Letters, posts and emails

Comments on our winter issue

Dear Case Alumni Association,

Great job on the Winter 2020 issue. I read it from cover to cover, first time I have done that with any publication from you since 1987. It was upbeat, the stories were good, pictures of the people were good, everything. Thanks!

Susanna Dzejachok ’87

Via email: sdzejachok@gmail.com

The Winter 2020 edition of the Case Alumnus got me to looking into my old pictures (which I had since digitized and saved on a CD). Snow men and snow women were found all over the place back then. This was the CIT Sigma Nu version in 1953. The perpetrators were, as best I can remember, (left to right) Tom Bowden, Dwight Decker and Jim Nay (me).

Thanks for the memories,

James A. Nay ’56 — now retired for the last 23 years! Via email: jimnay@yahoo.com

Our story about the new Department of Computer and Data Sciences brought this response

When I entered Case in 1982, there was no Computer Science degree, so I declared a major in math, with emphasis on computer science. When I found out that even math majors had to take three semesters of physics (I had a bad experience with physics in high school), I went all in as a Computer Engineering major. If I was going to have to take those three semesters of physics anyway, I wanted the engineering degree!

While I applaud the creation of the new department, I have to say that as a woman, I still get a kick out of telling people that I am an engineering major. It is sad to say that is still a rarity. I hope Case (and other colleges) work hard to attract and entice more women to enter the STEM fields.

Christine Wolak ’87 Dublin, California catnmus@att.net

Several readers responded to Warwick Doll’s delightful essay for the Long Well Remember section — “Punch Card Blues”

Dr. Doll, I am a CWRU alum (undergrad ’99, MED ’04) and read your article about breaking the Univac 1108 in the Winter 2020 Case Alumnus magazine. What a great piece on so many levels! For me, the example of moving on from a mishap, even if that was not your intent in writing the article, was the greatest part. I appreciate you sharing your story with all of us, and wish you the best in your retirement.

Yours truly, Libbie Stansifer, MD Chief Medical Officer, Signature Health libbie.stansifer@gmail.com

Dr. Doll lives just south of me down I-26 in Spartanburg! His story was very entertaining and reminded me of my first programming lab. As a junior in high school, I had the following discussion with my father:

Dad: Tom, you don't always listen to me, but listen to me on this.

Tom: Ok Pops, I'm listening.

Dad: Do you have a free period or study hall this semester?

Tom: I do.

Dad: Take typing. It will come in handy with term papers and any computer work you do. Tom thought bubble (Don't all the girls take typing as a secretarial class, now there's a thought) Tom: OK Pops, great idea!

I took typing on a Remington Secretarial manual and became a very speedy and accurate touch typer. Senior year of high school I was lucky enough to be in a community with a top-notch school system and had a programming course. So I was all set for programming at Case!

I had my first assignment and went down to the computer lab. Took my punch cards and keyed in my program and data. I went over to the Univac (I think it was still the Univac in ’71 – ’72) and watched the upperclassmen put in their huge stack of cards into the hopper and set the separator. I watched as they got their output from the line printer — some tension on the green bar, wait for the perf and flick it with your finger. Great, I've got that.

I put my program in the stack, set the separator and other large stacks of cards go in on top of mine. It was my turn for output. Here it comes, slight tension on

Tomlinson Hall, Room 109 10900 Euclid Avenue Cleveland OH 44106

the green bar and I whiffed on the flick. I pulled the greenbar right off the tractor and all those large programs in the stack after mine printed a solid black line on the unmoving greenbar. Oh, the shame, the ignominy.

I didn't think I'd ever be let back onto the computer system. Forty-four years later I'm still programming without punch cards and without greenbar so it all eventually worked out.

Tom Fulton ’75 tommief@gmail.com

On Joy Ward, PhD, being named Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Good news for the university. An Ecologist. Exactly what the university needs. Our natural world is in serious trouble.

Lou Drasler louis.drasler@gmail.com On news that President Barbara Snyder is leaving to run the AmeriA reaction to Rockwell Night at Sears think[box]

can Association of Universities I worked for Allen-Bradley during

She served Case well for my daughter’s my last semester at Case and then hired four years. Proud of the education she on full time after graduation. Those received. Fair winds and following seas, early years cemented my career choice hope your next adventure is as successful in software engineering and I like to for the association as your time at case has believe that my code is still being used been. Thank you. somewhere in the world today. I start-

Rick Becker Newark, Delaware Via Facebook ed my career in industrial automation and ended up writing robotic software for medical equipment just down the street at Picker/Marconi/Philips Medical Systems. Thank you Case, Rockwell and all those others who let me put my talents to work, hopefully for the betterment of humanity. John Hayes ’77 Macedonia, Ohio Via Facebook

Rockwell Night at Sears think[box]