The Magazine for Alumni and Friends • Spring 2001
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MUSKINGUMTHE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS • SPRING 2001 1 Muskingum College Bulletin • Spring 2001 Muskingum College’s Graduate Commencement Celebrates a Special Day of “Firsts” Muskingum College celebrated its first Graduate Commencement on May 6, 2000, with a keynote speaker whose career is highlighted by “firsts.” Dr. Helen Faison, the first African-American and the first woman to be appointed to a principalship (in 1968) within the Pittsburgh City School District, challenged the graduates to “leave none of our young children behind” and was presented with an honorary degree from Muskingum. Graduate and undergraduate commencements were sep- arated for the first time this year because of an increasing number of students in the master’s of arts in education program. This year’s largest-ever graduating class included more than 80 students. Muskingum officials anticipate that the M.A.Ed. program will grow as educators in south- eastern Ohio continue their education with graduate-level courses and practica. Muskingum College Trustee Ruth Champlin Hefflin, President Anne C. Steele and Dr. Helen Faison New Muskingum Graduates Join “The Long Magenta Line” Muskingum College’s graduating seniors, the newest members of “The Long Magenta Line,” were challenged on May 7, 2000, by keynote speaker Dr. Charles J. Ping, President Emeritus of Ohio University and a member of Muskingum’s Board of Trustees. He charged the graduates to live responsibly and to create “com- munity within a broken and fragmented world.” Dr. Ping laid out a scenario of a complex world of separated peo- ples where humankind is a “threat to the rest of creation.” To combat this threat, he offered up a “wholeness” where differences can be “nurtured and synthesized.” A total of 292 students graduated as part of the class of 2000. Senior Carole E. Burlingame (pictured above right), North Lima, Ohio, spoke on behalf of the senior class and Dr. Jerry Martin, Professor of Speech Communication and Theatre, presented the faculty charge to the class of 2000. This was Muskingum’s 155th commencement. SPRING 2001 VOL. 92, No 2 MUSKINGUMTHE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS • SPRING 2001 Features Departments 2 Uncovering the Secrets of the Sun 6 Campus News Muskingum junior Bogdan Valcu is helping scientists uncover the secrets to one of the most amazing phenomena in the universe. 10 Development News 4 Global Warming Global warming is a huge issue that may have its solution in the small- est places imaginable—a single grain of rice or the wing of a moth. 11 Sports News 8 Bill Cooper is Enshrined in Hall of Fame Bill “Cannonball” Cooper joins Ed Sherman in the College Football Hall of Fame. 16 Class News & Notes 34 Class Photos Staff Alumni Council Board of Trustees Rod Lang, Editor, Assistant Director Gordon F. Litt ’80, President Harold W. Burlingame ’62, Chairman of Public Relations Gerald L. Draper, ’63, Vice Chair Bobby T. Lee, Sports Information Sue Osborne ’66 Abraham Dennis D. Grant, ’62, Secretary Director Eileen McComb ’80 Adams Renee Morrow ’03, News Notes Editor Frank Campbell Jr. ’68 Craig W. Anderson Frank Cappetta ’79 Dennis D. Berkey Janice Tucker McCloud, Director Cheryl Hetrick ’86 Carpenter Jaime Bermudez, Sr. of Public Relations Jarrod Dalton ’02 Judson E. Blaine Sharon Walker, Photographer Leslie Deal ’01 Larry A. Caldwell Jim George, Web Manager Kelly Clevenger ’84 Graham Philip Caldwell Charles Gratz ’57 William A. Cooper Contributors James R. Gray ’74 William T. Dentzer, Jr. Amy Scerba, Alan Aldinger Joan Spillman ’51 Hoon Ruth Ann Duff Karen Steuart ’62 Howell Robert E. Fellers Gordon F. Litt ’80 C. William Fischer Administration Jane Marshall ’75 R. William Geyer Anne C. Steele, President Ron Mazeroski ’79 Anna Castor Glenn Jennifer Anke, Acting Director of Betsy Patton ’81 McBeth John H. Glenn, Jr. Advancement Nikki L. Montgomery ’94 Ruth Champlin Hefflin Ron Mazeroski, Director of Alumni Doug Palmer ’59 Richard O. Johnson Relations Ann McKay ’61 Randles Carl F. Kalnow Kim Raymond ’02 Robert P. King Kathy Kern ’86 Ross Gordon F. Litt Nancy Davis ’66 Settles Rachel Longaberger David J. Tarbert ’90 Allen E. Loomis Shirley Kimmel ’51 Wagner Myron E. Moorehead, II James R. Wilson ’72 Jane Power Mykrantz Seth Youngen ’01 Rick L. Nutt Walter E. Offinger Robert W. Patin Emily J. Pilcher Charles J. Ping Kim Gage Rothermel The Muskingum College Magazine is published by the Muskingum College Office of Public Relations, Anne Marshall Saunier 163 Stormont Street, New Concord, OH 43762; (740) 826-8134; Fax (740) 826-8026; email Miriam G. Schwartz [email protected]; designed by Sarel Ltd. Art & Advertising, Zanesville; printed by Gordon E. Spillman Lilienthal/Southeastern Printing, Inc., Cambridge; and binding and mailing were done by North End Anne C. Steele Press, Lancaster, Ohio. POSTMASTER send address changes to Muskingum College Bulletin, c/o Branko Stupar Alumni Office. J. Stark Thompson Jacqueline Dudek Woods Bogdan Valcu ’02: Helping Scientists Uncover The Secrets of the At a time when most workSun was exemplary. He quickly learned to access the UVCS students are still uncer- data he needed and to use the complex software that is tain about their own required to analyze the data. He applied both diverse mathe- futures, Muskingum matical skills and extensive physical reasoning in a mature senior Bogdan Valcu manner which belied his youth.” is helping scientists After just a few weeks, Valcu began to function as a member Bogdan Valcu uncover the secrets to one of the most amaz- of the UVCS calibration team, working directly with the chair of ing phenomena in the universe. As Valcu explained in an the committee and other members, all of whom hold advanced October 2000 presentation to the Board of Trustees, the tem- degrees. Valcu’s final analysis suggested that the calibration perature at the Sun’s surface is about 6,000 Kelvins, but when of the UVCS is compatible with past known values, perhaps you move to between 2-4 solar radii away, the temperature of better. “I am proudest of the modifications I suggested for stel- the various gases increases from one million to more than 300 lar measurements,” said Valcu. “The data analysis I completed million Kelvins. inspired me to offer new data acquisition protocols to increase the accuracy of the observations and reduce systematic errors.” To better understand this complicated phenomena, consider In response to Valcu’s suggestions, recent data acquisitions the illustration Valcu offered: “Think of any hot object, like a at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland stove burner or a flame. What do you notice when you get are being conducted according to his procedural modifications. farther away from it? The temperature gets lower; you feel cooler. Imagine how surprised scientists were when they found In expression of confidence in Valcu’s talents, Kohl and his col- that the sun behaves in the opposite manner. As you move leagues decided to have Valcu continue his research after his farther away, the temperature of the atmosphere around the return to Muskingum. Valcu has since established a satellite sun goes up.” lab at Muskingum connected in real-time to SOHO, enabling him to involve interested students and faculty in his work. He Although the scientific community does not as yet understand can often be found tutoring fellow students and encouraging the reasons behind this occurrence, the data from NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is providing possible explanations. As part of his visiting summer student award for study at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Valcu analyzed data from the Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) instrument on SOHO. The SOHO satellite is a $1 billion dollar space laboratory with sophisticated instruments designed to provide an accu- rate and objective view of the sun. Orbiting the sun at a dis- tance between the earth and the sun itself, SOHO studies the sun from a completely different perspective than anything on earth. Scientists are using the UVCS to study the solar wind acceleration region of the sun’s corona (outer atmosphere), leading to a better understanding of the physical processes that produce the solar wind. As John Kohl, one of Harvard-Smithsonian’s senior astro- physicists and 1963 Muskingum graduate stated: “Bogdan’s 4 Muskingum College Bulletin • Spring 2001 Stellar Achievements: Bogdan Valcu’s Universe of Accomplishment Honors and Accomplishments ■ Awarded the Diploma of Excellence during the 125th anniversary conference of the European Physics Society. John Kohl ’63 ■ Received a gold medal and the Diploma of Honor from the Balkan Physics Union at the International Competition on Physics and the Environment, held in them to do scientific investigations. At his Greece. satellite lab, he shows others about the real-life implications of his work, such as the ■ Awarded the Diploma of Excellence for his academic influence of geomagnetic storms on telecom- record and community service by the Romania Ministry munications and the physical properties of of Education and the Romanian Presidential Service for our environment. Culture and Education. Valcu’s scientific talent has been evident ■ Interviewed by the largest national television network since his youth when he placed as the in Romania as part of National Day festivities in number one physics student in Romania. He December 2000. A special edition of the “8 O’Clock then studied as an exchange student at News” discussed his academic achievements and efforts Circleville High School (Ohio), where he met to start an exchange program between U.S. and Muskingum’s Associate Dean of Academic Romanian universities. Affairs, Dr. Paul Naour. Naour and Valcu ■ Researched restoration of brick and stone structures as began a mentoring relationship that led to part of “Protection of the Medieval Monuments from Sibiu” Valcu matriculating here in 1998.