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THE MAGAZINE OF JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY JSU STRONG | SPECIAL ISSUE : president’s letter GEM OF THE HILLS 2013 COLLEGIATE ADVERTISING to hand off to the designer for finalization unified spring commencement, secur- AWARDS GOLD WINNER and mailing to you in April. We all know ing and developing new classrooms and JSU PRESIDENT what happened next. offices, and carrying on with our summer contents John M. Beehler, Ph.D., CPA Just three days later, on Monday, and fall semesters. VICE PRESIDENT FOR March 19, an EF-3 tornado devastated our By the time you visit campus for UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT Charles Lewis, Ph.D. campus, damaging 50 out of 70 buildings Homecoming on Sept. 29, campus should CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER and rendering Merrill Hall and your be- start looking like home again. We have suf- Tim Garner ’69 loved Alumni House to rubble. The spring fered a great loss, but I assure you JSU is DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS issue of this magazine had to be completely bruised but not broken. Your alma mater Kaci Ogle ’95/’04 rewritten, removing articles about new is going to rise up even stronger, better, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS facilities that no longer exist. Yet, we dis- and more beautiful than before. We are 4 AND EDITOR 12 Buffy Lockette covered in the days and weeks ahead that forever #GamecockStrong! DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & LICENSING the storm could never destroy the bond Mary Smith ’93 of the JSU Family and the strength of the Go Gamecocks! GRAPHIC DESIGNER Gamecock spirit. Emily Lankford ’16 The positive side to the disaster, other WRITERS: John M. Beehler, PhD and CPA Brett Buckner than the great blessing that we suffered no Chris Allen Brown DEAR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS, loss of life, was that it brought our campus President and Professor of Accounting PHOTOGRAPHER community closer together through this Matt Reynolds '14 As the university prepared to close for devastating event. We were able to achieve COPY EDITOR spring break on Friday, March 16, 2018, the impossible - reopening campus in Bill Hubbard we had the content for the spring edition weeks, completing the spring semester, of GEM magazine completed and ready graduating our seniors in a glorious 30 ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE OFFICERS: alumni family. I told them that we may former Kitty Stone Elementary School Andrea Clayton ’83/’86 be a little battered and bruised right now located at 115 College Street SW, just a PRESIDENT but we will come back stronger than ever couple of blocks off Mountain Street. Blake Arthur ‘07 VICE PRESIDENT because that is what Gamecocks do! We hope you enjoy this edition and Chris Reynolds ’85 While we have lost our beloved Merrill remember we love to hear from you! Email TREASURER Hall and the Alumni House, we will al- or call me if you need anything. Nancy Turner ways have our memories of what once was. RECORDING SECRETARY We miss them dearly, but we will rebuild Go Gamecocks! Blow Southerners! 42 44 Kaci Ogle ’95/’04 and have new facilities and create new EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR memories. We thank you for your love and Alan Renfroe ’88/’07 BUILDING HOME-GROWN TALENT ASSISTANT DIRECTOR support and ask that it continues as we 4 8 around campus move forward in the recovery and rebuild- Kaci Ogle, ‘95/’04 Gem of the Hills is published by the Division CELEBRATING OUR DIFFERENCES 16 sports of University Advancement: 700 Pelham ing process. Director of Alumni Relations 12 Road North, Jacksonville, Alabama 36265 We are ready for our students to re- 20 with alumni © 2017 Jacksonville State University turn in a few weeks and to see you back on phone: (256) 782-5404 or 877-JSU-ALUM JSU STRONG 50 giving fax: (256) 782-5502 campus for Homecoming on September 30 email: [email protected] web: jsu.edu/alumni 29. Join us on the alumni house front 56 alum notes GREETINGS GAMECOCKS! lawn for this year’s alumni tailgate. You SAYING GOODBYE TO 303-18 University Publications 7/18 JSU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution and does not discriminate 42 TWO ICONIC BUILDINGS based on age, religion, race, color, sex, veteran’s status, national origin, or can find the complete homecoming sched- disability. Pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Jai A. Ingraham, MPA, Chief Diversity Our world turned upside down on ule on page 20. Officer & Title IX Coordinator, 109 Bibb Graves Hall, phone (256) 782-8565 is the coordinator for Section 504/ADA. Jacksonville State University is accredited by the March 19, but it is amazing how far we We hope to see you there! Until we RENOVATIONS TO WALLACE HALL Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award bachelor’s, master’s, educational specialist, and doctoral degrees. Contact the 46 MAKE WAY FOR MORE STUDENTS Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 have come since that day. At graduation in can rebuild, you can reach us at the School or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Jacksonville May, I welcomed over 700 graduates to our of Business and Industry Complex at the State University. 2 : GEM OF THE HILLS FALL 2018 : 3 BUILDING HOME- GROWN TALENT applied engineering supports booming alabama industry By Brett Buckner 4 : GEM OF THE HILLS FALL 2018 : 5 The Department of Applied Engineering said. “That’s not always the case with more using. The epicenter of this cooperative is reputation those accomplishments have Student Robotics Competition two out its arm around and it makes contact with has an unofficial motto: “Anyone who traditional engineering programs. Often JSU’s Center for Manufacturing Support, built within the industry are especially the five years it has competed. The team someone or something that isn’t supposed wants a job, gets a job.” times, students at Auburn or Alabama which serves as a proving ground for meaningful for Marker, who could be de- most recently took home first place in to be there, it will stop moving immedi- More than 94 percent of applied come from out of state, graduate and then future applied engineering students and a scribed as a JSU lifer. He received both his November 2015 at the competition in St. ately. I’ve tested this myself and it works engineering graduates find work in their leave the state. Most of our students stay testing site for regional industries looking undergrad and graduate degrees from JSU. Louis, Mo. very well.” chosen field, though the actual number is here.” to become more efficient. His father and sister are JSU professors. “It’s really something to be proud of,” Baxter is not programmed in the tradi- higher, explained Chris Marker, interim Joy Pinckard is such a student. The Having officially opened in 2016, the Before coming on full-time and eventually Marker said. “They’re going out there, tional sense. Instead, he is trained. department head. 19-year-old applied manufacturing center provides manufacturers with ser- as interim department head, he was an competing against programs that have “In other words,” Pinckard said, “To train “We could advertise that the employment engineering major has been living in vices ranging from design and prototype adjunct professor teaching night classes. been around for 30 years, and winning.” Baxter to pick up a box, you would literally rate is really over 100 percent because a Jacksonville for five years. She moved here development to research and education He’s also been out in the real world, hav- All those trophies and accolades have hold its hand and guide it through the mo- lot of our students get hired as juniors when her mother, Donna Perygin, got – all while providing applied engineering ing spent 17 years at Alabama Laser. practical purposes as well, like honing tions. It’s considered a collaborative robot and seniors,” Marker said. “Our students a job as a chemistry professor at JSU. It students with job opportunities. What “I’m happy to give back to JSU because those competitive skills for on-the-job because it can be trained by someone are often out and working even before was around that time, when she was 14, began as a pilot program two years ago JSU has given so much to my whole fam- training with industrial robots like Baxter. without any programming experience.” they graduate, but we don’t advertise that that Pinckard discovered her interest in has already outpaced expectations, Marker ily,” he said. “It was like coming home. Of Yet Baxter is unlike any robot you’ve ever Baxter should pique the interest of stu- because it sounds unbelievable.” technology, especially robotics. said. course, I never really went away.” seen. He is a “new generation” robot called dents looking to study robotics. In applied engineering, students learn “I would build small robots with an “We thought this could be significant, a co-bot – or collaborative robot – because “Ease of training makes Baxter acces- by doing. All programs are designed for Arduino – a popular, inexpensive program- but the feedback has already been better MEET BAXTER he is designed to work safely alongside sible to new and future students who are hands-on application. Students are work- mable circuit board – and toy car motors,” than we’d hoped for,” he said. “It’ll take a As if being a catalyst for regional eco- humans, like an actual co-worker. Baxter’s unfamiliar with programming languages,” ing with the latest manufacturing technol- she explained. “Soon after that I took up couple of years to build the program up, nomic growth weren’t enough, the applied design is intuitive, allowing for ease of Pinckard said.