UMAR Newsletter Spring 2020, Volume I Number 3

COVID-19 UPDATE AND UMAR

The first coronavirus case in Shelby County was confirmed on March 8, 2020. The next day the University discontinued international travel for faculty, staff, and students, and three days later, after the American Athletic Conference announced the cancellation of the men’s basketball tournament, the University suspended all spring competitions until further notice. The UofM then extended spring break by a week to enable a smooth transition to remote learning, canceled all in-person events consisting of 10 or more people, and scheduled a virtual commencement ceremony for spring 2020 graduates that took place on May 9. At this time, the University plans to conduct all summer school classes online, and although the University remains open, the majority of buildings on all campuses are locked and accessible via faculty, staff, or student ID only. Want to know more? Want to know more? Visit the University COVID-19 Update web page at https://www.memphis.edu/health/coronavirus/.

When the University moved to remote and virtual learning and operations, UMAR was forced to cancel our spring and summer programs. However, the Executive Committee continues to meet via Zoom. Currently, we are assessing how we can best serve you, our constituency. Do you have suggestions? We understand that most activities must now take place online –or in small groups outside. . . picnic in a Memphis park? Would you be interested in taking virtual tours of the world’s great art museums under the guidance of a local art historian? Discussing great works of literature, such as Boccaccio’s "Decameron," inspired by the great plague in 14th century Florence? Listening to an expert fellow retiree or local official as they explore an issue of particular importance to UMAR members in an interactive Zoom meeting? What expert and what issue? Or, getting some help learning Zoom, so you could participate in a virtual wine tasting? Perhaps there is a need for help with transportation, pharmacy pick-up, or serving up some meals...? Now’s the time! Please send your ideas, suggestions, and thoughts to Mike Osborn, Program Chair and incoming 2020-2021 President of UMAR at [email protected] (https://shoutout.wix.com/so/fdN8FLQZ2/c?w=ByS- ff21sUTBzjLG9maxSw7BMG7Py_GrSfCJwJPKwbU.eyJ1IjoibWFpbHRvOm1vc2Jvcm4xQ GJlbGxzb3V0aC5jb20iLCJyIjoiYzJhMTY1NzEtMzdmNi00ZWZiLTIyZDctNjI2ZDFmNjMxM TMzIiwibSI6Im1haWxfbHAiLCJjIjoiMDAwMDAwMDAtMDAwMC0wMDAwLTAwMDAtMDA wMDAwMDAwMDAwIn0)

FINDING UMAR

How to find UMAR’s home page from your computer 1. Type “Alumni.Memphis.edu” in your web browser 2. Select “GET INVOLVED” from the tabs at the top of the page 3. Select “CONSTITUENT GROUPS” from the GET INVOLVED box at left of the page; 4. Select UMAR from list of CONSTITUENT GROUPS.

How to find UMAR’s home page from your smartphone 1. Type “Alumni.Memphis.edu” into your web browser; 2. Scroll down, down, down until you see “Get Involved”; 3. Select “Academic Chapters” (Constituent Groups is listed but not hot); 4. Select “Constituent Groups” under list of Academic Chapters; 5. Select UMAR from list. MEET YOUR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Dr. Sheryl DeMarcus Maxwell, Ph.D., Associate Professor Emeritus UMAR Secretary, 2019-2020

Sheryl Anne DeMarcus was born in Denver, Colorado during the Second World War. Blessed with perfect pitch, she learned to play the piano at age four; later she played the violin in school orchestras starting with elementary school and continuing through college, where she became the concertmaster of the college orchestra. Additionally, she excelled in school academics, particularly in mathematics classes. She graduated seventh in her Denver, Colorado high school class of approximately 800 students.

Although she enjoyed music, she decided to major in mathematics when attending Colorado State College (now the University of Northern Colorado) in Greeley, Colorado. She met her husband there while enrolled in a Calculus II class. She taught at Wheatridge Junior High School until her first son arrived in August 1969.

While Sheryl and her husband, Mark, were on assignment with the United States Air Force, Sheryl taught mathematics to military personnel at US colleges and universities. Upon their return to the states, Sheryl completed her Master’s degree in Mathematics Teaching at the University of Nebraska at Omaha within a short amount of time. Soon, the family moved to Virginia where two of their sons graduated from high school and Mark retired from the Air Force.

Sheryl taught at two colleges in the Newport News area: Christopher Newport College and The College of William and Mary. However, she could not permanently become a college faculty member until she had a doctorate so she started taking Mathematics Education classes at the University of Virginia in 1991. In 1994, twenty-nine years after she graduated with a BA, she was awarded a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education.

Sheryl was a member of the University of Memphis faculty from 1994 through 2008, starting with the rank of Assistant Professor of Mathematics in the College of Education and after being tenured in 1998, as an Associate Professor. She taught mathematics methods to both preservice teacher candidates and in-service teachers in elementary and middle schools. Dr. Maxwell’s research focused on understanding and implementing aspects that assisted teachers to use best practices in teaching mathematics. Since she worked most closely with preparing teachers in the urban setting, she recognized how changing the teaching of mathematics in the K-12 classroom was crucial to helping students conceptually learn mathematics. She was the Principle Investigator of four Eisenhower Title II Grants and a Co-PI of one Teacher Quality Grant. In addition, she was the Co-PI of a National Science Foundation grant. Dr. Maxwell authored many articles about mathematics topics as well about educational issues. She presented over 60 mathematics and/or education-oriented topics at national, state, and local conferences throughout the United States during her 14 years as an active faculty member. She was active in the Research Council on Mathematics Learning (RCML) in the early 1990s when she was a graduate student at the University of Virginia and hosted the Annual RCML conference in Memphis, Tennessee in 2002. She served the RCML as President for two years (2003-2005), as the Vice President of Publications and as a member of the RCML journal’s editorial board. She was instrumental in helping the organization assume publication of its international journal, Investigations in Mathematics Learning. Additionally, she was President of The University of Memphis Faculty Senate (2005-2006) and earned Associate Professor Emeritus status in 2009.

After her retirement, she became active in the University of Memphis Association of Retirees (UMAR). She was UMAR’s President from 2012-2014 and has been on the Executive Committee since currently serving as Secretary. Although she has had many “labels,” being “Grandma” to her two granddaughters is her most prized title.

Mark and Sheryl moved to Kirby Pines Senior Citizen Retirement Center in 2016, where they live in the “Big House” independent living area. She continues to be actively involved with the 300+ residents. She has served on the Advisory Group and is currently a key member of the Memorial Committee. She plays Mah Jongg two times per week, is a member of the Poetry Club, Ham-Ateurs Group, Entertainers (playing the violin), Photo Club, Travel Club and displays current events/activities flyers on two decorated bulletin boards. On Thursday afternoon she volunteers in the Blossom Shop (convenience store for residents). You’ll find her hither and thither throughout the Kirby Pines buildings and campus.

MEMBER NEWS Please send news of adventures, recognitions, and achievements, to Roger Iles, Communications Committee Chair [email protected] (https://shoutout.wix.com/so/fdN8FLQZ2/c? w=aY2ugaMc7jQqfL1IUxb9hhARr7tIjH0RH_ZmPlkyjSs.eyJ1IjoibWFpbHRvOnJpbGVzQG1lbXBoaXNy ZXRpcmVlcy5vcmciLCJyIjoiMDMyZDQ4MjItNjAzYi00M2U2LWY0MjMtNGJiNGY0NWIzMGVhIiwibSI6I m1haWxfbHAiLCJjIjoiMDAwMDAwMDAtMDAwMC0wMDAwLTAwMDAtMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwIn0) for inclusion in the UMAR Newsletter. Dr. Michael Osborn, Program Chair and President-Elect, UMAR, Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication, and 2019 winner of UMAR’sTraces Award, has published a personal essay, "Barbecuing the Hog: a Political Novice hits the Campaign Trail," in Chapter 16, online journal of Humanities Tennessee and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Read the essay at https://chapter16.org/barbecuing- the-hog/ (https://shoutout.wix.com/so/fdN8FLQZ2/c? w=njYR8oAOIXweYM9dQxBRqvy7TWw5pLg- f1YaAhI0C9Y.eyJ1IjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9jaGFwdGVyMTYub3JnL2JhcmJlY3VpbmctdGhlL WhvZy8iLCJyIjoiNWJmZWU0ZjAtOWQ3NS00NTZkLTgxOTgtZThhNzcyY2Q5ZDk5Iiwi bSI6Im1haWxfbHAiLCJjIjoiMDAwMDAwMDAtMDAwMC0wMDAwLTAwMDAtMDAwMD AwMDAwMDAwIn0).

In addition to regular teaching duties at the University of Memphis, Mike served as a visiting professor at the Universities of Vanderbilt, California-Davis, Indiana, North Carolina, Louisiana State, and Iowa, where he was the A. Craig Baird Distinguished Visiting Professor of Communication Studies.

He has written six books, among them Alliance for a Better Public Voice, written for the Kettering Foundation, and co-authored eleven editions of Public Speaking: Finding Your Voice, used at hundreds of colleges and universities, and by nearly two million students during its 33-years in print. He also wrote 52 essays and reviews, including "Symbolic Uses of the Sea in Rhetoric and Poetic," which won the Golden Anniversary Monograph Award presented by the National Communication Association as the best scholarly essay published in its journals in 1977.

His essay on "Rhetorical Depiction" won the NCA's Woolbert Award, recognizing its value over time to the literature of the field. His "Rhetorical Uses of Light and Darkness" has been reprinted in collections of outstanding essays since its original publication in 1966 and remains in print as of this day. The Southern Communication Association has named its highest award the Osborn Award, annually honoring a career balanced among teaching, scholarship, and service.

Mike loves fishing, traveling, and exploring with Susie, his wife of 60 years. In happier moments, he hangs out in his cabin on the Tennessee River.

UMAR GIVES BACK Tiger Pantry Tigers Fight Hunger (TFH) is an expanding on-campus resource for UofM students who face food insecurity. One of the programs that TFH sponsors is The Tiger Pantry, which is open to any UofM student to receive food or toiletry items. UMAR has recently established a Tiger Pantry Box in the Alumni Center lobby. Look in your pantry and drop off surplus goods at the Alumni Center for our needy students. Alumni Center parking is free and easy. Thank you to Kristie Goldsmith (Director of the UofM Alumni Association) and Anastasia Alexandra Tucker (Tigers Fight Hunger Coordinator, Office of Student Accountability Outreach and Support) for your help with this project.

Tiger Pantry needs:

FOOD: Pasta, pasta sauce, soup, macaroni & cheese, cereal, oatmeal, canned beans, granola bars, breakfast bars, chili, peanut butter, jelly, rice, canned protein such as chicken & tuna, fruit cups, canned fruit, and snack crackers.

TOILETRIES & HOUSEHOLD ITEMS: Toothbrushes, toothpaste, Women’s hygiene products, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, trash bags, dish soap, sponges, can openers, and shaving cream.

For more Tiger Pantry ideas, go to https://www.memphis.edu/deanofstudents/crisis/tiger- pantry-wishlist.php (https://shoutout.wix.com/so/fdN8FLQZ2/c? w=qSibIDgKIwei6VqvixKNegaTM7VKqisDPHMe8K0sKnY.eyJ1IjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub WVtcGhpcy5lZHUvZGVhbm9mc3R1ZGVudHMvY3Jpc2lzL3RpZ2VyLXBhbnRyeS13aXN obGlzdC5waHAiLCJyIjoiYjdhZDJhMGUtMjNiNy00OWMzLTc4OWEtNGIxM2NmNjA1ZDljIi wibSI6Im1haWxfbHAiLCJjIjoiMDAwMDAwMDAtMDAwMC0wMDAwLTAwMDAtMDAwMD AwMDAwMDAwIn0)

It’s one way that UMAR gives back!

UMAR EVENT RECAP

Back Stage at the GRAMMYs Dr. Richard Ranta, retired Dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts (CCFA) and UMAR member, spoke at the Alumni Center on February 12, offering 30 years’ of stories, observations and experiences as part of the production team of the annual Grammy Awards.

The 2020 version aired on January 26; attendees were encouraged to watch the show then come hear Dick’s insider stories. After the presentation , participants met for lunch at CHAR restaurant.

RECENT DEATHS Of UMAR members and other University retirees and friends

JOHN WILLIAM COTHERN, retired attorney and Business Manager at The University of Memphis and at Middle Tennessee State University, died September 21, 2019. He was born February 21, 1948. He is survived by his wife, two children, and three grandchildren, along with many friends and relatives. He was an avid fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and loved genealogy. John also researched and wrote about the Confederate soldiers and veterans buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis.

THOMAS O. DEPPERSCHMIDT, Ph.D., 84, died peacefully on December 28, 2019. He earned his doctorate in Economics at the University of Texas-Austin in 1965, while teaching Economics at West Texas State University. At The University of Memphis, he was Chairman of the Department of Economics for six years during his 35-year tenure from 1966 to 2001. Tom was an economic consultant and expert witness in over 300 lawsuits in Tennessee and throughout the South. He was also a prolific writer, authoring or co-authoring over 40 technical treatises in law and economics journals, as a well as two books on the same topics. He occasionally wrote Op-eds for the Memphis Commercial Appeal; in his retirement he wrote seven novels. Tom is survived by his wife, six children, thirteen grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, among many other family and friends.

NICHOLAS L. WHITE, JD, 94, died on October 14, 2019. One of only two Marine survivors of Iwo Jima, he was Dean of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at then Memphis State University from 1977 to 1984. He also served as interim Dean from 1992- 1993 and as Associate Dean at various times, before retiring in 2011. Nick set the stage for the law school to receive full AALS accreditation and was also instrumental in raising the bar exam pass rate above most other law schools in the state. In 1992-93 he was named Teacher of the Year. Nick is survived by his wife, four children, eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

IRIS MONTGOMERY LaGRONE stepped into heaven on January 28, 2020. She was born in Ripley, Miss. on December 20, 1935 to Vertis “Duck” and Inez Montgomery. She was married to Billy “Bill” Zinn LaGrone for 64 years and is survived by a son, Mark LaGrone, a daughter in law, Janice Chipley LaGrone, and a granddaughter, Bethany LaGrone. She was predeceased by her loving husband in 2015. Iris spent most of her life in Memphis, Tenn. and was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She was an adventurous, intelligent woman who loved to laugh and to cook. Iris was a strong Christian and an active member of Kirby Woods Baptist Church who often volunteered at the Memphis Union Mission. She worked at the University of Memphis for many years and ended her career as the assistant to the Provost. She also obtained her Bachelor of Arts in business while at the U of M. Iris completed her black belt at the age of 70 when she flipped two grown men and broke three wooden boards. Concurrently, she also memorized hundreds of Bible verses. Visitation and funeral were February 2nd. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Memphis Union Mission.

A Brief History of UMAR Compiled by Aleda M. Kelly and Fred K. Bellott Continued from the Winter edition The 1980s began with Dr. Paul Sisco as President, Dr. Richardson having declined to serve again. Subsequent Presidents during this decade were: Mr. B. Eugene Fulghum (1981-82), Mrs. Lois J. Hollomon (1983-84), Dr. Alicia Tilley (1985-86), Dr. Douglas Mayo (1987), Dr. Aaron M. Boom (1988), and Miss Florence V. Illig (1989-90). During this decade, two or three meetings were held each year in addition to the Annual Meeting and Christmas luncheon. Most of the meetings were held at the Alumni Center although some were held in other locations due to lack of space and parking facilities. Several tours were taken to sites of interest in Memphis and surrounding areas.

Continued interest was shown in the Club’s ongoing projects: Memorial Grove and Columns Gallery. In addition to participating in these projects, Emeriti Club members helped with Community Days and Phone-a-thons, and with registrations and counseling students for short term loans. They attended Financial Seminars, Woman’s Days, Half Century Dinners, and held a fund-raising luncheon to help pay expenses of the University Singers for their trip to Salzburg, Austria, to perform in the Summer Musical Festival there. A concentrated effort was made to contact all persons eligible for membership. In the first year of the decade, Dr. Sisco asked for help in this endeavor since “our express purpose is to maintain friendships of the past.” In the final year of the decade, President Florence Illig pointed out in her newsletter that she had met many people eligible for membership who did not even know that the Emeriti Club existed.

The purpose of the Club was re-emphasized early in the 1980’s when Mr. Lamar Newport stated that “we should not be too intent on building a bank account as it would take away from what we are trying to do.” He went on to say that the University had the necessary resources for carrying out certain projects—and the Emeriti Club’s main concern is retired people. Periodically, questionnaires were sent to all members to determine their wishes about times and places for meeting, group tours, participation in campus activities and the ongoing projects sponsored by the Club, and the cost of meals. Interestingly enough, the cost for luncheons during this decade seldom reached ten dollars.

Special programs, speakers and activities during the 1980’s included Miss Mary Lochrenz and the Steamboat Strummers (1980), Kay Ferree, from the “new” Peabody Hotel, a “Welcome Back” reception at the Peabody, a field trip to the Pickwick State Park-Shiloh Military Park Area (1981), an amusing performance of Lydel Sim’s “Assignment Memphis” by the Memphis Moving Line Touring Theatrical Company and a visit to Mud Island (1982), a tour of architectural landmarks in downtown Memphis, the Victorian Village, and Fontaine House (1983), afternoons with the President and Mrs. Carpenter (1983-84), the fund-raising luncheon for the University Singers (1984), a brown bag picnic followed by attending Neil Simon’s “God’s Village” in 1989, and the beginnings of a series of “Conversations and Coffee” started the same year. At the 1989 End of Summer Open House, members were asked to give their memories of a unique event that occurred during their time on campus.

Annual meetings combined with the Christmas luncheons continued to include officer’s reports, reports from Alumni and Administration officials, recognition of special guests and new members, prestigious awards, and election of officers. Most of these December meetings were held at the University Center with the University Singers providing the entertainment. However, club members departed from tradition the last two years of the decade, holding their Christmas meeting at the Racquet Club. In 1988, the Memphis Police Department’s Choral Group, the “Performers,” provided the program; and in 1989, the group was entertained by Sound Fuzion, a Memphis State musical group. Invitations to the Christmas luncheons feature a special theme such as “Cage of the Tiger,” “Olde England,” “Southern Style,” and “Santa’s Bag of Goodies.”

A letter had been sent to Dr. Carpenter regarding parking problems in 1988. By the end of the following year, Emeriti Club members were afforded new parking privileges.

By 1983, the Emeriti Club had their own notepaper, and at the end of the decade, President Illing was printing special newsletters highlighting not only activities of the Club, but items of personal interest from the various departments on campus. Throughout the decade, letters were sent to members regarding special concerns. One of these was sent by President Tilley in 1985 concerning the negative publicity given by the media to Memphis State University. She pointed out that letters to the editors and interviews with persons on the street did not convey the facts but vindictive feelings. She urged the Emeriti Club members to refute facts in an active rather than a passive manner.

Much attention was given to the two Emeriti projects. In 1980, the Memorial Grove was described as “looking terrible” due to construction. The following year, a new Memorial Grove Committee—Carroll Ijams and Howard Kaltenborn—was appointed to consider the question of relocating the Grove and letters were sent to the appropriate officials regarding the Emeriti Club’s wishes for the relocation and contents of the new Grove.

The Grove and boulder with bronze plaque were removed in 1982 to a larger-than- proposed site south of the Fine Arts Building and east of Dunn Hall, where trees were planted free of charge. However, shortly afterward, the executive committee sent a letter to officials concerning the lack of progress being made. The Club also received donations for park benches for the Grove following its move to the new locations. In March 1987, the Club voted unanimously to propose that the Emeriti Memorial be a part of the Alumni Mall, which is in front of the Administration Building. This was never implemented.

Early in the decade, the Columns Gallery was temporarily moved to the lobby of the old Brister Library, and the materials were displayed the following year. Letters were also written to officials about the lack of progress for this project. In 1987, the Emeriti Club formed a committee to commission a new museum to be housed in the Memphis State University Alumni Center.

At the beginning of the decade, the bank statement showed $416.32. At the end of this decade, it was $545.04, confirming the statement made early in the decade by Mr. Newport when he expressed his desire that the Club not amass a large bank account.

The progress made by the Club not only in 1989 but throughout the entire decade might best be summarized by citing some facts highlighted in the 1989 Emeriti Club Update. Although some accomplishments and projects had been present from the beginning, others were new and creative. Accomplishments included mailing all members copies of planned activities, updating the Emeriti listing in the MSU Directory, requesting suggestions for activities and volunteers for committee participation, inviting deans and department chairmen to contribute pertinent information about retirees in their departments, publishing two “Emeriti Newsletters,” and sending messages of condolence and congratulations to members and their families at special times.

Activities were listed as two “Coffee and Conversation” meetings, a trip to Chucalissa, and executive meetings to review and plan.

Projects were the completion of telephone directory update, change in parking policy for Emeriti Club members, beginning a history of the Emeriti Club, and a letter to President Carpenter and Mr. Charles Holmes requesting an update on the Memorial Grove and the Alumni Center expansion.

The Emeriti Club was represented at semi-annual meetings of the National Alumni Association Board of Directors and Homecoming events, and at the reception at the Barth Episcopal Center for the dedication of the Ellen Davies Rodgers Library.

As the decade of the 1980s came to a close, hopes for the future were expressed as keeping the telephone directory up to date, continuing the informal get-togethers, planning at least one summer outing, completing the history of the Emeriti Club and having it available in the Archives (a second committee had been appointed to this project), improving committee assignments and participation, establishing a system of reporters to keep in touch with former departments, continuing to work toward completion of the Emeriti Memorial Grove and the Mall, taking an active interest in the expansion of the Alumni Center and establishing an Archives Center there, and cooperating with the National Alumni Association for Homecoming and other major projects. Midway in this decade, the membership roster attached to the minutes shows a membership of 286. To be continued…

UMAR’s historical documents are held in the University’s Special Collections. Anyone with additional documents is invited to contact Sheryl Maxwell [email protected] (https://shoutout.wix.com/so/fdN8FLQZ2/c? w=X0GlQ6l4wDoFbSlyoixtaH49FeMd7hKP4bTTT0rNaU8.eyJ1IjoibWFpbHRvOnNtYXh3Z WxsQG1lbXBoaXMuZWR1IiwiciI6ImM1Zjg2ZmI1LTFjNjMtNDI0YS1kODViLWNlYjE1YTFi Mjc5MCIsIm0iOiJtYWlsX2xwIiwiYyI6IjAwMDAwMDAwLTAwMDAtMDAwMC0wMDAwLTA wMDAwMDAwMDAwMCJ9) about adding them, or copies, to the collection.

There have been several mentions of the Emeriti Memorial Grove thus far in this History. Recently a UMAR member contacted members of the UMAR Executive Committee regarding the current location of the Memorial Grove. It is now located west of the McWherter Library, south of the CCFA. Want more information on UMAR? (https://shoutout.wix.com/so/fdN8FLQZ2/c?

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