President Robert O. Davies Is Quickly Becoming a Familiar Face on CMU's
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President Robert O. Davies is quickly becoming a familiar face on CMU’s campus Centralight Summer 2019 + FEATURES 10 Cover story Career connections MACKENZIE BROCKMAN PHOTO BY CMU President Robert O. Davies makes a CMU is fired up about career development. The Career Development Center and Office of habit of walking around campus, shaking Business Engagement strengthen important networking connections. Large companies hands and introducing himself to people. deploy their own Chippewa staffers to recruit new employees, and faculty help students He puts students first, and he knows the navigate the job hunt. If you’re looking for a career, start with your alumni network. value of celebrating success. Read more about him on Page 7. COVER PHOTO BY STEVE JESSMORE/STEVE JESSMORE PHOTOGRAPHY 31 CMU’s recreation alumni create a large network Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services Administration faculty member Tim Otteman spent spring break on a nine-city, 10-day cross-country trip to visit alumni working in recreation. His “Best of the Best Recreation and Event Management Industry Tour” checked in with nine CMU grads selected from 51 applicants in 15 states, and he posted his adventures for social media followers. 2 Centralight Winter ’18 Executive Editor and Executive Director of Alumni Relations Marcie Otteman Grawburg, ’87 Editor Betsy Miner-Swartz, ’86 Managing Editor Robin Miner-Swartz Graphic Designer Nate Jones, ’10 Photographer 18 24 Steve Jessmore, ’81 Helping the Chibok Girls heal 10 within 10 Writers Terri Finch Hamilton, ’83 Robin Miner-Swartz Research Associate Bryan Whitledge Editorial Assistants Vicki Begres, ’89; Lori Conroy Vice President for Advancement Michael Alford, interim Associate Vice President of University Communications Sherry Knight, ’86 For advertising information Call Cindy Jacobs, ’93 (800) 358-6903 Stay connected Send change of address information to: Alumni Relations Carlin Alumni House Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 Phone: (800) 358-6903 Fax: (989) 774-7159 CMU alumna Somiari Fubara Demm is an 10 young CMU alumni are making Email: [email protected] international mental health consultant and strides to transform their communities Web: cmich.edu/alumni/Centralight trauma specialist working with some of the and workplaces in their first decade young women who survived kidnapping after graduation. by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria. + DEPARTMENTS Body contains 30% post-consumer waste 3 Calendar of Events 34 Alumni News There are lots of ways to connect with Cheering Chippewas make sure Centralight is published three times each year by the fellow Chippewas across the country veterans receive a warm welcome Central Michigan University Office of Alumni Relations. It is throughout the year. to visit D.C. war memorials. printed by Quad/Graphics, Midland, and entered at the Midland Post Office under nonprofit mailing. CMU, an AA/EO institution, provides equal opportunity to all 4 CMU Today 38 In Memory persons, including minorities, females, veterans and CMU celebrates 25 years of reaching individuals with disabilities (see cmich.edu/ocrie). Copies 40 Do You Remember of Centralight are distributed to alumni and friends of the students through charter public schools. university who are paid Gold Members or donors to CMU. A virtual edition of the magazine is available free online at alumni.cmich.edu/centralight. UComm 10044–21,700+ (5/19) CentralightCentralight Summer Winter ’19 ’18 11 Your GOLDEN Opportunity The MEMORIES and FRIENDS you share with your alma mater didn’t end with graduation. Continue to make new ones! Become a Gold Member of the CMU Alumni Association today! cmich.edu/alumni Keep the old, and bring the GOLD! CMU is an AA/EO institution, providing equal opportunity to all persons, including minorities, females, veterans and individuals with disabilities (see cmich.edu/ocrie). UComm 9794 - 2017 CHIPPEWA PRIDE TRAVELS + CALENDAR FAR AND WIDE CMU alumni and fans are everywhere we go JUNE 18-20 Grandparents University, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, Mount Pleasant and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the JULY earth all one’s lifetime.” — Mark Twain I recently returned from back-to-back trips that reminded me 15 just how broad our alumni reach is. In Florida, I connected with Grand Traverse alumni in The Villages and the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. At a Scholarship Golf Detroit Tigers spring training game, I chatted with CMU alumni Outing, Traverse City including Ron Myers, ’80, Lakeland Tigers vice president, and nearly 100 alumni there. And I enjoyed time with another 60 20 alumni at our annual golf outing in The Villages. CMU Night at A week later, I headed to New York City. I got the chance to Comerica Park, visit past 10 within 10 alumni award winner Jenny Robertson, Detroit Marcie Otteman Grawburg, ’87, ’08, who gave me a tour of the iconic Rainbow Room at the Executive Director of top of 30 Rockefeller Center. Jenny coordinates corporate 26 Alumni Relations events there, with one of the best views in the city. Michigan’s Adventure, At the NYC Hard Rock Café, a salesperson asked where I was from, and when I said Muskegon Michigan, she asked if I had heard of Central Michigan University and Mount Pleasant. Her brother moved to Michigan to go to school here. I love that wherever my travels take me, I know I’ll cross paths with people who share a AUGUST connection to CMU. 24 As commencement season is upon us, I’m thinking of all the high school seniors and CMU Night at transfer students who soon will head to Mount Pleasant to begin their journey. Chicago Cubs, And I’m thinking of all our new graduates who are heading out to put their stamp on Chicago, Illinois the world, their communities and their workplaces with the spirit of CMU in their hearts and minds. OCTOBER Travel is indeed fatal to prejudice. Best of luck to all on their journeys. And wherever your road takes you, remember you always have a home here with your Chippewa family. 12 Forever maroon and gold, Homecoming vs. New Mexico State, Mount Pleasant 25-27 Mackinac Island alumni weekend, Mackinac Island This is a small sampling of the many alumni events. Please visit alumni.cmich.edu for a comprehensive list. Correction: In the Winter 2018 issue of Centralight, Nina Nash- Robertson’s name was misspelled in a caption on page 14. We apologize for BRIANNA HUGES BRIANNA the error. PHOTO BY Centralight Summer ’19 3 CMU TODAY Meteorite makes fresh impact Smithsonian geologist who confirmed discovery at Central Michigan draws a curious crowd Before a standing room-only crowd in Park Library, Central Michigan University earth and atmospheric sciences faculty member Mona Sirbescu welcomed a guest of honor. “Thank you so much for traveling all over from the asteroid belt to be with us on Planet Earth,” she said with a smile to the Edmore meteorite, the former doorstop she famously identified in 2018 as a rock from outer space. The 22-pound chunk of iron and nickel rested on a cart in front of her on the Opperman Auditorium stage. It shared top billing with the event’s flesh-and- LEARN MORE blood star: geologist Catherine Corrigan, curator of Antarctic meteorites at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. A Michigan native and onetime CMU instructor, Corrigan helped authenticate and analyze the Edmore meteorite in Washington, D.C., after Sirbescu sent her a slice of the rock. Her visit this spring was her first chance to see the entire meteorite in person. Corrigan told the crowd how meteorites offer clues to the formation of the solar system. She also shared her experiences collecting hundreds of samples near the South Pole through the Antarctic Search for Meteorites program. The meteorite’s owner, David Mazurek, from Grand Rapids, took the rock to Sirbescu for analysis last year and learned it could be worth tens of thousands of dollars to a museum or collector. • LEARN MORE CMU celebrates 25 years of reaching students through charter public schools In 1994, Central Michigan became the first university in the nation to authorize a charter public school. For the past 25 years, CMU has been a leader in the quest to ensure every child in Michigan has access to an innovative, high-quality public school education. Central has connected students with specialized learning opportunities with passionate public school teachers using approaches and environments as unique as the children they’re educating. As the university commemorates this quarter-century milestone, you can learn more about how CMU alumni are involved in these dynamic schools. Read their stories at www.TheCenterForCharters.org/25Years. • 4 Centralight Summer ’19 Advancement VP Martin retiring Successful fundraising campaign wraps up; search for replacement begins WCMU’s Adam Miedema (from left), Stefanie Mills, Matthew Ozanich, Chris Ogozaly Robert Martin, CMU’s vice and Steven Smith president for advancement, will retire June 30 with the successful conclusion of the Fire Up for Excellence campaign. The campaign surpassed its $100 million goal more than three years ahead of schedule. “I have always wanted to make a difference in the lives of others,” Martin said. “The work we have done through the Fire Up for Excellence campaign will positively change the lives of thousands of students and families for generations to come. I am honored to CM Life, WCMU earn more top honors have been a CMU Chippewa.” CMU’s student media company wins sixth consecutive national award; public TV and radio collect six trophies Martin joined CMU in February 2016. Since then, the university set new records for the most donors, largest Central Michigan Life was named College Media Company of the Year gifts, largest Day of Giving events, and highest by the College Media Business and Advertising Managers organization at percentage of faculty and staff giving.