Fund for private support to supplement state allocations.

1946 | Economics professor Albert Gubitz oversees campuses at Portsmouth, Zanesville, and Chillicothe after the post-war influx of students.

1956 | The “Big Ten” chemistry professors offer OHIO’s first doctoral degree.

1959 | Trustee Edwin Kennedy and his wife, Ruth, endow the Distinguished Professor Award, OHIO’s highest academic honor.

Inaugural recipients: Paul Murray Kendall (English), Harvey Lehman (psychology), and John Cady (history).

1959 | Phillip Saunders becomes OHIO’s first African-American class president.

1960 | Mr. Bobcat debuts at Homecoming via the men of Lincoln Hall.

1963 | Professor Richard McFarland founds the internationally renowned Avionics Engineering Center.

1969 | President Vernon Alden persuades the Army Corps of Engineers to reroute the unruly Hocking River.

1969 | Alicia Woodson, the first African-American student body president, leads a protest against the women’s curfew.

1969 | James Steele, a leader of the Black Student Action Coordinating Committee, demands a Black Studies Institute.

1970 | As Athens Campus demonstrations against the Kent State University shootings escalate, President Claude Sowle summons the Ohio National Guard, closes the University, and cancels commencement.

1972 | Louie Stevens, the Bagel Man, opens his trend-setting food buggy in uptown.

1988 | 25,000 students gather along the Hocking River for OHIO’s last Springfest.

1972 | Recent graduate Beverly Jones reports on the status of women at OHIO and organizes the first equal opportunity program.

1991 | Alumna Jeannette Grasselli Brown, BP director of corporate research, cofounds Frontiers in Science lectures.

1974 | Student Giulio Scalinger founds the Athens International Film + Video Festival.

1975 | President Charles Ping, confronting OHIO’s dire finances, plans to stabilize enrollment, set long-term goals, and restore a sense of community.

1976 | Dean of Students Carol Harter throws a little Halloween party outside Baker Center, hoping to prevent previous Court Street takeovers.

1994 | Alumnus Fritz Russ and his wife, Dolores, announce unprecedented support of OHIO. The engineering college is renamed in their honor.

1995 | Wilfred Konneker, a pioneer of nuclear medicine; namesake with his wife, Ann Lee, of OHIO’s Alumni Center; and father of OHIO’s Innovation Center, spearheads the Manasseh Cutler Scholars Program.

1999 | President Robert Glidden orders computers for 1,945 residence hall rooms.

1979 | Hilda Richards is the first female dean and first African-American dean of an academic college—the new College of Health and Human Services.

2007 | The new Baker University Center, designed by the architecture firm of alumnus Howard Nolan, opens—with the only escalator in Southeast Ohio.

1986 | Dance professor Gladys Bailin becomes OHIO’s first female Distinguished Professor.

2010 | Alumna Violet Patton funds the Violet L. Patton Center for Arts Education and the Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education.

1986 | Basketball standout Caroline Mast scores 2,449 points and grabs 1,223 rebounds, the most in OHIO history.

2016 | Editor Emma Ockerman guides the transformation of The Post into an online publication.

—Betty Hollow, MED ’77, wrote Ohio University: The Spirit of a Singular Place (Ohio University Press, 2003). Illustration by Katie Schmitt, BSVC '15

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Alumni footprints OHIO graduates of every decade contribute to their fields 1910s Wanda Kirkbride Farr, pioneer in cellulose synthesis

1920s Ruby Mercer, opera star; Opera Canada founder • Paul C. Stocker, Lorain Products founder with 50 communications-related patents; OHIO benefactor

1930s Sammy Kaye, “swing and sway” bandleader

1940s Herman Leonard and Chuck Stewart, jazz photographers • Bill McCutcheon, Tony-, Obie-, and three-time daytime Emmy Award-winning character actor • Marie Tharp, cartographer whose map of the ocean floor verified the theory of continental drift

1950s

1960s

Lt. Gen. Robert Arter, commander, Sixth U.S. Army • Richard Bohn and Hua-Thye Chua, designers of Intel’s first commercial product, a RAM chip • Vince Costello, Cleveland Browns linebacker • Jim Dine, Pop artist • Dow Finsterwald, golfer; 1958 PGA champion • Paul Gapp, 1979 Pulitzer Prize in criticism (architecture) • Russ Poole, vice president of management, Radio Free Europe • Harold Robinson, curator of botany, Smithsonian Institution • George Voinovich, Ohio governor and U.S. senator

Tom Crouch, curator, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum • Deanna Lindberg Hammond, head of Linguistic Services, Congressional Research Service • Mujaddid Ahmed Ijaz, nuclear physicist, Oak Ridge National Laboratories • Datuk Shalk Sulamain Ismail, corporate relations manager, Shell Malaysia • June Kronholz, 2002 Pulitzer for breaking news reporting (staff award) • Donald Miller, WWII historian • Gary Olmstead, member of the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame • Clarence Page, syndicated columnist; two Pulitzers (1989, commentary; ’73, local news, staff award) • Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame member • Stanley Plumly, 2009 Poet Laureate of Maryland • Michael Schuler, 1987 NBA Coach of the Year, Portland Trail Blazers • Betty Thomas, actress/director • Robert Walter, founder and chair, Cardinal Health

1980s Walter Bettinger, president and CEO, Charles Schwab (financial corp.) • Dr. Robert Biscup, surgeon, pioneer in spinal surgery • Yvette McGee Brown, first African-American justice, Supreme Court of Ohio • Helen Crawley-Austin, founder, Beyond Consulting Solutions in IT and engineering • Dr. Daniel Dickriede, 1999 Nobel Peace Prize with Doctors Without Borders team • Philip Gordon, senior fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; special assistant to President Barack Obama

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• Julia Lyddon Gourley, senior Arctic official, State Department • Ed Herendeen, founder, Contemporary American Theater Festival • Adam Hochberg, NPR correspondent • Steve Hymon, 2005 Pulitzer in public service (staff award) • Dr. James Joye, cardiologist specializing in vascular disease • Mwangi Samson Kimenyi, senior fellow and director, African Growth Initiative, Brookings Institution • Jody Miller, feminist criminologist • Pat O’Conner, president and CEO, Minor League Baseball • Ruth Sullivan, founder, Autism Society of America

1970s Andy Alexander, Washington Post ombudsman; editor and Washington bureau chief, Cox Newspapers • Ann Bartuska, deputy undersecretary, USDA’s Research, Education and Economic mission • Bob Brenly, sportscaster; manager, Arizona Diamondbacks, 2001 World Series champs • Andy Dolich, executive with NBA, NFL, and MLB teams • Nancy Galbraith, composer of contemporary classical music • Rick Hawkins, founder and CEO, Lumos Pharma, a biotechnology company • John Heller, led Abbott Labs team that created the first commercial HIV test kit • Jenny Holzer, neo-conceptual artist • Stephen Kappes, deputy director, CIA • Peter King, writer, Sports Illustrated • Ed Lachman, Academy Award-nominated cinematographer • W. Timothy Liu, senior research scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

1990s Michel duCille, winner of two Pulitzers for photography (1986, ’88), and one in public service (2008) • Kevin Jerome Everson, experimental artist/filmmaker • Derrick Hall, president and CEO, Arizona Diamondbacks • Nobuhisa Ito, executive director, baseball operations, Nippon Professional Baseball • David Klossner, director, NCAA Sport Science Institute • Matt Lauer, “Today” show anchor • Dave Malloy, award-winning musical theater composer/writer • Vivian Paez, biologist; winner of the 2013 Sabin Turtle Conservation Prize • Piper Perabo, actress • Donald Ray Pollock, award-winning fiction writer

• Rudy Maxa, host/producer, “Rudy Maxa’s World,” a public television travel series • Julie McAfooes, pioneer of simulation and educational technology in nursing education • Terrence McDonnell, screenwriter/producer with six daytime Emmys • Anita Corl Miller-Huntsman, 1984 Olympic bronze medal winner, field hockey • Sandra Moon, opera singer • Claudia Patton, chief talent officer, Edelman, the world’s largest public relations firm • Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, 2009 Nobel laureate in chemistry (for the study of ribosomes) • Renee Sanders, first African American woman to serve as ambassador to Nigeria • Mike Schmidt, Hall of Fame third baseman, Philadelphia Phillies • Peggy Viehweger, president and CEO, Supresta, a global chemicals company • David Wilhelm, Democratic National Committee Chair (1993–’94) • Martha Rial, 1998 Pulitzer for spot news photography • Clemencia Rodriguez, cofounder, OURMedia/NUESTROSMedios, the world’s largest independent online media company

2000s Jessica Beinecke, founder, Beinecke, Inc., providing online English-Mandarin language instruction • Eric Gorscak, lead author on the discovery of a new species of titanosaurian dinosaur with OHIO paleontologists • Rupa Narra, medical epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • E. E. Charlton Trujillo, award-winning novelist, filmmaker, director

2010s Aaron Fazulak, cofounder and CEO, DESTINATION Labs for aspiring designers • Kirsten Grohs, manager, football administration, Jacksonville Jaguars • Aggrey Otieno, innovator making obstetric care more accessible in his native Nairobi, Kenya • Alan Schaaf, founder and CEO, imgur. com, an image-hosting site

—Betty Hollow, MED ’77, wrote Ohio University: The Spirit of a Singular Place (Ohio University Press, 2003). Illustration

by Katie Schmitt, BSVC '15

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BOBCAT TRACKS for alumni and friends

OHIO, in a word “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing,” observes that revolutionary and inventive sage Benjamin Franklin in his Poor Richard’s Almanack.

OHIO creative writing professors Hollis Summers (1916–’87) and Jack Matthews (1925–2013) fulfilled those mandates as Distinguished Professors. They earned critical acclaim for their creative output, which was both prolific and wide-ranging. And students cherished the duo’s larger-than-life personas, the former known for sly gentility, the latter for charismatic bluntness.

Alumna Karen Kurtz Harper, BA ’67, a notable author in her own right as well as a teacher of writing, remembers the positive impressions they made on her OHIO studies. [See next page.] Writers of books strive for shelf life. Mission accomplished. —Editor Peter Szatmary

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Each year, the Ohio University Press holds a competition to release a full-length collection of unpublished poems through the Hollis Summers (TOP LEFT) Poetry Prize; the winning poet also receives $1,000 cash. Accomplished peers such as Eudora Welty, Walker Percy, Doris Grumbach, and Anthony Burgess sang the praises of Jack Matthews (BOTTOM LEFT), who adored collecting books as much as writing them. This student from the 1967 Athena yearbook (RIGHT) follows a long line of Bobcats to pore over a book. Today, OHIO counterparts take classes from the likes of essayist Dinty W. Moore and poet Mark Halliday—and flock to the Spring Literary Festival, which annually brings leading authors to the Athens Campus.

Photos courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections

A double legacy

O

hio University influenced me in two key ways. I attended to become a high school English teacher.

And various literature choices and courses such as Introduction to Poetry proved useful over my 15-year career in secondary education in the Buckeye state, including a decade as department chair at Westerville North High School. OHIO classes also laid the foundation for my becoming an author of, initially, contemporary thrillers and, ultimately, historical novels—more than 60 books published by leading commercial presses in 35 years.

Teaching begets legacies. Instructors impart wisdom and facilitate learning; they make an impression. Novels also hinge on legacies. Characters, plots, settings, and wordings spring from their contemporary or bygone eras.

I never would have developed an interest in the Tudor royal family—the background for Shakespeare’s Mistress (2009), The Queen’s Governess (2010), and the nine-part Elizabeth I Mysteries (1999-2007)—without taking courses on the Bard from Paul Murray Kendall, who in 1959 earned OHIO’s highest academic honor by being named one of its three inaugural Distinguished Professors.

In fact, I still have my notes for that course.

I also consult several blue book exams from my English 101 course taught by Earl Knies, who specialized in 19th-century English literature and the Victorian novel, and the required history of England textbooks. The subject matter here informed my sagas The Royal Nanny (2016), about the real-life lower class woman who reared two kings, and the forthcoming The It Girls, about two famous and infamous sisters, one a fashion designer, one a rule-breaking author, and both actual people from the period.

I also benefited from taking classes from two professional writers: poet Hollis Summers and fiction author Jack Matthews, the former named Distinguished Professor in 1964 and the latter in 1977. Summers

inspired me to pay attention to each word and focus on evocative description.

Matthews exuded love of the written word, and his enthusiasm was contagious.

The first time I made The New York Times bestseller list, with The Falls (2003), a suspense novel in which a besieged woman helps solve her husband’s disappearance and murder, I raised a glass to the first published authors I had known. And when I bumped into Matthews some years later as we signed autographs at a writers’ conference, I thanked him.

Ironically, I taught Summers’ and Matthews’ children when I was student teaching at the old Athens High School— legacy inverted!

“The only way to learn how to write is to write,” I told my high school students throughout my teaching tenure. Summers and Matthews preached similar messages.

So did Lurene Brown, AB ’32, BMUS ’36, EMERT ’80; she provided excellent reinforcement in her strict course on how to teach secondary English. So I got plenty of practice in writing at OHIO, not to mention in graduate school at Ohio State, where I taught freshman English, and then teaching British literature, American literature, and composition to high school juniors and seniors.

The self-confidence gained from four years in Athens not only gave me the gift of two intertwined and fulfilling careers.

OHIO also presented me with a milieu: The Athens Campus served as the backdrop for Shaker Run (2002), a romantic suspense novel, and the edge of Appalachia gave me the setting for my Cold Creek suspense trilogy (2014-15).

I still write both historical novels and contemporary suspense. And I still teach an occasional writing workshop. The legacy of my undergrad years continues to give to me—and to help me give to readers everywhere. —Karen Kurtz Harper, BA ’67, lives

Also in 1966 at OHIO …

• Roderick J. McDavis, BSED ’70, begins his freshman year. He goes on to participate in men’s varsity track, join Omega Psi Phi fraternity—and, in 2004, become the University’s 20th president and first minority to assume the role.

• Enrollment tops 15,000 for the first time.

• Intramural sports grow by nearly 50 percent.

• Bromley Hall, OHIO’s first coed residence hall, is built boasting a “space-age image,” indoor swimming pool, and central air conditioning.

• The biggest dorm? Crook Hall (ABOVE), with 540 women. (In 1986, it transforms into the C. Paul and Beth K. Stocker Engineering and Technology Center.)

• Committees investigate “women in men’s apartments,” the class attendance policy, and the introduction of an intra-campus mail system.

• Eventual Hollywood screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge, Showgirls) serves as the editor of the independent, student-run newspaper The Post, and Terry Eiler, BFA ’66, MFA ’69, EMERT ’13, who would subsequently co-create and later direct OHIO’s School of Visual Communication, is the photo editor of the Athena.

• International Hobbies Night debuts, courtesy of the [Baker] Center Program Board. Its other social, cultural, and recreational programs include bowling, folk singing, Ping-Pong, knitting, and bridge.

• The Ohio University Inn advertises its 86 guest rooms. (It now boasts 139.)

• The women of Theta Phi Alpha honor their favorite guy at the sorority’s Sweetie Pie Party. —Entries compiled by Editor Peter Szatmary from Athena yearbooks. Photo courtesy of Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections

in Columbus.

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BOBCAT TRACKS for alumni and friends

Bobcat sightings OHIO alumni span the globe! 1. Amy Paul Cassulo, BSJ ’94, inline skated through Luxembourg, Germany, and France along the Moselle River for a week last July, stopping with her tour group at a beer garden at one point. 2. Alumna Erin Deskins snapped this pic during her littlest sister’s September 2016 wedding at The Helen Mauck Galbreath Memorial Chapel as a show of Bobcat sisterhood. All four sisters are OHIO grads.

Left to right: Erin (Walker) Deskins, BSC ’01; Devon (Walker) Bolte, BSC ’04; Alison Walker-Stromdahl, BA ’04, MA ’10; Whitney (Walker) Garrett, BSHC ’10. 3. Bobcats, left to right, enjoyed sun and sand at York Beach, Maine, in July 2015. BACK ROW: Craig Ison, BSC ’98; Shane Riddle, BSED ’98; Vanessa Thompson, BA ’00; Mark Davidson, BSJ ’98; and Jarvis Wrazen, BSSE ’98. FRONT ROW: Stefanie West Shomock, BSS ’98; Andria Painter Riddle, BA ’99 (married to Shane); and Dawn Wicks Hicks, BSC ’98, who submitted the photo.

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4. Jennifer Howard, BSED ’02, tracks across the iconic, 134-yearold Brooklyn Bridge during her trip to the Big Apple in July 2016 to participate in a seminar by the Gilder Lehrman Institute held at Columbia University titled, “Empire City: New York from 1877 to 2001.” 5. Atop Colorado’s Aspen Mountain seems as good a place as any for to snap a photo. The high-flying Bobcats pictured on a wild west adventure in 2016 are left to right: Mikayla Zernic, BSC ’16; Macy DiRienzo, BSVC ’16; Sam Filous, BSJ ’16; and Diana Wahl, BBA ’16. 6. Michael Adeyanju, BA ’09, MPA ’10; Chauncey Jackson, BA ’10, MBA ’13; and Kyle Triplett, BA ’12, met as Bobcats and often travel together—also as Bobcats. The photo of their Aug. 25, 2016, trip to Utah's Zion National Park, which coincided with a birthday: That day, the National Park Service turned 100.

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Send your photos to ohiotoday@ohio.edu or Ohio Today, 112 McKee House, 1 Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701.

Communication students create virtual walking tour from archives, alumni submissions

W

hether it’s the memory of sledding down Scripps Amphitheater every winter or meeting a first love in Shively Dining Hall, memorable spots on Ohio University’s campus mean something different to every student, graduate, and faculty member. To preserve those memories, the students in Professor Roger Aden’s communications capstone are creating a virtual walking tour using information from the University’s archives and alumni submissions.

Through the website Historypin.org, the senior-level communications students will pair photographs and documents from the Ohio University Archives with personal stories from alumni. The goal of the project is to produce a digital, self-guided walking tour that will allow users to virtually visit places on campus and scroll through pictures, information, and anecdotes about each place.

As of mid-January, the project’s leaders had received more than 250 alumni submissions.

“The class is designed to help us understand how places on campus come together to help shape our own life stories.”

—Professor Roger Aden, PHD

“We hang onto all of those special places because there’s something there that’s meaningful to us because of our lives, our identity, and who we are,” Aden said. “The class is designed to help us understand how places on campus come together to help shape our own life stories.”

With help from the OHIO Alumni Association, Aden reached out to alumni for stories about their favorite spot on campus to link with historical information about each place.

Each student in Aden’s capstone course will be responsible for developing “pins” about a few notable spots on campus.

Students will collect archival materials and story submissions that they believe best represent the history of each spot, and then piece the images and stories together on Historypin.org. The virtual walking tour will be available on Historypin.org by searching “Athens, Ohio.” They aim to complete the project by the end of spring semester.

Aden said that he wants the students to graduate with a better understanding of how the memories made at OHIO will shape their life stories.

“I’m pretty confident, based upon the archives and alumni submissions students have to work with, that they’ll produce something that will help tell the story of Ohio University from a historical perspective and highlight the emotional connections alumni have to this great place,” Aden said. —Kaitlyn Pacheco, BSJ '17

BOBCAT BONDS More than two dozen members from the Tau Kappa Epsilon Alpha-Beta Chapter Alumni Association met at the Ohio University Inn and Conference Center in December 2015 for a weekend event. The AB TKE Alumni Association was founded to reunite members and reactivate a chapter at OHIO. TKEs are pictured from left to right. FRONT ROW: Bill Wening, BSCE ’67; David Batley; Bob Zilai, BSED ’63; Bill Garrett, BSED ’63; Paul Hadorn, BSEE ’64, MS ’73; Denny Morris, AB ’66; and Don Britt, AB ’65. SECOND ROW: Scott Bowles; Jon Barber, AB ’70; Ed Passarelli, AB ’73; Rob Kincart; Pete Huggins, BSIT ’69; Art Stellar, BSED ’69, MED ’70, PHD ’73; Luther Jones, AB ’69; Brian Stephans; Don Falk, BSED ’73; and John McNeely, BSED ’73, who provided the photo and information. THIRD ROW: Bill Schindel, BBA ’69; Curtis Todt; Ron Piwkowski; Gary Hermann, BS ’72; Jim Newell, BBA ’70; Jim Mandrell, BBA ’71; Robert Peyton, BSJ ’72; Mark Hines, AB ’72; Jeff Mayer, BSED ’73; and Todd Farmer, senior director of alumni engagement at Tau Kappa Epsilon.

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BOBCAT TRACKS for alumni and friends

’61

Judith Lemasters Clarke, BSJ ’61, earned second place in the category of online, blog, and multimedia columns under 100,000 monthly unique visitors from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists last year for her blog, Dementia Isn’t Funny, which, as her site puts it, “looks for laughs every day.” She is a caregiver for her husband, Peter; they live in Blacksburg, Virginia.

’68

Martha Forster Banyas, MA ’68, an enamel artist, displayed her most recent work in a dual show at the Center for Contemporary Art & Culture at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. She based her suite of 12 vitreous enamel wall sculptures, “Valley and Shadow: Another Life,” on her

experiences with breast cancer, from diagnosis to treatment to recovery. Banyas lives in Portland, Oregon.

’69

Art Stellar, BSED ’69, MED ’70, PHD ’73, has been appointed to the development committee of the National Association for Gifted Children. He has held similar roles at numerous educationbased organizations. Stellar is vice president of the National Education Foundation and its subsidiary, CyberLearning, and was school superintendent for 25 years in cities and counties nationwide. He is a four-time Fulbright Scholar and winner of several awards. Serving OHIO in many capacities, Stellar received a 2015 Medal of Merit from the Ohio University Alumni

Click on the “travel” link at ohio.edu/alumni

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o h i o t o d ay . o r g

Association. He lives in Hingham, Massachusetts.

’72

Lee Hutton, AB ’72, a shareholder in the Cleveland office of the Littler firm, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has been named “Lawyer of the Year” in Cleveland in litigation, labor, and employment in the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He earlier earned this distinction in 2015.

Hutton is also the founder and former president of the Cleveland Employment Inn of Court.

’73

Sandra Anderson, BSC ’73, received the Ritter Award for lifetime service from the Ohio State Bar Foundation. Over her career, she clerked for Judge George Edwards, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; practiced civil litigation with Columbus-based Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease for 33 years; and retired as associate vice president and deputy general counsel for The Ohio State University Office of Legal Affairs. Anderson was the first woman president of the Columbus Bar Association. She also has been president of the Columbus Bar Foundation; a board trustee for the Ohio State Bar Foundation, Life Success Seminars, and New Directions Career Center; and a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Anderson served six years on the Ohio Supreme Court Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, including chairing her final year. She was on OHIO’s Board of Trustees for nine years, twice as chair, and is on its Foundation Board.

’74

Nancy Dove, BSC ’74, BSC ’75, was inducted into the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Honor for her longtime service as scorekeeper for the boys’ varsity basketball team at Canfield (Ohio) High School, her alma mater. She taught English there for 35 years, advised the cheerleading team, and coached track and volleyball. In 2012, the school inducted her into its athletic hall of fame.

Kenneth Kies, BGS ’74, received the Distinguished Service Chapter Citation from Delta Tau Delta.

It’s the highest service honor bestowed by the fraternity, which was founded in 1858 and whose mission is “committed to lives of excellence” and whose membership surpasses 10,000 undergraduates and 120,000 living alumni. Kies is managing director of the Washington, DC-based Federal Policy Group, which provides tax advice on policy matters.

’76

William Hawal, AB ’76, a partner at Spangenberg Shibley and Liber, a boutique civil litigation trial firm based in Cleveland, has been included in the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in medical malpractice-plaintiffs. He has been listed in Best Lawyers since 2008 and has received numerous other distinctions.

’79

Sharon Monahan Fountain, AB ’79, ranked as one of The Best Lawyers in America for 2017. A partner in the Dallas office of Thompson and Knight, a full-service firm, she has earned the award since 2001 for employee benefits (employee retirement income security act) law and tax law. Fountain also has

been named a Texas Super Lawyer

by Super Lawyers magazine for employee benefits since 2003.

’89

Victor Bonacci, BSC ’89, MFA ’96, has been named co-chair of the Global Scrum Gathering San Diego 2017, the annual conference of the Scrum Alliance, a professional membership and certification organization in the Agile community. He hosts the “Agile coffee” podcast, presents on the topic of workplace coaching at national conferences, and is an Agile coach at Bio-Rad Laboratories for life science research and clinical diagnostics.

Bonacci lives in Southern California with his wife, Hiromi, and daughter, Sophia-Marie.

Mark Lee, MS ’89, accepted a position as an associate in the intellectual property group of the Chicago office of the law firm Faegre Baker Daniels. He had been with Greer, Burns and Crain, an intellectual property law firm in the same city. Lee is a patent attorney who focuses

on utility and design patent prosecution and a former patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Craig Palmer, GEN ’89, MSPE ’90, was promoted to vice president of youth development and educational initiatives at the YMCA of Greater Toledo. He had been executive director of the Summit YMCA, one of its branches.

’90

Rebecca Cahill Butler, BSJ ’90, CERT ’90, CERT ’90, PHD ’16, was named vice president of enrollment management and student services at Columbus State Community College. She had been vice president of enrollment management at University of Findlay, following several roles at Sinclair Community College.

Tom Stenzel, BBA ’90, and Rosylyn Aragones Stenzel, BSJ ’90, owners of Venture Quality Goods, received the 2016 East Bay Leadership Council Small Business Award representing the

city of Lafayette, California, as selected by the local chamber of commerce, for their clothing store. They also won Diablo Magazine’s Best of the East Bay 2016 for best men’s attire.

The shop offers “men’s and women’s apparel focusing on California regional brands with an eye for quality design and craftsmanship,” they write.

’92

Todd Burleson, BSED ’92, librarian/ media specialist at Hubbard Woods School in Winnetka, Illinois, was named Librarian of the Year by School Library Journal. He directs the resource center at the elementary school and transformed its library into “an integrated, technologydriven space where students can exercise their creativity,” according to press materials.

Burleson received $2,500 in cash and $2,500 in materials.

’94

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Gail Dreitzler, AB ’94, graduated from the U.S. Army War College after pursuing a

master’s degree in strategic studies for the past two years.

She commands the Army health clinic at U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Florida. Gail and her husband, Greg, have two children, Mark, 16, and Christine, 11, and live in Miramar.

Anthony Petruzzi, AB ’94, made the list of The Best Lawyers in America for 2017, as he has every year since 2013, and was named an Ohio Super Lawyer for 2017 by Super Lawyers magazine, as he has since 2012. Petruzzi is a partner at Tucker Ellis in Cleveland, Ohio, practicing white-collar criminal defense, corporate investigation, and business litigation for the fullservice law firm.

’95

B. David Ridpath, MSA ’95, associate professor and Kahandas Nandola Professor of Sports Administration in the College of Business at OHIO, earned a Keystroke Catalyst Award from his alma mater for garnering 1,203 media placements in 2015, tops at the University.

Living legacies The Office of Gift Planning can help you explore a Charitable Lead Trust. The irrevocable trust pays an income stream to The Ohio University Foundation and charities of your choice.

Benefits of a Charitable Lead Trust: • A charitable gift or income tax deduction • Ohio University immediately benefits from your generosity • Reduced or eliminated transfer taxes For more information, contact Kelli Kotowski Executive Director of Development, Gift Planning and Principal Gifts kotowskk@ohio.edu • 740.597.1819

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BOBCAT TRACKS for alumni and friends

’96

Chrystal Denmark Porter, BSSE ’96, MSA ’97, was promoted to associate vice president of the Van Loan School of Graduate and Professional Studies at Endicott College. She had been associate dean.

’99

Sean Wachsman, BSJ ’99, was promoted to senior brand manager, emerging brands, at BrownForman, the spirits and wine business in Louisville, Kentucky.

He oversees Slane Irish whiskey and all new Scotch brands, including GlenDronach, BenRiach, and Glenglassaugh.

Wachsman had been brand manager of Chambord black raspberry liquor. He joined the

company in 2004 as a public relations manager.

Karla Mullenax Wludyga, BSJ ’99, became director of Leadership Cleveland at the Cleveland Leadership Center. She had been manager of executive communications at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

’00

Hollie Bonewit-Cron, BA ’00, was named head men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach at Miami University. She had been head men’s and women’s swim coach at Nova Southeastern University.

She and her husband, Chad Cron, BA ’98, MSPE ’99, a construction attorney, have two daughters, Evalyn, 4, and Emersyn, 2.

CUBA • OCT. 22–30

OHIOTOURS U.S National Parks: Grand Canyon to Yellowstone MAY 8–19 The Sacred Valley & Culture of Lake Titicaca in Peru JUNE 3–15 Southern Culture & Civil War JUNE 3–12 Paris Immersion JUNE 10–18 Highlights of England, Scotland & Ireland JULY 6–17 Awe-Inspiring Alaskan Cruise JULY 14–21 England’s Castles, Cottages & Countryside AUG. 3–13 Flavors of Tuscany & Umbria SEPT. 9–18 Highlights of Japan SEPT. 28–OCT. 7 Trade Routes of Coastal Iberia OCT. 9–17 Languedoc: The Real South of France OCT. 14–22 Cuba: People, Culture and Art OCT. 22–30

Click on the “travel” link at

OHIO.EDU/ALUMNI

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o h i o t o d ay . o r g

Jeremy DeLuca, BSVC ’00, was promoted to creative director of Gannett’s Des Moines Design Studio. He had been features design team leader, magazines, niche publications.

Courtney White Heidelberg, BSJ ’00, became the public relations and communications manager at Brightway Insurance, a national property/casualty insurance retailer headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. She had been director of accounts at On 3 Public Relations in Tallahassee.

She and her husband, Blake, have two children.

’01

Julie Miceli, BSED ’01, became a partner in the Chicago office of Husch Blackwell, an industry-focused full-service law firm. She specializes in higher education.

Miceli had been associate general counsel at Northwestern University. Earlier in her career, she worked at the U.S. Department of Education.

’02

Thomas Dennison, BSED ’02, MED ’03, a fifth-grade teacher at Havre de Grace (Maryland) Elementary School, received a Milken Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation. The commendation, in its 30th year, comes with a $25,000 prize and features an educational forum with other winners and state and federal officials. Praised as “a classroom scientist,” he teaches the Revolutionary War through water balloon battles, visits student homes at the start of the year, and once hired a news crew to interview his charges on a red carpet that he had unrolled outside the school’s front door. Dennison is one of 35 educators in America to win the 2016-17 kudos.

James Joyce III, BSJ ’02, was promoted to district director for California State Senator HannahBeth Jackson, who represents the 19th district, including Santa Barbara County and western Ventura County, and chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and the California Legislative Women’s Caucus. He had been deputy district director.

Sarah McDowell, BFA ’02, was promoted to art director and senior designer at Ohio University, Advancement Communication and Marketing.

She has been designer of this publication since June 2006, and lives in Athens with her son, Edwin (Edi), 13, and his father, Mario.

Alison Rudy Sweitzer, BBA ’02, has been promoted to director of finance for Garrett County, Maryland, Public Schools. A staff accountant there since May 2015, she had been interim director since last June. She and her husband, Jason Sweitzer, BBA ’01, vice president, senior investment and executive trust officer, at My Bank: First United Bank and Trust in Morgantown, West Virginia, live in Oakland, Maryland, with their three children.

Brian Turner, BMUS ’02, a pianist, toured with “American Idol” winner and rock singer Caleb Johnson as the opening act last summer for Kiss and last fall for Sammy Hagar, Joan Jett, and Cheap Trick. The Bobcat is married to Caroline RunserTurner, BS ’00, BSVC ’00, MA ’05, CERT ’05. They live in Asheville, North Carolina.

’03

Elizabeth RattineFlaherty, BA ’03, MA ’06, PHD ’09, associate professor of health communication at St.

Future Bobcats “A first child is your own best foot forward, and how you do cheer those little feet as they strike out,” observes Orleanna Price, wife of an evangelical missionary and mother of their four daughters, in Barbara Kingsolver’s 1998 novel, The Poisonwood Bible. “But the last one: the baby who trails,” she continues, “oh, that’s love by a different name … the one you can’t put down.” Ohio Today thinks both sentiments apply to all infants, especially new additions to the OHIO family! Green and White parents shared a few details about their bundles of joy via e-mail.

—Editor Peter Szatmary

1. LUCAS DEAN JOHNSON Born: May 16, 2016; 4 lb, 4 oz; 16½ in—arriving at 36 weeks and spending three weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit

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Parents: Courtney Hess Johnson, BSJ ’12, assistant brand manager, Hondros College of Business, Westerville, Ohio, and Brandon Johnson, parts employee, Vermeer Heartland equipment manufacturer, Washington Court House Siblings: First child Residence: Ashville Parental resemblance: “Mommy’s eyes and nose, daddy’s mouth, both parents’ personalities!”

Adorableness example: “He makes the funniest facial expressions and is always looking at everything!”

2. CHELSEA LIMA

3

Parental resemblance: “Dad’s face and expressions. Mom’s long feet.”

Emerging personality: “Definitely a morning person! And like a true aviator, loves flying, hates car rides.”

3. TANNER ROBINSON BEATON Born: Jan. 31, 2016; 6 lb, 14 oz; 21 in Photo: 15 lb, 6 oz; 25¼ in; 4 months Parents: Erica Murdoch Beaton, BSED ’03, eighth-grade science teacher, Pollard Middle School, Needham, Massachusetts, and Collins Beaton, union carpenter, Newton Siblings: First child Residence: Framingham Parental resemblance: “Mommy’s big smile and daddy’s dimple.”

Emerging personality: “Babbler.”

Adorableness example: “Loves to listen to daddy

Born: Feb. 17, 2016; 6 lb, 13 oz; 19½ in Photo: 10 lb, 14 oz; 23 in; 11 weeks Parents: Marcelo Lima, BSA ’05, financial project manager, Birmingham (Alabama) Airport Authority, and Stephanie Lima, registered nurse, University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital Siblings: First child Residence: Birmingham

play guitar.”

Impressive feat: “Can strum a few chords on his own.”

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4. GRACE ADELINE RILEY Born: Feb. 15, 2016; 7 lb, 1 oz; 19½ in Photo: 14 lb, 3 oz; 24¾ in; 4½ months Parents: Megan Kortemeyer Riley, BSJ ’04, senior firmwide proposals manager, Jones Day global law firm, Cleveland, Ohio, office, and Patrick Riley, director of advancement, Kent State University Siblings: First child Residence: Shaker Heights Parental resemblance: “Mom’s eyes and dad’s facial expressions.”

Emerging personality: “Grace is an active baby who never seems to stop moving. Her boundless energy will serve her well when she is tackling Jeff Hill every day.”

Alumni parents, did a future Bobcat—new baby or adopted child—arrive recently? E-mail a photo and details to ohiotoday@ohio.edu.

spring 2017

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BOBCAT TRACKS for alumni and friends

CLEVELAND

ZANESVILLE

BOBCATS

EASTERN

’05

Kelly Curtin Noll, BBA ’05, was promoted to senior manager, business valuation services, in the Columbus office of GBQ, a tax, accounting, and consulting firm.

She has been with the practice since June 2008.

Sherelle Roberts Pierre, BSJ ’05, earned a 2016 regional Emmy Award from the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy

PICKERINGTON ATHENS

of Television Arts & Sciences in the public/current/community affairs program category as an executive producer for “Hope: In the Face of Addiction.” The film, made by GTV3 governmental access television in Lexington, Kentucky, the Lexington Department of Public Safety, and DrugFreeLex, examines those hit hardest by the drug epidemic in Lexington-Fayette County. Pierre is the public information officer for the Lexington Department of Public Safety.

Scott Powell, MA ’05, PHD ’08, associate professor of sociology and global studies coordinator at Ivy Tech Community College Wabash Valley, received its President’s Award for Excellence in Instruction and a National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Award for 2016. He and his wife, Dianne de Guzman Powell, MA ’09, have two sons.

’08

Alex Vitanye, BBA ’08, MBA/MSA ’10, and Lauren Tate Vitanye, BSC ’08, married on Oct. 8, 2016, at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, DC; held the reception at the

PROCTORVILLE

DUBLIN

’04

Amanda Allen Caswell, PHD ’04, earned a 2016 Athletic Trainer Service Award from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.

She coordinates the athletic

Ben Forquer, BBA ’04, made partner at the Columbus office of GBQ, a tax, accounting, and consulting firm. Joining the company in 2004 and winning rookie of the year honors, he directs the assurance and business advisory services.

Forquer has two children with Zarah Murphy, BS ’03.

LANCASTER

Laura Schetter, BSHC ’03, an environmental educator for the Toledo Public Schools, received a 20 Under 40 Leadership Recognition Award, which commends career or community achievement by those in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. There were 163 candidates for the annual honors. She leads a natural resources program for her district and founded the H2yOu Project, an online initiative to ensure, as the website puts it, “our shared global resource of water.”

training education program and is an associate professor at the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. Her husband, Shane Caswell, MSPE ’00, PHD ’03, is a professor of athletic training and the founding executive director of the Sports Medicine Assessment Research and Testing Lab at the same university.

CHILLICOTHE

Louis College of Pharmacy, was one of 100 primary, secondary, and college educators in the St. Louis metropolitan area to receive an Excellence in Teaching Award from Emerson, the global technology and engineering company, headquartered in the city.

The program is in its 27th year; honorees receive an engraved Tiffany crystal apple box.

SOUTHERN

Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Maryland; and “mini-mooned” in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. He is manager of business development at Xavier Sports Properties, part of the Plano, Texas-based Learfield Sports, which oversees multimedia and sponsorship rights for 120 U.S. intercollegiate athletics programs. She is content manager for Eric Mower + Associates, a Syracuse, New York-based marketing and public relations firm. They live in Cincinnati. The wedding party included Ben Vitanye, BBA ’12; Dustin Strah, BSC ’08; and J. T. Malloy, BA ’09. Numerous other Bobcats attended the festivities.

’09

Stefan Barber, BA ’09, became an assistant public defender with the 18th Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office in Sanford, Florida, after graduating from Florida State University College of Law. Michael Ward, BBA ’09, joined the international law firm Bryan Cave as an associate practicing with the real estate and lending client service groups in the Chicago office. He previously worked for a national real estate developer in Chicago.

’13

Thomas Pinney, BA ’13, became a staff writer at the Maryville (Missouri) Daily Forum. He had been pursuing a master of science in education at Northwest Missouri State University.

’15 TOGETHER WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE MAKE YOUR GIFT TODAY! • ohio.edu/give

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Erin Blankenship, BBA ’15, CERT ’15, accepted a position as an associate financial adviser with the wealth advisory team at Hamilton Capital Management, based in Columbus. She had been an associate planner with

SFG Wealth Planning Services in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

Misty Morrison, MFA ’15, displayed paintings in “Metamorphosis: LYME Alumni with a Masters in Fine Arts Degree,” a group show at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, University of New Haven.

’16

Emily Gilgoff, BSC ’16, CERT ’16, accepted a position as the Esther and Maurice Becker Networking and Mentoring Coordinator for young adults at the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. At OHIO, she had served as a student intern and recruiter for Hillel. —Compiled by Editor Peter Szatmary

OHIO ALUMNI BOOKS Ohio University alumni publish books across subjects and genres. Here are releases within the last year.

If you’re a Bobcat author and want to be considered for a future OHIO alumni books list, send a press release about your recent or forthcoming work to Ohio Today, McKee House, 1 Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701 or via e-mail to ohiotoday@ohio.edu.

May 17-21, 2017

ATE D E H SAVE T A spring Homecoming featuring academics and the arts, OTG will include activities for the entire OHIO community, alumni and their families, and those celebrating milestones.

Weekend Highlights: • Renew wedding vows with your Bobcat sweetheart in Galbreath Chapel or take a tour of local breweries, historical Uptown Athens, or The Ridges.

• Go back to the classroom for Alumni College courses on wellness, history, and more.

• Visit the Athena and see your favorite flicks from 1967, 1977 & 1987 on the big screen, including Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, Good Morning Vietnam, The Graduate, and more!

• Lace up your sneakers for the Bobcat Dash 5K or sign up to play 3-on-3 basketball with ​fellow alumni.

• Join your Alumni Varsity Band for their annual Cruise-In at The Convo car show.

• Join fellow foodies at Athens’ first food truck festival.

O H I O U NI VE

On the

R

Green

TY

by Editor Peter Szatmary

Join your OHIO Alumni Association for ON THE GREEN WEEKEND

SI

The Prison Guard’s Son, crime thriller, part of a series about underground private investigator Finn Harding (Black Mill Books), by Trace Conger, BA ’98 • Candy Is Magic: Real Ingredients, Modern Recipes, confectionery guide (Ten Speed Press), by Jami Spiesman Curl, AB ’97 • From Mascot to Agent and Everything in Between, insights from 11 sports executives (J. H. Strategists), by Justin Hunt, BBA ’06, MSA ’10 • Revenants: The Odyssey Home, novel inspired by Homer’s saga (Moonshine Cove Press), by Scott Kauffman, BA ’75 • American Studies Encounters the Middle East, essays on contemporary transnational cultural politics (University of North Carolina Press), edited by Marwan Kraidy, MA ’94, PHD ’96, and Alex Lubin • My Halal Kitchen: Global Recipes, Cooking

Tips, and Lifestyle Inspiration, cookbook based on the cooking and Islamic lifestyle website (Agate Surrey), by Yvonne Maffei, BA ’97, BA ’97, MA ’00 • Santa’s Big White Chicken, a Christmas fable (XLibris), by Louis J. Marino, BFA '56 • Black Lives: Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs That We Will Face in the Technology Millennium, essays (48HRBooks),

by Everett Louis Overstreet, BSCE ’67 • Mattering: Feminism, Science, and Materialism, essays (New York University Press), edited by Victoria Pitts-Taylor, AB ’93 • The Malmedy Massacre: The War Crimes Trial Controversy, historical reassessment (Harvard University Press), by Steven Remy, MA ’06, PHD ’01 • The Protectors, mystery novella (Little A digital books), by Alison Stine, PHD ’13 • Almost Missed You, domestic suspense novel (St. Martin’s Press), by Jessica Yerega Strawser, BSJ ’01 • Facing Your Fears: Speaking up When You Really Feel Like Throwing Up!, guide on public speaking (Kendall Hunt Publishing), by Lou Davidson Tillson, PHD ’92 • A Season with Hope, novel about baseball and cancer (WaveCloud), by Drew Wathey, BSC ’79 • Saying Goodbye to Vietnam, photographic memoir (Photo Gallery on the Net), by Ken Williamson, BFA ’66 • Voices from the Attic: The Williamstown Boys in the Civil War, narrative based on historical letters discovered in the attic of the author’s parents (William James Morris), by Carleton Young, MA ’80 —Compiled

Weekend

Share your photos, memories, and excitement with us! #OTG2017

spring 2017

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IN MEMORIAM remembering fellow Bobcats

1930s

Belvadell (Liggett) Sindlinger, BSED ’33 John K. Reed, COED ’36, BS ’42 Rita (Burns) Sampselle, BSS ’36 Vincent E. Caccese, AB ’38 James R. Nolfi, BSED ’38 Thelma L. (Smith) Ross, BSED ’39

1940s

Charles W. Dugan, BSED ’40 Allen H. Knisley, BSED ’40 Ruth M. (Adamson) Brown, AB ’42, MSHEC ’82 Phyllis E. (Kuder) Knisley, BSED ’42 Freda I. (Carson) Adams, BSED ’43 Raymond J. Leicht, BSJ ’43 Robert E. Nye Jr., AB ’43 Daniel A. Rardin Jr., AB ’43 Nancy E. Wood, BSED ’43, MA ’47 Viola (Riegl) Grace, AB ’44 Charles W. Soladay, BSCOM ’46 Mary Thrash, BSS ’46 Albert F. Chestone, BSED ’47 Marvin E. White, BSCE ’47 U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. (Ret.) Kearn H. Hinchman, AB ’48 Joseph Knapik, BSJ ’48 John J. Neenan Jr., BSCOM ’48 Doris (Standring) Ritter, BSCOM ’48 Wayne L. Ritter, BSCOM ’48 Anne (Mocilnikar) Smith, BA ’48 Geraldine A. (Demarco) Zarkos, AB ’48, MA ’55 Ann G. (Gerlach) Belinski, BSED ’49 Hugh P. Custer, BSAGR ’49 Boyd E. Hornby, BSCOM ’49 Earse Mauler Jr., AB ’49 Janice I. (Chapman) Nouse, BSS ’49 Robert H. Page, BSME ’49 Lib-Mary (Riebel) Reif, BSED ’49 Shirley E. (England) Schmidt, BSED ’49

1950s

Bill L. Baird, BSCOM ’50 William D. Combs, BSCOM ’50 Andrew Fraser, BSME ’50 Joylette (Lamasters) Spencer, BS ’50 David Albert, AB ’51

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Robert H. Bryan, BSIE ’51 Patricia H. (Walsh) Gatter, AB ’51 Donald V. Miller, BSCOM ’51 John K. Pickering, BSJ ’51 Roger L. Porter, BSCOM ’51 Norma (Bell) Spademan, BSED ’51 Jessie A. (Eichhorn) Bechtel, BS ’52 Janet (Pickenpaugh) Betcher, AB ’52 Merrill D. Thomas, BSED ’52, MED ’55 H. Robert Wismar Jr., BSAE ’52 Margaret (Wonn) Soltow, BS ’53 Theodore A. Young, BSAE ’53 Michiel de Wit, BS ’54 Nancy E. (Gallagher) Depke, BSJ ’54 Louis F. Heckmann, BSJ ’54 Robert S. Heidler, AB ’54 Robert D. Krizner, BSIE ’54 John N. Marquis, MS ’54 John C. Smith Jr., AB ’54 Louis S. Vida, General ’54 Arthur S. Filbert, BSJ ’55 Milford R. Greene, BSCE ’55 Daisy J. (Willis) Sommer, AA ’55 John L. Watson, BSCOM ’55 Ann Gordon McClure, BSS ’56 Carl W. Phillips, BSED ’56, MS ’57 Mckinley H. Sauer Jr., BSJ ’56 Richard F. Smail, BSJ ’56 Donna (Barns) Sulkoske, BSED ’56 Tom M. Vichich, BSED ’56 Richard H. Dickhaus, BSCE ’57 Helen M. Jones, BSJ ’57 Richard L. Rader, BFA ’57 Ned A. Reichelderfer, BSAGR ’57 Philip Z. Shannon, BSCOM ’57 Gerald V. Snyder, BSED ’57, MED ’67 Beverly Joanne (Wilms) Czubaj, BSHEC ’58 Raymond E. Dennis Jr., MBA ’58 Robert L. Harnishfeger, BSCE ’58 Ronald B. Johnson, BSCOM ’58 Gina (Castagna) Mrava, BSED ’58 Galen R. Mulford, BSED ’58, MED ’63, PHD ’77 Nancy L. (Gerhard) Sitterley, AB ’58 James J. Stack, MA ’58 Marlene Bumgardner Thomas, BFA ’58 Jerry D. Berneche, MFA ’59 Donald M. Johnson, BSCOM ’59

Elizabeth R. May, BSED ’59 Carol L. Straley, AB ’59

1960s

Jack C. Bissinger, BSCE ’60 Thomas A. Boster, MS ’60, PHD ’66 Barbara J. (Fromm) Lotney, BFA ’60 Kurt R. Ruthenberg, BS ’60 Elinor A. (Teegardin) Butler, BSED ’61 Judith (Hart) Curran, BSED ’61 Mary L. (Allen) Dovenbarger, BSED ’61 Edward J. Furlich, BSIT ’61 James A. Umbaugh, BSCOM ’61 Bruce S. DeMoll, BFA ’62 Nancy J. (Krock) Huth, AB ’62 Linda K. (Lynn) Cloherty, BFA ’63 Vivian R. (Thornton) Cook, BSED ’63 David H. Curl, BFA ’63 Norman R. Cutright, BSED ’63 Lelia Roberts Russell, BSED ’63 Nancy L. (Saxen) Scott, BSED ’63 Richard A. Benedict, BSME ’64 Mary Ann (Mohr) Cooper, BFA ’64 Barbara S. (Foley) Hill, BSED ’64 Cynthia J. (Mucha) Jenkins, BSED ’64 Myron Kushner Jr., BSED ’64 William A. Sprunk Jr., MA ’64 Burgess L. Decker, BSCE ’65 Marilyn S. (McDowell) Humason, BSED ’65 Sherman Hopkins Jr., BBA ’66, MBA ’70 Philip J. Lauver, PHD ’66 Edward I. Peck Jr., BA ’66 Marcia A. (Madison) Tunstell, BSED ’66 Jean A. (Taylor) Hoy, BSED ’67 Marsha J. (Oswalt) Jump, BSHEC ’67 Lola I. Kyser, BSED ’67 Rita D. (Griffith) Collins, BSED ’68 James M. Crawford, BBA ’68 Ronald R. Dillon, BBA ’68 Nancy J. (Cline) Janton, BSHEC ’68 Corinne Keys Dawson, BSED ’68 Barbara (Hotz) Mau, BSHEC ’68 Stephen D. Adkins, MA ’69, PHD ’78 Pamela S. (Eubank) Appleton, AB ’69

Letha B. Eveland, BSED ’69 Bruce C. Ker, BSED ’69 Robert G. Petrich, General ’69 Charles S. Romig, BBA ’69, AA ’69 Garry E. Ruff, BSCHE ’69

1970s

Benjamin F. Husband, BSED ’70 Joyce E. Jackson, MED ’70 Sheila R. (Beale) Jenkins, BSED ’70 Phyllis E. (Rankins) Martin, BSED ’70 Betty G. McKnight, BSED ’70 Melissa (McParland) Richard, BSC ’70 Phyllis Armelie Sibbing, BSED ’70 Gary W. Bartness, BBA ’71 Ruth (Chandler) Clearfield, AB ’71, MA ’76 Richard A. Fox, MS ’71 Virginia Graves, BSED ’71 William H. McBroom, AB ’71 Ned A. Miller, MSISE ’71 Deborah A. (White) Sampson, BS ’71 Jean E. Strawn, BSED ’71 Samuel C. Barnhouse, BSED ’72 Beth A. (Crabtree) Gaster, AA ’72 Sally A. Lewis, AB ’72 Ann L. (Hense) Stevens, BSED ’72 Joyce A. Vessey, BS ’72 Charles J. Wisvari, BBA ’72 Mary E. Beattey, BSED ’73 Wanda M. Brown, BSED ’73 George S. Karakis, BBA ’73 Thomas E. Pickett, MED ’73 Thomas P. Shouvlin, BGS ’73 Wanda (Frasher) Staggs, BSED ’73 William Roy Foreshee, MS ’74 Michael V. Massa, BSHSS ’74 Michael S. Blakemore, BGS ’75 Jerry E. Keiter, BSEE ’75, BS ’01 Randall H. Mace, BSJ ’75 Mary Gonder Robinson, BSED ’75 Julie (Crist) Andrews, BFA ’76 Glen Herbert Dearth, BSC ’76 Douglas Lawrence Warnke, BGS ’76 Niles L. Wolfson, BSJ ’76 David S. Fuciu, AB ’77 Virginia A. (Tomsic) Isele, MA ’77, PHD ’87 Linda (Burrus) Langey, MA ’77 Nuel R. Mahaffey, BGS ’77

Andrew Myers, BFA ’77 Linda D. Sidaway, BS ’77 Thomas B. Adams, BFA ’78 Diane L. Stevenson, MA ’78, MA ’81, PHD ’82 Patricia (Beall) Chapman, BSN ’79 Hal L. Stonerock, BSCE ’79

1980s

Larry R. Carter, BBA ’80 Sonia (Kilhoff ) Hill, MED ’80 Timothy M. Smith, BSJ ’80 Brenda E. (Ray) Bunch, AAS ’81 Richard C. Doermann, BSC ’81 Richard A. Jerico, BSED ’81 Jeffery A. May, BSJ ’81, MA ’83 Darwin Mayle Jr., BBA ’81 Steven A. Huber, AAB ’84 Bob Robert Klinck, BBA ’84 Karl E. Peak, AAS ’84 Connie S. (Maggard) Phipps, MED ’84 Karen M. Burton, MED ’85 Jane A. (Champer) Phillips, MED ’85 Kim Scippio, BSC ’85 Sheila K. Holston, AA ’86, BA ’90 Robert A. Reho, BSED ’86 Michael Dale Stanley, AAS ’86 James K. Larrison, MSPE ’88 Michael Clark Mullenix, BS ’88 Kaye Lee Hartman, AAS ’89 Carl Lee Rhoades, AA ’89

Kathy D. (Boyd) Ruiz, BSHCS ’89 Joseph Waldemar Wilkes, BSC ’89

James Michael Kaltenbach, AAB ’06

1990s

2010s

Ervin N. Dehn Jr., BGS ’90 Barbara D. Johnson Ellis, AA ’90 Gordon Maurice Jensen, MS ’90 Cindy L. Congeni, DO ’91 Barbara Ellen (Miller) Duman, MM ’91 Jerald Dennis Leary, BGS ’91, MHSA ’93 Judith F. Randolph, AAS ’91 Kathy L. Rowe Black, AA ’92 Dennis Edward Bishop, BSED ’93, MS ’98 Wanda F. Smith Porter, AAS ’93 Jeanne Anne Sevigny, AAB ’93 Jerry G. Kerns, AA ’94 Joseph Kenneth Sawdy, AA ’94 Ralph Franklin Skivers, BSIT ’94, MBA ’97 Emily S. James Gardner, AAS ’95 Ronnie David Bayless, AAB ’98 Peggy Walker Clifford, MED ’98 Gavin G. Glover, BSC ’99

2000s

Jason Vincent Crawford, BSH ’03 Charles R. Diamond, AAS ’03 David Grant Gander, BSS ’05

Nathan Lee Johnson, BA ’10 Brian Matthew Friel, BS ’11 Candice Nicole Althouse, AAS ’12 Michele D. Boyce, BSN ’12 Tami Jo Vanwey, BSS ’12 Patricia C. Van Leuven, BTAS ’13 Shannon L. Lawson, PHD ’14 Johnella Danielle Singleton Chambers, BSN ’14 Joseph Timothy Otto, BA ’16

Faculty/Staff

Richard P. Butrick, Athens, Ohio, professor emeritus of philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences (1967-1997), Nov. 4 Kathy Marie Buxie, Lancaster, Ohio, former assistant professor of mathematics, Ohio University Lancaster Campus (1993-2011), Sept. 8 Timothy L. Head, Chillicothe, Ohio, former custodial worker, Ohio University Chillicothe Campus, Nov. 9

Gary A. Hunt, Riverside, California, associate dean emeritus, University Libraries (1979-2008), Aug. 24 Dana L. Hunter, Chauncey, Ohio, former custodial worker, Facilities Management, Nov. 5 David R. Noble, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, former assistant professor of English, Ohio University Eastern Campus (1984-2010), Aug. 31 Suzanne Miers Oliver, Venice, Florida, professor emeritus of history, College of Arts and Sciences, Sept. 11 Ray G. Stephens, Athens, Ohio, professor emeritus of accounting, College of Business (1999-2009), Sept. 2 Kathleen A. Turner-Hubbard, Palo Alto, California, former employee, June 2 —Compiled by Jennifer Shutt Bowie, BSJ ’94, MS ’99, based on information received by the University’s Office of Advancement Services prior to Dec. 1, 2016

WITH THE OHIO MATCH, THE UNIVERSITY’S UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP MATCHING PROGRAM, YOU CAN SUPPORT OHIO’S BEST AND BRIGHTEST. The University has dedicated $25 million to strengthen the endowed scholarship program and will match 50 percent of EVERY donation committed to eligible scholarship endowments.

Support students with academic merit, with financial need, University-wide, or in a specific college ... and increase your impact with The OHIO Match!

To learn more, go online to ohio.edu/ohiomatch Or give today at ohio.edu/give

» Your gift to scholarships for OHIO students on the Athens Campus could be matched 50¢ on the dollar!

spring 2017

• 45

BOBCAT brainteaser

A legacy spelled out ACROSS

1. Court Street serves beer on this 4. Crucifix 8. Homecoming event 12. Airline whose name comes from the Book of Hosea and means “to the skies” 14. Star with her “own” TV network 16. ___ Riedel, AB ’52, LLD ’94, who retired as vice chairman of Cooper Industries and passed away last June 17. ___ time (never) 18. Actor Stiller’s mom 19. Marriott rival 20. M is for the OHIO ___, a 2013 program in which the University adds 50 cents to every dollar committed to eligible scholarship endowments 22. C is for ___, the city in which OHIO launched a new campus via the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2015 24. In perfect working order 26. First place?

27. D is for ___, site of two recent OHIO expansions: a Heritage College campus in 2014 and the Tantrum Theater in 2015 30. A is for Alvin C. ___ Hall, built in 2007 and one of five new OHIO residence halls opened in the last 12 years 34. Org. for J.D.’s 35. Bulgarian capital 38. ___ breve (musical direction) 40. Stone key to deciphering ancient Egyptian texts 42. Put 20, 22, 27, 30, 51, 57, and 62 Across together and they spell ___, OHIO’s 20th president 45. Depilatory brand 46. Individual instructor 47. “___to Extremes,” Billy Joel song from 1989 48. Peter and Paul 51. V is for OHIO’s ___as “the nation’s best transformative learning community” 53. Until 56. U.S. fed. org. established by President Richard Nixon in 1970 57. I is for ___ Alliance, a 2008 collaboration between OHIO and historically black colleges and universities 62. S is for Claude R. ___Hall, an OHIO residence hall completed for the fall 2015 term 66. FDR’s was New, Truman’s was Fair 67. Regions 69. Crime film genre 70. Headphones

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o h i o t o d ay . o r g

For the solution, go online to ohiotoday.org/spring-2017.

71. The Best ___ of Our Lives, acclaimed 1946 movie 72. Actresses Gabor and Longoria 73. Medicinal plant 74. Time on a schedule 75. Before, for Shakespeare

15. “___ nice day!”

21. Raise 23. Conclusion 25. Sheepshank or monkey fist 27. Mend 28. Common word for Unterseeboot 29. Underlying principle DOWN 31. Little battery 1. OHIO Bobcats, for example 32. Half of MMCXIV 2. Utah ski resort 33. Irish county where William Butler 3. Gasp Yeats is buried 4. CD-___ 36. ___ Man and Little Boy, 1989 movie 5. Oil cartel acronym starring Bobcat Paul Newman 6. Papal vestment also known as a 37. Quan. fanon 39. “... unto us ___ is given.” (Isaiah) 7. Accepted a challenge 41. Stat. for former Major League relief 8. Jail pitcher and OHIO Athletics Hall of 9. “___ Mater, Ohio,” official OHIO song Fame member Dave Tobik, BBA ’76 written by Kenneth S. Clark in 1915 43. Cabot ___, fictional setting for 10. Thomas who wrote the 1924 novel “Murder, She Wrote” The Magic Mountain 44. Plumbing woes 11. “Wheat capital” of Oklahoma 49. 1920 science-fiction play by 13. Not national or statewide Karel Capek

50. Spread out 52. French river that joins the Rhone at Lyon 54. Wearies 55. Ryan or Shaquille 57. Brain product 58. ___ Cassady, Beat Generation icon 59. What poi is made of 60. Word in an ultimatum 61. Corn syrup brand since 1902 63. What Penelope did while awaiting Ulysses’ return 64. Fabricator 65. Irish Gaelic 68. Jet grounded in 2003 —Jim Bernhard has written crossword puzzles for The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times syndicate, among other media. He also has authored books on numerous topics, including Final Chapters: How Famous Authors Died (2015) and Puns, Puzzles, and Wordplay (2014), both released by Skyhorse Publishing.

ohiotoday

What’s new?

Mission statement

Ohio Today informs, celebrates, and engages alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends of Ohio University.

Editor Peter Szatmary Guest Editor Jennifer Kirksey, BSJ ’98, MA ’16 Art Director Sarah McDowell, BFA ’02 Contributors Jim Bernhard Subrata Biswas/AP photography William A. Bloodworth Jennifer Shutt Bowie, BSJ ’94, MS ’99 Natalie Trusso Carafello, MS ’08 Nick Claussen, BSJ ’92 Purba Das Jen Jones Donatelli, BSJ ’98 Amber Epling, BSJ ’04 Rick Fatica, MFA ’08 Camille Fine, BSVC ’18 Matthew Forsythe, BBA ’12, BS ’14 Ellen Gray John Halley, MFA ’87 Jennifer Kirksey, BSJ ’98, MA ’16 Karen Kurtz Harper, BA ’67 Catherine Hofacker, BSJ ’18 Elizabeth (Betty) Hollow, MED ‘77 Megan Johnson, BSVC ’17 Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections Emily Matthews, BSVC ’18 Deborah McDavis, HON ’16 Roderick J. McDavis, BSED ’70 Daniel Owen, BSVC ’15 Samantha Owens, BSVC ’14 Kaitlyn Pacheco, BSJ ’17 Jacob Parker, MFA ’18 Jim Phillips, BSJ ’88 Samara Rafert Kelee Riesbeck, BSJ ’91 Rachel Rogala, BSVC ’18 Carolyn Rogers/WOUB News John Sattler, BFA ’87 Katie Schmitt, BSVC ’15 Ben Siegel, BSVC ’02 Kailee Slusser, BFA ’16 Hailee Tavoian WitmerLab at Ohio University Proofreaders Emily Caldwell, BSJ ’88, MS ‘99 Brian Stemen, MA ‘98 Printer The Watkins Printing Co. Ohio University President Roderick J. McDavis, BSED ’70 Chief Marketing Officer Renea Morris, MED ’12 Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations and Executive Director of the Alumni Association Jennifer Neubauer Executive Director of Advancement Communication & Marketing Jennifer Shutt Bowie, BSJ ’94, MS ’99

Senior Director of Creative Services and Digital Communication, Advancement Communication & Marketing Sarah Filipiak, BSJ ’01 Ohio Today Advisory Board Melissa Wervey Arnold, BSJ ’99 (alumni representative), chief executive officer, Ohio Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics Amber Epling, BSJ ’04, director of presidential communications Cary Frith, BSJ ’92, MS ’98, associate dean, Honors Tutorial College Jenny Hall-Jones, AB ’95, MED ’97, PHD ’11, dean of students Laurie Sheridan Lach, BSC ’92, director of development and external affairs, Ohio University Lancaster/Pickerington Heather Lawrence-Benedict, associate professor, sports administration; academic director, Graduate Programs; Freeman Professor, College of Business Peter Mather, interim dean, University College, and vice provost for undergraduate education Jennifer Neubauer, assistant vice president, Alumni Relations, and executive director, Ohio University Alumni Association Brian Stemen, MA ’98, senior editor and copywriter, University Communications and Marketing Lorraine Wochna, MA ’04, reference and instruction librarian, University Libraries Ohio University Alumni Association Board of Directors Ronald Teplitzky, AB ’84, chair Casey Christopher, BS ’02, vice chair Joseph Becherer, BFA ’87, MFA ’89 Robin Bowlus, BFA ’98 Craig Brown, BSC ’82 Bryon Carley, BSC ’81 Damian Clark, BSC ‘05 Brenda Dancil-Jones, AB ’70 Jim Daniel, BSED ’68, MED ’72 Steve Ellis, BS ’82 Alissa Galford, BSC ’05 Shara Glickman, BSJ ‘98 Todd Grandominico, BBA ’00, CERT ’00 Mike Jackson, BSED ’68, HON ’12 Matthew Latham, AA ’06 Jeffrey Laturell, BSC ’80, MBA ’82 Timothy Law, DO ’94 Connie Lawson-Davis, BSED ’67 Robert “Rocky” Mansfield, BSCHE ’74 Carolyn “Bitsy” Merriman, BFA ’77 Gregory Moore, BSC ‘83 Julia Brophy Righter, BSC ’78 Kenneth Rusche, BSED ’73 Dustin Starkey, BS ’98 Larry Starr, BSED ’68, MED ’71 Stacia Taylor, BSC ’82 Kyle Triplett, BA ’12 Makenzie Olaker, BBA ’17, Student Alumni Board president Julie Mann Keppner, BBA ’02, immediate past chair of the board

Share your news with fellow alumni by completing this form and mailing it to Ohio Today, 112 McKee House, 1 Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701-2979; sending an e-mail to ohiotoday@ohio.­edu or a fax to 740.597.9070; or visiting ohtoday.us/class-note.

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Contact information Editorial offices are in McKee House, 1 Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701-2979. Send questions, comments, ideas, and submissions (such as Bobcat tracks, future Bobcats, and alumni books) to that address, e-mail to ohiotoday@ohio.edu or call Advancement Communication and Marketing at 740.593.2639. Make address changes at ohio. edu/alumni or via Advancement Services, WUSOC 168, Athens, OH 45701-0869.

Send in memoriam details to the latter or via e-mail to advinfo@ohio.edu. The OHIO switchboard is 740.593.1000.

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.

Copyright © 2017 by Ohio University.

Ohio University is an equal access, equal opportunity, and affirmative action institution.

spring 2017

• 47

LAST WORD

Planting seeds, taking root

S

o many of my memories at Ohio University involve our cherished tree-lined College Green. It was the first place I set foot upon after enrolling on our Athens Campus in 1966 at age 17; I walked across it every day my freshman year, trekking from residence hall to classes and back; I joined my fellow students at the Class Gateway in April 1968 to mourn the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; I attended memorable events at TempletonBlackburn Memorial Auditorium, including an electrifying concert

by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and a speech by Paul Newman, a Bobcat, on the steps of that grand venue; and I bid our College Green a fond farewell in my rearview mirror as I drove out of town on my last day at Ohio University in 1970.

Or so I thought. You see, the branches of those trees extend far beyond that fabled path. I had dreams of being a university president; watching Dr. Vern Alden guide Ohio University through difficult political times showed me the positive influence college presidents could have on students, faculty, and staff. But I never imagined that my life’s ambition would be realized as president of my alma mater. So, my mind will always keep returning to those majestic grounds.

Our College Green looks different now. Many of its trees were little more than saplings when I was a student, having been planted to replace the majestic American elms felled by the blight of Dutch elm

The “Under the Elms” concert series is an Ohio University summer tradition.

The nearly 40-year-old series brings together students, alumni, faculty and staff, and community members alike.

Photo by Ben Siegel, BSVC ’02

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o h i o t o d ay . o r g

disease in the 1950s. By the time I came back to OHIO as president in 2004, they had matured to the strong, immense, diverse, beautiful shade-bearers we now know and love.

That visual metaphor is not lost on me, not when I gazed at them from the windows of my office in Cutler Hall, and not now, either, after my wife, Deborah, and I have moved on to our next challenging, wonderful adventure. The contradiction of Ohio University is that it changes yet remains the same. When icons of generations past fall to the ground, new symbols sprout for future generations.

When I started my career path in higher education, that was my goal: to plant seeds that change the future for the better. And, I believe that in these past 13 years, our work together has established and nourished the roots that will yield an even stronger foundation for future generations of Ohio University students.

So, to the extended OHIO family: thank you. Thank you for working with me to help secure a better future of Ohio University.

Thank you for offering your time, talent, and treasure to help the next generation of Bobcats. Thank you for serving as able ambassadors who consistently show what OHIO students, alumni, professors, and staff can achieve. Thank you for demonstrating, in all you do, the power and value of an Ohio University education.

And finally, thank you for having faith in my hopes and dreams for our beloved alma mater. —Roderick J. McDavis, BSED ’70

STILL MORE

WELCOME HELLO, FOND GOODBYE Departing OHIO President Roderick J. McDavis, BSED ’70, considers the Alumni Gateway the iconic symbol of the University. Each year, after the Convocation for First-Year Students, he shook hands with incoming freshmen as they descend on College Green for the annual involvement fair. His gesture reinforces the Alumni Gateway inscription: “So depart that daily thou mayest better serve thy fellowmen thy country and thy God.” —University Photography Supervisor Ben Siegel, BSVC ’02, who took this photo

NONPROFIT ORG U. S . P O S TAG E

P A I D Advancement Services WUSOC 164 1 Ohio University Athens, Ohio 45701-0869

C

eramics graduate students Sam Briegel and Michael Lorsung, in foreground, and Erik Zohn, in background, stoke the large wood-fired kiln on the ceramics pad outside Seigfred Hall. The catenary arch kiln, named for its self-supporting arched shape, is filled with a variety of hard and soft wood used to raise and sustain temperatures inside the kiln and provide different types of ash, which affects the look of the final glaze. In 2016, OHIO's MFA ceramics program was ranked third in Best Grad Schools, Ceramics by U.S. News and World Report. Photo by Matthew Forsythe, BBA ’12, BS ’14

COMING NEXT EDITION: The theme will be OHIO “creativity.” Fittingly, the Ohio Today team will unveil its creativity in that edition, introducing a comprehensive redesign. The summer edition also will feature a refreshed editorial focus.

CO LU M B U S , O H I O P E R M I T N O. 4 4 1 6