ucmo.edu/today
spring 2013, vol. 12 no. 4
THE SEARCH
Make Your “Benjamins” Go Further Benjamin Franklin was one of America’s wisest founders. He gave us the famous advice that ”a penny saved is a penny earned” AND he started the first matching gift program. Benjamin is still around on the $100 bill AND so are matching gift programs. If your employer sponsors a matching gift program, your gift to UCM can go further without an extra penny from you. Unsure if your company sponsors a matching gift program? Check with your HR office or use our searchable database at matchinggifts.com/ucmo.
CONTACT:
Fund for
U C M F o u n d at i on
Your gift to the Fund for Excellence directly impacts students’ lives and their education experience. It also strengthens UCM’s reputation for excellence and legacy of achievement so that the value of your degree remains strong! Show your support today.
SCOTT ALVESTED DIRECTOR OF ANNUAL GIVING PROGRAMS EMAIL: ALVESTED@UCMO.EDU PHONE: 660-543-8000 TOLL-FREE: 866-752-7257
ucmo . edu / today
ON THE COVER 2 THE SEARCH UCM’s Curtis Cooper leads the search for the world’s largest prime number.
6
DREAM JOB BEGINS WITH TRIAL BY FIRE UCM alumnus Nate Taylor starts a sports writing career with one of the biggest stories of a generation
8 AN EXCELLENT VIEW FROM UP HERE Two theatre majors travel to Kennedy Center 12 STUDENTS BUILD STRONG CORE FOR UNIVERSITY GROWTH Cambium Society welcomes first class of seniors 14 MEETING THE CHALLENGE Mike Stanfield takes on the Dakar Rally 20 AGREEMENT INKS FUTURE FOR GRAPHIC ARTS TECHNOLOGY MAJORS UCM and Fujifilm create partnership 11 18 22 24 26
PHILANTHROPY CAMPUS CURRENTS CENTRAL YESTERDAY CLASS NOTES In Memoriam
SPRING 2013, VOL. 12 NO. 4
Published by the offices of University Relations and Alumni and Constituent Relations and the UCM Foundation. ©2013 by University of Central Missouri. All rights reserved. Contact the editor at today@ucmo.edu or 660-543-4640. Send your address updates to alumni@ucmo.edu or call 660-543-8000 or toll-free, 1-866-752-7257. Mike Greife ‘74 Sarah Murrill ‘97 Photographers Bryan Tebbenkamp ’03 Class Notes Tina (Tock) Bell (fs) Editor
Design
Today (USPS 019-888) is published quarterly by the University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093. Printed by Lane Press, Inc., 87 Meadowland Dr., South Burlington, VT 05403. Periodicals postage paid at Warrensburg, MO, and additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Today, Smiser Alumni Center, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093.
To view the University of Central Missouri’s Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity Statement, please visit ucmo.edu/nondiscrimination.
A Letter from the President A Campus Community Committed to Excellence As another academic year closes, a record number of University of Central Missouri graduates are ready to begin new chapters in their lives using knowledge, skills and experiences they acquired from a campus committed to excellence. This commitment means a strong focus on student success that impacts nearly every aspect of the university experience. It means quality professors and academic programs as well as new initiatives that include improved residential housing and a round-the-clock campus environment that meets students’ academic needs and contributes to a foundation for personal growth that will serve students a lifetime. Consistent with UCM’s drive for excellence, the new Learning to a Greater Degree Contract for student completion is a tremendous tool that will help the university graduate more students on time while decreasing their debt load. It will also encourage experiential and service learning opportunities that will make students better future employees and citizens prepared to make strong contributions to causes that will benefit all of us. As you read this edition of Today, you will discover new examples of excellence through the work of our many alumni and activities that enhance the campus learning environment. For example, you will learn how one alumnus is working with an academic department to provide cutting-edge experiences in the printing industry that have led to ink products marketed across the globe. You will also learn about an alumnus who became a successful businessman and competed in a grueling 14day cross-country motorcycle competition that draws competitors worldwide. We hope you enjoy this issue, and we will look forward to introducing you to more stories that relate to UCM’s foundation for excellence in future editions. Joining you in service, Chuck Ambrose, President University of Central Missouri SPRING 2013 | University of Central Missouri 1
The Thrill of the SEARCh By Mike Greife
The search was worldwide, involving thousands of people who utilized the best sophisticated technology available. They all had a common goal— to find the next in the series of the world’s largest prime numbers. For Curtis Cooper, professor of mathematics and computer science at the University of Central Missouri, the search was nothing new. Cooper, along with Steven Boone, professor of chemistry, had made the 2004 discovery of the then-largest prime number, and Cooper made another in 2005. (Continued on page 4)
2
ucmo . edu / today
When the Great International Mersenne Prime Search project, also known as GIMPS, announced in February 2013 that Cooper had discovered the latest in the series of world’s largest prime numbers, 2 multiplied by itself 57,885,161 times, minus 1, Cooper was no less excited than he had been with the previous two discoveries. The response by media worldwide made him an international celebrity, but he is quick to make it clear that he did not make the discovery alone. Cooper has been a participant in the GIMPS project since 1997. The organization was formed in 1996 by George Woltman to discover the world-record size Mersenne prime numbers. Woltman developed the software that allows personal computers to test Mersenne numbers for primality. In 1997, Scott Kurowski set up the Primenet server to automate the search, enabling GIMPS to harness the power of hundreds of thousands of ordinary computers. The partnership with GIMPS allowed Curtis to make use of more than 1,000 computers across the UCM campus, running nonstop for 39 days, to make the most recent search. The actual discovery was made by computer #22 in the Wood Building computer lab at 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 25, 2013. “When we first started the project in 1997, we were running the search on four computers across campus, and I had to monitor them manually several times a day,” Cooper said. “Current technology has allowed us to expand our search effort, and I’ve had a lot of support, not only from my own department, but also from the university administration. Technology Services has allowed me to be administrator on all of these machines so I can manage the search.” For Cooper, the search is about the challenge of applying number theory to a search for something that has never been known. However, he acknowledges that the attention
4
ucmo . edu / today
generated by the latest prime number also is interesting. He has been interviewed on the British Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Radio and the Colbert Report, and University Relations staff members have recorded media hits from around the world. “For me, it’s kind of like art,” he said. “Some people can look at art and interpret it in many ways, while others see a pretty picture. There’s something exciting about finding something in the scientific world that no one else has discovered. The publicity is really nice, and I’m glad GIMPS and UCM can receive the recognition, but for me, it’s about the process.” Then there is the sheer size of the number. “I like to tell people that one billion is a pretty big number— it has 10 digits,” he added. “This thing we found has 17 million digits. It’s hard for me to comprehend a number that size. If you print it out at 75 digits per line and 50 lines per page, it’s more than 4,600 pages. That kind of gives you a little bit of the idea.” Cooper’s parents were both educators, and he always knew he would enter education at some level. His father was a college professor, and his mother was an elementary teacher. After moving several times as his father taught in Nebraska, Minnesota and Kansas, the family settled in Joplin, Mo., where his father taught at Missouri Southern State University. After graduating from high school in Joplin, Cooper received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and headed for graduate school at Iowa State University, where he received his master’s and doctoral degrees. His first and only teaching job at UCM came about as a result of a family friendship. “My father had been good friends with Dr. Harold Sampson when they both were at Nebraska Weslyan,” Cooper said. “My father was teaching at Missouri Southern, and
is Prime
Curtis Cooper
Dr. Sampson, who was dean of the graduate school here at the time, was in Joplin recruiting. He asked how I was doing, and Dad told him I was finishing my Ph.D. looking for a job.” Sampson replied there was an opening in the Department of Mathematics at what was then CMSU. Keith Stumpff, then chair of the department, hired Cooper, who is completing his 35th year at UCM. “My minor was in computer science, but that was enough for them to trust me with developing the program,” Cooper said. “Computer science has changed a lot since 1978. Everyone worked with punch cards and waited for time on the mainframe. We developed courses in operating systems and data base and compiler construction, but it was really kind of in its infancy compared to what it is now.” He continues to teach computer science at UCM, but is on half-time release to serve as editor of the Fibonacci Quarterly, a number theory journal that circulates worldwide. He also finds time for running, tennis, and volunteering with his wife at KCPT, the public television station in Kansas City, doing tallies during pledge drives.
The discovery of the Mersenne prime numbers has been a highlight of Cooper’s career, but his true passion remains in the education of young minds in mathematics and computer science. “I’m hopeful that some of my passion kind of rubs off on them,” he said. “They see what I do, and hopefully they’ll get the passion. I try to instill my love of math and computer science in them so that they see if they work hard, if they spend the time doing research and learning, they can have the same successes.” For Cooper, his career satisfaction comes from the environment in which he has been allowed to teach and learn at UCM. “I watched my parents and their successful careers, and I not only love what I do, but also the people I work with here,” he added. “When I came in, I was the new kid on the block. I’ve worked with people like Bob Kennedy, Vince Edmondson, Al Tinsley, Ed Davenport and Hang Chen. I’ve lost some old friends, but I’ve gained some new ones. Give us Now I guess I’m kind of the old guy.” your feedback at ucmo.edu/today SPRING 2013 | University of Central Missouri 5
Dream Job Begins with Trial by Fire by Jeff Murphy
When Nate Taylor took a new job as a journalist at The New York Times last summer, Sports Editor Joe Sexton didn’t waste time testing his young sports writer’s ability to handle tough assignments. His first story took him to a courtroom in Bellfonte, Pa., where he witnessed the final moments of a trial that shook the world of college sports, and created a controversial environment that surrounded one of the nation’s top collegiate football programs.
6
u c m o . e d u / t o d ay
“It was an advantage for me to get to write early and learn from faculty members like Dr. Joe Moore, Dr. Charles Fair and Dr. Carol Atkinson.”
Nate Taylor
“I was in the courtroom, and there were people from CNN, ABC News, ESPN … It was a scramble to put this all into context and understand what just happened,” the 2010 UCM alumnus said. “I was sitting 15 feet away from Jerry Sandusky. The jury didn’t talk.” That was the scene on June 22, 2012, shortly after Sandusky, a retired Penn State assistant football coach, was found guilty on 45 counts in a sexual abuse trial. Shortly thereafter, Taylor and a more seasoned New York Times colleague, Joe Drape, dug deeper into the story. Their quest took Taylor to the front steps of a Pennsylvania home, where the young reporter who once honed his reporting skills covering Mules and Jennies sports became the first print journalist to interview a juror in the historic court case. “It was a trial by fire moment, but the work was exhilarating. I think in some ways Joe wanted to know that ‘if I put him in the pool, can he swim?’ ” Taylor said about his editor’s decision to assign him to a story of such national prominence. With the Sandusky trial under his belt, Taylor returned to more comfortable ground, but on a grand scale. He regularly covers the New York Knicks basketball team, and has added his journalistic touch to events such as the United States Tennis Open and the city’s first and only Iron Man triathlon. Taylor is one of a number of reporters The New York Times has hired as part of an intermediate program to bring young journalists to one of the world’s most prestigious newspapers.
journalism teacher, Karen Black. The desire to write followed him to UCM, where he worked for the Muleskinner. In addition to writing about legendary UCM and University of Kansas Coach Phog Allen and meeting his future wife, Holly Wright, a 2010 UCM graduate now is a New York designer, the connections Taylor built at UCM turned into opportunities. This included covering high school sports as a freelance writer for The Sedalia Democrat and The Kansas City Star, and internships with publications such as the Star-Tribune in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., and The Quad City Times in Davenport, Iowa. Such experiences also led to a threemonth internship with the Boston Globe in June 2010, then his first full-time job with The Raleigh News & Observer. In Raleigh, Taylor shared the inspiring story of Emily Newton, a 16-year-old star high school athlete who fought to overcome a rare genetic disorder to return to the basketball court. The story touched him personally, and it grabbed his future employer’s attention when he shared with The New York Times.
For someone who always wanted to be a sports writer, Taylor is living a dream, although his career path has taken a much different direction than he ever imagined. His goal was to work for the hometown newspaper his dad loved to read.
“The story is framed around Emily trying to rediscover and find herself after surgery and the traumatic situation she went through,” Taylor said. “It is the first story I wrote as a professional that got on the front page of a newspaper.”
“I really never thought I’d work for The New York Times, or even thought it was possible,” he said. “Since I was in high school, my dream always had been to work for The Kansas City Star. I wanted to be around people like (Joe) Posnaski and (Jason) Whitlock. There are so many great writers there.”
Taylor created a new friendship with Newton’s family, even accompanying them to church. Her father was among the first to get the message about Taylor’s new job.
Taylor’s interest in writing blossomed as a senior at Hickman Mills High School under the encouragement of his
“Thank you for your willingness to let me tell Emily’s story,” went Taylor’s call to Richard Newton. “I’m going to The New York Times ,where I can tell other stories like hers.”
Give us your feedback at ucmo.edu/today
SPRING 2013 | University of Central Missouri 7
AN EXCELLENT VIEW FROM UP HERE by Angela Richard Not many American parents dream of hearing, “Mom, Dad, I’m going to be a theatre major!” Our culture usually equates that statement with being chronically unemployed. However, theatre programs like the one at University of Central Missouri are changing the stereotype as year after year the award-winning program produces students who are professionally and creatively ready to enter the working world of theatre and dance. Haley Hrabe, a junior from Salina, Kan., said her parents were a little concerned, not only with her choice of major, but also her choice of college. “They just didn’t quite understand why I wanted to go all the way to Missouri to this smaller university when my sister was at KU and my best friend was at K-State,” Hrabe said “I just told them that my high school drama teacher had been trained at UCM, and I liked the idea of a smaller school where the faculty really knows you.” While Hrabe originally thought she would major in theatre education, she quickly fell in love with directing, and especially enjoyed pieces that “pushed the envelope” with political or social messages. She received confirmation that she was on the right track when she won first place in the National/Regional Directing competition at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in January. Audra Viele
8
ucmo . edu / today
Embarking on a career in a creative field is risky, but the best place to take that risk is in a supportive community like UCM. The theatre program at UCM enjoys support from alumni, patrons, faculty and administrators. The support takes the form of scholarships, mentorships, and donor or UCM Foundatioin funding for learning experiences, such as the Meridith Harmon Sauer Endowed Guest Artist Series in Theatre (see page 10) or travel to conferences and festivals.
“They just didn’t quite understand why I wanted to go all the way to Missouri to this smaller university . . . I just told them . . . I liked the idea of a smaller school where the faculty really knows you.”
Haley Hrabe
Now an annual event for UCM students and faculty, the Kennedy Center ACTF draws more than 18,000 college students nationwide to participate in ten regional festivals. In January six faculty members and 56 students from UCM competed in categories ranging from the creative to the highly technical. From the regional festivals, 120 top students are chosen to go to Washington, D.C., for a weeklong national festival in April, where students enjoy master classes, professional mentoring and networking with students from around the country.
Hrabe said she also learned to appreciate UCM even more when she talked to students from other universities. “I would talk about how the dean and the president of the university were supportive of our program, and they would say that all that mattered at their schools was sports,” she said. “Some students even said that the chair of their department was never seen. Here Dr. (Richard) Herman goes out of his way to have a personal relationship with every student who wants one.”
This year, two students from UCM made the cut and enjoyed an experience of a lifetime at the Kennedy Center. Not only did Hrabe win for her direction of a scene from the play From Up Here, but Audra Viele, a senior from Camdenton, Mo., also won in stage management for her work on the UCM production of The Drowsy Chaperone.
The support of the administration closely parallels the passionate support of patrons who help the department through gifts to the UCM Foundation. Their annual gifts have covered travel expenses to attend conferences and to compete in the theatre festival, as well as underwritten operating expenses for various productions. Larger gifts, like the one that endowed the guest artist series, have a lasting impact on students.
Viele, who is majoring in theatre tech and design, has worked as a stage manager for both university and professional productions in Kansas City, but she saw the national festival as an opportunity to open her mind and dream bigger. “I had always thought I would stay in this region to work, but I got a chance to work with a student group from Puerto Rico and had to deal with a language barrier,” Viele said. “That experience was so positive and made me think I could go more places than I ever thought possible.” Hrabe also had a transformative experience at the national festival when she had master classes with Moisés Kaufman, Tony Award-nominated director and playwright of The Laramie Project, and Molly Smith, legendary theatre director and artistic director. Hrabe said the advice Smith gave was some of the best she had ever heard. “She had us write down things under four categories: things we love, like, dislike and hate. Then she said to eliminate the middle two categories and, as an artist, only focus on the things we love or hate. That made complete sense to me.”
In the spring of 2012, the guest artist series brought Paula Vogel and her Pulitzer Prize-winning play How I Learned to Drive to campus. Hrabe was so inspired by Vogel’s talk last spring that she keeps the video of it on her iPad. She also spent a lot of time talking with Jason Bohon, the most recent guest artist and a UCM alumnus, about professional networking among other topics. His advice helped her get a directing internship at the Montgomery College Summer Dinner Theatre in Rockville, Md., this summer. Viele, who earned her associate’s degree from State Fair Community College and then spent one semester at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has been able to work professionally as a stage manager in Kansas City for several years. However, she sees finishing her degree at UCM as a springboard to even bigger opportunities. She will be helped along the way with a New Theatre Guild scholarship next year. SPRING 2013 | University Central Missouri9 9 SPRING 2013 | University ofof Central Missouri
Artistry Par Excellence Some of the best artists in the nation, including an aerial specialist, fight choreographer, scenic designer and lighting designer, visited campus this past year to share their expertise directly with UCM theatre students, thanks to the Meridith Harmon Sauer Endowed Guest Artist Series in Theatre. They include: •
Margaret Spare, lighting designer for The Drowsy Chaperone, Oct. 3-7. Margaret earned a BFA in Design and Technology from UCM in 2002 and a MFA in Theatrical Lighting Design from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She has served as lighting designer for Ballet North and Wylliams Henry Contemporary Dance Company, assistant lighting designer for Lyric Opera of Kansas City and light board operator for Kansas City Repertory Theatre.
•
Broadway star Tituss Burgess, who presented a musical theatre workshop in February 2013. Burgess originated the role of Sebastian the Crab in the musical The Little Mermaid in 2007 and went on to play Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the revival of Guys and Dolls in 2009. His Broadway and regional theatre credits include The Jersey Boys, Good Vibrations, The Wiz and Abelard and Heloise.
•
Melissa Larsen, choreographer for Louder Than Words, March 8-9, 2013. Larson has performed in the national tours of Grease and Hairspray. Her regional credits include Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, 42nd Street, Sweeny Todd, The Music Man and Nunsense.
•
Jason Bohon, acting coach for Street Scene, April 24-28, 2013. Bohon graduated from the UCM with a BFA in Theatre Performance and a BA in English Literature in 2000. He then received his MFA in Physical Theatre from the London International School of Performing Arts Naropa University. Bohon specializes in classical material and has performed many roles in the works of Shakespeare, Moliere, Sophocles and Feydeau. He created his own company, 3 Sticks Theatre in Minneapolis, Minn., and currently tours as a performer with Split Knuckle Theatre Company throughout Belgium, the Netherlands, England, France, Greece and Germany.
The Meridith Harmon Sauer Endowed Guest Artist Series in Theatre was started in fall 2010 thanks to an endowment gift to the UCM Foundation. Named for Sauer, a 1996 theatre education alumna, the series is a rare opportunity for a public university to bring regionally and nationally recognized theatre artists and educators to work hand-in-hand with students and faculty.
10
ucmo . edu / today
philanthropy
An architect’s rendering of the proposed terminal facility at Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport
Gift Helps Keep Airport Master Plan Flying Longtime Warrensburg residents Lynn and Jackie Harmon have pledged a major gift to the UCM Foundation toward construction of a new terminal at the University of Central Missouri’s Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport. The terminal is the next step in the airport’s multi-year master plan, which aims to better meet academic and public aviation needs while contributing to area economic growth. “We are a university positioned to move forward, expending our resources and focused on what really matters — our students,” said UCM President Charles Ambrose. “We are also very mindful of the impact our decisions have on Warrensburg and the surrounding community. The aviation master plan is a great example of an initiative that ensures the university’s best interests are in complete alignment with what is good for the greater Johnson County area.” The Harmons are the second generation of a family known for their generosity and support of the local community and the university. Lynn, a longtime businessman and former member and president of the UCM Board of Governors, is the son of Adrian and Margaret Harmon, who ran banking and automobile businesses for many years. Their gift helped create UCM’s Harmon College of Business and Professional Studies, which houses the aviation department. Lynn recalls that his father traded a car for his first airplane that he learned to fly in 1950 at Skyhaven. “Assisting the construction of the new terminal will expand UCM’s successful aviation program and encourage continued growth of the Warrensburg and Johnson County industrial community,” he added. “Jackie and I feel very fortunate to find an opportunity to participate in a project that will benefit so many people.” The new terminal is needed so that the current facility can be torn down to expand the runways. When completed, the building will provide offices for flight instructors, a flight instruction room, a student lounge, a dispatch office and a flight planning room plus accommodations for public use.
Foundation Rate of Return Earns National Recognition The UCM Foundation’s five-year rate of return has placed it among the largest and most prominent public and private higher education organizations in the nation. In a comparison of 831 participating institutions, the 2012 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments indicates that the UCM Foundation’s five-year annualized rate of return of 3.11 ranks in the top 7 percent nationally. “Continuing to prudently invest the financial resources of our generous donors is paramount to achieving our overall mission to make a UCM degree more affordable, accessible and valuable to students,” said Jason Drummond, executive director of the UCM Foundation.
Payout Rate Increases Again For the second straight year, the UCM Foundation Board of Directors approved an increased endowment payout, which will provide $824,394 for scholarships and academic programs in FY 2014. The rate represents an 8.28 percent increase over FY 2013. This year’s payout increase follows a 63 percent increase from FY 2012 to FY 2013. The amount of the payout has grown from $466,542 in FY 2012 to $824,394 for FY 2014. For the first time in its history, the foundation’s total assets now exceed $40 million. “Our foundation has done an excellent job over the past few years of both growing the endowment through gifts and managing the endowment responsibly through a tough economic period,” said Jesse West, foundation board president.
UCM is the only public university in Missouri, and one of only a few in the nation, to own and operate a general aviation airport. SPRING 2013 | University of Central Missouri 11
Students Build Strong Core for University Growth A small group of students started a big movement this spring for the University of Central Missouri’s future growth. They became the first members of the Cambium Society, a new giving recognition group formed by the UCM Foundation for current and graduating students. Biologically speaking, cambium is the cell layer that increases a tree’s diameter. More commonly, they are known as a tree’s growth rings. A strong cambium is what made Old Elm the most legendary tree in UCM history. Meet two of these Cambium Society members. Bee Black is not one to leave a major decision until the last minute. At halfway through her undergraduate college career, she already has established her plans for a career in medicine. As a biology pre-med major with a minor in nutrition at UCM, she plans to further her education with degrees in traditional and naturalistic medicine as a dual major at the University of Kansas, allowing her to combine the practice of traditional medicine with holistic medicine and nutrition. She knows she has more years of intensive study ahead of her, but she also realizes that her experiences while at UCM will be a major part of her future successes in life. She also sees the value in giving back to UCM through her membership in the Cambium Society.
Sarah “Bee” Black Major: BS Pre-med biology with a minor in nutrition Graduation: Spring 2015 Hometown: Liberty, Mo.
12
ucmo . edu / today
“I’ve had the opportunity to work for the UCM Office of Development on behalf of the UCM Foundation with the Mule Call phone-a-thon team, and I know why it’s important for students to include giving back to their alma maters in their plans before graduation,” she said. “Current students can join alumni and friends of the university to ensure future generation of UCM students received the same excellent opportunities they received.” Black also feels it’s important to establish the habit of giving early, establishing an important connection with the university that will last a lifetime.
“As a student, I have benefited from the generosity of others who gave back and allowed me to attend UCM,” she said. “The Cambium Society offers UCM students an opportunity to begin giving back at a level they can afford now—as little as $10 per year. Then, as the years go by, they can increase their giving.” In addition to her work with the Mule Call team, Bee also has served UCM as an alumni ambassador and as orientation leader for the Office of Admissions. She also has been active
in the student chapter of the American Chemical Society. This involvement has allowed her to share her enthusiasm for her opportunities at UCM with others. “UCM will be a key part of my future,” she said. “I know I will have other opportunities that also will allow me to grow personally and professionally, but I appreciate the opportunity to begin giving back now to the university that gave me my start.”
Kyle Shell Hometown: Defiance, Mo. Major: BS in Occupational Safety Management and MS in Occupational Safety and Health Graduation: December 2012 and May 2014
As a student at UCM, Kyle Shell showed he knows a thing or two about giving back. In 2012, he served as the student member of the UCM Board of Governors, and he has served on the UCM Homecoming leadership committee and participated in the annual Week of Welcome, MLK Service Day, Roaring Red, MO Volunteers and the UCM blood drives. His list of accomplishments was instrumental in his being named a recipient of the 2013 Charno Award.
In Kyle’s mind, service and giving back is really a habit that anyone can form, and that is why he thinks the Cambium Society is a great idea. “This society is an easy way to set a trend that hopefully I can follow for many years to come,” said Kyle. “By joining this society as a graduating senior, I can begin my annual giving early and continue for many years, setting a precedence that hopefully I can carry on for a lifetime.”
After graduating in December 2012, Kyle continued on in the master’s program for occupational safety and health. When he completes that degree in May 2014, he wants to work as a safety professional somewhere in the Midwest. Kyle attributes the supportive atmosphere at UCM, including the many helpful professors with open door policies, with helping him achieve his academic and professional goals.
Kyle also appreciates the fact that the commitment of Cambium is realistic about the finances a recent graduate faces. By asking students to join with a gift of $10 and expecting the annual gift to increase by only $10 a year, the commitment is not overwhelming. “ I am able to participate in giving but not stress my finances, as I have loans to pay off in the near future and must start living on my own relatively soon,” said Kyle. “It is so important to give back to the institution that has given so much to me, and I enjoy being able to help students who are in the same shoes I was in just last year.”
“UCM is really a family-like community where everyone helps everyone else,” said Kyle. “UCM’s motto ‘Education for Service’ is real because people truly care about bettering not just themselves but those around them.”
SPRING 2013 | University of Central Missouri 13
For Mike Stanfield ’67, meeting challenges has become an integral part of his successful career in owning a retail business, which followed a successful career in accounting. However, not all of the challenges in Stanfield’s life have been connected to business. In the past few years, as he and his wife, Jennifer (Jones) ’69, have turned the family business over to their sons, he has taken on a new challenge—the Dakar Rally through Argentina, Peru and Chile.
At an age when many successful business owners are looking to a leisurely retirement, Stanfield embraced the physical and mental challenges of the 14-day motorcycle endurance rally. His interest in riding and racing motorcycles has resulted in the ownership of two successful motorcycle dealerships, and their sons own a dealership. But it was the challenge from a customer that led him to try the Dakar Rally. (Continued on page 16)
14
ucmo . edu / today
By Mike Greife
Mike and Jennifer Stanfield SPRING 2013 | University of Central Missouri 15
Stanfield grew up on the family farm near Centerview, Mo., graduated from Warrensburg High School and received a degree in accounting from UCM. He worked for an accounting firm for seven years before joining the administrative staff of Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, where he eventually became the director of data processing and business administration. In the meantime, his motorcycle hobby grew into part ownership of a motorcycle dealership where he was a regular customer. “After four years, I left the partnership,” Stanfield said. “We were selling Husqvarna motorcycles, a Swedish motorcycle that was gaining popularity in the U.S. in the early ‘70s. Husqvarna contacted me about taking over the franchise. I really didn’t want to own a business—I had a job—but I began selling them out of my basement.”
Mike Stanfield and the bike he rode in the Dakar Rally
Congratulating a colleague on a successful finish
Five years later, an opportunity arose to buy a motorcycle shop in Grandview, Mo. The Stanfields bought the store, hoping to hire someone to manage as they both worked full time. But as the business grew, they realized they had a decision to make. Jennifer took a sabbatical from her job teaching elementary and middle school science in the Belton School District, and Stanfield then took a sabbatical from MCC. By then, they realized that they were in the motorcycle business, and Stanfield left MCC after 10 years to run the business full time. Freedom Cycles eventually expanded to include a store in Warrensburg, Warrensburg Cycle, which was owned by Stanfield’s brother. By the late 1990s, the Stanfields began to look for new challenges. “I was still racing, but between my age and the challenges of the business, I was looking for something new.” He and Jennifer began scuba diving, something they still enjoy today. Then came the challenge from a customer that led him to Dakar. “We had a regular customer who was originally from South America but was now living in the U.S.,” Stanfield said. “Previously, the Dakar Rally had been run in Africa for several years but the political climate caused the race to be moved to South America in 2009 which logistically was easier to participate. I kept saying I didn’t have the time and I don’t have rally experience, but he wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” Stanfield entered a smaller rally in Argentina in 2009 and enjoyed it. He entered his first Dakar rally in 2011. It was the challenge he had been seeking. “There are several challenges to Dakar besides the physical and mental challenges of the ride,” he said. “The first is the cost, the second is the logistics of getting all of your equipment there, and the third is the time commitment.” 16
ucmo . edu / today
Equipment, which includes a fully-equipped support vehicle, a recreational vehicle for the support crew, and all of the tires, tools and equipment for maintenance of the motorcycle, has to be shipped by boat. Planning can take a full year. The Dakar is 14 days of on- and off-road competition and normally covers a distance of 5,500 miles. The riders must finish each day by a specified time or they are disqualified. Each rider is provided with written directions that include compass headings, and use of a GPS is not allowed. Riders are allowed to take only what they can carry, and the only support allowed on the course is from other riders. “The directions will tell you to go so far on a compass heading and turn left, for example, but they won’t tell you about the obstacles that may be there. You have to go around those obstacles and still stay the course while keeping track of your time,” Stanfield explained.
Riding the Dakar Rally
The support team provided daily maintenance
Stanfield rode in Dakar again in 2012, but he was unable to finish either race. In 2011 he injured his ankle, and in 2012 he was delayed when he stopped to help another rider. He did not ride in 2013, but managed the support crew, which assisted three riders in finishing the race. The support team travels daily to the next night stop, setting up camp and preparing a tent for the support mechanics to work on the motorcycle once the rider arrives. Although she initially had her reservations about Dakar, Jennifer was a member of the support team in 2012 and 2013. “The first year, I didn’t go out with the team, and I was getting information in bits and pieces through television and email when he broke his ankle. There were terrible dust storms in 2012, and I left after 10 days. But Mike’s always supported me in anything I’ve done, so I decided to go for it.” In 2013, she returned to Dakar, but this time she assisted with the support team. “Sometimes the riders aren’t in until late, and mechanics may have to work through the night,” she said. “The support team has to pack everything up the next morning, make it several hundred miles to the next stop and set everything up again. Over time, I met the other wives and the riders we were supporting, and it was a great experience.” The Stanfields consider themselves semi-retired, although they still take an active part in the business. They now have the freedom to travel and make time for the things they want to do. They will return to Dakar in 2014 with another support team that they are forming now. “I guess I have the satisfaction of knowing that I made the effort to try it,” Stanfield said. “Even though I didn’t finish either time, I made it a lot further than most. The finish rate is about 50 percent. The contacts we’ve made with people around the world and the perseverance of those who make it to the finish is inspiring.
Give us your feedback at ucmo.edu/today
SPRING 2013 | University of Central Missouri 17
campuscurrents Racy Named Chief Strategy Officer Mike Racy, vice president for the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II, has been named the University of Central Missouri’s first chief strategy officer. He will begin his new duties in mid-July. Racy will serve as lead facilitator for the Strategic Leadership Team and help to create, execute, communicate and assess strategic projects at multiple levels. He will work with legislators to strengthen UCM’s mission and contribute to economic development. He will also represent the president on a number of forums and provide project management for implementation of the strategic planning initiative, the strategic governance model, strategic positioning, the Missouri Innovation Campus, and the recently established Learning to a Greater Degree Contract for college completion initiative. As NCAA Division II vice president, Racy served as a member of the NCAA President’s Cabinet. He managed the Division II governance structure and the division’s $30 million annual budget; provided leadership in the consideration of policies, legislation and issues that affect Division II member institutions and conferences; and coordinated the national office staff support and services for the division’s membership. Racy is a graduate of Washburn University and worked for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics after his graduation. He went on to earn a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1992 and practiced law in Kansas City.
Ownership of KTBG-FM Transferred to KCPT Ownership of KTBG-FM 90.9, the University of Central Missouri’s public radio station, will be transferred to Kansas City Public Television, pending approval by the FCC. KTBG currently operates on the 90.9 FM frequency as licensed by the Federal Communications Commission. Through the transaction with UCM, KCPT is purchasing the rights to operate on this frequency, which reamains subject to FCC approval. As part of the transfer agreement, KCPT and UCM will offer a broad range of internships for UCM students that will give them firsthand learning experiences in many different areas. Programming produced by KMOS-TV, the university’s public television station, will be aired on KCPT’s television platforms. The sale of KTBG has no direct impact on KMOS-TV. The university will continue its focus on making the public television station a quality resource for PBS programming and local productions.
18
ucmo . edu / today
Mollenkamp Named Meredith Harmon Sauer Distinguished Professor Julie Mollenkamp, UCM professor of theatre, has been named the Meridith Harmon Sauer Endowed Distinguished Professor ofTheatre for 2013-2016. Mollenkamp has taught at UCM since 2001. She came to the university from Central Michigan University and the University of Minnesota. She said she is humbled and honored to receive the professorship, adding, “To be so generously rewarded for doing what I love is astonishing.” While serving in the distinguished professorship, Mollencamp plans to continue her extensive engagement with her discipline, teaching and mentoring students, facilitating students’ participation in the Kansas City Fringe Festival, and in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. In addition to directing, Mollenkamp will continue to instill an appreciation for theatre among her many students at UCM. The professorship, which is named for 1996 UCM alumna Meridith Harmon Sauer, was created by an endowment gift to the UCM Foundation.
Sasek and Shell Receive Annual Charno Award Amada Sasek, a political science major, and Kyle Shell, an occupational safety management major, received UCM’s Charno Award, as the top male and female members of the senior class at UCM. Sasek served in the Student Government Association and was a member of The Honors College. She also served in positions of leadership in Students for Political Action, College Democrats, and Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority. She was student ambassador, alumni ambassador, Week of Welcome leader and UCM Orientation leader. She was selected to represent UCM at the Sue Shear Institute for Women in Public Life and the National Conference on Ethics in America at West Point. She has served as a tutor, a supplemental instructor and a teaching assistant for the departments of Academic Enrichment and Political Science at UCM. Shell currently is the student member of the UCM Board of Governors. He served on the UCM Homecoming lcommittee and participated in the annual Week of Welcome, MLK Service Day, Roaring Red, MO Volunteers, and the UCM blood drives. He also served as a student ambassador, orientation leader, and IMPACT facilitator. He served in leadership in Rho Sigma Kappa national safety honor society, the College Republicans and the UCM Student Government Association. He has been a member of the UCM chapter of DECA. and the Houts-Hosey Hall Council. He was also selected to represent UCM at the National Conference on Ethics in America at West Point. SPRING 2013 | University of Central Missouri 19
by Jeff Murphy
UCM Agreement Inks Great Future for Graphic Arts Tech Students To understand the value of a partnership between UCM and Fujifilm, it may be worth a trip to a local convenience store. If the colorful printed labels and packages catch your eye, you may be witnessing one of the successful outcomes of an education/ business relationship that emphasizes handson student preparation and innovations in ink manufacturing. The strong connection between UCM and Fujifilm North America Corporation has grown out of the company’s commitment to helping the university’s Graphics Arts Technology Management program to make flexography an important part of its academic offerings. Such support from the company enables UCM to provide industry-relevant laboratory experiences for students preparing for management careers in the printing industry, while also creating opportunities for Fujifilm to research and develop products to be marketed in the United States and abroad.
Jon Fultz, left, Fujifilm graphic systems business development manager for packaging, and Mark Rankin, professor of graphic arts technology management in UCM’s School of Technology
20
u c m o . e d u / t o d ay
Fujifilm is a leading ink manufacturer for the screen, flexographic, and wide format ink jet printing processes with its Graphic Systems Division located in Kansas City, Kan. A number of UCM alumni have been recruited by the company, including national sales manager Robert Swearingin, who graduated from UCM in 1990. The partnership grew out of a conversation between Swearingin and Mark Rankin, professor of graphic arts technology management, to
help meet an education need at UCM by obtaining printing equipment students will encounter in the industry. In addition, it would provide Fujifilm access to a vital piece of testing equipment close to its technical staff in Kansas City. “About eight years ago, Rob came down and spoke to a class. We went out to lunch afterwards and we were talking about technology and how we need to upgrade our facility,” Rankin said. “Fujifilm agreed to donate the majority of funds needed to purchase a state-of-the art narrow web flexographic printing press (retail value of $300,000) for our flexo lab. In exchange, Fujifilm periodically does ink, substrate, and plate testing in our facility. We’re now in our sixth year of an eight-year agreement. In that time our students have designed and printed some beautiful packaging projects on this press. Student teams have earned a first-place award in an international research, design and flexo print competition in each of the three years they have competed, due in part to the quality of work they are able to produce on this press.” With additional support coming from other companies in the printing industry, the university-business partnership has yielded a number of good uses for the press and the lab that Rankin and his colleagues created at UCM.
“We’ve actually conducted sales training at UCM, both in the lab and in the classroom setting for ‘A-Z Flexo’ which is a two-to-three-day training course. We’ve done that with customers and sales people,” Swearingin said. “Research and Development continues to run projects on the press on a fairly regular basis. Packaging is one of the big growth markets of the future, so our activities at UCM have really stepped up in the last two years.” Sustainable products have emerged from the partnership. “We developed all of our UV inks on this press, and we started with water-based inks during the fall of 2012,“ said Fujifilm Chief Chemist Keith Snow. “All of the inks that we put on the market today are essentially proven down here.” Fujifilm donates many of those inks back to the UCM Graphic Arts Technology program. This benefits both partners. “We hope the exposure at the university will bring more awareness about Fujifilm. When students graduate and go into the field they will hopefully remember who we are and use our products,” Swearingin said. Give us your feedback at ucmo.edu/today
SPRING 2013 | University of Central Missouri 21
centralyesterday
Hendricks Hall, above, following its dedication in 1923, and, below, as it appears today
With the growth of Central Missouri State Teachers College in the post-World War I era, college administrators and the Board of Regents found a need for an auditorium that would serve for generations to come. With the appropriation of $150,000 in funding by the state legislature in September 1921, President E. L. Hendricks and the board acted quickly to make the new structure a reality. With the still-new, five-year-old Administration Building now the focal point of the campus, it made sense to attach Hendricks Hall to it, taking advantage of the vacant land to the east.
B
uilt to serve the campus and the community as a venue for the performing arts and public forums, Hendricks Hall has served in a variety of roles since its dedication on Oct. 22, 1923. The classic proscenium stage has hosted performances by famous entertainers and UCM theatre students, while also serving as a dais for university presidents as they have delivered their annual welcome to students and faculty with the beginning of each new school year. 22 u c m o . e d u / t o d ay
On Dec. 21 of the same year, the Board of Regents hired Kansas City architect Samuel Hitt to design and prepare working documents for construction, giving him a deadline of Feb. 17 to complete the final plans. Hitt delivered, and on May 5, the board accepted a bid of $140,000 from Marxer Construction Co. of Des Moines, Iowa, to build the new auditorium. Marxer accepted the challenge of completing the building by the beginning of the 1923 fall term. The company did request an extension of the contract start date of May 15, 1922, in order to have materials delivered to the site in time.
Above: Construction of Hendricks Hall in 1922-23 Left: The pipe organ installed in Hendricks Hall shortly after its completion
The decision to build the auditorium gave new life to what had become a lingering effort to raise funds to purchase and install a pipe organ on campus in memory of those members of the campus community who had given their lives in World War I. By 1921 $1,327 had been collected, but it became apparent that there was no proper location on the campus to install the organ. With the construction of the grand, new facility of Hendricks Hall, the organ would now have a home. The necessary funds were raised, and the organ was dedicated on Jan. 11, 1924, with a recital by Powell Weaver, the organist for the Grand Avenue Temple in Kansas City. The new auditorium, yet unnamed, was dedicated only two months shy of the original completion date. In 1933, the Board of Regents approved the naming of the auditorium in honor of President E. L. Hendricks. Throughout the generations, the function of Hendricks Hall has changed only slightly with the arrival of new venues. The construction of Hart Recital Hall in the Utt Music Building in 1959, named after department chair emeritus Ralph Hart, provided a new, more intimate venue for many of the Department of Music performances. Department of Theatre performances found their own home in 1971 with the construction of the university theatre, which was dedicated as the James L. Highlander Theatre in 1992 in honor of the emeritus department chair. With the development of the new strategic plan for the UCM campus in 2012, Hendricks Hall has become a focal point of the desire to develop a new performing arts venue for the university and surrounding area. Future plans call for the renovation of both Hendricks Hall and Hart Recital Hall into stateof-the-art facilities that will showcase UCM’s outstanding student talent, giving renewed life to a UCM landmark. Give us your feedback at ucmo.edu/today
SPRING 2013 | University of Central Missouri 23
classnotes 1940-1949
1970-1979
Garneta (Fleming) Waisner ’41 celebrated her 93rd birthday in January. She is a retired business teacher from Climax Springs High School and enjoys crossword puzzles and dancing. She resides in Climax Springs, Mo.
Don Erhardt ’70 retired from IBM Dec. 31, 2012, after a 42-year career in information technology. He resides in Chesterfield, Mo.
1960-1969
Donna (Moore) Ross ’65, writing as Fedora AMIS, launched her first Victorian “whodunit” June 1. Jack the Ripper in St. Louis is published by Mayhaven Publishing Co. She resides in Chesterfield, Mo. Don Wonnell ’65 retired as a labor market analyst for the state of Ohio. He and his wife, Gail, reside in Sylvania, Ohio and have three children and four grandchildren. Larry Whiteside ’66, ’72,’76 retired from the U.S. government with 20 years of combined service in the Navy and Social Security Administration. He had previously retired after 22 years as a teacher and administrator in Missouri and Kansas. He and his wife, Mary, reside in Wichita, Kan. They have five children and six grandchildren. Chris “Moon Dog” Dautreuil ’69 is a criminal investigator with the Louisiana Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, in Baton Rouge. His wife, Linda (Trappey) ’71, is a visual artist represented by several galleries nationwide, an arts evaluator for the Louisiana arts program and a freelance writer in the arts and humanities for The Times Picayune. Their son, Christopher, is a junior majoring in biology at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. The family resides in Covington, La. Gay (Morsinkoff) Leathers-Morill ‘69 taught for 25 years at Bradley University. She was appointed lecturer emeritus in English in May 2012. She resides in Peoria, Ill., with her husband, David. 24
u c m o . e d u / t o d ay
Richard Rice ’71 will be the superintendent at Northland Christian Education System for the 2013-2014 school year. He and his wife, Ruth, reside in Kearney, Mo. Mike Sadich ’72 retired in 2010 after 32 years with Johnson & Johnson. He is an adjunct professor at St. Charles Community College teaching Intro to Business and Business Ethics. He and his wife, Susan, reside in St. Charles, Mo. Mary Jo (Rudroff) Thomson ’74, ’77 was selected by the Treasury Department to serve on the nationwide Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. She is one of 101 volunteers on the panel who listen to taxpayers, identify issues and make suggestions for improving IRS service. She and her husband, Bradley ’77, ’79 reside in Oklahoma City. Jim Wright ’76 recently retired after 41 years as an educator and coach. Over his career he received several awards and honors for coaching track and football including Coach of the Year for the state of Arizona and two-time conference Coach of the Year. He resides in Phoenix, Ariz. 1980-1989
Doug Mitchell ’81 has been owner and president of Legal Investigative Services, Inc. since 1980. He is vice chair of Missouri’s Private Investigator Examiner’s Board and the Advisory Board of United Missouri Bank in Warrensburg. He recently completed a two-year term as president of the Missouri Association of State Troopers Emergency Relief Society. He and his wife, Laura, reside north of Warrensburg.
Steve Richardson ’81 is corporate safety director for Tarlton Corporation, a St. Louis based general contracting and construction management firm. He is an OSHA 500 instructor for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s 10- and 30-hour outreach training, as well as an MSHA certified instructor. He resides in Imperial, Mo. Dean Hutson ’84 has been named an invited instructor at the University of Paris, France. He will lecture and teach law enforcement-related subjects to master’s program students at the university and to police and security force command personnel of France. He resides in Harrisonville, Mo. Rebecca Henshaw ’89 will be the principal at West Platte, Mo. Elementary School for the 2013-2014 school year. 1990-1999
Fred Ligget ’93 is sideline reporter for the Kansas City Renegades indoor football team on the Renegades Radio broadcasts. He resides in Lee’s Summit, Mo. Eric Hallerud ’95 is the corporate safety and risk manager for the city of Kansas City, Mo. He is also an adjunct professor for UCM’s safety sciences program, teaching at the UCM Summit Center. He and his wife, Diana, recently celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary. They reside in Kansas City, Mo. Jeana Wilcox ’95 has accepted the position of assistant dean for clinical and community affairs at Oklahoma University of Nursing in Oklahoma City. Stephanie (Hernandez) Reimer ’96 was promoted to controller for the Monte Vista Water District in Montclair, Calif. She resides in Loma, Calif.
Angela (Kohn) Ritz ’96 is director of conference management, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C. She resides in Centreville, Va. John Comerford ’98 has been named the 16th president of Blackburn College in Carlinville, Ill., effective July 1. He also serves as a consultant-evaluator with the Higher Learning Commission and is a grant evaluator with the U.S. Department of Education. He and his wife have three children. James Robinson ’99, ’01 is a product coordinator at Sandvik Coromant AB. He resides in Stockholm, Sweden. Michelle (Moll) Schubert ’99 and her husband, Dan ‘99, announce the birth of Brenton Harris in February 2013. 2000-2009
Rachel Fritz ’00 is director of student services at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. She resides in Glendale, Wis. Christine Fiedler ’01 is development and membership coordinator for Foothills Art Center in Golden, Colo. Brie (Tucker) Hall ’02 started Baby Basics Parent Education in 2012. It offers parenting support via free videos, custom-designed classes, one-on-one consultations, email support and video chatting appointments. She resides in Chandler, Ariz. Ellen Higley Esquilin ’03 received certification as a veterans service officer. She helps veterans to obtain pension or compensation from the Veterans Administration for war-related mental or physical problems. She and her husband, Jorge, reside in Kansas City, Mo. Jason Richey ’03 is environmental, health and safety manager at Metal Recovery Systems after service with the U.S. Army on active duty and in the National Guard. He and his wife, Julie, have a son, Finnegan, age 1. The family resides in St. Louis, Mo.
Amanda (Miller) Sherer ’03 taught in Lexington, Mo after graduation. She and her husband, Kelly ’02, then moved to St. Louis, Mo., Raleigh, N.C. and now live in Missouri Valley, Iowa. They have three children. He owns and manages a third generation family business of nursing home, assisted living, independent living, and hospice care facilities. Terri Martin ’05 is president of Proverbs 31 Guild, a nonprofit extension of the Panama City Rescue Mission that provides for the needs of the Bethel Village campus and women who reside in the village. He resides in Panama City, Fla. Miranda (Wycoff) Landstra ’07 and her husband, Matt ‘07, announce the birth of Allison Grace, on Jan. 19, 2013. The family resides in Greenwood, Mo. Nicole Maupin ’09 moved to England after graduation to study for her master’s in media communications from Regent’s University London. She worked as media relations liaison for the 2012 London Olympic Games and has recently been offered a role in media relations for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. She resides in Kansas City, Mo. 2010-2013
Michael Papadopoulos ’10 is assistant principal with the Hickman Mills School District in Kansas City, Mo. He resides in Overland Park, Kan. Justin Andrews ’12 is an on-air broadcast journalist for KTVO in Kirksville, Mo. He started his career as a student when he interned for Hearst Television affiliate KMBC-TV in Kansas City and later became its associate producer and film assignment editor. Tara (Muehlbauer) Tuley ’12 is teaching high school science and is the Science Olympiad coach in Higginsville, Mo. She and her husband, Galen,
renewed their vows Sept. 22, 2012, after he came home from deployment. They reside in Warrensburg, Mo.
awards &honors 1960-1969
Wayne Reinert ‘69 received the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award from Lions International for exemplary service to his club and community. He is senior vice president of the First National Bank in Nevada, Mo. Ken Keth ’64 was inducted in to the Florida Skeet Hall of Fame in September 2012. He is vice president of the Florida Skeet Association and is a member of the National Skeet Shooting Association Executive Committee. 2000-2009
Chris Petty ’01 received the Achievement Award from the Kansas Association of County Agricultural Agents. The award is given to extension professionals employed by Kansas State University for less than 10 years who excel in their extension-related activities and programming. He is an agriculture extension agent for Graham County. He and his wife, Christina (Schlichting) ’03 and family, reside in Hill City, Kan. 2010-2013
Dodge Docheff ’11, ’12 was a 2012 recipient of the Elijah Watt Sells Award. The award is given to CPA candidates who receive 95.5 cumulative average on their first attempt on all four sections of the Uniform CPA Exam. He works for BKD, LLP in Kansas City, Mo.
SPRING 2013 | University of Central Missouri 25
inmemoriam 1940-1949
Galen E. Lankford ’40 Norma Hirni ’41 Mildred F. Rages ’41 Betty Lefman ’42, ’61 Walter Dean Grigsby ’43 Dorothy Louise Bradshaw ’49 Marvalena Kinder ’49 Herbert V. Meyer ’49 1950-1959
Ernest W. Kraner ’50 Joseph K. Ward ’50, ’71 Robert E. McCorkindale ’51 Joan Cooper Gieringer ’52 Cole Morris ’52 Joseph C. Snare ’52 Robert T. Shearer ’53 Shirley A. Kornhaus ’55 Betty B. Roberge ’55 Richard W. Johnston ’56 Olin L. Parks ’56 Hubert T. Moore Jr. ’57, ’61 B. Keith Shrout ’57 Terry E. Baker ’58 Foster S. Crawford ’59
Gary A. Johnson ’59 Pearl M. Snavely ’59, ’70 James E. Thomas Sr. ’59, ’61, ’71 1960-1969
Marcia E. Johnson ’63 Stephen G. Sauer ’63 Arthur G. Smith ’63 Isa Lind Terril ’63 Velma I. Shryack ’65 Nina C. Powell ’67 Charles R. Bergman ’68 Stephen D. Taylor ’68 Robert H. Burnup ’69 Agnes A. Gibson ’69 1970-1979
Danny M. Moore ’70, ’73, ’74 Richard T. Collins ’71 Walter E. Brunner ’73 John Paul Egan ’76 Benjamin F. Goodin ’76 James H. Bagley ’77 Joseph D. Self ’77 Bobbe D. Combs ’79
2000-2009
Jachin M. Misko ’01 College High Alumni Mary D. Heafner Current Student
Joseph M. Volpe Former Students
John C. Clark John W. Gallimore Jr. William G. Hoefer Sam P. Jones Lillian Middleton
Betty Bodenhamer
Octavio B. “Obie” Bautista, 84, UCM professor emeritus of economics and finance, died Feb. 18, 2013.
Betty Jean Bodenhamer, 87, Wellington, Mo., died Jan. 4, 2013.
He was a member of Country Club United Methodist Church, where he served on the board of trustees. He was very active in the Heart of America Cursillo, and he volunteered at KU Medical Center and Trinity Lutheran Hospital. He is survived by his wife, Letty, and their three children: Orlando and his wife, Rachel; Edwin; and Liza and her husband, Gary Crumley. He is also survived by his only sister, Nora B. Consunji, and eight grandchildren, J.J., Mark, Susanna, Daniel and Catherine Bautista; Cara and Allison Crumley; and Michael Bautista, and a great-granddaughter, Nani Lee Mae.
u c m o . e d u / t o d ay
Friends
Brenda J. Finney ’80 Lorell Ralph LaBoube ’80 Mark L. Melling ’81 Stuart A. Logston ’82 Judy Lynne Burke ’83 John W. Wallace ’83 Shirley A. Lotridge ’89
Octavio B. Bautista
He was born in the Philippines where he lived until 1962 when he moved to Norman, Okla., with his family to pursue graduate studies. He retired from UCM in 1992.
26
1980-1989
She was born in Warrensburg. On May 28, 1948, Betty married Jack C. Bodenhamer of Warrensburg. He preceded her in death Oct. 19, 1987. Betty was a homemaker and a past employee of Wellington Bank. She retired in 1985. She also was a member of the Wellington Baptist Church, a past member of Dirt Daubers Garden Club and the Wellington R-9 PTA. Survivors include sons Larry Bodenhamer and his wife, Karen, Kansas City, Mo., and Mike Bodenhamer and his wife, Donna, Warrensburg; nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. In addition to her husband, Betty was preceeded in death by her parents; a daughter, Sandra Zeysing; and a brother, Robert J. Semple. Memorial contributions can be made to the Jack C. Bodenhamer Memorial Scholarship
Pauline Bradley Robert E. Bregant Peggy J. Ciolek Melody Diliberto O.V. Dodson Eula B. Fischer Margaret Gregory Carl R. Haney Anita F. Helmreich Peggy Hrenchir Dorothy Ann Johnson Raymond R. Jones Jerry Kraus Carol J. Loesch Steven Edward Murphy Otto H. Placke Lyle H. Rath Geraldine Ritchey Burt A. Selfridge Rebecca K. Silvey Betty Jean Stewart
through the UCM Foundation, Smiser Alumni Center, Warrensburg, Mo. 64093. Donald E. Hayden
Donald E. Hayden, 97, of Tulsa, Okla., died Jan. 6, 2013. He was the retired dean of liberal arts at the University of Tulsa. He was born in Blairstown, Mo., where he met his future wife, Mary Frances Dick, who was his English teacher. They were married in 1939. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Missouri at Columbia and later a Ph.D. from Syracuse University. In 1942 he began his teaching career as head of the English department at Westbrook Junior College in Portland, Maine. In addition to his teaching role, he took jobs as an inspector at the South Portland Shipyard, overseeing work on various naval vessels during World War II and as a deliveryman on a milk route. In 1947 he began a long career with the University of Tulsa, first as a professor of English and
later as dean of liberal arts, and has been credited with being the principal architect of the internationally known Graduate Faculty of Modern Letters. Survivors include a son, Donald Jr. and his wife Jane Ruth; a daughter, Elizabeth Ann; four grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife in 2001 and son-in-law, Christopher Miller, in 2005. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Mary Frances Dick Hayden Scholarship through the UCM Foundation, Smiser Alumni Center, Warrensburg, Mo. 64093. Frank E. Irvine
Frank Eugene Irvine, 75, of Centerview, Mo., passed away Feb. 23, 2013. He was born in Centerview, Mo. He married Thelma Harmel in 1957 Miami, Okla. Frank served in the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1966 and was a Vietnam veteran. After his military service, Frank worked for MFA in Centerview and Warrensburg. He worked as a carpenter for UCM furniture repair for many years. Frank is survived by his wife; two sons, Karl and Gerald and wife, Linda; one daughter, Teresa Crane and husband, Neil; one brother, Charles and wife, Edith; one sister, Nellie Martin; six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and two infant brothers, Vernon and John David.
Judy was a stay-at-home mom to her four children for many years and volunteered her time to several causes. She returned to school and earned her master’s degree from UCM in 1976 in special education and later became certified in counseling. She worked for the Warrensburg R-VI School District for 26 years as a special education teacher, an early childhood teacher and the last 15 years as an elementary counselor. She retired in 2002 but continued to work as an instructor for Project Construct with the Missouri Department of Early Childhood.
Advanced Management Program.
Judy was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur, on Jan. 20, 1998. He was chair of the Department of History and Anthropology and university archivist at UCM for 26 years. The university’s archives and museum is named in his honor. In 2003, Judy gifted her husband’s research collection about legendary basketball coach Phogg Allen to UCM.
He is survived by his mother, Nettie Oldham; his wife, Donna Leonard Oldham; son, Chad R. Oldham and wife, Tiffany, and daughter, Whitney Miller; four grandchildren; a sister, Diane Oldham Seymore and husband, Curt; and brother, Shane Oldham. He was preceded in death by his father, Frank W. Oldham Sr., and a brother, Mark Oldham.
Judy is survived by her friend, Bert Keats; her four children, Allison Cheesebrough and husband, Craig, Arthur Kyle McClure and wife, Jennifer, Amy Swearingen and husband, Fritz, and Steven Anderson McClure; and four grandchildren. She is also survived by two brothers, Lee Hallaux and Richard Hallaux. Memorial contributions may be made to the Arthur F. McClure II Archives Scholarship through the UCM Foundation, Smiser Alumni Center, Warrensburg, Mo. 64093.
Judith H. McClure
Frank Oldham Jr.
Judith H. McClure, 73, of Scottsdale, Ariz., died Feb. 14, 2013.
Frank W. Oldham Jr., 68, of Jonesboro, Ark., and Boerne, Texas, died Jan. 22, 2013.
A longtime resident of Warrensburg, Judy was born in Leavenworth, Kan. She graduated from Leavenworth High School in 1957 and married Arthur F. McClure on Jan. 20, 1959. Judy graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education social studies in 1962.
He was a 1963 graduate of Black Rock High School and received undergraduate degrees from Williams Baptist College in 1965 and Arkansas State University in 1967. He received his master of arts from UCM in 1968 and his doctorate from the University of Arkansas in 1974. He also was a 1987 graduate of the Harvard Business School
A tenured professor and former dean of continuing education at Arkansas State University, Frank spent most of the last 35 years in the banking industry. At the time of his death, he served as a director for First Western Bancshares of Rogers and the Argent Financial Group. Oldham served in a number of professional and civic capacities. In 1990, he was appointed by Gov. Bill Clinton to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees and served until 2000, the last two years as chair.
James W. Pilkington
James Walker Pilkington, 81, retired UCM coach and professor, of Springfield, Mo., died March 6, 2013. He was born in Red Oak, Iowa and graduated from Red Oak High in 1949. He attended the University of Iowa and then transferred to Drake University, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in education. On January 31, 1953, Jim married Carol Laine Sellergren. He served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. He earned his master’s degree from the University of the Pacific and his doctorate in education from the University of Nebraska. Jim spent his career as a coach and professor, including 29 years at UCM. He started the Mule Relays and the women’s track and field program, which produced many NCAA All-American athletes and several Olympic prospects. He was inducted into many athletic halls of fame. In 2005, Jim and Carol moved to Ozark, Mo., to be closer to their children and grandchildren. (Continued on page 28) SPRING 2013 | University of Central Missouri 27
Jim was preceded in death by his son, Matt; his parent; younger brother, Ross and his wife Pauline Pilkington; and sister-in-law, Penny Sellergren. Jim is survived by his wife; his children, Jeff and his wife, Lisa; Gail Bodenhausen Cyr; and Kim and his wife, Lisa; 12 grandchildren, six great grandchildren; and nephews Mark Pilkington and Jay Pilkington. Betty Houx Roberge
Betty Houx Roberge, 79, of Prairie Village, Kan., died Dec. 31, 2012. She was born in Centerview, Mo., and graduated from Odessa High School. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in UCM, where she was president of Theta Sigma Upsilon sorority, and a Master of Arts degree from Lesley College in Cambridge, Mass. She began her career in elementary art education in Brentwood, Mo., in 1955, and taught in the Kansas City, Mo., School District from 1968-1996. She substitute taught in the Shawnee Mission, Kan., School District from 1997-2008. She was past president of the Chi Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, an active member of the Leawood Garden Club, and the Red Hat Society.
She is survived by her husband, Robert, of the home; a son, Rob Roberge, and a daughter, Libby Roberge-Polyviou and her husband, Michael Polyviou; a brother, Guy Houx; and three grandchildren. Dorothy E. Stockton Sims
Dorothy E. Stockton Sims, 94, of Warrensburg, died March 6, 2013. She was born in Warrensburg. She maried Robert R. Stockton on June 2, 1940. He preceded her in death Feb. 9, 1984. On May 3, 1986, she married Lee Thomas Sims in Warrensburg. He also preceded her in death Oct. 21, 1998. Dorothy graduated from Farmer’s High School in 1935. She then attended UCM and received a 60-hour certificate. At 19, Dorothy began her teaching career in Centerview, Mo. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in 1950 and a master’s degree in 1958, both in education, through many hours of summer school at UCM. Dorothy taught first grade at Eminence Elementary, Versailles Elementary and Farmers Elementary and then taught second grade in Warrensburg for the next 17 years. In 1972 she became the principal of Ridgeview Elementary in Warrensburg and served the last 11 years of her teaching career in this position.
Dorothy was named “Volunteer of the Year” by the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce in 1997. She served in leadership positions on the Warrensburg Christian Concerns Committee; the Christmas Store; Meals-On-Wheels; the Food Center; and the Arts, Books, and Crafts Club. She also served on the Board of Directors for the community group home for handicapped adults. Dorothy is survived by two daughters, Judy Yancey and husband Charles; Jackie Harmon and husband Lynn; son, Mark Stockton and wife Susan; one brother, Robert English; seven grandchildren, Jacob and Jarod Stockton, Monte Harmon, Craig Yancey, Shanna O’Donnell, Meridith Sauer, and Kim Yancey; and 14 greatgrandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; two sisters, Nadine Minor and Florence Twohey; and three infant siblings. Memorial contributions are suggested to the Dorothy Stockton Sims Scholarship through the UCM Foundation, Smiser Alumni Center, Warrensburg, Mo. 64093.
We need to know what you think . . . The UCM Alumni Association is seeking your input to make sure our events, programs and services are what you need and want. Please take a few minutes to fillout our email survey when it arrives in your inbox. Your input is essential and will guide our planning for the future. If you need to update your email address with us, go to our online form at ucmo.edu/updatecontact. For your convenience, this survey is conducted online only, and you will not receive any mail or telephone calls related to it.
28
u c m o . e d u / t o d ay
What’s new with you? • New Baby • New Address • New Job • New Promotion • New Degree • New Award • New Business • New Exhibit, Book, Movie, Concert • Newly Retired • Newly Married We want to hear your news! Share your news with your extended UCM family by sending it via our online form at ucmo.edu/classnotes, emailing alumni@ucmo.edu or writing to UCM Alumni Association, Smiser Alumni Center, Warrensburg, MO 64093.
STAY CONNECTED WITH US! • Keep up with the latest news and events at ucmo.edu/alumni • Subscribe to our alumni enews at ucmo.edu/alumninews • Find us on Facebook and LinkedIn by searching University of Central Missouri Alumni • Download the UCM mobile app at ucmo.edu/ur/portfolio/apps Photo of Brenton Schubert, son of Michelle ‘99 and Dan Schubert ‘99 reprinted by permission of Alicia Marie Photography
Periodicals Postage PAID at Warrensburg, MO and Additional Mailing Offices
100 W. South St. Warrensburg, MO 64093-2324
Keep up with the latest alumni news and events at ucmo.edu/alumni
Recognize Yourself? Seventy-seven years of homecoming celebrations have produced a lot of photos, including the ones below from our “Rhetor” collection. Recognize yourself or other alumni in these pictures? Please join us Oct. 26 when we host our 78th Annual Homecoming, complete with the popular parade, reunions, tailgating, football, royalty and best of all, thousands of alumni. Don’t wait to reserve your hotel rooms, though, because they fill fast in Warrensburg. For a schedule of events and other details, visit ucmo.edu/homecoming.