contents · citizen boog his irreverent costume party campaign led to one of the most memorable...

Citizen BoogHis irreverent Costume Party campaign led to one of themost memorable student government elections—andadministrations—in KU history. Now the former anarchist with the funny name is mayor of Lawrence.Ladies and gentlemen: Hizzoner, Boog Highberger.

BY STEVEN HILL

Perfect FormThe startling, expressive, fantastical sculptures of graduate student Munira Al-Meer.

BY CHRIS LAZZARINO

Contents E s t a b l i s h e d i n 1 9 0 2 a s T h e G r a d u a t e M a g a z i n e

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22 Ice SagesTheir work on glacial melting madePrasad Gogineni and Dave Braatenleading experts on polar ice and thethreat of sea-level rise. Now they have landed KU its largest grant ever: $19 million to start a NationalScience Foundation center for ice sheet monitoring.

BY MICHAEL CAMPBELL

Cover photograph

by Earl Richardson

F E A T U R E S

C O V E R

Volume 103, No. 3, 2005

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America to raise money for football. Weprovided scholarships for three athletes.Unfortunately, World War II came alongand we had to stop. In addition, I wasdrafted into the army.

Keep up the good work!Saul Kass, b’36

Fairway

Cluck, cluck

For years we have been referred tomockingly as “chickenhawks” or tauntedby K-State fans and others at events—especially athletics events in Manhattan—with chickens thrown on the floor. ThusI wasn’t thrilled to see the “fledgling”picture of baby chicks in the alumnimagazine [issue No. 2]. Et tu, Brute?

Allan Eckelman, d’74,Sumner, Iowa

Editor’s note: Not at all, Mr. Eckelman.Even mythical birds were babies once.

Baleful error

Our son and his wife returned earlierthis month from a trip to Malta. In asmall gift shop in St. Julian’s they discov-ered among the merchandise two ballcaps from the United States—BostonCeltics and KU Jayhawks. Needless tosay, the KU hat is no longer there; Jim ishappily wearing it.

Regarding the article about wristwrestler Cheryl Frisbie-Harper [issue No.1, 2005], there must have been an out-of-state editor on the job. How else couldan account of “bucking hay bails” haveslipped into print?

Sally Garland Foulks, d’52James R. Foulks, g’57

Pueblo, Colo.

2 | K A N S A S A L U M N I

Lift the Chorusand music, later to become a notedopera singer. To distract me from mystage fright, Joyce said, “John, I’m theonly person I know who can sing achord. Wanna hear it?” I admitted that Idid, and she emitted what was unmistak-ably a two-note chord, albeit, I think, aminor one.

John Waite Bowers, d’58, g’59Bend, Ore.

Editor’s note: Joyce Malicky Castle, f’61,now a KU professor of voice, continues toperform worldwide.

Jayhawk envy

What an excellent piece on the manygenerations that have attended KU overthe years [Jayhawk Generations, issueNo. 5, 2004]. As a friend and athleticssupporter of KU, I’m envious of thegreat atmosphere of friendship andbelonging these individuals havereceived during their stay “on the Hill.”Having attended an urban university, Isadly admit I never had that great KUexperience. But one can certainly tell byreading this article how their lives havebeen enriched by the association.

Thanks again for the interesting read.Kent Williams, assoc.

Atlanta

High praise from a loyalist

This edition [issue No. 6, 2004] wasoutstanding. For once I read every page.I also noted that all but two of the staffare graduates of KU. They know whatwe want.

I am 90 and in excellent health. I takeno medications and run a mile everyday. I have season tickets to football andbasketball. I have seen every footballgame since 1932, except when a gamefell on a Jewish holiday.

In 1941 Balfour Jeffrey [c’28] and Iorganized the Jayhawk Loyalty Club of

Little houses, big stories

Over the manyyears I have beenreading KansasAlumni (since theearly 1940s)there have beenmany changes—nay, improve-ments—in yourpublication, and Iusually glance at

the articles and read Class Notes and, ofcourse, In Memory. But in the currentissue [No. 1, 2005], Chris Lazzarino’sarticle “Little Glass Houses” caught myeye and I found it totally captivating andthought-provoking.

We too often do not realize how valu-able are the people who serve us—per-haps we do not even notice them. In thisarticle Debbie Brown comes across as areal person with real responsibilities andsome problems we never even thinkabout. I am glad to know she is on guardand say fie to all who are rude to her.

Thank Chris for taking the time toresearch and write this article. His storyhas given me the opportunity to tell youof the pleasure your publication hasgiven me over the years.

Lou Cook, Class of 1944now known as Lisa Carroll, PhD

Pleasant Hill, Calif.

Before she was a diva

Your article about KU Theatre forYoung People [Rock Chalk Review, issueNo. 6, 2004] reminded me of an incidentin 1958 or 1959 when I was working ona master’s degree. Bea Harvey had castme as Cap’n Billy Bones in a productionfor children of “Treasure Island.”Assigned to do my intricately gruesomemakeup was an undergraduate namedJoyce Malicky, a double major in theatre

Kansas Alumniwelcomes letters to the editor. Ouraddress is Kansas

Alumni magazine, 1266 Oread Avenue,Lawrence, KS 66045-3169; our e-mailaddress is kualumni@ kualumni.org.Letters appearing in the magazine may be edited for space and clarity.

May 2005

PublisherKevin J. Corbett, c’88

EditorJennifer Jackson Sanner, j’81

Art DirectorSusan Younger, f ’91

Associate EditorsChris Lazzarino, j’86

Steven Hill

Editorial AssistantKaren Goodell

PhotographerEarl Richardson, j’83

Graphic DesignerValerie Spicher, j’94

Advertising Sales RepresentativeJessica Solander, ’05

Editorial and Advertising OfficeKansas Alumni Association

1266 Oread Ave., Lawrence, KS 66045-3169785-864-4760 • 800-584-2957

www.kualumni.orge-mail: kualumni@k ualumni.org

KANSAS ALUMNI MAGAZINE (ISSN 0745-3345) is publishedby the Alumni Association of the University of Kansas six timesa year in January, March, May, July, September and November.$50 annual subscription includes membership in the AlumniAssociation. Office of Publication: 1266 Oread Avenue,Lawrence, KS 66045-3169. Periodicals postage paid atLawrence, KS.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to KansasAlumni Magazine, 1266 Oread Avenue, Lawrence, KS66045-3169 © 2005 by Kansas Alumni Magazine. Non-member issue price: $7

KANSAS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION The Alumni Associationwas established in 1883 for the purpose of strengthening loy-alty, friendship, commitment, and communication among allgraduates, former and current students, parents, faculty, staffand all other friends of The University of Kansas. Its membershereby unite into an Association to achieve unity of purposeand action to serve the best interests of The University andits constituencies. The Association is organized exclusively forcharitable, educational, and scientific purposes.

2 LIFT THE CHORUSLetters from readers

4 ON THE BOULEVARDKU & Alumni Association events

7 FIRST WORDThe editor’s turn

8 JAYHAWK WALKComanche on the move, glee club on “The Priceis Right” and more

10 HILLTOPICSNews and notes: New director leads the Spencer Museum; Lied Center plans expansion

16 SPORTSNCAA champion pole vaulter sets KU record;men exit early in NCAA basketball tourney

40 ASSOCIATION NEWSFour lauded for distinguished service

44 CLASS NOTESProfiles of a C-SPAN journalist, an NFL coach, a National Geographic veteran and more

60 IN MEMORYDeaths in the KU family

64 ROCK CHALK REVIEWReflections on the Canol Road, a record-book memoir, Mandy comes home and more

68 OREAD ENCOREThe Campanile adds a name

D E P A R T M E N T S

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■ Exhibitions“Tradition and Modernity: Japanese Artof the Early Twentieth Century,” throughMay 22, Spencer Museum of Art

“Transitions: KU Faculty Artists ExploreChange,” through May 22, SpencerMuseum of Art

“Bobbin’ and Weavin’: ContemporaryTextiles at the Spencer,” May 28-July 31,Spencer Museum of Art

“Brion Gysin: A Selection of Books andWorks on Paper,” through June 5,Spencer Museum of Art

“Invisible Revealed: Surrealist Drawingsfrom the Drukier Collection,” throughJune 5, Spencer Museum of Art

“Daguerreotype to Digital: Photographsfrom the Collection,” through July 31,Spencer Museum of Art

■ University TheatreJULY

1-2, 7-10 “The Fantasticks”by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt

15-17, 21-23 “Talley’s Folly”by Lanford Wilson

■ Lied Center 2005-’06AUGUST

19 Sisters Morales

OCTOBER

1 Avishai Cohen Trio

2 Daedalus String Quartet

8 Dan Zanes and Friends

21 Beijing Modern Dance Co.

22 Czech Opera Prague in Die Fledermaus25 Merce Cunningham Dance Company

27 The Flying Karamazov Brothers

30 Red Priest-“Nightmare in Venice”

NOVEMBER

2 Barrage-“Vagabond Tales”

5 Kronos Quartet

9 Ravi Shankar

10-11 “Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers”

12 Arlo Guthrie

Lied Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .864-ARTSUniversity Theatre tickets . . . . . . . . .864-3982Spencer Museum of Art . . . . . . . . . . .864-4710Natural History Museum . . . . . . . . .864-4540Hall Center for Humanities . . . . . . .864-4798Dole Institute of Politics . . . . . . . .864-4900Kansas Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .864-4596Adams Alumni Center . . . . . . . . . . . .864-4760KU main number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .864-2700Athletics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1-800-34-HAWKS


On the Boulevard■ The University dedicated its KoreanWar Memorial early on the morning ofApril 16.The monument, designed byUniversity Architect and Korean Warveteran Warren Corman, e’50, includesthe names of 44 Jayhawks who losttheir lives in the war. Support for thememorial came from Yong L. Kim,Leawood, and a group of KU alumniand business leaders in Seoul, Korea,led by Jong W. Han, g’59.Air ForceROTC cadet Eric Buschelman, left,gave a moving tribute to the service of soldiers past, present and future.The copper sculpture,“Korean CranesRising,” by Jon Havener, ’83, KU profes-sor of design, graces the space, whichoverlooks Potter Lake just west of the Campanile.

JANUARY

24 Tap Dogs

FEBRUARY

10 Turtle Island String Quartet

15 Soweto Gospel Choir

17 Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Balletin “The Magic Flute”

23 “Oklahoma!”

26 Salzburg Chamber Soloists with Andreas Klein

MARCH

3 Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul

12 Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg

15 “The Will Rogers Follies, A Life in Revue”

31 2005 Van Cliburn PianoCompetition Gold Medal Winner

APRIL

2 Jacques Thibaud String Trio with Eugenia Zukerman

7 Imani Winds

8 New York Gilbert & SullivanPlayers in “The Mikado”

22 Convoy Cubano

■ Special eventsMAY

22 Commencement lunch, The Outlook

JUNE

10-11 Knoxville, Tenn.: Women’sBasketball Hall of Fame induction cer-emonies honoring Lynette Woodard,c’81. For more information, call 865-633-9000 or visit www.wbhof.com.

■ Academic CalendarMAY

22 Commencement

JUNE

7 Summer classes begin

JULY

29 Summer classes end

AUGUST

18 Fall classes begin

■ Alumni eventsMAY

23 Concordia: Rock Chalk Reception for Wheat State Whirlwind Tour

24 Dallas Chapter: Kansas CityRoyals vs. Texas Rangers baseball outing

25 Dodge City: KU Jayhawk Dinner for Wheat State Whirlwind Tour

JUNE

18 San Diego Chapter: Sixth annual Big 12 Chili Cook-off and Family Picnic

23 New York Chapter: Alumni boat cruise

JULY

24 Chicago Chapter: Freshman sendoff picnic

30 Chicago Chapter: KU alumniVenetian Night boat cruise

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■ Among those attending the dedication ceremony were (l to r), business leaders and donors Young Bin Min, Suk-Kee Yoh and Y.K. Lee;Yong L. Kim, Leawood; George Frederickson,KU distinguished professor of public administration, who wore a medal for service given to himby the Korean government; and Jeff Weinberg, assistant to the chancellor and a liaison to KUKorean alumni.

First Word

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 7

First WordB Y J E N N I F E R J A C K S O N S A N N E R

will help guide CReSIS as deputydirector, says the effects of globalwarming reach far beyond coast-lines. “We are high enough abovesea level here that we’ll stay dry,but we have seen big changes inheat, drought and flooding due tochanges in rainfall time andamount. This is a worldwideproblem.”

CReSIS is KU’s second NSF-funded center: The Center forEnvironmentally BeneficialCatalysis received a then-record$17 million grant in fall 2003. KUis one of only five U.S. universitiesto direct two such centers; theother schools sharing the distinc-tion are the universities of Arizona,California-Berkeley, Illinois andWashington.

On April 11, as he thanked themany dignitaries gathered,Gogineni took a few moments tohonor his family: One of his sonsis a KU senior majoring in politicalscience and economics. “We have afamily history of attending KU. Iwant to thank KU for my graduateeducation and for the opportunityit provided me to succeed

professionally.”Special thanks go to Moore, whom

Gogineni calls “an outstanding graduateadviser. He encouraged me to look atbigger issues.” Twenty years ago, whenthe graduate student and his mentordecided KU might be the place where hecould build his career, Moore held a fac-ulty position open for 18 months whileGogineni and his family sorted throughfrustrating immigration issues so theycould make Kansas their permanenthome. “I could not have had a bettermentor,” Gogineni says. “He wasextremely loyal. He kept his word. Hehad faith in me.

“I think I’ve justified that faith.”�

Gogineni, PhD’84, who came to KUfrom his native India to study withMoore as a doctoral student, will directthe center.

Through the years, Gogineni andother scholars have adapted and refinedMoore’s concepts for their own studiesof polar ice. Gogineni landed a 2001NSF grant that brought internationalrecognition to KU; the new CReSISstudy confirms KU’s pre-eminence inresearch on global warming.

Of course, the irony of such a specialtyin landlocked Kansas is not lost on thescholars or the international media thathave covered the story. David Braaten,associate professor of geography who

Euphoria is easy to see in aslam dunk or a touch-down spike—and the handslaps and hugs that

usually follow. But sheer joy also rushes

through moments not made forTV. For Prasad Gogineni, it arrivedvia e-mail as he was eating break-fast one February morning: Hisproposal to create a NationalScience Foundation center forpolar ice research had wonapproval. After an 18-monthprocess, Gogineni and his col-leagues would receive one oftwo grants awarded from 168proposals.

The professor, he confesseddays later, couldn’t stop shaking.But his elation, he soon realized,needed to yield to protocol.Though he could hardly containhis excitement, he had to containthe story. For six excruciatingweeks. When the story involves$19 million from a federal agency,good news must travel with theutmost caution.

So Gogineni, Deane E. AckersDistinguished Professor ofElectrical Engineering and ComputerScience, waited, working with the NSF toverify all the particulars of the center,which will open next month.

In the larger, long-term scenario thatis scientific research, six weeks was notreally so long. After all, as ChancellorRobert E. Hemenway explained April 11at the press conference announcing therecord-setting NSF award, “We’ve beenat it 40 years.”

It was the 1960s research inmicrowave remote sensing conducted byRichard Moore, now a professor emeri-tus, that laid the foundation for whatwill be known as the Center for RemoteSensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS).

Coffeyville, that held on the longest. Thewar surplus building was moved to KU in1946, and for more than 50 years offeredstudio space to architecture students,thereby enriching their war stories of leg-endary all-nighters.

Enough was enough long ago. LindleyAnnex was supposed to come down lastyear, until the appropriated money did notcome through. Now the project has beenapproved by the Legislature, funding andreplacement studio space both have beensecured, and the building will soon meet itsoverdue end.

“It’s bad, really bad,” Corman says. “It’srotted and deteriorated. It’s time.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Crossroads for the ages

What began as a simple T-shirt pro-motion turned into a captivating

stroll through history for Jacob Shipley, ’01,manager of The Crossing, the

Raze of sunshine

With this summer’s anticipated razingof Lindley Annex, Mount Oread

finally will be rid of its “temporary” WorldWar II-era buildings.

“My definition of ‘temporary,’” saysUniversity architect Warren Corman, e’50,“is, ‘Permanent until torn down.’”

Barracks and other utilitarian buildingsonce dotted the empty spaces of MountOread. Some, including the barracks nearMemorial Stadium and the dreadedQuonset hut tucked behind Bailey Hall,endured as “temporary” office space wellinto the 1970s and ’80s.

But it was Lindley Annex, originally aU.S. Army kitchen-cafeteria in Giddyup, big fella

One of Mount Oread’s most visible campus icons is about to get a bit more, well, visible.

We’re talking about the horse, of course: Comanche, theU.S.Army’s sole survivor of the Battle of Little Bighorn andbeloved artifact of KU’s Museum of Natural History.

Museum staff are remodeling the fifth floor, Comanche’shome since the late 1950s, into a changing exhibit space.They will

move the taxidermied warhorse to a more prominent spot near themain entrance on the fourth floor. He’ll be stabled in a new case with

better climate control and fiber optic lights that are easier on the oldhorse’s hide. New interpretive labels and a computer DVD station will

update the exhibit, which should be in place by fall.But first, museum staff must complete a rigorous pre-move process that

has included constructing a full-scale, foam-board model of Comanche toensure he can fit through doorways and negotiate tight turns.The closestsqueeze leaves a mere half-inch of wiggle room, according to Bruce Scherting,exhibits director.

“We’ve asked the horse to hold its breath,” Scherting says.Better cinch up that saddle, old boy.

Jayhawk Walk


off-campus hangout that has served as asocial hub, under one name or another,since 1923.

That’s according to Shipley’s research,which he started so the bar could sell shirtsemblazoned with the bar’s various incarna-tions. Shipley pored through city recordsand Jayhawker yearbooks, but his favoritereading was Cows Are Freaky When TheyLook At You, a 1991 book of Kaw Valley’shippie history compiled and edited byDavid Ohle, g’72, Roger Martin, g’73,

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and Susan Brosseau, ’83.“I read so many stories,” Shipley says,

“about things that happened right here.”Hipsters who made 12th and Oread

rock would surely be glad to see TheCrossing’s mellow scene, with studentssocializing on the sunny porch. Though thespirit lives on, there are differences: Thanksto a new city ordinance, the smoking bannow includes tobacco cigarettes, too.

◆ ◆ ◆

Song sung blue

John Paul Johnson, professor of music anddirector of choral activities, says that

when he devised a scheme to get the KUMen’s Glee Club on “The Price is Right,”he realized the first requirement, as withany con game, would be confidence: “Iwould have to be bigger than life ... andanybody who knows me knows that’s nothard to do.”

Johnson, who helped lead a group of 45glee-club members on a performance tourof Los Angeles during winter break,showed up at CBS Studios Jan. 10 and

announced to apage, “We’re here to sing.”To which the page responded,“You’re here to do what?” To whichJohnson replied, “Bob Barker loves choralmusic! Everybody loves chorales!”

Sure enough, all 25 Jayhawks on thefield trip got in, and sure enough, Johnson’s

name was picked from the studio audienceto “Come on down!” When Johnsonarrived at contestants’ row, Barker, who bythen had gotten wind of the plot and waseager to play along, whispered, “If we’regoing to feature you on national television,you have to sound like you know some-thing.” Which Johnson interpreted tomean, apparently correctly, that it wouldnot be helpful to waffle over the price ofpatio furniture.

Although Johnson didn’t win the game,he and the Jayhawks did win the big prize,being called up by Barker, a Missourinative, to perform “I’m a Jayhawk” onnational television, in an episode broadcastFeb. 9. Which, for the students who frantically phoned family and friends assoon as the taping concluded, was a prizethat couldn’t be overbid, an experiencetruly priceless.

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

Want to attract more state support for higher educa-tion? Trumpet your school’s increased research

funding, its record of state service, its showing in surveysput out by college guides and magazines such as U.S.

News and World Report.Or, if all else fails, its five-star squirrels.That’s exactly what officials at Kansas State did

during a February briefing before the Senate Ways and Means Committee in Topeka.With tongue planted

firmly in cheek, we assume, a KSU representative notedthat the campus nut-hoarders drew top marks from Jon’s

World o’ Squirrels, a Web site devoted to all things squirrely.The site’s Campus Squirrel Listings(w ww.gottshall.com/ squirrels) assigns ratings based on field reports from students and alumni. K-State

got high marks for the abundance, friendliness andprettiness of its bushy-tailed rodents.And for the

fact that its campus newspaper, the KansasState Collegian, publishes a special squirrel issue

each semester.KU, we note, did not make the list.That’s easily

remedied: Anyone wishing to lobby for MountOread’s furry friends can send an e-mail to

jon@ gottshall.com.Sure, it sounds nutty, but it can’t

be any harder than lobbyingthe Legislature.

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Hilltopics B Y S T E V E N H I L L


One of Saralyn Reece Hardy’s favoriteworks in the Spencer Museum of Art’spermanent collection is a mixed mediasculpture by Petah Coyne called

“Untitled #751 (Craig’s Piece).”“I’m actually thinking about that work a lot,”

says Hardy, who in March became director ofKU’s 28-year-old art museum. “It’s this ratherlarge piece of sculpture that seems to be inprocess; you don’t know if it’s becoming ordecaying. It has the imprint of youth, so it’ssomewhere in between.”

Hardy notes, in particular, the artist’s use ofrecycled materials. “I think that’s quite useful tothink about when you are thinking about reshap-ing a place.”

Hardy, c’76, g’94, returns to the Spencer (she

worked there as a project coordinator from1977 to 1979) after a long tenure at theSalina Arts Center, which she began leadingin 1986. She helped transform the smallcommunity gallery into a contemporary artcenter hosting national and internationalexhibitions. In 2004 the center won a majorgrant from the Andy Warhol Foundationand received a donated building in Salina’swarehouse district to host regional, nationaland international artists in need of workingand living space. Hardy also oversaw devel-opment of education programs, an interac-tive art area for children and a film pro-gram. She left Salina in 1999 for a three-yearappointment at the National Endowmentfor the Arts, where she served as chiefmuseum and visual arts expert.

Hardy plans to spend her first sixmonths to a year formulating plans for theSpencer—“I know enough about culturalinstitutions to know that you can’t come in

with a vision; you have to come in and see whatyou’ve got,” she says—but already she has a clearidea of the balance she wants to strike betweenthe museum’s traditional role as the keeper ofKU’s art treasures and its potential to become avibrant center of debate that uses art to jump-start a lively exchange of ideas.

“I think the big challenge with the Spencer ishow do you maintain the quiet elegance andauthority while you generate improvisation andquestions,” Hardy says. “I don’t think those twoare mutually exclusive.”

Long-stated goals such as increasing traffic(among students in particular) and expandinggallery space won’t be ignored, but Hardy saysshe’s more concerned with what happens oncepeople venture inside the museum.

■ “Almost every day I get recharged by some-

thing I can see here,”says Hardy, new director

of the Spencer Museum ofArt. She considers the

high-profile location andthe permanent collection

of more than 25,000 itemsamong the museum’s

major strengths.

Art loverThe new director of the Spencer Museum

wants to change what we talk about when we talk about art

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■ Petah Coyne,“ U ntitled # 751 ( C raig’ s Pi ece) . “

Spencer Museum of Art

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 11

“I’m interested in how their lives shift, howdecision-making becomes more complex, howpeople are able to ask questions in a morethoughtful way. I’m interested in how peoplechange and grow when they look at art.”

In addition to acquainting herself with themuseum and its staff, Hardy will reach out towhat she calls the “creative fires” of theUniversity, from faculty members in art anddesign to those in the biosciences, engineeringand pharmacy. Her approach reflects what willlikely be a multidisciplinary take on the visualarts, one that strives to recognize the potentialfor creativity in fields not traditionally considered“artistic,” and a more expansive view of theSpencer’s role on campus.

“I do see the museum and its reach more likea connective force,” Hardy says. “I would love it ifthe Spencer began to feel less like a thing andmore like a system of values and meanings andrelationships that permeate the whole campus.”

In the meantime, Hardy has taken steps tobetter learn the museum’s feel. She relocated thedirector’s office to the third floor, where she canwatch the flow of students and museumgoersthrough the Spencer’s main entrance.

“I want to see the students moving in and out,and I want people to poke their head in myoffice,” Hardy says. “We welcome ideas. Theydon’t all have to be ours.”

Her door is always open.�◆ ◆ ◆

Degrees of difficultyFederal grants fund new

special ed programs that addressneed for autism education

Two U.S. Department of Education grantsworth a combined $2 million will equipKU’s top-rated special education pro-gram to train more people to work with

the growing numbers of children and adoles-cents who have autism and emotional behaviordisorders.

A four-year, $800,000 grant will allow theSchool of Education to train doctoral students tobecome leaders in research, teacher education,advocacy and program management in the fieldsof emotional and behavior disorders and autismspectrum disorders. A five-year, $1.25 million

grant will fund a master’s degree program totrain teachers, speech pathologists, occupationaltherapists and other school personnel to workdirectly with children who experience autism,childhood disintegrative disorder, Rett’s disorder,Asperger syndrome, pervasive developmental dis-order and other developmental disabilities.

“Kids with autism and kids with emotionalbehavior disorders are often among the most dif-ficult children and adolescents to teach, manageand provide services for,” says Richard Simpson,professor of special education. “What we knowfrom a variety of research projects is there aresome specialty skills people need if they aregoing to successfully work with these kids, andthere is a real scarcity of teachers who have thespecialty skills to address these especially diffi-cult-to-teach kids.”

Simpson, EdD’73, says the dramatic rise inautism in the past decade has contributed to theworkforce shortage.

“Autism was considered a low incidence dis-ability not too long ago, but now it’s quite com-mon,” he says. “Unfortunately, higher educationand teacher training programs have not keptpace with the demand.”

According to the advocacy group FightingAu-tism, U.S. cases of the disorder soared from15,000 in 1992 to 141,000 in 2003. Simpson saysthe most recent scientific data suggest the preva-lence of autism spectrum disorders is approxi-mately one in 166. Only a few years ago theprevalence estimate was one in 2,000 to one in 2,500.

KU’s special education program has long beenconsidered one of the best in the country. Since

“We have had astartling increasein the numbersof autistic kids,but we don’thave the work-force in place tohelp them.”

—R ichard Simpson

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■ Brenda Smith Myles, Richard Simpson and project coor-dinator Deb Griswold will oversee two new graduate programs in special education.


1995, it has received the top ranking from U.S.News and World Report every year but two.Studies in special education research dating backto 1978 identify the special education doctoralprogram as the best in the nation.

That status makes the program ideally suitedto quickly address the demand for leaders andpractitioners in public schools and other institu-tions where more help for children with autism isa dire need, Simpson notes.

“We have an ongoing program that we areable to build on, which is really the best possiblescenario,” he says. “The KU program is one of thefew in the country that really has a longstandinggood program. Several universities are comingonline with autism programs, but they don’t really have the background, the history and theexperience to immediately address the demand.”

Simpson will oversee the new degree pro-grams with Brenda Smith Myles, PhD’90, associ-ate professor of education. Five doctoral studentsand a dozen full-time master’s students areexpected to enroll the first year, along withanother dozen or so part-time master’s students.Though the programs are separate, students willdo field work together in public schools.

“Our master’s students will have the opportu-nity to learn not only from our faculty and staff,but also from our doctoral students,” Simpsonsays. “In turn, our doctoral students will have theopportunity to supervise and mentor the mas-ter’s students. So it’s really fortuitous that we hiton both of these relatively large grants and thatthey were slated to take place in the same schooldistricts. It’s natural that we would link themtogether.”�

◆ ◆ ◆

Stage twoLied Center acts on long-held goal,

announces fund drive for expansion

When Tim Van Leer of the LiedCenter announced in Februarythat he wants to raise $7.5 millionby June 30 to expand the

University’s performing arts center, the planmight initially have struck some as counterintu-itive: To offer a more intimate concert- and theatre-going experience, the 2,000-seat centerfor the performing arts first proposes to grow.

While campus construction projects usuallybuild bigger rooms to accommodate greatercrowds, the Lied Center will add a smaller, 800-seat theatre to free up the big hall’s calendar forlarge-scale productions while allowing groupssuch as the KU Symphony Orchestra and theUniversity Dance Company to perform in a moresuitable setting.

“It’s going to allow us to put events in a moreproper environment that will benefit artists andaudiences,” says Van Leer, executive director ofthe center.

“The existing facility is great for a performancesuch as a Broadway show that draws a large audi-ence,” he explains. “We want to complement thattheatre with the new addition, which will providespace for much more intimate events such as astring quartet performance.”

The project would also add a visual arts

Rock Chalk,postdoc

KU ranks as one of the

10 best schools in the

nation for postdoctoral

researchers, according

to The Scientist, a life

sciences trade magazine.

KU ranked 10th among

122 schools and was

the only Big 12 school

on the list.

Hilltopics

■ A proposed expansion would add new theatre space along the Lied Center’s northeast wall and a visual arts galleryand expanded lobby to the south.

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 13

Plainspoken

Kent Haruf, whosenovels Plainsong

and Eventide chroniclesmall-town life on thehigh plains of north-eastern Colorado,read from his workand gave a talk as partof the EberhardtLecture sponsored bythe department ofEnglish and the officeof the chancellor.

WHEN: April 6

WHERE: TheKansas MemorialUnion and the Spencer Museum of Art

BACKGROUND: Published in 1999, thebest-selling Plainsong won the Mountains andPlains Booksellers Award and was a finalist forthe National Book Award, the Los AngelesTimes Book Prize and the New Yorker BookAward. His sequel, Eventide, was published in 2004.

ANECDOTE: Haruf’s time as a graduatestudent at KU was interrupted by the Vietnamdraft.The son of a Methodist minister, hereturned to his native Colorado after passing amilitary physical in Kansas City and successfullylobbied his local draft board for conscientiousobjector status. He did noncombat service at a hospital and an orphanage and later workedfor the Peace Corps in Turkey.

QUOTE: “I never use the word inspirationin regard to writing.That makes it sound like allyou have to do is translate a story to the page.Writing is messy.Writing is rewriting.When Istart a novel, I’ve thought about it for a year;I’ve brooded over it.”

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“I reject the ideathat I’m simplywriting aboutnortheasternColorado. Surelythose humanpredicamentsare also trueelsewhere.”

—Kent Har uf

gallery and outdoor sculpture garden, much-needed lobby space, new dressing rooms and a new green room. New educational space will help the Lied Center better accommodateschoolchildren who attend some 150 eventsannually.

But first, the center must raise $7.5 million by June 30 to match a proposed $7.5 millionchallenge grant from the Lied Foundation Trust,the Las Vegas-based foundation administered by Christina Hixson that helped build the LiedCenter in 1988. A gift to the KU EndowmentAssociation from Ross and Marianna KistlerBeach and Douglas County Bank, where RossBeach is board chairman, has contributed thefirst $1 million toward that $7.5 million goal, and the Lied has launched a “Take Your Seat”campaign, seeking a $1,000 pledge for each ofthe 800 seats in the new theatre.

The gift from the Beaches and DouglasCounty Bank will help fund the visual artsgallery, which will exhibit work by KU students,alumni and faculty—an expansion, Van Leerallows, of the Lied’s current focus on the per-forming arts.

“That would certainly be a change and wouldprovide us with a space in a more public locationthan the art and design gallery,” he says. “Wethink it will be an exciting link for performanceartists and for visual arts audiences as well.”

The project allows the Lied Center to bothstrengthen ties with the School of Fine Arts andbolster its role as a cultural ambassador for thestate and the University.

“It provides us an opportunity to continue inthe expansion of the Lied Center’s program-ming,” Van Leer says, “and assets to the campusand the community that help us meet theUniversity’s mission, whether it is instruction orresearch or public engagement.”

It’s an expansion that Steve Hedden, d’64,g’69, PhD’71, dean of fine arts, welcomes.

“We’re excited that the Lied Center willbecome an even greater resource to the othercomponents of the School of Fine Arts—thedepartment of art, the department of design and the department of music and dance,” hesays. “The 800-seat hall will be a perfect venuefor opera and dance performances, and for concerts by our instrumental and choral ensem-bles. Additionally, we will gain new capability for sharing the accomplishments of our faculty, students and alumni from Art and Design.”�


Hilltopics

GREEK LIFE

Fraternity expelled foropen-door beer bash

The Interfraternity Council’s judicialboard unanimously voted in early Marchto expel Phi Kappa Theta fraternity, thefirst such expulsion in IFC history.

The fraternity’s troubles began with aFeb. 19 keg party at which memberswere allegedly charging $5 for unlimitedbeer. Lawrence police issued at leasteight citations and seized 16 kegs ofbeer. Marlesa Roney, vice provost for stu-dent success, condemned the fraternityfor “willful and egregious violation ofUniversity policies and, frankly, the trustof our community,” and IFC expelled the

fraternity soon thereafter.Phi Kappa Theta lost its appeal to the

IFC executive board March 31. Its head-quarters then revoked the chapter’s char-ter and told members and alumni theywould not be permitted to appeal to theIFC general assembly, ending, for now, aKU legacy that began in 1915.

“We are very disappointed in theactions of the KU chapter,” said nationalsecretary Kevin Lampe. “When thesethings happen, we need to take responsi-bility and quickly stand up for the valuesthis fraternity believes in, which we did.”

Lampe said it is hoped Phi KappaTheta’s support for the expulsion of its35-member chapter will help the frater-nity succeed with an eventual bid to

reorganize here, perhaps by 2009.Phi Kappa Theta had long occupied a

chapter house on Stewart Avenue, and inrecent years moved to the 11th Streethouse, adjacent to Memorial Stadium,formerly occupied by Delta Tau Delta.

—Chris Lazzarino

MULTICULTURAL RESOURCES

Multicultural center funded;Union may expand

A four-year campaign by students hasraised $2.7 million for a new Multicul-tural Resource Center, and the projectwill lead to more construction at theKansas Memorial Union.

The resource center will be built onthe north side of the union, level withthe building’s fourth floor and JayhawkBoulevard. The cost of the 7,000-square-foot addition will be funded with a$3.50 student fee that is expected toraise more than $1.5 million in the next10 years, and a $1 million gift from theSabatini Family Foundation of Topeka.

If union officials can raise money tocover construction costs, they also wantto expand the union’s second and thirdfloors beneath the center. The projectwould enlarge the union bookstore by10 percent and provide more space foroffices and meeting rooms.

“It’s totally opportunity,” says PatBeard, director of building services. “We just can’t ignore the opportunitythat exists there, and we have the needfor space.”

Construction on the resource centerwill begin in August or September and isexpected to wrap up by fall 2006.

Six juniors were winners of two of the nation’s most prestigious academic prizesthis spring.Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, considered the premier undergraduate award in

science, engineering and mathematics, went to Shawn Henderson, a Wichita physicsand mathematics major; David Hover, an Overland Park physics and mathematicsmajor; and Hannah Swift, an Olathe physics, mathematics and astronomy major. Thescholarships provide up to $7,500 in tuition, books and other expenses.

Morris K. Udall Scholarships worth $5,000 went to Laura M.Adams, a Topeka civiland environmental engineering major;Andrew Harrington, an Olathe architecturalengineering major; and Trisha Shrum, an Olathe environmental studies and biologymajor. Receiving honorable mention were Rebecca Evanhoe, a Derby chemistry andjournalism major, and Catherine Kollhoff, a Beloit chemical engineering and journalismmajor.The Udall scholarships support students planning careers in fields related to the environment.

Class credit

■ Phi KappaTheta fraternitywas expelledfrom KU thisspring afterLawrence policebusted a kegparty in February.

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LAWJustice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

visits School of Law

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg firstencountered her colleague Chief JusticeWilliam Rehnquist in the 1970s, whenshe argued six landmark cases on gen-der equality before the U.S. SupremeCourt. As the first director of theWomen’s Rights Project for theAmerican Civil Liberties Union, sheanswered his tough questions and wonfive of the six cases.

Ginsburg recalled her early argumentsbefore the high court during her firstvisit to the KU School of Law March 10.Acknowledging her differences withRehnquist and other conservative jus-tices on the court, she described them asgood friends who share enormousrespect for one another. She singled outRehnquist for his courage in battlingcancer. “The chief was always a man offew words. Now he’s more concise,” shesaid. “We’re all so proud of him for notletting this disease defeat him. He wasdetermined to swear in the president,and he did.”

Ginsburg, 72, was the first womanhired as a tenured professor at ColumbiaLaw School, and in 1980 was appointedby President Jimmy Carter to the U.S.Court of Appeals. In 1993 she becamethe second woman appointed to the U.S.Supreme Court.

—Jennifer Jackson Sanner

■ FORMER LAW DEAN MICHAEL DAVIS will serve as theinterim dean of the School of Law while a national search begins for apermanent replacement for Stephen McAllister, c’85, l’88, who willstep down in August. Davis led the school from 1980 to 1989 and wasalso the University’s general counsel for six years.“I’m delighted thatMike Davis has agreed to lead the school while a search is underway,”Provost David Shulenburger said.“As a former dean, he can step intothe administrative duties with little need for a learning curve.” Theschool hopes to have a permanent dean in place by 2006.

■ RESEARCH EXPENDITURES SET RECORDS for the second straight year asgrants and contracts from the federal government reached $155.2 million in fiscal 2004.Overall research expenditures totaled $274 million, a 6.2 percent increase over last year’srecord $258 million.“This announcement reflects KU’s stature as a world-class researchuniversity,” said Chancellor Robert E. Hemenway.“The con-tinued upward trend in research expenditures is a testa-ment to our faculty’s outstanding efforts across a broadrange of disciplines.”

■ THE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WELFARE’S KansasChild Welfare Scholars Program won the first AcademicExcellence Award from the American Public HumanServices Association.The KU-based program is a partner-ship between the Kansas Department of Social andRehabilitation Services and the Social Work EducationConsortium that improves child welfare services across thestate by training social workers.

■ THE SCHOOL OF PHARMACY ranked third in the nation for National Institutesof Health funding in fiscal 2004. Pharmacy received more than $13 million in NIH funding.This marks the sixth time in seven years the school has ranked in the top five.

■ FRANK DESALVO, the director of counseling and psychological services, was namedinterim dean of students April 8. He replaces Richard Johnson, associate vice provost anddean of students. Johnson’s employment was terminated for cause after an internal investi-gation of a formal complaint filed against him in late March.

■ SPRING ENROLLMENT SET A RECORD for the second straight year. Enrollmentat the Lawrence campus hit 25,379, an increase of 31 students over the previous high setlast spring.Total enrollment (which includes the Lawrence and Edwards campuses and theKU Medical Center) reached 27,890, up from 27,772 last spring.

■ PAUL STEPHEN LIM, professor of English and creator of KU’s English AlternativeTheater, is the newest Chancellor’s Club Teaching Professor.The professorships, establishedin 1981, honor teaching excellence and recipients are chosen by students and colleagues.

■ THE FIRST-YEAR DEBATE TEAM won the National Novice ChampionshipTournament in Evanston, Ill., in March. Sophomores Lindsey Lathrop, Overland Park politicalscience major, and Brett Bricker,Wichita mathematics major, edged out 12 teams to winKU’s first national title in the novice category.

Milestones, money and other matters

■ Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgaddressed students during a spring visit to theSchool of Law.

Davis

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filled Memorial Stadium April 23 for thefinal afternoon of the Kansas Relays.She surely knows they’re talking abouther. And she definitely hears the embar-rassing goofs by the public-addressannouncer, who repeatedly mistakes herfor the only other Jayhawk competingin the women’s invitational pole vault,Ekaterina Sultanova, a freshman fromRussia.

And yet when she badly misses avault at 13 feet, 11 inches, but isrewarded with another attempt afterManson leaps to his feet to tell thejudges the crossbar support columnhad fallen out of position during thejump, Linnen saunters past, wearing theretro-hip knee-high Jayhawk socks shebought for herself in the KU Bookstore,winks, and says, cool as Bette Davis,“Thanks, guys.”

And suddenly Amy Linnen, two-timeNCAA champion and already the bestwoman vaulter in KU history, has wonover three more fans.

“The first thing to say about Amy,”Manson observes, “is that she’s a provenbig-meet performer. That might soundobvious, but it’s a big deal. Lots ofvaulters have the ability but don’t dowell when it counts. Amy does.”

Linnen’s strange odyssey began atMt. Sinai High School on Long Island,N.Y., where she took up pole vaultingafter growing too tall for gymnastics. An

athletic 5-feet-10, with good gymnastics skills tomaneuver herself upside down, Linnen estab-lished herself as the top-ranked high-schoolvaulter in the country, and chose to attend theUniversity of Arizona and train with Hays.

As a sophomore Linnen won the NCAAindoor championship with an NCAA-record vaultof 14 feet, 10.25 inches. Then followed a series ofsetbacks, including injuries to an Achilles tendonand a foot, and then the most devastating loss ofall, her coach, who returned to Kansas to be withhis family at their McLouth home while coachingat Johnson County Community College.

Talk about smooth. Here she is, only a fewmonths into the first and last semester ofher KU track career, and Amy Linnenknows the three guys sitting on a bench

just a few feet away are watching her every move.And she knows exactly who they are: two of thegreats in KU’s rich vaulting tradition, ScottHuffman, j’88, and Pat Manson, e’91, and the2000 Olympic gold medalist, Nick Hysong.

She knows that, except for her coach, TomHays, ’89, also an all-conference KU vaulter inthe 1980s, these three have the wisest eyesamong the many thousands of spectators who

■ “Being tall is a bigadvantage, but it’s also

harder to swing yourselfupside down,” Pat Manson

said while watching AmyLinnen at the Kansas

Relays.“If they can do thegymnastics, they’re in

great shape.” Linnen tookup vaulting only after she

grew too tall for gymnastics.

Up, up and awaySenior transfer with two NCAA titles makes

the most of her brief KU vaulting career

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Suddenly adrift after so much earlysuccess, Linnen struggled through onemore season at Arizona before finallyheading to the University of Arkansas,where she planned to enroll last fall forone final collegiate season. When shefound out the Southeastern Conferencewould not accept a senior transfer, herheartbreak was tempered with the unex-pected news that Hays, after one seasonat JCCC, had been hired by coachStanley Redwine to coach KU vaulters.

Linnen rushed to Lawrence, where,she says, administrators, coaches andteammates welcomed her warmly. Shebegan competing once she was officiallyenrolled for the spring semester, andpromptly won the Big 12 and NCAAindoor titles and set the KU women’sindoor record at 14 feet, 1.25 inches.

“In the past four years I’ve faced a lotof obstacles,” she says. “I’ve lived inthree different states in the past year. ButI take the positive out of it. I keep meet-ing new people and making new friends,which is great, and I can’t tell you howfantastic everyone has been to me here. Idefinitely feel like I’m home now.”

Although she finished second to vet-eran April Steiner at the Kansas Relays,because she had one more miss at thewinning height than did Steiner, Linnenappears on target for a good run at theNCAA outdoor championship, June 8-11in Sacramento, Calif. Before her indoortitle this spring, the last KU vaulter towin an NCAA championship was TerryPorter, in the 1973 men’s indoor, andJan Johnson, in the 1970 men’s outdoor.

“Amy is very tall, has great runningmechanics, and is very athletic on thepole,” Hays says. “Potentially, she’s prob-ably one of the best in the country. If herperception of what she can do gets bet-ter, she can be one of the best Americanvaulters of all time.”

With bountiful stars and customizedscheduling that grouped all the high-lighted events on Saturday afternoon,the Relays attracted a crowd of 24,200,including 17,000 on Saturday alone.

Among the highlights:Junior Benson Chesang won the mile,

senior Jeremy Mims won the 800, senior

Brooklyn Hann won the women’s triplejump, and junior Abby Emsick won thediscus.

The men’s 100-meter dash was wonby John Capel, one of the top sprintersin the world, in 10.10 seconds, edgingMark Jelks and Olympic championMaurice Greene. Marion Jones’ 800-meter relay team appeared to run awayto a huge victory, but was later disquali-fied for an illegal handoff. DominiqueArnold won the 110 hurdles in 13.33seconds, the best time in the world todate. Star high-jumper Amy Acuff fin-ished second to KSU alumna GwenWentland. Olympic silver medalist MattHemingway won the men’s high jump.

“I’ve never been here before, and I’mkicking myself in the behind,” Jonessaid, gazing up at the big, loud, sun-

drenched crowd. “I want to comeback.”�

—Chris Lazzarino

◆ ◆ ◆

Early exitTitle hopes dashed as Kansasloses NCAA first-round game

for first time since 1978

Aaron Miles sat on the floor ofthe Ford Center locker room inOklahoma City, slumpedagainst a wall with his head in

his hands, as he tried to come to termswith one of the most shocking losses inKansas basketball’s storied history.

“In the past four years, I’ve faced a lot of obstacles. But I takethe positive out of it. I definitely feel like I’m home now.”

—Amy L innen

■ Olympic gold-medalists Marion Jones and Maurice Greene were among the many track-and-field stars who appeared to genuinely savor the Kansas Relays.They typically must travel toEurope to find enthusiastic track crowds.

“My career as a Jayhawk basketballplayer is over,” Miles said, after theBucknell Bison stunned KU, 64-63, inthe first round of the NCAA tournament.“And it ended in a terrible way.”

Maybe it was the “Spirit of theBuffalo” art exhibition that brought 100painted bison to the Oklahoma Citystreets that tipped the cosmic scales inBucknell’s favor. Or maybe it was justthe law of averages finally evening out.Whatever the cause, the defeat broke astring of 21 first-round wins for Kansasand completed a disappointing finalmonth in which the preseason No. 1squad that started the year 20-1 droppedsix of its last nine games, squandering atwo-game lead in the Big 12 and a poten-tial NCAA top seed.

But perhaps the most jarring aspectof KU’s loss to a 14th seed was theunexpectedly swift completion itbrought to the careers of Miles and hisfellow seniors.

“Having it end so abruptly is devastat-ing for those guys,” coach Bill Self said ofMiles, Keith Langford, Michael Lee andWayne Simien, who appeared in twoFinal Fours and an Elite 8 while compil-ing a four-year record of 110 wins 28losses. “I don’t have enough words tosay how proud of them I am. Justbecause we lost a game doesn’t changewhat they accomplished.”

Against Bucknell, Kansas suffered ahorrid shooting night from beyond thearc, missing all five three-point attemptsin the first half and making only one ofsix in the second half.

Despite trailing much of the first half,the Jayhawks battled back to lead bythree at the break, due largely to the playof Simien and Lee. Starting in place ofLangford, who was still recovering froma bout of flu and a sprained ankle, Leecombined with Simien to score 24 ofKU’s 31 first-half points. Overcomingpoor outside shooting with strong insideplay, Kansas shot 54 percent and heldBucknell to 31 percent.

Those percentages reversed in the sec-ond half, as Bucknell made more thanhalf its shots, including five of 12 threes.Kansas, which shot only 33 percent and

Sports


“It was the perfect play, the perfectdraw up, and Mike Lee made the perfectpass,” Simien said. “It felt good right upto the point it rimmed out.

“I don’t know how many game-win-ning shots I made in my back yarddreaming I was a Jayhawk,” Simienadded. “It just didn’t work out.”

While their team goal of returning tothe Final Four slipped away, the seniorswill leave with an impressive array ofaccomplishments to their credit. Simienwas named to the All-America first teamby the Associated Press and was a final-ist for the Naismith and Wooden player-of-the-year awards. The Big 12 player ofthe year was also named a first-teamselection by the U.S. Basketball Writers,National Association of BasketballCoaches and Sporting News, makinghim eligible to have his jersey hung inthe rafters of Allen Field House.

Miles’ 954 assists set Kansas and Big12 records and ranks him among thetop 10 NCAA assist leaders. Langford’s1,812 points ranks ranks sixth on theall-time Kansas scoring list. And MichaelLee joined Miles and junior ChristianMoody on the Academic All-Big 12 teamthis spring. All four seniors are on trackto graduate May 22.�

Sports

went the last eight minutes without afield goal, stayed close by hitting 15 of16 free throws.

As the clock ticked down to the finalminute, the Jayhawks trailed, 62-57. Leemade two free throws, then stole the ballfrom Bucknell’s Charles Lee, who com-mitted an intentional foul. The senior’stwo free throws set the score at 62-61with 52 seconds remaining. Kansasretained possession, and Langford wasfouled at the 24-second mark. His twofree throws gave the Jayhawks the leadand brought KU fans to their feet.

But after Chris McNaughton bankedin a shot from the lane, Bucknell ledwith 8 seconds left. As he had done somany times this year with last-secondheroics against Georgia Tech and IowaState, Langford stepped up to take thepotential game-winner. The shot wasshort, however, and Kansas was forcedto foul. After Bucknell missed the frontend of a one-and-one, the Jayhawks hadone last opportunity with 2.4 secondsremaining.

This time, Kansas went to Simien.Standing under the Bucknell basket, Leefired a perfect three-quarter-court pass;Simien caught the ball at the foul line,turned and launched a fadeaway jumper.

■ Appearances in two Final Fours and an Elite 8 and a record of 110-28 are part of an impressivefour-year legacy for seniors Miles, Lee, Langford and Simien.

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■ SoftballMAY

11-14 at Big 12, Oklahoma City

■ RowingMAY

19-27 at NCAA Championships,Sacramento, Calif.

■ Men’s golfMAY

19-21 at NCAA Midwest Regionals,South Bend, Ind.

JUNE

1-4 at NCAA Finals, Baltimore, Md.

■ Women’s golfMAY

17-20 at NCAA Championship,Corvalis, Ore.

■ BaseballMAY

13-15 at Missouri20-22 Oklahoma State25-29 at Big 12, Oklahoma City

■ Track & fieldMAY

13-15 at Big 12 Outdoor, Manhattan26-28 at NCAA Midwest Regionals

JUNE

8-11 at NCAA OutdoorChampionships, Sacramento, Calif.16-19 at USA Championships,Carson, Calif.

■ FootballSEPTEMBER

3 Florida Atlantic10 Appalachian State (Band Day)17 Louisiana Tech (Family Weekend)

OCTOBER

1 at Texas Tech8 at Kansas State15 vs. Oklahoma, ArrowheadStadium, Kansas City22 at Colorado29 Missouri (Homecoming)

NOVEMBER

5 Nebraska12 at Texas19 Iowa State

Sports Calendar

■ Freshman running back Gary Green (4) is stopped by senior linebacker Nick Reid (7) andother defenders during the April 16 spring scrimmage in Memorial Stadium. Green will get moreplaying time than expected because former star running back John Randle was dismissed on theeve of spring drills for an ongoing series of legal troubles stemming from alleged incidents atdowntown nightclubs.While the KU defense appears to be among the Big 12’s best, the offensecontinues to await the emergence of a strong No. 1 at quarterback. Junior Adam Barmann andsenior Jason Swanson failed to win over coaches, and it is thought that incoming freshman KerryMeier, of Pittsburg, might be allowed to compete for the job.

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The next time you’re in a burger joint, try thissimple experiment toillustrate a global prob-lem: Fill a cup withsoda pop, then drop ina bunch of ice. What

happens? The answer is obvious—theice makes the cup overflow and sodaspills on the floor.

Now, imagine the soda is salt waterand the cup is the ocean basin. What

happens when we add ice here?The same thing: Liquid overflowsits container and makes a big

mess. Unfortunately, the mess you get

when oceans overflow takes more thana mop to clean. That is why a team ofKU polar scientists spends so muchtime peering at glaciers in Greenlandand Antarctica. The scientists fear thata warming climate is melting these gla-ciers at a rate that threatens to drop amother lode of ice into the drink.

Others share their concern. On April11, the National Science Foundationcame to campus to announce that itwas awarding KU’s icemen the largest

icesages❄

Glacial-radar innovators land huge grant to unravel mysteries of sea-level changes

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 23

federal research grant ever given to a uni-versity in Kansas—$19 million (see side-bar). The five-year grant will create a newCenter for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets,or CReSIS, at the University.

KU got the grant because its pro-posal integrates top-notch research withexcellent education for young scientists,according to Scott Borg, head of Antarc-tic Sciences at NSF. That combinationwas enough to beat 166 other schoolsfor one of only two grants awarded aftera grueling 18-month evaluation.

“One of NSF’s missions is to train thenext generation of scientists,” Borg said.“So we really do look for excellent inte-gration of research and education. Wesee this project as an excellent opportu-nity for training students.

“The bottom line,” Borg noted, “is thisis a very important problem.”

Heading up CReSIS is PrasadGogineni, Deane E. AckersDistinguished Professor ofElectrical Engineering and

Computer Science. An innovator in theuse of radar technology to study ice,Gogineni, PhD’84, has become a majorcontributor to the growing body ofresearch on polar ice sheets and theirpotential effect on sea levels. CReSIS isonly the latest manifestation of thatprowess. A faculty member since 1986,Gogineni took leave from KU for twoyears in the late 1990s to manageNASA’s Polar Research and AnalysisProgram, which monitors the Greenlandice sheet. His work earned an awardfrom the space agency and highest hon-ors from the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers. Under his leader-ship, KU has developed a worldwidereputation for pioneering innovativeways to peer into gigantic blocks of ice.Since 2001, Gogineni has worked on a

$7.5 million grant that he and hisresearch team received from NASA andthe NSF. That grant funded a projectcalled Polar Radar for Ice SheetMeasurements, or PRISM.

Speaking in a deep voice that lendsauthority to his words, Gogineni says the ice-sheet research has the potentialto help people across the globe plan for and perhaps avoid the kind of catastrophic losses that occurred inDecember, when an earthquake beneaththe Indian Ocean triggered a massivetsunami that killed thousands of people.The potential threat from glacial meltingcomes not from a sudden deluge of icecreating tsunami-like waves, but from agradual sea-level rise; but unheeded,Gogineni warns, the problem could yieldsimilarly devastating results.

“If you saw how the tsunami affectedpeople living in the coastal areas, therewere so many deaths because the areasare densely populated,” Gogineni says.“It’s the same thing with sea-level rise.One meter of sea-level rise is estimatedto affect 100 million people, and some

B Y M I C H A E L C A M P B E L L


countries where this will happen don’thave the resources to adapt quickly. Ithink you’ve got to have a better predic-tion 20 to 30 years ahead that this isgoing to happen, and that is what thisresearch will contribute over the next 10 years.”

The consequences of rising oceans arealready on display in Tuvalu, a nation ofnine atoll islands roughly midwaybetween New Zealand and Hawaii.Tuvalu’s high ground tops out justunder 10 feet above sea level. Its 10,000inhabitants already struggle withswelling oceans, which have risen almost2 inches in the past century. Rising salt-water has contaminated the country’sground water and damaged staple rootcrops like taro and sweet potatoes,according to Enele Sopoaga, Tuvalu’sambassador to the United Nations. Thefear is that further rises will completely

drown the country. The future looks sobleak that some Tuvaluans are fleeingthe country via employment programsthat allow them to work in Australia andNew Zealand. “I’m aware of quite a fewfamilies that have moved mainly becausethey fear sea-level rise,” Sopoaga says.

The United States is not immune to similar problems. The CensusBureau estimated in 2000 that halfof Americans lived in a coastalcounty. A 1991 study from theEnvironmental ProtectionAgency estimated that pro-tecting the U.S. from a 3-footrise in the oceans would cost$270 to $475 billion.

Will the oceans really risethat much? Nobody knowsfor sure, but the potential iscertainly there. Antarctica isalmost completely covered by a

■ Prasad Gogineni and Dave Braaten show off the newly developed radar system KUresearchers use to measure glacial ice.

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massive ice sheet that can be up to twomiles thick. Greenland, the world’slargest island, has an ice sheet coveringabout five-sixths of its surface. Thosetwo sheets combined hold three-quartersof all the freshwater in the world.Greenland’s ice alone, if melted, wouldraise the oceans about 20 feet. A rise justhalf that high would inundate the east-ern U.S. seaboard, drowning Boston,New York and Miami.

◆ ◆ ◆

The truth is that glaciers naturallylose ice all the time, says DaveBraaten, a meteorologist andassociate professor of geography

who will be deputy director of CReSIS. Atall man with curly blond hair and amustache, Braaten has a Nordic lookthat makes it easy to imagine him athome among mountains of ice. Glacierscontinually creep downhill, he says, andas ice at the back of the glacier pushesforward, ice at the front falls off. This ishow icebergs form. Glaciers also partiallymelt during warm spells.

So how do Braaten, Gogineni and

their colleagues know when a glacier’sice is disappearing, and whether that dis-appearance is part of the natural ebband flow of glacial ice or a warning signof potential trouble?

The key question, Braaten says, iswhether the glaciers lose more ice offtheir fronts than they gain elsewhere.Glaciers gain ice during snowstorms.New layers of falling snow compressolder snow into ice. If more ice falls offthe front than collects on the top, thenthe glaciers thin and oceans rise. If icecollection outpaces loss, then glaciersgrow and oceans recede.

To monitor both potential scenarios,KU’s researchers developed two innova-tive types of radar capable of gleaningnew information from the ice. The radarexplains how an electrical engineerraised in tropical India became KU’shead iceman. As he pulls pictures andcharts from a host of files tucked neatlyin a warren of folders on his computerscreen, it is easy to imagine thatGogineni is grateful for hard drives andcompact discs: Putting all this data andanalyses on the page would surely buryhim under a glacier-sized pile of paper.

Scientists have known for some timehow to use radar to measure a glacier’sthickness or velocity, according toGogineni. However, other informationwas only available in limited quantitiesand after painstaking effort. Forinstance, to study past rates of snowaccumulation, scientists had to drillcores out of the ice and examine theexposed layers like dendrologists look-ing at tree rings. Because drilling was dif-ficult and time-consuming, researcherscollected accumulation rates from just ahandful of places.

From 1999 to 2002, Gogineni and hiscolleagues at KU’s Information andTelecommunication Technology Centerdeveloped an airborne radar that canquickly measure those rates across awide swath of territory. They mounttheir invention on P-3 aircraft, retiredCold-War era submarine chasers the sizeof small cargo planes. Some of the radaractually sits in the old bomb bay to get aclear view of the white expanse below.

As the pilot flies over the glacier, theradar fires an electronic signal at the ice.Part of the signal penetrates the surfaceand bounces off the ice’s internal layers

■ Antennas are mounted on sleds (left and opposite page) and towedacross a glacier to track radar signals. Scientists also use planes withantennas mounted under the wings to measure larger swaths of ice.

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back to antennas mounted on theplane’s wings. Several factors influencethe signal’s reflection, including howthick an ice layer is and how much vol-canic ash and other contaminants it con-tains. By analyzing differences betweenthe signal that leaves the radar and thesignal that returns, Gogineni’s team candetermine how fast snow accumulatedwithin each layer. Additionally, the radarlets researchers trace each horizontallayer as it runs from the front of the glacier back inland. This helps themunderstand the history and movementof the glacier.

KU’s engineers also developed thefirst radar capable of imaging the verybottom of a glacier to look for a lubricat-ing layer of water.

“Ice flows very slowly under gravity,”Gogineni explains. “As soon as waterforms underneath it, the ice speeds uptremendously. That is what happened ata place called Jakobshavn in Greenland.It started at 6 kilometers a year in thelate 1980s. It sped up 14 to 15 kilome-ters by 2003. It is close to tripling.”

The acceleration is important becausethe faster a glacier moves, the more ice itdumps into the ocean. And Jakobshavn’s

acceleration is nothing compared withthe speed demons Gogineni has seenelsewhere. Last fall, he and his col-leagues from an international team ofresearchers announced that glaciers onthe Antarctic Peninsula had begun flow-ing up to eight times faster following thecollapse of the Larsen B ice shelf in2002. The researchers have discouragingresults from other locations as well.Surveys of Antarctica’s Amundsen Seaand all over Greenland have revealedthinning glaciers almost everywhere the team looked.

◆ ◆ ◆

At least collecting all this badnews does not require theresearchers to battle theextreme weather often found in

polar regions. Teams of a half-dozen orso scientists and graduate students visitGreenland in May and June, whenspring reaches the far north and temper-atures can soar into the 40s during dayswhen the sun never sets. The teamswork out of a former U.S. Air Force baseat Kangerlussuaq, staying in a spartanhotel fashioned from the old barracks.The town of a few hundred people doesnot have much in the way of entertain-ment, according to Braaten, but the area

■ In Greenland researchers sleep and work in tents pitched directly on the ice. Doctoralstudent Abdul Mohammed and RohitParthasarathy, e’02, use a satellite link to send field data back to KU’s Information and Telecommunication Technology Center,where it can be shared with scientists around the world.

PHOTOGRAPHS ON LOCATION PROVIDED BY KU SCIENTISTS

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does have its diversions. He frequentlyhikes the surrounding countryside andsees abundant wildlife: musk ox, rein-deer, arctic fox.

In some ways, researchers looking at the southern glaciers have things even better. Gogineni and PannirselvamKanagaratnam, an assistant research professor at KU’s Information andTelecommunication Technology Center,do not stay in Antarctica, but commuteto work from a base in the Lawrence-sized town of Punta Arenas, Chile. Butthe daily 12-hour flights to and fromtheir research areas leave little time toenjoy the relatively plush surroundings.

Of course, information, not entertain-ment, is the purpose of their trips. Theyshare the data they collect on the icewith scientists at other schools, helpingto create the elaborate mathematical for-mulas designed to predict whether theice sheets will disappear or otherwisechange.

Indeed, for all the frozen stolidity of their appearance, the ice sheets arehighly changeable. Ice has disappearedentirely from Greenland in the past, andice sheets have surged as far south asKansas. It is possible for the ice sheets tochange again, on their own or with ourhelp. The past decade has seen nine ofthe hottest years recorded since scien-tists started systematically tracking tem-perature in 1861, according to the WorldMeteorological Organization. Many peo-ple attribute that rise to emission ofgreenhouse gases. Even if you are a skep-tic about the cause of global warming,the numbers represent an ominoustrend, according to Braaten.

“The Earth has warmed about 0.75degrees in the last century. It’s believedthat if it warms by another degree, thenthe ice sheets will start changing and wewon’t be able to stop that change, even ifwe reverse the warming. We’ll havechanged the internal thermodynamics so much that the melting won’t stop.The change will be irreversible.”

Reason enough to keep an eye on the ice.�

—Michael Campbell, g’93, wrote “You AreHere” in issue No. 6, 2004.

■ Gogineni andBraaten look on asScott Borg, head ofAntarctic Sciences atthe National ScienceFoundation, announcesthe $19 million grant at a campus news conference.

NSF rewards KU teaching and research

KU’s new Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets, or CReSIS, takes its namefrom Croesus, a ruler of the ancient Middle Eastern kingdom of Lydia, who

was famed for his great wealth. CReSIS director Prasad Gogineni says the center’sscientists plan to use the $19 million grant from the National Science Foundation togather a wealth of knowledge about polar ice.

CReSIS will expand KU’s current polar research program in several ways. Centerscientists hope to improve data collection by fitting their ice-penetrating radar onunpiloted drone aircraft similar to the spy drones used to great effect in Afghanistanand Iraq.They also plan to increase outreach to future scientists by developing K-12 curricula and recruiting undergraduate and graduate students from under-represented groups.

When the center formally opens in June, it will make KU one of only five universities to be awarded two research centers by the NationalScience Foundation. KU’s other NSF center is the Centerfor Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis, which inSeptember 2003 won a $17-million grant that was,at the time, KU’s largest.

CReSIS will actually be an international con-sortium administered by KU. Other participantsinclude:

Five American universities: Elizabeth CityState University, a historically black universityin North Carolina; Haskell Indian NationsUniversity; Penn State University; Ohio StateUniversity; and the University of Maine;

Several federal agencies, including NSF, theJet Propulsion Laboratory and the GoddardSpace Flight Center;

International universities such as the TechnicalUniversity of Denmark and the University ofCopenhagen;

Businesses such as Sprint and Lockheed Martin.The Center eventually will employ 20 to 25 KU faculty, including two

new faculty positions created by the grant to study glaciology. —M.C .

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CitizenBoogTHE LONG,

STRANGE

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JOURNEY

OF DENNIS

HIGHBERGER

BY STEVEN HILL

n the city commission chamber at Lawrence City Hall, closeby the banks of the Kaw, remarkable events are unfoldingthis balmy spring night.

By unanimous vote, his fellow commissioners have justelected Dennis “Boog” Highberger to a one-year term asmayor.

Highberger is a soft-spoken man, but his first officialwords as Lawrence’s leader boom loud and clear, and theyare vintage Boog: “As the Grateful Dead used to say, ‘What a

long, strange trip it’s been.’”In 1984, Highberger, e’85, l’92, and Carla Vogel, c’86, scored one of

the most memorable student election victories in KU history. To apolitical stage traditionally trod by earnest go-getters conducting dressrehearsals for statewide office, Boog (as president) and Vogel (as vicepresident), introduced a mind-bending blend of anarchism and streettheatre. They dubbed themselves the Costume Party and chose astheir symbol a grinning jester clad in a fool’s cap. They courted inter-nationals (campaign posters were printed in a dozen languages) andother disenfranchised students. Revolution was their goal. Boog, then25 and in his seventh year at the University, declared, “I want to be thelast student body president of KU.”

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They finished third. But voting irregu-larities led to a recount, and the recountled to a new election. Boog and Carlaswitched spots on the ticket. Runningwithout greek support, facing opponentswith ample Student Senate experienceand the endorsement of the DailyKansan, the Costume Party—improbably,inexplicably—won.

In a Reagan-era atmosphere of socialDarwinism and go-go capitalism, theirreign struck many as a throwback to thecounterculture ideals of the 1960s.Eschewing formality, Carla and Boogshared presidential duties. They tried todo away with Robert’s Rules of Order,turning Senate meetings into freewheel-ing forums that one stern young polderided as “bull sessions.” They favoredblue jeans and flannel shirts to suits andties. Highberger, who sported a scragglybeard and shoulder-length hair, showedup for a budget meeting dressed asJesus. In their office hung a photo ofChe Guevara.

But behind the theatrical mask beat aheart of genuine compassion. “Despitethe funny name,” Boog says, “we wereserious.” True outsiders, they worked forinclusion. They took the office into thestreets, setting up a table on WescoeBeach to hear students’ gripes. They persuaded administrators to rename

the office of foreign students the office of international students, and theydefended funding for a gay and lesbianstudent group. They also backed talkwith action: Near the end of his term,wearing his trademark “Vote With Your Money” T-shirt, Boog got himselfarrested on the steps of the KU Endow-ment Association while leading a protestdemanding that the University divestfrom South Africa.

“There are not many places where anex-hippy anarchist with a physical dis-ability and a funny nickname can beelected mayor,” he tells the family,friends and citizens crowding City Halland those watching on TV at home.“That’s what I love about this place.”

◆ ◆ ◆

The next day, at Zen Zero, anAsian noodle shop on MassStreet, Highberger orders thelunch special—a mango curry—

with tofu instead of chicken. At 45 hishair is shorter and gone to gray. A lushgoatee frames a shy smile and behindoval specs his eyes are lively, engaged. At meetings the “ex-hippy” is often theonly commissioner in coat and tie, buttoday he wears the faded flannel anddenim of his student days.

In a business that too often judgeshumor a threat to electability, a roughedge to be sanded smooth, Boog’s play-fulness and enduring quirkiness arerefreshing. (What other city ofLawrence’s size boasts a mayor whobegins an online chat, “Greetings, citi-zens! Let the wild rumpus begin!”) Apolitician who doesn’t enjoy publicspeaking, Boog says he’s willing to playthe ribbon-cutting, hand-shaking, baby-kissing figurehead, but it won’t be easy.“It may be hard to believe, given all thethings I’ve gotten myself into,” he says,“but I don’t really like being the centerof attention.”

The prospect of stamping his person-ality on the office, on the other hand,clearly appeals.

“I can make the mayor go places hewouldn’t normally go. I can make the

mayor ride his bike to important meet-ings. The office feels kind of like a card-board image I can carry around; I canmake it go here, make it go there.”

The one thing he can’t do, it seems, ismake it stay home. Sitting at a sidewalktable on a fine spring day, eating lunchand scanning the New York Times, he’shailed by every third person who passes.Some are friends offering encourage-ment; some are constituents with a beef.All part of the job, Boog says.

“It’s good that voters can find thepeople who make decisions and talk tous. We’re still the size of communitywhere anybody can call the mayor andcomplain. I hope we don’t lose that.”

Last year, when the five-member com-mission enacted a citywide smoking ban,then Vice-Mayor Highberger cast one offour yes votes. The ban was not an issuehe raised. But in the mind of John Q.Smoker, Boog became the poster-boy forintrusive government. Opponents of theordinance singled him out for harsh criti-cism. The Lawrence Journal-World evenpublished a life-size Halloween mask ofhis face—complete with cutout cigarette.

He found the mask funny, and therest—well, he bears. It’s the duty of citi-zens, he believes, to keep their publicofficials on track.

Sound about right for someone whoonce chose a jester as his party symbol?Once upon a time in medieval courts,

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■ The Costume Party’s jester symbol, Boogwrote in 1983, represented “unconventionalperception” and “an unshakable faith in thegoodness of humanity.”

Local businesses are the key toLawrence’s strength. Neighborhoodsneed more say in development. The cityshould direct growth, not run to catchup to whatever developers build.Companies desiring tax abatementsmust pay a living wage. These are thenot-so-wild-eyed tenets of Boog’s beliefs.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’tthreads connecting today’s mayor to yes-terday’s student leader.

“Basically, the Costume Party wasabout building bridges, opening up pos-sibilities for people who had been disen-franchised,” Highberger says. “I thinkthat parallels what happened here inLawrence two years ago.”

On April Fools’ Day 2003, Highbergertallied the second highest vote count inthe city commission race. He was part of

wheel of a lavender Chevy. He evenprinted his own money.

REAL dollars, an alternative local cur-rency intended to encourage spending atLawrence businesses instead of corpo-rate chains, debuted in 2000. Though itnever really took off, the grand experi-ment (inspired by a book he discoveredwhile exploring the stacks of WatsonLibrary) highlights how idealism fos-tered at KU endured to form the core of his political beliefs.

“For a long, long time—20 years ormore—I’ve been interested in buildingalternative institutions,” he says. “Now Iwork on improving existing institutions.I mean, anybody with half a brain cancriticize. But what changes the world ispeople working to make things better.”

Don’t just complain; do something.Now there’s a radical idea.

“I’m still idealistic, but I think it’s tem-pered by a good deal of pragmatism.What I want to achieve as a city commis-sioner I would characterize as reformist,not revolutionary. Revolutionary changeshave to come from outside the system,and that’s not what I’m doing.”

you’ll recall, the jester was the one manwho could speak truth to the king.

And now, an observer needles, thejester is the king.

“Well,” retorts Boog, mischievous grinflashing, “I need to get a jester, then,don’t I?”

◆ ◆ ◆

After nailing down degrees inelectrical engineering and law,Highberger stuck aroundLawrence to become the type of

free spirit college towns are famous for.He launched his law career providinglegal aid to Native Americans and others,and he helped an unlicensed local radiostation battle the FCC. He founded anart magazine and gained renown for hisstamp art, an irreverent form that drewpen pals from around the world andgave the U.S. Postal Service fits. Heworked 30 hours a week for the KansasDepartment of Health and Environment,enforcing state regulations. He cruiseddowntown on a homemade three-wheeled recumbent bike or behind the

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 31

■ Boog promises to stamp his own uniqueimprint on the office of mayor, just as he did as student body vice president in 1984, whenhe was arrested at the Endowment Association(above) while protesting KU’s investments in South Africa.

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a three-man sweep of “Smart Growth”candidates backed by the ProgressiveLawrence Campaign, a political actioncommittee formed to offer an alternativeto the traditional power enjoyed bybuilders, realtors and other developmentadvocates. Many saw the victories ofHighberger, Mike Rundle, c’76, andDavid Schauner—who joined commis-sioner David Dunfield, c’74, g’76, g’83,to form a so-called Smart Growth “super-majority”—as a rebalancing of power afterseveral years of commissions judgedfriendly to development.

Gwen Klingenberg, ’95, a member ofthe West Lawrence NeighborhoodAssociation and president of theLawrence Association of Neighborhoodssince 2003, says neighborhood advo-cates see a difference. “I have the feelingnow that all sides are represented,” shesays. “I honestly feel as a member of theWest Lawrence NeighborhoodAssociation that a lot of changes havebeen made in the last two years thathave been wonderful. For instance,developers are actually inviting us to seetheir projects and give input. That issomething that shows thiscommission really hasmade some changes.”

During the campaign,detractors circulated copiesof “What Is Money,” anessay Boog wrote in 1987for the Gentle Anarchist,highlighting passages tosuggest that he was anti-capitalist. Trouble was, thepassages were allegedlyfaked. The original essaysshowed Boog wrote nosuch thing. Stated one let-ter to the Journal-World,“For a developer to try totwist the essay into a prob-lem suggests thatHighberger’s opponents aregetting really desperate.”

More diplomatically,Boog says, “I think somepeople, perhaps given mypast history here, had someconcerns about what I

would do in this position. But I thinkI’ve reassured most of them.”

In fact, criticism has come from thosewho think he isn’t pushing hard enoughto change the status quo. The same wastrue when he ran student government.Then, as now, Boog says, in the voting “Ifelt like I was representing people whofelt disenfranchised,” but once elected “Ifeel like I represent everybody.”

That’s evident in the ambitious agenda he has set for the year. He hasboldly placed finishing the SouthLawrence Trafficway, the stalled east-west connector, atop of his to-do list,and he’s aiming the divisive issuesquarely toward the middle ground,declaring that neither of the most polarizing choices—building through the wetlands or not building at all—remain options. It’s just one example ofhis modus operandi: Unite and conquer;bring together people to work out a solution.

“I think it comes down to the per-sonal will to address issues and seekinput from various viewpoints,” saysLavern Squier, president and CEO of

the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.“In that sense, does it matter where youstart from? You still have to cross bound-aries and try to pull opinions togetherand garner consensus. I think that’swhat Boog is trying to do.”

◆ ◆ ◆

He came to KU in 1977 fromGarnett, 50 miles south ofLawrence. The nickname,courtesy of grade school

friends, came too. When he was 15, Boog followed a

friend’s lead and dove headfirst into asnowbank. He broke his neck. He spentseveral months at the KU MedicalCenter, able to move his arms, nothingmore. Doctors thought he’d never walkagain, but he did. “His father drove upthere to see him every day,” says GeneHighberger, Boog’s uncle. “Every day. Hewas his physical therapist. He helpedhim come back.”

Long days immobilized in a hospitalbed taught him patience. “If you have anitch on your nose and you can’t move,you have to detach yourself or you’ll gocrazy,” Boog says. “I had to develop theskill of just standing back and lookingat things objectively.”

The injury changed the way he copeswith the physical world—walking stillrequires tremendous effort—but he saysit isn’t much on his mind otherwise. “Itpresents challenges,” he says. “But thestrange thing is, if I had the chance togo back and change it, I’m not sure Iwould. I’ve had a good life. Who knowshow things would be without it? That’snot to say I wouldn’t like to be able torun around the block.”

■ Humor has a place in politics, Boog believes, even when it’s at his expense (left).But at city commission meetings (above, withcommissioners Sue Hack, Mike Rundle, MikeAmyx and David Schauner) the mayor knowswhen to play it straight.“When you makedecisions that may negatively affect someone,”he says,“you want them to know you’re taking it seriously.”

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He was told, when pondering his runfor office, that a person with a disabilitycouldn’t get elected.

“I was also told substance doesn’tsell, and the Boog thing wasn’t gonnawork, either,” he says. “Apparently theywere wrong.”

His parents, and the Catholic schoolshe attended, ingrained in him an ethic of service. His mother, Norma, 84, stillvisits the Garnett senior center “to helptake care of the old people.” His father,Clarence, who died in 1997, sold com-bines and cultivators to AndersonCounty farmers and dreamed of a betterlife for his son.

“My dad ran me out of the shopbecause he said he wanted me to besomething better than he was, eventhough I thought he was great. But atthe same time, I think he didn’t reallytrust someone who didn’t work with his hands.”

That upbringing was a microcosm of“the dichotomy now playing out on thepolitical scene in Kansas,” Boog says,referring to the war between intellectual-ism and authenticity, the practical andthe ideal, detailed by Thomas Frank, ’87,in What’s the Matter With Kansas.

Those opposing forces have long

tugged at the bookish Highberger. He’sapt to quote Marx one moment andZippy the Pinhead the next. He spentmuch of his student days exploringWatson, reading through entire sectionsof the stacks. “I wasted some of the bestyears of my life in the library,” he jokes,but allows, in a more serious moment,those are the days he’d most like toreturn to, just for the pure pleasure ofexploring books and ideas. There’ssomething professorial about him still,but academia—while tempting—neverreeled him in. “I’ve got this nativeKansan compulsion to do somethinguseful with the things I’ve learned,which is probably why I’m here doingwhat I’m doing.”

For a man drawn more to tinkering in the shop than cogitating in the ivorytower, city government fits perfectly.Lawrence has grown, but its politics are still small-town. Rundle, the formermayor who passed the gavel to High-berger in April, works a checkout line at

the Community Mercantile, the coopera-tive grocery where Boog is a member ofthe board of directors. Vice-Mayor MikeAmyx, re-elected to the city commissionafter serving in the 1980s and ’90s, cutshis hair.

“I think democracy really does worksat this level,” Boog says. “You get muchhigher, and I get a little more skeptical.”

He has promised that his year asmayor will be an interesting one. Hewants new zoning and subdivision codesthat make it easier to build traditionalfront-porch neighborhoods that fostertight-knit communities. He’s calling for acommunity visioning process to healdivisions and talk about “not just whatwe want Lawrence to look like, but whatwe want Lawrence to be.” He wantsexcise taxes to ensure development paysfor itself, more green space, more indus-trial land, more affordable housing. And

then there’s the SLT, the hottestof Lawrence’s hot-button issues.

“I think his sense of humorwill help,” Rundle says, “becauseit brings us together in thosetense moments.” There may beample opportunity to test that

notion in the coming months. If Boogsucceeds, he may be remembered as themayor who put the laughs back inbrouhaha.

Yes, he’s the mayor—“I just hope otherpeople find it as amusing as I do,” hesays—but in the commission system he’sstill just one vote among five.

Yet he is committed and serious andhe has a head full of ideas and a strongconviction that people working togethercan solve problems.

He also understands the power of one vote.

After his term as student body vicepresident, Highberger wrote-in his ownname during a Student Senate election.

It was the only vote he won. Yet byyear’s end, so many senators had vacatedseats, grown tired of the messy businessof governing, the not-so-young-idealistfrom Garnett added one more long shotto his resume: Senator Boog.

One vote. One more laugh for the jester.�

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Munira Al-Meer, a tiny, spirited, captivating woman, arrived from Doha,Qatar, in the early spring of 2001 and immediately encounteredsomething she had never before seen. “I came with the snow,” theceramic artist says, days before her March 30 departure, which occa-sioned much more local attention than did her arrival four years

GRADUATE STUDENT’S ORGANIC SCULPTURESSURPRISE CAMPUS AUDIENCES

BY CHRIS LAZZARINO

Perfect Form

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 35


earlier. “I like the Kansas weather now,but then, I was so cold, I just want tosleep. I didn’t want school, only sleep.I don’t know why.”

Al-Meer, g’05, says that at the timeshe left Qatar University, where shetaught ceramics, to study for her mas-ter’s degree in the United States, nounmarried woman had traveled aloneoutside of Qatar. Certainly none hadcome to America on an art scholarshipawarded by the government, Al-Meersays, and she was the first of eithergender to win a scholarship for ceram-ics. Much has changed in the years shehas been away, Al-Meer says happily, butat the time, her adventure was still rareenough that her mother insisted onaccompanying her.

Replicating experiences repeated herefor more than a century by those whoview Lawrence as a foreign land, Al-Meer and her mother spent a weekgawking at, and reluctantly absorbing,the bizarre and beautiful college town.

“My mother, she is crying so much!

She say to me, ‘Go school and home, goschool and home, no go anywhere else!’My mother, she came just one week, justto find the place for me to live and seethe school, because she is so worried.”

Al-Meer giggles at the memory, as shedoes often, and her patchwork English isnever a problem because of her laugh.She makes herself always understoodwith her disarming laugh, beguilingsmile, instructive eyes and, of course, theexpressive ceramics that took hold ofcampus art circles in one brilliant, star-tling week in mid-March. As quickly asshe flew into our consciousnesses, she

■ Any of the 48 ceramic plates filling one wall of the Art & Design Gallery would

be treasured by collectors, yet Munira Al-Meeronly made them to test glazes.As can be seen

at far right, her early works featured tubularcoils growing out of pot-like bases. Pieces featured on the previous page and in the

photo second from the left, above, show herwork as the coils blossomed to emphasize

spaces and forms while abandoning any refer-ence to the traditional pot.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY EARL RICHARDSON

was gone, leaving for Qatar 12 days afterthe close of her thesis show in the Art &Design Gallery.

“You can’t imagine how much pullthis show has had,” says GregoryThomas, professor and chair of design.“And I think it could have beenphenomenal had we known what washere. This woman is very shy, and every-body knew parts of her, but nobodyknew the whole her. So when the showwent in, everybody was looking at eachother and saying, ‘What? Where didthis come from?’ The faculty, including metals, textiles, design, everybody, was

■ Associate Professor David Vertacnik, abovewith Al-Meer, describes his star student as“personable, passionate and prolific,”and says,“Some of these geometricsshe’s picked up on are really a chal-lenge for a person who works in clay.She knows how to stretch it, and she’spushing it to the limit. It’s pretty phe-nomenal.”


saying, ‘I want one of those.’“Another thing we found out is, she’s

not selling any of it.”

◆ ◆ ◆

The first reaction to Al-Meer’swork, and even an enduringimpression shared by some ofher faculty and friends, is that

her stunning ceramic sculptures are styl-

want my audience to interact with.”While studying and teaching in Doha,

Al-Meer concentrated on “maintainingthe idea of the pot,” a traditional form offunctional design. She then begansprouting coils from the tops of the ves-sels, and then wrapped coils into pot-like forms. Through these explorations,which gained intensity and scope whenshe joined the KU ceramics programafter a year and a half of studying

ized coral or sponges. Considering thatQatar is a tiny peninsula jutting into thePersian Gulf from the east coast of SaudiArabia, the sea-creature references arenatural, though wrong, assumptions.

“Though some sculptures may bereminiscent of some existing naturalform,” she writes in her show catalog,“they are not meant to suggest a particu-lar idea. Rather, it is the organic forms,and the spaces created by them, that I

■ “I was, and still am, a pioneer in the fieldof ceramics for my country,” Al-Meer wrote

in her master’s thesis.“I have worked to createa unique form largely independent of historic

reference or influence.The work is inspired bya reverence for God and the desire to adhere

to his guidance. In this respect, my sculpturalpieces look both outward and inward, even to

the molecular level, to discover and speak tothe divine creative force. I would like the

viewer to look at my work and connect to life.I want my work to be permeated with lightthrough inner passages to visually draw the

viewer through the piece.There is nothing thatshould represent a visual barrier.”

English in Lawrence, she finally over-built a vertical piece that shattered intoher breakthrough.

At the urging of her adviser, AssociateProfessor David Vertacnik, Al-Meer usedthe altered, and now horizontal, piece tobegin new explorations of form. Sheresponded with a growth into complex“wavy space forms” that depend uponspacial play, undulating openings, com-manding size and structure, texturedsurfaces, varied glazes and subtle colors,and even etched carvings of Arabic scriptand geometrics.

Each piece is, on its own, remarkableand, to the untrained eye, worthy of anygallery or museum. To see 53 of themfilling one gallery, along with 48 platesthat could have made for a show in theirown right yet were created only to test

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 39

glaze experiments, is to encounter theraw powers of galloping energy andthundering originality.

Professor Jon Havener wrote in Al-Meer’s leather-bound comments book,“This is a unique exhibit the likes ofwhich I have never before seen in thisgallery.” Thomas, the department chair,recalls hearing a well-dressed womanbarking into a phone, “But she won’tsell!” Says Thomas: “This could go in

New York galleries at any time. Today.But, of course we want her back. First toKansas, then to New York.”

And even Al-Meer herself expressedsatisfaction at how her show, titled“Organic Form and Space,” provided acomforting end to such an importantstage in her life.

“From the same hand, all at the sametime,” she says, her eyes darting aroundthe big, square Art & Design Gallery.“Yes, I like to see them all together.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Al-Meer’s sculptures, some ofwhich weigh more than 300pounds, filled their own ship-ping container for the month-

long ocean voyage back to Qatar. They

will be reassembled for exhibitions atQatar University and the Qatar Fine ArtsSociety’s new contemporary museum.If all goes as Al-Meer hopes, the sculp-tures eventually will have a permanenthome in her own museum, on thegrounds of Qatar University, where shewill continue to teach and create.

The plans are big, but, judging by thework, not outsized.

“I like working in the mornings, andat night, sometimes for 10 or 12 hours aday, sometimes for seven or eight, it justdepends,” Al-Meer says. “I miss myfamily a lot, but also it has been good tobe here, where I can concentrate. It hasmade me focus on work, with no inter-ruptions.”

For this artist filled with dreams,there is no longer time for sleep.�

Association


The University’s highest honor, theDistinguished Service Citation, thismonth goes to three alumni and a long-time KU leader. KU and the Alumni

Association will honor them May 20 at the All-University Supper, and the four will march inCommencement May 22.

The 2005 winners are Paul James Adam Jr.,e’56, Overland Park; Forrest E. Hoglund e’56, Dallas; Delbert M. Shankel, assoc.,Lawrence; and Kala Mays Stroup, c’59, g’64,PhD’74, Lawrence.

The DSC honors individuals who throughtheir lives and careers have helped benefithumanity. Nominations for the award are accepted each year until Sept. 30; representativesfrom the Alumni and Endowment associationsand the Chancellor’s office select the recipients.

As an innovator throughout his career, JimAdam improved not only the mechanics of fossil-fueled power plants, but also the computer toolsto design them, and the worldwide firm responsi-ble for plant design and construction. In 1956,he joined Black & Veatch as a mechanical engi-neer. Fifty years later, he remains chairman emer-

itus of the firm he guided through much of the1990s as chairman and CEO. He led the firmfrom a partnership to a corporation with em-ployee ownership, and he led his industry aschair of the U.S. Energy Association and theWorld Energy Council.

In Kansas City, he has helped guide the CivicCouncil, the United Way and the MidwestResearch Institute. For KU, he is a member of theEdwards Campus Advisory board, past chair ofthe School of Engineering advisory board and atrustee of the KU Endowment Association. Hewas a KU First donor to engineering’s EatonHall, and he served on the Alumni Association’snational Board of Directors from 1998 to 2001,chairing it from 1998 to ’99. He also served onthe Adams Alumni Center Board of Governorsfrom 1993 to 2002. He is a member of the engi-neering school’s Mechanical Engineering Hall ofFame and a Distinguished Service Award winner,and his many professional and communityawards include the Human Relations Award fromthe American Jewish Committee.

Forrest Hoglund embodies “drive” in everysense of the word. In the oil and gas industry, hebecame known for spurring small companies tobig growth and top performance. He chairs ArcticResources Co. Ltd., a group proposing a $10 bil-lion natural gas pipeline from northern Alaskathrough Canada, and SeaOne Maritime Corp.,which transports natural gas.

The DSC wascreated in 1941to honor alumniand non-alumni

for their serviceto humanity. Each

year’s recipientshave traditionally

marched atCommencement.The University ofKansas does notgrant honorary

degrees.

Adam Hoglund Shankel Stroup

Highest distinctionAssociation, KU bestow top award

upon 4 who selflessly serve

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 41

Civic leaders in Texas and his fellowJayhawks have trusted him to providethe drive behind many a successful fund-raising campaign, most notably the his-toric KU First venture, which raised$653 million for the University. TheHoglund Brain Imaging Center at KUMedical Center signifies his quest to pro-vide the most advanced tools to benefitmedical care, teaching and research.Through the years, he has contributed tonumerous areas of the University, includ-ing the Hoglund Engineering Lab and,as a former baseball letterman and cap-tain, Hoglund Ballpark. He received theFred Ellsworth Medallion in 1996 for hisservice to KU.

His enthusiasm as a spokesman andinvestor also brought fund-raising suc-cess to the M.D. Anderson CancerFoundation and the Musueum ofNatural Science in Houston. He chairsthe Hoglund Family Foundation inDallas, and he has developed and sup-ported The Reasoning Mind, a Web-based math program for fifth- and sixth-graders. He now leads another ambi-tious drive, this time for the DallasMuseum of Nature & Science.

Del Shankel, professor and chancelloremeritus, has earned acclaim as a scien-tist, a teacher, and an energetic leaderwho welcomes a challenge. But beyondacclaim, he has earned affection fromcountless scholars, students andUniversity staff members. Though hisacademic life began at Walla WallaCollege in Washington and theUniversity of Texas, he is a confirmedJayhawk whose length and breadth ofservice defy concise explanation. He has served KU as department chair,dean, the first executive vice chancellor,and twice as chancellor, though he isofficially known as KU’s 15th chancellorfor his leadership from 1994 to ’95.

During critical transitions, he hasserved as interim athletics director, act-ing chancellor, and interim president ofthe Alumni Association.

Through the years he has continuedto encourage young scholars in microbi-ology and related fields through histeaching, advising and publications. As a

researcher, he has studied mechanismsto halt cancer-causing gene mutations,receiving numerous grants from theNational Institutes of Health and theNational Science Foundation.

The KU chapter of Mortar Board hashonored him three times as an outstand-ing educator; in 1989 Walla WallaCollege named him Alumnus of the Year,and KU honored him for his service in1996 with the Fred Ellsworth Medallion.

Kala Stroup majored in speech anddrama, but she found her home on astage larger than any theatre. As anational leader in higher education, shebecame a mentor and model for count-less young women, starting at KU, whereshe spent 18 years as a teacher andadviser, including a stint as dean ofwomen.

She served as chief academic officer atEmporia State University, then spent 12years as a university president at MurrayState University in Kentucky andSoutheast Missouri State University. In1995, she expanded her role in Missourias commissioner of higher education,serving on the Governor’s Cabinet until2002. She is now president of AmericanHumanics, which prepares future leadersof universities and nonprofit groups.

For KU, she has served on the boardof the Alumni Association from 1985 to’90, and on the Emily Taylor Women’sResource Center Advisory Board from1974 to 1983; she began a second termon the center’s board in 2004. She is amember of the KU Women’s Hall ofFame and received the Alumni HonorCitation from the Division of Speech andDrama. A fountain at Southeast MissouriState University is named for her, andtwo honorary degrees are among hermany professional and civic awards.�

■ School spirit abounded during Gold Medal Weekend. Brad, d’53, and Donna Hillyer Keith, d’52,of Plano,Texas, (above) sang along to the KU songbook at the Gold Medal Club brunch.At the50-year anniversary dinner for members of the Class of 1955, former cheerleaders (top, l to r)Frances Henningson Lintecum, d’55, and Alberta Johnson McGrath, d’55, both of Prairie Village,again encouraged their classmates to cheer for ol’ KU.

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Association


◆ ◆ ◆

Good as goldReunions hit full swing

with record turnout

Gold Medal Weekend, featuringreunions of the 50-year anniversary

class and Gold Medal Club, was biggerand better than ever in 2005, withrecord numbers of participants keepingthe festivities hopping April 15 and 16.

“From the very first time that we’vehad an anniversary, it’s just grown,”Gary Padgett, b’55, of Greenleaf, said ofClass of ’55 reunions. “We all feel asthough we’re a family, and we feel we are part of the University of Kansas family.”

Their ranks were so full that theFriday-evening cocktail reception anddinner, a feed for more than 200, had tobe moved to a downtown hotel. For theSaturday pinning luncheon, where 50-year reunion attendees receive the pinand citation that officially confer mem-bership in the Gold Medal Club, morethan 130 citations were read.

Equally enthusiastic were Jayhawks of earlier generations, who again gath-ered for their Gold Medal Brunch in theKansas Union. The senior Jayhawksheard, as always, from campus leaders,including Chancellor Robert E.Hemenway. And, as always, they partici-pated in organized bus tours or tookleisurely strolls, marveling at the changesvisited upon their beloved Mount Oread.

“Mind-boggling,” said Harland Cope,c’44, who lives in Hawaii and had notreturned to campus in 30 years. Whenhe spied a dandelion on the Lied Centerlawn, Cope instantly recalled a traditionnever to be forgotten by Jayhawks of hisera: Dandelion Days. “I haven’t dug adandelion since,” he said with a laugh.

Weedier traditions might have beeneradicated, but the important mattersremain unchanged: sincere school spiritnourished and replenished when theJayhawk generations mingle amongMount Oread’s spring finery.�

■ Jayhawks from near and far flocked toLawrence, including (top left) Ramesh Premji,e’55, and his wife, Raju Rameshchandra, bothof Hyderabad, India; (middle left, l to r) Janeand Otto Schnellbacher, d’48, and Mary E.Turkington, j’46, all of Topeka; and more than130 members of the Class of 1955 (below),who received their Gold Medal Club pinsfrom Leah and Chancellor Robert E.Hemenway. George Winters Jr., ’51, of LakeQuivira, and Nancy Schnelli Hambleton, ’50, ofLawrence, (top right, l to r) chatted whilewaiting for the Gold Medal Club brunch toget underway in the Kansas Union.

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Board of Directors

CHAIRLarry J. Borden, b’62, g’67,

Colorado Springs, Colo.

EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRDavid B.Wescoe, c’76,

La Jolla, California

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEELarry J. Borden, b’62, g’67,

Colorado Springs, Colo.Jill Sadowsky Docking,

c’78, g’84,WichitaRobert L. Driscoll, c’61, l’64,

Mission WoodsReid Holbrook, c’64, l’66,

Overland ParkMarvin R. Motley, c’77, l’80,

g’81, LeawoodLinda Duston Warren,

c’66, m’70, HanoverDavid B.Wescoe, c’76,

La Jolla, California

VICE CHAIRSTony C. Guy, c’82, Kansas City,MissouriJohn P. Hanna, g’64, d’66,

g’67, PhD’73, St. Petersburg,Florida

Jay Howard, b’79, Austin,TexasMonty E. Strecker b’80,

Ellinwood

DIRECTORS TO JULY 2005Nancy Borel Ellis, d’63,

Pinehurst, North CarolinaSydnie Bowling Kampschroeder, c’65,

Chicago, IllinoisCraig B. Swenson, e’59,

Lee’s Summit, Missouri

DIRECTORS TO JULY 2006Jill Sadowsky Docking,

c’78, g’84,WichitaMarvin R. Motley,

c’77, l’80, g’81, Leawood

David B.Wescoe, c’76,La Jolla, California

DIRECTORS TO JULY 2007Con M. Keating, c’63,

Lincoln, NebraskaJoe C. Morris, b’61, LeawoodAllyn W. Risley e’72,

Houston,Texas

DIRECTORS TO JULY 2008Carol Ann Adams Brown,

c’72,Alexandria,VirginiaTom H. Collinson,

c’00, PittsburgPetra “Tedde” Tasheff, c’78,

New York, New York

DIRECTORS TO JULY 2009Robert T. Stephan, ’54,

LenexaBecky VanWyhe Thomas,

e’86, Baldwin CitySue Shields Watson, d’75,

Wichita

HONORARY MEMBERSGene A. Budig, EdD,

Princeton, New JerseyE. Laurence Chalmers Jr.,

PhD, San Antonio,Texas Archie R. Dykes, EdD,

Leawood Delbert M. Shankel, PhD,

Lawrence

Administrative Staff

ADMINISTRATIONKevin J. Corbett, c’88

President and CEO

ALUMNI CENTERHeath Peterson, d’04

Director of the Adams Alumni Center

ALUMNI PROGRAMSJennifer Alderdice, g’99

Director of Student Programs

Carolyn Barnes, c’80Director of the Kansas Honors Program

Janice CordryDirector of Travel and Reunion Programs

Michael W. Davis, d’84, g’91Sr VP of Alumni Programs

Jill Simpson, d’01Director of Chapter Development

COMMUNICATIONSChris Lazzarino, j’86

Associate Editor, Kansas Alumni magazine

Jennifer Sanner, j’81Sr VP for Communications and Corporate Secretary

Susan Younger, f ’91Art Director

FINANCEDwight Parman

Sr VP for Finance and Human Resources & Treasurer

INTERNET SERVICESMike Wellman, c’86

Director of Internet Services and Special Projects

MEMBERSHIPBryan Greve

Sr VP for Membership and the Adams Alumni Center

RECORDSBill Green

Sr VP for Information Services

Stefanie ShackelfordVice President for Records

SPECIAL EVENTSLora Stoppel

Vice President for Special Events

The Alumni Association was established in 1883 for the purpose of strengthening loyalty, friendship, com-mitment and communication among graduates, former and current students, parents, faculty, staff and all

other friends of The University of Kansas. Its members hereby unite into an Association to achieve unity ofpurpose and action to serve the best interests of The University and its constituencies.The Association is

organized exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes.

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 43

Class Notes B Y K A R E N G O O D E L L


1941Robert, d’41, c’46, and Dorothy May

Pine, c’42, have traveled to more than300 countries. They live in Boulder,Colo., and belong to the Travelers’Century Club, which requires its mem-bers to visit at least 100 countries. Theirgoal is to visit every country in theworld.

1949Robert Brown, e’49, is a resident of

San Diego.James, b’49, and Ann Cuthbertson

Hotchkiss, d’52, make their home inMission Hills.

1953Jerome Sattler, g’53, PhD’60, received

the 2005 Gold Medal for LifeAchievement in the Application ofPsychology from the AmericanPsychological Association. He is a profes-sor emeritus at San Diego StateUniversity.

1955Robert Worcester, b’55, recently was

knighted by Queen Elizabeth of Englandin recognition of his service to political,social and economic research and for hiscontribution to government policy andprograms. He is a governor of theLondon School of Economics andPolitical Science and a governor andhonorary professor at the University ofKent. He makes his home in AllingtonCastle in Kent.

1956Jean Orr, s’56, founded and is director

of Restoration Ministries International inDenver. She lives in Greenwood Village,Colo.

1957Earl Merkel, m’57, recently was

named 2005 Kansas Family Physician of

the Year by the Kansas Academy ofFamily Physicians. He practices medicinein Russell.

1958Robert Terrill, b’58, makes his home

in Overland Park with his wife, Judith.

1959Marcia Blumberg, d’59, recently was

elected financial secretary for theLutheran Women’s Missionary Leagueof Kansas. She and her husband, John,b’56, make their home in Andover.

Richard Medley, c’59, l’63, serves as atrustee and director of CoffeyvilleRegional Medical Center. Richard andhis wife, Becky, live in Coffeyville.

1960Francis Sellers, PhD’60, is an associ-

ate with Back Bay Financial Group. Heand his wife, Marianne, live in SouthYarmouth, Mass.

1961Michael Garrison, e’61, works as a

master flight instructor and an FAA des-ignated pilot examiner. He and RobertaJohnson Garrison, c’62, live in Leawood.

Kirk Prather, e’61, g’64, hosted areunion recently of several of his formerfraternity brothers and Andre deVilliers, who spent the 1959-’60 aca-demic year at KU as a graduate studentfrom South Africa. Kirk lives in VanNuys, Calif.

1963Thomas Brown, e’63, is a managing

member of Brown Cascade Properties inBend, Ore., where he and CarolCochran Brown, d’63, make their home.

Caswell Hobbs, b’63, lives inAlexandria, Va., where he’s a principal atPotomac River Associates. He recentlyreceived a lifetime achievement awardfrom the Federal Trade Commission.

Lawrence Wright, c’63, l’66, is seniorlegal adviser for the U.S. Department ofState. He lives in Keller, Texas.

1964Clark Ellis, b’64, does accounting for

Duke Energy Field Services. He lives inLafayette, Colo.

Carol Peterson Tatay, d’64, is vicepresident of Tatay Tatay Inc. in FortWorth, Texas.

MARRIEDRalph Schmidt, b’64, l’67, to Francine

Winn, June 12. They live in Fairway, andRalph is president of Ralph Schmidt &Co.

1965Andrzej Bartke, PhD’65, is a profes-

sor of internal medicine at SouthernIllinois University in Springfield. He livesin Mechanicsburg.

Karen Love Dale, c’65, works forNational Educational Software, whereshe’s a trainer and contractor. Karen andher husband, Don, c’65, live inCoronado, Calif.

1966Ralph Juhnke, c’66, PhD’80, is a sen-

ior research analyst at Johnson CountyCommunity College in Overland Park.

1967Kenneth Mathiasmeier, e’67, g’73, is a

research staff member for the Institutefor Defense Analyses. He lives inManassas, Va.

1968Alice White, c’68, directs public rela-

tions for Texas Tech University inLubbock.

1969John Manahan, d’69, g’82, is a senior

consultant with CGI-AMS in Chicago.

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 45

Stephen Morgan, j’69, l’74, recentlywas elected a member of BondSchoeneck & King in Overland Park.

1970Terrence Jones, d’70, g’72, is presi-

dent and CEO of the Wolf TrapFoundation for the Performing Arts inVienna, Va. He recently received a distin-guished service award from theAssociation of Performing Arts for hisservice to the field of professional pre-senting.

Peter Kovac, j’70, commutes fromParkville, Mo., to Kansas City, where he’sCEO of Nicholson Kovac.

1971Augustus diZerega, c’71, g’74, teaches

political science at St. LawrenceUniversity in Canton, N.Y.

Thomas Handley, c’71, is vice presi-dent of Lewis & Ellis in Overland Park.

Berg Keshian, e’71, works as vice pres-ident for Weston Solutions inAlbuquerque, N.M.

Wayne Mark, c’71, is planning man-ager for MeadWestvaco in Deridder, La.

1973Gregory Cott, b’73, is president of

United Way of McLean County. He livesin Bloomington, Ill.

Adrian Faimon, e’73, works as ahydrologist for the National WeatherService. He lives in Lee’s Summit, Mo.

Michael Keilberg, e’73, manages proj-ect controls for Shell Oil Products. Helives in Torrance, Calif.

Carolyn Kubik, c’73, m’79, is a reprod-cutive endocrinologist with ReproductiveHealth Specialists in Pittsburgh, Pa.,where she lives with her husband, SteeleFilipek.

1975David Arasmith, a’75, works as a

designer and superintendent at A.G.Tollefson & Co. in Topeka.

Dean Homolka, c’75, l’79, practiceslaw in Wichita.

MARRIEDRick Worner, d’75, and Lorie Walker,

j’87, Jan. 13 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Rick isexecutive vice president of Oppenheimerin Kansas City, and Lorie works for theKU Endowment Association. They live inRoeland Park.

1977Susan Ward Aber, c’77, teaches at

Emporia State University. She recentlyreceived a doctoral dissertation fellow-ship from the American LibraryAssociation for her proposal,“Information Needs and Behaviors ofGeoscience Educations: A GroundedTheory Study.”

Paul Coakley, c’77, recently wasordained bishop of the Catholic dioceseof Salina.

Phillip Correll, c’77, works as a senioranalyst for Yellow Roadway in OverlandPark.

1978Mark Gabrick, c’78, manages seed

market sales for the Golf CourseSuperintendents Association inLawrence.

Tom Krattli, b’78, is president ofPlaza Mortgage Services in Leawood. Heand Mary Kosier Krattli, b’77, live inStilwell.

Andrew Ramirez, b’78, l’81, recentlybecame a department chair at Lathrop &Gage in Overland Park. He lives inLawrence.

1979Mary Beth Davis Dean, d’79, g’81,

supervises the speech department at theSt. Joseph Institute for the Deaf inChesterfield, Mo. She lives in Kirkwood.

1980Scott Bloch, c’80, l’86, is special coun-

sel to the U.S. Office of Special Counselin Washington, D.C. He lives inAlexandria, Va.

William Buzbee, j’80, g’84, works as

a researcher for Hewlett-PackardLaboratories in Palo Alto, Calif.

Pamela Evans, b’80, is president ofEvans Consulting Group in Fairport,N.Y.

Craig Finley, e’80, lives in Tallahassee,Fla., where he’s president of FinleyEngineering.

1981James, c’81, e’01, and Lisa Borden

Burton, c’82, live in Portland, Ore., with their children, William and Katie.Jim is a hydraulic engineer with the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers, and Lisa is aregional manager of human resourceswith Terex Utilities.

Kevin Riedel, c’81, works on the data-base administrator staff at LockheedMartin in Fort Worth, Texas.

1982Patricia McRae Denning, m’82,

recently was named chief of staff at KU’sWatkins Student Health Center. She andher husband, Dale, m’82, live inLawrence.

William Ford, c’82, recently becamedepartment chair at Lathrop & Gage inKansas City.

Jacquie Hill, j’82, supervises market-ing communications for AssurantEmployee Benefits in Kansas City.

1983Barbara Brainerd Barrett, c’83, prac-

tices podiatry at the McBride Clinic inEdmond, Okla.

1984Jeff Bollig, b’84, directs communica-

tions for the Golf CourseSuperintendents Association of America.He commutes to Lawrence fromOverland Park. He is co-author, alongwith Doug Vance, of Beware of the Phog:50 Years of Allen Fieldhouse.

Daniel Godfrey, c’84, recently retiredas a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army.He lives in Raleigh, N.C.

1985Tina West Faria, n’85, is a nurse at St.

John’s Hospital in Springfield, Mo.John Smith, e’85, works as a producer

with Walt Disney Animation. He lives inSanta Monica, Calif.

1986Christine Davis, b’86, g’87, is vice

president of treasury and tax manage-ment with Endo Pharmaceuticals. Shelives in Newton Square, Pa.

Josephine Cavestany Foley, c’86, hasa dental practice, Biondo & Foley DentalGroup. She lives in North Andover,Mass.

1987Sally Betta, g’87, teaches second

grade at Junction Elementary School inKansas City. She lives in ShawneeMission.

John Clever, l’87, is assistant directorof athletics at the University of Oregonin Eugene.


Class Notes

BORN TO:Jeff, c’87, and Elaine Fields Jacobs,

c’89, son, Connor Leon, Feb. 1 inMission Hills, where he joins a brother,Jackson, who’s nearly 2.

1988Chris Burmeister, e’88, is a project

engineer with Hernandez Engineering inHouston.

John Ertz, c’88, lives in ShakerHeights, Ohio. He’s managing partner of

the Northwestern Mutual FinancialNetwork.

Mark Mileski, p’88, owns GenesisTravel in Carrollton, Texas.

John Sisco, g’88, PhD’90, lives in AnnArbor, Mich., where he’s executive direc-tor of Pfizer. He recently was electedpresident of the American Association ofPharmaceutical Scientists.

Karlton Uhm, b’88, is vice presidentof mortgage banking at NorthstarLenders in Downers Grove, Ill.

1989Vicki Johnson, PhD’89, is a senior

engineering specialist with CessnaAircraft in Wichita.

Eric Larson, p’89, PharmD’04, worksas assistant director of pharmacy atAvera Queen of Peace Hospital. He livesin Mitchell, S.D.

Kenton Snow, c’89, recently was pro-moted to partner at Lathrop & Gage inKansas City.

James Woodson, g’89, is president of

Moffet’s tales of discovery reach around the world

When she began working forthe National GeographicSociety’s news service,Barbara Moffet didn’t plan

to go to graduate school. But 27 yearslater, she figures she has earned theequivalent of a master’s hood or two,and she has participated in the transfor-mation of the 118-year-old society.

“Writing features was like going toschool again, because they gave us a lotof time to study and learn before wewrote. I felt like it was a couple moredegrees’ worth of study in biology,archaeology, paleontology, all thosethings I didn’t know much about.”

Now, as a director of communicationsfor the society, Moffet, j’73, is indeedconversant on the subjects of a frozenIncan mummy, new species of dinosaurand, most recently, an ancient humanspecies nicknamed “the hobbit,” discov-ered last fall in Indonesia.

When explorers find such treasures,they call Moffet, who tells the story invarious media and organizes the worldpress, tasks that sometimes require herto sort through political protocol, soothecranky reporters and photographersand, on occasion, summon wondrousfeats of engineering. In 1996, she coordi-

B Y J E N N I F E R J A C K S O N S A N N E RProfile

nated an international press conferenceat National Geographic headquarters inWashington, D.C., to unveil the “IceMaiden,” an Incan mummy, originally ahuman sacrifice, that had lain frozenatop a 22,000-foot mountain in Peru.The conference included Peruvian presi-dent Alberto Fujimori, then U.S. firstlady Hillary Rodham Clinton, scientists,and of course, swarms of reporters andphotographers.

The following year, Moffet watchednervously as giant casts of a newdinosaur species unearthed in Africawere assembled in the courtyardbetween the two buildings that make upthe society’s headquarters. “I had to hirean engineering firm,” Moffet recalls,“because one of my concerns was thatthe wind would knock the dinosaursover and crush a reporter, and that’s notreally good for media relations. So theengineers attached guidewires to thebuildings all the way around the exhibit,but it still swung in the wind.”

Such colossal projects are now rou-tine for the society, whose explorationstories once were told chiefly through asingle magazine but now reach millionsthrough numerous magazines, televisionbroadcasts in 150 countries, online pub-lications and special classroom pro-grams, including a National GeographicBee that awards annual scholarships.

“We’re really trying to get the message ofappreciating nature and cultures acrossto people all over the world,” Moffetsays. “Everything we do is part of dis-seminating geographic knowledge, andthat mission takes many forms. It’s excit-ing to work in a place that is helping toenlighten and enthuse people.”�

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 47

■ Moffet helped plan the society’s 1987 cen-tennial and since then has been instrumental increating the explorers-in-residence program,and the National Geographic Bee, a nationalcompetition that involves 5 million students infourth through eighth grades.

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Class Notes

WoodVesting in Los Angeles.

1990Scott Beaven, e’90, g’93, PhD’95,

serves on the corporate senior staff ofthe Space Computer Corp. in San Diego,Calif., where he lives.

Debra Howland Burgess, c’90, man-ages strategic integration for GEConsumer Finance in Merriam. She lives

in Prairie Village.Brett Leopold, c’90, is a senior attor-

ney at Sprint in Overland Park.Melanie Dick McMullen, l’90, prac-

tices law and is a political public affairsconsultant at Clear CreekCommunications in Holt, Mo.

Marion Salyer Stone, c’90, g’01,PhD’05, is associate director andresearch coordinator for UMKC’s Center

for Academic Development. She lives inOlathe.

MARRIEDAndrew Halaby, e’90, g’92, l’96, to

Ann Flood, Jan. 8 in Phoenix, wherethey live. Andrew practices law withSnell & Wilmer, and Ann is a graduatestudent.

BORN TO:Chad, c’90, l’94, and Kara Beach

Gillam, d’94, g’96, daughter, AbigailKnox, May 11 in Englewood, Colo.,where she joins a sister, Megan, 2.

Neal Lintecum, m’90, and Julie, son,Jackson Dean, Jan. 13 in Lawrence,where Neal is a surgeon withOrthopedic Surgery Associates.

1991Melanie Botts, j’91, edits copy for the

Wall Street Journal in Princeton, N.J.Douglas Franz, c’91, works as a pilot

for FedEx. He lives in Anchorage, Alaska.Vincent Garcia, c’91, lives in

Lawrence, where he’s vice president ofUniversity National Bank.

Kendall Peters Johnson, b’91, is acompensation consultant for Fujitsu inRichardson, Texas.

Kimberly Fellers Marney, c’91, is areadevelopment manager for Casuals Etc. inTopeka.

Mark Smith, e’91, manages NorthAmerican regional trading for ChevronTexaco. His home is in Houston.

Chadwick Waetzig, b’91, is senior vicepresident of Marriott International inWashington, D.C. He lives inGaithersburg, Md.

MARRIEDLori Mitchell, d’91, to Karl Kandt,

Nov. 20 in Johnson. They live in Ulysses.Mary Womble, a’91, to Franklin Kell,

Oct. 9. They live in Tulsa, Okla., andMary manages client services for BSWInternational.

1992Gregory Ballew, c’92, l’95, is a part-

ner in Bioff Finucane in Kansas City.Casey Housley, c’92, l’96, recently was


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elected a partner in the Kansas City firmof Armstrong Teasdale. He lives inLeawood.

Louis Lopez, j’92, is a senior trialattorney for the U.S. Department ofJustice in Washington, D.C. He lives inArlington, Va.

Josh Taylor, b’92, makes his home inEden Prairie, Minn. He’s managing direc-tor of Black River Asset Management inMinnetonka.

BORN TO:Steven, b’92, and Jennifer Tweed

Beardslee, c’93, son, Samuel Robert,July 1 in Kansas City.

LoAnn Quinn Burt, c’92, l’94, andKevin, f’94, daughter, Harper Reece, June19 in Columbus, Ohio. LoAnn is seniorhuman-resources manager for AmericanShowa, and Kevin is a product designerfor Crane Plastics.

Heather Malone Grandsire, d’92, andJim, son, John James, Sept. 2 inBaltimore, where he joins a sister,Maggie, who’s nearly 3. Heather teachesfourth grade at Hawthorne ElementarySchool.

Heather Gage Jackson, j’92, andJustin, son, Aidan Jacques, Dec. 21 inSummerville, S.C., where he joins twinbrothers, Evan and Nolan, 3.

Kevin, e’92, g’95, and HeatherSwitzer Wagner, e’96, son, Taylor Reid,Feb. 1 in Colorado Springs.

1993Christine Brocker Bina, p’93, is a reg-

ulatory management officer for the U.S.Department of Health and HumanServices. She lives in Rockville, Md.

Tyrone Borders, c’93, recently wasnamed an associate professor of healthmanagement and policy at the Universityof North Texas in Fort Worth.

Todd Jensen, d’93, is district salesmanager for ICOS. He lives in Papillion,Neb.

John Mullies, b’93, h’97, works as asenior solution architect for Cerner. Helives in Overland Park.

Heather Harris Silver, c’93, managescustomer care for Datamax. She lives inRoeland Park.

BORN TO:Kevin Toal, c’93, and Michelle, son,

Cameron Tyler, July 28 in MarylandHeights, Mo. Kevin is a scientist atWashington University in St. Louis, andMichele is a biochemist with Pfizer.

1994Jennifer Trammel Giller, h’94, works

as an account representative for 3M. Shelives in Libertyville, Ill.

Shannon Schwartz, j’94, manages customer research for the CaliforniaState Automobile Association in San Francisco. She lives in MountainView.

Donald Stearns, c’94, is a senior geo-graphic analyst for NAVTEQ in OverlandPark.

Susan Dickey Sweet, m’94, practicesmedicine with Kansas City Urology Careand at Shawnee Mission Medical Center.She lives in Prairie Village.

Alicia Thomas, d’94, g’00, teaches

reading at Vinland Elementary School inBaldwin City. She lives in Lawrence.

BORN TO:Allison Graham Kracker, c’94, and

David, son, Patrick Sweeney, Sept. 28 inWestern Springs, Ill., where she joins asister, Peri, 3.

Tamara Wagner, d’94, and CurtisElleman, son, Wagner Wayne, June 11 inOverland Park, where he joins a sister,Alexandra, 3.

1995Kurtis Hassler, e’95, serves as city

administrator of Burlingame, where heand Anne Sutherland Hassler, j’95,c’95, make their home.

BORN TO:Woodrow, ’95, and Tiffany Shenk

Goodvin, c’95, son, Davis Woodrow,Sept. 16. They live in Wichita.

Shelly Britt Goscha, s’95, and

Weslaco. He lives in McAllen.John Price, a’96, works as an architect

with Hartshorne & Plunkard in Chicago.

BORN TO:Jeremy Bezdek, b’96, and Emily,

daughter, Emma, July 19 in Wichita,where she joins a brother, Jackson, 2.Jeremy is a marketing manager withKoch Industries.

Matthew, b’96, and Amy MozykowskiPaquette, d’97, son, Luke, Dec. 29 in

Brian, f’98, son, Brayden Emory, Sept.16 in Prairie Village.

1996John Blair, c’96, is a New Mexico

Supreme Court judicial clerk. He lives inAlbuquerque.

Bradley, c’96, m’00, and GretchenGood McIlnay, h’98, daughter, CharlotteGretchen, Nov. 18 in Dallas.

Steven Ortiz, g’96, is a professor of art at South Texas College in

Richard, s’96, daughter, Kelsey, Dec. 28in Lawrence, where she joins two sisters,Callie, 1, and Bayley, 8, and a brother,Brendan, 5.

Jeffrey, c’95, and Jodi Phillips, g’02,daughter, Peyton Faith, Dec. 16 inLenexa, where she joins two sisters,Jaidyn, 2, and Emma, 5.

Patrick, c’95, and Sara GoldmanRhodes, j’96, son, Jack Patrick, May 18in Prairie Village.

Allison Moss Tuttle, e’95, g’01, and

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Veteran NFL coach findssecond career atop FCA

Growing up in Allentown, Pa.,Les Steckel never imaginedmoving halfway across thecountry to a strange place

called Kansas. “I thought I was going tothe Naval Academy,” he says. “It wasn’tuntil late spring of my senior year that Ifirst heard about KU, from ChancellorClarke Wescoe. He was from Allentown,too, and I knew his nephew. When heheard about me, he strongly encouragedme to consider Kansas, and I listened.”

Except for his first trip home forChristmas of his freshman year, Steckel,c’68, s’68, hitchhiked through everyjourney from Philadelphia to Lawrenceand back again. His eager mind andthirst for adventure continued to leadhim down new roads, including 30 yearsas an NFL and college football coachand his March appointment as presidentof Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

“There was something so specialabout Kansas,” Steckel says from hisoffice at FCA headquarters in KansasCity. “The culture was so different thanthe East Coast, and I can remember inthose first few weeks, even months,being so apprehensive. The people wereso friendly and nice and cordial, and Iwasn’t quite used to that. It took a while

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to accept the culture difference.”Though he was primarily a foot-

ball player, Steckel’s athletics high-light while at KU was winning theGolden Gloves’ light-heavyweightboxing championship in 1966.Soon after that victory, he wan-dered into a campus Christian cru-sade that changed his life.

“I was the Golden Gloves cham-pion, and I thought I was the cat’smeow. I found out I wasn’t. Afterthat night I looked at life through adifferent set of eyes.”

The day after Commencement,Steckel marched to the MarineCorps recruitment office. He com-pleted a tour in Vietnam as aninfantry officer, and in 1970 joinedthe Quantico Marines, the service’snational football team. He spentthree seasons as the star runningback—during which time he firstbegan attending FCA events—andfound himself propelled back intosports.

From a $150-a-month graduate assis-tant’s job at the University of Colorado,Steckel went on to become an assistantor coordinator for eight NFL and threecollege teams, and in 1984 was headcoach of the Minnesota Vikings.

In 2004 Steckel left coaching behindfor good and accepted a full-time job

with his family’s church in Brentwood,Tenn. When the FCA presidency cameopen soon thereafter, Steckel was againasked to use his leadership and motiva-tional skills in service to young athletes.

“What we try to do,” he says, “is givethem proper perspective. Performance isonly temporary, but purpose iseternal.”�

■ Steckel and his family live in Brentwood,Tenn., alsohome to former quarterback Bill Whittemore, c’04.“One day Bill’s dad called and said, ‘Bill’s got a chanceto go to KU.What do you think?’ I laughed and said,‘KU? You don’t have a chance talking with me!’”

Class Notes


Manhattan, where he joins a brother,Zachary, 2.

1997Amy Farmer-Estka, d’97, and her

husband, Scott, live in Peoria, Ariz., withtheir son, Owen, 2.

Kathryn Richardson Franquemont,c’97, makes her home in Cave Creek,Ariz., with her husband, Michael, and their sons, Christopher, 3, andMatthew, 1.

Jennie Stiffler Waters, c’97, and herhusband, Christopher, c’97, live inLawrenceville, N.J., with their daughters,Emma, 3, and Isabella, 1.

MARRIEDJohn Claxton, b’97, g’99, and Emily

Leonard, c’98, Oct. 23. They live inChicago, where Emily is a regional trainer for Spencer Stuart. John managestransactional finance for Brunswick inLake Forest.

William Matthews, l’97, and Carolyn

Rumfelt, l’97, Nov. 6 in Wichita, wherethey both practice law with FoulstonSiefkin.

BORN TO:Jarrod Guthrie, c’97, and Meg,

son, Carson Edward, May 14 inOverland Park. Jarrod is lead contractnegotiator with Marley CoolingTechnologies.

Michelle Rojohn Hewitt, d’97, and Ty,son, Logan Alan, Dec. 1 in FortLauderdale, Fla. Michelle teaches healthat Cypress Bay High School.

Kevin, b’97, and Brooke ThompsonKopp, s’97, daughter, Anne Sophia, Oct.12 in Phoenix.

Daniel, c’97, and Dawn Madrick-Stewart, s’01, s’04, daughter, PaigeElizabeth, Dec. 30 in Leawood. Theirhome is in Olathe.

Dwight Zabel, m’97, and Staci Jo, son,Tanner David, Jan. 23 in Shawnee.Dwight is an assistant professor of medi-cine at the KU Medical Center.

1998Amy Akers, c’98, is a human-

resources executive with Target. She livesin Wamego.

Bryant Bremer, n’98, works as in-house counsel for ExxonMobil inHouston.

Bridget Mason Hess, j’98, lives inOverland Park and is an assistant vicepresident and corporate communica-tions manager for UMB Financial Corp.in Kansas City.

Gregory Prestridge, b’98, works as abusiness systems analyst for Sprint inOverland Park. He lives in Olathe.

Erin Veazey, j’98, directs firm and cor-porate relations for NorthwesternUniversity’s school of law. She lives inChicago.

BORN TO:Alexander Ewing, e’98, and Ellen,

daughter, Katherine Harriet, Oct. 6 in St. Louis. Alex is an integration engineerfor Boeing.

Shepherd Stauffer, Dec. 19 in Lawrence,where he joins a brother, Asa, 2.

2000Lindsay Mann Gonzalez, c’00, man-

ages accounts for CTCO CalCompPeripherals in Columbia, Md. She livesin Crofton.

Kevin Damm, f’00, owns DammMusic Center in Wichita.

Jana Gruver, c’00, works as an occupational therapist for St. Francis

Monterey, Calif.Julie Harms, c’99, is an assistant

manager at David’s Bridal in Reno, Nev.

Erica VanRoss, c’99, reports news forWIXT-TV in East Syracuse, N.Y.

Nicholas Walker, b’99, is a softwaredeveloper/analyst for Flint HillsResources in Wichita.

BORN TO:Jeffrey Morrison, b’99, and Mary, son,

Casey, d’98, g’02, and Carrie MullenGuilfoyle, d’99, g’01, daughter, KarisAnn, June 17 in Blue Springs, Mo. Theylive in Lee’s Summit.

Patrick, g’98, and Nicole WiviottMcGuire, c’98, son, Owen Robert, July30 in Plainfield, Ill., where he joins abrother, Liam, 2.

1999Shawn Gaitan, c’99, serves with the

U.S. military in Iraq. His home is in

Editing legend lives onin Gump’s classroom

For the wandering tribe ofBremnerites, a DVD now beingdistributed by Deborah Gump,Knight professor of editing at

Ohio University, is a startling timemachine that transports true believersback to their own memories of the lateKU editing professor John Bremner.

The videodisc was transferred from aVHS tape produced in 1988 by theGannett Foundation, hosted by EdwinNewman and featuring Bremner leadinga seminar for young editing professors.Thanks to the charge handed her in herduties as director of the Knight OhioProgram for Editing and EditingEducation, Gump, j’77, realized shecould update the format of the old tapewhile easily sharing Bremner’s wit andwisdom with students and professionals.

“There was a time when I stoppedshowing it,” Gump says of her tape ofthe Bremner seminar, treasured by all ofhis acolytes who were lucky enough toget a copy before Gump made it widelyavailable on DVD. “It was my history,not [her current students’], and I wasthinking that they’re not going to get it,some of the references he uses are kindof old ... so yes, I stopped using it for acouple of years.”

Encouraged by an editor at theKansas City Star, who told Gump heshowed the tape to his copy editorsthree times a year, Gump returned thevideo to her Ohio University editingclassroom.

“After we watched it, I asked them,‘Was this a good thing to see?’ They allsaid, ‘Absolutely yes.’ His fervor for thelanguage and his belief in the power ofcopy editing come through. You can’tmiss it. He’s not just talking about chas-ing commas; he’s talking about exactlywhat he says, being ‘guardians of thenewsroom.’”

Gump spent more than 20 yearsguarding newsrooms across the country.While working in Marin, Calif., sheagreed to teach journalism at SanFrancisco State University while keepingher job as news editor at the local paper.In 1999 she won a Freedom Forum PhDFellowship at the University of NorthCarolina; after 27 months of intensivestudy, she emerged with her doctorate.

Gump’s dissertation would have fasci-nated her mentor: Closely examiningnuances of newspaper writing, Gumpfound that as word choices becomemore elaborate and vivid, readers foundthe stories less credible.

“No one likes to be told what tothink,” she says, “and that’s the reactionreaders had as the writing got more

vivid. Words we use all carry differentconnotations, and the choices you makewill lead the reader in some directionyou may not want them to go.

“The journalism faculty at KU alltaught us just that, that the choice ofwords you use, or don’t use, carries itsown message. That’s the spirit that I andothers carry forth.”�

■ Deborah Gump, editing professor at OhioUniversity, maintains editteach.org and edit-ingthefuture.org,Web sites useful for journal-ism students, professional editors and anyoneelse who cares about precise use of language.

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financial consultant for NextelCommunications in Lone Tree, Colo. He lives in Centennial.

Angela Johnson, g’01, directs recruit-ment for KU’s Edwards Campus inOverland Park. She lives in Baldwin City.

Susan Wang Moss, c’01, is an account specialist for Verisign inOverland Park. Her home is in Olathe.

Michael Randall, e’01, works as a pro-grammer for KU’s Center forEducational Testing and Evaluation. He

is Western division sales manager forDigene. They live in Sammamish, Wash.

Carol Shaffer, d’00, to Brian Birnbaum,Dec. 18. They live in Denver, whereCarol recently completed a master’s ininstruction and learning technologiesfrom the University of Colorado.

2001Wendy Canaday, e’01, g’04, is a

process engineer for Astaris in Lawrence.Christopher Hines, c’01, works as a

Health Center in Topeka. She lives inLawrence.

Jackson Martin, c’00, is deputy direc-tor of administrative communications for Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. Hecommutes to Topeka from Lawrence.

MARRIEDAmy Everett, h’00, to Michael

Gorman, Dec. 19 in Kona, Hawaii. Amyis a research sales representative forFisher Scientific in Seattle, and Michael

C-SPAN beat satisfiesjournalist’s varied tastes

Lew Ketcham, newsman, bassplayer and scholar, pursues ahefty nighttime reading syllabus.It includes the biographies of

U.S. presidents. All of them. In order.“I’m up to Millard Fillmore,” he says. His course of study began in 1999,

when he helped produce C-SPAN’sPeabody Award-winning series, “TheAmerican Presidency.” Ketcham, j’71,who covers Capitol Hill for the publicaffairs cable network, hosted theepisodes on James Buchanan, ZacharyTaylor and Gerald Ford. As a man whoscours museums and saves little-knownquotes and anecdotes, he decided heneeded to know more about all the pres-idents, so he cracked open a book onGeorge Washington and hasn’t stopped.

Like many KU broadcasters, Ketchambegan his career at WIBW in Topeka.Later he spent several years inWashington, D.C., on the staff of thenSen. Dan Glickman (D-Kan.). In 1986,he landed at C-SPAN, where he has cov-ered Congress and has chaired the U.S.Media Gallery of congressional corre-spondents. His workload follows thecourse of legislation and otherWashington events; he meets each dayat 3 p.m. with colleagues to plan the

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lineup. He interviews lawmakers andhosts segments in which some of thenetwork’s 50 million viewers call in tocomment, telling stories that can addvivid detail to a giant policy issue—andmake history-in-the-making more real.

Such was the case during the recentdebate of a bill on driver’s licenserequirements for immigrants.Proponents argued that stiff require-ments would make it more difficult toobtain fake IDs, which all of the 9/11hijackers had used.

“Opponents were saying that, thoughthis is a laudable goal, the bill wouldreally make it harder for legal immi-grants, putting more obstacles in theirway,” Ketcham recalls. “So we go to thephone lines, and, lo and behold, a lot ofcallers were immigrants. It was this littleUnited Nations, because we had peoplefrom all over the world, calling andtelling their stories about trying to belegal immigrants. It was pretty moving.”

When he isn’t tracking the impact oflegislation, Ketcham often shares a set ortwo of 1960s musical standards withSweet Lew and the Jayhawks, a collec-tion of lawyers, businessmen and apriest who play for weddings and fund-raisers. Ketcham has played bass sincehigh school but confesses, “I was alwaysthe weakest musical link. For others itwas easy. I really had to work at it.” As

the member who endures the drudgeryof bookings and contracts, Ketchamclaims naming rights to the band, usingthe nickname that has followed him fromKU days, when he and the HappyMedium used to play the Red Dog Inn.His other favorite Mass Street hangout?His apartment above Malott’s Hardware:“My best decision at KU was choosingnot to take the apartment above Joe’sBakery. That smell was heaven.”�

■ C-SPAN producer Ketcham’s other lifeincludes his band, known as Sweet Lew and theJayhawks—though he’s the only genuineJayhawk in the bunch.

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lives in Lawrence.James Sloan, c’01, l’04, is project

director and grass-roots coordinator for a nonprofit organization inAlexandria, Va.

Robbi Weniger, c’01, practices lawwith Naman, Howell, Smith & Lee inAustin, Texas.

MARRIEDMindy Anderson, b’01, and Brendan

Mauri, b’01, July 10 in Kansas City. Theirhome is in Evanston, Ill.

BORN TO:Jason Hrabe, c’01, and Amy, daughter,

Claudia Elise, May 3 in Lenexa. Jason isa mapper for General Electric.

2002Jason Gladfelter, c’02, is president of

the Society for Conflict Resolution. He

lives in Denver.Katie Hackett, j’02, lives in New

York City, where she’s a registered associate for SmithBarney.

Melissa Montgomery, c’02, is a salesexecutive for Gallery Guide. She lives inNew York City.

Scott Moore, c’02, CEO ofVirtumundo, makes his home inOverland Park.

Crystal Nesheim, l’02, serves as aMinnehaha County deputy state’s attor-ney in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Richard Petty, h’02, works as an occu-pational therapist for PinnacleHealthcare in Oklahoma City. He lives inSkiatook.

Andrew Yoder, e’02, works as a struc-tural analyst with Boeing. He lives inRenton, Wash.

MARRIEDMichelle Richart, d’02, g’04, and

Grant Wittenborn, e’02, Sept. 25 inOlathe, where they live.

Megan Rule, j’02, and John Beck, j’02,Dec. 18 in Tulsa, Okla. She studies law atUMKC, where he’s a graphic-design stu-dent. Their home is in Kansas City.

2003Matthew Boies, d’03, is a scout for

the Houston Texans of the NFL.Darin Brubaker, e’03, works as an

aerospace engineer with GeneralDynamics. He lives in Chandler, Ariz.

Jason Charay, b’03, is an events man-ager for Nolet Spirits USA. He lives inNew York City.

Lauren Cuchna, c’03, works as a salesadministration assistant for KomoriAmerica. She lives in Downers Grove, Ill.

Andrew Dies, s’03, is a residencedirector at North Carolina StateUniversity in Raleigh.

Alison Farley, d’03, directs bands andchoirs for the Steelville R-3 SchoolDistrict. She lives in Sullivan, Mo.

Holly Jelinek, b’03, works as an infor-mation systems auditor and senior asso-ciate at CBIZ Accounting Tax andAdvisory Services in Leawood. She livesin Merriam.

Patrick Lytle, b’03, is a joint interest

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analyst for Hiratsuka & Schmitt. He livesin Littleton, Colo.

Justin Mennen, b’03, works as a webarchitect for Stryker Orhopaedics inMahwah, N.J.

Justin Mullins, c’03, is a state trooperwith the Colorado State Patrol in Dillon.He lives in Silverthorne.

Scott Newell, c’03, owns the PhoggyDog Bar and Grill in Lawrence.

Timothy Obringer, c’03, is an insur-ance producer for Johnson & Bryan. Helives in Atlanta.

Melissa Williams, j’03, works as anaccount executive for Buona Catering.She lives in Chicago.

MARRIEDKristi Burkhart, p’03, to Doug Cofer,

July 3 in Ingalls. Their home is inCimarron.

Patrick Lytle, b’03, and Sarah Holtzer,’03, Nov. 6 in Denver. They live inLittleton.

Jennifer Perkins, c’03, to Kevin

McKinney, April 4, 2004. They live inKansas City, where Jennifer is a new loanboarding specialist with NovaStarFinancial.

2004Carrie Buchholz, b’04, is an actu-

arial analyst for Creative MarketingInternational in Overland Park.

Amber Finney, c’04, works as a financial service specialist for AmSouthBank in Bradenton, Fla. She lives inSarasota.

Jason Fraser, c’04, is a coordinatorwith the American Bankruptcy Institutein Alexandria, Va. He lives in SilverSpring, Md.

Erick Garzon, g’04, works for LeicaGeosystems, where he’s a senior projectcoordinator. He lives in Alpharetta, Ga.

Amy Lee, j’04, is an assistant mediaplanner for OMD in Chicago.

Kerry Lippincott, g’04, is curator ofthe Watkins Community Musem inLawrence.

Joshua Lusk, b’04, e’04, serves as asubmarine officer with the U.S. Navy.His home is in Olathe.

Kristi Misejka, b’04, works as a fundaccountant for State Street in KansasCity. She lives in Overland Park.

Andrew Neumayr, p’04, is a pharma-cist with Walgreens in Salt Lake City.

Dustin Walters, e’04, works as a com-puter engineer for Rockwell Collins. Helives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

BORN TO:Matthew Flickner, c’04, and Amy,

daughter, Abigail, April 4 in Shawnee.Matthew works for Advanced FieldServices.

John Marshall, g’04, and Elizabeth,daughter, Emma, April 21 in Leawood.John works as a consultant for BMCGroup.

William McDonald, b’04, and Cally,daughter, Mariah Olivia, Nov. 17 inHayesville. William is an assistant con-troller with Waste Connections.

In Memory


1920sArchie Dennis, c’28, 98, Jan. 29 in

San Mateo, Calif. He worked for AllisChalmers, and is survived by a son, twodaughters, nine grandchildren and 28great-grandchildren.

Frances Flynn Koppers, c’21, 105, Jan. 24 in Olathe. She had been ateacher and is survived by two daugh-ters, one of whom is Judith KoppersJanes, ’59; 12 grandchildren; and 19great-grandchildren.

Gladys Smith Middlebrook, c’29,97, Dec. 29 in Santa Monica, Calif.,where she retired from HughesElectronics. A son, three grandchildrenand four great-grandchildren survive.

Grace Vaniman Russell, c’29, 97, Feb.22 in Topeka. Surviving are a daughter; ason, Robert Jr., g’66; six grandchildren;and 10 great-grandchildren.

1930sOlive Smith Brenner, b’36, 90, Jan. 19

in Broken Arrow, Okla. Surviving are twosons, George, p’66, PhD’71, and James,c’75; a daughter, Brenda BrennerGrasmick, c’69; three grandchildren; andtwo great-grandchildren.

Dorothy Pulley Burma, d’37, 88, June21 in Claremont, Calif. Her husband,John, and a brother survive.

Steven Cave, b’39, 87, Feb. 2 inDodge City. Surviving are his wife,Bobbie; three daughters, two of whomare Lisa Cave Ritchie, b’78, and DinahCave Zeck, ’73; six grandchildren; andthree great-grandchildren.

Marjorie Walker Cowell, ’35, 89, Dec.3 in Houston. She is survived by herhusband, Herbert, a’36; two daughters;and a son.

Garland Downum, d’30, g’35, 97, Nov.15 in Flagstaff, Ariz., where he taught atNorthern Arizona University for morethan 30 years. He is survived by his wife,Evelyn, two daughters, a son, six grand-children and three great-grandchildren.

Virgil Flanders, b’38, m’51, 91, Oct.13 in Mission. Survivors include twosons, one of whom is David, ’77; a brother; four grandchildren; and sixgreat-grandchildren.

E. Clifford Gordon, b’33, 92, Feb. 21in Fort Scott, where he worked forWestern Insurance. He is survived bytwo sons, Edward, c’68, and Albert, ’71;and two grandsons.

Billens Gradinger, m’33, 98, Feb. 12in Manhattan, where he practiced gas-troenterology and radiology at theHertzler Clinic for many years. Survivingare two daughters, Lynne GradingerHaines, n’60, and Jan Gradinger Crow,n’58; a brother; five grandchildren; andseven great-grandchildren.

Jack Knight, b’38, 89, Sept. 25 inRolling Hills Estates, Calif. He was a CPAand is survived by his wife, Dorothy, andthree sons.

John Markham, c’31, l’33, 95, Feb. 21in Parsons, where he practiced law. He issurvived by a son, David, c’74; a daugh-ter, Carol Markham Stoddard, c’72; twosisters, Julia Piper Beckwith, c’35, andMary Katherine Markham Faucett, d’39;and six grandchildren.

Harold Patterson, c’35, m’38, Feb. 26in Hutchinson, where he was a retiredphysician and ophthalmologic surgeon.He is survived by five sons, four ofwhom are Michael, c’65, m’69, Laird,c’63, Bruce, c’68, m’73, and Thomas, ’71;a sister; and 11 grandchildren.

H. Donald Putney, b’37, 90, Feb. 4 inFlourtown, Pa. He was vice presidentemeritus of Fox Chase Cancer Center. Asister and a granddaughter survive.

Elizabeth Walker Reed, c’37, 89, Feb.7 in Lawrence, where she was a retiredteacher. Survivors include a daughter,Carolyn, c’67, l’71; a son, Martin, ’64;and two brothers, William Walker, e’48,and Charles Walker, e’42.

Keith Roberts, d’35, g’38, 92, Feb. 25in Wichita, where he owned Roberts

Audio-Visual. He is survived by a son,Darryl, e’61, PhD’68; a daughter, LynneRoberts Stark, c’64; three granddaugh-ters; and four great-grandchildren.

Helen Harvey Ryan, ’36, 90, Feb. 18in Wausau, Wis. Survivors include fivesons, four of whom are Michael, c’60,m’66, Scott, c’69, m’73, Philip, c’77, andChristopher, c’79, g’82; six grandchil-dren; and many great-grandchildren.

Paul Strahm Sr., c’32, 96, Jan. 11 inColumbus, Ohio. He was a retired dis-trict manager with Trans World Airlines.Survivors include his wife, Anna, twosons, a daughter, 21 grandchildren, 37great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Robert Taliaferro Jr., c’32, 93, Feb. 19 in El Dorado, where he was a retiredattorney. Several nieces and nephewssurvive.

Irene Farrar Wagner, b’33, 93, Feb. 4in Lawrence. She is survived by a son,Roger, ’60; four daughters, Marie WagnerFranklin, ’63, Camilla, b’65, g’76, Ruth,f’66, and Diana Wagner Rhodes, d’71;two sisters; six grandchildren; and twogreat-grandchildren.

1940sRobert Allen, p’44, 84, Oct. 10 in

Bucklin. A son, two daughters, two sis-ters, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren survive.

Kenneth Anderson, b’48, 81, Dec. 11in Rochester Hills, Mich., where he wasretired from Uniroyal and H&R Block.Surviving are his wife, Rose; two daugh-ters; a son; four stepchildren; a brother,William, c’48; and six grandchildren.

Anne Shaeffer Coshow, c’49, 75, Sept.28 in San Diego, where she was a retiredhuman-resources manager. She is sur-vived by a daughter, Viki, d’72; a son,Richard, b’79; and six grandchildren.

Berniece Stroup Doering, d’49, 77,March 10 in Garnett. Surviving are herhusband, Hank; two sons, Steve, l’77,

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 61

and Mike, l’78; and six grandchildren.Thomas Gregg, c’48, 80, Feb. 15 in

Topeka, where he worked for AmericanUnited Life Insurance. He is survived byhis wife, Ann; two daughters; three sons,one of whom is Andrew, ’88; a sister;and seven grandchildren.

Margaret Baker Horacek, c’42, 84,Dec. 30 in Morgantown, W.V. Two sonssurvive.

Martha Fay Hutchinson-Phelps, c’48,g’60, 78, Feb. 8 in Leawood. A memo-rial has been established with the KUEndowment Association. She is survivedby her husband, Edwin, e’36; two sons; a daughter; a sister; and five grand-children.

Betty Cunningham Jennings, b’47, 79,Feb. 15 in Lawrence, where she wasretired from banking and directed thealtar guild of Trinity Episcopal Church.She is survived by a son, John, c’79, l’82;a daughter; and two grandsons.

Heloise Hillbrand Kocour, c’45, 81,Feb. 26 in Bel Aire. She is survived byher husband, Max; four daughters, threeof whom are Mary Kocour Healy, d’71,Colette, c’73, and Michele, j’77; twosons; and five grandchildren.

Ralph May, e’44, 82, Dec. 10 in FallsChurch, Va. He lived in Fairfax and hadbeen a research scientist and programmanager for the National AdvisoryCommittee on Aeronautics. He is sur-vived by his wife, Jane, two daughtersand a sister.

Barbara Byrd McDonald, f ’48, 76,Jan. 29 in Lawrence. She is survived by her husband, Clifford, b’50; twodaughters, Carol, ’80, and TeresaMcDonald Allen, h’98; two sons, Kent,c’76, g’05, and Greg, ’77; a brother;and 11 grandchildren.

Alexia Marks McMorran, c’40, 88,Jan. 31 in Green Valley, Ariz. She is sur-vived by two daughters, one of whom isLoring McMorran Dixon, d’65; and fourgrandchildren.

Max Miller, c’47, m’49, 84, Feb. 15 inMission Hills, where he was a retiredanesthesiologist. He is survived by hiswife, Annabel Beck Miller, ’46; twodaughters, Marilyn Miller Pattison, d’74,g’82, and Annette Miller McLaughlin,

’78; a son; a brother; seven grandchil-dren; and a great-grandson.

Richard Rosberg, ’48, 82, Jan. 25 inOverland Park. He was district managerfor Marion Keystone for many years andis survived by his wife, Bonnie; a daugh-ter, Shelly Rosberg Christ, ’80; a son,Richard, f’82; a sister; and a grandson.

Elmer Schumacher, c’49, l’51, 81,Sept. 1 in Topeka, where he had directedthe Workers CompensationCommission, the Kansas CrimeCommission and the Human RelationsCommission. Survivors include foursons, four daughters, three stepchildren,three sisters, two brothers, 24 grandchil-dren and 10 great-grandchildren.

John Siemens Jr., g’49, 83, Dec. 15 inOverland Park, where he had been amanagement consultant and a financialadviser for Waddell & Reed. He is sur-vived by his wife, Edna ThiessenSiemens, ’49; two daughters, one ofwhom is Emily Siemens O’Shea, ’81; abrother; and three sisters.

Jack Singleton Jr., a’48, 81, Sept. 20 inDenver. A daughter survives.

Arlyn Smith, j’49, 78, Jan. 28 inTucson, Ariz. He edited the LarnedChronoscope, owned a ranch and wheatfarm and was president of TucsonExecutives’ Association. Surviving are hiswife, Jacqueline Houdyshell Smith, ’51; ason, Arlyn, ’74; two daughters, Denise,d’77, and Dana Smith Hines, c’78; abrother, Glee, c’43, l’47; five grandchil-dren; a stepgrandchild; and four great-grandchildren.

James Sparling, c’48, 84, March 20 inKansas City. His wife, Mary, survives.

William Taylor, c’47, 85, Nov. 7 inHuntingtown, Md. He was a systematiczoologist at the Smithsonian Institute inWashington, D.C. Surviving are his wife,Sally; five daughters; a son; a stepdaugh-ter; a stepson; a sister, Ellie Taylor Sims,d’65; 14 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

Margaret Husted Wakley, c’45, 81,Jan. 10 in Lakeland, Fla. Two sons sur-vive, one of whom is Daniel, c’74.

Henry “Huck” Wright Jr., c’40, 87,Feb. 18 in Dodge City, where he co-owned Wright’s Potato Chip Co. and

later worked for Waddell & Reed andBush and Co. Mortgage Bankers. Severalnieces and nephews survive.

1950sRichard Barlow, c’51, 76, Feb. 14 in

Kendallville, Ind. He retired after 35years with the Kansas State Board ofAgriculture. Survivors include his wife,Betty; a daughter, Kathryn BarlowWestmoreland, ’81; two sons, one ofwhom is Jesse, c’77; a brother; three sis-ters; and four grandchildren.

Jerome Brewer, g’57, PhD’60, 85,Feb. 9 in Overland Park. He worked forMidwest Research Institute and is sur-vived by his wife, Peggy; two sons,David, c’74, m’77, and Kenneth, e’81,g’91; a daughter, Diane BrewerRozenberg, d’72; and five grandchildren.

William Buechel, c’51, l’54, 78, Feb.24 in Salina. He is survived by his wife,Theresa; two daughters, Sarah, c’78, and Julia Buechel Marino, c’81, d’85; abrother, Robert, c’47, m’49; and twograndchildren.

Jene Campbell, c’54, m’59, 76, Jan. 30in San Antonio, where he was a retiredcolonel in the U.S. Air Force. He is sur-vived by his wife, Sarah StewartCampbell, n’58; two sons; a brother; asister; and two grandchildren.

John Christie, e’56, 71, Feb. 15 inFayetteville, Ark., where he was retiredfrom NCR. Survivors include his wife,Elizabeth, a daughter, two sons and twostepsons.

Howard Conkey Jr., ’57, 73, Dec. 24in Brownsville, Texas, where he was adrug and alcohol abuse counselor andhad co-owned Family Connection.Surviving are his wife, Joan WorleyConkey, d’56; a daughter; a brother,Harlan, d’59, g’61; a sister; two grand-children; and a great-grandson.

John Dickey, d’53, 79, Feb. 10 inBellingham, Wash. He lived in Blaineand was a former teacher and coach. Heis survived by his wife, Cora, two daugh-ters, two sons, 10 grandchildren and agreat-grandchildren.

Dallas Dunn, b’50, 78, Feb. 2 inOverland Park, where he worked in theoffice furniture and supply business. He


In Memory

is survived by his wife, Helen; twodaughters, Patricia Dunn Daly, h’79, andSusan Dunn Boland, c’82; a son, Mark,c’84; two sisters; two brothers, John,e’58, and William Jr., ’50; and eightgrandchildren.

Mary Lawrence Engle, f ’56, 70, Dec.12 in Colorado Springs. She is survivedby her husband, Joe, e’55; a daughter; ason, Jon, c’84; a brother, Ray Lawrence,b’53; and two grandchildren.

Jack Fink, b’56, 77, Jan. 22 in Garnett.He had owned Hi-Country Products inDenver. Surviving are his wife, KathrynCook Fink, n’55; a son; a daughter; a sister, Joan Fink Wilson, d’53; and five grandchildren.

John Fredricks, e’51, 75, Jan. 22 inMcLean, Va., where he was retired vicepresident of marketing with McDonnellDouglas. Surviving are his wife, Else, twodaughters and six grandchildren.

Rex Grossart, g’57, 77, Feb. 6 inChico, Calif. He was athletics director atChico State University and later man-aged Alvamar Racquet Club in Lawrence.He is survived by his wife, Pat, threesons, a sister and five grandchildren.

David Hanson, c’56, g’81, 70, Feb. 23in Lawrence, where he was retired fromthe Kansas Department of Administra-tion and had served as a lieutenant com-mander in the U.S. Navy. He is survivedby his wife, Mary Louise Born Hanson,’58; two sons, Timothy, ’82, and Michael,’86; and four grandchildren.

Joan Harris Haver, d’52, 75, Jan. 29 inPalm Desert, Calif. She lived in InclineVillage, Nev. Surviving are her husband,Harold, three daughters, a stepdaughter,a stepson and eight grandchildren.

George Hopkins, e’50, g’61, 80, Feb.26 in Prairie Village, where he wasretired from a 35-year career with MarleyCooling Tower. He is survived by hiswife, Joan, three daughters, a son and 10grandchildren.

Thomas Kennedy, l’53, 72, Jan. 21 inSalina, where he was senior partner andpresident of the law firm of Berkley,Yarnevich and Williamson. He is sur-vived by his wife, Dorothy WandlingKennedy, d’54; four sons, James, c’85,Donald, c’87, Robert, assoc., and

William, j’92; two daughters, CarolKennedy Johnson, b’77, and KatherineKennedy Chalfant, j’81; a sister; and 16grandchildren.

Richard Lockwood, m’58, 76, Feb. 28in La Jolla, Calif., where he was a retiredthoracic surgeon. A memorial has beenestablished with the KU EndowmentAssociation. Two daughters, a son andthree grandchildren survive.

Kathleen Kummer Lutz, b’57, 70,Jan. 1 in Great Bend. She is survived byher husband, Dennis; three sons, Daniel,e’90, Kent, a’95, and D.J., e’90; a daugh-ter; a brother; and seven grandchildren.

Charlene McCoy McDonald, ’57, 69,Dec. 26 in Dodge City. Surviving are twosons, Scott, b’80, and Mark, j’82; adaughter, Sally McDonald Fankhauser,d’80; and eight grandchildren.

William Modrcin Sr., d’51, 80, Dec.16 in Shawnee Mission. He was retiredfrom Equitable Life Assurance and is sur-vived by his wife, Eleanor; a son, Bill Jr.,c’75, l’78; a brother; and two grandsons.

Richard Munns, m’50, 87, Feb. 20 in Mason City, Iowa, where he directedthe family practice residency program at Mercy Hospital. Four sons, six grandchildren and four great-grand-children survive.

James Neumann, m’56, 80, March 6in Salina, where he was a neurologist. He is survived by his wife, Ann; twodaughters, one of whom is JoanNeumann Head, s’87; three stepsons,one of whom is John Suter, ’83; two sisters; four stepgrandchildren; and astepgreat-grandchild.

Wilbert Odem, g’53, 79, Feb. 15 inNew Orleans, where he was a retiredpetroleum geologist for Chevron Oil.Surviving are his wife, Ellen, two sons,seven daughters and 15 grandchildren.

James O’Hara, c’51, Oct. 7 in EastOrange, N.J. He owned a constructionbusiness and is survived by five sons,three of whom are William, f’85, Antony,f’83, and Christopher, c’85; two daugh-ters, one of whom is Katharine O’Hara-Cohen, c’86; a sister; and eight grand-children.

Barbara Holmes Reinders, c’55, 71Dec. 16 in Green Valley, Ariz., where she

worked in the insurance business. She issurvived by her husband, William, ’51; ason; a daughter; three stepdaughters;and six grandchildren.

Bernard “B.J.” Schulte, l’57, Feb. 18in Norwich, Conn., where he had a 30-year career with Norwich-EatonPharmaceuticals. He is survived by hiswife, Myrna Schneider Schulte, ’58; ason; a daughter; a sister; and five grand-children.

Patricia Spillman, g’56, 83, March 4in Kansas City, where she was retiredafter teaching 37 years for the ShawneeMission school district. Two sisters and abrother survive.

William Vestal, c’50, 81, Jan. 26 inValencia, Calif. He lived in Waveland,Miss., and is survived by his wife, Nubia,two sons, two daughters, four step-daughters, two stepsons, five grandchil-dren and three great-grandchildren.

Wilma Feuerborn Weaver, n’53,77, Feb. 7 in Hazlet, N.J., where she had been a nurse for 30 years. Survivingare two daughters; a son; a sister; andthree brothers, two of whom are IvoFeuerborn, b’56, and KennethFeuerborn, ’61.

Jerry Woods, b’52, 74, Feb. 19 in GlenEllyn, Ill., where he owned Jerry Woodsand Associates Insurance Agency. He issurvived by his wife, Marlene, a son, twodaughters and five grandchildren.

1960sMarilyn “Marnie” Mohs Campbell,

d’67, g’83, 59, Feb. 23 in Prairie Village.She worked at the KU Medical Centerand is survived by her husband,Stephen, c’66, l’69; a son; a brother; anda grandson.

Paul Cory, n’64, 71, July 24 in Seattle.He lived in Kingfield, Maine, where hewas a registered nurse. He is survived byhis wife, Anna Mae, three daughters, ason, a sister and nine grandchildren.

Beth Beamer Deakins, c’66, h’66, 60,Feb. 20 in Fort Collins, Colo. She was aphysical therapist for more than 35 yearsand is survived by her husband, John,e’64, g’66; two sons; a daughter; a brother, Raymond Beamer, e’73; a sister,Gwendolyn Beamer Blakely, c’69, h’69;

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 63

and three grandchildren.Robert Gernon, b’66, 61, March 30.

He had been a Kansas Supreme Courtjustice since 2003. A longtime KansasHonors Program volunteer and alumnichapter leader in Hiawatha, he was hon-ored by the Alumni Association in 1990for his service. He is survived by a sister,Maureen Gernon, c’59, a brother, JohnGernon, c’58, and two daughters, KristinGernon Olson, c’97, and RebeccaGernon Wilson, c’95, m’01.

Marvin Hake, e’60, 67, Jan. 11 inNiceville, Fla., where he was retired fromLockheed Martin Federal Systems. Amemorial has been established with theKU Endowment Association. He is sur-vived by his wife, Loretta Nauman Hake,d’60; a daughter; four sons, one ofwhom is Bradley, e’89; three brothers;four sisters; and 11 grandchildren.

William Hendricks, e’66, 60, Feb. 23in San Jose, Calif., where he worked forLockheed Martin. He is survived by hiswife, Jane, a daughter, two sons, two sis-ters and a brother.

Sammie Hunter, b’61, 65, Feb. 27 inLawrence, where he worked for Hy-Vee.He is survived by a daughter; a son,Clayton, j’83; and five grandchildren.

George Mallon, c’63, Feb. 5 in KansasCity, where he practiced law. He is sur-vived by his wife, Kathleen; four daugh-ters, Martha Mallon DeGraw, b’88, g’90,Eileen Mallon Heble, c’89, l’92, Anita,d’92, and Michaela Mallon Sarbach, ’89;a sister; and five grandchildren.

Peter Mark, m’61, 69, March 8 inPlymouth, Minn. He is survived by hiswife, Marilyn, four daughters, a son, abrother, a sister and nine grandchildren.

Gary Martin, e’66, 62, Dec. 12 in LasCruces, N.M., where he was retired.Survivors include his wife, Debbie, a son,a daughter, a stepdaughter, a stepsonand four grandchildren.

Hugh Moore, m’61, 71, March 25 inMineral Wells, Texas, where he was aretired pathologist. He is survived by hiswife, Betty, two sons and a daughter.

Kathleen Park, g’68, 65, Dec. 5 inWichita, where she was a speech pathol-ogist in the public schools for 30 years.

Kenneth Sells, c’60, m’64, 69, Jan. 17

in Long Beach, Calif. He practiced medi-cine in Kansas City for many years andis survived by his wife, Margaret FruehSells, n’71, g’85; a daughter; two sons;and two sisters, Barbara Sells Carrier,’53, and Georganna Sells Clark, n’51.

Roger Whitaker, e’62, 65, March 20in Emporia. He is survived by his wife,Frances; two daughters, one of whom isMelissa Whitaker Knapp, c’92; two step-daughters; a sister, Sharon WhitakerHilyard, n’66; and nine grandchildren.

Milo “Mike” Wynne, c’61, g’62, 69,Feb. 20 in Denver, where he was a geolo-gist in the oil and gas industry. He is sur-vived by four sons, two daughters, abrother and two grandsons.

1970sChristopher “Kit” Gunn, j’78, g’99,

55, March 17 in Houston. He lived inLake Charles, La., where he taught soci-ology at McNeese State University. Healso had been a reporter for the SalinaJournal and had worked in KU’s remotesensing laboratory and the pharmaceuti-cal chemistry department. He is survivedby his wife, Diana Odom Gunn, c’95,PhD’02; his parents, James, j’47, g’51,and Jane Gunn, j’47; and a brother,Kevin, c’79.

Geoffrey Lind, j’71, l’74, Feb. 13 inColorado Springs, Colo. He practicedlaw in Kansas City and had been a protem district court judge for theWyandotte County District Court beforebecoming an officer at United MissouriBank in Kansas City and later inColorado. He is survived by his wife,Betsy Calovich Lind, c’71; a son; hisfather, Stanley, b’42, l’48; his mother;and a brother, Richard, c’76.

Mark Mathews, d’72, 55, Feb. 14 inElgin, Ill., where he was office adminis-trator for Heartland Services. He is sur-vived by a son; his mother, Patricia,assoc.; and a brother, David, c’75, m’78.

Carolyn McClurg, s’79, 61, Feb. 16 inTopeka, where she was a retired coun-selor. A son, her mother and a brothersurvive.

Berry McLaughlin, c’76, Feb. 10 inPrairie Village, where he worked in theadvertising specialty business. His father,

Gene, c’49, and a sister survive.Versey Taylor Stephens, d’74, g’80,

Feb. 25 in Kansas City. Surviving are herhusband, Benjamin; two daughters,Carol Stephens Hegwood, ’82, andKaren Stephens Rayford, b’02; threesons; a brother; a sister, Vera TaylorRandle, d’72; and 11 grandchildren.

1990sCarmen Urdaneta, c’94, 32, Feb. 3 of

injuries suffered in a plane crash outsideKabul, Afghanistan, where she was help-ing to develop a comprehensive commu-nications strategy to expand the coun-try’s community-based health-care plan.She was a senior communications associ-ate for Management Services for Health.She lived in Boston and is survived byher father; her mother, Lia Urdaneta,s’84; a grandmother; two brothers, oneof whom is Jose, c’93, m’97; two step-brothers; and two stepsisters.

The University CommunityConchita Garcia de la Noceda

Augelli, g’80, 85, March 18 in Lawrence,where she had coordinated internationalprograms at KU’s Bureau of ChildResearch. She is survived by two sons,John, c’72, and Robert, c’78, g’82,PhD’98; two sisters; and two grand-daughters.

Theresa “Terri” Knoll Johnson, j’89,53, Feb. 6 in Baldwin. She worked forthe KU Endowment Association, whereshe was senior director for the College ofLiberal Arts and Sciences and specialprojects. She is survived by her husband,J. Kelly, c’78, g’83, PhD’88; a daughter,Cheri Johnson Thomas, ’91; two sons,one of whom is Lucas, student; a sister;two brothers; and two granddaughters.

Lee Sonneborn, Aug. 14 in EastLansing, where he was a professor emeri-tus of mathematics at Michigan StateUniversity. Earlier he taught math at KU.His wife, Vida, died Aug. 7. Survivorsinclude a daughter, Mary SonnebornStromquist, ’70; a son; and a brother.

Rock Chalk Review


■ Co-authors StephenHasiotis, assistant profes-sor of geology, and BruceLieberman, associate pro-fessor of geology, (l to r)

during their search for theearliest traces of life, in

Canada’s MackenzieMountains.Among their

discoveries was a 520-mil-lion-year-old “trilobite,”the dominant life form of the Cambrian era, a

good example of which(below right) includes

well-preserved hard shell,soft tissue and antennae.

Paleontology on the Canol RoadKU geologists travel byway of cultural, natural and evolutionary history

The Mackenzie Mountains of theCanadian Northwest Territories are ageologist’s paradise, where jagged peaksjut as far as the horizon in all directions.

It was to this land of the midnight sun, one lati-tudinal click shy of the Arctic Circle, that paleon-tologists and geologists from KU andWashington State University traveled in 2002and 2003 on expeditions sponsored by theNational Science Foundation and the NationalGeographic Society. Our trips led to the publica-tion in the London Journal of the GeologicalSociety of findings that suggest animal life onEarth may have originated in Siberia.

Our rendezvous point was the Canol Road, aroad rich in cultural history, and a byway backroughly 520 million years to the dawn of animallife. This prehistoric time is known as theCambrian explosion: Over a geologically shortinterval, perhaps 20 million years, animal life on

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centipede. In addition to these raretraces, the most common fossils are trilo-bites, the dominant Cambrian life form.These now-extinct relatives of horseshoecrabs were scavengers that scurriedalong the sea floor.

Doing geology here involves explor-ing essentially virgin paleontological ter-rain in an almost unspoiled wilderness.Souvenirs include aching knees and ahalf-ton of fossils. The Canol Road juxta-poses staggering mountains carved byglaciers and rusted trucks left by theU.S. military. Such a place reveals thestark contrast between the abyss of geo-logical time and the transitory nature ofthe human condition.

As our team headed back toward “civ-ilization,” the contrast soon faded, lead-ing us to think at last of the Canol Roadas a conduit not only between the pastand the present but also the future,because the land may once again betransformed in the quest for oil.�

—Bruce Lieberman & Stephen Hasiotisare faculty members in the

department of geology.

◆ ◆ ◆

Cold beforethe storm

Study finds ice age, nothunting, first thinned

bison DNA

Natural Trap Cave, in north-central Wyoming, was afield-trip favorite for KUpaleontologists from 1974 to

’85. Though 95 percent of the fossil-richsite remains untouched, Dyche Hall nowhouses 40,000 bones recovered fromNatural Trap, including remains used ina recent DNA study that showed the lackof genetic variability among bison datesto a climatic event 20,000 years ago, notthe near-extinction achieved by 19th-century hunters.

When he joined 26 other scientistsfrom around the world on the bisonDNA study, Professor Larry Martin, sen-ior curator at the Natural HistoryMuseum and Biodiversity Center, hadonly to reach into KU’s existing NaturalTrap Cave collections, gathered 20 to 30years ago—long before it was imaginedthat DNA analysis could unravel somany mysteries.

“We cannot guess what’s going to beimportant in the future, so we preparefor things we haven’t thought of yet,”Martin says. “That’s the value of muse-ums. Museums prepare us to take advan-tage of opportunities that haven’t hap-pened yet.”

Natural Trap Cave is just as adver-tised: a natural trap that meant speedydeath for animals that fell through asmall opening at ground level; any thatmight have survived the 85-foot plungeinto their bell-shaped tomb weredoomed, too, because the only way inwas the only way out.

Offeringconstant,

cool temperaturesand protection from theelements and scavengers,the cave, when discov-ered by spelunkersand excavated byteams led by Martin and MilesGilbert, c’65, g’68, PhD’71, then of the

I S S U E 3 , 2 0 0 5 | 65

Earth first began to proliferate. Therapidity of this event puzzled CharlesDarwin, and continues to puzzle scien-tists today.

Canol is the abbreviation ofCanadian-American Northern Oil Line,describing the road’s genesis from 1942to ’44 as a route flanking a pipeline tobring oil from the Canadian Arctic to theUnited States, when fear of a Japaneseinvasion of Alaska foreshadowed loss ofpetroleum needed for the war. The roadbecame obsolete because of Americanvictories, and then it languished, a victimof the cost of moving oil through a vastwilderness. The rotting shacks, trucksand bridges along the road are testamentto different times. History has now comefull circle: There is talk of building a newpipeline from the unpopulated Canadiannorth to the markets beyond.

The Canol Road bridges the dividebetween cultural and natural history,and the area is replete with wolves, cari-bou and grizzly bears. At one point fromour helicopter we saw an 8-foot, 700-pound grizzly ambling down the road.Field work here is a step closer to thelaws and processes of natural selectionthan most Americans are accustomed to,and it was these processes we were hereto study: What were the environmentaltriggers that coaxed animal life from itsembryonic state during the Cambrian?

The Mackenzies preserve an excep-tionally complete record of theCambrian explosion. Some of the mostexciting fossils we found were in 520-million-year-old rocks deposited close toshore but out of permanent standingwater. We found animal trackways thatmight be the timid steps of the first ani-mal to crawl out on land. The animalresembled a cross between a worm and a

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grown into “a 5’7’, 160-pound frame thatjust seemed too large for my personality.I felt awkward, clumsy, and totally misfitfor childhood.” His growth spurt and acollection of prominent scars (all oddlyenough, he notes, on the right side of hisbody) marked him with a self-conscious-ness that lasted into adulthood.

In the record-holders portrayed in the1980 and 1982 Guinness editions, hediscovered an obsessiveness he couldidentify with, an unconventional senseof specialness that he could embrace,and an outlet for his active imagination.

“It was the Guinness books that gaveme an escape,” Church writes, “a strangeand seductive escape into the territory ofimagination.” As he attempts to explainthe motives behind the record-holders’bizarre accomplishments, he dreams up

◆ ◆ ◆

OREAD READER

For the recordChurch’s eccentric memoir

examines the highs and lowsof a misfit Kansas boyhood

Jay Gwaltney ate an 11-foot-tall birch tree. Arron Marshall show-ered for 336 hours straight. FredNewman made 88 consecutive free

throws—blindfolded.The who, where, when and how of

these record-setting feats are chronicledin The Guinness Book of World Records,the renowned compendium of odd anddubious achievements that hasthrilled schoolboys and otherweird-fact aficionados since 1955.

What the books leave to theimagination is the why.

Into that breach jumps StevenChurch, c’95. In his debut memoir,The Guinness Book of Me, he uses along-held fascination with TheGuinness Book of World Records tolook back at the feelings of freak-ishness and alienation he felt grow-ing up in Lawrence.

A sickly toddler who experi-enced bouts of febrile seizures,Church writes that by 10 he had

Rock Chalk Review


University of Missouri, proved an invalu-able resource, especially for the then-unknown possibilities of DNA research.

“Natural Trap Cave is the only sitewe’ve found where we can consistentlyget DNA from ice-age animals south ofthe ice sheet [that covered much ofNorth America during the last ice age],”Martin says. “We have samples preservedin permanently frozen ground up inAlaska, but when we want to know whatwas happening down here, Natural Trapis the only place where we can figurethat out.”

DNA culled from Natural Trap’s bisonbones helped Martin and his fellowresearchers see that a “terrible environ-mental catastrophe,” probably theextreme cold weather that launched themost recent ice age, nearly wiped out theworld’s bison 20,000 years ago.

“With something that’s been around along time like bison, you would expectto have dozens and dozens of separategenetic variations, little sub-areas of indi-vidual selection, and in fact, the earlybison all show this,” Martin says. “But,20,000 years ago, all that variation disap-peared, and we got the same amount ofgenetic variation that we have now, likejust one local population made it. Therewere probably only a few thousandbison left in all of North America.”

The study’s findings, published in thejournal Science, remind paleontologistsnot to fall into their own natural traps,presuming too many conclusions aboutancient fauna from too little evidence.

“We already knew that bison had lowvariability,” Martin says, “but that didn’tbother us, because we knew we hadkilled them off, down to about 800 indi-viduals, 100 years ago. The shockingthing is that before that happened,Mother Nature nearly took the bisonout. So it was a real exciting study.Nobody really expected this.”�

—Chris Lazzarino

■ The GuinnessBook of Me

By Steven Church

Simon & Schuster,$23

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■ Professor Larry Martin used 20,000-year-old bison DNA he helped recover from

Wyoming to show bison were driven to near-extinction at the onset of the last ice age.

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possible lives for them. Though it’s notclear to him at the time, Church’s imag-inings mark his first forays into the lifeof a writer.

Of particular interest are Billy andBenny McCrary, the world’s heaviesttwins. A photograph of the brothers onmotorcycles serves as “a window intoanother world.” He exploits the gaps inGuinness’ just-the-facts approach todream up tensions and rifts between thebrothers, who made a living performingstunts. For Church, this is a way toexamine the close but complicated rela-tionship he shares with his youngerbrother, Matt, an athletic, winning, confi-dent kid who seems to be everythingSteven is not. To explain the death ofBilly, Church dreams up a death scene inwhich the estranged brothers are recon-ciled, Benny holding Billy’s head in hislap, “stroking his brother’s hair andhumming old country songs their gram-my used to sing ... until the sirens comeand his twin heart stops pumping.”

The first half of The Guinness Book ofMe is largely a paean to family life, butbeneath tales of the mildly recklessadventures of the brothers and theirfather runs an undercurrent of barelydiscernible dread. Reading of theiradventures with knives, guns and trucks,one feels a nagging worry that some-thing could go wrong.

When those worries finally surface—abruptly—Church’s oddball memoir, indanger of foundering in shallow self-absorption at its halfway point, strikesout for more profound depths. Itbecomes clear that it’s not the Guinnessrecords that fascinate him so, but therecord-holders. Why these unique peo-ple do what they do is essentiallyunknowable—but so are the motives ofthe so-called ordinary folks weencounter every day. In the gaps of theirpersonal histories Steven Church finds ablank page on which to work throughhis own feelings of alienation and loss,and the journey to belonging that hechronicles suggests every human story,examined closely enough, is unique andrecord-worthy.�

—Steven Hill

Evan Grosshans must be destined for acareer on-stage. He can sing, and

more important, he doesn’t scare easily.It’s a Saturday afternoon in the

Crafton-Preyer Theatre, and Grosshansvolunteers to sing a solo during class.Thiswould not be a big deal, except for thefact that there, in the front row, sitsMandy Patinkin, winner of Tony and Emmyawards for his roles on Broadway and TV.

Grosshans, a Lawrence senior majoringin theatre and theatre/voice, gamelyforges ahead, his lush voice launching intoa favorite from “Carousel”:

“If I loved you—”“But you don’t,” Patinkin shouts.Grosshans stops.“I don’t? I thought I

did,” he replies.Patinkin, ’74, grabs the momentum,

turns to the students in this special mas-ter class, and begins to teach.Through ameandering monologue, the singer andactor talks about making a genuine con-nection with an audience, about the needto “go places in yourself that peoplespend a lifetime avoiding,” about the needto make each performance real and natu-ral by drawing on emotions from yourown life. Performers, he says, must striveto reach that point where “you don’twork at it, because it’s in you.”

The students hang on every word.Grosshans tries his solo again. Patinkinstays quiet until the end, then offers hisreview:“That was great.And let me tellyou why it was great to me.You were notperforming at all.There were only twoplaces were you became unfocused, onlytwo bullshit moments.

“Mostly it was so natural, I’d hire youin a minute—” Grosshans sighs andsmiles, relieved. But Patinkin’s not finished:“unless, of course, you were too tall, hadthe wrong hair, or just didn’t fit the part.”

Such is an actor’s life. Such are theindecipherable, indescribable dynamicswhen a master returns to his alma mater

Patinkin delights students, fans in Murphy Hall

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■ Patinkin left KU in 1972 for The JuilliardSchool, but he fondly recalls his role as Tevyein KU’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof,”the last time his father saw him perform. Hisreprise of “If I Were a Rich Man” earned astanding ovation April 9.

to share his craft with a new generation.Patinkin taught and performed April 9

as part of a benefit for University Theatre.The visit was his second to Lawrence inrecent years.With Jack B.Wright, profes-sor of theatre and film, he took the stageat Crafton-Preyer for “A Conversationwith Mandy Patinkin,” loosely based onthe “Inside the Actors’ Studio” on TV’sBravo network. Patinkin, 52, talked abouthis career and his recent battle withprostate cancer, which had killed hisfather at 52.The event raised about$30,000 to provide theatre equipmentand scholarships for film students. �

—Jennifer Jackson Sanner

Oread Encore


Air Force ROTC cadet Duncan Catlettraised his silver trumpet and honoredhis fellow Jayhawk Raleigh Bowlby Jr.with the mournful tribute reserved for

fallen warriors. On the fine spring morning ofApril 9, taps played at the Campanile.

Bowlby, a native of Marion, was killed inaction near Cassino, Italy, on April 8, 1944. Hehad left KU just one semester shy of his businessdegree. After completing Officer CandidateSchool, Bowlby summoned his sweetheart, MaryJane Shahan, and they were married Oct. 31,1943, at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Like countless couples ruined by worldwidewar, they would not know a life together.Bowlby’s widow, now Mary Jane Cunningham, of Caldwell, married Leonard Cunningham, andtogether they reared a spirited Jayhawk family.During frequent trips to the Hill for footballgames, they sometimes strolled through theCampanile and wondered why Mom’s first husband was not among the 276 names carvedin granite.

It was not until seeing his name at the WorldWar II Memorial in Washington, D.C., that the

family notified the University of the oversight;Jeff Weinberg, assistant to Chancellor Robert E.Hemenway, immediately took up the cause.

Midland Marble & Granite of Independence,Mo., donated services and materials, fashioningtwo “absolute black” nameplates. One wasattached to the Campanile’s roster of World WarII dead; another was given to Bowlby’s widow. “Ithink it’s beautiful,” Mary Jane Cunningham saidsoftly, tracing a finger across the name of herlong-lost love.

The spring wind snapped to attention incadence with the color guard, and the Americanflag whipped sharply. Taps played. A widowtwice over shed quiet tears a half-century over-due. A University remembered its own. A forgot-ten son came home.�

■ Above, l to r: Raleigh C. Bowlby Jr. as a newly

minted second lieutenant;his widow, Mary Jane

Cunningham, surroundedby family, cradles Bowlby’s

marble nameplate; theROTC color guard at theApril 9 Campanile cere-

mony. Below: Bowlby’sname finally included

among the Campanile’shonored dead.

B Y C H R I S L A Z Z A R I N O

For whom the bells tollFallen, forgotten Jayhawk added to Campanile

61 years and a day after his combat death

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Fledglings?

To be included, the student must:

• be a freshman in the fall 2005• have at least one parent who is an Alumni Association member

• have at least one parent who attended KU(that parent need not have graduated)

Second Generations:

Please mail in your son or daughter’s resumé and high school name. Please do not send student

photographs for second generation Jayhawks.

Third Generations and beyond:

Mail in your son or daughter’s resumé, along with information detailing high-school activities. Please provide

information about your KU ancestors. Mail a photograph of the student and college-era photos of parents who attended KU.

Photos of grandparents should be sent for fifth-generation students only. We will return all photos after the feature is

published in issue 5, September 2005.

If your baby Jayhawk is ready to leave the nest and head to KU, let us know! Your family’s legacy of KU students will

be featured in “Jayhawk Generations,” Kansas Alumni magazine’s salute to true blue heritage.

Jayhawk GenerationsDeadline for all materials is June 30, 2005

www.kualumni.org

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