Campus news
Jay Johnson Bennett Jr. ’57,
for her steadfast passion for learning, endearing service and wonderful contributions she has made to Central Methodist University. The Besgrove-Hodge Wildlife Sanctuary was originally dedicated on May 7, 1985 for the purpose of expanding learning opportunities at CMU. In 2014 through a gift from Anna Mae Hodge and in memory of Dr. Robert Hodge, the outdoor learning facilities on this land were made possible. Anna Mae’s love for the world around her and all of its beauty are best represented in some of her favorite wildflowers.” Through her gifts, Anna Mae Besgrove Hodge has paid it forward to all the Central Methodist University students and faculty/staff. In turn, being allowed to teach and learn in this space, CMU will pay this gift forward for generations to come.
Dr. Paul Porneluzi (in cap, above) asked his class to find, identify, and measure the size of spider webs (above and left). Below, Derry Wiswall, head of operations, talks with Dr. Dan Elliott, faculty emeritus, about the building and future plans of the Sanctuary project.
Fall 2015
Central Methodist University
Logan Bennett’s son. He graduated with a B.A. in biology and chemistry, then studied wildlife management at the University of Missouri. He joined the U.S. Air Force; much to his surprise, he stayed in the force for 23 years and retired with the rank of Colonel. His work of mostly avionics inspection and logistics led him to become Chief of the Aircraft Branch of the U.S. Air Force at the Pentagon. He received a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1987. After retiring, he became a member of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company until 1999. He finished up as Senior Production Manager, Field Operations 737/757 Factory Manager for Quality Assurance.
Frederick B. Isley, mentor to Alexander and Salyer. He was a professor of biology at Central from 1912-1920 and was a prominent orthopterist. He also recommended Alexander to Princeton, and apparently to his daughter Marion, who became Gordon Alexander’s wife. Max Nickerson ’60. Already a brilliant herpetologist (amphibians and reptiles) when he came to Central, Nickerson is known around his alma mater to most folks because of the snake stories that happened or supposedly happened while a student on campus. He studied at the University of Texas and Arizona State University where he got his Ph.D. in zoology in 1968. He grew up around animals of all kinds in his father’s business Nickerson’s Zoo, but gravitated especially to snakes. He taught in multiple universities and has been curator of reptiles and amphibians in Arkansas and Wisconsin and head of the vertebrate division of the Milwaukee Public Museum. He settled at Florida State University and retired as curator of the Division of Herpetology at the Florida Museum of Natural History and served on their Board of Directors. He has been a prolific author of books and articles on herpetology.
Talon
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