Columbia College Affinity Magazine Summer 2019

Summer 2019

THE COLUMBIA COLLEGE ALUMNI MAGAZINE

a f f i n i t y Meet the 26-year veteran overseeing Columbia College Global’s military locations One Illinois family remembers son through scholarship Dennis Mullins ’10 named Contracting Professional of the Year

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Former women’s golfer and Bachelor of Science in Nursing candidate Michelle Clark ’20 will soon join a Columbia College tradition of nursing excellence that dates back three decades.

THE COLUMBIA COLLEGE ALUMNI MAGAZINE

a f f i n i t y President’s Message As I enter my sixth year at CC, it’s time for some reflection. Together, we’ve accomplished a great deal since 2014: n

We’ve created three academic schools: the School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, the Robert W. Plaster School of Business and the School of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences.

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We’ve delivered the #1 (2017-18) and #3 (2018-19) best fundraising years in our 168-year history, as well as our largest and second largest gifts ever.

We’ve added a sixth session each year for our Columbia College Global (CCG) students taking courses online or at one of our locations nationwide.

We’ve launched Truition®, an innovation that saves our students millions of dollars each year in books and fees.

We’ve improved the Columbia campus with numerous facility upgrades, including a revitalized Quad, significant enhancements to R. Marvin Owens Field, the Game Hut and New Hall — a 60,000 square-foot facility including a residence hall, state-ofthe-art classrooms, an event center and quality space for the Robert W. Plaster School of Business.

Columbia College Board of Trustees 2019-20 Chair Walter E. Bixby III ’82 Vice Chair Helen Dale Coe Simons ’65 Treasurer George W. Hulett Secretary Jolene Marra Schulz ’61

Trustees Lynne Stuver Baker ’64 Lex R. Cavanah Jerry D. Daugherty Daisy Willis Grossnickle ’66 Lt. Gen. Richard C. Harding Mitchell R. Humphreys, MD June Viner Hurdle ’83

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We’ve formed the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee with collegewide representation to ensure that all voices are heard.

We’ve started offering students institutional need-based aid, in addition to merit-based aid.

We’ve doubled our athletic offerings, adding men’s lacrosse, men’s baseball, men’s & women’s track & field, men’s and women’s cross country, women’s bowling and an eSports team ranked #1 in the nation by ESPN. We’ve grown our endowment to approximately $170 million, and we still have no long-term debt.

Columbia College is strong, innovative and ready to tackle new challenges. I’m honored to serve as your president and look forward to charting new waters together!

Dr. Scott Dalrymple Columbia College President

Jane Blackman Lossing, MD ’64 Genie Rogers David R. Russell, Ph.D. Kevin C. Sprouse ’04 Reverend Brad Stagg Gary A. Tatlow Matt Williams Carol J. Winkler ’93 Janet Carter Wright ’58

CCAA Advisory Board Representative William J. Johnston ’82 Faculty Representatives Danielle Langdon Ken Strodtman, Ph.D.

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My CCAA Career Corner offers three strategies to consider when making a career change; explore five ways to volunteer through the CCAA; Christian College alumnae gather for an annual reunion.

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Nurturing Nurses Since the program’s founding 30 years ago, Columbia College has played a vital role in educating the region’s nurses; In our student-athlete profile, as a four-year Cougar golfer preparing for her final year of nursing school, Michelle Clark ’20 gets the best of both worlds.

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Columbia College Global: Military Columbia College has a long history of educating our nation’s servicemembers and their dependents; Q&A with Rob Boone; Air Force Veteran Dennis Mullins ’10 discusses logistics and legacies.

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Inside the Gate Eight students are awarded $1,000 scholarships through the CCAA; Peter M. Stumpf ’03 is remembered through a scholarship at Columbia College-Crystal Lake.

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CCAA Alumni Awards The spirit of achievement is reflected through the caliber of our students, alumni and friends. Meet the recipients of the 2019 CCAA Alumni Awards.

Ride the Wave Bob Burchard reflects on a distinguished career as Director of Athletics and head men’s basketball coach.

CC Notes Alumni share personal and professional updates in Class Notes; In Memoriam remembers alumni who are gone; shop the CC Alumni store.

a f f i n i t y Summer 2019 Editor, Production & Design Carolyn Preul

On the Cover:

Michelle Clark ’20, a four-year women’s golfer completing a bachelor’s degree in Nursing, lines up a shot at Columbia Country Club. Columbia College celebrates the 30th anniversary of the nursing program. Design by Carolyn Preul

Photo Editor Kaci Smart ’09 Staff Writer Kevin Fletcher

Contributors Natalie Caldwell Dan Gomez-Palacio Drew Grzella ’01 Beth McWilliams Ann Muder Joshua Muder ’99 Cindy Fotti Potter ’05

Editorial Review Board Dr. Scott Dalrymple Sam Fleury April Longley Ann Merrifield Suzanne Rothwell

Affinity magazine is published biannually by the Columbia College Advancement Division (1001 Rogers St., Columbia, MO 65216). For assistance, please contact Alumni Relations at (573) 875-ALUM (2586) or ccalum@ccis.edu. © 2019 All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

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Inside the Gate

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THE COLUMBIA COLLEGE ALUMNI MAGAZINE

a f f i n i t y Campus Events

Stallworth sparks conversation during Schiffman lecture “Black Klansman” author Ron Stallworth ’07 was the featured guest for the 2019 Schiffman Lecture in Ethics in March.

The conversation with Dr. Scott Dalrymple came just 10 days after “BlacKkKlansman,” the Spike Leedirected film that used Stallworth’s book as its basis, won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Stallworth’s memoir chronicles his infiltration of the Colorado Springs chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. As a reminder of his experiences, the El Paso, Texas, native still carries in his wallet his official Knights of the Ku Klux Klan member card, signed by Grand Master David Duke.

Black Expo welcomes hundreds to campus From the arts to catering, 23 local vendors participated in the second Black Business Expo in February, one of the largest of its kind in the state.

It drew an estimated 300 attendees to Southwell Athletic Complex, after outgrowing the smaller Dorsey Gym its inaugural year.

A mutual benefit is to connect vendors with the college’s Steven & Barbara Fishman Center for Entrepreneurship, which can offer resources throughout the year to help small businesses thrive. Becky Bocklage, director of the Fishman Center, was on hand to meet with several vendors at the expo.

Attendee Chad Jones-Hicks ’15 credits Columbia College for helping his mother, Stephanie Jones-Osbourne, receive the tools necessary for her to eventually venture out on her own and create Stephanie’s Travel Club. A 40year veteran of the travel industry, Jones-Osborne went back to school to get her business degree, and has now been working as an independent travel agent for about 15 years.

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Women’s History Month honors accomplishments of women in math and science Recognizing the accomplishments of women in science and encouraging the next generation of female scientists were the focuses of Columbia College’s celebration of Women’s History Month.

Organizers hosted three events in March to bring awareness to various roadblocks that have been put in place for centuries to underplay the role of women in the fields of math and science.

The first event was a lunch-and-learn with Dr. Angela Speck, professor and director of astronomy at the University of Missouri. Speck spoke about the catch-22 that female scientists often find themselves in, facing the dilemma of educating future scientists while also retaining their status as “serious scientists.”

Christine McKinley was featured as the month’s keynote speaker.

A mechanical engineer, musician, television personality and author, one of McKinley’s passions is looking at the countless women in the fields of math and science who have been ignored by history books.

McKinley’s work shines light on women who have not been given their due; they’re women more people would know about if we were given a redo of history. One example is Emmy Noether, an early 20th-century mathematician whom Albert Einstein said was one of the most brilliant mathematicians

Dr. Angela Speck (above) and Christine McKinley (below) spoke to the roles women play in the fields of math and science.

he’d ever met. Noether is credited with significant developments in abstract algebra.

The month’s activities concluded with the showing of “Contagion” (2011), a movie featuring an all-star female ensemble that showcases one of the most prominent femalecentric scientific fields: medical care.

The film, which Dr. Tina Dalrymple

has shown numerous times in her health sciences classes, showed how public policy addresses a topic such as a disease outbreak.

Organizers have already begun planning for next year’s events, and as 2020 is the centennial of women earning the right to vote in the United States, women’s suffrage is certain to be the focus.

Inside the Gate

For information on admissions events year-round, visit ccis.edu/events.

Inside the Gate

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Impact

Alumni Relations and Grossnickle Career Services Center host networking etiquette event for students

BY NATALIE CALDWELL ’20

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PHOTO BY KACI SMART ’09 Cassidy Urie ’17 gets to know a student during the networking social.

careers and professions,” says Ann Merrifield, senior director of Alumni Relations. “It’s really a great opportunity for alumni to see the high caliber of students that we are producing here. The benefits are on both sides.”

All of the alumni who attended felt the event was a chance for them to give back to the college, meet current students and discuss their interests.

Alumni and students gathered in the Lee Room in Dulany Dining Hall on April 2 for a networking etiquette social. Hosted by the Office of Alumni Relations and the Grossnickle Career Services Center, the event offered students the opportunity to network with alumni in a fun, interactive space while displaying proper etiquette during professional events.

One of the goals of the evening is to show current students how they can come back after they graduate and impact students of the future.

“We always talk with our alumni about giving back their time, their talent or their treasure. This is one of those opportunities where we can ask our alumni to give of their time and talents because they’re all from different

“I feel like I was given an incredible opportunity to be able to take classes here,” says Cassidy Urie ’17, a sixth grade math teacher at Jefferson Middle School in Columbia.

“Anytime I’m able to give back to the college and the community I jump on board, because they did so much for me and I want to do as much as I can for them.”

Students who are members of the Emerging Leaders Institute primarily attended the event, however it was open to all students who wanted to practice and improve upon their networking skills.

Zane Torreyson, a freshman majoring in healthcare management, appreciates networking and connecting with alumni from all different backgrounds. One significant conversation Torreyson took away from the evening was with Daisy Grossnickle ’66, a 37-year member of the college’s Board of Trustees. “She’s just a really big inspiration to the school, and she dedicates a lot here,” Torryeson says.

“It was awesome meeting her and hearing what she had to say about her love for Columbia College.”

networking event alumni volunteers Amber Barringer ’12, executive assistant & special projects administrator, Operations at Columbia College // Dwayne Carey ’99, Boone County Sheriff // Daisy Grossnickle ’66, member and former chair of the Columbia College Board of Trustees // Bill Johnston ’82, account executive at Shelter Insurance, member of CCAA Advisory Board and alumni representative to the Columbia College Board of Trustees // Colbey Schuster ’17, business partnership manager at Columbia College // Cassidy Urie ’17, teacher at Jefferson Middle School // Ashley Wager ’14, department training administrator at Sinclair Research Center // Carol Winkler ’93, retired pension plan administrator at MFA Incorporated, member of Columbia College Board of Trustees and CCAA Advisory Board

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BY SAM FLEURY PHOTO BY KACI SMART ’09

CouGarden celebrates fifth anniversary

BY KEVIN FLETCHER

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PHOTO BY LIZ ALEXANDER

This fall will mark the fifth anniversary of the creation of CouGarden, a more than 1,300-square-foot plot of soil located on Tenth Street on the South side of Kirkman House.

Students from the International Club oversee the project. Campuswide participants volunteer thousands of hours annually to tend to the garden, which boasts a diverse offering of fruits, vegetables and flowers.

and donated to City of Refuge, a longtime partner of CouGarden that assists local refugees and new immigrants.

“During the fall and spring, students help grow, water, weed and harvest the produce,” says Merri Wente-Chapman, who works in the International Center as the college’s immigration support specialist.

In addition to numerous varieties of produce, organizers also usually plant flowers in the front two rows that help deter bugs from decimating the crops. An arbor also graces the front of CouGarden, which will soon be surrounded

by Chinese long beans that were planted this spring to climb the structure.

College employees are allowed to donate an hour of work time toward CouGarden, which yielded almost 700 pounds of produce last year. Volunteers harvested the first crop of the 2019 planting season in early May, including 8.5 pounds of radishes that were picked

The plot currently features a number of tomatoes, sugar snap peas, sweet potatoes, potatoes and long beans, as well as a row of blackberry vines, while the later summer months will yield bushels of zucchini, yellow squash, green beans and kale.

The final harvest takes place once cold weather or frost arrives in the fall, allowing the garden to rest and prepare for the following spring.

During the spring commencement on main campus, Trustee Emeritus Tom Atkins was honored with the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters. Given Atkins’ passion for the community, success in his family business and his many contributions to Columbia College, it is fitting that he is one of a few individuals in the college’s 168-year history to receive this honor.

Atkins was a member of the Board of Trustees from 1976-2001 and served as chair from 19821999. During his time as chair, he guided the board in hiring quality leaders who worked together to expand the college’s physical and national footprint while increasing enrollments. His family’s impact is apparent and benefits the college’s students every day. They have supported several initiatives vital to the college’s success, including the construction of Atkins-Holman Student Commons, which is named in honor of Tom and his wife, Linda Holman Atkins ’54 (pictured).

Inside the Gate

Atkins presented honorary doctorate

Scholars

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Eight students awarded $1,000 through CCAA Scholars Program

SCHOLARSHIPS

AWARDED

1,000 2.75

EACH

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BY CAROLYN PREUL

Meet the 2019 scholarship recipients:

Lielbeyn Blackman of Lawton, Oklahoma

$

100 WORD

Inside the Gate

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GPA IS REQUIRED

Attending: Columbia College-Fort Sill Major: Human Resource Management “I never had a support system growing up that encouraged me to go to college, so when I made the decision to start, I was terrified. From learning about class selection to figuring out how to read my syllabus and exceptional professors who encouraged me when fear set in, this is the best academic decision I’ve ever made. Columbia College has been so helpful throughout it all, and now because of everyone’s encouragement and help, I have that support system. Today, I am stronger, wiser and forever grateful.”

Jennifer Crowhurst of Baldwinsville, New York COLUMBIA COLLEGE

CREDIT HOURS

PERSONAL STATEMENT

AWARD IS FOR THE

2019-20 ACADEMIC YEAR

Attending: Columbia College-Hancock Field Major: Business Administration & Management “Columbia College has benefited me in the most empowering way. As a single mother of three small children, night classes and short eight-week semesters greatly benefit us as a family. I get to spend the days doing what I need to do to take care of them and completing my degree faster than I would at another college in the area. This opens up many doors for me, as I can get a job to better support my loving children and give them the life they deserve.”

Narbold Davaamyagmar of Denver, Colorado Attending: Columbia College-Denver Major: Master of Business Administration “Columbia College has been my second home since I came to the United States. It took me some time to find a school that is affordable and friendly. What I loved about Columbia College most was the first impression when I met with the academic advisor and assistant director. They truly understood what I was looking to gain. I’m profoundly grateful that they cared about my educational goal instead of considering me as profit. Columbia College has been and will be my family.”

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Felipe Soares of West Jordan, Utah

Attending: Columbia College-Orlando Major: General Studies “My journey at Columbia College has helped me to regain confidence in myself and advance my life in ways I thought were lost to me. Due to my work and family commitments, I was afraid I would never be able to get a degree. However, my first class with the late John P. Phillips, a talented and supportive educator, restored my confidence and gave me the courage to continue. Today, I have completed my associate degree and am close to finishing my bachelor’s, and I could never have made it happen without the supportive environment at Columbia College.”

Attending: Columbia College-Salt Lake City Major: Business Administration “I tried to get a bachelor’s degree three times in Brazil without success. I’ve always had the dream to graduate from a great school and provide a better life for my family, and Columbia College has proven to be instrumental for that. The faculty and students at the Salt Lake campus have helped me understand better the multicultural business world we live in, and I’m confident this will benefit me and my family.”

Landon Parker of Kansas City, Missouri Attending: Columbia College Day Campus Major: Marketing, Sports Management & Business Administration “My time at Columbia College has meant finding a home away from home and making lifelong relationships with new people. Not only have I become more educated academically, but I have also grown as a person. My passion and work ethic have benefited from my time in Columbia. I am driven to put myself through school without my parents’ help and give back to my alma mater. I look forward to making more memories, becoming a more well-rounded individual and preparing myself for the business world I have ahead of me with the time I still have left at Columbia College.”

Pamela Robertson of Dixon, Missouri Attending: Columbia College-Fort Leonard Wood Major: Human Services “Columbia College has helped me reach a long-time dream of becoming the first person in my immediate family to get a college degree. I am also able to achieve my dream of being able to better my life for my five children. If it weren’t suggested I come to Columbia College, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve these dreams. Columbia College has made my dreams a reality.”

LaTasha Tilford of Columbia, Missouri Attending: Columbia College Evening Program Major: English & Secondary Education “Columbia College made me the person I am today! After suffering a lifethreatening illness, I desired to pursue a goal of becoming an educator. Columbia College opened the door of opportunity, making this goal attainable. In addition, I’ve made many meaningful connections and friendships: veterans who placed their education on hold to serve our country; mothers, not unlike myself, balancing work and school; traditional students with CC being their first stop in the real world. By catering to people from all walks of life, Columbia College becomes family.

I am proud and privileged to call this remarkable academic community home.”

About the CCAA Scholars Program All qualifying students are eligible to apply for the CCAA Scholars Program. A committee of the CCAA Advisory Board reviews and selects the recipients, who may use the scholarship toward tuition or housing in the next academic year. Alumni and friends of Columbia College have the ability to turn the dream of a quality education into solid reality. Scholarships lessen a student’s dependence on financial aid and reduce the amount of loans required to pay back after graduation. To make a gift in support of the CCAA Scholars Program, visit my.ccis.edu/ccaa-scholars.

Inside the Gate

Shaniqua Jacobs of Orlando, Florida

Inside the Gate

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Coming Soon

New Hall to open in August

BY SAM FLEURY

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PHOTO BY LESLIE KENNON ’00

Columbia College is blending tradition and innovation in a combined academic and residence hall scheduled to open in August. New Hall will house the Robert W. Plaster School of Business, an event center, conference rooms and classrooms, as well as three levels of residential space.

You are invited to be a part of this project by making a gift that will be recognized forever. Named spaces are available throughout the building.

With a contribution of $1,000 or more,

individual and business names will be displayed proudly on a donor wall, which will be located immediately within the building with premium visibility. These gifts can be pledged over five years.

There is also the option of securing a commemorative engraved brick that will be inlaid along Cougar Drive outside the new building for only $150.

Visit my.ccis.edu/newdirection or call (573) 875-7563 for more information or to make a gift!

Save the Date!

September 25 4 p.m.

Mark your calendar for the Dedication Ceremony for New Hall, featuring the Robert W. Plaster School of Business.

No fees. No book costs.

No surprises.

That’s the truth. We call it Truition.® Colleges are notorious for extra fees. But there’s a better way.

At Columbia College, your education is one low price.

Apply for free at MyTruition.com

Undergraduate Online or in-class

Active Duty Military

$375

$250

per credit hour*

per credit hour*

Graduate Online or in-class

Active Duty Military

$490

$325

per credit hour*

per credit hour*

*Truition® prices are established exclusively for undergraduate and graduate students taking classes online or at one of our adult higher education venues across the nation. Tuition price of $250 per undergraduate credit hour and $325 per graduate credit hour is for service members currently serving in the military: active duty, Guard, Reserve and AGR. Columbia College provides a military grant to cover the cost of books. Other exclusive programs are in place for students taking classes during the day on campus in Columbia, Missouri.

Inside the Gate

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Spotlight

A Gift to Others Peter M. Stumpf ’03 is remembered through a scholarship at Columbia College-Crystal Lake.

BY ANN MUDER PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE STUMPF FAMILY

Peter Stumpf ’03 had a disability, but it didn’t stop him from living life to the fullest. He was diagnosed at 4 years old with mitochondrial deficiency, which made walking difficult for him. But despite his health issues, he stayed active.

Peter enjoyed going to NASCAR races and concerts at the park. He loved animals and could soothe even the most anxious dogs. He founded a successful web design business, and clients from all over the country would travel to meet with him.

But what his family and friends remember most was his loving nature and positive outlook that drew people to him.

“It was the way he had talking with people,” says Dr. Mark Stumpf, Peter’s father. “I was always amazed at how many friends he had. He was the kind of guy that once you met him, you would instantly become friends.”

In 2008, Peter was diagnosed with lymphoma. After five years of treatment, including chemotherapy

and a stem cell transplant, he successfully beat the disease, but the treatment weakened his heart.

He passed away of a heart attack on March 30, 2016, at the age of 47.

In his memory, his parents have established an endowed scholarship to reward students with physical disabilities at Columbia CollegeCrystal Lake who, like Peter, have shown determination, self-advocacy and success in overcoming their difficulties. The Peter M. Stumpf 2003 Scholarship of Excellence will

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Inside the Gate

Work Hard, Play Hard: Peter Stumpf ’03 owned a successful web design business and enjoyed the the live action of NASCAR.

be awarded each year to a full-time student at the Crystal Lake location.

The first $500 scholarship was awarded in the fall of 2018 to Heidi Dowell.

“My wife, Anne, suggested that we establish the endowed scholarship for Columbia College because of all the help they gave to Peter while he was a student here,” Dr. Stumpf says.

“It was a way to give back to the community, and I’ve always believed in the power of education.”

Before attending Columbia College, Peter received an associate degree from McHenry County College and took online classes in music through the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While taking college classes, it became obvious that Peter had a gift for the arts.

His mother remembers when Peter was completing a project for a music appreciation class.

“He had a hard time finishing the assignment because he said he could tell that the composer felt angry when he wrote it,” Anne says.

“The professor was so impressed with his essay, he asked to come meet Peter, and he drove all the way out from Madison. He said he was

“[We established] the endowed scholarship for Columbia College because of all the help they gave to Peter while he was a student. It was a way to give back to the community.” — Dr. Mark Stumpf the only one of his students who understood that piece of music.”

Peter not only had a gift for the arts but for computer work as well. In the 70s and 80s, Dr. Stumpf, an engineer, often worked overseas and brought back computer parts from Taiwan to help build and repair computers.

“That was the start of business with Pete to repair computers and put them together,” Dr. Stumpf says. “He eventually decided to change from doing repairs to the software side of it. And that worked out really well for him.”

After high school, Peter began designing web pages. He enrolled at Columbia College in order to pursue his dream of starting his own business. “He believed that the only way to do that was through knowledge,” Dr. Stumpf says. “Being at Columbia College gave him additional confidence. It helped him to become more independent.”

With his knowledge from business and art courses, Peter started his web design business, PS Web Design. As he got more referrals, he was soon working with clients in more than 30 states across the country.

“One of the things that made him successful — he could take pictures and data from a client and turn it into something interesting,” says Anne. “He had a way of making websites vibrant and attractive.”

He not only created beautiful designs, but he found beauty in the world around him. Despite his health challenges, Peter lived his life as an inspiration to others with his kind spirit, determination and can-do attitude. “He always strived to do well, and he followed his visions,” Anne says. “He was one of a kind.”

Are you interested in learning how to start a scholarship in support of your passions? Call the Office of Development at (573) 875-7563.

Inside the Gate

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Faculty Profile

Story Time

BY ANN MUDER PHOTOS PROVIDED BY COLUMBIA COLLEGE-FORT WORTH

Eric Oglesby finds ways to make history come alive for his students.

To show Napoleon’s march to Russia, he set up a path in the parking lot. When teaching about the Transcontinental Railroad, he brought in a model train. And he turned off the lights and brought in a small candle to illustrate life before electrical power in a lesson about the Industrial Revolution.

To teach history, you need to be a good storyteller. “You have to make it interesting for the students,” he says. “They won’t necessarily like everything that you teach. But the goal is to grab their attention and find what interests them.”

Oglesby has a passion for history, and he wants to spark that in his students as well. His stories have been entertaining students at Columbia College since he started teaching history as an adjunct professor at Columbia CollegeFort Worth in 1999. Over the past 20 years, he has taught classes at the Fort Worth location and in the college’s online program, in addition to his full-time job as a history teacher at L.D. Bell High School in Hurst, Texas.

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program, where his classes had the highest pass rate in the state of Texas last year. He was named Texas Teacher of the Year by the Texas Daughters of Colonial Wars.

Teaching students in both high school and college, Oglesby says he enjoys getting to know students who are at different points in their lives. “At Columbia College, I love getting to go to class with the military students and learning from their perspectives,” he says. “They really develop an appreciation for history, especially the places where they were stationed.”

“His enthusiasm for history draws people in,” says Jeannie Simmons ’02, senior regional director for Columbia College Global-Military, who took Oglesby’s classes when pursuing her bachelor’s degree.

“Students may go in thinking they’re going to hate history, and they end up excited about the class and wanting to learn.”

To get his students involved, Oglesby often asks about their interests and incorporates them into the classes. If they want to learn more, he brings in pictures, finds YouTube videos and provides websites to show real-world perspectives.

Simmons remembers one class where Oglesby asked students to find out about the history of their hometowns. During the project, Simmons discovered that her family was instrumental in incorporating the city and initiating the school district. “I never thought much about how my hometown came about

until Eric had me research it,” she says. “He was honestly interested in the history of his students and felt he could learn from them as well.”

For Oglesby, that lifelong love of learning started at an early age. He grew up in Virginia and remembers taking field trips to historical sites such as Williamsburg and Jamestown, Virginia, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

“On the coast, there are a lot of great historical places to visit, and I was interested in them all,” he says.

Inspired by a high school history teacher who was a great storyteller as well, Oglesby decided to make it his major. He earned bachelor’s degrees in history and French from Texas Christian University at Fort Worth and a master’s in history from the University of Texas at Arlington.

In 2001, he became a history teacher at L.D. Bell High School where today he serves as the department chair. He teaches in the school’s International Baccalaureate college

Oglesby also finds ways to support his Columbia College students by volunteering at events and making financial contributions. This year he made a gift to name a classroom in New Hall, the academic and residential building opening on the main campus this fall.

“Eric always goes above and beyond with his level of involvement with the college,” says Melissa Montgomery ’06, senior director of philanthropy at Columbia College. “He genuinely cares about the students and finding ways to contribute to their education.”

Oglesby says he hopes to continue to help students have the resources they need and to support the college that’s been a big part of his life for the last 20 years.

“Columbia College is giving me the opportunity to teach something that I love,” he says. “If I can help them to a make a difference to one student, it’s worth all the money in the world.”

Inside the Gate

Eric Oglesby received an Outstanding American History Teacher Award by the Texas State Society Daughters of Colonial Wars.

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one day

made a difference The Columbia College community came together Tuesday, April 23, for the college’s inaugural Giving Day initiative. The 24-hour endeavor encouraged alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of the college to each make a single philanthropic gift to the Columbia College Fund.

There is great strength in numbers, and we are incredibly thankful to everyone who answered the call to make generous gifts of all sizes. The contributions made on Giving Day will have an impact on our students well into the future.

All funds raised benefit Columbia College students immediately through scholarships, facility construction and improved technology infrastructure across our network of locations nationwide and online.

“This was truly a campus-wide and nationwide effort, and we are extremely grateful for the generosity our Columbia College family showed during this amazing day.”

— Suzanne Rothwell, executive director of Advancement

my.ccis.edu/givingday

#CCGIVINGDAY

INAUGURAL GIVING DAY NUMBERS IN SUPPORT OF THE COLUMBIA COLLEGE FUND

590 TOTAL GIFTS

25%

55%

EMPLOYEES

ALUMNI

20%

STUDENTS & FRIENDS

202 FIRST-TIME DONORS DONORS FROM 35 STATES (PLUS AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL AND NEPAL)

29,000+ DOLLARS RAISED

4

CHALLENGE GIFTS

100%

PARTICIPATION

BY THE CCAA ADVISORY BOARD

9:05 P.M.

500 DONOR GOAL MET

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THE COLUMBIA COLLEGE ALUMNI MAGAZINE

My CCAA

a f f i n i t y Letter from Our Chair Jonathan Dudley impressed me from the very first time I met him. He is a leader in the Missouri National Guard.

He is energetic, respectful, inquisitive and willing to put in the work to bring about change. At board meetings over the past several years, Jonathan has asked thoughtful questions to help the board better understand the issues before us. We all look forward to Jonathan taking over as chair of the CCAA Advisory Board when my term ends this summer.

Joshua Muder ’99 CCAA Advisory Board Chair, 2016-2019

At our most recent meeting in June, we saw the departure of two beloved advisors. Lollie Zander Reed ’68 and Marjorie Thomas Gutelius ’69 are both Christian College alumnae who served 30 years collectively, and I feel very fortunate to have gotten to know them over the years.

In this issue, you will find stories of our recent Alumni Award recipients and CCAA scholarship recipients. I had the honor of taking part in the Alumni Awards Banquet this past June and was able to meet several of the award winners. I especially enjoyed sharing a golf cart, a table and dinner with the representatives of the Assistance League of Mid-Missouri. They are an energetic and passionate group of alumni and friends of the college who are doing important work for the community. You can read about all the winners starting on page 40.

As I transition out of the role of board chair, I cannot say enough about the professionalism and genuinely caring and supportive culture of the Alumni Relations staff. Ann, Stasia, Carolyn and Keiyana pull off every meeting, event and gathering without a hitch, no matter what last-minute changes are thrown at them (or which board member shows up at the wrong hotel).

I urge everyone to look for opportunities to reach out through the Alumni Association; whether it's to say hi, update us on a major life milestone or to talk to someone about opportunities to help out and give back. Together, we are more than 89,000 alumni strong. We may come from different locations across the nation, but we are one Alumni Association. We are CC!

ccaaprez@ccis.edu

Columbia College Alumni Association Advisory Board 2019-2020 Chair Jonathan Dudley ’10 Day Campus Alumni Representative to the Board of Trustees Bill Johnston ’82 Day Campus ________________________ Advisors Allen Butler ’07 Lake County Debra Carnahan ’82 Day Campus Jeannie M. Lahman ’18 Online Program Bill Leeper ’04 NAS Jacksonville Chris Lievsay ’09 & ’11 Kansas City Joshua Muder ’99 Day Campus Ed Sasan ’11 Redstone Arsenal Norris Tanner ’10 Kansas City Corbin Umstattd ’12 Day & Online Programs Chris Unnerstall ’14 Evening Campus Carol Winkler ’93 Evening Campus ________________________ Columbia College Staff Ann Merrifield Senior Director, Alumni Relations Suzanne Rothwell Executive Director, Advancement

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Alumni Events

Photo Gallery

August 15 Alumni Social at Anheuser-Busch Brewery St. Louis, Missouri September 25 New Hall Dedication Columbia, Missouri September 26 President’s Society Columbia, Missouri October 4 Cougar Athletics Hall of Fame Columbia, Missouri

Christine Reimund '04, Kacie Naros ’17, Joanne Lewis ’19 and Kymberly Guerrero ’17 Ken Sinclair ’13 and Gary Stanowski ’12

Alumni and friends gathered at Prison Brews in Jefferson City, Missouri, on May 9, 2019, for a spring social.

The Offices of Alumni Relations and Development joined together to host a spring social in Columbia, Missouri, on May 16.

The event started with a private reception for inaugural members of the Cornerstone Club (pictured) before opening to all alumni.

Turn to page 65 for more information about the Cornerstone Club.

October 5 Homecoming Columbia, Missouri October 16 Alumni Social at Boulevard Brewing Co. Kansas City, Missouri October 17 Christian College Luncheon at the Webster House Kansas City, Missouri December 12 Alumni Holiday Party Columbia, Missouri

My CCAA

UPCOMING EVENTS

My CCAA

18

Career Corner

Making A Career Change

BY DAN GOMEZ-PALACIO, DIRECTOR OF THE GROSSNICKLE CAREER SERVICES CENTER

Often in the Grossnickle Career Services Center, we are asked to help students and alumni who are looking to transition to a new career. Whether it’s moving from an hourly position or shifting to a new profession, it can be a difficult path to navigate. If you are thinking of moving to a new industry or changing up your current responsibilities, consider these strategies to help make the transition smoother.

1

Take stock of your skill set.

Look through job descriptions of your aspired field and find trends in both hard and soft skills that employers seek. Which skills can you

demonstrably show that are needed in the field? Pull from your past work experience, education and volunteer work and show that you have taken concrete steps to ready yourself for this change.

2

Rewrite your resumé and adjust your LinkedIn profile.

Chances are, your resumé is written toward your current field, and it will contain skills, wording and accomplishments that are specific to your previous career. Carefully read through your resumé and decide what skills are better suited to your previous industry and what needs to be adjusted. Add in specific skills, classes and accomplishments that

will speak to new employers. Make the same changes to your LinkedIn profile. For instance, let’s say you are hoping to go into Human Resources after years in retail. Your current resumé might be more aimed at tasks that are needed in your current job — whether it’s customer service, cash handling or inventory.

Human Resources will require different skills, so think about industry-important tasks such as training new staff, taking part in interviews and dealing with safety issues that might be a part of your job. Ensure that your resumé and LinkedIn profile demonstrate these skills and allow the reader to understand the skills you have developed.

3

Research the latest trends in the field.

Find the appropriate professional associations, LinkedIn groups and industry publications to see what people are talking about in the field.

What are some of the hot-button issues that are happening? This will allow you to show an interviewer that you are up-to-date and dedicated to the industry.

Career counseling, networking and resumé assistance are available free of charge to students and alumni through the Grossnickle Career Services Center. To get started, call (573) 875-7425 or email careercenter@ccis.edu.

Transitioning to a new career field is challenging, but with the right preparation, you can push yourself forward. Remember that the Grossnickle Career Services Center is available to all students and alumni.

Don’t hesitate to reach out.

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My CCAA

89,000 Strong The Columbia College Alumni Association is proud to continuously welcome new alumni every month.

Graduates have participated in 19 ceremonies nationwide since April, with seven more graduations set to take place before the end of 2019 including: Sunday, July 21 St. Louis, Missouri Saturday, July 27 Jacksonville, Florida Saturday, August 10 Lake County, Illinois Friday, October 4 Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Grad Packs Students automatically become members of the CCAA upon graduation — there is no fee or registration process. Purchasing a “Grad Pack” is the first opportunity as alumni to support Columbia College. Each pack includes a professional padfolio and stylus pen, a class year t-shirt, alumni window cling and a coupon for a future purchase at the Columbia College Alumni online store.

Proceeds benefit CCAA programming. All alumni can order a 2019 bundle for just $25 at columbiacollegealumni.org/gradpack.

Explore the exclusive benefits, valuable resources and opportunities for CCAA members at columbiacollegealumni.org/rewards.

Friday, October 25 Fort Stewart, Georgia Saturday, November 2 Redstone Arsenal, Alabama Saturday, December 14 Columbia, Missouri

Since 2015, graduates who participate in any Columbia College commencement receive a commemorative lapel pin prior to the ceremony. All alumni may request a complimentary pin at columbiacollegealumni.org/ rewards.

My CCAA

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Volunteer

How Can I Help?

BY CAROLYN PREUL

Become a mentor.

The CCAA utilizes LinkedIn to host a mentoring program, which pairs Columbia College graduates and friends with current students who are looking for educational advice, career guidance and life lessons. It’s a wonderful opportunity for alumni who appreciate what Columbia College gave them to give something back by helping the next generation of students.

Here’s how the program works: Mentors and students utilize LinkedIn to present and answer questions. Mentors draw on their real-world experience to give students advice about making the right choices in school, getting ahead in their careers and developing social skills. They serve as confidence boosters, role models and sounding boards. They share practical feedback, ideas, communicate knowledge, identify useful resources and help clarify educational and professional goals.

Interested? Simply go to www.linkedin.com/ groups/12001628/ and ask to join.

Write to prospective students.

The Admissions office has identified high-aptitude students from across the country, and we need help recruiting these future Cougars! Alumni are invited to write personalized notes to prospective students.

• Volunteers will commit to writing about 10 personal notes. You can request more if you want!

• Alumni Relations will send volunteers pre-printed LinkedIn is a web-based and mobile app service used mainly for professional networking.

notecards with space for a personal message and pre-addressed envelopes.

• Letter-writers are responsible for postage

costs and mailing. Volunteers can receive gift acknowledgement for the postage expense.

• As a thank-you for participating, volunteers will receive personalized Columbia College Alumni return address labels.

New volunteer activities are added throughout the year.

Join our email list by registering to become a volunteer at columbiacollegealumni.org/volunteer.

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My CCAA

Participate in Speed Networking.

The Office of Alumni Relations partners with the Grossnickle Career Services Center to host an annual speed networking event on the main campus in Columbia, Missouri.

Kansas City Speed Networking, April 2019 — Alumni Volunteers: Zach Felz ’17, Cole Leon ’03, Christopher Lievsay ’09 & ’11, Joshua Muder ’99 and Norris Tanner ’10

Speed Networking is an efficient, face-to-face professional networking model similar to “speed dating” that enables participants to make new contacts through oneon-one short, focused conversations. It is an excellent opportunity for professionals and current students to forge new connections within the Columbia College community.

After years of success, the program has expanded to include networking events in Jefferson City, the Lake of the Ozarks, St. Louis and Kansas City.

St. Louis Speed Networking, May 2019 — Alumni Volunteers: Javetta (Jaye’) Belt ’13, Debra Carnahan ’82, Sonya Garrett ’96 and Megan Nilson ’14

Psst ...

Are you connected?

Are you interested in hosting an event in your area? Contact ccalum@ccis.edu for more information.

If you aren’t receiving printed mailings (hint: this magazine) or emails from the CCAA, we probably need your updated contact information. Simply send back the form on page 64 or check out the “Stay Connected” tab at columbiacollegealumni.org.

My CCAA

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Members of the CCAA Advisory Board gathered in June 2019 for an in-depth meeting about the association’s strategic plan. Pictured, back row left to right: Ann Merrifield, Bill Johnston ’82, Allen Butler ’07, Chris Lievsay ’09 & ’11, Corbin Umstattd ’12, Jonathan Dudley ’10, Debra Carnahan ’82, Ed Sasan ’11, Suzanne Rothwell and Bill Leeper ’04; Front row: Joshua Muder ’99, Jeannie M. Lahman ’18, Lollie Zander Reed ’68, Carol Winkler ’93, Marjorie Thomas Gutelius ’69 and Lynne Stuver Baker ’64

Refer a student.

Serve on the CCAA Advisory Board.

The CCAA Advisory Board is the leadership group of the Alumni Association and is made up of alumni volunteers who are committed to the success of the CCAA. Advice given by this group is integral to the mission of the CCAA, which is to foster lasting relationships with students, alumni and friends worldwide.

To learn more about serving on the Advisory Board, please contact Ann Merrifield at amerrifield@ccis.edu. Get to know your current representatives at columbiacollegealumni.org.

Do you know a student who would be a great fit for Columbia College? As part of our efforts to involve alumni in the future of their alma mater, we would like alumni assistance in identifying potential Columbia College students. The Admissions Office will contact the names provided and send more information on how they can start their Columbia College journey. Fill out the form at columbiacollegealumni.org/ referastudent.

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My CCAA

12 Months to Your Master’s

My CCAA

24

Reunion Weekend

Alumnae gather in Columbia for annual celebration

BY KEVIN FLETCHER & CAROLYN PREUL



PHOTOS BY KACI SMART ’09

Christian College Reunion Weekend is a special celebration for graduates prior to the college’s name change in 1970. This year, more than 50 guests and alumnae representing 10 class years returned to campus May 3 — 4 to remember the college’s rich heritage and learn about the new and exciting advancements happening at Columbia College today.

Guests were treated to an alumnae luncheon, tours of campus and the city of Columbia and a commemorative Ivy Chain Ceremony. Of course, there was plenty of time for reminiscing and storytelling.

“Every time I return and get reacquainted with these wonderful women, it makes me proud and humble to say that I am a graduate of Christian (Columbia) College.”

— Shelley Erdman Dale ’69

Impressed by the changes to campus, Debbie Guilia McGinnis ’69 was ready to come back. “I turned to Cheryl [Hollingsworth DeLacretaz ’69] and said, ‘Doesn’t it make you want to sign up and do it all again?,’ because there are so many happy memories that we have,” she says.

Celebrating their 60th reunion from the Class of 1959 are Harriet Peel Foiles, Janis Busch Strader and Dayle Selby Mixer.

HONORING

Christian College A L U M N A E • S I N C E 1851

“Thank you Christian College and my instructors for molding me into the daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, employee, instructor and friend I have always hoped and tried to be!”

— Barbara Rathbun Tucker ’59

J O I N U S FO R A L E G AC Y C E L E B R AT I O N! Mark your calendars to join us for Reunion Weekend on May 1–2, 2020.

We will be honoring the last graduating class of Christian College and celebrating the 50th anniversary of Christian College becoming Columbia College.

Event details, travel information and registration will be available in early 2020.

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My CCAA

Members of the Class of 1969 gathered in May to celebrate their 50th reunion.

Pictured from left to right, front row: Mitzi Pepper Foster, Janice Helmreich Palmer, Lucy Church, Sue Fessey Harvin, Nancy Gerard Russell, Linda Sublett Hutton and Angie Smith Hilbert; Back row: Cheryl Hollingsworth DeLacretaz, Debbie Guilia McGinnis, Marjorie Thomas Gutelius, Kitty Schmitt Rogers, Shelley Erdman Dale and Carol Vanderford Barrymore

During a tour of campus, Kitty Schmitt Rogers ’69 stops to kick up her heels in Alumni Fountain.

Lucy Church ’69, Marilyn Hughes Hoecker ’70 and Sue Fessey Harvin ’69 point out a memorable brick in the Christian College Garden. It bears the inscription “Madame D 1908-1975 Jamais Oubliee.”

Cover Story

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NURTURING NURSES Since the program’s founding 30 years ago, Columbia College has played a vital role in educating the region’s nurses. ooo

BY KEVIN FLETCHER PHOTOS BY KACI SMART ’09 The genesis of the Nursing program at Columbia College — which is celebrating its 30th anniversary later this year — came from the innate nature of nurses themselves.

“Nurses tend to have a caring personality, as everyone knows,” says Dr. Tina Dalrymple, director of the Nursing program and faculty chair. “But they also tend to be highly driven professionals who like to get things done.”

In the 1980s, Sharon Taylor was working for Columbia Public Schools (CPS) as the director of the Columbia Area Career Center’s practical nursing program. At the time, while schools like the University of Missouri educated students with no professional nursing knowledge to earn their Bachelor of Science and become a Registered Nurse (RN), there were limited educational opportunities for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) in midMissouri to further their nursing education.

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Cover Story

ooo

Nursing students gain real-world experience and sharpen their skills in the classroom with Sam, a patient simulator that can present symptoms and respond to questions. Philanthrophic donations and grant awards make it possible for the college to stock state-of-the-art equipment in the nursing labs.

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“There wasn’t the opportunity for them to become RNs,” says Taylor, who approached Columbia College officials, including then-President Dr. Donald Ruthenberg, about forming a cooperative agreement between CPS and Columbia College to offer an Associate in Science in Nursing (ASN) degree.

It would be a laborious process to get the program up and running.

No classes could be taught until approval was granted by the Missouri Board of Nursing, and that was a daunting task. “I was told by several people that I would never get the program approved by the state board,” Taylor says.

Along with fellow charter faculty members Dr. Faye Fairchild, Dr. Joyce Gentry and other colleagues, Taylor earned national accreditation for Columbia College’s curriculum in 1995 from the National League for Nursing.

“You can’t really talk about the nursing program without Sharon Taylor,” Fairchild says. “This program would not have launched without her.”

Ruthenberg and his successor, Dr. Gerald Brouder, were both staunch

ooo

Yet Taylor persisted, prepared — including working with the dean of the Mizzou School of Nursing to ensure Columbia College’s program wasn’t overstepping bounds — and then on a cold day late in 1988, drove down to Jefferson City to make her case. Before a panel of members, Taylor was allotted 60 minutes to make her presentation. Within 15 minutes, the board approved the program. “I addressed everything,” she says. “I had done my homework.”

Dr. Faye Fairchild shows Elizabeth Daago the ports for a central-line setup on a patient mannequin.

supporters of the nursing program.

In Brouder’s case, it was an easy fit: Before serving as the 16th president of Columbia College, Brouder was the first male teacher at the University of Missouri School of Nursing, and also served as that school’s interim dean before eventually moving his office across town.

“Dr. Brouder had been my adviser in graduate school at Mizzou, so I already had a relationship with him,” Taylor says. That relationship continues to this day, as several Columbia College graduates have earned master’s and doctoral nursing degrees from Mizzou.

In 2003, two years after Taylor’s retirement from CPS, Columbia College assumed full ownership of and responsibility for the Nursing program. With Brouder nearly halfway through his 18-

year tenure, the program had the administration’s full support.

That support has continued unabated under Dr. Scott Dalrymple’s leadership.

As he likes to remind the crowd at each semester’s Nurses’ Pinning Ceremony, he loves nurses so much that he married one. In addition to serving as the college’s first lady, Dr. Tina Dalrymple developed the college’s Health Sciences programs, and now oversees both Nursing and Health Sciences.

ooo In 2005, Columbia College began offering an ASN degree at its Lake of the Ozarks location, still the only other location besides the main campus for nurses to receive in-seat education. Students there work very closely with Lake Regional Health Systems (LRHS), the major healthcare provider in the area.

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LRHS offers an externship program that accepts several nursing students each year. Lake ASN students work nights and weekends performing various tasks for the hospital, which provides valuable real-world experience. “It’s a recruitment tool for the hospital to get these nurses oriented to the hospital before they graduate, plus it’s an opportunity for the student to ask, ‘Do I like this? Is this where I’d like to work?’ Most of them stay at LRHS, so it’s a win-win for everyone,” Gentry says. ooo With its ASN program, the college has done well to educate the next generation of nurses, yet for years, the faculty yearned for a BSN program to solidify Columbia College as a premier nursing educational institution. In 2014, the college made the first step toward that goal by offering an “RN-to-BSN” program.

Offered exclusively online, the degree program is for registered nurses who already have their ASN but wish to further their education. Some healthcare systems require their nurses to have their BSN; many offer career advancement to nurses with that distinction.

ooo Once the online program was up and running, an in-seat BSN program was the natural next step. “The nursing faculty have wanted for many years for us to have a BSN in-seat program,” says Kay Dingler, who coordinated the ASN program in Columbia until her retirement this spring. “The RN-to-BSN program has worked well for our ASN

Cover Story

Sara Riley serves as ASN Coordinator at the Lake location.

RECONNECTING WITH THE FIRST RN-TO-BSN GRADUATES The first students to earn their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Columbia College began taking online classes in 2014. Brianne Luck and Chris Vietti were employed as registered nurses and took classes online to earn the program’s first RN-to-BSN degrees in 2016.

They continue to thrive in their careers today.

Brianne Luck ’16 worked as a travel nurse at Research Medical Center in Kansas City and St. Louis University Hospital while earning her BSN. She now works in the emergency room at Lake Regional Health System and lives in her hometown of Jefferson City, Missouri.

“I enjoyed the program and felt it was comprehensive and student friendly,” Luck says. “I highly recommend this program!”

Chris Vietti ’16 worked in the ER at Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He’s still in Tulsa after completing his degree, and works in the neuro-trauma intensive care unit at St. John’s Hospital.

Vietti is currently enrolled in a Doctorate of Nurse Practitioner program at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He notes that Samford’s online program is similar to the one he was in Columbia College, and credits the excellent staff and solid curriculum for propelling him higher.

“Coursework that was engaging and relevant to our field helped foster my aptitude to move even further with my education,” he says.

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ooo

The Class of 2019 Bachelor of Science in Nursing cohort graduated in April. Pictured from left to right, front row: Brandi Peasel, Madelyn Grossman-Hegenbart, Whitney Fecht, Kerigan Wessing and Dr. Tina Dalrymple, director of the Nursing program and faculty chair; Back row: Kayla Fozzard, Bryce Hopkins, Lindsay McEver, Alecia Anderson and Deanne Emde

graduates because they all wanted to come back and graduate again from Columbia College. But the inseat BSN is a foundational program for us.”

Lindsay McEver, who has other nurses in her family, concurs. “The reputation of the ASN program provided quite a bit of trust in the program’s success and ability for the professors to prepare us for our nursing exams,” she says. McEver had enrolled at Columbia College solely to take pre-requisites en route to earning a BSN elsewhere, but once the college was approved to offer the degree in the fall of 2016, she stayed thanks to her positive experience during the evening classes she took while working. McEver graduated as president of the inaugural BSN class this spring, and has taken a position at University of Missouri Hospital in the neuroscience ICU. Another BSN graduate, Kerigan Wessing, was one of four across the entire college recognized

“It’s really exciting, because you know that you’re part of history. This is a journey that you embarked on, and to have completed it is something to be proud of.”

— Lindsay McEver, on being part of the first BSN cohort with a Presidential Award during commencement ceremonies this spring. She also earned her degree with distinction, and was voted by her peers to receive the Florence Nightingale Award for epitomizing the art and science of nursing.

Further evidence of the growth of the program comes with national recognition of the college’s students; to that end, the college has started the process to form its own chapter of Sigma Tau Theta, an international nursing honor society for BSN graduates. Until the college completes a threeyear process to earn that chapter designation, the faculty is inducting its BSN graduates into a temporary Ivy Chain Nursing Honor Society; the group inducted its first class in mid-April prior to commencement

ceremonies. Dr. Tina Dalrymple serves as the organization’s president, and several department faculty hold board roles.

In the same vein, this is also the first year that Columbia College nursing students were eligible for induction into Alpha Delta Nu, a national nursing honor society for ASN graduates. “Being a member of a nursing honor society is very prestigious. When you have that on your resumé and you apply for jobs, people know what that means,” Gentry says.

ooo The college continues to innovate as it grows, and the opening of the Gerald T. and Bonnie M. Brouder Science Center in 2013 is a significant example. The new

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The program currently boasts five simulators for its students to utilize: a pair of SimMan 3G and a MegaCode Kelly high-fidelity simulators in Brouder; SimJunior, which is an interactive pediatric simulator; and Victoria, a laborand-delivery simulator, in the instructional center at Federal Hall in downtown Columbia.

President Dalrymple was so impressed with SimMan that he asked to be the hidden voice behind the male “patient” during one classroom simulation. Using a microphone in an adjacent room, he told students he wasn’t feeling well.

When they asked SimMan why, he cycled through a number of unlikely maladies before ultimately claiming that he was pregnant. “It took them awhile to decide whether to send the patient to the Psych Ward, or to laugh,” Dalrymple says. They laughed, and he confessed to the ruse.

Some of that technology has been made possible through a pair of $150,000 grants awarded to the college in 2017 and 2018 by the Missouri State Board’s Nursing Education Incentive Program. In addition to the technology, the grants have helped fund faculty scholarships to further their education as well as hire full-time faculty and cover their salary for a year.

Only five awards are given statewide per year, and the college receiving

awards in back-to-back years is a testament to the program. Gentry credits Laura O’Neil, assistant director of Institutional Grants & Foundation Relations, and Dr. Tina Dalrymple for their tireless efforts to secure vital funding. “Their work on these kinds of grant proposals is very, very helpful, very significant, and so beneficial to our ASN and BSN programs,” she says. ooo Columbia College has been blessed with a number of excellent instructors and professors over the years, and one announced her retirement this spring. Dingler, who served the college for 14 years and taught countless nurses, is transitioning into a part-time position, which will allow her to teach some lab and clinical sessions, and also spend quality time directly teaching students.

“The end is better than the beginning. I couldn’t have been in a better place,” she says. “I love Columbia College; all the faculty, all the staff, all the students are wonderful. I was just talking with one of my former colleagues from Boone [Hospital Center]. She teaches at another college, and she said, ‘I would retire, but I love my students.’ And I told her that I understand that.”

With Dingler’s retirement, Paula Garfias has assumed coordination of the ASN program in Columbia.

Dr. Heidi Monroe serves as BSN Coordinator. Other full-time faculty members include Corrine Floyd, Janet Chance-Hetzler, and Sara Riley.

Dr. Heidi Holtz, who has worked part-time as a clinical instructor

PASS RATES Columbia College nurses have consistently tested far better on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) than their peers nationally.

2014 Columbia 100% Lake of the Ozarks 100% National Average 81.78% 2015 Columbia 97.06% Lake of the Ozarks 100% National Average 84.53% 2016 Columbia 95.35% Lake of the Ozarks 100% National Average 84.57% 2017 Columbia 94.29% Lake of the Ozarks 88.89% National Average 87.11% 2018 Columbia 91.07% Lake of the Ozarks 100% National Average 88.29%

since October, will join the nursing faculty on a full-time basis as an assistant professor.

“We have a great team and the future is so bright,” says Dr. Tina Dalrymple. “The demand for our nurses is strong. Columbia College is truly changing lives — not only those of our students, but of the thousands of patients they will serve during their careers.”

Cover Story

facility has helped facilitate the use of technology such as state-of-theart advanced patient simulators, peripherals and advanced software to aid in students’ clinical skills development.

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CLUBS & SCRUBS

Student-athlete Michelle Clark gets the best of both worlds.

BY KEVIN FLETCHER



PHOTOS BY CINDY FOT TI POT TER ’05 & KACI SMART ’09

Between moving away from home and integrating into a new community, adjusting to a tougher class load and passing exams left and right, successfully navigating through college is challenging enough as it is. Add on the time demands of practicing and playing a varsity sport, then throw in majoring in a relatively new program on your school’s campus, and you’ve got yourself a perfect storm. Michelle Clark wouldn’t have it any other way.

The Springfield, Illinois, native recently completed a successful career on the Cougar women’s golf team, and has one year of coursework remaining before earning her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing.

Clark is a member of the second BSN cohort. Along with fellow athletes Katelyn Nottleman (softball) and Kaitlyn Tambke (soccer), it is the first class to have student-athletes among its ranks. “We definitely lean on each other for help with notes that we may have missed, or any questions we might have about the material,” Clark says.

While the nursing program is challenging enough, this past semester was especially vexing for Clark. Clinical rounds begin every Tuesday during the spring of the third year for nursing students, which happned to coincide with a pair of golf tournaments. Yet constant communication between student and professor, along with the willingness to make alternate arrangements, made for a relatively smooth balance.

Clark credits faculty like Dr. Joyce Gentry and Dr. Faye Fairchild for supporting her and her fellow studentathletes in balancing the unique time demands of a sport and a program such as nursing.

“My professors are extremely understanding, and I couldn’t imagine not having professors who understand the demanding schedules we go through,” says Clark, who added that Gentry frequently asks the trio for updates about the golf, soccer and softball teams’ progress.

For a sport that requires intense mental focus, Clark says she wasn’t ever stressed or anxious about missing class thanks to the strong relationship with her professors.

On the course, Clark credits Michelle Butler, who’s in her second year as John Utley’s graduate assistant, with improving each golfer. “[Butler’s] such an amazing golfer; she knows the golf swing and how to teach. We’ve been blessed to have her on the team,” Clark says.

Clark’s final year of nursing school will not only include countless tests to prepare for her upcoming board exams, but also take her and her classmates through additional clinical rounds. She had thought her career path would take her into an emergency room or ICU setting, but with women’s health and labor & delivery rounds still to come later this year, Clark isn’t so sure. She’s starting to look into a travel-nurse option, which allows graduates to work for agencies that place nurses in various locations around the country for a set amount of time before moving elsewhere.

All Clark knows for certain is that she couldn’t be happier with how the last four years have transpired.

“Nursing wasn’t even on my radar, but the opportunity to be a part of such an amazing program wouldn’t have happened without golf,” she says. “I’m just thankful that I was able to play for Columbia College, and I’ll get to be a great nurse because of it.”

The lone senior for the Cougars this past season, Clark helped the team earn five tournament titles. Her best finish came at the Lyon College Fall Invite, where she was the tournament runner-up.

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Cover Story

“I’m just thankful that I was able to play for Columbia College, and I’ll get to be a great nurse because of it.”

— Michelle Clark ’20

CCG Military

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COLUMBIA COLLEGE

GLOBAL military

BY KEVIN FLETCHER Columbia College has a long history of educating our nation’s servicemembers and their dependents. The college formally established both its first location outside of its main campus and its first military location on March 5, 1973, at Troop Support Command Headquarters in St. Louis. The following year, it opened a location at Fort Leonard Wood, which remains Columbia College’s longest continuously running military location.

What began as the college’s Extended Studies Division (ESD) and transitioned later to Adult Higher Education (AHE), took another step forward earlier this year. Because a large portion of the college’s students are non-traditional, adult learners, and to reflect the college’s worldwide reach with online classes, the division was renamed to Columbia College Global and reorganized into civilian/online and military branches.

Dr. Nathan Miller, formerly the associate vice president of AHE, was named as the associate vice president of the civilian/online side of the house, and a new associate vice president, Robert Boone, was hired to oversee the military locations. A 26-year veteran of the U.S. Army who retired as a lieutenant colonel, Boone most recently worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where he served as an emergency management specialist, external affairs officer and planning and analysis specialist.

Boone also served as an adjunct online professor for Central Methodist University and the University of Missouri from 2012-16.

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BY THE NUMBERS

6,204

number of current students at a CCG military location

19,590

Source: Columbia College Office of Institutional Research, as of 5/9/19

number of alumni from a CCG military location Location

Alumni

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

2,651

Hancock Field, New York

2,621

Fort Worth, Texas

2,311

Redstone Arsenal, Alabama

1,861

NAS Jacksonville, Florida

1,749

Fort Stewart, Georgia

1,717

Whidbey Island, Washington

1,143

NS Everett/Marysville, Washington

1,014

Lemoore, California

867

Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia

700

Coast Guard Island, California

637

Patrick AFB, Florida

555

San Diego, California

484

Fort Drum, New York

409

Los Alamitos, California

391

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

283

Fort Sill, Oklahoma

196

Columbia College began operations at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, on Jan. 22, 1974, making it the college’s longest continuous location in operation at a military installation.

It’s also the college’s third-oldest location after recently celebrating its 45th anniversary.

We asked some Fort Leonard Wood alumni to share their memories, and here’s some of what we received: I was assigned to Fort Leonard Wood in June 1980. At the time I was attempting to finish my college education, which had included courses at six other colleges. I asked for an assessment of my previous college credits and was told that I would need to complete 24 credits to be eligible to graduate. I considered other colleges offering training at Fort Leonard Wood at the time but was impressed by the fact that Columbia College offered eight-week sessions. Because it had been about three years since my previous class, I took only one class during my first session to get back into the habit of studying and two thereafter, leaving me to take just one in a final session. I completed these classes and graduated in October 1981. Thank you Columbia College for helping me to achieve my educational goal.” — Michael F. Dilley ’81

I attended Columbia College through the extended studies program offered on military installations. Being a military spouse — moving from Texas, to Missouri, then to Germany — it was the only way I could pursue and complete my degree.”

— Eva Montalvo ’93

I arrived at Fort Leonard Wood for the second time as the wife of the commanding general of the post. One evening during our after-dinner talks I said to Joe, ‘I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.’ And without hesitation he replied, ‘Nothing until you get your degree.’ The next day I went to the education center. Spoke with my advisor and became a student. ... I graduated with a BS in Business Administration from Columbia College, and the commencement speaker for my graduation class was my husband, Lt. Gen. Joe N. Ballard.”

— Tessie Ballard ’93

CCG Military

Alumni reflect on 45 years at Fort Leonard Wood

CCG Military

36

Q & A with

ROB BOONE

A 26-year veteran of the U.S. Army, Lt. Col. Rob Boone now serves as associate vice president of Columbia College Global’s military locations.

What, essentially, is your role with the college?

Much like the directors at each location’s base, my function is to ensure that everyone has the resources necessary to service our No. 1 priority, our students. If a student has a problem and it’s elevated to my level, that becomes my priority. If a director sends me something that I need to work on at a location, that becomes my priority.

You obviously spent a lot of time in the military, so what does that experience bring to your new position?

I know what it’s like to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning with a family: Go in and do physical fitness from 6:30 to 8:00, come back home, shower, eat breakfast, kiss your wife goodbye and get the kids off to school. Then it’s off to work all day, sometimes until 6 or 7 o’clock at night, come home, eat dinner with the family, have a little bit of family time, tuck the kids in at 9 o’clock, have about 30 minutes of time with your wife and then study.

I vividly remember being at Army Ranger School 10 years ago in Fort Benning, Georgia, as the Brigade Operations Officer. We had just moved there and were in temporary apartments waiting for a house to be ready on Fort Benning. My wife, Carrie, was ready

37

CCG Military Captain Rob Boone (pictured in foreground) served in Fallujah in 2003.

to give birth any minute, and I’m studying for my comprehensive final exams. So I’m starting a new job, I’m living in an apartment with three kids and another on the way with a pregnant wife, and I’m juggling a new job and studying for finals. It was pretty stressful.

I passed with distinction, so I’m very proud of that, but I empathize with what our student servicemembers go through. That goes for the civilian side as well, because there are plenty of students on the civilian side going through the exact same situation as I did at the time, but the bottom line is, I get it. I understand.

How can our military alumni help Columbia College?

Columbia College has an ROTC partnership with the University of Missouri. We have three students who graduated in April and were commissioned in May. I want to get those numbers up. I would love for alumni to come back and be mentors to our ROTC

students. We’re a military-friendly school. It would be nice to have future officers — future leaders in the Air Force, Army and Navy — going through the ranks here on campus. It’s important to me.

Obviously, I would love for us to get more scholarship money, even $100 here and there. Every penny counts.

I’d love to have a sort of roll call of our alumni. I’d like to know your ranks, where you are today, how you have been successful. Just let us know you’re out there and share your experience about how Columbia College helped to better your career.

That’s my biggest question about your Columbia College experience; what has it done for you in the military and what is it going to do for you down the road?

Use the form on page 64 of this magazine to share your thoughts with Rob and the Office of Alumni Relations.

CCG Military

38

Dennis Mullins:

LOGISTICS &LEGACIES “I didn’t get a chance to pick, they just gave me medical supplies. I wasn’t too happy at the time, but it’s all worked out.”

It’s safe to say that’s an understatement.

After a 10-year career in the Air Force and several positions in the healthcare logistics industry, Mullins is the senior vice president of Supply Chain Operations at Indiana University Health in Plainfield, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis. After overseeing design, construction and the successful opening of a new, 300,000-square-foot distribution center, Mullins was named the 2019 Contracting Professional of the Year by the Journal of Healthcare Contracting magazine.

What started out as a major disappointment more than 30 years ago has turned into a major opportunity for Dennis Mullins ’10.

Above: Dennis Mullins, pictured at Rogers Gate in 2010, traveled to main campus to accept his diploma in person.

A native of Bronx, New York, Dennis Mullins wanted to be an air-traffic controller once he joined the Air Force, and he was told he’d have the chance to select his career field after basic training. Yet once it was time for his career-field assignment, Mullins recalls,

The award was due to Mullins’ high-tech solution in revamping the traditional healthcare logistics model, which historically has involved distributors serving as middlemen between manufacturers and healthcare facilities. In this new facility, Mullins implemented the use of high-speed robots to dramatically improve efficiency.

The move has resulted in the creation of IU Health’s own distribution company that supports all of its 18 hospitals, saving millions of dollars in the process.

Mullins’ path to Columbia College is similar to many student veterans. “I got out after 10 years of enlisted service and was going to school here and there at different schools,

39

CCG Military

and I was struggling to find a program that fit my timeline and that would accept a fair amount of transfer hours,” he says, noting that he had more than 80 credit-hours prior to hearing of Columbia College through former Air Force connections.

He was living in Orlando at the time, and shortly after registering and taking classes online, Mullins made a career move to take a position with Baylor Scott & White Health in Dallas, Texas. “I made a phone call, did the application, and the rest is history.”

In December 2010, Mullins made the trip to Columbia to walk across the Southwell Complex stage. “It was a celebration of all the work I had put in,” he says.

The Bronx, New York, native even made Columbia College a family affair: His wife, Audrey, earned a degree online in 2012, and his two oldest daughters, Audreana Mullins Motley ’17 and Megan Mullins ’18, took classes at the college’s Fort Worth location while serving in the Air Force Reserve in Texas.

Mullins’ education is by no means complete.

After earning his bachelor’s degree online from Columbia College and an MBA from Amberton University, Mullins is working toward an online Doctorate in Business Administration from Grand Canyon University.

“I made sure I picked schools that had bricks and mortar in addition to their online presence. Since I didn’t go to school the traditional way, it’s kind of cool to have that connection,” he says. Even though he didn’t have teams to cheer for while earning his degree, Mullins continues to keep tabs on the Cougar athletics programs and stay abreast of college developments via CCAA emails and Affinity.

That pride was evident in Spring 2017 when Mullins and his son, Daniel, drove from Indianapolis to Kansas City to attend an AAU basketball tournament for his youngest daughter, Vanessa, who is now a freshman at Indiana University-Kokomo.

On their way through Columbia, Mullins made a point to stop by campus and show Daniel around. “It was kind of cool considering I was able to finish my degree after being to so many other schools,” he says.

Since Megan’s degree was completed this past December, she was going to make plans to walk in the Fort Worth ceremony in June, but a celebratory conflict arose: The Mullins family was on a cruise in the Mediterranean during that time. “We took the cap and gown on board to do a different kind of commencement ceremony,” he chuckled.

“I told her, ‘I’ve got to get the cap and gown picture.’”

All in the Family

Audrey Mullins ’12

Audreana Mullins Motley ’17

Megan Mullins ’18

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Alumni Awards

40

alumni awards 2019

BY ANN MUDER



PHOTOS BY KACI SMART ’09

For more than 55 years, the Columbia College Alumni Awards have served as a reminder of the great individuals who have worked to change their lives through education. The spirit of achievement is reflected through the caliber of our students, alumni and friends. The prestige we enjoy today as an institution is a direct result of the accomplishments of those who have graduated from and contributed to Columbia College.

This year's recipients were celebrated at the Alumni Awards Banquet on June 7.

Nominations for the 2020 Alumni Awards and a list of past alumni award recipients are available at columbiacollegealumni.org/alumniawards.

Editor’s note: The views of our awardees are their own and do not necessarily coincide with the views of the college.

41

For attaining outstanding regional recognition in one’s chosen career field

Jean Peters Baker ’91 CO LU M B I A CO L L E G E E V E N I N G P R O G R A M / / B A C H E LO R O F S C I E N C E I N A R T

Baker, who was named the 2019 Greater Missouri Leadership Foundation Woman of the Year, also helps fight illegal drug activity in the community. She led the Drug Abatement Response Team (DART) and a multiagency effort to close motels and other businesses involved in illegal drug activities. For her efforts to confront drug trade, Baker received the Excellence Award for Advancing COMBAT Objectives given by the county prosecutor, police agencies and community advocates.

“We have to recognize the needs of the community and come up with solutions.”

As the Jackson County Prosecutor in Missouri, Jean Peters Baker ’91 works with police and community leaders to confront problems of violence and stand up for crime victims in Kansas City. In 2012, she became the second woman elected to lead the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. The first was U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, who hired Baker as the assistant prosecutor in 1998.

As prosecutor, Baker works with police and community leaders to find ways to reduce violent crime. In 2012, she helped start the Kansas City No Violence Alliance. The group reaches out to community members who are at high-risk for being involved in violent crimes, including those identified by police as offenders, witnesses and former victims. In 2014, after the program was implemented, Kansas City homicides dropped to the lowest level in four decades.

“The goal was to interrupt their decision making so they commit fewer violent acts,” Baker says. “We wanted to help divert them to a different lifestyle and prevent more trauma in communities hit hardest by crime.”

Baker says her goal is not just to reduce crime but to help make Jackson County a better place to live. While closing a motel that had illegal drug activity, Baker remembers seeing a family dragging their suitcases away from the building. She stopped to talk with them and realized that they had been living there and that many families now needed places to stay. “We can’t create problems and then leave,” she says. “We have to recognize the needs of the community and come up with solutions. We work hard to create programs that get to the heart of the community and treat people with the humanity they deserve.”

That humanity includes looking out for the most vulnerable citizens, including crime victims and children who witness violence. “We want to do a better job of addressing their trauma,” she says. “Often communities feel like they’re on their own, and that shouldn’t happen.

We need to be there for the victims.”

In addition to her work as prosecutor, Baker was recently elected as chair of the Missouri Democratic Party. After Columbia College, she earned her master’s degree in public administration from the University of MissouriColumbia and a law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.

Alumni Awards

D I S T I N G U I S H E D A L U M N I AWA R D

Alumni Awards

42

JA N E F R O M A N C O U R A G E AWA R D For displaying a spirit of courage in daily life

Pascale White ’17 CO LU M B I A CO L L E G E D AY P R O G R A M / / B A C H E LO R O F G E N E R A L S T U D I E S

attending full days. In 2012, she graduated from Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Missouri. She went to Moberly Area Community College before transferring to Columbia College.

“I knew I needed more one-on-one help from teachers in college,” White says. “Everyone at Columbia College was wonderful. They stepped up to help when I needed it.”

Her hard work and determination paid off. In 2017, she completed her Bachelor of General Studies degree with minors in psychology and business.

“Sometimes seeing someone who's been through it can bring a little bit of hope.”

Pascale White ’17 is a two-time cancer survivor — both times before the age of 10. When she was just 18 months old, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. After intensive chemotherapy, she went into remission but relapsed when she was 6 years old. She endured several years of therapy, including a stem cell transplant, and successfully beat the disease a second time.

While White was undergoing treatment, she had to miss a lot of school. It was a challenge to catch up, partly because of the days she missed, but also because of the radiation’s effects on her developing brain. Doctors predicted that she would have trouble learning for the rest of her life.

“When I started going back, my mom did a lot to help me study,” she says. “I was missing years of instruction, especially in reading, so it was a challenge for me.”

White was homeschooled and eventually eased back into school, starting with half days and gradually

Today, White is a stay-at-home mom to Mia, who was born prematurely on Thanksgiving last year. She also gives her time to “Pascale’s Pals,” a volunteer organization that her family started when White battled cancer as a child. One of the organization’s main goals is to ease the burden for families of children who are diagnosed with cancer or any type of chronic or life-threatening illness.

White helps with the organization’s annual fundraiser and with the baskets that are delivered to children in the hospital. She also visits with families whose children are battling illnesses to let them know they’re not alone.

“I just talk with them and try to give them a little bit of comfort,” she says. “Sometimes seeing someone who’s been through it can bring a little bit of hope.”

In addition to her volunteer work and role as a new mom, White is studying for a master’s degree in education at Columbia College. “My whole life I was told I’d be a great teacher,” she says. “I love working with kids, and I always knew I wanted to make a difference.”

43

For demonstrating outstanding leadership and service to the citizens of one’s community

The Honorable Crystal Williams ’85 CO LU M B I A CO L L E G E D AY P R O G R A M / / B A C H E LO R O F A R T S

The Honorable Crystal Williams ’85 has dedicated her life’s work to help women, children and families through policy and outreach. Last year, she was elected for a third term as Second District At-Large Legislator for Jackson County, Missouri.

“I have a great love for the people here,” she says. “Kansas City is one of the friendliest places in the country.

I think our region is beautiful, and I enjoy serving the folks who live here.”

Williams has been instrumental in bringing legislation to curb the opioid epidemic in Jackson County.

Working together with a physician in St. Louis, she helped establish Jackson County’s first prescription drug monitoring program, which was also implemented in St. Louis County.

The county programs are vital because Missouri is the only state in the U.S. without a statewide monitoring program. “It exists so health care providers, including pharmacists, can get into a registry to make sure people don’t have multiple opioid prescriptions.”

In addition, Williams sponsored legislation to establish the Jackson County Children’s Services Fund.

The fund focuses on getting help to

families and kids who are at risk.

It’s funded by a one-eighth sales tax, which brings in about $15 million a year.

“It’s run like a foundation because we wanted to make sure a politician couldn’t direct funding,” Williams says.

One of her goals is to make sure that government is honest and forthright with how money is allocated. “Transparency is big with me. I believe that government should exist to help people and help our communities be successful, but whatever funding we commit should be spent responsibly.”

Her work history includes leadership positions with organizations such as Partnership for Children, Planned Parenthood, Swope Health Services and Policy Matters, LLC. She graduated from Columbia College in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in history and government.

“Since I started the program, on some level, I’ve been involved in politics and policy my entire adult career,” she says.

Williams says her professors made a big impact on her career choice.

She remembers when Professor

“I've been involved in politics and policy my entire adult career.”

Polly Batterson took her class on a trip to Washington, D.C., and arranged a meeting for the group to talk with Justice Harry Blackmun, who served on the Supreme Court from 1970 to 1994. Williams took the opportunity to ask him to speak at their graduation. He agreed, but the Secret Service had to cancel his appearance after someone fired a shot through the window of his apartment. “He was willing to do it because we admired him. Only Polly Batterson could get 15 college students in to see someone like that.”

As for her future plans, Williams says she wants to continue to ensure that women have access to health care.

She’d also like to help more women to run for public office. It’s a job that she can recommend from personal experience. “It’s always exciting,” she says. “I’ve never been bored the past 30 years.”

Alumni Awards

C O M M U N I T Y S E RV I C E AWA R D

Alumni Awards

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H O N O R A RY A L U M N I AWA R D For outstanding leadership and service to Columbia College

George W. Hulett CO LU M B I A CO L L E G E B O A R D O F T R U S T E E S

George W. Hulett was honored with the Honorary Alumni Award for his unwavering support and dedication to Columbia College.

He has been a committed donor for more than 30 years and is among the most generous philanthropists in the school’s recorded history.

The president of Hulett Heating & Air Conditioning in Columbia, Missouri, Hulett has served on the Columbia College Board of Trustees since 2009 and as treasurer since 2016. While he did not attend Christian College or Columbia College himself, several of his family members have, including his grandmother, three children and granddaughter.

“We have quite a history there,” he says.

“Somewhere, I still have the sign-in sheet from when my grandmother signed into Christian College in 1895.

When Dr. Brouder asked me to be a trustee, I was honored to be able to give back to the college for all they did for my family.”

Hulett and his wife, Jeanne, have supported the Criminal Justice department and Cougar athletics for many years. They established two endowed scholarships: the

Hulett Family Criminal Justice Graduate Study Scholarship in 1991 and the Hulett Family Scholarship in 2010.

“The area of criminal justice is particularly important to us because our son worked for the Columbia Police Department and our daughter graduated with a degree in criminal justice,” he says.

As a regular supporter of various capital campaign projects on the Columbia College campus, Hulett and his family were honored in 2016 with the naming of the new Hulett Family Campus Safety Office on the Quad. In 2018 he was inducted into the Rogers Gate Circle of the President’s Society as one of the college’s most dedicated donors.

Hulett graduated from Hickman High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of MissouriColumbia. He played baseball for the Kansas City A’s organization and later worked as auditor for an accounting firm and controller for a truck line in Kansas City. He returned to Columbia in 1970 to his family’s business, Hulett Heating & Air Conditioning.

“I still have the sign-in sheet from when my grandmother signed into Christian College in 1895.”

Hulett also serves on the Foster Grandparent Program Advisory Board, which helps senior men and women to serve youth with special needs. He’s been volunteering with the program since 1979.

Hulett says he enjoys watching Cougar Athletics, particularly because of his granddaughter, Katie Cook, who was a member of the soccer team. This spring, Cook graduated from Columbia College, and Hulett was able to present her with her diploma at the ceremony.

“Columbia College is dear to my heart,” he says. “Partly because of all of the members of our family who have gone here, but also because of all of the wonderful people who have been so nice to us at Columbia College. It’s a wonderful college for youngsters to go to school, and I just have a warm place in my heart for it.”

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For significant contributions and service to Columbia College

Assistance League of Mid-Missouri M A R Y H U M L I C E K , P R E S I D E N T, A N D M A R Y B E L L S T I X R U D ’7 2 , V I C E P R E S I D E N T O F P H I L A N T H R O P I C P R O G R A M S

Last year, the Assistance League also provided funds to initiate the Assisting Women’s Military Heroes Awards. The $1,250 awards are given to women who are residents of Boone County and either veterans or active duty. To date, the Assistance League has provided 143 Achievement scholarships and 19 Military awards, totaling $309,750.

“By providing scholarships, we can help women who are trying to support themselves and their families.”

For almost 15 years, the Assistance League of MidMissouri has provided scholarships at Columbia College to support women who are going back to college.

“The goal is to help women who are trying to improve their lives as well as their family’s lives,” says Mary Bell Stixrud ’72, vice president of Philanthropic Programs at the Assistance League of Mid-Missouri. “We focus on nontraditional students, because often, they may not have a lot of financial aid help to finish their education.”

The Assistance League of Mid-Missouri provides funding for two Columbia College scholarships: the Assisting Women’s Achievement Scholarships and the Assisting Women’s Military Heroes Awards. In 2005, the Assistance League began providing Assisting Women’s Achievement Scholarships at Columbia College to support nontraditional female students. The $2,000 scholarships are given to female students 25 and older who have completed 60 hours of college credit.

The scholarships are part of the organization’s overall mission — to serve identified needs for adults and children in the Columbia area. Scholarships open doors for those who want to go to school, keeping costs down so students can focus on their goals.

“Education helps bring about self-reliance," Stixrud says.

"By providing scholarships, we can help women who are trying to support themselves and their families.”

Scholarship recipients are selected by a committee at the college. “The teachers are often the ones who see who needs a scholarship most,” Stixrud says. “They may see a student coming to class later or having to leave early because she has to work.”

The college scholarships are one of 10 philanthropic programs offered by the Assistance League of MidMissouri. The organization also provides Assault Survivor Kits for hospital emergency rooms, winter clothing for children, baby supplies for new mothers, and hygiene kits for families in need. Proceeds from the Assistance League’s Upscale Resale store provide support for scholarships and other philanthropic programs.

Alumni Awards

C O L U M B I A C O L L E G E S E RV I C E AWA R D

Cougar Sports Zone

46

“There is no trophy shiny enough to beat this collection of friends.” Those were Bob Burchard’s parting words to the crowd at Southwell Complex on February 23 following his final home game as coach of the Columbia College Men’s Basketball team. Burchard retired after 31 years of service following the conclusion of the season in March.

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Bob Burchard reflects on a distinguished career at Columbia College

BY KEVIN FLETCHER PHOTOS BY KACI SMART ’09 & THE COLUMBIA COLLEGE ARCHIVES

When you’ve had a relationship with anyone or anything for 31 years — as Bob Burchard has had with Columbia College, both as its head men’s basketball coach and director of athletics — you’re bound to have built up a treasure trove of memories. Some of these stories have been told before, and others might be seeing the light of day for the first time. Yet they each speak to the respect Burchard has had for this institution since he arrived on campus in 1988.

FIRST DRAFT Gary Filbert was the longtime head coach at Missouri Western State College, and hired Burchard to serve as his assistant coach in 1981. A year later, Filbert moved to Columbia to work as an assistant for Norm Stewart at the University of Missouri. The two remained in contact, and in 1988, Filbert pitched Burchard on the open Columbia College job.

Part of the lure to get Burchard to campus was a proposal by Filbert to then-Columbia College President Dr. Don Ruthenberg to house the Missouri Basketball Hall of Fame in Dorsey Gym.

Cougar Sports Zone

RIDE THE WAVE

49

Fundraisers fanned out statewide for the project, and there was ample interest, though for Columbia College’s sake, perhaps too much: John Q. Hammons, a prominent Springfield hotel developer and philanthropist, supplied the needed funds, but with the stipulation that the project be expanded to the entire Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, and that it be moved to Springfield.

OTHER DUTIES When Burchard was first hired, he left his wife, Faye, and young daughter, Jennifer, back in St. Joseph. College officials put their new A.D. and basketball coach up in Miller Hall until he could find a home for his family. On his first day at work, he walked across campus from Miller to his new office.

“My very first day at work, there was only one other fulltime employee, a soccer coach at the time, and then me.

POSITIVE IMPACT Bob Burchard’s received the inaugural Harry Statham Coach of Impact Award at a reception in Kansas City. The award is given to honor a coach that has used the power of the coaching platform to make a positive impact on players, coaches and others, and who is a person of high character and integrity who has served as an excellent role model.

And just last month, the American Midwest Conference (AMC) announced its annual Athletics Director of the Year award would be named after Burchard, who earned the honor seven times over his illustrious career. Burchard is a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.

“Burchard had a profound impact on so many who have come through the AMC as a coach, administrator or student-athlete,” said Will Wolper, AMC Commissioner. “The Conference would not be what it is today without Bob and many of us would not be the administrator or coach we are if not for being fortunate enough to cross paths, and work, with Bob.”

And the very first day I walked into this office, the soccer coach walked in and handed me his letter of resignation.”

Burchard proceeded to give a little history lesson on his office he’s occupied for these last 31 years. The building was Howard’s Garage and taxi stand before the college bought it, and Howard’s office and desk became Burchard’s. At the time, the office walls were paneled and had grease on them, and the back area — where the indoor turf and batting cages are currently located — was all garage, and still had the car lifts, Burchard says.

“A guy came to the front door and knocked on my door. I asked how I could help him, and he said he had a delivery for me and that I needed to sign for it. I said, ‘What am I signing for?’ He said, ‘Mufflers.’ I politely declined to sign for mufflers. So those were my first two duties on my first day at Columbia College.”

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM That fall, Burchard was set to coach his first game for the Cougars. As the teams were going through their warmups before tipoff, a staffer approached him and asked what the plans were for the playing of the national anthem. Not necessarily something an A.D. thinks he’ll have to worry about — especially while wearing his head-coach hat at the moment — but Burchard sprang into action.

“I ran out to the parking lot, got into my car, and drove down to Streetside Records,” said Burchard of the venerable and now-defunct store on South Providence. “The guy at the counter was in black leather, chains, had everything pierced, and his hair was spiked. I said, ‘I’m really in a hurry; do you have a tape of the national anthem?’

“He goes in the back, and when you’re in a hurry, minutes seem like hours.” As he gets ready to finish recounting the tale in his Southy Building conference-table chair, Burchard’s smile gets even broader. “Finally, he comes out, and he says, ‘Sir, I couldn’t find the national anthem.

Will The Star Spangled Banner work?’ I said, ‘It will tonight.’”

Burchard, who noted that he was able to race back to campus to play the anthem without delay that evening, laughs at the recollection. “I was in too much of a hurry to give a teaching moment.”

Cougar Sports Zone

Burchard imagined all the people interested in basketball in the state that would flock to the Cougars’ campus to view the various historical artifacts and exhibits that would be on display. In addition, Dorsey itself would be the perfect setting. “If you walk into Dorsey Gym,” Burchard says, “you are basically walking into the same gym (Dr. James) Naismith started the game in.”

Cougar Sports Zone

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Scoreboard

2018-19 COUGARS STATS

115

All-Conference Student-Athletes

153

Academic All-Conference Student-Athletes

18

NAIA All-American Student-Athletes

35

NAIA Scholar-Athletes

13/18 teams competed in their National Championship event

James Arnold named new athletic director Longtime coach and athletics administrator James Arnold was named Columbia College’s new athletic director on April 24 and now oversees the college’s 17 varsity athletic programs.

“I am extremely excited and honored to be the next athletic director at Columbia College. I want to thank Dr. Dalrymple and the search committee for this opportunity and their trust to lead one of the nation’s premier athletic departments,” Arnold says. “I have always admired Columbia College and Cougar athletics from afar and through this process have been even more impressed by the people, the facilities and the campus.”

Arnold brings more than 18 years of experience at nearly every level of collegiate athletics as both an administrator and coach. Whether in residential life, as an adjunct faculty member, coach or athletic administrator, Arnold has dedicated his life to improving the studentathlete experience.

Most recently, Arnold served as the associate director of Athletics and head women’s basketball coach at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. In that role, he was responsible for maintaining academic standards, budget management, fundraising, alumni relations and other elements of the department while also overseeing the women’s basketball team.

A native of Paw Paw, West Virginia, James and his wife, Lesley, have a daughter, Audrey.

PRESIDENT’S CUP STANDINGS The Cougars clinched the top spot in the American Midwest Conference for the third consecutive year.

1.

Columbia College

750

2.

Missouri Baptist University

695

3.

William Woods University

662.5

4.

Park University

597.5

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CC Notes

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THE COLUMBIA COLLEGE ALUMNI MAGAZINE

a f f i n i t y

Class Notes COMPILED BY CAROLYN PREUL

’40s

Suzanne Surgis Kerr ’49 resides near family in Chandler, Arizona.

She and her late husband, Harry, were married for nearly 48 years.

Gloria Gould Smith ’49 is a retired administrative assistant and security officer. She enjoys playing golf and is an active member of her Dayton, Ohio, and Naples, Florida, communities.

’50s

Martha Sue Friedmeyer ’56 is a retired physical therapist and served as a major in the United States Air Force. She enjoys gardening and needlework, and continues to volunteer in her community of Clinton, Missouri.

Kaye Williams Yarborough ’57 resides in Shavano Park, Texas.

Mary Edith Estes Arnold ’59 and her husband, Bob, married in 1962 and live in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

She is passionate about researching and writing family history and is a member of her local Kappa Alpha Theta alumnae group.

Suzi Weich Lehman ’59 is retired from a 23-year career with Ethan

Allen corporate division. She is an active community member of Danbury, Connecticut.

’60s

Bonnie Riley ’68 is a psychologist and executive director of Riley Equine Center, a non-profit organization offering equine-assisted psychotherapy in Boonville, Missouri.

Joann Estes Olson ’69 was a high school guidance counselor for 27 years. She resides in Gladstone, Missouri, with her husband, Steven.

Mary Katherine McKenna Werner ’69 is retired from a 30-year career as a senior legal analyst at Sprint. She and her husband, Bill, live near family in Overland Park, Kansas.

’70s

Dr. Penny Rafferty Hamilton ’76, a two-time breast cancer survivor, shared her “oncology odyssey” with CONQUER magazine. “This is a long journey. I felt like the mythical Jason and his Greek Argonauts on their quest for the Golden Fleece, having to fight the dragon,” she says.

CONQUER features articles written by and for patients with cancer, survivors, nurse navigators and other oncology team members.

What have you been up to?

Peter Pinnell ’76, an art professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has been named president-elect of the National Council of Education for the Ceramic Arts. He will then serve two years as president and one year as past president.

Cal Posner ’76 celebrates the second release of his 2008 book, the Higher Education Faculty SelfEvaluation Survey Handbook. A retired associate professor at Central Michigan University, he has been married to his wife, Barb, for 46 years. They are avid travelers and volunteer a week each year at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah.

Wendy Leigh ’78 has been named the CEO and executive director of the Franciscan Center in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Franciscan Center is a private retreat house sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, New York, welcoming those of all faith who seek spiritual growth.

’80s

Arthur Koch ’83 is an accomplished painter, photographer and digital artist/animator in San Francisco.

He opened the Arthur Koch Studio & Frameart Studio in 2016 with his partner, Lisa Balsam Magruder ’81, a fellow artist who teaches art classes, custom framing and fine art.

René Massey ’87 has been named to the Board of Directors for Retrieving Freedom, a nonprofit that trains service dogs to serve the needs of veterans and children with autism.

We’ve made it easy for you to share your good news with the submission form on page 64, or log on to columbiacollegealumni.org/classnotes.

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’90s

Dr. Leasa Richards-Mealy ’90 completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration with a specialization in Management of Engineering and Technology from Northcentral University in August 2018. She retired as director of Columbia College-Rolla in 2007 and continues to teach for the college.

Allan Beers ’91 is retired from the U.S. Army and lives in Georgia.

Melvin Rodick ’91 and Barb Rodick ’05 are retired and live full-time in Costa Rica.

Amy Ramsdell ’91 has been named assistant superintendent of the Jefferson R-7 School District in Missouri. An educator for 27

years, she completed a doctorate at Southwest Baptist University.

Veronica Ambuehl ’93 is the vice president for client services and senior project manager at BAM Marketing Agency in St. Louis, Missouri. She also serves as marketing co-chair and board vice president for Edwardsville Neighbors, a non-profit that assists local residents facing medical crisis, and owns Vine Floral Design.

Col. Paul M. Bishop ’98 is commander of the New York Air National Guard’s 224th Air Defense Group in Rome, New York. He has served in the Air National Guard for 30 years.

Lisa Thomason ’98 has been named head of operations for the

More than 40 years after graduating from Columbia College, George Ousley ’78 received his high school diploma in May. With his parents’ permission during his junior year at Jefferson City High School, Ousley enlisted in the Navy to serve in the Vietnam War. Operation Recognition was created in 2001 by the Missouri Legislature to provide honorary high school diplomas for veterans and civilian prisoners of war who left high school before graduation to serve in the military. We thank you for your service!

Don’t Leave Your Degree on Hold Having some college credit but no degree can be frustrating.

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CC Notes

Called to Serve

CC Notes

54

Wells Fargo Equipment finance department. She resides in Moberly, Missouri.

’00s

Rollin Cook ’00 is the commissioner of the Department of Corrections in Connecticut. He previously served the State of Utah for 29 years.

Sue Giger ’00 is the owner of Midnight Museum in Columbia, Missouri. Her interests in henna and supporting members of the community led her to create a nonprofit program, Battle Armor: Henna for Healing, where she tattoos those who are struggling with illness or life events as a form of meditative relief. She also volunteers for the University of Missouri Raptor Rehabilitation Project.

Nikki McGruder ’00 received the 2019 Diversity Champion Award at the 7th Annual Collaborative Diversity Conference. She is the director at Inclusive Impact Institute in Columbia, Missouri.

Michael Turner ’00 has been promoted from captain to the rank of major and assigned to the Support Services Bureau in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Mary D’Agostino ’01 celebrates her 15th anniversary of owning her own accounting firm.

Joie Hendricks ’02 was promoted to assistant director of Online Student Services Academic Advising at Columbia College.

Gary Tegerdine ’03 and Anne Churchill ’08 married Nov. 3, 2018. Gary is a mergers and acquisitions manager at MFA Oil Company; Anne owns AnnaBelle Events. The couple resides in Columbia, Missouri.

Lori Letterman ’04 was named to the 2018 Most Influential Women list by the Springfield Business Journal in Springfield, Missouri. She serves as a victim advocate for the Webster County Prosecuting Attorney. With a heart dedicated to influencing others, Letterman is also a certified Rape Aggression Defense Instructor and administrator of the Webster County Drug Court.

Soccer Reunion Members of the 1976, 1977 and 1978 Columbia College men’s soccer team gathered in St. Louis, Missouri, to reminisce about their years at Columbia College and playing for Coach Dennis Oberg. Pictured below: A team photo from the 1978 yearbook showcases the 1977 Centaur squad that rewrote 15 team and individual records for the program.

Randy Guardado ’81, Donny Williams ’80, Tom Simpson ’78, John Muehlheausler ’79, Larry Quartuccio ’80, Leo Tevlin ’76, Rick Bueltman ’78, May Simpson, Tim Collins ’76 and David Braun ’79.

Not pictured: Gary Schuler ’78 “The success of the year’s team cannot only be measured by the number of victories achieved.

Players and fans alike seemed to develop a new found pride in Columbia College through participation in our soccer program. We felt like we all did a good job and had a lot of fun at the same time.” — Coach Oberg, 1978 yearbook

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CC Notes

Looking Back CHRISTIAN COLLEGE THROUGH THE DECADES Jeb Pein ’04 was promoted to Information Security Architect at North Kansas City Hospital.

Aaron Kincaid ’05 is the general manager of Sky Zone in Columbia, Missouri.

Michelle Lopez ’08 has been promoted from controller to chief financial officer of AVS Companies, a distributor of amusement, gaming and vending equipment headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

Jeriahme Miller ’08 is the chief of police for the City of Roanoke, Texas.

He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the FBI Command College and the International Law Enforcement Administration’s School of Police Supervision.

Donte Bland ’09 is a federal investigator and intelligence officer with the U.S. Navy Reserve. He serves as an adjunct instructor for Columbia College-Lake County.

EL Gray ’09 has been named chief operating officer of At Home Care, overseeing four offices in Missouri.

She resides in St. Louis.

Chris Lievsay ’09 & ’11 was named president of the Missouri Municipal League, providing a united voice for municipalities across the state.

He has served as a councilman in Blue Springs, Missouri, since 2010 and is a member of the CCAA Advisory Board.

Rachel Verslues ’09, sales and marketing manager at IGT, has been named a member of the Forbes

Communications Council. She resides in Columbia, Missouri.

’10s

’30s

Jason Cole ’10, a captain in the United States Air Force, was recently honored with the William H. Beyer Commendation for Outstanding Military Service. He is currently serving with the New York Air National Guard 224th Air Defense Squadron.

Michelle McCaulley ’10 is the executive director of Human Resources at Columbia College.

’40s

Val Munchez-van der Wagt ’10 graduated from DePaul College of Law in May 2018.

Renea Amen ’11 has been named to the Woodlands District 50 Board of Education in Gurnee, Illinois. She is an adjunct instructor of business law for her alma mater, Columbia College-Lake County.

Diali Coll-Mercado ’11 received a Master of Science in Leadership from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2018. She is a public safety manager in Global Security from ADP. Matias Costa Navajas ’11 is a budget analyst with the International Monetary Fund. He has a master’s degree in applied economics with a concentration in financial economics from John Hopkins University.

Olivia Hopkins ’11 provided the keynote at the December 2018 nurses’ pinning ceremony on main campus, sharing her personal story

’50s

’60s

CC Notes

56

of perseverance and strength.

A mother of four, Hopkins is a registered nurse practitioner and supervisor at a women’s health clinic in Wichita, Kansas, and teaches nursing classes online for Columbia College.

Brian Moegling ’11 transitioned to a new position at Columbia College, now serving as a veterans certifying official for the Ousley Family Veterans Services Center.

Joe Bocklage ’12 is an online test proctor for Columbia College Civilian & Online. He resides in Russellville, Missouri.

Kalle LeMone ’12 co-owns Nourish Café in Columbia, Missouri. Since launching in 2016, she oversees the marketing, accounting, finances and communications.

Nicole Murphy ’12 has been named the head volleyball coach at Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Missouri. She was a member of the Cougars volleyball team from 2008 to 2011.

Carla Totton ’12 has been named the leader of the Quality Assurance Program of Avomeen Analytical Services based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Corbin Umstattd ’12 is a partner at U4, an investment firm focusing in restaurants, real estate and highgrowth technologies. He recently joined the CCAA Advisory Board.

Matt Frevert ’13 has been promoted to merchandising manager for clothing and footwear at Columbia, Missouri-based MidwayUSA. Joe Fullington ’13 is the dean of Business and Transportation

at Gateway Technical College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He recently completed a doctorate in education and leadership and is a co-author of the book Journey to Forgiveness.

Angela Houston Hansen ’13 is a talent acquisition specialist for Big Lots in Columbus, Ohio.

Emily Luebrecht ’13 is a process coordinator at Columbia CollegeKansas City.

Rex Scott ’13 was named to the OATS Transit Board for Columbia, Missouri. He is a database programmer/analyst at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and co-owner of the Jamaican Jerk Hut Food Truck.

Nathan Ferguson ’14 is an instructional technologist in Online Education for Columbia

57

Scootergraphs It’s a big world out there.

Check out where Scooter has traveled lately.

Jon Hardy ’14 is an academic advisor for the Columbia College Evening Program in Columbia, Missouri.

Kelsey Fogle ’14 and Justin Jasenowski ‘08 welcomed their daughter, Aria, on Nov. 28, 2017.

Christy Knous ’14, owns and operates iMaintenance PCS, a commercial cleaning company in Chicago, Illinois. With the skills that she gained through completing a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Knous launched her own business in 2017 after 15 years in the residential cleaning industry.

Penny Rafferty Hamilton ’76 and Sally Bourne Ferrell ’53 attended a gala together in Norman, Oklahoma.

Charles Leonard ’14 is an academic advisor at Columbia College of Missouri-Fort Drum in New York.

Charlie Mackey ’14 is the director of Community and Business Partnership Development at the University of Saint Mary.

David Angel ’16 is a project manager at Vista Entertainment Solutions in Los Angeles. Notable projects include Disney’s El Capitan Theatre and the famous Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. He and his wife, India, welcomed their first child, daughter Lucy, on April 18, 2018.

Ashley Brouder ’16 is an area coordinator for Columbia College Student Affairs.

Siata Neal ’01 shared some Cougar Pride from Barcelona, Spain.

Molly Anderson Wheatley ’12 and Michael Wheatley ’98 visited the Sphinx at the Giza pyramids in Egypt.

Send your #Scootergraphs to ccalum@ccis.edu.

CC Notes

College. He a regular contributor to Cybergology, a sociological blog, and chairs the anti-racism committee for the Mid-Missouri Democratic Socialists of America.

CC Notes

58

Courtney Gillie ’16 is a library science specialist at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Heather Binz ’17 is a student support assistant at Columbia College-NS Everett/Marysville.

Anina Tyler ’16 was named Rutgers University-Camden outstanding female student veteran for 2018.

Tyler completed her associate degree at Columbia CollegeLemoore. She aspires to earn a doctorate in social work and work with children or veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Shelby Blakley ’17 is a CARE job coach for the City of Columbia Parks and Rec in Columbia, Missouri.

Just Do It For Scott Henson ’18, a Navy officer and brand director at Nike, the iconic swoosh represents continual upward movement.

Over the past three decades, he’s been striving to do more, be it for his country, his career or his family.

While serving in Orlando during the latter part of his nine years on active duty, Henson got his foot in the door with the company when he began moonlighting at a Nike store.

Since then, he’s worked his way up through retail, sports and event marketing before taking his current position. Henson oversees brand development for field sports including football, baseball, softball and lacrosse. He builds relationships with partners such as the NFL and looks for opportunities to add new dimensions to the products.

“The power of the Swoosh has continued to represent the aspiration to give and do my best, and hopefully reach my potential,” he says.

Read more at connected.ccis.edu.

Matthew Frappier ’17 completed the MBA program at University of Central Missouri in 2018 and is the vice president of marketing at EnergyLink in Columbia, Missouri.

Greg Purden ’17 has been named the chief of police for North Myrtle Beach, Florida.

Kyle Reynolds ’17 is the manager of manufacturing engineering & LEAN at AGCO Corporation in Decatur, Illinois.

Jacqueline “Jack” Rucker ’17 is a virtual course monitor and testing proctor at Columbia College-Rolla.

She has completed a master’s degree in legal studies at Washington University School of Law. Katie Sanchez ’17 transitioned from a systems operations associate to a systems analyst in Columbia College’s Technology Services department.

Michaela Horstman Shaver ’17 is a staff auditor for the Missouri State Auditor’s office in Jefferson City, Missouri. She married Brayden Shaver in July 2018.

Becky Whitworth ’17 is a case manager at Welcome Home, working with veterans to secure permanent housing.

Priscilla Bacon Atwell ’18 started her collegiate journey in 1969 at Christian College. She attended just one year and always felt the need to finish the job she started. She completed her associate degree in general studies.

Jenna Ehrhardt ’18 has been named the social media marketing director for Think Big Go Local in McHenry, Illinois.

Sasha Martin ’18 and her husband, Michael, welcomed daughter Jasmine Ember Alexandra on Oct. 12, 2017.

Johanna Mueller ’18 is a Human Resources training intern for Porsche Cars North America in Marietta, Georgia.

Andrea Ramberg ’18 is a business development manager for North America with MedBridge Healthcare. She develops inpatient sleep screening programs for hospitals nationwide.

Jacob Thompson ’18 is a staff auditor for the Missouri State Auditor’s office in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Joelle Thompson ’18 is completing a Masters in Teaching, K-12 Art Certification, at Columbia College in 2019. She will begin her career as an elementary school art teacher in Independence, Missouri.

Tameka Whitney ’18 is an insurance counseling services coordinator for Primaris in Columbia, Missouri.

59

CC Notes

Then and Now

Dedicated in 1900, St. Clair Hall orginally housed administration offices, parlors, a library, art and kindergarten facilities, a dining room and three floors of dormitory rooms for 150 students. Today, the garden and first floors contain administrative space with faculty offices and classrooms upstairs.

CC Notes

60

In Memoriam Miriam Walker Wright ’34 January 19, 2010

Evelyn Beebe Smith ’47 November 5, 2018

Anna Thomason Boyd ’53 July 12, 2018

Mary Welch Fullmer ’35 July 19, 2018

Nancy Milwee Graves ’48 April 8, 2016

Linda Stultz Crum ’53 February 18, 2019

Carolyn Shalkhauser Tetmeyer ’39 December 29, 2007

Jane Hamilton Hiatt ’49 January 31, 2014

Marcia Williams Edwards ’54 July 18, 2018

Bette Killingsworth Winslow ’39 February 14, 2016

Jacqueline Carey Jones ’49 January 1, 2015

Wilma Suhr Havard ’55 December 30, 2018

Sara Winkler Botts ’41 January 3, 2019

Ruth Knight ’49 January 28, 2013

Ann Jones Winger ’58 December 29, 2013

Jacqueline Hughes Langdon ’42 May 30, 2018

Mary Swaithes McCrary ’49 July 13, 2018

Nancy Stoll Eck ’59 November 24, 2017

Margaret Morton White ’42 September 16, 2016

Harriet Blaney McMurray ’49 August 22, 2014

Linda Smith Broiles ’60 June 13, 2018

Peggy Howard Nadolski ’43 December 15, 2018

Margaret Helck Tarnau ’49 January 20, 2015

Sandra Braly ’63 December 30, 2013

Lottie Luse Steuart ’44 January 3, 2011

Courtney Sigler Brown ’50 February 22, 2019

Zoe Durilla Oakleaf ’68 March 23, 2019

Dulce Watson Bryan ’45 June 28, 2018

Beverly White Clemmons ’50 June 5, 2017

Marla Riley ’69 May 12, 2018

Davis Lowrey Gardner ’45 March 3, 2019

Natalie McGee Goodman ’50 June 30, 2018

Kimberlee Shroyer Allen ’70 August 18, 2016

Eleanor Nelson Hopper ’45 March 9, 2014

Janet Teetor Loring ’50 April 18, 2018

Bob Lemons ’75 February 28, 2019

Cecilia Woolley Goodwin ’46 February 13, 2019

Marianne Oliver Williams ’50 November 11, 2015

Richard Vrzal ’75 March 13, 2014

Carolyn Reese Huntoon ’46 November 13, 2018

Evelyn Cole Albrecht ’51 August 5, 2018

William Hurt ’76 November 20, 2015

Virginia Surtherland Sweeney ’46 September 29, 2018

Georgia Hodge Bross ’51 March 17, 2019

Kevin Snell ’76 February 5, 2019

Mildred Bondurant Conner ’47 January 5, 2017

Mary Wallace Spanier ’52 December 30, 2016

Robert Bryant ’77 February 25, 2016 Cato Sims ’77 June 26, 2018

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Richard Curley ’79 December 16, 2018 Hilton Mauldin ’79 May 3, 2017 Calvin Johnson ’80 January 5, 2018 Guy Dunan ’82 April 14, 2018 Ronald Heidecker ’83 October 18, 2018 Charles Stallman ’83 December 12, 2017 Todd Holman ’84 October 2, 2011

CC Notes

Anthony Skokna ’78 January 12, 2019

Reflections Judy Cone Johnson ’55 & ’95 passed away March 5, 2019. Judy received her associate degree from Christian College in 1955. After raising her children, Judy became a realtor followed by a career at Commerce Bank. A lifelong learner, Judy completed a Bachelor of Arts in 1995 at Columbia College-Kansas City. She served as a member of the CCAA Advisory Board from 1996 to 2005 and was an instrumental member of a group of volunteers who helped establish the George Ann and Sidney Larson Scholarship in 2001. She served as a steward for the fund for 18 years.

Gifts may be made in Judy’s memory to Columbia College in support of the Judith C. Johnson Endowment which supports programs, exhibitions and special events hosted by the Art Department in the Sid Larson Gallery on Columbia College’s main campus.

Ann Hall Snook Hall ’92 February 18, 2019 Darlene Clark ’93 November 7, 2017 Grace Banholzer ’94 February 27, 2017 Terri Macy Glassner ’94 February 2, 2019 Susanne Riley ’94 October 5, 2014 Mervel Plummer Brunskill ’97 November 7, 2018 Rosalie Caffery Fowler ’97 March 21, 2019 Richard James ’97 October 2018 Karen Smith Shafer ’99 March 13, 2019

Helen “Miss Boo” Cates Neary ’38 passed away Feb. 28, 2019. With a commitment to action through faith, family and education, Miss Boo made a significant and lasting impact on Columbia College and its students.

With a fierce love of family, she possessed an amazing collection of hats and would share a laugh of pure joy that brightened everyone’s day. Her gifts celebrated others and were created to benefit society, moving others forward. In 2015, Miss Boo’s daughter, Dale Coe Simons ’65, dedicated the planting of an oak tree in the Christian College Garden on main campus as a tribute to her mother.

Gifts can be made in Miss Boo’s memory to the Elizabeth Award. The honor was established by the Simons family and given annually to a distinguished graduating senior female student who is 30 years old or younger and has outstanding accomplishments in leadership, volunteerism, community service and involvement with the Columbia College community.

Jeffrey West ’05 March 2, 2019 Notifications received as of Feb. 28, 2019

Gifts may be made online at my.ccis.edu/givenow or via mail to the Columbia College Office of Development, 1001 Rogers St. Columbia, MO 65216.

THE CC ALUMNI COLLECTION

“Cougar Paw” Alumni Long-sleeve T-shirt Brand: Gildan Softstyle; Heather gray or navy Small-XL: $15 2X-3X: $17

CCAA Woven Polo Brand: Zorrel; Navy Men, Medium-XL: $15 Women, XS-XL: $15 Women, 3X-4X: $17

NEW ITEM! CC Alumni Hoodie Brand: Hanes EcoSmart; Charcoal heather or navy Small-3X: $25

CCAA Satin Polo Brand: Port Authority; Gray or navy Men, Small-2X: $20 Women, XS-2X: $20 Women, 3X-4X: $25

“Nationwide” T-shirt Brand: Gildan Softstyle; Light gray, heather gray, navy or black Small-2X: $12 3X: $15

Women’s Navy Polar Fleece Vest Brand: Crossland Women, XS-XL: $30 Women, 3X-4X: $32

“Block CC” Alumni T-shirt Brand: Gildan Softstyle; Charcoal gray or navy Small-2X: $12 3X: $15

Some sizes or colors may not be available. View the entire catalog of Christian College and Columbia College merchandise at

columbiacollegealumni.org/alumnistore

GIFTS & ACCESSORIES Baseball hat, solid “ALUMNI” embroidered in navy on back. Khaki or pink; $14 Baseball hat, stitched Navy and silver hat with white stitching and block letters; $20 CCAA iWallet Silicone stick-on wallet with printed logo; $1 CCAA Keychain Silver metal with blue band and printed logo; $5 CCAA Koozie Color varies from green, teal, orange, blue and magenta with white logo imprint; $1 CCAA Picture Frame Vertical 4” x 6” brushed metal with etched logo; $8 CCAA Playing Cards Honoring the past, present and future of the college; $5 Christian College Notecards Blank interior with white envelopes,10-pack set; $8 Christian College Picture Frame Horizontal 6” x 4” glass

frame with silver base featuring blue engraved logo; $15 Keyboard Sweeper Dual keyboard sweeper and felt cleaner for computers and tablets with white CCAA imprint; $3

 VISA

#1 / #2

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Gray or navy; $15 Lanyard White imprint “Columbia College Alumni” on navy lanyard, 40” L x 1” W; $5

#3

License plate covers White plastic with navy imprint; $5 Metallic with navy and white imprint; $10 Tumblers Alumni wrap print; $10 Plaid wrap print; $10 Umbrella Navy and white with navy imprint; $15 USB flash drive 4GB swivel style, printed logo; $5 Screen Cleaner Pen spray; $1

Make check payable to Columbia College Alumni Association or charge to:  MasterCard

#5

 Discover

Account number _________________________ Expiration date: _____/________ CVC ______ Order Total _____________________________ FREE shipping is provided on all orders. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. U.S. postage paid only. You will be contacted if an item is out of stock and no longer available for purchase.

#4

KIDS CLOTHING 1. Future Cougar onesies Navy, gray, pink – 6 mo-24 mo; $12 2. Future Cougar infant lap shoulder T-shirt Navy or gray – 6 mo-18 mo; $12 3. Future Cougar infant basic T-shirt Navy or gray – 6 mo-24 mo; $12

4. Future Cougar navy toddler T-shirt 2T-4T; $12 5. Columbia Cougars navy T-shirt Juvi 5/6 & 7; $12 Youth XS-XL; $12

Download Scooter-approved coloring sheets at columbiacollegealumni.org/thecubclub.

Name____________________________________________________________________ Class Year __________________ Address ______________________________________________________________________________________________ City________________________________________________ State _________________ Zip ______________________ Phone number_______________________________ Email ___________________________________________________

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what’s new with you?

Send back this form so we can update your alumni record and share your good news in Class Notes.

Today’s Date: __________________________

Contact Information Name: _______________________________________________________________________________________ First (Preferred), Maiden and Last

Location attended: ____________________________________ Class year: _______________________________ Address: __________________________________________________________________________  Check if new City: ________________________________________________ State: ______________ Zip: ________________ Home phone: ________________________________________ Cell phone: ______________________________ Email: _______________________________________________ Date of birth: _____________________________ Career Update (within the last 12 months) Employer: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Job title: ____________________________________________  New  Retired Effective: __________________ Wedding Announcement (within the last 12 months) Married to: _________________________________________  Check if spouse attended CC. Class year: _____________ Date of marriage: __________________________ City/State of celebration: _______________________________ Birth (Adoption) announcement (within the last 12 months) Birth of a:  Daughter  Son  Multiples Baby’s name: ______________________________________________ Date of birth: ________________________ Spouse’s name: _____________________________________  Check if spouse attended CC. Class year: _____________ Class Notes: Tell us more about your career, community service, military news or retirement updates.

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AFFSUM19

Alumni Information Update

64

C O LU M B I A C O L L E G E

Cornerstone Club Will you help lead COLUMBIA COLLEGE?

The cornerstone is the first stone laid in the foundation of a structure, a symbol of commitment, longevity and the possibility of what’s to come.

The Cornerstone Club, a group of strategic partners and leaders, is named to recognize the tradition of annual philanthropic support for Columbia College’s most pressing needs. Just as the cornerstone is crucial to the foundation of a building, so too will club members serve as cornerstones of our philanthropy, helping us strengthen the foundation of Columbia College and keep the institution in prime position to meet the needs of our students now and in the future.

What is the

COLUMBIA COLLEGE CORNERSTONE CLUB?

What is the

COLUMBIA COLLEGE FUND?

The Cornerstone Club is comprised of alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends of Columbia College who, through a commitment to provide an annual high level of support to the Columbia College Fund, have established themselves as leaders for the college and faithful stewards of the college’s mission.

The Columbia College Fund provides support for the college’s area of greatest need on an annual basis. It is money invested back in the college in the same fiscal year it was received, resulting in a direct and immediate impact.

How do I become a

MEMBER?

The Cornerstone Club recognizes all donors who have supported the Columbia College Fund with $1,000 or more in gifts within a single fiscal year.

To join the Cornerstone Club or to learn more, please call (573) 875-7560 or visit my.ccis.edu/giving-priorities.

1001 Rogers Street Columbia, MO 65216