Editor: Justin Zackal, interim assistant director of communication, University Communication and Public Affairs.
Designer: Sandy Busch, graphic communication director; Megan Cassioli, graphic communication assistant director, University Communication and Public Affairs.
Contributors/Editorial Assistance: Jon Holtz, director, Athletic Communication; Steve Radick, BCW Global; Rachel Burnett, BCW Global. Photographers: Mike Schnelle, visual communication director, University Communication and Public Affairs; Alumni Relations; SRU alumni.
The ROCK is an Educational Advertising, Collegiate Advertising and CUPRAP (Cuppie) award winner.
THE ROCK
The ROCK is published two times annually by the Office of University Communication and Public Affairs for friends and alumni of the University. Send address changes to: Slippery Rock University University Communication and Public Affairs
1 Morrow Way 104 Maltby Avenue, Suite 201 Slippery Rock, PA 16057
ABOUT THE COVER:
Nancy Chesley, a handler from the Hope Animal-Assisted Crisis Response, high-fives Zoey, a golden retriever, during a class demonstration at Slippery Rock University. See page 22.
SHOWERED WITH PRAISE
Jon Kozarian is doused with water while celebrating with J.T. Wolke and the rest of his teammates in the SRU baseball team’s 4-3 win over Shippensburg in the first round of the 2022 PSAC Tournament. Kozarian knocked in the game-winning run.
rock quarry
Presidential Search Underway
The search is on for a new president at Slippery Rock University after William Behre announced in February that he will retire, effective June 30, 2023. President Behre, a New York native, calls his five years of service at SRU his “proudest professional accomplishment.”
“It has truly been an honor to serve as the president of this institution,” said Behre, who serves as the 17th president in the history of SRU. “From the moment my wife, Leah, and I stepped on campus, the community greeted us warmly and welcomed us in as one of their own. That feeling of family and belonging is something we will carry with us well beyond our days at The Rock.”
Following Behre’s announcement, the University immediately began the search process for his successor, and candidates are expected to interview
Diversifying Teachers
this fall to ensure a smooth leadership transition upon Behre’s departure. To facilitate this process, SRU contracted an executive search firm and formed a search committee consisting of trustees, a university executive, faculty, non-instructional employees, a student, an alumnus, and up to three others from within the University. Several listening sessions and virtual town hall meetings were held last spring to give campus and community groups opportunities to provide feedback into the selection process. The SRU community will also have opportunities to meet candidates during open sessions during on-campus interviews.
The latest updates about the search process are available on the SRU website at sru.edu/news/presidential-search
Black, Indigenous and people of color, known as BIPOC, are in high demand in the teaching profession, with nearly 80% of current public-school educators identifying as non-Hispanic White. SRU’s College of Education is addressing the issue through RockTEACH, a program designed to diversify the teacher workforce by promoting teacher education to underrepresented-minority high school students from low- to moderate-income households.
Nearly a dozen high school students attended the three-day RockTEACH
Summer Institute at SRU last summer. Working alongside SRU faculty and nine student ambassadors, participants learned about the teaching profession and what it‘s like to attend college. They also learned how to plan and teach activities and lessons with schoolage children thanks to the participation of fifth and sixth graders from the Farrell Area and Sharon City School Districts‘ summer enrichment program, as well as preschool students from the SRU/SGA Preschool.
“I have always loved helping people,
and for me (becoming a teacher) would be a good way to achieve my goal,” said A.J. Williams, a senior at Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh. “I heard about RockTEACH through my school district, and I absolutely love the program. My favorite part about it is working with the kids.”
More information about RockTEACH is available on the SRU website or by contacting 724.738.2007 or RockTEACH@sru.edu.
rock
FILES
Revving their Engines
SRU’s School of Engineering recently acquired a formula-style race car that will be used in mechanical engineering classes and by a new racing club. Rock Racing will use the open-wheel, singleseat race car as a model to build their own race car as part of an intercollegiate competition racing circuit, the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers series. SRU purchased the race car from a private seller for about $10,000. The car was previously part of a club team at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Right on the Money
Money.com has named Slippery Rock University to its 2022 Best Colleges list, which ranks the top colleges and univer sities for students‘ investments. Money evaluated more than 600 institutions based on quality, affordability, and outcomes, to develop its annual rankings. Using data such as net price of a degree, loan repayment rates, median earnings and four other “value added” calculations, Money measured each school‘s actual performance against its predicted performance.
Kevin Krepinevich, ’76, Bachelor of Science, Elementary Education
HOME: Allentown.
PROFESSION:
More than 17 years of association management career with the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis International and various trade associations in Washington, D.C., turned into becoming Owner of K2 Konsulting/Web Site Assist, providing professional management support and assistance to small business and associations for the last 20 years.
HOBBIES/INTERESTS:
I enjoy spending time with my grandson who is a dinosaur expert, as well as my nine-hour roundtrips to SRU on a regular basis and as much golf as I can squeeze into my life.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
As a certified association executive, I was involved in raising more than $100 million to provide salt iodization plants worldwide in conjunction with UNICEF and I was recognized by the American Society of Association Executives with the Associations Advance America Award. But I am most proud of helping to bring Theta Chi Fraternity back to SRU as they redefine fraternities on campus, providing leadership and quality programming.
WHY I GIVE:
As I round third base in my life, the only things I have to give is my time, talent and treasure. I give to offer an assisting hand to those who could benefit from those contributions. If I can set an example, especially for those who are recent graduates by encouraging a habit of giving, we can make a significant difference in the lives of the collegians who are beginning their journey in life.
Erica Nelson, ’99, Master of Science, Sport Management
HOME:
I‘m originally from Southern California, but left there when I began graduate school at SRU and never returned home. I currently live in Austin, Texas.
PROFESSION:
Director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the United States Tennis Association. My role is to support and promote the growth of tennis among traditionally underrepresented and marginalized communities.
HOBBIES/INTERESTS:
Travelling, going to the movies and theater, attending sporting events.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
One of my greatest accomplishments was walking across the stage at SRU to receive my master‘s degree. My mom has a law degree and my dad has an MBA, but my journey was different, so that moment was very special. Another accomplishment I take pride in was being named to EBONY magazine‘s list of “Top 30 Leaders of the Future.”
WHY I GIVE:
Moving away from home to attend SRU provided an opportunity for personal and professional growth that I couldn‘t have received at home. The national reputation of the sport management program brought me great pride, but the main reason I give is because of the people. Most specifically, I was moved to make a multi-year donation in honor of longtime professor, Robertha Abney. She played an immensely important role in my life at that time and this was a small way to show my appreciation.
LOST FOUND &
More than 20,000 children living in southern Sudan lost their families, homes and nearly all hope in 1987 because of a brutal civil war. Known as the “Lost Boys of Sudan,” these children escaped death or induction into the northern army by walking more than a thousand miles to various refugee camps during the years that followed. They encountered more political and ethnic violence in neighboring Ethiopia. And if gunfire and deadly diseases such as malaria weren‘t enough, some of the children drowned while crossing rivers or were killed by crocodiles or lions.
Half of the Lost Boys died. Gabriel Ajang was among the survivors.
After living in a Kenyan refugee camp for almost a decade, Ajang and nearly 4,000 fellow Lost Boys came to the U.S. In America, he found peace, freedom and opportunity through education, earning a degree from Slippery Rock University in 2007. The night before his graduation ceremony, Ajang stood in front of a mirror in his dorm room wearing his cap and gown.
“I just cried ... and then after that I laughed,” said Ajang, from his living room that has a framed photo on the wall from that ceremony 15 years ago. “I was not crying because I was
Sudanese refugee and 2007 SRU alumnus preserves stories in children’s book
sad, but because of how I got to this point. Looking at how my life started, and how I got from the point of having nothing to living in this house. Really? I‘m owning a home.”
Ajang, 43, lives in a small brick house on a cul-de-sac in the south hills of Pittsburgh with his wife, Yar, and four children, ages 3-12. He works as an administrative officer in health services for the Department of Veterans Affairs. It‘s a life that is a far cry from the one lived by a then 10-year-old orphan fending for himself in the wilderness of Africa. Ajang‘s parents and five of his seven siblings died during the conflict in Sudan. He considers himself lucky to be alive.
“When you start living by yourself at that age and being responsible when you‘re young, you learn how to live from having nothing, to having little, and then a little more,” Ajang said. “My life has allowed me to appreciate anything I get.”
This is because he knew many children just like him who didn‘t make it.
“ I was not crying because I was sad, but because of how I got this point. Looking at how my life started, and how I got from the point of having nothing to living in this house. Really? I‘m owning a home.”
“Many of us that we lost along the way, they would have been people like us with families,” Ajang said. “Some of them, they never made it to this point. But some of us have, and not because of what we did.”
The U.S. government and the United Nations, through the International Rescue Committee, helped hundreds of Lost Boys find places to live with the help of charities in several cities.
Catholic Charities placed Ajang in Pittsburgh, where he settled in the Baldwin-Whitehall community, June 6, 2001, and he began bussing tables at the Hilton Hotel downtown while earning his GED.
“Many people ask me, ̀What were you expecting to be if you (had not made it to America)?‘ Ajang said. “What I remember about my (previous) life was living on the farm. That was the goal when you grew up (in South Sudan), you wanted to be a farmer and have a big farm.”
Ajang found that in America, higher education was the key to success.
He took part-time classes at the Community College of Allegheny County before transferring to SRU, where he earned a degree in health science-community health.
“I really like (SRU); it was a good school for me,” Ajang said. “They had small class sizes and you had an opportunity to know your classmates and teachers. And being far away from the city with a nice campus, I really liked that. It was a good fit for me.”
After graduating, he returned to Sudan and was reunited with his brother, Mading, who was living in Uganda. Ajang stayed in Sudan for 11 months and married Yar, but she was not able to immigrate with him back to Pittsburgh until 2012. He‘s gone back to South Sudan, which became a sovereign country in 2011, three times since he first immigrated to the U.S.
Ajang and his wife are not alone as immigrants in his neighborhood. Allegheny County, and especially the Baldwin-Whitehall communities, have a large population of refugees and
immigrants. Recent census data show that between 8–13% of residents in those two communities speak a language other than English in their homes.
Renee Christman, who teaches English as a second language at the Paynter Elementary School, co-founded a project in 2013 called “Saving Stories.” She came up with the idea to have refugees and immigrants from the Baldwin-Whitehall communities share fairy tales and folktales from their homelands. As part of the series, she asked Ajang to contribute.
“I cannot call myself a writer,” Ajang said. “But (Christman) reached out to me from my daughter‘s class and asked if I would be interested (in sharing stories). In the tribal community, there‘s no formal education.
The “formal” education is storytelling when the grown-ups tell their children stories. So, I decided to start writing some of these stories down.”
was invited into classrooms in the Baldwin-Whitehall School District to read these stories to children, as well as share his background as a Lost Boy of Sudan.
“I like to contribute to whatever people need,” Ajang said. “It‘s not because I want to be famous or anything. I want to tell children that this is what can happen to people. Life is not fair. Sometimes it can be good, but (when bad) things happen, don‘t lose hope.”
Two civil wars have ravaged Sudan, the first from 1955-72 and the second from 1983-2005, the latter resulting in South Sudan‘s independence.
“Now, (they‘ve gained) independence and (the government leaders) are not going to deliver the services that people need,” Ajang said. “People are still suffering. There‘s flooding, food shortages, disease and insecurities.”
“ It‘s not because I want to be famous or anything. I want to tell children that this is what can happen to people. Life is not fair. Sometimes it can be good, but (when bad) things happen, don‘t lose hope.”
Ajang, who grew up in the Twic East County of Jonglei State in South Sudan, expressed frustration and ended his assessment of the situation in his homeland by saying he‘s not a politician.
“The opportunity in this country, you can‘t get it anywhere else,” Ajang said. “There are children in South Sudan, smart children, but there‘s no school for them or their parents can‘t afford to send them to school. That opportunity is here if you want to go to school or work, and you can make a living.”
Ajang‘s life is an example of the opportunity and the path to success through education, but his path was literally walked – hundreds of miles – through unimaginable dangers and suffering.
In December 2018, the children‘s book “Two Dinka Folktales” was published as part of the Saving Stories series. The stories, written in Ajang‘s native Dinka language and in English, are about a hyena and his friends, the hippo and the lion; the other is about a fox and a dog. Both stories have moral lessons of patience, kindness and being close to one another.
“That‘s how we used to learn in the tribal community,” said Ajang, who first heard the two Dinka folktales from his grandmother. “This animal did this, or this person did that, in a figurative form. It is important to keep those stories, and to do that, I must write them so that my kids can learn about it when they read it.”
And it‘s not just for his children, but others, no matter their heritage. Ajang
But he‘s happy to be living in the U.S. and raising his family in western Pennsylvania.
“People suffered,” he said. “But out of that suffering, good things came out of it. That‘s how I look at my life.”
Left, Ajang outside his Pittsburgh home, in which he has a framed photo on the wall from his SRU graduation day in 2007. Right, Ajang and his wife, Yar, have four children ages 3-12.
for the FoodsouL souL
SRU professors and students communicate through food with online cooking show
Food is much more than sustenance that keeps people alive. It sustains cultural traditions, strengthens social and emotional ties, and feeds conversation. Or, as a faculty and student group at Slippery Rock University has observed, food is how people relate to one another and nourish their souls.
“We look at food as communication,” said Fadoua Loudiy, assistant professor of strategic communication and media. “When we think about communication, we think about words and gestures, but food communicates something, too. It starts conversations with people who wouldn‘t otherwise gather around a table, and it can break down barriers between people and bring families and friends together.”
Loudiy‘s favorite class that she teaches at SRU is Intercultural Communication, and culture intersects with food in discussions with her students.
“Oftentimes, with intercultural communication, the focus is on differences between cultures, but food is what
we have in common as humanity,” Loudiy said. “Everyone has to eat and everyone takes eating very seriously.”
Franklyn Charles, assistant professor of strategic communication and media, also takes the cooking of food seriously.
“There‘s food and then there‘s good food,” Charles said. “We all, to a certain extent, have access to food, but when it‘s good food, we remember it. There are certain smells that evoke memories. I love fried fish, and when that fish hits the oil, it transports me back to a specific time when I first heard that (sizzle) and smelled the spices and seasonings.”
To Loudiy and Charles, good food is good for the soul.
“Soul food” is a colloquial term often referring to food prepared and eaten by African Americans in the South, such as fried chicken, collard greens and cornbread. But soul food could refer to other ethnic cuisine or meals that satisfy more than just an empty stomach.
“Soul food is whatever makes you feel at home and makes you feel emotionally and physically full with one bite,” said Sophia Geitner, a senior communication major from Saint Marys. “For me, it‘s lasagna or wedding soup because that‘s what my grandmother makes.”
Last year, Charles had an idea to start an online cooking show with the help of SRU communication students, so he asked Loudiy to host a few episodes, knowing that she enjoys cooking and that they both have an affinity for ethnic cuisine. Loudiy is a native of Morocco and Charles was born in Dominica and raised in Saint Croix. They called it “The Soul Food Initiative” and produced four episodes last semester before deciding to continue the project this spring with
additional hosts.
Episodes include Loudiy cooking Moroccan dishes, featuring harira, a soup traditionally served during Ramadan, as well as chicken tagine and eggplant salad with an apple dessert.
The collaborative project involves faculty and students from Loudiy‘s Intercultural Communication class who were invited to attend the filming of the shows and, of course, eat the meal. SRU‘s Macoskey Center for Sustainability Education and Research also partners with the project by providing the kitchen space and fresh produce and eggs from its grounds. SRU‘s Frederick Douglass Institute provided funding for the project.
“The conversation followed us into the classroom,” Loudiy said. “It created a nice dialogue between students.”
At least eight students have been involved with the production.
“It‘s a lot of hands-on experience,” Geitner said. “We set up the equipment and decide what shots we need and how we need to edit it and everything
that goes into a production. There are some classes like TV Field Production where you do hands-on projects, but (for this), going through the whole creative process and not being told what to do has been a lot of fun.”
“This is a way of giving our students more items for their portfolios,” Charles said. “It‘s one thing to do a few class projects, but now we‘re working on a production with multiepisodic seasons. That‘ll beef up their experience and (impress employers) when they look for a job.”
A filming of the show to celebrate Black History Month last February included Ursula Payne, interim associate provost, preparing chicken and dumplings, vegetables and poundcake, from her family recipes.
“This initiative has provided students with different ways to engage with their professors outside of the classrooms,” Loudiy said. “We‘re not talking about concepts, an exam or a paper. It‘s a different vibe that we have in the studio and the kitchen. That‘s important to develop those bonds.”
Just as food is keeping family bonds together, it‘s also shortening the gap between faculty and students and students with their classmates. It also creates lasting emotions that people never forget.
“Food is a big part of our lives,” Loudiy said. “There‘s something about food that brings back memories. Food releases endorphins. We feel good when we eat good food.”
Episodes of The Soul Food Initiative are available on the project‘s YouTube page titled “The Soul Food Initiative.”
Top, food prepared during a Black History Month episode of “The Soul Food Initiative” included vegetables and poundcake, prepared by SRU professors Franklyn Charles and Ursula Payne, bottom left.
Tribute to an alum
who ‘embodied
John Garber remembered with safety management major scholarship
John Garber, ’90, is remembered as a dedicated safety professional, respected academic, well-loved friend and honorable Slippery Rock University alumnus. As an SRU student, Garber was heavily dedicated and involved in many campus and student organizations. He was active in the student section of the SRU American Society of Safety Professionals, formally ASSE. He was a founding member and consultant for the on-campus organizations of Students Against Drunk Drivers and Fraternities Against Drunk Drivers. Additionally, Garber was also a proud member of the Greek community on campus and was a brother of the Sigma Pi fraternity. Beyond his excellence on-campus and throughout his professional career, Garber is ultimately remembered as the kind of person who was destined for success due to his genuine desire to be a great safety professional. After his passing in 2021, Garber’s friends, family and Sigma Pi brothers wanted to memorialize him and his dedication to the safety and risk management profession by creating the John Garber Memorial Outstanding Senior Safety Management Major Award. After graduating from SRU in 1990, Garber earned a master’s degree from Saint Joseph’s University and two master’s degrees from Villanova University. He held advisory roles with BB&T Insurance Services and KMRD Partners, adjunct faculty roles with DeSales University and Villanova, and even started his own enterprise risk management and human resources advisory firm. He is the author of the EMS Safety and Risk Control Resource Manual, contributing author to the Employment
The Rock’
Labor Law Audit, and he has published many articles on health, safety, security and risk management.
“John was a senior during my first semester teaching in the department and I can always remember him being someone who the other students looked up to, in and out of the classroom,” said Joseph Cali, professor of safety management and department chair.
“ ...I can always remember him being someone who the other students looked up to, in and out of the classroom. I knew he would be a great safety professional because he had such a zealous drive for success.”
– Joseph Cali, professor of safety management and department chair
“I knew he would be a great safety professional because he had such a zealous drive for success. I still remember him rapping on my office door during my morning coffee, just wanting to talk about his academics and career.”
What started as the idea for an award in name only turned into a dedicated scholarship program aimed at recognizing a top-performing safety management senior who is wellrespected among professors and peers, excels academically, and is an overall well-rounded professional, all attributes
inspired by Garber’s impact on the department and his cohort.
The scholarship is funded through donations and fundraisers hosted by Garber’s colleagues, Sigma Pi brothers and fellow SRU safety management alumni, and officially launched in the spring of 2022 when the first $1,000 scholarship grant was awarded to Leah Bracken, a senior safety management major from Ebensburg. Garber’s friends and family plan to continue growing the fund in hopes of creating an endowment to ensure his lasting memory among SRU safety professionals.
“We wanted to start this in honor of John because of what he meant to our community,” said Dan Finn, ’89, lead donor and Sigma Pi brother. “John was loved by everybody who knew him, and he’s just done so much for all of us that we wanted to repay his memory. We grew to really know him because of his dedication to the safety program and Greek community; he embodied The Rock.”
To learn more about Garber and to make an online donation, visit srufoundation.org/garber. Donations may also be sent via mail to Slippery Rock University Foundation, 104 Maltby Ave. Suite 100, Slippery Rock PA, 16057, payable to SRU Foundation noting “John Garber Scholarship” in the memo line.
John Garber, (top) with his wife, Traci, and (left) with their daughter, Dana, proudly displays his SRU pride (far left) and his fraternity, Sigma Pi (middle).
DANCING IN THE STREETS
Katie Baughn, a Slippery Rock University senior dance major, was among nine members of Palenque, SRU’s touring Colombian dance company, who performed in downtown Pittsburgh outside the August Wilson African American Cultural Center as part of the center’s Family Day festivities.
SRU alumna and former pole vaulter learning to walk again after car accident
CLEAR
Pole vaulting requires instinct. Sure, athletes must concentrate on their steps and body placement to run with a 15-foot pole and clear a horizontal bar suspended 12 feet in the air. But to compete at the collegiate level, it‘s all about trusting yourself, both physically and psychologically.
Roxanne Dunn had the instincts, the training and the technique. When she first came to Slippery Rock University as a transfer student in 2017, she already had years of pole-vaulting experience coupled with a background in gymnastics. That all changed on March 21, 2021.
Now, nearly two years after she grad uated from SRU, she‘s regaining trust in a body that can no longer pole vault, run, jump, or even walk like it did before.
toward greater mobility requires months of physical therapy. But Dunn is now walking during her therapy sessions with the assistance of Lofstrand crutches that attach to her forearms, near where she has a tattoo of the date March 21, 2021. That‘s when she was the passenger in a Honda CRV that veered off a road in Butler County, hitting a tree stump and crashing down an embankment.
Dunn was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh after the crash. In addition to a spinal cord injury, Dunn sustained severed intestines and a smashed orbital socket. She had four surgeries, three within 48 hours following the accident, along with a 53-day hospital stay in the
“She always wanted to do whatever she was doing really well,” said Jordan, a former SRU assistant track and field coach who is now The Rock‘s head coach. “She has a lot of perseverance and dedication and when she decides to do something, she puts her mind to it and she‘s not going to give up. Those are the things that made her a really good athlete, educator and a babysitter for us. Right now with her learning to walk again, a lot of people out there might have thrown in the towel and said, ‛Hey, it‘s just too hard; I‘ll just be in a wheelchair the rest of my life.‘ She‘s not the type who will give up.”
“Yes, I have motivation and I want to do everything I can, but I‘m able to do it because of the type of injury that I have,” said Dunn, who was first diagnosed with an incomplete tear of her T12-L1 spinal cord. “For someone with a complete injury, they could have more motivation than I do, but they‘re not going to walk. When you have a spinal cord injury, the time of recovery is different for everybody, but typically it falls in this two-year window where you see the most recovery.”
Since she returned home from the hospital, Dunn‘s parents, Ryan and Marlene Dunn, drive her more than two hours both ways to Columbus, 2-3 days a week for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and for other specialized care not available near her home in Dover, Ohio.
feel comfortable asking questions. My biggest goal is to create a place to learn from the actual person.”
It‘s no surprise Dunn aspires to become a teacher. Prior to her accident, Dunn worked with children at the Akron Rotary Camp, where many campers have developmental or physical disabilities. She‘s since resumed working with children at the camp this summer, but she has also interviewed for teaching positions in school districts near her home.
helped me, but it‘s been worth it,” said Dunn. She acknowledged her family, including her parents, her brother, Kyle, her best friend, Nnemelie UzoDiribe, and her therapists for helping her during her recovery.
“Some of the most supportive people after the accident were from Slippery Rock,” said Dunn, mentioning how many SRU community members contributed to a GoFundMe account that was started on her behalf. “It wasn‘t the things that I did at Slippery Rock but the relationships that I cultivated while I was there that I still have to this day.”
She‘s used her Instagram (@nicole. roxanne_ ) and TikTok (@nicole.rox), to talk about her journey and educate people about different types of spinal cord injuries. She candidly shares stories of what people must endure and what it takes to function in her daily life. Dunn said being open about her recovery has been therapeutic for her to track her progress.
“The toughest part, undoubtably, is what I go through that people don‘t get to see,” Dunn said. “They‘ll see me making progress walking and say, ̓You‘re doing great,‘ or they‘ll see me out with my friends. But I‘m not always positive. I have bad days. It‘s insane for anyone to expect to be a certain way all the time. I go through a lot of things that people don‘t understand, and I want to be someone who people can
At the time of her accident, Dunn had just received her license to teach certifications in Ohio. Supporting students with special needs is already a challenging job. Doing it with special needs yourself presents another set of challenges.
To Dunn, recovery is not like polevaulting, where the fight is won by clearing a bar at a fixed distance. It‘s more of a state of being and action.
“Recovery is more about reintegrating myself back into the community and having a normal life,” Dunn said. “But this isn‘t something that anyone can do for me. This is a fight that I have to do for myself.
“Recovery is about moving forward and not focusing on whether I can walk without a walker. I‘m still doing that, and I still hope for that, but the biggest move would be to become a just another 25-year-old, with a career and a life beyond the accident.”
Far left, Roxanne Dunn displays a tattoo that reminds her of March 21, 2021, the day of a car accident that left her paralyzed. Middle, Dunn continues to recover at her family’s home in Dover, Ohio. Bottom, after months of rehabilitation and therapy, she is now able to stand with the support of a walker.
“ Recovery is more about reintegrating myself back into the community and having a normal life. But this isn‘t something that anyone can do for me. This is a fight that I have to do for myself. ”
“There are a lot more considerations for my safety and the safety of the students, but I haven‘t given up on that dream,” Dunn said. “My goal is to do what‘s best for my students and I don‘t know if that would be me teaching. If I don‘t get a job working in special education, that doesn‘t end my drive working with children with special needs. I think I‘ll find a different way to do that.”
“There‘s been a lot of time and energy put in by many people who have
P WS and Effect
SRU’s animal-assisted intervention programs helping people gain more than just emotional support
Tales of dogs rescuing people might not seem so waggish now that health care providers, schools and other organizations are realizing the benefits of animal-assisted intervention and therapy. Just ask Nicole Osgood, a medical social worker for the Butler Health System. Osgood earned two degrees from Slippery Rock University and a certificate in animal-assisted social work, all while learning the impact
of the human-animal bond through her classes and experiences with community outreach programs.
“I was able to see how using therapy dogs implemented with social work interventions can really benefit different populations,” said Osgood, ̓15, ̓21M, who earned her bachelor‘s and master‘s degrees in social work at SRU. “I got to see how much people changed after a day, how excited people became, and all these positive outcomes reported by administrators. I‘m convinced that
I should implement this in my own community and in my job.”
In addition to the certificate that students can earn through the social work master‘s program, SRU offers undergraduates the opportunity to minor in animalassisted interventions through the recreational therapy program.
Animal-assisted interventions is a broad term commonly used to describe the use of animals to benefit humans physically, cognitively, socially or emotionally in variety of settings and
with various populations. AAI can be applied as part of crisis response for trauma victims, in prisons for inmates experiencing stress or anxiety, or as therapeutic treatments for hospital or nursing home patients.
“It is huge right now,” said Yvonne Eaton-Stull, associate professor of public health and social work. “(AAI) is a growing specialization for social workers, and we‘re seeing agencies wanting to hire students who have this background so that they can then implement a program in their particular practice. There‘s definitely more need with mental health effects from the pandemic.”
Eaton-Stull is a licensed clinical social worker, who, prior to becoming a professor, was the director of an outpatient mental health agency in Erie. She was charged with creating more group activities for clients, so she tried animalassisted interventions and found success with the practice. A turning point in her career came in 2007 when she responded to the mass shooting at Virginia Tech by visiting the campus in Blacksburg,
Virginia, with her yellow Labrador retriever, Maggie, to provide interventions for students coping with the crisis.
Shortly after that experience and having more people see the impact she made via news reports, Eaton-Stull was hired as the director of the counseling center at Allegheny College. It was there where she began incorporating regular animal interventions with students.
“Students can take three of the four graduate-level animal-assisted classes to earn the certificate, which includes classes specifically designed for animalassisted social work with different demographics, such as kids or seniors, as well as a crisis response course. SRU is one of only two colleges in the country to offer an animal-assisted interventions social work certificate.
It‘s been very interesting to learn the amazing therapeutic benefits that come from the animal-assisted interventions. These interactions, whether in group sessions or for individuals, have proven to decrease stress levels and anger, improve social interactions, and (regulate) heart rate and blood pressure.”
– Victoria Spreng, a graduate student majoring in social work
After joining the SRU faculty in 2015, Eaton-Stull helped implement the animalassisted interventions minor, which now has more than 50 students, as well as the graduate certificate program that was first offered last year and includes approximately 20 students.
“It‘s been very interesting to learn the amazing therapeutic benefits that come from the animal-assisted interventions,” said Victoria Spreng, a graduate student majoring in social work from Valencia. “These interactions, whether in group sessions or for individuals, have proven to
decrease stress levels and anger, improve social interactions, and (regulate) heart rate and blood pressure. We learn about all these benefits, but also how we can be incorporate (AAI) in different areas of social work or therapy.”
SRU professors and students have developed and conducted outreach programs that are part of course assignments. They‘ve hosted interventions at George Junior Republic, a residential school and treatment facilities for at-risk youths, as well as at senior care facilities and at other schools and agencies. Last spring, they hosted a community event for seniors at the New Castle Public Library.
Spreng plans to incorporate animalassisted interventions in her work as the executive director of The Lighthouse Foundation, a Christian outreach organization serving impoverished families in Allegheny and Butler County.
Eaton-Stull has also involved students in recent years with studies that have used animal-assisted interventions in local prisons, measuring the effects of group sessions on inmates who are
diagnosed with anxiety, experiencing stress or susceptible to self-harm, as well as those coping with loss. She‘s completed four studies with a fifth on the way after it was delayed because of limited access during the pandemic.
“We‘re building the evidence base to demonstrate that the therapy dogs really do make a difference in people‘s lives,” Eaton-Stull said. “For a long time, the only research that‘s been out there was just anecdotal things, but now we‘re starting to see more of that research measuring (holistic) change, and I‘m just hopeful that we can continue to demonstrate that animal-assisted intervention is something to be taken seriously.”
An area that creates skepticism is emotional-support animals, particularly with people trying to take their pets or exotic animals on airplanes and into other areas that cause disruptions.
According to Eaton-Stull, there are three major categories of animals:
1. Service animals, which are federally protected and specially trained to perform tasks to help a person who
has a disability (they are, with rare exceptions, permitted to go anywhere with their owner);
2. Emotional-support animals are used with written permission by a mental health provider, but there are no laws allowing them anywhere outside of a person‘s residence; and
3. Therapy animals, which, like service dogs, are specially trained, but they provide psychological or physiological treatments to individuals other than their handlers in a variety of settings.
“Some airlines might have allowances for an emotional-support animal because flying could be anxiety provoking, but people have pushed the envelope and are abusing the system,” Eaton-Stull said. “Therapy dogs, and specifically crisis-response dogs, must be trained and their owners certified. In crisisresponse situations, the dogs need to be comfortable with sirens and crowds and all sorts of environments that can be overstimulating to untrained dogs.”
Four SRU students earned national
certification through HOPE AnimalAssisted Crisis Response, joining an elite team of approximately 300 people in the U.S. who are certified to respond to crises and disasters by providing animal-assisted comfort and support to people impacted.
In addition to using Eaton-Stull‘s black lab/beagle mix, named “Chevy,” SRU students have used trained therapy dogs from the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. This is an organization that provides testing, certification, registration, support and insurance for members who volunteer with dogs to visit hospitals, schools, nursing homes and other facilities.
Osgood, who as an SRU student was a self-proclaimed cat lover, is now “100% a dog person” and she recently become the owner of a pitbull/dachshund mix named “Howie” who is currently going through training to become a therapy dog.
“SRU is great because it‘s one of the only schools in the country that offers a certificate in animal-assisted interventions,” Osgood said. “I‘m confident that I received the best education and it puts me
ahead of others (who work in the field of social work).”
Osgood had Eaton-Stull and crisisresponse dogs went to Butler Hospital during the pandemic to help with nurses and staff coping with stress and anxiety.
“That was a big eye-opener for the administration to see the benefits that it could have, and we now have a therapy dog in training that is working at the outpatient center,” Osgood said. “But we have a lot of other patients, especially those who suffered strokes and often deal with depression, and just implementing a dog with therapy, like having patients holding a leash or throwing a ball to a dog, can boost their confidence.”
Eaton-Stull has formed other partnerships with local agencies to provide animal-assisted interventions with class projects and other programming, including George Junior Republic, a residential facility for at-risk youths in Grove City, and the Human Services Center in New Castle, which provides behavioral health care.
“Animal therapy is huge,” said Pat Devine, program director at GJR who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in recreation at SRU in 1982 and 1987. “When I started here in the 1980s, people didn’t recognize the therapeutic value in that, but now the world has changed and I can really see kids looking forward it, feeling comfortable around the dogs and opening up more to the counselors.”
Eaton-Stull continues to see the practice grow and gain acceptance, which bodes well for students in the program, providers in the community, and, most of all, people who benefit from the animal-human bond.
“Whenever schools and agencies see animal-assisted interven t ions put into practice, they‘re sold on the benefits,”
Eaton-Stull said. “It never fails to amaze me.”
Top left, SRU animal-assisted intervention programs are led by Yvonne Eaton-Stull, associate professor of public health and social work. Dogs from Hope Animal Assisted Crisis Response were brought to SRU classes as part of a lecture about supporting grieving individuals. They also participated in SRU community outreach programs, including one for senior citizens at the New Castle Public Library.
HONOR-BOUND FLIGHT
Retired Navy captain blazes trail to Washington with fellow women veterans
“Oh, was your husband a veteran?” is a question women like Kathy Contres are often asked when they use a parking spot reserved for veterans or receive other benefits for those who served in the military. “No, I‘m the veteran,” is how women veterans respond to correct people.
“It‘s been that way forever, but we‘re finally getting the recognition,” said Contres, a former U.S. Navy captain and a 1977 Slippery Rock University graduate with a degree in allied health.
Contres was recently part of the first-ever, all-women honor flight, as more than 100 female veterans of the U.S. armed forces traveled by chartered plane from Sanford, Florida, to Washington, D.C., to visit the veterans memorials and other attractions in the nation‘s capital. The trip was organized through the Villages Honor Flight and the Tri-County Womens Veterans Association in Florida, which raised more than $130,000 for transportation and hotels for the veterans, their guardians and staff.
Villages Honor Flight is part of the national Honor Flight Network where veterans travel to Washington, D.C., often within a 24-hour span. Trips consist mostly of male veterans, with occasional women veterans joining too. In the past year,
Contres, who is active in military veterans organizations, served as a guardian on two honor flights for men who served in the Korean War.
“It‘s so heartwarming,” Contres said. “When the veterans go on these flights, they have tears in their eyes because it‘s just something that they never thought they‘d ever get to do or receive the recognition and the acknowledgement. It‘s redcarpet treatment the entire way.”
The all-women honor flight, officially Villages Honor Flight Mission No. 53, featured a patriotic sendoff and homecoming at the American Legion Post 347 in Lady Lake, Florida, May 31 and June 1, respectively, with flag-waving supporters and music. When their plane landed at Baltimore/Washington International Airport, they were greeted on the tarmac with a water salute, as the aircraft taxied under plumes of water discharged from firetrucks.
“When we got off the plane and walked to the bus, there were people lined up and applauding us and thanking us for our service, and it was like that all day long,” Contres said. “Everywhere we went, even with all the high school trips –there were a lot of high school students (in Washington, D.C.,
visiting the memorials and museums at the time) – and when they heard that we were all women veterans, they would come over and high-five us. It‘s just so nice for the women to finally be recognized.”
Women have long been part of the U.S. military, dating back to their involvement in World War II as typists, switchboard operators, mechanics and bakers, but they weren‘t officially enlisted until 1948. They were barred from combat until 2015.
Contres served in the U.S. Navy for 30 years. When she retired in 2010, she was the highest-ranking female Hispanic American officer in the Navy and the first Hispanic American woman to command the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute. The DEOMI is a U.S. Department of Defense joint services school that offers education and training and conducts research in areas of equal opportunity, intercultural communication, religious, racial, gender and ethnic diversity to optimize force readiness.
She was stationed everywhere from the Pacific, including Guam and Hawaii, to Buffalo, New York. Her most challenging assignment was at The Pentagon, where she worked in the Navy Training Directorate and managed the training budget for all shore training commands. Also, according to Contres, one of her most honored assignments was serving on President Barack Obama‘s presidential commissions that studied and made specific recommendations to him regarding diversity leadership in the military.
Her final duty station with the DEOMI in Florida allowed Contres to harken back to her SRU education and early career before she joined the military. A native of Spangler, in Cambria County, Contres was a teacher, athletic training and coach at high schools near her hometown, before she was allured by the opportunity to “Join the Navy and see the world,” as the slogan at the time suggested.
“The things that I learned at SRU and being from a small town and attending a small college, I understood where a lot of young folks were coming from, such as a farmer who came from Iowa,” Contres said. “That helped me identify with the students and the experiences I had both at home and in college were beneficial.”
Contres has been called a “Hispanic American trailblazer,” according to an article on the Naval History and Heritage Command website, but for a long time she didn‘t identify herself by her ethnicity. She didn‘t she didn‘t speak Spanish and her grandfather, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, wanted to protect his family from some of the harassment and prejudices he faced. But she‘s embraced the moniker to encourage other Latinas to find a career path in the military and know that they belong and can contribute.
Still, she was surprised to discover her portrait on the wall at the National Museum of the United States Navy during her recent visit to Washington with her fellow women veterans.
“I‘m walking through checking out the old ships and memorabilia and suddenly I hear people saying, ‚Kathy! Kathy! You‘ve got to come over here; you‘ve got to see this,‘” Contres said.
There, on the “Faces of the Navy,” alongside portraits of John F. Kennedy, Admiral Grace Hopper and Admiral Chester Nimitz, was Contres, recognized for being the Navy‘s highest ranking Hispanic female line officer on active duty in 2002.
“I cried and I was so shocked,” Contres said. “To be up there with people who are far, far, far more heroic and famous than I am, it‘s such an honor.”
Left, Kathy Contres points to her portrait that was part of a “Faces of the Navy” exhibit in the National Museum of the United States Navy in Washington, D.C., during a visit in June 2022. Contres, below, front row second from right, was one of more than 100 female veterans to travel to the nation’s capital from Florida as part of the first-ever all-women honor flight.
Competing on the Circuit
SRU engineering students build and program robots for engaging class project
Students in an electrical engineering class at Slippery Rock University have become less robotic in their learning by building robots from scratch. This semester-long project in the spring of 2022 combined several skills that could have involved students memorizing inputs and outputs of circuitry and computer code to program robots, but humans learn differently. A better approach is through competition and hands-on experiences.
“This project has been very useful because it‘s information I‘ll remember,” said Tanae Williams, a senior mechanical engineering major from Slippery Rock. “Instead of sitting in a class and trying to remember information for a test, I‘ll remember the coding we did to program the robots for a long time.”
Working in small groups, the students built robots in SRU‘s engineering lab to perform three tasks. First, they programmed the robots to dance, and then they navigated them through a 6-by-6-foot maze of wooden planks, having them entering and exiting four “rooms” from a center hallway. Finally, as a culminating challenge that replicated a task of a fire-fighting robot, the robots were programmed to enter rooms of the maze to find a lit candle and extinguish the flame with a tiny fan.
“As an engineer, you have to learn how to build something, and that‘s what this class teaches,” said Sagar Bhandari, assistant professor of physics and engineering, who teaches the 300-level, Introduction to Electrical Engineering course. “In a computer science class, you might program equipment that you buy, or take data from it, but you don‘t touch the circuits because (the device) works. But here, you are building the whole circuit. You might have an advanced piece of machinery with all these different sensors and actuators. There are so many issues you might have to fix, and this project teaches students how to figure out how a robot works and it gives them a sense of accomplishment from building it.”
Students were provided wires, circuits, wheels and other equipment to build around small Arduino computers, opensource electronics with software that makes it easy for someone to write code and upload it to a board. Arduino computers sense their environments by receiving inputs from many sensors, and affects their surroundings by controlling lights, motors and other actuators. The sensors can detect the distance between an object, such as the walls in a maze, or,
using infrared sensors, the presence of heat from a flame.
“We‘re all given the same materials, but it‘s up to us to make whatever we want to do with it,” said Zachary Hanlon, a junior mechanical engineering major from Oakmont. “We all work together in some sense, but there are changes per group based on how we want to place these the wires and connect them to the circuits.”
Each group custom built their robots, some using parts from a 3-D printer, and gave them a name. Bhandari developed a scoring system for each task, factoring in time, if the objective was completed and if the robot returned to its starting point.
“There‘s a lot of competition, but there‘s also camaraderie, and that‘s what makes it fun,” said Hanlon, whose group named their robot “Little Boty.” “Dr. Bhandari does a great a job getting us involved and he‘s been able to teach us a lot about electrical circuits and coding.
“I‘m into music and I‘d like to work (in my career) with guitar pedals and amplifiers, and this was the first class I‘ve taken that will prepare me for that. I‘ve started learning basic circuitry and doing circuit diagrams. It‘s been really helpful.”
Little Boty was one of two robots in the class to blow out multiple candles during the exercise, including one pass that took just 22 seconds. Some of the robots got stuck in a corner or just knocked the candles over. Bhandari said that students weren‘t graded on whether or not the robots completed the task but how well students were able to solve issues and identify why the robot succeeded or failed. Each group had to write a report for each task and give a presentation at the end of the semester.
“Students might have a fear of programming and circuits and building something, so this encourages them and gives
them confidence that they can actually do it,”
Bhandari said. “Normally, in engineering or physics classes, there‘s a lot of theory, homework and exams and it‘s difficult to remember everything six months later. But how to program a robot, students will remember this.”
“We‘re developing the skills needed to put all the pieces together,” Williams said. “We had to write the code to make the robot dance and make the sensors work to make the robot move along the wall and around the corners and everything came together (for the final task).”
Williams joked that her team‘s robot, “Roberto,” was working great with the code they developed, but when it came to the competition, it was under too much pressure.
Apparently, even emotions prevail in a class that is seemingly based on electrical circuits, computing and logic.
“Some of the students don‘t want to disassemble the robot because they have this emotional connection with it,” Bhandari said with amused laughter.
Top right, Sagar Bhandari, SRU assistant professor of physics and engineering, instructs Tanae Williams, a senior mechanical engineering major, during an Electrical Engineering class that included a competition where students built robots that navigated a 6-foot-by-6 maze of wooden planks, below, to find a lit candle to extinguish with a fan.
rock CLASS NOTES
EDITORIAL INFORMATION
To submit “Class Notes,” email us at alumni@sru.edu or go to www.rockalumni.com.
We do not publish engagements or pregnancies, but we do publish marriages and births.
Please note that due to space restrictions, submissions may be edited. However, remember that we are proud of all our alumni and all they do. GO ROCK!
1950s
Earl and Shirley (Dean) Birdy, ’51, celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. The couple met while attending SRU and were married at Heinz Chapel, June 19, 1952. The couple received a proclamation from Allegheny County’s Office of County Council and a letter from President and First Lady Biden in honor of the couple. 1
1960s
SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
2022-2023
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President, Melissa Visco, ’04
President Elect, Michael Zody, ’88
Treasurer, Keith Warcup, ’75
Secretary, Don Huddart, ’87
Immediate Past President, L. Michael Ross, ’77
Executive Committee Honorary, Richard Manning ’75
BOARD MEMBERS
Angela Beeman, ’06
Andrea Boggs, ’14
Geno Bonetti, ’79
Corey DeSantis, ’13
Joe Dropp, ’03
Ashley Ganoe, ’05, ’09M
Patrick Geho, ’92
Susan Whelpley Greaves, ’80,’85M
Michael Harich, ’94
Rajeev Karmacharya, ’95
Donna Kratz, ’84
Justina Cerra Lucas, ’13
Bruce Newton, ’78
Karen Perry, ’79, ’80
Corey Riddell, ’88
Ron Shidemantle, ’92
Matt Vannoy, ’09
Sam Zyroll, ’78
Mike Agostinella, ’68, retired from coaching track and cross country after 54 years. While most of those years were at Mt. Lebanon High School, 10 years were at the University of Pittsburgh. Elwood Exley Jr., ’63, a member of the Connecticut State Board of Education, has been elected Northeast Area Director of the National Association of State Boards of Education and a member of the NASBE board of directors.
Ron and Elaine (Rorabaugh) Good, ’62, celebrated the birth of their second greatgrandson, Jaxon Richards, Feb. 22, 2022. Married in November 1962, Ron and Elaine both retired from a lifetime of public school teaching in 2002 and reside near family in Tallahassee, Florida.
1970s
Kevin Conroy, ’77, retired as vice president of operations at General Press Corporation in Natrona Heights. After spending 44 years in the printing industry, Conroy plans to enjoy time with his wife of 42 years, Diane, his three sons, two daughtersin law, and two grandchildren. 2
John Fleeger, ’71, was recently inducted into the College of Science Hall of Distinction at Louisiana State University. Fleeger is an emeritus professor after serving for 33 years on the faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences. 3
Ron Peluso, ’72, retired after 27 years from History Theatre. As artistic director, Peluso left an indelible mark, bringing a wide variety of artists to produce awardwinning works.
Mary Risser, ’76, retired after nearly 40 years with the National Park Service. Risser worked at Grand Teton, Yosemite and Big Bend in various positions and served as the assistant superintendent at Joshua Tree and superintendent at Golden Spike, Dinosaur and Natchez Trace, and acting superintendent at Grand Canyon.
Jay Robbins, ’76, was honored in 2021 at Montour High School‘s first ever Basketball Legacy Award Ceremony. Robbins retired after a 34 year career as a physical education teacher, basketball coach and golf coach at Kenmore East High School in Tonawanda, New York. Laureen Tkacik, ’71, competed in the Queensland, Australia, Masters Gymnastics State Championship in June and successfully retained the all around title against three other 70 plusyear old competitors. 4
Jeffrey Wood, ’79, was appointed judge for Magisterial District Court 41 404 in Newport in July 2022.
1980s
Sam Bartley, ’83, published his first children’s book, “Johnny‘s Day at the Farm,” about a boy growing up on a farm with his grandfather. The book was named in honor of his uncle on his 80th birthday and was published by Mechling Publishing Company in Butler.
Suzanne (Ault) Boarts,’83, ’87M, was the first president of the National Association of Extension 4 H Youth Development Professionals to serve from Pennsylvania. As president, she was responsible for coordinating the NAE4 H YDP national conference with 900 participants and 300 virtual registrations. As a 4 H educator covering southwest Pennsylvania, she has worked for Penn State Extension for the past 23 years.
John Hicks, ’87, served as president of the Association of Teacher Educators for 202122 and was recently appointed to the Slippery Rock Borough Council.
Brian Nelson, ’82, retired June 2022 after teaching physical education 35 years in the Palm Beach County School District in Florida.
Michael, ’87, and Tracy (Wahal) Paskas, ’90, celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary, Aug. 21, 2022. The couple recently medaled at the 2022 National Senior Olympics in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 5
Kim Tracanna-Breault, ’82, retired from teaching physical education for 36 years at Lakeside Elementary School in Florida. She was inducted into the Clay County Hall of Fame in 2021 and her school district named its physical education field and covered area after her.
1990s
Bill Bott, ’93, was awarded the American Business Award for 2022 Government Thought Leader of the Year. Bott has dedicated his professional life to assisting social workers in child welfare.
Jeneane (LaFerriere) Connolly, ’98, was appointed to the Virginia Department of Education Advisory
Board of Teaching Education and Licensure. Connollly lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and has been a fourth grade teacher in King George County Schools for 16 years.
Robert Naylor, ’92, a member of the SRU conference champion cross country team in 1991, was head coach of the Montour High School cross country team that won the 2021 PIAA state championship. 6
Pat O’Shea, ‘94, released an Irish rock album with the band Shades of Green on St. Patrick’s Day, 2022. O’Shea’s father died young but left behind an old suitcase full of poetry that O’Shea published into a book in 2007, and eventually evolved into a music album, titled “Conversations We Never Had,” which is available on Amazon and popular streaming platforms. 7
Kevin Pontuti, ’90, recently released their first feature film in the United States, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a period adaptation of the short story written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The film was shot in Ireland in 2019 and premiered at Cinequest Film Festival in 2021. The film is available to rent or buy on most popular streaming platforms.
Robin Reimold, ’95, was appointed president and CEO of TeamCalifornia and will guide the organization in its mission to promote California for business opportunities.
2000s
Morgan Rizzardi, ’07, was promoted to director of admissions at Butler County Community College in January 2022. She enjoys helping transfer students find their way to “The Rock” through the committed partnership between the two institutions.
2010s
Victoria Lightfoot, ’10, received a $25,000 Milken Educator Award presented by the Milken Family Foundation Victoria. Lightfoot, an instructional coach at Millbrook Magnet Elementary School and former third grade teacher at Cedar Fork Elementary in North Carolina, was recognized for her exceptional leadership and ability to foster positive relationships while achieving learning benchmarks. 8
Emily Rankin, ’19, was recently crowned 2022 Pennsylvania America‘s Miss Agribusiness. She will be advocating for agriculture with her reign and bringing awareness to food insecurities in the state of Pennsylvania. 9
Ben Snyder, ’19, recently performed as Warren in “Ordinary Days” at the Meadville Community Theater and in “Hair” as part of a performing arts festival in Hawaii.
Weddings
Jaleen Beardsley, ’16, and Rachel Thoman, ’16, were married Nov. 6, 2021. The couple resides in North East. q
Colin Berkley, ’16, and Sarah Terrill, ’16, were married Feb. 12, 2022, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. w
Kaitie Bouch, ’16, and Zack Kochin were married Oct. 1, 2021, in an outdoor ceremony at More Human, a farm and gym where the couple first met. e
Tabitha Giacalone, ’18, ’20M, and Alex Kern, ’18, ’20M, were married April 16, 2022, in Philadelphia. r
Allison Klemm, ’18, ’22M, and Joseph Illig were married Oct. 17, 2020, in Polk. The couple resides in Grove City. t
Katherine Lyons, ’03, and Jeff Sellars were married May 29, 2021. The couple resides in New Hampshire. y Leonard Quimby, ’92, and Amy Branscome were married Aug. 29, 2020. u
Births
T. J. Anderson, ’14, and Michele (Sneddon) Anderson, ’14, welcomed their daughter, Emma, on Sept. 10, 2021. i
Pamela (Locktosh) Beck, ’04, and her husband, Michael, welcomed their daughter, Adele Mei, Oct. 8, 2021. She joins brothers Lucius and AJ. o
Greg Belmondo, ’08, and his wife, Leah, welcomed their son, Giovanni Vincent, June 24, 2022. p
Matthew Hearn, ’03, ’11M, and Stephanie (Paszko) Hearn, ’12, ’14M, welcomed their daughter, Reese Cameron, on Dec. 10, 2021. The family resides in Hermitage with proud big sister Nora. a
Ross Marshall, ’13, and Elicia (Cutchall) Marshall, ’14, welcomed their son, Wesley, Jan. 26, 2021. He is the 54th great grandchild of SRU alumna Ellen (Wikert) McCloskey, ’54. s
Jim Powers, ’90, and his wife, Gina, welcomed their daughter Carmen Elizabeth, July 2, 2021. d
Tyler J. Walker, ’11, and his wife, Meghan, welcomed their son, Liam Patrick, Aug. 28, 2021. f
Steve Winslow, ’08, and Krista (Smith) Winslow, ’08, welcomed their third son, Benjamin Alexander, born July 7, 2022. g
In Memory
Ruth Alben, ’99
James Anderson, ’61
Richard Beaman, ’82
Jerome Bejbl, ’63
Richard Bellis, ’67
Joseph Beltz, ’52
Sylvia Benson, ’74
Gaynell Brady, ’74
Larry Campbell, ’59
Jane Cappellano, ’65
Ruth Chalfant, ’49
Janet Chappell, ’77
Ronald Chislaghi, ’61
Denise Condo, ’77
Carol Crawford, ’95
Linda Croll, ’69
Ellen Cromwell Cecrle, ’64
Pauline Cunningham, ’59
Paula Dorsch, ’73
John Downie, ’16
Angel Duphily, ’19
Luke Dye, ’20
Laurie Elliott, ’80
Joyce Enscoe, ’54
Richard Fasson, ’67
Tamara GetzWarren, ’90
Robert Gillgrist, ’65
Jamie Graham, ’89
Stephen Grennek, ’57
Nancy Haas, ’93
George Harmon, ’65
Donald Hawk, ’89
Nancy Hensler, ’84
Keith Hettel, ’74
John Houpt, ’51
Scott Humbert, ’92
Pamela Irwin, ’89
David Jackson, ’80
Gary James, ’77
Edna Kerr, ’92
Marlee Knox, ’59
Scott Koehler, ’75
Terri Labate, ’97
Thomas Leslie, ’69
Linda Lutes, ’76
Everett Lyle, ’63
Brenda McCall, ’75
Opal McCarl, ’43
Bob McComas, ’82
Lorraine McLaughlin, ’55
Richard Meredith, ’61
Charles Meyers, ’61
Michael Milakovic, ’84
Greta Miller, ’56
Wilbur Nelson, ’50
Barbara Nelson, ’57
Matthew O‘Neil, ’7
Linda Packham, ’70
Duane Patterson, ’60
Sandra Phillips, ’69
Donald Pierce, ’71
Sylva Redden, ’47
George Rekich, ’65
Linda Ruffo, ’75
Wilda Sanna, ’69
Judith Schlegel, ’63
Don Schmelzer, ’64
Harry Sintz, ’60
Nancy Sleigher, ’89
Joseph Slepak, ’96
Shane Slobada, ’1
Edward Sloniger, ’57
Patrick Smail, ’60
Steven Snider, ’71
William Tatich, ’76
Robert Thompson, ’73
Thomas Thompson, ’74
Joan Tolfa, ’81
Janice Tuck, ’76
Neil Turner, ’69
Ryan Waltman, ’05
Jeffrey Whitaker, ’84
Timothy Wilt, ’67
Joseph Wojtowicz, ’71
Susan Young, ’79
Ursel Albers, Retired Faculty
Lawrence Lowing, Retired Faculty
Bruce MacDonald, Retired Manager
Robert McGraw, Coach
James Pennell, Retired Faculty
Herb. Reinhard, Adminstrator Emeritus
Linda Rihel, Staff
G. Warren Smith, Former President ’97 ’03
James Wallace, Retired Staff
“JERRY
Jerry Bejbl’s impact on the Slippery Rock University community went well beyond his time as a student. Bejbl, a 1963 SRU graduate and Rock Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, was known for being a longtime and beloved supporter of the University.
Bejbl passed away March 20 in DeKalb, Illinois, at the age of 82.
“This was a tremendous loss for our football program and the entire University community,” said SRU head football coach Shawn Lutz. “Jerry‘s contributions to Slippery Rock University and our football program especially have been beyond significant and have impacted the lives of so many SRU student-athletes over the last 40 years.”
Bejbl grew up in Newberry, Ohio, and chose to attend SRU for a chance to play football and get an education, enrolling in 1959. At that time, he was the only player on the Slippery Rock State Teachers College roster to come from outside the state of Pennsylvania. He
starred on The Rock football team as a fullback and helped the team to back-toback conference championships in 1961 and 1962, scoring 168 total points and setting a scoring record that wouldn‘t be eclipsed for 30 years.
More important to Bejbl than what he did on the football field or in the classroom at SRU, was that he met the love of his life, Kathleen “Kathy” Toohey at The Rock. They married while at SRU and were married 61 years. Bejbl was a loving father to three children: Michelle, Michael and Christopher.
The Bejbl family moved to DeKalb in 1969 and Jerry and his brother-inlaw, Larry Jarres, began Armoloy of Illinois, a metal coating company. Bejbl would go on to buy out the Armoloy Corporation and expand the franchise across the United States and into Europe. He worked tirelessly for 40 years before retiring and handing the reins of Armoloy to his sons.
Bejbl‘s success in the business world
allowed him to become more involved at his alma mater as he looked for ways to help students experience the place he credited for so much of his success.
Often quoted as saying “Slippery Rock changed my whole life,” Bejbl wanted the opportunity to change the lives of future generations. He and Kathy began to generously donate significant gifts to the University that would provide scholarships to student-athletes and transform athletics facilities on campus. In 1988, two years after Bejbl was enshrined in the Rock Athletics Hall of Fame, the Bejbl family endowed $150,000 to the Jerome Bejbl Football Scholarship. A decade later in 1998, the Bejbl family contributed another $200,000 for the creation of the Jerry Bejbl Weight Training Center at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. At that time, it was the largest single donation by an SRU alumnus in the University‘s history. The Bejbl family would add more than $300,000 to that contribution during
Jerry Bejbl, middle, congratulating SRU football players after a win, was a dedicated supporter of Rock football, rarely missing a home game, despite living in the Chicago area.
alumnus in the University‘s history to top the $1 million mark in total contributions.
Retired SRU head football coach George Mihalik was in charge of The Rock football program for the entirety of that first million dollars in contributions.
“I am not sure people understand how significant Jerry and Kathy are in the history of the Slippery Rock football program and really in the history of the University as a whole,” said Mihalik. “Without the contributions and support from Jerry and Kathy, our football program would not be anywhere near as successful as it has been. Jerry and Kathy have changed the lives of so many student-athletes at Slippery Rock. I loved him and his family like they were my own.”
Bejbl wasn‘t just a financial supporter of SRU or the football program. He rarely missed a home game, driving
from the Chicago area, often through the middle of the night, to make sure he was on the sideline for The Rock‘s home games. He also almost never missed a playoff game, driving and flying all over the country to root for The Rock to advance in the national tournament.
It wasn‘t just game day that Bejbl showed up to support SRU, as he also was a frequent visitor on campus for various fundraisers, golf outings, galas and other University events.
He supported individual studentathletes, traveling all over the country to celebrate their success. He went to Alabama with Brandon Fusco when he played in the Reese‘s Senior Bowl in 2011, drove to New York City to celebrate with Marcus Martin when he was honored at the National Football Foundation Awards Dinner in 2017 and, most recently, flew to Las Vegas to celebrate with Henry Litwin when he was recognized at the NFF Awards Dinner in December 2021.
The SRU council of trustees formally recognized Bejbl with a commendation at their June business meeting, which
was later presented to the Bejbl family at a home football game this fall.
“We appreciate Jerry‘s generosity to his alma mater as we know that his true legacy lives on through the profound impact he has made on the University,” said Matthew Lautman, SRU trustee.
“Simply put, Jerry was family,” said Lutz. “He cared so deeply about seeing our student-athletes succeed on the field and in the classroom. He loved Slippery Rock and we loved him.”
Top, Bejbl as a fullback on the SRU football in the early 1960s, continued backing The Rock funding a weight training center (left) and attended games and awards ceremonies all over the country, including one recognizing Henry Litwin in Las Vegas in December 2021.
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I am the Rich Dickinson, ’87, bachelor’s in finance
DAY JOB: I am the chief financial officer of LTL Management and Royalty Acquisition Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. In this role, I am responsible for the overall financial management of this subsidiary. Prior to this I was the vice president of new business development and new ventures for the $28-billion MedTech Segment of J&J, a $95-billion company representing the largest health care company in the world.
BACKGROUND: I am originally from Beaver Falls, and come from a family of 10 siblings whom I am extremely close to, along with their families. My beautiful and wonderful wife of 31 years, Ashu, and I have three children: Jessy, Ben, and Grace, who mean the world to us. We live outside of Philadelphia in Bucks County, while also spending time in Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Although my travel schedule and commitments keep me near the other end of the state, I make it back to Beaver Falls, Slippery Rock, and the Pittsburgh area on a consistent basis.
INFLUENCE OF SRU: SRU holds a special place in my heart and always will. Prior to attending SRU, I was more into sports than school, but that all changed the moment I walked onto the campus at SRU. SRU and its professors from day one believed in my potential and pointed out that the only thing that would stand in my way of realizing my dreams was if I did not give SRU my all. So, I did. In my four years at The Rock, I worked at being the absolute best student I could be, and on my graduation day, in 1987, I graduated summa cum laude. As a result of SRU’s influence on my life, my family and myself have created the Dickinson Family Scholarship at SRU.
