Bobcat Tracks
Ohio connections:
From wired to wireless
The social media revolution has transformed the way the Ohio University Alumni Association connects with alumni via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr. Even Homecoming has a new online presence, allowing alumni to enjoy the festivities from the comfort of home.
“Nothing can compare to watching the bands perform,” says OUAA assistant director of marketing and communication Jim Harris, BBA ’04. “But I have to think a video uploaded to YouTube or Facebook after it’s over is pretty cool.”
The 2009 Homecoming was the first to be promoted live through videos, photos and updates on Facebook, Twitter and the OUAA Web site.
Alumni have responded to the OUAA’s efforts, becoming active participants in the conversations that take place through these networks. Alumni are also using social media to enhance their own business endeavors.
Jason Weaver, BSC ’97, who is the CEO of Shoutlet, a development company that licenses social media marketing tools, recognizes that there is a medium of digital social communication for everyone: “Everybody uses it; it’s just knowing how they use it.”
Pamela DeSalvo Landis, BSJ ’85, works for the Henry Ford Health System, based in Detroit, which was the first hospital in the world at which surgeons tweeted during surgery. Tweets and YouTube videos are provided to online audiences for educational purposes.
For more information on social media at Ohio, visit http://www.ohioalumni.org/social-media or read the feature story in the recent issue of “The [college] Gate” found online at www.ohioalumni.org.
Now that you know how we use social media, how do you? Tell us at alumni@ohio.org!
Campaign for
your support
Chuck Stuckey knows a thing or two about being an Ohio University volunteer. Active on numerous university boards for the last decade, he’s tackling a new role as chairman of the university’s next capital campaign.
“I’m excited about chairing the campaign because it is critical to the university and to the future of our endowment,” says Stuckey, BSME ’66. “The funds and capital we will raise are a part of it. But, there’s much more: coming back to campus, talking to students, getting reconnected.
“It draws you in,” he added. “I was surprised by how deeply it draws you in to being a part of this university.”
A native of Lancaster, Ohio, Stuckey lives in Boston. He is the former chairman, president and CEO of RSA Security Inc. and was a director on the board until the company’s sale to EMC2 Corp. in 2006.
A stalwart Ohio University volunteer, he currently serves on the Board of Trustees, the Ohio University Foundation Board, and the Russ College of Engineering and Technology Board of Visitors.
David A. Wolfort, AB ’74, will serve as campaign vice chairman. Born in New York City, he relocated to Youngstown, Ohio, as a child and currently lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
“Chuck and I are both successful products of Ohio University,” says Wolfort, who is president, chief operating officer and director of Olympic Steel Inc. and an Ohio University trustee. “This is a great opportunity to close the loop from a student awaiting acceptance to the university to an alumnus who can give back to OU in multiple ways.”
The campaign steering committee convened in Athens in March, and — while specific details are still being determined — the campaign will encourage broad-based participation.
“We have an objective to put a firmer financial pillar under Ohio University,” says Wolfort. “We really want our fellow alumni to embrace this as not just the success of one individual campaign, but the success of our university into the next century.”
The campaign steering committee also includes the following volunteers: Laura Brege, BBA and AB ’78; Daniel DeLawder, BSED ’71; Chuck Emrick, BSCO ’51 and MSC ’52; Frank Krasovec, BBA ’65 and MBA ’66; Sheila McHale, AB ’68; Alan Reidel, AB ’52; Steve Schoonover, BFA ’67; Jeff Stanley, DO ’82; Barbara Strom Thompson, AB ’76; and Robert Walter, BSME ’67.
Save the date!
It’s time for Homecoming. Make your plans to visit Athens Oct. 15-17 for the OHIO vs. Akron game, the parade and more. For more information, contact Cristie Gryszka at 740-597-1289 or gryszka@ohio.edu.
View a full calendar of alumni events.
No ordinary professor
Professor Dato’ Mohammad Salleh Din is Malaysia’s intellectual ambassador to the United States, and he is based at Ohio University. Salleh is the current Tun Abdul Razak Chair, which is the first position of its kind established by any American university with support from a foreign government.
Take a Bobcat to work
Nearly 85 years after Ohio University officially became the Bobcats, alumni can display their pride with a cat of their very own. Sales of the 7-and-a-half inch, hand-painted bobblehead support the university’s Foundation Scholarship Fund.
It all adds up
Some 690 alumni have supported Ohio University through donations for 20 or more consecutive years. At the top of the list is Shirley Baxter Berndsen, AB ’51, who made her first gift of $10 in 1952 and has given every year since 1957. That’s 53 years!
Learn more about giving societies.
Class Notes
1940s
Albert Chestone, BSED ’47, wrote “What America Means to Me” (Dog Ear Publishing). He resides with his wife, Lorraine, in River Vale, N.J
1950s
Allan Bellin, BSED ’50, MED ’51, retired from full-time high school counseling. He teaches math twice a week at a private high school. He looks forward to visiting Athens for his 60th class reunion. Allan lives in Beachwood, Ohio.
1960s
James Dawson, BSIT ’67, retired as a program manager from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and is pursuing a career as a fine art photographer. He and his wife, Patricia, live in Springfield, Ohio.
Dorothea Faith Kehler, MA ’67, PHD ’69, wrote “Shakespeare’s Widows” (Palgrave Macmillan). She is an emeritus professor of English literature at San Diego State University.
1970s
John Heckman, BBA ’72, MBA ’73, is CEO of MESCA Freight Services. He and his wife, Maureen Weitzel Heckman, BSHS ’72, MAHS ’73, live in Weare, N.H.
1980s
Toni Finch Kellar, BSJ ’85, is marketing and corporate communications director at Newton Consulting LLC, based in southwestern Pennsylvania. Toni and her husband, Steven Kellar, BSC ’85, live in Senecaville, Ohio.
In Memoriam
1930s
Helen McLaughlin Gray, AB ’32
Nelson Crites, BSED ’33, MED ’40
Edith Jeffers Griffith, ELED ’33
Laura Sweeney McCarty, ELED ’33
DeVere Sheesley Sr., ABC ’33
Edward Stas, ABC ’33
Goldie Newhart Burness, COED ’35
Margaret Flory, AB ’36, MA ’38
Byron Walker, AB ’36, MA ’38
Helen Stacy Evans, BSED ’38
Grayce Buehler Hulburt, BSED ’39
Betty Verity Taylor, KP ’39, BSED ’73
1940s
Avonelle Shuard Bielski, BSED ’40
Idamae Manzler Burke, BSED ’40
John Daugherty, BSED ’40
Betty Stone Westfall, AB ’40
Ross Johnson, AB ’41
Charles Schild, BSCOM ’41
Joseph Sturrett, BSCE ’41
Willeen Rupe Edwards, BSED ’42
Gene Attwood Murch, BSED ’42
Lena Adams Schmidt, BSED ’42, MED ’48
Virginia Fairman Atterholt, KP ’43
Donald Speaks, BSCOM ’43, MS ’48
Harriet White, MA ’43
Daniel Young, BSED ’43
Frances Howard Exline, AB ’44
Virginia Lesh Ramsey, KP ’44
Mary Weiler Sanders, AB ’45
Dougless Strickland Bitler, AB ’46, MA ’48
Betty Brayer Gill, BSED ’46
Mary Brown Hines, AB ’46
JoAnne Hammerstrand Kunath, BSED ’46
From Ohio to H2O
Although Dirk Dzierzawski, BSED '90, knew he always wanted to attend Ohio University (both his parents were alumni), when he found out they had a water-skiing team, it cemented the deal.
In the summer of 1990, just after he had graduated, the family boat broke, and his father told Dzierzawski that he would have to replace it himself. Dzierzawski then sent both his teaching and his water-skiing resumes to 18 inboard boat manufacturers, looking for a chance to be on their promotion team. One offered him a $25,000 boat and later asked Dzierzawski to help him design a water-ski school. That was in 1991. In 1996, Dzierzawski bought the school, and in 1999 he quit his job teaching at a juvenile correction facility in order to run the ski school full time.
Today, Pine Lake Ski School is the largest water-skiing school in Michigan. During its season, which runs from June through September, Dzierzawski and his 20 employees teach more than 800 lessons to some 1,200 students. Dzierzawski says his background in education has helped in his water-skiing school.
“You have your problem, and you have to get to your solution,” he explains. “The steps in between are what you need to get to the final result. I’m still teaching. Now instead of teaching with a pen and paper, I’m teaching water-skiing.”
- Megan Greve