Tradition Set in Maroon and Gold2011
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centralightcentral michigan university alumni magazine fall 2011 Homecoming Tradition set in maroon and gold 2011 centralight fall 2011 on the cover 12 features 4 14 Makin’ knit big Presidential pursuits Enjoy Laurie (Burdue) Gonyea’s, ’81, reflections Look into how select leaders, from on her CMU days as a “closet knitter,” a Principal Charles F. R. Bellows passion which she has made her business. to President George E. Ross – COVER Photo BY ROBERT 10BARCLAY positioned Central for greatness. 7 Focusing on the future 18 Discover what’s next for Forever Central Central Michigan University. Embrace what the university was to you then, celebrate what it is today and envision 10 what it will be for generations to come. Paint the campus maroon and gold 22 Refresh your college knowledge – Coming full circle rehearse the fight song, learn about Discover how much CMU means to several the CMU seal and read ways your alumni – from the 1940s to the 2000s – and fellow alumni show school spirit. why they come back to their alma mater. 12 37 Homecoming events So the shoe fits Browse fun events for all ages during See how sports studies graduate Bill CMU’s biggest reunion weekend. Thompson, ’98, is setting the pace in the performance footwear business. Executive Editor and Executive Director of Alumni Relations Marcie Otteman, ’87 Photographers 8 Robert Barclay Peggy Brisbane Graphic Designer Amy Gouin departments Writers 2 CMU Today 34 Connections Sarah Chuby, ’03 M.A. ’11 Celebrate with Special Olympics and Dan Digmann 36 Alumni News its 40 years of Summer Games on Don Helinski, ’96 CMU’s campus; see an alumnus’ 39 In Memory Scott Rex painting that became a piece of Jennifer Sula 40 I Am Central Michigan State Capitol history; and Communications committee more. Jeffrey L. Benjamin, ’86 5 Up Close With … Kevin Campbell, ’74 M.A. ’76 National Public Radio political Kevin H. Richman, ’93 correspondent Don Gonyea Vice President of Development 28 Sports and External Relations Root for a CMU baseball standout in Kathleen M. Wilbur the Majors; find out who’s inducted Associate Vice President into the 2011 Hall of Fame; and more. for University Communications 31 Giving Renée Walker, ’00 Learn why Jeff Meyers, M.S.A. ’91, is For advertising information among the top donors to University Call Cindy Jacobs, ’93 Libraries, even though he’s never set 800-358-6903 foot inside Park Library. stay connected 2 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 Email: [email protected] 18 Web: cmualum.com 30% post-cosumer waste Centralight is published four times each year by the Central Michigan University Office of Alumni Relations. It is printed by Quad/Graphics, Midland, Mich., and entered at the Midland Post Office under nonprofit mailing. CMU (an AA/EO institution) strongly and actively strives to increase diversity within its community (see www.cmich.edu/aaeo). CMU provides individuals with disabilities reasonable accommodations to participate in the activities, programs and services announced in this publication. Individuals with disabilities requiring an accommodation to participate in a program should call the event sponsor. UComm 8568–25,757 (9/11) centralight fall ’11 1 CMU Today alumni.cmich.edu/centralight for more Forty years of inspiration This year marked the 40th anniversary of the Special Olympics Michigan Summer Games at CMU. Thousands were in attendance to see the more than 2,500 athletes compete in 11 different sports along with support from another 3,000 coaches, chaperones and volunteers. Roger Coles, interim dean for the College of Graduate Studies, has volunteered at the games for 39 of those years. And he says he’s seen amazing athletic feats and acts of personal triumph. A day of remembrance “One year the first place swimmer could have touched the wall and On June 6, 1934, the Mount Pleasant Indian won the gold, but he turned around and noticed the last place Industrial Boarding School closed its doors. swimmer was struggling to stay afloat,” Coles says. “Instead of touching Seventy-seven years later – on June 6, 2011 – members of the wall for the gold, the man swam back to get the struggling the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and CMU gathered at swimmer, and they both finished dead last. That’s the type of act that the site for a day of honoring, healing and remembering keeps bringing me back. I broke the rules and gave them the gold.” for the children and families impacted by the school. CMU alumni, students, faculty and staff are perennial volunteers who Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Chief Dennis Kequom help make the event happen, says Lois Arnold, president and CEO of said the purpose of the ceremony was to begin a Special Olympics Michigan. journey toward healing and reconciliation. “It has been a “We gather to honor,” said President George E. Ross. “We fantastic gather to heal. We gather to remember. We gather to relationship,” she support. On behalf of Central Michigan University, we says. “The CMU are honored to join you in this day of remembrance.” community has been welcoming Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Chief Dennis Kequom and has opened said the purpose of the ceremony was to begin a up their arms to journey toward healing and reconciliation. our athletes and “This is a very significant and historical event not only for our their families for tribal community on the Isabella Reservation, but for all the the last 40 years.” • tribes in the midwest region,” said Chief Kequom. “This event will mark the beginning of what it will take to determine the future of the Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School.” • alumni.cmich.edu/centralight for more Roger Coles, right Top scholars Octavia Carson was at her high school in Utica when she received an important call. On the other end was Michael Guy, CMU’s associate director of Admissions. Based on her entry for the Lem Tucker Scholarship, Carson was awarded a full ride to study journalism. Carson and fellow aspiring journalist Megan Rolph of Florida were the 2011 recipients. “I almost dropped the phone,” says Carson. “I always wanted to be a journalist and the Lem Tucker Scholarship marks the beginning of my life. A lot of people say that this start is a new chapter. But to me, this is the beginning chapter.” The Lem Tucker Journalism Scholarship is awarded annually to high school seniors who promote the participation and success of minorities in journalism. It is named after CMU alumnus and Saginaw native Lem Tucker who worked for three major television networks and earned two Emmy awards before his death in 1991. “The Lem Tucker Scholarship means everything to me,” says Rolph. “This means that I don’t have to struggle like I’ve had to. This allows me to make my longtime desire to become a journalist come true.” Octavia Carson and Megan Rolph To date, 17 students have received the Lem Tucker Journalism Scholarship since its inception in 1997. • alumni.cmich.edu/centralight for more 2 centralight fall ’11 CMU Today Portrait perfect A Central Michigan University alumnus Charles Pompilius, ’76, painted the official portrait of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, which was hung in the Capitol Rotunda Gallery in mid 2011. Pompilius, who lives in Ferndale, has been painting for 30 years and full time for the past decade, after he won a grant from the Pollack-Krasner Foundation. He was commissioned in early 2010 to paint the life-size portrait. He finished the oil on canvas portrait in March 2011. The painting includes symbolism – a trademark of Pompilius’ work – on Granholm’s hope for Michigan’s future: a wind turbine, the Spirit of Detroit statue, a miniature Chevy Volt and the old Ford Rouge Plant also is in the portrait to represent Michigan’s old economy. Pompilius says Granholm was his most famous subject, and she seemed very happy with the likeness. • alumni.cmich.edu/centralight for more Gov. Jennifer Granholm with Charles Pompilius, ’76 Designing her future At the first CMU Interior Design Camp this summer, participant Kaylie Alyse Hess got a look into her future. At the camp, Hess – who will be a CMU freshman in the fall – designed an entry space for a client and, like a professional, presented her ideas to them at the end of the week. With the theme Four Seasons, Hess created a colorful leaf and branch design on the floor and a large “grass” covered ceiling light. “I want to go into interior design because I can walk into a place and know instantly if the function of a space isn’t good,” says Hess. “This camp was the first time I was able to act like a professional. I felt like I was on HGTV. “ Camp Assistant Director Emily Fehrenbach, ’11, says the week – which was for high school students grades 9-12 – included hands-on experience in schematic design, graphic and visual communication, and portfolio development. Faculty member Brenda Skeel directed the camp. Hess says the camp made her confident about her future major choice. “I learned interior design concepts I’ll be using in the fall and met professors. I also learned my way around campus,” she says. “I am excited about coming to CMU.” • alumni.cmich.edu/centralight for more Kaylie Alyse Hess, left centralight fall ’11 3 Makin’ BY DAN DIGMANN Events trigger homecoming of sorts for Laurie (Burdue) Gonyea Knit Outta the Box produces knitting kits for the Laurie Gonyea “desperate knitter,” Laurie says. The transportable kits wasted no time commenting contain everything needed to complete a simple, when her husband, Don, told stylish project.