Wright State Magazine Spring 2022

Wright State MAG A Z I N E

ILLUMINATING INNOVATION Shining a light on what’s happening at Wright State

CURTAINS RISE AGAIN FOR BROADWAY INNOVATION ON TAP

SPRING 2022

GOIN’ DANCIN’ Guard Trey Calvin hit a jumper from inside the free-throw line with 10.5 seconds remaining to complete a 16-point comeback and earn Wright State a thrilling 72– 71 win over Northern Kentucky to claim both the Horizon League championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. This was the men’s basketball team’s fourth trip to the NCAA tournament. Wright State also qualified for the tournament in 1993, 2007, and 2018.

PHOTO CREDIT: JOSEPH CR AVEN ’15, ’18

FROM THE PRESIDENT

PRESIDENT Susan Edwards, Ph.D. PRESIDENT AND CEO, WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION R. Scott Rash INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT Bill Bigham EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALUMNI RELATIONS Greg Scharer DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Mark D. Anderson ’09 ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, ALUMNI AND DONOR MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Brooke Johnson Leppla ’05, ’11 PROJECT MANAGER Dennis Bova DESIGN Amanda J. Earnest-Reitmann ASSISTANT EDITORS Andrew Call Katie Halberg ’12 CONTRIBUTORS Dennis Bova Sarah Cavender ’20 Jessica Graue Jim Hannah Micah Karr ’19 Bob Mihalek Kim Patton Jane Wildermuth Chris Wydman ’94, ’97 PHOTOGRAPHY Erin Pence Chris Snyder SPECIAL THANKS TO Seth Bauguess ’13 Rob Boley ’99 Amy Jones ’06 Kathy Kuntz Elaine Pruner Cristie Scharer Dave Stuart ’04 Wright State Alumni Association Board Wright State University Foundation Board

This is a publication of the Wright State University Foundation and the Wright State Alumni Association for the alumni, donors, and friends of Wright State University.

Submit information, comments, and letters to: Wright State Alumni Association 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway Dayton, Ohio 45435 937-775-2620 magazine@wright.edu

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Innovation–Moving Forward The namesakes of Wright State University, the Wright brothers, defined the meaning of innovation. Today, our faculty, staff, students, and alumni continue defining innovation through their research and the advancement of knowledge. Recent Wright State research has led to the development of a super sunscreen; a better mechanism to monitor brain injuries; a way to address and track COVID-19 misinformation; and practical solutions to solving major environmental challenges such as those experienced at Grand Lake St. Marys, adjacent to our Lake Campus. Many Raiders and Lakers are on the leading edge of research and are engaging our students in pursuit of advancing knowledge to find practical solutions to address everyday problems.

Student engagement is not limited to research labs. Students are actively involved in real-world problem solving each day in the classroom as well as through crossdisciplinary events such as Innovation Weekend and the Wright Venture competition. Our Wright State community, both on and off our campuses, leads by example.

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to require our focus as we have navigated our return to classroom teaching and to campus life. With the privilege of serving as president of this great university, my primary focus over the last two years has been to protect the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and campus visitors, while still ensuring a high-quality, impactful, and affordable education to our students. Our community has continued to weather this challenge with the spirit of resilience that defines Wright State.

These are particularly exciting times for the State of Ohio! The recent announcement by Intel to locate their semiconductor manufacturing operations will bring not only thousands of jobs

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for Intel but also thousands of jobs in supporting agencies. There will be an increased demand for a highly educated workforce across all professions. We are committed to supporting our state through research innovations and creating an in-demand, educated workforce that will ensure Ohio’s success.

In this issue, you will see the innovative spirit that runs through many Wright State offerings and opportunities. We will take you to Broadway, check in with entrepreneurs finding success right here in Greene County, and introduce you to a special pair of donors who have been supporting our students for nearly 50 years.

It is my great hope that, as you read the stories and updates in this issue, you too are excited to see that your alma mater and its graduates are doing great work through their collective voice and accomplishments.

The future is bright, and it is an exhilarating time to be a Wright State Raider and Laker! Take a moment to see the great things happening at your university.

Best wishes, Sue Edwards, Ph.D. President @WSUPrezSue

CONTENTS

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22 F E AT U R ES

10 Back to Broadway Wright State alumni talk about the pandemic, how it has impacted Broadway, and how shows are finally reopening.

14 Raider spirit is brewing A passion for beer brought together alumni from different disciplines to craft the perfect brew.

18 Keeping family first

Why our longest donors keep giving after 45 years.

26 Education and collaboration spark innovation

Explore areas growing and flourishing with new concepts and applications at Wright State University.

34 D EPA R T M EN T S 5

CAPTURE

6

CAMPUS HEADLINES

8

ON THE SHELF

9

THROWBACK

34

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

36

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

44

FAREWELLS

45

CL ASS NOTES

48

FROM THE STACKS

ON THE COVER The light bulb has been called one of the most significant inventions ever created, becoming a beacon and symbol of innovation. Inspired by the theme of innovation, campus photographers Erin Pence and Chris Snyder use the light bulb to signify the process of idea creation and how our students take an idea from conception to reality.

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WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION

THANK YOU Every year, hundreds of Raiders and Lakers join us on our founders’ day, October 1, to give back. Our Wright State students learned a lot from operating through the COVID-19 pandemic. Drive, initiative, adaptability, persistence, and resilience served our students well and helped them succeed in ways they might not have ever dreamed they could. Our Wright State community stepped up in a single day to support Wright State on the Wright Day to Give.

One Day. Every Raider.

Everywhere.

$212,215 850

TOP 3 DESIGNATIONS

67%

1. ATHLETICS

ALUMNI

28%

FRIENDS

DONORS 1% 4%

OTHER

WRIGHT STATE ALUMNI LEGACY SCHOLARSHIP

125 = $17,012 GIFTS

TOP 3 COLLEGES,

BY ALUMNI PARTICIPATION 1. RAJ SOIN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS 2. COLLEGE OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND HUMAN SERVICES 3. COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

STUDENTS

2. WRIGHT STATE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION FUNDS 3. STUDENT EMERGENCY FUNDS

161

DIFFERENT FUNDS WERE SUPPORTED 35% SCHOLARSHIPS 42% PROGRAMS 23% ATHLETICS

*Figures above are as of January 1, 2022.

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES David Deptula ’80, CHAIR Linda Black-Kurek ’78, VICE CHAIR Bill Diederich ’91, SECRETARY Kristina Kean ’96, TREASURER R. Scott Rash, FOUNDATION PRESIDENT & CEO (EX-OFFICIO) BOARD MEMBERS Martha Balyeat ’03 Anupam Bedi ’97, ’99 Dr. Samia Borchers ’81 Emily Bundesen ’20, ’22 Douglas Cook ’81, ’85 Michael Daniels Holly Di Flora Dr. Megan Dines ’08 David Donaldson ’88 Susan Edwards, Ph.D. (ex-officio) Tom Gunlock Karla Garrett Harshaw ’84, ’13 Andrea Kunk ’04 Gary McCullough ’81 Keith Meyer ’01 William W. Montgomery Jacob O’Connor ’22 Hernan Olivas Randy Phillips ’82 Marc Porter, Ph.D. ’77, ’80 Sharon Honaker Rab ’75 Jon Ramey ’95 Dr. Michael Robertson ’11, ’14, ’16 Danielle Rolfes ’97 Tom Sheehan Dr. Pamela vonMatthiessen, D.V.M. ’98 Matthew Watson ’07 Rob Weisgarber ’77 WRIGHT STATE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dr. Michael Robertson ’11, ’14, ’16, PRESIDENT Christopher Brookshire ’11, ’14, VICE PRESIDENT Mary Murphy ’89, SECRETARY Keith Meyer ’01, TREASURER BOARD MEMBERS Dan Baker ’12, ’12, ’15 Elizabeth Ball ’08, ’10 Sam Bernard ’11 David Bowman ’97 Mike Brush ’02 Amanda Burks ’05 Paula Cosby ’12 Teresa Ebersole ’08 Christopher Hogan ’11 Karen Hunt ’86 Dr. Christen Johnson ’12, ’17, ’17 Pat Jones ’01 Stephanie Keinath ’06 Stacey Lawson ’94, ’96 Edwin Mayes ’89, ’96 Anna Monnett ’83, ’87 Amanda Opicka ’07, ’07 Greg Scharer (ex-officio) Joshua Stucky ’89 Amanda Thompson ’08, ’09 Jerry Tritle ’81, ’83 Richard Williams (ex-officio) Woody Willis ’83 (ex-officio) Heather Zehringer ’11

PHOTO CREDIT: ALE X UNDERWOOD PHOTO CREDIT: NICK WENNING/ THE DAILY STANDARD

#RAIDERUP #LOVEWSULAKE Athletes at both Dayton and Lake campuses have been busy dominating their sports. Our athletic programs take a holistic approach in producing wellrounded graduates. Director of Athletics Bob Grant stresses that “we value our students’ education overall, and are proud of their accomplishments as athletes.”

PHOTO CREDIT: JOSEPH CR AVEN ’15, ’18

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CAMPUS HEADLINES

Hongmei Ren receives federal research awards to explore therapies for muscular dystrophy Hongmei Ren, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, received a federal research grant and an award totaling $2.4 million that could lead to therapies to combat diseases like muscular dystrophy.

Ren received an R01 grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases at the National Institutes of Health and an Idea Development award from the Department of Defense to explore gene therapy in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

The awards were received in collaboration with Mark Rich, Ph.D., professor of neurology in the Boonshoft School of Medicine and professor of neuroscience, cell biology, and physiology in the College of Science and Mathematics, and Andrew Voss, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences.

Sherif Elbasiouny awarded a $3 million federal grant to study weakness in aging Sherif Elbasiouny, Ph.D., professor of neuroscience, cell biology, and physiology and director of neuroengineering education and research, is leading a research project examining the neural mechanisms underlying weakness in aging. Elbasiouny and researchers from Ohio State and Ohio University received a $3 million grant from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health.

Elbasiouny said the research has the potential to identify early neural biomarkers for weakness and develop new interventions to enhance strength and function in older adults.

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Book talk by historian Paul Lockhart brings C-SPAN to Wright State A lecture by Paul Lockhart, Ph.D., professor of history, about his new book, Firepower: How Weapons Shaped Warfare, drew C-SPAN to campus to record the event in Millett Hall.

Lockhart’s 70-minute talk featured a slideshow and a question-and-answer session and was followed by a book signing.

The program was organized by Crystal Lake, Ph.D., professor of English language and literatures. “We’re thrilled that

C-SPAN and ‘Book TV’ are here to record Paul Lockhart’s talk,” Lake said. “It’s a really great opportunity for Wright State and for Professor Lockhart’s new book.”

Firepower: How Weapons Shaped Warfare is about how the evolution of weapons technology changed the way that armies and navies fought and helped define the modern state and the international order. The 624-page book is published by Basic Books.

Matthew Chaney seeks to make a difference as first vice president for inclusive excellence Matthew Chaney, Ed.D., joined Wright State as the university’s first vice president for inclusive excellence, working with the community to foster a welcoming campus environment and institutional culture that supports diversity, accessibility, equity, and inclusion for all.

He provides leadership and strategic planning for diversity and inclusion initiatives across the university, including working with campus constituents to create a comprehensive inclusive excellence plan. He also chairs the President’s Council for Inclusive Excellence, which is responsible for inclusive excellence programming.

One reason Chaney was attracted to the role was the opportunity to work with and mentor students. While he is passionate about inclusive excellence and diversity work, he said, “I think even more importantly, I’m passionate about student development.”

Wright State, Premier Health formalize academic affiliation pact Wright State University and Premier Health continue to advance a shared mission of providing quality health care and medical education to the local community through a new academic affiliation agreement.

The institutions will continue to collaborate on the training of medical students, physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals in Southwest Ohio, as well as partner on academic, clinical, and research initiatives. The agreement includes Boonshoft School of Medicine programs and Wright State’s nursing and health sciences programs.

The collaborative relationship is expected to have a positive impact on the local economy through a commitment to train students from Ohio and out of state to remain in the state.

Black fraternities and sororities celebrated with campus plots

New three-year undergraduate nursing degree to launch this fall

Wright State hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the National PanHellenic Council Memorial Plots, dedicated to members of nine historically Black Greek Letter Organizations, often referred to as the Divine Nine. The plaza is located in the heart of campus, adjacent to the Turning Points sculpture (“BART”).

Adrian Williams ’21, former Student Government president, said that, in the early 1900s, many African Americans were denied a full college experience and were unable to serve in internships or join student organizations and clubs.

“So these organizations were founded to promote academic excellence, social excellence, social justice initiatives,” he said.

“The purpose of the plots is to honor the history of each organization and NPHC as a whole and provide a gathering spot for both current members and alumni,” said Williams.

The memorial plots were designed to underscore Wright State’s commitment to inclusion and present an educational and cultural opportunity.

Wright State will offer a three-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree starting this fall. This option is advantageous for both students and the community, said interim Provost Oliver H. Evans, Ph.D., as Wright State nursing graduates can start their careers faster and area hospitals can fill critical bedside positions more quickly.

The three-year B.S.N. program will help fill a critical need for professional nurses in the Dayton region. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the area had already been experiencing a nursing shortage.

This problem has been exacerbated during the pandemic, with overworked hospital nurses leaving the bedside for other professional opportunities or to pursue an advanced degree.

Ann Stalter, Ph.D., professor and chair of nursing, said helping the region’s health care facilities fill job openings with Wright State nursing graduates will assist in providing patients with quality care.

“That should help our health care partners increase quality and safety within their organizations,” she said.

“The state has a shortage of nurses at the bedside—that’s a real problem for the public’s health.”

Nicole Kinzeler receives $1.45 million grant to analyze data from Ohio opioid and substance abuse treatment program Nicole Kinzeler, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences and associate director of the Substance Abuse Resources and Disability Issues (SARDI) Program, received a grant to provide training and collect and evaluate data from providers offering treatment and recovery services in Ohio. Kinzeler received $1,450,207 in funding for the first year of the two-year grant.

The funds were provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The goal for the project is to provide services to 18,000 Ohioans over the next two years.

Wright State, Fairborn, and YMCA to explore partnership Wright State is partnering with the City of Fairborn and the YMCA of Greater Dayton to explore the construction of a new YMCA on the university’s campus that would serve Fairborn residents and Wright State students, faculty, and staff.

As conceived, the facility would replace Fairborn’s existing YMCA and be located on undeveloped university property along Colonel Glenn Highway.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to explore enhancing our campus experience and to partner with two great organizations,” said Wright State President Sue Edwards, Ph.D. The Fairborn YMCA features weightlifting equipment, cardio machines, an indoor pool, and basketball courts and offers group classes, personal training, and child care.

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New leaders welcomed to Wright State

On the Shelf JOSIE OLSVIG ’78 Author Josie Olsvig takes us into the Deep South of antebellum Charleston. Hentie, a Gullah woman who is enslaved, survives the day-to-day sufferings brought on by her cruel master and the white planter society that controls the institution of slavery.

From Hentie’s abduction and confinement on a slaver ship, we follow her journey of pain and despair as she begins her new life in a land that causes her much heartache and oppression. It is currently being adapted for a miniseries.

VIRGINIA BEACH CAPE CHARLES

Growing Up Gullah in the Lowcountry JOSIE OLSVIG ’78 This is a bright, colorful, and informative children’s book about the Gullah culture derived from West African slave descendants. It may be used to explain differing cultures and Black history.

Numerous aspects of the Gullah culture are introduced as well as the importance of faith and family. All of this is conveyed through the use of 30 colorful illustrations designed by a Lowcountry artist.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Josie Olsvig is a ’78 graduate with a B.A. in social work and lives in the Sea Islands of Beaufort, South Carolina. Previously, Olsvig was an attorney and social worker who spent her career addressing child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Her call to service was spurred by early life experiences growing up in poverty in the inner city. Olsvig was challenged to change her life circumstances and put herself through undergraduate and graduate school, where she earned degrees in social work and law.

In addition to her first two books, Olsvig writes articles for local and regional websites, blogs, and the Modern African Diaspora Experience Museum located in Dayton.

PHOTO CREDIT: RHODES STATE COLLEGE

Gullah Tears

Andrea Faber, Ph.D., a dean at Rhodes State College and former Lake Campus faculty member, returned to the Wright State University–Lake Campus as its first vice provost and chief administrative officer, effective April 4.

“I look forward to working with the faculty, staff, and students at the Lake Campus,” Faber said. “I will strive to strengthen the relationships between the Lake Campus, the Dayton Campus, and the community to increase education opportunities in West Central Ohio.”

As a Celina resident and former faculty member, Faber said she understands that “Lake Campus has a strong commitment to both student success and Mercer County’s economic strength.”

“My experience, record of leadership, and commitment to our community will help the Lake Campus to strengthen its bonds with the community while enhancing enrollment, retention, and success,” she said.

As a leader at Rhodes State, Faber’s strength has been in building relationships with students, faculty, administrators, staff, and the community.

“The relationship between a college and the community is a critical component in the success of both,” she said. “Strong college programs will help build a job-ready workforce that is linked to the community needs.”

James Denniston, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Appalachian State University, has been named the founding dean of the College of Health, Education, and Human Services. Denniston will join Wright State on June 1.

Wright State reorganized its health-related and education programs into the College of Health, Education, and Human Services with a goal of offering students more educational paths to in-demand careers and providing increased interprofessional experiential learning and research opportunities.

The college, which opened at the start of the 2021 Fall Semester, includes undergraduate and graduate programs in

nursing, kinesiology and health, professional psychology, social work, human services, teacher education, and leadership studies in education and organizations.

“The reorganization of the college brings together outstanding schools and programs that are poised for growth and potential expansion to better meet the needs of students and employers in the region,” Denniston said. “The opportunity to work with the faculty in the college to enhance existing programs and to develop new academic programs is what drew me to Wright State.”

Susan Schaurer, M.S., a veteran in higher education recruitment and admissions, joined the university as vice president for enrollment management and chief recruitment officer.

“As a highly experienced and accomplished admissions officer and university leader, Schaurer is uniquely qualified to lead Wright State’s efforts to grow undergraduate recruitment and help our students succeed,” said Wright State President Sue Edwards, Ph.D. “As vice president for enrollment management and chief recruitment officer, Schaurer will play a pivotal role in the execution of our strategies of recruitment, retention, and relationships.”

During her 13-year career at Miami University, Schaurer held numerous leadership positions in the Office of Admission and the Division of Enrollment Management and Student Success, including serving as assistant vice president for enrollment management, director of admission, and associate vice president for strategic enrollment management and marketing.

“Wright State has played a pivotal role in the Dayton region for more than 50 years, and I am honored and excited to join the university as it fortifies its mission to transform the lives of the students and communities it serves,” Schaurer said. “I look forward to working with President Edwards and the entire Raider community to implement a comprehensive and data-driven enrollment strategy that will both support student recruitment and success and further advance Wright State’s vision and goals.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNIVERSIT Y LIBR ARIES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES

THROWBACK

DID YOU KNOW Wright State University hosted its own version of Woodstock?

In May 1970, Student Government organized the university’s first music festival, inviting a variety of bands from Dayton and the surrounding area to perform. The initial purpose was to generate publicity for the fledgling university and to attract young people to campus to see what Wright State was all about.

The event, nicknamed “Wrightstock” by many attendees, took place on Achilles Hill, the large hill on the back side of the current Wright State Nutter Center property. It was a big success.

The following year, Student Government built on that success by expanding the event to a three-day, 18-band outdoor music festival, officially titled “Wrightstock Reborn: The Festival of Life.” Proceeds were to help finance student initiatives, including community service scholarships, a campus rescue unit, a drug abuse information program, and a book co-op, among other things.

The event began at 10 a.m. Friday, April 30, continuing until 8 p.m.

Sunday, May 2. By all accounts it was also a big hit.

Student Government’s report to the Academic Council put the number of attendees at “35,000 over the course of the weekend, with a maximum of 8,000 at one time.”

It appears, however, that the event was a victim of its own success.

Many complaints began surfacing afterward about the overwhelming effort it took to organize, relegating Student Government to “a large group of concert promoters and event organizers.” There were massive cost overruns, due primarily to a lot of people getting in without buying a ticket.

It was extremely unpopular with local residents because of three days of loud music, large crowds, and the massive mess left behind.

Billed as a “back to nature, earth-friendly event,” the cleanup effort of Achilles Hill took many weeks and was highly criticized. In the end, it became fodder for Student Government candidates and the opinion pages in The Guardian and not worth the associated risks to continue.

While it lasted, though, it sure sounded like a pretty good time.

For more information about the Wright State University Special Collections and Archives, visit libraries.wright.edu/special.

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o t k Bac

WRIGHT STATE ALUMNI REFLECT ON THE RETURN OF LIVE THEATRE AND SHARE STORIES ABOUT THE INNOVATIVE WAYS THEY KEPT CREATIVITY ALIVE DURING THE PANDEMIC

BY KIM PATTON

I

n the opening scene of the longstanding, beloved Broadway musical Wicked, the character Glinda floats in on a giant bubble and says, “It’s good to see me, isn’t it?”

On the night of September 14, 2021, that iconic line took on a whole new meaning as Wicked resumed performances on Broadway after an 18-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Naomi Reisner ’18, who works as a hairdresser on Wicked, was backstage for the historic moment.

“I don’t think the crowd stopped cheering for about five minutes,” Reisner recalled.

“People were just absolutely ecstatic to be back. They were crying and just loving the show.”

For Wright State University alumni working in the Broadway community, the return of audiences to New York City’s theatres was more than just a welcome sight. It was the much-needed light at the end of a long, dark tunnel of pandemic despair. As the house lights went down and the curtain rose, life seemed normal again, if only for a few brief hours.

Broadway was back. The show goes on.

WHEN THE WORLD SHUT DOWN

In March 2020, Alexis “Tilly” Evans-Krueger ’14 was about to make her Broadway debut.

As a vacation swing in Moulin Rouge, she was scheduled to fill in as one of the dancers in the ensemble—until the spread of the coronavirus shuttered theatres and launched lockdowns around the globe.

“I was so excited. It was my first Broadway contract,” she said. “All of sudden, our jobs were gone.”

As if facing immediate unemployment wasn’t frightening enough, New York City quickly became the epicenter of the pandemic

PHOTO CREDIT: K YLE HE AD

in the United States.

“I don’t think anybody will ever be able to truly understand what it’s like to hear the sirens that we heard so regularly in New York in those first couple of months,” said Tony Award-winning producer Joey Monda ’12.

Like Monda, Cameron Holsinger ’04 has remained in New York throughout the pandemic.

“In the beginning, we didn’t know what was happening,” said Holsinger, who is the stage manager for Hamilton. Like many others working in the Broadway community, Holsinger was initially told the theatres would only be closed for two weeks.

As weeks turned into months, it became clear to Holsinger and his fellow Wright State alumni that Broadway was not coming back any time soon.

KJ Hippensteel ’06 was in rehearsals for the new musical Mrs. Doubtfire—for which Monda serves as one of the producers—when he received the news on March 12, 2020, that Broadway would be shutting down.

Not wanting to be cooped up in an apartment with two young children, Hippensteel and his wife rented a van and drove through the night to his father-in-law’s home in Cleveland.

“We ended up being in Cleveland for a yearand-a-half with our kids,” he said. “We were lucky to have my father-in-law’s place to go to.”

Reisner also headed to Ohio, where she spent three months with her family in Dayton.

Meanwhile, Ross Feilhauer ’03 headed south to Florida when his work as part of the

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TONY AWARD-WINNING PRODUCER JOEY MONDA ’12 SITS IN WRIGHT STATE’S FESTIVAL PL AYHOUSE AF TER SPEAKING WITH STUDENTS.

lighting and special effects crew for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child came to a halt.

Regardless of where they settled geographically, each of them needed to come up with a plan. With live theatre performances on hold indefinitely, where would they find work? How would they feed their passions for creating and performing when the whole world was at a standstill?

FINDING THE SILVER LININGS

As a producer, Monda is used to working on projects for the long haul. It takes countless hours of conversations and years of development before a production makes its way onto a Broadway stage. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Monda was able to hunker down and weather the storm better than most of his colleagues.

“I stayed tremendously busy, working throughout it all,” said Monda. “My own community and support network kept me going. I know there were a lot of people, though, who did not have the same support and same abilities. That’s a luxury and a privilege that’s not lost on me.”

Monda knew many people in the arts and culture sector who had to rely on skills they otherwise had not monetized before.

“All of a sudden, performers were teaching Zoom classes and doing more voiceover work,” he said. “I think everybody in our industry had to learn how to pivot.”

While she would normally be helping cast members get in and out of their wigs during a performance, Reisner found another way to work in her craft. When the barber shops reopened, she returned to New York City to cut hair.

“When I got back to New York, business was not good. Nobody really wanted to come out and get a haircut,” said Reisner, who earned her cosmetology license at age 17. “People were afraid to 12

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ALE XIS “TILLY” EVANS-KRUEGER ’14 IS A SWING IN MOULIN ROUGE. PHOTO CREDIT: AB SESAY

do anything. The city was really empty.”

When she wasn’t cutting hair, Reisner relied on other mediums, like drawing or painting, to stay creative. She also collaborated with some of her peers on hair and makeup photo shoots.

“The one advantage to the pandemic,” she said, “was time.”

Hippensteel relished the quality time with his family and playing with his two boys in the big backyard of his father-in-law’s home in Ohio.

“It was kind of an amazing year for us and our kids,” said Hippensteel, who built a studio in his father-in-law’s basement where he and his wife, Brooke Jacob, would teach online theatre classes for kids.

“It was kind of a godsend,” Hippensteel said of his wife’s business, Scamper Theatre Kids. “Because we’re storytellers, theatre people connect to the kids in a way that a lot of other teachers via Zoom weren’t able to. The whole goal of the classes is to keep kids’ imaginations running wild. Our hope is that they will continue that throughout their lives.”

For Evans-Krueger, the pandemic provided the rare opportunity to embark on a backpacking trip with a friend during the summer of 2020.

“It was incredible, such a life-changing experience,” EvansKrueger said of her journey through the American West. “Had I not had this chance, I don’t know if I would ever take five weeks off. We don’t ever get that.”

While Evans-Krueger was initially hesitant to join the world of online Zoom classes, she began collaborating with Dance Lab New York as a teacher and choreographer in October 2020.

“I was overjoyed to be dancing again,” she said. “It had been so long.”

Volunteering at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island proved to be one of the silver linings

​ AOMI REISNER ’18 N KEEPS THE WIGS OF WICKED IN TIP-TOP SHAPE.

ROSS FEILHAUER ’03 CREATES LIGHTING AND SPECIAL EFFECTS FOR HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD.

AS STAGE MANAGER FOR THE TONY AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL HAMILTON, CAMERON HOLSINGER ’04 KEEPS THINGS RUNNING SMOOTHLY.

of the pandemic for Feilhauer. Along with helping to create educational videos, he purchased a 3D printer for the wildlife refuge. This gave him the opportunity to hone his skills on the technology, while providing a much-needed tool for volunteer projects.

“For me, the pandemic was a breath,” said Feilhauer. “It was nice to see another side of the world, outside of theatre, and bring my knowledge to other people. I hope that I helped as much as I could.”

THE CURTAIN RISES AGAIN

Two weeks before previews for Mrs. Doubtfire resumed, Hippensteel and the rest of the cast sang at a press event at Bryant Park.

“It was pretty emotional,” he recalled. “Seeing that many people there, excited for theatre—all of us were trying to sing, but crying.

Live theatre is one of those things that feels like it was taken from us for a year and a half. For a lot of us, that’s part of our identity.

It’s part of who we are.”

For Evans-Krueger, the return of Moulin Rouge was a night she will never forget. “I’ve never seen that energy before,” she said. “It was unmatched. The audience was just so excited to be back in the theatre. Everything in Moulin Rouge—the words, the script—just hit so much harder than it ever had before.”

In the age of COVID, putting a show on every night is no easy feat. The strictest health and safety protocols must be followed. Masks are worn at rehearsals and everywhere backstage.

Performers don masks as soon as they exit the stage. COVID testing is done two or three times a week. Everyone—cast and crew—is required to be vaccinated. The audience must be masked and vaccinated as well.

For those in the Broadway community, COVID safety measures

KJ HIPPENSTEEL ’06 WAITS IN THE WINGS AS THE UNDERSTUDY FOR THE LEAD CHARACTER OF DANIEL HILL ARD IN MRS. DOUBTFIRE. PHOTO CREDIT: TR AVIS WALDSCHMIDT HE ADSHOT CREDIT: JUSTIN PAT TERSON

are a small price to pay to resume doing the work that they love.

“It’s a great community. That’s what I missed about it the most,” said Feilhauer. “We’re a family, all here to help each other.”

Holsinger’s time away from Hamilton gave him a new appreciation for the business.

“It’s easy to concentrate on the things that annoy you or the things that are difficult. But when it’s taken away—just like that— you realize that you weren’t paying attention to the right things before,” he explained. “For now, I’m enjoying my renewed interest in what I am doing and trying to do it as best as I can.”

Monda, meanwhile, is focused on bringing the world of Broadway to a much larger audience.

“We have to expand our Broadway shows and our passion for theatre and the arts beyond the people in the four walls of our theatre,” he said. “There is a huge audience out there that is physically, geographically, or economically prohibited from ever seeing our work.”

Monda’s production company previously brought Allegiance, Bandstand, and Kinky Boots from the stage to the screen. From Hamilton on Disney+ to Come From Away on Apple TV+, Monda was pleased to see more Broadway productions come to life in people’s homes during the pandemic.

“I really hope that theatre and arts institutions remember that you can’t forget about all of the audiences you were engaging with during a COVID world. We have to continue to create content and get stories out to them,” said Monda, who capped off 2021 with his second Tony Award, when The Inheritance was honored as Best Play.

In the meantime, Monda will continue to work on filling the seats on Broadway.

“It’s going to take some time,” he said, “but Broadway will be back, stronger than ever.”

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WRIGHT STATE GRADS BOND OVER THEIR LOVE OF BEER AND GROW A HOBBY INTO A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS

BY JESSICA GRAUE

I

t’s all about the beer for Devil Wind Brewing owners David Hatfield ’98, Doug Lane ’14, and Perry Wyatt ’96.

The three friends and Wright State alumni started their beer business venture in 2018 and are continuing to serve up lagers and ales using their own special recipes at the brewery in Xenia. Michael Van Kirk also helped start the venture, but has since returned to Wright State to complete his engineering degree.

The idea was planted when Hatfield met Lane at Dayton Beer Company, where Lane was a bartender. Lane had been making his own special home brews with Van Kirk for a couple of years and Hatfield was a fan of what he tasted.

“Doug’s home brews were excellent,” Hatfield said. “Perry and I were in the same boat with kids leaving for college, so we were looking for a side project. We went to Toxic Brew one night, had many beers, and scheduled another meeting.

And here we are. And that’s really the

truth,” Hatfield said.

Lane, who has taken research trips to taste different beers, even one to Oktoberfest in Germany, creates recipes based on his favorites, including English beers. Lane lit up when discussing the process of brewing and steeping barley in hot water to extract sugar. He also enjoys creating new recipes.

“It’s just like baking or cooking, or anything like that. It’s fun to create recipes and tweak them. You make what you know and then try to make the product better. It’s just cool to have a beer that’s all yours,” Lane said.

Taking the business from a concept to a reality took a lot of hard work. Weekly meetings to discuss their business plan went on for two years. The trio had to find financing, equipment, and a place to set up shop. Originally the group looked

LEFT: DOUG LANE ’14 INSPECTING A CURRENT BREW.

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THE NAME DEVIL WIND BREWING IS A HOMAGE TO XENIA. LOCAL LEGEND HAS IT THAT THE SHAWNEE INDIANS REFERRED TO THE AREA AS “THE PLACE OF THE DEVIL WIND.”

FROM LEFT, WRIGHT STATE ALUMNI DOUG LANE, PERRY WYATT, AND DAVID HATFIELD, ALONG WITH CURRENT COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR MICHAEL VAN KIRK (NOT PICTURED), OPERATE DEVIL WIND BREWING IN XENIA.

“It’s just like baking or cooking, or anything like that. It’s fun to create recipes and tweak them. You make what you know and then try to make the product better. It’s just cool to have a beer that’s all yours.”

DOUG LANE ’14 at a building in Huber Heights, but was unable to secure an offer before it was sold.

The group is glad that happened because they say Xenia has been the perfect place for their venture.

“The bike path is right there. And there really aren’t other breweries in Xenia.

Yellow Springs is probably the closest. And the people here are just great,” Hatfield said. Originally from Beavercreek, Hatfield lives in Xenia, so the proximity was an 16

WRIGHT STATE MAGAZINE | SPRIN G 20 2 2

added bonus.

The name Devil Wind Brewing is a homage to Xenia. Local legend has it that the Shawnee Indians referred to the area as “the place of the devil wind.” As most area residents know, Xenia was hit by an F5 tornado on April 3, 1974, that killed 33 people and injured 1,300. The name proved to be perfect for the brewery—on the tornado’s anniversary in 2018, just a few days after opening, tornado sirens

went off during a storm.

“It was weird. It was so close to when we opened. A tornado did touch down up the road,” Hatfield said.

Opening the brewery wasn’t completely devoid of issues. They put half the money down for equipment with a manufacturer in Ohio. Hatfield said they wanted to purchase American-made equipment. The equipment was to be delivered in October 2017. In September, the company called and said they were out of business and the money was gone.

“We scrambled. We were supposed to open in 2017. We found some equipment in stock that wasn’t exactly what we wanted, but it was in stock, so we purchased it,” Hatfield said.

While this was a setback, the group found local plumbers and electricians who knew their situation and were able to take payments for services rather than charging for everything up front. The group said they helped build almost everything in the brewery except the bar and the frame for the bathroom. The opening was finally scheduled for March 30, 2018.

It was an immediate success. Hatfield said the brewery opened at 4 p.m., but there was a line around the block at 3:30. One of the major reasons why the brewery is doing so well is because of the surrounding community, as well as the popularity of brewing.

“People enjoy having so many more styles [of beer] to try. Also, it’s just breweries in general. They have their own place to go. People love going to a small business like this, a small business that makes a good product. It’s also all about the environment,” Lane said.

The brewery has a vibe that is friendly and welcoming. The ambiance on the night before Thanksgiving was relaxed and fun. People were eating, talking, singing, and enjoying the bands. The brewery is a quintessential hometown bar with lots of regulars. Finding a friend is as easy as finding a perfect pour of beer or a finger of good whiskey.

“We’re not like a bar. You’re not going to come here on a Friday night and find obnoxious drunk people. You’re not going to find fights. You’re going to find people hanging out. It’s funny—they always say there’s six degrees of separation. Here, there’s only about two. This place is great for making connections,” Hatfield said.

The brewery stays connected to the community through different events and fundraisers. They recently helped start Xenia’s first Oktoberfest event. They work with the schools, 4 Paws for Ability, and other special causes, including raising $1,400 for a regular customer who was in hospice care.

One thing Hatfield is proud of is selling products from other small businesses in the area. Beyond beer, the brewery offers a lot of locally made wines and whiskies.

The full bar offers a selection of around 100 different whiskies and bourbons. Local food trucks are outside the brewery almost every night. The Phatty Wagon has become one of the main staples at Devil Wind.

Beyond the drinks and food, the brewery is known as a place to hear great music, with bands playing on weekends and open mic nights offered weekly. For Lane, who graduated with a Bachelor of Music in

Music Education from Wright State, the music is a bonus. He and Wyatt play in the house band.

“The best thing about owning this place is that it combines my two favorite things—brewing beer and music,” Lane said.

On the rare occasion when there isn’t music playing at the brewery, patrons might be able to take in a comedy show. The brewery also offers cornhole tournaments, music bingo, trivia nights, and an ultra-competitive shuffleboard league on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A shuffleboard table was among the first items they purchased for Devil Wind after it opened. A second shuffleboard table was recently added to help keep up with the demand of people wanting to play in the tournaments.

So what is in the future for Devil Wind Brewing?

Growing the business is the focus.

Currently, the brewery is closed on Mondays so they can brew beer. They also brew during the other days of the week, but only until the doors open. Another priority is to make room for canning their beer, which they recently started doing.

This allows beer lovers to take some of the

brews back to their homes. Having cans available also helps to expand their beer into markets outside of Xenia.

“We’re ready to make our next move.

We want to move the tap room across the street to make room here for brewing and canning. Or move the brewing and expand the tap room we are in,” Hatfield said.

April will be the brewery’s four-year anniversary and a celebration is being planned. Lots of bands and beer specials will be available.

However, when it comes to talking about success, the conversation always goes back to the beer. Wyatt, who is in charge of many of the financial duties and inventory, said the beer is top notch.

“My favorite part about working here is drinking this wonderful beer. We have some of the best beer. We have such a great customer base. We’re a hidden gem,” he said.

Devil Wind Brewing, at 130 S. Detroit Street in Xenia, is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday. A list of events and food trucks can be found on their website at devilwindbrewing.com or on their Facebook page.

KEEPING

family FIRST

The two longest donors in Wright State’s history share stories of 45 years of giving back.

BY DENNIS BOVA

T

Meanwhile, at still-young Wright State University, something wonderful happens.

Bill and Cynthia King, both faculty members in the Department of Classics, and John Fortman, Ph.D., in chemistry, make their first donations to the university.

While many items from 1975 are in the dustbin of history, not so the goodwill of the Kings and Fortman. Each year since, they’ve donated to Wright State. That’s 45 years without interruption, making them the longest givers in Wright State’s history.

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“

It’s a good idea to support something that’s worthwhile. Decent teaching in the schools is worthwhile. We need good teachers in schools, and this is a way for it to be done...I want Wright State to prosper.

CYNTHIA KING, Ph.D.

PROFESSOR EMERITA OF CLASSICS

“

he year is 1975, and what a year it is. The leisure suit arrives on the fashion scene. Sony introduces the Betamax video recording system, giving birth to videocassette recorders— commonly called VCRs. Mood Rings and Pet Rocks are popular gifts.

19 75

CAPTAIN AND TENNILLE’S “LOVE WILL KEEP US TOGETHER” IS SONG OF THE YEAR.

When Cynthia King talks of the yearly donations in the King name, it’s evident her late husband’s spirit is with her. She begins by referring to herself in making the donations since he passed in 2017, then quickly backtracks to say “we” instead of “I.” Love persists; it shows.

The two were a team from when they met in graduate school at the University of North Carolina. A few years after they earned their Ph.D.s, the married couple relocated to Dayton to lay the groundwork for a program in the classics department at a newly forming university. In 1964, Bill became a founding faculty member of what would become Wright State; Cynthia joined him on the faculty a year later.

They established the Department of Classics, even though, according to university history, “the library, which was housed in the cafeteria, had a classics collection of only 25 books. On this foundation, the Kings built the classics program into a vital part of the campus community.”

Bill’s specialties were Greek and Latin literature, Roman art and archaeology, and scientific and medical terminology.

Cynthia’s also was in Greek and Latin literature, with Greek art and archaeology and classical philosophy.

Academic life hummed along for several years. Then, as Cynthia tells it, came a campus-wide request for scholarship funds. “That was a wonderful idea,” she says. “We hopped on that as soon as it became a possibility.” Thus began the first of their annual donations.

“We wanted to support the students,” Cynthia says with a rush of resolve. “We

wanted to support the teaching of Latin and to get people ready to teach Latin in high schools. The idea was to get Latin teachers prepared, and other good teachers too: English, social studies, history.”

Why Latin? “It’s important for literacy,” she says firmly. “To have some understanding of language. Doctors and ministers have their Greek and Hebrew.”

Latin is important in the liberal arts.

“There are still people who want to learn something besides business and data and science and video games.”

The Kings faithfully continued their annual donation, even after they retired in 2002. “We sensed the opportunity existed and we wanted to support the students,” Cynthia says.

They remained active in the Wright State community until Bill, a double amputee, experienced declining health. He passed

away Nov. 30, 2017; they had been married for 56 years at that time.

Still, Cynthia kept up with the donations in their name—to the William and Cynthia King Scholarship.

As for her most recent donation, Cynthia gives a nod to changing times.

“Some goes to the library archives, and this time to the College of Liberal Arts emergency fund.” She says that fund partially grew from the pandemic to help students who run into trouble with sudden expenses, like repairing a car to get to and from classes.

The reason for her continual giving is simple. “It’s a good idea to support something that’s worthwhile. Decent teaching in the schools is worthwhile. We need good teachers in schools, and this is a way for it to be done.”

Also, “I want Wright State to prosper.”

RIGHT: BILL AND CYNTHIA KING SPEAK AT WRIGHT STATE’S BL AST FROM THE PAST EVENT IN APRIL 2012, WHERE SPEAKERS SHARED STORIES OF THEIR E XPERIENCES AT THE UNIVERSIT Y.

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LEFT: FORTMAN E XPL AINS THE BASICS OF COMBUSTION AND SCIENCE [VS. MAGIC] USING A BURNING BOOK. RIGHT: FORTMAN PL ACES DRY ICE IN A RAINBOW OF INDICATOR SOLUTIONS IN THE PRESENCE OF A BASE.

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“

I always kept in mind that I had the opportunity to stay at home, work part time, and go through school. I felt that I should give the opportunity to other Dayton students who couldn’t afford to go away to college.

So when the opportunity came to contribute to a scholarship, it was my way of giving a little back.

Wright State gives an opportunity to students who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend school.

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PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF CHEMISTRY

WRIGHT STATE MAGAZINE | SPRIN G 20 2 2

“

JOHN FORTMAN, Ph.D.

ENGINEER ED ROBERTS DEVELOPED THE ALTAIR 8800, THE FIRST PERSONAL COMPUTER.

Before there was Bill Nye the Science Guy and any number of others who blended the teaching of science with entertainment, there was John Fortman. He wasn’t as effervescent or nationally known as Nye and their fellow infotainers. But Fortman, in a sense, showed them how it was done, especially in the world of chemistry.

Fortman, with his Wright State colleague Rubin Battino, Ph.D., created chemistry shows for middle and high school students and their teachers. The shows were fast-paced, lively, and, well, explosive.

“We’re working with middle and high school students, and they don’t have terrifically long attention spans,” Battino said. “So there just can be no gaps. When we work together, it’s just bang, bang, bang, bang.”

The demonstrations included spiraling towers of flame, billowing clouds of condensed water vapor, and a few sonic boom-like explosions.

Or, as Fortman said: “If you become a teacher, remember, instead of telling them, demonstrate.”

Fortman and Battino provided these educational experiences for about 35 years. Their 90-minute shows included more than 40 demonstrations, and were watched live by about 250,000 students and teachers. On many occasions, Fortman himself took to the road to showcase the wonders and excitement of chemistry to auditoriums full of students and their teachers.

All the while and behind the scenes, Fortman exhibited another kind of chemistry—between him and Wright State. In 1975, Fortman made a donation

to the university to help students. Every year after that—including since 2001, when he retired as professor emeritus of chemistry after 36 years of teaching firstyear students and inorganic chemistry—he has donated to the university.

One might think the genesis of the donation was purely to advance the teaching of chemistry. But there’s a deeper, more personal reason.

When Fortman was a student, the higher education choices in and around Dayton were limited. He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Dayton in 1961 and his Ph.D. in physical inorganic chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 1965.

Then Sinclair Community College and Wright State came along, offering more economical tuition.

“I always kept in mind that I had the opportunity to stay at home, work part time, and go through school,” Fortman

says. “I felt that I should give the opportunity to other Dayton students who couldn’t afford to go away to college. So when the opportunity came to contribute to a scholarship, it was my way of giving a little back. Wright State gives an opportunity to students who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend school.”

As the years went by, Fortman continued the donations, driven in part by the largess of chemical companies and their foundations.

“They saw the need for chemists,” he says of the large companies, “so they donated.”

Fortman, for instance, said he made the initial connection with Dow Chemical Company to contribute to scholarships.

“My own [continued donation] was a natural connection to these companies.”

Asked for his thoughts on the importance of faculty donating to help students, he says without hesitation that teachers need to think back to how they

got their education, and the financial help they got along the way.

One more nod to 1975: the top TV show for the fifth consecutive year was “All in the Family.” Fitting that the Kings and Fortman stepped forward and continue to do so as part of the greater Wright State family.

If you would like to start your legacy of giving, visit wright.edu/giving.

WRIGHT.EDU/ALUMNI

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Welcome home to

WRIGHT STATE A new year. A new class.

BY SARAH CAVENDER ’20

W

ith a new academic year in August 2021 came a new wave of firstyear students. These students arrived at a campus unlike the one their 2020 peers stepped onto—or, in a sense, avoided.

In 2020, much of the instruction was done remotely because of the health threat posed by COVID-19.

WHO IS THE FIRST-YEAR CLASS OF RAIDERS? University College 507 students

Raj Soin College of Business 280 students

College of Science & Mathematics 325 students

College of Engineering & Computer Science 286 students

College of Health, Education, & Human Services 447 students

College of Liberal Arts 325 students

In 2021, academic life returned to a semblance of normalcy, though with mask mandates. These first-year students didn’t have to experience the fully remote classes that their predecessors did.

So what brought this new class of Raiders—more than 2,600 first-year students—to Wright State?

Two chief reasons were affordability and a welcoming atmosphere, said some students. Varshitha Reddy Thanam, a firstyear computer science major, chose Wright State for those exact reasons.

“Wright State has been really welcoming and warm,” said Thanam. “I have met some good people here who helped me a lot to get settled. There is also a chapel, which gives me positive energy going here.”

Another way Wright State cultivates a welcoming environment is through its more than 150 student organizations, from sports to cultural clubs to music to professional experiences.

“My favorite part about going to Wright State is the wealth of options for clubs and other activities,” first-year student Rylan Brooks said. “I chose Wright State because of its affordability, location, and that it had a specific major for my desired field of study.” Which for Brooks, means both information technology and the growing field of cybersecurity.

Brooks took advantage of the student life on campus and is a sports color commentator for the campus radio station, WWSU, and a member of the table tennis club.

In an interview with the Wright State News staff, Student Government President Jonathan Ciero emphasized the importance of student involvement.

“I truly believe that the freshman and sophomore classes—even WRIGHT.EDU/ALUMNI

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VARSHITHA REDDY THANAM COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR

juniors and seniors, since they’ve been away from campus for so long—want to be doing things on campus again,” he said. “So I’m trying to encourage them and let them know what we have available.”

Diana D. Johnson, a first-year mechanical engineering major, became involved in several organizations on campus, including the Student Government Association.

“So far this semester, I have had an amazing experience,” Johnson said. “It is so much easier to get involved than I expected. Plus, there are so many resources for every occasion.

I participated in the Academic Advantage Program over the summer and made connections, as well as met people who became friends.”

Johnson said the campus community and culture were welcoming and made her feel more at home than she anticipated.

“Without the friends I’ve made, I don’t know where I would be. That I am free to make my own decisions and be independent here on campus is a huge deal to me. Wright State has definitely made me feel at home,” Johnson said.

First-year and returning students alike were also excited to experience life on campus after a year of canceled events. After moving into campus dormitories and apartments, First Weekend kicked off the semester with the annual housing dance party, Party in the Woods, and Do the U, a campus student organization fair.

Among those celebrating were around 630 first-year students who live on campus. As for the rest of the incoming class, a little over 2,000 first-year students commute. There are also 496 firstyear students at Wright State’s Lake Campus in Celina.

While the majority of the first-year class is between the ages

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DIANA D. JOHNSON MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR

of 18 and 24, making up 1,858 of the students, Wright State is a welcoming campus for nontraditional students. Of the first-year students, 629 are under 18 years old, while 210 are over 25 years old.

Among those nontraditional students is Cheyenne Null, a first-year crime and justice studies major. She chose Wright State primarily because the friendly setting allowed her to live on campus with her children.

“My favorite part about going to Wright State is knowing I’m surrounded by people who have the same goal as I do, to be successful. I really love how friendly everyone is,” Null said.

First-year student Ariana Bush is in the Wright State dance program, while also pursuing a degree in political science. She said Wright State was her first choice because it allows dance majors to study both acting and singing as well as participate in musical theatre productions. These additional skills would serve her well in her ambition to someday operate her own dance company.

“I could choreograph dances that focus on any number of national or international social justice issues,” Bush added. “The arts have always been on the front lines in addressing the need for social change and communicating complex emotions.”

After graduating from Wright State, Bush plans to dance and choreograph professionally and learn from others how to start a dance company before starting her own.

As Wright State continues its efforts to bounce back to what used to be normal, staff and students are glad to be back on campus together.

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JUNE 9

SUGAR VALLEY GOLF CLUB It’s the 46th Annual Legacy Scholarship Golf Outing !

Visit wrightstatealumni.com/golf to play or to be a sponsor.

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EDUCATION & COLLABORATION SPARK INNOVATION Wright State continues to provide and expand its resources and opportunities for students to create and innovate

BY JESSICA GRAUE & JIM HANNAH

is a long one that includes airplanes, cash registers, and even ice cube trays. For hundreds of years, and to this day, Daytonians have been coming up with brilliant and creative ideas.

That spirit of innovation carries on at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the many colleges and universities in the area. Wright State University is a perfect example of where innovation grows and flourishes.

THE LIST OF INVENTIONS CREATED IN DAYTON

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INNOVATION AT THE LAKE CAMPUS

The Agriculture and Water Quality Education Center opened in 2018 at the Lake Campus in Celina as a place where students can get hands-on education by taking advantage of Mercer County resources. Students attend “lab” on local farms and continuously analyze the water quality of Grand Lake St. Marys.

“The cool thing about the center is that it provides space for students to have handson lab experience as well as classroom space. The fact we have this center at this location is great because we can take advantage of the land around us.”

AUBREY LOWREY JAQUETH, Ph.D. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF AGRICULTURE AND ANIMAL SCIENCE WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY–LAKE CAMPUS

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Stephen James Jacquemin, Ph.D., professor of biology, said access to clean water is a global issue and techniques to improve it are critically important to the Midwest and beyond. Jacquemin’s students monitor water quality in the lake as well as its tributaries. The team also works to restore natural habitats and wetlands.

“The center serves as a hub for environmental and conservation work.

This work has all been made possible by undergrads,” he said. “They [undergrads] are pivotal in the monitoring process. They go out every week, no matter what, to collect samples and bring them back to the lab for analyzing.”

Grand Lake St. Marys has experienced toxic algae issues in the past, and the students’ work has improved the lake’s quality. Students put floating wetlands in the lake and have worked with the Grand Lake St. Marys Restoration Commission.

“We’ve lost a great amount of wetlands in North America. Research shows they are important for wildlife and the remediation of nutrients. If we don’t improve the issues here and beyond, there won’t be aquatic resources for the future. We should be

TOP RIGHT: L AKE CAMPUS STUDENTS SAMANTHA KNAPKE (LEF T) AND SIERA GELDBAUGH E X AMINE AN ARUGUL A PL ANTED IN A HYDROPONIC SYSTEM IN THE AGRICULTURE L AB AT THE AGRICULTURE AND WATER QUALIT Y EDUCATION CENTER. BOTTOM RIGHT: AUBREY JAQUETH, Ph.D. (LEF T) DISCUSSES THE MORPHOLOGY OF A WEED IN A SOYBEAN FIELD WITH L AKE CAMPUS STUDENTS EMILY KNAPKE (MIDDLE) AND SAMANTHA KNAPKE.

proud of the work our students are doing,” Jacquemin said.

On the agricultural side, students learn about animal production, agronomic production, local crops, turf grass management, and the science behind how these things are created, maintained, and used to make money. The center makes it possible for this kind of learning.

“The cool thing about the center is that it provides space for students to have hands-on lab experience as well as classroom space,” said Aubrey Lowrey Jaqueth, Ph.D., assistant professor of agriculture and animal science.

“The fact we have this center at this location is great because we can take advantage of the land around us.”

The agriculture students work with local farms and high schools on projects. In the future they will study pasture systems, livestock behavior and nutrition, and how livestock affect the environment. These partnerships with the community make these more involved research activities possible.

“We have a strong agricultural industry in this area. We make sure the next generation of students are equipped with the tools they need to work in Mercer County. Many students end up going back to family farms after their degree. Some go into nutrient management or soil and water conservation,” Jaqueth said.

WRIGHT VENTURE

Start-up businesses and innovation are closely connected. The Raj Soin College of Business at Wright State offers degrees in entrepreneurship and has an Entrepreneurship Club for students to join. In 2015, these developments led to a business competition called Wright Venture, supported by the James Family WRIGHT.EDU/ALUMNI

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TOP LEFT: FORREST WHITAKER ’18 PRESENTED HIS BUSINESS IDEA, “INFLUENCE SK ATEBOARDS,” WHILE HE WAS A STUDENT AT WRIGHT STATE. TOP RIGHT: DURING THE WRIGHT VENTURE FINALS, STUDENTS PRESENT THEIR BUSINESS IDEAS TO A PANEL OF E XPERIENCED ENTREPRENEURS, CALLED WOLVES, WHO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON EACH BUSINESS PL AN.

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Entrepreneurship Program and the Wright State University Foundation.

Modeled after ABC-TV’s Shark Tank, Wright Venture competitors have a weekend to create a business and marketing plan and present it to the expert panel of “wolves.” Students participate in workshops, work with mentors, and have a chance to win a $5,000 investment in their business idea.

“With a limited amount of time, students end up with an extremely valuable educational experience. They learn all aspects to create an innovation. Students learn how to make a successful start-up,” said Tom Traynor, Ph.D., dean of the Raj Soin College of Business.

One successful start-up that continues to offer its services is the 2021 Wright Venture winner. TUMBLE, an on-demand laundry and dry cleaning service, was

pitched by students Jeffrey Caldwell and Charles Wheeler. Both said that participating in Wright Venture was meaningful and validating.

“It was a good experience overall to see what it’s like to pitch a business. It was good to sell an idea in a formal setting,” Wheeler said. “The feedback from the judges really helped and showed us we are capable of anything we put our minds to.”

Beyond pitching an idea for a business, participants must create a marketing and financing plan and figure out how they will reach their intended audience. Mentors help the groups, but the competition forces students to employ a variety of skills.

“It really helps to get your ideas down on paper. You build skills that are necessary to do anything, like public speaking. It [the event] is competitive. There were tons of people with mind-blowing ideas, but we

EDUCATION & COLLABORATION SPARK INNOVATION

proved that you just can’t beat a great idea,” Caldwell said.

Wheeler and Caldwell have been reinvesting the $5,000 they won back into the business. They now have merchandise and a subscription service. Their services have also expanded to patio furniture and wedding clean-ups. They plan to work the business on the side with the possibility of doing it full time in the future.

Planning for the next Wright Venture is currently underway. The presentations are scheduled for April 2022. Kendall Goodrich, Ph.D., chair and professor in the Department of Marketing, said he is looking forward to the next event.

“Any student who dreams of taking an idea forward should see this as a great opportunity. There are always some pleasant surprises with what the students come up with,” he said.

INNOVATION WEEKEND

Another event that pushes students to think creatively is Innovation Weekend, hosted by the College of Science and Mathematics. This event started in 2018 and asks students to brainstorm problems, pitch solutions, work with other students, and connect with local business partners.

“It goes beyond anything that’s a lecturebased class. They have to do so much in such a short amount of time. They interact with potential employers and real problems. We’re not making this stuff up,” said Kathy Engisch, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Science and Mathematics.

Each weekend has a theme; the most recent theme was “The Psychology of Connection: From Education to Work and Space.” Teams came up with two ideas—a biosensor that reports when a student is struggling with stress and a virtual reality classroom.

“It gets students out of their comfort zone.

Hearing all sorts of ideas from different majors was really neat. Everyone was searching for ideas to help. All these people were working to help people, just in different ways.”

AJ DUCH ’20 MIDDLE CHILDHOOD EDUCATION MEMBER OF THE 2019 RUNNER-UP TEAM FOR INNOVATION WEEKEND

The event in 2019 had the theme of “Developing Technology for Independent Living.” The top team won with the idea of a smartwatch and GPS sensor that combines health monitoring with location to address life-threatening health events along with issues of elderly wandering and getting lost. The runner-up’s idea was for a sleeve that would help stop the hand tremors associated with people who have Parkinson’s disease.

Beyond coming up with ingenious ideas, students learn about public speaking, collaboration, research, and time management. The event also brings together people from different disciplines.

AJ Duch, a member of the 2019 runner-up team and 2020 graduate of Wright State’s middle childhood education program, said the weekend is a great way for students to try something new.

“It gets students out of their comfort zone. Hearing all sorts of ideas from different majors was really neat. Everyone was searching for ideas to help. All these people were working to help people, just in different ways,” Duch said.

Engisch said the weekend is a chance for students to think creatively about the problems of our time, to bond with WRIGHT.EDU/ALUMNI

31

teammates, and to get experience they will use in the future. Also, the methods used allow students to be free of old pathways and apply those methods throughout their lives to solve problems.

“We have two steps of Post-it Note brainstorming. The room is quiet as everyone tries to think of as many aspects of the problem as they can. After we put up all the Post-it Notes along the whiteboards, organizing by topic, we have another

“Wright State University has an undeniable presence in Dayton, and the administration’s leadership team is boldly seeking industry partners to enhance their curriculum, enrich students, and provide a return-on-investment for the wider Dayton community.”

JOSEPH KIRBY ’03 CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER INFINITY LABS

brainstorming session about solutions.

We instruct participants to not edit their thoughts; the goal is to fill as many Post-it Notes as possible. The best ideas come after your 10th or 11th note. The first notes are what everyone is thinking; the last notes are the original ideas no one has thought of before,” Engisch said.

Engisch said the college is looking for an external partner to provide input on a problem for the next Innovation Weekend, but the coordinators are hoping to try new things such as a mathematical analysis or computer modeling component; multiple small challenges with prizes throughout; 32

WRIGHT STATE MAGAZINE | SPRIN G 20 2 2

and prizes for individuals with the most ideas or group members displaying leadership or collaboration.

PARTNERSHIP WITH INFINITY LABS

With so many innovations originating in academia, how do we move them forward to market? This is the question that led Wright State to team up with Daytonbased research and development firm and national security solutions provider Infinity Labs, providing another avenue for student experiences.

Infinity Labs was founded in 2020 by seven local executives with experience as military veterans and a former civilian from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Half of the company’s founders are Wright State alumni.

Infinity Labs offers expertise in modeling, simulation, analysis, and cybersecurity, including antitamper, weapons, and infrastructure vulnerability assessments; research and development, tech transfer, commercial product development, biotechnology, nanotechnology, augmented reality and virtual reality, game design, aircraft power and propulsion, defense acquisitions, and technology evaluation and transfer.

“We are excited to partner with Wright State in building an R&D center of excellence in downtown Dayton that will enable recruiting, developing, and retaining future talent to the region,” said Ken Edge, the company’s chief executive officer.

Edge earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering at Wright State in 1998 and was the senior military leader for 120 people in the Electronic Warfare and Cyber Division in the AFRL’s Sensors Directorate. Jason Molnar, chief strategy officer, a decorated Army officer, brings significant combat experience to the table. Molnar transitioned his military experience to private industry supporting

Special Operations Forces around the world and growing all-source intelligence capabilities within the National Air and Space Intelligence Center.

Joseph Kirby, chief operating officer, earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science at Wright State in 2003. Kurt Glendenning, chief product officer, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Wright State in 2013 and 2015, respectively.

Four months after opening, Infinity Labs was selected by the Air Force as a prime contractor for a $950 million contract for an advanced battle management system. The company has received prime contracts with several other organizations both within and beyond the Department of Defense.

“Wright State University has an undeniable presence in Dayton, and the administration’s leadership team is boldly seeking industry partners to enhance their curriculum, enrich students, and provide a return-on-investment for the wider Dayton community,” Kirby said.

Weighing all these activities, it’s safe to say the long-standing spirit of innovation in Dayton lives on, especially at Wright State.

TOP: INNOVATION WEEKEND 2018 PARTICIPANTS PRESENTED THEIR IDEAS TO JUDGES FROM WRIGHT STATE, WRIGHT STATE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, AND EVENT SPONSOR LEIDOS. MIDDLE: WRIGHT STATE STUDENTS FROM ACROSS THE UNIVERSIT Y CAME TOGETHER TO DEVISE SOLUTIONS TO PL ASTIC WASTE IN THE WORLD’S OCEANS AT INNOVATION WEEKEND IN APRIL 2019.

BOTTOM: THE INFINIT Y L ABS E XECUTIVE TEAM INCLUDES (FROM LEF T) NICK MARQUART, JOE KIRBY ’03, JASON MOLNAR, KEN EDGE ’98, NICK KUPROWICZ, KURT GLENDENNING ’13, ’15, AND THE L ATE JASON KLEIN.

WRIGHT.EDU/ALUMNI

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Civil conversations

BY MICAH KARR ’19

make a career out of having civil arguments. A first-year student at Wright State, he plans to become a lawyer, possibly a prosecuting attorney someday.

Leist is fascinated by government and the process of law, but he is also drawn to the idea of being able to argue for a living.

“I love the conversation and the arguments,” he said.

“I want to be able to have a civilized argument and conversation. In this case, it will be my job to argue.”

Valedictorian of his 2021 graduation class at Greenon High School, Leist was offered scholarships from multiple universities. He chose Wright State because, in addition to a full-ride scholarship, he liked the university’s political science program.

“I looked into a lot of political science programs and Wright State had one of the better ones,” Leist said.

“The program was better and had more resources and opportunities available. With a full ride and a good program, it was a pretty easy choice.”

Leist had worked with then-Clark County Prosecutor Andy Wilson. He is still in contact with Wilson and said he would love to work for the county someday.

Additionally, Leist’s stepsister works with a law firm and Leist said he would be happy to intern with her.

While he would like to attend law school and practice locally, Leist is open to going elsewhere if he is able to land a scholarship to a law school farther away.

In high school, Leist was incredibly busy. He played sports during his first two years of high school and took college-level classes at Wright State, Sinclair College, and Clark State College. In addition to being valedictorian, he was class president and took advanced math classes. He also tutored students who struggled with math, glad to help anyone who came to learn, whether they were excited about the schoolwork or not.

Leist said his family has been wonderfully supportive through his high school career, and they continue to support him as he attends Wright State. He lives at home in Enon. In his free time, he likes to play all types of video games with his friends, both as a break from schoolwork and to keep his mind fresh.

Leist believes everyone can succeed by working hard and doing their best at whatever they do. “Just keep at it, no matter how you think you’ll do,” he advised.

“You’ll do better than you think.”

AUSTIN LEIST WANTS TO

Austin Leist ’24

You know firsthand how a degree from Wright State can take you places. You are one of 115,000+ alumni inspiring, leading, and making things happen.

Do you know a high school student? Tell them why they should consider Wright State. Or maybe you want to advance your own career with a graduate degree? We have nationally recognized, accredited programs to help you reach your goals.

No matter what your future is, we can get you there.

RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW. WRIGHT STATE

wright.edu/now

Prolific purveyor

The art of selling through storytelling

BY MICAH KARR ’19

James Pearson ’89 is a purveyor of new technology. Through Wright State’s film program, he learned skills that have helped him work with celebrities like Michael Jackson and Oprah Winfrey. And he has launched successful companies like Audible and Razorfish.

Pearson is well known for helping emerging companies build global public relations plans that can bring the companies popularity and increase their subscribers by hundreds of thousands.

Audible, which began as a small audiobook company, benefited from Pearson’s help. It was acquired by Amazon and grew into one of the largest platforms of its kind on the market.

When he began work for Razorfish, the company employed about five dozen people. As Razorfish’s popularity grew through Pearson’s help building awareness, the group hired more employees and extended their reach further with many acquisitions.

“Over two years, Razorfish went from an office of 60 people to tens of thousands of employees all over the world,” Pearson said.

In May 2021, Pearson began to work as a public relations specialist for EmitBio, a biotechnology company developing breakthrough medical devices that change how respiratory infectious diseases are treated. EmitBio recently was granted a patent for a device that uses light therapy to kill the COVID-19 virus.

“Companies come to me because I have a reputation of finding technology or science and ABOVE: PEARSON ALONGSIDE WRIGHT STATE’S JULIA REICHERT AND OTHER NOTABLE CELEBRITIES THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER. PHOTO CREDIT: BROOKLYN COUNTRY MEDIA

“I got to be part of a lot of really neat things in entertainment because of what I learned at Wright State. I learned to tell a good story.

I learned to be truly innovative.”

JAMES PEARSON ’89

breaking it out,” Pearson said. “I have a reputation, by the grace of God and because of what I learned at Wright State, to find something small and make it a global attraction.”

Pearson’s career began in film. He planned to go through Wright State’s film school, where he met Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar, and Jim Klein, legends of independent films. They became his mentors during his time at Wright State and throughout his career.

Pearson said that the storytelling skills he learned at Wright State’s film school have helped him as a public relations specialist, particularly when it comes to emerging technological advancements. He said that the ability he developed to tell a story through film has helped him work in public relations to tell the story of a new product.

“Jim, Julia, and Steve taught me to promote,” he said. “They taught me the business and the art of entertainment and they taught me the art of storytelling.”

Before Pearson graduated from Wright State, he was already working with big names like Michael Jackson. During a tour that passed through Indiana, Michael Jackson’s managers reached out to Wright State to obtain cameras and equipment to film the tour. Jackson’s managers asked that Wright State send two of their best film students along with the equipment; Pearson was selected along with Michael Capone ’89.

Pearson proudly displays his pass from

the Jackson family reunion tour in his home. “People see the pass and they ask if I went to the show and I can say that I worked that show because of Wright State,” he said. “I got to hang out with Michael Jackson. That is not a normal college experience. My whole class had the opportunity to work on films by John Sayles [Eight Men Out] and meet industry experts, because of Jim and Julia. All during my time at Wright State.”

After Pearson graduated, Reichert and Klein encouraged him to apply for any internships he could find through IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees). He had offers to join filming for Nickelodeon in Florida or filming car commercials in Detroit. He turned those offers down. “I just wasn’t going to film kids getting slimed,” he said. “I didn’t want to just film car commercials either.”

So Pearson headed for Chicago, where he found an opportunity to work for Oprah Winfrey. He visited Winfrey’s studio daily to ask for a job and to try to bond with anyone who might have been from Ohio. Winfrey eventually hired Pearson and he worked with her on an ABC series.

He is still in contact with Winfrey.

Pearson said at a WeTV event, he assumed Winfrey would not remember him, but she welcomed him over and happily chatted with him.

“Oprah is the greatest boss I’ve ever had,” he said.

Pearson also worked with John Hughes

to promote Home Alone as it opened. Each week, Pearson would tell Hughes how much the film made in theaters.

“Hughes was always excited to see me when I talked about money,” Pearson said.

Pearson, who lives in New York City, said he is incredibly glad to be a Wright State graduate and an Ohio native. Pearson said Wright State’s film program was difficult, but it encouraged him to work harder and see his potential.

“There’s a purity in people from Ohio; we’ll kill you with kindness,” Pearson said. “There’s something really beautiful in people from this state. We are humble, but we still have the power to create great success anywhere we work.”

Pearson said that coming from a smaller school encouraged him to work harder than someone who may have come from a bigger, more well-known university. He said that most, if not all, of his first work opportunities came from Wright State.

He has voiced commercials and worked with multiple celebrities, all because of the opportunities Wright State gave him.

“People these days talk about their ‘side hustle.’ Wright State didn’t teach just a hustle,” Pearson said. “Wright State taught us entrepreneurship and business.”

“People say youth is wasted on the young, but not at Wright State. It’s an undiscovered country,” Pearson said.

“I want to be able to say kids can go to Wright State and end up with mentors like John Hughes, Oprah Winfrey, or Julia Reichert.”

He added, “I got to be part of a lot of really neat things in entertainment because of what I learned at Wright State. I learned to tell a good story. I learned to be truly innovative.”

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OCTOBER 5 ONE DAY. EVERY RAIDER. EVERYWHERE.

On this day each year, hundreds of Raiders and Lakers join us on Wright Day to Give in support of our students and campus. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, our students learned firsthand about drive, initiative, adaptability, persistence, and resilience. With your support, they were able to still accomplish many things in spite of the obstacles and challenges of COVID-19. This year, we hope you will continue to support our students and mark your calendars for this important day.

Visit wright.edu/wrightday2give to make a difference.

2022

The Alumni Association recognizes and

celebrates the accomplishments of Wright

State alumni. These outstanding individuals are recognized for numerous accomplishments in

Nominations are open for the following:

high standards of integrity and character, they

Alumnus/a of the Year Award

the Alumni Association.

Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award

their chosen fields. In addition to possessing

have also given their time and talent to benefit

Submit a nomination for a

Honorary Alumnus/a Award

Alumni Achievement Award at

Graduate of the Last Decade Award

Wright State University

wrighstatealumni.com.

Deadline is May 31, 2022.

Volunteer Service Award

The future, as they say, is what you make of it.

As you plan for tomorrow, we invite you to consider how you can make a difference for future generations of Wright State students TODAY. The Office of Planned Giving can help you think through how a charitable bequest can fit within your estate plans.

To learn more, please contact: Wright State University

937-775-3694

Foundation

plannedgiving@wright.edu

Office of Planned Giving

wright.edu/plannedgiving

RAIDER EVENTS JUNE

JUNE

9

12

46th Annual Legacy Scholarship Golf Outing

Wright State Day at Kings Island

Join us for a beautiful day of golf at the 46th Annual Legacy Scholarship Golf Outing. Proceeds benefit Wright State student scholarships.

Each year, the Wright State Alumni Association invites students, alumni, and friends for a day of fun at Kings Island.

Bring your family and come ride all your favorites.

JULY

29-31

Chicago Bus Tour

Travel with Us

This Friday-to-Sunday trip gives alumni and friends the opportunity to shop, see a Broadway-style show, sample world-class cuisine, take in a concert, or simply see the sights of Chicago.

See the world with your fellow Wright State Raiders!

Dates (below) for our 2022 trips have been released and 2023 excursion dates are coming soon. Visit wrightstatealumni.com/events for more information.

For more information and to get tickets for upcoming events, visit wrightstatealumni.com/events wrightstatealumni.com/events.

APRIL 23 Last day of spring classes APRIL 29–MAY 1 Spring Commencement MAY 9 First day of summer classes

AUGUST 7–17 Northern Realms: Baltics & Scandinavia AUGUST 23 First day of fall classes SEPTEMBER 10–12 Bourbon Tour

OCTOBER 5 Wright Day to Give OCTOBER 6–16 Adriatic & Aegean Array DECEMBER 10–11 Fall Commencement

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SAPPHIRE JUBILEE

BACK WITH OUR PACK Wright State alumni were happy to finally be back in person with each other. There was much to celebrate and support. With the return of our in-person signature events, like our Golf Outing, Rowdy Gras, Beer Tasting, and other annual favorites, Raider alumni gathered to celebrate, support, and fundraise for our Wright State community. We also had the opportunity to recognize outstanding alumni achievements and some pretty awesome students, too.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION GRADFEST

SEE YOU AT OUR NEXT EVENT Visit wrightstatealumni.com/events for more information on how you can join the fun.

ROWDY GRAS 2022

42

WRIGHT STATE MAGAZINE | SPRIN G 20 2 2

ALUMNI LEGACY SCHOL ARSHIP BRUNCH

HORIZON LEAGUE MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT GAME LEGACY SCHOL ARSHIP GOLF OUTING

ALUMNI NIGHT AT THE GAME

ALUMNI NIGHT AT THE GAME ALUMNI BEER TASTING ROWDY GRAS 2022

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FAREWELLS 2010s

1970s

Kaylee Dabe ’18 Hayden Kaiser ’18 Gregory Orgel ’16

Kerry Achor ’77 James Barker ’76 Willa Beatty ’75 Edward Benkert ’75 Rita Brinkman ’75 Marybeth Bruchs ’77 Gary Callison ’77 Robert Clemens ’72 Constance Collins ’75 Frank Focht ’70 Santosh Gorowara ’73 Sally Green ’72 Mary Hansel ’75 Alice Hegemier ’74 Kenneth Hill ’70 Leona King ’75 Charles Kuck ’74 Marilyn Lanich ’72 Thomas Lanich ’78 Charles Leach ’75 Loretta Morgan Liesch ’79 Dortha Marsh ’78 Edward McFann ’76 Patricia McMonagle ’76 Elizabeth Ann Peters ’75 Fannie Porter ’72 Stephen Price ’71 Pauline Puckett ’73 Carol Pummill ’75 Mark Quinlan ’77 Karen Roberts ’79 Charles Schreel ’75 Betty Smith-Peters ’72 Marsha Steele ’72 Ronald Sweeney ’79 Maria Valenti ’77 Peggie Worthey ’73 Harold Zimmerman ’74

2000s Devin Aumend ’09 Daniel Hearlihy ’05 Jay Jacobs ’08 Steve Kurtz ’04 Roy Price ’02 Netty Yount ’08

1990s William Bremke ’93 Brent Forgy ’93 Philip Garber ’92 Margaret Graham ’94 Joy Keeran ’91 Kathleen McKinney ’96 Rebecca Pappas ’92 Kathaleen Tabern ’91

1980s Darlene Adams ’84 Marianne Aisenbrey ’81 Robert Alkire ’82 Barbara Bails ’84 Kenneth Belcher ’84 Rebecca Castleforte ’80 Kevin Clark ’81 Vanna Clark ’89 Ronnie Coblentz ’86 Helen Cochran ’83 Leonard Hamilton ’80 Doris Hess ’82 Debra Hurst ’85 Peter Lamm ’86 Rosemary Nock ’87 Robert Patterson ’85 Katherine Peterman ’88 Marycarol Pretorius ’84 Patricia Powders ’80 B. Gayle Satephens ’88 Judith Sheldon ’86 Stephen Solimons ’88 Susan Truchses ’81 John Twarek ’87 John Ware ’82 Teresa Weakley ’81

Melvyn D. Goldfinger Gaetano R. Guzzo III, Ph.D. Dr. Claude Hambrick James E. Jacob IV, Ph.D. Dr. Alan H. Klein James D. Lucas Jacqueline H. McHale ’91 Gail Moddeman, Ph.D. ’79, ’83 Arthur Neff Ronald Rife Phyllis A. Risner, Ph.D. Mary L. Rutkowski Anna Shumski Crete M. Vandeval Herman A. Waggener Jr., M.B.A. Eve Wolf, Ph.D. David R. Wood William N. Woodall Netty Yount ’08

1960s Patricia Gilbert ’67 James Jackson ’68 Arthur Sidell ’69

FACULTY AND STAFF James D. Arehart Mark Bogard Edward Comer James Gallagher Patricia Gilbert, Ph.D. ’67

We rely on family and newspaper obituaries to inform us of the deaths of Wright State alumni, faculty, staff, and retirees. This list was compiled between July 2021 and January 2022. Please send all death notices to alumni_news@wright.edu.

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WRIGHT STATE MAGAZINE | SPRIN G 20 2 2

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF NEUROSCIENCE, CELL BIOLOGY, AND PHYSIOLOGY

Melvyn Goldfinger Melvyn D. Goldfinger, 74, of Dayton, died September 17, 2021. He was born in Newark, New Jersey, and was preceded in death by his parents Max M. Goldfinger and Myrna (neé Demby) Goldfinger. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Adrian M. Corbett, Ph.D.; his brother Paul Goldfinger, M.D.; and his two nephews Stephen and Michael Goldfinger.

Mel spent most of his life as a musician, playing the trombone, and also mastered the baritone horn and the viola. Mel was also a classically trained neuroscientist. He studied neuroscience at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, studied biophysics at University of Maryland Medical Center, had post-doctoral training at Washington University in St. Louis, and was one of the first neuroscientists at Wright State University.

He was a faculty member at Wright State for more than 30 years. On behalf of the faculty at Wright State, Mel led the drive for unionization with AAUP and was a tireless advocate for faculty rights.

ALUMNA AND PROFESSOR OF NURSING

Gail Moddeman ’79, ’83 Gail Moddeman ’79, ’83, age 79, of Beavercreek, completed her journey on earth on January 27, 2022, surrounded by her loving family and friends, and is no longer “alive and kickin’,” as she always said.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 49 years Bill (William) Moddeman, parents Ray and Ruth Ortlieb, sister Judy Wellbrock, and brother Tom Ortlieb.

Survived by loving sons Mark and wife Tanga, and Mike and wife Kathy, and four grandchildren, Abby, Will, Jake, and Nate Moddeman. Gail graduated from Wright State University (B.S.N. and M.S. nursing) and had a lengthy nursing career locally, which included 18 years at Miami Valley Hospital, and 13 years as a professor of nursing at Wright State. Gail mentored many young nurses over the years and thoroughly enjoyed and contributed much to the nursing profession.

In lieu of flowers, a scholarship in Gail’s memory is being established at Wright State for the School of Nursing, Kinesiology, and Health Sciences. Direct memorial gifts may be made payable to Wright State University Foundation and sent to the Wright State University Foundation, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Dayton, OH 45435. Please indicate Gail Moddeman Scholarship in your gift.

CLASS NOTES

’72

DWIGHT MONTJAR (B.S.), who retired

after a 36-year career as a music retailer, buyer for several national chains, and director of sales for American Gramaphone Records, was named the 2020–21 Outstanding Adjunct Faculty member at Rio Salado College in Tempe, AZ. KAREN WOLF (B.S., M.Ed.) has retired from teaching high school business. She is a former president and board member of the Wright State University Alumni Association.

’74

JOAN GRIFFITTS (B.A., M.Ed.) is a public service librarian at the Indianapolis Marion County Libraries. RUTH RAYNOR LAPP (M.S.) has published her memoir/history of the settlement of Westhampton, NY, called The Raynors of Beaver Dam Creek.

’76

KARL BLIESE (B.S.) retired after serving as pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Willits, CA, for 14 years. NANCY SPILLANE (B.S.) retired after serving as librarian at Piqua Public Library for 45 years.

’78

SR. KAREN ELLIOTT (B.S.) is celebrating 40 years as member of the Order of the Precious Blood and helped found the Hope House in Findlay, OH.

’79

BILL LAFAYETTE (B.S., M.S.) is owner of Regionomics, a Columbus-based economic and workforce strategy firm.

’81

GARY MCCULLOUGH (B.S.) was named to the board of directors of the Irving, TX-based Commercial Metals Company. FRANK CEBUL III (M.D.) retired after 40 years with Cleveland Clinic as general practitioner. SUSAN THORNTON (B.S.) retired after more than 39 years as an Air Force civilian contractor.

’85

LEISA COOK (B.S.) is a supervisor at

Land Between the Lakes Parks National Recreation Area.

’86

VERCIE LARK (B.S.) has been appointed

regional administrator of the Great Plains region of the Small Business Administration.

DEBORAH VENESY (M.D.) has been named 2022 president of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She is currently a senior staff member at the Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Spine Health.

’87

CHRIS ZIRKLE (M.S., Ed.S.) is an associate professor in the College of

Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University. Zirkle received a Fulbright Scholar award and taught at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki, Finland.

’88

PAMELA FONTAINE (B.S.), a five-time Paralympian, has been inducted into the USA Table Tennis Hall of Fame. She is a retired professor at Texas Wesleyan University in Denton, TX.

’89

SHAY HURST (B.A.) was promoted to

chief people officer of OncoHealth in Atlanta. DEBRA SUDAN (M.D.), professor of surgery and pediatrics and chief of Duke University’s Division of Abdominal Transplant Surgery, received the department’s 2020 Master Surgeon Award.

’91

DAVID MANLEY (B.A.) has been appointed associate pastor at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Kenosha, WI. WILLIAM MURPHY (B.A.) is president and CEO of the Ardmore (OK) Chamber of Commerce, the Ardmore Development Authority, and the Ardmore Tourism Authority.

’92

BRUCE WEIDNER (B.A.) was appointed chief United States probation officer for the United States District Court–Western District of Tennessee.

’94

MICHAEL BUTCHKO (M.B.A.) was named vice president, finance at Ambassador Enterprises, a Fort Wayne, IN-based private equity firm. RAOUL JOUBRAN (M.D.), a gastroenterologist, joined SageWest Health Care in

EUGENE LEBER ’86 Last summer Gene Leber ’86 completed his nine-year term on the Wright State University Foundation board of trustees, during which time he learned how the university functions behind the scenes.

But considering how the university helped in a string of successes in his life, it is Leber who offers Wright State a behind-the-scenes, life-affirming testimonial.

The Monroeville, Ohio, native sustained an injury that left him a paraplegic shortly after graduating from high school. During his rehabilitation, he met a wheelchair user who had attended Wright State, lauding its disability friendliness, especially the underground tunnel network. “I took a tour, met nice people, saw the tunnel system, and said ‘This place is for me,’” Leber said.

Aside from his classes as a communications studies major, Leber became a research subject for a company on campus to develop electrical stimulation medical equipment to allow those with neurological disabilities, such as himself, to exercise on a stationary bicycle. “The technology from this equipment has kept me healthy. I still use it today.”

After graduation, the same company hired him. Leber quickly became assistant vice president of sales and demonstration. Eventually, though, the company closed.

Next, Leber became executive director for Access Center for Independent Living in Dayton—during which time he had an epiphany of sorts. Married to fellow Wright State alumna Connie Burroughs ’84 and with two children, son Dustin and daughter Abigail, he noticed a problem when he took his children to the playground. “If my kids got hurt, I couldn’t get to them because the playground base had heavy wood chips that my wheelchair couldn’t navigate.” He resigned from the center and started a company “to design playground systems that were progressive and inclusive.”

Twelve years later, he sold the company and moved to Florida, where he soon became a consultant for a company that retrofits houses to make them accessible.

Leber, now 62 and semi-retired, credits Wright State for his successes. “The educational experience for me was learning life skills from people with disabilities. It turned my life around. Just being in that environment allowed me to see the world a little differently. It prepared me for the type of positions I wound up getting in life.”

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WARREN GAVIN ’02, ’07 Students often wonder why they’re required to learn something they think they’ll never use. That goes for then-Boonshoft School of Medicine student Warren Gavin. He and his colleagues, though, have since learned otherwise.

Gavin came to Wright State from New Philadelphia, Ohio, on a tennis scholarship. He majored in psychology with an emphasis in pre-med, graduated, then a year later enrolled in med school. His career path led him to be a hospitalist—he sees and cares for adult patients already in a hospital—with the Indiana University health system in Indianapolis.

Then came the pandemic; Gavin found himself at the front line of care. “Since March 2020, a lot of what I do is care for COVID-19 patients. In the beginning, it was really scary.

We didn’t know how to diagnose it, or what treatments were effective. It was frightening.

And completely overwhelming.”

That’s when his Wright State education paid off in a way he hadn’t expected. “I don’t know anyone who could’ve been prepared for the pandemic. But when I look at my Wright State education, a couple of things stand out, some I didn’t realize as important at the time.”

One was an emphasis on team-based learning. “It’s not just the physician running the show. Now, health care works in teams—you’re working with nursing, nutritionists, residents, pharmacists, care management, and physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Team-based learning was big at Wright State.”

Another was evidence-based medicine. “We were taught how to critically evaluate literature—any study that comes out—to drive real-world decisions.” With all the COVID-19 studies that were being released, Gavin said it was important to determine which ones were reliable so he and his colleagues could make informed decisions.

“The passionate professors who taught medicine knew what tools we were going to need, and they put those in our toolbelt. That makes me think fondly of what I learned at Wright State.”

Fremont County, WY. JOHN OLAECHEA (B.S.) is the compliance assistance specialist for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OH) in Region VIII.

’95

ANTHONY PONDER (M.Ed.) was named

provost at Sinclair College. TERESA ZRYD

(M.D.) is the 2021–22 president of the Ohio

Academy of Family Physicians.

’96

MOLLY BUTTERWORTH (CARSTEN) (M.A.) has written a second book, Trains

& Trollies: Railroads and Streetcars in St. Louis.

’97

THOMAS JENKINS (B.S., M.S.), who teaches eighth grade at Greenon (OH) Middle School, received a 2019–20 Excellence in Teaching award from the Springfield (OH) Rotary

Club. CINDY LIETTE (B.S.) has joined the board of directors of EverHeart Hospice. CHAD POTTER (B.S.) is chief operating officer of Westwater Resources, Inc., a battery graphite development company based in Centennial, CO.

’98 ’99

ALEXIS LARSEN (B.A.) is the new chief

of philanthropy for Five Rivers MetroParks.

CHRISTOPHER GARINGER (B.S.) was

promoted to executive vice president at the Omaha, NE-based American National Bank.

SHAWN PEEPLES (B.A.) was appointed Miami County (OH) clerk of courts.

’01

BRETT KOCKENTIET (M.S., M.D.) was recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a lifetime achiever in dermatology.

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WRIGHT STATE MAGAZINE | SPRIN G 20 2 2

’03

RICHA GUPTA (M.B.A.) was appointed chief people officer for Globalization

’04

CHRISTOPHER LEAPLEY (B.A.) was elected to Bethel Township’s Board of

Partners.

Trustees. KUMAR YELAMARTHI (M.S., Ph.D.) was named associate dean of the College of Engineering at Tennessee Tech University.

’05

ERIN JOHNSTON (M.Acc.) was appointed as board member of the Miami County Foundation. ERICA BLAIRE ROBY (B.S.) won the title “Master of Cue” in the Food Network’s BBQ Brawl.

’06

EBONY BLAKE (B.F.A.) has a role in CBS’s Bull. JOSH LONG (B.S.Ed.) was inducted into the Covington (OH) High School Athletic Hall of Fame as an honorary inductee.

CHRISTOPHER LOUCK (M.D.) was named the medical director of the Jasper County (IN) Health Department. MOLLI SCHLEUCHER (M.P.A.) was awarded the Ohio State Bar Foundation’s Community Service Award for Attorneys 40 and Under. ABBY SMITH (B.A., M.Ed.) was named band director in the New Knoxville (OH) school district.

’08

KATHRYN WILEY (B.A.) recently joined University of Colorado, Boulder School of Education as a faculty fellow and assistant teaching professor.

’09

KRISTINA HEATON (B.A.) was named managing director of the Little Art Theatre in Yellow Springs, OH. CAROL LYONS (B.S.) was named administrator for the Versailles Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Versailles, OH. NICOLE RIEGEL (B.A.) saw her film Holler nominated for Best First Feature and named one of the Top 10 Independent Films of 2021. DANIEL SCHLEGEL, JR. (M.A.) was named director of the Monroe County (IN) History Center.

’10 ’11

SARA RAASCH (B.S.) was inducted into the Fairlawn High School Hall of Honor.

ASHLEY RANDOLPH (B.S.) was elected

to the Second Ward council seat for St. Marys, OH. ALEXANDRA SUNDERHAUS (B.F.A.) is starring in Who’s Holiday! at the Human Race Theater. JASON WATERCUTTER (B.S.) was named assistant principal of Tippecanoe Middle School in Tipp City, OH.

’12

BRADLEY CUSTER (M.A.) is a senior policy analyst for Higher Education at American Progress. KATHRYN HALBERG

CLASS NOTES

(M.B.A.) published her second novel, Hidden

Agenda. JUSTIN PARKER (B.S.) joined the University of South Carolina baseball program as the pitching coach.

’13

ALEXANDRINA GOMES (Psy.D.), a clinical psychologist, joined Shenandoah Community Health Behavioral Health in Martinsburg, WV. MICHELLE KELLEY (M.D.) joined the Ascension Medical Group in Grand Blanc, MI. SERENA MILLER (M.S.), primary care provider, joined Adena Pickaway Ross Family Physicians in Chillicothe, OH.

’14

MARIA CARRATOLA (M.D.), a pediatric

ear, nose, and throat specialist, joined Ochsner Medical Complex in Baton Rouge, LA.

’15

BRENT AEBI (M.D.) has joined the staff at East Tennessee State University Health Surgery in Johnson City, TN. He is also a board member of The Tennessee Academy of Ophthalmology. CODY GREEN (M.D.) is co-director for the new Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute. ANDREW MARTIN (M.D.), a general surgeon with experience in bariatric surgery, joined Northwest Medical Group in La Porte, IN. JEFFREY REEVES (M.D.), an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hip and knee replacements, joined Piedmont Bone and Joint in Statesville, NC. RENIKA WILLIAMS (B.F.A.) is appearing in the HBO series Sex Lives of College Girls.

’16

JASON HEHR (M.D.), a plastic surgeon,

joined Columbus (OH) Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery (CAPS). MATTHEW MELNEK (M.Ed.) was named principal of the East Clinton (OH) Middle School. TOM THOMPSON (M.P.A.) is the director of public safety and chief of police for Sinclair College.

’17

AISHA FORD (B.F.A.) won the NYU

ARLIE RAY (M.R.C.) has been hired as a

mental health counselor at Clark State College. AVINASH SAMENA (M.S.) has accepted a position with Macy’s as a senior software engineer.

’19

At the forefront of an effort to provide high-quality health care to the underserved, particularly those of diverse cultures, is a Wright State double graduate putting the leadership lessons she learned at the university to good use.

Christen Johnson, M.D., is in her second year as part of the team at the federally qualified Heart of Ohio Family Health Center in Columbus.

“We’re creating an educational opportunity for medical students to experience what it’s like to serve the underserved and to learn about different cultures, health equality, cultural humility, and physician advocacy,” Johnson said. “By summer, the rotation will allow medical students to learn about taking care of culturally diverse people.”

Johnson completed a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences with a certificate in African American and gender studies in 2012 from Wright State. Following that, she earned a Master of Public Health in population health and a Doctor of Medicine from Wright State’s Boonshoft School of Medicine in 2017.

Johnson is also pursuing a doctorate in multicultural and anti-racist education through Antioch University in Seattle. “I hope by diversifying the face of medicine, patients of all complexions and backgrounds will be cared for equitably by their physicians. I’m working on a national curricula to assist in that.”

She credits Wright State for being supportive and nurturing as she navigated her academic career. “Wright State was a wonderful opportunity not only to learn about leadership, but also to learn about creating equitable spaces for everyone.”

She added, “I’ve been in places that wanted me to be a type of doctor that I wasn’t.

Some said my passion for health equality and anti-racism didn’t have a place in medicine.

Wright State didn’t do that. When I needed mentorship and support, Wright State was there.

“I’m a Christian, and I believe God has a path for everybody. Overall, at Wright State I had a really supportive team of people who allowed me to grow to be the physician I was supposed to be.”

’20

MEGAN ARSENEAU (B.F.A.) is part of

the national tour of Cats. MORGAN

as an observer in the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, and the northern Pacific.

CORNETT (B.A.) was named technical director of

Wasserman Award for her film Royal.

LUKAS WENRICK (B.A.) has been named director of Universal Learner Course Pathways at Arizona State University. JACLYN WETLI (M.D.), a medical dermatologist, joined Columbus (OH) Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery. KRISTEN WHITE (M.D.), a pediatrician, joined Adena Pediatrics in Chillicothe, OH.

’18

CHRISTEN JOHNSON, M.D., ’12, ’17

CRAIG UNGRUHN (B.T.A.S.) has written

Return of the Seraph.

the Presser Arts Center in Mexico, MO. LOUDON LOVE (B.S.) is playing professional basketball with

the G League Dallas Mavericks. KARA STEPHENSON (B.S.) works in the intensive care

burn unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. CIERRA WARD (B.M.) is choral director for Mt. Gilead High School symphonic choir.

’20

Share your success with fellow alumni.

Submit your class notes and updates at wrightstatealumni.com/classnotes.

KEN BROGAN (B.S.) was hired by

AIDA-America as an electrical engineer.

DAMON DUES (B.S.) is playing professional

baseball after signing a free agent contract with the San Francisco Giants. MARIEL ELLEMAN (B.S.) was hired as a fourth-grade teacher at Ophir Elementary School in Big Sky, MT. PARUM PUN (B.S.Ed.) joined the staff of the University of Dayton men’s tennis team as a volunteer assistant coach. BEN STRANG (B.S.) works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

WRIGHT.EDU/ALUMNI

47

FROM THE STACKS

The Wright Brothers’ Mechanician

BY JANE WILDERMUTH, HEAD OF UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES

On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers made the first controlled, sustained, powered flight. It lasted 59 seconds and traveled 852 feet.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNIVERSIT Y LIBR ARIES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES

As a member of the Wright State community, you have probably heard much about our university’s namesakes, inventors, and aviation pioneers, Orville and Wilbur Wright. Their innovative spirit brought them worldwide fame and admiration and a permanent place in our history books.

But did you know there was another important figure who was instrumental in achieving that first flight? That person was Charles “Charlie” Taylor, the Wrights’ mechanician—someone skilled in constructing machinery. Taylor designed and built the engine used during the first successful flight.

Charlie Taylor was born in 1868 in Illinois. He trained to be a tool maker. At age 24, he married Henrietta Webbert.

They soon moved to her hometown, Dayton, and Taylor found work at Stoddard Manufacturing Company, where he made farm machinery and bicycles.

The Wright brothers began renting space for their bicycle shop in the Webbert Building, owned by Henrietta’s 48

WRIGHT STATE MAGAZINE | SPRIN G 20 2 2

uncle, and soon Taylor went to work for the Wrights. He was hired to work on bicycles, but as the Wright brothers focused more on aviation, Taylor’s responsibilities increased. He helped run the bicycle business.

From 1900 to 1902, the Wrights tested their theories on flight by experimenting with kites and gliders. The next step toward manned flight was to find an engine with the required power-toweight ratio to generate enough thrust to overcome drag.

The Wrights soon realized that such an engine was not available in the United States. They reached out to automobile and motor companies to ask them to manufacture such an engine, but none were willing to take on the project.

From their experiments, the Wrights knew they needed an engine with more than eight horsepower that could carry 625 pounds (plane and pilot). The engine could weigh no more than 200 pounds.

The Wrights sketched out the engine, part by part.

They turned to Taylor for help. In just six weeks, Taylor completed the engine, and it far exceeded expectations. The engine generated 12 horsepower and only weighed 152 pounds stripped and 170 pounds with accessories.

Taylor continued to work for the Wrights until 1911. He helped with various projects, including experimental flights at Huffman Prairie and a military flyer.

In 1911, Orville lent his mechanician to Calbraith Perry Rodgers, who made the first flight across the continental United States, using an airplane purchased from the Wrights. Orville knew that Taylor was the only one who could keep the plane flying on the long-distance flight, which took 49 days and included 16 crashes.

Learn more about Charlie Taylor’s life and work by reading Charles E. Taylor: The Wright Brothers Mechanician by Howard DuFour, available for purchase through the online bookstore lulu.com.

For more information on the collections in the University Libraries Special Collections and Archives, visit libraries.wright.edu/special.

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