Centralight CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY | ALUMNI MAGAZINE FALL 2019

Alumni are some of our best recruiters Spreadfor a new generation the of CMU Chippewaslove Centralight Fall 2019

+ FEATURES

6 15 On the cover CMU needs you Marching for inclusion

Do you get a warm feeling inside when Enrollment in colleges and universities Gaia Herrick was worried there you see our beautiful campus? We do across the country is down. But there wouldn’t be a place for her in marching too. Homecoming is the perfect are ways CMU alumni can help recruit band because she uses a wheelchair. opportunity to return for a visit to the next generation of Chippewas. Two CMU alumni proved her wrong. reconnect with those feelings.

PHOTO BY STEVE JESSMORE/STEVE JESSMORE PHOTOGRAPHY

24 A whole new look for CMU football

The new scoreboard and facilities at Kelly/Shorts Stadium are just part of the big changes for Central’s football team. New head coach Jim McElwain begins his first season leading the program, bringing expertise from his time at Florida and Alabama.

2 Centralight Fall ’19 Executive Editor and Executive Director of Alumni Relations Marcie Otteman, ’87 Editor Betsy Miner-Swartz, ’86 Managing Editor Robin Miner-Swartz Graphic Designer Erin Rivard, ’07, MBA ’16 Photographer 26 Steve Jessmore, ’81 Writers Alumni in the performing arts spotlight Cynthia Drake, M.A. ’08 Terri Finch Hamilton, ‘83 Erick Fredendall, ‘18 Andy Sneddon Research Associate Bryan Whitledge Editorial Assistants Vicki Begres, ’89; Lori Conroy Interim Vice President for Advancement Michael Alford Interim Associate Vice President of University Communications Heather Smith, ’02, M.S.A. ‘11 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 We introduce you to six CMU alumni who turned the talent they honed at Central into big-time careers, from stage to screen to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Email: [email protected] Web: cmich.edu/alumni/Centralight

+ DEPARTMENTS

3 Calendar of events 20 Big Picture There are many opportunities to connect There’s nothing more beautiful than with fellow CMU Chippewas. our campus in the fall. Body contains 30% post-consumer waste 4 CMU Today 23 Homecoming Schedule CMU softball coach Margo Jonker and Feeling nostalgic? Come back to campus women’s basketball coach Sue Guevara for the ultimate homecoming celebration! Centralight is published three times each year by the retire after stellar careers. Central Michigan University Office of Alumni Relations. It is 36 Alumni News printed by Quad/Graphics, Midland, and entered at the Midland Post Office under nonprofit mailing. CMU, an AA/ 12 Jobs before graduation Three proud CMU Chippewas join the EO institution, provides equal opportunity to all persons, That first job out of college is important. Board of Trustees. including minorities, females, veterans and individuals with disabilities (see cmich.edu/ocrie). Copies of Centralight For these students, they had offers secured are distributed to alumni and friends of the university before they had diplomas. 38 In Memory who are paid Gold Members or donors to CMU. A virtual edition of the magazine is available free online at 40 Do You Remember alumni.cmich.edu/centralight. UComm 10057–24,000+ (8/19)

CentralightCentralight Fall Fall ’19 ’19 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 RECRUITING IS UP TO EVERYONE + CALENDAR You can help grow our network of Chippewas

SEPTEMBER I’d like you to meet my friends Henry (left) and Leo, CMU class of 2036. They’re best buds and the sons of four CMU alumni. 21 Their moms met here at Central, joined Alpha Chi CMU Alumni and Omega together, lived together and were in each Friends Miami other’s weddings. Tailgate, Miami Gardens, Florida They’re raising Henry and Leo to be Chippewas. I often meet families with similar stories: Their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and OCTOBER cousins plan to attend CMU or were recruited by family or friends to consider Central. 12 Knowing this happens with regularity, Centralight’s Homecoming editorial team wondered, “What does that say about festivities and Marcie Otteman, ’87, our alumni and the work they do as ambassadors 50-year reunion: Executive Director of Alumni Relations for CMU?” We decided to answer that question in Class of 1969, this issue of Centralight. Mount Pleasant campus I sat down with President Robert O. Davies and Lee Furbeck, executive director of 25-27 admissions, to ask on your behalf, “What do you want our alumni to know about CMU alumni enrollment, and what message do you want them to share?” weekend, You’ll see their answers on Pages 8-11, where you’ll learn why recruitment is a challenge, Mackinac Island and why we need your help. You’ll also read about some NOVEMBER alumni with impressive and successful performing arts jobs in places such as the Rock and Roll 16 Hall of Fame, Interlochen Arts CM Life centennial Academy, and even on Broadway. celebration, And then there’s homecoming. Mount Pleasant campus We’ll introduce you to two outstanding women who will 17 CMU at Ford Field for serve as our grand marshals, the Detroit Lions vs. along with CMU’s new head Dallas Cowboys, football coach. Detroit And we’re excited to share an 28 inspiring story about a member of CMU at the the Marching Chips who is thriving Thanksgiving Day at CMU because her high school Parade, Detroit band director – a proud Chippewa – knew how to include someone with muscular dystrophy in the DECEMBER school’s marching line up. It’s fall. The students and faculty are here again; the air is crisp; and DO YOU HAVE A STORY? We are 30-31 we’re headed into another year seeking information regarding personal Fourth annual CMU of learning, friendship, community experiences from the CMU Lab School alumni at Great Wolf and celebration. Come back for a (1960-72) or College Elementary School Lodge, Traverse City visit and fall in love with your (1933-1959) or Normal Training School campus all over again. (1903-1933) which served the CMU campus and Mount Pleasant area. If you This is a small sampling Fired Up Forever, attended the school as a student, student of the many alumni teacher, faculty or staff member, please events. Please visit contact us at alumni.cmich.edu alumni.cmich.edu for a comprehensive list.

Centralight Fall ’19 3 CMU TODAY

Legendary Central Michigan coaches retire after a pair of outstanding careers Guevara was winningest in CMU women’s basketball history Softball’s Jonker: ‘It has been an amazing 40 seasons’ Sue Guevara led the CMU women’s basketball program to the NCAA After an incredible 40-season run, Central Michigan softball coach Sweet 16 in 2018. She was named Kay Yow National Coach of the Year Margo Jonker quietly retired in June. in 2018. She was MAC Coach of the Year three times. With 1,268 wins, Jonker is And, after 12 years as head coach, Guevara said, “It’s time.” ninth on the Division I list in career wins. Her 1982 team set “I have been leaning this way since the end of the season but wanted a Mid-American Conference to separate myself from it a little bit to see if I felt the same way, and I record with 51 wins and do,” she said in July. “I love Central Michigan so much – everything finished fourth at the AIAW about it. … Hopefully, I did CMU proud because I gave it everything I national championships. In had over the past 12 years and loved every second of it.” 1987, Central Michigan In her dozen years at finished fifth at the Women’s CMU, Guevara posted College World Series. a 231-156 record and CMU named its softball is the winningest complex in honor of Jonker head coach in during the 2008 season. program history. That’s fifth all-time in “It has been an amazing 40 the Mid-American seasons, and I will really miss Conference. working with these fantastic student-athletes, but it is Guevara’s coaching CMU softball coach Margo Jonker high fives time for me to step aside,” career spanned 39 players in the dugout. Jonker said in a statement. seasons including seven as the head “It is never easy to leave something you love, but I am so thankful to coach at the have so many amazing memories.”

STEVE JESSMORE/ University of Jonker, M.A. ’82, said everything accomplished during her time at CMU Michigan. Heather was because of the young women who came through the program. STEVE PHOTOGRAPHY JESSMORE PHOTO BY Oesterle was named the new CMU Jonker was the MAC coach of the year 10 times and a regional coach women’s basketball of the year three times. She is a member of five halls of fame, coach. She’s been on including the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Sue Guevara cut down the nets after the 2017-18 Guevara’s staff for Jonker also was an assistant coach for the 2000 gold medal-winning women’s basketball team’s historic 17-1 conference nine years. season at McGuirk Arena. team at the Sydney Olympics and the 1998 gold medal-winning team at the World Championships in Japan. •

CMU, Covenant HealthCare forge long-term partnership for medical education, research A new 25-year affiliation agreement between the Central Michigan University College of Medicine and Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw will strengthen their collective support of medical student education and research. Through the agreement, CMU medical students will continue to complete clinical rotations at Covenant under the supervision of physicians who serve as CMU faculty members. It also increases opportunities for clinical research on public and community health issues prominent in the Great Lakes Bay Region. “Covenant is a regional leader for health care and an important partner to Central Michigan University for medical education and training,” said Dr. George Kikano, vice president of health affairs and dean of the CMU College of Medicine. “By cementing our long-term relationship with Covenant, communities and residents across our region and beyond will benefit from improved access to health care as we fill the critical need for medical professionals.” •

4 Centralight Fall ’19 LEARN MORE CMU launches online nursing degree Challenging childhood trauma RN-to-BSN program helps registered nurses achieve a degree in one year Future educators are positioned to help students cope, head off health crisis Central Michigan University’s new online nursing degree It’s simple: Stress is bad for kids. program launched this fall, Alison Arnold, a College of Medicine staff member allowing registered nurses to and director of CMU’s Interdisciplinary Center for complete their bachelor’s Community Health and Wellness, said that, with degree in one year. common wisdom and 20-plus years of science, we The Bureau of Labor Statistics know experiences in the formative years shape predicts the demand for nurses bodies and brains for a lifetime. will grow 15% by 2026, making it What to do about it? That’s complicated. one of the nation’s fastest- growing career fields. Teachers educated at CMU will be part of the solution. Kechi Iheduru-Anderson, CMU’s director of nursing, said a nationwide nursing Were you abused as a child? Did your parents shortage is creating high demand for well-trained, highly skilled nurses in Michigan separate? Did someone in your household go to jail? and beyond. And for nurses hoping to secure great jobs with hospitals or health Those are examples of ACEs: Adverse Childhood care systems, a bachelor’s degree is often required. Experiences. The more ACEs a person has before age “Several studies have shown that nurses with greater levels of education experience 18, the more likely he or she will struggle in school and lower patient mortality rates and better patient outcomes,” she said. have lifelong health effects. The online-only program is for students who have an active RN license. Students To make a difference, schools and teachers are taking a can complete their degree in 12 months or less, Iheduru-Anderson said. • “trauma-informed” approach to address how ACEs drive classroom behaviors. “It’s really the shift from ‘What’s wrong with this student?’ to ‘What is happening with this Provost has a coach’s eye for winning strategies student?’” Arnold said. Mary Schutten is CMU’s new executive vice president and Teacher education isn’t the only field of study at CMU provost. She is responsible for all undergraduate and focusing on childhood trauma and its health effects. graduate programs, as well as for supporting faculty and ACEs also play key roles in medicine and psychology. student research and creative endeavors. “Over the past year, four faculty physicians in pediatrics “My role is to serve as a partner for faculty and students as and psychiatry specialty areas also have become we work to achieve the university’s goals,” she said. Michigan ACEs master trainers,” Arnold said. “These teaching faculty are incorporating Schutten began her career teaching math, German trauma-informed approaches in their own practice and and physical education. She’s been a coach for are working with medical students and residents.” • collegiate-level sports including volleyball, softball, swimming and diving, and she was an official with Special Olympics in several cities. Schutten’s coaching role gave her many leadership tools. “In sports there are always rules, and you have to use those rules to create your strategy. In higher education there are budgets, and they are always tight. But there are myriad strategies possible within those constraints,” she said. “That is where I am an ‘artist,’ always creating solutions.” About eight years ago, she participated in a site review of CMU’s physical education program. She was impressed by the breadth of leadership programming CMU offers and the ways students use those skills to serve the community. “We truly have the power to transform Michigan,” she said. •

Centralight Fall ’19 5

PROMOTE YOUR

CMU prideBY TERRI FINCH HAMILTON, ’83 College recruiting is intense; alumni can help Central shine STEVE JESSMORE/

6 Centralight Fall ’19 STEVE PHOTOGRAPHY JESSMORE PHOTO BY Do you know the best things about It’s time to start bragging. CMU? If you’re like a lot of alumni, In CMU’s marketing department, Abby Dean said you probably need to brush up. alumni (that’s you) are a golden recruitment tool – but it’s crucial to know what’s happening at CMU today. “As a community, we’re modest,” said Kevin Williams, senior associate director of admissions. “We don’t like “As incredible as we thought CMU was when we attended, to brag. We expect people to know how great we are. we’ve continued to lead in so many areas,” said Dean, ’01, We can’t do that anymore.” director of integrated marketing. “There’s a lot to be proud of about our alma mater.” Competition to recruit students is intense today, so it’s time to let the world know what CMU is like, what you experienced here and about the programs that make Central a leader.

10 IMPRESSIVE THINGS you should brag about on behalf of your alma mater:

1. A SENSE OF BELONGING LEARN MORE 7. CARNEGIE CLASSIFICATION “If you attended Central in the 1970s, you saw a lot of CMU is among only 5% of U.S. universities in the highest two open fields,” Williams said. “Mission Street ended a couple Carnegie research classifications. The Carnegie Classification blocks beyond the university. Now, when you roll into town, of Institutions of Higher Education, or simply the Carnegie it’s the quintessential college town. The entire community Classification, is a framework for classifying colleges and welcomes our students.” universities in the country. 2. JOBS LEARN MORE The Department of Education and U.S. News and World Thousands of employers recruit students through CMU Report, among others, rely on Carnegie classifications for Career Services each year. CMU students are sought for their rankings and grant eligibility. work ethic and ability to create and maintain healthy and 8. BUILD A BUSINESS LEARN MORE productive team environments. On the day of graduation, 92% CMU’s summer accelerator helps student entrepreneurs of students have employment and/or have been accepted into take their business from concept to startup by graduate school. For example, the job placement rate for CMU pairing them with experts in business development physical therapy graduates is 100%. including finance, legal and technical support. 3. RESEARCH LEARN MORE 9. POINTS OF PRIDE CMU students can conduct research as early as their freshman They span nearly every career path. Here’s just a sample: year on topics such as inexpensive ways to test drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease (See Page 4), cancer treatments and using • The Michigan Association of Broadcasters has named viruses to aid in stroke recovery. CMU’s TV station College Television Station of the Year 4. REAL-DEAL INSTRUCTORS for an unprecedented 17 consecutive years. We don’t believe in graduate students teaching classes, • CMU is the leader in Great Lakes research, as so many other schools do. providing unique academic opportunities and increased sustainability for the world’s largest More than 95% of our classes are taught by faculty, and supply of fresh water. CMU manages a $20 million more than three-quarters of those have a Ph.D. Many of grant from the Environmental Protection Agency our faculty have direct connections to alumni and leaders for Great Lakes research. in the field; they’re actively involved in helping students secure internships and jobs. • CMU is the first public university in the Midwest with a MakerBot Innovation Center, a large-scale 5. LEARN TO LEAD LEARN MORE LEARN MORE 3D printing facility that focuses on arts, fashion All CMU students have access to the nation’s most robust design and human services. leadership programming through our Sarah R. Opperman • Students and faculty in the College of Liberal Leadership Institute. Arts and Social Sciences regularly partner with Freshmen can move in a week early and join 2,000 new organizations around the globe to provide friends at Leadership Safari, one of the top programs expertise and hands-on volunteer help to address of its kind in the nation. issues such as sustainability, social justice, and 6. ONE IN FIVE CMU STUDENTS IS historical and cultural preservation. MULTICULTURAL 10. IT FEELS LIKE HOME As of Fall 2018, the CMU student body represents 82 of 83 “Students come because it feels like home,” Williams said. counties in Michigan, 45 of the 50 states in the country and “Then they end up finding their passion here.” > 29 nations globally. Centralight Fall ’19 7 CMU President Robert O. Davies sat down with Marcie Otteman, executive director of alumni relations, to talk about enrollment challenges facing colleges and universities across the country and how you can help.

Marcie Otteman: Enrollment has been part of the conversation We are in a very competitive market for a pool of students that has since the moment you stepped onto campus. Last fall, you sent decreased over the past 10 to 15 years, especially in key states like an email to the campus community about how it’s everybody’s Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Wisconsin. job to help grow enrollment. So, as population is shrinking, you’ve got increased competition Robert Davies: That conversation started even before I was on for the best students. Higher education also is inverse to economic campus. Nearly every public and many private colleges and fluctuations. As the economy declines, enrollment in higher ed universities are talking about enrollment. Our business model is increases; as the economy increases, more people are working driven by our ability to recruit, retain and graduate students. and enrollment decreases.

88 Centralight Fall ’19 MO: A lot of our alumni remember freshman the affordability, to understand the options, that the last classes of 3,800 students or more. Last year’s resort is to take on student debt. Over 90% of our class was about 2,700. What are some of the students receive financial aid – scholarships, grants, ways CMU is working to build that up? federal, state, institutional funds. We’ve provided some amazing opportunities for our students to afford the RD: We’re recruiting more aggressively in the Detroit higher education experience. and Grand Rapids areas. We need to get a lot more aggressive in the contiguous states surrounding MO: Another area parents are interested in is Michigan, penetrate some of those key markets. safety on campus. This fall’s freshman class will be slightly smaller than RD: We’re a safe campus. We’re 21,000 students, last year’s, but the good news is – at least our early 3,000-plus faculty and staff. We’re a city. Things results are showing – we’ve gained market share in happen on our campus. I’ll be the first to admit Wayne and Macomb counties, and we’ve made great that. But we have a police staff that’s committed to strides in Grand Rapids. serving students, to making sure that our faculty, staff, students and visitors are safe. We’re doing a great job of recapturing some of the marketplace in our home territory – Isabella County, But they also focus on making sure the students are Midland County, Gratiot County. I feel good about that, able to make good decisions. When mistakes are made, but there’s a long way to go. they’re there to help them, support them, have them learn, hold them accountable, but in a manner that’s MO: In many of those markets you’ve highlighted, we not going to derail their efforts, while still maintaining have a significant alumni base. A lot of recent grads, a safe campus environment. especially, have moved to those areas. What do you want our alumni to know so they can promote CMU MO: So, what is your message to our alumni? to prospective students? RD: We check all the important boxes families are RD: The message I’d give our alumni is Central Michigan looking for. We need our alumni to think about how they University is growing and maintaining its academic can assist in our recruiting efforts. Recommend students rigor, relevance and excellence. Our alumni need to to us – that’s more valuable than any ad we can run. understand that, depending on when they graduated, Students have a lot of options, and the competition is we might be a little bit different of a university, but we intense. The CMU way is about putting students first still fundamentally care about student success. We care and foremost. We provide them the resources to be about the personal attention our faculty and staff give successful, and that’s one of the most important things to our students. We are a national leading research our alumni can talk to potential students about. university, and many times when that moniker hits a university, they lose track of students, especially at the If they want to host a gathering of potential students in undergraduate level. their community to talk about how CMU helped them, STEVE JESSMORE/ we can support that. Our alumni ambassador program At CMU, our students are doing research with faculty, is a key component of our recruiting, and they can help STEVE PHOTOGRAPHY JESSMORE PHOTO BY and they’re publishing their materials with them. They’re right where they are. It’s a great network of alumni we presenting at international conferences. have across the country. Our goal is to have an alumni We have a 19-year-old young woman from a small town ambassador in every state. in Pennsylvania doing cancer research. That’s just MO: The Chippewa network is such an important absolutely phenomenal, and it’s just one example. feature. As an alum, I feel it’s part of my obligation to MO: And when students graduate, they’re already give back, to help those coming up behind me. That on the path to success. especially helps with recruitment in the workplace. RD: On the day of graduation, 92% of our RD: Why limit Fire Up Fridays to campus? Imagine if all students either have employment and/or have our graduates, wherever they are, wore maroon and been accepted into graduate school. That is a gold on Fridays, had a CMU flag or lapel pin, and talked phenomenal number. [See examples of some of about CMU to their co-workers? those recent alumni on Pages 12-13.] We should be fired up about where we went to school When students and parents ask, “When I go to and want to share it with others. That feeds our this university, will I be able to get a job?” The recruitment efforts. We’ve got a lot of success to build answer is absolutely yes. upon, a great foundation of an excellent university. When they ask, “Will I be able to afford it?” Our average Sure, there are things we can do better, and we’re debt per student when they graduate is well below the working on those, but I think that’s also an indication of national average. Most of our students do not graduate the level of commitment that’s wonderful about this with significant debt. We want students to understand university. It’s always learning, changing and evolving. >

Centralight Fall ’19 9 Centralight Fall ’19 9 STEVE JESSMORE/ STEVE PHOTOGRAPHY JESSMORE PHOTO BY

Lee Furbeck, CMU’s executive director of admissions, talked with Marcie Otteman about Central’s recruiting efforts in a challenging market.

Marcie Otteman: So many of our My daughter just went through the college MO: What does your office do alumni are far removed from their search process, so I saw a lot of that mail at throughout the year that our alumni college experience. Can you share my house. I would pick up some of those should know about? some of the things going on in pieces, and I would guess that one cost LF: We recently joined the Common higher education right now? about $5 to produce and mail, and she’d Application. It’s a way for prospective never even heard of the school. Lee Furbeck: In the world of admissions students to apply to more than 800 and enrollment, what we’re seeing most And when you look at efforts in larger colleges and universities around the world is increased competition. When you have metro areas like Chicago, there are more with one online application. High school fewer students in the market for whatever than 100 regional recruiters for schools counselors can upload one transcript and reason, the pool is already smaller. based there just trying to attract students send it to multiple schools. This is a good from Illinois. option, and first-year students applying to There are fewer students graduating from CMU began using it Aug. 1. It was a great high school, particularly in the Midwest. MO: What can our alumni do to promote kickoff for the whole recruiting cycle. Enrollment at community colleges has CMU in their communities and networks? plummeted, so there are fewer transfer MO: Your admissions work runs on the LF: Students looking at college today have students coming in. school-year cycle, so what else do you a different perspective than a few years and your team do? For potential groups, such as returning adults ago. They may be looking at the cost of or graduate students, they can find jobs right higher education and wondering if a LF: In July, we host College Days, now, so they’re not enrolling in universities. college degree is even worth it. targeting rising incoming high school seniors. It gives prospective students the MO: It’s so different than what we saw It’s OK to tell prospective students you had chance to meet faculty and current back in the ‘80s and ‘90s when there was fun in school, but you don’t want the students. Then, when the school year a swell of people going to college. message to be that kids are going to go off begins, our team hits the road. and have a good time for four years and not LF: And that’s particularly pronounced in get anything out of it. It’s all about the They travel their recruiting territory for the Midwest. Because there are fewer outcomes. Talk about the things that weeks at a time, meeting with high school students, everybody has ramped up their mattered to you on campus. Those seniors, encouraging them to apply, recruiting game. Looking at the state of relationships in the classroom, the faculty who walking them through the application Michigan specifically, some institutions are helped you. The extracurricular opportunities process. In some cases, the student can sending eight or 10 expensive print pieces that helped you gain experience and skills apply, and the recruiter can admit them to a student who hasn’t ever expressed you now use in your career. on-site if we’re hosting a special event. interest in that school.

1010 Centralight Fall ’19 MO: It sounds like your team has a favorite. Some students look at those busy schedule. and they think, “I don’t want to write an essay for $500.” Look at it this way: How LF: The beginning of the school year long does it take you to write that essay? is prime travel season. They could be An hour? Would you like to get paid $500 visiting four or five high schools and an hour? I would! then hosting a table at a college fair that night. It takes a very special person MO: So, the message is: Start early, to be able to keep up with that schedule. spend your time with it, don’t wait By the time Thanksgiving hits, most of until the end and seek out those free that has wound down. services. And you can always talk to our admissions office. MO: In the midst of all that, you’re hosting your annual CMU & You Day on campus. LF: Yes. College is an investment in you, in your future, in your earning power. LF: That’s a great opportunity for It’s an important choice. I know we prospective students and their families have an incredibly caring community to get a good overview of our campus. here. Our students and staff look out This year, it’s planned for Oct. 5, which is a

for one another. Our faculty care about STEVE JESSMORE/ home football Saturday. students’ well-being. STEVE PHOTOGRAPHY JESSMORE There are campus tours; a community and PHOTO BY I’ve had students say to me, “This is a very student service fair; tickets to the game different experience than what my friend is against Eastern Michigan; and experiencing at their school.” That’s presentations on the admissions process important. A student shared with me that and life on campus, financial aid or how to they’d missed class a couple of times and Ready to share your transfer from another institution. done poorly on a test, and five different MO: You mentioned financial aid. people – staff, student assistants – called CENTRAL PRIDE Beyond finding a school that’s just to check up on them and make sure ? the right fit academically, what they were doing OK. The Admissions Alumni Ambassador kind of opportunities are available program is supported by CMU graduates MO: As a parent, I want that for my child. to help students pay for school? who volunteer their time to help the CMU What do families need to know LF: Absolutely. Admissions Office with recruitment efforts about financial aid options? outside of Michigan. MO: How important is it for prospective LF: I always recommend – whether or not students to talk with current students to Admissions Alumni Ambassadors a student thinks they’ll be eligible for learn about their experiences? commit to two to four events a year grants or student loans – that they fill out in the area where they live. Representing LF: It’s certainly important, but they the Free Application for Federal Student CMU at national and local college fairs like to hear from recent alumni too. Aid, or FAFSA. From the FAFSA, the and writing postcards to newly admitted It’s hard for them to picture themselves government will calculate the family’s EFC students are some of the ways alumni as an alum who’s the CEO of a large or expected family contribution to the help recruit new Chippewas. company – although it’s great to hear student’s education. from those folks too. CMU has Alumni Ambassadors in Texas, The amount the student qualifies for is North Carolina, Illinois, Wisconsin and But when I really see prospective students based on many factors including income, Maryland. The admissions team is looking light up is when they’re hearing from the size of the family, the student’s year in to expand alumni representation in the someone who’s early-career and school and whether there are multiple following areas: experiencing some success, looking back family members attending college. at their time at CMU, talking about classes • Milwaukee/Racine, Wisconsin MO: It sounds as though navigating and student activities they did. That’s • Chicago, Illinois the financial process has gotten a powerful for a student who’s getting ready • Indianapolis, Indiana bit more complex. to be a freshman. They can see themselves • Northwest Indiana as that person. • Fort Wayne, Indiana LF: When a family gets their financial • Columbus, Ohio award information telling them how much MO: So, circling back, yes, enrollment • Cleveland, Ohio of the cost they’re responsible for, that’s is down, but that’s happening • Toledo, Ohio the best time to sit down with someone everywhere. And we’re working from the school to explain everything. hard to attract new students. The application is available at cmich.ly/alumniambassadors. Every school does that information a little LF: We are far from the only institution An online training is required. differently, and it can be confusing. Our experiencing this. But with the help of admissions counselors can help with that. our alumni network – and our alumni Questions? Contact Amy Hauenstein, Also, you never need to pay for a ambassadors helping with recruiting – associate director of out-of-state scholarship search service. There are plenty we can make sure there’s always a new recruitment and alumni engagement, at of free ones out there; Fastweb.com is my generation of CMU Chippewas. • (224) 227-0356 or [email protected].

Centralight Fall ’19 11 Centralight Fall ’19 11 STRAIGHT to work

interviewers, she said. She was on the public Two recent CMU alumni relations team at CM Life; a member of the had job offers before they Public Relations Student Society of America; served on the executive board of her sorority, had their diplomas Zeta Tau Alpha; was a Leadership Safari BY TERRI FINCH HAMILTON, ’83 guide; an orientation mentor; and she worked a part-time job. Remember that nerve-wracking, sweaty-palmed wait for a job offer after graduation? “I got involved early in as many things as I could,” she said. “I wanted my time at Central Carlee Williamson doesn’t. Neither does to mean something.” Anna Harrington. Her classes were packed with real-life strategies Both secured job months before they and skills she uses every day. graduated because national companies sought them out and asked them to apply. “Faculty get to know you on a personal level, and they’re always bringing people to your They made themselves marketable, they said, classes who want to hire CMU grads,” she said. by the choices they made at Central. “That doesn’t happen everywhere.” Williamson, ’19, is a professional recruiter at the The 21-year-old is now lunching with high-level CARLEE Grand Rapids office of Insight Global, a national executives and engineers. staffing agency based in Atlanta. Williamson “I feel comfortable,”’ Williamson said. The public relations major and sales minor “I’m prepared.” interviews people all over the country to help them get jobs. So is Harrington, who loves her job at Amazon, where she’s always on the move, “Every day is really fulfilling,” Williamson said. communicating with associates and building “They trust me with their stories. Maybe they skills to move up, while supervising as many were laid off, or they came here from another as 70 employees. country to get their master’s degree. It actually makes me emotional. It’s awesome.” ‘I felt like I mattered’ Harrington, ’19, is an area manager at online “It’s cool that I’ll be able to find my leadership shopping giant Amazon, supervising associates style this early in my career,” Harrington said. at the Amazon fulfillment center in Romulus, near Detroit. Classes had barely started when an Amazon recruiter sent her a link to the job posting. She She combined a human resources major and applied. Two days later she had an interview legal studies minor for a business administration and was offered the job. degree she said prepares her for all sorts of careers – including this prime first job. “It was nice knowing my whole senior year that I had a job,” she said. “I think my parents were ‘I’m prepared’ even happier than I was.” A recruiter at Insight Global contacted Harrington’s involvement on the executive Williamson through her LinkedIn page in boards of Business Professionals of America November of her senior year. and sorority Alpha Sigma Tau bolstered her marketable skills, she said. That led to a phone interview, an in-person interview, then a lunch “In my human resources classes, my professors with the company sales manager. always talked about their experiences and how they developed their leadership style,” ANNA By January, she had an offer. Harrington said. “I wasn’t just a number in their Harrington “It was nice to know I had a job waiting,” she said. classrooms. They wanted to get to know me. I felt like I mattered.” • Her campus experiences impressed the

1212 Centralight Fall ’19 FROM SNOWBOARDING TO BUSINESS BUDDIES PARTNERS

Erik Lefler (from left), Brett Allen and Kyle Holderness

sales service that many companies CMU to share what they learned,” he said. ‘CMU taught us the have in-house. “I would go to class and have real discussions about what actually happens in the workplace importance of hard work’ No more hiring or training hassles, and what it takes to be successful in sales.” BY TERRI FINCH HAMILTON, ’83 no HR worries managing a sales team or providing health insurance. Each of them had to build a comprehensive A decade ago, three guys from CMU went business plan in their studies at CMU. snowboarding to escape homework and These three guys will do it for you. blow off some steam. So, when they had to tackle one for their new “We offer the sales skills and tactics, but business four years ago, no biggie. Today, they run a successful sales and marketing at a lower cost,” Holderness said. company in Seattle, collaborating with the skills Allen remembers lots of group projects at They were each working full-time and confidence they gained at Central. CMU. They could be frustrating. corporate jobs as they started their They went from “Hey, what’s up?” in the business on the side. “You’d think, ‘How am I going to work hallways of Thorpe Hall to landing their first with these three people, we’re all so Last year they left their jobs to work at their international client. different,’” he said. new company full time and generated The “idea man” and CEO, Erik Lefler, ’11, $250,000 in revenue. They signed their first Now, all that practice makes sense. graduated with a degree in entrepreneurship, international client, in Norway, joining clients “It’s just like when you start a business,” he setting the stage. Kyle Holderness, ’10, in Washington, Massachusetts and Virginia. said. “We all have different personalities. studied accounting and finance. Brett Allen, They’ve drawn on skills and knowledge they Everybody has to contribute something for ’10, rounds out the group with his focus in gained at Central, where “real-world the end goal to be a success. We challenge business administration. experience” was king, Holderness said. each other’s ideas.” They founded Extension Sales & Marketing, “There’s a mentality that we picked up on, And they have a solid bond. each using the skills they honed in the not just in the business school, but at CMU in College of Business Administration. “CMU really stresses the idea of your CMU general,” he said. “CMU taught us the family,” Holderness said. “I don’t see that with “This would never have happened if we all importance of hard work and diligence. We schools out here on the west coast.” didn’t meet at Central,” Holderness said. “The never felt we were entitled to anything.” people you meet there cannot only become The three connected with that CMU family, lifelong friends – they can be partners you attending a recent Seattle alumni event start a company with and build a career.” Real-world learning where they forged some great relationships. Lefler learned about sales and marketing from faculty who were real pros, he said. “You never know what will happen at The hatching Central,” Holderness said. “That guy who lives The business hatched four years ago when “I was taught by people who had been sales next to you in the dorm could end up being Lefler had the idea to provide the kind of directors out in the world and came back to your business partner.” •

Centralight Fall ’19 13 CMU may be but behind you it’s never far away

Order your CMU license plate today! cmich.edu/alumni

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 9789 - 2017 14 Centralight Winter ’18 CMU may be MARCHING FOR but behind you it’s never far away inclusion CMU alumni help clarinet player with muscular dystrophy make her mark in marching band

BY TERRI FINCH HAMILTON, ’83

Gaia Herrick showed up for her first day at Climax-Scotts High School with her clarinet, hoping to play in the school’s marching band. She knew it wasn’t a sure thing: Herrick has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair. Ryan Cupp, ’09, was the new band teacher at the district just southwest of Battle Creek. “He said, ‘Well, of course you’ll be in the band,’ ” Herrick recalled. “ ‘We’ll figure it out.’ ” The school’s lumpy grass field was too uneven for her wheels, so Cupp picked a stationary spot two steps off the 50-yard line where Herrick and her wheelchair would perch. The rest of the band moved in formation around her. “It was amazing,” Herrick said. “I got to be a real part of the band. I literally cried the first time I put my band uniform on. It meant so much to me.” Cupp shrugs it off. “Just because you can’t move around on the field doesn’t mean you’re not part of the band,” he said. “I never wanted Gaia to feel left out. Band is a family.” She brings a lot to the group, he said. “From the moment Gaia got there, she brought a level of professionalism and musicianship,” Cupp said. “She really kicked the band up to a higher level. She Order your CMU never let anything stop her. “Always, always give somebody a shot,” Cupp said. license plate “You never know who you’ll inspire, and in turn, who they’ll be able to inspire.” > today! TOP PHOTO: Gaia Herrick and Ryan Cupp at her Climax-Scotts High cmich.edu/alumni School graduation. BOTTOM PHOTO: Ryan Cupp on the job. 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 9789 - 2017 Centralight Fall ’19 15 STEVE JESSMORE/ STEVE PHOTOGRAPHY JESSMORE PHOTO BY

“It was amazing,” she said. “It’s one of the Field for a Monday Night Football The Marching Chips best things that’s ever happened to me.” Detroit Lions game. As graduation approached, Herrick visited CMU. She fell in love with the campus, the Batcheller is thrilled to have her. “It was so surreal,” Herrick recalled. “I cried.” people and the Marching Chips. “The most important thing we do is make “Gaia enriches us,” Batcheller said. “She “It felt like home,” she said. music,” he said. “Why would I turn away a approaches each day as an opportunity for fine musician just because she can’t walk? success. It’s who she is.” Cupp encouraged Herrick to talk with Jim It would make no sense.” Batcheller, director of the Marching Chips. Herrick loves telling about an Indiana Herrick’s part is bigger than the music high school student who reached out to She hesitated. she plays, he said. her on Facebook. “A university marching band wants to be “If an organization doesn’t – in some way, He didn’t think he could be a music teacher, a pristine, shining example,” Herrick said. on some scale – make the world a better he told her, because it requires marching “They probably think having someone in a place, it’s not worth spending time or band in college. Like Herrick, he has wheelchair would mess with that.” effort on it,” Batcheller said. muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair. She half expected Batcheller to say no: “Any kid who sees Gaia perform with us “He said, ‘Now I see that I can do it.’ “I didn’t want my heart to be broken.” sees an opportunity for themselves,” he “It’s not just my dream,” she said. “So many said. “ ‘OK, I’m in a wheelchair.’ Or, ‘I only Instead, he said, “Of course – let’s talk.” people with disabilities love music. I love have one arm.’ Or, ‘I’m really shy. Look at being their voice. Unlike her high school’s lumpy grass field, that kid. She’s doing it in a wheelchair. CMU’s field is smooth artificial turf. Maybe I can do it, too.’ ” “I want to show people you can do For the first time, Herrick would be a whatever you want to do.” • moving, integrated part of the show, Inspiring others with help from other band members Last September, the Marching Chips who take turns pushing her wheelchair performed in front of a national audience in formation as she plays. and sold-out crowd of 61,000 fans at Ford

16 Centralight Fall ’19 • KAITLIN DEREES, ’14, assistant • JEFF PETHOUD, ‘11, middle school CONDUCTING A director of bands, Meridian Public Schools, and high school band director, Sanford, Michigan Madison District Public Schools, Madison Heights, Michigan • STEVE DEREES, ’84, band director, H.H. new generation Dow High School, Midland, Michigan • MATTHEW REED, ’00, band teacher, Central Montcalm Public Schools, • SCOTT GEORGIA, ’03, M.A. ’11, Stanton, Michigan Dozens of Marching Chippewas have elementary music, Mount Pleasant Public advanced to jobs and careers as school Schools, Mount Pleasant, Michigan • KASEY ROGERS-ANDERSON, ’15, band teachers and directors. band director, South Newton School • JONATHAN GRANTHAM, ’99, director Corporation, Kentland, Indiana They form an impressive network of of bands, Amador Valley High School, alumni who encourage and support Pleasanton, California • KELLY (HAY) ROSSELIT, ’08, M.A. ’10, future musical Chips*: Berrien Springs High School, Berrien • MATT HARRIS, ’10, band director, West Springs, Michigan • HILARY BARNARD, ’11, band assistant, Middle School, Rochester, Michigan Holt, Michigan • MATTHEW SHEPHARD, ’01, director • AARON HOTELLING, ’02, director of bands, Meridian Public Schools, • ROBERT BOSMA, ’00, director of of bands, Gaylord High School, Sanford, Michigan bands, Spruce Creek High School, Gaylord, Michigan Port Orange, Florida • KATY STEKLAC, ’13, director of bands, • JAKE HUYSENTRUYT, ’03, band Beach Middle School, Chelsea, Michigan • AMANDA (GETZMEYER) BURDETTE, director, Sandusky Community Schools, ’09, middle school and high school Sandusky, Michigan • MELISSA STOUFFER, ’06, BME ’10, band teacher, Marshall Public Schools, started middle school band and choir • LUCAS KEUR, ’17, band Marshall, Michigan program, Brighton, Michigan director, Zeeland Public Schools, • JOHN CHRISTIAN, ’08, director Zeeland, Michigan • MATTHEW TATON, ’90, director of of university bands, University of bands, Mount Pleasant, Michigan Charleston, West Virginia • TRACY (FOSS) MACKENZIE, ’11, band director, Mustang Public Schools, • JESSICA (TURGEON) TIPPETT, ’05, • NATHAN COURTRIGHT, ’05, director of Mustang, Oklahoma director of bands, Mancelona, Michigan bands and orchestra, Florin High School, Sacramento, California • KEVIN MEINKA, ’02, band director, • RICCI TURNER, ’16, director of Bendle Middle and High School, bands, Algonac Community Schools, • RYAN CUPP, ’09, director of bands, Burton, Michigan Algonac, Michigan Climax-Scotts Community Schools, Climax, Michigan • DREW MILLER, ’10, instrumental • AMANDA VALDEZ, ’10, secondary music teacher, Caro, Michigan instrumental music and instructional • CHRISTOPHER DEMING, ’08, director coach, Star International Academy, • JESSICA MILLS-RAIS, ’12, director of of bands, Saginaw Swan Valley School Dearborn Heights, Michigan District, Saginaw, Michigan bands and choir, Romulus High School, Romulus, Michigan • MICAH VOLZ, ’00, director of bands, • JAMIE DENSLOW, ’09, director St. Clair High School, St. Clair, Michigan • of instrumental ensembles, • EMILY MORGAN-BOOTH, ’09, band White Cloud, Michigan director, Bothwell Middle School, *This is just a partial list of CMU Marquette, Michigan Chippewa band teachers and directors.

“Any kid who sees Gaia perform with us sees an opportunity for themselves. ‘OK, I’m in a wheelchair.’ Or, ‘I only have one arm.’ Or, ‘I’m really shy. Look at that kid. She’s doing it in a wheelchair. Maybe I can do it, too.’ “

- Jim Batcheller, director of the Marching Chips STEVE JESSMORE/

Centralight Fall ’19 17 STEVE PHOTOGRAPHY JESSMORE PHOTO BY 17 CMU Bookstore Fall Hours Monday -Thursday 8-6 Friday 8-5 and Saturday 10-3

Extended hours on football game day. Visit us at our stadium locations.

989-774-7493 800-283-0234 Photos by Jerrod Brownson

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CMU, an AA/EO institution, strongly and actively strives to increase diversity and provide equal oppor- tunity within its community. CMU does not discriminate against persons based on age, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, race, religion, sex, sex-based stereotypes, sexual orientation, transgender status, veteran status, or weight (see http://www.cmich.edu/ocrie). Ucomm 10054 CMU Bookstore Fall Hours Monday -Thursday 8-6 Friday 8-5 and Saturday 10-3

Extended hours on football game day. Visit us at our stadium locations.

989-774-7493 800-283-0234 Photos by Jerrod Brownson

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest

CMU, an AA/EO institution, strongly and actively strives to increase diversity and provide equal oppor- tunity within its community. CMU does not discriminate against persons based on age, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, race, religion, sex, sex-based stereotypes, sexual orientation, transgender status, veteran status, or weight (see http://www.cmich.edu/ocrie). Ucomm 10054 Big Picture

2020 Centralight Fall ’19 Big Picture

Fall glory Nothing gets us more fired up than the gorgeous maroon and gold colors that transform Central’s campus each fall. Everywhere you look, you’ll find something Instagrammable. You might even be inspired to take a picture with good old-fashioned film!

PHOTO BY STEVE JESSMORE/STEVE JESSMORE PHOTOGRAPHY

Centralight Fall ’19 21 Two alumni leaders honored as 2019 HOMECOMING

GRAND MARSHALS BY ERICK FREDENDALL

This year’s homecoming won’t be GAY EBERS-FRANCKOWIAK the first time Gay Ebers-Franckowiak Ebers-Franckowiak retired in and JoAnn Hinds make an impact on 2008 as a managing director Central Michigan University. at Morgan Stanley, one of America’s largest multinational The two alumni, selected as 2019’s homecoming grand banks. She was one of the marshals, have each supported significant CMU highest-ranking women in the projects and facilities for years. brokerage and was its first “We’re proud to celebrate two dedicated CMU alumni female managing director. at this year’s homecoming celebration,” said Marcie She and her husband, Michael Franckowiak, have Otteman, executive director of alumni relations and generously supported several university projects development strategies. “JoAnn Hinds’ support for including the Grawn Hall Renovation Fund, Chippewa CMU’s scientific mission empowers future generations Champions Alumni Center, Football Championship of researchers, and Gay Ebers-Franckowiak is helping Fund, John G. Kulhavi Events Center, Athletic Facility pave the way for the future of CMU athletics. Program and CMU Biological Station on Beaver Island. “Both are highly deserving of the grand marshal honor.” Ebers-Franckowiak earned a bachelor’s in social science CMU selects grand marshals to recognize service and an elementary teaching certificate from CMU in and support to the university and community. 1975. CMU awarded her an honorary degree in The grand marshals are honorary leaders of commercial science in 2017. homecoming, presiding over the parade, participating in halftime ceremonies and serving as ambassadors throughout the weekend. JOANN HINDS Hinds is president, CEO and owner of Diamond Die and Mold in Clinton Township. She purchased the business from her father. Before that, she taught middle school science. She is a leading supporter of CMU’s Biological Station on Beaver Island. In 2007, CMU recognized her involvement by offering to place her name on the biological station’s academic center. She deflected the honor, instead asking that it be named after CMU professor emeritus Jim Gillingham, former director of the station. Hinds earned a bachelor’s in biology from CMU in 1972, STEVE JESSMORE/ plus a master’s in biology in 1977. CMU awarded her an STEVE PHOTOGRAPHY JESSMORE PHOTO BY honorary degree in commercial science in 2009.

22 Centralight Fall ’19 FIRED UP to

Ourreminisce? 2019 homecoming schedule will keep the memories flowing all weekend long.

FRIDAY 7 P.M.: ROCK RALLY OCTOBER Go to Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium for the pep rally, mock rock contest for the Maroon Cup, introduction of the football team and the announcement of the 2019 11 Homecoming Gold Ambassadors. SATURDAY 9 A.M.: 50-YEAR REUNION BRUNCH NOON-3 P.M.: ALUMNI VILLAGE OCTOBER Celebrating the classes of 1960–1969, featuring Join the free campuswide celebration near the Class of 1969. Begin your homecoming Rose Ponds for a great get-together with celebrations with brunch in Powers Hall. You alumni, family and friends. Enjoy game day also can watch the parade right from this Chippewa spirit as you visit with a favorite location. Registration required online at professor, grab some food and soak up the cmich.ly/69reunion. CMU homecoming atmosphere. 9 A.M.: ALUMNI COFFEE AND 1 P.M.: CARDBOARD BOAT RACE 12 DOUGHNUTS Held in the afternoon of homecoming, Start your day off right with complimentary this event draws quite a crowd to Rose coffee and doughnuts inside Powers Hall. Stay Ponds (near the CMU Events Center). For right here to watch the parade. two weeks, engineering students build cardboard boats and sail them across the 11 A.M.: HOMECOMING PARADE ponds. The first team to the other side wins. The annual parade begins in Parking Lot 22 and travels through campus 3 P.M.: FOOTBALL GAME before heading north on Main Street Cheer on the Chippewas as CMU takes to downtown Mount Pleasant. on New Mexico State at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Order tickets at 1-888-FIREUP-2 or online at 11 A.M.: TAILGATE LOTS OPEN www.cmuchippewas.com. The parking lots at the south end of campus open 4 hours prior to kickoff. 11 A.M.-2:30 P.M.: TAILGATE VILLAGE This free concert by Jedi Mind Trip features a beer garden and is open to the public. LEARN MORE

Centralight Fall ’19 23 A WHOLE NEW LOOK FOR CMU FOOTBALL

each of his first two seasons. He was named New coach, new the SEC Coach of the Year in 2015. infrastructure highlight Prior to his stint at Florida, McElwain the start of a new era led Colorado State to a 10-3 finish in 2014, earning the Mountain West Conference BY ANDY SNEDDON Coach of the Year Award. At the north end of Kelly/Shorts Stadium, the McElwain, who played quarterback at Eastern one-story, flat-roof building that housed locker Washington in the early 1980s and got his and equipment rooms is gone. So is the coaching start there, has built a reputation for scoreboard that towered over the field. strong, explosive offenses. At the south end, a sparkling new, state-of- He was the offensive coordinator/ the-art scoreboard stands and, on the north quarterback coach under Nick Saban end, the foundation has been laid – and the at Alabama from 2008-11, during which steel skeleton is being erected – for the new time Michigan native Mark Ingram won Chippewa Champions Center. the Heisman Trophy and the Crimson Tide claimed two national championships. It’s an impressive visual reminder of where Central Michigan football is in “I do believe that there are some parts here we 2019: A fresh start. can put together to be successful,” McElwain said. “Only time will tell.” And that includes on the field, where Jim McElwain is set to embark on his first season in The question on the minds of most is who will charge of the program. He was named to the trigger the offense. CMU entered fall practice position in December by Michael Alford, with seven quarterbacks on the roster, Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President/ including senior Tommy Lazzro, who appeared Director of Athletics. in six games in 2018, throwing for 711 yards and five touchdowns. “He’s a proven winner,” Alford said. “He’s won championships at the highest level, competed Among the others in the hunt are at the highest level. He’s a strong leader who senior Quinten Dormady, a graduate understands it’s a privilege to be an athlete at transfer with a big-time pedigree CMU, and there are responsibilities and having played at both Houston and accountabilities that come with that privilege.” Tennessee, and junior David Moore, a transfer from Garden City (Kansas) Part of what convinced Alford to tap Community College. Moore McElwain for the job was McElwain’s previously played at Memphis. vision, including his experience and commitment to athletics, academics, “All of the guys have had their social responsibility and community. moments,” McElwain said. “Seeing how they move His track record was pretty good, too. the team is really where it’s In his first two seasons at Florida, McElwain led at right now. The really the Gators to 19 wins and back-to-back satisfying thing – and it’s Southeastern Conference East Division titles as more than satisfying, it’s he became the first coach in league history to exciting – is we’ve got lead his team to the conference title game in some guys who can play.” •

24 Centralight Fall ’19 Centralight Fall ’19 25 26 Centralight Fall ’19 Central alums find careers in the

spotlightBY CYNTHIA J. DRAKE, M.A. ’08

PERFORMING ARTS ALUMNI TURN CMU PASSION INTO PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS Central Michigan University has launched the careers of stars on stage and screen – not to mention countless screenwriters, directors, producers and behind-the-scenes staffers who entertain and inspire audiences around the globe. Six performing arts alumni in various phases of their careers share their greatest successes and their wisdom. >

Clyde Sheets, ’87, and Interlochen students prepare for the premiere of their first show, “Resolve,” in New York City in February 2019.

PHOTO CREDIT: INTERLOCHEN CENTER FOR THE ARTS

Centralight Fall ’19 27 Claire-Frances Sullivan, ’17, performs on stage as part of Alaska Cabin Nite Dinner Theatre in Denali, Alaska.

PHOTO CREDIT: JONAH MARTIN

them using somebody else’s work. Those are “I do theater for a couple reasons. I do it CLAIRE-FRANCES my thoughts and my feelings and my view of because I love the people who do it, and I SULLIVAN, ’17 the world, and what I think the world should love the things that we give to people when be like, and here it is for you to see. we make that kind of art,” she said. “And the » CMU TRAINING: College of the Arts process – just creating this thing with these “I felt so vulnerable, I felt terrified. But it was people, and every time it’s fun and the best and Media, Music Theatre also the most addicting feeling.” » JOB: Actress and playwright thing ever.” Since then, Sullivan has written and performed » LOCATION: Denali, Alaska And she has some advice for CMU students. in plays in Michigan, New York and Alaska. She won a 2018 Kennedy Center National Musical “People think it’s hard to make a living in the Watching the first play she wrote as it was Theatre Award for “Fostered Love,” a musical performing arts, and I don’t know that that’s performed on stage at Central was an she wrote as a student at CMU. true – I think it’s hard to make a living emotional experience for Claire-Frances anywhere,” she said. “Make it happen for “The things that happened to me because of Sullivan. It also was the moment she realized yourself and always say yes when your that award were life-changing,” she said by what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. friends need help. And if you really want it to phone from Denali, where she is on a happen, you can really make it happen. It “I was behind the piano during that show; six-month contract as part of the cast of the definitely takes talent and hard work, but it was insane,” she remembered of her Alaska Cabin Nite Dinner Theatre. production, “Bruised,” one of the first things don’t be afraid of trying. You have to try.” > she wrote at CMU as a sophomore. “It’s more Though she doesn’t know where her career scary to watch people watch my music and will take her next, her heart has found its my words than it is to go up and perform for place in the performing arts.

28 Centralight Fall ’19 CLYDE SHEETS, ’87

» CMU TRAINING: College of the Arts and Media, Theatre and Interpretation » JOB: Director of student affairs for Interlochen Center for the Arts » LOCATION: Interlochen, Michigan

Clyde Sheets recalls his time at CMU as a kind of interdisciplinary playground where he was given the freedom to craft his own path, whether it was doing sculpture, installation art, photography or producing his own show. “It’s an addiction in so many ways, being involved in live performance,” he said, recalling the first play he directed at CMU with a troupe of actors who were also friends (including future wife April Watkins, ’87). “It’s a high-wire act – you can’t duplicate that kind of emotional rush. There’s just nothing like it.” Now a teacher and administrator at Interlochen Center for the Arts – perhaps the best known of a small number of arts boarding schools in the U.S. – Sheets said he’s come full circle in his ability to connect young artists with the array of avenues available to them in the fine arts. In February, Sheets worked with Interlochen students to bring the school’s first student show to New York. “Resolve,” which he described as “one part art installation, one part music concert,” with the addition of poetry and monologues, was assembled into a movement theater piece at an experimental space in Brooklyn called National Sawdust. “There were a lot of comments about how the whole experience just changed their lives,” Sheets said about the students’ experience. “It gave them a sense of what’s possible. They’re at the very beginning of their careers, and I’m getting them at the ages of 15 to 18, so it’s really incredible to see that excitement, but it’s also really great to be a mentor to them.” He said his experience at Central helped shape the mentor he is today. “As I look back on the work that we made, I realize that there was a collaborative spirit taught both in the theater department and the art department that has become invaluable to me as someone who now teaches collaboration,” he said. “It’s really at the core of what I’m doing every day as an educator: teaching young artists how to work together, how to bridge differences, how to cooperatively make personal work, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that had I not started at Central.” > STEVE JESSMORE/

Fall ’19 STEVE PHOTOGRAPHY JESSMORE PHOTO BY Centralight 29 JENNIE THOMAS, M.A. ’09

» CMU TRAINING: Humanities » JOB: Director of archives, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame » LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Performing arts careers sometimes take alumni behind the scenes – and even into the stacks, where Jennie Thomas works archiving the priceless collections belonging to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Thomas oversees a staff of archivists, writes grants and curates exhibits for the Rock Hall, which chronicles the history of this distinctly American music. Thomas said she doesn’t get to meet as many famous musicians as people might think. Since the library and archives are housed two miles from the museum, she doesn’t interact with every touring musician and celebrity who comes to the Rock Hall. But she’s met a few, including the late rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry. “It’s definitely one of the coolest places you could work,” she said. The cohort in her Master of Arts in humanities program included educators, and she said she valued hearing different perspectives. “It helped me prepare for working in the performing arts by immersing me in arts- related content and providing a more creative outlet for that study through the cohort.” Thomas’ degree at CMU was her second master’s – she was focused on finding a career in the performing arts and knew that the humanities degree would help to market herself. It worked. One of the highlights of her decade at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was starting the archives from scratch in 2012, fresh from her final semester in the program. “It was amazing to be a part of all that excitement and then to see people actually using the collections, to watch as people started to research and write what will become the history of popular music,” she said. “You can’t beat that.” > STEVE JESSMORE/

Centralight Fall ’19 STEVE PHOTOGRAPHY JESSMORE 30 PHOTO BY Tom Kauffman, ’06, M.A. ’08, celebrates his outstanding animated program win for the series “Rick and Morty” at the 2018 Emmy Awards.

PHOTO CREDIT: COURTESY OF TOM KAUFFMAN

“Since I’ve left CMU, I’ve lived a few different Kauffman’s experience at CMU gave him the TOM KAUFFMAN, ’06 lives,” Kauffman said by phone from a Disney space and resources to experiment and make M.A. ’08 lot in Los Angeles. what he considers bad work by necessity. “When I first left, I was a production assistant “Ultimately, it was the place where I made my » CMU TRAINING: on the reality show ‘Dirty Jobs,’ just scraping very best friends and learned how to tell Broadcast and Cinematic by, living with roommates, barely making rent.” stories for the first time,” he said. Arts, Media Studies » JOB: Writer and producer While in “survival mode,” Kauffman was “I had a sketch comedy show called ‘AOK’ on » LOCATION: Los Angeles fortunate to start making connections with MHTV that I produced with my friend Dave other industry writers and eventually started Seger that is probably very cringe-worthy Tom Kauffman had a sore biceps the day writing webisodes for NBC’s “Community,” and potentially problematic if I went back after the 2018 Emmy Awards. He was part of which gave him the chance to try narrative and watched it now,” he said. “We were the team of staff writers who unexpectedly comedy, followed by “Rick and Morty.” younger and dumber. But we’re still collaborating to this day.” won for outstanding animated program for He’s now an upper-level writer, guiding the series “Rick and Morty.” teams of writers to create stories that His advice to other budding writers “I held onto that statue the entire night, resonate with viewers. comes out of that experimental space. and for real, the next morning my biceps “I’m frequently guiding the discussion. It’s “Do the thing you want to do as quickly really hurt because it’s kind of heavy. Then people very politely arguing over the best as you can do it,” he said. “That means there’s this after party, so everyone is just way to make something up, the best way to do it badly, because you need to do holding their statues. ... You don’t want to tell a story,” he said. something badly for however long it set it down anywhere because you’re afraid needs to be bad before you turn that Kauffman said a successful day is one someone’s going to steal it. corner and it starts being good. where an entire group of writers is feeling “It’s the shiniest thing I own.” something magical happening. “So, you might as well start now, because that bad period is always Though Kauffman was stunned by the win “Like, we all get the same sort of tingles, going to be looming. Embrace your and the hefty trophy, his impressive resume because we’re talking about something own impending awfulness and realize of achievements continues to launch him to we’ve never seen before. Or we’re talking that it’s freeing to be bad.” > interesting projects, including an unnamed about something that feels so resonant, we Marvel project for Disney Plus and a just know everyone’s going to love it.” Battletoads31 reboot for Xbox.

Centralight Fall ’19 31 Teri Hansen, ’87, performs as Madame Baurel in the Tony Award-winning musical “An American in Paris” in 2018.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF TERI HANSEN

“I sort of lacked a supportive family felt that way. I don’t know if that has to do TERI HANSEN, ’87 environment, and it was really special to me with being from Michigan, I don’t know if it » CMU TRAINING: College because both my instructors at the school of has to do with being humbled by incredible of the Arts and Media, Music music and in the theater department were teachers. But I’ve always been aware of how like family to me,” she said by phone from incredibly fortunate I am. Always,” she said. » JOB: Singer and actress New York, as she was preparing for a first It’s inspired her to work as hard as she » LOCATION: New York City reading of “CHERÍ,” a Broadway musical she possibly can and to do detailed and wrote based on the novel by Colette, exceptional work as an artist, Hansen Teri Hansen has performed on Broadway featuring Vanessa Williams. and throughout Europe, sung at Lincoln said. And it’s inspired her to take every Center, and acted in shows such as Her career has taken her around the opportunity to give back and say “Orange is the New Black” and “Law & globe, from leading roles with the thank you and to always remember Order: Special Victims Unit.” Glimmerglass Opera, “Show Boat” at the those who supported her. Prince Edward Theatre in London, the “There’s absolutely no way that I could be But one of the places that is still most Houston Grand Opera, Boston Pops and where I am today without them,” she said. dear to her is CMU. several national Broadway tours. “And that is life – we have to lift each After earning a scholarship at Central, Hansen “We live in a time where many people are so other up. Central lifted me up and said she found a second family among the intent on having more. They live in a place of continues to do so.” > students and faculty she met there. deficit instead of abundance. And I’ve never

32 Centralight Fall ’19 JULIA GLANDER, ’79

» CMU TRAINING: College of the Arts and Media, Theatre and Interpretation » JOB: Actress, director and adjunct professor, Eastern Michigan University » LOCATION: Ann Arbor

Whether she’s filming commercials or teaching university acting courses, Julia Glander has found that the key to her success in performing arts has been adaptability. She was afraid to jump in during her first year at CMU, but a graduate assistant encouraged her to try out for her first show. In the end, Glander said she found her home onstage, performing in a commedia dell’arte at the end of freshman year. Following graduate school, Glander moved to New York for 10 years, working as an actor in off- Broadway productions and regional theater, usually with a “survival job” on the side, such as waiting tables or working at a preschool. She and her husband, actor Alex Leydenfrost (whom she met during a production of “Tartuffe” in New York), then moved to Los Angeles, where she worked on commercials and voice overs – she was featured in commercials for Denny’s restaurants, T. Rowe Price, Pizza Hut, IBM, Alka Seltzer and more. “That sustained me for a long time,” she said. After welcoming a daughter, the family moved back to Michigan. Now Glander and her husband both act and teach and enjoy the experience of being rooted in a smaller community. “Actually, I’m more creative here,” she said. “I feel like my creative juices flow more – they have to. I loved living in New York in my younger years, I loved the whole vibe, the buzz, everything going on. I loved not having a full refrigerator and just walking home and picking something up. I thrived on all that, but not now. I think of it all in different stages. Each time it’s a new adventure.” She loves directing shows at the Tipping Point Theatre in Northville as well as acting – “I’m happiest when I have a combination of both, and teaching is great because you’re learning as you’re teaching,” she said. Throughout her life, Glander is proud of her flexibility. “They say you get a job in this business as soon as you make other plans. And it really is true,” she said. “Every single person’s path is different. This business in particular is the hardest business to pursue. There is no linear path. The main thing is that you’ve gotta be brave and you have to be open and kind, bold and present. You just really have to be a participant in your life. You Julie Glander, ’79, and husband Alex Leydenfrost cannot wait for it to happen, because you will just perform in “The Impossibility of Now” at the Tipping Point Theatre in Northville, Michigan, in 2018. wait forever. You have to jump in.” •

PHOTO CREDIT: CITRINE LACROIX

Centralight Fall ’19 33 CMU will always feel like home » To you » To them » To us

Share that feeling with the next generation by bringing them to an admissions presentation and campus tour Friday, Oct. 11. Then join the traditions and excitement of homecoming Oct. 12.

go.cmich.edu/visit Register today 989-774-3076 [email protected] 34 Centralight Winter ’18 ALUMNI NEWS

YOUNG ALUMNI Erica Lagos, ’13 Kimberly Sampson, ’17 Directors Laura Gonzales, ’79, BOARD Carmel, IN Midland Rebeca Reyes Barrios, ’00, M.A. ’89, Mount Pleasant Anthony Lazzaro, ’15 Steven Santostasi, ’17 MBA ’02, Canton, OH Scott Haraburda, ’83 President Grand Rapids Dearborn Carrie Baumgardner, ’99, Spencer, IN Scott Hillman, ’10 M.A. ’02, Durand Chicago, IL Gregory Marx, ’08 Christine Simon, ’13 Sean Hickey, ’88, M.A. ’90 Troy Lansing Lisa (Laitinen) Chelsea Vice president Benjamin Moxon, ’17 Mary Witherspoon, ’14 Bottomley, ’97 Bret Hyble, ’82, M.A. ’86 Brittany Mouzourakis, ’11 Kentwood Royal Oak St. Clair Shores Royal Oak Mount Pleasant Kelly Pageau, ’08 Megan Doyle, ’03 Linda (Scharich) Leahy, ’82 Directors Chicago, IL Brooke Adams, ’11 Chicago, IL ALUMNI BOARD Midland Royal Oak John Reineke, ’09 Jonathan Eadie, ’93 J.J. Lewis, ’06 President Grosse Pointe Park Cyril Agley, ’09 Oxford, OH Simi Valley, California Nathan Tallman, ’07, Traverse City Joshua Richards, ’08 Norma Eppinger, ’91 Scott Nadeau, ’89 M.A. ’09, Macomb Lansing Michael Decker, ’07 Rochester Dexter Vice president Birmingham Caroline (Powers) Chris Gautz, ’04 Darryl Shelton, ’85 Kandra (Kerridge) Adrian Nicole DeFour, ’12, Rizzo, ’15 Robbins, ’90, Portland Grand Rapids M.A. ’15, Grosse Pointe West Hartford, CT Jacalyn (Beckers) Past president Michelle (Curtis) Rush, ’07 Goforth, ’82 Spencer Haworth, ’12 Thomas Olver, ’98 Beverly Hills Grand Rapids St. Joseph Weidman

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Centralight Fall ’19 35 ALUMNI NEWS

Board of Trustees welcomes Recent grad spent her summer three CMU Chippewas to its ranks in Hollywood for elite internship The three newest appointees to the CMU Board of Trustees Leah Robinson, ’19, was have personal connections to the university – they’re all selected to participate proud alumni. in the Television Academy Todd Anson, ’77, was appointed to the Foundation’s 2019 Internship board by Gov. Rick Snyder in October 2018 Program in Hollywood. for an eight-year term. He is a lawyer, an She was one of just 50 entrepreneur and a managing member of students chosen from One Pacific Sports. He also is a director of across the country. Grand Rapids-based UV Angel. Robinson, who majored in Ed Plawecki, ’75, also was appointed by broadcast and cinematic arts, Gov. Snyder in October 2018 for an spent the summer interning in eight-year term. For UHY Advisors Inc., he is the unscripted television general counsel of the Michigan practice department at Lighthearted and director of government relations. Prior Entertainment. to his private sector work, he was a judge The Television Academy and a Wayne County Commissioner. Foundation’s annual internship Isaiah Oliver, ’07, was appointed in April by program provides 50 Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for a five-year term. paid internships at top He is the president and chief executive Hollywood studios and officer of the Community Foundation of production companies to Greater Flint, a $257 million public charity. college students nationwide. His background includes extensive The program gives both community leadership and executive oversight experience, undergraduate and graduate students in-depth and hands-on including five years on the Flint Community Schools Board professional experience in a variety of television careers during of Education – two as president – and four years on the the eight-week internship. • Hurley Medical Center Board of Managers. •

CMU journalism alum retires from Gannett Co. with high honors On the heels of his retirement announcement, Randy Lovely, ’86, received a special Chairman’s Award for Lifetime Achievement from Gannett Co. for his 30-year career at the company. As Gannett’s vice president of community news since 2016, Lovely unified the company’s 109 local newsrooms and USA Today to create a nationwide network. He served in roles of increasing responsibility in Gannett newsrooms across the country including Fort Myers, Florida; Shreveport, Louisiana; Palm Springs, California; and Phoenix, Arizona. Maribel Wadsworth, president of the USA Today Network, described Lovely as an unflinching champion for Gannett’s local newsrooms. He was acknowledged for his lifelong commitment to empowering diverse voices in local news and his dedication to quality – last year, the USA Today Network received three Pulitzer Prizes, all in local markets Lovely oversaw. While at CMU, Lovely held a series of roles at CM Life, capping his time as managing editor for the award-winning student newspaper. His first job out of college was as a reporter in Sturgis, Michigan, a Gannett paper at the time. “He has been a quiet force behind the scenes, ensuring that great local ideas are recognized and amplified by our flagship USA Today,” Wadsworth said. “He has been a champion of revelatory journalism that has changed lives and shaped our nation.” Lovely, an inductee into the CMU Journalism Hall of Fame, retired in June. •

36 Centralight Fall ’19 which comes with an award of $10,000. what I wanted to be. Giving these kids the best CMU alum earns Educator experience we can give them helps them The Michigan Lottery established the make decisions in regard to their future.” • of the Year award from Excellence in Education awards in 2014 to the Michigan Lottery recognize outstanding public school educators. Stewart Kieliszewski teaches earth science, Winners of the weekly award receive a biology, mechatronics and media at Ubly plaque, $1,500 cash and a $500 grant to their High School in Michigan’s Thumb. He also classroom, school or school district. dedicates much of his time to the Ubly Each year, one of the weekly winners is robotics, track and cross-country programs. selected as the Educator of the Year. This year, he added a new line to his resume: “I think it’s very important that kids get a full Educator of the Year. range of immersion into everything education- Kieliszewski, ’92, was selected by the wise,” Kieliszewski told the Huron Daily Tribune. Stewart Kieliszewski (right) receives his Educator of the Michigan Lottery to receive the annual honor, “When I was in high school, I really didn’t know Year award from Jeff Holyfield of the Michigan Lottery.

Lauren Bever, ’13, has been The city of Southfield CMU Chippewa honors named an associate in the appointed Elvin Barren, ’08, Kasee Stratton-Gadke, an Chicago office of Fisher as its new police chief. He assistant professor at Phillips, a national labor and previously was a deputy Mississippi State and an employment law firm chief with the Detroit Police internationally recognized representing employers. She Department, where he children’s disabilities scholar, focuses her practice on employment commanded eight major units, a yearly is the new director of the discrimination, specifically matters involving the budget of $137 million and over 1,100 police university’s T.K. Martin Center for Technology Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities officers. During his 21 years with DPD, Barren and Disability. Stratton-Gadke, ’06, is founder Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act had more than 12 years of command and director of the Bulldog CHARGE and the Illinois Human Rights Act. experience with over six years at the rank of Syndrome Research Laboratory at Mississippi commander or above. State, one of only two international sites Brenda L. Walker, ’75, was focused on educational, behavioral, and named interim associate Elizabeth Weber, ’18, was one quality-of-life research for individuals with dean for the College of of the initial 11 contestants in the disorder and their caregivers. She also is Education at the University of a Fiji villa for “Love Island,” an co-founder and co-director of the university’s South Florida–St. Petersburg. American version of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic. As the top administrative popular U.K. dating show that officer in the college, Walker oversees faculty aired this summer on CBS. Beaverton Rural Schools and works closely with them and university The network describes the show this way: Superintendent Susan leadership to support, grow and develop “The matchmaking begins as a group of single Wooden, ’88, retired after six distinct community programs and strategies ‘Islanders’ come together in a stunning villa on years to spend time with her that enhance student and faculty success and a beautiful tropical island, ready to embark on family. The school board research in the fields of education. a summer of dating, romance and, ultimately, credits Wooden with helping relationships. Every few days the Islanders pair Robert Smith, M.S. ’95, lead the district, including her efforts to get a up, and those who are not coupled are at risk professor of biology at the $6.2 million bond to upgrade facilities; of being dumped from the island.” enhancing efforts to improve efficiency and University of Scranton, was excellence; adding programs to help meet awarded a faculty Trudy Ender, ’91, is the students’ academic, emotional and behavioral development grant to new executive director of needs; adding student success coaches in research “Using Autonomous the Grand Rapids-based both schools; and programs that aid teachers. Recording Units to Survey Lackawanna State Susan G. Komen Michigan Park for Northern Saw-whet Owls and Spring office. Working in the Crain’s Detroit Business has Migrating Landbirds.” The faculty grants are nonprofit and government promoted reporter Chad intended to promote scholarship and sector for more than two decades, Ender Livengood, ’05, to the curriculum development efforts. most recently was the head of the Humane position of senior editor. Society of West Michigan. Crain’s said his promotion Ryan Bauman, ’07, is the new recognizes the increasing parks and recreation director Janet Johnson, ’85, has been leadership role Livengood, who covers for Emmet County in named publisher of the statewide politics and policy as well as northern Michigan, which Globe-Gazette in Mason City, Detroit’s resurgence, has taken at the includes Petoskey. Bauman Iowa; the Summit-Tribune in business news publication. In his new role, said future goals for the Forest City, and Britt, Iowa; Livengood will continue to report, analyze department include new programming and and the Mitchell County and write on the issues that matter most to events in the community, as well as bringing Courier in Osage, Iowa. • Michigan businesses and its economy. in more money for the county.

Centralight Fall ’19 37 + IN MEMORY

June A. (Woodstock) Hall, ’39, Shirley A. (Treend) Gentges, Harold D. Cronk, ’65, M.A. ’76, Gwendolyn E. (Moreen) Kalkaska, Mich., died July 14, ’58, Lansing, Mich., died May 15, Ludington, Mich., died July 4, Sullivan, ’70, Petoskey, Mich., 2018, age 101. 2019, age 83. 2019, age 81. died May 22, 2019, age 98. Esther I. (Schweitzer) Knight, William E. Seidenstucker, ’59, Lucille M. (Fedewa) Kramer, Ray Troyer, ’70, Randolph, Ohio, ’34, Battle Creek, Mich., died Leesburg, Fla., died June 4, 2019, ’65, Pewamo, Mich., died April 26, died May 21, 2019, age 88. April 2, 2019, age 104. age 82. 2019, age 92. James F. Prisk, ’71, M.A. ’78, Marion F. (Tangalakis) Curtis, Barbara L. (Dowell) Walker, ’59, Duane E. Chapman, ’66, Mount Lake, Mich., died May 3, 2019, ’42, Ann Arbor, Mich., died Battle Creek, Mich., died May 2, Pleasant, Mich., died May 26, age 71. June 1, 2019, age 99. 2019, age 82. 2019, age 86. Lenore E. (Sporman) Jean F. (French) Holmes, ’42, Stephen A. Bakita, ’60, M.A. ’62, Richard W. Watson, ’66, South Sovereign, ’71, Bay City, Mich., Ann Arbor, Mich., died April 15, Gaylord, Mich., died May 16, 2019, Lyon, Mich., died April 29, 2019, died April 2, 2019, age 71. 2019, age 98. age 81. age 75. Timothy A. Demko, ’72, Emily A. (Kaufmann) Dore, ’43, Frank E. Letherby, ’60, Ada, Frank J. Eisenhauer, ’67, MBA Saginaw, Mich., died April 25, Battle Creek, Mich., died April 11, Mich., died April 29, 2019, age 81. ’72, Muskegon, Mich., died May 2019, age 70. 2019, age 97. Margaret M. (Ortwein) Rettke, 10, 2019, age 73. Sue A. Fitzgerald, ’72, M.S. ’74, Irwin Pallack, ’47, Yuma, Ariz., ’60, M.A. ’68, Richmond, Mich., Alan C. Howard, ’67, Escanaba, Lansing, Mich., died April 22, died May 20, 2019, age 94. died May 2, 2019, age 81. Mich., died May 6, 2019, age 74. 2019, age 69. Ada M. (Mainzinger) Jurva, ’48, Nancy E. (Twitchell) Rohde, Herman C. Hudson, ’67, M.S. ’72, Joanne M. (McColgan) Monroe, Mich., died June 1, 2019, ’60, Fairfax, Va., died May 10, 2019, Naperville, Ill., died May 12, 2019, Hanlon, ’72, M.A. ’74, Saginaw, age 92. age 73. age 74. Mich., died April 28, 2019, age 90. Joan (Souci) Ryan, ’49, Vienna, Marion C. Vallance, ’60, Jacqueline K. (Hulbert) Post, Tim H. Kaul, ’72, Midland, Mich., Va., died April 13, 2019. Riverdale, Mich., died June 14, ’67, M.A. ’75, Gladwin, Mich., died died May 3, 2019, age 68. Dorothy J. (Philp) Starks, M.A. 2019, age 85. April 25, 2019, age 74. Diane A. (Houseknecht) ’49, Midland, Mich., died April 8, Eugene A. Jenkins, ’61, Battle Paul F. Henne, ’68, North Kingsley, ’72, Hillsdale, Mich., 2019, age 89. Creek, Mich., died April 18, 2019, Branch, Mich., died April 29, 2019, died May 17, 2019, age 68. Geraldine L. (Corning) Bell, ’50, age 84. age 74. Constance J. (Cohoon) Interlochen, Mich., died April 2, Russel E. Ringle, ’61, Owosso, Linda L. (Chaffee) Mason, ’68, Phillips, ’72, M.A. ’75, Ed.S. ’80, 2019, age 92. Mich., died April 1, 2019, age 95. Charlevoix, Mich., died June 5, Farwell, Mich., died May 16, 2019, Bernard E. Manker, ’50, D’Ann E. (Mulligan) Runk, ’61, 2019, age 72. age 73. Crawfordsville, Ind., died May 30, The Villages, Fla., died June 15, Robert J. McIntire, M.A. ’68, Dee A. (Geneit) Rothenberger, 2019, age 90. 2019, age 79. Norwalk, Iowa, died May 30, ’72, M.A. ’77, Charlevoix, Mich., Ralph W. Schultz, ’50, West Emma E. (Schaefer) Badder, 2019, age 83. died July 3, 2019, age 79. Liberty, Ohio, died April 7, 2019, ’62, M.A. ’68, Midland, Mich., died Janet M. (Johnson) Patrick, ’68, Sean S. Skinner, MBA ’72, age 92. May 31, 2019. Lansing, Mich., died May 1, 2019, Sarasota, Fla., died May 3, 2019, Frank Thalison, ’50, Lansing, James D. Lynn, ’63, M.A. ’66, age 72. age 75. Mich., died April 18, 2019, age 98. Galesburg, Mich., died May 7, James G. Stander, ’68, Thomas A. Sprowls, ’72, M.A. Jean (Dickerson) Zapytowski, 2019, age 80. Voorheesville, N.Y. died April 23, ’83, Sheridan, Mich., died ’50, Bridgeport, Conn., died May Veroneze L. (Kellogg) Strader, 2019, age 75. June 8, 2019, age 69. 7, 2019, age 91. ’63, Battle Creek, Mich., died May Mary Coulson, ’69, Ludington, Laura E. (Beebe) Walker, ’72, Mary J. (Abbott) Franklin, ’52, 5, 2019, age 79. Mich., died April 13, 2019, age 97. M.A. ’81, Ludington, Mich., died Grand Rapids, Mich., died June 6, Clara J. (Goddard) Walworth, Richard B. Hayman, M.A. ’69, June 4, 2019, age 96. 2019, age 89. ’63, Flint, Mich., died June 4, 2019, Tawas City, Mich., died May 6, Arlene M. (Steere) Wood, ’72, Florence M. (Siegle) Garrison, age 77. 2019, age 84. St. Johns, Mich., died April 28, ’54, Clare, Mich., died June 6, Jon F. Caswell, ’64, Grand Juanita M. (Basso) Pez, ’69, 2019, age 84. 2019, age 87. Rapids, Mich., died April 18, Sterling Heights, Mich., died Lois L. (Anger) Allen, ’73, Gene A. Hepinstall, ’54, 2019, age 78. June 3, 2019, age 71. Kalamazoo, Mich., died May 3, Gladwin, Mich., died April 28, Judith A. Dowdal, ’64, Frankfort, Ronald R. Rose, ’69, Pleasant 2019, age 74. 2019, age 89. Mich., died April 10, 2019, age 77. Lake, Ind., died June 2, 2019, John J. Gagnon, ’73, Bellaire, William F. Sowle Jr., ’55, Mount Margo A. (Helber) Link, ’64, age 74. Mich., died April 7, 2019, age 83. Pleasant, Mich., died May 13, Mount Pleasant, Mich., died Cheryl R. (Shippy) Sahin, ’69, James L. Bearss, ’74, North 2019, age 86. July 6, 2019, age 78. Crofton, Md., died June 19, 2019, Street, Mich., died June 28, 2019, Marilyn F. (Thompson) Brown, John F. Luebkert, ’64, MBA ’67, age 71. age 67. ’56, Saginaw, Mich., died April 20, Saginaw, Mich., died May 9, 2019, Lyle A. Boyle, ’70, North Branch, Philip A. MacHarg, ’74, 2019, age 85. age 76. Mich., died April 10, 2019, age 77. Brooksville, Fla., died May 27, Ronald C. Dubay, ’56, M.A. ’62, James L. Vachow, ’64, M.A. ’70, Karen A. (Havrilla) Gruber, ’70, 2019, age 71. Saginaw, Mich., died April 22, Austin, Texas, died June 3, 2019, Midland, Mich., died May 3, 2019, Mary A. (Solak) Monte, ’74, 2019, age 85. age 80. age 71. Tucson, Ariz., died June 9, 2019, Darold D. Briggs, ’57, Holt, Sharon L. (Fetterley) Adams, James M. Hamilton, ’70, Ann age 68. Mich., died June 18, 2019, age 89. ’65, White Cloud, Mich., died Arbor, Mich., died June 25, 2019, Judy A. (Grannis) Slattengren, Janice L. (Ballard) Bennett, ’58, April 8, 2019, age 77. age 70. ’74, Rochelle, Ill., died Jan. 5, 2019, Bangor, Maine, died May 15, Leon L. Campbell, ’65, Edmore, Kenneth J. McCarter, ’70, age 66. 2019, age 82. Mich., died April 21, 2019, age 84. Auburn Hills, Mich., died May 5, Richard C. Bassler, ’75, Niles, 2019, age 71. Mich., died June 8, 2019, age 67.

38 Centralight Fall ’19 Sharon E. (Smith) Brock, ’75, Mary K. (Hamilton) Otto, ’80, Mark A. Vliem, ’85, Holland, Jeffrey A. Duncan, M.A. ’98, Columbus, Ohio, died June 4, Pigeon, Mich., died May 18, 2019, Mich., died April 30, 2019, age 57. Scottsdale, Ariz., died April 2, 2019, age 65. age 60. Jean A. Hughes, ’86, Traverse 2019, age 56. Michael J. Healy, M.A. ’75, Thomas L. Sheridan, M.A. ’80, City, Mich., died April 15, 2019, Sarah J. Milton, ’98, Marlette, Keuka Park, N.Y., died May 27, East Jordan, Mich., died April 17, age 57. Mich., died April 23, 2019, age 43. 2019, age 82. 2019, age 81. Dana A. (Nieuwenhuis) Allen, Margaret Von (Ballantyne) Daniel H. Pellow, ’75, Cornelius R. Will, M.A. ’80, ’88, Traverse City, Mich., died May Steeg, M.A.H. ’98, died April 18, Negaunee, Mich., died April 26, Beaver, Ohio, died April 23, 2019, 25, 2019, age 54. 2018, age 79. 2019, age 66. age 76. Gregory J. Meyer, M.S.A. ’88, Timothy N. Bisbee, M.S.A. ’99, John S. Walters, ’75, M.A. ’83, Donald D. Clark, M.A. ’81, Waterford, Mich., died March 23, Sheridan, Wy., died May 7, 2019, Logan, Utah, died May 10, 2019, Orange Park, Fla., died April 24, 2019, age 64. age 55. age 67. 2019, age 83. Glenn R. Brickey, M.A. ’89, West Michael K. Fahling, M.S.A. ’99, Harlyn W. VanSloten, M.A. ’75, Kenneth W. Gaines, M.A. ’81, Alexandria, Ohio, died April 18, Farmington, Mich., died May 31, Cary, N.C., died May 4, 2019, Washington, D.C., died Jan. 9, 2019, age 60. 2019, age 56. age 85. 2019, age 87. Donald A. Thomas, ’89, Burton, Christine J. (Cosgrove) Sheila B. (Baldwin) Murphy, Cristine A. (Donley) Gardner, Mich., died May 11, 2019, age 54. McClellan, ’99, Clawson, Mich., ’76, Saginaw, Mich., died June 1, M.A. ’81, Summerfield, Fla., died Ronald V. Weinmann, M.S.A. died June 1, 2019, age 73. 2019, age 69. July 3, 2019, age 66. ’89, Devils Lake, Md., died May 14, Christopher J. Brogan, ’00, Mary P. (Grannis) Smith, ’76, Karen C. (Tysell) Hryciuk, ’81, 2019, age 74. Adrian, Mich., died May 26, 2019, Big Rapids, Mich., died June 11, Grosse Pointe, Mich., died April 1, Nancy L. (Sarna) Mansfield, age 71. 2019, age 68. 2019, age 60. ’90, Oxford, Mich., died May 26, Diana L. McShane, M.A. ’00, Ronald C. Allen, ’77, Red Wing, John R. Pitner III, M.A. ’81, 2019, age 52. Port Huron, Mich., died April 22, Minn., died April 19, 2019, age 63. Soddy Daisy, Tenn., died May 18, Frederick G. Briscoe, M.A. ’91, 2019, age 55. Bessie (Chandler) Beasley, 2019, age 78. Grand Rapids, Mich., died May David S. Eck, M.S.A. ’03, M.A. ’77, Kansas City, Kan., died Paul C. Rau, ’81, Midland, Mich., 15, 2019, age 82. Solvang, Calif., died July 10, 2019, April 1, 2019, age 89. died March 30, 2019, age 66. Larry C. Emerson, M.S.A. ’91, age 65. David P. Caster, M.A. ’77, Aurora, Barbara E. Stewart, M.A. ’81, Lincoln, Neb., died June 29, 2019, Michael R. Lanier, M.S.A. ’03, Colo., died April 9, 2019, age 86. died July 8, 2019, age 79. age 66. Jacksonville, Fla., died May 28, Sally A. Lambert, ’77, Traverse Donald W. Vossburg, M.A. ’81, Thomas A. Powers, Ed.S. ’91, 2019, age 64. City, Mich., died May 18, 2019, Noblesville, Ind., died April 15, Muskegon, Mich., died May 2, Sara A. (Pschigoda) age 64. 2019, age 70. 2019, age 76. Christensen, ’09, St. Paul, Minn., Lois J. (Kidder) Springsteen, Robert J. Skebo, M.A. ’82, Judith C. (Wieck) Kenny, M.S.A. died July 24, 2019, age 36. ’77, Sheridan, Mich., died April 1, Kettering, Ohio, died April 15, ’93, Saginaw, Mich., died June 1, Elaine M. Grech, ’11, Canton, 2019, age 90. 2019, age 66. 2019, age 77. Mich., died May 31, 2019, age 31. Robert E. Barnett, M.A. ’78, James B. Thompson, M.P.A. ’82, Margaret J. (Prewitt) Phillips, Capri M. Stanley-Smith, M.S.A. Siloam Springs, Ark., died June Okemos, Mich., died June 4, M.S.A. ’95, Dayton, Ohio, died ’11, Chesterfield, Va., died April 26, 2019, age 71. 2019, age 70. April 22, 2019, age 68. 25, 2019, age 42. Kenneth H. Kingsmore, M.A. Ronald T. Frederickson, Gregory G. Roberts, ’96, Retired faculty ’78, Spartanburg, S.C., died May M.A.’83, Troy, Ohio, died May 29, Detroit, Mich., died June 25, Terry L. Arndt, Carmel, Ind., 5, 2019, age 77. 2019, age 72. 2018, age 67. died April 14, 2019, age 76. Pamela M. (Brownlee) Steven W. French, ’83, Howell, Kenneth L. Hoard, M.A. ’97, Frederick G. Briscoe, M.A. ’91, Nicastro, ’78, Sanford, Mich., Mich., died April 13, 2019, age 58. Millington, Mich., died April 6, Grand Rapids, Mich., died May died April 22, 2019, age 63. Everett Glenn Holmwall, 2019, age 69. 15, 2019, age 82. Cecil C. Umberger, M.A. ’78, M.A. ’83, Battle Creek, Mich., died Allen Park, Mich., died June 7, April 9, 2019, age 74. 2010, age 94. Bret J. Moeller, MBA ’83, Sun Thomas A. Botz, ’79, Northport, City Center, Fla., died May 23, Mich., died May 5, 2019, age 64. 2019, age 59. Connie B. Cunigan, M.A. ’79, Michael L. Potter, M.A. ’83, Dayton, Ohio, died June 1, 2019, San Diego, Calif., died Jan. 30, age 69. 2019, age 68. Bernice I. (Ling) LuQui, M.A. Terrence E. Grioux, M.A. ’85, ’79, Hollywood, Fla., died June 2, San Angelo, Texas, died June 5, 2019, age 89. 2019, age 70. Peg L. McComb-Elowski, ’79, John B. Page, M.S. ’85, Waxhaw, Grand Ledge, Mich., died June 8, N.C., died April 28, 2019, age 82. 2019, age 73. William L. Scott Jr., ’85, Sherman F. Venz, M.A. ’79, Saginaw, Mich., died March 26, Helena, Ala., died June 2, 2019, 2019, age 78. age 86. Susan P. (McDonald) CMU national alumni board director Amy Rousseau Uebbing ’86, died Aug. 5 after a John C. Moody, M.A. ’80, Old Tomaszewski, ’85, Clarkston, 2½-year battle with colon cancer. She was 56. She taught for more than two decades Hickory, Tenn., died May 28, 2019, Mich., died May 12, 2019, age 57. in the Troy School District and spent eight years as vice president of advancement for age 82. Bishop Foley Catholic High School. We will all miss Amy, her joy for life and her pride in being an alum of CMU.

Centralight Fall ’19 39 + DO YOU REMEMBER? A bright future begins with great teachers

1924 1959 1960 1968

1971 1973 1974 1983

Alums aid future educators

Robert Janson, ’62, and Catherine Palo Janson, ’63, proud graduates of Central Michigan University’s education program, are providing for future public school educators through their estate plan. Both experienced firsthand the care and quality of teacher education at CMU before dedicating more than 30 years to public schools as teachers and, for Robert, as a school superintendent. They experienced great joy in helping to shape the lives of their students. 1987 1989 1990 1996 “We believe our nation’s future is reliant on strong public schools. It’s important to support those who choose education as a career.” The couple established the Robert and Catherine Janson Family Endowed Scholarship Catherine Palo Janson in Teacher Education to support the educators of the future. and Robert Janson Investing in the future Coming home, year after year Robert and Catherine are supporting the teachers of tomorrow. To learn more No matter what era you fondly recall when you look back on about helping Central Michigan University and giving back to students, contact: your time at CMU, there was one constant: Homecoming. The football players’ and cheerleaders’ uniforms have evolved; the Ted Tolcher hair got bigger, then smaller, then bigger again; and the crowns Senior Philanthropic Advisor, National Director of Planned Giving, Advancement sat atop different heads, but the feeling was always them same: Central Michigan University, Carlin Alumni House, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 Pride. Happy homecoming, Chippewas! 989-774-1441 · [email protected] 1999 PHOTO CREDIT: CLARKE HISTORICAL LIBRARY mycmulegacy.org

CMU, an AA/EO institution, strongly and actively strives to increase diversity and provide equal opportunity within its community. CMU does not discriminate against persons based on age, color, Centralight Fall ’19 disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, pregnancy, childbirth or related 40 medical conditions, race, religion, sex, sex-based stereotypes, sexual orientation, transgender status, veteran status, or weight (see http://www.cmich.edu/ocrie). UComm 10055 04/29 A bright future begins with great teachers

Alums aid future educators

Robert Janson, ’62, and Catherine Palo Janson, ’63, proud graduates of Central Michigan University’s education program, are providing for future public school educators through their estate plan. Both experienced firsthand the care and quality of teacher education at CMU before dedicating more than 30 years to public schools as teachers and, for Robert, as a school superintendent. They experienced great joy in helping to shape the lives of their students. “We believe our nation’s future is reliant on strong public schools. It’s important to support those who choose education as a career.” The couple established the Robert and Catherine Janson Family Endowed Scholarship Catherine Palo Janson in Teacher Education to support the educators of the future. and Robert Janson Investing in the future Robert and Catherine are supporting the teachers of tomorrow. To learn more about helping Central Michigan University and giving back to students, contact: Ted Tolcher Senior Philanthropic Advisor, National Director of Planned Giving, Advancement Central Michigan University, Carlin Alumni House, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 989-774-1441 · [email protected] mycmulegacy.org

CMU, an AA/EO institution, strongly and actively strives to increase diversity and provide equal opportunity within its community. CMU does not discriminate against persons based on age, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, pregnancy,Centralight childbirth orFall related ’19 medical conditions, race, religion, sex, sex-based stereotypes, sexual orientation, transgender status, veteran status, or weight (see http://www.cmich.edu/ocrie). UComm 10055 04/29 41 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID MIDLAND MI PERMIT NO. 260 Centralight Carlin Alumni House Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI 48859