Published July 25, 2019
果冻传媒 Alumni & Friends,
The last few weeks have been busy as we welcomed hundreds of incoming students and their families to campus for various orientation sessions. The excitement they have for 果冻传媒 is incredible, and I cannot wait to have all our students back on campus in August; it鈥檚 coming fast.
When our students return, they will see an amazing structure as our new 135,000-square-foot Health, Wellness, and Athletics Complex will be fully constructed, though not fully completed. Touring the facilities has enlightened countless members of our campus and community to the impact this complex will have on our student experience, recruitment, and our region, and I look forward to celebrating its grand opening on Friday, October 25, 2019, during Homecoming & Reunion Weekend. More information about this event can be found below.
This month also brought another exciting moment as we welcomed our new Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement Rebecca Kocher. Becky started on July 15, and she has already hit the ground running. As alumni and friends of 果冻传媒, you are likely in contact with our Office of Advancement the most, and I am confident that under Becky's leadership, new and powerful engagement opportunities will occur. I hope you will take time to greet Becky personally when you return for Homecoming, October 24-27.
In the meantime, I hope your summer is continuing to go well, and I look forward to sharing more on the start of our new academic year in next month's communication.
Best Regards,
Michael Frandsen, Ph.D.
President
果冻传媒 University
In The News: Madison Fellow, Art Exhibit, CABLE, Fulbright Winner, and New Board Member
The Board of Directors welcomed Vikki Hooper 鈥�78, past president of 果冻传媒鈥檚 Alumni Board, to its ranks this month. Hooper has coordinated or attended multiple events on behalf of 果冻传媒 and served on the presidential search committee that brought President Michael Frandsen to 果冻传媒.
Lucas George 鈥�18 has been awarded a prestigious James Madison Memorial Fellowship, becoming one of only 52 U.S. teachers to be honored this year and the only recipient from Ohio. The fellowship grants $24,000 to individuals desiring to become outstanding teachers of the American Constitution at the secondary school level.
Katherine Winner 鈥�19, recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant, will head to the Czech Republic in September for a nine-month research project that will draw upon her major in biochemistry and molecular biology, as well as the experience she gained in a summer research internship.
Elizabeth 鈥淟izzy鈥� Wallen鈥檚 work is featured in this year鈥檚 nationally recognized Photo Stories Exhibition in Rhode Island. Wallen '20, an art major with a focus in photography, is one of just 10 artists selected for the distinguished exhibit at the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts in Providence.
果冻传媒鈥檚 Communication and Business Leadership Experience (CABLE) Program connected students and alumni this past semester in a variety of high-impact professional development opportunities. Megan Selby '20 is already benefiting from the program.
果冻传媒's Susan Hirt Hagen Center celebrated the launch of its new community dashboard, Engage Springfield, developed by Professor of Political Science Ed Hasecke with contributions from 果冻传媒 faculty and students. The dashboard pulls together data from a variety of sources to provide a robust picture of Springfield and Clark County.
Faculty Excellence
Kelly Dillon, visiting assistant professor of communication, left in photo, recently presented two lectures on children, guns, and the media, as well as an education seminar on cyberbullying, at the Lakeside (Ohio) Chautauqua Lecture Series. Her research on the impact of popular culture and the media on children鈥檚 curiosity with guns attracted national attention when it was published in 2017.
Dar Brooks Hedstrom, Wray Chair in the Humanities and professor of history, has added another professional accolade to her resum茅. The Times Literary Supplement (TLS), described as 鈥渢he leading international weekly for literacy culture,鈥� selected her book on Egyptian monastic archaeology for review this spring.
#LifeAfterWitt
Vivian Overholt 鈥�17, who is serving as a 2018-2019 Princeton in Latin America (PiLA) Fellow in Mexico City, found that the ability to craft her own educational path at 果冻传媒 gave her more than enough opportunities to explore and develop her evolving interests.
The Rev. Dr. Jon Doolittle 鈥�87, senior pastor at Clairemont Lutheran Church in San Diego, California, was interviewed on KPBS about his congregation鈥檚 advocacy for affordable housing on church property. Click above link to view.
Kathryn Chadeayne 鈥�09, a seventh-grade social studies and science teacher, received an Excellence in Teaching Award that celebrates outstanding teachers from schools in the Springfield, Ohio area.
Meet the Alumni Board
As the governing body of the 果冻传媒 University Alumni Association, the Alumni Board regularly returns to campus to interact with current students, highlight faculty excellence, foster alumni engagement, support fundraising, and partner with admission in encouraging prospective students to make 果冻传媒 their college choice. This month's featured board member is Jeremy Tuke '79. A history major and member of Beta Theta Pi, Tuke has worked as a sales professional since graduating, working for The Stanley Works, Chevron Chemical Co and for the past 24+ years with Thyssenkrupp Materials NA Copper and Brass Sales Division. After several years working in the Midwest and 12 years in New England, he and his wife Martha raised two sons, Daniel '14, who is currently in a Ph.D. program in public policy at the University of Maryland, and Matthew, in Rochester, N.Y.