The University of

ToledoFall 2007

ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Flying high, thanks to U T

2

12414345

on the cover: They’re Rocket-ing upward!

RECYCLED PAPER

featuresMoveable feast

Sunshine advisory

Tribal nurse

Vegas learnin’

othertraditional & un

research

class notes

book reviews

cover storyIn the stratosphere

32

12

2104048

T his issue of Toledo Alumni Magazine profiles 14 exceptional UT grads from recent years. The accomplishments of these individuals are impressive, and so too is their appreciation

for the benefits our University has provided them.

A prime focus of your Alumni Association this year will be to assist the University in recruiting quality students to benefit from the many opportunities UT provides. Thanks to the leadership of past-president Barb Berebitsky and the efforts of the Alumni Association board and staff this past year, the association was able to merge and integrate three separate alumni associations (UT, the former Medical University of Ohio and the College of Law) into a single UT Alumni Association. This structure will benefit alums and help enhance opportunities for new students.

In 2007, alumni volunteers contacted more than 2,400 students who applied to UT but had not yet registered. In addition, for the first time, many past and present association board members spoke at Rocket Launch, UT’s freshman orientation program, about how UT impacted their lives and the importance of the Alumni Association’s networking opportunities for students. Our association’s newly created Enrollment Committee will continue these efforts. Bridging students and alums is the UT Student Alumni Association. The SAA, recognized as our Affiliate of the Year, is the largest organization on campus and the largest student alumni association in Ohio with more than 1,200 very active members. Among other activities, SAA sponsors Rocket2Rocket, where face-to-face meetings between students and alums often lead to internships and jobs.

Our association’s Scholarship Committee is increasingly busy selecting recipients for its growing number of scholarships, supported by the generosity of our alums.

This year, with our affiliates and chapters, our association will host more than 200 events worldwide, allowing us to renew old friendships and promote our University to potential students and future alums.

In this magazine is an insert mail-back card you can use to get involved with UT’s student enrollment efforts. Please consider supporting our future students and leaders.

I look forward to the coming year and am grateful for the opportunity to serve our Alumni Association.

James W. White Jr.President, UT Alumni Association

THE UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDOALUMNI ASSOCIATION OFFICERSAND TRUSTEES

PRESIDENTJames W. White Jr. ’76, ’79

FIRST VICE PRESIDENTJon R. Dvorak MD ’80, ’83, ’86

SECOND VICE PRESIDENTWalter “Chip” Carstensen ’72, ’74 SECRETARYDavid D. Dobrzykowski ’95, ’99

TREASURERConstance D. Zouhary ’81

PAST PRESIDENTBarbara Berebitsky ’91

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Dan Saevig ’84, ’89

ONE-YEAR TRUSTEESNoure Alo** ’01Janet Eppard ’83, ’86Patrick J. Flynn ’93, ’98Renee Ott MSN* ’00, ’03George E. Robinson II ’02Dan Silvers* ’02Elizabeth “Betsy” Steinhauer OTR/L* ’97, ’06Mark A. Urrutia ’88Robin Whitney ’86*

TWO-YEAR TRUSTEESStephen Bazeley MD ’74Craig G. Burkhart MD ’75, ’83Eddie Cole ’47, ’51Dana Fitzsimmons** ’76Randall King MD ’81Robin Oberle* ’97Jay Pearson ’91Janet Schroeder ’89Paul L. Toth Jr. ’88, ’01

THREE-YEAR TRUSTEESPete Casey ’67, ’73Rick Longenecker ’86, ’88Sharon Speyer ’85Don Warner ’76

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVEHillary Earp (appointed by Student Alumni Association)

*Appointed by the affiliate committee** Chapter representative

EXECUTIVE EDITORCynthia Nowak ’78, ’80

ASSOCIATE EDITORVicki Kroll ’88

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSTobin J. KlingerMatt LockwoodStacy Moeller ’07Sherry Stanfa-Stanley ’83Heather Van DorenJim Winkler ’86Deanna Woolf ’05

DESIGNER Liz Allen

PHOTOGRAPHERSJack MeadeDaniel Miller ’99

Toledo Alumni is published three timesa year in Fall, Winter and Spring by The University of Toledo Office of Alumni Association.

VICE PRESIDENT, ENROLLMENT, MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS/ PUBLISHERLawrence J. Burns

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT/ PUBLISHERDan Saevig ’84, ’89

DIRECTOR, ALUMNI PROGRAMMINGAnsley Abrams ’92

ASSISTANT DIRECTORBrian Weinblatt ’02, ’04

ASSISTANT DIRECTORLiz Schurrer

RECENT AWARDS Communicator Awards of DistinctionDesignEducational Institution Magazine

SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESSINFORMATION TO: Toledo Alumni, Office of Alumni Relations, Driscoll Alumni Center, Mail Stop 301The University of Toledo Toledo, OH 43606-3395 Telephone 419.530.ALUM (2586)or 800.235.6766 Fax 419.530.4994

The University of Toledo is committed toa policy of equal opportunity in education, employment, memberships and contracts, and no differentiation will be made based on race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orienta-tion, veteran status or the presence of a disability. The University will take affirmative action as required by federal or state law.

contents FALL 2007 | Volume 55, Number 1

fore words

24

The

Blad

e: A

my

E. V

oigt

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Toledo: traditional & un

Carl Hunlock is a man on a mission. Multiple missions, in fact, all of them related to the tragic death of

his 22-year-old son, Kyle (A/S ’06), and a choice Kyle made. Kyle, who in June 2006 was involved in a work-related accident that left him brain-dead, had decided while still in high school to be a multiple organ donor. Thus, his wife and other family who gathered round him in the hospital knew what he wanted to happen; eight organs were harvested and donated. Within hours, Kyle’s heart was beating in the chest of a man who had been given three months to live Jack Hunt is a 59-year-old husband, father and grandfather, a U.S. Air Force veteran who always considered himself “fairly lucky,” but until Kyle’s decision gave him another shot at life, his luck — and options — had run out. Heart medications, surgery and a pacemaker failed to stop the organ deterioration caused by cardiomyopathy. Once Kyle’s heart was transplanted into his body, Jack rallied dramatically, sitting up in bed and eating only 12 hours after the surgery. On the 1-to-100 viability scale that cardiologists use to predict transplant success, Jack scored a 96. His gratitude led him to seek out Kyle’s parents, Carl and Dianna, who told him about the young man whose heart Jack was carrying. “In high school, Kyle was homecoming king,” Carl says. “In his junior year, he played the Cowardly Lion in the school production of The Wizard of Oz. He was active in youth ministry. That pretty much sums up Kyle: courage, leadership and faith.” Love of adventure, too. While at UT, Kyle traveled to the University of Hertfordshire in England as an exchange student. Active in sports, Kyle made inquiries about Hertfordshire’s football team (British American variety), the Hurricanes. “He was a great ambassador for our country,” his father recalls. “Even though he and his team mates didn’t agree on politics — Kyle supported

Life follows from death, inspires father’s mission

Diploma-tic. When UT men’s basketball seniors Justin Ingram, Keonta Howell, Jerrah Young

and Rashay Russell celebrated their graduation in May, UT Athletics joined in, celebrating its

graduation success rate of 83 percent, five points above the national average for NCAA Division

I-A schools. The UT men’s basketball team was ranked No. 3 in the nation among 333 Division I

schools with a score of 994 out of 1000 in the NCAA’s most recent Academic Progress Report. In

all, 68 UT student-athletes received their diplomas for the 2006-07 academic year.

George Bush — they all loved him.” In fact, Kyle — voted Most Valuable Player for the Hurricanes’ 2004/2005 season — didn’t walk at his UT graduation because he was visiting his friends in England. He and his then-fiancée, Kara Wierman (a 2006 UT College of Pharmacy grad now working on her PhD), returned the following year to participate in a marriage blessing ceremony for the friends who wouldn’t be able to travel to Ohio for their July 2005 wedding. “Now I’m wearing a mantle my son wore — to connect with and help others,” Carl says of his plan to meet all Kyle’s organ recipients. “The thing is, Kyle set the bar very high.” Jack Hunt shares the mission; his participation in several walks (with a team named Kyle’s Heart) to date raised some $14,000 for the American Heart Association. “I’d always been an activist

for heart disease,” Jack says. “Even before I met Carl, my goal after surgery was to walk in a marathon, but Kyle’s story took things to a new level.” Carl also works to raise public awareness of Life Connection of Ohio, a nonprofit agency federally designated as an Organ Procurement Organization. “People should know about their no-borders policy for those who need donated organs,” he says. He’s established a home page at www.kylesheart.com. Given the demanding agenda Carl has set for himself, he admits he needs some courage to meet it. He gets a daily reminder from the time Kyle visited a tattoo parlor in England and came out with a lion’s head over his heart. “I was upset about it, to put it mildly,” Carl says. However, when he and his family attended the Hertfordshire tribute to Kyle, Carl hunted down the same tattoo shop. Over his heart he now wears a lion’s head.

Talk's cheap!Rocket Wireless customers can get

Verizon and Sprint family plans of every

size — deals of under $30 a month —

payroll deduction for UT employees —

advanced smart-phones for tech-lovers;

easy-use phones for traditionalists —

no sales tax, no monthly service fees

after sign-up, no termination fees for

switching over your old Verizon or Sprint

plan. UT alums, students and

employees can start saving. Check out

telecom.utoledo.edu, then call Rocket

Wireless (owned and operated by UT’s

Rocket Telecom): 419.530.7998.

You’ve got the movesStevens Worldwide Van Lines can help

alumni planning a move. Stevens’

University Move Center offers UT

alums single-source contact, with

move coordinators who ensure

enhanced services at every point. For

more information or to schedule a free

estimate, contact the University Move

Center at 800.796.9988 or by e-mail:

universitymoves@stevensworldwide.com.

So your Ohio wheels are already wearing a UT sticker and for special occasions, maybe you fly a Rockets

pennant from the window. But your car, truck, SUV or Enzo Ferrari isn’t really complete until it’s tricked out with University of Toledo vanity plates, now available from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Ohio residents can choose from either the UT Crest or the Rockets logo for an additional $35 beyond normal license fees. And because $25 of that goes into a scholarship fund at the University — now at more than $82,000 — it’s money that takes UT pride into the next generation. To purchase a set, visit any Deputy Registrars office, call 1.888.Plates3 (888.752.8373) or go online at www.bmv.ohio.gov. Holders of existing UT plates will receive more information in the mail from Ohio BMV. Current plates may be replaced at any time.

Car bling packs a double punchKyle and Kara

� Toledo Alumni Magazine | Fall 2007 www.toledoalumni.org Toledo Alumni Magazine | Fall 2007 �www.toledoalumni.org

Toledo: traditional & un

2007 outstanding teachers

Who: Dr. Rane Arroyo PhD Timothy Jordan PhD Nicholas Kissoff PhD Don Reiber

Title etc.: professor of English and

author, teaches creative

writing

assistant professor of

health education

associate professor of

engineering technology,

director of Construction

Engineering Technology

Program, UT alumnus (Eng

’80, MEng ’83, PhD ’88

assistant professor of

communications, director

for media services

Nominators said: “He offers the kind of

support a young writer

needs most: honest

criticism coupled with

an enthusiasm for

contemporary poetry

that is nothing short of

infectious.”

“He has more than 100

students each semester,

and he wants to get to

know every one.”

“Not only do I think he

is loaded with valuable

information, but he is

very approachable and

helpful when a student is

struggling.”

“Don Reiber cares for his

students. If he gets a call

at nine in the evening and

someone needs help at

the studio, give him five

minutes and he’s there.”

Calling it “one of the greatest days in the life of the institution,” University of Toledo President

Lloyd Jacobs commended members of the UT and MUO Foundations Boards of Trustees as they signed documents officially combining the two organizations. The merger, official on July 1, was approved by the two boards at a special joint board meeting on June 28. “That this occurred only one year after the merger of the two institutions [UT and MUO] exceeded my expectations,” said Dr. Jacobs. “I believe we are on the right course, and the future is bright for the combined institution.” The two foundations, which originally planned to collaborate but exist separately, first began studying a potential merger this past fall. “There was a single University,” explained Mike Todak, chair of the newly merged UT Foundation. “As we began working together, it became clear that there should be a single foundation.” The new organization will provide one vehicle for donors to support the students, faculty, programs and patients of the entire University, he said. “I’m very excited about the opportunities this Foundation and this University have going forward,” he added. In addition to the merger approval, trustees also elected officers, approved a new code of regulations and adopted a revised investment policy. The investment policy was the result of the efforts of a joint investment committee composed of

UT and MUO foundations merger official

representatives from each separate board. Members of the joint committee, who began working together several months ago, also have hired a new investment manager and a new master custodian to oversee joint assets. Though the MUO Foundation will no longer exist in name, Dr. Jacobs noted that its work and its mission will continue through the newly merged organization. “This is the end of an era and the beginning of a new one,” he said. “This is not, however, the end of the tradition

or the pride or the commitment to service that the MUO Foundation offered.” Wallen (Buzz) Crane, vice chair of the former MUO Foundation Board of trustees, said the combined strengths of the two organizations is an indication of its future success. “If history is any guide to the future,” he said, “the future of this joint foundation is brilliant.” — Sherry Stanfa-Stanley

Pens to paper at merger moment

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Toledo: traditional & un

Making a legacy of the gift of insight

Dorothy “Dottie” Hussain, who died last December, was a nurse for more than two decades. Her

legacy, though, will last far longer, thanks in part to a gift her family created in her honor. The Dottie Hussain Memorial Distinguished Lectureship will fund an annual lecture by a nurse of national or international reputation who will present to UT students in the College of Nursing and then to the community. “There’s no stipulation on topics for the lectures beyond being on the subject of nursing,” says her widower S. Amjad Hussain MD, clinical professor emeritus in the UT Department of Surgery. “Personally, I’d like to see someone speak on a philosophic topic relating to nursing.”

While she was still a senior adviser at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Rosemary

Haggett PhD answered her own phone, a habit of casual egalitarianism that somehow seems to bode well for her success as UT’s new Main Campus provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “I never really gave it any thought,” she says. Possibly her thoughts were more occupied with the leadership she provided as acting director of NSF’s graduate division and director of their undergraduate division, where she became very familiar with STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education across the country. Moreover, her NSF years were exciting to her as a scientist, she says, and will provide an excellent foundation for facilitating the work of UT faculty as they build UT’s curriculum: “We know now so much more about how people learn. We can use that information to think about how we educate the next generation of scientists and engineers, and other fields as well. ” Noting that UT administrators and faculty are already talking about ways to integrate academic disciplines, she says, “Some of the most exciting things going on at the NSF happened at the nexus of two or three disciplines. “Each discipline has its own way of generating new knowledge. To have a strong UT, we have to be strong across the institution. We want our students to have both depth and breadth of knowledge to be best global citizens they can be.” Haggett, who served as associate provost at West Virginia University (WVU) for four years, will take that theory to the trenches, saying, “I’m excited about working with faculty, students and staff, as all this affects their futures as well.” “Higher education is something I wanted to return to,” says Haggett, who until she started her UT job in July was also a professor of animal and veterinary sciences at WVU. She earned her doctorate in physiology from the

University of Virginia and conducted postdoctoral work in reproductive biology at Northwestern University. “I’m a first-generation college graduate,” she says. “My father was a coal miner and my mother worked in a cigar factory. They told me from childhood that my life would be better than theirs because I would have an education. So my enthusiasm for higher education comes in part from the values they gave me.”

New provost joins UT in July

His feelings stem from the more direct legacy of his wife’s career: the people whose lives were bettered by her care. “She always knew a nurse can make a difference not only physically but emotionally,” he says. “She had a wonderful ability to relate to people. “We sometimes pigeonhole ourselves by profession. A surgeon may know how to cut and sew but may not have the insight that the patient is a human being. It’s an acute blind spot in the medical profession. Now nurses tend to be very good at patient interaction. Since Dottie’s passing, many people have come up to me with specific examples of her professional conduct that touched their lives.” Dottie, in fact, was twice named Nurse of the Year at the former MCO, an honor based on peer nominations. “She was also a mentor to many young persons — a teacher in that way,” Hussain says. “She saw her education as giving her the tools to grow, and she was always proud of that.” When it came to the best way to honor his wife, he says, he and the children wanted to help the profession that was so important to Dottie: “Our idea was to add something that would exist in perpetuity and would benefit many people. Scholarships are important, but this nursing lectureship was a perfect fit. We’re grateful that the University was extremely receptive.” Readers of The Blade also know Dr. Hussain as a columnist and may remember the piece he wrote on Dottie after she died. “It was hard writing that column within two weeks of her death,” he admits. “It was painful, but I had to plow through my emotions. I was glad I did, as it resonated for many people.”

Dottie Hussain with granddaughter Hannah

Haggett

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Toledo: traditional & un

Outpatient orthopaedics center As medicine improves, so do the venues. At UT’s Health Science

Campus, the $5.8 million outpatient orthopaedics center slated to open this fall is one more example of the facility following the medicine. The building, constructed atop a portion of Dowling Hall, includes 24 exam rooms, radiology and imaging capabilities, rooms for urgent care and normal procedures, a skills lab, and conference and physical therapy areas. A vital part of the center’s design is easy access to the adjacent George Isaac Minimally Invasive Surgery Center. Nearly half of orthopaedic cases at University Medical Center are performed on an outpatient basis, making a perfect match with the Issac Center, where patients have access to minimally invasive surgical procedures that allow them to be discharged on the same day. Complicated surgical cases — such as hip replacements — that require a hospital stay will still be performed at University of Toledo Medical Center. With several new faculty members

added in the past year, the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is ready for the new center, which will also be supported by specialists in pain management, rehabilitation and occupational medicine.

Integrated cardiac and vascular centerUT is creating a welcome environment of medical care simplicity: access to multiple specialists, minimized travel and stress, improved quality of care. It’s the UT Cardiac and Vascular Center (UT-CVC), scheduled to open on the Health Science Campus in May 2008. The center will bring together multiple specialties, including cardiology, vascular medicine and surgery, and cardiac surgery and rehabilitation, making it the community’s first and only integrated center for patient care, education and translational research in cardiac and vascular disease. The UT-CVC will serve as an outpatient center for cardiac and vascular disorders. As hub of the new clinical system, the facility will be digitally integrated with off-campus sites, including the UT Cardiac and Vascular

Outpatient Office in Norwalk, Ohio, and the UT Cardiac and Vascular Outpatient Center in Perrysburg. Also included is the Cardiovascular Phenotype Core Laboratory on the third floor of the Block Health Science Building. The clinics’ digital clinical care integration system allows immediate transmission of information and images between sites.

— Jim Winkler, Tobin J. Klinger

Double centers, multiple gains for regional patients Savage Hall: how suite it is

New architectural renderings of a renovated Savage Hall show how “suite” the arena is going to be.

Suites with sliding glass doors will be on the same level of the Grogan Room. Just below them and jutting into the arena will be “living room” loges with couches and refrigerators enclosed by a railing. Below those will be a third partitioned area with tables and stools. Some seats will have to be taken out to make room for the suites, but new seats will be added in the corners of the arena. New entrances to Savage will be created on the ends of a glass atrium, overlooking the Ottawa River and housing a Rocket Hall of Fame, a gift shop and the ticket office. “There is no doubt that this ‘new’ Savage Hall will be a key to the recruitment of student-athletes,” says Mike O’Brien, athletic director. “In addition, the experience of attending events at Savage Hall will be much more stimulating and enjoyable for our fans.”

— Matt Lockwood

The new view for UT blue

View of orthpaedics center, west elevation

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UT research on the edge

Can an accessorized molecule stop potentially fatal leaks?

UT researchers are looking into exactly that. They’re hoping

to help the millions who die every year when their blood

vessels, weakened by illness or injury, develop microscopic

holes through which fluid leaks. A cascade begins and other

affected vessels start leaking, making it hard to stanch the

flow. When it happens in a hospital setting, patients may

receive an intravenous albumin solution to replace some of

the lost blood protein; there’s evidence, though, that albumin

can actually worsen the leaks. But what if,

the UT team asked, the albumin

molecules were made too big to

pass through the damaged

vessel? Enter polyethylene

glycol (PEG); attaching

it to albumin molecules

pumped up their size

by a factor of 10 — plenty

large enough to avoid passing

through a leaking blood vessel.

The team’s patented PEG-modified

albumin could begin its human toxicity trials soon.

Stopping a fatal flow

Longer and stronger — that will be the likely

future of bridges, thanks to research done at UT’s

College of Engineering. The cable-stayed bridge

cradle system, developed by Figg Engineering

Group in collaboration with researchers at UT

and the University of Cincinnati, won the 2007

American Society of Civil Engineers’ Pankow

Award for technical innovation, and was

recognized by the “Invent Now!” competition

sponsored by the History Channel’s Modern

Marvels. The new technology, first developed for

the I-280 Veterans’ Glass City Skyway in Toledo,

opens the door to more efficient construction,

easier inspections and bridges that can easily

last for 150 years or more.

Better bridging for the gapSometimes you just have to follow the science

— even when it leads from faulty hearts to

anti-wrinkle cream. While UT researchers

Joseph Shapiro MD and Zijian Xie PhD have

been working on ways to prevent congestive

heart failure, a medication they developed in

the process exhibited some interesting extra-

cardiac properties. Tested in rats, the drug

prodded some cells to manufacture collagen

— the skin’s major structural protein. Injured

cells treated with the drug (mixed with

olive oil) healed 20 to 30 times faster than

untreated cells. That could eventually mean

great news for aging human skin, though

much testing remains to be done.

A wrinkle in time

As planets go, HD 189733b isn’t going to top anyone’s

vacation wish list, although it’s undeniably a hot spot:

1,700 degrees Fahrenheit, to be specific. UT researcher

S. Thomas Megeath PhD, assistant professor of

astronomy, is part of a team studying the sizzling planet

that lies 63 light years from Earth in the constellation of

Vulpecula. Astronomers worldwide are ecstatic over the

discovery of the “hot-Jupiter planet” for several reasons.

Because the planet practically hugs its bright sun, its

frequent orbits across the star’s face (one every 53 hours)

are readily detected. That makes it easier for researchers

to observe any orbit irregularities that might lead to the

discovery of other, more Earth-size planets in the star’s

system. But the super-hot planet is exciting in its own

right, and researchers produced the first-ever surface

mapping of a planet outside our solar system. What a

world!

Planet when it sizzles

Graphic courtesy of NASA

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by Cynthia Nowak

Green Chef, Iron Chef, Naked Chef, a Frugal Gourmet and Too Hot Tamales

— ditch the Cheeze Puffs, the world’s gone foodie! Seems everyone’s talking

good food these days; to spice the conversation, we assembled some of our

own culinary celebrities. Tuck into a calorie-free visit with UT’s

ArTISTS oF THe edIble

12 Toledo Alumni Magazine | Fall 2007www.toledoalumni.org

It’s a labor of love — and lusciousness. Kathy Shropshire, staff nurse at the UT Medical Center, was looking for a

way to help defeat cancer. The idea she lit upon is attacking the disease by creating happy mouths. “Dorothy Lewis, a neighbor and dear friend of mine, developed cancer and I wanted to do something for her,” Kathy says while sitting in her snug Whitehouse, Ohio, kitchen. “I thought, ‘I can give a one-time donation to the American Cancer Society, but there has to be some way to help more.’” Her resolve was strengthened when another neighbor developed the disease. As she’s a parent, fund-raising was already in her blood. “I had done a cookbook to raise money for my children’s school,” she says. “It was pretty easy, really, and we made a lot of money.” A good idea, she realized, bears revisiting. Recipes for Hope came out in the spring to benefit cancer research on the Health Science Campus. “And cancer care,” Kathy adds. “The funds we raise could even pay for bus tokens cancer patients use to reach their treatment centers. I don’t care, just so the money helps people with cancer.” The fund she established at the University of Toledo Foundation makes the allocations. Kathy solicited the approximately 300 recipes in the book from co-workers and patients on the Health Science Campus and raided her own files for favorites. “I asked for recipes that weren’t fancy — just the kind of food that families enjoy.” That means everything from appetizers, soups, breads and main/side dishes to extensive dessert treats. There are even a few items that fall under the “non-edible but entertaining” category, like Homemade Slime. “That one came from when I used to do art lessons at my sons’ school,” she says. “I used to cook a lot when the kids were little. I was sort of Mother Earth; I made my own yogurt, sprouted my own beans, baked my own bread. I loved doing it, but there’s less time now.” These days, her husband Don does most of the cooking. “He’s a great cook,” Kathy laughs. “I think I’d marry him again!”

editor of eatsKATHy SHroPSHIre

Although both her neighbors have since died, she’s upbeat about science eventually winning the battle. “And once we sell our stock, I’d certainly do it again with a second edition,” she adds. Recipes for Hope is $10 and can be purchased at the UT Foundation, the University Cancer Center, the UT Main Campus and Health Science Campus Bookstores and the Satellite Gift Shop located in the UT Medical Center. Out-of-town purchasers (add $2 for shipping) can contact Heather Pierson, UT Foundation team coordinator, at 419.383.6263 or Heather.Valerio@utoledo.edu or Shropshire at 419.877.9789.

Phot

o by

Dan

iel M

iller

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bill Yosses (A/S ’74) still has to give himself a reality pinch every so often. On the other hand, he adds,

some realities are daily companions: “The White House, for instance, is a beautiful building that’s over 200 years old, so sometimes there are space issues. It’s challenging at times.” He’s up to that one. He’s even up to creating intricate Lincoln Memorials in white chocolate, lit from within and presented on a large platter surrounded by a chocolate raspberry cake. After all, this is a man acknowledged as one of the nation’s best pastry chefs, someone whose fantasias for

executive pastry chef at the White House

fork or spoon regularly reduced New York City gourmandiscenti to delighted speechlessness or inspired them to poetry. Food writer Bryan Miller, for example, went on record about Yosses’ chocolate soufflé: “…legendary — airy, intense and belching steam, draped with hot chocolate sauce that makes you tremble.” Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II might agree; she personally complimented Yosses on a dessert served at the White House during her state visit in May. And Yosses’ 30 successful years in the culinary arts started in Toledo. Blessed with parents who “encouraged us to take a cosmopolitan

view of the world,” Bill began at UT as an English major but ended up dans le Français. “The teachers were very energetic and committed people devoted to their field of scholarship. When I was studying French, I met French people, which means French meals. I began to get exposed to a culinary world that all French people are part of.” While living in Paris as a graduate student, he experienced more: “I was introduced to a great culture that ties agriculture, community and family together. I liked that and still do.” He trained in Paris at La Foux, a traditional French restaurant: “It was tough, I suppose. If you’re not committed, if you don’t feel it in your bones, you wouldn’t want to do it; it’s early to rise, late to bed, lots of hard work in between. But I was lucky enough to train with a man who soaked us through with a love of food. We’d get up early to go to the wholesale food market, Rungis, where you’d see crates and crates of food, perfect strawberries and raspberries. They looked like jewels sitting there on the pallets. “It was like a work of art. I was bitten by the food bug there; I still have it.” The bug carried him through more studies with French masters of chocolate and pastry, then onward to NYC, where his expanding repertoire played at Montrachet, Bouley and Citarella (later Josephs), four-star names all. There’s also Boi, a Vietnamese restaurant on Manhattan’s East Side, which made partners and friends of the family Bill calls “a wonderful American success story.” Inevitably, new American-Asian dessert fusions resulted — think lemongrass flan accented with carmelized pomelos. That brings us to ingredients: crucial, Bill says. “Some foods come from a nearby place, grown by someone we know. Some come from far away. It’s the chef’s responsibility to blend them so that the outcome is a good one.” It’s also the chef’s job, he adds, to research where the food comes from. “It takes in several levels: quality, the healthiness of the food and the way it’s served.” No wonder he particularly enjoyed his time with The Dressing Room, a restaurant venture of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward that promotes sustainable agriculture. “Local farmers are a very important part of that project,” he says. “We started a farmers’ market at the restaurant in order to support it.”

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The fact that First Lady Laura Bush encourages sustainable farming and the use of local foods was one of the attractions of the White House job, Bill says. “I’m hoping that in the food world and the general public there will be more recognition of those practices.” In the meantime, there’s always another project in the kitchen on Pennsylvania Avenue, where what the staff presents often stands for America. But Bill Yosses is up to that, too: “Food, after all, is the original civilizing force. We gathered around the fire to cook the mastodon and put down the war clubs long enough to eat with each other. It’s one of the things I’m most excited about in making desserts at the White House: Food can be a bridge between people.”

executive Pastry Chef bill yosses prepares for the White House reception for the Kennedy Center Honors in the State dining room.

IT WAS lIKe A WorK oF ArT. I WAS bITTeN by THe Food bUG THere; I STIll HAve IT.

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There’s a corner of greater Cleveland where if you ask about pizza, you get one word: Farinacci’s.

That’s the Northfield Center restaurant that since 1971 has built its reputation on a three-item, dinner-only menu: pizza, salad and wine (Farinacci’s, naturally) or beer. (OK, OK, if you insist, your waiter will bring you an Italian sub, but why would you mess with perfection?) And you can set your clock by its current owner, Joe Farinacci (A/S ’90). It’s 10:15 in the morning, so he’s in the kitchen cutting hunk after yeasty hunk from a large batch of pizza dough, shaping each into a ball and slapping

Joe FArINACCIrestaurateur

it down on a floured table, no wasted motions in his routine. He talks as efficiently as he works. “My father started the restaurant using my Grandma Philomena’s recipes for dough, pizza sauce and salad dressing mix. The base recipes are the same as they were 35 or 40 years ago. I think that’s why we’ve been so successful. “Today you can pretty much get pizza any place you like, but the fact that this place has maintained its level of business as the kind of Mom and Pop store that’s pretty much gone by the wayside is incredible. Domino’s has come and gone, Pizza Hut has come and gone; they’ve all come here and left. Yet a

little joint like this has been able to grab a community.” Farinacci’s doesn’t advertise; it doesn’t have to. “We close down for vacation for February and July. We come back and have the busiest weeks of the year. Customers just won’t go anywhere else; they tell me, ‘We went to your advertisement.’ I got the joke: Our advertisement is the other places.” As the area grows, so does business. Joe estimates that three out of four new arrivals come back. “And we have a guy who does training all over the world, so we get people from Zimbabwe, France, Australia, you name it; they come because he tells them about it or brings them here. “During the holiday season, people call from the airport because they’re starving when they get off the plane. They come here and pick up a pizza before they go to their families. They’ve been thinking about it the whole way here.” The restaurant itself hasn’t changed, either; that too is the way his customers want it. “I want to update that dining room, but if I did, those people would give a lot of flack,” he says. “Lots of them had their first dates here.” The one central change in the whole story, in fact, is Joe Farinacci. He never thought he’d be the guy in charge. “I grew up working here — by force,” he says with a brief grin. “But I went away — went to UT, went into television broadcasting.” As the TV industry changed, though, so did Joe. He entered sales and was making a good living when he learned that his father was selling the restaurant.

“For my Dad it was business, what he planned to use for retirement. Well, there’s something to be said for keeping the place in the family. We talked and came up with a number, and I made probably the best investment of my life.” But there’s an investment Farinacci’s has in other people’s lives as well. Take, for instance, what happened when a customer died recently. “His family still lives in town and his daughter would come in for take-out pizza. Next morning, the priest at the local church calls me. He says, ‘I was doing the last rites this morning. While I’m there, his family is bawling over your pizza. They told me the family gathered around your pizza in good times, in bad times. Your pizza was involved in their family’s program.’” Joe pauses. “I almost started bawling myself, and I’m not an emotional guy.” He continues: “I go to the funeral. My pizza box is on this guy’s casket. I say my prayer, then go up to the family. They huddle around me, almost like I’m the pizza. They all tell me, ‘Thank you for the memories we have — your pizza box was there whenever we got together as family.’” Is there the hint of a mist in his eyes when he finishes? Steadily oiling pizza pans, he says, “What I do looks simple, but it’s the repetition. Here I am, 4,000 days later, still doing what I did on day one. But I guess when you think of your job as being part of so many families, it’s not really so hard after all. “It’s the kind of thing that makes you want to come back to work every day.”

TodAy yoU CAN PreTTy mUCH GeT PIzzA ANy PlACe yoU lIKe, bUT THe FACT THAT THIS PlACe HAS mAINTAINed ITS level oF bUSINeSS...IS INCredIble.

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mIKe roSeNdAUlengineer in the kitchen? Hey,

thousands of happy diners will tell you that it works. For nearly two

decades, Mike Rosendaul (Eng ’93), now general manager and chef at Ciao! in Toledo, has served up food with panache and passion to the delight of restaurant patrons. He started as a dishwasher at Real Seafood Co. in Toledo while he was a UT engineering student. “The kitchen manager was the son of a man I did yard work for back home in Edgerton, Ohio,” he says. In a few months, he was a cook — and hooked: “I liked the excitement: fast paced with a lot of things going on at once.” By the age of 20, he’d branched into management. “It took me six years to get

my degree because I worked so many hours,” he says. A job move to a local pub was an attempt to reduce those hours. In two years, though, he was back with Mainstreet Ventures, the Ann Arbor-based company that owns Real Seafood, Carson’s Steakhouse, Zia’s and others. He hasn’t left. We’re sitting in the Sylvania restaurant that after a stint as D. Denison’s became Ciao! in 1992. “I was done with school except for my engineering design project,” Mike recalls. “I took on the role of kitchen manager at Denison’s, then chef when it became Ciao! A year later, I finished my design project.” He also made up his mind: “I decided that while I enjoyed engineering, I really loved what I was doing as a chef — the

creativity and interactivity with restaurant patrons. “I couldn’t see myself giving that up, so I decided not to.” But Mike has no regrets over his engineering degree. “I don’t feel I wasted that time,” he says. “Education is education; it has value. There are lot of things that carry over. One of my strongest points is how I have a very systematic, structured method for how everything operates, financial as well as food prep. “In the end, I couldn’t see myself as an engineer with a cooking hobby. I still enjoy a lot of what my girlfriend calls ‘watching the dorks’ TV channels’ like science shows.” Though he didn’t attend culinary school, he trained intensively for two years under Simon Pesusich, Mainstreet’s corporate chef. As the next generation of chefs enter their training, “I’ve been fortunate to have many students work under me who are truly gifted,” he says, adding that those students won’t experience a Hell’s Kitchen. “The reign of the diva chef is fading fast, which is a good thing. Who wants to work for someone who yells and verbally abuses you when you can easily get a job with a chef who behaves properly?” Prima donnas aside, the kitchen explosions students experience might be those of their own preconceptions. “It’s not making one fancy little dish, then we’re done,” Mike says. “No, we’re going to make 600 fancy dishes.”

He adds, “People in this business come and go. The ones that leave are the ones who don’t have the passion, because it’s not an easy way of life. You work nights, you work holidays, you work weekends; that’s just the way it is. If I had New Year’s Eve off, I don’t think I’d know what to do.” His social circles are mostly people in the same business, he says: “It’s fun; you just meet at midnight for dinner parties, then get up at 2.” It’s harder with children, he admits; his are still in school. Then there are new global realities. “In the immediate future, we’re looking at meat prices going up, then produce prices. There’s a move toward using local produce, which in the summer is great. But food will get more expensive and eating out will get more expensive because it costs more to run a restaurant.” Even the way we eat may change, he says: “The gargantuan portions we’re fond of, especially in the Midwest, may have to decrease. People know they should eat a smaller portion, but going out to eat is an experience, not just a bite to eat. Patrons want service and enjoyment — they want to be full, with a box of stuff to take home.” Still, he predicts continued gastronomic pleasures for an American public educated (courtesy of Food Network) to accept goat cheese, cilantro and surimi: “We’ll have much higher quality food that’s more flavorful, more dynamic and more unique.”

PeoPle IN THIS bUSINeSS Come ANd Go. THe oNeS THAT leAve Are THe oNeS WHo doN’T HAve THe PASSIoN, beCAUSe IT’S NoT AN eASy WAy oF lIFe.

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Anybody who thinks food writers live lives of enviable ease, reviewing exquisite dainties in five-

star restaurants, needs the reality check of meeting Marilou (Kosik) Suszko (A/S ’78). From the minute she steps out of her dirt-spattered Jeep Cherokee and pairs an easy smile with a no-nonsense handshake, you know this woman is one foodie who doesn’t mind getting garden soil under her nails. If you’ve read her book — Farms & Foods of Ohio: From Garden Gate to Dinner Plate (Hippocrene Books, 2007) — you

food writer and culinary instructormArIloU SUSzKo

know it already. It’s as much a celebration of sustainable farming — agriculture on a human-size scale — as it is a collection of recipes from some of Ohio’s small farmers. As the Vermilion, Ohio, resident writes in her introduction, “There is a growing dedication to practicing environmentally responsible farming methods in such a way that all living things — animals, flora, fauna, fungi and insects — coexist peacefully and productively.” Pair that nourishing philosophy with the pleasure of the recipes — I made the

flank steak with a fresh herb rub one Saturday, followed on Sunday by the Ohio pulled pork with vinegar and onion sauce, both dishes outstanding — and you’ve got an idea of what makes Marilou tick. Did I mention that she has a mordant sense of humor as well? “This better not bring any old boyfriends out of the woodwork,” she says as the photo session begins. “The minute they know you wrote a book, they’re calling for free copies.” She’s all sincerity, though, when it comes to the virtues of healthy food, saying, “It takes a real commitment to seek out local foods, but in the end, knowing who raises your food and how it’s raised means more quality and better flavor.” It was her own growing interest in food, after all, that years back led her to a career as a freelance food writer whose work has appeared in newspapers and magazines that include The Plain Dealer, Catholic Chronicle, Cleveland Magazine and Our Ohio. And as a member of both the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, she’s a culinary teacher with an intimate knowledge of where the food comes from. Not that she didn’t have to endure some down-and-dirty lessons first. She says, “When I began my research, I imagined that farming was all bucolic and picture-pretty. It’s not. The first time I visited a working farm, my fantasy was shattered! Yet the farmer I was interviewing was so excited about me

being there that I couldn’t turn the car around and leave. “And it turned out to be a fascinating visit. It was a maple syrup operation. The farmer put me on the back of his four-wheeler and took me out to the sugar bush, talking a mile a minute.” The experience, she notes, gave her an appreciation for the difference between food for the published page and food for the table: “Farmers aren’t busy tending their flower beds for photos ops; they’re busy raising food for all of us.” One of her favorite farms is The Chef’s Garden Inc. in Huron, where owners Lee and Mary Jones are definitely media-savvy. They have to be; their 100-acre spread supplies five-star chefs internationally with heirloom vegetables, herbs, specialty lettuces and edible flowers — all organic, all as beautiful as a detail in an Old Master painting. Though the farm doesn’t sell produce to the public, they’re definitely in the food education business, she explains. “Their culinary institute is down the road from the farm. Its kitchen has every kind of high-tech equipment you can imagine — all donated — and chefs from all over the world come to experience new types of vegetables, then try out what they’ve learned.” Eating is such a basic need and pleasure, Marilou notes, that it just makes sense to seek out what’s good close to home. “Why would you eat fresh tomatoes from California that have to be shipped under-ripe when you can enjoy perfect ones grown just a few miles from where you live?”

IT TAKeS A reAl CommITmeNT To SeeK oUT loCAl FoodS, bUT IN THe eNd, KNoWING WHo rAISeS yoUr Food ANd HoW IT’S rAISed meANS more qUAlITy ANd beTTer FlAvor.

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Suszko with lee Jones

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John Barrett, UT associate professor of law, can toss around an oenophile’s adjectives with the best of them:

a “smoky” Côte Rôtie, a “fruit-rich” Zinfandel. But he’s no exclusionary wine snob; permeating the talk of lusty French Bordeaux and effervescent German Spätlese is a genuine gustatory pleasure in the fruit of the vine — and a desire to share the joy. “One of the things about wine is how you can just enjoy it for its taste, or it can be a hobby with infinite complexity,” says the Houston native who started learning about good wine as a teen. “There are hundreds of thousands of wineries, most of which make multiple wines, and the products change from year to year. So even the most knowledgeable person knows maybe five or 10 percent of what’s out there. “There’s no reason to be snobby; people who are interested in wine range from CEOs and university presidents to retail workers and plumbers. If you’re curious, there’s a ton out there to explore.” Toledoans might remember Barrett as the former wine columnist of Toledo City Paper or as a UT continuing education instructor on wine appreciation. Asking him to recommend wines opens a flood of suggestions, beginning with Australian wines. “Personally, I drink a decent amount of Australian shiraz, and I like the fruit-driven red zins that go with hearty foods,” he says. “Mollydooker and Shotfire made some phenomenal wines last year in the $20 range. “Bang for the buck, go with Spanish wines. They’re making a ton of good wine in its Priorat and Ribera del Duero regions, wines much more fruity than they used to be. “Think of Southern Rhone wines, which tend to be a little spicy — blends of up to a dozen grapes. If you want to spend more, buy a Chateauneuf-du-Pape, such as a Pégau. For a little less, buy a Gigondas. Northern Rhone wines, like a Côte Rôtie, are a little leaner, with almost a smoked-meat element to them.”

wine whizJoHN bArreTT

You can’t talk wine without a mention of Sideways. For Barrett, “It was a fun movie, though I find the lead characters morally despicable. The wine portrayal was pretty accurate, but they were too hard on merlots. Leonetti from Washington State and Pahlmeyer from California make world-class merlots.” Too many people are intimidated by the labels, the jargon and restaurant wine lists, he notes. “But historically and all over the world, enjoying wine is just part of enjoying everyday life, being with family and friends, savoring good food. At the end of the day, if you like it, it’s good wine.”

oNe oF THe THINGS AboUT WINe IS HoW yoU CAN JUST eNJoy IT For ITS TASTe, or IT CAN be A Hobby WITH INFINITe ComPlexITy

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Flying high, thanks to UT

Young Rockets who are soaring in their chosen professions —

and how their UT educations helped them

by Cynthia Nowak and Vicki L. Kroll

Classic UT romance: They met when Sarah was a residential adviser and John was — well, a resident (Dowd Hall). Their 2004 wedding had a Rocket-themed cake and a UT Tower ice sculpture. Today, John is in product development engineering with global company Air Products and Chemicals Inc. at their corporate headquarters in Allentown, Penn. “Our clients include industrial, government and medical customers,” he says. “The commercial group here takes a request from a customer, and the group I work in engineers a finished product and estimates the cost.” Sarah, recently promoted to director of university communications at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn., started as an integrated marketing communications associate for student affairs. “What I love about the job is that no day is ever the same,” she says. “I love those great, inspiring stories you hear from our students and alums, and the research that goes on here — just to see what the day brings makes each morning exciting.” John’s more into the competition: “Not only are we competing to serve customers, but we have people in our industry we’re competing against. So not only is it exciting to engineer new things, but you have to bring your A game to work every day.” Did UT prepare them for where they are today? John, who mentors UT engineering co-op students, jumps in: “If I could do the whole thing over again, I would, with no changes. “I got accepted at MIT, Purdue, Toledo and other places. UT let me get my degree without taking out student loans. Air Products recruits from UT because of their very strong reputation, and no one from MIT is going to start out at triple anyone else’s salary. On top of that, people who go to Division 1 schools often have to pay to get into athletic events or they can’t live on campus. At UT, you’re getting a lot more for your money.” “I have a much simpler answer,” Sarah says. “I got a good education, I made lifelong friends and I got real-world experience, all before I graduated. What more can you ask?”

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Leslie Adams (A/S ’89)It’s not every artist who practices a 500-year-old style of painting — neither is it every one who snags both the grand prize in the International Drawing Competition and the Warhol Scholarship that allows her to attend the New York Academy of Art. It is, though, Leslie Adams, an acclaimed portrait artist whose patrons include the state of Ohio, which unveiled her portrait of Governor Bob Taft earlier this year. Yet she didn’t always breathe paint. “Absolutely not!” she says. “My UT degree is actually in print-making and my graduate degree is in drawing.” She recalls UT classes with Dr. Diana Attie: “That’s where I learned about anatomy and classical realism.” A foundation of intense figure drawing and studying the techniques of old masters, she says, eventually led to her current work. That and a word from a mysterious stranger. “While I was living in Manhattan, I took a job at the Guggenheim Museum,” she says. “I was giving a tour and there was a man from Germany who must have seen I was having a bad day because he said to me, ‘You must be a painter.’ I told him yes and he said, ‘Well, what are you doing here? Why aren’t you painting?’” She started to accept commissions, including murals at a Harley-Davidson store, a gym and a church. “ I was asked to do one for a pool hall, but I drew the line there,” she laughs. And she began to be known as a gifted portraiture artist. “Although there were people in the area doing portraits, no one was using the 15th-century oil technique that requires under-drawing, then multiple layers of paint,” she says. “It takes six months to a year to complete.”

In a do-it-yesterday world, Adams defends the result: “When you’re doing a portrait over time, you might capture a glint in the eye in one session, and how the light affects the tone in another, the way the shoulders are held on another day.” Her luminously vivid portraits include corporate execs, light-bathed children and “the woman who wanted to be painted nude, pregnant and dancing.” Leslie says, “I’m more daring in my compositions now, after learning how to develop a deeper rapport with clients.” If she momentarily has trouble recalling the ultimate result when a woman wanted her husband portrayed as General Custer, put it down to discretion. Her first solo exhibition is being held at the Ella Sharp Museum of Art and History in Jackson, Mich. Does this mean she’s now an artist with early, middle and late periods? “I don’t think of any of that!” she says. “It’ll be strange to write a catalogue, like I’m official now.”

More examples of her work appear at: www.nantucketartconsultant.com/Artists/LAdams/LeslieAdams.htm

This posthumous portrait of Toledo Bishop James Hoffman was one of �1 in a field of 1,�00 chosen for an award by the Portrait Society of America. Below, “Young Woman with a Red Scarf”

“I ’m more daring in my compositions now, after learning how to develop a deeper rapport with clients.”

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Christopher Godish (Ed ’07)Five years ago, Christopher Godish was working for the U.S. Postal Service. Now he’s ready to deliver education around the world. “I decided I didn’t want to work at the post office anymore. I had done some work with international students and decided to teach,” he recalls. “My ultimate goal was to teach English overseas.” The reflective 28-year-old believes education just may save the world. “If people can learn to communicate, I think maybe we can solve some of the problems in the world; I’m trying to give them the tools to do so,” he says. Christopher has a gift for connecting with high school students, whether they’re from rural or urban communities. “At the end of the day, they’re all kids,” he says. “They’re kids with the potential to learn. If you can get them motivated by finding something they’re interested in, you’re golden; they’re like sponges.” He absorbed a lot at UT, particularly from Dr. Lawrence Baines, associate dean for graduate studies in the Judith Herb College of Education. “His [Baines’] whole concept of extracting creativity from kids is astonishing — we always want to base everything on evaluation and testing; some people aren’t necessarily college-bound or book smart, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not intelligent,” Christopher says. “Dr. Baines has a knack for pulling things out of people. He’s been a huge influence.” Godish, who minored in Japanese at UT, will be teaching English in Yokohama, Japan.

Mike Meinhart (Eng ’04)Everyone has co-workers who are real characters, but Mike Meinhart works with Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Tinker Bell and the Power Rangers. The Web content developer spends his days in a magical setting at the Walt Disney Internet Group in North Hollywood, Calif. “I do mostly flash development for the franchise group,” he said. “We just redid one of the franchises — Disney Fairies [www.disney.go.com/fairies]. That Web site went live in January.” More than a dash of pixie dust is needed to make these gorgeous online worlds come to life. “You have a plan of what you want to accomplish, different features for the site — how big it’s going to be, whether it’s just a couple links and fancy animation, or something more in-depth like the Disney Fairies site, where you can register and create your own fairy — choose what her eyes and wings will look like, what she’s wearing, name her and then save that and it’s a community where you can post messages on other fairies’ pages,” Meinhart said. “That was pretty big because it’s not just going in and seeing information, it’s interactive.” His days at the University helped make this dream job possible. “UT gave me the engineering background and I took some art classes there,” Meinhart said. “It was great preparation for moving forward and obviously I use that stuff every day.”

Jeff (Pharm ’93) and Sujata (Patel) Potter (Pharm ’93)There’s a growing buzz about a company in Medina, Ohio, that’s making pharmaceuticals human-sized again. It’s Clinical Apothecaries, founded as a compounding and consulting-only pharmacy practice by Jeff and Sujata Potter. “Everything we do here prescription-wise we make from scratch,” Jeff explains. “As pharmacists, we are chemists first, thinking about what happens at the cellular, biochemical level and how we can treat a condition as close to the problem as possible.” Although the Potters see their company as complementing the pharmaceutical industry, Jeff adds, “Compounding is how pharmacy was practiced since time of the pharaohs.” Sujata notes, “We had other reasons for starting this business. We struggled with infertility for three years. Our first two children were the result of conventional treatment, but it was torture. “The more we researched biochemistry, though, the more we learned about the female human body. It showed us there was another way.” Today Sujata handles one of the company’s specialties: women’s health issues. “We focus on the whole body — nutrition, exercise, stress reduction and getting hormones into balance using natural bio-identical hormones.” she says. “It’s the way I was able to get pregnant with twins. “Now we help other women who were told they would never have a baby. They’ve had one, two, even three.” With other specialties that include nutrition, pain management, cancer therapies and even veterinary practice, days are never boring. “We definitely use our training from pharmacy school,” Jeff says. “Most of the people who come to us are train wrecks when they arrive because they’ve seen eight, nine, ten physicians already. We’re their last hope. You know what? We fix them; we make them better. That’s what we’re getting known for.”

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Cain Myers (Bus ’04)How much action, glitz and bling can one man take? You might get an answer from Cain’s résumé, starting with his current position as promotions manager for Tuscany Suites & Casino, a 27-acre resort in Las Vegas. “My main role is promotions on the slots floor,” he says. “But I cover the restaurants, the bars and other parts of the resort.” He works the 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. shift daily. “But I have weekends off,” he adds. “The casino owners want to attract a younger crowd to build up this slow time.” You might say that Cain came up through the biz, with a stint as a casino host: courting high rollers, handling their reservations, accompanying them to concerts. A tough job, but someone has to do it, he says: “It was fantastic. Basically, you need to build relationships with customers. Then you have to be able to step back and understand the business side as well.” Having reached his student goal of working in casino marketing, he’s on track for director or vice president. “My senior thesis at UT was on gaming communities, and the Honors Program paid for me to come to Las Vegas for research,” he says. At UT, he adds, he learned the importance of building strong relationships. “I got my feet wet in everything I could — Student Government vice president, Greek, Dance Marathon Executive Committee. “It was like the feeling I get now when I go to work: I try to grasp the time. I’m busy and I make more work for myself, but I enjoy it.”

Alana Wyche (A/S ’06)Dream, dream, dream, says Alana Wyche — but remember that dreams come true because of attitude, attitude, attitude. Her own dream was to work at a big-name magazine. They don’t get much bigger than Black Enterprise; with almost four million readers, the magazine is the flagship publication of the multimedia company aimed at the black business market. “We’re just wrapping up our Entrepreneurs Conference in Orlando, where I worked with local media,” says the corporate communications and research assistant in the New York City office. “I handled the press conference for [chairman/CEO of Black Entertainment Television] Bob Johnson, who was one of our guest speakers.” Hard work and some risk made her dream happen, she says: “I happened to meet one of the editors who told me about an internship; she suggested I start as a volunteer when I put in my application. I was working at a law firm, which I left to pursue the volunteer position. I took a chance, but Black Enterprise offered me a full-time job.”

“I got my feet wet in everything I could — Student Government vice president, Greek, Dance Marathon Executive Committee.”

What she learned at UT gave her an early boost, she says. “I had the best professors who taught me not only about public relations but about life — like coming to class on time, meeting deadlines, putting your best effort in whatever you do. “Attitude is everything. I learned that in college. There were classes where I wasn’t doing as well as I could. If I had a good attitude and showed it to the professor, it took me a long way toward getting the help I needed. In my job, I’ve made mistakes, too, but a positive attitude keeps working to my benefit.” Living in New York with a high-energy job consumes her time, but she’s thinking of the future, too: someday, maybe an entertainment industry publicist. “Right now, though, I’m learning as much as I can. We’re working constantly with the press, so it’s always upbeat, never a down time. “At the end of the day, this is still living my dream.”

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Faris Asad (A/S ’93, Law ’97) and Kaya Ikuma (Law ’99) “Pack up, honey — we’re moving to Bolivia!” No, Faris Asad wasn’t quite so jaunty when he decided to take the U.S. Foreign Service exam. For one thing, both he and his wife Kaya Ikuma already had jobs as attorneys with the Cuyahoga City Prosecutor’s Office. For another, they ended up moving to Yemen. Faris, who took a double UT major in international relations and economics, says, “I always had an interest in world affairs, a really strong calling. As a child, I lived abroad; I went to boarding school in Cyprus and lived with my father for some time in Saudi Arabia. When the opportunity came up, I couldn’t resist it.” The Foreign Service exam is notoriously difficult, but Faris was one of those chosen for a position with the U.S. State Department; he asked for the Yemen posting “to be able to use my Arabic.” Kaya had mixed feelings: “I was sad to leave my career that I loved, but when we married I made a decision as to what was more important to me. Luckily, I landed on my feet.” Indeed she did, becoming a program management adviser with USAID (United States Agency for International Development)-Yemen. While Faris as a political officer was building relationships with his Yemeni counterparts in the foreign service and helping efforts toward democracy and stronger human rights, Kaya was working on public health, education, agriculture and economic growth. “My first love was being a prosecutor,

but this was very interesting because you were able to promote change and see good use of government funds,” she says. Faris interjects, “I felt kind of guilty, taking her away from something she was so good at. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, though.” “Sometimes these hardship posts end up being good opportunities for spouses because not too many are willing to go,” Kaya says. “Yemen is fascinating.” Faris notes, “At one point, after the culture shock and the usual sicknesses you get when you go to a Third-World country, we looked at each other and said, ‘We’re having so much fun!’ Every day

was something different.” The inevitable departure was hard, they say. “We miss Yemen a lot,” Kaya says. “It’s a different lifestyle; you change posts every two or three years and take a mandated home leave that’s a vacation in the United States, to remember your own country.” Next stop: Nepal — with their new baby, Mazen, five months old. They’re excited about taking him, Kaya says: “Our hope is that Mazen will have all the cultural experiences and life lessons of every country we see. “Before the Foreign Service, we enjoyed life, but we were just going

through the motions after the glitz and glamour of being attorneys wore off, and we were always stressed out,” she muses. “We still have deadlines and a lot of responsibility, but you get to see a different culture, with sources of stimulation and enjoyment other than career.” Faris says, “As these countries move down democratic paths, it’s exciting to help them build the necessary internal structures.” Then he pauses as a more personal thought hits him: “What can I say about why we do this? We’re in love!”

“My first love was being a prosecutor, but this was very interesting because you were able to promote change and

see good use of government funds.”

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Tracy Momany (Eng ’90)With apologies to that classic scene in The Graduate, Tracy Momany, vice president of the Product Development Group of Plastic Technologies Inc. (PTI), has just two words to say to you. Co-op program. The UT College of Engineering didn’t have a co-op program in place when Tracy became the first UT student — but not the last! — hired by the northwest Ohio-based international supplier of technology and manufacturing for the plastic packaging industry. “But I did start at PTI as a student worker,” Tracy says. “I’d always wanted to work in a research environment. By the end of my senior year I’d decided to stay in Toledo and take the job PTI offered me.” Now a senior staffer and part owner, she’s managed projects that include Coca-Cola’s new bottle, launched this past winter in China and gradually to appear throughout the world. “Coke corporate in Atlanta called on a Wednesday wanting the new bottles on Monday,” Tracy says. “They had a sketch. We had to generate a design, get it to the mold shop, build a mold — which usually takes a week but we turned it around in a couple of days — then make the new bottles and schedule the shipment.” Coca-Cola was thrilled with the result. “You’d be amazed at how much work goes into one little plastic bottle!” she says, adding, “This isn’t your classic engineering job where you calculate mass flow. It’s much more about material properties, knowing how plastic will function in different environments, then formulating that into contours and shapes that will work.” She has plenty of other UT alums to help; PTI employs more than 30, many of whom came through the now-established engineering co-op program. “The analytical and problem solving skills that accompany an engineering degree are highly critical to the work we do here,” she says.

Lavelle Edmondson (Bus ’02)Claire Edmondson (A/S ’02)You’d never guess that Claire and Lavelle started out as political rivals. “Lavelle was running for Student Government vice president and I was on the opponent’s campaign,” Claire explains. “My brother was working one of the voting booths,” Lavelle adds. “He called and said, ‘There’s this girl over here. She’s really popular and she’s killing us. You need to send over more recruits!’” Today Lavelle, who started at Marathon Petroleum Co. as an intern (“recruited at UT,” he notes), is a wholesale territory manager, responsible for keeping the entire state of Michigan supplied with gasoline. “I forecast how much product will be needed at Marathon’s ten Michigan terminals; I supply how much I think can be sold at each to supply all their markets,” he says. It’s not always easy. “We manage pipeline schedules from as far away as the Gulf of Mexico. It might take thirty days, so maybe by the time our million gallons get here, we can produce it cheaper in our Detroit refinery,” he says. “That’s when my boss sends me Nasty-grams.” Those are few; his promotions have been more frequent. “Whenever you learn enough to perform your job easily, Marathon gives you another area to challenge you,” he says. “It’s been good to know I can master new parts of our business and contribute on a higher level.” Claire is equally familiar with new challenges, having launched her career as an intern with the UT Admissions Office. “I worked at the University of Akron, then Purdue as an academic adviser,” she says. “I wouldn’t have hit the ground running and have made it as far as I did if not for my opportunities at UT.” She’s back at UT now as transfer systems coordinator in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. “UT is a transfer-friendly institution, one of the state’s leaders,” she notes. “I help make sure there are course equivalency rules so students interested in transferring will know how their courses will transfer into the UT system. “I also work with the course applicability system — a Web site for students to help them know exactly how their courses will apply to degree requirements.” Lavelle keeps an eye on UT students, too. “Marathon always infiltrates the College of Business to identify people we’d like to talk with,” he says. He’s helped recruit several UT grads. “UT has helped me become the man that I am as far as my career. And in the best parts of my life — UT is partially responsible for most of them.” Claire elaborates: “Because college is usually the best part of your life, our college reminiscing stories contain each other. UT is still definitely a part of our family.”

“This isn’t your classic engineering job where you calculate mass flow.”

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Cederick D. Cistrunk (HS ’06)At 6’7”, Cederick “Deon” Cistrunk is hard to miss. But it’s his enthusiasm for his career — physician assistant (PA) in cardio-thoracic surgery at Harper University Hospital (part of the Detroit Medical Center) — that really makes him a stand-out. “Incredibly rewarding,” he calls his work. “I assist the doctors in open-heart and thoracic cases, helping to remove a leg vein, for example, in a patient undergoing coronary bypass surgery. The veins are wrapped around the heart to maintain adequate blood flow.” The best part? “Working with patients; they’re a joy,” says the Mississippi-born Deon. “I could have chosen internal medicine, but open-heart surgery is something I’ve had a passion for since I was a scrub tech at surgical technical school in Memphis. I also worked at the University of Tennessee in clinical research before moving to Toledo. The research I was doing was hands-on, but I wanted to work with patients from

the beginning of the surgical process to the end.” His UT studies, he says, helped set the foundation of his career. “When I came to Toledo, I already had a medical background; UT enhanced that so when I graduated, I was very confident about what I knew. When I applied here, my colleagues seemed to be impressed by what I knew. I’m very proud of my education at UT. I’d compare it to Harvard or even Yale!” He had three job offers but opted for cardio-thoracic and the chance to “do a lot of good things for the central city” where the Detroit hospital is located. He also assists at Hutzel Women’s Hospital next door. “Coming here was the right decision,” he says. “The hospitals are very PA-friendly.” Toledo’s still in his life; he drives there weekly to attend services at Mt. Pilgrim Church, he says: “I thank God for that foundation; it’s kept me grounded.”

“But there are certain things school can’t prepare you for.”

Adrienne Veitch (HS ’05)Physical therapy in lock-down? That’s just one of Adrienne’s professional jurisdictions at Ohio State University Medical Center, which accepts prison inmates as patients. Adrienne explains, “We rotate every four months between different areas of the hospital. Right now I’m in the prison unit and I also work in a step-down unit where I see a lot of post-ops, the stroke and traumatic brain injury patients.” Prisoners are by far are the most compliant patients, she says. “There are a lot of rules we have to follow, like the patients being shackled to the bed at all times. When you get them up, the correctional officer has to unlock them, but leaves their arms shackled to the bed or their legs shackled together. Special orders can be obtained for cases like knee surgery or hip surgery, but if a patient leaves his room, the shackles stay on.” The physical therapist worked in the center prior to her hiring: “When I was a student, I spent four weeks of training here. I liked the size and the many different types of patients, and OSU has a nationally ranked burn facility.” Now into her fourth rotation, she works with renal, cancer, cardiac and neurological cases, among others. Her UT education helped pave the way, she says, “but there are certain things school can’t prepare you for. That’s what clinicals and internships are for. “A hospital setting is perfect place for new grads because you’re more independent. You have to learn by asking the physicians, nurses and staff a lot of questions. It’s given me a greater confidence.”Photo courtesy of The Ohio State University Medical Center

Jim Brown, photographer

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Neil Neukam (Univ Coll ’93)Kids’ Day at Fifth Third Field just ended; more than 8,000 area schoolchildren who came to see the Toledo Mud Hens play have gone home happy campers. And Neil Neukam, assistant general manager of corporate partnerships — “and shepherd and crossing guard today,” he says with a laugh — can catch his breath. He knows his Hens, having spent nine years working at Ned Skeldon Stadium in Maumee before the con-struction of the Mud Hens’ new roost in downtown Toledo. “Coming downtown re-energized the franchise,” he says, adding, “The usual honeymoon attendance period hasn’t been followed by a drop-off. We set attendance records last season and

[knocking wood] we’ll continue that trend. “We’re fortunate that the community has grasped the idea of coming here. At the ballpark, you’ll see family, friends, business colleagues; it’s a happening place to meet people. In some ways, the game is secondary!” He counts himself blessed to be with the franchise, crediting in part some advice he received as a student from then-UT athletic director Al Bohl: “I share it with our student interns to this day. He told me, ‘Do as much with possible careers as you can now. Get involved; don’t wait until you’re done with school.’”

Neil served three consecutive internships while at UT. “The third was with the Mud Hens, and after graduation they took me aside and offered me a full-time position,” he says. “How cool was that? Yeah, sign me up! And I’ve been on the ride ever since.” He clearly enjoys the trip. “Part of it was thanks to Jamie Farr, but now people from literally all over the world know the Toledo Mud Hens. The power of that name recognition is amazing. “I tell our interns, ‘There are 30 major league baseball teams; the Hens are 31. You have that on your résumé and it’ll open doors.’”

“At the ballpark, you’ll see family, friends, business colleagues; it ’s a happening place to meet people.”

Help UT launch the next generationBe the nexus of the future! Fill out and mail the postage-paid card you’ll find in the magazine and become an active part of creating new UT alumni. Share your time, share your circle of acquaintance, share the success that UT continues to bring to its grads.

Brandt England (Bus ’87)He walked away from the corporate world almost 15 years ago and never looked back. You might call Las Vegas entrepreneur Brandt England a landed venture capitalist, with land the bedrock of his success. “I started doing land and real estate investing by buying and selling houses,” says the Fortune 100 veteran who didn’t care for corporate bureaucracy and regimentation. “Las Vegas was the nation’s fastest growing market ever — a 105 percent appreciation rate in a little over three years. Our group of partners

was able to take advantage of that.” Vegas is still growing, with some 7,000 new residents each month and an additional 35,000 hotel rooms scheduled to open in the next couple of years. The recent housing bust may have closed one door, he admits, but others are opening. “It used to be you bought, fixed and sold houses, but now it’s better to buy houses, hold them, rent them and look to sell them in three to seven years,” he says. “In business you can take advantage of up cycles or down cycles as long as you’re willing to change your strategy.”

He speaks warmly of his UT days when he served as Student Body president, and of his professors — “I still remember Dr. Longenecker, [Dr.] Bill Rudd, Professor Wedding and Dr. Simonetti.” His UT experience was invaluable, he says, in both his business and personal life: “People offered practical perspectives that I still use.” With approximately 350 UT alums in greater Las Vegas, he says, it’s easy to keep in touch. “Our nanny is an alum, too — it’s truly a small world!”

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class notes

’50sGeorge W. Green (Bus ’50, MBA ’51), Dearborn, Mich., had an article, “Retired School Buses Still Serve,” appear in the online version of School Bus Fleet magazine.Maggie R. (Huddle) Arduser (Ed ’51) is living in Canandaigua, N.Y.; e-mail is warduser@rochester.rr.com. Frank Erme (MEd ’56), retired Whitmer High School teacher, administrator and coach, received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Football Foundation (Wistert chapter) in March in recognition of his 55 years of service to the Washington Local Schools and the Toledo community.

’60sBob Cosgrove (A/S ’60), Detroit, joined Lionel Trains LLC of Chesterfield, Mich., as editor of the customer newsletter, Inside Track. He’s also working there as a product researcher. Kenneth L. Miller (Bus ’64, MBA ’65), Clinton Twp., Mich., retired late last year after a long career in industry and more than 20 years of IT systems consulting.Jeffrey L. Davis PhD (A/S ’68) accepted the directorship of the Arthur Ashe Educational Guidance Program for the New York Junior Tennis League and the Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation.Lee Lehman (MA ’68) retired a second time from Delphos City Schools in July. He was a teacher in the Ohio district until 1996 and a few months later became their technology coordinator, overseeing all school computers. Birdel F. Jackson III (Eng ’68), president and CEO of B&E Jackson & Associates in Atlanta, was honored in March with the 2007 Golden Torch Award

for Entrepreneur of the Year, bestowed annually by the National Society of Black Engineers, an international organization dedicated to increasing the numbers of culturally responsible black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.Timothy K. Scherer (Bus ’69, MEd ’76) was named executive director of the Children’s Resource Center, Bowling Green. He’d been superintendent of McComb Local Schools in Hancock County (Ohio) for nine years.

’70sGary Corrigan PhD (Ed ’70, PhD ’77) was hired by Owens Community College, Perrysburg, as director of marketing and communications.Jim Klepcyk (Pharm ’71) joined Marion (Ohio) General Hospital as director of pharmacy services.David Pollick (A/S ’71, MA ’73), health commissioner for Sandusky County, Ohio, joined the United Way board of trustees. Cheryl Speck (A/S ’72) retired in June after 30 years as a teacher in the Franklin (Ohio) School District, most recently the third grade at Hunter Elementary. Duane D. Ramsey (A/S ’74), owner of The Write Stuff in Howell, Mich., joined Toledo Free Press as a staff writer covering the business beat.Douglas A. Trant (MA ’74), who has a law practice in Knoxville, Tenn., became a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, founded in 1950 to improve the standards and ethics of the trial profession. He joins a select membership that cannot exceed one per cent of the total lawyer population of any state or Canadian province; lawyers must have at least 15 years of

trial experience before being considered.

Trant ’74 Jan Helmstetter (NRS ’76, MEd ’96), a health careers instructor at EHOVE Career Center in Milan, Ohio, was inducted into the ranks of the National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teachers.Linda S. (Kajfasz) Benham (Eng ’77) was promoted to environmental supervisor of engineering for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s Division of Drinking and Ground Water, working at the northwest district office in Bowling Green. William S. Kenyon (Law ’77) began his new position as president of Hospice of Lenawee, Adrian, Mich., in May. He also received the 2007 Stubnitz Award from Lenawee United Way for his commitment to volunteerism.Robert P. Nielson MD (A/S ’77), who practices family medicine and orthopaedic sports medicine in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., as well as serving as district physician for two local high schools, is working with USABoxing, covering national and international amateur events. Mike Bell (Ed ’78), a 17-year veteran of the Toledo Fire Department who retired in April as fire chief, started a new job four days later when he was appointed state fire marshal, Ohio’s top fire investigation, training and code enforcement officer.

’80sKen Krsolovic (A/S ’80) took on the newly-created position of director of athletic compliance with Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, continuing as their head baseball coach. Michael W. Carmean (MEd ’81, Ed Spec ’89), superintendent of Washington Local Schools, Toledo, retired in August after 36 years in education. Tyrone K. Yates (Law ’81), serving his third term in the Ohio House of Representatives, was honored as a community leader by The Cincinnati Herald in a story commemorating Black History Month.Edsel Brown (Law ’82), director, Office of Technology in the U.S. Small Business Administration in Washington, D.C., opened two businesses — a Liberty Tax Service franchise and Edsel M. Brown Jr. Advisors — in Annapolis, Md. Robert Molnar (Bus ’85), Toledo, joined Fifth Third Bank as financial center manager of the Spring Meadows Banking Center.Paul Croy (A/S ’86, Law ’89) joined the Waterville office of law firm Robison, Curphey & O’Connell.

Molnar ’85

To Cathy (Chontos) Akens (A/S ’�7) working in education isn’t just a career.

“Daily, I have the opportunity to interact with students and staff whose lives I can truly impact,” says the assistant vice president for student affairs at the Florida International University-Biscayne Bay Campus. “I don’t take that role lightly.” She says, “Every day I am given the opportunity to work with people who want to learn and who are motivated. I love being able to help many students reach their goals.” While studying public relations at UT, Cathy worked in the College of Business Advising Office and as a resident assistant in Nash Hall, strengthening her interest in working with students. Prior to graduation, her supervisors encouraged her to look into higher education. In some ways, she says, she “stumbled into my career,” adding, “I’m very fortunate that the people I worked with recognized what a passion I had for working with students.” Akens went on to earn her master’s degree in college and

Alum is powered for and by students

university administration in 1989 from Michigan State University, and worked for four years at Bowling Green State University. In 1993 she moved to FIU, where she was appointed associate director of housing and residential life. “I chose FIU because it was a very young university with a diverse population and rapidly growing,” she says. “I wanted the opportunity to be part of a growing university and to be able to contribute to the development of a dynamic on-campus program.” She completed her doc-torate in higher education at FIU. Promotions followed: senior director and assistant ombudsman for student affairs, then in 2006, assistant vice president of student affairs. She also teaches for the graduate program in higher education, which prepares students for careers in higher education and student affairs. Despite a busy schedule, Cathy tries to make sure she is approachable and available to all students. “Increasingly, students understand the importance of a

college education, but they still have a lot of demands on them and are often juggling a variety of things,” she says. “Working with our team in student affairs, we understand we can’t necessarily remove all of these factors, but we can provide high levels of support. Our hope is that with enough support, students can overcome any obstacles they face and be successful at the university.” Teamwork is crucial to the effort, she says. “I’ve helped staff and students deal with the unexpected deaths of fellow students, for example. There’s such great sadness, but it is also during those times that you see the strength of a team.” As the academic year winds down, she takes stock: “As a leader, you are never solely responsible for the impact a group makes on students — but when everything comes together and people excel in their work, are proud of it and learn something in the process, that’s incredibly rewarding.”

— Stacy Moeller ’07

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class notes

Paul D. Kaegi (Bus ’86, MBA ’88), Toledo, was promoted to credit officer in the Commercial Credit Department of Fifth Third Bank, which he joined in 2003.

Kaegi ’86

Robert Klaiber Jr. (Eng ’86, MEng ’88), North Royalton, is Cuyahoga County engineer, working out of Cleveland.Jeannine Wilbarger (Univ Coll ’86), a 39-year veteran of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library, began her new position

as director of the Rossford Public Library in May.Gregory J. Edwards (Law ’87) was elected as county executive of Chautauqua County, New York, defeating a two-term incumbent.Laura Saunders-Kowalec (Bus ’87) was promoted to vice president with Huntington National Bank, where she has worked for 25 years.Vickie L. Kuntz (Univ Coll ’87, HHSM ’00), director of the Career Management Center at the UT College of Engineering, received the college’s Outstanding Staff Award.Jerry W. Malek (Bus ’87), an industrial specialist with Michael Realty Co., Toledo, received the designation of certified commercial investment member, a graduate-level, curriculum-based award held by approximately 7 percent of real estate practitioners nationwide.

Dick Kiser (UTCTC ’88, Eng ’93), president of machine Tool & Fab Corp., Fremont, and owner/president of North Coast Automation Supply LLC, purchased the former Machine Tool & Fabrication Inc. in Fostoria.Patricia Relue PhD (Eng ’88), associate professor of bioengineering and director of the Cellular Engineering Lab at the UT College of Engineering, received the college’s Outstanding Teaching Award.Van Brandt (Bus ’89), former captain of the UT golf team who worked for 17 years as a golf pro, joined White Pines Golf Course near Liberty Center, Ohio, as an instructor. Kristy Folkwein (MBA ’89), New Albany, Ohio, was promoted to vice president of information systems at chemical company Ashland Inc.

Jeff Huffman (A/S ’89), formerly director of programming in UT’s Office of Alumni Relations and now an independent agent with State Farm Insurance Co., wrote in to share his first year’s accomplishments in that role: he was one of 52 agents in the state who qualified for the Mid-America Zone Pride Ring, and he qualified for ambassador travel, the Legion of Honor and the Ohio Steak and Corn Roast. He and his wife, Kris (HHS ’99), who works in the office with him, have four kids: Zach, Alex, Kaylee and Paige.Peter B. Idowu PhD (PhD ’89), associate professor of electrical engineering at Penn State University Harrisburg, was appointed an administrative fellow for the 2007-08 academic year, working with Penn’s executive vice president/provost.

What in the world are you doing?Your UT Alumni Association is interested in what you’ve been up to since graduation. Information about births, marriages, new jobs and recent promotions, and educational or professional accomplishments is published in Toledo Alumni. (Professional news reported directly to your college is automatically forwarded to Toledo Alumni.)

Please complete the information below and attach a brief description of your news. Mail to: The University of Toledo Alumni Association, Driscoll Alumni Center, Toledo, OH 43606-3395.

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Alums can now update, search and network in a flash. Check out the Alumni Online Directory at www.toledoalumni.org.

Who would argue with the traditional American Indian

approach to health? After all, it’s holistic and harmonious, based on respect for the natural world. Nancy Brown-Schott RN (UTCTC ’7�, A/S ’86, NRS ’��), assistant professor in the UT College of Nursing, knows that despite such appealing features, the traditional health beliefs of the continent’s first Americans often run counter to the practices of Western medicine. She’s been studying the interplay of the two cultures for a number of years. “I’ve always been fascinated by other cultures and find that American Indians have beliefs and values that parallel mine,” says the longtime nurse who grew up on a 50-acre farm in rural Michigan. She took her interest a step further in 1993 when she began working with tribal leaders in northwest Ohio and the American Indian Intertribal Association, eventually becoming the latter’s nurse consultant. “For American Indians, the lack of resources and financial support make for medical under-service,” she says, noting that the same is true of rural populations. “Sometimes they feel they just want family and close friends to provide care, not outsiders.” Most American Indians rely on Western medicine at least some of the time; many also practice traditional healing, including the use of herbs, tonics and healing ceremonies. Using her years of experience as a public health nurse for rural counties, Nancy offered

Nurse to northwest Ohio’s American Indians

health screenings aimed at serving the many local American Indians who live in cities rather than on reservations. “I’d work at powwows, where people representing a number of tribes gather,” she says. Even so, it took a long time to win the complete trust of tribal members. “One thing I find working with any cultural group is the need to be present,” she adds. “It’s a matter of giving rather than taking. A health-care professional can’t just show up and take information instead of giving. You have to show you’re interested in their culture. That means listening carefully, being courteous and above all, being there. Your help can’t be a one-time thing. “I tell my students that it’s the three P’s: patience, perseverance and presence.” Her own research into health practices of Native Americans is breaking new ground. “Not much information exists about Native Americans for obesity, cancer or diabetes,” she says. “There’s not much written as far as how Native Americans perceive those conditions, or treat them. “There’s also limited info on caregivers. Elders are highly respected, but how are they cared for, especially when they have diabetes? “They’re a very private people whose culture often isn’t respected by outsiders.” Honoring the privacy of her patients, she’s reticent about that culture, but does share an intriguing coincidence about the collection of turtle figurines that decorates her office and home.

“I had this thing about turtles long before I began working with American Indians — but you know, the turtle is the basis for much of that culture because it’s the symbol of longevity!”

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class notes

Toni (Pope) Lucadello (MEd ’89), who retired after 28 years with Fostoria Community Schools, is the new mentoring program coordinator for the Fostoria Economic Development Corp.Dan J. Vining (Eng ’89) was hired as project director by Greater Ohio Ethanol, headquartered in Lima.

’90sJohn Holcomb (Pharm ’90) was promoted to pharmacy group manager of Target Corp., leading the merchandising, managed care, professional services and compliance strategies for the company’s 1,400 pharmacies. He and his wife, Kelly (Lowry) (Pharm ’90) — a pharmacist for Ridgeview Medical Center — live in Chanhassen, Minn., with their two sons, Brian and Michael.Dave J. Rieker (Ed ’90) was hired as girls varsity basketball coach by St. Ursula Academy in Toledo. Elizabeth A. Smith (Bus ’90), a kindergarten teacher with the Shelby, Ohio, schools, earned a master’s degree in education from Ohio State University in May. Bruce Brown (MEd ’92) was hired as superintendent of the Edon-Northwest Local School District, Ohio. John A. Begg (Bus ’93) accepted a position with Key Safety Systems Inc., an international supplier of automotive restraint and safety systems, as director of global logistics, based in Sterling Heights, Mich.Michael J. McDougall (A/S ’93) was appointed director of inpatient services at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Philadelphia. A registered nurse in Pennsylvania, he was previously operations manager of emergency services at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.

McDougall ’93

Jeanne (Haynes) Bogre (Eng ’94) was appointed director of sales and marketing for Hyson Products Associated Spring, Brecksville, Ohio, part of the Barnes Group Inc. family of aerospace and industrial components manufacturers.

Bogre ’94

Sharon Hendel (Law ’94), Perrysburg, joined the new Waterville office of law firm Robison, Curphey & O’Connell.Lori J. Bean (MBA ’95), associate professor of chemistry and biology at Monroe County Community College, received the Michigan college’s 2007 Outstanding Faculty Award. She also was appointed to the college’s foundation board.

Bean ’95

Wendy (Tressler) Crosby (Univ Coll ’95, MEd ’98), Columbus, received the Alumni Advisor of the Year Award at Ohio State University’s 2007 Greek Awards for her work with Chi Omega, which last year honored her with its national Advisor Award of Excellence. The organizational development manager for the Columbus Metropolitan Library and her husband, Brian (Bus ’95), have a 4-year-old son, Jack. Jon Pawlecki (A/S ’95, MPA ’04), senior associate director of engineering pre-college programs with the UT College of Engineering, received the college’s Outstanding Staff Award. Ty A. Otto (Bus ’96), Napoleon, joined the Business Banking Group at Fifth Third Bank as assistant vice president, with responsibility for commercial business relationships in the Defiance area. Fay Felske (NRS ’97, MEd ’06), an instructor at EHOVE Career Center in Milan, Ohio, was inducted into the ranks of the National Honor Roll’s Outstanding American Teachers. She joined EHOVE in 2002.Kevin Haught (MEd ’97) was hired as superintendent of Arlington School, Ohio.Staci Kaufman (Ed Spec ’97) was hired as superintendent of Vantage Career Center in Van Wert, Ohio.Andrew L. Maher (UTCTC

’97, Bus ’99), Dundee, Mich., was promoted to vice president in the Commercial Real Estate Department of Fifth Third Bank’s Commercial Lending Division. He joined the bank in 2002.

Maher ’97, ’99

Jill Richards (Law ’97) joined the Bryan law firm of Bish, Butler and Thompson Ltd. Chad Bringman (Univ Coll ’98, MBA ’04) was named executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northwest Ohio.Gilbert J. Birnbrich (Law ’99) was sworn in as an attorney in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, in the western Pacific. He’s lived there since 2003 and plans to join another attorney in private practice. Michael D. O’Shea PhD (MEd ’99, Ed Spec ’01) became director of curriculum and instruction at Springfield (Twp.) High School, where he had been principal.

’00sJeffrey A. Geib (Eng ’00), Washington, D.C., received the 2006 Department of the Navy Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year Award from the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. Capt. Justin J. Summers (A/S ’00) of the U.S. Army has served two tours of duty in Iraq, receiving two Bronze Stars. Following his completion of the

Odds are even though Donovan Nichols (BA ’0�, MEd ’0�) is the adviser

for the Rebel Pride Council at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), his loyalty remains with his alma mater. His office gives him away: diploma framed with a photo of the bell tower, Rocky the Rocket doll, UT picture frame … “Because The University of Toledo has been such an influential piece of my life that I don’t want to let go, I decided to rekindle that flame out in Las Vegas with other alumni members who are out here,” he says. Nichols started fanning the fire in fall 2006. “We’re still building. We sent out mailers to 330 alumni and heard back from 40 to 50 people,” he says. Football viewing parties followed when the Rockets played nationally televised games, and UT alumni chilled together when the Toledo Storm took on the Las Vegas Wranglers in hockey. “We’re working to diversify events so that people who don’t like sports can still spend time with other alumni,” says the resident of Henderson, Nev. In May, Nichols received the Alumni Association’s Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award and the Chapter of the Year Award for his efforts. He’s also hit big with his job as program coordinator for student involvement in UNLV’s Student Involvement & Activities Office. “One of my initiatives was to create an Involvement Center, a one-stop shop for students who are looking to get involved. I train undergraduate student

Rocket rebel excels in Vegas

peer advisers who connect UNLV students with involvement opportunities that support their interests and help them find their path or their passion for what they want to do with their careers,” Donovan says. He’s mapped out his future: “My ultimate goal is to be a vice president for student life at a university and a national motivational speaker.” Along the way, he won’t forget where he’s been. “I believe strongly in the ‘pay it forward’ concept,” Nichols says. “Blue Crew secret spirit society is the legacy Jason Rodriguez and I created and left at UT to continually build Rocket pride. I will continue to advise each new batch of Blue Crew members to keep the spirit vision alive.” — Vicki L. Kroll

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Winning alumni award —

— and working to win

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class notes

MarriagesChristopher Huss (UTCTC ’��, Eng ’��) married Holly Coleman in January. He’s a process engineer with Honeywell in Fostoria. Bryan L. Heckman (UTCTC ’��, Univ Coll ’��) married Jennifer Schmitt in December. He works for Abbot Laboratories in Fort Meyers, Fla., as a pharmaceutical rep.John C. Halbert (A/S ’��) married Jocelyn Win Chien Chong in December. John’s a program director and on-air personality for two FM stations in Honolulu. The two met when Jocelyn bicycled from Seattle to Boston to support the Arthritis Foundation; John interviewed her weekly during his radio show.

Halbert

Brendan Barr (A/S ’��) married Kelly Nomina (A/S ’��) in August; they live in Columbus.Matthew J. Schroeder (Bus ’��) married Jill M. Markwood in December. Matt is vice president for business development at the UT Foundation.Eric M. St. Clair (A/S ’��) married Talia M. Garber (Ed ’01, MEd ’02) in December. Eric is a graphic designer for JW Color Graphics in Massillon, Ohio, and Talia is an intervention specialist in the Akron Public Schools.

Megan M. Wyatt (HHS ’01) married Brent M. Shumaker (Eng ’02) in October. Megan works for the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation in Cleveland; Brent is a project manager/engineer for Doan Pyramid Electric.Todd France (Eng ’02) married Sara Young in December. They live in Philadelphia, where Todd is a kicker for the Philadelphia Soul arena football team. Elizabeth J. Miller (Bus ’02) married Frank Dobnikar (Bus ’0�) in May 2006; they live in Toledo. Heather Lange (A/S ’0�) married Jeremiah Lindsey in October. They live in Westerville, Ohio.Jaime L. Conley (Eng ’0�) married Robert Kramer (Eng ’0�) in April 2006; Robert is a systems engineer for Pinnacle Data Systems, while Jaime is a VALO technician for Xerox. They live in Obetz, Ohio.Amanda Gatzulis (HHS ’0�) married Kevin Wagner (Bus ’0�) in October. They live in New Albany, Ohio; Mandy is an RN at Ohio State University, working there to become a Nurse Practitioner, and Kevin works at Wells Fargo while getting his MBA from Ashland University.Christy Sommer (A/S ’0�) married Dylan Myers in September 2006. They live in Elyria, Ohio.Timothy Walsh (Law ’0�) married Erika Samm (Ed ’0�) in March. He’s an attorney in Franklin County, Ohio, and she’s a middle school teacher with Reynoldsburg City Schools. Kristen Suter (Ed ’0�) married Michael Cavin in December. They’re living in Sylvania.

BirthsSean Phillips (Bus ’��, Ed ’�7, MEd ’0�) and his wife, Orly, announce the birth of their son, Jacob Julian, in March. Sean is a tenured teacher at Blissfield (Michigan) High School, where he teaches upper-level social studies electives.Kelly Scarberry (HHS ’01) and her husband, Buddy, announce the birth of their daughter, Aubrey Kathryn, in October. She joins brother, Caleb, 2, and the family in Oregon. Kelly works as a physical therapist at a skilled nursing facility in Perrysburg.

Aubrey Kathryn Scarberry

Combined Logistics Captains Career Course at Fort Lee, Va., he began psychological operations training at Fort Bragg, N.C. Amanda M. Cook (NRS ’01, NRSG ’06), a certified adult nurse practitioner, joined the OB/GYN practice of James Kasten MD and Kimberly Gecsi MD in Norwalk, where she lives with her husband, Gregory, and three children.Wendy Larzelere (A/S ’03, Law ’06) joined Ray & Barney Group, an Upper Arlington, Ohio, provider of workforce and IT strategies, as account director.Tiberiu Avram MD (Res ’04) joined Ashtabula (Ohio) County Medical Center as an OB/GYN in their women’s health center.Evan Ely (HHS ’04) was sworn in as a member of the Fostoria Police Department in April.Carrie Fihe (Eng ’04), Cincinnati, was accepted into the Peace Corps and departed in June for a two-year commitment to service in Ghana, Africa, where after mastering language and cultural skills, she will assist in secondary education. Paul Nelson (Univ Coll ’04) accepted the position of senior information security analyst with UT’s Educational and Information Technology. Previously, he was a network specialist on the Health Science Campus. He and his wife, Denise (Fleischman), were married in October.Amanda Gergich (Bus ’05) is a realtor with Re/Max Preferred Associates (agergich@metrotoledohomes.com) as well as a real estate pre-licensing instructor at Owens Community College.

William J. King (Eng ’05), Bellevue, Ohio, received a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Wisconsin, where he’s now working toward his PhD.

King ’05

Rebecca Dorosz (A/S ’06, Ed ’06) is teaching English at Pettisville (Ohio) High School.Christopher J. Hill (Univ Coll ’06) was promoted to Banking Center Officer with Fifth Third, managing a south Toledo Bank Mart. He joined Fifth Third in 2003.

Hill ’06 Heather (Scherer) Jones (HHS ’06) is the new aquatics director with the Williams County (Ohio) YMCA. In October, she married J.R. Jones. Isaac R. Lee (Bus ’06) was named assistant director of the Defiance County (Ohio) Community Improvement Corp.

Homecoming Weekend Oct. 6-7! Plan now to attend; watch your mail for events, activities and check www.toledoalumni.org for complete list.

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Jacob’s CourageMazo Publishers, 2007Charles S. Weinblatt (A/S ’74)

If the unspeakable horror that was the Holocaust can

be encapsulated in single moments, perhaps they would be similar to the terrible scenes in Weinblatt’s fictional story of teenage Jacob Silverman and his family — seeing lives snuffed out in the execution pit as bulldozers push dirt over the still-breathing, in the concentration camp showers as Zyklon-B engulfs screaming women and children, in the Auschwitz medical laboratory as internal organs are removed from the living without anesthesia. The author maintains a driving, relentless pace as Jacob and his beloved Rachael try to escape the madness of Nazi Germany while maintaining their humanity; in the end, the visionary protagonist (Jacob sees his future in a series of prophetic dreams) comes to echo his Biblical counterpart who fled danger in his own country and saw a life-changing vision in his dreams.

— C.N.

Inscribing My NameKent State University Press, 2007Herbert Woodward Martin (A/S ’64)

Martin’s collection of poems represents

the intellectual and the experimental, the confessional and the lyrical. It’s easy to envision discovering such pieces tucked into a case bound with leather string, hidden under a bed. In his telling of the many types of love that have impacted his life (hence the book’s title) — love of women, of parents and other family members — Martin includes 21 “Antigone” poems and eight autobiographical “W.” poems. To celebrate his love of singing in a choir, Martin features 20 “Contrapuntal” pieces, whose dual voices are challenging and rewarding to read. He also shares 14 honest and raw “Prayers.” Woven throughout are numerous stand-alone pieces, such as “Sassy Music” and “The Deadwood Dick Poems,” illustrating Martin’s observations and experiences as an African-American artist.

… Nothing Personal Just Business …Lesher Publishing, 2006Kenneth R. Dickson (Ed ’69)

It was a town overrun by a gang of outlaws, until

the death of the man who stood up to them inspired the citizens to take action. It sounds like the classic Old West story, but Dickson finds parallels in the violent history of Prohibition in Toledo. In the book, he focuses on the period when Yonnie Licavoli and his gang took over the city’s gambling and bootlegging, and Jack Kennedy was one of the few who opposed them. Dickson fleshes out this basic story with interesting anecdotes on the main players and photos that feature speakeasies and crimes scenes. The book is perfect for Glass City history buffs and anyone curious about Toledo’s seedy past.

— Deanna Woolf ’05

Formal. Free-wheeling. Fun. UT merchandise fits your life. Feed your fashion craving and show your UT pride; check out the inventory at www.university-promotions.com or call 419.383.3858.

biblio-files

Ten chilling “Rwanda” poems include “Rwanda #6”: “No one can repair the air … A new balm is prescribed/For all the pains left behind.”

— Heather Van Doren, College of Pharmacy director of external affairs and communications

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in memoriam in memoriam

H. Jeffrey Armstrong (UTCTC ’92), Toledo, March 10 at 58.Patrick J. Corp MD (Res ’92), Toledo, April 30 at 53. Julie A. Aldrich, Toledo, att. 1996-2000, May 20 at 34. Christopher J. Welch (Eng ’97), Toledo, March 29 at 49.

’00sMay B. (Wiggins) Finn (Univ Coll ’01), Toledo, April 16 at 66.Jennifer M. (Adams) Smith, a student in the Judith Herb College of Education since 2003, May 19 at 32. *Sarah L. Alverman (Ed ’06), Ottawa Lake, Mich., March 7 at 24.Carol Jean Bird, Delaware, Ohio, who was due to graduate cum laude in May 2007 with a degree in social work, April 9 at 22.

Faculty, staff & friendsColleen B. Anderson, Woodville, Ohio, a custodian at UT from 1977 until her retirement in 1988, died March 7 at 84.John Colwell, Toledo, concert manager and administrative specialist from 1967 to 1970, died May 19 at age 64.Isabell M. Cousino, Holland, who worked in the Dietary Department of the former MUO from 1972 to 1982, died March 11 at 94.Rosemary E. Dembroski/Skala, Perrysburg, who worked at the former MCO as a staff nurse in the Outpatient Clinic, Department of Medicine, from 1982 to 1996, died June 10 at 64. Ruth I. Dohse, Whitehouse, died June 6 at age 65. She joined the former MCO in 1977 as a lab assistant in the Pharmacology Department and retired in 2003. She returned to part-time work and was a volunteer with the UT Medical Center’s Satellites Auxiliary Group.Mary E. Domby, Lambertville, Mich., a clerical specialist for the Rehabilitative Care Unit at the former MCO from 1986 to 1999, died June 10 at 62. Maxine Erd, Toledo, a volunteer with the UT Medical Center’s Satellites Auxiliary Group, died April 3 at age 87. Louis G. Galambos (Ed ’57), Oregon, who taught classes at the former UT Community and Technical College, died May 10

at age 81. He was an electronics instructor in 1961, then became an assistant professor and taught from 1965 to 1967, leaving as a lecturer in industrial technology. William W. Guy, Toledo, who worked at the former MCO more than two decades, died March 23 at 67. He joined the Information Systems staff in 1978 and was a PC LAN support technician when he retired in 2002.Helga E. Hartman, Toledo, who worked for 30 years as a medical technologist at the former MCO/MUO, died April 20 at 81. James A.C. Johnson, Toledo, who worked as an analyst in Systems at UT for 11 years, died April 7 at 89. He retired in 1984. Wendy L. (Rutherford) Krupa, Martin, Ohio, a technical typist in the Admitting Department of the former MCO/MUO Medical Center from 1993 to 2006, died March 21 at 44.Stacey (Trzcinski) Leffler (UTCTC ’95), Toledo, died April 14 at 40. She was a part-time nurse in the Surgery Department of the former MCO.Donald “Ducky” Lewis (Ed ’60), Toledo, a former assistant football coach, died March 13 at 73. He coached defensive ends and linebackers under Head Coach Frank Lauterbur from 1968 to 1970, when UT started its 35-0 streak. He left with Lauterbur in 1971 to take a job at the University of Iowa. Lewis returned to Toledo and coached the offensive line under Head Coach Jack Murphy from 1975 to 1976. Barbara Ann Machcinski, Toledo, who worked at UT as a custodian from 1966 to 1989, died April 17 at 71.Jean F. Malcom, Toledo, a 32-year volunteer with the UT Medical Center’s Satellites Auxiliary Group, serving a term as its president, died May 29 at age 84. Walter A. Martishius (Ed ’58, MEd ’60), Tiffin, who was an adviser in Student Services on the Scott Park Campus in the 1990s, died April 26 at 75. Patrick McGuire PhD, Toledo, former director of UT’s Urban Affairs Center, died March 18 at 53. He joined the UT faculty as an assistant professor of sociology in 1987 and was promoted to associate professor in 1993. In

1999, McGuire was named director of the Urban Affairs Center, an applied social science-based research entity dedicated to improving the quality of life and economic vitality of the Toledo area. McGuire researched and wrote about “brain drain” in Toledo and urban sprawl. In 2005, the longtime community activist was honored with the University’s first Edith Rathbun Outreach and Engagement Excellence Award for his work.Henry A. Page Jr., Sylvania, who served as director of development at the former MCO at Toledo Foundation from 1975 to 1991 and headed the hospital capital campaign, died April 26 at 91.Dorothy V. (Ashford) Pettee (A/S ’75, MA ’84), Sylvania, who was an adviser and an adjunct English professor in the College of Arts and Sciences from 1988 to 1999, died May 23 at 80. She was named Adviser of the Year in 1992. Gladys M. (Schuster) Preis, Largo, Fla., died April 1 at 97. In 2005, she established the Alvin J. Preis Endowed Scholarship for first-generation UT students majoring in history or English, to honor her late husband, a UT lecturer in accounting.Joseph Tomasi Jr., Whitehouse, died April 9 at 86. A member of the UT Board of Trustees from 1972 to 1981, he was also director of the Northwest Ohio Center for Labor-Management Cooperation at UT from its founding in 1986 until 2000, serving afterward on its advisory board.Frank J. Voss, Ottawa Hills, who served on the MUO Foundation Board of Trustees from 1986 to 1994 and afterward as an honorary trustee, died May 6 at 84. He also served on the MCO President’s Council in 2000.

* Member of the UT Alumni Association

** Lifetime member

’20sAnna R. (Kline) Stauber, Toledo, att. 1928-1930, May 24 at 95.

’30s**William H. Mauk, Ottawa Hills, att. 1930-1932, March 13 at 95. Ruthann (Inman) (Devlin) Fraser, Toledo, att. 1936-1938, May 10 at 89.*William C. Lewis (Bus ’38), Toledo, April 16 at 91.Charlotte (VanWormer) Liebert, Adrian, Mich., att. 1938-1940, March 16 at 86. Tau Delta Sigma member. **W. Raymond Ahrberg (A/S ’39), Medford, Ore., May 20 at 90. Florence E. (Nightingale) Brown (Ed ’39, MEd ’42), Streetsboro, Ohio, May 25 at 89. **Margaret (Harpster) Fischer (Bus ’39), Rossford, May 1 at 89. Psi Chi Phi, Delta Delta Delta member. *Bettae T. (Shank) Galbraith (A/S ’39), Peoria, Ariz., March 27 at 89. Chi Omega member. **Thomas E. Johnston (Bus ’39), Toledo, May 18 at 92. Tower Club member. Mildred P. (Jeschke) Shepherd (Ed ’39), Toledo, March 7 at 89.

’40sRobert R. Harder, Chicago, att. 1940-1943, Nov. 7 at 83. A. Gideon Spieker Jr., Holland, att. 1940s, March 12 at 80.**Elenor (Klinksick) Butler (Ed ’42), Chiefland, Fla., June 6 at 87. **Rose W. (Worshtil) Scheer (Ed ’43), Toledo, March 13 at 85.Robert F. Rieman (Bus ’45), Woodville, May 22 at 93. **Virginia H. (Fulton) Wetnight (Bus ’46), Oldsmar, Fla., March 1 at 82. **Don C. Norton PhD (A/S ’47), Ames, Iowa, April 18 at 84.Manning L. Spooner, Toledo, att. 1940s-1950s, April 25 at 78. *Edward D. Buckley (Eng ’48, MS ’50), Toledo, March 22 at 82.*Wayne R. Shook (Bus ’48), Toledo, April 2 at 86.**William H. Black (Bus ’49), Waterville, June 7 at 84. Patricia L. (Oatman) Campbell (Ed ’49), Bellevue, Wash., in March at 79.

’50sTheodore M. Black (Bus ’50), Findlay, April 28 at 80. Phi Kappa Chi member.Robert E. Gebhardt, Toledo, att. 1950s, April 20 at 73. Elmer A. Knight (Bus ’50), Toledo, May 3 at 82.*Ralph K. Kuhlman (Bus ’50), Maumee, May 30 at 80. He was a Doermann Society member and strong athletics supporter.Ralph J. Jacob (Eng ’51), Manchester, Ohio, March 1 at 78.Adelene M. (Haas) Prior (A/S ’51), Perrysburg, April 1 at 87. Ann O. (Openlander) Donofrio, Toledo, att. 1952-1954, June 5 at 72.Thomas G. Todak, Riverside, Calif., att. 1953-1955, March 6 at 71. Sigma Phi Epsilon member. *Salvatore (Samuel) J. Arite (A/S ’54), Toledo, April 22 at 75. Donald R. Suntala (Pharm ’54), Cleveland, April 21 at 75.Ralph E. Cousino (Eng ’55), Henderson, Nev., April 20 at 74. *Bernie Margolis (Pharm ’55), Cleveland, April 17 at 77. *Robert V. Mens (Bus ’55), Sylvania, March 9 at 82. Phi Kappa Chi (Pi Kappa Chi) member.Garland Bohannon (Bus ’56), Toledo, March 10 at 87. **Raymond Flores (Ed ’56), Arlington, Va., June 1 at 83. **Richard G. Johnson (Eng ’57), Sylvania Twp., May 23 at 75. Ronald J. Turski (Bus ’57), Oregon, April 27 at 71.Charles T. Hatcher, Toledo, att. 1958-1962, March 9 at 71. Arthur B. Ochs (Bus ’58), Huron, Ohio, May 21 at 72. Member of UT baseball team. Sports editor of The Collegian; served as chief statistician for UT football and basketball.Joseph V. Mockensturm Jr. (Bus ’59), Maumee, May 6 at 72. Florence D. (Harger-Cowell) Payne (Ed ’59), Toledo, April 3 at 94. Delta Sigma Theta member.

’60sConstance A. (Fakehany) Boerst, Sun Prairie, Ohio, att. 1960-1962, May 1 at 64.Ethel (Williams) Newson (Ed ’60), Toledo, March 24 at 68.Thomas T. Szkudlarek (Bus ’60), Saline, Mich., Jan. 31 at 69.

**Leonard J. Sorosiak (Eng ’61), Coconut Creek, Fla., April 5 at 68. Ran UT track, lettered in football in 1957.Robert E. Lee Matevia (Ed ’62), Swanton, May 28 at 70. *Royden L. Freshour (Pharm ’63), Toledo, April 27 at 67.Jacqueline (Gordon) Jenson (UCTCT ’63, MEd ’79, Ed Spec ’81), Toledo, May 22 at 65. Barbara A. (Heffern) Cheuvront (A/S ’64), Sylvania, March 29 at 64.Van A. Johnson, Toledo, att. 1964-1967, March 14 at 61. Theta Chi member. Gale Williamson (Law ’64), Perrysburg, March 11 at 78.Ronney Braziel, Toledo, att. 1960s-1970s, March 14 at 59. Ronald S. Ball (Ed ’68), Whitehouse, March 9 at 63.**Mark D. Paluszak (Ed ’68, MEd ’72), Marion, Ohio, May 14 at 62. Lettered in basketball in 1966-67. Mary Lou Reed (Ed ’68, MEd ’87), Holland, March 26 at 80. **Dorothy H. (Gobrecht) Robinson (Ed ’68), Toledo, March 19 at 89. Pi Beta Phi member.

’70sBertha (Yost) Brandes (MEd ’70), Elmore, Ohio, April 16 at 92.Sr. Yvonne Viens RN (MEd ’70), Lexington, Mass., March 23 at 89. A Sister of Charity of Montreal (Grey Nun), she was inducted into the Medical Mission Hall of Fame in 2006.*Edwin W. Williams Jr. (A/S ’70), Casselberry, Fla., April 1 at 85.Antoinette R. (Woodmancy) Marshalko (UTCTC ’71), Perrysburg, March 25 at 57. Grace I. (Herman) O’Donnell, Erie, Pa., att. 1971-1975, April 3 at 54. David T. Periat (Eng ’71), Toledo, May 9 at 59.Jacqueline O. (Moore) Taylor (UTCTC ’71), Toledo, May 11 at 63. Robert R. Case (UTCTC ’72), Toledo, April 28 at 58.John E. Broderick (Ed Spec ’73), Worthington, Ohio, May 10 at 80. Rosetta (Dunn) Dillon (MEd ’73), Dayton, April 13 at 83. Zeta Phi Beta member. Frederick J. Sweeney (MEd ’73, Law ’78), Sylvania, April 19 at 63. Nanci K. (Watson) Effler (UTCTC ’74), Ottawa Hills, June 1 at 53.

Nancy E. (Freriks) Harris (MA ’74), Port Ludlow, Wash., March 28 at 74. *James P. Rahe (Bus ’75), Toledo, April 15 at 66. *Victor R. Miller Sr. (Univ Coll ’75), Sylvania, May 3 at 80.*Alvetta Y. (Howard) Moore (Ed ’75, MEd ’78), Holland, June 11 at 67. Delta Sigma Theta member. Connie M. (Shemas) Thomson (A/S ’75, Law ’79, MEd ’07), Toledo, April 5 at 55.Janis (Plummer) Tumlin (Univ Coll ’76), New Orleans, April 19 at 62.Linda K. (Coppler) Watkins (Ed ’76, MEd ’82, Law ’89), Fremont, May 2 at 60. Alan D. Ahl (UTCTC ’77, Eng ’80), Toledo, April 13 at 49. Jane L. Lackey (Law ’78), Toledo, March 25 at 63. William C. Wilson (Pharm ’78), Brecksville, Ohio, March 17 at 56.

’80sElizabeth K. Ferner, Sylvania, att. 1980s-1990s, March 24 at 81.Joe A. Simmons (Law ’80), Van Buren, Ohio, May 18 at 52.Brent D. Ansted, Roanoke, Texas, att. 1981-1984, June 3 at 44. Jeffery R. Kuebler, Toledo, att. 1982-1986, April 17 at 46.*Mary J. (Pavlos) Puls (Univ Coll ’83), Waterville, June 1 at 77. Phi Kappa Phi. William E. Russell (MEd ’83), Rossford, March 5 at 69.Lee A. Grundish (A/S ’84), Toledo, March 28 at 47.*Katharine Kirk Williams MD (MED ’86), Holland, March 30 at 55.*Candy (Howell) Graham (Univ Coll ’87), Fort Wayne, Ind., May 16 at 74. Felicia D. Martin, Detroit, att. 1987-1998, April 20 at 37.*David F. “Rock” Rochte (Ed ’87), Toledo, May 28 at 53. *Michael J. Carroll (UTCTC ’88, ’90, Univ Coll ’90, MBA ’98), Toledo, May 24 at 44.

’90s**Carl J. Harpring (Eng ’91), Delta, Ohio, June 5 at 39. Mark G. Militello (UTCTC ’91, Univ Coll ’94, MEd ’02), Toledo, May 4 at 50. University College board member.

www.toledoalumni.org�2 Toledo Alumni Magazine | Fall 2007

I teach, therefore I am

Everyone has walked through the labyrinth of these corridors,On their way to reaching a destiny.Passing the office of Jesse Long, Cutting through the barracks and West Campus Quonsets,To shut out the world with mammoth headphones, While listening to Debussy in the music listening room.I lost a part of my innocence one Tuesday May evening,When voices could be overheard from an antiwar demonstration below,And nothing could squeeze into my mind beyond the thoughtThat we had just bombed Hanoi.The blossoms of magnolias floated into the classroomAs Dr. Hoch discussed the many interpretations of Confidence Man,And my life was changing without notice.When one is married to a school, it is possible to lose the awareness of time,To move from decade to decade, quarter to quarter,Semester to semester, while feeling they are standing in place.Taking a moment from my students,I glance from the window of my classroom, And see the past cast before me like a line.I reel in the memory,Realizing I have actually become part of the mortarOf this institution, and much like the stoneStructures around me, I too have aged,But stand strong and acknowledge the breath of individuals Like myself who helped give this university its life. — Marian Fisher ’74, ’85, UT instructor of English

Lens, life, lyric

Phot

o by

Dan

iel M

iller

‘This one, Mom?’ Budding art critic Liam Norris, right, accompanied by his mother, Kathleen, was one of an estimated 1�,000 people who attended the 1�th annual Art on the Mall on UT’s Main Campus in July. “Everyone had a huge day,” saidEric Slough, director of alumni programming and event coordinator. “The weather was perfect and the artists did great business, which makes everybody happy.”

1� Years of Art on the Mall

2007 toledo Football schedule

SAT. SepT.1 pURDUe(ESPNU) GLASSBOWL 7:00Sat. Sept.8 atCentralMichigan* Mt.Pleasant,MI 7:00Sat. Sept.15 atKansas Lawrence,KS 6:00(CT)SAT. SepT.22 IOWASTATe GLASSBOWL 7:00SAT. SepT.29 WeSTeRNMICHIGAN* GLASSBOWL 7:00sat. oct. 6 lIbeRtY (hoMecoMING) Glass boWl 7:00

Sat. Oct.13 atBuffalo* Buffalo,NY 1:00sat. oct. 20 ohIo* Glass boWl 7:00

SAT. OCT.27 NORTHeRNILLINOIS* GLASSBOWL 7:00SAT. NOv.3 eASTeRNMICHIGAN* GLASSBOWL 7:00Tues. Nov.13 atBallState*(ESPN2) Muncie,IN 7:30Fri. Nov.23 atBowlingGreen*(ESPNU) BowlingGreen,OH 2:30Sat. Dec.1 MACChampionship#(ESPN) Detroit,MI TBA

•HOMeGAMeSINBOLDCApS• All times listed Are site times * mid-American Conference Game/schedule subject to change. # Ford Field, detroit, mi

Driscoll Alumni Center

2�01 W. Bancroft St.

Toledo, Ohio

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For tickets call 419.530.GOLD or visit www.utrockets.com

SeeYOUATTHeGAMe!