centralightcentral michigan university alumni magazine fall 2013 Cloak of compassion CMU’s first med students suit up to save lives And ... Don't miss Homecoming 2013 ... Candid advice from your favorite professors centralight fall 2013 on the cover “Wearing a white coat is a moral practice,” said Dr. David Hirsh, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, in an address to CMU’s first class of 64 students in the College of Medicine. “It’s a human practice. Do not let that white coat divide you from human kind. … Bring your biggest human self to other human beings.” 24 E R O S E st VE JE SM Y B O T O H P features 20 6 24 The lasting lecture. The doctors are in. Candid life advice you won’t want With a doctor shortage looming on the to miss from some of CMU’s most horizon, CMU gears up for its first class beloved faculty members. of students in the medical school. 20 29 Paint the town maroon. Behind the lens. It’s homecoming time again – join us CMU photographers Peggy Brisbane and for a weekend of CMU pride, including Robert Barclay, who retired this year, watched some momentous grand marshals. CMU grow for three decades. Celebrate their Plus: insider tips for staying afloat in legacy with a few treasured snapshots. a cardboard boat (you never know when they could come in handy!) Executive Editor and Executive Director of Alumni Relations Marcie Otteman Grawburg, ’87 Editor Cynthia J. Drake, M.A. ’08 Graphic Designer Amy Gouin Photographers Robert Barclay Peggy Brisbane 24 Steve Jessmore, ’81 Writers Dan Digmann departments Christopher Eder Terri Finch Hamilton, ’83 4 CMU Today Cindy Crain Newman Scott Rex 18 Sports Editorial Assistants 34 Connections Vicki Begres Your alumni association source Lori Conroy 36 Alumni News Communications Committee 38 In Memory Jeffrey L. Benjamin, ’86 Kevin Campbell, ’74 M.A. ’76 Kevin H. Richman, ’93 Vice President of Development and External Relations Kathleen M. Wilbur Associate Vice President of University Communications Sherry Knight, ’86 18 For advertising information Call Cindy Jacobs, ’93 800-358-6903 stay connected Send change of address information to: Alumni Relations 6 Carlin Alumni House Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 Phone: 800-358-6903 Fax: 989-774-7159 Email: [email protected] Web: cmich.edu/alumni/Centralight Body contains 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 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 8902–25,000+ (9/13) centralight fall ’13 1 Become a CMU Alumni Association Gold Member, and strengthen lasting connections with your alma mater and fellow alumni near and far who share your sense of CMU pride. Go Gold today It’s your university, and this is your community. cmich.edu/alum CMU is an AA/EO institution. See cmich.edu/aaeo. Ucomm 8845 Help keep the record straight Calendar By Marcie The research team here at the Clarke Otteman Historical Library does an incredible job of Grawburg, ’87 September archiving official university documents, 28 Executive director newspapers and more. Thanks to our • Fall Into Jazz, Powers Hall Ballroom, of alumni online digital object repository, with just a Mount Pleasant campus relations few clicks I can go back and check out CM • CMU vs. NC State alumni tailgate, There we were, Life’s coverage of that 1985 Night Ranger Carter-Finley Stadium, North Carolina sneaking around concert from my home computer. In fact, the Mount you can even find issues of CM Life going October Pleasant Holiday back to the year 1919. 19 Inn at midnight But telling our story requires more than • Homecoming, on Nov. 6, 1985. the official history. It takes those little Mount Pleasant campus Our mission? To “casually” bump into Jack personal artifacts to bring those facts to • 1963 50-year class reunion, Blades of Night Ranger following a life – the yearbooks in your attic, the Mount Pleasant campus legendary concert. Would “casually” 1950s-era homecoming dress to which 26 preclude scaling the hotel’s outside wall, your date nervously pinned a corsage. Threads: Best of the Best – Couture we wondered? Group logic dictated that and Cocktails event, Education and You can help us tell our story for years to the band would most definitely be Human Services Building Atrium come, just by sifting through and hanging out at Boomers Night Club for a donating some of those old treasures. If little post-show wind-down. Naturally, November you entrust them to us, we will do our right? It made perfect sense … at the 23 part in making sure they are properly time. CMU vs. UMass, Kelly/Shorts Stadium cared for by CMU’s Museum of Cultural 29 When I reunite with my college friends, and Natural History and enjoyed by CMU vs. EMU, Kelly/Shorts Stadium we love to laugh about that story. We also generations of future CMU alumni. love reminiscing about the fateful And for those of you thinking of coming freshman spring break trip when four of December back and reconnecting with old friends at 14 us drove down to Florida in my Chevette. Homecoming on Oct. 19, allow me to Commencement ceremonies, One of us didn’t have a license. One had personally welcome you. Let’s share some Events Center, Mount Pleasant campus never driven on a freeway before. One stories together. didn’t like to drive at night. Marcie And no one had bothered to make hotel reservations. We ended up sleeping on floors. Ah, memories – one of the best rewards of reconnecting with old friends. You remember (to varying degrees of accuracy) all the best parts of your college days. You piece stories Help CMU tell its story together, with the aid of old photos and maybe a few pints. You go back The alumni office is searching for historic to find the names you carved in the artifacts that can help tell the story of table at the Pub, you sing “New York, Central’s colorful history in a tangible New York” at the top of your lungs, way. If you have old varsity jackets, without regard to pitch. And the footballs, homecoming dresses, diplomas legends live on. or other memorabilia, consider donating them to CMU so they can live on for I’ve been thinking lately about how we future generations. can work to ensure not only that our own stories survive, but that CMU’s Contact Marcie Otteman Grawburg at story does, too. 989-774-3312 or [email protected]. centralight fall ’13 3 CMU Today Creating a space for hope and healing Patients undergoing cancer treatment at McLaren Flint might find their experience a bit more comfortable, thanks to the work of CMU hospitality students. The $8 million Hospitality House was designed for patients undergoing treatment lasting six to eight weeks and includes activities, programs and spaces to support healing. Students were involved in all aspects, from the initial design of the 30-room facility to its day-to-day operation. E R “We really have to think about how it’s going to affect the people that are going to O be using it,” says Flint sophomore Garrett Holmes, who worked on the project. “It’s a S good opportunity for hospitality students to experience hospitality at its roots.” • E st VE JE SM Y B O alumni.cmich.edu/centralight for more T O H P New provost appointed This summer Michael A. Gealt took the reins as CMU’s provost, the second highest- ranking administrator. Gealt replaced E. Gary Shapiro, who stepped down from the post after nearly 35 years of service to CMU. “The most impressive parts of CMU are the people who work at the university and the students who attend classes here,” says Gealt. “Everyone I met has been so open and welcoming during my visits E to campus that I have felt at home.” R O Gealt had been employed as dean of the College S of Science and professor of biology at the E University of Arkansas at Little Rock. • st VE JE SM Y B O T O alumni.cmich.edu/centralight for more H P Maroon and ‘ghouled’ Things get a little spooky around here in October, when the chilly night air invites whispered tales of haunted halls and resident ghosts during CMU’s annual Legends of the Dark tours. Students narrate guided tours through the campus’ creepiest corners, doing their best to scare with stories like the chilling 911 call from an empty Calkins Hall room or the mysterious carving in Sloan Hall, home to majors that were once considered the “devil’s work,” (also known as “psychology”). • 44 centralight fall ’13 CMU Today Planting the seeds of community giving CMU’s student-run garden, Campus Grow, recently Calling all rug cutters celebrated its fifth year of Kick up your stompers and jitterbug the night away during an evening of tunes growing organic produce, from a bygone era during Fall Into Jazz on Sept. 28 from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Powers donating more than 500 Hall Ballroom. The event was created in the style of the weekly dances hosted in pounds back to community the Keeler Student Union during the 1940s and features music from CMU’s jazz organizations such as the band.