UCM Magazine - Fall 2022

From Highlander to HOLLYWOOD

‘Big Bang’ Actor Makes Big Impact on Giving Tuesday

Grant Curtis, pictured with actor Ethan Hawke, gives back by sharing with students his experiences as a Hollywood producer, most recently of Marvel’s “Moon Knight.”

FOUNDING PHILANTHROPISTS

UCM honors seven generous individuals who have helped make the university what it is today. 15 OPPORTUNITY

IN ACTION

With donor funding from Opportunity Grants, the UCM Career and Life Design Center and UCM Farms are preparing students for work and life. 18 STUDENT SPOTLIGHTS See how donor-supported scholarships have opened doors for UCM students. 20

BY THE NUMBERS

The UCM Alumni Foundation had a record-breaking fiscal year in 2022, thanks to engaged alumni and donors like you. 22

2022 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

This year we honor six individuals who exemplify the university’s spirit of service and standard of excellence. Watch video stories at ucmfoundation.org/awards

Brian Thomas Smith overlooks Santa Monica Beach in California, where he has worked as an actor in commercials, films and TV shows since graduating from UCM. His best-known role was as Zack Johnson in the long-running CBS comedy “The Big Bang Theory.”

UCM

MAGAZINE

FALL 2022, Vol. 21, No. 2

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Kathy

Strickland

ART DIRECTOR

Linda Harris, ’91

CONTRIBUTORS

Ellen Blaize, ’11, ’13

Sarah Chamberlin, ’97, ’16

Dylin Cline

Tiffany Cochran, ’05

R. Tyler Habiger

Britni Hume, ’15, ’18

Jackie Jackson, ’09, ’12

John Kennedy, ’92, ’13

Jeff Murphy, ’80, ’95

Travis Seek, ’16

Peggy Shaul, ’91

Jessica Tart

An Quigley, ’94

Jace Uchtman

© 2022 by University of Central Missouri.

All rights reserved. Views and submitted content do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of UCM Magazine, the UCM Alumni Foundation or the University of Central Missouri. Find us online: ucmfoundation.org/magazine.

UCM Magazine welcomes story ideas and letters to the editor at ucmmagazine@ucmo.edu.

Submit address updates at ucmfoundation.org/update, by email at alumni@ucmo.edu or by phone at 660-543-8000.

UCM Magazine is published biannually by the University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093. Printed by Neal/Settle Printing Inc., 14004 Norby Road, Grandview, MO 64030.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to UCM Magazine, Smiser Alumni Center, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093

To view the University of Central Missouri’s Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity Statement, visit ucmo.edu/nondiscrimination.

GIVING AND THANKFULNESS ARE ALWAYS IN SEASON

As we enter a time of year when giving is on many people’s minds, especially around the holidays, we remember that philanthropy, like a spirit of thankfulness, is always in season, particularly when it comes to UCM’s role in serving students.

I deeply appreciate our faculty and staff for the hard work and commitment that have contributed to another exceptional academic year at UCM. It was a great honor for me to highlight the impact of our employees as well as our students, alumni and donors when I presented my fifth State of the University address earlier this fall. As I noted in that address, institutionally, we have much to be thankful for this year, including additional state support and an enrollment increase over fall 2021. Our alumni and friends have generously helped create this “Mule Strong” environment through their engagement and financial contributions. We are incredibly thankful for all of these efforts and for the positive difference they make in the lives of students, many of whom would not be here without the selflessness of others.

In this issue of UCM Magazine, we further update you on the impact our donors have on student success by sharing the Alumni Foundation’s annual report. In this report, we introduce you to our second group of Founding Philanthropists, a tradition we began during our sesquicentennial celebration in 2021. You will also read about a few of the students who have benefited from donor-funded scholarships and Opportunity Grants.

Included in this publication are stories about “Mules in Hollywood,” highlighting actor Brian Thomas Smith, ’00, and film producer Grant Curtis, ’97. Smith, best known for his role on “The Big Bang Theory,” was a key player in our Giving Tuesday fundraising efforts last year. Curtis, who co-produced the “Spider-Man” trilogy and the new Marvel series “Moon Knight,” is a Warrensburg native who has stayed engaged with the university, volunteering his time with Digital Media Production students. In addition to these outstanding individuals, we introduce you to this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipients.

We hope this issue of UCM Magazine not only keeps you updated on your alma mater but also inspires you to think about those things for which you are thankful — and all the different ways your connections and engagement help make UCM “Mule Strong.”

Roger J. Best, Ph.D. UCM President

Council for Advancement and Support of Education District VI 2020–21 Bronze Award in Magazine

Wetzel Family Funds Scholarship, Touring Play

Gus Wetzel, a current UCM Board of Governors member and past president, has established through the Gus Wetzel Family Foundation the Mary Jo and Kent Cable Scholarship Endowment for Education. Mary Jo Cable, ’65, ’68, taught in the Cole R-I School District in Russellville, Missouri, and the Sherwood Cass R-VIII School District in Creighton, Missouri. The scholarship provides financial support for a UCM student pursuing a graduate degree in the field of education. The foundation also sponsored the Central Missouri Repertory Theatre’s presentation of the touring play “Alice in Wonderland,” starring UCM Theatre majors Katie Marshall and Jace Nielsen. The play was presented in May and June at UCM’s James L. Highlander Theatre as well as at Wonderland Camp at Lake of the Ozarks and venues in Richmond and Lee’s Summit. Students were also treated to the performance at Carrollton Elementary School, Lexington Middle School and Henry Elementary School in Clinton.

Harmon Endowments Continue to Enrich Performing Arts at UCM

Lynn and Jackie Harmon’s gift honoring their youngest daughter established the university’s first permanently endowed professorship and endowed guest artist series for the Department of Theatre and Dance in 2010. Ashley Miller-Scully, chair of the School of Visual and Performing Arts Division of Theatre and Dance, has been named the Meridith Harmon Sauer Distinguished Professor of Theatre for 2022–23.

This year’s Meredith Harmon Sauer Guest Artist Series brings to campus Yetunde Felix-Ukwu, who serves as artistic associate for the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, and Bart Williams, who is a Dueling Arts International stage combat instructor. Felix-Ukwu will direct UCM students’ performance of “Little Women: The Musical,” and Williams will teach unarmed and broadsword stage combat to UCM students who will then test for certification in those skills.

Lynn and Jackie are two of UCM’s 2022 Founding Philanthropists! Learn more on page 13.

Alumni Generosity Creates Opportunities for Students

Chris, ’86, and Amy, ’87, Liang have established the Liang Family Scholarship Endowment to provide support to students with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher who also demonstrate financial need.

Mark Pittman, ’67, has established the Mark H. Pittman Scholarship Endowment to provide financial aid to a student on the UCM Track and Field team.

The Heart of America Patriot Foundation has established the Dependent Educational Assistance Scholarship to provide annual financial aid to military survivors and dependents pursuing a degree at UCM.

Professor Emerita Mary McCord and her husband, Henry Croes, made a contribution to create a student/community project room in the Dockery Building.

Janne Anne Markey Walker made provisions in her estate planning to establish an endowment to support the maintenance of the James C. Kirkpatrick Library. Janne’s parents were both graduates of the university: Ephraim, 1921, and Mary, ’61, Markey.

Mary Jo and Kent Cable

UCM Theatre majors Jace Nielsen and Katie Marshall starred in Central Missouri Repertory Theatre’s production of “Alice in Wonderland.”

Monte Harmon, Shanna (Harmon) O’Donnell, Jackie Harmon, Lynn Harmon and Meridith (Harmon) Sauer, after whom an endowed professorship and guest artist series are named at UCM.

Ashley Miller-Scully

Bart Williams

Yetunde Felix-Ukwu

Memorial Gift Kicks Off New Soccer Lockers

The Jennies Soccer team is getting a renovated locker room, thanks to a lead memorial gift from the family of Sharon Lee Harper. Improvements to the facility at the South Recreation Complex include new lockers, the creation of a lounge space, permanent storage and upgraded technology.

“On behalf of my family, we are thrilled to celebrate the life of Sharon Lee Harper with this gift,” says trustee Greg Hughes. “Sharon was an ardent supporter of women’s athletics, having competed her entire life. … Her fire as a competitor and support of women’s sports will live on through the Jennies Soccer program.”

In addition to the Sharon Lee Harper Trust gift, other generous alumni and friends have contributed to the renovation. Those who donate $2,500 or more are recognized with a plaque in the new locker room.

“When the Jennies walk into the upgraded locker room, they’ll see the names of those who came before them, who built the legacy of this proud program, and who have chosen to give back to a team that meant so much to them,” says Head Coach Lewis Theobald. “The completion of this project will be another step forward for this program with an impact that will be felt for years.”

An anonymous donor has established the Gloria J. Maxwell Scholarship in History Endowment and the Simon E. Maxwell Scholarship in Political Science Endowment. In making these gifts, the donor stated:

“Gloria J. Maxwell, ’74, ’75, brimmed with curiosity and a passion for critical thinking. After earning History degrees from UCM, she dedicated much of her life to books as a librarian and to the study of history as a college instructor. This scholarship honors Gloria’s legacy of lifelong learning, intellectual rigor and enriching the lives of others.

“Simon E. Maxwell, ’72, went on to earn a graduate degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. A lifelong learner with a passion for serving others, he served as an instructor at a number of colleges and universities before ultimately leading a distinguished career in administration at DeVry University and Baker University. Simon was a loving husband, father and friend.”

University of Central Missouri

Brent Ross, ’89, ’90, established the Ross Endowed Safety Research Fund in honor of his parents to provide funding for student research in Occupational Safety and Health. Pictured, from left, are Chad Ross, ’93, ’94, Donis Ross, ’93, Donald Ross and Brent.

John “Jay” and Dolores, ’51, Kitterman had provisions in their estate to establish the Dolores M. and John W. Kitterman Theatre Scholarship Endowment.

Leave your UCM legacy with a planned gift. Learn more at ucmo.giftlegacy.com. Central Missouri

Peggy Shaul, ’91, of the UCM Alumni Foundation is pictured with Chris Norton, ’94, a friend of Buddy, ’37, and Ida May Belt, who made provisions in their estate to support the greatest needs at the University of Central Missouri.

The Jennies claim their 12th MIAA regular-season championship with a 2-0 win over Missouri Western on Senior Day, Oct. 31, 2021.

– Brian Thomas Smith on playing Zack Johnson in “The Big Bang Theory”

“Playing dumb is kind of tricky. There needs to be something else there.”

From Highlander to HOLLYWOOD

‘Big Bang’ Actor Makes a Big Impact for UCM

By R. Tyler Habiger

For UCM’s 2021 Giving Tuesday efforts, a very special digital campaign was launched to engage alumni and donors. Not only were the majority of the day’s events student-produced, but they also featured a major UCM success story: actor and 2000 alumnus Brian Thomas Smith. All donors who made a gift of $25 or more on Giving Tuesday were invited to an exclusive live conversation with Smith. Brennen Van Breusegen, a senior majoring in Digital Media Production, interviewed Smith from KMOS, the campus PBS television studio, via Zoom.

With support from his student producer, Isaac Reeves, ’22, Van Breusegen took questions from the virtual audience as Smith answered from his dressing room at the Warner Brothers Studio Lot after a day of filming CBS’s “United States of Al.”

“It was a great experience being able to chat back and forth with him,” Van Breusegen says. “I would say that was my favorite part, being able to hear all of the questions from the audience and hear things from his point of view and the experiences he has had.”

Smith always has Missouri on his mind. He and Van Breusegen both hail from the St. Louis area and are both athletes. They are also naturals in front of a camera. Smith still goes to Cardinals games whenever they play at Dodger Stadium. During last year’s NFL season, Smith melded Hollywood

with Missouri sports in a DirectTV commercial with Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The spots are airing again this season.

Smith speaks fondly of the impact UCM continues to have on his life and career. When deciding on a college, he knew he wanted to do something “outside the norm” and discovered what was then Central Missouri State University. While there, he joined Sigma Phi Epsilon.

“I don’t think people knew my real name in college,” he jokes. “I was just BS.” The “Thomas” came later when he became a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the name “Brian Smith” was already taken. He spent a lot of time working with UCM’s Campus Cable Network and wrote “Campus Quiz” with fraternity brother Jared

Smith, the face of UCM’s 2021 Giving Tuesday campaign, shows off the socks given as a token of appreciation to all who donated $25 or more.

Smith with the main cast of CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.”

Student host Brennen Van Breusegen, fourth from right, challenged the Fighting Mules ROTC cadets with pushups, pullups, burpees and more every time a gift was received during the first of two Giving Tuesday power hours.

“I would get the keys to the editing room and spend all night editing,” Smith recalls. “I learned how to tell a story through editing, learned that it’s a lot of work to get it to where you like it. I learned you need dedication, and you need patience.”

Having performed in a play in high school after basketball season ended, Smith enrolled in the Introduction to Acting course at UCM. His instructor, Laura Downing, encouraged him to try out for a theater production.

“I got the part, got a lot of laughs, and it got me thinking that I wanted to move out to LA and try to be an actor,” he says.

During an Advanced Acting class his senior year, Smith performed a Vince Vaughn monologue from the film “Swingers.” The experience comes full circle this fall as Smith acts alongside Vaughn in the Apple TV+ series “Bad Monkey.”

Smith was greatly influenced by Professors Emeriti Ed See, ’62, ’66, and Richard “Buzz” Herman, ’78, who ignited his passion for acting. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Broadcast Media and a minor in Theatre, he DJ’d and was a bartender on Pine Street and at Lake of the Ozarks to save money for the move to Los Angeles.

representation,” Smith says. “I took a lot of acting classes in LA and brought with me the confidence I developed from my years at UCM.”

He started to get some traction booking commercials, one of them being a global Heineken ad with Jennifer Aniston in 2005. Later that year he and his brother, Greg, were chosen to compete on the seventh season of “The Amazing Race.” The brothers traveled all over South America and Africa before eventually being eliminated in Botswana. Smith also performed with comedy troupes in LA to hone his craft.

“I love making people laugh,” he says. “I’m the fourth of five kids, so I had to be funny to get attention in the family. My little brother [Greg] laughed at everything I said, so I thought I was really funny at a young age.”

Smith’s career took off as he landed guest roles in TV shows, including “Two and Half Men” (CBS), “Happy Endings” (ABC), “The Neighborhood,” (CBS) and “9-1-1 Lonestar” (FOX). Then, a big break came: he got the role of the lovable, dim-witted Zack Johnson on the long-running CBS comedy “The Big Bang Theory.”

Zack appeared multiple times from seasons three through 12 and helped cement the show’s place in Hollywood history. “I often

walk by Stage 25 [at Warner Brothers], now called ‘The Big Bang Theory Soundstage,’ and it is amazing to think that I was a part of something so special and still watched by millions around the world.”

When thinking about UCM, Smith is filled with gratitude and eager to give back in the ways most meaningful to him. He reflects that “when you are a student, you really are not aware of the alumni, and [now] it feels so much better to know you have a network out there.”

In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith made a guest virtual appearance to Digital Media Production students in a class taught by Shannon Johnson, ’98, ’00.

“It was great that he was willing to give back to his alma mater,” Johnson says. “He is very gracious and spent more than two hours visiting with two classes talking about the TV industry, behind the camera as well as in front.”

Smith says it is an honor for him to give back in this way, talking with students about his two decades of professional experience in the industry. He was also thrilled to help with Giving Tuesday 2021, remarking that the sort of live interview he did with Van Breusegen was “exactly something I would have done when I was a student.”

On Giving Tuesday alumni Jim, ’80, and Eileen Hatfield and the UCM Emeriti

Van Breusegen presents David Pearce, a ’78 College High alumnus, with a pair of UCM socks during the livestreamed Giving Tuesday power hour with Mule Riders Holly Hagood, left, and Victoria Happy.

Smith landed a role in the new Apple TV+ series “Bad Monkey,” starring Vince Vaughn.

Association generously provided over $12,000 in matching gifts. Van Breusegen and Reeves from the DMP program hosted two livestreamed power hours featuring the Fighting Mules Army ROTC cadets and the Mule Riders. The efforts resulted in a total of over $29,000 raised for the Central Annual Fund from 200 donors, with 30 of them being first-time donors to UCM. When his toddler son and infant daughter are older, Smith hopes to bring them and his wife, Maggie, to Warrensburg and show them where he got his start at the Highlander Theatre.

“I would love to go back and stand on that stage and see how many seats are out there, because it looked like a million when I was in college,” he says. “I’d love to stand on that stage and soak it all in — this is where it all started.”

In the meantime, Smith has several projects in various stages of production, including the Christmas-themed movie “Holiday Twist,” playing Mr. Bolhofner in Nickelodeon’s live-action comedy “The Loud House,” the second episode of the upcoming season of “NCIS,” and, of course, the muchanticipated Apple TV+ comedy “Bad Monkey.”

No matter where the work takes him, Smith will always rely on the education he received at UCM to guide him forward.

Smith lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Maggie GonzalesSmith, and their two children, Ollin Ever Smith and little sister Rally Lou’Mari Smith.

MARVEL-ous One Mule MARVEL-ous

From Spider-Man to Moon Knight, Producer Grant Curtis

Brings Comics to Life

By Kathy Strickland

Aman sits at a table and carefully smoothes out a cloth placemat. He pours himself a glass of water, dips his finger in and encircles the rim. A barely audible tone briefly interrupts Bob Dylan crooning “Every Grain of Sand” in the background. The man empties the glass, then lightly sets it upside down on the mat, gently folding one corner then another over the glass until it is covered.

Then SMASH, down comes the crocodile-shaped cast-steel head of his walking cane, shattering the glass, which he proceeds to empty into his braided leather sandals. He slides one foot in, then the other, and slowly stands to walk with the cane out of frame.

The opening scene of “Moon Knight” wasn’t written like this, says executive producer Grant Curtis, a 1997 UCM alumnus and Warrensburg native. Actor Ethan Hawke thought up this strange ritual for his character, Arthur Harrow, and the decision was made to move the scene to the very beginning of the Disney+ streaming series after Curtis and the rest of the Marvel Studios production crew reviewed all the footage.

“Just like we don’t shoot everything in order, the final presentation isn’t always what it was on the page,” Curtis explains. “Ethan and Oscar [Isaac] suggested putting that scene upfront so you realize from the beginning that guy is a little off center.”

A little off center is putting it mildly in the scope of the six-part series that delves into mental health issues ranging from obsessive compulsive disorder to dissociative identity disorder, which can develop as a reaction to trauma as a way to keep painful memories at bay. The producers brought in expert consultants to ensure they were authentically and respectfully portraying how Oscar Isaac’s characters, Steven Grant, a museum gift shop clerk, and Marc Spector, a former mercenary, coexisted in the same body.

From left, Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee, co-producer Grant Curtis and director Sam Raimi on the set of “Spider-Man” in Downey, California, in 2001.

SPIDER-MAN © 2002 Columbia Pictures Industries Inc. All rights reserved. Courtesy of Columbia Pictures.

While much of the world was in quarantine, Curtis was filming in Budapest, the mountains of Slovania and the deserts of Jordan. Isaac had filmed before in Jordan’s famous Wadi Rum desert reserve while playing X-wing pilot Poe Dameron in “Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.” This other-worldly landscape features petroglyphs and archaeological remains dating back to prehistoric times. A favorite set for Hollywood films, including “Lawrence of Arabia” and “The Martian,” its nickname, “Valley of the Moon,” was especially appropriate for bringing themes of Egyptology to life in “Moon Knight.”

The extraterrestrial aspects of the series extend beyond this landscape to a cluster of human characters and Egyptian deities like the moon god, Khonshu, who chooses Isaac’s character as an avatar. Taweret, the goddess of fertility and childbirth, was not in the comic books but appears in the form of a hippo in Episode 5. Curtis says the inspiration for this incarnation came from a poster in the writers room featuring all the Egyptian gods.

“We blew up the picture of Taweret because we all thought she was so cuddly and beautiful and fun,” he says. When Chief Creative Officer and Studio President Kevin Feige walked into the writers room, he looked around at all the art from ancient Egypt, decades of comic books and new art from the film’s designers — then said, “That hippo is going to be in the show!”

“Moon Knight” was not the first Marvel project Curtis has worked on. His film credits include the “Spider-Man” trilogy directed by Sam Raimi. Curtis points out that, unlike Spider-Man, whom most people were familiar with from either the comic books or the TV show that aired in the late 1970s, this was many people’s introduction to the Moon Knight character.

The

Director Aaron Moorhead, Oscar Isaac, executive producer Grant Curtis, May Calamawy and director Justin Benson on set in the desert.

inspiration for Tawaret, Egyptian goddess of fertility and childbirth, came from a poster depicting her as a hippo in the writers room.

© MARVEL

© MARVEL

“Standing in the desert in Jordan you get really tiny really fast. It’s like landing on the moon.”

– Grant Curtis

“One thing I was really excited about from the beginning was the fact that Moon Knight is a Marvel superhero that is not on the tip of everyone’s tongue,” he says. “It’s exciting to bring this character to the forefront for the first time in many people’s entertainment experience.”

The Moon Knight character first appeared in a Marvel comic, “Werewolf by Night,” in 1975 and became its own series of books in 1980. Curtis and the writers of the new streaming series pored over the comic books to gain insight into the characters and ideas for reimagining them. When looking for underlying themes in those stories, the team gravitated toward what Curtis describes as “Indiana Jonesesque globetrotting adventure.”

Curtis remembers standing in line at the Campus Twin movie theater in Warrensburg for the first “Indiana Jones” film in 1981. At the time he never imagined being behind the scenes in exotic locations.

“When I was growing up I didn’t even know it was possible to do what I do for a living,” Curtis says. “So any time I can give a little snapshot of that, I do.”

© MARVEL

Ethan Hawke plays Arthur Harrow, the archrival of Oscar Isaac’s Moon Knight, in a series where it’s not always easy to pinpoint who’s the hero and who’s the villain.

© MARVEL

Curtis got the opportunity to do just that when he was asked to teach an online History of American Film class at his alma mater in 2016. He says he was inspired by the example of his father, Professor Emeritus Dan Curtis, ’64, ’66, a two-time UCM alumnus who taught Communications at the university for nearly three decades, retiring as the department chair.

“I wanted to tell students if you have an interest in this at all, give it a run,” Curtis says.

“If they’re filmmakers, if they’re storytellers, if they’re actors, writers … the skills and techniques that we practice and implement every day in Hollywood can be learned and practiced in Warrensburg. I try to take away a little bit of the myth of Hollywood.”

© MARVEL

Curtis was honored with the UCM Outstanding Recent Alumni Award in 2002, and his father, Dan Curtis, received the Byler Distinguished Faculty Award in 1985, the top honor given to faculty at UCM.

Curtis works with Isaac on a scene where his character is confined in a mental institution. The series tackles serious mental health issues, including dissociative identity disorder.

© MARVEL

University of Central Missouri Magazine

University Missouri

“The skills and techniques that we practice and implement every day in Hollywood can be learned and practiced in Warrensburg.”

– Grant Curtis

Dear Alumni and Friends,

In the same year that UCM proudly claimed the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the Largest Ridden Parade of Mules, alumni and donors worked together to set another record: our most generous year in UCM Alumni Foundation history!

In fiscal year 2022 (July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022) more than 8,388 individuals supported the university financially, resulting in $8,692,068 in philanthropic gifts. As an added point of pride, we are pleased to share that this past fiscal year marked the greatest amount of Foundation scholarships distributed to UCM students in our history at $1,515,017. Significant contributions were made to create a new counselor education center, to establish an endowed scholarship for business students, to fund construction of an aviation education center and terminal building at Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport and to support the operations of both the UCM Gallery of Art and Design and KMOS-TV (a PBS member television station on campus). Furthermore, generous donors pulled together for fun-filled giving day campaigns to maximize the collective impact of their donations.

We offer special thanks to actor Brian Thomas Smith, ’00, for his partnership in promoting philanthropy during Giving Tuesday, as featured in the cover story of this magazine. Our firstever Match Madness giving day for UCM Athletics and our Summer of the Mule campaign celebrating our mascot’s centennial with a limited-edition beach towel rounded out the year. These efforts resulted in the engagement of 28% of our alumni, up from 16% in 2021.

On behalf of the UCM Alumni Foundation’s board of directors, we are thrilled to share the 2022 annual report with you. On the following pages you will learn about the most recently inducted class of Founding Philanthropist honorees, donor-funded Opportunity Grants that improve the student experience and, most importantly, a few of the students who directly benefit from your support.

As we look forward to what’s next for the university, we are steadfast in our vision of transforming the lives of UCM students beyond what they imagined possible. We know that there is no better partner than you in this worthy pursuit. Thank you for your continued engagement and support.

Sincerely, Homer Kay, ’78 President, Alumni Foundation Board of Directors

Courtney E. Goddard, J.D. Vice President, University Advancement Executive Director, Alumni Foundation

Celebrating the

Spirit of Philanthropy

Established in 2021 as part of UCM’s sesquicentennial celebration, An Evening of Appreciation has become the signature event of UCM’s Founders Society. Members of this giving society have contributed $25,000 or more cumulatively in their lifetime, through outright gifts or documented planned gift intentions.

The 2022 Evening of Appreciation took place April 30 during the university’s Founders Week. Seven generous individuals joined the inaugural six in being named Founding Philanthropists.

John Spillman Jones was honored posthumously for his generous bequest valued at $20 million, the largest planned gift in UCM history.

Posthumous recognition went to John Spillman Jones, a Warrensburg native and 1912 graduate of Normal School No. 2, now UCM. John went on to earn his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago and had a lengthy career at Ralston

Adrian and Margaret Harmon, shown here with former UCM President Ed Elliott, were honored posthumously as Founding Philanthropists.

Purina. He and his wife, Kathleen (Kerr) Jones, enjoyed spending time with their two children on the family farm in Warrensburg.

Kathleen passed away in 1961, and John passed in 1968, leaving a bequest valued at $20 million, the largest planned gift in the history of the university.

Carl Adrian Harmon and Margaret Katherine Harmon were also recognized posthumously, having contributed over $2.6 million from their successful banking careers to UCM.

Adrian and Margaret are best known for their support of UCM’s Harmon College of Business and Professional Studies, named in their honor, as well as the Adrian and Margaret Harmon

Business Graduate Scholarship. They were charter members of the Mule Train Athletic Booster Club and were inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.

Both Adrian and Margaret passed away in 2014, survived by their three children, Lynn A. Harmon, Tom D. Harmon and Deborah (Harmon) Rankin, as well as eight grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

Lynn Adrian Harmon and his wife, Jackie Harmon, were honored as 2022 Founding Philanthropists along with Lynn’s parents. Adrian and Margaret moved to Warrensburg in 1949, and Lynn went to school on the university campus from kindergarten through high school. Jackie grew up on a farm north of Warrensburg and met Lynn at College High School.

Jackie is a retired educator who earned her master’s degree at UCM. Lynn is a retired banker whose career started in 1966 as assistant cashier at Citizens Bank of Warrensburg, which his parents purchased the controlling interest in thirteen years prior. Lynn retired as chairman and CEO when what had grown into Central Mortgage Bancshares Inc. merged with Mercantile Bancorp Inc. of St. Louis in 1995. That same year he was appointed to UCM’s Board of Governors, serving as president in 1999.

Lynn and Jackie are the caretakers of the Harmon legacy at UCM. They have established several scholarships, most recently a scholarship for international students through the Rotary Foundation in honor of Duane Sterling, UCM director emeritus of planning and policy. They are also known for the gift honoring their youngest daughter, Meridith (Harmon) Sauer, which funded UCM’s first permanently endowed professorship and the endowed guest artist series for the Department of Theatre and Dance. Lynn and Jackie have three children, Meridith, Monte Harmon and Shanna (Harmon) O’Donnell, and eight grandchildren.

The final two 2022 Founding Philanthropist honorees are Dan and Shirley Power. While earning two Education degrees from UCM — a bachelor’s in 1973 and a master’s in 1974 — Dan wrestled for the Mules under Coach Roger Denker. He was an MIAA champion, served as team captain, was voted most valuable wrestler and was inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008 as part of the 1972–73 wrestling team. Following graduation, he became a successful high school wrestling coach and then went into real estate, followed by finance. He retired from Edward Jones after a standout career spanning three and a half decades.

Shirley graduated from UCM in 1980 with a degree in Home Economics in Business, Textiles and Clothing. When the couple moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, in 1981 she left retail management to work as an Edward Jones branch office administrator for more than 15 years. In honor of her late mother, a 1944 Central Missouri State Teachers College graduate, she established the Laura L. Raker Barr Scholarship for Teacher Education in 2007.

In 2020 the Powers made a significant gift to construct a permanent wrestling facility at UCM. Dan also gives back through the Roger Denker Memorial Scholarship, which he established with a former teammate to support Mules wrestlers. He served on the UCM Foundation Board of Directors for over a decade, and his leadership as chair of the Finance and Investment Committee helped the foundation more than double its total assets and triple yearly scholarship awards. Dan was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award for Service in 2016.

Dan and Shirley are pleased to see the spirit of giving continue through their daughter, Sheena, and son, Dane, a 2007 UCM alumnus, who both volunteer their time and resources.

By means of their generosity and involvement, these seven Founding Philanthropists have enabled opportunities that transform the lives of UCM students.

Dan and Shirley Power and Jackie and Lynn Harmon were named Founding Philanthropists at the second annual Evening of Appreciation on April 30, 2022.

LIFE CHANGES

UCM Career Center Prepares Students, Alumni for Whatever Life Brings

By Jace Uchtman, Public Relations Undergraduate Student

Gifts to the Central Annual Fund help UCM students in a variety of ways, from providing need-based scholarships to funding innovative programs that enhance the student experience. Each year UCM faculty and staff are invited to apply for Opportunity Grants funded by donors like you. One of the initiatives selected in fiscal year 2022 was the Career and Life Design Center’s Professional Clothing Studio.

The University of Central Missouri has embraced change to help students succeed in an ever-changing job market. This year

UCM Career Services underwent a full transformation, starting with a name change to the Career and Life Design Center (CLDC).

The new name better reflects the office’s role as more than just assisting with resumes and hosting job fairs but also offering support that helps students and alumni design — or redesign — their careers and their lives.

Thanks to donors and sponsors, the CLDC has remodeled its office space

with state-of-the-art technology. An Opportunity Grant from the UCM Alumni Foundation helped fund the Professional Clothing Studio, featuring high-quality donated business attire.

The CLDC also became an early adopter of the “Design Your Life” program that originated at Stanford University.

University of Central Missouri

UCM student Madison Swank browses the racks at the Professional Clothing Studio in the Ward Edwards Building. Students are allotted four free items of clothing per month.

Designing Your Life

According to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report, only 27.3% of college graduates are employed in a job that matches their major. After a wildly successful class in the summer of 2007 geared toward helping students find jobs related to their degrees, two Stanford University professors, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, wrote a book titled “Designing Your Life.” In December 2020, staff from the UCM Career and Life Design Center used Title III funding to attend virtual training based on the book.

“Life design has had such an influence on our office over the past couple of years that we really feel it is a foundational piece of who we are and what we want to be moving forward,” says CLDC’s director, Amber Goreham, ’04, ’18.

UCM’s staff has benefited from the design-thinking methodology. The Office of Integrated Marketing and Communications, Online Learning and Engagement, and Campus Community Health have all participated in CLDC retreats.

This summer CLDC held a virtual workshop series exclusively for alumni, which featured exercises such as energy mapping, finding moments of happiness

and building a support community. In-person workshops were held for incoming freshmen during UCM’s Kickoff in August.

Along with the flagship Career Readiness course, students now have the opportunity to enroll in two other CLDC classes: Design Your UCM Transfer and Life Design. Alex Wilson, ’22, took Life Design in fall 2021, the first semester it was offered, and discussed his experience on the “Mules With a Mission” podcast.

“These are life skills that aren’t taught in other courses,” says Wilson. “More than career readiness but life readiness — analyzing what you want and need in life.”

Kendall Reger, who graduates in December 2022 with a degree in Political Science and Government, also took the course.

“I absolutely loved the curriculum,” says Reger, who now works as a peer mentor and coach for the CLDC Walk-In Studio Experience (WISE). “I felt it changed my mindset in a lot of different ways.”

Accelerating Your Career

The Career and Life Design Center offers lifetime support to UCM alumni and encourages them to utilize resources well beyond graduation. The Walk-In Studio Experience (WISE) was designed for individuals to access many resources simply by walking in. Resources include mock interviews, a free Headshot Central photo studio, resume help, job and graduate school searches and much more. Alumni can schedule an appointment to access these resources in-person or virtually.

In the past, CLDC would host one in-person and one virtual job fair each semester. There are now multiple, smaller job fairs based around a particular major or industry. UCM alumni are invited to represent their businesses or attend as job seekers.

Known for its accelerated learning programs and career-specific training, the UCM Lee’s Summit campus celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2022 and was honored by the Chamber of Commerce as the city’s Best Business of the Year. Clarinda Dir, UCM Center for Workforce and Professional Education program manager, oversees career-related services at the Lee’s Summit campus and works closely with the Career and Life Design Center.

UCM freshmen Tanner Menton, William McMains and Travis Barbour work with CLDC employer relations and event coordinator Joni Porter at UCM Kickoff on Aug. 12.

CLDC director Amber Goreham, center, leads a retreat for UCM Office of Integrated Marketing and Communications employees, from left, Eric Boedeker, ’14, Sam Schleicher, Sarah Meek, ’20, and Myah Duncan, ’20, ’22.

In the spring, the Lee’s Summit campus will host its annual UCM Nursing Hiring Day.

Jenni Jarman, a junior in the Nursing program, has been taking classes at the Lee’s Summit campus and gaining clinical experience at St. Luke’s Hospital for the past two semesters. Thanks to the Nursing Hiring Day in 2022, she was able to secure a job at St. Luke’s.

“I would not have gotten my job if it wasn’t for this experience,” says Jarman, who enjoys the modern campus, technology and wide age range of students in the university community.

The University of Central Missouri is committed to ensuring that students and alumni have the ability to excel professionally in and beyond the classroom, as evidenced by the fact that 97% of UCM students launch their career or continue their education within six months of graduation. The Career and Life Design Center is contributing to their success by preparing them not only for their first destination but for whatever changes life might bring.

Planting the Seeds of Opportunity

In addition to the Career and Life Design Center’s Professional Clothing Studio, UCM Farms was among the nine applicants awarded a total of $29,762 in Opportunity Grants for the 2021–22 academic year.

The Opportunity Grant was used to purchase a Miller/Bobcat 260 Welder/Generator that has allowed for small repairs to pipe corrals to be done more quickly and economically.

“As the Agriculture department continues to expand, we hope to integrate the welder into class projects built on the farms led by the Agriculture Mechanics students,” says UCM Farms Director Travis Hume, ’15, ’18. “The generator also allows for lights, grinding wheels, portable chargers and other power tools to be easily used when working in the field because we can transport the welder and generator in the bed of our Gator.”

The machine was a huge asset this past spring as students planted research plots and vacuumed out seed hoppers in between planting different hybrids of corn.

Your Gifts Unlock a World of Opportunity

The UCM Alumni Foundation launched the Opportunity Grant program in 2013 to support targeted, innovative, student-centered ideas of UCM faculty and staff. Through a competitive process, the program provides one-time seed money for projects designed to positively impact the university’s learning environment and students’ academic experience. Since 2013, more than $400,000 in Opportunity Grant funding has been awarded, benefiting thousands of UCM students.

Projects awarded for the upcoming 2022–23 academic year include:

• Video podcasting equipment for Digital Media Production students

• Student seminar on gender discrimination in STEM fields

• Kitchen supplies for the expansion of the THRIVE program

• 3D tactile campus maps for blind and low-vision visitors

Kendall Reger, a student employee at the Career and Life Design Center, takes a professional photo of student Brandon Cannon at the Headshot Central studio.

To find out more about this innovative program and how you can support it, visit ucmfoundation.org/give/magazine.

Donor-Funded Scholarships Open Doors for Students

Spotlighted here are just a few of the UCM students whose opportunities have expanded through the support of generous friends and alumni like you.

Donyae Watson is a freshman from Kansas City and the first recipient of the Blanche Kelso Bruce/Robb Madden Scholarship in Africana Studies. The scholarship was originally named after Bruce, the second African American to serve in the U.S. Senate and the first to be elected for a full term. The name was amended to honor the late Robb Madden, ’03, ’05, ’18, the first graduate of the Africana Studies minor at UCM and founder of the scholarship.

“With this scholarship, I will finally be able to live out my childhood dream of becoming an African American Studies professor,” Donyae says. “For those who came together for me, I really thank you all because I need it. I won’t let you guys down.”

Donyae completed an internship this summer in Ghana, West Africa, through the Experiment in International Living. While there she archived photographs for local arts and cultural preservation and met up with UCM History Professor Delia Gillis.

Kyle Daniel is a freshman Mechanical Engineering Technology major from Elsberry, Missouri. He received the Jack and Aggie O’Brien Scholarship, the Margaret C. Palmer Scholarship and the Katzentine/ Carswell/Cheatham Scholarship.

Kyle chose UCM because he found opportunities to pursue his interests in both engineering and Agriculture, which he plans to study as his minor. His career goal is to improve the design of equipment used in the cattle industry.

“I hope to not only identify an area needing improvement and research ways to upgrade it but also design and produce the product,” he says. “The scholarship has helped me with opportunities I never would have had.”

Kyle enjoys being outdoors, working on his family’s farm and raising bulls for rodeos. In high school he was active in trapshooting, baseball, golf, FFA and the National Honor Society. He is looking forward to meeting challenges and getting involved in student organizations at UCM and wants to make a difference in people’s lives.

Grace Kennedy is a senior Public Relations major who is also a Warrensburg native and member of a UCM Legacy Family. She received the Larry and Kali Schnieders (both ’73 alumni) Scholarship in Public Relations, the Anthony and Sarah Taylor (both ’08 alumni) Scholarship and the ShipleyHocker Scholarship, which allowed her to study abroad on UCM’s first Divided Cities tour this summer.

The trip was led by Michael Makara, a Political Science professor, and Kristy Boney, chair of the newly formed Department of Modern Languages and Interdisciplinary Studies. Students on the trip got to see what racial, political and religious division looks like in Kansas City, Berlin and Jerusalem. Grace witnessed firsthand how past decisions and events can have a lasting impact on a region.

“Even though we were studying division, we were seeing all the similarities and consistencies in humanity that exist everywhere,” she says. “All of the division we have is because of bad communication. … We got to bring those lessons back home with us.”

As an editor for Arcade Magazine, UCM’s student-run literary journal, Lina is no stranger to creative writing. She was thrilled when she learned her poem was selected for the Baker-Starzinger Poetry Award.

“To the writer-donors Page Starzinger and David Baker, I would like to express my gratitude for the support they give to the talent of young people at UCM,” Lina says. “I recognize in them two valuable and infinitely generous people for appreciating and encouraging literary

Lina’s Award-Winning Poem

The world has looked different for some time now

The world has looked different for some time now The places I thought I had christened as mine are now like strangers As if all the magical moments imprinted there had only been pastimes As if it all happened in another life and not some couple of years ago

Now, I remember, and I look at all of them and then I look at me And a bittersweet taste in my chest tells me that we’ve changed That they were places borrowed by life to show me what it’s like to live And life whispers in my ear that those golden times are past Because now it’s up to new places to give me a space to grow and feel

Now the park is covered with grass and my hips don’t fit those swings that are already damaged And from that corner vanished with the passing of the years the sale of ice creams I remember buying one to sit down to write and feel capable of eating the world Because that’s the best feeling of a teenager, but too bad it vanishes in a second

So much has changed Except my deepest longing Everything has changed Except my deepest longing

And I want to shout it to the world before the wrinkles rule my skin Or even I can shout it till the last day of my life Maybe people will see only a honey-sweet looking body But only the right people will see a soul that’s moved by passion for life Only eyes that look from beauty and nobility will see a blooming soul.

El mundo luce distinto desde hace algún tiempo

El mundo luce distinto desde hace algún tiempo Los lugares que creí haber bautizado como míos ya son como extraños Como si todos los momentos mágicos impresos allí solo hubiesen sido pasatiempos Como si todo hubiera sucedido en otra vida y no hace algún par de años

Ahora, recuerdo y miro a todos ellos y luego me miro a mi misma Y un agridulce sabor en el pecho me dice que hemos cambiado Que fueron lugares prestados por la vida para enseñarme cómo es vivir Y la vida me susurra al oído que ya pasaron esos tiempos dorados Porque ahora les toca a nuevos lugares darme un espacio para crecer y sentir Ahora el parque está cubierto de césped y mis caderas no caben en esos columpios ya dañados Ya de esa esquina se desvaneció por el paso de los años la venta de helados Recuerdo comprar uno para sentarme a escribir y sentirme capaz de comerme el mundo Porque ese es el mejor sentimiento de un adolescente, pero lástima que se esfuma en un segundo

Mucho ha cambiado

Excepto mi anhelo más profundo Todo ha cambiado

Excepto mi anhelo más profundo

Y quiero gritarlo al mundo antes de que las arrugas dominen mi piel O incluso puedo gritarlo hasta el último día de mi vida Tal vez la gente vea sólo a un cuerpo con apariencia dulce como la miel Pero sólo las personas correctas verán a un alma que se ha movido por la pasión que tiene por la vida Sólo los ojos que miren desde la hermosura y nobleza verán a un alma florecida.

Lina María García Arrieta is an international student from Corozal, Sucre, Colombia. She is a Political Science major and member of the Student Government Association.

talent. Their contribution makes it possible for me to contribute to my studies and motivates me to follow my dreams.”

Donors have thousands of choices when it comes to investing their philanthropic dollars, and we are honored that people like you continue to choose the UCM Alumni Foundation year after year. The fiscal year 2022 (July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022) demonstrated that the level of trust in our mission has never been stronger.

The leadership and staff of the UCM Alumni Foundation have worked diligently over the course of many decades to carefully cultivate, manage and distribute the gifts that you and thousands of alumni and friends have made in support of the university. You carry on the rich heritage of philanthropy at UCM. Because of your generosity, we are proud to report an incredible year of giving, including:

• The most philanthropic dollars received in a fiscal year.

• The greatest number of donors in UCM history.

• The most student scholarship dollars awarded in UCM history.

• The highest number of endowment funds in UCM history.

• The largest number of gifts processed in a fiscal year. Every gift made to the UCM Alumni Foundation makes a difference for our students, faculty, programs, champion athletic teams and facilities. Thank you for investing in our historical institution to ensure that we thrive in the present while preparing for the future!

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When Richard Wilson Bennet III was a senior at UCM, he was unsure of his career path. The university’s Career Services Center, now the Career and Life Design Center, helped identify two good prospects with companies that regularly recruited UCM students.

“Both companies recruited at CMSU because they knew they would find candidates with a good education, a sense of community and a willingness to work hard to achieve success,” Rick says. “In my mind those are still the core attributes of a UCM graduate.”

After graduating in 1974 he took a position at May Department Stores and worked his way to the top. After 20 years, he became the youngest CEO of Famous Barr, one of May’s flagship businesses. He then became CEO of Kaufmann’s Department Stores in Pittsburgh before returning to St. Louis as vice chairman of the May Department Stores Corporation.

When May reorganized in 2002, Rick took a personal inventory and decided to update his education, pursuing an MBA at Washington University in St. Louis. He graduated with honors and won the

Emory Award for scholarship, character and leadership. He re-engaged with Sigma Phi Epsilon, his college fraternity, where he served as president at UCM. Rick served 12 years on Sig Ep’s National Board of Directors, two years as grand president and is now president of its Educational Foundation. The Richard W. Bennet III Balanced Man Scholarship was established by his fraternity brothers in his honor through the UCM Alumni Foundation.

“My personal inventory assessment was the key in clarifying what was important to me and what my competencies were,” he says. “It revealed some key insights: a passion for helping people find their way, an acumen for business strategy and an undying love of the mountains.”

Rick especially loves the mountains of northwest Montana. He has served 20 years as director of the Glacier National Park Conservancy and is currently its chairman. His work helps promote wilderness and wildlife conservation and builds bridges with Native American communities that are indigenous to the park.

For the past 15 years Rick has been CEO of CCA Global Partners, a cooperative of 3,000 independent family-owned retailers in the home improvement business. He is an independent director at Ace Hardware, a cooperative of 5,000 family businesses, and is executive chairman of both Franklin Madison Group and International Designs LLC.

Rick has shared his expertise as an adjunct professor at the Olin Business School at Washington University, teaching social entrepreneurship to MBA and Social Work students.

“I have found great satisfaction by engaging with people who are going through professional transitions and advising them to take inventory of their passions and competencies before taking on their next challenge,” Rick says. “The one constant along this path has been my family.”

Rick and his wife, Lavonne, have been married 43 years. They have three children — Rick, Kate and Anne — who Rick says inspired his decision to go back to school at the age of 50.

“In the end my family is my ultimate passion and source of gratification,” he says.

RICHARD WILSON BENNET III, ’74 Distinguished Alumni Award

I SEE ENGAGEMENT AS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS ACADEMICS FOR ANYBODY THAT’S GROWING UP AND EVOLVING IN THEIR LIFE.

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Inspired by her third-grade teacher, Beth Tankersley-Bankhead knew from an early age that she wanted to teach and that UCM, which started as a college for educators, was her university of choice.

A first-generation student from Versailles, Missouri, Beth earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education with a minor in English Education in 1983. This set the stage for her life’s work of ensuring that all who wanted to earn a postsecondary education would be able to do so.

“I was the first in my family to go to college, so I never take that for granted,” Beth says. “I think that is part of what’s made me who I am and why I care so much that others have an opportunity for education.”

While attending UCM, Beth was one of the first resident assistants at a time when the university was transitioning away from the old structure of male students living on one side of campus and women on the other, under the watchful eye of “house mothers.”

After earning her master’s in Guidance and Counseling from Eastern Illinois University, she was hired as assistant director and later director of residence life at the University of Nebraska–Kearney.

In a career move to get closer to teaching, Beth took a position in Indiana as director of field services for Kappa Delta Pi, the international education honor society that she was a member of at UCM. She visited more than 400 college campuses nationwide and in England, delivering programming and services for faculty and future educators.

In 1997 Beth returned to UCM as the director of community engagement, collaborating with students, faculty and administration as well as the greater Warrensburg community to create an inclusive campus environment. She helped create the Central Community Creed as well as the Summer Bridge and College for a Day programs that introduced Kansas City high school students to the Warrensburg campus. She also expanded the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship and helped launch the Cesar Chavez Scholarship in 2004.

After earning her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis while serving as executive director of Associated Students of the University of Missouri, Beth became executive director of the Missouri College Advising Corps. She expanded the program from nine to 41 college advisors serving in

BETH TANKERSLEYBANKHEAD, ’83 Distinguished Alumni Award

40 urban and rural high schools statewide. Her efforts increased by more than 10% the collegegoing rates of these schools.

In 2015, Beth became the first director of postsecondary initiatives at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and helped launch KC Scholars in 2016. By 2022 the program had provided scholarships to more than 6,100 low-income students from 108 high schools in a six-county, bistate region of Kansas City. KC Scholars partners with 17 higher education institutions, including UCM, where 141 scholars are enrolled.

It’s rewarding to Beth to know that 77% of the students she helped through KC Scholars were, like her, the first in their families to go to college. She retired this year as CEO and continues to support first-generation students in her hometown of Versailles through a scholarship. This year the recipient is an Aviation major at UCM.

Beth is grateful to her parents, Paul and Dorothy Tankersley; her husband, Tom Bankhead; and her extended family, including seven grandchildren, for their support.

IT’S SO MEANINGFUL TO BE CONNECTED TO YOUR ALMA MATER, THE PLACE THAT GAVE YOU YOUR START AND THE PLACE YOU HOLD SO CLOSE IN YOUR HEART.

Allison Jaslow, ’04, is nationally recognized as a leading voice on the military-civilian divide and the challenges faced by women in the military. She enrolled at UCM on an ROTC scholarship after attending Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri. “ROTC was my fraternity,” she says, noting that things changed for her and her peers when the U.S.-led coalition overthrew Saddam Hussein’s regime the year before she graduated. “It’s kind of a surreal experience to be an officer-to-be headed out to a field-training exercise and to have that field exercise’s meaning completely changed because we were now getting deeper and deeper in the war.”

Allison graduated in May 2004 and was sworn in to the U.S. Army that same month. In June she went to an officer basic training course, and by Thanksgiving she was on a plane to Kuwait. She served two tours as an Army captain in Iraq, earning the Bronze Star Medal and the Army Commendation Medal with a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster.

After her tours of duty she put the skills she learned as a Political Science major at UCM to use. She credits Professor Shari Bax, now

the university’s vice president of student experience and engagement, with helping her get an internship at Emily’s List in Washington, D.C. Using the connections she made there she landed a job working on her first political campaign.

“When I was in college I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I got out [of the military],” Allison says. “I was very different from a lot of my peers. A lot of people were on kind of a journey when they got out.”

She went on to serve as chief of staff to Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, as press secretary for former Virginia Senator and decorated Vietnam veteran Jim Webb and as a communications aide in the White House.

Allison has twice testified before Congress and appeared on national news programs, including NBC’s “Today Show,” CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” and the “CBS Evening News.” She has contributed to The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN Opinion and Marie Claire. Allison has also led impact partnerships with noteworthy films, including Warner Brothers’

“Dunkirk,” Netflix’s “War Machine” and “Blood Stripe,” an independent film that depicts a woman Marine’s transition from combat to civilian life.

When serving as executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), she led a national campaign to increase recognition of women veterans.

“People have to see us, have to believe we’re even there before you can have the will to create change,” Allison says. “When you’re in the military it’s your job to fall in line. … I don’t think we can expect the folks who are in that position to create change.”

As a consultant and adjunct professor at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, Allison currently teaches classes in political campaigning and women as leaders. Allison is a former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and served on the board of directors for the Center for Law and Military Policy and the 2LT Richard W. Collins Foundation. She is also a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a charter member of the National Parks Conservation Association’s Veterans Council.

ALLISON JASLOW, ’04 Distinguished Alumni Award for Early Achievement

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LEARNING FROM OTHER WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING MY OWN EXPERIENCE BEING IN THE MILITARY HAS MADE ME WANT TO BE A MORE EFFECTIVE ADVOCATE.

DRED SCOTT, ’00 Distinguished Alumni Award for Service

As a boy, Dred Scott attended five different elementary schools. Looking back on his childhood through the lens of the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) test he administered as an elementary school teacher and principal, he checks off many of the factors that identify youth as at-risk for health challenges later in life. He was raised by a single mother in unstable housing and suffered food insecurity.

“I know firsthand what it’s like to come up on the wrong side of the tracks,” he says. “I believe in my core that people, regardless of their background, circumstances, upbringing or challenges, have the potential to do great things in the world. But that potential just has to be unlocked. It’s our responsibility — those of us that have overcome, that have achieved — to reach back and unlock that potential in others.” Dred’s mother taught him the value of education and encouraged him to go to college. As an undergraduate at Southwest Missouri State University he got a job at the Boys & Girls Clubs. Working with the children there inspired him to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. Dred got his first teaching job in Raytown

C-2 School District and was honored as the district’s Teacher of the Year during his third year. At the advice of Superintendent Henry Russell he decided to pursue his graduate studies in Elementary School Administration at UCM, earning his master’s in 2000. Dred and Henry would work together again as deputy superintendent and superintendent at Independence School District and later as adjunct professors at UCM.

“Our professional and personal lives have been intertwined for a long, long time,” Dred says, noting a stethoscope his mentor and friend gave him to symbolize the importance of listening from the heart.

At the young age of 26, Dred became principal of the elementary school with Raytown’s highest at-risk population. He led the staff in transforming the school from the lowest performing in the district to one of the highest. While pursuing his doctorate in Educational Leadership from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, Dred was offered a job in the Raytown district’s central office as executive director of support services. He supervised the construction of a new elementary school, early childhood center and additions to both of the district’s high schools.

In 2018 Dred left public education to become president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City, coming full circle to the organization that inspired him as an undergraduate.

“My introduction to education as a profession came about as a result of working at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield, so I knew the importance firsthand of the experiences that are provided within the club,” he says. “I also had the perspective of being a teacher, principal and district administrator and knowing the challenges of educating and supporting youth and understanding that school districts can’t do it all.”

In August 2022 Dred became president of the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City. As a KC native, he is passionate about working with civic and business leaders across all sectors, including education, to address complex community challenges and build a more vibrant, equitable city. Dred has been married to his wife, TuJuania, for 22 years. The couple has two sons, Antione and Quincy, and one daughter, Kayla.

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YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE EVERYTHING GOING IN YOUR FAVOR TO DO GREAT THINGS AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A GREAT POTENTIAL.

BARRY, ’84, AND DIANE, ’77, WHITWORTH Distinguished Alumni Award for Service

Barry and Diane Whitworth are both from small Missouri communities where they enjoyed the country life. Barry grew up on a farm in Windsor, and Diane grew up on her family’s farm in Garden City. Both were the first in their family to attend college, and both were involved in Greek Life.

Diane joined Sigma Kappa, serving as vice president and president. Barry was a member of Phi Sigma Epsilon.

Diane graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice in 1977 and became employed with the United States Postal Service. She was appointed as a postal inspector in 1978 and began her 33-year career with the USPS in various positions, retiring in 2010 as acting manager of human resources for the Mid-America District. Barry completed his degree in Agriculture in 1984 after working in Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago in the insurance and auto industries. In 1985 the couple moved to Washington, D.C., when Diane was promoted to national women’s program manager. Their next move in 1986 was to Houston, when Barry was promoted to regional manager for Universal Underwriters. In 1993, the couple had the opportunity to

purchase the family farm in Garden City and move back with their three sons, Tyler, Blaine and Tucker. The move also brought them nearer to their daughter, Corby. All three sons graduated from UCM with degrees in Safety Sciences. Barry became vice president of national accounts for Universal Underwriters, then moved to Sentry Insurance, where he retired as a regional manager in 2016.

The Whitworths created the nonprofit Blaine Whitworth Go Big or Go Home Foundation after their son Blaine was murdered in 2012.

At the suggestion of Blaine’s friends, they started an annual 5K Race/Walk, which they held during Greek Week beginning in April 2013. All of the money raised has gone to scholarships, helping young entrepreneurs, promoting youth sports and lending a hand up to people in need.

“Blaine loved Warrensburg,” Diane says of their son, who owned two bars downtown.

“He wanted to make a difference in the community; he wanted to do good things. After his death total strangers would tell us about his acts of kindness and philanthropy.”

Through their foundation the Whitworths

have provided financial support to student veterans at UCM as well as a paid internship. They have partnered with UCM’s Harmon College of Business and Professional Studies, establishing the Blaine Whitworth Speaker Series, which has brought more than 30 successful entrepreneurs to campus. They have worked with the UCM Innovative Public Relations group and sponsored two business camps at the university for high school students. Diane and Barry have also supported the community by serving on the Warrensburg Convention and Visitors Bureau and working with the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce, Warrensburg Main Street and Whiteman Air Force Base Community Council. In Garden City they are active in the United Methodist Church, Garden City Cemetery Association and Sherwood Community Center. They have also worked to support Boy Scouts Troop 244 and the Garden City Ball Park Association.

The Whitworths have established three endowed scholarships through the UCM Alumni Foundation and three more through their family trust. Giving back is their way of honoring a loved one’s memory while giving students the opportunities they enjoyed in college and the experience that led to their successful careers.

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THROUGH OUR OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCES, WE KNOW IT IS A WISE INVESTMENT TO CHOOSE UCM.

Faculty/Staff Achievements

Ellen Blaize, ’11, ’13, integrated marketing specialist, was honored with the 2022 Carl B. Foster/John M. Inglish Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Service in Public Relations.

Phil Bridgmon, provost and VP for academic affairs, was appointed to the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development committee on transfer and articulation.

Emily Ciesielski, assistant professor of Communication Disorders, received the Award for Continuing Education from the American Speech Language Hearing Association.

Charissa Davis, assistant director of financial aid at UCM, is the 2022 recipient of the John Paul Mees Award for Outstanding Professional Staff.

Jacqueline Faria, ’18, and Matthew Garver claimed two of only four awards presented annually by the National Academic Advisement Association specifically for outstanding academic advising. Faria was the fourth UCM staff member whose primary role is academic advising to receive the Global NACADA Outstanding Advisor Award since 2015. Garver, associate professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition, Kinesiology and Health, was the second consecutive UCM faculty member to earn the global award.

Scott Lankford, chair of UCM’s Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences, received the 2022 Missouri Academy of Science’s Outstanding Scientist Achievement Award.

Brandy Lynch, associate professor and coordinator of the Physical Education program, was awarded the 2022 UCM Excellence in Teaching Award.

Ann McCoy, ’83, ’88, dean of UCM’s College of Education, received the 2022 James C. Kirkpatrick Excellence in Governance Award for her outstanding public service.

David Pearce, executive director for governmental relations at UCM, was appointed to serve on the Midwestern Higher Education Compact.

Marlys Peck, associate professor of Social Work, visited Opole University in Poland through the Erasmus+ mobility program.

Georgi Popov, professor and chair of Safety Sciences, was awarded the Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety Career Professional Award.

Jack Rogers, professor of Communication Studies, received the 2022 Byler Distinguished Faculty Award, was inducted into the International Public Debate Association Hall of Fame, and was honored by the Speech and Theatre Association of Missouri.

Scott Smith, ’99, professor of Marketing, was recognized as the 2022 recipient of the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Education.

Keira Solon, assistant professor of Management, received the 2022 Harmon College Strategic Goal Award for outstanding retention efforts.

Erica Spurgeon, ’09, ’17, assistant professor of Fashion and Apparel Merchandising, received the College of Health, Science and Technology Outstanding Teacher Award.

Lynn Urban, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, was a distinguished guest at the launch of the Institute of ASEANEuropean Studies at Holy Cross of Davao College, Philippines.

Nicole Webb, associate professor of Nursing and associate dean of the College of Health, Science and Technology, is one of 36 people across the nation selected for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities 2022 Emerging Leaders program.

Greg Williams, instructor of Athletic Training, received the 2022 Missouri Athletic Trainers’ Association Dr. Glenn L. McElroy, M.D., Outstanding Service Award.

A GALAXY NOT SO FAR AWAY

Students Dip Their Toes Into Astronomy at Pertle Springs

By Ellen Blaize, ’11, ’13

Tucked away among the trees between Lake Cena and the Mules National Golf Club sits a hidden university resource: the UCM Observatory. Mark Dudley, ’85, a former UCM professor of Biology and Earth Sciences, obtained a grant that brought the observatory to campus in the mid-90s. Students put it to good use for many years, but it eventually fell by the wayside and into disrepair.

While researching the activities he could participate in as a first-generation nontraditional student, Eric Nelson, ’20, a Professional Pilot major, was excited to discover that UCM had its very own observatory.

“My dad was largely into astronomy and telescopes growing up, so naturally I followed along to many events … like star parties, astronomy outreach programs and backyard telescope viewings,” Nelson says. “Before UCM, I was in the Marines and spent many nights sharing the hobby with other Marines and showing people the beauty of the night sky.”

Nelson reached out to his UCM professors to get more information about the observatory. One of those professors was Michael Foster, ’94, an assistant instructor of Physics.

“I told him it was in no shape to use, and he said he would clean it out,” Foster recalls. “I secured a set of keys for him, and he took it all on himself, tried to get some of the mechanical things working again.”

Over the years, the dome had stopped rotating well. Nelson and his father worked to reinforce it with internal supports and clean the equipment inside before diagnosing and fixing what was broken. Foster helped secure additional equipment to update the space and began teaching UCM’s Astronomy course in 2018.

“Seeing it being used with the Astronomy course made me glad the hard work paid off,” Nelson says. “I was a student teacher for [Foster’s] class. We took photographs of the solar eclipse and other cool sights. We also used it for the local Boy Scout troop’s astronomy merit badge.”

UCM’s Astronomy course is offered each spring and is open to all majors. It features course material on the fundamental principles and theories of planetary astronomy, the evolution of stars and nebulas, and the origin of galaxies.

“We cover the solar system, ancient astronomy and how ancient civilizations tried to understand their place in the world,” Foster says. “We also spend a lot of time learning the constellations.”

Depending on the weather, the class visits the observatory about six times over the course of the semester. Students gain handson experience with a Celestron 14-inch

“We have a Starizona Hyperstar that allows us to switch from a 3910 mm focal length rearmounted configuration, suitable for smaller objects like galaxies, to a 740 mm focal length with the camera mounted in front, which is great for imaging nebulas,” Foster says.

Foster described the process of capturing a good image. “You want to gather an awful lot of light, which means long, long exposures,” he says. “Stacking is used, where we take an image for 60 seconds, save it, and then take another image for 60 seconds. Then you can use software that will compare them and superimpose. By doing these successive images and lining them all up, you get more and more light in the image, and things start to stand out.”

Foster says eclipses are among the most spectacular events he has seen in the night sky. He really enjoyed the Super Flower Blood Moon this past May and says, “It’s an awful lot of fun to show people what we can see.”

The observatory is tucked away at Pertle Springs, where light from town is minimized.

Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope mounted on a Celestron CGXL telescope.

Image by Michael Foster

Michael Foster captured this image of the Super Flower Blood Moon in May.

Physics Professor Michael Foster has been capturing dramatic astronomical photographs with a Celestron telescope in the observatory at Pertle Springs.

SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

GOLF

The Jennies Golf team finished in the Top 10 in all but one of their tournaments. They accomplished 11 Top 5 performances, four runner-up finishes and three tournament wins. UCM placed second at the NCAA-II Central Regional, advancing to the NCAA-II Women’s Golf Championship for the first time since 2018–19.

Rosie Klausner led UCM at the Central Regional, tying for second. Claire Solovic earned her first conference crown at the MIAA Women’s Golf Individual Championship as the Jennies finished second as a team. Klausner and Solovic both were named to the WGCA AllCentral Region Team and both earned All-MIAA honors, along with Nicole Rallo.

McKenna Rice was named a WGCA All-American Scholar for earning a 4.0 GPA during the 2021–22 academic year.

BASKETBALL

The Jennies Basketball team finished with an overall record of 19-11 and went 15-7 in the MIAA. Nija Collier, pictured below, and Brooke Littrell both earned All-American honors. Collier was a WBCA coaches’ and honorable mention D2CCA All-American, while Littrell garnered D2CCA second team All-American accolades. Collier was voted MIAA Defensive Player of the Year and was a first

The Mules Golf team ended their season as the NCAA-II Central/Midwest Region Champions. They finished in the Top 10 in all 12 of their tournaments, highlighted by a regional title, a firstplace finish in the NCAA-II Men’s Golf Championship and a runner-up showing in the MIAA Men’s Golf Championship, where Matt Hoemann took first in the Individual Championship. Their national semifinal appearance matched the best finish at the NCAA-II Championship in program history.

Nick Westrich was named a GCAA honorable mention Division II PING All-American, leading the Mules with a 72.51-stroke average over 35 rounds in 2021–22. He compiled a team-high seven Top 10 finishes, including three Top 5 showings, highlighted by a tied third-place finish at the NCAA-II Men’s Golf Championship.

WINTER/SPRING

WRESTLING

The Mules Wrestling team had two All-Americans for the first time since 2014–15. The Mules broke into the NWCA Division-II Top 25 rankings for the first time in 12 years and ended the season ranked 18. John Ridle, pictured below, finished fourth at the NCAA-II Wrestling Championship and won the NCAA-II Super Region IV. He joined Joel Ridle, Ethan Ewing, Joe Swanson and Brayden Talley in garnering NWCA Scholar All-American accolades.

team All-MIAA honoree, while Littrell joined her on the All-MIAA first team.

Three Mules Basketball student-athletes earned AllMIAA accolades. Ja’Cor Nelson was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and an honorable mention All-MIAA honoree, and Cam Hunter and Gaven Pinkley, pictured below, joined him as honorable mention All-MIAA recipients.

Cody Garcia became the new head coach of Mules Wrestling, taking the helm of a team that once starred his father, Mike Garcia, ’82. Mike captured the team’s first national championship in 1982 and was inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.

BOWLING

The Jennies Bowling team finished second at the GLVC Women’s Bowling Championship. Jacqueline Garcia-Ulloa, pictured below, was named second team All-GLVC, while Andrea Carolina Perez-Perez received honorable mention. The Jennies won the NTCA All-Academic Team Award, with 10 student-athletes earning individual NTCA All-Academic accolades.

TRACK AND FIELD

BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL

Head Coach Kyle Crookes was voted Coach of the Year three times: for MIAA, D2CCA Central Region and NCBWA Division II.

Mules Baseball earned the American Baseball Coaches’ Association Team Academic Excellence Award for their performance in the classroom in the 2021–22 academic year.

The UCM Indoor Track and Field teams finished their season with 10 All-Americans at the NCAA-II Indoor Championship. Five Mules and four Jennies earned All-American honors. The outdoor teams also compiled nine All-Americans.

Christopher Goodwin, pictured in center above, captured the first NCAA-II Long Jump National Championship in program history after recording a school record and personal-best jump of 7.93m (26 ¼) on his fifth attempt. It was his fourth-career All-American honor and his first national title.

Ashlan Burton finished runner-up in the shot put for her fourth-career All-American honor in the event.

Burton, pictured below, and Goodwin both earned CoSIDA Academic All-American honors, along with Kayla Goodwin, Chris’ sister, and Laia Gonzalez.

The Mules Baseball team won the MIAA regular and postseason championship titles in their 28th regular-season championship, 15th overall postseason championship and fourth straight postseason championship. With an overall record of 46-9 and MIAA record of 30-3, the team advanced to the NCAA-II regional tournament for the 32nd time in program history and hosted a regional for the 18th time.

Thirteen players earned All-MIAA honors, highlighted by outfielder Brennen Van Breusegen, who was named MIAA Co-Player of the Year and NCBWA Central Region Player of the Year. Van Breusegen, Garrett Pennington and Collin Jones were named All-Americans.

Four Jennies Softball student-athletes garnered All-MIAA accolades. Outfielders Peyton Corrigan and Aubrie McRoberts, first baseman Makenzie McAtee and pitcher Kyleigh Lay received All-MIAA honorable mentions, with Corrigan also being named to the All-MIAA Gold Glove Team.

Softball alumni returned to Warrensburg for the program’s 50th anniversary in April 2022. Former Head Coaches Peggy Martin and Rhesa Sumrell joined current Head Coach Susan Anderson and 60 former players for a reunion weekend.

This year also marked the 50th anniversary of Title IX, prohibiting gender discrimination in public institutions. Legendary Jennies Basketball Coach Millie Barnes was honored with the 2022 Kissick Construction Game Changer Award.

JERRY HUGHES HONORED

UCM Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Jerry Hughes, ’71, ’79, was announced as the 2022 recipient of the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Award of Merit.

“Jerry has been associated with the University of Central Missouri for over 50 years, first as a student-athlete and for many years as an administrator,” said D2CCA President and CACC Commissioner Daniel Mara. “This award is to recognize a career that has helped shape Division II.”

Hughes has served as NCAA Division II vice president, as chair of the Division II Championships Committee and as a member of the NCAA Executive Committee.

Photo by Andrew Mather

Alumni Events

Michelle Ream, ’09, Dan Ream, ’07, Nancy Allen and Mark Allen, ’83.

Mark Seifried, ’82, Denise Meade, Roger Baldwin, ’69, Connie Baldwin, ’69, ’82, Phillip Stabenow, ’69, Mike Davidson, ’72, and Linda Stabenow, ’77, ’84.

Student Cooper Rieb, Zac Racy, ’21, Bella Hadden, ’22, Alexis Engholm, ’22, David Becerra, ’22, and student Quinton Talley.

Construction

Robert Duvenick, ’75, Jim Vanhorn, Dave Spencer, ’80, ’88, and Keith Dorrian, ’98.

Steve Brammer, ’86, Sue Brammer, ’87, Lori Reichert, ’88, Mark Reichert, ’87, John Callahan, ’88, and Angela Callahan, ’91.

Rosalie Karczewski, ’67, Kit Johnson, ’67, Tom Karczewski, ’66, Charlie McGraw, ’67, ’70, ’74, Carol Bargfrede, ’67, UCM

First Lady Robin Best, Vivian McGraw ’67, ’77, ’94, Linda Johnson, ’64, ’78, and Larry Johnson, ’65, ’68.

Dan Stockwell, ’78, ’79,

MuleNation Dallas/Fort Worth June 18 at Dr. Pepper Ballpark, Frisco

MuleNation Kansas City • June 7 at Chicken N Pickle

Management Golf Tournament • June 10 at Adams Pointe Golf Club, Blue Springs

MuleNation Florida • Feb. 15 at the Hampton Social, Naples

MuleNation Nashville • May 24 at Yee-Haw Brewing Co.

Susan Brinkmeyer, ’89, ’97; Georgi Popov, chair of UCM’s Department of Occupational Risk and Safety Science; Steve Preston, ’02; Dean Emerita Alice Greife, ’75, ’76; and Jeffery Brinkmeyer, ’90, ’92.

and Morghan BuerkyWinder, ’17, ’19.

Gina Smith, ’78, Jan Gray, ’78, Virginia West, Ronald West, ’64, and Tiffany Stewart, ’21.

Pat Smithson, Wally Fowler, ’71, Ruth Fowler, ’69, John Norris, ’61, and Glenda Norris, ’63.

MuleNation

Todd Simpson, ’86, Darold Graves, ’68, Steve Kleppe, Courtney Goddard, Shirley Kleppe, ’67, and Grant McKeehan.

Todd Simpson, ‘86, Emily Allen and Paul Allen, ‘72

Doug Craig, ’85, Emily Westermeir, ’14, ’18, Kristi Craig, ’86, and Elizabeth Craig, ’20.

David Pearce, Tyler Jolly, ’20, Stephanie Rogers, ’20, Matthew Rogers, ’18, and Myah Duncan, ’20, ’22.

Jennifer Conner, ’94, and Kevin Conner, ’94.

University of Central Missouri

MuleNation Arizona • April 5 at Isabella’s Kitchen, Scottsdale

MuleNation Denver March 24 at Pindustry

MuleNation St. Louis April 12 at Budweiser Brew House

Steve and Andrea Luebbert, both ’76.

at the Missouri State Fair • Aug. 16, Sedalia State Fair

Alumni News

Juanita Peaslee, ’55, ’76, has retired after nearly 60 years of teaching science in the Crest Ridge School District in Centerview, Missouri.

Germaine Bennett, ’70, was appointed to the Civil Services Commission and to the Youngstown State University Foundation Board of Trustees in Youngstown, Ohio.

Dorothy Campbell, ’73, was named interim provost and chief academic officer at New Mexico State University.

Warren C. Lovinger Jr., ’73, was awarded the Ralph O. Claypoole Sr. Memorial Award for Devotion of a Career in Internal Medicine to the Care of Patients by the American College of Physicians.

Paula Nickelson, ’77, was named acting director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Steve Richardson, ’81, was named the 2021 Safety Professional of the Year by the American Society of Safety Professionals.

Joe Greaves, ’82, founder and president of Comfort and Love Senior Care Homes, is constructing a residential assisted living home in Wichita, Kansas.

James Simpson, ’85, retired as police chief of the Liberty Police Department after 37 years of service.

Brad Bodenhausen, ’90, was promoted to vice president for community and global partnerships at Missouri State University.

Wendy Loges, ’90, ’09, has joined agriculturelending BTC Bank, based in Bethany, Missouri, as business development and public relations officer.

Gary Liguori, ’93, was named inaugural editorin-chief of Exercise, Sport and Movement, a research journal started by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Ed Wirthwein, ’93, ’02, was recognized by the American Legion Missouri Boys State for a decade of service.

Mark Dunning, ’94, was named the new city manager for Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Charles Ware, ’98, ’09, is the new director of academic services at California Northstate University’s College of Medicine.

Andy Munsterman, ’99, interim police chief of the Warrensburg Police Department, graduated from the FBI National Academy’s 282th session in Quantico, Virginia.

Darrin Franklin, ’00, has retired after nearly 20 years as a special agent with the U.S. Bureau of Diplomatic Security and now serves as a senior instructor at the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center.

Wayne Nagy, ’01, was promoted to assistant director of academic advising for the University of Missouri–Kansas City.

Daniel Holt, ’03, has been promoted to CFO/COO and vice president of finance and operations at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri.

Curt Ivey, ’04, is the new principal of Jarrett Middle School in Springfield, Missouri.

Stephanie Wise, ’05, was hired as chief nursing executive at HCA Healthcare Tristar in Nashville, Tennessee.

André Green, ’06, has been named assistant dean of students and director of the Efferson Student Union, Activities and New Student Orientation at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.

Adam Dustman, ’07, was promoted to chief of police at the Independence Police Department in Independence, Missouri.

Greggory Favre, ’08, executive director of the St. Louis Regional Response System, received the “St. Louis Titan Award” for being one of the 100 most impactful chief executives in the city.

Angela Danley, ’09, has been named director of Clinical and Field-Based Experiences at Avila University in Kansas City.

Melissa Hunter, ’09, is the new principal of Hawthorn Hill Elementary in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Emerson Taylor, ’09, has joined the staff at Musser Public Library and the HNI Community Center in Muscatine, Illinois.

Corey Schoeneberg, ’10, was promoted to the rank of major and designated bureau commander of the Administrative Services Bureau in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Michael Farris, ’11, was named senior vice president of operations and chief operating officer at the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis.

Leslie Mott, ’11, is the new principal of Pleasant Lea Elementary School in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

Brett Ginn, ’12, ’13, a member of the UCM Alumni Foundation Board of Directors, was honored with the Five Star Wealth Manager Under 40 Award.

Daniel “D.J.” Fox, ’12, ’14, was hired as director of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union and Textbook Rental Services at Eastern Illinois University.

Amanda Jaeger, ’13, has accepted the position of senior manager of digital strategy and brand engagement at Walmart’s corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Dondi Ramirez, ’13, ’16, was recognized as State Fair Community College’s 2022 Adjunct of the Year.

Alana McMullin, ’15, was recognized by Missouri Lawyers Media in its “Up & Coming” award series with a Pro Bono Project award.

Emily Vallandingham, ’16, is the new principal of Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Srinija Amisthapur, ’17, was a finalist for the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania’s 2022 Women in Tech Next Generation Award.

Baby Corner

Jane, ’79, and Jim Funke welcomed their grandson, Bennett Funke Severson, in May 2022. Bennett is the son of Erik and Jessica Severson and the great-grandson of Paul and Mary Belle Rowland, both ’52 UCM alumni.

Courtney, ’17, ’20, and Patrick Swoboda, ’14, ’20, welcomed Bo Andrew Swoboda in June 2022.

Emma Gibbons, ’19, has been hired as a career advisor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Nicholas Jain, ’19, has been elected to serve on the board of directors of Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland.

Joe Jennings, ’19, was honored with the Justin W. Stephan Public Safety Award by the American Legion Missouri Boys State.

Marcus Olson, ’21, earned the 2022 National Athletic Trainers’ Association Research and Education Foundation Original Research Award.

Brandi, ’13, and Cody Banner welcomed Halston Markelle Banner in July 2022.

Jeff, ’13, and Jordan, ’13, Mason welcomed Wyatt Dean Mason in July 2022.

Are you the proud parent or grandparent of a new baby? Get a free UCM bib and a chance to be featured in UCM Magazine when you share your big news at ucmfoundation.org/new-baby and email a photo to alumni@ucmo.edu.

Couple Uses Insurance Expertise to Create Lasting Gift for Alma Mater

Rand, ’85, and Kelly, ’86, Harbert have given back to their alma mater in many ways since graduation. They have established a marketing professor fellowship, made numerous donations to the Central Annual Fund serving the university’s greatest current needs and, most recently, provided significant support to the UCM Golf program.

Due to Rand’s experience in insurance and Kelly’s background in estate planning, the couple made the decision to give a planned gift to UCM via life insurance. They liked the idea of life insurance because, for a small certain sum, they could give an exponentially larger gift at the end of their lives.

“Early on, we made the decision that we wanted to give annually and also make a planned longterm gift,” Rand says. “We felt life insurance provided the means to accomplish the planned giving portion.”

The planned gift Kelly and Rand provided the university was funded by a second-to-die life insurance policy. An advantage of second-to-die is that more coverage can be acquired for less premium than on a policy covering a single life. Upon the death of the second spouse, the university will receive the taxfree proceeds of the policy. By gifting in this fashion, the donor receives a charitable contribution deduction for premiums paid, and the proceeds of the life policy are excluded from the donor’s estate.

“For those who desire to give a planned gift to the university but have no specific assets to allocate to such a gift, insurance can provide an answer,” Kelly explains.

Rand Harbert and Kelly Stoll met at Central Missouri State University. They were both firstgeneration students from small Missouri towns. Rand came to CMSU on a golf scholarship and majored in Graphic Arts. Kelly was awarded a full-ride academic scholarship and majored in Accounting. Rand was selected to receive the George S. Charno Award, which is given annually to the most outstanding male and female graduates. Kelly, who was a cheerleader for basketball and football, cheering with Rand during his senior year, was her class valedictorian. Both feel very fortunate to have graduated debt-free.

Following graduation, Kelly worked at KPMG accounting firm and served as a Certified Public Accountant in both audit and tax. In 1995, she started Spectrum Partners, which operates assisted living facilities, and currently serves as the company’s president.

Rand worked in pharmaceutical sales and brand management prior to joining State Farm in 1992. He has risen through the ranks of State Farm to become Chief Agency, Sales and Marketing Officer — and was named one of the 50 most innovative CMOs in the world by Business Insider in 2016 and 2017. He was

instrumental in establishing the State Farm Marketing and Sales Competition, an annual event that UCM has hosted for more than a decade in which students from across the nation develop and present their marketing innovations for cash prizes. Rand also helped secure corporate funding for the State Farm Marketing and Sales Lab, a block of five rooms on the third floor of UCM’s Ward Edwards Building, where the competition is held.

In addition to all of these contributions, both Rand and Kelly have given back to the university through service on the UCM Alumni Foundation

Board of Directors. Their family legacy continues with their middle son, Ross, earning his bachelor’s degree from UCM in spring 2020. The couple is passionate about giving back to their alma mater and agree they wouldn’t trade their time at the university for anything.

“I never dreamed that my education would serve me so well,” says Rand, who earned the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018 and has been honored by the university as a Distinguished Marketing Executive. “To say I loved my four years at Central would be an understatement; giving back is natural considering all that UCM has done for me.”

Rand and Kelly Harbert have established a marketing professor fellowship at UCM and a planned gift in the form of a second-to-die life insurance policy.

In Memoriam

The UCM Alumni Foundation holds dear the memory of emeriti, alumni, faculty and friends who have passed away. Every person listed here was an integral part of the university family and will be missed.

Patricia Ashman

Patricia “Pat” Ann (Shaw) Ashman, age 87, was born May 26, 1935, in St. Louis. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Webster University and her master’s and Ph.D. from St. Louis University. From 1968 to 1998, she was a member of the History faculty at the University of Central Missouri.

Ashman came to the university as an assistant professor in 1968, established the Women’s Studies program in 1985, was program coordinator for seven years and spent two years as interim director from 1995 to 1997. She established a student organization called Women’s Scholars at Central and served for seven years as its faculty advisor. After her retirement in 1998, Ashman remained active with Women’s Studies and served in leadership positions within the university’s Emeriti Association. Memorial donations can be made by visiting ucmfoundation. org/give/in-memory and selecting the Pat Ashman Women’s Studies Scholarship Endowment from the dropdown menu.

Bennie Edmondson

Bennie “Ben” Wayland Edmondson, age 88, was born May 5, 1934, in Cassville, Missouri. After graduating from high school in 1952 he enrolled at the University of Missouri to study Agriculture, but the United States Air Force had other plans. He was stationed in the finance office at the newly formed Air Force Academy in Denver.

In 1955, he married Lela May Eubanks on Good Friday while he was on a weekend pass from the Air Force. After living 20 years in Colorado, the couple moved back to Missouri to raise their family. Edmondson finished his degree in accounting at Missouri State University and in 1974 began working in accounting services at the University of Central Missouri. He retired as UCM’s director of accounting services after 25 years.

John M. Fay

John Marvin Fay, age 77, was born January 30, 1945, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated from Bryan Adams High School in Dallas and enrolled at both Missouri Valley College and the University of Central

Missouri, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Public Relations in 1970.

Throughout his career, Fay held executive leadership positions in institutional advancement for notable not-for-profit organizations including the Cleveland Clinic, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and Inova, a multi-hospital health system in northern Virginia. In addition, he served on various professional boards, mentored young professionals and volunteered his time to strengthen the advancement profession as a member of the UCM Alumni Foundation Board of Directors. He retired with his wife, Carole “Carle” Fay, in Naples, Florida.

Donn G. Forbes

Donn Gregory Forbes, age 92, was born May 15, 1929. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1952 from the University of Central Missouri. After serving in the United States Coast Guard, he completed a career spanning 30 years with International Paper Company.

Forbes is well known for his generous support of the Harmon College of Business and Professional Studies. He made a gift to renovate an area on the first floor of the Ward Edwards Building, installing state-of-the-art technology for students to manage an investment fund established by the UCM Alumni Foundation. The Donn G. Forbes Center for Financial Services was dedicated in his honor in 2015.

Thomas Gladsky

Thomas “Tom” Stephen Gladsky, age 82, was born August 26, 1939, in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. He was the first in his family to attend college, graduating from Bloomsburg State Teachers College in 1962 with bachelor’s degrees in History and English education. He earned his master’s in English from the University of Arizona at Tucson and his Ph.D. in American Literature from the University of North Carolina–Greensboro.

Gladsky joined the Department of English at the University of Central Missouri in 1978 and retired in 1995 as interim dean of Graduate Studies. He received the William Byler Distinguished Faculty Award, the highest honor for UCM faculty members, in 1993.

The grandson of Polish immigrants, Gladsky developed a deep interest in his roots and in 1980 won a Fulbright fellowship to teach at Maria Curie–Sklodowska University in Lublin, Poland. His wife, Rita, was a 1991 UCM graduate who taught in the English department. Rita preceded her husband in death on February 21, 2022.

Richard N. Holden

Richard Holden, age 76, was born February 13, 1946, in Irving, Texas. He joined the United States Navy during the Vietnam War and attained the rank of aviation electronics technician, petty officer second class, before being honorably discharged in 1968.

Holden earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Abilene Christian University and his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University in 1980. That same year he came to the University of Central Missouri as an assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and became chair the following year. He retired after serving as chair for 24 years.

Holden also served as director of the National Police Institute, providing training for law enforcement officers across the nation, and as director of the Police Radar Certification Laboratory. He provided Homeland Security training for police officers in several states and anti-terrorism training at places such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

William J. Ketcherside

William “Bill” Joseph Ketcherside, age 90, was born September 15, 1931, in Desloge, Missouri. He graduated from Flat River Junior College in 1951, then joined the United States Navy during the Korean War.

Ketcherside attended the Aviation Electronics Technician School in Millington, Tennessee, and then taught electronics there for a year before joining Transport Squadron 7 at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.

After returning from naval service, he attended Missouri State College, graduating in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in Education. He taught high

school social studies, then earned his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Missouri–Columbia in 1963.

After teaching psychology at the University of Arizona and at the University of Missouri–Rolla, he joined the faculty of the University of Central Missouri in 1967 as the first chair of the newly formed Department of Psychology. He held that position for eight years before devoting his full time as a professor until his retirement in 1992.

Jesse George Lee

Jesse George Lee, age 66, was born September 25, 1955, in Fort Worth, Texas. He served in the United States Air Force for 12 years with tours in Germany and Vietnam before being honorably discharged as a staff sergeant. His training as an electrician led to his careers at Whiteman Air Force Base and later at the University of Central Missouri, where he retired after 16 years of service in 2022. While working for the university, Lee assisted in events such as the Trading Moon Pow Wow, an intertribal presentation conducted on several occasions at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center in an effort to honor and share Native American culture.

LeRoy McDermott

LeRoy Dean McDermott, age 78, was born June 7, 1943, in Welch, Oklahoma. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater and his master’s and Ph.D. at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.

McDermott joined the faculty of the University of Central Missouri in 1987 as the first person ever hired by the university specifically to teach Art History. His work included sharing a groundbreaking theory in which he proposed that prehistoric figurines, often referred to as Venus figures, were likely created by women.

McDermott opened doors for his students to learn more about art on an international level by establishing the annual London-Paris Museum Study Tour, in which he led 11 groups to museums and monuments in Paris and London between 1993 and 2003. He retired after 24 years in the Department of Art and Design.

Memorial donations can be made to the Department of Art and Design at ucmfoundation.org/give/in-memory.

University of Central Missouri Magazine

Edwin J. Quistorff

Edwin “Ed” James Quistorff, age 84, was born May 12, 1937, in Ashland, Wisconsin. He attended Northland College in Ashland, then transferred to DePaul University in Chicago where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree. He then finished a Master of Music degree at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Quistorff taught vocal music at the high school and junior college in Ironwood, Michigan, before returning to Evanston to complete a Doctor of Music. He moved to Warrensburg in 1971 with his wife, Lynda, a 1982 UCM alumna, and their twin sons to teach voice and opera theater in the Music department at the University of Central Missouri. Until his retirement in 2000, he taught voice, produced and directed an annual opera or musical comedy, and performed a solo recital yearly. His support for UCM voice students continues through the Quistorff Aria Prize.

Nancy Walters

Nancy Ellen (Rockhill) Walters, age 95, was born April 23, 1927. She graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and earned her Ph.D. from Indiana University.

Walters joined the faculty at the University of Central Missouri in 1967 as assistant to the graduate dean and associate professor of Special Education and Guidance Counseling. She was chair of the Graduate Recruitment Committee, Academic Calendar Committee and University Absence Committee. She retired after nearly 30 years of teaching Psychology and Counseling at UCM.

During her tenure, she also worked part time as a psychologist at Whiteman Air Force Base, at West Central Missouri Mental Health and at Behavioral Health Services in Yuma, Arizona. She completed Citizen Police Academy in Mesa, was a volunteer in Police Service and taught classes for Arizona Living Well Institute. She was on the Development Board of Directors for Mesa Community College and was named Hero of Education in 2014.

Ann Webb

Ann Elizabeth (Milholland) Webb, age 90, was born August 28, 1931 in Kansas City. She worked for the Kansas City Chiefs front office from 1960 to 1970. She served on many political boards and was a legislative aide to a state senator.

Webb was associated with four universities, including the University of Central Missouri, where she served a six-year term, from 1987 to 1993, on the UCM Board of Governors (then Regents).

After exploring her Irish heritage on a trip to Ireland, she established an art production business in Galway and for five years lived part time in the Galway area. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Political Science from Park College, where she helped create a graduate school program.

Joyce “Ernestine” Westerhold

Ernestine Westerhold, age 92, was born September 7, 1929, in Bates City, Missouri. She married William “Dale” Westerhold in 1950 and earned a degree in Elementary Education from the University of Central Missouri in 1952.

The couple lived in Odessa for a time prior to moving to a farm near Centerview in 1957. Westerhold taught initially at Starr School, a one-room schoolhouse, and also taught at Sugar Creek, Holden and Centerview schools. She came to work for her alma mater in 1985 after earning a graduate degree in Elementary School Administration from UCM in 1979. She retired in 2017 after serving as Library Assistant V.

James Wilson

James “Jim” Robert Wilson, age 79, was born May 22, 1942, in Carrollton, Missouri. He enrolled at the University of Missouri–Columbia in 1960 as a Dramatic Arts major before switching to Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. He won a VRA Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology, and in 1965 he was employed by Children’s Mercy Hospital, where he worked with neurologically impaired preschool children until 1970.

After earning his Ph.D. from the University of Denver in 1973, he accepted an assistant professorship at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. In 1975 he married Judith Hinz, formerly of Kansas City, and the following year began his career at UCM as an assistant professor of Speech and Pathology. He initiated the Early Childhood Communication program and served as clinical director, supervised the Speech-Language Diagnostic Team and served as faculty advisor to the Sigma Nu and Nu Society fraternities. He retired after 34 years as a professor of Communication Disorders.

1940–1949

Anna “Marie” Furkin, ’43 Ruth Irene Wells, ’43 Raymond B. “Ray” Doerhoff, ’47

1950–1959

Imer “Dean” Lewis, ’50 William H. “Bill” Marchbanks, ’50 Donald E. “Don” McCandless, ’50 Wanda Jean (Buel) Alexander, ’51 Goldie “Louise” (Lacey) Law, ’51, ’56, ’68 Norman E. Williams, ’51 William Hudson “Bill” Labus, ’52 Irene R. (Boyle) McCorkindale, ’52 Eugene E. “Gene” Welch, ’52 Janet L. (Clark) Culp, ’53 Earl L. Frudeger, ’53

Kitty Lynn Milum, ’53

Robert B. “Bob” Scott, ’54

Margaret L. “Peg” (Avril) Cundiff, ’55 Elsa Jean (Wildermuth) Kominitsky, ’55 Jack Clifford Mahaffie, ’55

Mary “Marie” Wood, ’55, ’62

Carol Sue Bevier, ’56

Richard Ellis “Dick” Andrews, ’57 Donald L. Ploeger, ’57

Robert Joseph “Bob” Cahill, ’58 Naida Margaret (Frasure) Fenwick, ’58

William O. “Will” Hodge, ’58 Bob G. Parrack, ’58, ’59

Elaine (Christiansen) Gunnels, ’59 Betty Lou (Baldwin) Kramer, ’59

1960–1969

John Neal Brooks, ’60

Judy Ann (Hachler) Durbin, ’60

Nancy L. (Grisham) Hodge, ’60

Beverly June (Houx) Lewis, ’60, ’70

Evert Wayne Oerding, ’60

John Wesley White, ’60

Mary Ruth Center, ’61

Jim E. Danielson, ’61

Robert L. Ferro, ’61

Barbara Jean “Barb” (Marcks) Slater, ’61

R William “Bill” Stacy Jr., ’61

Norman Dale “Bud” DeVore, ’62

Thomas B. “Tom” Seavey Jr., ’62

Richard Alan “Rick” Winegar, ’62

Alice Ann Belscamper, ’63

Firmin David Boul, ’63

Shirley May Harris, ’63

Edward Charles “Ed” Lamb, ’63

Kenneth David “Junior” Sandy Jr., ’63

Nancy Lorene (Sheaffer) Venturato, ’63

Amelia “Sue” (Littlefield) Cain, ’64

Raymond Lee Caldwell, ’64

Melvin Leroy Howell, ’64

Elbert “Neill” Cox, ’65

Charles Ranzo Jameson Jr., ’65, ’69

Daniel R. Napierala, ’65

Lynn Tatlow, ’65, ’67

Larry Lee Cornine, ’66

James Edward Davolt, ’66

Sandra Kay (McFerrin) Feeler, ’66, ’74

Marianne (Lonchena) Hunter, ’66, ’83

Robert A. “Bob” McCombs, ’66

Samuel Alva “Sam” Milholland, ’66

Eloise “Kay” (Powell) Wright, ’66, ’77, ’87

Ruth Esther (Gililand) York, ’66

Gary Austin Baldwin, ’67

Jack L. Dunn, ’67

Dwight Earl Grantham, ’67

Jerry Millard Hart, ’67

Pamela Morrow “Pam” (Sullenger) McNeel, ’67

Dorothy Rae (Haferman) Northrup, ’67

Michael Rae “Mike” Rankin, ’67

Eva Lee (Kuhlman) Waits, ’67

Juanita Anne (Holler) Wolken, ’67

Melinda “Sue” (Turk) Friedly, ’68

Paul A. Rassulo, ’68

Claude “Marion” Reed, ’68

Brian James Hammond, ’69

Victor A. Kauzlarich, ’69

Stephen Joseph Lynch, ’69

Diane (Dilworth) Rouse, ’69

Sandra L. “Sandy” (Swindell) Wheeler, ’69

James Patrick White, ’69

1970–1979

James Lee “Jim” Brummitt, ’70

Rick Joe “Ricky” Clark, ’70

Carol L. (Bell) Keisker, ’70

George A. Lombardi, ’70, ’74

Elizabeth Ann “Liz” (Bell) Matthews, ’70

Diana Lee Balthasar, ’71

Daniel Raymond Connor, ’71

John Edward Franklin, ’71, ’83

Robert B. “Bob” Maines, ’71

Dale W. Prout, ’71

William Joseph “Bill” Sass, ’71

James Robert “Jim” Shepherd, ’71

Lynn Michael Williams, ’71, ’73

Doyle Gereth Ekey, ’72

William Ray Glasgow, ’72

Daniel O. “Dan” Graham, ’72

Alfonso J. “Al” Teranella, ’72

Mary D. (White) Tischer, ’72

Mauritza (Frisbie) Adams, ’73

Paul Bernnard Boecker, ’73

James Allen “Jim” Diffenderfer, ’73

Kathryn Janel “Kathy” (Ramsey) Lamkin, ’73

Patrick H. McMurry, ’73

John William Rogers Jr., ’73

Gary Clay Small, ’73

Edith Marie (Wehmeyer) Wolters, ’73

Jack Crowson Cardwell, ’74

Susan Kay (Fluharty) Fluharty, ’74, ’78

Patricia R. (Christner) King, ’74

Charles “Cliff” Lear, ’74

James Robert Orth, ’74

Bradley Wayne “Brad” Riley, ’74

Kenneth R. “Ken” Schumacher, ’74

Terry Lee Siegel, ’74

William J. “Bill” Taylor, ’74

Betty Virginia (Comstock) Todd, ’74

Larry J. “Jim” Valentik, ’74

James Wade Withrow, ’74

Felix Joseph Witkowicz, ’74

Lawrence Clinton Wonderly Jr., ’74

Scott Laverne Berning, ’75, ’77

Ronald J. “RJ” Blakley, ’75

Mary Ann (Honley) Brown, ’75, ’83

Gregory David “Greg” Dodd, ’75

Robert Earl “Rob” Newton, ’75

Kathryn J. Schnakenberg, ’75

Hazel Darlene (Davis) Thomsen, ’75

Leonard Marion Young Jr., ’75, ’77

Clinton Ray Waters, ’75, ’81, ’82

Eugene R. Banahan, ’76, ’81, ’82

John Jeffrey Cox, ’76

Donald Eugene “Don” Eckhoff, ’76

Lela May (Eubanks) Edmondson, ’76

Martha Lynn (Jacobs) Griggs, ’76

David L. Harness, ’76

Bradley K. “Brad” Slusher, ’76

Martha Rae (Dick) Duffer, ’77

Edward Gaines “Buddy” Hannaford, ’77

Barry L. Hannah, ’77, ’85

Michael Ellis Hill Sr., ’77

Frederick “Fred” Suroff, ’77, ’83

Rebecca Kim (Marolf) Urwiller, ’78

Godlove Marie Velghe, ’78

Lana G. Willliams, ’78, ’96

Jeffrey Wayne “Jeff” Bruce, ’79

Ronald Eugene “Ron” Haas, ’79

Constance Jean (Rockhill) Kauzlarich, ’79

Lois J. (Ward) Turnage, ’79

1980–1989

Brian Kevin Bratton, ’80

Judy Kaye (Simmons) Carpenter, ’80

Annette Lynn (Grimsley)

Dailey, ’80, ’89

Gloria Lou (Rodick) Kniffen, ’80, ’82

Martin L. Kniffen, ’81

Debra Jean “Debbie” (Niehaus) McKinney, ’81

Von Edward Amos, ’82, ’87

Jeffrey Wayne Conrow, ’82

Timothy A. “Tim” Flanagin, ’82, ’84

Velvia Jean (Lee) Fortenberry, ’82

David Kent Gregory, ’82

Wanda (Winfrey) Meagher, ’82

Michael Dean Elliott, ’83

Donald Lee “Don” Marsh, ’83

Octavian Arthur “Art” Valdez, ’83

John “Scott” Sutherland, ’84, ’93

John Tennyson Burden, ’85, ’04

Nora Lorenda (Hulse) Carlson, ’85, ’86

Kimberly K. “Kim” Dixson, ’85

Mark Paul Koca, ’85

Pamela M. (Otake) Montgomery, ’85

Terry Martin Muns, ’85

Theresa Marie (Rooney) Riggs, ’86

Deborah Dean “Debby” (Robertson) Abney, ’87, ’89

Dana Sue (Rowland) Goings, ’88

1990–1999

Rita K. Gladsky, ’91

Shawn Marie (Bachman) Wiles, ’91, ’94

Margee Ann (Dryer) Iles, ’92

Priscilla Vera “Pat” (Markham) Carrick, ’93

Lora Jean (Ehlers) Harms, ’93

Rosemarie “Marie” (Rodman) Frye, ’94

Arthur Jerome “Art” Miller, ’94

Kent E. “Ken” Blackman Jr., ’95

Marzetta Ann Surber Jones, ’96

Staci (Olvera) Schorgl, ’96

Jeffery Alan Hartle, ’97

Richard Patrick “Pat” Neal, ’99

William Joseph “Bill” Ruby III, ’99

2000–2009

Sharon Lynn Miller, ’00

Melissa Sue (Stallbaumer)

Browning, ’02, ’04

Keith William Albert, ’03, ’10

Jana Leigh (Miller)

Fleckenstine, ’04, ’07, ’09

Amy Jo Muehler, ’07

2010–2019

Richard Harris “RC” Combs Jr., ’15

Kaci Lyn Tade, ’15

Emily Katherine Beckmann, ’16

Joseph Matthew “Joe” Messina, ’18

2020–2022

Kranthi Kiran Reddy Sareddy, ’22

Former Students

Leslie Ann (William) Arbuckle

Kenton W. “Kent” Arwood

Denny Wayne Barnhart

Roy L. Beck

Barbara Jean (Bradley) Bohon

Martha (Grantham) Broker

Donna Mae (Long) Brooks

Richard Raymond Carr

Charles R. Champlin

Ronald Earl “Ron” Christie

Bernard K. “Bernie” Clark

Adoris “June” (Nichols) Cline

Daniel Colby “Danny” Cowherd

Wallace Arlen Crotchett

Beverly Joyce (Davis) Cummins

Nancy Lorraine (Toepfer) Dowler

Michael Reed Duffy

Elaine Johanna (Hilton) Fischer

Rosemarie “Marie” (Rodman) Frye

Doreen (Dick) Geier

Mary Kathleen “Kathy” (Wilson) Gilliland

Brenda Ann (DeWitt) Giordano

William Ray “Bill” Goettling

Christopher Michael Grafton

Lowell D. Hake

Carl Dean Harber

Norma Jean (White) Harmon

Mary Jean (Kessinger) Higgins Paul Howard

Homer Carroll Jarman

David Robert Johnson

Karen Lee Johnson

Donald “Don” Keough

Gene Allen Knox

Esther Clara (Kipp) Knuth

Dorothy Louise “Dotty” (Irwin) Krohn

Mildred Jean (Pfeiffer) Lamm

Waneta Mae (Bryant) Lane

Austin Christopher Leuckel

Cathleen Jane (Matthews) Lowe

Wilma “Maye” (Eastwood) Marsden

Everett H. Morgan III

Terry W. Myers

Doris (Mabry) New Gear Norris

Catherine Louise “Katy” (Elmer) Nuelle

Robert Daniel “Danny” Palmer

Chad Robert Plank

Kenneth Eugene “Kenny” Plumlee

Daniel L. “Dan” Reed

Amy D. Remial-Litzenberger

Richard “Rick” Robson

James W. “Jim” Rolf

David Allan Schaben

Timothy Eugene “Tim” Scott

Samuel Glenn “Sam” Sivils

Dorothy Jean Spence

Vincent Eugene Sullivan

Janie (Young) Tesch

Mabel Mary (Schneider) Thompson Walter Jewel Thompson

Ruth LeClair (Holmberg) Williams Alan Worthey

Faculty/Staff

Francis Gordon Berry

Anthony Jay Brown

Gary Edwin Clark

Jack L. Dunn, ’67

Dennis Ehlert

Michael Jerome Gillgannon

Robert G. Hansen

Rozetta Arlene (Hammond) Keim

Mary Evelyn (Elliott) Mahan

Elizabeth Ann “Liz” (Bell) Matthews

George Peter Mergener

Edward Thomas Miller

Norman Jacob Smith

Kimberly Gail “Kim” (Winter) Winter-McGhee

Friends

Deanna Fay (Shannon) Boosinger

Hartley Charles Huff

Mary Alice (McKean) Marchetti

Mary “Jane” (Arnett) McLaughlin

Charlotte Phillips

Diane Archer (Sherrard) Reams Wilbur Lee Shelton

Jane Marion (Grant) Stevener

Stephanie Lynn (Davis) Williams

College High Alumni

Leslie Ann (William) Arbuckle

Kenton W. “Kent” Arwood

Michael Dean Elliott

Susan Kay (Fluharty) Fluharty

Homer Carroll Jarman

Samuel Glenn “Sam” Sivils

PARTING

Luck for Life

By An Quigley, ’94

This photo of UCM Mule Rider Holly Hagood was taken April 27, 2022, at the second annual Founders Day picnic. Students, faculty and staff converged on the quad to celebrate the University of Central Missouri’s founding as State Normal School No. 2 on that date in 1871.

On this year’s Founders Day, picnic-goers were given a special “muleshoe” to symbolize how each and every one of them makes their mark on campus. The gift was attached to a wish: Luck for Life for all Mules and Jennies!

Want to show off your photos?

Submit your UCM-related photography to ucmmagazine@ucmo.edu for consideration in a future publication.

Help a Student Take the Next Step

Do you know someone who is thinking about earning a higher education degree? You can help recruit the next generation of Mules and Jennies!

Request a free set of customized volunteer business cards and a UCM business card case that will help you spread the word about the University of Central Missouri. Whenever you meet a prospective student — be it a family member, babysitter, barista, neighbor, grocery store clerk or friend looking to advance or change their career — invite them to apply and contact you for guidance on their path to a bright future!

Get your personalized cards today at ucmfoundation.org/recruit

Michael Harding, ’73, and student Rebecca Tumusifu

H A T K U Y !

Actions speak louder than words. That’s why our students took an active approach to demonstrating how much your actions mean to them.

It’s hard to express with words how much we appreciate your generosity, but we can show you the difference you’ve made through the success stories of our students. We can show you the innovations and improvements you’ve made possible so that our faculty, coaches and staff can give students the best possible educational experience at the University of Central Missouri.

Thank you for caring enough to be part of our students’ lives! Hear from them directly in videos at ucmfoundation.org/magazine