Cook can’t play the quarterback position in the SEC.
Cook was wildly erratic against MTSU. He missed on multiple deep balls. He seemed unsure of what he was seeing defensively in the first half. He took sacks when he shouldn’t, and even his running was a bit off, changing
Bails from clean pockets prematurely, creating
Cook is not in good shape Cook can’t
He was one of the team’s most-improved players last year after recording 3,317
1:36 remaining to come back from a crucial 4th & 17 pass from Brady
M I ZZOU
No, he does not have a good arm. Coming back from labrum surgery, it will be even worse.
He’s really not that great a runner
He’s not a great processor
The only reason he got the starting job is because he looked serviceable in a meaningless bowl game THAT
HE STILL LOST
Brady Cook looks moderately better than he did a year ago. The offensive line looks basically the same. The running game leaves a lot to be desired. This really does look a lot like last years team. And heading into a week where
He is a good kid but clearly not
Cook has never shown the ability to execute in the close games
He makes exceedingly poor decisions
Cook blew that run. Smdh -
Objectively Cook wouldn’t start for MTSU -
Look at how many times there was a wide open receiver and he just misses them. He’s not a SEC qb.
He can’t make something out of nothing
Doesn’t always have the strength to drive passes to lateral RAC threats at
With average arm strength, margin for error with break anticipation is much smaller.
BRADY COOK
Cook’s average
Mother Loving Cook!
FIRST LOOK
UNDERGROUND OVERHAUL
Nearly two miles of dark, serpentine tunnels run beneath campus. They house some of the 26 miles of utility steam lines that help power Mizzou. Originating in the 1880s, the steam tunnel under the Francis Quadrangle has been undersized for modern needs and was in poor condition. Over the summer, Mizzou energy management engineers, including Tim Gephardt (pictured), began replacing this tunnel with a larger concrete one that will provide capacity for future growth on campus. When the tunnel is finished on Nov. 1, work will begin on the hard surface of the Quad’s south end to expand it into a larger gathering space for students and for events held in front of Jesse Hall. Over the summer, turf was replaced after regrading, irrigating and resodding, which will improve drainage and better accommodate the Quad’s heavy use. — Blaire Leible Garwitz, MA ’06
PHOTO BY NICHOLAS BENNER
M I ZZOU
FROM THE EDITOR
AI Research: Pioneering Tomorrow’s World
This issue arrives as artificial intelligence is transforming how we write, brainstorm, organize, research, express knowledge and process information. Over the past few years, it has upended nearly every aspect of contemporary culture. Our main feature, “Thinking Machines” by Tony Rehagen, delves into the work of two dozen researchers at Mizzou who are at the forefront of AI innovation.
AI has disrupted a centuries-long equilibrium. Without standards, it will disrupt our very perceptions. Photographs long have been considered virtually irrefutable evidence that something occurred, to use one example. Moments captured on film have revealed the weirdness and wonder of people and creatures around us — and still do. But AI alters this relationship, quakes our ground while flattening the crazy-world thrills of being alive. Its transformative power challenges us to rethink our trust in what we see. For writers, artists and musicians, AI tools generate results at unprecedented speed and spark debates about inspiration and originality.
As we adapt to these changes, Mizzou researchers are addressing both universal and specific needs. Noah Glaser, assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development, explores how AI and virtual reality headsets can provide immersive simulation to help neurodiverse learners adapt to real-world situations, for example. STEM fields at Mizzou are particularly affected by such innovations. Students use AI tools to simulate experiments, analyze data and develop
This image was created by AI image generator Midjourney with the prompt, “artificial intelligence at the University of Missouri.”
smart solutions, which prepares them for a future where technology and ingenuity converge. In agriculture, Jasmine Neupane, assistant professor at the College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources, uses data analytics to improve cropping systems. The aim: Exporting these innovations back to Nepal, her home country.
Algorithms sculpt our news feeds, curate our entertainment and steer our social interactions. Rehagen’s story identifies Mizzou researchers harnessing AI’s potential for positive impact while remaining vigilant against its capacity to distort and manipulate.
One Tiger (yet) unaffected by machine learning in his job? Senior quarterback Brady Cook. For this issue, real-life sportswriter-editor Mark Godich sat down with the actual Cook to discuss the season ahead and his time as a Tiger. Food writer Nina Furstenau foraged for Missouri mushrooms with students, explored underground connections and met alumni who are turning spores into a livelihood. Writer-editor Chris Blose visited Kinder Scholars in Washington, D.C., to spotlight the remarkable month-long summer program. And Homecoming 2024? It’s gonna be a good one.
RANDALL ROBERTS, BA ’88 Editor
Editorial and Advertising
Mizzou Alumni Association
123 Reynolds Alumni Center
704 Conley Avenue
Columbia, MO 65211
phone: 573-882-6611
mizzou@missouri.edu
Executive Editor
Sarah Fetters
Editor
Randall Roberts
Art Director
Blake Dinsdale
Class Notes Editor
Jennifer Manning
Editors Emeriti
Karen Worley and Dale Smith
Advertising Scott Dahl: 573-882-2374
Mizzou Alumni Association
123 Reynolds Alumni Center 704 Conley Avenue Columbia, MO 65211 phone: 573-882-6611, fax: 573-882-5145
Executive Director, Publisher Todd A. McCubbin, M Ed ’95
The Mizzou Alumni Association proudly supports the best interests and traditions of Missouri’s flagship university and its alumni worldwide. Lifelong relationships are the foundation of our support. These relationships are enhanced through advocacy, communication and volunteerism.
MIZZOU magazine reports credible and engaging news about the University of Missouri community to a global audience.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President Leigh Anne Taylor Knight, BS HES ’89; BS Ed 90; M Ed ’91
President-elect Kim Utlaut, BS ’89
Immediate Past President Mindy Mazur, BA ’99
Treasurer Kevin Gibbens, BS BA ’81
Secretary Todd McCubbin, M Ed ’95
Diversity and Inclusion Committee
Chair Vanessa Vaughn West, BA ’99
Directors Joanna Russell Bliss, BA ’07, BSEd ’07; Brent Buerck, MPA ’05; Clarissa Cauthorn, BS ’15; Morgan Corder, BA ’18; Renita Duncan, BS Acc, M Acc ’08; Christine Holmes, BS BA ’10, MBA ’17; Chris Hurt, BA ’88; Matt Jenne, BS CiE ’97, MBA ’15; Cheryl Jordan, BA ’84; Emily Kueker, BS ’02; Stephen Neuman, BA ’98; Col. Pete O’Neill, BA ’00; Daniel Pierce, BA, BJ ’99; Gabriela Ramirez-Arellano, BS BA ’91; Amber Rowson, BS ME ’99; Martin Rucker, BS ’07; Mark Russell, BJ ’84; Nick Ruthmann, BS ’05, MD ’13; David Townsend, JD ’00; Janet Wheatley, BS HE ’77; Justin Wilson, BS ’07
Student Representative Mathew Kimaku
MIZZOU magazine
Fall 2024, Volume 113, Number 1
Published triannually by the Mizzou Alumni Association
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MORE MIZZOU ONLINE
Brady Cook: Behind the Scenes Go behind the scenes with MIZZOU magazine as we captured Mizzou senior quarterback Brady Cook for our cover shoot. With anticipation running high for Tiger football, Cook took time out of pre-season training to suit up in white. Take a closer look at one of Mizzou’s key players as he gears up for his final season on the field by visiting mizzou.us/bradycook
CONTRIBUTORS
Departments
1 First Look
A glimpse beneath the area around Jesse Hall and the David R. Francis Quadrangle, the latter of which underwent a series of structural improvements this summer
6 Around the Columns
A feast of polysyllabic research grants; the return of two campus museums; The Origins of Missouri English; an ESPN legend returns to the J-School; and more
Nina Mukerjee Furstenau, BJ ’84, is the author of Green Chili and Other Impostors and Biting Through the Skin: An Indian Kitchen in America’s Heartland, the latter of which won the 2014 M.F.K. Fisher Grand Prize for Excellence in Culinary Writing. She goes deep on mushrooms and those who love them in “The Invisible Networks.” Page 26.
Chris Blose, MA ’04, is a freelance writer, editor, musician and amateur adventurer based in Bethesda, Md. He got his start on staff at MIZZOU magazine in the early 2000s. Blose founded and operates The Narrator, an editorial services company. He met up with Kinder Scholars in Washington D.C. for “Living History.” Page 32.
About the cover
Julie Seabaugh, BJ ’02, is a Los Angeles-based comedy journalist and producer. She has written for The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, directed and coproduced the documentary Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11 and produced comedy podcasts for SiriusXM. She is currently coproducing a documentary on Mitch Hedberg. For this issue, Seabaugh spoke with performer Peter Smith. Page 60.
Mark Godich, BJ ’79, is a semiretired sports journalist who spent more than four decades in the business, including 22 years as a senior editor at Sports Illustrated. He is the author of the college football book Tigers vs Jayhawks: From the Civil War to the Battle for No. 1. Page 38.
For Brady Cook’s portrait session, MIZZOU magazine’s art director Blake Dinsdale and Mizzou Video Productions’ Abbie Lankitus and Sam O’Keefe collaborated to capture the comeback quarterback in all his intensity. Dinsdale then gathered both negative and positive comments about Cook’s performance from across his Mizzou career and set them in text bubbles in the background.
facebook.com/mizzou twitter.com/mizzou
News on an alumni family’s arrival of identical quadruplets, actor-comedian Peter Smith, Mendedbrand linens, Mizzou R.A.H. recipients and more
55 Class Notes
Our alumni have succeeded in myriad ways across an array of disciplines, and we’ve got the latest on their successes, anniversaries, publications, passings, weddings and babies.
72
Semper Mizzou
It wasn’t just black and gold at Mizzou on May 10; it was also chartreuse, magenta, crimson, lavender and sapphire blue. Photographer Scott Schaefer, BJ ’04 captured the Northern Lights’ unexpected appearance.
Council for Advancement & Support of Education Awards
2022: Bronze, Periodical/Magazine Design
2021: Gold, Feature Writing (“Who Was I in College?,” Winter 2020)
2020: Bronze, Feature Writing (“Forever Young,” Spring 2019) 2019: Bronze, General Interest Magazine
Society for Publication Designers Awards
2024 merit awards: “Vlad Has Stories,” Winter 2023; “The Cosmochemist’s Guide to the Galaxy” Spring 2023 2023 medal finalist: “A LIFE in Focus,” Spring 2022
2022 merit awards: “The Long Quiet,” Winter 2021; “International Reach,” Spring 2021; Spring 2021 cover 2021 merit awards: “Eli’s Calling,” Fall 2020; “A Third Act,” Spring 2020
54 Mizzou Alumni News
Allen and Mandy Judy, owners of Heirloom Fungi and Mandy’s Bamboo Kitchen in Excello, Missouri, provided the mushrooms above, which they cultivate for both culinary and medicinal uses. Pictured are grey oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) at bottom left, reishi (Ganoderma lingzhi) at center, chestnut (Pholiota aurivella) at bottom right, shiitake (Lentinula edodes) at top left and top right, and lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus) at middle left and middle right.
Thinking Machines
Mizzou teachers and researchers in all fields add to — and take from — the ever-emerging tech of artificial intelligence.
story by tony rehagen, ba, bj ’01 (with help from chatgpt).
The Invisible Networks
Exploring the mysterious, mystical, earthen — and often delicious — fungi connecting underground Missouri.
story by nina mukerjee furstenau, bj ’84
photos by abbie lankitus and sam o’keefe, bj ’09, ma ’24
Living History
Mizzou’s Kinder Scholars spend the summer immersed in constitutional democracy in Washington, D.C.
story by chris blose, ma ’04
photos by abbie lankitus
The Evolution of Brady Cook
Once scorned, Mizzou’s senior quarterback has developed into the unquestioned leader of a team with playoff aspirations.
story by mark godich, bj ’79
Homecoming Special Section
Football is fantastic. So is another annual Tiger tradition: gathering food to feed hungry Missourians. Also, meet the homecoming tridirectors, and enjoy photos from decades past.
Art and Artifacts Return
Nearly a decade after moving off campus, two Mizzou museums are back home and open for business. The Museum of Anthropology and the Museum of Art and Archaeology share newly renovated space on the ground floor of Ellis Library across from Memorial Union.
The return makes it much easier for the museums to carry out their central mission: teaching. For instance, a chemistry class recently used X-ray spectroscopy of pigments to confirm that a painting suspected of being a forgery was in fact a fake.
The Museum of Anthropology’s crown jewel is the Grayson Archery Collection and Library. Its 5,500 bows, arrows, quivers, thumb rings and associated books and fine art from six continents put it among the world’s largest and most comprehensive such collections. The displays include sandals of fiber and leather dating back 8,000 years, recovered from a Missouri cave, and a wall of skull casts tracking human evolution from almost 4 million years ago to the present.
The Museum of Art and Archaeology has a collection of 16,000 works, some of which visitors can view in rotating exhibits and two permanent displays. The Gallery of European and American Art is a roughly chronological short course in art history from the 13th to the 19th centuries. The Saul and Gladys Weinberg Gallery of Antiquities
— Dale Smith,
Masterpieces
Dispensed
Anyone who fancies owning original artwork should check out the Arto-Mat at Mizzou, a satellite “gallery” with 200 worldwide locations. For a $5 token available at the Museum Store, visitors can select from 22 artists, whose work is showcased in a rehabilitated cigarette vending machine. Tug the knob below the chosen creator, and a work of art the size of a cigarette pack — prints, paintings, carvings, batik, paper mache and more are available — drops into the tray below. The pieces are crafted by 300 juried artists in five countries. Proceeds support the museums and the makers. For more about the project, visit artomatic.org.
— D.S.
The Museum of Anthropology and the Museum of Art and Archaeology are open on weekends, and they welcome football tailgaters looking to absorb some high culture between games of cornhole. Entrances are on the northeast and east sides of Ellis Library. Admission is free. Hours: Tuesday–Friday 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays Noon–4 p.m. Websites: anthromuseum.missouri.edu, maa.missouri.edu
includes a dramatic painted mummy shroud, as well as Greek and Roman coins, glass vessels, terracotta figurines and Roman imperial portraits.
BJ ’88
How to Feather a Nest Egg
If there’s an angsty topic troubling the sleep of adults of all ages, it’s the question of how best to invest for retirement. The received wisdom advises younger people to invest in stocks, which can be volatile but lucrative, and for older people to sock money into bonds, which guarantee known but modest payouts. Institutions — even federal laws — have enshrined this as the standard life cycle of investing.
Then finance Professor Michael Doherty and big data came along to test that theory. Doherty ran millions of life-cycle investing simulations on four approaches using financial information going back a century or more across 38 countries. He wanted to find out how to achieve the most wealth at retirement, income during retirement and money remaining at death.
Rating the four investing approaches, a bonds-only strategy fared worst, not surprisingly. Coming in third, and much tougher to swallow, was the standard stocks early and bonds late approach. (But don’t dump your 401(k) just yet, Doherty says.) Placing second was a portfolio of domestic stocks. Besting them all was a 50-50 split of domestic and international stocks. Investors with standard life-cycle portfolios would have had to invest 40 percent more to match it.
The domestic-international approach held up even during economic downturns, such as the Great Recession of 2007–2009. Why stay the course under these circumstances? “Big negative returns in stocks also tend to be negative in bonds,” Doherty says. “Plus, the wealth creation we get from stocks makes up for losses. It works out.”
Doherty thinks it’d be rash to fashion weighty financial recommendations from a single study and its new model. “After all,” he quips, “simulated investors can always sleep at night.” — D.S.
FROM THE PRESIDENT
A Great Time to be a Tiger
It’s a new semester at Mizzou, and we’re thrilled to welcome one of the largest freshmen classes in university history. The new community of students, faculty and staff includes people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives, including: first generation, rural and international students; individuals from underrepresented groups; veterans; people with different abilities; and many others. We value the uniqueness of every individual. This rich fabric also promotes intellectual pluralism and enables us to achieve the excellence that we seek in learning, research and engagement.
Students want to attend Mizzou because we offer a world-class education. Our 91 percent retention rate is the highest in our history, and more than 95 percent of MU graduates achieve successful outcomes within six months of earning their degrees. Money magazine named us one of the best universities in the country. We’re among the best colleges for future leaders, according to Time. We also received record support from elected leaders.
Our faculty and staff are driving this momentum, as are our bold investments in student success, faculty quality and infrastructure growth through MizzouForward, a $1.5 billion investment in excellence. As an AAU member, our funded research and faculty honors and citations are at all-time highs. Our researchers are making critical contributions in fields such as artificial intelligence, energy innovation, cancer eradication, plant sciences, constitutional democracy and civil discourse.
We also recognize our important role as a land-grant university to support the state through research and outreach in agriculture, rural health, broadband and economic development. We continue to serve all Missourians.
Throughout MU Athletics, our student-athletes and coaches are prepared to raise trophies. I can’t wait for the next kickoff.
To learn more about our accomplished community and ambitious plans, join me September 25 in Jesse Auditorium for the 2024 State of the University address. Visit president.missouri.edu/sotu for event details.
Your support is essential to our success and to creating opportunities that affect students and transform lives around Missouri. M-I-Z!
MUN Y. CHOI, PHD President, University of Missouri
Brains, Grains and Radiotracers
Among 44 Mizzou Research Council Grant recipients are a host of remarkable projects — and a spelling bee’s worth of ten-dollar words.
During the 2023–24 academic year, Mizzou awarded 44 Research Council Grants — investments that led to book contracts, juried performances, art exhibits, peer-reviewed articles and the generation of pilot data for grant proposals.
These internal grants of up to $15,000 each support research, scholarship and creative endeavors that contribute to how competitive the university’s grant proposals are for external funding. Since 2019, MU has supported 195 projects with over $2 million in investments.
These complex, intricate projects by Mizzou researchers and educators are at the forefront of scientific discovery and scholarly thought, proving that the pursuit of knowledge drives innovation and progress — no matter how inscrutable the specialized language might be. Below is a selection of grants awarded in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Biological and Medical Research
Key Projects:
• Enzyme Structure for CryoEM Studies
• Development of a Murine Model of Canine Osteosarcoma
• Self-Tunable mRNA Circuit
• Differential Gene Expression in TCR Signaling
• Impact of Menopause on Vascular Response
• Comprehensive Orthopaedic Surgery Pain Management
Impact and Applications: Enhances drug design, advances cancer research, controls protein levels, improves leukemia treatment, aids menopauserelated health, improves surgical pain management
Chemical and Material Sciences
Key Projects:
• Catalysts for Sustainable Acrylate Chemicals
• Grafting Approach for Maize Using Radiotracer Imaging
• Development of Carbon-11 PET Radiotracers
• 4D Printing for Atrial Occluders
• Biofilm Inactivation Adjuvants
• Metal-Organic Frameworks for Gas Storage
Impact and Applications:
Promotes sustainable processes, enhances agricultural productivity, advances medical imaging, customizes implants, ensures food safety, improves gas storage
Impact and Applications: Boosts EV infrastructure,
advances cancer detection, enhances medical education, improves agricultural monitoring, optimizes energy distribution, revolutionizes manufacturing
Neuroscience and Immunology
Key Projects:
• Mod ulation of Motor Behavior
• Silencing-Deficient Mutants in Neurospora
• Long-Term Immunity Factors
• Brain Plasticity and Cognitive Function
• Neurodegenerative Diseases and Treatments
• Immune System Responses to Pathogens
Impact And Applications: Advances motor control understanding, improves fungal genetics, enhances vaccine development, improves mental health therapies, advances neurodegenerative treatments, enhances immune response research
Letting the Introvert Go
Chris Jefferson, BA ’06, has never lost sight of his Tiger past.
“I always maintained my connection to Mizzou because, like so many other alumni, I care about this place,” he says. “I never felt too far from home.”
Jefferson, now the director of MU Fraternity and Sorority Life, came to MU in 2001 and, motivated by the desire to serve, joined Phi Beta Sigma fraternity two years later. He showed an early affinity for the transformational impact of a values-based fraternal experience. “The values of the organization spoke to me,” he says.
A self-described introvert, Jefferson nonetheless became president of his chapter and a member of the National PanHellenic Council (NPHC) executive board. “I had to let the introvert go, which really helped me grow as a person,” he says. After observing Jefferson as a student leader, his own advisor asked him, “Have you ever thought about doing this as a career?”
Jefferson received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and reenrolled as an MU graduate student to study education leadership and policy analysis. After graduating in 2008, he went on to work with fraternity and sorority communities at Pennsylvania State, Indiana State, North Carolina State, Old Dominion and George Mason.
Jefferson received the 2021 Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA) Distinguished Service Award, and in 2022 he was honored by the AFA and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., through the creation of the Shirley-Jefferson AFA Fellow for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access. Four-
teen years following his graduation, he returned to Mizzou to serve again — this time as director of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
As director, Jefferson has a vision of an intentional community that builds what he describes as “a fraternity/sorority experience that helps students realize their full potential and grow as leaders.”
He asks alumni to serve as mentors and network with students: “Our alumni are making a significant impact in the community and serving as examples of the bright future ahead for our students!” — Theo Schwinke, BA ’10.
The Panda Charitable Family Foundation, under the direction of University of Missouri alumni Andrew and Peggy Cherng, MS ’71 and MS, PhD ’72, has committed $5 million to the MU Honors College to support premier scholarships and programming for talented and motivated students.
Willie Mack, an assistant professor in the Department of Black Studies at the College of Arts and Science, was recently named a Racial Justice Fellow by Harvard University’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. Carr Center fellows are leading scholars and practitioners from a variety of disciplines.
The University of Missouri has selected Michael Hoehn II, BSME ’06, as the inaugural program director for NextGen MURR, the university’s initiative to build a 20 MW, state-of-the-art research reactor. NextGen MURR will expand critical medical isotope research and production for cancer treatment and theranostics.
Family and friends of Randall Smith, the Donald W. Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism, are raising money for a fund that will support the Missouri News Network’s digital business news outlet, Missouri Business Alert. The fund also will help students access opportunities in New York City through the school’s New York Program and other shorter-term trips. Smith is retiring after 15 years at the school.
AROUND THE COLUMNS
Krantz Wins a Pulitzer
Gun violence. Natural disasters. Immigration issues. Trauma comes in many forms, and it’s common for news reporters and photographers to cover such events at some point in their careers. For Lisa Krantz, a journalism doctoral graduate, covering the aftermath of a mass shooting earned her and team from The Washington Post a 2024 Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting. As part of the project, Krantz, PhD ’24, photographed survivors of the 2017 mass shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, which killed more than two dozen people and wounded 20 others. Her photographs, taken five years after the shooting, conveyed the lingering effects of gun violence.
“I wanted to be the vehicle for survivors to tell their stories of strength and resilience and to show the devastating effects gun violence has on them years after the tragedy,” she says. “They wanted people to know who their loved one was, and they
wanted to keep their memories alive. I think that does bring comfort to people.”
On Sundays at church, Evelyn Holcombe roams freely while her dad works the church service’s live stream, playing with the other kids and rushing into the arms of other survivors who hold her tight.
Trauma reporting requires a patient and gentle approach, and Krantz taught a traumainformed journalism class at Mizzou to help students navigate the complexities of it. Topics included how to approach trauma survivors and gain their trust, how to tell their stories authentically without causing any further stress during the interviewing process, and how to handle the impact that covering traumatic events can have on journalists.
“We can better understand each other and have more empathy and compassion thanks to trauma journalism, and hopefully that leads to a better society overall,” Krantz says.
— Blaire Leible Garwitz, MA ’06
NEW PROVOST, NEW ERA Matthew Martens, PhD ’02, started as an expert in health psychology and moved up through academic leadership roles. But in Martens’ new job as provost and executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs, he gets to exercise a generalist’s curiosity for Mizzou’s entire mission.
Among many other projects, Martens is working with deans and other leaders on MizzouForward, a five-year initiative to hire 150 top scholars. So far, 73 have been hired. “They are making a big impact, joining the already-strong faculty we have in place,” he says.
Martens has 32 direct reports campuswide. So many reference points sometimes pays off in unexpected ways, he says. “I try to see the big picture of how pieces could connect, how we can pull together initiatives in different units and partner to do something not thought of before.” — Dale Smith, BJ ’88
@AAUniversities
Two @Mizzou researchers are leading the way to uncover the medical benefits of a radioisotope known as terbium-161. By leveraging the capabilities of the university’s Research Reactor (MURR).
@GregSankey
#NewProfilePic
@MUCAFNRresearch
During Technology Day at the first ever Digital Agriculture Symposium participants got an up-close look at our Digital Farm including sensors, drones and even robots in action in our fields at South Farm!
@MizzouAthletics
From the SEC to NASA! NASA’s Student Volunteer Experience is an educational program for college students with unconventional schedules. Jack Meyer (FB), Leah Selm (SOC) and Marina Crownover (VB) were selected to join @NASA_ LSP for a week at Kennedy Space Center! #MIZ
@ReporterEric
Watching John Anderson’s last SportsCenter and it’s so cool Mizzou J School students are going to get this guy as a professor. An incredible writer and presence. Those students are so lucky (@mujschool students have always been lucky)
Missourians’ speech patterns vary significantly across the state, with both subtle and dramatic differences in words and vowel sounds that continue to evolve. Mizzou English professor Matthew Gordon explores these linguistic shifts in his recent book, The Origins of Missouri English, coauthored with MU alumnus Christopher Strelluf, PhD ’14, from the University of Warwick.
The book draws on an oral history project, created in the 1980s, that aimed to preserve the stories of Missouri’s mule industry workers. Melvin Bradley, a College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources professor, observed that many key figures in the industry were aging, so he sought to capture their histories. Alongside photojournalism professor Duane Dailey, Bradley conducted hundreds of interviews with Missourians involved with mules and preserved voices from across the state. Some recordings even feature mules braying in the background — though whether that whinny has evolved remains unknown. The study focused on individuals born between the late 1800s and the 1930s.
“For example, most younger Missourians today pronounce words like ‘lot’ and ‘thought’ to rhyme and make homophones of pairs like ‘dawn’ and ‘don,’” Gordon explains. “This is a change that has swept across the state in the last few generations, but we found a handful of people born much earlier who showed this pronunciation pattern.”
Gordon hopes to earn future funding to explore audio recording archives from the Missouri State Historical Society and other institutions. “There’s a wealth of recorded material just sitting in archives,” he says, “and librarians and archivists are eager to have people work with their collections.”
BALANCING ACT Mule Variations
MU researcher Kiruba Krishnaswamy is bringing hidden hunger — a type of micronutrient deficiency — into the open while seeking ways of eliminating it. Unlike chronic hunger, which is obvious and caused by a lack of food, hidden hunger is not as easily discernible. But it adversely affects 2 billion people worldwide. “You can be overweight but undernourished,” says Krishnaswamy, assistant professor with joint
appointments in the College of Engineering and College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. She recently received a five-year, $532,000 award from the National Science Foundation to create changes in the food chain to reduce such malnutrition.
The condition results from consuming a diet that lacks essential micronutrients. Although it occurs more frequently in developing countries and impoverished communities, people who regularly consume more than enough calories might suffer from micronutrient deficiencies if they eat an unbalanced diet. This can lead to serious health consequences.
Krishnaswamy has partnered with the Osage Nation in Pawhuska, Okla. Tribal leaders and health professionals will work with Krishnaswamy to determine the exact micronutrient deficiencies in their food chain by evaluating the soil and crops, food processing methods and distribution. Together, researchers and community members will develop strategies to enhance the nutritional content of foods while increasing the availability of traditional Osage foods.
Krishnaswamy hopes her work eventually will extend beyond Oklahoma. She wants a more natural system. “We need more sustainable agriculture, one based on a circular food system that prevents food loss and reduces waste, while producing nutritious food in a way that doesn’t harm the environment,” she says. — Jack Wax, BS Ed ’73, MS ’76, MA
AROUND THE COLUMNS
A New Arena
Former Mizzou wrestling champ
J’Den Cox will stay involved in his favorite sport as USA Wrestling’s new national freestyle development and resident coach.
By almost any measure, J’den Cox is one of the most accomplished athletes in Mizzou history. He’s a threetime NCAA wrestling champion, an Olympic bronze medalist and a two-time world champion. But those accomplishments aren’t all he wants you to remember.
“I came into this world as a human being, then I decided to do a sport, and I ended up being all right at it,” Cox says. “Now that I’m done with the sport, I’m still the human being. So that’s what is important to me about how I’m remembered: who I was, not what I did.”
In April, Cox retired from wrestling after losing to Kollin Moore in the semifinals of the U.S. Olympic Trials. After shaking Moore’s hand, he knelt, removed his shoes and walked off the mat in the sport’s farewell tradition. Cox says he has been pondering retirement for more than a year and knew it was time to say goodbye when he started to lose to opponents he once beat.
He is most excited about devoting more time to his wife and two daughters. Professionally, he will stay involved in his favorite sport as USA Wrestling’s new national freestyle development and resident coach and continue to share his thoughts as a podcast host and singer-songwriter.
“I don’t have any regrets,” Cox says. “I don’t have to
sit in that rocking chair and dream about what could have been. I get to reminisce on the way things were. And now I’m on a completely different journey with my life. I can focus on being a good man, being a good father, being a good husband.”
— Joe Walljasper, BJ ’92
Tigers in Paris
A round of applause for Mizzou alumni Mikel Schreuders, Karissa Schweizer and Clement Secchi, three former Tigers who earned bids for the Paris Olympics. Secchi earned a bronze medal in the men’s 4-x-100-meter medley relay for his native France. Schreuders, BS ME ’20, swam the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle events for Aruba, but didn’t qualify for the semifinals. U.S. long-distance runner Schweizer, BHS ’18, placed 9th in the 5k and 10th in the 10k.
From Shot Put to Goal Posts
As a girl growing up in Kansas City, Krishna Lee loved football so much that self-preservation didn’t stand a chance.
“We would play tackle football in the street,” Lee recalls with a laugh. “If football was on the table, I was playing. I wasn’t the kid over on the swings.”
Organized football wasn’t an option for girls, though, so Lee found other athletic passions. She became a second-degree black belt in karate, swam competitively, played basketball and, in high school, won Missouri state championships in the shot put and discus. She went on to become an All-American thrower at Mizzou and recently was voted into the university’s athletic hall of fame.
Lee, who’s now the general manager of the Women’s National Football Conference’s Kansas City Glory, has two favorite memories of her Mizzou athletic career. One is winning the hammer throw at the Big 12 championship in 2009 on the same day — and at almost the same time — as she would have received her diploma had she not been competing. The other is an “epic snowball fight” with her teammates outside a hotel in Ames, Iowa.
That combination of competition and camaraderie is what Lee loved about being part of a team. It’s what she missed when her college career ended.
“When I was done throwing, I lost a little sense of myself,” she says.
After moving back to her hometown, Lee rediscovered her old passion: football. For seven years, she starred for the Glory. She finished her playing career in 2022 by qualifying for the national team and helping the U.S. win the Women’s World Championship in Finland. In addition to serving as general manager of the Glory, Lee coaches bas-
ketball and track at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic High School in Lee’s Summit.
“When I found football, that missing piece of me was put back in place,” Lee says. “For that feeling alone, I would run my body through brick walls. Then there’s the other side of it, which is for so long this wasn’t an option for women. I wanted to play flag football as a kid, and I was told that I couldn’t. Having the ability to pave the path for the women and the girls that are coming behind me was a really big driver for me to play and continue to manage the team.” — J.W.
ESPN Legend Returns
John Anderson, BJ ’87, will join the Missouri School of Journalism as the Leonard H. Goldenson Endowed Chair in Radio and Television Journalism starting January 2025. Anderson, a 25-year anchor of ESPN’s flagship show helmed his final episode on June 28. Anderson, an Emmy Award winner, began his ca reer at KOMU-TV and sees his new role as a pin nacle in his career.
“Why wouldn’t you want to go play for the Yankees?
That’s what Mizzou is,” Anderson says. “I could not have thought of a better post-ESPN landing spot.”
Scoreboard
2 — Tournament titles won by golfer Jack Lundin during his senior season in 2024. Lundin won The Hootie at Bulls Bay and the Tiger Intercollegiate on his way to earning first-team All-SEC and second-team All-America honors.
6 — Mizzou football players selected in the 2024 NFL draft. They are defensive end Darius Robinson, first round, Arizona Cardinals; cornerback Ennis Rakestraw, second round, Detroit Lions; linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper, third round, Green Bay Packers; offensive tackle Javon Foster, fourth round, Jacksonville Jaguars; cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine, fifth round, Denver Broncos; and safety Jaylon Carlies, fifth round, Indianapolis Colts.
7 — New members of the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. The inductees include husbandand-wife volleyball coaches Susan and Wayne Kreklow, track athlete Krishna Lee, golfer Amelia Moses, track athlete Chris Rohr, football player Martin Rucker, and football player Bill Whitaker.
10 — Former Mizzou baseball players who have made the MLB All-Star Game. Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck was the latest to accomplish the feat when he earned a spot on the American League roster in 2024.
FARMER not just a...
We are more than just farmers. we are...
To see all that we are, visit mosoy.org, or scan the QR code!
_Thinking Machines
Mizzou teachers and researchers in all fields add to — and take from — the ever-emerging tech of artificial intelligence.
Editor’s note:
For this story on machine learning, we embraced several tools powered by artificial intelligence.
On the editorial side, we consulted with ChatGPT on ways to structure and subdivide the feature, asked it to create twoword headlines for each entry and, when it came time to trim, told it to outline areas that could be cut for space. On the illustration side, we worked with imagegenerating AI platform Midjourney to create icons, backgrounds and accents.
Tony Rehagen,* BA, BJ ’01
Blake Dinsdale,* BA ’99
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
has seamlessly integrated itself into virtually every aspect of contemporary society, permeating our daily lives and reshaping industries across the globe. From personalized recommendations on streaming platforms to autonomous vehicles navigating city streets, AI’s presence is unmistakable and profound. It powers virtual assistants that manage our schedules and homes, facilitates medical diagnostics with unprecedented accuracy, and optimizes supply chains for global commerce. Beyond these familiar applications, AI also drives innovations in fields as diverse as finance, entertainment, education and beyond.
Machine learning, a more technical (and often more accurate) term for AI, also has infiltrated media and the way we communicate. In fact, the paragraph above was written by ChatGPT, the AI chatbot that uses algorithms to analyze vast amounts of copy to generate responses to user inquiries. My prompt was simply: “Write an intro about how AI is everywhere.”
What my computer overlord left out was that AI is transforming college campuses, too, not just by influencing the way we teach and learn, but also by directing research into how these new technologies can benefit (or challenge) every walk of life. At Mizzou, for instance, dozens of researchers in departments as varied as engineering, agriculture, visual art and journalism are finding ways to harness machine learning to improve the way we live.
So how best to spotlight Missouri’s contributions to the study of AI? Why not ask AI itself?
ChatGPT’s partial answer: “Introduce key faculty members leading AI research projects at Mizzou. Include their backgrounds, expertise and notable contributions to the field. Additionally, feature stories of students involved in AI research, showcasing their projects, motivations, and the impact of their work.”
Who am I to argue with technology?
AI-Powered Healthcare
Even before he knew what industrial engineering was, Sharan Srinivas was fascinated by complex systems. As a child, he wondered how a bottle of Pepsi or a bag of Lay’s found its way to the most remote parts of his native India. He was in awe of FedEx and Amazon and how they delivered millions of packages to the correct addresses.
When an adult Srinivas, assistant professor in the School of Engineering, began thinking about the machinations of the healthcare industry, industrial engineering and the application of technology, including AI, to improve these systems became something of a personal mission. “The healthcare sector offers significant opportunities to translate research outcomes into practice,” Srinivas says. “And unlike many other sectors, the U.S. healthcare industry has maintained comprehensive electronic medical records for more than 20 years. And improvements and optimizations in healthcare have a direct and profound impact on society. Enhancing healthcare operations not only improves efficiency and reduces costs, but it also enhances patient outcomes and overall wellbeing.”
Since that epiphany, Srinivas has focused his research on projects such as smart patient scheduling that uses AI to minimize wait times and improve access; AI-powered models for optimizing hospital inventory of life-saving perishable items such as platelets; AI-assisted approaches for understanding the long-term impacts of psychological and physiological factors on cardiovascular diseases; and using AI to streamline the flow of patients in emergency rooms.
Srinivas currently directs his efforts toward a long-term diabetes risk prediction model for adolescents that can uncover how lifestyle choices, behaviors, and other traits will affect their future risks as adults. “The future of AI in healthcare is very promising,” he says. “In my opinion, AI technology will benefit all parties involved: patients, physicians, administrators, and society in general.”
College of Engineering
Digital Health
Chi-Ren Shyu’s research focuses on digital health, explainable AI (XAI), quantum computing, digital clinical trials, data mining and spatial big data analytics. As director of MU Institute for Data Science, his work includes analysis of data to determine 90-day outcomes of stroke patients who undergo a mechanical thrombectomy and identifying gene expression in single-cell RNA using linear correlation. College of Engineering
Equitable Healthcare
Assitant professor Kate Trout is dedicated to creating equitable health systems through Health Information Technologies (HITs) such as telehealth and mobile health to improve access and efficiency of healthcare, especially in underserved, low-resource rural areas.
College of Health Sciences
Agri-Tech Innovation
Growing up in Nepal, a predominantly agrarian nation, Jasmine Neupane became acutely aware of the challenges facing industrial agriculture: input management, limited yields and environmental impact. But the country was ill-prepared to tackle those problems through technology. “In Nepal we learn about tech in a textbook,” she says. “We’re not using it in the field, and there’s not a lot of research.”
So when she came to the U.S. for her graduate studies, Neupane dedicated herself to agricultural innovation through cutting-edge technology — including AI.
As an assistant professor at MU’s College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources, Neupane has focused much of her research on using digital agriculture technologies such as remote sensing, IoT (Internet of Things) devices and data analytics on just about every aspect of crop systems, from planting to pest management to irrigation to harvest, in hopes of improving production profitability and protecting the environment. “Think about it from the farmer’s perspective,” Neupane says. “They aren’t able to go out into every part of their field every day. Using drones or satellites or IoT sensors, we can collect a vast amount of data in a short period of time. Then we can use machine learning and AI algorithms to process that data quickly and make decisions in real time.”
For instance, farmers can use this data to identify where they are applying too much nutrient, or not enough, or which part of a field is more prone to erosion in gullies and nutrient leaching to nearby waterways. “Producers want to make a profit from their land,” she says. “But they are also interested in how to make the environment better and think long-term. I think, with digital agriculture technology and strategies, we can answer those questions.”
Once Neupane helps answer those questions here in Missouri, she hopes to export some of that knowledge back home to Nepal, where her family still lives.
CAFNR
Hydrology Modeling
Michael Sunde employs quantitative modeling and geospatial and remote sensing to examine the impacts of urbanization, deforestation and climate on the environment, with a special focus on watershed hydrology. The assistant research professor’s work uses machine learning to process data and help planners and decisionmakers improve natural resource management.
CAFNR
Robotic Harvesting
Associate professor Jianfeng Zou studies AI-enabled crop phenotyping and focuses on the precision technology side of ag, including computer vision and digital agriculture. He has helped develop mechanical and robotic harvesting tech for specialty crops and worked on the Monarch MK-V tractor, an autonomous electric machine with the potential to aid farmers with disabilities and refine agricultural practices for all farmers.
CAFNR
Soybean Agronomy
Specializing in soybean agronomy, assistant professor Andre Froes De Borja Reis conducts research using AI to process vast amounts of data and make genetic predictions for crops. For instance, he has coauthored papers on the analysis of the effect of sulfur fertilization on soybean yield and seed composition and the effects of planting dates on yield and risk.
CAFNR
Cloud Networking
Prasad Calyam’s research and development areas of interest include cloud computing, cybersecurity and computer networking. The Director of Mizzou Center for Cyber Education, Research, and Infrastructure (CERI), College of Engineering, his work encompasses everything from using drone networks for disaster response to using graph-based link prediction to connect scholars from diverse fields for research collaboration.
College of Engineering
Biomedical Analysis
Jianlin “Jack” Cheng’s research centers on the use of machine learning and AI methods to analyze biomedical data. For instance, the tools the Curators’ Distinguished Professor and his research team have developed for examining biological networks, protein structure and 3D genome structure are widely used in the field.
College of Engineering
Big Data
Associate professor Praveen Rao’s Scalable Data Science Lab (SDS Lab) aims to develop scalable algorithms and systems for big data in the areas of ecommerce, social media, healthcare and defense. For instance, the SDS Lab has looked at ways machine learning and deep learning techniques can bolster cybersecurity on social media and enhance precision health and digital pathology.
College of Engineering
As an MRI researcher, Changyu Sun, assistant professor of biological and biomedical engineering, is developing new strategies for rapid MRI acquisition and accurate reconstruction using data-driven methods, including deep learning. His simultaneous multislice acquisition and reconstruction methods have been applied to cardiac cine (acquired to capture motion), perfusion (to see blood flow) and strain (detecting tissue and muscle tear) MRI techniques. College of Engineering
Virtual Training
Assistant professor
Noah Glaser’s research explores how AI and virtual reality headsets can provide immersive simulation and training to help neurodiverse learners adapt to real-world situations: everything from using public transportation to developing STEM skills in preparation for potential careers.
College of Education and Human Development
wisdom in response to a prompt.
She also has experimented with exactly.ai, a software product that trains on a dataset of a creator’s previous work and produces new pieces in the artist’s unique style. “I had mixed thoughts at first: ‘Am I just feeding the machine?’” she says. “But you’re training it on your own dataset, not pulling it from the vast interweb, it gives you the ability to see different versions of your own thought process and aesthetic and different variations of a specific project.”
No matter what technology she incorporates into her work, Bitsicas is always sure to credit that AI and, more importantly, its creator.
“It’s never completely a machine,” she says. “That AI tool is always made or developed by a human.” School of Visual Studies
Digital Performance
As a professor of digital media and performance studies in the College of Arts and Science, Kevin Brown researches the ways in which digital media intersects with performance, including the role of AI, robotics, video games and other factors in the construction of identity, gender, class and community. College of Arts and Science
MIZZOU FALL 2024
Journalistic AI
Professor Amy Simons helps journalism students use ChatGPT to translate dense, technical jargon into lay terms, better fact-check their stories, spot and understand disinformation, foster discussion about the ethical implications of using AI as part of the journalistic process, and consider credibility and trust with their audience. School of Journalism
AI Discourse
Jared Schroeder, an associate professor and expert on the implications of AI, addresses its application to open discourse in society, democracy and elections, misinformation and disinformation and regulation. In his new book, The Structure of Ideas: Mapping a New Theory of Free Expression in the AI Era, Schroeder explores how AI shapes the marketplace of ideas. School of Journalism
PR firms are using AI more to speed up mundane tasks, such as creating meeting notes and drafting press releases, rather than commissioning a professional for the jobs. School of Journalism
Tech
Entrepreneurship
J. Scott Christianson explores the role technology plays in our daily lives and AI’s role in changing the landscape of entrepreneurship. In his classes, the associate teaching professor has set out guidelines for how students can use AI on their projects, sometimes even requiring them to use it, in order to help them think critically about emerging tech. Trulaske School of Business
Patent AI
Dennis Crouch, Leedy Professor of Law, has conducted years of research in artificial intelligence and patent law, including using generative AI as a tool for patent attorneys in their work and the question of when the products of inventive AI are eligible for patents. School of Law
THE INVISIBLE NETWORKS
Exploring the mysterious, mystical, earthen — and often delicious — fungi connecting underground Missouri.
STORY BY NINA MUKERJEE FURSTENAU, BJ ’84
PHOTOS BY ABBIE LANKITUS & SAM O’KEEFE, BJ ’O9, MA ’24
MIZZOU FALL 2024
Mushroom hunting in Missouri isn’t always easy pickings. All eyes need to be aimed at the ground, and a search requires patience and a knack for wandering. Sometimes even a fruitless hunt is more than worth the effort.
“There’s always something to discover,” says Malissa Briggler, Missouri State Botanist and leader of the mid-Missouri chapter of the Mycological Society, as she hunts near her New Bloomfield, Missouri home, along with a reporting team from KBIA’s Canned Peaches podcast consisting of students from the Missouri School of Journalism. Today they’re looking for chanterelles, which remain hidden despite the group’s best efforts. Still, they make many discoveries while spending time in the woods.
“I mean, I did run into like three spiderwebs and got ticks,” producer Lauren Hines-Acosta, BJ ’23, says wryly. Despite these tiny traumas, the pursuit of mushrooms reveals a world we often miss or forget to notice.
“We’re so busy and connected,” Briggler says, adding that mushroom hunting requires slowness. “We disconnect to connect.”
Mushrooms, part of the fungi kingdom like lichens, yeasts and molds, are not like other plants or animals. They’re the fruiting body of an undergrown network of mycelium, for one. Perhaps because of this subterranean growth, fungi in folklore often have mystic and transformative powers. Think of the red-capped fly agaric mushroom in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice nibbles on one side to grow taller and the other side to shrink. In Ireland, they’re linked to faeries and leprechauns. For many ancients, because of the mushroom’s underground connection to a much larger, very old, organism, its wisdom could be passed to humans via consumption.
munication and intelligence, Simard says survival of the fittest means something different in a forest, where plants collaborate as a community.
“In one forest example of a 100’ x 100’ area,” Simard says, “there are (typically) 300 species of mycorrhizal fungi and all the trees are connected by it underground. The big trees are the most highly connected. These are the hub, or mother, trees.”
Trees communicate and pass carbon to each other through mycorrhizal networks young and old. “It’s all about connection,” says forest ecologist Susan Sinard.
What a culture thinks of mushrooms has a lot to do with how it feels about magic — whether it’s a dark force or a benevolent one — and the era. Today, mushroom fever is spreading for more than mere mystique. Taste and versatility in diets, especially in plant-forward eating that might just save our planet, along with the role they can play in carbon sequestration and their amazing talent for pollutant filtering, adds up to a global shroom boom.
NETWORK COMMUNICATION
Like Briggler, more and more researchers are discovering the mushroom’s ability to make connections. Forest ecologist Susan Simard, who spoke earlier this year at the University of Missouri’s William A. Albrecht Lectureship at the Bond Life Sciences Center, has been fascinated for most of her career. She discussed hub or “mother” trees in forests and how below-ground fungal networks link a forest community. A pioneer in plant com-
But in her home region of British Columbia, clear-cut logging has destroyed all but two to three percent of the big tree ecosystems. In a clear-cut area, only about six of 300 fungi species survive, and those are reliant on whatever native plants might remain. “It takes a while to recover — 50 to 80 years,” Simard says. “Some of these microbial fungi only grow with old trees.”
In Indigenous cultures, which Simard also studies, “these old trees are known,” she says, and through mycorrhizal networks young and old trees communicate and pass carbon to each other. “It’s all about connection.”
The symbiosis between plants and members of an ancient phylum of fungi (arbuscular mycorrhiza, or AM) suggests a secret society. But these AM fungi connect with 80 percent of plants and help them access distant water and nutrients. They can help plants adapt to environmental change by bringing minerals to where they are. Community and connection once again. They can do more — and here’s where the secret handshake comes in — such as relocating five percent to 20 percent of photosynthates (simple sugars made from once green leaves that feed the plants that produced them) from that plant to the surrounding environment.
LOGGING SHIITAKES
In a study published in Microbiome in January, Changfeng Jang, among other researchers, discusses a bacterial-fungal-plant symbiosis that drives plant growth and can reduce the need for fertilizers.
Erica Parker, BA ’10, agrees. Parker put her love of mushrooms and other growing things into the creation of Sage Garden. While still at the university, she began saving to buy land, eventually purchased two acres in Boone County and, later, 70 acres (about the area of a large shopping mall) near Prairie Home. Now, among other sustainably raised foods, she has about 300 shiitake logs and offers them — as well as mushroom-based tinctures — fresh every week at the Columbia Farmer’s Market. “Mushrooms are a big passion of mine,” Parker says. She started in 2012 by inoculating two dozen logs with live shiitake spawn. “Shiitake are one of those super potent mushrooms that taste phenomenal and grow easily. They were a win-win.”
Steven Lancey, BA ’17, studied MU classical humanities. He manages the farm, and describes it as a biologically intensive market garden, one inspired by the agricultural practices on a working farm in Sicily, Italy, where he lived after graduation.
“We’re planting kale, chard and collards today,” Lancey says. “We’ll also do spinach and lettuce.” They’ll do this after plowing, forming beds, and laying irrigation lines.
“And we’re all growing the mushrooms,” Parker adds.
SOIL BRAINS AND MYCELIUM DREAMS
Though the mushrooms taste great, Parker and Lancey have deeper designs for their spores.
“We inoculate the soil with different mycelium, different fungal strains, to really rev up the microorganism population of our soil. It’ll be interesting to see the results,” Parker says. “We already started trying this in the Hallsville farm and are seeing the benefits.”
One essential benefit: warding off pests. “Resistance of our crops gets naturally built in,” Lancey says. “The soil is living soil, and mushrooms are so much a part of this because of the mycelium network under the ground is communicating between all the components of the soil and roots.”
All this adds up to what Parker thinks of as a kind of “soil brain.” “It’s the neural network in the soil microorganisms. We use organic practices, but we still have to use different organic products to control certain pests and fungus when it’s getting out of control.” However, Lancey adds, “We’re seeing less need for that.”
The repair of depleting soil is essential to Parker because, she says, “the mycelium network is going to just keep bringing the whole ecosystem back to life.” The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) agrees, declaring in a 2019 study that fungi are critical to soil biodiversity, carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling. Together, plants and fungi capture carbon from the atmosphere to store in the soil for decades, if not centuries. Mushrooms have a role in nontimber forest farming, too. At the university’s Center for Agroforestry, Olga
Erica Parker (top left), BA ’10, and Steven Lancey, BA ’17, put their love of mushrooms and other growing things into the creation of Sage Garden.
Romanova, technical aid provider, talks about silvopasture — growing trees in pasture for shade — as an opportunity for mushrooms.
“While your trees are growing, you can gain benefit by producing something in the shade of the trees. Mushrooms are one of the things that can be grown in this way.”
Romanova notes other forest farming techniques that help mushrooms include managing growth of trees to create their optimum conditions. “If your purpose is maintaining the forest, thinning [trees] helps nature by speeding up its process. [The thinned] wood can be used for mushroom production.”
Other benefits? “All fungi, not just the edible mushrooms, are part of the forest, and they help to make the ecosystem more sustainable,” Romanova says. “They help to degrade the wood which has fallen and convert it into soil. Fungi are part of the ecosystem and the food chain and definitely play a huge role in decomposition of the organic material. I find them fascinating.”
Fungi have yet another superpower: an ability to degrade various pollutants in the environment. Add-
ing to that positive piece of the environmental puzzle, consider that nature has found a way to deal with plastics and petroleum-based products, pharmaceuticals, oil and even some “forever” chemicals when humans failed to do so. Such byproducts, processed through fungi, can often be made no longer harmful.
If it’s starting to feel like hero-worship, consider that the fungi system can help ecosystem restoration, too, by advancing reforestation in degraded soils.
UMAMI IN THE KITCHEN
“First time we met,” Allen Judy of Heirloom Fungi and Mandy’s Bamboo Kitchen in Excello, Missouri, says of his wife, “Mandy looked at my face and said, ‘You need reishi mushrooms.’”
A teaspoon a day of reisihi mushroom tincture traditionally has been used for allergies and lion’s mane taken for neural clarity.
“We sell the tinctures at the market because not everyone has the time to make their own at home.” — Mandy Judy
The Judys, who grow oyster, shiitake, lion’s mane, king oyster, chestnut and reishi mushrooms in a custom-made 1,500 square foot facility near their home, not only cultivate mushrooms but also sell them at the Columbia Farmer’s Market and include them in delightful ways on the menu of their reservation-only restaurant 65 miles north
Allen Judy (left) of Heirloom Fungi and Mandy’s Bamboo Kitchen in Excello, Missouri. He and wife Mandy sell their bounty at the Columbia Farmer’s Market.
of Columbia. They produce mushrooms for functional health benefits, too. “I had terrible allergies but no longer,” Allen says.
In fact, a teaspoon a day of reisihi mushroom tincture traditionally has been used for allergies and lion’s mane taken for neural clarity. Mushrooms, rich in Vitamin B, C, and D, fiber, minerals and protein, are found in diets of many cultures around the world.
“We sell the tinctures at the market because not everyone has the time to make their own at home,” Mandy says. Mostly, though, the Judys sell mushrooms, nearly 100 pounds per week at the Columbia Farmer’s Market alone, in addition to 25 pounds per week Mandy uses for the restaurant.
Aside from the potential usefulness of mushrooms to our planet and human health, for many, umami flavors are the draw. One recent evening at Mandy’s Bamboo Kitchen, which launched in 2017, the menu included oyster mushroom tempura, lion’s mane mushroom “crab” cake and sauteed shiitake and celery, in addition to pan fried dumplings, bacon wrapped shrimp and asparagus, wineand soy-braised short ribs. Dessert was a delicate Japanese souffle cheesecake. The flavors and textures alone would make a believer out of most diners.
Mandy’s specialty is a fusion of Asian cuisines: Cantonese, where her parents originated; Vietnamese, where she spent her childhood; and Taiwanese, where she lived for 10 years. The result is a palate awash in rich flavors that are somehow light and never feel heavy, due to her skill with mushrooms. She remembers mushrooms and tinctures from her youth, though they often couldn’t afford them. She says mushroom interest in Missouri has really jumped in recent years.
“People around here don’t always know what to do with mushrooms other than button mushrooms you find at the grocery store,” Mandy says. “But they are starting to understand and come back for more.” M
EXPLORING MISSOURI MUSHROOMS
Missouri’s diverse habitats, including forests, woodlands and wetlands, provide fertile environments for medicinal and culinary mushrooms. Here are some of the state’s most common.
Medicinal Mushrooms
Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)
Known as the “mushroom of immortality,” reishi has a kidney-shaped cap and reddishbrown color. Boosts the immune system, reduces stress, improves sleep and has antiinflammatory properties. Used for allergies.
Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus)
White, globe-shaped fungi with long cascading spines, resembling a lion’s mane. Supports brain health and cognitive function and may help with nerve regeneration.
Maitake (Grifola frondosa)
Also known as “hen of the woods,” maitake forms large clusters with spoon-shaped caps, often found at the base of oak trees. Regulates blood sugar levels, boosts the immune system and supports cardiovascular health.
Culinary Mushrooms
Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) Brown, umbrella-shaped cap with a white underside, commonly grown on hardwood logs. Rich, earthy flavor. Used in dishes such as sautéed shiitake and celery.
Oyster and King Oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus eryngii)
Oyster mushrooms have a fan-shaped, delicate texture, while king oysters have thick, meaty stems. Versatile. Used in dishes such as oyster mushroom tempura.
Chanterelles (Cantharellus spp.)
Funnel-shaped with wavy edges, bright yellow to orange. Delicate, fruity flavor. Often used in risottos, pastas and egg dishes.
Mandy Judy at work at Mandy’s Bamboo Kitchen, which is about 50 miles north of Columbia.
LIVING HISTORY
Mizzou’s Kinder Scholars spend the summer immersed in constitutional democracy in Washington, D.C.
CHRIS BLOSE, MA ’04
ABBIE LANKITUS
MIZZOU MAGAZINE FALL 2024
On
June 24, 2022, one of the countless tour buses working its way past federal buildings, embassies and monuments in Washington, D.C. was packed with Mizzou students — a cohort of 20 who would spend their summer working, living and learning about constitutional democracy in the nation’s capital.
These students represented the Kinder Scholars D.C. Summer Program, a part of Mizzou’s Kinder Institute for Constitutional Democracy. On this day, their field trip focused on women’s history. They discussed famous and overlooked suffragists and visited the sites of historical protests for women’s rights. By the time they reached the statue of Eleanor Roosevelt at the Roosevelt Memorial, Catherine Rymph, an assistant professor of history who was in town to lead that week’s curriculum, noticed a sudden shift.
Students were on their phones. Alerts and notifications were going off. Some young women in the group were sobbing. News had broken about the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a decision that effectively overturned Roe v. Wade
Rymph and Jordan Pellerito, a doctoral candidate who works on-site with students in the program, had a decision to make: Proceed with business as usual or improvise.
The choice seemed clear. “It would be kind of silly to proceed with this tour that nobody could focus on,” Rymph says. “They’re here in D.C., and this is D.C. happening right in front of them.”
Rymph, Pellerito and the tour guide turned the bus toward the Supreme Court — or at least as close as a bus could get on such a chaotic day. As is the case in a constitutional democracy, the rest was up to the individuals. Kinder and all its programs are nonpartisan, so Rymph was careful not to steer students toward any particular action.
Most simply saw the comings and goings and protests and counter-protests of the day. Some joined in, based on their personal beliefs. Others sought refuge from the crowds and the city’s swampy summer air in the air-conditioning of the bus or nearby restaurants. One or two went to work, including an intern for Politico who suddenly found herself doing on-the-scene reporting.
Kinder Institute has brought students to Washington, D.C., each year since 2015. The goal is full immersion in the city: socially, culturally and professionally.
Students take the course Beltway History and Politics, which meets during the evenings, followed by Friday field trips that match each week’s theme. Weekly guest faculty offer a curriculum that puts history into context. One week finds students discussing the structure of elections in the early republic, while another focuses on women’s history and the 14th amendment. They learn about exactly why Pierre L’Enfant designed the city as he did. They tour monuments and discuss the meaning behind them.
As important as the historical curriculum is, the program goes far beyond it. Students live together in housing in the city’s Woodley Park neighborhood and learn to navigate the city. They work each day at an internship of their choosing, which may mean staffing on Capitol Hill, doing data entry or planning for a nonprofit, reporting for a media outlet, working on museum exhibits at the Smithsonian, researching at the Library of Congress or National Archives, or any other aspects of the work that go into a living, breathing federal city.
“Our goal is that they pick something that really fits how they want to engage in what’s going on with government and what’s happening in D.C.,” says Carli Conklin, associate director of the Kinder Institute and one of the program’s weekly professors. “And we want them to choose through the lens of their own major and their own interests.”
A Peek Behind the Curtain
For current Kinder Scholar Kate Karpinksi, that “lens” is public health. The rising junior from Bentonville, Ark., has chosen a field with increasing visibility in a postpandemic world, although her interest in public health predates COVID-19.
“Public health puts emphasis on how everyone is interconnected and how your actions affect other people,” Karpinski says. “I think it is incredibly fascinating the way that you can connect it to everything, and how important public health policy is.”
The Kinder Institute has brought students to Washington, D.C., each year since 2015.
The goal is full immersion in the city: socially, culturally and professionally.
“I love that we were able to have that unplanned experiential component, where we were in the middle of a really momentous event in constitutional history,” Rymph says.
That could be an informal mission statement for the Kinder Scholars summer program: in the middle of momentous events. Apart from a year off caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the
Karpinski spends her days working for the Alliance for Health Policy, a nonprofit organization focused on research, evidence and education related to health policy. “What drew me to the alliance was the nonpartisan aspect of that,” she says. “In public health things get polarized and politicized really quickly. And that’s very obvious in recent politics and just in the political climate that we have right now.”
Beyond the “typical intern things” she does daily — entering data and cleaning up contact lists for the organization, for example — she relishes the opportunity to dive into research. She got to help Alliance staff prepare for a conference on the role of AI in healthcare — a topic with enough buzz that it earned her a spot attending hearings and briefings on Capitol Hill.
Peeking behind the curtain at how policy gets made has
been eye-opening for Karpinski: “I feel like it humanizes a lot of the issues that we see on TV. To be here and see these issues talked about in real time can definitely bring some humility and empathy for both sides of any conversation.”
The city offers its own examples for a budding public health enthusiast, too. Karpinski was quick to notice how prevalent disease prevention ads are on public transportation, as well as at major events and celebrations in the city.
“I was just talking to someone about how the celebration of Pride is very important to the pursuit of public health,” she says, as an example. “The festivals are when we can come in as public health professionals and health departments and target these groups of people. We learn and listen and see what they need, and how we can fill in gaps of care.”
Karpinski is experiencing summer in D.C. with her eyes wide open — and that’s the goal, Conklin says. Given the nature of the Kinder Institute, the summer program draws a lot of students majoring in constitutional democracy, history and political science. But over the years since the program’s founding, students from more varied majors have started to see the appeal.
“I really think that this program needs every major to thrive,” she says, “because our actual constitutional democracy needs every field to thrive.”
“Students often think people who are interested in government do this or that government is a certain narrow thing that other people are
Kate Karpinski, left, a senior majoring in public health, and Mya Franklin, a political science and constitutional democracy major, spent the summer in D.C. as part of the Kinder Scholars program. Karpinski interned at the Alliance for Health Policy; Franklin interned at Everytown for Gun Safety.
David Young, center, a recently retired career member of the Senior Foreign Service and former U.S. ambassador to Malawi, coaches Kinder Scholars through a mock foreign embassy crisis scenario. The students learn about embassies and ambassadorships with Young, BJ ’84, whose four-plus decades in foreign affairs included posts in countries across Africa and the global south. Each week, students focus on a different aspect of government. Mya Franklin, seated to Young’s immediate right, was the designated public affairs officer for the simulation.
involved in and take care of. And I think students might not realize, if I’m an engineer, or I’m planning to be an engineer. I might really want to weigh in on building codes or bridge construction. And so, whether it’s healthcare or infrastructure or advocacy for voting rights, we come from all different perspectives and do something that matters for us to be able to live well together. And I really think that’s at the heart of constitutional democracy: How do we live well together?”
That said, living well can be its own sort of challenge in a city as expensive as Washington, D.C. So Kinder provides funding to make the program accessible to a broader range of students, says Pellerito, who has worked on site with students since 2017.
“One of the things Carli [Conklin] emphasizes the most is this is an opportunity for people who otherwise may not be able to go to D.C.,” Pellerito says. “Because we pay for housing and offer a stipend and everything, we can get people here to have this important experience.”
That sentiment is not lost on an appreciative Karpinski. “They are alleviating a lot of the barriers that students come across when looking to come to D.C., such as the cost of living,” she says. “That was a huge relief, because a lot of students, my-
Clockwise from top left: Students tour embassy row in D.C., passing by the Venezuelan embassy; former ambassador David Young addressing the group at Busboys and Poets before a field trip to view embassies; Mya Franklin at her internship with her supervisor, Angela Ferrell-Zabala, the executive director of Mom’s Demand Action; and Abby Ramirez, a senior majoring in journalism and constitutional democracy, who interned in the editorial department at Ms. magazine.
self included, would not have been able to be here if it were not for that financial aid.”
Stepping Up
“I’m a history nerd,” says Mya Franklin, another program participant who is visiting Washington, D.C. for the first time.
“So it is so cool to actually be in front of something instead of simply reading about it. It is just so surreal. Every night I go to bed and think, ‘Wow, I’m just casually in the capital for the summer. The president’s over there in the White House, and there’s the Washington Monument.’ ”
In her Kinder coursework, the third-year student — who already has senior status — happily pores over this country’s founding documents. She’ll confess to embarrassment at not
knowing much about the history of suffragists, a gap she was more than happy to correct during Rymph’s week of teaching.
But Franklin is here for the now as much as for the then. She found an outlet for her love of advocacy in an internship for Everytown for Gun Safety, a highly visible group dedicated to policy around gun violence. Specifically, she’s a grassroots intern working with the staff of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense (an organization founded by Mizzou alumna Shannon Watts, BA ’94) and its executive director, Angela Ferrell-Zabala.
The role gives Franklin an intimate view of all the behindthe scenes work that goes into national advocacy. Franklin helps make Ferrell-Zabala’s jam-packed schedules. She books flights and changes them when plans fall through. She creates bios of important people for upcoming meetings and sends thank-you notes. Sometimes there are off-topic intern tasks, like shopping for a dress for Ferrell-Zabala for an upcoming event. (“I didn’t mind that,” Franklin notes. “I loved it, actually.”) Sometimes the work is more scholarly, as when Franklin worked with the organization’s litigation team on research for a speech reacting to a Supreme Court case.
plan for the capitol’s key buildings and structures.
More students than ever are getting that opportunity now. Before 2024, the program brought roughly 20 students to D.C. each year. This year, there are 30, split into two cohorts. Next year, there will be 40.
“I think it’s the most competitive program we have at Kinder, because it’s a multistep application and interview process,” Pellerito says of the program’s expansion.
“I really think that’s at the heart of constitutional democracy: How do we live well together?”
Carli Conklin, associate director of the Kinder Institute
Much of the benefit is simply being present, she says, citing the group’s Gun Sense University event as an example. Suddenly she found herself in the room with the governor of Delaware. Then Ted Cruz. Then an actor from Grey’s Anatomy. President Biden spoke. Next thing she knew she was attending a VIP event with Rep. Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
“There is this aspect of walking into a room, and you never know who you’re going to meet,” Franklin says. “That’s not something I expected. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. So I’m just so grateful to be here, honestly.”
Program staff, faculty and students take heart in the growth — and the idea that demand and interest in constitutional democracy is high, even in a time when our own national politics are polarized. Program participants come to D.C. with eagerness and enthusiasm and often leave with a desire to continue on a similar path. Former scholars have gone on to clerk for a future Supreme Court justice, work at the Library of Congress, report for major media outlets in the city, take jobs at federal agencies and more.
Count Franklin among the converts. “I was telling somebody the other day, ‘You’re going to have to drag me out of here on my last day.’ I don’t want to leave.”
It’s not just the city’s abundance of food, museums, culture or social activities that draw Kinder Scholars in, either — although Franklin and Karpinski both name those as highlights of their summer. It’s the chance to act and be in the middle of momentous events.
“If I don’t step up,” Franklin says, “then I know no one else is going to step up with me.” M
Kinder Institute Associate Director Carli Conklin, left, shows students L’Enfant Plaza. Named after the D.C. architect Pierre Charles L’Enfant, the plaza’s walkways lay out his original
ONCE SCORNED, MIZZOU’S SENIOR QUARTERBACK HAS DEVELOPED INTO THE UNQUESTIONED LEADER OF A TEAM WITH PLAYOFF ASPIRATIONS >>
THE EVOLUTION OF BRADY COOK
STORY BY MARK GODICH, BJ ’79
MIZZOU FALL 2024
BRADY COOK
SPUTTERING, THE OFFENSE WAS
and the legion of Mizzou fans who had made the trek to Texas for the 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic was growing restless. C’mon, Brady. What are you doing?
Brady would be Brady Cook, the once-maligned Tiger quarterback. Mizzou trailed Ohio State 3-0 after three quarters, and nothing was going right. Not for the offense, anyway. Yet from the time he was named the offensive coordinator in early 2023, Kirby Moore had embedded six simple words in Cook’s mind: Don’t make a bad play worse.
So, for much of the game, Cook followed his coach’s orders. He took sacks. He scrambled for a couple of yards here and there. He threw the ball away when nobody was open. (And nobody was open.) Then, as he had done all season, he went to work. Deep in his own territory, he completed a thirddown slant pass to blanketed wideout Theo Wease Jr. Cook scrambled 15 yards for another first down, then connected with Marquis Johnson for a 50-yard gain. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Cody Schrader capped an eight-play, 95-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown run.
On their next possession, Cook took the Tigers 91 yards in 13 plays. He jump-started the drive with a pinpoint 31-yard sideline pass to Wease and capped it with a laser into a ridiculously tight window to Luther Burden III for a seven-yard touchdown.
According to ESPN, teams had been 0-112 over the past two seasons when entering the fourth quarter scoreless. So much for that. The Tigers won, 14-3. Cook was named offensive MVP of the game, and Mizzou celebrated an 11-2 season and a No. 8 national ranking.
“I Grew Up Watching Mizzou”
Nobody outside the locker room saw the 2023 season coming. But as Cook prepares for his final year, expectations in Columbia are sky-high. Mizzou is popping up in the top 10 of most preseason rankings, and with the college football playoff expanding to a dozen teams, you don’t have to be a math major to complete the calculation.
As remarkable as the Tigers’ sudden rise has been, Cook’s ascension to elite college quarterback has been even more astounding. He committed to Missouri early in his junior season at Chaminade Prep School in suburban St. Louis, and when Eli Drinkwitz replaced Barry Odom as head coach in late 2019, Cook stuck by his pledge. No surprise, because he always wanted to be a Tiger.
“I grew up watching Mizzou,” Cook says. “It was the first team I ever really paid attention to, learned to love. My mom went here for physical therapy school. My uncle went here.”
Drinkwitz saw a quarterback who would need time to grow into the job. “I thought he was a potential developmental kid,” he says from his spacious office overlooking Faurot Field. “He’s a young man who fell in love with the process and continues to
“I felt almost banished by Mizzou,” Brady Cook says of the 2022 season. “I felt like the fans and the program didn’t want me here. Am I wanted here? I trusted my gut.”
work to be a great player. There was never a situation where we thought he wasn’t good enough to play football here. We just didn’t know what his ceiling could be.”
So eager was Cook to be a Tiger that he planned to enroll early. One problem: Chaminade didn’t allow early graduations. So he found a loophole. He got his GED, and that, coupled with a high GPA, got him on campus early.
After spending the better part of two seasons as a backup, Cook finally got his shot, first splitting time under center against No. 1 Georgia and its vaunted defense and then getting his first start against Army in the 2021 Armed Forces Bowl.
“His preparation was elite that week,” Drinkwitz says of a game Mizzou lost on a last-second field goal. “He’s always been a really tough competitor. He led a drive at the end of the game
“I grew up watching Mizzou. It was the first team I ever really paid attention to, learned to love.”
to take the lead. He has the components of a good quarterback: calmness, steady, preparation. He made great decisions that didn’t put us in jeopardy.”
“I Trusted My Gut”
To no one’s surprise, Cook was named the starter in 2022. Drinkwitz made the decision early in camp because he believed Cook had separated himself from the other quarterbacks and that it was important to establish continuity. But in the second
BRADY COOK
game of the season, during a road drubbing against Kansas State, Cook tore the labrum in his throwing shoulder. Nobody outside the coaching staff and Cook’s family was informed about the injury.
“We had several discussions throughout the season about it,” Drinkwitz says. “The medical team didn’t believe there was any way the injury could become worse. It was not a frontal tear. It was a post-labral tear in the back of the shoulder.”
The guy who had always dreamed of being the starting quarterback at Mizzou had a decision to make: Shut it down or soldier on. “It was tough on me mentally,” Cook says. “At practice, it was really taxing on the body to rep the plays and get the throws in.”
Cook made a lot of bad plays worse in 2022. He threw interceptions and pick-sixes, fumbled on sacks, produced too many three-and-outs and directed an offense that was inconsistent at best. He was criticized for his lack of arm strength and his inability to throw the deep ball. Surely, the critics surmised, there had to be a better option in the quarterback room.
“I played like a frickin’ crazy man in a lot of ways,” Cook says. “I didn’t care what happened to my body, especially with the torn labrum. I was like, whatever happens, happens. I’m going to get the surgery anyway.”
But under no circumstance was he going to surrender the job, not after he had worked so hard to get it. Stories are rampant of the injured player who sits for a week or two and never sees the field again. So he played on, bum shoulder and all. A 6-7 season ended with another loss in a bowl game, and Cook underwent surgery. However fleeting, thoughts of transferring crossed his mind.
“I felt almost banished by Mizzou,” he says. “I felt like the fans and the program didn’t want me here. Am I wanted here? I trusted my gut.”
Because of the surgery, Cook was relegated to a spectator’s role during spring ball, but he was an attentive pupil. He stood 20 yards behind the offense as plays unfolded, asked countless questions and took notes studiously. Flashing forward, Moore recalls days during the season when before grabbing lunch in advance of the daily quarterbacks meeting, he would stick his head in the meeting room to find a solitary figure. It was Cook, getting a head start on the day’s assignment.
For his part, Cook downplays the notion of being a student of the game. He relishes the note-taking, the film work, the mental preparation. “You have to be,” he says. “I treat it just like a class, probably more intense than a class over on campus.” He pauses to chuckle at his choice of words, but you get the sense he isn’t joking.
“There
Was No Stutter, No Shake”
“He’s the same guy. There’s no sense of cocky. If anything, his leadership has grown even more.”
Enter Moore. In his first four seasons in Columbia, Drinkwitz had worn many hats: head coach, offensive coordinator, play-caller. Admittedly too many. He brought in Moore, a 31-year-old assistant who most recently was the offensive coordinator at Fresno State.
— Eliah Drinkwitz
“It was an important part of our growth as a program,” Drinkwitz says, “to allow me to do some other things and to bring in a fresh set of eyes, a fresh connection to Brady, and to generate more offensive firepower. It’s been good for both of them. Kirby has brought in a new challenge, and Brady likes to be challenged.”
As he weighed the job, Moore pored over every game from the 2022 season and dissected Cook’s every throw. He saw the expected speed bumps in a young quarterback, but he also saw flashes. “After conversing with a few people and then getting to Columbia, the thing that stood out is that Brady Cook is a genuine person you’re going to love being around,” Moore says. “He’s a student of the game. His care factor is through the roof.”
The two clicked at once.
Asked to name a turning point in the 2023 season, to a man Tiger players and coaches are quick to cite the Week 3 win over Kansas State. Drinkwitz talks about the tremendous resolve the Tigers showed in a game that featured six lead changes. More specifically, everyone mentions the SEC-record last-play: a 61-yard field goal from Harrison Mevis. Cook then rewinds to the start of the game, after the Wildcats had taken the ball down the field on the opening possession. They had methodically driven 75 yards in 11 plays and scored a touchdown on a deflected pass that easily could have been intercepted. Remember the beating K-State had inflicted on the Tigers a year earlier? Was it going to be another one of those days? Faurot Field was sold out for the first time in five years, yet a spectator could already feel the air come out of the building. Cook, however, quickly took the Tigers back down the field, where he needed only six plays to cover 75 yards. The touchdown came on a 46-yard pass to Burden. Operating in a relatively clean pocket, Cook showed some nifty footwork and delivered a tight spiral to Burden, who had spun the cornerback around and never broke stride. From snap to score, it was an offensive coordinator’s dream sequence. Cook, it turns out, could throw the deep ball.
“Throws like that, you remember them, you keep them in your memory bank, and then you can replicate them because you have the confidence,” Cook says.
Drinkwitz adds, “Everybody believed in his ability after that. He had to make a subtle slide in the pocket with a free runner coming at him, but he identified the coverage and had to make a good throw so Luther could go get it.”
Cook threw for a career-high 356 yards that day, and his passing stats continued to be jaw-dropping from there: 341 yards against Memphis, 395 against Vanderbilt, 411 against LSU, 275 against Tennessee (on a mere 18 completions with a 75 percent completion rate). Along the way, he wrote his name into the SEC record book by attempting 366 passes with nary
an interception in a streak that had begun the previous season.
And then there was the home finale against Florida. Certainly you’ve heard about fourth-and-17! Under the lights at another sold-out Faurot Field and before a national TV audience, the Tigers walked into a dogfight they hadn’t expected as they were two wins from securing their first New Year’s Six bowl invitation. Mizzou trailed, 31-30, and was facing fourth-and-forever at its own 33 when Drinkwitz called timeout with 38 seconds left.
Despite the dire situation, there was no panic on the sideline, only a resolve and a belief that this game wasn’t going to end after the next snap. Position coaches went over a key or two with their respective players. As the players huddled, Wease and center Connor Tollison sensed a relaxed calm among their teammates. It started with the quarterback.
“You can hear it in his voice, see it in his eyes,” Tollison says. “There was no stutter, no shake.”
Cook called the predicament “business as usual. We had our play dialed up. It was a concept I had repped since freshman year.”
His passing stats continued to be jaw-
dropping: 341 yards against Memphis, 395 against Vanderbilt, 411 against LSU, 275 against Tennessee (on a mere 18 completions with a 75 percent completion rate).
The play call was “Dig,” and the ball was designed to go to Wease. Burden would run down the middle of the field and clear a spot for Wease to get open just beyond the first-down marker. The Gators rolled out a coverage so soft that Wease called it
“weird,” so Burden instinctively cut off his route, stopping in front of Wease. Cook delivered a strike, and Burden turned and darted upfield with an assist from Wease, who had screened a couple of defenders. The play went for 27 yards. There were three playmakers making a play.
As clutch as that throw was, the next two completions were arguably better: an 11-yard pass to Mekhi Miller that momentarily stopped the clock and a 16yard sideline dime to Mookie Cooper that turned a long field-goal attempt into a game-winning chip shot for Mevis. That throw spoke to the maturation of Cook, who during the game-winning drive against Kansas State had failed to connect on the same kind of pattern.
“Being in a similar situation with no timeouts, and seeing the field, and not just taking the quickest throw,” Moore says of a lesson learned. “The cornerback ends up sitting. It was really good ball placement, and Mookie was aware of the sideline.”
When it was over, Cook headed directly to the east side of Faurot. He had celebrated in front of the students before, but this time he celebrated with them, a football player standing among classmates, the moment captured by an image that went viral. An oft-criticized quarterback was at long last exalted, his legacy secure. Just as it is for Brad Smith and Chase Daniel and Blaine Gabbert and James Franklin and Drew Lock before him. Who saw that coming?
Last year, Cook proved himself in the middle of the season with a game-saving drive against K-State. He continued his strong performance for the rest of the schedule, leading the Tigers to a 14-3 victory over Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl, where he was named offensive MVP. The Tigers finished the season with an impressive 11-2 record and a No. 8 national ranking.
“I’m Glad I Stuck It Out”
Mizzou’s BMOC remains the same modest guy who GED’d his way to Columbia in early 2020, although understandably much more confident in what he can do and where he can take this team. (Confidence is one of his go-to words.) He has packed on a few pounds in anticipation of the hits he knows are coming. He’s fully aware he needs to be smart when he tucks the ball and takes off.
“We like to use the phrase self-preservation,” Moore says. “There’s a certain awareness to the quarterback run game. It’s just as much him as it is me and being aware of that.”
Ever the good wingman, Tollison sees in Cook a leader who has grown into and embraced the role. “It hasn’t always been sunshine and rainbows for either of us,” he says, “but I think through a lot of adversity we’ve gotten to a place we want to be. He’s the same guy. There’s no sense of cocky. If anything, his leadership has grown even more.
Drinkwitz is quick to caution that every year is different, and that a spectacular season has no bearing on the season that follows it, no matter how loaded the roster might be. “From the outside, there are going to be all kinds of expectations and pressure on what this team can be,” he says. “From the inside, it’s about us creating our own identity of what we want to be and how we build that.”
One thing is clear: This is Cook’s team. During a half-hour conversation, he is sitting in a lounge overlooking the field at the Stephens Indoor Facility. There is a buzz below, the sound of whistles shrieking and the occasional shout from teammates going through end-of-the-school-year testing. He speaks with measured, dare we say, confidence.
“I’m glad I stuck it out,” he says matter-of-factly.
Nevertheless, he will remain under the microscope — not that he needs to be reminded. It comes with the territory when you play the most scrutinized position in sports.
But at this point, do you really want to bet against Brady Cook? M
PLAYERS TO WATCH 5
Nine months ago, quarterback Brady Cook led the Tigers to an 11-2 season and a victory over Ohio State at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas. The winning year earned Coach Eli Drinkwitz a contract extension through 2028 and a busy offseason exploring the transfer portal. With expectations sky high for 2024, let’s look at some potential breakout players.
LUTHER BURDEN III:
The second-team All-America wide receiver was all that and a bag of Old Vienna Honey BBQ Red Hot Riplets — his namesake NIL-enabled potato chips — in 2023. After he racked up 1,212 receiving yards and nine touchdowns last season, Mizzou fans are salivating for an encore.
MARQUIS JOHNSON:
The speedy wideout caught only 13 passes as a freshman, but he made them count by averaging 29.5 yards per reception. His big plays sparked rallies in victories over Kentucky and Ohio State.
BRETT NORFLEET:
At 6-foot-7-inches, the sophomore tight end is an enormous target who has the athleticism to hurdle potential tacklers who go low.
CAM’RON JOHNSON:
The senior earned secondteam All-SEC honors at right guard last year. He’s one of three returning starters on the offensive line.
DAYLAN CARNELL:
The junior safety is an agent of chaos all over the field. Last season, he registered three sacks, broke up eight passes, forced two fumbles and returned an interception for a touchdown. — Joe Walljasper, BJ ’92
HOMECOMING 2024 Leading the Legacy
Coming Home
October hits just right for Mizzou’s Homecoming. Students have settled into their classes and routines, and finals stress is still six weeks away. It’s the ideal moment to dive into Tiger spirit, reunite with old friends and forge new memories. In this gallery culled from old Savitar yearbooks, we explore past Mizzou Homecomings, a dynamic highlight of the fall semester for more than a century.
1967 Riding in an antique car, the pompom squad rev up fans with their routines to the music of Marching Mizzou.
Tiger fans eat at Romp,
and
on Homecoming Weekend. The Tigers, ranked No. 1 in the nation, lose to the Kansas Jayhawks 23–7, a result later overturned due to the Jayhawks playing an ineligible player.
1980
Toga-clad and triumphant, a Mizzou tuba player rallies the crowd during the Tigers’ 45-7 victory over Colorado.
The Homecoming crowd battles harsh sun as the Tigers lose a nail-biter versus Colorado, 28–27.
Homecoming royalty from 1981 dress up as cowboys and cowgirls for a photo on Francis Quadrangle. Top row, from left: Scott Watson, Scott Debandt, Ed Reeves, Doug Waltman and George Labelle. Bottom row, from left: Jane Lewis, Marsha West, Anita Vanetti, Mary McHaney and Dawn Genty. Missourian file photo
Chomp
Stomp
Women students ride in a Homecoming float with a tiger statue.
Prowling the Parade
Meet the Tiger Trio leading Mizzou Homecoming 2024
Each year, three Tiger students lead the Mizzou Alumni Association’s Homecoming Steering Committee. The 36-member team spends months planning events that culminate in the Homecoming parade, football game and more on October 19. Below this year’s tri-directors introduce themselves.
Julia Delano, 21
Health Science
Chatham, Illinois
Describe yourself in 5 words: Excited, passionate, silly, friendly, happy
What’s the best decision you’ve made as a director (so far):
To continue the emphasis on building friendships and close relationships within the steering committee; it makes such a fun atmosphere!
What’s your favorite class?
Intimate Relationships
What’s your favorite thing about Homecoming?
Seeing the impact we have throughout the Columbia community. It’s amazing to see the positive impact we have and the relationships that are formed.
Who’s your ultimate dinner companion?
Taylor Swift
What’s the biggest surprise for you about college life?
Finding the most amazing and supportive group of friends and joining organizations that have made Mizzou feel like home.
What binge-worthy show(s) would you recommend?
Vampire Diaries
First purchase after winning the lottery?
Purchasing a plane ticket and enjoying a European summer vacation
What’s your favorite song, old or new, right now?
“Supercut” by Lorde
What superpower would you like to have?
Flying
What’s your favorite way to relax? Going to the beach with my friends and family
Jacob Wizgird, 20
Business Administration Chicago, Illinois
Describe yourself in 5 words: Happy, motivated, competitive, determined, positive
Best decision you’ve made as a director (so far): Selecting my committee members. We have such great members on this steering committee, and I can’t wait for them to experience this side of Homecoming!
Favorite class?
Intro to Public Speaking during my freshman year
Favorite thing about Homecoming? The morning of the parade!
Ultimate dinner companion?
Kobe Bryant or Phil Knight
Biggest surprise for you in college life? Being on the sidelines of Mizzou football games! I am a creative video intern for Mizzou Athletics and wouldn’t have imagined being on the sidelines in a sold-out Faurot Field.
Binge-worthy show(s) you recommend? Suits and The Boys
First purchase after winning the lottery? A lake house
Favorite song, old or new, right now? “Ghost Town” by Ye (old song) or “28” by Zach Bryan (new song)
Superpower you would like to have? Photographic memory
Favorite way to relax? Hanging out with friends and family
Megan Fox, 21
Journalism Battlefield, Missouri
Describe yourself in 5 words: Passionate, ambitious, silly, fearless, creative
Best decision you’ve made as a director (so far):
The best decision that I have made as a director so far is choosing an amazing group of Mizzou students to be on the Homecoming Steering Committee. These students are hardworking and ready to make an impact on our community through Mizzou Homecoming!
Favorite class?
Public Relations with Jon Stemmle
Favorite thing about Homecoming? My favorite thing about Homecoming is making connections with fellow steering committee members and how we come together to uphold the finest tradition at Mizzou!
Ultimate dinner companion?
Taylor Swift
Biggest surprise for you about college life? College classes are fun and not scary.
Binge-worthy show(s) you recommend?
Survivor
First purchase after winning the lottery? A vacation home in Florence, Italy
Favorite song, old or new, right now? “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield
Superpower you would like to have? Teleportation, because I have too many places to be at once
What’s your favorite way to relax? Rewatching my favorite TV shows
Feeding Frenzy
This year’s Homecoming food drive, dubbed Tiger Food Fight, has its work cut out for it. The 2023 drive tripled the previous year’s take. The new number to beat: 132,579 pounds of food, which includes canned goods and monetary donations converted to food.
As is tradition, last year’s Food Fight organizers asked students to donate cans, which they served up by the pallet, and cash, which they forked over by the thousands. But organizers put the drive over the top by soliciting community organizations, says Julia Delano, a senior from Springfield, Illinois, who helped lead last year’s Homecoming service committee. Student donations have long been a staple, Delano adds. Last year, student response alone doubled the 2022 drive record of 44,002 pounds. “A lot of Greek houses brought five or six van loads of food to the circle drive in front of the Reynolds Alumni Center,” she says. “We had scheduled 20 minutes for each house to unload, which wasn’t nearly enough.” By the end of the day, the drive had generated 92,579 cans, and monetary donations nearly surpassed the equivalent of another 30,000 pounds. “It was a chaotic and emotional day, but it felt great being part of it.”
The second course came from Columbia Public Schools, which generated 9,889 pounds in cans and cash. The biggest single donor was Ridgeway Elementary School, with 747 pounds. Principal Taryn Brinlee, MA ’18, incentivized donations with rewards of popcorn, popsicles and extra recess time. Parents crafted collection “monster” boxes with googly eyes, construction paper faces and windows where students tracked progress. “Almost every kid contributed,” Brinlee says.
As a thank-you, Tiger Food Fight organizers and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics staged a parade at Ridgeway. Truman appeared, followed by cheerleaders and athletes. Hugs and high-fives were shared all around as the group mingled on the playground.
All drive proceeds go to The Food Bank, which helps feed people in 32 counties in Central and Northeast Missouri and includes Mizzou’s Tiger Pantry.
“One little act of kindness has a ripple effect,” Brinlee says. “Even one person can make a difference.” That includes alumni, regardless of where they live, Delano adds. To pitch in, visit mizzou.com/homecoming. — Dale Smith, BJ ’88
The Homecoming food drive broke records last year. Can the Tiger Food Fight surpass it in 2024?
2024 Homecoming Events
SEPT. 27
Tiger Food Fight
Reynolds Alumni Center Circle Drive
Each fall, the Mizzou community makes a significant contribution to the Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, which benefits Tiger Pantry on campus.
OCT. 7-10
Homecoming
Blood Drive
Mizzou Rec
11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Open to all students, faculty, staff and the community. Regional blood drives encourage local donations that are tracked as service in recognition of Homecoming.
OCT. 13
Dome Lighting Ceremony
Traditions Plaza
6 p.m.–9 p.m.
Celebrate the start of Homecoming Week by experiencing Jesse’s dome lit in gold, meet your Homecoming Royalty, and stick around for food and a fun outdoor concert.
OCT. 14-16
Talent Show
Jesse Auditorium
6:30–9 p.m.
Mizzou students are a talented bunch. Watch them sing, dance and joke in person or catch the highlights at mizzou.com.
OCT. 18
Campus Decorations
Greektown
Bring the whole family out to Greektown for this annual tradition. Participating houses will be decked out with interactive displays, skits and activities for Tiger fans of all ages. Food trucks and other vendors will be posted throughout the area.
Homecoming Headquarters
Reynolds Alumni Center Circle Drive
12 p.m.–9 p.m.
Check in for Homecoming weekend and reconnect with old friends at Homecoming Headquarters. Pick up information about the
weekend’s festivities and enjoy light refreshments provided by the Mizzou Alumni Association.
Spirit Rally
Traditions Plaza
8:30 p.m.
Stop by Tradi tions Plaza as Marching Miz zou and the Golden Girls help us get excited for the Homecom ing football game.
OCT. 19 Parade
MU Campus & Downtown Columbia
Time TBA
Strike up the band, alert the mule team, and put on your best black and gold as we celebrate all we love about Mizzou.
Football Game
Faurot Field
Time TBA
Cheer on the Tigers as they take on Auburn.
WELCOME, TRADITIONS CIRCLE MEMBERS
Traditions Circle recognizes alumni and friends for their contributions to Mizzou Alumni Association’s core fundraising efforts, including the Mizzou Traditions Fund and Homecoming Endowment. We thank these members for preserving the traditions we love, providing scholarships for our students, and building a strong foundation for Mizzou’s continued growth.
Mary & Alan Atterbury
Mark Bauer
Andrea & Norman Berger
Gloria & Titus Blackmon
Patricia & Bryan Breckenridge
Linda & Larry Burton
Maria & Frank Casella
Julie & David Corley
Deborah & Robert Dolgin
Emilie & Charles Edwards
Julie McKittrick Engelbrecht & Scott Engelbrecht
Cordelia (Dee) Esry
Kate & Robert Fick
Sherri & Randy Gallick
Edwin Gladbach
Karen Grace
Janae Gravitz
Kathy & Steve Hays
Brock Hessing, Sr.
Robert Huddleston
Pamela & Ralph Hylton
Robert D. Jenkins
Jan & Ron Kessler
Dr. Leigh Anne Taylor Knight
Christine Ladd
Cheryl & Craig Lalumandier
Jim Fitterling & Alex Lee
Beth & Dudley McCarter
Debbie & Todd McCubbin
Teresa & Bruce McKinney
Mary & Jerome McKinney
Richard Miller
Rebecca Morton
Pam & Randy Oberdiek
Karl Lee Perrey
Allison Girvin & Nicholas Ruthmann
Valerie Lawlor & Frank Shelden
Kate & Bill Schoenhard
Melodie Powell & Jerry Short
Jean & Larry Snider
Lisa & Frank Rodman
Amber & Scott Rowson
Carol & Gary Smith
Jean Springer
Nancy Staats
Cheryl & Joseph Stephens
Kim Utlaut
Julie & Jeff Vogel
Robin Wenneker
BORN A TIGER
Meet Leigh Anne Taylor Knight, the Mizzou Alumni Association’s new president.
Leigh Anne Taylor Knight’s Mizzou education began long before she officially became a Tiger. Growing up, she and her family attended 4-H events at Mizzou. “Mizzou Extension educated me many years before I went to college,” she says.
Becoming a Tiger was in her black-and-gold blood, as her parents and several members of her extended family are alumni. When Taylor Knight, BS HES ’89; BS Ed 90; M Ed ’91, arrived on campus, she wasted no time preparing for her future. “As a freshman, I wrote my life’s mission statement: ‘Improve the quality of life for others in their near and far environments,’” she says.
After graduating with degrees in environmental design and secondary education, Taylor Knight stayed true to that mission, serving as a classroom teacher and K–12 assistant superintendent and advising learning institutions across the nation. As executive director and COO of the DeBruce Foundation, a national charitable entity headquartered in Kansas City, Taylor Knight currently helps individuals unlock their potential and explore career possibilities.
Grateful for the guidance she received from mentors, she decided early on to give back by joining the Griffiths Leadership Society, a part of the Mizzou Alumni Association (MAA) that connects women students and alumni for mentorship and networking.
As the new president of MAA, Taylor Knight will continue to build on the leadership legacy she started as a student when she served as a resident assistant, student council president and ambassador for what was then called the College of Human Environmental Sciences, a member of the Homecoming Court and a leader in the Missouri Students Association.
“I got a top-notch education and countless opportunities to develop leadership skills at Mizzou,” Taylor Knight says. “I established a strong foundation thanks to my friends and mentors — and I even met my husband at the Hearnes Center.” In honor of their love for each other and Taylor Knight’s love of the Tigers, the couple celebrated their honeymoon at a Mizzou game in Arizona.
As MAA president, Taylor Knight is excited to give back to the university that gave her so much. “I want students and alumni to be served by MAA’s commitment to amplifying Mizzou, creating a sense of belongingness and advancing Mizzou-made careers,” she says. — Blaire Leible Garwitz, MA ’06
“I got a top-notch education and countless opportunities to develop leadership skills at Mizzou,” Taylor Knight says. “I established a strong foundation thanks to my friends and mentors — and I even met my husband at the Hearnes Center.”
#MizzouMade: Tigers Supporting Tigers
It’s my favorite time of the year on campus. As we welcome one of the largest freshman classes in our history and the excitement builds for Mizzou football, I’m excited to announce a new initiative aimed at recognizing and celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit of our alumni. The Alumni Association is launching the #MizzouMade Business Network, a platform dedicated to identifying, connecting and promoting alumni business owners and founders.
Mizzou always has been a breeding ground for innovators and leaders, with graduates who go on to excel in myriad industries. The #MizzouMade Business Network is a testament to this legacy. It provides a dedicated space where alumni can promote their business to other Tigers. Case in point, check out Mizzou alumna Mallory Martin’s business venture, Mended, on page 57. I enjoyed visiting Mallory in Dallas last spring and am inspired by her socially conscious company.
Alumni have told us they want a vehicle for Tigers to support Tigers. For those looking for a trusted service provider, restaurant, medical provider or who simply want to explore the diverse range of businesses founded by Mizzou graduates, the #MizzouMade Business Network is your go-to resource. Listed businesses will have a profile, including industry focus, and links for websites and social media channels.
The network will host events, webinars and networking opportunities, which will provide valuable platforms for learning, sharing and connecting. From panel discussions featuring successful entrepreneurs to workshops on the latest business trends, the #MizzouMade network is committed to providing support and resources to our alumni business community.
If you own or lead a business, you’re invited to join the #MizzouMade Business Network and become part of this vibrant community. For more information and to join the network, visit our website at Mizzou.com. Together, let’s celebrate what it truly means to be #MizzouMade.
TODD MCCUBBIN, M ED ’95
Executive Director, Mizzou Alumni Association
Email: mccubbint@missouri.edu
X (formerly Twitter): @MizzouTodd
Class Notes
1960
HHDave Holsinger, BS Ed ’65, M Ed ’68, of Centralia, Mo., received the Mizzou Alumni Association Boone County Chapter’s Eye of the Tiger Award.
1970
David C. Novak, BJ ’74, of Louisville, Ky., wrote How Leaders Learn: Master the Habits of the World’s Most Successful People (Harvard Business Review Press, 2024).
Tom Lamonica, BJ ’75, of Normal, Ill., was a 2024 inductee into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame.
1980
Kenneth Weiss, MA ’82, of Baltimore wrote Still Trending: A Divided America from Newspaper to Newsfeed (Sentient Publications, 2024).
HDavid Clayton, BS Acc ’85, of St. Louis is chief investment officer for Midas Hospitality.
Julie Seifert Robinson, BJ ’86, of Kansas City, Mo., received the 2024 Women Executives Kansas City award from Ingram’s magazine.
HHTed Farnen, BJ ’87, of Columbia, Mo., won the Best Air Talent Award for medium-sized radio markets from the Missouri Broadcasters Association.
HHJohn Raines, BS Ag ’88, of Chesterfield, Mo., was elected to the board of directors for FMC Corporation.
HHLeigh Anne Taylor Knight, BS HES ’89, BS Ed ’90, M Ed ’91, of Lenexa, Kan., was named to the Women Who Mean Business Class of 2024 by the Kansas City Business Journal.
1990
HHKaren Crnkovich, BS ’95, of Kansas City, Mo., received the 2024 Women Executives Kansas City award from Ingram’s magazine.
HHLance Burditt, BS ’97, of St. Louis is senior vice president, food and agricultural sustainability sales for Farm Journal.
HHAmanda Ray Davis, BA ’99, of Kansas City, Mo., received the 2024 Women Executives Kansas City award from Ingram’s magazine.
2000
Laura Fridley, BA ’00, of St. Louis is a sourcing manager at American Express Global Business Travel.
HHAdrienne Barber, BA ’01, of New York is managing director, Consello Strive at The Consello Group.
Chad Jennings, BJ ’02, of Andover, Mass., is president of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Tim Leong, BJ ’03, of New York, wrote Marvel Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Marvel Comics Universe (Chronicle Books, 2024).
HCrystal Bowyer, BA ’04, of Chicago is chief strategy and external affairs officer for the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry.
Jason Day, BA ’04, of Lee’s Summit, Mo., is a cofounder and owner of Burnt Finger BBQ.
HHRenita Duncan, BS Acc, M Acc ’08, of Creve Coeur, Mo., is partner-in-charge, assurance services at RubinBrown LLP.
Halli Goddard, BJ ’08, of Cincinnati was named to the 2024 40 Under 40 Awards by Retail TouchPoints.
For years, Dick and Carol Dowdy taught people to eat what’s good for them. After retiring from MU, they turned their attention from food to finance — and after doing their research, decided that a charitable gift annuity was the recipe for success. Their charitable gift will provide them with an annual payout for life, while supporting the nutrition and exercise physiology program in MU’s College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources.
Weaving Dreams
Mallory Martin, BS ’06, MBA ’08, is combating modern slavery one tea towel at a time.
Martin is founder and CEO of Mended, a socially conscious company that economically empowers those who have escaped indentured servitude in South Asia. She works with artisan survivors to create hand-crafted linens and provides them with above-market wages as they transition to a life of freedom.
“To me, innovation is about being curious,” Martin says. “It’s learning about others so I can understand what might help them.”
The Dallas-based Martin comes from a family of Tigers, so when she was deciding on college Mizzou wasn’t just the obvious choice; it was the right one. “I loved my time at Mizzou,” she says. “When I arrived in 2002, I knew nothing about what I wanted to do or what I was good at. I discovered those things at Mizzou.”
In the Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business, Martin studied various business practices, learning to discern characteristics of successful for-profit and nonprofit models. Outside of class, she explored service through Young Life, a faith-based organization, and philanthropy through her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. “I discovered that I really cared about helping people,” she says, “but I was figuring out what that looked like in the real world and from a business standpoint.”
In 2019, Martin was working for International Justice Mission, a global organization that protects people in poverty from
violence. Leading a group of donors to South Asia, she introduced them to people the organization had helped escape bonded slavery.
A year later, as the COVID-19 pandemic enveloped the globe, Martin learned that the matriarch of the community she’d visited had begun sewing masks. Martin and her husband bought 1,000 to give to family and friends and brainstormed ways to further collaborate with the survivors. She noticed that block printing, an ancient technique using carved wood to imprint dyed designs onto fabric, was back in vogue.
Not long after, Mended was born. Today, 23 fully trained artisans print linens and fill orders for Mended-designed tablecloths, dinner napkins, apparel and more. Martin has two employees in Dallas, where she also has a showroom.
The CEO continues to leverage her Mizzou connections — namely executives Roger Gardener, BS ’83, and Andy Rawlings, BS ’92, formerly of Learfield Sports, where she used to work. Gardener and Rawlings currently serve on the Mended advisory board.
“Without those connections, I wouldn’t be where I am,” Martin says. “And without Mizzou, none of this would have been possible.”— Janese Heavin “I discovered that I really cared about helping people,” says Mallory Martin, “but I was figuring out what that looked like in the real world and from a business standpoint.”
From Graduates to
Each year, the Mizzou Alumni Association celebrates graduates under age 35 who have already made significant strides in their careers and communities. From tech-giant senior managers and NFL executives to Department of State diplomats and esteemed educators, the 2024 winners showcase the dynamic range of skills and commitment fostered at Mizzou. Each Mizzou R.A.H. (Recent Alumni Honoree) winner exemplifies the Tiger Way by taking confident steps in their professional journeys and making meaningful progress toward a better future.
Khalil L. Simmons, BS BA ’17
A senior account manager at Google, Simmons recalls walking across the stage at graduation as a “bittersweet memory” — he carried a framed photo of his father, who had been his biggest supporter.
Olivia Evans, BJ ’22
Evans is a business reporter for the Courier Journal in her hometown of Louisville, Ky. Although she couldn’t have predicted her life path, she’s certain that Mizzou set her up to be, as she says, “exactly where I need to be.”
Jacquelinne Mejia, BJ ’11 | Meija is the CEO and founder of My Resume Squad and was grateful to work with legendary Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, whom she used to watch on TV as a child.
Emma Smoczynski, BA ’16 | As an immigration officer, Smoczynski leans into her strength of teaching others. She advises new graduates to “give yourself grace — it takes time to adjust to your new life outside of college.”
Mariah Mathews, BS BA ’16 | As the lead specialist of field sales operations at the Altria Group Distribution Company, Mathews advises new graduates to “remember to stay curious, be open to new opportunities, and never stop learning!”
Nathaniel Kinsey, BS EE ’11 | An associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, Kinsey recalls his favorite Mizzou memory as the day he first met his wife at band practice, where they were both members of Marching Mizzou.
Blake Willoughby, MA ’18 | Willoughby is the education director for Missouri REALTORS, as well as the youngest elected school board member for Columbia Public Schools, which taught him “what it truly means to be dedicated to others that you will never meet.”
Sonny Parks, BA ’19 As marketing manager for ESPN Chicago at Good Karma Brands, Parks was proud to receive two major companywide awards in the same year: “Marketing Teammate of the Year” and “Chicago Teammate of the Year.”
Ellen Romero, BS ’12 Romero is an Agriculture Education Teacher at Russellville High School and has fond memories of her and her family’s time at Mizzou; her two other siblings were Tigers as well, which she says brought her whole family closer together.
Taylor Cofield, BA ’18 Cofield, a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, advises new graduates to “not be afraid to do the unexpected — it might feel scary, but it’s because it’s unfamiliar, not because you’re incapable.”
Leaders
Meet the 2024 Mizzou R.A.H. Award Winners
Kristen Elizabeth Harris, BJ ’18 | Harris is the director of communications and marketing at Harris-Stowe State University and takes great pride in creating a comfortable working environment for her students and staff and making a difference through modeling, poetry and community service.
Corey Staller, BS ChE ’14 Staller, the director of engineering at Celadyne Technologies, dedicates this award to his dog, Nova, who entered his life at Mizzou and supported him until her passing earlier this year. He says her love is “the greatest gift I have ever received.”
Maddie McMillian Green, BA ’16, JD ’21
The principal for Husch Blackwell Strategies, McMillian Green suggests that new graduates “prioritize building your professional network. A strong network will lend itself to new and better opportunities time and time again.”
Keith Wilson, BS ’11 Wilson is the AI Solution Director for C3 AI, and formerly served as a submarine officer onboard the USS North Carolina, where he helped manage high-stakes operations on a nuclearpowered warship.
Darvelle Hutchins, PhD ’20 | Hutchins is Vice President of Equity & Social Impact for the New Orleans Pelicans and New Orleans Saints and is proud of breaking boundaries as the first in his family with a postsecondary education.
Victoria Yu, BS HES ’15 Yu is the associate director of the Carl A. Fields Center at Princeton University, and advises new graduates to “embrace curiosity and lifelong learning — don’t fear failure, as it’s the stepping stone to success.”
Samantha Franks, BA ’16 | Franks is an international trade associate for Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and serves as a subject matter expert on preventing human trafficking and forced labor in supply chains.
Kyle Friedman, BS CiE ’16, MS CiE ’18
Kanwal L. Haq, BS ’13
The NYC partnership manager at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Haq is the co-author of Taking Care of You: The Empowered Woman’s Guide to Better Health (Mayo Clinic Press 2022).
By 29, Friedman became a part owner of Brierley Associates, an engineering firm specializing in underground construction.
Caroline Sundvold, BS BA ’18 | After spending five years as a cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys, Sundvold has started a new chapter in sales with Stryker, one of the world’s leading medical technology companies.
MIZZOU ALUMNI NEWS
M-I-Z Q&A
Peter Smith’s New York Story
How a veteran of student-improv group Comedy Wars harnessed their Mizzou experiences to further a career in improv, cabaret and acting.
Peter Smith owes their diploma to an unlikely factor: the weekly campus event Comedy Wars. Since graduating, the New York City-based comedian, performer and cabaret singer has appeared on Comedy Central, in films including Fire Island and even Shakespeare’s Macbeth in 2022 on Broadway. Currently, Smith is serving as an understudy for the acclaimed Broadway play, Oh, Mary! But before that success, it was three years in campus improv group Comedy Wars that first taught Smith, BJ ’12, who is transgender, not only how to take rejection in stride, but also who they truly were as a person. In the interview below, which has been edited for length and clarity, Smith spoke about their trajectory. — Julie Seabaugh, BJ ’02
You were born in Chicago. How did you end up at MU? I didn’t see the campus until orientation. I didn’t even visit. The plan was to go to culinary school, and then at the end of senior year, I was talking to some chefs. They were like, “Are you sure, kid? Do you know what working in a kitchen is like?” “No, I just love cooking for my friends.” And they were like, “Well ... it’s actually the opposite of cooking for your friends.”
So I panicked. Mizzou had rolling admission, and two best friends were going there because it had the best journalism school in the country, and I was interested in media. I just dove in. And Comedy Wars is the reason why I stayed there, to be honest.
What did joining the group teach you?
I loved performance from a young age through high school. I had put that aside for media journalism. By the end of freshman year, though, I knew I needed to be on stage reading plays, collaborating with people, being silly, all that stuff.
All I want to be doing consistently is ritualistically gathering with people, creating something, offering it to an
audience to make them smile and give a break from the stress they’re going through. Once a week there were hundreds of people that religiously came to us for laughter.
There was a Comedy Warrior who was also in the journalism school named Lauren Zima, BJ ’09. She sensed I felt out of place in Columbia as a visibly queer kid, and I considered transferring. She said, “You only get four years to experience this college thing in this very specific way, in an American Midwest college town with Greek life and bars and all of that.” Comedy Wars was a beautiful way to observe that and process it through comedy while being cradled by the friendship of a bunch of semi-outcasts.
You were also active in the theater department. Yes! Comedy Wars was major, but Dr. Cheryl Black was so crucial in showing me that I had a lot of acting talent and could handle drama as well as comedy. She introduced me to Susan Glaspell’s The Verge and Tennessee Williams. Then I did The Zoo Story, my first Shakespeare — which was Hamlet, and I played Claudius — summer rep
was The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Also, the department started a cabaret my senior year. That was my first real taste of solo performance. I stayed in Columbia for two summers to work in the repertory theater. Also working in the costume shop, where my creativity and queerness were championed. I’m extremely grateful to the theater department. If I ever have any money, that’s where my donations will go.
What Comedy Wars lessons do you still use today?
Improvisation skills are crucial because you learn to be fully present in a moment whilst simultaneously thinking 10 steps ahead or behind to solve any given problem. Most of the time when improv is most successful, it’s because the players have developed a chemistry and innate trust over many years.
The Comedy Wars cast would actively hang out and develop personal relationships that then made the on-stage jokes flourish. Every Wednesday after a show we’d get some beers and wings at the Heidelberg. In show business, thinking on your feet is most of the job. But really, it’s the people you surround yourself
with that make show business fun.
[After graduation] I moved to NYC and wasn’t performing but was working with this artist for Kanye West doing art direction and visuals, which is another passion of mine. When that ended, I knew I needed to perform again, and improv was my way back into it. I took Upright Citizens Brigade classes and saw how hard it was for people who hadn’t had years of engaging with the improvisational process that I took for granted. I thought, “Maybe I actually do have good boundaries about performance and can take a note and fail gracefully.”
I even auditioned for Saturday Night Live in 2021. I got through to the end of the process and met with Lorne Michaels but didn’t end up getting it. A week later an audition for Macbeth on Broadway came in. I ended up booking the Broadway job. That was helpful to remind me how I see rejection. I didn’t get SNL but there’s always a next opportunity. Mine was doing Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy on Broadway with Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga and Sam Gold, Tony-winning director. M
MICHAEL GEORGE
Orville Allen, Major Donor
When he died this spring at age 98, Orville Duane Allen, BS Ag ’54, M Ed ’63 history as the oldest organ donor on record in the nation. He also made international news, with media reports about his liver donation reaching all the way from his hometown of Poplar Bluff, Mo., to small towns in India, as noted by Mid-America Transplant, the nonprofit that coordinated the donation.
A lifelong resident of Southeast Missouri, Allen served in World War II, then returned to Missouri to attend Mizzou before being called up for the Korean War. He later served 27 years in the Army Reserve, from which he retired as lieutenant colonel. He farmed and taught vocational agriculture for 38 years, 37 of those in Neelyville, where he was regarded as a role model for several generations of students. He and his late wife, Geraldine, are survived by three children, all of whom graduated with degrees from Mizzou: Linda (Allen) Mitchelle, BS Ed ’72, MS Ed ’73 ; Col. Gregory Allen, BS PA ’76, MPA ’78; and Kevin Allen, BS EE ’89, BS CoE ’89.
Allen remained independent and vigorous until he fell in May while clearing storm debris from his yard. Rushed to St. Francis Hospital in Cape Girardeau with a life-ending head injury, he never regained consciousness. Family members had gathered at the hospital to say their farewells and were surprised when they learned their father might qualify to become an organ donor, despite his age.
They didn’t hesitate. “Throughout his life, it was his nature to do whatever he could for anyone who needed help,” says his daughter, Linda. She remembers that during his years as a teacher, her father would find sponsors to help pay tuition for his students who couldn’t otherwise afford college.
Because of Allen’s donation, a 72-year-old woman who desperately needed a liver transplant is alive today in Florida. A combination of Allen’s healthy lifestyle, his generosity toward others and scientific advances in organ transplantation made the organ donation possible. “Ten years ago, it would have been impossible for a 98-year-old to be accepted as an organ donor,” says Lindsey Speir, an executive with Mid-America Transplant. “His donation is having an impact worldwide by debunking the myth that you can be too old or too sick to donate an organ,” Speir says. — Jack Wax, BS Ed ’73, MS ’76, MA ’87
Orville Allen made history as the oldest organ donor on record in the nation. He also made international news, with media reports about his liver donation reaching all the way from his hometown of Poplar Bluff, Mo., to small towns in India.
MIZZOU ALUMNI NEWS
Remembering a Legendary Tiger Season
The 1960 Missouri Tigers football season was filled with drama. The team entered the season with low expectations but shattered barriers and records and made a controversial national championship run. Respectable Roughnecks: The True Story of a Forgotten Champion, written by Brendon Steenbergen, BA ’99, and published in early 2024, highlights Norris Stevenson and Mel West, Missouri’s first Black players, amid gridiron struggles and civil rights battles. A heated rivalry with Kansas and a clash with Heisman winner Joe Bellino’s Navy team in the Orange Bowl, with John F. Kennedy cheering, added drama. Steenbergen, a football recruiting expert, currently serves as Regional Director of Major Gifts for the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation.
Sam O’Keefe, BJ ’09, MA ’24, of Columbia, Mo., placed first in the campus environment category and second in the people/portrait category at the Photographers’ Association of America 2024 Symposium.
2010
of Florissant, Mo., is managing editor of the Alton Telegraph.
J’den Cox, BA ’17, of Ypsilanti, Mich., is national freestyle and resident coach for USA Wrestling.
Colton Pouncy, BJ ’17, of East Lansing, Mich., received the 2024 Pro Football Writers Association Terez A. Paylor Emerging Writer Award.
HHHuong Truong, BJ ’18, M Ed’ 20, of College Park, Md., is resident director of fraternity and sorority life at University of Maryland.
’20, MBA ’23, of Nashville is an account manager at Oracle NetSuite.
Greta Serrin, BJ ’20, of Sacramento, Calif., is communications director at the California Manufacturers & Technology Association.
Galen Bacharier, BA, BJ ’21, of Raleigh, N.C., is a reporter for NC Newsline.
HHElizabeth Dorssom, PhD ’22, of Jefferson City, Mo., received the Teaching Excellence for Junior Faculty Award from Lincoln University.
Kelley Robinson, BA ’13, of Washington, D.C., was named to TIME’s 100 most influential people of 2024.
Emily Daab Otero, BJ ’14, of St. Louis is associate creative director at CheckMark for Nestle Purina North America.
Mike Bauer, BJ ’15, of St. Louis is a social media strategist for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Kelsey Boardsen, BS BA ’15, of Denver is senior manager, events for The North Face.
Kelly Anders, MA ’16, of Kansas City, Mo., received the 2024 Women Executives Kansas City award from Ingram’s magazine.
William Erik Hall, MA ’16,
Rachel Grayson, BS HES ’19, of Quincy, Mass., is an associate buyer with HEYDUDE.
2020
Autumn Black, BJ ’20, of Detroit is a content creator for Ford Motor Company.
Maddie Dunkmann, BJ
HHJulia Igel, BJ ’22, of Santa Monica, Calif., is a marketing strategy and integrated planning coordinator for The Walt Disney Company.
Cody Schrader, BGS ’22, of San Francisco was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Francisco 49ers.
Whether you’re on the road or at the tailgate, there’s no better way to show off your Tiger pride than with a Mizzou license plate. Add one to your ride for just $25 a year — all proceeds support the Mizzou Alumni Association’s programs and services, including student scholarships.
‘Tall Tiger’ Todd McCubbin, M Ed ’95, has been a proud Mizzou license plate holder since 1995.
MEET FACE TO PLACE
A great move
MIZZOU ALUMNI NEWS
Engineering Pa(y)tience
Brian Whorley took a different path to innovation and entrepreneurial success in the healthcare industry.
As a forward-thinking cofounder of two successful companies, Brian Whorley, BS IE ’03, MBA ’21, understands why one might presume he earned an undergraduate degree in business. But when he chose Mizzou back in 2002, the entrepreneur from Springfield, Missouri committed to the College of Engineering — and the global problem-solving skills he would gain there.
Whorley puts those problem-solving skills to work as CEO of Paytient, a Columbia-based healthcare-credit service that helps people manage out-of-pocket costs; he also cofounded BigTree, a software platform for the on-demand delivery industry.
“The world is complex and requires novel and thoughtful approaches, and I felt engineering would best prepare me for that full range,” says Whorley, who adds that he excelled in math and science.
That education helped him conceive of Paytient, an innovative approach to the problem of healthcare expenses. The company pairs existing health insurance plans with credit and is accessible via card or smartphone app. Balances
can be paid gradually and interest-free on a plan of the cardholder’s choosing. Employers pay for the service as a benefit.
Columbia-based Brian Whorley’s career success earned him induction into Mizzou’s Industrial and Systems Engineering Hall of Fame in 2018.
Whorley says he honed his ability to evaluate these types of large challenges pictures, and push against the status quo at Mizzou.
“It doesn’t pay for you to be ‘right’ and ‘with the majority,’” Whorley says. “You have to be right when everybody else is wrong. That’s where the outside impact comes.”
Whorley’s career success earned him induction into MU’s Industrial and Systems Engineering Hall of Fame in 2018. He and his family are frequently seen decked in black and gold at various Mizzou events.
“My professors saw talent in a student who wasn’t having tremendous academic success at the time,” Whorley says. “When I first visited campus, it was just so alive, and I knew I was going to grow and thrive here. I was right.”
— Marcus Wilkins, BA, ’03
Events
September 6, JJJJJerome Ellis, Rogers Whitmore Recital Hall 12, Mizzou Softball Dinner on the Diamond, Mizzou Softball Complex 20, CAFNR Tiger Classic Golf Tournament, Lake of the Woods Golf Course 25, State of the University Address, Jesse Auditorium 27, Silversun Pickups, The Blue Note
October 3, Soulja Boy, The Blue Note 7–10, Homecoming Blood Drive, Mizzou Rec 13, 113th Tiger Football Homecoming Game: Mizzou vs. Auburn, Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium 19, Missouri Chestnut Roast Festival, MU Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Farm (New Franklin, Missouri)
November 6, Mizzou Volleyball vs. Georgia, Hearnes Center 9, Mizzou Football vs. Oklahoma, Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium 15, Craig Ferguson, The Blue Note
16, Amy Grant, Jesse Hall 16, Hailu Mergia Trio, The Blue Note
December 3, Mizzou Men’s Basketball vs. California (SEC-ACC Challenge), Mizzou Arena
Quadruplets Join Tiger Nation
On May 1, Tiger Nation expanded by four when Mercedes and Jonathan Sandhu, BSIE ’09, welcomed identical quadruplets Hannah Grace, Lucy Marie, Rebecca Claire and Petra Anne. Born in Houston, Texas, the four spontaneous identical quadruplets (defined as quadruplets conceived without medical intervention or fertility treatments) are remarkably unique, at just one in every 11 to 15 million births. The Sandhu Quads were cleared to go home in late July, where they joined their parents and brothers, Luke, 4, and Aaron, 20 months. Jonathan has been documenting the experience on Instagram (@thesandhucrew).
Darius Robinson, BS ’23, of Phoenix was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Sydney Dixon, BJ, BS ’24, of Atlanta is a community relations seasonal associate for the Atlanta Falcons.
HHNicole Hartmann, BA ’24, of Kansas City, Mo., is a sales development representative at Oracle.
HHSteven Klumb, BJ ’24, of Columbus, Ohio, is a senior analyst, process management at Nationwide Financial.
HMary Clare Lacke, BJ ’24, of Austin, Texas, is a content creator specialist at Kendra Scott.
Trevor Lerit, BJ ’24, of Kansas City, Mo., is a KC Wolf Seasonal Assistant for the Kansas City Chiefs.
HHEthan Levy, BJ ’24, of Chicago is a coordinator, control room technology for the Chicago Cubs.
Elly Smith Buck, BS ChE ’24, of Cincinnati is an associate scientist for Proctor & Gamble.
Weddings
Grant Adams, BS BA ’20, and Mackenzie Nelson, BS ’20, of New York June 1, 2024.
Faculty Deaths
HRex Ricketts, BS Ag ’63, MS ’64, PhD ’70, of Hallsville, Mo., July 7, 2024, at 83. He was a professor emeritus of animal science in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
Debra “Debby” Lynn Barksdale, of Columbia, Mo., July 7, 2024, at 70. She was an adjunct professor in the College of Education and Human Development.
Ronald J. Ebert, of Columbia, Mo., May 23, 2024, at 86. He was a professor in the College of Business for 30 years.
John O’Connor, of Columbia, Mo., June 18, 2024, at 91. He was the chair of the department of civil engineering in the College of Engineering.
Deaths
Betty Jo Battles, BA ’46, of Liberty, Mo., April 9, 2024, at 98. She was a
member of Delta Gamma.
Gladys Wing, BJ ’48, of McLean, Va., June 28, 2024, at 97.
Anthony Scantlen, BJ’49, MA’52, of Batavia, Ill., June 30, 2024, at 98.
George Abraham, BS Ag ’50, of Sarasota, Fla., July 5, 2024, at 98. He served in the U.S. Army.
The Honorable Robert Crist, JD ’50, of Shelbina, Mo., March 30 at 99. He served as a judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals.
William Darling, BS BA ’50, of Alameda, Calif., May 1, 2024, at 98. He served in the U.S. Marines.
HC. Donald Lee, BJ ’50, of Holts Summit, Mo., June 9, 2024, at 99. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Order and served in the U.S. Navy.
A DESTINATION that feels like HOME
MIZZOU ALUMNI NEWS
Joan Shepler, BJ ’50, of Louisville, Ky., June 11, 2024, at 95. She was a member of Delta Delta Delta and worked for Jefferson County Public Schools for 30 years.
Bernice Malarkey, BS Ed ’51, M Ed ’79, of Imperial, Mo., June 23, 2024, at 94.
HLeward Osthoff, BS Ag ’51, of St. Charles, Mo., June 15, 2024, at 97. He served in the U.S. Army.
Marilyn Davidson, BS Ed ’53, of Raleigh, N.C., June 13, 2024, at 94. She was a member of Gamma Phi Beta.
Donald Gibson, BA ’53, of Wall Lake, Iowa, May 26, 2024, at 94.
Helen C. Jones, BS HE ’53, of Parsons, Kan., May 31, 2024, at 93. She was a member of Alpha Chi Omega.
Thelma Russell Mullett, BA ’53, of Hanover, Ill., July 9, 2024, at 91.
Leo Jack Varney, BS BA ’53, of Spring Hill, Fla., May 9, 2024, at 96.
Orville Duane Allen, BS Ag ’54, M Ed ’63, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., May 29, 2024, at 98. He served in the U.S. Army and taught vocational agriculture for 36 years.
James O. Stephenson, BS BA ’55, of Stowe, Vt., May 13, 2024, at 90. He served in the U.S. Army.
HHDon E. Wolfenbarger, BA ’55, of Greenwood, Mo., June 8, 2024, at 90. He was a member of Phi Kappa Psi and served in the U.S. Army.
HVirginia Proctor Young, BS Ed ’55, of Naples, Fla., May 21, 2024, at 90.
Naomi Edmonds, BS Ed ’56, of Ballwin, Mo., June 14, 2024, at 88.
HHPaul Browning, BS Ed ’57, of Belleville, Ill., May 9, 2024, at 89. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves.
John Corliss Caverno, BS BA ’57, of Hilton Head Island, S.C., June 18, 2024, at 92. He served in the U.S. Air Force.
Adnan Kanun, MS ’57, of Reston, Va., June 9, 2024, at 95.
HHGeorgia Allene Reid, BS HE ’57, of Houstonia, Mo., May 31, 2024, at 88.
Billy Ray Harris, BS Ag ’58, of Hollandale, Miss., June 4, 2024, at 88. He served in the U.S. Air Force
James Luetjen, BS Ed ’58, M Ed ’59 Ed D ’71, of Columbia, Mo., July 9,
2024, at 91. He served in the U.S. Air Force.
HAlan Chapman, BJ ’59, of Overland Park, Kan., June 4, 2024, at 86. He was a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi.
HHMary Ann Krauss, BS HE ’59, of Columbus, Ohio May 31, 2024, at 86. She was a member of Gamma Phi Beta.
Harry Bratton, BS ME ’60, of Lee’s Summit, Mo., July 14, 2024, of 91. He served in the U.S. Army.
Oscar Reid, BA ’60, of Deerfield, Ill., July 9, 2024, at 87. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Richard Saxton, BS EE ’60, of Joplin, Mo., J uly 8, 2024, at 87. He worked for Armco Steel for 34 years.
Commemorate yours with a custom-engraved brick, and help support the traditions that Make Mizzou
.
Drew Johnson, BJ ’61, Sacramento, Calif., June 20, 2024, at 84.
Judith Lowry, BA ’61, of Harleysville, Pa., June 29, 2024, at 85. She was a member of Alpha Chi Omega.
John “Jack” Schnaedter, BJ ’61, of Williamsburg, Va., May 31, 2024, at 84. He was a member of Sigma Nu.
Barbara Schulz, BS Ed ’61, of Kansas City, Mo., June 23, 2024, at 86. She was a member of Chi Omega.
HDarrel C. Lee, BS Ed ’62, M Ed ’69, of Fulton, Mo., June 2, 2024, at 85. He worked in education for 57 years.
HRobert Crozier, BSF ’61, of Noblesville, Ind., May 27, 2024, at 85.
James Van Leonen, MS ’62,
of Madison, Wis., May 19, 2024, at 91. He served in the U.S. Army.
John Beltz, M Ed ’63, of Willow Springs, Mo., June 23, 2024, at 87. He served in the U.S. Navy
James Carothers, BA ’63, MA ’64, of Lawrence, Kan., July 9, 2024, at 82. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta and was a professor of English for 46 years.
Jack W. Holdsberg, M Ed ’63, of O’Fallon, Mo., April 28, 2024, at 85. He coached football for 35 years.
Dwaine Enloe, BS IE ’64, of Smithville, Mo., June 16, 2024, at 83. He served in the U.S. Army.
Marcia Wagner, BS Ed ’64, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., May 12, 2024, at 82. She was a member of Chi Omega.
Harold Cross, BS Ag ’65, of Stockton, Mo., June 24, 2024, at 80.
Robert Henry Lee, MD ’65, of Ooltewah, Tenn., June 15, 2024, at 88. He served in the National Guard.
Leland Tippett, BS Ag ’65, of Grand Rapids, Minn., June 15, 2024, at 82. He was a life-long farmer and worked for the Department of Agriculture.
HHBarbara Apperson Rackers, BS Ed ’66, of Jefferson City, Mo., June 23, 2024, at 80. She worked in education for 31 years.
Janet Drew, BS Ed ’66, of Pheonix, June 8, 2024, at 81.
Edward Elson, MD ’66, of Rockville, Md., May 19, 2024, at 87. He served in the U.S. Army.
REMEMBERING
THE TIGER WHO SHAPED THE NFL
One of Mizzou’s most versatile gridiron talents passed away April 18 at 83. Bill Tobin, BS Ed ’63, excelled as a multidimensional player and coach. As a keen scout of young talent, he assembled top NFL rosters and drafted legendary players.
After a boyhood of football and farming in Maryville, Missouri, Tobin lettered 1960–1962 on Dan Devine’s Tiger teams that went 26-3-3. He was in the stable of running backs at the core of Devine’s offense, says Bob Brendel, BJ ’75, historian in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. Tobin’s abilities extended to catching passes, a rarer skill in those days and, rarer still, to booting field goals and kickoffs. He entered the history books in 1962 during the Tigers’ Bluebonnet Bowl win (14-10) over Minnesota. Tobin broke open a tie game with a 77-yard touchdown run that stood as a Mizzou bowl record until 2015.
Tobin’s brief professional playing career consisted of one-season stints with the Houston Oilers, Edmonton Eskimos and Orlando Panthers. By 1971, Devine was head coach at Green Bay, where he called
In addition to being one of Mizzou’s most versatile gridiron talents, Bill Tobin, BS Ed ’63, was the architect of rosters for the Chicago Bears that won six division titles, nine playoff berths and the 1985 Super Bowl.
upon Tobin again — this time as a staff member. Tobin’s second trajectory lasted 51 years, including a marquee role as coach of the Arizona Cardinals (1996–2000). But, Brendel says, he made by far his biggest mark behind the scenes as a scout with an uncanny sense of how players would develop as professionals.
Tobin was the architect of rosters for the Chicago Bears that won six division titles, nine playoff berths and the 1985 Super Bowl. At the Indiana Colts, he put together talent that propelled the squad to the 1988 AFC championship game. At the Cincinnati Bengals, Tobin was on the scouting staff that contributed to four AFC North titles and the 2021 AFC crown. His career saw the drafting of eight hall-offame players, including Marshall Faulk, Marvin Harrison and Walter Payton. — Dale Smith, BJ ’88
Roberts “Gary” Stevenson, Jr., BS ’66, PhD ’72, of Allentown, Pa., June 17, 2024, at 79.
HHToms C. Zolk, MBA, BS F ’66, of LaGrange, Ill., July 1, 2024, at 78. He served in the U.S. Army.
James Brann, BS BA ’67, of Kansas City, Mo., June 16, 2024, at 83. He was a member of Alpha Tau Omega.
Donna Kay Korenich, BS Ed ’67, of Richmond, Va., May 22, 2024, at 78. She was a member of Pi Beta Phi.
Daniel Munger, M Ed ’67, of Round Rock, Texas, July 8, 2024, at 86. He served in the U.S. Army.
Edith Ommerman, BS Ed ’67, of Overland Park, Kan., May 28, 2024, at 79. She was a special education teacher for almost 30 years.
HHBillie Jo Wanink, BS HE ’67, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., June 15, 2024, at 79.
Edward Kaiser, MS ’68, of St. Paul, Minn., June 9, 2024, at 94. He served in the U.S. Air Force National Guard.
Larry Martin, MS ’68, MPA ’76, of Jefferson City, Mo., June 16, 2024, at 81. He served in the U.S. Army.
HHRobert Wheeler, BS Ag ’68, of Clinton, Mo., April 23, 2024, at 77. He was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho.
G. Reid Teaney, BS BA ’69, BJ ’70, of Kansas City, Mo., June 18, 2024, at 78. He served in the U.S. Army.
Theodore R. Wilson, MS ’69, of Cleveland June 8, 2024, at 81.
Glenn Morrison, BA ’70, MA ’72, of Champaign, Ill., June 29, 2024, at 76.
Leo Saltzman, BS BA ’72, of St. Louis, Mo., July 3, 2024, at 74.
Barbara Ann Dubbert, BA ’73, of Gresham, Ore., June 12, 2024, at 73.
William Ettling, PhD ’73, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., May 31, 2024, at 84. He served in the Illinois National Guard.
Brian Naber, BS Ag ’73, of Normal, Ill., May 24, 2024, at 74.
William “Bill” Norton, BA ’73, of Columbia, Mo., May 23, 2024, at 76. He was a member of Sigma Nu.
Otis Peterson, Jr., MS ’73, of West Monroe, La., June 17, 2024, at 78.
Timothy Elmore, BS BA ’76, MBA ’77, of Alpharetta, Ga., May 31, 2024, at 74. He served in the U.S. Army.
Deborah Real, BS Ag ’77, of Quincy, Ill., March 24, 2024, at 73.
M. Alexandra “Sandy” Stowe, BA ’78, DVM ’83, of Orlando, Fla., May 7, 2024, at 68.
Richard Blythe, BS BA ’81, of Lebanon, Ill., June 22, 2024, at 64.
Lisa Jennings, BJ ’81, of St. Louis, June 7, 2024, at 65. She was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.
Jacqueline Smith Burton, BS Ed ’81, M Ed ’83, of Columbia, Mo., June 21, 2024, at 74.
Judith Yonke, M Ed ’82, of Columbia, Mo., May 27, 2024, at 83. She taught
English for almost 20 years.
David Melloway, BS BA ’83, of Columbia, Mo., May 27, 2024, at 62.
Martha Dundon, BSN ’85, of San Antonio, June 15, 2024, at 76.
Craig Johnston, BS EE ’85, of St. Louis, Mo., June 29, 2024, at 62.
Michael Rackers, BS BA ’88, of Jefferson City, Mo., May 27, 2024, at 58.
Joni Lovell Sharp, MFA ’92, of Signal Mountain, Tenn., May 27, 2024, at 60.
Kale Walch, BS ’93, of Mesa, Ariz., March 28, 2024, at 52. He was a member of Alpha Gamma Sigma.
Surjit Singh Kumar, BS BA ’94, of Weldon Spring, Mo., May 25, 2024, at 51.
Ken
Keith
Steve Morgan
Patrice Vale, MA ’99, of Columbia, Mo., May 21, 2024, at 83.
Adam Fallert, BA ’00, of Columbia, Mo., April 13, 2024, at 47.
Lauri Jo Garman, BS ’00, of Columbia, Mo., June 27, 2024, at 66.
DEGREE DESIGNATIONS 101 H
Bachelor’s degrees:
BS Acc, accounting
BS Ag, agriculture
BA, arts
BS BA, business administration
BS Ed, education
BFA, fine arts
BS FW, fisheries and wildlife
BGS, general studies
BHS, health sciences
BS HE, home economics
BS HES, human environmental sciences
BJ, journalism
BS Med, medicine
BSN, nursing
BS, science
BSW, social work
Bachelor’s degrees in engineering:
BS ChE, chemical
BS CiE, civil
BS CoE, computer
BS EE, electrical
BS IE, industrial
BS ME, mechanical
Master’s degrees:
M Acc, accounting
MS Ag Ed, agricultural education
MA, arts
M Ed, education
MS, science
MSW, social work
MPA, public affairs
James Ryan Kelly, BS BA ’03, of St. Louis June 7, 2024, at 43.
Margaret Linn, M Ed ’09, of Sikeston, Mo., June 6, 2024, at 55.
Doctoral degrees:
PhD, doctorate
EdD, education
JD, law
MD, medicine
DVM, veterinary medicine
Did not graduate:
Arts, arts and science
Bus, business
Educ, education
Engr, engineering
Journ, journalism
For a more detailed list of current degrees, visit catalog.missouri.edu/ degreesanddegreeprograms.
Mizzou Goes Technicolor
When J-School alum Scott Schaefer learned the Northern Lights might be on the horizon, he made a beeline for the Quad.
It wasn’t just black and gold at Mizzou on May 10; it was also chartreuse, magenta, crimson, lavender and sapphire blue, thanks to the rare appearance of northern lights in the skies above Columbia. The lights (also known as the aurora borealis) usually appear only in northern latitudes, but an extreme solar storm caused them to be visible much further south on that date.
Photographer Scott Schaefer, BJ ’04, captured a beautiful image of the northern lights over Mizzou’s columns. “Being able to view this spectacular sight was pretty awesome,” he says. “The lights looked like a vertical cloud with a hint of pink to the naked eye, but my camera was able to pull up a much more vibrant and colorful sky because I used a longer exposure to photograph it.”
Using a 14-millimeter ultra wide-angle lens, Schaefer had to shoot the columns image in two photos: a 15-second exposure for the sky and a normal exposure for the bright foreground elements. He also needed to combine the two images. “Cameras just can’t capture the wide range of exposures there with all the bright lights on the columns and then the northern lights in the sky like our eyes can,” he says.
To view all of his breathtaking northern lights photos, visit Schaefer Photography’s website at shop.schaeferpix.com/portfolio. — Blaire Leible Garwitz, MA ’06
MU Health Care’s Children’s Hospital
Now Open!
Every aspect of our new Children’s Hospital is designed to make a vulnerable time more comforting. From private patient rooms and welcoming environments to spaces for children to play, we’ve built a place that puts our kids first.
Nature is one of the key visually comforting themes chosen for our patients, including a display of Missouri’s state bird — the Eastern bluebird — in the canopy of a two-story tree in the main lobby. These bluebirds serve as a reminder of the flock of support donors provide mid-Missouri children and families in their time of need.
Scan to Give
Each bluebird in the lobby of the new Children’s Hospital represents a donor’s generosity. To learn more about becoming a Bluebird supporter, visit Mizzou.us/MUCHBluebird or call (573) 884-3672.
