150 years later, Boyd’s legacy persists

In the 150 years since Margaret Boyd broke barriers as Ohio University’s first female graduate, women in higher education have made great strides, conducted groundbreaking research and become an integral part of universities across the nation. Women of Ohio University have historically dominated enrollment figures and made significant contributions to OHIO’s culture and success.

Boyd, native to Athens County, was the first female to be admitted to OHIO. Following her graduation with a

B.A. in 1873, Boyd went on to earn an M.A. from OHIO in 1876. She taught high school in Ohio and Indiana and taught math at Wesleyan Female College in Cincinnati. In 1883, OHIO hired its own first female faculty member, Cynthia Weld, who taught English.

The pursuits of Bobcat women in the years to follow left a remarkable impact. In 1913, the University hired its first dean of women, Irma Voigt. Three years later, Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn became OHIO’s first Black female graduate.

Women enrolled at OHIO have repeatedly stood up for their beliefs, directly shaping the University. In 1972, students spoke out against the discriminatory curfews designated for women on campus, causing the practice to end.

The 1972 “Report on the status of women at Ohio University,” conducted by Beverly Jones, BSJ ’69, MBA ’75, led to increased Title IX funding for women’s athletics and the re-admittance of women to the marching band.

Alongside their monumental contributions, Bobcat women have also consistently surpassed their male counterparts in terms of enrollment since 1988-89.

The Margaret Boyd Scholars Program is another testament to Boyd’s legacy. Scholars are provided with opportunities for mentorship, academic advancement, community engagement and networking. Alumni can donate to give their support to the program.

Women are still shaping and changing the landscape of OHIO. In 2019, OHIO hired its first female athletic director, Julie Cromer. The student, faculty and administrative senates are currently led by women.

“Being the first does not come easy, but strength lies in our opportunity for positive exponential impact,” says Dayna Shoulders, BBA ’23, OHIO’s current student senate president. “The success of young OHIO women reminds our community to reflect on the historic importance of celebrating diversity in positions of power and the innovation it brings.”

—Jordan Schmitt, BSJ ’22

Class notes

* denotes accolades featured at ohio.edu/news or in the media

1956

Dorothy “Dot” Burns Hornsby, BSED ’56, was featured in the cover story of the July 2022 issue of Neighbors of Larkin Township magazine. The article celebrated Hornsby’s nearly three decades as a pilot; her role in founding and supporting the Midland Aviation Camp, a five-day camp for students in ninth through 12th grade; and her service to the community. She resides in Midland, Michigan.

1961

Robert “Bob” Kraft, BSME ’61*, was inducted into the Fluid Power Hall of Fame, honoring his commitment to education in the fluid power industry through his work with Kraft Fluid Systems, the International Fluid Power Society and the Kraft Family Associate Professorship Awards. He founded Kraft Fluid Systems in 1972.

1965

The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame inducted James Cullison, BSJ ’65, for his work assisting homeless veterans, deployed service members and inner-city families with the St. Vincent de Paul Society. With five years in active duty and 22 years in the Air National Guard, Cullison has since retired as a lieutenant colonel. He resides in Scottsdale, Arizona, with his wife, Beth.

1966

Frank Sargeant, AB ’66, MA ’68, won the 2022 Robert Traver Fly-Fishing Writing Award for the best fiction of 2022, presented by the American Museum of Fly Fishing (AMFF) and the John D. Voelker Foundation for his work entitled A Dog Called Fish. Beyond receiving a monetary prize, Sargeant’s work will be published in the winter or spring 2023 edition of the American Fly Fisher. Sargeant and his wife reside in Guntersville, Alabama.

1970

Dr. John Canine, BSED ’70, has authored several books over the past 40 years on the subjects of life, dying, death and grief. In 2019, he released the second edition of The Psychosocial Aspects of Death and Dying. He is the president of Clarkston, Michigan-based Maximum Living Consultants, Inc., providing counseling services, bereavement aftercare and employee assistance programs.

Bobcat Spotlight

Photographer Adger

Cowans, BFA ’58, had a chance to return to his alma mater to talk about his book, Adger, at an Authors @ Alden event in September 2022. Cowans, who was the second Black student to graduate from OHIO with a degree in photography, went on to work as a still

Cowans shares life experiences, perspective photographer in the motion picture industry, working with famed directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet and Spike Lee.

“I think my life has always been influenced by visual culture," Cowans said. "I think I had a visual memory, and I could remember details. That was really good for me in terms of photography because for me, life is in the details.”

Cowans shared his experiences of his time on campus and his passion for art and photography during the visit, and encouraged people to learn the history of underrepresented groups of people to create a more informed culture.

1971

Dan DeLawder, BSED ’71, was presented the Central Ohio Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ 2022 Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award for investing his time, talent and treasure in community projects and inspiring others to do the same. He retired from Park National Corporation’s executive leadership team but continues to serve on

Park’s board of directors and chairs the executive and trust committees. He resides in Newark, Ohio, with his wife, Diane.

1979

The National Association for Business Economics (NABE) honored Robert Fry Jr., AB ’79 (HTC), with its 2022 NABE Outlook Award, presented annually to the NABE Outlook Survey panelist with the most accurate forecast for the previous four quarters. After retiring in 2015 as senior economist at DuPont, Fry founded economic consulting and forecasting firm Robert Fry Economics LLC, serving as chief economist, publishing a monthly newsletter on the global economy and speaking on the economic outlook. He resides in Wilmington, Delaware.

1980

One Heart with Courage: Essays and Stories, written by Teri Krimm Rizvi, BSJ ’80, placed third in the anthology category of the Catholic Media Association’s 2022 annual book awards competition, was a finalist in the nonfiction inspirational category of the 2022 In-

Alumni authors

ternational Book Awards and was released as an audiobook in July. She is the founder and director of the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop at the University of Dayton, where she serves as executive director of strategic communications.

1982

Dr. Mike Kukral, BS ’82, MA ’86, MSES ’87*, retired in September 2022 from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. Kukral was a geography professor for 30 years, including a few years in the 1990s at Ohio Wesleyan. In 2022, he took his students to Kenya to work on building a footbridge for school children. Kukral has moved to

Rockaway Beach, Oregon, where he continues to teach at Neah-Kah-Nie High School with a view of the Pacific out of his classroom.

1984

Edwina Blackwell Clark, BSJ ’84*, was named executive editor of The Columbus Dispatch. She became the first woman and first African American executive editor in the newspaper’s history.

1985

Dale Gehman, BSJ ’85, MBA ’86, won the men’s 60-64 age division at Scottish Masters Athletics International’s 2022 Masters World Championship and set two world records in the light weight and light hammer throws.

He has been competing in Scottish Heavy Athletics, a forerunner to today’s modern fields events, since 1991 and has placed in the top three five times previously. He resides in Williamsburg, Michigan.

Family and local and longtime friends, including OHIO alumni Claire Fetters, BBA ’85, Lisa Tennenbaum, BSC ’86, Anthony Ditka, BBA ’92, and Sarah “Sam” Ditka, AB ’93, have established the nonprofit “Laura’s Light” in honor of Laura Ditka, BSC ’85. Ditka, a prosecutor in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who passed away in 2018, advocated for women and children and went to trial on 160 child abuse cases during her 30-year legal career.

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

Molli and Me and the Family Tree, children’s book (FriesenPress), by Margi Kohn Kramer, BSED ’74 • Addiction Love Mom, memoir (ButterCon Publishing LLC), by Kathleen McKamey, BSN ’18 • Beyond the Voting Rights Act: The Untold Story of the Struggle to Reform America’s Voter Registration Laws, memoir/ politics (De Gruyter), by Gregory Moore, BSC ’83, MPA ’21 • The Secret American Bomber Girls, history (Independent), by Bill Muntean, BBA ’80 • Clare Boothe Luce: American Renaissance Woman, political biography (Routledge), by Philip Nash, PHD ’94 •

Worlds Enough: Poems for and about Children (and a few for grown-ups), children’s poetry (Redhawk Publications), by Scott Owens, AB ’84 • The Flying Grunt: The Story of Lieutenant General Richard E. Carey, United States Marine Corps (Ret), biography/ memoir (Casemate), by Alan E. Mesches, MS ’72 • Major General James A. Ulio: How the Adjutant General of the U.S. Army Enabled Allied Victory, biography/memoir (Casemate), by Alan E. Mesches, MS ’72 • The Grit, the Grumble, and the Grandeur: A Guide to Travel, Food, and Culture, travel (Blurb), by Scott Pfeiffer, BSC ’93, and Karolyn Steele-Pfeiffer • The (Un)welcome Stranger, American literature (McFarland), by Jeff Morgan, AB ’82 Send

The organization, in her honor, will support victims of child abuse, sexual assault and domestic violence through grants, programs and scholarships.

1988

Bruce Skala, BGS ’88, was promoted to chief marketing officer of HOA Brands, the franchisor and operator of more than 400 Hooters restaurants. He was presented the 2021 VIBE Innovator Award, honored as the year’s adult beverage industry innovator and recognized for his creativity and organizational skills in developing programs to fill consumers’ needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been with HOA Brands for nine years and resides in the Atlanta area.

1989

Heidi Barcus, MA ’89, joined the statewide Health Care Practice Group at Lewis Thomason’s Knoxville, Tennessee office. She is certified as a specialist in medical professional liability by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys and practices in federal, state and appellate courts in Kentucky and Tennessee. Queer Eye, created and executive produced by David Collins, BSC ’89* , made history at the 2022 Emmy Awards, setting a new record for the most consecutive wins in the Outstanding Structured Reality Program category. It has swept the category every year since it first aired on Netflix in 2018.

Collins is the co-founder and executive producer of Los Angeles-based Scout Productions, a film and television production company.

Maureen McKenna Herman, BSC ’89, was named youth services librarian at the Free Public Library of Hasbrouck Heights in New Jersey. She earned a master’s degree of library and information science from San José State University in December 2021.

1990

Ed Stoner, MSA ’90, was named executive senior associate athletics director for external operations at Temple University in Philadelphia. He oversees athletics development, strategic communications, digital strategy and branding for Temple Athletics.

A trial attorney with more than 20 years of experience, Paul Zeineddin, BSEE ’90, MSEE ’93, joined Blank Rome LLP as a partner and co-chair of the intellectual property litigation practice group in the Washington, D.C. office.

1994

Anthony Petruzzi, AB ’94, was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the category of criminal defense/white collar. He is a partner at Tucker Ellis LLP, practicing out of the law firm’s Cleveland office.