TODAY — Winter 2011

W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 , VO L . 1 0 N O. 3

university of central missouri

MULE

BEST IN THE

NATION

A Guaranteed Investment: UCM Tired of getting a 1% return on your investments? Would you like 5% or better guaranteed? Think about a guaranteed income for you and your spouse at a rate that beats a CD and gives you the opportunity to help more students become University of Central Missouri graduates.

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How it works: Donate a minimum of $25,000 to the UCM Foundation for a charitable gift annuity. Based on the ages of you and your spouse, a return rate is locked in for the remainder of both your lives. You draw a guaranteed quarterly payment. You may predetermine the area the remainder of your annuity supports, such as an academic program or scholarship, upon your death.

Depending on your tax bracket, about 50% of your donation is tax deductible and in some cases, even the first two or three years of your quarterly payments are tax free but consult your tax adviser to be sure.

Charitable Gift Annuity Are you interested in enjoying these benefits?

Are you at or near retirement age?

Learn more at ucmo.edu/plannedgiving or call for an individual consultation.

is now offering charitable gift annuities, and for people, 61 years and older, the guaranteed rate of return starts at 5%.

Contact: Dale Carder Interim Executive Director of the UCM Foundation

email: carder@ucmo.edu phone: 660-543-8000 toll-free: 866-752-7257

11 MULE BEST IN THE NATION

It’s considered the biggest award a college athlete can receive: in Division I, it’s the Heisman; in Division II, it’s the Harlon Hill.

Mule quarterback Eric Czerniewski earned that award this year after he broke school and conference records, right and left. He may have a chance to go pro because of his impressive numbers, but for now, he’s satisfied being a newlywed and assistant manager of a Sherwin-Williams store.

5

FEATURES

5 HOW SMART ARE YOU?

Centralized Center Provides Student Academic Expertise

8 The Attraction of chemistry

8

It’s in the Blood of UCM Professor

16 Parents’ pride tells a story

UCM Foundation 2010 Annual Report

22 a double dose of reality

Ervins Return on Amazing Race

SECTIONS

2 Campus Currents

16

4 CENTRAL YESTERDAY 20 Philanthropy 24 Class Notes 27 Awards & Honors 28 In Memoriam

22 WINTER 2011, VOL. 10 NO. 3

Published by the Office of Alumni Relations and Development. © 2011 by University of Central Missouri. All rights reserved. Contact the editor at today@ucmo.edu or 660-543-4545. Send your address updates to alumni@ucmo.edu or telephone, 660-543-8000 or toll-free, 1-866-752-7257.

Editor

Dalene Abner ’09 Design

Julie Babcock Design Intern: Annakje Vanlandingham ’12 Photographer

Bryan Tebbenkamp ’03 Class Notes

Today (USPS 019-888) is published quarterly by the University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093. Printed in USA. Periodicals postage paid at Warrensburg, MO, and additional offices.

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

Jody Ritter

University of Central Missouri | today

1

campus currents

New Athletic Training Facility Dedicated to Doc VanDam If you competed in sports at the University of Central Missouri between 1969 and 2000, you knew Ron “Doc” VanDam. He probably kept you healthy and helped you gain a competitive advantage.

For more than 30 years, VanDam served as UCM’s head athletic trainer in all sports. He was an integral part in 78 MIAA conference championships, 41 conference tournament championships, 26 NCAA regional championships and three national championships. He’s been inducted into several halls of fame, including the Missouri Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 1988, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and the District 5 Mid-America Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame in 1997.

As much as VanDam impacted the university’s competitive successes, he also influenced its academic programs. His ideas started the nationally accredited undergraduate and graduate athletic training programs at UCM today.

The university honored VanDam Jan. 22 by dedicating the Dr. Ron VanDam Athletic Training Facility in the just-opened, newly renovated Morrow-Garrison complex and by recognizing him during halftime of the Mules basketball game. The dual celebrations made VanDam’s 74th birthday a memorable one.

“It’s appropriate that we dedicate this new facility as a new foundation for a great program

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“Doc” VanDam visits with athletic training faculty me mb er s Bri an h u gh e s , center , an d mi k e c a rter .

that has brought together many aspects of the community,” said UCM President Charles Ambrose. “Great programs such as this leap from the shoulders of great educators and professionals like Ron VanDam, and they provide the foundation for future successes for student athletes and athletic professionals.”

Others congratulating VanDam were Walt Hicklin, president of the UCM Board of Governors and former UCM Mules football coach; Patti Dinges, former UCM athletic trainer; Robert Russell, former member of the UCM Board of Governors and longtime friend, and Jim Moore, chair of the Department of Kinesiology and a former student.

Hicklin described VanDam as both a trainer and father confessor. “Students knew they could talk to Doc if they needed to, and many times that allowed the coaching staff to head off problems before they developed.” He added that VanDam not only started the UCM athletic training program but also saved it when its accreditation was in doubt by working with the UCM administration to develop the necessary programs and faculty.

Russell added, “We’re here because Doc is a giver, not a taker. As a trainer, he treated the whole athlete. Student athletes always felt better after they went to see him, and he is proud of his graduates.”

Academic Colleges, Programs under reorganization A reorganization of Central Missouri’s academic colleges and departments will provide a stronger educational experience for students and cut operating costs, President Charles Ambrose recently announced.

He says, “This is an essential component of our new strategic resource model, which is going to give us a clear focus on meeting immediate fiscal challenges within our state and across higher education, while also providing us with tools that allow us to better serve our students in the future.”

The plan, estimated to save $612,000 for the next fiscal year, will take effect July 1. It will move the institution from a five-college system with 33 academic departments to one comprised of four colleges and 25 departments. The plan provides for combining departments, clustering some departments into schools, and reducing the number of academic department chairs by eight.

Bacon Brothers’ Promotion Earns KMOS A National Award A promotional video for PBS featuring entertainers Kevin and Michael Bacon and produced by Central Missouri’s television station, KMOS, has earned a National Educational Telecommunications Association award. Judges noted, “This piece ties together PBS, KMOS-TV and a variety of programs found on the station.

The humor positioned the station as sophisticated and down to earth.”

The Bacon Brothers performed on campus in fall 2009 as part of the Performing Art Series. The spot can be viewed on YouTube by searching Bacon Brothers PAS. Sports Psychologist Alumnus awarded Honorary Degree Author, educator and sports psychologist Jeffrey L. Brown ’94 received an honorary doctor of science during the fall 2010 commencement ceremonies. Currently a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School, Brown has served as the sports psychologist for the Boston, Chicago and Houston

marathons. In 1992 he became the first psychologist on the Boston Marathon medical team. He is the author of The Competitive Edge as well as the recently published, The Winner’s Brain, which studies how successful people use their brains. He has been cited as an expert by numerous media outlets including The New York Times, ESPN, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald and Fox News.

Poe Selected to coach U.S. team at 2011 Palmer Cup Mules head golf coach Tim Poe has been named to lead the U.S. team at the 2011 Palmer Cup June 9-11 at the Stanwich Club in Greenwich, CT. The 1987 alumnus has coached the Mules golf team for 20 years, leading it to 10 MIAA championships and 17 straight NCAA post-season appearances. In 2010, the team finished second in the nation.

The Palmer Cup, named for Arnold Palmer, is an annual competition between American and European college golfers. Poe, selected by the Golf Coaches Association of America, is the first NCAA Division II coach selected to lead the U.S. team.

Magazine Receives Awards, Reflects Ongoing Relevancy Central Missouri’s Today magazine has again demonstrated its quality and popularity. In the 2011 Council for Advancement and Support of Education District VI competition, the magazine received three awards: a gold for excellence in graphic design, editorial design, for the spread on Shatto Milk in the spring 2010 issue; a bronze for excellence in advertising, single page ad, for the homecoming ad on the back page also in the spring issue; and for its online fall 2009 and spring 2010 issues.

In a 2010 survey, readers also reiterated they prefer the magazine over any other university messaging medium with 98 percent reading some, most or all of every issue.

“These awards reflect the magazine’s ongoing quality even with a significantly reduced budget, which is now one of the 13 percent lowest in the nation,” says Dalene Abner, executive editor.

“The magazine continues to be alumni’s number one tool for keeping current with campus news and for staying in contact with classmates,” Abner adds.

Gold Medal for Muleskinner The most prestigious college student newspaper competition in the nation, sponsored by the Columbia Press Scholastic Association, has awarded a gold medal to The Muleskinner. The student newspaper received 948 out of a possible 1,000 points. Gold medalist is the highest of three categories issued by the CSPA, which is part of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Theatre Show Goes Green with recycled costuming Central Missouri’s theatre department debuted its first green production this fall, featuring recycled costumes and actors flying above the audience who sat right on the stage of the Highlander Theatre. Professor Julie Rae Mollenkamp directed the production of Aristophanes’ The Birds while Assistant Professor Ronnie Chamberlain supervised its costume designs. In all, they made 26 costumes from recycled items such as plastic and paper shopping bags, cardboard, egg containers, shredded paper, VHS tapes, board games, hoses, bike helmets, socks and old gloves.

“We re-imagined the items into birds and Greek gods,” says Chamberlain who notes this was her first attempt to build costumes from recycled goods. “We can all work to re-purpose, re-cycle and re-imagine how we use goods in our lives by sending paperwork digitally, reusing food containers, walking rather than driving.

Do we really need a new television when the old one still works?”

University of Central Missouri | today

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central yesterday

Forty Years and Four Buildings Later The opening of the new Student Success Center in the James C. Kirkpatrick Library is the latest chapter in the University of Central Missouri’s commitment to providing students the tools they need to succeed.

Flash back to 1969 when alumnus David DeFrain returned to Warrensburg, his hometown, when the university recruited him to take over the reigns of its fledgling College Skills Program.

He had just completed a doctor of education degree at Oklahoma State University and was a first-year faculty member at St. Gregory’s Junior College in Shawnee, OK. “The program had started the year before under Bill Brewington, director of the Counseling Center, to serve students who needed to improve their basic academic skills to be competitive in college,” DeFrain says. “It operated out of the Counseling Center as part of the university’s student support services operation.”

The program, now known as the Department of Academic Enrichment, started in the Lovinger Building and soon moved to the lower level of the Ward Edwards Building, then a library. It remained in that location until renovation of the Humphreys Building in the mid-1970s provided space for the program on the ground floor.

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For a period of time, programs were expanded through grant funding to include training for instructors conducting the Missouri adult education programs leading to preparation for the General Equivalency Degree examination.

The department also worked with Whiteman Air Force Base to assist airmen seeking to complete high school through the GED. Tutoring also was provided for the “high risk” general studies courses across the curriculum. Statistics were monitored on a regular basis to determine the courses in which students were struggling.

“I think our biggest success was the development of the University 1000 course, now known as AE 1400,” DeFrain says. The course introduces students to university academics and campus life in a seminar-style class. It is intended for all new students with fewer than 25 credits. The class counts as an elective credit toward graduation.

There have been only three directors in the program’s history — DeFrain, who retired in 2001; Josette Ahlering, who retired in 2008; and its present director, Patrick Streck.

“Throughout the years, we became proactive in campus-wide planning for student success as the department kept growing,” says DeFrain.

“There were many factors in many areas that affected student success, but it was always about the student. Our campus always has been about the student.”

How Smart Are YOU?

Centralized Center Provides Students Academic Expertise

College graduates have frequently competed on the television show, Are You

Smarter than a Fifth Grader, which tests their knowledge from grade school lessons.

Could you answer: What do bees collect from flowers to make honey? (continued next page)

University of Central Missouri | today

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“It’s a great experience,” says Jake LaCombe of Lee’s Summit, who has been tutoring in math, physics and computer science since fall 2008. “I feel like I got a lot out of school, and it’s great to give back.”

How Smart Are You? Centralized Center Provides Students Academic Expertise Graduating from college and proving yourself smarter than a fifth grader have some things in common beyond often-missed tough questions. It’s hard to win on the popular television show, and it’s hard to graduate from college.

At the University of Central Missouri, the odds of graduating within four years are one in four. Within eight years, chances increase to 53 percent. Improving graduation rates has been an institutional focus the past several years, and this fall, resulted in a new Student Success Center consolidating and expanding tutoring services.

College graduates have frequently competed on the television show, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader, which tests their knowledge from grade school lessons. Could you answer: 1. What do bees collect from flowers to make honey?

2. What planet in our solar system has more than 25 known moons, including more than 10 named for Shakespearean characters?

3. What is the term for the outermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere?

Contestants receive three “cheats” from a panel of fifth graders: a copy, a peek and a save. Still, most contestants flunk out and have to admit

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they are not smarter than a fifth grader.

Succeeding in college is a struggle for many students, especially in their first year. To cope with tougher academic expectations, UCM students can receive help similar to the fifth graders, but these skilled tutors are a lot smarter and older. Try some of the common questions they typically field, such as: 1. What is zero divided by 2?

2. What is the perimeter of a square?

3. What is a comma splice?

Finding these tutors became easier this past fall, thanks to the establishment of the Student Success Center on the third floor of the James C. Kirkpatrick Library. The center consolidated the university’s tutoring services, greatly increased the space and expanded academic topics. The 8,000-square-feet area would swallow the previous learning and writing centers, each about 550 square feet, in the Humphreys Building. In addition to the traditional math and English, subject areas expanded to financial and managerial accounting, animal and plant biology, anatomy and physiology, criminal justice and advanced mathematics.

The Student Success Center assimilates the former reading area on the east side of the library’s third floor. The space is enclosed in glass and reuses much of the existing furniture.

Constructing the center and finding resources to pay for additional tutors were collaborative goals of the Office of Enrollment Management and the Department of Academic Enrichment, which provided around $200,000 for the new initiative.

Patrick Streck, associate professor and Academic Enrichment chair, says that each tutor helps hundreds of other students be successful. He notes that the former learning and writing centers had between 2,500 and 3,500 student visits each semester, peaking around 3,900 in the fall. He says that with its centralized location and longer hours, the Student Success Center will attract a different demographic of working students. The numbers seem to reflect his belief.

By Thanksgiving break, nearly 2,000 individual students had visited the center some 7,500 times.

Attendance averaged 110 a day.

University survey data shows many first-year students need help “activating their college experience.” Some students simply need a boost. In addition to one-on-one help, students can now schedule tutoring sessions online and receive text and phone reminders of their tutoring appointments.

Faculty members, retired teachers such as Linda Piatt and Jane Abington, graduate students and undergraduate student tutors are on hand at the center. The Student Success Center also has five full-time faculty members, five adjuncts, three graduate students and 31 student tutors.

“Visibility is a key concept here,” says Davie Davis, Writing Center coordinator. “When tutoring was scattered across campus, just finding it was a problem. Now, students can find everything they need in the way of tutoring in one location.”

“It’s a great experience,” says Jake LaCombe of Lee’s Summit, who has been tutoring in math, physics and computer science since fall 2008. “I feel like I got a lot out of school, and it’s great to give back. It’s a good thing to help people get across that graduation stage as well and get that diploma.”

English major Rachel Brown of Odessa, MO, is in her third year tutoring in the Writing Center.

She enjoys watching the students grow in their writing and grammar skills. “It’s really exciting to see that you helped.”

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You answered our fifth grade questions correctly if you said nectar, Uranus and corona. You answered the college questions correctly if you guessed zero, the sum of all four sides, and two phrases separated by a comma that should be complete sentences.

University of Central Missouri | today

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Curiosity is in Scott McKay’s genes.

A fourth-generation chemist, he is following the path of his grandfather and great-grandfather who developed the two-coat paint system. His mother is another influence; she was a water chemist for the University 500

of Florida. • For this University of Central Missouri chemistry

It’s in the

professor, every day can mean

BLOOD

a new discovery. That sense of

of UCM

400

professor

inquiry has led to his successful career as a researcher and teacher.

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• McKay started out studying geology and hydrology. His research progressed from organic compounds that facilitate nano-technology to crystal engineering, the

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By Mike Greife ’74

study of how molecules arrange themselves to have desired properties. That led to the study

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of batteries and magnetic devices and electric materials. • As much as he likes to uncover new ideas, he also makes it a point to involve his undergraduate students to the possibilities that research offers. That commitment has led to his latest success at UCM, the receipt of a $500,000 National Science Foundation grant to renovate the chemistry laboratory in the W.C. Morris Science Building. • The funds will enlarge the lab to accommodate a growing enrollment of UCM chemistry majors. For McKay, the bottom line is providing chemistry students with the opportunity to conduct research and discover new things of their own. • “For undergraduate students, the research process is the best way to learn about the process of scientific discovery,” he says. “True discovery-based learning requires critical thinking skills, which they are going to need to develop if they want to complete significant research.”

(continued next page) 8

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For McKay, the satisfaction in teaching is watching his students tackle a research problem and follow it through.

University of Central Missouri | today

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As much as he likes to uncover new ideas, he also makes it a point to involve his undergraduate students to the possibilities that research offers.

McKay is excited about the opportunities that will be provided by the expanded lab. It means that his expectations of his students can be met even more effectively than before.

“To prepare lab scientists, you have to have the tools they need to be successful,” he says. “We’ve always provided facilities for

“When talented kids are stumped, they don’t like it. They will persevere. They will keep beating on a problem until something happens.” That, says McKay, evokes the excitement that makes the process as important as the solution to the problem.

students to complete research into viable alternative energy sources. Results include new processes for turning biomass and tires into useful alternative energy sources and exciting collaborations with the U.S. Army, Hi-Tec LLC and Universal Asset Management.

“The discovery process breeds the passion that makes a researcher see his work

To support the center’s cost, McKay and his students provide consulting services to area agriculture and alternative energy firms. They also consult with area school districts on methods of developing alternative energy sources for use in individual school buildings.

McKay’s students also developed plans to build a solar vehicle. Initial construction is underway, progressing as sponsorships are obtained to cover the cost. The students hope to compete with other schools in various events once they complete its construction.

The development of CAFES at UCM was a pragmatic decision, McKay notes.

“I had received requests from different constituencies to look at how UCM and I could serve the region with the capabilities at hand,” he says. “It was obvious that we had the resources and the talent among our students to provide assistance.”

McKay adds that the center’s focus is not purely environmentalism, although the efforts of his students will result in a cleaner environment in the long run.

our students to be successful, but now we have room for more students to work at one time.”

through to completion,” he adds. “The creativity exhibited by these students in solving problems is exciting to watch.”

As he completed his academic degrees, he began teaching while conducting his research. Teaching also provided him the opportunity to lead his students through the process of completing their own research, satisfying their curiosity the same way he does.

McKay has developed a venue for his students to experience that passion.

The Center for Alternative Fuels and Environmental Sciences, better known as CAFES at UCM, has evolved from McKay’s curiosity about alternative energy along with his desire to provide students with undergraduate research opportunities.

For McKay, the satisfaction in teaching is watching his students tackle a research problem and follow it through.

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Housed in a facility near UCM’s Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport, the center allows

“It’s really about rural economic development,” he says. “ It’s about helping businesses, school districts and farmers in our area develop the energy resources to build more efficient operations.”

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E L U M

T S E B IN THE

N O I T A N

RBACK E T R A U UCM Q WSKI

IE Y E A R ERN THE F O ERIECD PCLZ AYER VOT

(story starts next page)

University of Central Missouri | today

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“

It’s a storybook ending to a great career at Central Missouri.

When I came to UCM, all I wanted was to get my degree and play some football.

”

– ERIC CZERNIEWSKI

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It’s considered the biggest award a college athlete can receive: in Division I, it’s the Heisman; in Division II, it’s the Harlon Hill.

Mule quarterback Eric Czerniewski earned that award this fall when he broke school and conference records, right and left.

He may have a chance to go pro

and total offense (5,203) and broke the

because of his impressive numbers, but

NCAA-II record for yards passing in a

for now, he’s satisfied being a newlywed

season. He completed a record 447 of

and assistant manager of a Sherwin-

670 passes, good for 66.7 percent, and

Williams store.

averaged 371.9 yards per game with an

The Harlon Hill is the most publicized individual honor won by a UCM athlete, complete with a formal banquet and a follow-up appearance on ESPN during the national championship game. The award topped a phenomenal fall sports season, with conference titles and national achievements won also by soccer (Sweet Sixteen), volleyball (Final Four) and men’s cross country (16th in the nation).

At one point Central Missouri hosted the most post-season games of any university in the nation, bringing some 700 athletes to campus.

efficiency rating of 150.2.

“It was definitely a great year. I had a lot of fun,” Czerniewski says. “We had some great athletes. A great running back, a great wide receiver, a great tight end. We found so many ways to get the guys the ball.”

Czerniewski finished his college career with 12,847 yards passing, fourth in NCAA II history and first in the MIAA. He shattered more than 20 UCM records, including completions (1,043), attempts (1,678) and touchdowns (107). He smashed every single season passing record at UCM and the MIAA.

Czerniewski provided the final amazing

He led No. 8 UCM (11-3) to its first

moment. He led the nation in passing

playoff game, hosted on campus, and

yards (5,207), touchdown passes (46)

to the NCAA-II quarterfinals.

(continued next page) University of Central Missouri | today

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5,207

PASSING YARDS

BROKE NCAA-II RECORD FOR YARDS PASSING IN A SEASON

150.2 RATING

EFFICIENCY

Soccer Alyssa Rhodes, junior midfielder, became the first All-American for Jennies soccer as the team advanced further than any other in UCM history, reaching the Sweet Sixteen.

Football Player #1 Wide receiver Jamorris Warren also was named a first-team selection on the Associated Press Little AllAmerican Squad. He led the MIAA with 104 catches and broke UCM’s records for receptions, yards (1,403), and touchdown grabs (20).

He is the all-time leader in touchdown catches with 24.

He accumulated many other honors, including MIAA Offensive Player of the Year, Super Region 4 Offensive Player of the Year, Ron Lenz Daktronics NCAA Division II National Offensive Player of the Year, Daktronics First Team All-American, American Football Coaches Association First Team All-American and Little All-American. He also made conference and region first teams.

Of all his honors and records, perhaps the most impressive aspect is that he did it under three offensive coordinators in four years. Under his third play-caller, first-year head coach Jim Svoboda, he unleashed an NCAA-II single-season record 5,207 yards, 10 passing performances of 300-plus yards and 46 touchdown passes in only 14 games. The 6-0, 190-pounder also dealt with playing the defending national champions twice and a Division I opponent, Illinois State.

“I knew right away that Eric was special,” says Svoboda. “For the great ones, time slows down when the bullets are flying. He has great physical skills, too. But it’s his ability to process information so quickly and to stay poised that really makes him so special.

He is a guy who is always focused.”

Central Missouri history will record Czerniewski as one of its all-time greatest athletes.

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MIAA OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

SUPER

REGION 4 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

NCAA

DIVISION II NATIONAL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

In the closest vote in the award’s 25-year history, he won by six points over quarterbacks from West Liberty University in Texas and Northwest Missouri State University.

“I’m very excited and still shocked and surprised about the whole thing,” he says. “It’s such an honor because it’s been given out only 25 times.

It’s amazing to have my name on a trophy that includes the names of some of the best players ever to play the game. To be in that company is a great feeling. It means the world to me.”

Yet for all the honors, in front of all the cameras, when the media asked him where he wanted to play professional football, he told them he had just accepted a job offer from Sherwin-Williams.

That response is typical of the even-tempered, well-grounded senior from Montgomery City, MO. During the previous 10 months, in addition to leading the most successful football season at UCM and completing his business management degree, he married his high school sweetheart, Danielle. He credits his wife, who graduated from UCM last May, with helping him to manage his hectic schedule balancing sports and classes.

While the two live in Warrensburg, Danielle commuted to Kansas City every day for her job during the season.

Czerniewski was raised with a strong moral character, and if you happened to be in one of his classes, you might never

46

SHATTERED MORE THAN

20 UCM

TOUCHDOWN

PASSES IN ONLY

14

RECORDS

5,203

GAMES

TOTAL OFFENSE

have realized he even played football. He posted a 3.5 GPA and graduated in December, just a week before receiving the award. Even when working on projects with fellow classmates, he was never the type to pass off work to others, citing football as an excuse.

“There’s a reason student comes first in studentathlete,” he notes.

Family is important to Czerniewski. If you attended a UCM football game, home or away, you may have noticed a large crowd of people tailgating next to an RV in the parking lot. Those folks were his family. His wife, parents Greg and Lu Ann, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins have been there with for him for this exciting ride. His parents never missed a game in his career at UCM. “Love is a big thing for us,” he says. “I love my family, and they have supported me from the start.

They were confident in me, so I was confident in myself. When I needed help, they would be there to encourage me and pick me up. Their love helped me to get through all of college life.”

Alumni, the campus and Warrensburg community also rallied around Czerniewski, the team and new coaching staff with renewed interest and bigger crowds. Many will recall the excitement of the miracle comeback on homecoming when the Mules, after being down 31-7 in the final quarter, won in the final seconds against Nebraska-Omaha or the heartbreaking

loss in the regular season finale to Northwest Missouri in front of an MIAA attendance record of 13,096 fans.

Czerniewski admits that defeating Northwest was one last goal he wanted to accomplish. “I really wanted to beat Northwest this year, but that’s a challenge for another Mules team down the road,” he says.

He’s taking his life in stride, seeing what happens after playing in the Division II All-Star game, the Cactus Bowl in Texas. He racked up another award from that performance, Offensive MVP. Meanwhile, he and his wife are looking for a house, somewhere closer to the middle of their work commutes. Then it is goodbye to Warrensburg, and on to the next challenge life brings.

“It’s a storybook ending to a great career at Central Missouri. When I came to UCM all I wanted was to get my degree and play some football.” Now, he adds, “I just want to be remembered as a hard-nosed quarterback who got up no matter how hurt I was.

That I played as hard as I could, and I didn’t take a play off.”

Volleyball team The Jennies volleyball team had the most players in program history receive All-American honors in one season, led

by Rachel Fister a first-team selection. The Jennies reached the Final Four, the first time they advanced to the national semifinals since 1996.

Cross Country The Mules cross country team finished 16th as members faced snow, sleet and freezing temps at the NCAA-II championship meet in Louisville, KY. They won the MIAA and South Central

Writers contributing to this feature were Dalene Abner, Chris Brigham and Robert McCutcheon.

Regional championships.

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University of Central Missouri | today

15

ucm d at i o n n u fo r

201 0 ann ua l report r

“Whether it’s an estate, outright or annual gift, any size donation can be given, be worthwhile, and appreciated and used. Sometimes we limit ourselves in what we can do.”

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Parents’ Pride Tells a Story

By Dalene Abner ‘09

This story is as down home Americana as it gets. Of a couple who grew up here, married, raised their kids, succeeded professionally and enjoyed the campus for its academics, sports and entertainment. They value education and family and believe it’s better to give than to receive.

Brought here by his family in 1949, Lynn Harmon recalls being on campus as a kindergarten student all the way through high school.

His wife, Jackie, grew up on a farm north of Warrensburg and attended Farmers Elementary School before she also came to campus. They met at College High, married, lived awhile in Columbia, then returned to Warrensburg.

They had three children: Monte, Shanna and Meridith. For more than five decades, they attended Mules and Jennies games and enjoyed a wide variety of fine arts performances.

They decided this past year that the time was right to start discussions about a gift honoring their youngest daughter, Meridith Harmon Sauer. The result was the university’s first permanently endowed professorship and an endowed guest artist series for the Department of Theatre. For the Harmons, it was a smart investment and a loving gesture. For their daughter, a speech and theatre teacher, and Richard Herman, UCM’s theatre department chair, the gift was awe-inspiring.

Sauer is humbled when she thinks about her parents’ gift and the fact that her name

will permanently be associated with Central Missouri’s theatre department. When the gift was announced on the stage of Highlander Theater prior to the opening night of A Chorus Line, she preferred to focus the spotlight on the students the gift will benefit.

“My parents always stressed for me to do my best,” she says. “I feel now that they are acknowledging my efforts in education and my contributions to our community. It also spurs me on to continue working to inspire and educate my own theatre students.” (continued next page)

University of Central Missouri | today

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Sauer is humbled when she thinks about her parents’ gift and the fact that her name will permanently be associated with Central Missouri’s theatre department.

long time loyal supporters such as the Harmons.

children, give their money and then come to the plays and ballgames. It’s a central gathering place. The university provides the arts to our community and many other opportunities for the children growing up in the area.

And it’s continued that way for many, many years, and we hope that through these endowments, we’ll be a part of supporting that process.”

“Whether it’s an estate, outright or annual gift, any size donation can be given, be worthwhile, and appreciated and used,” says Jackie. “Sometimes we limit ourselves in what we can do.”

“These gifts will make a huge impact on both our academic and production programs,” says Herman. “The professorship will provide us funds to assist faculty in future academic and professional training which, in turn, will provide dividends to our students. The guest artist series will allow us to bring in nationally and regionally recognized theatre artists and educators to work hand-in-hand with our students and faculty.” Herman was later named as the first holder of the professorship.

Lynn Harmon considers their gift as part of a continuous circle, spanning decades and generations.

“Connections are what makes UCM so effective,” he says. “People keep coming back to its campus. They send their

The Harmons chose to structure their gift to have both an immediate effect and a later benefit through their estates. They note that donors of all financial means and ages can help support Central Missouri.

Limitations aren’t something the Harmons seem to consider, especially with their children. “We never demanded the highest achievements,” says Jackie, “but we always held high expectations.

The challenge to meet those expectations led to their achievements.”

In fiscal year 2010, the UCM Foundation processed nearly 15,000 gifts totaling close to $4 million. Alumni and friends contributed more than 40 percent with the remaining 60 percent provided by faculty, staff, parents, corporations and foundations. Dale Carder, interim chief development officer and executive director of the UCM Foundation, notes the fiscal year finished strong because of

That philosophy carries over to Meridith, who realized she loved studying theatre when she was a high school student.

While acting in South Pacific her senior year, she decided that she wanted to pursue it in college.

“In Warrensburg, theatre isn’t offered

Source: UCM Foundation 5-Year Financial Scorecard

Giving

Revenue Sources

*by fiscal year

2010 Fiscal Year

$3,484,879

$3,175,411

$3,930,496

$3,156,784

$3,416,283

11%

In-Kind Gifts

$381,000

21%

5%

Alumni

Bequests and Trusts

$725,474

$172,193

1%

Parents

$34,735

23%

Other Organizations

21%

Friends

$785,158

$745,339

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 *July 1 – June 30

4%

Foundations

$139,245

14%

Corporations $501,735

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something important and that, among other things, contributed to my feeling that I wanted to go into it as a career. He presented it in the highest esteem, that it’s a worthy and noble thing to add to a school and to a student’s life.”

The 1996 theatre education alumna has strong university ties on both sides of her family with her husband, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles holding a variety of UCM degrees. Many also graduated from College High School, including both her parents in 1962. Lynn retired in 1995 after more than three decades in the banking business while Jackie, who earned a master’s degree in education from UCM, substitute taught and stayed busy with family, church and volunteer activities on local and state levels. She recalls her youngest daughter dressing up and acting all her life. “She was never too inhibited,” Jackie adds.

until high school,” she explains. “Once in theatre class, I knew this was what I wanted to study. Traditional subjects in school had always come easy for me, but the performance-based assessment in theatre was a challenge that I enjoyed.”

At Warrensburg High School, Sauer exposes students to more than just the performance aspects of theatre. Taking over the program six years ago, she reintroduced a stagecraft class and developed a freshman

She was recruited to UCM by Ed See, professor emeritus of theatre. “Being a student of Dr. See was inspiring.

He regarded educational theatre as

introductory course. To provide students as many performance opportunities as possible, she added a one-act play component to a theatre arts course and started a drama club that sponsors an annual dinner theatre. In Sauer’s first year of teaching, her one-act play took second in state competition. Her first academic article was recently published in the Journal of the Speech and Theatre Association of Missouri.

In addition to honoring their daughter, the Harmons made the gift to help future students and support a quality academic program. Lynn says that he particularly likes the collaboration aspects that a guest artist series can develop between the university and area high schools.

“When we were talking about how to structure the gift, we were thinking about the international speakers who come to campus, and Dr. Herman said we can do the same things with performers,” he says.

“By bringing in students from Warrensburg and other high schools, this series can become a great recruiting tool to get them to consider UCM. That’s the kind of multiplication of benefits that we like.”

Major Gifts *by fiscal year

2010

$491,155

2009

$307,353

2008

$417,814

2007

$395,743

2006

$1,342,511

$851,356 $128,849

$436,202 $133,835

$551,649

$97,870 $493,613

$426,083

$228,170

$654,253

*July 1 – June 30

Endowments

Capital Projects

Annual Gifts *by fiscal year

2010

$164,192

2009

$186,167

$127,450 $1,495,010

2008

$187,761

$78,750 $1,482,956

2007

$161,508

$175,535

2006

$183,109

$51,250

$71,638 $1,353,344

$1,451,357 $1,449,965

$1,589,174 $1,808,627 $1,749,467 $1,788,400 $1,684,324

*July 1 – June 30

Central Annual Fund Other Unrestricted Restricted

University of Central Missouri | today

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philanthropy

Lifting Up a Chapel Situated among the many structures of the Central Missouri campus is a symbol of the commitment and dedication of 1941 alumnus Earl Webb Sr. Over the years, the campus has grown to surround the Alumni Chapel. The trees have grown to shade its entrance during the hot summer months, but the sandstone structure still serves as it was originally intended.

After World War II, Webb Sr. continued his efforts to raise funds to build the chapel. In 1956, the chapel was built. Funding from the Danforth Foundation made it possible to include the smaller Danforth Chapel at the north end of the structure.

Webb Sr. even arranged for former President Harry S Truman’s personal physician to speak at the dedication.

More than 50 years later, his son and secondgeneration graduate, Mike Webb ’67 has honored his late father’s dream by establishing the Earl A. Webb Sr. Chapel Maintenance Fund through the UCM Foundation.

Webb Sr. entered the field of education as a teacher and school administrator before founding Earl Webb Studios, a successful school photography business. He and his wife, Billie ’44, also an educator, maintained close ties to their alma mater. They returned annually for the War Years Reunions. In 2003, they received UCM’s Distinguished Service Award.

“Dad believed that all people have a spiritual need,” he says. “He always said that a college campus is where young people find themselves.

Few campuses had chapels in his day, and he felt a college campus needed a venue that welcomed all who wanted to affirm their beliefs.”

After enrolling at UCM in 1937, Webb Sr. quickly became a campus leader. He felt a fondness for the campus and recognized the need for a nondenominational chapel as a place where students or the public could celebrate the happy times and contemplate the challenges of life.

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Webb also has maintained strong connections with the campus and serves on the UCM Foundation Board of Directors. Shortly before his father died at age 97, they both noticed that time had left the chapel looking worn and that it needed a little tender loving care.

The maintenance endowment Webb funded will support renovations to the chapel as well as provide additional funding to update the entrance.

In appreciation, the UCM Board of Governors approved naming its library the Earl A. Webb Sr. Study. Already, windows have been replaced and a new piano will be provided for the facility. Webb hopes other alumni and friends will join him in funding additional upgrades to the chapel.

scholarship benefits construction management undergraduate Neil O’Rourke hopes to work for a large construction firm or own a company some day. First, the UCM junior plans to finish his bachelor’s degree. He’s thankful he was selected for the Jacob M. Cunningham Memorial Scholarship this past semester. “It helped me pay my apartment rent after my Access Missouri grant was reduced,” he says.

A graduate of Truman High School in Independence, MO., O’Rourke says he chose UCM because “the construction program is the best in the state.” He believes his academic success will show future employers his “dedication, hard work and responsibility.”

Those qualities would have been valued by Jacob Cunningham, who graduated from Training High in 1931 and four years later earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial arts and technology. Cunningham was partners with Glen Stahl ’32, who founded Stahl Specialty, a company considered a leader in the aluminum foundry industry.

The two started the scholarship to reflect their belief in education and philanthropy. Both frequently spoke in appreciation of their Central Missouri degrees.

Estate Gift Creates Faculty Professorship in Nutrition A bequest from Regina Myers McLain will fund a new professorship in the Department of Nutrition. It is the fourth professorship made possible at UCM by private gifts.

“The creation of the Regina Myers McClain Professorship is another example of the highly positive and far-reaching effects of Ms. McClain’s extraordinary gift. It truly helps to complete and fully establish our academic unit as the Department of Nutrition,” says Lance Ratcliff, chair.

McClain lived in California prior to her death in 2001. A former Lee’s Summit resident, she graduated from UCM in 1935 with an English degree. Although she devoted most of her life to teaching, she spent many years after World War II living and working in Europe, where she became an astute businesswoman.

In her declaration of trust, she noted the purpose of her bequest to UCM was to establish a Department of Nutrition and to use excess funds for a scholarship to help students who are in financial need in the nutrition field.

harpster starts medical technology Scholarship to honor Daughter Julie Harpster loved her career. She showed a lifetime commitment and enthusiasm for it. A new scholarship, funded by a gift from her father, Robert, will provide an opportunity for other students to share her passion for the medical technology profession.

A 1972 Warrensburg High School graduate, Harpster finished a bachelor’s degree in biology at Central Missouri in 1976. She continued her education at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City and then obtained her certification as a medical technologist and blood bank technologist. She had a successful 27-year career with Research Medical Center in Kansas City working in the blood bank, serology and molecular diagnostics departments. Next she earned a master’s degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, completed the molecular diagnostic program at the KU School of Allied Health, then worked for ViraCor Laboratories in Lee’s Summit.

Her father established the scholarship in her memory. To apply, students must have graduated from a Missouri high school; be attending full time and pursuing a degree in medical technology; be a sophomore, junior or senior; and have a minimum 2.5 grade point average or financial need.

new Scholarship remembers former cross country all-american rick clear Six-time All-American Rick Clear inspired many other runners. The Warrensburg High School graduate competed at Central Missouri from 1973 through 1977. His best finish was winning the 10,000-meter at the 1977 Division II championships; the next day he also placed fourth in the 5,000 meters.

Clear was a walk-on who earned a scholarship through his achievements. He also received the Vernon Kennedy Award as the top male student-athlete his senior year. He later returned to his alma mater to coach. He was inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001, the year he died.

Three UCM alumni — Ed Lunsford ’86, ’88 and Rod ’86 and Mona ’85 Williams — have made a gift to create a scholarship in Clear’s memory. Their goal is to give a student athlete the “same level of success and memories of a quality program” they and Clear had.

“We came to Central Missouri because of a coach and the program’s quality reputation,” says Lunsford. “With this scholarship, we want to help a student with good moral character who comes from a small school to have the same opportunities larger programs provide.”

The three are trying to raise additional funds for the scholarship and encourage all former UCM track and field and cross country athletes to make a gift at ucmo.edu/giveonline specifying the Rick D. Clear Memorial Scholarship.

University of Central Missouri | today

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Reality television shows always manage to make fans believe they can do it better: be smarter, survive longer, sing, dance, find Mr. Right, cook, design. One Central Missouri alumnus tested his armchair prowess when he and his daughter competed this past season on CBS’ multiEmmy Award winning show, The Amazing Race. Their positive attitudes made them favorites with the 14 million viewers, so much so that in February, they returned for another dose of reality.

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Ervins Return on Amazing Race

Both admit to stubborn streaks and competitive spirits. “We’re a lot alike, but we’re different too,” says Mallory. “He’s very strong physically, and I was good at getting cab rides and airplane tickets. It was a good balance.”

This next season, in their repeat performance, The Amazing Race will take them more than 40,000 miles through five continents and 23 cities. The web reports

“It was much harder than I expected,” says 1980 alumnus and former Mule varsity wrestler Gary Ervin. “I was a fan for all those years and always thought, ‘How can they be so stupid!’ Now, I know.”

“It was much harder than I expected,” says 1980 alumnus and former Mule varsity wrestler Gary Ervin of Sturgis, KY. “I was a fan for all those years and always thought, ‘How can they be so stupid!’ Now, I know.” He was talked into auditioning by his daughter, Mallory, Miss Kentucky 2009 and a fourth-place runner-up in Miss America. “I’m not comfortable in front of cameras, but my daughter is,” he notes. “The casting director called my daughter a dream. She said I was her worst nightmare.”

contestants will begin their race from the secondwindiest place on the planet, then travel to locations such as Sydney, Australia, where they will find themselves swimming with sharks; Liechtenstein, where they will measure the length of the entire country while riding a motorized bicycle; and Tokyo, Japan, where they will endure the freezing waters from Mount Fuji as part of a spiritual ritual. The new season began Feb. 20.

For Gary, “The ability to compete in a race like this, especially with my daughter, feeds both my need for competition and for adventure. Mal has travelled to more cultural places, and I’ve travelled more into the bush. I travel to not see people, and she travels to be right in the middle of them.”

That contrast in personalities and strengths worked to their advantage: the quiet confidence and athleticism of Gary and the bubbly chatter and Southern charm of Mallory. Critics talked about their level-headed play and unfailing enthusiasm.

They finished three times in second place and had some amazing moments. In one leg, a simple game changed their fate and provided Gary one of his favorite memories when he played gorodki. In this ancient Russian folk sport, similar to bowling and horseshoes, players must throw a bat and knock out pins or gorodki off a mat. Gary swung like a pro, and they went from last place to fourth.

“Our strength was keeping a smile on our faces and staying positive, especially the first nine hours, because we felt like we were just racing by ourselves,” he says.

“Plus I’m not much of a bickerer. When we were frustrated, we tried to stay positive and build each other back up.”

Ultimately, they finished sixth in the race after becoming hopelessly lost on a mountain, the first time they tried a printed map instead of asking for directions.

It put them 16 hours behind. The elongated detour sealed the father and daughter’s elimination, but the duo still managed to keep things close until the end.

Mallory adds, laughing, “And we’re father-daughter. If there’s a fight, we’ve had it.”

The show gave them what they wanted, though, “the adventure of a lifetime and an experience to share.”

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Kristi Kenney ’73 has been appointed to the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Review Board

by Gov. Jay Nixon for a term ending April 7, 2013. Kenney earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Missouri and a law degree from the University of Missouri School

Rodney Yeager ’64 has selfpublished a memoir, Aide de Camp: Military Life in a Galaxy of Stars, a personal reflection of work and golf with senior military leaders.

A UCM golf letterman, he has enjoyed the game for more than 50 years, golfing on 450 courses in 36 states and 19 countries. Yeager retired as a colonel from the U.S. Air Force in 1989 after 24 years in Missile Operations, Intelligence and Executive Support. He then completed a three-year PGA apprenticeship, gained PGA membership and worked as director of golf operations for the Kansas City Parks Department.

He was executive director of the Kansas City Golf Association until 2003 when he incorporated Yeager Golf Tours, LLC. He is an active competitor in local and national professional golf events. He and wife, Nancy, reside in Kansas City near daughter, Meredith Williams, and their two grandchildren.

Steve Mayse ’69 exhibited artwork in the show, Transitional Dimensions, at the Carter Art Center at Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley. A teacher at the Kansas City Art Institute, he has more than 35 years’ experience working with clients such as Sports Illustrated, Arthur Anderson, Chevron, McDonald’s, American Airlines, Cessna, Sprint and Cerner.

He has received an abundance of awards for excellence from the 3-Dimensional Art Directors and Illustration Awards Show in New York, the Society of Illustrators in New York and Los Angeles, the Kansas City Art Director’s Award Show and the Addy Awards.

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A Reading Revolution in Africa

1970-1979

Keith Rice ’63 is a mathematics tutor for the African-American Male Initiative at St. Louis Community College Florissant Valley. He works part time with the special school district in St. Louis County teaching math in the homebound program. After earning an education degree from UCM, Rice began his career as a teacher then went to industry. He retired in 2004 after working 35 years for McDonnell Douglas Corporation and Electronic Data Systems.

class notes

1960-1969

of Law. She also holds a teaching certificate, is a licensed insurance agent and is a past member of the Clinton, MO, school board.

Larry Noble ’73 has been appointed commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety

by Governor-elect Terry Branstad.

He became a police officer while attending UCM and after

graduating, was appointed a special agent with the state’s criminal investigation division. He and his wife live in Ankeny.

Mark Paolucci ’78 has been promoted to senior vice president of sales and marketing at Cessna Aircraft. He has more than 30 years of experience at Cessna, starting as a design engineer then

A literacy revolution is brewing in a southeastern African nation led by a UCM graduate. Gift Dube came to campus in 2008 from Malawi. His goal was to return home with a master’s degree in library science and information services as well as the skills he needed to train teachers and help students use school libraries.

“In Malawi, we have no institution that trains teacher librarians,” he says. “I intend to use my degree to create a foundation for solving information literacy problems.” He calls it an information literacy revolution.

Dube notes that Malawi is a democratic country, but its residents are very poor. Its main industry is subsistence farming, and schools can have 100 children per teacher.

Dube has dedicated his life to education. He taught primary, secondary and teacher training college courses in Malawi. He was selected for a program at Lakeland College in Wisconsin and earned a bachelor’s degree in education there in 2003. He returned to Malawi and later became an assistant librarian at Mzuzu University before he came to UCM. “Courses coupled with visits to different schools have given me an opportunity to learn how school libraries can be organized as centers for learning at school. I hope to use this knowledge to teach students at Mzuzu about school librarianship and train teachers and students on how to access, evaluate and use information in various formats,” he says.

Dube also intends to raise some $30,000 to $40,000 to build a new library in his home country. “I hope this library will serve as a model and help people appreciate [what] well-organized modern libraries can do to change the lives of people.”

He adds the library could serve 5,000 children within walking distance. The building would include a computer lab, which the children there have never experienced. “I also intend to use this center for children’s book publication. I believe that locally produced books by teachers, children and parents will be relevant, interesting and motivating to children. Hence, promote reading skills and culture.”

— By Matt Bird-Meyer ’97

moving to sales and marketing.

He was promoted from senior vice president of customer service. He is a licensed pilot with multi-engine and instrument ratings.

1980-1989 Ronald Walker ’81, ’84 will exhibit in two art shows this March, at the Gray Duck Gallery in Austin, TX, and the Art Depot Gallery in Fontana, CA. Daniel Ward ’83, ’86 is serving as 2011 president of the National Association of Biology Teachers.

He is a professor of biology and director of the honors program at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, IL. He serves on the American Institute of Biological Sciences Public Policy Committee, Understanding Evolution Teacher Advisory Board and Faculty Leadership Team of the Cyberlearning at Community Colleges Faculty Scholarship, E-science and Open Curriculum Project. Ward also is president of the local board of education, coaches summer youth baseball, serves on the local Boy Scout Troop Committee, and does presentations at local elementary and middle schools. He and his wife, Kimberley, reside in Newark, IL. Carole (Gieniec) Widmann ’85, ’97 has returned from a medical mission to the Amazon River basin.

Charles Mills ’86 has been named branch manager of Clean The Uniform Company’s Columbia, MO, facility. He will oversee the operations for central Missouri.

Jill (Dudding) Berry ’88 was promoted to vice president of sales at Elan-Polo International, a privately owned shoe import company where she has worked for 13 years.

Dan Galbraith ’89 is sections editor for The Packer, an international business publication and web site reporting on the fresh produce industry, an affiliate of Vance Publishing based in Lenexa, KS. His contact email is dgalbraith@food360.com.

1990-1999 Dayton “Paco Jones” Grover III ’90 has worked 20 years for parks and recreation in Columbia, MO, coordinating after-school, summer and special event programs. He and his wife, Amy, and their two children, Dayton and Mary Grace, reside in Province, MO. Bethany (Nilges) Goodin ’92 completed a master of business administration degree with an emphasis in human resources in 2009 from William Woods University.

Vicky Hartzler ’92 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in the Nov. 2 election. She grew up on a farm in rural Cass County and taught junior high and high school for 11 years in Lebanon and Belton. Vicky and her husband, Lowell, live with their daughter, Tiffany, near Harrisonville, MO.

UCM

Alumna Defies Odds

New college graduates are ambitious and often believe they can conquer the world. They hope to find the perfect job, make lots of money and enjoy what they are doing.

For Leah Potts, those ambitions didn’t include snowboarding into a tree and breaking her neck. After Potts earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from UCM in 1999, she took a job near Boulder, CO, to pursue her love of the mountains and thirst

Darren Shafer ’94, ’10, a lieutenant with the Johnson County, KS, Sheriff’s Office, has been assigned to the patrol division as a shift commander. He and his wife, Kari and their three daughters, Maci, Morgan and Maddix, reside in Edgerton.

for an active lifestyle. That lifestyle had to wait after an accident

Sherri (Young) Cobb ’95 and her husband, Jim ’94, are the parents of Catlyn James born July 13, 2010.

She is welcomed by her brother, Kristopher, 2. Sherri is co-owner of Kids Closet Connection in Harrisonville, MO. The family resides in Greenwood.

rare to see a quadriplegic with such a remarkable recovery

Darrell Knowlton ’95 is a licensed clinical social worker at Culver Academies in Culver, IN. He also is director of the Culver Student Assistance Program and head rugby coach.

anything is possible if you put your mind to it is at an all-

LaTonia (Collins) Smith ’95 has been appointed to the University of Central Missouri Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Mike Toedebusch ’95 was promoted to lieutenant of the O’Fallon, MO, Police Department and is serving as shift commander in the operations division. He and his wife, Stacy, reside in O’Fallon.

paralyzed her from the chest down. She was diagnosed as an “incomplete” quadriplegic because she maintained partial use of her hands. The doctors told her she would never walk again.

To see Potts today, you’d never know about her 11-year struggle to recover. She walks, bikes, participates and teaches exercise classes, skis and travels internationally. It is and even more so, to overcome the mental and physical obstacles with such strength, determination and courage.

Potts remains very active in her own recovery and the health of others with similar injuries. She has experimented with stem cell therapy and continues to raise money for research.

“Change is certain, the work a must. My desire to prove time high. I remind myself to center, relax and stay grounded.

Everything will unfold, I must be patient,” she says. Read more about Potts and her amazing journey at www.leahpotts.com.

— By Emily A. Michael ’10

WE WANT YOUR Have you moved? Been married? Changed jobs? Retired?

Gotten a new email? Received an award? We want your news! cmo.edu/alumni Go online to www.u i@ucmo.edu Email us at alumn mni Association, Alu M UC at us Write ri, of Central Missou ty rsi ive Un

r, nte Ce i mn Alu r Smise

64093 Warrensburg, MO

University of Central Missouri | today

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Michelle (Hundley) Bishop ’97 and her husband, Wayne ’00, announce the birth of Jonah Alexander May 28, 2010. He joins brothers Gavin, 8 and Tanner, 5. The family resides in Boonville, MO. Richard Anderson Jr. ’98 has been promoted to supervisor of the General Aviation Airworthiness Unit at the FAA East Michigan Flight Standards district office.

2000-2010 Tabitha Lorenzen ’00, ’03 married Eric Reasland Oct. 23, 2010, in Sedalia, MO. They reside in Afton, IA. Kirsten Davis-Stout ’02 married Jason Tonik Aug. 1, 2010, in Ocean Isle Beach, NC. They reside in Blue Springs, MO. Ellen Higley-Esquilin ’03 retired from the city of Kansas City aviation department after 20 years.

She was employed with Trans World Airlines as a flight attendant for 20 years prior to working for the city. She and her husband,

Jorge, have traveled throughout the USA and Puerto Rico since her retirement and are spending the winter in Phoenix, AZ. Trista Hedrick ’04 has joined Howard A. Rusk Rehabilitation Center in Columbia, MO, as marketing liaison. She recently was an advertising account executive for the Columbia Daily Tribune.

Teresa (Maples) Hoey ’04 and her husband, Jeff, announce the birth of Katelyn Elizabeth March 4, 2010.

She joins a brother, Jackson, 4. The family resides in Marshall, MO. Allison Jaslow ’04 has been named press secretary to U.S. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia. She previously served as Wisconsin Rep. Steve Kaggen’s press secretary and was communications director for the Democratic Party of Virginia during the 2009 statewide elections. She has served as special assistant to the White House communications director and worked on the successful re-election campaign

of Congresswoman Carol Shea– Porter (D-NH). She was a member of the Army ROTC program and was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation from UCM. She was deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom before being honorably discharged as a captain in 2008.

Danielle LeFever ’07 married William Crowder III Aug. 13, 2010, in the Finger Lakes region of New York. She received her juris doctorate degree from the University of Kansas and works for the Air Force JAG Corps. Danielle and William are stationed in Italy at Aviano AFB for the next three years.

David Nicolaescu fs ’07-08 graduated Dec. 17 from the Missouri Highway Patrol Law Enforcement Academy and has been assigned to Troop A in Lee’s Summit. He is assigned to the zone that patrols Henry County.

Megan Wellborn ’07 has been promoted to manager of event

presentation for the Kansas City Royals.

Elmer Ragus ’07, ’09 has joined Callis & Associates in Sedalia, MO, as a graphic artist and creative associate. Ragus has more than 10 years of graphic design experience from the printing industry. Callis & Associates specializes in the outdoor sports industry.

Alicia Givens ’08 is working for the city and county of Denver as a staff probation officer.

April Hayes ’09 is working for The Steritech Group, the largest hospitality brand protection service provider in the U.S. She received her certified professional credential in food safety in November.

Brian Peters ’10 graduated Dec. 17 from the Missouri Highway Patrol Law Enforcement Academy and is assigned to Troop A in Lee’s Summit. He graduated from Belton High School and is assigned to the zone that patrols Johnson County.

Hightower Named EAA President Leading an organization that is more than a half-century old with 170,000 members in 100 countries takes confidence and experience. It’s also quite an honor when you’re the first person named its president outside of the family who started it. That’s what Rod Hightower ’82 achieved recently when he was announced the third president of Experimental Aircraft Association. He credits his UCM degree in aviation with helping him achieve his success.

Hightower’s career spans more than 25 years of business management and senior leadership positions for Fortune 500 manufacturing and industrial companies. He has led both U.S. and international operations with as many as 3,200 employees and annual revenues of $470 million and has led the sales organization for divisions as large as $900 million.

Along with his business expertise, Hightower is a vintage aviation enthusiast. He has been an EAA member for more than 20 years and an active pilot for 31 years. He restored his own Stearman biplane that he flies out of Creve Coeur Airport near St. Louis.

Hightower grew up in modest circumstances, as his father was a welder with Ford Motor Company. To fly and pay his way through UCM, he started a business when he was 15 years old. He operated it throughout his studies in Warrensburg, selling it two years after he graduated.

“As a student at UCM, I got a solid understanding of the broad world of aviation and a strong sense of safety and responsibility,” he says. Among the faculty who influenced his life were Jack Horine, Jim Bumgarner, Fred Schieszer and Al Blankenship. “We even learned how to raise funds to support our Alpha Rho Eta aviation activities and adventures.”

Among his favorite memories is restoring to flying status a Schweizer 2-22 glider and Bell 47 helicopter. “And yes, I rode the Beacon many times,” he adds.

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+

Conan Close-Up Two Central Missouri alumni appeared on popular national television shows in December.

Brian Thomas Smith, a 2000 broadcasting and film graduate, returned as the character, Zack, in The Big Bang Theory on CBS. He appeared in two episodes, Dec. 9 in “The Alien Parasite Hypothesis” and Dec. 16, “The Justice League Recombination.” Smith’s Hollywood success, which encompasses commercials, films and shows, includes being a competitor on The Amazing Race and Fear Factor.

In addition, Erika Nelson, a 2005 art graduate, appeared on the Conan O’Brien Show for her traveling roadside attraction and museum, “The World’s Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World’s Largest Things.” The taping date, and most likely airdate, on the TBS cable channel was Dec. 22. Nelson is a national researcher and speaker on grassroots art environment and roadside folk art. Her museum is located in Lucas, KS.

Clifton Baile ’62 has been named a Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest general scientific society, for his distinguished contributions in the field of agricultural biotechnology. He was recognized at the AAAS annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Baile is the D.W. Brooks Distinguished Professor and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar of Agricultural Biotechnology at the University of Georgia.

Tom Hayes ’65, founder of the wrestling program at Lexington, MO, High School, was honored by the school when officials named the wrestling room after him Jan. 6. During his 21 years as head wrestling coach, his teams won eight conference tournament titles, 10 conference dual titles, seven district titles and one Class A Team state championship. That same year, he was named the Coach of the Year for Missouri. During his career, he coached 33 state medalists, including eight state champions. Hayes finished with a career dual record of 176-48.

In 1988, he was inducted into the Missouri Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame. In 2006, he was inducted into the UCM Wrestling Hall of Legends. Hayes was a member of the first Mules wrestling team in 1961. He wrestled four years and was team captain as a senior. He also won the Vernon Kennedy Award awarded to the university’s top student-athlete.

Janet (Ulrich) Brooks ’79 is a member of Chicago’s TimeLine Theatre, which has been named Company of the Year by Terry Teachout, drama critic for the Wall Street Journal. She has been in several TimeLine productions including All My Sons, Not Enough Air, Weekend, the one-woman show Lillians, Tesla’s Letters, Paradise Lost, A Man for All Seasons and Paragon Springs. Other credits include portraying Golda Meier in Golda’s Balcony, Richard III, A Lie of the Mind, and Marathon 33. She has been a teaching artist for many years, bringing arts-integrated programs into Chicagoland public schools and is currently the associate director of TimeLine’s Living History Education Program.

Paul Rutherford ’84, ’93 received the Educating Excellence Award sponsored by the University of Kansas School of Engineering and Perceptive Software. He is the first STEM teacher from the Kansas City area to receive this award.

Mavis Green ’88, professor of aviation at Utah Valley University, received the William A. Wheatley Award from the University Aviation Association for outstanding contributions to aerospace education. She is the fourth woman since 1955 to receive the honor and the first in the past 13 years. Green is certified as an airline transport pilot and has Federal Aviation Administration recognition as a Gold Seal flight instructor, logging thousands of accident-free hours in an instructional capacity. She has received recognition from Utah Valley University Center for Ethics in support of her work in developing countries. She lectures at national and international conferences and has an extensive record of publications and presentations.

David Dean ’98, Joe Snook ’02 and Kyle Crews ’09 work for the Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation, which won the Gold Medal

awards & honors

A Big Bang

David Halen ’79 has been awarded the 2011 Missouri Artist Teacher Award from the Missouri Music Educators Association for being a standout in stringed-instrument education. He has been a featured member of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for two decades and concertmaster since 1995. His wife, Miran, is a professional soprano, and their son, Christopher, 14, plays cello. Halen is the co-founder and artistic director of the Innsbrook Institute in Warren County, a weeklong annual festival of chamber music and young-artist training and is the artistic director of the Missouri River Festival of the Arts in Boonville. He teaches privately, serves as a distinguished visiting professor at the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University in Macon, GA, has a summer job as concertmaster at the celebrated Aspen Music Festival and performs widely as a soloist.

Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation at the NRPA’s Congress and Exposition in Minneapolis, MN. They were competing against parks in Waukesha, WI; Schaumburg, IL; and Temple, TX. This is the highest national award a parks and recreation department can receive.

They are evaluated on long-range planning, resource management, volunteerism, environmental stewardship, program development, professional development and agency recognition. Crews is recreation supervisor.

Bryan Tebbenkamp ’03 won a third place award from the University Photographers’ Association of America for the photo, Flying High, showing the aviation department’s new Boeing 737 flight trainer in simulated action over a Las Vegas night sky.

Susan Crook ’04 is an awardwinning author, international speaker and certified human behavior consultant. She is the author of Personality Insights for Moms, which won six awards, including Best Parenting of the Year Award, USA Book News and Parent to Parent Adding Wisdom Award.

Her next book, Personality Insights for Couples, will be released soon.

Bryanna Caldwell ’08 has been selected to the 2011 US Women’s National Bowling Team (Team USA). Members of Team USA and Junior Team USA will compete in international competitions through 2011, including the World Women’s Championships, Pan American Bowling Confederation Men’s Championships, the Pan American Games, QubicaAMF World Cup, PABCON Youth Championships and Tournament of Americas. She was a four-time All-American with Jennies bowling.

Sara Rusnak ’09 was acknowledged by the Spring Hill Board of Education as the USD 230 Kansas Horizon Award winner, which recognizes first-year teachers who distinguish themselves as outstanding. The award is sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education. Rusnak is a first-grade teacher at Spring Hill Elementary School.

University of Central Missouri | today

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in memorian

1920-1929 Ellen Mae Cook ’28

1960-1969 Ira N. Bowman ’60 Alene Hilty ’60 1930-1939 Loraine B. Scott ’60 Ellen G. Morrow ’33 Donna J. Smith ’60 Ralph Sellenschutter ’34 Donald G. Zumsteg ’60 Virginia V. Dicus ’38 Charles O. Lee Jr. ’62 Donna J. Mejia ’62 Charles W. 1940-1949 Freeman ’63 Frank Spicer ’40 Nancy K. Bird ’65 Delma E. Hofer ’42 Nancy H. King ’65 Lucille M. Ann N. Martens ’67 Meacham ’42 Charles F. Eleanor Jean Jones ’43 DeAngelo ’68 William H. Lyon Jr. ’47 Larry D. Matlick ’68 Inez E. Bates ’48 Jean N. Allen ’69, ’74 Nadine E. Minor ’49 James Dennis Costigan ’69, ’75 1950-1959 Erving Arthur Dohrman ’50 Robert L. Eller ’69 Terry L. Penrose ’69 Jack M. Friedberg ’51 David L. Sparling ’69 Esther M. Holmes ’51 Vicki B. Doris K. Laughlin ’51 Wheeler ’69, ’73 Jacqueline L. Rosenthal ’51 Kathryn W. Stump ’51 Robert S. Pease ’53 1970-1979 Joan M. Eighinger ’54 Thomas C. Foster ’70 Nelson Cavender ’55 Wilma M. Harold J. Johnston ’55 Mallicoat ’70, ’75 James D. Claude Y. Calder ’71 Norcross ’51, ’56 Patricia A. Reed ’71 Joyce A. Doyle ’53 Robert Edwin Karr ’72, ’82 (College High), ’57 Ruth Arlene Betty Nell Semple ’57 McAuley ’72 Richard H. Schelp ’59 George A. Olinger ’72

John Erickson

John Milton Erickson, professor emeritus of marketing and former business administration department chair, died Dec. 30, 2010. A U.S. Marine, he spent time in southeast Asia, which led to a lifelong interest in its people and culture. He came to Central Missouri in 1965, serving on the marketing faculty until 1998.

From 1977-1984, he chaired the business administration department.

Michael L. Richards ’72 Robert L. Robinson Jr. ’72, ’75 James V. Willig ’72 John P. Farabee II ’73 Pamela L. Campbell ’74 Jack L. Chambers ’75 Larry H. Jacks ’75 Loretta S. Snyder ’75 Virgile E. Fague ’77 Michael F. Niggel ’77 Angelyn J. Overby-Kirk ’77, ’86 Raymond Gerald Browning ’78 Mimi C. King ’78 William F. Hendricks Jr. ’79 Doyle V. Riney ’79 1980-1989 Marian L. Haake ’81 William A. Shaw ’81, ’83 John E. Beazley ’85 Michael A. Pate ’85 Richard W. Settles ’85 Wanda E. Robinson ’86 Edward Ross Dey ’87 Nola J. Hartzfeld ’87 Jodie A. Casper ’89

winter 2011

2000-2009 Doug E. Cooper ’00 Imtiaz Mahmood ’04 John J. Benckeser ’05 Lorraine M. Segura ’06 2010-2019 Lindsey Marie Morris ’10 College High Ruth Lucas ’43 Former Students Mary Rebecca Cyrus Friends Lyle C. Abbott Allan E. Abrams Sally M. Ashby Lawrence R. Bannister Grant Beck Elsie Benitz Jesse W. Bentley Jimmie D. Black Sheila J. Borcherding Theodore L. Boyd Mark A. Boyer Mary K. Bridges Allen Brohn Herbert E. Brown Eleanor J. Buse

to promote world understanding led to their decision to start a scholarship encouraging study abroad. Memorials are suggested to the John and Barbara Erickson Scholarship Endowment for International Studies through the UCM Foundation, Smiser Alumni Center, Warrensburg, MO 64093 or online at ucmo.edu/giving.

the University of Virginia. He also worked at the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, VA, from 1963 to 1970.

Joseph Hatfield

The 1940 UCM biology alumnus founded and directed the Behavior Research Laboratory at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center while teaching at Stanford and UC Berkeley universities. In 1969, he moved to the University of Nevada Reno where he started a doctoral program in clinical psychology.

Joseph T. Hatfield, 84, a professor and administrator from 1970-1995, While at UCM, he also guest lectured died Oct. 20, 2010. He served as chair in Sweden, Mexico, the Netherlands of the Division of Social Sciences and studied Japanese business from 1970-1972 and was assistant and culture at Sanno College in dean of the College of Arts and Tokyo. Following his stay in Japan, Sciences from 1972-1974. He served he traveled to Thailand where he as the college’s dean until 1986. helped establish a UCM alumni Hatfield was a World War II group in Bangkok. veteran, serving in the 1st and 3rd Marine Divisions from 1944 to He and his wife, Barbara, who 1946. In addition to UCM, he was a survives, hosted many international professor at Concord College and students in their home. Their desire

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1990-1999 Kevin Sears ’90, ’91 Sheryl L. Johnson ’98

Paul McReynolds

Paul McReynolds, a UCM biology alumnus and prominent professor of psychology, died Dec. 4, 2010.

Lester Stevens

Lester L. Stevens, former Central Missouri track and field and cross country coach, died Nov. 5, 2010. He was head coach from 1981-1986.

Joseph A. Cagna Geneva Clothier C. Jean Dickmann Duana L. Dralus George Dye Ronald F. Fager Jere J. Folkerts Claude E. Harris Herman Hartley Robert L. Healy James A. Huckaba Erma Jenkins Elmore O. Jones John J. Kroon Floyd Link Phil Loder Albert W. Long William L. Marshall Frank A. Marth Blanche R. Miller Lucy C. Mudd Chad J. Nanneman James O. Neely Helen F. Phillips Rosalind C. Priest Marjorie Ruth Roberts Betty L. Thomas Hazel West David York

Dennis Yates

Dennis Yates, who frequently donated his original paintings to help raise funds for both Central Missouri and Warrensburg, died Nov. 30, 2010, at his home in Preston, MO. He was 63.

Yates served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper, photographer and journalist before coming to UCM. He was an all-star middle linebacker for the Mules and a member of the 1970 Pecan Bowl Team. After finishing a degree in 1973 in art and physical education, he taught and coached at Raytown Junior High School before pursuing a full-time career as an artist.

Memorials are suggested to UCM Mules Football, UCM Foundation, Smiser Alumni Center, Warrensburg, MO 64093 or online at ucmo.edu/giveonline.

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THIS PHOTO OF THE FOUNTAIN IN FRONT OF ELLIOTT UNION WAS TAKEN BY 2003 PHOTOGRAPHY ALUMNUS BRYAN TEBBENKAMP.