Ohio Today spring 2024

New Goals in the New Year

Hello, Bobcats near and far!

In my first year serving as Ohio University’s 23rd President, I have had the great fortune to meet many alumni and friends of our University. I am so grateful for the gracious and warm welcome I have received! We have accomplished many things in my first year at OHIO, and there is so much more to look forward to.

Since my installation as President in October, we have been developing dynamic strategies that will ultimately set the course for our future. This process and its conversations with students, faculty, staff, alumni and the communities we serve have taught me a great deal about the things that make our University singularly unique. We hope to share

more information about our dynamic strategies in the Fall 2024 edition of Ohio Today; until then, I encourage you to learn more about our process to develop University goals at ohio.edu/president/ dynamic-strategy.

Last year marked the 50th anniversary of OHIO’s partnership with Chubu University in Japan. During our annual International Education Week events in November, we welcomed our partners from Chubu University to our Athens campus, and I enjoyed getting to know President Yoshimi Takeuchi. During the visit, Chubu University presented us with 50 cherry trees to add to our grove, which already receives national attention for its splendor.

[ABOVE] President Gonzalez’s investiture was rich in tradition and forward-looking energy. “This moment, this celebration, is about much more than acknowledging a new president and the passing of the ceremonial torch,” she said. “It is about celebrating our amazing institution, its people and its traditions.”

BOBCAT BEACONS OF EXCELLENCE

FROM PRESIDENT GONZALEZ

Thanks to the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Center grants administered by the Ohio Department of Education, Kids on Campus will continue to offer its services to the Belpre City, Eastern Local, Federal Hocking Local, Nelsonville-York City and Southern Local Perry County school districts. The three grants, totaling $2.5 million over five years, will support Kids on Campus’ mission of providing high-quality, out-of-school learning opportunities and activities for eligible students. In total, nearly 500 students in kindergarten through 12th grade will be able to participate in beforeschool, after-school and/or summer programs thanks to this funding.

We also held the groundbreaking for the new Friendship Park Pavilion on West Green. I am looking forward to visiting their beautiful campus in Kasugai.

Last fall, more than 1,100 students moved their tassels left, forging ahead to make their paths in the world as new Bobcat alumni. Josh Antonuccio, BSC ’96, MED ’17, associate professor and director of the Scripps College’s School of Media Arts & Studies and director of the Ohio University Music Industry Summit, served as our Fall Commencement speaker. We are looking forward to hearing from the Honorable William T. Newman Jr., BFA ’72, at our upcoming Spring Commencement.

Like you, I know that Ohio University is truly a special place, and I am Forever Proud and Forever Grateful to serve as your President.

Lori Stewart Gonzalez President

For the fourth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has recognized OHIO as the best value public university in the state and No. 26 best value public university in the nation, cementing our position among the country’s top institutions. The University also was ranked among the top 100 public schools in the nation and earned accolades for our academic excellence and commitment to student success.

Last October, I announced the new President’s Opportunity Promise Award as part of my commitment to invest in the region and increase access for students who already call it home. Beginning this fall, the award gives qualifying, Pell-eligible students another reason to choose OHIO: It covers remaining Athens campus tuition and mandatory fees after subtracting the recipient’s Pell Grant and other federal, state and institutional gift aid. Learn about the award at ohio.edu/ opportunity-promise

Photo by Eli Burris, BSJ ’16 [OPPOSITE PAGE] Cherry blossoms gifted by Chubu University bloom outside the Convocation Center. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02

ON THE COVER: A mountain biker

Trail System in Wayne National Forest. The trail system is just one example of how OHIO is partnering with communities to fuel regional growth.

President Emeritus Robert Glidden passed away in December at age 87. His legacy will live on through the many initiatives and capital projects he spearheaded during his 10-year tenure. Emeriti Park, between South and West greens, is one such example. Read more about President Glidden’s impact on page 54.

rides the Baileys

Photo courtesy of Visit Athens County

Photo by Dylan Benedict, BSVC ’22

A life-changing education

I arrived as a freshman at Ohio University in 1963, in the “Alden years,” our Athens version of “Camelot.” I received a stellar liberal arts education courtesy of many outstanding faculty—John “Jack” Matthews (author and Distinguished Professor of English, 1977) being one. I will never forget the night he showed up at my dormitory to give a talk accompanied by his very, very large Irish Wolfhound. My (legally blind) grandmother, who financed my college education, said many times, “Education is something they can’t take away from you.” I’m grateful that my education at Ohio University has been an indelible, life-changing part of my life.

—Susan (Baker) West, AB ’69, MSPE ’88

Skirting the skirts

I enjoyed reading the article honoring the marching band (fall 2023 issue), having been a member during the 1961 and 1962 football seasons, which gave me a wonderful experience! In looking at the uniforms over the years, I was surprised to see only those worn by the male members. If one would peruse the Athena yearbooks of the 1960s, you would see that the uniforms of the ladies were quite different! Amazing, isn’t it? It would be great to somehow acknowledge that in a future Ohio Today publication. —Beverly (Garrison) Francis, BFA ’65

Editor’s note: A great observation, Beverly! We’ve updated the illustration at ohiotoday.org.

Missed opportunity

I look forward to receiving each issue of Ohio Today. When it arrives in my mailbox, I am always curious to see what’s on the cover and

@OHIOALUMNI

Ohio Football defeated Georgia Southern 41-21 in the 2023 Myrtle Beach Bowl on Dec. 16. It was the Bobcats’ fifth-straight bowl win, completing backto-back 10-win seasons for the first time in program history. OHIO also beat the Eagles in Soar vs. Roar, a 24-hour giving challenge supporting student athletes. This social post from Ohio University’s official LinkedIn account was among the top ones for fall semester 2023, garnering 65,000 impressions and 15,000 engagements. Make sure to follow OHIO on all social platforms for daily content, entertainment and news about your alma mater!

what story the cover photo starts to tell. For the fall 2023 issue, the cover photo appears to offer a fun and celebratory welcome for new President Lori Stewart Gonzalez, but it doesn’t take much to notice the total lack of diversity for those chosen to be in the photo. It is not at all representative of Ohio University.

For future issues, I implore the editors and publishers of Ohio Today to do better and consider a more appropriate mix of students that will truly represent the awesome and diverse student body at Ohio University Matthew Freedman, BSJ ’97, MSA ’98

Editor’s note: We agree entirely, Matthew. Thank you for pointing out

our unintentional oversight. Ohio Today is committed to representation and inclusion, and we will endeavor to do better in future issues.

Name changes

I always look forward to receiving the hard copy of Ohio Today and only wish it was published quarterly. Having been in print journalism for about 50 years, a printed publication has more impact and relevance to me than an electronic image on a computer screen. Regarding the College of Communication moving to the former Baker Center [Schoonover Center for Communication], I do wish the previous building where it was housed [Scripps Hall] would revert back to its original name of Carnegie Hall (“100 Years of

Photo courtesy of Ohio Athletics

Journalism Education,” fall 2023). There’s a lot of history, tradition and a continuity to the great philanthropist for whom it is named. It shouldn’t be forgotten. Also, the new president, Lori Stewart Gonzalez, seems to have deep roots in Appalachia. I hope she’s successful. —Jim Golding, BSJ ’72

Monumental memories

I remember the Soldiers & Sailors monument well (“Time Machine,” fall 2023). When I was at OHIO working on my master’s degree, it was said to be a safe place to smoke marijuana, where the police would leave you alone. I tested this hypothesis with my then-boyfriend numerous times. We were never busted, and we were often not alone in partaking at that location. Of course, these were the days

of decriminalization, so the law probably had better things to do.

My late dad, John H. Beeler, AB ’40, MA ’47, HLHD ’84, told of heading to class one morning and seeing that prankster(s) had hung a large sausage between the legs of one of the statues. After he finished his bachelor’s degree, he was drafted and served as an Army artillery officer in North Africa and Italy. After the war, he returned to OHIO for his master’s degree in history, then went on to Cornell University (where he met my mother) for a doctorate. He taught history for 30-plus years at the University of North Carolina–Greensboro and became a renowned authority in his field, medieval military history. He suffered a massive coronary at only 68, in 1985. I miss him to this day.

—Hazel E. Beeler, MS ’82

Go Bobcats!

So pleased that you shared this article (“Last Word? Go Bobcats!” spring 2023) and proud of the students who have successfully made their way in the big world and give credit to Ohio University for their success. From what I have gathered, the hands-on teaching experiences have a lot to do with after-college employment and starting up companies of their own.

—Myra (Andres) Fisher, BSJ ’56

WRITE TO US: Ohio Today welcomes comments from readers. We reserve the right to edit for grammar, space, clarity and civility. Send letters by email to ohiotoday@ohio.edu, by mail to Ohio Today, Ohio University, P.O. Box 869, Athens, OH 45701-0869, or join the conversation at ohiotoday.org. We regret that we cannot publish all messages received in print or online.

What’s new at OHIO U. 1

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NEW DEAN IN THE HONORS

TUTORIAL COLLEGE

Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Sayrs has named Kristina Bross as dean of the Honors Tutorial College. Currently the senior associate dean for research and creative endeavors at the John Martinson Honors College at Purdue University, Bross will assume the role at OHIO this July.

COLLABORATION ON DIGITAL ENTERPRISE

OHIO is partnering with the University of Dayton Research Institute’s new Digital Transformation Center. OHIO’s portion, the Digital Enterprise Collaboratory, will connect people and solutions to help customers reshape their digital futures; a complementary DEC in Athens will support digital internships for students.

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INCREASED ACCESS TO PERIOD PRODUCTS

The Period Project, a partnership with Aunt Flow, will provide free, organic period products to combat period poverty among menstruating students, making OHIO the first university in the state to do so. Installation of the period product vending machines in all University bathrooms is expected to take two years.

The

accompany it as a state-of-the-art center for OHIO’s physics, astronomy, geography and geological sciences departments. Between them gleams “EIDOLON:NATURE” by Jon Barlow Hudson, that represents the interdisciplinary relationship of the sciences, with formulas provided by OHIO faculty representing each department laser-etched onto each side. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02

new chemistry building (right), which opened in 2021, serves as an epicenter for cutting-edge research; by the end of this year, the renovated Clippinger Laboratories (left) will

FROM ATHENS TO THE ISS

This fall, one group of OHIO students will conduct research in low-Earth orbit.

On Sarah Wyatt’s 11th birthday, she gazed in wonder at the television in her Mayfield, Kentucky, home as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. Nearly 1,000 miles away, fellow 11-year-old Jeff Goldstein tuned in from the Bronx, utterly spellbound.

Today, both conduct their own space research while educating future generations of scientists.

As an OHIO professor of plant molecular and cellular biology with a Ph.D. in plant physiology, Wyatt has sent four experiments

Sarah Wyatt consults with a multidisciplinary group of students on their spaceflight experiment. Read more about their experiments at ohiotoday.org Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02

to the International Space Station— with a fifth departing soon. She studies everything from how microgravity impacts plant growth to the effects of solar radiation on plant development. Wyatt also recently joined 19 top U.S. scientists chosen by the National Academy of Sciences to develop a “decadal survey” for NASA.

Goldstein also developed his love of space into an educationfocused career, earning a Ph.D. in astrophysics and working at such institutions as the Smithsonian and Challenger Center. Today, he directs both the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education.

In 2023, their paths crossed in the form of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP), which Goldstein founded and directs. Since 2010, SSEP has allowed upper elementary through undergraduate students to design microgravity experiments and write formal proposals; to date, 19 missions have flown student experiments into space. For Mission 18, one winning student experiment from each of the 37 participating learning communities will board an ISSbound SpaceX spacecraft—and for the first time, OHIO students’ work will be among them.

“I was looking for research opportunities,” says Michael Lane, a third-year bio sciences major from Hamilton, Ohio. “When I learned about this, I was like, ‘Space?! Of course I want to do that!’”

Lane got placed in OHIO’s “Team Two,” along with Nathan Smith, a second-year field ecology major, and Victoria Swiler, a fourth-year environmental and plant biology major. The team was facilitated by Nick Whitticar, BS ’17, a Ph.D. candidate in translational biomedical sciences.

Team Two joined nine other teams comprising 34 total undergrads—from hard sciences to humanities majors—for OHIO’s Undergraduate Research and Writing course to learn about the scientific method, proposal writing and the strict parameters of their ISS flight experiments.

“Experiments are bound by spaceflight hardware,” Wyatt explains, describing a cylinder that’s 6 inches long and half an inch in diameter, with clips dividing it in halves or thirds. “They can study whatever they want as long as it fits and can remain in stasis” until reaching ISS labs.

Team Two’s experiment will explore whether bacteria discovered on the ISS can enhance plant growth. “Using bacteria found on the International Space Station was very cool,” Swiler says, “but my favorite part was designing our own experiment.”

“I didn’t realize how extensive proposals need to be,” adds Smith, who identified 10 plant genes to analyze in response to the bacteria. “One of the genes—the coolest one, I think—lignifies [hardens] cell walls as a pathogenic response.”

Team Two’s hard work paid off in December when Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Sayrs announced them as the winning Ohio University team selected by a committee of experts assembled by NCESSE. Their experiment will fly to the ISS this fall to be conducted by astronauts, while Team Two will do the same experiment on Earth to provide ground control data. The remaining OHIO participants can use Wyatt’s microgravitysimulating clinostat to test their hypotheses in Porter Hall.

“Humans are born curious, evidence-based learners—asking questions and poking the universe for data. The SSEP nurtures those skills through authentic immersion in America’s space program,” Goldstein says, adding: “For the record, we’re honored and excited to work with Ohio University this year.” —Anita Martin, BSJ ’05

The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in the U.S. and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education internationally. It is enabled through a strategic partnership with Nanoracks, LLC, which is working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory.

The Power of Place

RESEARCH & PARTNERSHIP THAT FUELS PROSPERITY, HERE AND BEYOND

[THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE]

The Baileys Trail System in Wayne National Forest was conceptualized in part by OHIO alumni. The project has provided research opportunities for, and has received support from, Ohio University students and faculty.

Photo this page by Dylan Townsend, BSVC ’24. Photo opposite courtesy of Visit Athens County

Green Scenes

How do you build a great city? “Create a great university,” said the late U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York, “and wait 200 years.” Moynihan did not attend Ohio University, but he apparently shared with our founders the belief that fueling prosperity in a region begins with a top-tier institution of higher learning.

We most often think of a university’s role as primarily the development of talent: educating career-ready leaders who will contribute to the regional economy after graduation. We certainly do that at OHIO, though we see that as only one part of our regional commitment. As a Carnegie-designated R1 (very high research activity) University, our research work—in partnership with municipalities and community organizations—is another powerful way we influence the success of our neighboring communities.

What’s more, the needs of our region often inspire our research initiatives and help us develop and define research strengths. Our place influences our work, and our work influences the place we call home. Together with local partners, we are building solutions that have become models for other communities around the world.

Backwoods to Biking

Moynihan’s 200 years of patience is not always required, but big ideas for regional progress do often take decades to come to full fruition. More than 30 years ago, a group of local recreation enthusiasts in Athens recommended an idea for a mountain bike trail system in the Wayne National Forest, just north of the city. The idea finally took root in 2015 thanks in great part to OHIO alumnus and owner of the former Athens Bicycle, Peter Kotses, AB ’92, and Danny Twilley, MSRSS ’06, PHD ’17, who was at the time teaching recreation and sport pedagogy at the University. Twilley took the lead in drafting a request for proposal for a firm that could develop the trail design, and Kotses worked to generate the seed funding for project planning.

Fast forward to today, and the Baileys Trail System is thriving with 58 miles of trail open for use and 30 more being constructed. In the years since Twilley and Kotses partnered to jumpstart the planning effort, many more partners have joined the project, with Wayne National Forest and the Outdoor Recreation Council of Appalachia (ORCA) taking the lead.

Students

in the Economics of Altruism class assist a Habitat for Humanity build in Chauncey, Ohio, as part of their coursework. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02

Over the years, the Baileys project has also fueled research opportunities for the University, including the first formal internship program with Wayne National Forest. In 2018, six OHIO students spent the summer conducting field surveys on the first 36 miles of the system. The interns documented animal, plant and archaeological resources, along the way discovering two new populations of a state-endangered dragonfly, several sensitive plant species and two new archaeological sites.

More recently, Emily Sebring, a visual communications major at OHIO, participated in a rewarding August 2023 internship experience with ORCA, a council of governments formed to sustainably focus on outdoor recreation as an asset for communities and to develop the Baileys Trail System.

“It’s really nice, just being able to see the work I’m doing impact communities,” she says. “The nice thing about working with social media and stuff like that is, I get to see people engage with it.”

OHIO has also been involved in a socioeconomic impact study to set a baseline prior to the trail system’s development. This sort of research not only is relevant to Baileys, but will help inform projects now underway in Vermont, California, Pennsylvania and Washington that are using the same development consultants.

When complete, the Baileys Trail System will connect to the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway, a 22-mile paved bike path that follows the Hocking River along the cherry trees on the Athens Campus, bringing the project full circle.

Pollution to Paint

It would be a short bike ride from the Baileys trailhead in Chauncey to the towns of Millfield and Trimble, where children might draw their rivers in vivid shades of yellow or orange.

It’s not because they’ve imagined a fanciful golden waterway, but because that’s been their reality growing up in these Southeast Ohio communities—

An aerial view of the Truetown Discharge site, the state’s largest single acid mine drainage discharge site. OHIO faculty members have developed a process to clean up the iron oxide deposits that pollute the waterway.

Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02

like other communities across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky or Tennessee—where water drainage from abandoned coal mines, packed with iron oxide, has leached from tunnels underground to color streams and damage habitats.

At OHIO, researchers John Sabraw, professor of painting + drawing in the College of Fine Arts, and Guy Riefler, professor of civil and environmental engineering in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, have spent more than a decade designing a method to not only clean up local streams, but in fact transform the damaging waste into an artist-quality pigment for use in paint.

Sabraw and Riefler partnered with local community agency Rural Action to commercialize the idea through the social enterprise company True Pigments. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Mineral Resources Management provided $3.5 million in pilot

funding to construct a full-scale acid mine drainage water treatment plant that will help source materials for True Pigments. The plant broke ground last June at the Truetown Discharge site in Millfield, Ohio, the largest single acid mine drainage discharge site in the state.

The local impact is tangible: True Pigments and the new water treatment plant will provide local jobs while helping remediate damage to Sunday Creek, just a few miles north of OHIO’s residential campus.

The Baileys Trail System in Athens County benefited from an analysis by OHIO students in Dr. Julia Paxton’s Economics of Altruism class, who explored options to mitigate gentrification and other issues related to its development. Photo

“We are thankful to have partners like Rural Action and offices at the state and federal levels to help make this project a reality,” Sabraw says. “This new facility is a critical step in restoring clean water to the localities of Southeast Ohio, and in demonstrating how art plays a vital role in creating a vibrant community.”

More importantly, this project has the potential to be transformational for communities beyond

Courtesy of Athens County Vistors Bureau

Students taking a class with John Sabraw participate in a “sculpture dunk” at the Truetown Discharge site.

Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02

Sunday Creek’s banks. There are more than 45,000 abandoned coal mines across the country, as mapped by the U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. With concentrations east of the Rocky Mountains and along the length of the Appalachian Mountains, abandoned mines are located in more than half of all U.S. states. They also wreak havoc in South Africa, Northeast India and across Europe. This is a global problem, with researchers at countless universities working on potential remediation. But OHIO’s paint solution is entirely unique, creating a potential model for communities everywhere.

Black Diamonds to Sustainable Decking

Meanwhile, researchers in OHIO’s Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment have been hard at work on another way to turn the region’s past extraction economy into a new, more sustainable industry for the region.

Under the leadership of Jason Trembly, BSCHE ’03, MS ’05, PHD ’07, professor of mechanical engineering in the Russ College and director of the ISEE, a team of OHIO faculty and students have successfully converted waste from coal mining, in combination

A team in the University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment are turning coal waste, seen here at a CONSOL Energy facility in Pennsylvania, into sustainable construction material. Photo by

with disposed plastic bottles, into new, affordable decking material for the construction industry. The project was funded through a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

“The carbon dioxide emissions are 60 to 80% less than your typical wood-based product,” Trembly told state leaders on a recent tour of his lab. “And it allows us to clean up legacy mining sites where there are billions of tons of material that’s available.”

Similar to plans for True Pigments, Trembly’s vision for the future of this new decking product is to develop partnerships supporting construction of a manufacturing facility in the region where it will be produced for commercial sale, fueling jobs and growth in Southeast Ohio and supporting the building industry across the state. Over time, production growth could lead to opportunities to repurpose coal waste across the region and beyond.

Scratching the Surface

Beyond these few shining examples, OHIO is rich with research ideas and projects rooted in place with potential to drive regional growth and success:

In the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Diabetes Institute is a national leader in diabetes research in rural communities, working to solve care inequities in Appalachia and improve local diabetes education.

In the Scripps College of Communication, faculty members worked with the Athens Police Department and the Athens County Sheriff’s Office to develop virtual reality law enforcement training now used across the state.

In the College of Arts and Sciences, the Center for Intervention Research in Schools involves both OHIO faculty and students in the development and evaluation of interventions for youth with attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder in schools across the region.

The list could go on and on. The work itself certainly will. It has been 220 years since OHIO’s founding and two years since the University made the nation’s short list of R1 research institutions. Imagine the impact OHIO can—and will—have in our next 200 years.

—Robin Oliver, vice president for Communications and Marketing at OHIO; contributions from Tosha Jupiter

Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02

OHIO MAKING HEADLINES

Bobcats make the news—and the OHIO community proud—every day. Read about a few of the Ohio University alumni, students, faculty and staff who have made headlines in recent months.

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS

The women’s soccer team took home the Mid-American Conference Championship in November [ABOVE] after defeating Kent State 2-1. While the Bobcats had made it to the championship game twice before—most recently in 2002— this was the first MAC Championship win for the program. After Kent scored in the first two minutes of play, the Bobcats dominated the rest of the game with a strong defense, including a critical save by sophomore goalkeeper Celeste Sloma, and goals scored by junior Kali Stock and sophomore Scout Murray. Murray’s goal was her second consecutive gamewinner, helping her earn the title of Most Valuable Player of the MAC Tournament. The Championship win also earned OHIO a spot in the NCAA Tournament—another first for the team.

NEW HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

After a 2023 ballot nod, the College Football Hall of Fame gained its first Bobcat in 2024: former football coach Frank Solich, who earned the status of “winningest coach in the history of the Mid-American Conference” in 2019 with his 111 th win. Solich left OHIO in 2021 with a 115-82 record, which trails only former head coach and stadium namesake Don Peden, who had 121 wins from 1924-46. He’s also only the third person with ties to the state of Ohio to become a member of the Hall of Fame, joining Mark Dantonio, the former defensive coordinator at Ohio State University and former coach at Michigan State, and Chris Ward, who played for OSU in the 1970s.

TOP-NOTCH SHOTS

TIME magazine’s Top 100 photos of 2023 included three alumni: Michael Swensen, BSVC ’21, for photographing former President Donald Trump in East Palestine, Ohio, after the February train derailment that caused a toxic chemical spill (Getty Images); Drew Angerer, BSVC ’12, for documenting the U.S. Congressional hearing on unidentified flying objects (Getty Images); and Madalyn “Maddie” McGarvey, BSVC ’12, for capturing a Trump rally in Erie, Pennsylvania (The New York Times). “VisCom students and alumni create so much of what this country sees every day from around the world,” says Stan Alost, a professor in the School of Visual Communication. “It gives me goosebumps to … know that we are contributing to keeping democracy alive through reporting with real images in an era of disinformation.”

AWARDS, AWARDS, EVERYWHERE

Numerous OHIO groups recently have earned national recognition. Among them is Ohio University Regional Higher Education, which in January was awarded the Rural Schools Collaborative’s Catalyst Initiative Grant. That funding will help expand the OHIO Rural Teacher Fellowship and junior fellowships in support of RHE’s mission to diversify the teaching workforce. And last summer, the prestigious 2023 FBI National Academy Associates Science and Innovation Award went to John Born (Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service and Scripps College of Communication), Eric R. Williams and John Bowditch (both Scripps), for their virtual reality training experiences for police officers in Ohio. Staff from the Ohio University Police Department, Athens Police Department and Athens County Sheriff’s Office also contributed.

Photo courtesy of Ohio Athletics

A chance meeting—and a little mischief—led to Harvey and Anna Kopel’s first date. It went well: The pair entered their senior year as a married couple.

Photo by Karsten Moran

Knowledge, Wisdom & Love

Talk about #couplegoals! Meet the winners and staff favorites from the Bobcat Bliss contest, many of whom were betrothed on the bricks.

From class rings to wedding rings, plenty of love stories have started in Athens—and nearly 100 Bobcat couples shared theirs as part of the Ohio University Alumni Association’s recent Bobcat Bliss contest.

Throughout June, entrants posted stories and photos on the Bobcat Network platform depicting their OHIO beginnings and lifelong memories. Winners Amber and Jon Lechner were chosen randomly to receive an overnight stay at the Ohio University Inn, dinner for two at Cutler’s and a vow renewal ceremony at Galbreath Chapel.

“Alumni shared so much about their personal lives and the things that they’ve been through as a couple— and they showed that it all started at OHIO,” says Jennifer Shutt Bowie, BSJ ’94, MS ’99, associate vice president of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at OHIO and executive director of the Ohio University Alumni Association. “Bobcats create so many lifelong relationships while they’re students, and being able to highlight their journeys in this way is really beautiful.”

Hear from our Bobcat Bliss winners, plus a few stories our staff loved. See even more at ohio.edu/bliss.

HARVEY KOPEL, BFA ’64, & ANNA (BALABAN) KOPEL, BSED ’64

Married: Sept. 1, 1963

Living in: New York, New York

How they met: At a Hillel party in 1961; both Harvey and a friend were interested in Anna. “We flipped a coin to see who would get to call Anna for a date,” Harvey recalls. “I lost, but I asked her out anyway.”

How it went: After receiving their parents’ blessings, the pair married between their junior and senior years at OHIO, then lived together at a house on Depot Street while finishing their degrees. “When we went back for our 50th alumni reunion, our fraternity and sorority houses were no longer there, the dorms we lived in weren’t there anymore, and the river was no longer in the same place,” Harvey says, “but that dilapidated house on Depot Street was still there.”

Where they are now: The Kopels live in Manhattan, where they raised their three kids. Both retired, Harvey volunteers as a Central Park tour guide and shoots with the Sierra Photo Club, while Anna is an avid reader who belongs to two book clubs.

RUSSELL MORROW, BSC ’12, MED ’14, & KASEY

Married: Oct. 22, 2016 | Living in: Athens, Ohio

How they met: Kasey was a psychology major and a student research assistant, while Russell was a media arts and studies major working as a production assistant at WOUB and as a LINKS peer mentor. Their worlds intersected when they both became orientation leaders. “As we continued to get to know each other, we eventually started dating,” shares Russell.

How it went: Stunning fall foliage provided the backdrop for Russell and Kasey’s wedding at Galbreath Chapel, complete with photos taken on College Green and at The Ridges.

The choice to wed in Athens was fitting for the couple, who pursued both undergraduate and advanced degrees at OHIO. “Athens was the best and only choice,” Kasey says.

Where they are now: Though California was home for several years, the couple and their two sons are back in Athens, as both Russell and Kasey now work on campus. Russell serves as OHIO’s interim vice president for diversity and inclusion, while Kasey is the director of Allen Advising in the Center for Advising, Career and Experiential Learning (ACE).

OHIO brought Kasey and Russell together as a couple, then back to Athens as a family after spending a few years out of state. Photo courtesy of Kasey Daniel

DANIEL, BA ’12, MED ’15

Photo by Rich-Joseph Facun, BSVC’01

LUCAS MICHAEL, BSPEX ’23, & LYDIA (KING) MICHAEL, BSFNS ’20, MSFNS ’22

Married: June 26, 2022 | Living in: Columbus, Ohio

How they met: Despite having mutual friends for a few years, the pair didn’t meet until just a few weeks before their first date in February 2020. Lydia had been studying abroad at the University of Limerick during Lucas’ first semester, and Lucas was deployed with the Ohio Air National Guard when Lydia returned to Athens.

How it went: They became fast friends after a serendipitous trip to Jackie O’s and made up for lost time by meeting weekly to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender and spending time at Strouds Run

State Park. After hearing through the grapevine that his crush was reciprocal, Lucas gathered the courage to ask Lydia out on a date in early 2020. “I knew Lydia was the one after our first date, hard stop,” Lucas says. “It was such an overwhelming gut feeling.”

Where they are now: The Michaels made it official in June 2022 with a wedding outside Columbus, and their friendship has continued to grow in marriage. “Lucas is my best friend,” Lydia says, “and I am so thankful every day that OHIO brought us together.”

Jackie O’s holds special meaning for the Michaels; fortunately, the Columbus-based couple has a local outpost of the brewery where they can relive their early days at OHIO. Photo courtesy of Lydia Michael

Photo by Ty Wright, BFA ’02, MA ’13

Photo by Ty Wright, BFA ’02, MA ’13

Bobcat Bliss winners

JON LECHNER, BA ’14, & AMBER (CHRISTIAN) LECHNER, BSHCS ’13

Married: April 16, 2016 | Living in: Groveport, Ohio

Jon originally came to Ohio University from Nebraska to play football, but he eventually realized he was playing the long game in more ways than one. After all, Peden Stadium was home not only to five years of football memories, but also to both his wedding proposal and rehearsal dinner.

“I surprised Amber by proposing during Senior Night on the field,” Jon recalls. “Her family came down to Athens, as did my dad. There was a video crew, and they showed our proposal on the scoreboard!”

Jon and Amber originally met their sophomore year when they both lived in Sargent Hall (where Amber was an RA), and Jon says they’ve been “inseparable” ever since. Amber was an Alpha Omicron Pi sorority member and restaurant, hotel, and tourism major, while Jon stayed busy with his sociology and criminology studies and starting position on the football team.

“We got along with each other’s respective circles, which was great because we were around each other at all times,” Jon jokes.

Amber graduated one year before Jon, who stayed on for a fifth year to complete his run as an offensive lineman. During that time, Amber took a job in sales and catering at the Ohio University Inn, where she helped orchestrate many weddings—including her own.

“We wanted to do it before wedding season kicked off because I had to work every single wedding [at the OU Inn],” Amber says of their April 2016 nuptials. “Holding it there really helped me have a stress-free day, because I knew and trusted all of the other employees.”

After Jon graduated, they lived in The Plains for a year, then Nelsonville and finally Groveport, south of Columbus. Naturally, they still make plenty of trips down to Athens, returning for football games and to see the cherry blossom trees in spring.

And now that they have a brandnew Bobkitten on board, they’re

even more excited to return to campus. Hadley Rose Lechner was born Nov. 21, 2023, and Amber and Jon plan to take her down to Athens this spring. “We’re excited to show her all of our stomping grounds,” Amber says.

That shared OHIO pride is something that has been a throughline in the Lechners’ relationship.

“I just feel so grateful for our journey,” Amber says. “I love it because [meeting] on campus and sharing core college memories has made OHIO the backdrop of our whole relationship.” Jen Jones Donatelli, BSJ ’98

Our 2023 Bobcat Bliss winners have multiple significant touchpoints on and around campus, from Peden Stadium to the Ohio University Inn. Their newborn daughter gives them a good reason to visit them all. Photo courtesy of Jon Lechner

Will Travel for Beer

Ohio’s breweries are OHIO’s breweries

When Ali (Araps) Hovan, BFA ’07, co-founder of HiHO Brewing Co. in Cuyahoga Falls, taught art in Denver, she and her partner dedicated nights, weekends and breaks to exploring Colorado, discovering breweries along the way.

And after Bobby Slattery, BSC ’04, graduated, his promotional marketing job allowed him to visit Michigan’s Bell’s Brewery and others, inspiring him to open Fifty West Brewing Co. in Chillicothe.

“People travel for craft beer. They explore breweries,” says Combustion Brewery & Taproom co-owner Keith Jackson, BS, BSVC ’05. “I figured that if we were [in

Pickerington, east of Columbus], maybe we’d be the first stop.”

Travel leads to beer; beer leads to travel. And as Laura Sowers, BSED ’07, recently discovered with the 2023 launch of the Bobcat Brew Trail, many roads lead to OHIO.

Looking for alumni-owned businesses is paramount to Sowers’ work as the senior associate director of alumni relations and campus partnerships with the Ohio University Alumni Association (OUAA). When she learned that many of Ohio’s craft breweries were owned by OHIO alumni, the Trail—a collective of 27 alumniowned breweries—was born.

Using thru-hiking terminology and iconography, the Trail rewards participants with branded stickers, steins and T-shirts for visiting those breweries. To check in, the hopsseeking trekkers scan a QR code on a “Trail Blaze” sign at a participating brewery. As of December 2023, five months after the Trail launched, more than 500 constituents were taking part. “Our goal was 100,” says Sowers.

A natural progression

Ohio University alumni’s love for craft beer is no surprise. But owning a brewery goes beyond a predilection for IPAs. For many Trail proprietors, an OHIO education made brewing a natural next step in their careers.

Jackson, who founded Combustion with his wife, Sarah (Breedlove) Jackson, BA ’04, leaned on both his cartography and publication design degrees when launching

their business. “I used the training I got in [the School of Visual Communication] to provide input on our logo design and graphics for Combustion Brewing. And understanding that language helps with ongoing graphics,” he says.

His cartography education also aided in location selection, considering demographics, average household incomes and physical sense of place to make the call. “At the time, there were 20,000 people in the city of Pickerington. And we’re at the center of that. We had a lot of people within 3 or 4 miles of us, which was important,” Jackson says.

The lessons learned outside the classroom—specifically in Sorority and Fraternity Life—aided Slattery in founding Fifty West. The organizational communications major was the social chair of his fraternity, responsible for organizing people around activities. That easily

equates to his role running Fifty West. “I come up with creative brands and beers to attract new clientele,” he says. “[During rush], I was selling my fraternity, and now I’m selling Fifty West. It’s all those things I’ve done in college—it hasn’t changed. It’s just under a different brand.”

Slattery likes that the Trail connects him to fellow alumni. “People see the [Trail Blaze] sign and are proud to tell you that they were part of the same experience you’ve had in your life,” he says.

“I grew up with an interest in craft beer and was in Colorado during Denver’s craft beer boom,” says Hovan, who co-founded HiHO in January 2017. “I was an art teacher by day and a craft beer connoisseur by night.” She credits her education with developing her creative problem-solving skills. “Some of my favorite classes were coming up with new ideas and interpreting things in different ways,” she says, “and that’s kind of what running a business is.”

Hovan values the connections and collaboration the Trail facilitates and feels that many of her fellow Trail proprietors have a similar ethos. “I feel like we’re a part of a community,” she says. “And if I had a question, I could call anyone on that brewery trail, and they’d pick up the phone and give me their honest opinion.”

Collaboration & education

Many of the Trail brewers have called upon a person who could be considered the “OG” of craft brewing in Athens and Ohio at large: Andrew Arthur Oestrike, BSED, BA ’01, MA ’08, better known as Art and the owner of Jackie O’s (formerly O’Hooley’s Irish Pub, Athens’ first craft brewery, which originally opened in the late ’90s). Slattery of Fifty West is one such example; he called Oestrike and Brad Clark, BA ’06, the former head brewer at Jackie O’s, for help with his launch. (Clark moved to Santa Cruz, California, in early 2019 and now runs the club-based Private Press Brewing.)

IllustrationbyAdamSimpson

“People see the [Trail Blaze] sign and are proud to tell you that they were part of the same experience you’ve had in your life.”

—Bobby Slattery, owner of Fifty West Brewing Co.

Oestrike is all in for Trail participation. “Bobcats are all over the state and in every industry,” he says. “It’s wild how many different [OHIO alumni] operate or work in breweries around the state. And anything we can do to tie together Bobcats, we tend to do. It’s a winwin situation.”

Oestrike purchased O’Hooley’s in 2005 and relaunched it as Jackie O’s in honor of his mother, Jackie Oestrike, in 2007. His vast experience and growing brewery footprint make him a natural and prolific source of information about brewing. Today, Oestrike also teaches the Art of Craft Brewing course as part of OHIO’s Craft Brewing Certificate program. (See “From Lab to Lager,” at right.) His class teaches students about his business model in a hands-on, place-based learning environment.

With several storefronts in Athens, Oestrike turned to downtown Columbus for his newest venture, which opened last spring. “There are more OHIO alumni living in Greater Columbus

than there are humans of drinking age in Athens,” he jokes.

Jackie O’s on Fourth, named for the street where it’s located, is also the fourth location for the brand (Uptown Brewpub and Public House Restaurant on Union Street and Taproom and Brewery on Campbell Street, all in Athens), making it the largest brewery operation on the Trail.

Three others tie for second place: Little Fish Brewing Co. (Athens and Dayton), Combustion (Pickerington and Columbus) and Fifty West (Chillicothe and Cincinnati). But with a supportive network of fellow alumni proprietors on the Bobcat Brew Trail, future brewers completing the Craft Brewing Certificate each year, and a plethora of OHIO alumni connoisseurs across the state and beyond, the sky might just be the limit for craft beer enthusiasts.

For more information on the OUAA’s Bobcat Brew Trail, visit ohio.edu/bobcat-brew-trail

—Jill

Moorhead, BSVC ’01

FROM LAB TO LAGER

In 2011, Michael Held, BS ’98, PHD ’04, an active homebrewer and associate professor in chemistry and biochemistry at OHIO, wondered how he could bring science to a broader audience. His answer? Beer.

Held developed a set of core brewing courses that are now part of OHIO’s Craft Brewing Certificate, which uses a hybrid lab and lecture curriculum to teach the science behind the suds.

For their capstone project, students design a beer recipe that is analyzed from a technical standpoint. The winning recipe is then small-batch brewed by Jackie O’s for Ohio Brew Week, an annual event in Athens since 2005. The most recent winner, “Honey Sunrise” by chemistry major Dylan Geisen, was selected by Jackie O’s for the official 2023 Keg Tapping Ceremony to kick off the week of celebration for Ohio craft beers.

The College of Arts and Sciences certificate, available at both undergraduate and graduate levels, offers two pathways: the science of brewing and the entrepreneurial aspects of running a brewery. A brewery internship is required for completion. With more than 350 breweries in Ohio, according to the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, that shouldn’t be difficult to find.

Learn more about OHIO’s Craft Brewing Certificate program at ohio. edu/cas/brewing

LIGHTING THE WAY FOR THOSE TO COME

From mentorship to scholarship to recruitment, OHIO alumni inspire students to succeed.

Photo by Eli Burris, BSJ ’16

University campuses preserve our origin story, holding memories of trials and triumphs, friends, new experiences and weekend fun. Somewhere in those four years, we build a foundation that shapes our character and approach to life. When remembering and honoring your alma mater, you may look to go beyond recounting old stories to coworkers and friends. You want to be closer to the place that feels like home. You want to be involved again.

“When alumni get involved with Ohio University, the experiences and expertise that they share have a profound and positive impact on students,” says Jennifer Shutt Bowie, BSJ ’94, MS ’99, associate vice president of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at OHIO and executive director of the Ohio University Alumni Association. “Alumni step into classrooms and provide knowledge that helps students academically. They offer advice and counsel through formal and informal mentorship opportunities. Most of all, Bobcat alumni offer students a community that will stick with them and by them, forever.”

Ohio University’s Bobcat community has steadily grown over the years, with alumni providing student opportunities through financial investment, mentorship, internships and by serving as ambassadors in recruitment.

“I’ve seen students launch careers at companies like Cisco or enter graduate programs at places like Stanford because of an inspirational conversation with a grad who demonstrates that Bobcats can do anything they set their minds to,” Bowie says. “That gives students the courage to try. Alumni shine a light on what’s possible. That’s magic.”

In the following pages, Ohio Today shines that light back on several alumni performing magic of their own. Read on to learn their stories, interspersed with feedback provided by fellow alumni in response to the OUAA’s 2023 Alumni Attitude Survey. —Jessica Tremayne

Randall Winston, BSC ’89

“As a Black alum, I’m always interested in creating a pathway for people in the entertainment business,” says Randall Winston, a television producer, director and actor living in Los Angeles. “I help give exposure and insight for students looking to be part of the industry. I tell them my perspective and to have their eyes wide open—how to manage expectations and use personal experiences as a building block.” To that end, he has worked with OHIO-in-LA program director and University professor Roger Cooper to facilitate relationships between students and industry leaders.

Winston recalls his time on campus as enabling him to be a doer and develop skills that provided a reflection of and payoff in the real world.

“I had a lot of agency at OU,” Winston says. “I didn’t expect the closeness I experienced there. I made great friends. ... Professors made me feel like I had something to offer. That’s a big part of getting on the right foot. OU can give you the tools needed to accomplish goals. ... I tell students [who ask for advice] not to squander their experiences; they have real-world translation.”

Since graduating, Winston has stayed connected to Ohio University to honor his positive experience as a student and to help current students realize their goals.

“Being involved with the way the University is presented to prospective students makes me think about my experience,” he notes. “There was so much excitement being there. Being able to step into this world with confidence is what I hope to offer to prospective and current OU students.”

Courtesy of Randall Winston

Sandy (Hendrick) Anderson, BSC ’73

During Sandy Anderson’s time at OHIO, she was heavily involved in the forensics and speech and debate teams, which contributed to her highly successful law career in nearby Columbus and inspired her to give back.

“My first donation to the University was to the forensics team,” Anderson says. “I want other people to have that kind of experience in college.”

Anderson joined the Ohio University Foundation Board in 2015 and last year was appointed as its chair; she also served on the Ohio University Board of Trustees from 2007 to 2016. Today, she mentors current and prospective students who are interested in a law career and makes regular appearances at OHIO basketball games and other campus events.

“There are so many goosebump moments and moments when I have tears in my eyes, being at OU events,” Anderson says. “We have a program on campus for foster kids who have aged out of the system. OU started a service to make sure they have a place to go during holiday times. There are programs hosted by the University for veterans, who tell us about their experience. There is an equine therapy program for little kids. It all makes me very proud to be a Bobcat. It’s the reason why, any time I see someone wearing Bobcat gear, we have a natural connection.”

Ultimately, Anderson attributes OHIO for helping bring her to where she is today and inspiring her to lift up others through her involvement.

“It has been a transformative experience, being able to serve my alma mater,” she says.

Dennis Minichello, AB, MA ’74

“Ohio University is very studentcentric,” Dennis Minichello says. “The culture is one that makes sure there are people available to help them. Professors are willing to help in whatever way they can.”

While acquiring his OHIO degrees, Minichello says he made many friends in economics courses before going on to law school and founding a Chicago practice. He reconnected with the University 10 years after graduation thanks to encouragement from a former professor.

Since then, he has advised students about the legal profession during OHIO Law Day forums sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences. He has served on the Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees for the last seven years and has no plan to leave. The College of Arts

and Sciences honored him with a Significant Achievement Award in 1996, and he sat on the alumni board from 20042010, serving as chair for the last two years.

“My family are fourth-generation OHIO graduates,” Minichello says. “I come to football games and keep track though University communications. It is great to be part of something so important.”

Minichello visits campus up to 10 times a year and has established two endowments.

“In 2000, I established a scholarship for students studying economics, and in 2021, a scholarship to support veterans’ programs that fund needs not covered by benefits of military service,” Minichello says. “It’s very rewarding to get to meet students who receive the scholarships. It’s very satisfying to see bright, eager students.”

Photo by Rick Fatica, MFA ’08

Rich-Joseph Facun, BSVC ’01

ABOUT THE SURVEY

The Alumni Attitude Study has been completed by more than 1 million alumni at more than 300 institutions in the last 20 years. This is the second time Ohio University has participated, after the first survey in 2008. The data presented here represents survey respondents and has been rounded to the nearest whole number.

PRIDE, NETWORKING, REPUTATION

the most common responses about what’s important about being a graduate

WOUB, INTRAMURALS, CRU, ACRN

the most-mentioned responses to a question about a program or activity that had a special impact on student experience

FRANCINE CHILDS, DAVID DESCUTNER, RALPH IZARD, RICHARD SUK

the most-mentioned responses to a question about a person who had a special impact on student experience

Howard Manuel, BA ’08

Alumni recruitment efforts could be the strongest and most legitimate endorsement a university could ask for. Howard Manuel says he’s more than happy to support OHIO in any way possible—and he has. One example: A group of journalism students visited his Washington, D.C., law office last year, and he appreciated their excitement to learn policy and change the world.

“I love seeing student enthusiasm and swaying prospective students’ decision to attend OU,” Manuel says. “I recruit a lot. I have a fair amount of OU-related mementos on my desk that spark conversations, and I always share what a great place OU is to go to school.”

Manuel says seeing OHIO’s logo on a shirt is all it takes to remind him how his campus experiences made him who he is today; he sees the Bobcat community as family.

“OU is where I developed as a person,” Manuel says. “I have a 4-year-old son and would love to get him to campus. Talking about the University is a way to get back to my roots.”

Manuel says he likes to volunteer for OHIO, but he thinks involvement with current students is one of the most rewarding parts of being an alumnus.

“Seeing how the University affects the region and impacts lives changes my vision on giving back and has made me feel like having Bobcat blood is all it takes to enjoy each other and connect,” Manuel says. “I received so much from my OU experience; I want to help others have the same memories.”

Courtesy of Howard Manuel

JACKIE (HOWERTH) FORQUER, BSED ’92

Jackie Forquer first experienced ice hockey at OHIO when a friend invited her to a game freshman year. She loved the excitement and has been hooked since, joining OHIO’s Blue Line Booster Club as a volunteer in 2016—an experience she calls the highlight of her adult life. Fittingly, she now serves as its president.

“Students from all over the country participate in club hockey from September to March,” she says. “They don’t see their parents, so we try to stand in and help like a parent would. We hope to … help them feel confident and cared for while being away from home.”

An elementary school teacher in Fairfield County, Ohio, Forquer is a fierce advocate for the team. She speaks with pride about its 30-year run appearing at the American

Collegiate Hockey Association’s National Championships, players who have won national awards, the ACHA naming Lionel Mauron the 2023 Coach of the Year, and other team accomplishments.

“I may have never known what I was missing if I hadn’t gone to that game in college,” Forquer says. “Athens is a magical place.”

But hockey isn’t Forquer’s only OHIO touchpoint. A former member of the Marching 110, she still plays the alto sax and never misses an opportunity to march with fellow alumni at Homecoming each fall.

“The 110 was always such a close family,” Forquer says. “I had the chance to get together with them in October, and I’m going on vacation with a group of 20 alums next summer. I have kept a strong connection with OU friends, which have been the best friendships of my life.”

ALUMNI SHARE THEIR OHIO OPINIONS

67% described their current opinion of OHIO as “excellent;” another 28% rated it as “good,” while less than 6% rated it as “fair” or “poor”

68% said they promote the University “all the time” or “regularly”

69% said their experience as a student was “excellent;” another 28% rated it as “good”

81% described their alumni experience as “good” or “excellent”

84% OHIO’s affinity index, an average of four questions ranging from alumni experience to frequency of promoting OHIO to others

3,200+ number of respondents

77% said their decision to attend OHIO was a great one; another 19% classified it as a good decision

62% rated their connection to OHIO, on a scale of 1 to 10, at 7 or higher

86% rated their likelihood of recommending OHIO to a prospective student, on a scale of 1 to 10, at 7 or higher

76% said Ohio Today does a “good” or “excellent” job of communicating with alumni (aw, shucks!)

How do you connect with OHIO and fellow Bobcats everywhere? Let us know with a post to the Bobcat Network (bobcatnetwork.ohio.edu) or by emailing alumni@ohio.edu.

Photo by Morgan Simonski

A Perfect Game

Exploring twin passions of the Bard and the Detroit Tigers

In a new book from Ohio University Press, “Shakespeare and Baseball: Reflections of a Shakespeare Professor and Detroit Tigers Fan,” OHIO professor emeritus Samuel Crowl writes about his twin passions: literature and baseball. The book focuses on the Tigers, aspects of Crowl’s academic career, and connections between Shakespeare’s work and baseball itself (including beer consumption). One anecdote, excerpted here, captures both Crowl’s time at OHIO and his enthusiasm for America’s game.

Although Crowl is a die-hard Tigers fan, living in Athens for more than 50 years has meant catching the occasional live game in Cleveland or Cincinnati rather than Detroit. On May 15, 1981, he attended what turned out to be a historic game in Cleveland when the then-Indians played the Toronto Blue Jays.

“The great hulk of a stadium resembled a haunted house,” writes Crowl about the old Municipal Stadium. “As we headed to our infield box seats ten rows or so behind the Indians’ dugout, a voice called out ‘Professor Crowl’ and I turned to be greeted by Tony Grossi, a former student, who graduated in 1979 from the School of Journalism at Ohio University.” Grossi was a rookie reporter filling in for a regular Cleveland Plain Dealer writer that night, and Crowl notes that he seemed “a bit amazed to see his old Shakespeare prof in the crowd.”

By the end of the fourth inning, Crowl noticed that Cleveland pitcher Len Barker had a no-hitter going. “By the 6th [inning,] the tiny crowd realized what was up as well, though because we were keeping score, we realized that not only did he have a no-hitter working but also a perfect game.”

Crowl’s short, thrilling depiction of the crowd’s fever pitch and the bedlam that ensued is masterful—small wonder from someone who has spent a career teaching Shakespearean drama. And thanks to Grossi, Crowl’s perfect game scorecard was signed by Barker. Grossi even signed the Plain Dealer front page story that he wrote.

A perfect game indeed. Jeff Kallet is the sales and events manager at the Ohio University Press.

If baseball had been invented earlier, William Shakespeare would have been the greatest baseball writer of all time and Samuel Crowl would have become a professor of baseball. Crowl’s memoir of his life’s passions is a grand slam.

—Tony Grossi, author and ESPN sports analyst

Image courtesy of the Ohio University Press

Employees of Community Renovations and Repairs help provide home repair services to veterans and elderly and disabled adults.

Waste Not

The Sugar Bush Foundation has helped kickstart 16 social enterprises. Learn more about one that provides reliable construction services and workforce training.

Bryan Darst and two other workers are busy framing a new shower in a home bathroom in The Plains, Ohio. The three men are full-time employees of Community Renovations and Repairs, a social enterprise of Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio that provides affordable home repairs to help veterans and elderly and disabled adults stay in their homes.

There is more than meets the eye at this renovation site—what’s happening here is a win-win-win cycle of virtue. Darst has been in addiction recovery for

Photo by Mary Reed, BSJ ’90, MA ’93

years and now serves as a peer mentor for those early in their recovery journey. The house he’s working on serves as a Level II recovery residence for those coming out of addiction. And eventual profits from the CR&R will go to Habitat’s mission to provide affordable housing for those in need.

“That’s kind of the purpose as we grow, is to help grow people, not just grow this enterprise,” Darst says.

Like all social enterprises, CR&R is a for-profit business that focuses primarily on a social motive, in contrast to the profit motive of most traditional businesses. An oft-quoted mantra of the social enterprise world is “people, planet, profit”— meaning that the social and environmental goals are just as important as financial goals. Launched in 2022, CR&R has already broken even and is on track to beat its own projected timeline to reach profitability, thereby financially supporting Habitat as well.

This scenario likely couldn’t have played out without the support of The Sugar Bush Foundation, a supporting organization to the Ohio University Foundation. Sugar Bush’s mission is to support sustainable economic development projects that restore the environment or strengthen local food systems. It began when the foundation funded Habitat’s Zanesville ReStore, which opened in 2015.

“The ReStore is a social enterprise, so we were familiar with a social enterprise,” says Ken Oehlers, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio. These Habitat retail stores sell leftover, donated construction material that might otherwise end up in the landfill. Oehlers approached Sugar Bush again in 2017, which led to a study through Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service. (Sugar Bush-funded projects must involve both Ohio University and the community.) That study was the beginning of the process that led to CR&R.

All told, Sugar Bush has helped incubate or grow 16 social enterprises in Southeast Ohio since 2009, including a curbside recycling program in Chillicothe, an impact measurement service that calculates the value of social impacts, and a farm-to-OHIO working group that connects regional farmers to the buying power of Ohio University.

“We firmly believe that it takes community to build community,” Oehlers says. “We look for those types of partners. Sugar Bush is that type of partner where it’s not about giving you a check and [saying] ‘See you next year.’ It’s about walking the journey, celebrating together not only the successes, but also the challenges.”

Watch a video about The Sugar Bush Foundation’s work with CR&R and learn about two other waste-reducing social enterprises working with the organization at ohiotoday.org —Mary Reed, BSJ ’90, MA ’93

Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio Executive Director Ken Oehlers speaks to students in the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service’s Waste

to Wealth class. Photo by Alexandria Skowronski, BS, BSVC ’21

Rock On, Athens

The last 60 years has brought a treasure trove of talent to campus. From doo-wop to pop, reggae to rap, big band to blues, country to classic rock, Ohio Today explores just a fraction of the talent that have bopped on our bricks.

Last year, former OHIO student and lifelong Athens resident Paul Eschenbacher reached out with an unusual question: Would we be interested in research he’d compiled documenting musical acts that graced Athens from 1960 through 1999? That generous offer kicked off a deep dive into the physical and digital resources at the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, where we found decades’ worth of posters from those performances.

When asked why he started such an ambitious project, Eschenbacher cited fond memories of shows he’d attended … and a desire to settle disagreements with friends about who performed where and when. (Relatable, right?)

Ohio Today worked with Andrew Holzaepfel, executive director of the OHIO Performing Arts & Concert Series, to cover shows from the 2000s to present day.

“We hear this from artists’ managers a lot: We’re not a major market, but we have great audiences at Memorial Auditorium,” Holzaepfel says. “There’s an

intimacy there that artists notice.” Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan was among the many artists to comment on this phenomenon, which brings repeat shows from the likes of Wilco, The Avett Brothers and Indigo Girls—who most recently performed with the OHIO Symphony Orchestra in March.

While a comprehensive review would be impossible, we’ve compiled an assortment of notable acts. See if you can find your favorites, then share your own concert memories on the Ohio University Alumni Association’s Facebook page and the Bobcat Network (bobcatnetwork.ohio.edu). Emma Henterly, BSJ ’10

1 Pop quartet The Four Preps at Memorial Auditorium, Jan. 19, 1963 2 Folk revival group Dave Guard and the Whiskeyhill Singers at Memorial Auditorium, May 11, 1962 3 Regional act Six-Shooter at the old Baker Center Ballroom, Oct. 20, 1977

4 Ohio-based Law at the old Baker Center Ballroom, Feb. 19, 1977 5 Jazz and gospel singer Della Reese at Memorial Auditorium, June 22, 1965 6 Rock band Jethro Tull at the Convocation Center, Dec. 7, 1972 7 The Ohio University Music Festival feat. Blood, Sweat, and Tears; The Eagles; Bruce Springsteen and more at the Convocation Center, Apr. 27-28, 1973 8 “An Evening of Blues” feat. Mr. Stress and His Blues Band at the old Baker Center Ballroom, May 12, 1983 9 Folk singer John Bassette at The Cavern in the old Baker Center, Nov. 29-Dec. 1, 1973 10 Ohio University Folk Festival feat. Arlo Guthrie, Eric Anderson, Mary Travers and more at the Convocation Center, May 12-13, 1972 11 Folk-rock bands

The Kingston Trio and The Mamas & The Papas at Memorial Auditorium, Oct. 15, 1994 12 Reggaefest feat. First Light, Tuff, and Roots Vibes Reggae at Bird Arena, Apr. 14, 1989

13 Alt-rock band They Might Be Giants at Memorial Auditorium, Oct. 8, 1992 14 Alt-indie bands The Psychedelic Furs and Pale Divine at Memorial Auditorium, March 3, 1992 15 R&B/funk band George Clinton & The Parliament Funkadelic at Memorial Auditorium, Oct. 20, 2001 16 Folk rock acts Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals with Jack Johnson at Memorial Auditorium, Feb. 16, 2001 17 Founding member of The Supremes Mary Wilson with the Ohio University Symphony Orchestra at Memorial Auditorium, Oct. 14, 1995 18 Country acts Dierks Bentley and the Travelin’ McCourys with Hayes Carll at Memorial Auditorium, May 4, 2010 19 Country artist Miranda Lambert at Memorial Auditorium, Sept. 20, 2006 20 Alt-indie band Fitz and the Tantrums with pop duo Capital Cities at Memorial Auditorium, Nov. 13, 2013 21 Folk artist Ani DiFranco with alt-folk singer Hamell on Trial at Memorial Auditorium, Apr. 9, 2001 22 Campus Consciousness Tour feat. Janelle Monáe with fun. on College Green and at Memorial Auditorium, Oct. 18, 2011 23 Rappers Wiz Khalifa and Sean Kingston at the Convocation Center, May 18, 2012 24 Music Industry Summit feat. CAAMP at Memorial Auditorium, Apr. 6, 2022. Photos by Rich-Joseph Facun, BSVC ’01

John Hiatt

Dobet Gnahoré

Natalie MacMaster

Andrew Holzaepfel, executive director of the OHIO Performing Arts & Concert Series, plays a major role in bringing talent to campus. Some years ago, he began asking artists to sign an acoustic guitar, which now resides in his Glidden Hall office. Here’s a look at the autographs he’s amassed.

Josh Ritter

Art Garfunkel

Blaine Larsen

Chris Thile

Mark Schatz

Habib Koité

Shawn Colvin

Buddy Miller

Vusi Mahlasela

Emmylou Harris

Sara Evans

Miranda Lambert

Lyle Lovett

Where Innovation & Community Meet

Gift to OHIO Zanesville transforms nursing in the region

[THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE]

Nursing students at OHIO Zanesville will soon see an increase in space and equipment to further their education. Photos by Rich-Joseph Facun, BSVC’01

Ohio University Zanesville is poised to transform its already successful nursing program, thanks to a generous $1.5 million gift from the J.W. & M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation.

“Nursing is our largest program on campus,” OHIO Zanesville Dean Hannah Nissen, Ph.D., says, noting the funding will allow for the expansion of nurse training facilities and capabilities. “We are always striving to provide the most up-to-date and the strongest learning experience that we can for our students. This gift will make this possible.”

The renovation will create the J.W. & M.H. Straker Charitable Foundation Nursing Wing, more than 5,460 square feet of space dedicated to nursing. It will include state-of-the-art simulation rooms, practice labs and debriefing areas, fostering an environment where students can transition seamlessly from theory to practice. The upgraded facilities will increase the program’s capacity by 15% and cater to the health care needs of Muskingum County, identified by the Rural Health Institute as facing a health care shortage.

As one of the top producers of nurses in the region, OHIO Zanesville stands at the crossroads of innovative education and community service. The Straker Foundation’s most recent gift is not just an investment in infrastructure—it’s a testament to the power of education and its ripple effect in improving community health.

“Our support of the Ohio University Zanesville nursing program aligns with our Foundation’s mission to enhance and empower lives in Muskingum County,” says Susan Holdren, president and executive director of the Straker Foundation. “Training outstanding nurses, many of whom stay in Muskingum County to live and work, has an immediate and positive effect on our health care systems.”

A large proportion of OHIO Zanesville’s nursing students are hired into partner health systems, such as Genesis Healthcare System, Fairfield Medical Center, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Marietta Memorial Health System and skilled care facilities in the area.

The new nursing wing will play an important role in providing practical, real-world experiences for students, elevating their nursing education and preparing them for various clinical settings.

“Students can go from a simulation room into a practice lab, which will give them additional tools to practice skills. We’ll provide debriefing areas for students to be able to talk with faculty and go through a simulation, talk about what worked, what they would do differently. It provides a comprehensive experience,” Nissen says.

Nissen explains the renovation will add technology to the campus’s simulation labs, including high-tech manikins the students interact with to assess and treat symptoms. “The simulation experience really brings to life a given diagnosis,” she says. “This allows our students to gain immense practice with all sorts of situations and medical complications—that simply wasn’t possible before simulations.”

The award represents a transformative milestone in the Straker Foundation’s long-standing relationship with OHIO Zanesville as the largest donation ever made to the campus.

“An educated person affects the community beyond the practice of a profession. Supporting an exciting initiative like Ohio University Zanesville’s nursing renovation positively affects the entire community and helps us make our mission a reality,” Holdren says.

—Sarah Filipiak, BSJ ’01, BS ’23

The Many Roles of Radar Hill

To most people, Radar Hill is simply a popular hiking spot at The Ridges Land Lab on Ohio University’s Athens campus. Understandably so—Radar Hill provides a 360-degree view that includes Uptown Athens and the surrounding hills. Contemporary visitors might wonder how it got its name, as there is no radar in sight. But those who were around from the mid-1960s to the 1980s know exactly why it is called

Radar Hill: One of the highest points in Athens was once home to several radars, including imposingly large dish antennas.

First, according to the Athens Conservancy and a 2010 article in The Athens Messenger, there was a World War II Army defense station that positioned radar technology to track aircraft from this high, open

[OPPOSITE] Radar dishes were installed on the hill in the early 1960s and stayed there for decades.

spot. Then in 1963, the Radar Hill Laboratory opened. Faculty in OHIO’s Department of Electrical Engineering used moon and satellite tracking equipment at the lab to remotely study lunar surfaces for NASA’s Apollo mission. This equipment included 30- and 28-foot dish antennas and a 70-foot antenna test tower. The lab’s equipment was soon eclipsed by more advanced technology, and the Radar Hill Laboratory was abandoned in 1969 with any usable equipment moved to Clippinger Laboratories. Defunct structures stayed on-site until the last one was dismantled in the 1990s.

Research on Radar Hill did not end after the satellite tracking lab closed, however. Students in a restoration ecology course have been periodically planting and monitoring native grasses on the

site since 2012. And in 2021, Radar Hill became home to a Motus Wildlife Tracking System, which is an automated receiver that can detect and count tagged birds and bats that fly within about 10 miles of the receiver. It’s one of nearly 1,800 such stations worldwide. OHIO faculty and students in field ecology and ornithology tag wildlife and use the data for research, conservation and learning.

Today, hikers, birdwatchers and history buffs can hike to Radar Hill with the help of the OHIO Museum Complex’s outdoor exploration tool, mAppAthens. The Ridges Land Use History Tour takes users to Radar Hill and provides information about ecology, artifacts, faculty research and Radar Hill itself. It’s available online at ohio.edu/ mappathens —Mary Reed, BSJ ’90, MA ’93

Photo courtesy of the Mahn Center for Archives & Special collectons [THIS PAGE] Today, the hill is home to hiking trails, migration research equipment and more. Photo by Adam Remmant, BSED ’04, MED ’19

Class Notes

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

1958

Retired Navy veteran

John Alter Jr., BFA ’58, was reappointed to the Northwest Florida Water Management District, which covers 220,000 acres of woodland, by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Alter is also a part of the Florida Forestry Association’s communications committee and the national public affairs committee of the American Forest Foundation/American Tree Farm System.

1962

Michael Pilat, BFA ’62, was awarded the Order of St. Romanos by the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in America for his 57 years of service to the church as choir director, chanter, composer and church musical activities director. His wife, Lois Cline-Pilat, AB ’63, joined him for the honor.

1965

Paul Hubbard, BSED ’65, was elected as chairman of the board of Maritime Academy in Toledo, Ohio, where students in grades six through 12 learn skills to work on Great Lakes freighters. Hubbard, who received the Ohio University Alumni Association’s Medal of Merit Award in 2020, will serve as board chairman through 2025.

1968

After donating photographs from their private collection to the Busan Museum in South Korea in 2022, Gary Mintier, AB ’68, and Mary Ann (Llewellyn) Mintier, AB ’68, were invited to the opening of an exhibit featuring their work last year. In addition to the photos, which the couple took while teaching English as Peace Corps volunteers in South Korea, they donated to the National Library of Korea more than 150 scrolls and paintings they had collected while living in the country from 1969 to 1975.

1972

Text- and LED-based artist Jenny Holzer, BFA ’72*, presented paintings and LED installations at Hauser & Wirth in West Hollywood in an exhibition titled READY FOR YOU WHEN YOU ARE. The exhibition is the first time Holzer has used artificial intelligence technology in her work, in the form of two robotic LEDs displaying AI-generated text.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper appointed William Rakatansky, BARCH ’72, to the state’s General Contractors

Licensing Board in June as one of three general public members. Rakatansky

BOBCAT SPOTLIGHT

Ohio Communication Hall of Fame Inductee

Kyle Bowser, BSC ’80*, was inducted into the Ohio Communication Hall of Fame in recognition of a lifetime of professional achievement. The California-based entertainment industry executive’s career has spanned nearly 30 years and multiple industries, from film, TV, theater and radio to music and digital media, working with NBC, HBO, Showtime, Starz,

PBS, Comedy Central and more.

“I am honored and completely humbled to receive the Ohio Communication Hall of Fame Award,” Bowser said in his acceptance speech in Los Angeles last October.

“The University has contributed to my growth and development in profound ways that continue to reveal new and enriching rewards. Ohio University deserves our continued support. Its legacy is more than worthy.”

In addition to his work in the entertainment industry, Bowser serves as the senior vice president of the Hollywood Bureau of the NAACP and helped to establish the OHIO-in-LA program, a semester-long studyaway program for students pursuing careers in the entertainment industry.

is a principal architect at R&M Group Architects and is the founder of the Greater Charlotte Network of the Ohio University Alumni Association, where he served as president for five years.

1973

Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication named Louis Day, PHD ’73*, to its Hall of Fame, which

honors alumni and supporters who have achieved exceptional professional success. Day is an alumni professor emeritus at the school, where he taught and researched media law and ethics for 35 years.

1975

Sage (formerly Sage Publishing) named a case writeup by James Slack, BA ’75, as an Editor’s Choice for 2023. His piece, “Concerned Chats

Courtesy of Scripps College of Communication

About Whatever It Is,” explores the tensions between organizational policies and an employee’s appearance of skin cancer. Slack has written ethics cases for Sage’s International Business Project for the last decade.

1978

“FRACTURE,” a 15-foot steel sculpture by Harry “Eric” Stein, MFA ’78, was installed in Johnson City, Tennessee, as part of the Johnson City Public Art Committee’s biannual art exhibition. It will be displayed alongside 13 other sculptures until May 2025.

1980

Paul Raab, BSJ ’80, managing partner at Denverbased Linhart Public Relations, received the Swede Johnson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in August. Raab’s 30-year career in corporate PR led him to Linhart in 2006; previously, he was director of communications for global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney in Chicago and served as president of the PRSA chapter in that city.

The Ohio University Alumni Association named Perry Sook, BSC ’80*, as the 2023

Alumnus of the Year. The chairman and CEO of Nexstar Media Group has served on the Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees for more than 20 years, including eight as its chair. Other honorees in the 2023 Alumni Awards include Medal of Merit Award winners Ariel Armony, MA ’92; Larry Small, PHD ’84; and Brian Stultz, BFA ’83; Distinguished Service Award winners Yvette Alexander Slate, AB ’92; R. Clark VanDervort, AB ’75; and Marty Wall, AB ’72; Kermit Blosser Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame inductees Savannah (Dorsey) Seigneur, BS ’17, DO ’21; Jack LeVeck, BSED ’72; and Matt Engleka, BBA ’95, MSA ’96; and Charles J. and Claire O. Ping Recent Graduate Award winner Michelle Connavino, BSED ’09

1982

Former WOUB Newsroom and WOUB TV NewsWatch reporter and anchor Frank Graff, BSJ ’82, MA ’83*, earned a Midsouth Regional Emmy for his work on the climate change documentary series State of Change: Natural Solutions with PBS North Carolina.

1986

Amazon Business has awarded a grant to QuickLoadz, a company

Alumni Authors

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

Christ Among Us: Sculptures of Jesus Across the History of Art, religion and art history (Eerdmans Publishing Co.), by Joseph Antenucci Becherer, BFA ’87, MFA ’90, and Henry Martin Luttikhuizen · Woodrow Wilson’s Wars: The Making of America’s First Modern Commander-in-Chief, history (Naval Institute Press), by Mark Benbow, PHD ’99 · The Complete Beer Course: From Novice to Expert in Twelve Tasting Classes (revised second edition), food and beverage (Union Square & Co.), by Joshua M. Bernstein, BSJ ’00 · Basic Money Workbook, financial self-help (Abuzz Press), by James D. Bond, BBA ’70

· The Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth from the Margins, essay collection (Wayne State University Press), edited by Zoë Bossiere, PHD ’22, and Erica Trabold · Navigating the Reach, poetry (Salmon Poetry), by Mary Buchinger (Bodwell), MA ’90 · Unraveling the Gray Area Problem, history and foreign policy (Cornell University Press), by Luke Griffith, MA ’12, PHD ’19 · One More War to Fight: Union Veterans’ Battle for Equality through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Lost Cause, history (Rowman & Littlefield), by Stephen A. Goldman, AB ’79

· The Evolution of Hallie Jo Everheart: A Novel in Stories, fiction (White River Press), by Catherine (Carbone) Grow, MA ’88

· At the River: Poems of Love and Laughter with God, poetry (Xlibris US), by M.A. (Balcar) Hastings, BSED ’74 · Feeling Stuck? Empower Yourself to Live a Happier, More Fulfilling Life, self-help (Mindset Press), by Nicole Hollar, BSJ ’97 · I Blew Up My Life, and I’ve Never Been Happier, memoir (self-published), by Amber James, BSJ ’08 · Dreams of Green: A Three Kings’ Day Story, children’s picture book (Astra Young Readers/ Penguin Random House), by Mariel (Betancourt) Jungkunz, MS ’08 · Plow the Dirt but Watch the Sky: True Tales of Manure, Media, Militaries, and More, memoir (Cedric D. Fisher & Co. Publishers), by Martin Kufus, MS ’91 · The Shades Dripped Red: A Nick Montaigne Mystery, detective/mystery (Longitudes Press), by Peter Kurtz, BSJ ’81 · Cheerful Obedience, historical fiction (self-published), by Patrick McLaughlin, BGS ’72 · The Flying Grunt, biography (Casemate), by Alan E. Mesches, MS ’72

· All In, poetry (Redhawk Publications), by Allen “Scott” Owens, AB ’84, and Pris Campbell · Overlap: The Heart of Happiness, social sciences/self-help (self-published), by Trevor Petersen, MS ’10, PHD ’13 · Unwilling to Quit: The Long Unwinding of American Involvement in Vietnam, history and foreign policy (University Press of Kentucky), by David L. Prentice, MA ’09, PHD ’14 · Nightstand, poetry (Broadstone Books), by David Swerdlow, MA, PHD ’90

that makes automated container trailers, which was founded by Sean Jones, BSEE ’86*. QuickLoadz is the only Ohio business to receive an Amazon Business grant, and other companies, including Walmart and Lowe’s, have also expressed interest in the self-loading trailers. Amazon is producing a documentary about the grant winners.

Visual artist Allyson McDuffie, BFA ’86, MFA ’88, recently had three solo exhibitions in Boulder, Colorado— Tomboy and Old Salty at the Bus Stop Gallery, Scrawl at the Dairy Arts Center, and Stitches at the Equality Center of the Rocky Mountains. She/they also recently

have had work included in six juried exhibitions throughout the state of Colorado and two in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Cincinnati-based journalists Sheila (Slyh) Robinson, BSC ’86*, (known professionally as Sheila Gray) and Randi Rico, BSJ ’03, threw first pitches to Evan Millward, BSJ ’11, and WOUB alum Frank Marzullo at the Cincinnati Reds vs. Seattle Mariners game in September. The honor was part of the city’s Scripps Day honoring 100 years of journalism education at OHIO.

1987

Kim (King) Fox, BSC ’87, MA ’03*, became the second Black

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woman president of the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) in August. With experiences at WOUB during both her undergraduate and graduate studies, Fox has worked at several radio stations and earned a faculty fellowship with NPR. She is a professor of practice at the American University in Cairo (Egypt) in its Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.

1988

Signal Akron, a nonprofit news organization, has hired Susan Kirkman Zake, BSJ ’88, as its editor-in-chief. Its parent organization, Signal Ohio, is one of the nation’s largest local nonprofit news startups in the country. Previously, Zake has been

a managing editor at the Akron Beacon Journal and a professor and newsroom advisor at Kent State University.

1989

Marymount University associate professor

John Duggan, BSC ’89, received the Maryland Counseling Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. For nearly three decades, he has collaborated with hospitals, clinics, schools, mission-based communities and professional organizations; he also has worked with the American Counseling Association. In 2022, the Association for Humanistic Counseling honored him with the Supervisor of the Year award.

“The charitable gift annuity is a good way to provide additional retirement income. There are tax advantages; it pays a nice income quarterly, and that goes on for life.”

—DR. ROBERT MUELLER, PHD ’69, CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITY DONOR

BOBCAT SIGHTINGS

OHIO alumni go on adventures hither and yon!

Bobcats, both students and alumni, in a unit of the Ohio Army National Guard gathered during a deployment to Syria. Back row, left to right, are Spc. Jacob Fitzgerald, BA ’21, and Sgt. Jake Henley, Spc. Tucker Wilt and Cpt. Trevor Patton, all class of 2024. Front row, left to right, are 2nd Lt. Robert “Gage” Daymut, BS ’21; SSgt. Connor Moran, class of 2025; Spc. Aaron Johnson, class of 2027; 1st Lt. Kate Potter, BA ’09; 1st Lt. Kevin Brock, BA ’17; 1st Lt. Caleb Welch, BSJ ’19; Cpt. Anthony Eliopoulos, BSJ, BA ’19; and Spc. Andrew Chrvala, BA, BA ’22

Twins Patricia “Patty” (Trumpeter) Lovell, BSRS ’82 (left), and Priscilla “Polly” (Trumpeter) Moss, BSC ’81, brought a Rufus flag along with them on a biking excursion along Scotland’s North Sea coastline last June.

Cynthia (Lyndon) Lopuszynski, AB ’74, and Frank Lopuszynski, BBA ’73, traveled through Ireland last spring, including a stop at the Cliffs of Moher to show their Bobcat pride.

Frank Sacha, BSME ’67 (left), and Robert “Bob” Tecau, BS ’67, displayed their OHIO pride while golfing in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands last September. They met at the University in 1964.

Seneca Lake, Ohio, hosted the first-ever group reunion for these friends, who then traveled to Athens. Pictured are, front row from left, Pamela (White)

Krasinski, BGS ’76; Martha “Marty” (Hardin) Kacvinsky, BS ’75; and Ellen (Dietch) Maley, BSHSS ’76 Back row from left, Marilyn (Jasin) Wills, BSHSS ’76; Sue (Rohl) Seckinger, AA ’76; and Martha (Bobbitt) Myers, BSHSS ’76

Four Bobcats were spotted on a beach near Kona, Hawaii.

Pictured from left to right are Kyra Young, BSJ ’22; Kevin Pinson, BSJ ’92; Alexander Pinson, BSE ’22; and biological sciences major Caroline Pinson, class of 2027. Alex proposed to Kyra on this trip (and she said yes).

Mohd Yaziz bin Mohd Isa, BBA ’85, waved an OHIO flag at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, in which he ran last October.

Send your photos with names, grad degrees and years to ohiotoday@ ohio.edu or to Ohio Today, Ohio University, P.O. Box 869, Athens, OH 45701-0869.

FUTURE BOBCATS

Abbey (McMillen)

Hollett, AA ’16, BBA ’18, and Jesse Hollett became the proud parents of Bobkitten Maylee last summer. They can’t wait to take her to Athens for her first moments on College Green.

Myles and Kyler Jones,

Charlie Jones, BSSPS ’09, MSPEX ’11, and Kirsten Jones, relax on the best benches on campus, located on College Green.

Send your photos with names, grad degrees and years to ohiotoday@ohio.edu or to Ohio Today, Ohio University, P.O. Box 869, Athens, OH 45701-0869.

Brice Nikithser, BSS ’15, and Amy (Wyke) Nikithser, MSA ’14, are so proud of their son, Brody, born Aug. 12, 2022, that they decked him head-to-toe in gear from their alma mater.

Shareen Lee, BS ’07, and James Ng, MA ’07, welcomed their second son, Henry, in early May 2023. Their first son, Theodore, was born in October 2020.

Liam, age 5, proudly shows off his OHIO gear and his new baby sister, Harper. Their parents are Anna (Sudar) Jeffries, BSJ ’09, and David Jeffries, BSC ’11

Associate Director for Undergraduate Nursing Patricia Snider, BSH ’06, BSN ’08, MSN ’12, shared a photo of her grandson, Mavrik. His parents are Kelsey (Kuhar) Snider, BSCSD ’18, MBA ’21, and Steven Snider, BSS ’16

Future Bobcats Fallon, Ellis and Will, children of Mark Monroe, BBA ’10, and Sarah (Meadema) Monroe, BSH ’10, visited campus last fall.

sons of

The Ohio Department of Education named Mark Lowrie, BSC ’89*, the 2024 Ohio Teacher of the Year in September. After 12 years working in television news, Lowrie began teaching broadcast journalism to high school students in 2001. He developed programs for Marion L. Steele High School in Amherst and Gahanna Lincoln High School in Gahanna, both in Ohio. Over the years, his students have won 79 regional and seven national student Emmys.

1991

Kao Hourn, MA ’91, DPS ’07*, recently took office as the 15th secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a political and economic partnership of 10 countries that rep-

resents more than 660 million people. His term will run through 2027.

1992

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine named Stephanie (Burress) McCloud, BSJ ’92, MA ’93*, as his chief of staff in January 2023. McCloud earned her juris doctor from Capital University in 1996 and has previously served as the administrator of Ohio’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and acting director of the Ohio Department of Health.

The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care has named Kelly (Trott)

Theodosopoulos, AAS ’92, BSN ’94, MBA ’07, as one of three new board directors. Theodosopoulos is the chief clinical officer for

SurgNet Health Partners in Nashville, Tennessee.

1998

Last March, Megan Luck, BSH ’98, was named program director for the medical assisting program at the Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has been with the Christ Hospital Health Network since 2005 and recently transitioned to the college as an adjunct instructor in health sciences.

2002

Last spring was a busy (and accomplished) one for Malia Dalesandry, BFA ’02. The associate operations director of Academic and Student Programs at George Mason University received a Schar School Student Research Grant and presented at the

Association of Private Enterprise Education’s 47th annual meeting, the latter taking place just a month before earning her Ph.D. in public policy at GMU.

RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, honored Sarah (Rothhaar) Ekis, BBA ’02, with the 2023 Hope Award for Service. Ekis, a senior compensation consultant in Charlotte, North Carolina, is also a volunteer at RESOLVE, where she has created support groups for women for their experiences before, during and after experiencing pregnancy.

Kevin Finnegan, BSC ’02, is one of nine recipients of the U.S. Department of Education’s 2023 Terrel H. Bell Award for

Outstanding School Leadership. Finnegan has served as the principal of Prairie Hill Elementary School in Illinois for the last 12 years. He attended the awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., in November with his wife, Elizabeth (Swanson) Finnegan, BFA ’02.

2003

Thomas Dyer, BS ’03, retired from the U.S. Army with the rank of lieutenant colonel after 25 years of service. He resides in Honolulu, Hawaii, with his wife, Theresa.

The American Heart Association’s Greater Cleveland chapter, led by Valerie Hillow Gates, BSJ ’03, was honored by the national organization with the Cass Wheeler Award of Excellence after three years of record-breaking success. Hillow Gates was also individually recognized with the organization’s Trailblazer Award.

2004

Marisa Long, BSJ ’04, became the senior vice president of Climate and Energy at climate communications agency

Antenna Group. A PR News Top Woman in PR in 2016, Long’s background includes work in media relations, policy and advocacy communications, and more.

2005

Cleveland Forbes included Ashley (McCall) Keating, BBA ’05*, in its “30 under 30” list for her partnership at Cincinnati, Ohio-based CincyTech, a venture capital firm focused on tackling the world’s critical challenges. Keating joined CincyTech in April 2016 as the chief financial officer and made partner in November 2022.

2007

Fashion PR and consulting firm KCD has promoted Lauren Paris, BSHCS ’07, to be its senior vice president of guest experience. Paris, a 15-year veteran of the firm, most recently served as its vice president of the Guest Experience Group, a role she’d held since 2018.

2010

The national Delta Zeta sorority headquarters named Mary Davies, BSJ ’10, to its 2023 “35 Under 35” list. A news producer at NBC New York, Davies’ winner’s profile notes that her involvement with WOUB helped steer her career path from the anchor desk to the production side of broadcast news.

2012

Athens has a new full-service bicycle retail and repair shop thanks to Paul Carter, BBA ’12. Located on Stimson Avenue, Bobcat Bikes sells bicycles, e-bikes, parts and accessories; offers repair services for all models; and is Southeast Ohio’s only Trek Authorized Retailer.

Pennsylvania-based reporter and podcast co-host Anthony Hennen, BSJ ’12, was named a 2023-2024 Robert Novak Journalism fellow through the Fund for American Studies. During the one-year fellowship, Hennen will research and report on his project, “An Appalachian Revival: The Government’s Failure to Save a Rural Region.”

Nanfu Wang, MA ’12*, an award-winning filmmaker whose work includes the HBO series Mind over Murder, will join the faculty of New York University’s Arthur L. Carter

Journalism Institute as a Distinguished Journalist in Residence.

2014

On Aug. 21, Diana Sabau, MSA ’14*, became the new vice president and director of Utah State University Athletics, where she oversees the

BOBCAT SPOTLIGHT

Setting records & bringing home the gold

Graysville, Ohio, resident and former OHIO faculty member Tina Ullman, MS ’97*, has been busy in the powerlifting circuit over the last four years.

She won her third Women’s World Championship with the World Powerlifting Alliance last July, taking home a total of seven first-place medals and the award for overall top drugtested female. And in October, she won six first-place medals—and set six world records—at the International Powerlifting League Drug-Tested World Championship.

“I came to this sport from competing in endurance sports,” Ullman says. “That background taught me things that have been critical in my success as a powerlifter: consistency with training, patience with progress and mental resilience.”

In addition to these successes, Ullman has set 28 world, 27 American and 78 Ohio records across multiple powerlifting federations and, at press time, was ranked first in the world powerlifting rankings for her age group and weight class among drug-tested lifters since 1964. Next up: the World Powerlifting Union’s Pro Invitational World Cup in Cardiff, Wales.

university’s 16 Division I sports programs. She has previously served as the Big Ten Conference deputy commissioner and the senior deputy athletics director at Ohio State University.

2016

Josh Martin, BS ’16*, was named a 2023-2024 Science Policy Fellow at the Geological Society of America. Martin earned his Ph.D. from Ohio State University and has com-

shared the honor of Best Deadline Reporting with two News-Sun colleagues and took second place in Best Public Service/Social Issues Reporting, both in the same circulation category. She now covers Montgomery County for the Dayton Daily News.

2018

AccuWeather journalist Adriana Navarro, BSJ ’18*, was named one of 13 fellows for the 2023-2024 cycle at the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland. Navarro’s work has covered hurricanes, including preparing for them and dealing with their aftermath. She plans to use the fellowship to work on pieces related to disaster recovery and climate solutions.

2020

bined experiences in the field as a graduate research assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory and as a professor at the University of Dayton.

2017

In July, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists named former Athens NEWS editor Sydney Dawes, BSJ ’17*, Best Reporter in her circulation category for her work with the Springfield News-Sun. She also Bobcat Tracks

Former OHIO quarterback Nathan Rourke, BSPE ’20*, had a busy 2023. He signed a reserve/ future contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars in January, but had foot surgery soon after and was cut in August. He re-signed to the practice squad and made it to the active roster that fall. He left for good in December, signing with the New England Patriots.

2022

The Entomological Society of America approved “peppered cockroach,” suggested by Andrew Connolly, BS ’22*, as the official common name for Archimandrita tessellata. Connolly, an educator at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo, told CT Insider that naming a species is “an honor” and “a dream for many biologists.”

2023

Recent graduate Trevor Brighton, BSVC ’23*, won a 2022 National Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for his cover illustration for OHIO’s student newspaper, The Post. The story, titled “Erasing Russia,” covered the loss of the University’s Russianrelated courses.

Want more? See what your fellow alumni have been up to recently with an expanded Class Notes section at ohiotoday.org

Kyle Balzer, PHD ’22*, joined the American Enterprise Institute as a Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow. In that role, he will explore long-term strategic competition and U.S. grand strategy and will work on his forthcoming book, “The Revivalists: James Schlesinger, the Competitive Nuclear Strategists, and the Rebirth of Cold War American Deterrence.”

Courtesy of Tina Ullman

Remembering Fellow Alumni

1930s

Gwendolyne “Gwen” (Poling) Jasper, BSED ’39, MA ’40

1940s

John C. Bucur, BS ’48

Jack R. Durst, BS ’48

Rosemary “Posie” Gray Derfler, AB ’49

Maxine G. (Agger) Kopecky, BSED ’49

Eve Mocek, MA ’49

Betty E. Pugh, BSHEC ’49

Marjorie “M. E.” Watson-Consolo, AB ’49

1950s

Walter T. Buffington, AB ’50

Franklyn A. Kraus, BSCOM ’50

Robert C. Pfendler, BSED ’50, MA ’53

Dorothy S. Lasher Rodgers, AB ’50

Eleanor E. (George) Brucken, AB ’51

Garnet M. (Starkey) Moore, BSHEC ’51

Antonio “Tony” P. Mazzie, BSCOM ’52

Ann M. (Morrison) Dula, BSED ’53

James L. Imes, BSAGR ’53

John “Jack” E. Schmidt, AB ’53

Donald “Don” H. Flowers, BSCOM ’54

Ramon D. Turman, AB ’54

Anna C. (Matis) Wilson, BSCOM ’54

Millicent (Curtis) Agnor, MED ’55

Rocco A. Macri, BSCOM ’55

Samuel L. Miller, BSCOM ’55, MS ’73

William “Bill” J. Shepherd Jr., BSED ’55, MFA ’56

Roland S. Stedwill, AB ’55

Carol A. (Hylbert) Totire, AA ’55, BSED ’58

John J. Lavelle, BSAGR ’56

Shirley A. (Dickes) Lundstrom, BFA ’56

Janet “Jan” C. (Betz) Lyons, AA ’56, BSJ ’58

Suzanne Colbert Tompkins, AB ’56

Jack L. Watkins, BSCOM ’56

Phyllis S. (Logsdon) WilliamsonHils, BSED ’56

Alfred E. Banholzer, BSME ’57

Gene R. Briggs, BS ’57

Richard D. Brown, BSME ’57, BSCOM ’57, HLLD ’96

Nancy (Riegel) Matthews, BSSS ’57

Alice Jones Rush, BSED ’57

Eleanor R. (Warbarton) Shaver, AB ’57

Shirley A. (Tessmer) Showalter, BSED ’57

Barbara J. (Studebaker) Bailey, AB ’58

Richard E. Bowman, MS ’58

Norma J. (Harmon) Clark, BSED ’58

Richard “Dick” B. Kehl, BSME ’58

Cynthia Wallace Love, BSJ ’58

Ronald L. Smith, BSED ’58, MED ’71

Suzanne (Huff) Tipton, AA ’58

Garry L. Wharton, AB ’58

David E. Wolford, BFA ’58, MA ’61

William “Bill” G. Bullock, AB ’59

Gaytana (Iacano) Cosiano, BSED ’59

David E. Culbert, AB ’59

Donald A. DeBaltzo, BSCOM ’59

Barry S. Greenwald, AB ’59

C. Eugene “Gene” Hayden, BSCOM ’59

Sally J. (Moore) Howard, BSED ’59

Olan L. Koehler, BSED ’59, MA ’65

James F. Law, BSJ ’59

Glenn C. Randall, BSED ’59

Waltraut “Wally” J. Stein, MA ’59

1960s

Rosalie M. (Basco) Gainer, BSHEC ’60

Allen J. Newbrand, BSCOM ’60

William “Bill” E. Reber, AB ’60

Richard E. Tomsu, BA ’60

Carolyn I. (McGrath) Eubanks, BS ’61

Stephen A. Geffner, AB ’61

Richard J. Mottl, BSCOM ’61

William A. Mustaine, BSCOM ’61

Joanna M. (Beckett) Perry, AA ’61, BSED ’62

Allan Weiss, AB ’61

Frank F. W. “Bill” Dickinson, BSCOM ’62

Donna R. (Circle) Mutti, BSED ’62

Edward W. Schaich Jr., BFA ’62

Glenn A. Shepherd, BSME ’62

Thomas “Tom” G. Stretch, BSCOM ’62

Gerald W. Sweeting, BSED ’62

Mary A. (Davis) Gerlach, BS ’63

Jerry D. Meldrum, BBA ’63

Edward J. Toth, BBA ’63

June (Lederer) Wright, BSED ’63

Eleanor D. (Kelley) Bowers, BSED ’64

Susan A. (Stansberry) Buschar, BSED ’64

Susan S. (Scotland) Curtis, BBA ’64

Albert L. De Carlo, BBA ’64

Maryllyn D. Fairfield, BA ’64

Sharon S. (Carnicom) Hegele, BSED ’64

Wilbur H. Hild Jr., BSME ’64, MS ’66

Edwin R. Payne, BS ’64

David B. Rankin, BBA ’64

Philip Simon, BSED ’64

Betty I. (Ludwig) Stroup, BSHEC ’64

Ian L. Kent, BBA ’65

James G. Lazur, BBA ’65

Algie D. McEndree, BBA ’65

Robert G. Park, MED ’65

William L. Saling Jr., BBA ’65

William H. Sharp, BSME ’65

Raymond Tatalovich, BA ’65

Steven J. Roby, BSME ’66

Garry L. Weigand, AB ’66

Gerald J. Gable, BFA ’67

Ned J. Gohring, BSED ’67, MED ’72

Glenn G. Hutchison, MED ’67

Robert S. Pasterniak, BBA ’67

Joy Nixon Rigot, BSED ’67

Martha R. (Barren) Besuden, BSHEC ’68

Charles Y. Bornstein, AB ’68

John T. Caparanis, BFA ’68

Linda E. (Wakefield) Keffer, BS ’68

Charles “Chuck” S. Montague, BSJ ’68

Lael E. Nussbaum, BSCHE ’68

Sara J. (Maiden) Perry, BSED ’68

Eugene “Gene” R. Coppinger, BBA ’69

Karen S. (Brown) Cramer, AB ’69

Cheryl S. Fisher, BSED ’69

James M. Highsmith, BBA ’69

Gary W. Rings, BFA ’69

Criss E. Somerlot, BSED ’69

Terry C. Varn, BSEE ’69

1970s

Lydia R. (Sedivec) Blum, BSHEC ’70

David R. Brillhart, BS ’70

Cynthia J. (Dittman) Halderman, AB ’70

Roger S. Krupa, AB ’70, MED ’72

Cornelia S. Laber, BSED ’70

Robert T. Nakaji, BSIT ’70

Robert H. Blessing, PHD ’71

Thomas E. Burris, BSC ’71

John S. Conklin, MS ’71

Tanna L. (Buckmaster) Grundy, BSHEC ’71

Nancy L. (Doherty) Linder, BSJ ’71

Douglas Mayo, MA ’71

Donald J. Mitchell, BSED ’71

Thomas W. Motheral, BSC ’71

Patricia J. Novotny, AB ’71

Dennis M. O’Toole, PHD ’71

James J. Pearce, BS ’71

Kip Y. Randal, BBA ’71

Darlene J. (Brown) Vandemark, BSJ ’71

David E. Smith, BBA ’72

Thomas H. Bolinski, BSED ’73

James “Lou” Childress, BSISE ’73

Paul S. Poplis, MA ’73

Thomas Lammers, BSED ’74

Vaughn Vandegrift, PHD ’74

Mark S. Biviano, BSC ’75

Curtis L. Greenway, BBA ’75

Carolyn S. (McNutt) Hall, MED ’75

Linda E. (Miller) Ison, BSED ’75

Kenneth P. Lewis, PHD ’75

Barbara J. (Dill) Nugent, BS ’75

John C. Sasala, MA ’75

Christine J. Weisfelder, MBA ’75

Timothy L. Bryce, BSC ’76

Nancy V. Aleman, BSN ’77

JoAnne F. (Bennett) Dodd, BGS ’77, MA ’85

Max G. Miller, BS ’77

Helen L. (Bostic) Slater, MED ’77

Daniel J. Bever, MBA ’78

Eleanor J. (Glickman) Bloom, BSED ’78

Gabriel G. Manrique, MA ’78

Larry D. Ruggley, BGS ’78

Kerry J. Meadows, BBA ’79

1980s

Brett A. Borton, BA ’81

Mary P. McKenna, AB ’81

Jane M. (Schwieterman) Moran, BSHEC ’81

Kathleen A. Grainger, BBA ’82

Ted G. Hopple, MED ’82, PHD ’91

Mary A. Hipp, MA ’83

Dennis A. Kairis, MLS ’83

Henry J. Sullivan, PHD ’83

Sue Wyskiver Yount, BBA ’83

Jeffrey W. Eaton, BBA ’84

Steven W. Trettel, BMUS ’85

Michael D. Hnat, DO ’87

Stephen W. Huba, BSJ ’87

Gerard R. Wegesin, BBA ’87

John D. Meese, MED ’88

Janet Dinos Morgan, BSED ’88

Michael “Mike” R. Shanabruch, AB ’88

Heather A. Jennings, BFA ’89

Bruce A. Nave, BS ’89

1990s

Lola L. Page, BSED ’90, MSHEC ’92

Daniel P. Timko, AB ’90

Jeffrey T. Russell, BSME ’95

Catherine L. (Freeman) Krumlauf, AA ’97, BSC ’00

Paul J. Logue, AB ’97

2000s

Travis B. Kidner, BS ’00

Heather Baird Tomlinson, BS ’00

Brandon L. Hunter, BSH ’03

William E. Hanson III, BSC ’04

Calvin L. Price, MPA ’04

Barrett O. Skrypeck, MFA ’05

Erin B. Ruef, BSJ ’07

Erin B. (Kosch) Dariano, DO ’08

2010s

Ben N. Compeau, AA ’11, BSS ’15

Shawn C. Coon, BBA ’11

Victoria “Vicki” L. Willoughby, BSN ’12

Michael S. Salopek, BSC ’19

2020s

Olivia E. Forrester, BS ’21

Faculty/staff

Richard Bean, Athens, Ohio, retired assistant instructor emeritus of journalism, June 3

Deanna M. Channell, The Plains, Ohio, former food services cook, May 16

Rev. Francine C. Childs, Athens, Ohio, retired professor emerita of African-American studies, May 3

James S. Cox, Severna Park, Maryland, associate professor emeritus of accountancy, Oct. 13

Richard L. Crist, Athens, Ohio, former professor of voice and director of opera theater, Aug. 23

Scott W. Dailey, BSJ ’80, MSA ’83, Athens, Ohio, retired accounting associate, Aug. 31

Ronald L. Dingle, BSED ’65, Beavercreek, Ohio, retired assistant professor emeritus of recreation and sport studies, July 1

Dorothy Gettle, Nelsonville, Ohio, retired administrative assistant, Aug. 8

Carol A. Harter, HLHD ’89, San Diego, California, former vice president and dean of students and vice president for administration, Sept. 14

Donna M. Hartley, McConnelsville, Ohio, retired custodial worker, July 30

Robert A. Hynes, AB ’60, MED ’62, Blacklick, Ohio, retired director of residence and campus auxiliary services, Oct. 18

Betty Lambert, Albany, Ohio, former food services manager, May 16

Charlesa S. Llewellyn, Athens, Ohio, former bakery manager, Oct. 28

Tadeusz Malinski, Lancaster, Ohio, retired professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Sept. 13

Richard D. Mathey, Bowling Green, Ohio, former visiting assistant professor, June 15

David L. McGoron, BSED ’84, MA ’92, Ironton, Ohio, former PT instructor, OTEC, Aug. 6

Daniel L. McInturf, Chillicothe, Ohio, retired mail clerk, Oct. 25

IN MEMORIAM

President Emeritus Robert Glidden passes

Ohio University President Emeritus

Robert Glidden, whose lifelong commitment to academic discovery and research forever impacted higher education, passed away on Dec. 5, 2023, age 87.

Born in Grand Junction, Iowa, Glidden earned his bachelor’s degree with distinction in music, his M.A. in music performance, and his Ph.D. in music, all at the University of Iowa. He served at several universities before becoming OHIO’s 19th president in 1994.

As president, Glidden embraced improvements in technology, aggressively encouraged faculty research, supported major changes to the academic curriculum and spearheaded the University’s Bicentennial Campaign that raised over $221 million for scholarships, endowed professorships, technological enhancements and innovative programs.

Glidden retired in 2004. That June, the University renamed its “Music Building” to “Robert Glidden Hall” in his honor, forever cementing a Bobcat legacy and ensuring his contributions across OHIO, and higher education, will be remembered for generations to come. To read more about Robert Glidden’s legacy, visit ohio.edu/robert-glidden.

Gary B. North, Knoxville, Tennessee, former vice president for administration and visiting professor emeritus, Oct. 20

Karen S. Nulf, The Plains, Ohio, retired professor emerita of graphic design, May 12

William “Bill” W. Reeves, Athens, Ohio, retired professor emeritus in the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, Aug. 15

Karl W. Runser, AB ’59, Athens, Ohio, retired instructor of journalism, Oct. 12

Linda (Miller) Sheets, Albany, Ohio, retired administrative assistant, Aug. 31

Rick C. Shriver, BSC ’77, MA ’83, McConnelsville, Ohio, retired professor emeritus, July 15

Phyllis R. (Darby) Stoncel, Athens, Ohio, retired administrative assistant, Oct. 22

Charles “Chuck” F. Stotts, Sun City West, Arizona, former assistant dean of development, May 28

Thomas W. Walker, Millfield, Ohio, retired professor emeritus and director of Latin American studies, May 2

Clara Wilkes, Leesburg, Florida, former communications instructor, May 19

—Includes individuals who passed away between May 1 and Oct. 1, 2023. Information provided by the University’s Office of Advancement Services.

Photo by Rick Fatica, MFA ’08

MISSION STATEMENT

Ohio Today informs, celebrates, and engages alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends of Ohio University.

Editor in Chief

Emma Henterly, BSJ ’10

Art Director

Sarah McDowell, BFA ’02

Contributors

Dylan Benedict, BSVC ’22

Eli Burris, BSJ ’16

Nick Claussen, BSJ ’92

Jen Jones Donatelli, BSJ ’98

Paul Eschenbacher

Rich-Joseph Facun, BSVC ’01

Rick Fatica, MFA ’08

Sarah Filipiak, BSJ ’01, BS ’23

Jeff Kallet

Anita Martin, BSJ ’06

Grace Miller, BA, BSVC ’24

Jill Moorhead, BSVC ’01

Karsten Moran

Office of the University Registrar Ohio Athletics

Ohio University Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections

Ohio University Press

Robin Oliver

Samantha Pelham, BA, BSJ ’17, MAA ’21

Mary Reed, BSJ ’90, MA ’93

Adam Remnant, BSED ’04, MED ’19

Scripps College of Communication

Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02

Morgan Simonski

Adam Simpson

Alexandria Skowronski, BS, BSVC ’21

Carmen Szukaitis, BSJ ’24

Dylan Townsend, BSVC ’24

Jessica Tremayne

Visit Athens County

Ty Wright, BFA ’02, MA ’13

Ohio University President

Lori Stewart Gonzalez

Interim Vice President for University Advancement and President and CEO of The Ohio University Foundation

Lyn Redington

Ohio University Alumni Association Executive Director

Jennifer Shutt Bowie, BSJ ’94, MS ’99

Vice President for University Communications and Marketing

Robin Oliver

Director of Content Strategy and Publications

Sarah Filipiak, BSJ ’01, BS ’23

Errata for the fall 2023 issue follow.

Ohio Today regrets the errors. Page 10, the photo of President Lori Stewart Gonzalez in an Institute for Sustainable Energy and the Environment lab was taken by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02. Page 16, the photo of students in a WOUB studio misidentified both as journalism majors. The student on the left, Adam Hochberg, BSC ’85, majored in telecommunications in the Honors Tutorial College. Additionally, Hochberg kindly identified the student on the right: Janie (Leonowich) Linabarger, BSC ’84, who majored in radio-TV in the College of Communication.

Ohio Today is published two times a year. Its digital companion is ohiotoday.org. Both are produced by University Advancement, with funding from The Ohio University Foundation. Views expressed in them do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff or University policies. Editorial office address: Ohio Today, Ohio University, P.O. Box 869, Athens, OH 45701-0869. Send questions, comments, ideas and submissions (such as Class Notes, photos of future Bobcats and information about books by Bobcats) to the above address, via email to ohiotoday@ohio.edu, or call Ohio Today at 740-593-2684. Make address changes at ohio.edu/alumni or by mail via Ohio University, Advancement Services, P.O. Box 869, Athens, OH 45701-0869. Send details for the “In Memoriam” column to the latter or via email to advinfo@ohio.edu. The OHIO switchboard is 740-593-1000. Copyright © 2024 by Ohio University. Ohio University is an equal access, equal opportunity, and affirmative action institution.

LAST WORD

After five years in OHIO’s Division of Diversity and Inclusion, Lisa FlowersClements, BSED ’92, MED ’04, became the new director of the University’s Multicultural Center last October.

For the Southeast Ohio native, the appointment is a natural fit.

“Social justice has always been something that’s very important to me,” she says, as has interacting one-on-

one with students. From working as a peer mentor in the LINKS Program and serving as a resident director at OHIO to working in developmental education at West Virginia University at Parkersburg, advising and advocating for students has been FlowersClements’ favorite part of working in higher education for more than two decades.

Do you have a favorite item of OHIO memorabilia? My favorite memorabilia would have to be my diplomas. They’re probably my most expensive items as well.

What were your favorite study and hangout spots when you were an undergraduate student and when you returned as a graduate student? While I was doing my master’s, I was also a parent working full time in Residence Life, so there wasn’t necessarily a favorite hangout spot. As an undergrad, my favorite hangout space was the first floor of Lindley Hall, where the African American studies courses were held. It was the Black student hangout space.

How do you like to spend your time outside of work? My hobbies are cyclical. I will crochet a lot, and then it’s like, “OK, yeah, I’m done with that for now,” and then I’ll do beading and make jewelry, and then it’s like, “OK, yeah, I’m done with that for now,” and then I’ll move on to the next thing. I like to do things that are somewhat creative, but I’m not really artistic. I like things that I can do but don’t take a lot of thinking—something where I can really just relax and do it at the same time. —Grace Miller, BA, BSVC ’24

Visit ohiotoday.org for the full Q&A with Flowers-Clements.

Photo by Rich-Joseph Facun, BSVC ’01

Tom Bartel, ceramics professor and chairperson in the School of Art + Design, prepares for what he calls “the most significant and comprehensive exhibition of my creative work to date.” The Holter Museum of Art in Helena, Montana, will showcase Mid Career Survey Exhibition, Figures from Earth: The Ceramic Sculpture of Tom Bartel July 1 through Sept. 30 this year. Spanning 25 years of work, the exhibit will include 25 curated sculptures. Bartel describes this one, titled “Memento Mori (Line of Shoes),” as a reinvestigation of a series he began about 20 years ago. The piece’s footwear gradually increases from 3 inches to 3 feet, suggesting “the prosaic aspects of one’s lifetime, from childhood to old age,” he notes.

Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02

During Ohio University’s annual Sibs Weekend, the campus buzzed with the promise of future Bobcats. The GLOhio event, attended by 1,200 guests, included a giant Lite Brite, glow-in-the-dark mini golf, free pizza and more. Other Sibs Weekend events included a lively hockey game and performances at Apollo Night. “Sibs Weekend offers a special chance for Bobcats to connect with their siblings, irrespective of age, and highlight their Athens journey,” says Mak Olaker, assistant dean of parent and family engagement. Photo by Dylan Townsend, BSVC ’24