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THE MAGAZINE OF INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
4SPRING 2015
14
BIRDS NOT NAMED LARRY
Our feathered friends are regular topics
of research on campus.
BY LIBBY ROERIG
16
JASON MILES
Work hard — really hard — and be unique:
That’s the advice a Grammy-award-winning
musician gave his fellow Sycamores.
BY LIBBY ROERIG
24
THE NORMAL SCHOOL
After 150 years, Indiana’s “teachers college”
is still turning out the best educators.
BY DONOVAN WHEELER, ’91, GR ’08
SPRING 2015
SPRING 2015
departments
03
THE NEW NORMAL
04
THE BIG IDEA
09
THE BIG QUESTION
10
ALUMNI NEWS
43
CLASS NOTES
46
THEN AND NOW
48
EDITOR’S NOTE
Thank you for the warm welcome!
BEHIND THE
COVER
Indiana State’s aviation program is leading the way in unmanned systems
and launching mile-high careers.
THE MAGAZINE OF INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
4SPRING 2015
This Sycamore was a pioneer in both robotics and life-saving technology.
Why are we afraid to fly?
Teammate to Indiana State’s most famous hoops player, Carl Nicks says he’s
come full circle.
Catch up with your classmates’ latest news.
The theater program from “Romeo and Juliet” to “The Color Purple.”
The “DJI Phantom 2
Vision +” drone flies
high over campus in
this photo illustration.
Indiana State
University Photography
Services purchased
this model in fall 2014
and has been using
drones for nearly three
years to capture highdefinition video and
images of the campus
and university events.
The remote-controlled
device allows them
to see campus from
a unique view, with
footage being taken
generally between 20
and 150 feet.
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLMENT
MANAGEMENT, MARKETING,
AND COMMUNICATIONS
John E. Beacon, GR ’74
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR
COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING
Santhana Naidu, ’01
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Lisa Moore
EDITOR
Libby Roerig
DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE SERVICES
Ted Wilson
ART DIRECTOR
Stephen Turgi
CONTRIBUTORS
Amy Bouman, Web Services
Tony Campbell, Photographer
Hilary Duncan, Alumni Association, ‘10
Teresa Exline, Chief of Staff
Tracy Ford, Videographer, ‘88, GR ‘05
Jason Hiddle, Web Services
Ace Hunt, Athletics
Rex Kendall, Alumni Association, ’88, GR ‘91
Rachel Keyes, Photographer, ‘12
Kim Kunz, ISU Foundation, GR ‘10
John Sherman, Athletics, ‘88
Betsy Simon, Media Relations
Dave Taylor, Media Relations
STATE is published in print biannually in
the spring and fall by the Indiana State
University Office of Communications
and Marketing. Digital editions are
published on the off-months during the
rest of the year. Opinions expressed are
not necessarily shared by Indiana State
University, the publishers, or the editors.
© 2015.
MAGAZINE CORRESPONDENCE:
STATE Magazine
Indiana State University
Office of Communications and Marketing
102 Gillum Hall, Terre Haute, IN 47809
[email protected]
812-237-3773
TO JOIN THE INDIANA STATE
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION:
30 N. Fifth St., Terre Haute, IN 47809
[email protected]
812-514-8400
2
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
FALL 2014
Be
Blue.
Join the Blue Card Club, the official alumni membership
program of the Indiana State Alumni Association. As a
member you will receive exclusive benefits, including
special Indiana State opportunities and discounts with
local and national retailers. indstate.edu/alumni
:: EDITOR’S NOTE ::
THANK YOU FOR THE WARM WELCOME!
A
T Indiana State, we’re always thrilled to hear from our alumni and friends of the university. After all, your lives, dreams
and goals tell the story of our institution.
So after launching the new-and-improved STATE Magazine in print last fall, we were overwhelmed with emails, calls
and comments about how much you like the publication. We also received some constructive feedback and look forward
to getting better with each issue — whether it’s our online editions or our biannual print publications.
Here’s a sampling of some of the fan mail we received:
Wow! I just received and loved the new
STATE print Magazine! Such a great
improvement and so glad to receive a
print edition! I am proud of MY university.
My college experiences were the best of
my life!
Thank you for taking me back,
Martin Axel, ’67
WOW! Glancing over my new STATE
magazine. Anxious to sit down and read it!
Looks like a winner to me. My daughter and
I are heading over to ISU in November for
a campus preview day and can’t wait to see
all the renovations I read about.
Congratulations. I read most of the articles
and they renewed my love for ISU. As
one who holds two degrees from ISU,
I’d become disenfranchised with recent
publications that seemed to be centered
on athletics. STATE Magazine is a refreshing
publication that draws from the deep well
of academics at the institution. After all, it
is an academic institution first and foremost. I was especially touched by Editor Libby
Roerig’s comment, “… we want to start
important conversations about worldly
issues and show how Indiana State’s
students, faculty and staff are making the
world a better place.” Indeed, you are!
Randy Bretz, ’68, ’74
Angela Bruce Griffin, ’88
Keep the comments coming! And we’ll stay hard at work developing stories about your Indiana State University.
Libby Roerig,
Editor
PHOTOGRAPHY BY INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES
Just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS
on the launch of your new magazine! I read
it, and it’s great.
So happy that students are getting the
opportunity to work on this new project,
and I wish you the very best in the future!
Keep up the good work!
Patrece Dayton
News Anchor, WTHI-TV
Congratulations! ISU now has a publication
we should be proud of. I received my copy
today. You have created a very thoughtful
and thought-provoking publication. As well,
you have underscored and highlighted the
depth of ISU’s student body and graduates.
Finally, the “Blue” tag is exceptional; a
fresh and refreshing tag — in my opinion.
Well done!
Harold S. Junker
Valparaiso, Ind.
’92 M.S. Occupational Health and Safety
3
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
The
PHOTO CREDIT
New
Normal
Junior Levi Griffin, left, and sophomore Dakota Clarke operate a DJI Flame Wheel 450 unmanned system.
4
SPRING 2015
INDIANA STATE LEADS THE WAY
IN UNMANNED SYSTEMS
BY DAVE TAYLOR
A
notes the minor has attracted students from 11 areas
of study, including criminology and geology, as well
as aviation.
While much of the world’s attention has been on
unmanned aerial vehicles, Indiana State’s program
also includes ground and amphibious vehicles,
Baker said.
“Our students get hands-on experience with everything,” he said. “They actually start out by flying
small helicopters. They actually build a smallwheeled or tracked vehicle, and they do competitions among themselves, so they get a breadth across
all three systems. They learn how to apply the technology to other industries: insurance, for such things
as tornado damage assessments, as well as logistics,
agriculture, you name it.”
Indiana State is the only institution in the region
that is pursuing the unmanned sector, said Matt
Konkler, executive director of the National Center
for Complex Operations.
“Indiana State has assumed some risk. They’ve
been entrepreneurial in a way. They’ve been one of
the first to get in line and to take initiative,” he said.
Faculty and staff have “been there, done that and
understand the operations side and the human side,”
Konkler added. “There are a lot of institutions who
have jumped into this arena and have not been
able to bring the assets to the table that Indiana
State has.”
Because of its early commitment to unmanned
systems, Indiana State is in a position to help influence
national standards, said Jeffrey Hauser, executive
director of Terre Haute International AirportHulman Field, assistant adjutant general with the
Indiana Air National Guard and an adjunct faculty
member in the university’s aviation department.
“We worked last year with the Association of
Unmanned Vehicle Systems International in Washington, D.C., and a couple months later, they had
us form a group of all of the universities working
NTHONY “AJ” Jones will graduate
this spring from Indiana State University’s aviation program, but he’s
not interested in flying a plane — at
least not in the conventional manner.
Jones is completing a bachelor’s degree in aviation
management and has his sights set on overseeing
some level of flight operations with his feet firmly
planted on the ground. But he has a backup plan.
He’s completing a minor in unmanned systems,
which he says is the future of aviation.
“I’m in love with flight. I love everything about it,
except I don’t want to be a pilot,” the Indianapolis
resident said. “I love the management side.”
Jones is also fascinated about being able to control
an aircraft without actually being in the cockpit.
“I like the idea of controlling something that is
not directly in my hands,” he said. “I’m a ‘How
does that work?’ kind of guy, so I like the concept
of operating a device by remote control and learning
how it works with radio waves.”
There is potential for unmanned systems to change
the way that people live their daily lives, said Bob
English, dean of the College of Technology.
“It’s going to have a tremendous impact on logistical, transportation and health care systems. It
will reduce the cost of moving small packages and
products from one point to another,” he said. “I
truly believe that it will have a dynamic impact on
the way we live. Either you lead or you follow, and
we want to lead.”
That’s why the college launched the minor three
years ago and plans to roll out an unmanned systems
major as early as this fall. The popularity of the
minor surprised even its biggest supporters.
“We thought maybe 50 to 60 students would
pursue the minor, and we’ve had more than 150 so
far. Sixty have already graduated,” said Richard Baker,
founding director of the Center for Unmanned
Systems and Human Capital Development. He
5
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
The
PHOTOGRAPHY BY INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES
New
Normal
6
SPRING 2015
Clockwise from left: Indiana State aviation students fly the PrecisionHawk’s Lancaster unmanned aerial vehicle. Junior Taylor Rutter flies a
Blade Nano QX unmanned system. Summer Honors students in the unmanned systems program use robots they built to move balls from
one side of a wall to the other in 2014. Junior Matthew Wallace, left, operates a DJI Flame Wheel 450 while senior Cole Snyder watches.
with unmanned systems to come up with different disciplines as far as academics, what sort of courses should be
taught, as well as safety, and get all of the universities to
work together.”
Hauser also briefed the Indiana Congressional delegation.
“We want them to be as informed as possible,” he said.
“When they have questions or issues that people call in
about, that they know how to get answers, so it’s important
we link the three together: industry, higher education and
the government/military.”
While some may have safety concerns about unmanned
systems, supporters note such concerns were also raised
when airplanes and even automobiles were first invented.
“We just have to look at it as a change,” said Jones.
“What are the safeguards? That’s all we hear in unmanned
vehicles is ‘safety, safety, safety.’”
MILE-HIGH CAREERS
Aviation alumni credit Indiana State with preparing them for success,
whether that’s in management for a major shipping company or jetting
celebrities to exotic locals
A
BY DAVE TAYLOR
S a student in the early days of Indiana
State University’s aviation program, Jim
Bowman, ’77, never imagined he might
one day oversee the largest civil cargo flight
operation in the world.
Chase Uebelhor, ’07, is living a pilot’s dream, regularly
flying the rich and famous — including actors, high-profile athletes and political leaders — to exotic and out-ofthe-way destinations.
“All I wanted to do was get my hands on Navy jets and go
fast,” recalled Bowman, an Indianapolis native who serves
as vice president of flight operations at Federal Express. “I
had no idea at all that Indiana State would prepare me as it
has for the current job that I am fortunate to have.”
From FedEx headquarters in Memphis, Bowman is responsible for planning, organizing and directing global
flight operations for FedEx Express, as well as the supervision of a crew of 4,300 pilots.
Bowman credits the late Ivan Bates, professor and
chair of the aviation technology department, and retired
Professor Roy Buckingham, for his decision to join the
Navy following his graduation from Indiana State with a
bachelor’s degree in aviation management.
“I was actually interested in flying since I was 14,”
Bowman said. “Both being military pilots, they headed
me toward the military aviation side.”
He spent seven years on active duty as a Navy pilot
before joining Eastern
Airlines. He has served
FedEx in various roles
since 1986 and is now
retired from the Naval
Reserves.
Indiana State’s aviation
program was, and still
is, “fantastic,” Bowman
said, noting his curriculum was split evenly
between flying, business
courses and how airports and the aviation system operate.
In addition to Bates’ and Buckingham’s guidance on
the academic side, Bowman said university staff members
John Newton and Jerry Hile helped him with “the
personal touch, life advice and heading the right way. For
a university that size, it is pretty impressive that people
care that much.”
Bowman also met his wife, Shana, ’78, a child development major, while both were students at State.
Like Bowman, Uebelhor caught the flying bug early. He
grew up near the Huntingburg airport in southern Indiana,
which once hosted a performance by the Navy’s Blue Angels.
He first took the controls of a plane at age 12 and visited
several colleges before his final campus visit to Indiana
State convinced him it was where he needed to be.
“Indiana State was more affordable than any of the
other schools, especially for the variety of training that was
offered,” he said. “The smaller classes were important to
me. The technology we had in the classroom was really
impressive. The flight program offered a lot of advanced
training. No other school that I visited offered anything
like State offered.”
To gain flying time and meet the requirements of commercial airlines and charter services, Uebelhor worked as
a flight instructor in Terre Haute and Florida following
graduation before landing a job with Travel Management,
which counts many well-known celebrities among
its clients.
“We transport some
of the top athletes,
political figures and
highest-paid actors,” he
said. “Anybody you can
think of, we’ve probably
flown them at least once
or twice.”
To
ensure
the
confidentiality of his
company’s
clients,
7
Chase Uebelhor, ’07
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
Michael Chestnut, ’91
MICHAEL CHESTNUT’S LIFE SOUNDS LIKE THE
scenario for a blockbuster Hollywood movie. An Indiana
farm boy joins the Marines and travels the nation with
President Ronald Reagan.
To start at the beginning, Chestnut was born and
grew up in Washington, Ind. College seemed out of the
question when he graduated from high school. Higher
ed, he thought, “was just for the ‘smart kids.’”
So, Chestnut joined the Marines. “My dad was a
Marine, and there was really no other choice or even
consideration for me other than that,” he said. “I served
five years…. It was absolutely the right decision for me.”
Chestnut became a crew chief in the presidential helicopter squadron and provided helicopter air support for
Reagan and other high-ranking officials.
“I was encouraged by some of my Marine Corp officers
to take college courses,” he said. “I took the courses and
found that I could do the work, and I loved it.”
Leaving the Marines in 1985, Chestnut first attended
St. Mary’s College of Maryland, because that is where
he was working on the Navy base. However, his Indiana
roots kept calling him home. “I decided on ISU, and it
was the best decision I have ever made,” he said.
While at Indiana State, Chestnut spent three years
in the Army ROTC program and was commissioned a
second lieutenant in his senior year.
“A lot of my best memories at ISU
are from being involved with that
program and the cadre and guys
that were a part of that program,”
Chestnut said, adding that he also met
his wife, Melissa “Beck” Chestnut.
With a solid academic foundation
from Indiana State, Chestnut went to
Valparaiso School of Law, where he
received a cum laude law degree. Chestnut and his wife have four children, Zack, Eric,
Arrieonna and Aaron.
“If it were not for the Marines, I would not have
had the confidence and discipline to attend and
succeed at ISU,” he said. “If not for ISU, I would
not have developed the academic confidence and
skills necessary to be so successful at Valpo Law and
in my everyday practice as an attorney and judicial
officer …. I would love to return one day to ISU to teach
and be a part of our great school again. Maybe the
next chapter?”
— Jackie Sheckler Finch
8
SPRING 2015
Jim Bowman, ’77
Uebelhor can’t mention them by name and is limited
when it comes to the tales he can share.
“I once had a flight of four passengers who requested
90 cheeseburgers for a two-hour flight. I will never understand that one,” he said, noting that’s just one example of
the extra service his passengers expect.
“They expect more than what they probably would
receive in an airline flight, even flying first class,” he said.
“A majority of my work during the day is making sure that
everything is arranged for them properly, such as a limo
waiting for them at the airport and their catering is correct
and on time. They expect the royal treatment, so you have
to be professional in everything you do.”
Uebelhor’s high-profile passengers also expect to fly in
bad weather, but he stressed that does not mean he flies
when it would be dangerous to do so. He frequently has
to land and take off at some challenging locations, such as
beachfront locations and landing strips tucked into the
sides of mountains, but he loves his job.
“I wanted that challenge,” he said. “I wanted to go
into airports that are small and that are a challenge to get
into and out of. I always wanted to see the more exotic
locations in the world, rather than go back and forth from
New York, Chicago, Atlanta and L.A.”
He recalled a day early in his jet career when he was
hiking in Aspen in the morning and relaxing on the beach
in the Bahamas in the afternoon.
While few may be able to match Uebelhor’s dream job,
alumni say current students can expect to be in demand
following graduation, and Bowman is pleased the aviation
program at Indiana State has expanded and now boasts its
own flight school and upgraded FAA certification.
“We are facing a significant pilot shortage,” he said,
citing data from Boeing that projects a need for 88,000
pilots throughout North America during the next 20
years. “Indiana State positioning itself with the flight
school and the expansion of the aviation program is an
extremely smart move.”
THE big IDEA
GRADUATE A PIONEER IN ROBOTICS
AND LIFE-SAVING TECHNOLOGY
BY JACKIE SHECKLER FINCH
W
HEN Todd Jochem,
’90, was a boy
growing up in smalltown Indiana, the
profession he would
eventually enter as an adult didn’t even
exist. But Jochem would grow up and
become a pioneer in the field of robotics.
“I wanted to be an astronaut or an
athlete,” he recalled with a chuckle. “Just
the typical things that kids want to be.
Technology has changed very quickly in
my lifetime.”
Back then, Jochem put his heart into
playing football. As quarterback for Southridge High School in Huntingburg, he
excelled enough to be offered a football
scholarship to Indiana State University.
That is where his life changed direction.
“ISU offered a class on robotics, and I
thought it sounded interesting so I signed
up for it,” he said. “That made me get even
more interested.”
When he graduated from Indiana State
in 1990 with a degree in electronics and
computer technology, Jochem decided to
reach for the stars and apply to Carnegie
Mellon in Pittsburgh for graduate school.
“I was the first one in my family to go
to college,” he said. “Thinking
that Carnegie Mellon would
take a chance on me just didn’t
seem possible.”
However, Jochem put two particular items on his application
that caught the eye of a person
on the admissions committee —
a man who just happened to also
be director of Carnegie Mellon’s
newly emerging robotics institute.
“He called me and said that if I played
college football quarterback, I must be good
at thinking on my feet and that Carnegie
Mellon was forming a robotics department
if I was interested,” Jochem said.
With his high school sweetheart/new
bride by his side, Jochem moved to Pittsburgh to attend Carnegie Mellon, while his
wife, Barb Songer, attended the University
of Pittsburgh to become a reading specialist.
While still a graduate student working on
his doctorate, Jochem led Carnegie Mellon’s
three-year, multi-million dollar automated
highway system development and demonstration project. In addition to managing
the administrative part of the project, he
was responsible for developing a 360degree obstacle detection and avoidance
system and coordinating and supporting
the entire system integration process, both
internally and between Carnegie Mellon,
General Motors and Delphi.
“I was fortunate enough to get in on the
ground floor of the field of robotics,” Jochem
said. “It was fascinating to me, like playing
with big toys and making them do things.”
After getting his doctorate, Jochem
founded two companies — AssistWare
Technology Inc. and Applied Perception.
At AssistWare, he helped transition the
self-driving car technology first developed
at Carnegie Mellon into a commercial
computer-vision-based lane departure and
drowsy driver warning system. Jochem’s
work with AssistWare culminated in May
2006, when AssistWare was acquired by
Cognex, the world’s largest computer-vision products company.
At Applied Perception, Jochem focused
the company on Department of Defensefunded efforts to improve unmanned
ground vehicle capabilities for missions
such as wounded soldier extraction and
evacuation and improvised-explosive-device detection and neutralization. In May
2007, Applied Perception was acquired by
Foster-Miller/QinetiQ.
Today, Jochem is a consultant to technology businesses, but his main emphasis is on
family and football. He and his wife have
three children — Emma, 17, a high school
senior; Ben, 15, a high school freshman;
and Eli, 12, a sixth grader. For the past
four years, Jochem has been quarterback
coach for Pine Richland High School in
Gibsonia, Pa.
“Priorities change, and right now, I
want to help build a football
program that will get more kids
into college,” he said. “I’m a big
proponent that you can learn so
much about life and hardship
and success through sports. I
want to make sure these kids
have an opportunity to go to
college the same way I did.”
9
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
big QUESTION
THE
?
WHY ARE WE AFRAID TO FLY?
J
BY AMANDA MARSH, ’15
ULIE Hofmann was 4 years old
when she boarded an airplane for
the first time. A few minutes after
the plane started to move, she
panicked and demanded to be let
off. The reason behind her intense reaction?
She says she was afraid of the unexpected
when it comes to flying.
The airline industry has changed drastically from its beginnings in the Wright
Brother’s era to now. The fear of flying is
fairly common today and has a variety of
sources, according to experts.
Even if you’re not afraid to get on a plane,
some dislike air travel because of changes to
the industry over the decades.
“In the 1970s and ’80s, flying was fun
and less complicated. Most flights were not
crowded, and the amount of luggage was not
restricted, nor did it cost extra for bags to be
checked,” said John Beacon, vice president
of enrollment management, marketing and
communications, and an experienced airline
traveler since the 1960s.
Beacon’s flying experiences are dramatically different from then to now, mostly because
of changes in services provided and comfort
on planes. In the good old days, planes often
flew one-third empty, and once flights took
off, passengers were invited to reseat themselves if they wanted more space. It wasn’t
uncommon to be the only
passenger in a three-seat row,
he said.
Flight attendants also
took time to talk with passengers and get to know
them. Frequent travelers
to the same destinations
would often see the same
attendants on flights, which
made flying even more of a
Julie Hofmann
10
SPRING 2015
personal experience. Full-course, hot meals
were standard on all airlines for all passengers
on any flights that extended over meal times,
whether breakfast, lunch or dinner — no
matter which area of the plane the flyer was
seated. Additionally, it wasn’t unusual to have
snacks served between meals.
Since planes are set up vastly different than
they were in the ’60s, the modern inconveniences are enough to make some people
choose other modes of transportation.
“It comes down to a matter of convenience.
If I am not in a hurry to get anywhere, then
I will take the time to drive to my location
rather than take a plane every time. People
are always in a hurry, and that is why more
people fly nowadays,” Beacon said.
All these factors — having to sit in a
cramped seat for hours, trying to find a place
for luggage in the overhead, paying inflated
costs for food, as well as paying more for the
weight of luggage — add up to this travel
experience causing more anxious situations
and in some people, phobias.
Many people are apprehensive about
flying, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. About 20
percent of the population report that fear of
flying interferes with their life.
In many instances, this fear goes beyond
the disapproval of customer service and
general hassled experience.
Instead, the phobia is more
about claustrophobia, which
has nothing to do with being
in the air, but instead being
afraid of enclosed spaces for
long periods of time.
“The idea of being trapped
in a big machine and having
no control for a long amount
of time is what makes me
ILLUSTRATION BY KASSIDY LINGENFELTER, ’17
uncomfortable. If I were to fly, it would have to be for a
short amount of time,” said Hofmann, an administrative
assistant in Student Media at Indiana State.
The best way to accomplish getting over a phobia is
by facing it in a relaxed manor, to change your perception of flying from an anxiety-filled one to a more
relaxed view of the experience, experts say.
“The fear of flying is classified as a situational-type
phobia, which is when the person has anxiety about a
situation to the point that the situation almost always
causes immediate fear,” said Rebecca Murray, director of
Indiana State’s Psychology Clinic.
Hofmann said she plans to face her fear within the
next year. She wishes she had access to a fake plane to go
on first and make herself more aware of what to expect
and to become more comfortable with landing and the
possibility of turbulence.
“I wish I would have faced it a lot earlier, when flights
were not so chaotic and there was not so much terrorism
talk, because all I hear are horror stories about luggage
being lost and everyone being cramped on the flight,”
Hofmann said.
According to Murray, the best way to overcome these
psychological obstacles is to face the feared situation you
may have been avoiding and tolerate the initial discomfort, in small increments, that comes with confronting
phobic situations. Exposure like this often results in
complete recovery, Murray said.
Flying will likely always be a part of the way we travel,
and if an individual is going to accept that he or she may
need to fly in a plane one day, then they may want to
take steps in facing their fears sooner rather than later.
Other ways the process of flying can be improved is
if customers voice their opinion or the airline industry
is changed.
“I totally understand the financial need for airlines to
fill seats and make fewer flights to the same destinations,
but the enjoyment has gone out of flying as passengers
are herded on and off planes,” Beacon said. “Sadly,
those who never experienced what it was like to enjoy
a flight have nothing with which to compare today’s air
travel. If they had, maybe more people would demand
better treatment.”
Now in her 40s, Hofmann plans to take her own
advice when it comes to conquering her fear of flying
and tackling it head on. If the opportunity presents itself
for you to overcome your fears — whatever they may
be — take it, she said.
11
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
The
New
Normal
1
2
3
4
5
12
SPRING 2015
181st IS DIGITAL MEMORY PROJECT’S
LATEST PARTNER
A
6
to the 113th Observation Squadron. It later became
the 113th Tactical Fighter Squadron, and the 113th
is still part of the 181st Fighter Wing.
During 1926, the unit moved to Schoen Field and
later to Stout Field, both in Indianapolis. Finally
in 1954, the wing moved to its current location
at Hulman International Airport in Terre Haute.
— Libby Roerig
ON THE WEB: To access the free digital collection
of artifacts, administrative and personal papers,
manuscripts, photographs, texts, yearbooks, maps,
oral histories and other audio/video files, go to
http://visions.indstate.edu.
Indiana State University student Kyle Stephenson, ’16, left,
and Lt. Col. Frank Howard, 181st Intelligence Wing public
affairs officer and historian, discuss historic photos of the
airbase at Cunningham Memorial Library.
1. The 113th Fighter Squadron flies North American P-51D Mustang fighter aircraft. After World War II and with the
formation of the United States Air Force, the Indiana Air National Guard was formed. 2. The 181st Tactical Fighter Group
Hulman Field Air National Guard Base is seen around 1969. 3. The 113th Observation Squadron flies Consolidated O-17
and Douglas O-2H observation aircraft in the 1930s. 4. The hangar is full of RF-84s and a C-47. 5. The 113th Observation
Squadron flies Consolidated O-17 observation aircraft. 6. The North American O-47 observation aircraft is briefly
maintained by the 113th Observation Squadron before World War II.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY CAMPBELL / INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES
ARCHIVE IMAGES COURTESY OF 181ST INTELLIGENCE WING
RECENT collaboration between
the Wabash Valley Visions & Voices
Digital Memory Project and the
181st Intelligence Wing, Indiana
Air National Guard, will ensure the
airbase’s rich history will be preserved for generations to come.
In its 11th year, Wabash Valley Visions & Voices
(WV3) is a collaborative effort spanning six counties
and including west central Indiana’s libraries,
museums, cultural organizations and community.
WV3 is facilitated by Indiana State University’s
Cunningham Memorial Library, which provides
server capacity, resources and staff.
“The 181st Intelligence Wing, ‘Home of the
Racers,’ has a rich history, starting in the Army Air
Corp and continuing to this day,” said Col. L. Kip
Clark, commander 181st Intelligence Wing. “When
people learn about the world wars or any pivotal
moment in the 20th century, our airmen were there
serving our nation and state. Our roots can be found
flying observation aircraft, and today our mission
has come full circle with our intelligence mission.
We continue to support community, state and nation
with the same tenacity as those who have gone before.
We remain ever vigilant and constantly ready.”
The airbase’s photographs are being digitized
and metadata added by Indiana State student Kyle
Stephenson, ’16, a civil engineering technology major
from Alexandria, Ind., who is in the Air Force ROTC.
The 181st Intelligence Wing dates back to 1921,
after Wilbert F. Fagley was given the authority to
organize Headquarters Battery, 81st Field Artillery
in Kokomo, Ind. The unit was redesignated as the
137th Observation Squadron before being changed
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STATEMAGAZINE.COM
The
New
Normal
BIRDS NOT NAMED ‘LARRY’
When mention is made of the word synonymous for fowl, one might assume you’re
referencing Indiana State basketball legend Larry Bird. Feathered friends have quite
a presence on campus, as several birds are the topic of Sycamores’ research.
White-throated
sparrows
Peregrine falcons
Ducks
Bats
14
SPRING 2015
WHAT?
WHY?
WHAT’S NEXT?
Elaina Tuttle, professor of
biology, and Rusty Gonser,
associate professor of
biology, have spent more
than two decades — and
earned a National Institutes
of Health grant — researching white-throated sparrows
in upstate New York.
Their projects range from genetics to
ecology, all of which helps genomic
research into the birds’ sexual,
social and parental behaviors. They
also study the connection between
chromosomal rearrangements and
disease — something that could have
a direct impact for human health.
The sparrow research project is
Cranberry Lake’s longest-running
continuous research project, and it
began with Tuttle, who first journeyed
to the lake as a graduate student
working on her thesis project about
sparrows and their mating systems.
Biology professor Steven
Lima has been keeping a
keen eye on a peregrine
falcon nest box atop Indiana
State University’s now vacant
Statesman Towers for years.
Each spring, Lima monitors a
mated pair’s nest and checks
for eggs and chicks. The first
successful hatching was in
2010, when a pair successfully mated and hatched
three chicks.
Peregrine falcons became endangered in the 1960s, because of the
wide use of the insecticide DDT
that poisoned their food supply. As
top predators, the birds absorbed
large amounts of the chemical
from ingesting their prey — smaller
birds — and became unable to
reproduce. The modern peregrine
falcon species is doing relatively well,
say wildlife officials. They are still a
special-concern species, so Indiana
Department of Natural Resources
biologists still monitor their nests
and locations in the state.
With the demolition of Statesman
Towers this year, the box was
relocated to the Sycamore Building
in downtown Terre Haute in midDecember. The falcons, however,
are not likely to abandon their
old spot until the towers are fully
dismantled, as the nest box is not
the only reason why the falcons are
focused on the towers; rather, they
like its cliff-like structure. In the 1990s, Indiana
State research revealed
mallard ducks sleep with
one eye open and half of
their brain awake — to
detect predators. It’s called
unihemispheric slow-wave
sleep, and it allows birds
to detect approaching
predators while still getting a
bit of shut-eye.
For the experiment, four ducks were
placed in a row of clear tanks. The
ducks in the middle tanks would
almost always sleep with both eyes
shut, while those on the ends kept
one eye open for about a third of
the night. When the ducks were
repositioned, their sleep patterns
usually adjusted. Even with just one
eye open and half-asleep, the birds
reacted to the image of a predator in
less than one-fifth of a second.
Even after more than a decade has
passed since publishing the initial
findings, this research still gains
national attention. The findings could
have implications for humans. Some
sleep disorders, such as sleepwalking, are thought to occur when parts
of the brain wake up while other
parts are sleeping.
OK, we realize bats aren’t
birds — they’re mammals,
and very special ones at
that. Founded nearly a
decade ago, the Center
for Bat Research, Outreach
and Conservation has been
working to protect these
valuable animals. The center
unites more than 40 years of
collective experience leading
large-scale research projects,
such as a 25-year study of
the Indiana bat population
near the Indianapolis Airport.
Imagine a world overrun with insects,
but with few insect predators:
Farmers, desperate to salvage
their crops, apply more and more
pesticides. Food costs increase, and
the public is exposed to harmful
chemicals. This scenario is possible,
say researchers, if bats go extinct.
These flying mammals gobble as
much as their weight in bugs every
night, protecting our comfort, health
and economy. Bats are fighting
multiple threats these days — whitenose syndrome and habitat destruction among them.
The center continues its nationally
significant research, collaboration
and education to protect bats.
— Libby Roerig
Indiana State University Fishing Team members from left: Mason Clarey, Zac Niehaus, Dalton Tunis, Tyler Wilson, Ryan Hazelwood,
Jordan Nauert, Nolan Elrod, Jeremy Crocker, Aubrye Cain, Nick Gallina, Blaine Timonera and Zane Hennig.
FISHING TEAM REELS IN BIG MONEY, FUN
I
is a very mental game, but it is absolutely beautiful to be
there at that time. You also get to meet so many great
people at these competitions.”
Funding is one of the main goals of the team, as is
to increase membership. They now count more than
20 members.
“The more we grow, the easier it is to increase funds and
people who can help out the organization,” said Blaine
Timonera, a senior business management major and
president of the team.
“Some of the most fun I have had this semester is getting
together, just getting to hangout with everybody and being
able to be out on the boat with everyone. For how much
time is put into it, it is definitely worth it,” Timonera said.
While some members are serious about professional
fishing and others just like to have fun, each member
brings an area of expertise, such as Ryan Hazelwood,
a senior engineering major, who looks over the
boats’ mechanics.
And, of course, fishing is not just for the guys.
“I’ve always loved fishing and camping. I am one of
the only ones out of my friends who likes to do it,
so this team helps me find my outlet,” said Aubrye
Cain, a sophomore elementary education major.
Cain has not fished at the tournament level yet,
but she will in the upcoming season.
“Being a transfer student, this team has gotten
me involved on campus, and I have learned so
much already,” Cain said. “I was a little intimidated at first, but I just needed to go out and do
something that I am passionate about and get
involved. We’re almost like a family.”
NDIANA State has its share of clubs and sports,
but many may not know about the Indiana State
University Fishing Team. Like a trophy bass, it has
grown in size and competes nationally.
“People think we are a bunch of rednecks sitting
out on a boat all day. Fishing an eight-hour tournament can
be grueling but very rewarding,” said Nick Gallina, senior
biology major and one of the founders of the team. “It is
much more of a sport than a hobby like most people expect.”
Gallina is an experienced fisherman and incorporates his
biology studies to hook more fish. Season, temperature and
timing all factor into his strategies.
The fishing team idea was born three years ago when four
Sycamores showed an interest in creating one. They had
been to different competitions to see what it was like and
came to the consensus, “Why not at Indiana State?”
Why not, indeed. The fishing team is now run like a
business. They know how much revenue they need in the
form of sponsorships from Terre Haute-area businesses
to fund equipment and trip expenses. Last fall, they
recruited sponsorships from companies such as Hi99,
Riddell National Bank, J. Gumbo’s and Baesler’s Market.
They also participate in campus activities and philanthropies, such as the club-initiated canned food drive or
“Sink the Boat Campaign.”
The tournament awards are a key factor that keeps
them motivated, as prizes can total $500-$10,000 each
competition. All winnings from competitions are given
back to the club for continued development of the team.
“Each lake is different and bass fishing is very
technical, but my favorite area is definitely Kentucky
Lake at the FLW Tournament,” Gallina said. “Fishing
15
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC
Jason Miles, ’73, has had a successful career
in the music industry by working hard and being
unique. Now, he encourages aspiring musicians
to do the same.
BY LIBBY ROERIG
O
N one wall of Jason Miles’
in-home studio are more
than 100 snapshots of artists
he’s made music with —
Luther, Vanessa, Sting.
On another wall are certificates for the
Grammys he’s won and for which he has
been nominated.
Gold and platinum discs honoring
millions of album sales? Check. Emmy
nomination? Check.
After more than 40 years in the music
business, these wall hangings are all
satisfying accomplishments and evidence
of a successful career. But, after all these
decades, what keeps this New York native
still inspired in a notoriously tough
business? Love.
The love for his wife, Indiana State
sweetheart and sometimes lyricist partner,
the former Kathy Bennett, ’72. The love of
a great song’s melody, beat and groove. The
love of learning, always striving for deeper
understanding and the next new sound.
“Many of us musicians are very insecure
about things — maybe you’re going to get
fired, maybe I’m going to get this, or maybe
— all the stuff that hangs on you,” said
Miles, who finished his classes at State in
December 1973. “For disappointments and
all this stuff, and how do you get out of it?
You need somebody who supports you. You
need love in your life, you need somebody
that’s going to stand by you no matter what
and that believes in you. You’re going to need
to believe in yourself, too, and you’re going
to have to learn to go and pick yourself up
and regroup.”
Miles’ album “A Love Affair: The Music of
Ivan Lins,” featuring the Grammy-winning
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SPRING 2015
song “She Walks This Earth,” took eight
years of rejection to get made, he said.
Record exec after record exec prefaced their
meetings with Miles, “Don’t pitch me that
Ivan Lins project that you’re working on.
I do not want to hear about it.”
Obviously, their tune changed after Miles
and his team were honored by the National
Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
“We come home and all of a sudden
the label president calls me, ‘Wow,
congratulations! How did — I’m so
surprised, Sting’s on it! How did you
get Sting?!’
“‘Well, I called his place; I (asked) if he
wanted to do it. And called him back the
next morning, and he said ‘Yes.’”
Miles has made his career on offering
something unique. After Indiana State, he
moved to New York to work with renowned
jazz musician Miles Davis — his idol with
a talent and impact he compares to The
Beatles — and after 12 years, Miles got
the chance by perfecting his skills at the
synthesizer, new technology in the ’80s.
“I wasn’t going to get in there competing
with a keyboard player. I was going to get in
there competing with nobody, ’cause I did
what other people couldn’t do,” Miles said.
Today, he delivers that message to
universities across the nation, telling aspiring
musicians, producers and engineers to do
something better than anyone else — even
if it’s making a cup of coffee.
“And (the students are) looking at me like
in a state of shock,” Miles said. He explains,
“With the engineer going ‘I gotta have him
on this session,’ and he goes ‘Why?’
“‘He makes great coffee, man.’ Everybody
knows how to use the patch bay and you
Clockwise from top right: Jason Miles visits a
class at the Indiana State School of Music. Miles
reflects on his career while sitting in the living
room of his New York home. Miles talks to
Larry Grenadier, a renowned bass player, after a
show at The Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y. Miles and
his idol Miles Davis are pictured in an undated
image. Miles sits in his home studio; on the wall
among pictures of friends and fellow musicians
is a portrait of his wife, Kathy, when she was a
student at Indiana State.
ON THE WEB: To watch a video of Jason Miles,
go to indstate.edu/jasonmiles.
know how to do this and you know how to
do that, but what can you do that somebody
else can’t do?”
After visiting and performing at Indiana
State this past November, Miles looks
forward to returning to his alma mater again.
“This is a very progressive campus. It really
is. They’re thinking in the future,” he said.
“Indiana State has moved into a place they
can be very proud of. The performing art
school is terrific, the instruments they have
there are great, and obviously people have
been working and are committed, and now
hopefully, to tie the community together
with the school.”
An avid music historian, Miles says the
craft has evolved from the masters mentoring
the next generation — and should continue
to do so.
“Quincy Jones said when we asked about
Michael Jackson, ‘How come “Thriller” sold
so many albums, man? What is that about?’
‘Youth meets experience.’”
As long and as impressive as Miles’ list of
collaborators is, he still has a few names on
the bucket list — Dave Matthews Band and
Chaka Khan (again) among them. Currently,
he’s also grooming a young musical act.
“I’m looking for fresh and new and
interesting and somebody that I can help
mold into something that represents great
music and pass it down to generations,”
Miles said. “Great musicians come from
other great musicians.”
And through relentlessly hard work.
Journalist Malcolm Gladwell theorizes in
his book “Outliers,” it takes 10,000 hours of
practice to perfect a skill — a theory Miles
has witnessed from some of the music greats.
“(Saxophonist) Michael Brecker … was
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STATEMAGAZINE.COM
the way. The title itself
is a nod to his music
hero Miles Davis’
“Kind of Blue,” which
features a musical
fluidity
that
still
fascinates Miles today.
“Where
did
it
happen? How did the
notes change?” Miles
asked famed pianist
McCoy Tyner, who
played with John
Coltrane. “(McCoy)
said to me, ‘The
notes changed on the
bandstand. We worked
it out — every night,
one-night stands here,
three sets a night.
There were some real
Chitlin’ Circuit jazz
gigs. All the clubs were
open until 4 o’clock in
the morning, and we
played — they changed
on the bandstand.’”
Miles
was
also
Jason Miles stands in his studio, which is located in the basement of his New York home.
inspired by Davis’
blues vibe on “The
Cellar
Door
Sessions,”
recorded
by a small band over
always pushing it. And as major as a guy he was, man,
several
nights
at
Washington,
D.C.,
nightclub The Cellar
he just never stopped practicing,” Miles said. “He never
stopped reaching for that next place. And you gotta, you Door in 1970.
Miles worked out the songs with Ingrid Jensen at The
know, you always gotta do that.”
These are tough concepts for many to grasp nowadays, Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y., and other gigs. They then found
Miles said, as we’re in an era of melody-less music and the right musicians to assemble what Miles describes as
“a great band.”
seven pop singers who all sound the same.
“It started really coming together,” he said. “We
“Nobody’s building on the rock foundation that
was. I want to hear some freaking guitar god. They’re recorded live in September, because I wanted that ‘Cellar
too impatient to become a guitar god now,” Miles said. Door’ feel — I wanted to go and have people hear what a
“We’re not hearing (guitarist) Steve Cropper play; they band sounds like with a small ensemble.”
A deal with a smaller label that has a number one album
don’t play like that anymore. As the audience gets older
and the country gets older, where are we going with all rounded out the process.
“We wrote about Ferguson, Mo., because it’s not — to
of this stuff? Is it just a matter of people making music
on their computers? Or is it going to be people who are me — about black and white. It was about seeing the big
also playing music that don’t have the great experience of picture, and Ingrid came up with the title ‘Seeing Through
the Rain’ and that’s what we call that tune,” Miles said.
working with masters?”
Miles’ newest album, “Kind of New,” is set to be released “The music has a lot of integrity, and it is in the spirit of
this spring and honors what he’s learned and loved along Miles. And that’s where it started.”
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I
MBA AMONG TOP PROGRAMS IN TWO NATIONAL RANKINGS
NDIANA State University has earned a spot on
two rankings of the nation’s top Master of Business
Administration programs.
For the 10th consecutive year, Indiana State’s MBA
program made the Princeton Review’s list. Among
the program’s benefits highlighted are small classes that allow
students to receive “individual attention that better prepares the
students in a hands-on manner,” while also allowing for greater
faculty accessibility.
“It’s quite an honor,” said Jeff Harper, director of graduate
programs for the Scott College of Business. “The first time we
were ranked in 2005 was a thrill
for us, and it continues to be very
exciting. As our program has
matured and our expectations
have increased, we now expect
to be ranked and receive this
honor every year, but there
is no less work involved and
nothing is assured. For us
to have shown the kind of
consistency it takes to be
ranked 10 years consecutively is very special.”
The academic test preparation and admissions counseling
company included Indiana State’s MBA program in “The Best 296
Business Schools,” the 2015 edition of its annual guidebook after
analyzing institutional data and reviewing student surveys from
the past three academic years.
“We’re really pleased to continue to be recognized as one of
the best MBA programs in the country, but I’m not surprised
because we put in extra effort to make our program distinctive,”
said Brien Smith, dean of the Scott College. “(Jeff Harper)
makes sure the MBA program offers students a lot of hands-on
experiences — internships, field trips and jobs — that will benefit
them professionally, and we feel that we are doing the right things
to differentiate ourselves from other programs. A ranking like this
is external validation that we’re doing the right things.”
The Scott College also made the inaugural Financial Engineer’s
MBA program ranking for 2015.
“We were in some good company on their list, immediately behind
Texas Tech and immediately in front of Oklahoma State,” Harper
said. “We’re ranked with some very good institutions, and we didn’t
know we were going to make the (Financial Engineer’s) ranking, so
we were pleasantly surprised when they called us.”— Betsy Simon
Oyster research uncovers clues
to clean up pollution
INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT
Zach Nickerson spent the summer of
2014 in the Chesapeake Bay learning
how these creatures help clear pollutants
in the water before they make their way
to our dinner tables.
“Oysters are good for food, and the
reefs they create are good for biodiversity and whatnot, but the water quality
(issue) was never really studied until
recently,” Nickerson said. “It was never
thought that oysters, through the reef
communities they create, can improve
water quality.”
Specifically, Nickerson was researching
how oysters provide a micro-environment
that can sustain denitrification —
a chemical process that removes pollutants from the water — at the University
of Maryland Center for Environmental
Science’s Research Experience for
Undergraduates. The experiments
involved placing pieces of oyster and
shells in incubation chambers and
measuring denitrification.
His work is making a splash in academic
circles — so much so Nickerson was
invited to present his research findings
at the Association for the Sciences of
Limnology and Oceanography’s international conference in Granada, Spain,
in February.
“My lab and that of our colleagues have been very fortunate to
have the resources to look at both large
scale and small scale phenomena in
oyster reefs. Zach’s contribution is the
first to clearly identify dead and living
oyster shells as key habitat for organisms
that render nitrogen into a form that
no longer grows algae (i.e. N2 gas),”
said Jeff Cornwell, Nickerson’s faculty
advisor at Maryland. “His results were
way beyond my expectations, and we
can clearly publish these results; these
are absolutely new findings and will alter
the perception of how oysters improve
water quality.”
Nickerson, a senior from Columbus,
Ind., is no stranger to research; he’s
spent more than a year studying how
bats use swimming pools and other
projects under the guidance of Indiana
State’s Center for Bat Research, Outreach
and Conservation.
— Libby Roerig
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GOING FOR GOLD
Behind the success of Indiana State’s
track and field program is a star
coach — well, a few star coaches
T
BY ACE HUNT
John McNichols
The Gibson Track and Field Complex is seen under construction.
20
SPRING 2015
HERE is a long list of legends in Indiana State
University’s storied history of athletic success.
Names such as basketball’s Larry Bird, wrestling’s Bruce Baumgartner and gymnastics’
Kurt Thomas resonate in many sports fans’
homes across America — and they all got their start athletically at the national level right here near the Crossroads of
America. Others such as John Wooden got their first taste
of success at Indiana State University and moved on to a
brighter spotlight later in the career.
One man gained his start, honed his craft and continues to
be a working, living legend right here at Indiana State. That
man is John McNichols, who is in his 32nd year as the men’s
track and field, as well as cross-country head coach and his
26th season as the coordinator of the combined men’s and
women’s programs.
McNichols, a native of St. Charles, Iowa, is a 1972 graduate
of Indiana University. Prior to arriving in Terre Haute for the
1983-84 academic year, McNichols was the head boy’s track
and field coach at Bloomington High School North.
His resume is filled with success from his time leading
the Sycamore program. He has won nine cross-country
conference titles, including three-peats 2004-06 and again
2009-11. He has won two MVC Indoor Track and Field
Championships (2011 and 2013) and nine MVC Outdoor
Track and Field Championships, including three straight
from 2011-13. Under his leadership, the combined men’s
and women’s programs have won 31 MVC Championships.
Additionally, the track wing of the athletics offices is filled
with his MVC Coach of the Year Trophies — 21 to be exact.
McNichols has achieved a majority of his success by attracting student-athletes to his program without the benefit of
state-of-the-art facilities and the other bells and whistles that
those running competing programs have had to showcase for
a number of years. That fact, however, changes this spring,
thanks in large part to a generous gift from the family of
Max and Jacquie Gibson, which has allowed for the first new
athletic facility on campus to be constructed in 25 years. This
spring, the Gibson Track and Field Complex will host its
first competition with the Gibson Invitational, set for April and well-coached student-athletes over the years. Now
Gartland coaches the women’s cross-country team, and
16-18. A dedication of the new complex is April 17.
“I can’t say enough about the support of the Gibson one of the athletes he trained followed him in leading the
family towards our track and field program,” McNichols women’s track program — former Sycamore All-American
said. “We have received support from many of our track and Angie Martin.
“We worked in a mobile office in the early days and
field alumni over the years, but the Gibson resources have
allowed us to build a championship cross-country course searched the nation for athletes who would work hard
on the city’s east side, and now we are experiencing growth and already had the skills to be successful,” McNichols
said. “I worked with the sprinters and hurdlers, Coach
right here on campus.”
A new era is dawning on First Street, as the future of Gartland worked with the jumpers and Larry Judge began
Sycamore athletics is finally experiencing growth you can see his legendary career in the sport working with our throws.
in person. When it is dedicated later this spring, the Gibson We all worked together well, and while I coached the men
Track and Field facility will represent the first phase of new and Garland coached the women, we each had our own
athletic facilities near the Wabash River. The first season at specific events and crossed over to coach both genders. The
the new facility in 2014-15 will be much like the start of the Sycamores were able to enjoy a lot of success over the years
cross-country course in the late ’90s: There will be a brand with that formula.”
But the most gratifying accomplishment of all for Coach
new video board, which will double as a scoreboard, and
there will be a grand entrance in place. The competition areas McNichols is the fact the student-athletes who went
through his program continue to support the university.
are set to be first-class in every way.
“We have been able to keep a lot of alumni close to the
For McNichols, he sees the opportunities for development through continued support of the program, and one program over the years,” McNichols said. “Those who went
day he dreams of hosting national events at the Gibson Track on to be successful in other areas of life have been a great
financial support. Others are vocal supporters of our athletic
Complex, just like he did 20 years ago in cross-country.
“I remember visiting the area that became the cross-coun- programs and are season ticket holders. Some continue to
try course for the first time and thinking this is the perfect help the program through their work in the community. And
area, and we dreamed of everything that could be added then people like Angie and Jeff Martin and now Kyle Walsh
in future years to make it a top-notch facility,” McNichols are coaching right alongside us as we get to ready to open the
Gibson track complex. We’ve
said. “We have taken the same
not only had success in the past,
approach with the Gibson
Under John McNichols’
also this program is built to
track complex.”
leadership, the combined men’s but
continue to enjoy success in
Always a visionary, he had
the foresight to bring another and women’s programs have won the future.”
Indeed, the work of John
legend to the Sycamore Track
31 MVC Championships.
McNichols and his entire
program 27 years ago. That
staff and his all-time roster of
legend was John Gartland,
student-athletes have worked
who led the women’s side of
hard to make Indiana State
the program for many seasons
Track and Field a proud
and enjoyed his own considerchampionship
program.
able success with the program.
Now with a new facility and
With a military background,
a dedicated group of alumni
Gartland brought a high
who continue to advance the
level of discipline to the
program as well as the support
program and complemented
of a grateful community,
McNichols’ expertise in many
McNichols knows a future of
areas. They added in nationgrowth and success continues
ally renowned throws coach
to be at hand for Sycamore
Larry Judge and were able to
Track and Field.
put together a roster of skilled
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A LEVEL ABOVE
Two-time All-American John Mascari puts on best performance yet
I
BY ACE HUNT
NDIANA State junior John
Mascari is a standout studentathlete for the Sycamore crosscountry and track and field
programs and hails from right
here in Terre Haute. Mascari
put on his best performance
to date in November 2014
when he finished eighth at the
NCAA Division I Championships, held
at the LaVern Gibson Championship
Cross-Country Course. It marked the
third time in his career that Mascari
qualified to run in the Cross Country
Nationals and the second time on his
home course.
Mascari’s 10k time of 30:31.3 was good
enough for eighth place, the best finish ever
at the NCAA Championship by a Sycamore.
The race began with a lead pack that totaled
nearly half the field, but as the length of the
race wore on, the leaders began the move away
from the others. It was in the final 2,000 meters
of action where the pace began at a fast and
furious pace. Mascari chose that point to make
his move to the front, as he improved from 22nd
to 14th place just before the 7k mark.
“I saw Coach McNichols and knew it was time
to just lay it all on the line,” Mascari said.
The Indiana State junior earned his second AllAmerican recognition with his performance in 2014. “What a tremendous young man he is,” said
John McNichols, Indiana State men’s cross-country
coach. “I have never seen a race like that before in the
11 years we have hosted the event. It seemed more of by design
of the front-runners. It did make for a dramatic race.”
Mascari qualified for the NCAA Nationals by virtue of his
second consecutive Great Lakes Regional Championship on
Nov. 14, 2014, in Madison, Wis. He bested a group of 207
other runners for the title in a time of 30:07.
“I cannot say enough about John,” McNichols said. “He
obviously has a lot of talent, but I have never coached a guy that
has worked like he does. The work he did over the summer and
every day since was toward what we saw in the postseason.”
On Nov. 1 in Carbondale, Ill., Mascari captured his third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference Championship. He paced
an outstanding group of Sycamores, who claimed the ninth MVC
Championship for the Sycamore program over the pre-race
favorites from Bradley. The team win led to Coach McNichols
being named the MVC Coach of the Year for the ninth time in
his career.
Mascari won the
Valley with a time
of 23:48.21. He
has now won the
MVC
Individual
Championship in
each of his three
seasons with the
Sycamore program.
He joined Wichita
State’s
Mornay
Annandale (1990,
1991, 1992) and
Stelios Marneros of
Southern
Illinois
(1994, 1995, 1996)
as the Valley’s only
three-time winners.
This fall, Mascari
will have the oppor- John Mascari competes in the NCAA Crosstunity to become Country National Championships in 2013.
THE TICKER
The Indiana State baseball
team welcomes in-state rival
Indiana on April 14 to Bob
Warn Field. Indiana State
wraps up MVC play at home
against Bradley May 1-3, and
their final home game of the
22
SPRING 2015
season is set for May 12 against
SIU-Edwardsville. The 2015
MVC Tournament will be held
May 19-23 in Wichita, Kan.
The Sycamore softball season
wraps up against Indiana
on April 28. The 2015 MVC
Championship will be held
May 7-9 in Wichita, Kan.
The Sycamore track and
field teams will host a pair
of home meets at the brand
new Gibson Track and Field
Complex on First Street this
spring. A dedication is set for
April 17. The action begins
April 16-18 with the Gibson
Invitational and continues with
the Pacesetter Quadrangular on
EVALUATING THE OFFICIALS
Indiana State alumnus John Adams, ’71,
shares his basketball officiating knowledge
with the nation each March
I
BY ACE HUNT
the only four-time winner of the
MVC Championship.
Not limited to winning in just
cross-country, he has won the 2014
MVC Outdoor Championship in
both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
He also won the 10,000 meters as a
sophomore in 2013.
Mascari is a graduate of Terre
Haute North Vigo High School,
where he was a five-time All-State
performer and was named allconference six times.
May 2. The 2015 MVC Outdoor
Championship will be held at
Illinois State May 15-17. The
NCAA Regionals are May 28-30 in
Jacksonville, Fla., and the NCAA
Division I Championships will be
June 10-13 in Eugene, Ore.
NDIANA State University success
stories are everywhere you turn, especially when America tunes into
one of the most popular televised
events annually — the NCAA
Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The Sycamores have participated four
times, including the most-watched game
as part of the tournament — the 1979
National Title game featuring Larry Bird.
Every year since 2009, the tournament has
had an Indiana State flavor, even though
the casual observer may not notice.
When the latest multi-billion dollar television contract for March Madness was
signed between the NCAA and Turner
Broadcasting, the networks wanted access
to everything.
They also wanted a way to educate fans
on the finer areas of a massive basketball
rulebook and have a voice of reason to
explain why officials are making certain
judgments during the course of the tournament contests. And for the past several
seasons, that voice of knowledge has
belonged to Indiana State University
alumnus John Adams.
One side benefit of Adams’ current post
as the NCAA Director of Basketball Officiating is being able to visit Hulman Center
several times annually to not only judge official’s performance but to also check out his
alma mater in action on the hardwood.
“I owe a great amount of any success
I have enjoyed in my life to Terre Haute
and Indiana State University,” Adams said
The women’s golf team will host
the second annual Indiana State
Spring Invitational April 12-13 at
the Country Club of Terre Haute.
The 2015 MVC Championship
will be held April 19-21 in
Burlington, Iowa.
recently before watching
a Sycamore game at
Hulman Center. “I met
my wife at Indiana State,
and I also gained the
knowledge
necessary
to complete my task at
the NCAA because of
the opportunities I was
given here as a young student.”
His first on the court assignment came as
the director of intramurals at Indiana State
when a scheduled official did not show for
his game. Adams donned the black and
white stripes and so began a career that has
reached the highest level.
After working games at Indiana State, he
moved onto high school and then to the collegiate ranks. Adams has been involved in officiating at the NCAA, the Horizon League,
the Great Lakes Valley Conference and the
Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
“I have really enjoyed every opportunity
to work in the game of college basketball,”
Adams said. “I’ve had the chance to meet
and work with many administrators and
coaches across the country. But I owe every
bit of success to the people who gave me an
opportunity at Indiana State.”
This is Adam’s final year as the NCAA
director of basketball officiating. He is set
to retire at the end of 2015 NCAA Basketball Championship. Adams will complete
his final assignment in his hometown of Indianapolis April 4-6, when the Men’s Final
Four returns to Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Indiana State football team
will host its annual Spring Game
and Golf Fundraiser in late April.
For details on the event or to
find ways to support Sycamore
football, go to GoSycamores.com.
Indiana State opens the 2015
schedule at home against
Butler Sept. 5 before traveling
to Purdue on Sept. 12. The
Sycamores will be at home six
times during 2015. The complete
schedule is available now at
GoSycamores.com.
23
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
TEACHERS COLLEGE STILL TURNING OUT
THE BEST EDUCATORS
BY DONOVAN WHEELER, ’91, GR ’08
F
PHOTO COURTESY OF INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
OR more than five in Terre Haute,” said Brad Balch, education grew as a way to progress
decades, teachers-in- Ph.D. ’98, dean emeritus in the de- socially and economically, the
training walked across partment of educational leadership. State Teacher’s College expanded
7th Street to log field- “The mission then was simple — its reach, and, fully a century after
experience time in build an institution to prepare its founding, the tiny little Normal
the three-story brick building long teachers to educate students in the School with only 21 students in
known as the University School. In state and beyond. The need was its first class rebranded itself as
slightly frigid classrooms, college particularly acute in rural areas. a university, which today offers
students acquired their first insight Indiana recognized that a high nearly a hundred majors. Despite
into the adolescent mind and began school diploma was not a sufficient this evolution and despite the
what would be career-long journeys threshold for teacher certification, fact that education and teacher
toward mastering their craft. From and the Normal School was an training is no longer the largest
its inception in the late 1930s to its important step towards enhanced segment of the student body,
Indiana State’s past anchors its
eventual closing in the early ’90s, teacher preparation.”
In those early years, as Connor modern-day vision.
the “lab school” contributed to a
“I believe Indiana State’s roots as a
historian
Timothy
program, which cemented Indiana Prairie
State’s reputation as the place to be Crumrin, ’87, GR ’89, notes, many Normal School/Teacher’s College is
very important,” said
to become one of the
Della Thacker, ’82,
state’s best educators.
Our students have field
GR ’85, associate
More than 20
experiences within their
professor in the
years since the last
college’s department
classes were held in
first education class and
of curriculum, inthe old building, the
throughout the entire teacher
struction and media
former lab school
education program.
technology. “If you
(long cleaned of
visit University Hall
its mothballs and
reopened as University Hall, home early students who attended the and take a walk through the halls,
of the Bayh College of Education) Normal School often left before where it all began, you will notice
now stands not only as a practical completing the full two years course our wall of history in which we are
and beautiful facility for the univer- of study, landed licenses to teach extremely proud.”
This appreciation for the past is not
sity’s founding college but also as a nonetheless and went to work for
symbol of how the old evolves into their hometown (often rural) schools. an attitude exclusively held by those
Eventually, as Balch explained, working in the College of Education,
the new and how dated training
methods give way to a program, “increasing enrollments and the however. Indiana State President
which stands as a state, national demand for a four-year degree” Dan Bradley echoes Thacker’s sentispurred changes in teacher prepa- ments: “Preparing those who lead
and world leader in education.
“Indiana State University’s legacy ration, and the Normal School and educate our youth remains
as a ‘teachers college’ began in 1865 “gave way to the Teacher’s College.” an important component of what
when the Indiana State legislature During the ensuing decades, as the Indiana State does today.”
And it’s what Indiana State
created the State Normal School need for increased post-secondary
24
SPRING 2015
Students at the then Indiana State Teachers College observe class instruction in 1953. Inset: Jarrod Vanzo, a
junior elementary education major at Indiana State, reads to Andy Robinson, 5, in 2008.
INSET PHOTOGRAPHY BY INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES
is doing today, in response to
the changes in teacher preparation passed down by the Indiana
General Assembly (as well as many
other state legislatures around the
Midwest and the nation), which
have arguably placed Indiana State
ahead of the curve. After experiencing slumping enrollment like other
schools across the country, Indiana
State, as Bobbie Jo Monahan,
’88, GR ’00, Ph.D. ’09, says,
has “now … doubled that.” Part
of the success behind the quick
response to those state mandates
is an attitude best described by
College of Education Dean Kandi
Hill-Clarke.
“We view these purposeful and
relevant changes as opportunities
for us to grow, rethink and redesign
as needed,” Hill-Clarke said. A large
component of that redesign is the
implementation of the Teachers of
Tomorrow Advancing Learning
Program. The fundamental mission
behind the program has best
evidenced itself in the exponential
growth of on-the-job time current
education students spend out in
the field.
“Our students, the elementary
and special ed majors, have been in
the school setting for an entire year
from bell to bell. They’ve seen (and)
lived it from day to day. They get to
see the full continuum,” said Beth
Whitaker, elementary
education
professor
and director of the
Faculty Center for
Teaching Excellence.
Much like students
training to lead elementary classrooms,
Indiana State students
preparing for middle
school and secondary
work have also seen
25
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
in on-campus sessions with
dramatic changes.
the practical application of
“Our
students
have
those theories in rooms full
field experiences within
of school children.
their first education class
“Our professors focus on
and throughout the entire
the why and the how,” Hillteacher education program.
Clarke added, noting that
They complete two fivewhile understanding the
week, every day immersive
why is a critical first-step in
experiences, each in a middle
teacher development, “it’s
school and then in a high
Della Thacker, ’82, GR ’85
the how piece that helps put
school before they complete
a 16-week student teaching experience, it all together.”
“We work very hard to connect theory
where they teach eight weeks in a middle
school and eight weeks in a high school,” and practice,” Hill-Clarke said. “You need
Thacker said. “This experience allows our to understand the why theoretically, but
students an edge over other universities since then you have to move beyond to the how.
their experiences are immersive and rooted How do you do that? What does this look
like in the classroom?”
in methodology and pedagogy.”
Besides the expanded time in local
Running central to the College of Education’s escalation of teacher training schools and added emphasis, as Whitaker
practices is this idea of immersion: the ag- puts it, on “(coming) back and reflect(ing)
gressive mixing of theoretical discussions on our experiences,” Sycamores preparing
Kandi Hill-Clarke, dean of the Bayh College of Education
26
SPRING 2015
for careers at every level have also been encouraged to embrace social media as both a
constructive outlet and a collaboration tool
for ideas and strategies.
“There are thousands of teachers on
Twitter sharing great ideas,” Whitaker said.
“We’re teaching them how to promote
what they’re doing, but we’re also teaching
them how to learn.”
Furthermore, as both Whitaker and HillClarke point out, proper use of new technology, such as Twitter, helps Indiana State
students establish a professional digital
footprint, increasing not only their professional networking skills, but also eventually
adding to their chances of landing the first
job of their career.
Unlike the student-teaching experience
of decades before, the net effect of these
changes produces something more than
the brief, 10-week student-teaching period,
which once marked a graduate’s transition
from the college classroom
to his own seat behind
the big desk. Today, what
happens runs much deeper.
Today, future educators
spend a full semester before
actually student-teaching
working from “bell-to-bell,
learning about all that goes
on in the school building,
becoming a part of that
school’s culture,” HillClarke said.
The results of Indiana
State’s contribution to the
public school landscape
will always be difficult to
measure objectively, but if
anecdotal evidence has any
value, Terry McDaniel, ’73,
GR ’77, Ph.D. ’83, sums
it up: “We get comments
from
superintendents
who say we send them the
best teachers.”
And this contribution is
found not just in Indiana —
or the Midwest, for the
matter. After one of
McDaniel’s former students
Many Indiana teachers continue
their education, despite a recently
nixed pay incentive
ADVANCED DEGREES MAY NOT HAVE TEACHERS IN THE
Hoosier State seeing dollar signs, after a pay incentive encouraging educators to go beyond the undergraduate level was crossed
off the books by state lawmakers three years ago.
But that hasn’t deterred Colleen Barr, a fourth-grade teacher at
Forest Park Elementary in Brazil, Ind., who is working on a master’s
degree in elementary education at Indiana State University.
“I think I can speak for all teachers when I say we didn’t go into
teaching for the money and the perks,” said Barr, who anticipates
completing her degree this summer. “As a teacher, you always
want to be up-to-date on new teaching strategies and how to
better your students. (Earning a master’s degree) will give me new
strategies to implement in my classroom, and I hope to continue
learning new ways to reach each and every student that walks
through my doors.”
Indiana’s teacher pay was tied primarily to longevity and
education until legislation passed in 2011 permitting school
districts to evaluate pay raises using a performance-based system
incorporating factors, such as evaluations, leadership responsibilities and helping meet student needs.
A provision included in the legislation allows teachers on track
to receive a master’s degree by 2014 to be awarded the pay
incentive provided under the old system.
“Now an advanced degree can only count a maximum of
one-third toward a salary increase,” said Terry McDaniel, associate
professor in the department of educational leadership at the
Bayh College of Education. “Basically, every school must have a
compensation program that requires teachers to meet districtestablished qualifications in order to get a raise. The additional
learning teachers get taking courses toward a master’s degree can
also help them earn Professional Growth Plan points needed to
renew a teaching license.”
About 56 percent of K-12 public school teachers nationwide
had advanced degrees in 2012, according to the National Center
for Educational Statistics. Nearly 63 percent of Indiana’s K-12
public school teachers held master’s degrees during the same
time. Always striving to be a better teacher this year than the last,
West Vigo Middle School seventh-grade English teacher Melanie
Beaver, a three-time Indiana State degree recipient, credits her
continued education with helping achieve that goal.
“I’ve always believed that you should never stop learning,
whether that means taking charge of your own professional development or earning an advanced degree, and I feel the additional
education I’ve received makes me more knowledgeable in my
profession,” she said. — Betsy Simon
completed Indiana State’s doctoral program
in school administration, the now professor
at the University of Kuwait told him his
experience in Terre Haute was having an
impact on the other side of the globe.
“He told me, ‘You completely changed the
way I think about teaching,’” McDaniel said
enthusiastically. By emphasizing Indiana
State’s role in developing future educational
leaders, who then impart what they learn
here to their charges in the far corners of the
earth, Indiana State’s educational leadership
program is having an influence on students
around the world.
“We’ve had a tremendous impact on
the Wabash Valley, a
BIG impact on the
Midwest,” McDaniel
added, “especially in
Illinois, where our
doctoral program is
really reaching out.”
But the results of
Indiana State’s long- Terry McDaniel, ’73, GR ’77,
standing work here at Ph.D. ’83
home has not been lost on those pioneering
educational growth among the emerging
middle class in parts of the world not long
ago considered third world.
“I was approached by a Ph.D. student
from India,” McDaniel said, “who wanted
to bring our leadership training program
over there.”
From its humble origins as a state normal
school in the final days of the Civil War to
its well-established status as the state’s educational leader to its emerging development as
a national and international leader, Indiana
State continues to extend its brand as an
educational leader.
Since those first 21 students signed on
almost 150 years ago, Indiana State has
been doing exactly that, and regardless how
the future climate of education develops, if
the people of the Bayh College of Education
have their way, Indiana State will continue
to send out the very best teachers for the
next 150 as well.
27
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
A
COUNSELING STUDENTS VISIT INDIA, LEARN ABOUT ART THERAPY
GROUP of graduate students in Indiana
State University’s counseling programs
crossed the globe to learn about art
therapy practices during a two-week crosscultural experience in India.
The trip, Dec. 9-23, was an opportunity for eight students
to share recent neuroscience discoveries about how people
process trauma and why creative arts are a good tool for
recovery. They saw how therapy is delivered in India during
a tour of a mental health facility and networked internationally with others in the field.
As the group’s only India native, Ritika Latke, a secondyear clinical and mental health counseling program graduate
student from Mumbai, used her connections to help facilitate the experience for her classmates.
“I’ve come to learn that people have weird perspectives
about India and some are hard to hear about, so hopefully
students (came) into the experience with an open mind,”
she said.
On Dec. 18-19, Catherine Tucker, associate professor
and clinical mental health counseling program coordinator at Indiana State, and the students presented at the
International Seminar on Art and Expressive Therapies for
Trauma: India and U.S. Perspectives in Mumbai — a conference co-sponsored by Indiana State and India’s Nagindas
Khandwala College.
Sycamores presented research on expressive arts for
trauma in the U.S. and learned about the Indian perspective
on arts-based therapy on the conference’s first day. Tucker,
who is a registered play therapy supervisor, delivered the
Counseling students take in the sights while in India.
keynote address and conducted a play therapy workshop
the following day.
“I try to offer a study-abroad course every other year. Our
master’s in counseling programs take two years to complete,
so that gives all students a chance to go somewhere,” said
Tucker, who has started talking to colleagues in Nepal, the
Dominican Republic and Jordan about possible future experiences abroad for her students. — Betsy Simon
University to add women’s swimming and diving
INDIANA STATE
University will add
women’s swimming
and diving to its mix
of intercollegiate athletic programs.
University President Dan Bradley
announced the new sport during the
October meeting of the Board of
Trustees. He noted the Vigo County
School Corp.’s construction of a
new aquatics center is making the
move possible.
28
SPRING 2015
“I would like to acknowledge the
support and assistance of the school
corporation and Superintendent Danny
Tanoos, who are working with us to
make the new aquatics center a part of
the program,” Bradley said.
“We are excited about the addition of
women’s swimming to our department
and our university,” said Ron Prettyman,
director of intercollegiate athletics at
Indiana State. “Swimming is a high
participation sport that will serve many
prospective students well. We have
worked closely with the Vigo County
School Corp. to become a partner in the
new state-of-the-art aquatics complex.”
Prettyman said a national search will
be conducted for a coaching staff, with
a full slate of competition to begin
in 2016-17. The addition of women’s
swimming and diving will bring the
number of intercollegiate sports at
Indiana State to 15. — Dave Taylor
The Incorporated Gathering brings a headliner
and influential alumni to campus
Dick Gregory
THE BIENNIAL REUNION OF AN ALUMNI
group left profound ripples of influence and
inspiration on campus this fall.
The Incorporated Gathering, an alumni
group of African-Americans who graduated
from Indiana State University in 1975
and earlier, reunited the first weekend
of November, bringing with them presentations by comedian and activist Dick
S
Gregory and alumni John Leeke
and Floyd Ewing and honored
retired sociology professor and
trailblazer James E. Conyers.
Gregory’s Nov. 7 appearance
at Tilson Auditorium is actually
the second for the Civil Rights
legend; he previously spoke at
Indiana State’s campus in 1972.
Gregory, a native of St.
Louis, began performing in
the mid-1950s while serving in
the U.S. Army. Gregory was also involved
in the Civil Rights movement, demonstrating a strong sense of social justice from
an early age.
Leeke, an entrepreneur who spent much
of his career helping corporate America —
including companies such as American
Express, Kodak and Exxon — spoke to
students in the Foundations of African and
African American Studies classes. In order
for the next generation to make a difference in race relations, Millennials must
know their history — and vote, he said.
Conyers, 82, was honored by faculty and
alumni with the Distinguished Faculty of
African and African-American Studies.
“Conyers was a real pioneer in so many
ways. He was ISU’s first African-American
faculty member when he was hired in
1962, and we tend to celebrate and honor
him in that way now,” said Christopher
Olsen, professor and chair of the history
department. “But he was a major force
in the field of sociology, a distinguished
national scholar, who I’ve seen referred
to as the ‘father’ of modern sociology.
He produced so much impressive, even
brilliant, scholarship.”— Libby Roerig
BUSINESS STUDENTS GET ‘CLOSE TO THE ACTION’
New students each semester assume functional roles at
the café — marketing, operations, new products, human
resources and accounting.
“People often think the café should get better each
semester, but if we addressed everything, what would the
next team do? It has to be a little rough around the edges,
so the next group of students has something to figure out,”
Robinson said. “It’s the students who remake the café each
semester, fix it and decide where to take it. It’s a multi-functional coordination game, the kind of stuff you’d never get
in a class.” — Betsy Simon
TUDENTS bring the Scott College of Business
café to life and tackle the most pressing issues
plaguing operations of local businesses.
Now, the students enrolled in associate
professor of management David Robinson’s
senior capstone course sections will do it all in one semester
as part of Sycamore Business Ventures, where students
staff and create the operating structure for Executive
Express Café — a student-led, managed and staffed
business in Federal Hall.
They also serve as consultants for clients who’ve included
the Mental Health Association of Vigo County, Hulman
Links golf course, Friends of Turkey Run State Park, a
furniture and appliance store in Rockville, fast-food restaurants and the Dana-based candy company Brooks Candy Co.
“Sycamore Student Ventures tries hard to get students
as close to the action as possible and into the lowest and
highest levels of organizations. It doesn’t do any good to
have one experience without the other,” said Robinson,
who, along with former Indiana State University professor
Art Sherwood, developed the group, formerly the
Sycamore Business Advisors.
29
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
The
New
Normal
From left, Indiana State students Bram Blackwell, Daniel Burkett, Sarah Ford, Jordan Gillenwater, Trey Decker, Dante Corum
(on shoulders), Ellery Steele, Sara Underhill, Oscar Henriquez and Tionna Harris pose for a photograph after having just arrived at
the Navajo reservation in 2013.
BEING THE CHANGE
Sycamores’ culture of community service recognized with prestigious
designations from Washington Monthly
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TRACY FORD / INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES
S
ERVICE to the community — both in Terre
Haute and beyond — is a quality Indiana State
University’s students have known and held for
more than a decade. Now, after being nationally recognized three years in a row, the campus
is happily adding community service to its list of impressive synonyms that the public thinks of when it hears the
university’s moniker.
From 2012 to 2014, Indiana State earned the Washington Monthly College Guide’s top rankings — third nationally in 2012 and first 2013-2014 — for community service
by students among nearly 300 national universities. The
ranking is based on the number of students participating
in community service and the total number of service hours
performed, both relative to school size.
30
SPRING 2015
“This ranking does not just happen by accident,” said
Nancy Rogers, associate vice president for experiential
learning and community engagement. “We are fortunate
to have outstanding faculty and staff who make a personal
investment of their time and resources into engaging our
students in the community. The efforts of our community
partners are quite remarkable. Our colleagues in the
community play a critical role in teaching our students.
We also have great students at Indiana State. They are compassionate, generous with their time and always rise to the
occasion when asked to serve.”
Students such as Erin Sluyter, a junior biology major
and student trustee, have made volunteering and service as
much a part of their studies as English and math. Sluyter has
participated in the Donaghy Day of Service (to beautify the
campus and surrounding communities), the Martin Luther
King Jr. Day of Service and will be going to Costa Rica on
this year’s Alternative Spring Break, which is student-driven
outreach program to volunteer in communities around the
nation and beyond.
“Serving in a third-world country opened my eyes to
the needs of the world and social justice issues that are
often ignored,” Sluyter said after visiting the Dominican
Republic in March 2014 as part of that year’s Alternative
Spring Break trip.
In 1865, Indiana State started as a teaching school or a
“normal” school to train up future teachers and help make a
difference in the communities — many of them rural. The
grooming of professionals has expanded over the years to
include nearly a hundred majors in arts and sciences, technology and business — many classes of which include a
community service component within the curriculum.
That core mission of making the community a better place
went to the next level with the creation of the
Center for Community Engagement, driven in
part by former university first lady Wieke van
der Weijden Benjamin. Having served as the
executive director of the Little Rock Arts and
Humanities Promotion Commission before
she and her husband came to Indiana State,
Benjamin understood the importance of tying
the campus to the community.
The Center for Community Engagement’s
office is now the campus’ front door, allowing
in efforts to create outreach programs and
inspire the students to be engaged.
“There is no question that the metrics for
engagement and service to the community are
very important,” said Cat Paterson, professor of
applied medicine and a leader in the Center for
Public Service and Community Engagement.
From 2010 to 2013, Indiana State students
averaged more than 1.4 million hours of service
per year with 115 agencies. More than 1,800
incoming freshmen took part in the university’s
annual Fall Donaghy Day the day prior to the
start of classes.
“This center has not replaced what good relationships
have already existed. We have used those as great historic
partnerships,” Paterson said. “These relationships that
have continued to grow throughout the Vigo County area,
including different schools and companies. We basically
take a good idea that has potential and find the best way
to create it.”
Some key university partnerships include the Ryves
Neighborhood Partnership, Saint Ann Orthopedic Rehabilitation Center, Riverscape, Wabash Valley Habitat
for Humanity, Rural Health Innovation Collaborative,
Special Olympics, Terre Haute Humane Society and the
Boys and Girls Club.
Curricular engagement was formally implemented in
2010 and has since blossomed. Now, if a professor has
an interest or connection involving community service
or outreach, all qualifying courses — no matter what
semester they are taught — are included in the community
service programs.
“If you’re doing good work, you always tweak it to make
it better,” Paterson said.
To tally its annual service statistics, the Center for
Community Engagement takes the data from the course
work hours and the outside work hours, such as every
time a student participates in events like Donaghy Day
Shelby Slim, left, and Haley Gravely share an embrace in 2014.
or Alternative Spring Break, which are considered outside
hours in addition to course work.
Service, however, isn’t reserved just for students. The university also allows employees the opportunity to volunteer
for 15 hours a year for programs that are either of personal
interest or university-sponsored.
One of the more popular ways for students to contribute
to communities outside of the Wabash Valley is by studying
31
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
ABOVE: Indiana State and Piñon students pose with a hand-painted banner before Sycamores start a class-shadowing experience in 2013.
BELOW: Annie Cook and Jordan Gillenwater, center, talk in a senior center where Indiana State students helped prepare and serve lunch in 2012.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TRACY FORD / INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES
abroad or going to other places in the United States. These
trips blend academic and service components, where students
immerse themselves into this new culture and link that information to their areas of study.
“Most students who go on these trips say it is one of the
most impactful things they have experienced in their college
careers,” said Greg Bierly, executive director of the University
Honors Program and coordinator of a service-learning trip to a
Navajo reservation. “While involved in service through a university program, wherever it takes place, there are occasions
when students are transformed, because they see different lives
and different situations. It is striking to see different lives, and
to observe that, throughout all the cultural differences; we share
so much. People still have the same aspirations and dreams.”
This trip to Piñon, Ariz., — taken each fall semester since
2010 — is unique, because students see cultural differences within the geographic boundaries of their own country.
Fittingly, the cross-cultural opportunity was created by Kristin
(Monts) Mountz, ’09, an Indiana
State alumna and then Piñon
High School teacher, who saw
the opportunity for two-way
education between Sycamores
and Navajo students.
During the visits, Indiana State
32
SPRING 2015
students are assigned activities including serving lunches at a
senior center, reading to children, picking up trash or repainting
a water tower.
On the reservation, which spans nearly 27,500 square miles, or
about the size of West Virginia, isolation is just one challenge the
Navajo students face. The nation also confronts severe poverty,
an intimidating 80 percent unemployment rate, gang recruitment
beginning in middle school and rampant substance abuse.
Some Navajo students travel 50 miles just to attend school
each day. For these students, school is the main interaction they
get with people outside their immediate families.
“Keeping traditions alive in the face of modernity is a large
issue on the reservation, and the students face difficult choices
as they complete high school because of these ties to traditional life,” Bierly said. “The Navajo culture is instilled with
meaning. Everything, every relationship has a meaning; it is
a lot more connected to history and land than what Midwest
students experience.”
In a place where school is a
privilege, having Sycamores tell
the stories of their experiences
has inspired Navajo students to
apply to attend Indiana State.
This trip out West, then, is seen
as not only a physical service,
but also as an emotional one of
offering hope.
But these life-changing experiences are the norm for Sycamores
engaged in service activities.
“I was forever impacted by the joy and laughter that surrounds the
individuals we met,” Sluyter said. “In comparison to my life, most
of the people have very little. However, I have never seen genuine
happiness in a person’s eyes as I did in the Dominican (Republic).”
The expansion of community service at Indiana State continues
with a continual increase in projects and programs.
“Students should step out of their comfort zone and find an opportunity to serve others,” Sluyter said. “The Center for Community
Engagement will find a place for any student who would like to
serve.” (Dave Taylor contributed to this article.)
ON THE WEB: To see more photos and watch videos from Indiana
State trips to the Navajo reservation, go to indstate.edu/pinon.
Indiana State and Piñon students pose for a photo on a windmill before
painting a graffiti-covered water tower in 2011.
CARNEGIE FOUNDATION
RECOGNIZES INDIANA
STATE AGAIN
THE PRESTIGIOUS CARNEGIE FOUNdation for the Advancement of
Teaching has reaffirmed Indiana State
University’s status as a national leader
in service learning. The foundation
included Indiana State among a select
group of colleges and universities to
once again receive its community engagement classification for 2015.
Announcement of the designation,
which is valid for 10 years, caps a
year-long process in which faculty and
staff prepared an extensive application
documenting the university’s progress
in strengthening and expanding
its commitment to incorporating
community collaboration, outreach and
partnerships in academic programs
since first being awarded the classification nearly a decade ago.
Indiana State demonstrates
“excellent alignment among campus
mission, culture, leadership, resources
and practices that support dynamic
and noteworthy community engagement,” Carnegie Foundation President
Anthony Bryk said in a letter to university officials.
Only 62 institutions received the
designation when it was created in
2006. With the 2015 classifications,
more than 360 colleges and universities
are included in the community engagement category.
Unlike the foundation’s regular classifications, which rely on national data,
the community engagement category
is elective, meaning colleges and universities chose to put themselves under
added scrutiny.
Indiana State has strengthened its
commitment to community engagement
in a variety of ways since the original
classification, university President Dan
Bradley noted. — Dave Taylor
33
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
The
New
Normal
Indiana State students record a radio broadcast in 1963.
STUDENT BROADCASTING CELEBRATES
50 YEARS, MOVES INTO THE FUTURE
BY DAVE TAYLOR
A
PHOTO COURTESY OF INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
PASSION for broadcasting brought Marty
Conner, ’78, Howard Espravnik, ’77, and
Carl Gustin, ’77, to Indiana State University.
Fond memories of their time as student
broadcasters, in an era before satellite radio
and automated stations, have kept them coming back for
homecoming year after year. During the celebration last fall,
they joined other alumni in marking the 50th anniversary
of WISU-FM.
“The communication department was one of the best
in the country at the time,” Espravnik said. The Wanatah
native is associate professor of communication and manager
of WVCP-FM at Volunteer State Community College in
Gallatin, Tenn., outside Nashville.
“It was easily the best in the state,” Conner added about
the Indiana State broadcasting program. Conner, who is
originally from Indianapolis, works in information technology for Georgia-Pacific in Atlanta.
At Indiana State, radio-TV-film majors not only took
classes in their chosen field from the start, but many also
34
SPRING 2015
landed jobs at WISU in their first semester on campus.
Espravnik recalled that it was a full-service operation.
“I ran the board for presidential press conferences, had
a deejay show, did news. I ran the board for the Metropolitan Opera, which in those days came on big 10-inch
tapes,” he said. “I would put the big 10-inch tape on and
then basically get paid to sit there and do my homework for
an hour and a half and then change to the next big 10-inch
tape, but I got to do a variety of things.”
Reel-to-reel tapes have long since been replaced by
compact discs. CDs later gave way to computer files for
music, and automation now handles the switching of
sources at many stations. In the ’70s, though, regulations
required a human “operator on duty,” who had to be
licensed by the FCC.
“When we walked into WISU, we were already credentialed. We helped kids study and learn and get their thirdclass license,” Conner said.
After a couple of years at WISU, Espravnik landed a gig at
50,000-watt WBOQ, while still a student. He and Conner
later worked at WAXI, which had just signed on the air programing to WISU, noted Joe Tenerelli, professor
emeritus who taught from 1980-2007. Economics was
serving Rockville and Clinton.
“We did programs for Indianapolis and all over the the primary reason most of those proposals were unsucMidwest,” Gustin said. “We were the No. 1 crew for TV cessful, he said.
Long before Sabaini, and before WISU, Clarence
services and when they needed a crew, they called us. It
was fun, and it was a good time to be here. We got a lot Morgan, speech and theater department faculty member
of different experiences and we got them right off the bat. and Indiana Broadcast Hall of Fame member, laid the
When you got done as a senior, having worked in TV, you groundwork for student broadcasting in the 1930s,
during the Golden Age of Radio, when live entertainment
were more than ready to work at a commercial station.”
All three men were in the Alpha Sigma Iota programs were a mainstay.
“He’s the one who had the foresight to realize that we
broadcasting fraternity.
needed
well-trained
“It was a unique, local
One thing remains constant …
personnel in the radio
fraternity,”
Espravnik
industry,”
Tenerelli
said. “It was a combiis the belief that the industry
said. “It was he who
nation social and proneeds a well-prepared and
pioneered the remote
fessional fraternity and
well-educated workforce serving
studio arrangement with
we were co-ed. We had
WBOW-AM continued
a lodge on Ohio Street
the public interest.
into the 1950s.”
and later next to Tirey
WISU’s first broadcast was Nov. 13, 1964. Format
Memorial Union at Seventh and Cherry streets.”
All three graduates said they are encouraged about the changes have followed the station throughout its history,
future of student broadcasting at Indiana State, especially said Joe Tenerelli, professor emeritus of communication,
the campus radio facilities, which now boast two stations. who taught from 1980 to 2007, but WISU and Indiana
WISU now carries news and information programing from State remain committed to student success.
“One thing remains constant and that is the belief that the
National Public Radio by retransmitting the signal of WFYI
in Indianapolis and the student-focused music station has industry needs a well-prepared and well-educated workforce
moved to WZIS, 90.7 FM, a frequency formerly used by serving the public interest,” he said. “Giving students the
opportunity to work in news, sports, production, on air and
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
“The signal footprint of the student station is a little community relations remains at the station’s core, regardless
smaller, but they do want to try to upgrade it in the future, of what its call sign is. Programs such as ours have been on
and it’s a big enough signal,” Espravnik said. “The univer- the leading edge of experiential and engaged learning long
sity has put a feather in its cap with the NPR station. It’s before the rest of the world realized its value.”
a good thing to do and at the same time there
are not going to be any fewer opportunities
for students.”
Phil Glende, executive director of student
media at Indiana State, looked to the future
during the WISU anniversary celebration.
“It is our intent to create local programming
in coming months, and this is going to create
new opportunities for our student broadcasters while offering a new level of community
service to our audience,” Glende said. “We see
this as a time to look forward to the next 50
years of broadcast education and experiential
learning at Indiana State.”
Dave Sabaini, WISU station manager from
1983 until his death in 2012, floated several Indiana State students work at the university’s radio facilities, which now include
proposals during his career to bring NPR National Public Radio programing on WISU (89.7 FM) and music on WZIS (90.7 FM).
35
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
The
New
Normal
BUSINESS STUDENTS ASSIST
LOW-INCOME RESIDENTS TO IMPROVE
LIVING, WORKING CONDITIONS
BY BETSY SIMON
I
T was a role reversal for David Robinson when
seniors in his Sycamore Business Advisors capstone
course five years ago taught him a thing or two
about the plight low-income residents in Terre
Haute face trying to find quality housing.
Now Robinson, associate professor of management in
the Scott College of Business, is passing on the lessons of
his former students to seniors enrolled in his course, as he
people who have had economic troubles and end up in
these housing projects, where we can help them get employment in a workplace that will assist people who are
not fully skilled in getting their skills up to snuff.”
Robinson has included his students in a statewide
analysis looking at the impact of a cohort of low-income
housing projects in 2011, which he is funding with a
$50,000 grant from the Indiana Housing and Community
Development Authority.
It was students in Robinson’s
2009 capstone class who piqued his
interest in issues facing low-income
residents when they conducted a
feasibility study for Mental Health
America of Vigo County after it
opened YOUnity House, a 10bedroom site that provides housing
to individuals suffering from
mental illness and who are chronically homeless. With only 10 units
and saddled with debt, the agency
was struggling to run the building.
The students’ research determined
26 units would be needed to make
the facility viable and shared that
with the IHCDA, which wanted to
help ensure the success of the earlier
10-unit project.
Robinson said his students
entered the housing institute and
David Robinson, associate professor of management in the Scott College of Business,
applied for funding and built
and Myra Wilkey, executive director of YOUnity Village, pose for a portrait.
YOUnity Village, which increased
asks them to juggle issues with bedbugs, jobs and housing the availability of housing for the homeless in Vigo
all in an effort to bring necessary services to the most eco- County with a 30-unit, $4 million building that opened
in late 2012.
nomically disadvantaged in the Wabash Valley.
Now, thanks to funding from IHCDA and help from
“We’re being very entrepreneurial this year and helping
people who are in some way unable to do everything the city to acquire the land, Mental Health America of
everyone else can do,” Robinson said. “We have a lot of Vigo County is now looking to build another 30-unit
36
SPRING 2015
YOUnity Village is located at 1460 Spruce St., Terre Haute. Indiana State business students helped turn this struggling housing agency
into a thriving one that was then able to expand.
treatments on a subscription basis.
As the semester has progressed, Carissa Yates, a student
from Brazil, Ind., who is working on the project, said the
group is “starting to see the bigger picture and the pieces
are starting to come together.”
“Having a clear direction is difficult with this project
because unlike other consulting projects in the class, we
are not working with someone who has had this business
up and running for a while now,” she said. “This has left
us to … navigate the murky waters of trying to find every
piece of information needed in order to make this project
successful. Starting a business doesn’t mean that you have
all the answers and sometimes calling in outside sources to
give a business owner new perspective is needed. Someone
cannot possibly explore every option on their own, so it is
important to have assistance.”
The possibilities for student start-ups don’t end there
for Robinson, as another team of students is designing
a hybrid food service-restaurant-catering operation to
provide supportive employment for people with disabilities and help the unemployed build their skills.
The project is modeled on the highly successful
Transitions restaurants and training program in Chicago.
“Hopefully, we can do pilot projects and start these businesses. I think momentum will sustain (these businesses),
because there is a need for finding this kind of supportive
employment in the community,” Robinson said. “It’s the
kind of thing that, if we created it, I think the community
would get behind and it could really take off.”
housing project — catering to homeless veterans — on
a Brownfield site at 25th and Elm streets behind Indiana
State’s football stadium.
“It’s not fun like fast food or retail stores, but that
first project the students did was important in helping
residents who were experiencing mental illness be able
to live good lives,” Robinson said. “I like seeing how that
project changed the strategic direction of MHAVC and
has contributed to the development of the Ryves neighborhood. It was a win all-around, and now we’ll probably
invest another $5 million or so on this new building,
which means a total of $11 or $12 million added to Terre
Haute’s economy, while helping house people in need.”
The projects don’t end there. Robinson asked his
students to tackle another nationwide problem, especially
in low-income areas — bedbugs.
“You can imagine the students’ reactions when their
professor told them, ‘You’re going to investigate how to
treat bedbugs this semester,’” he said. “But the students
are troopers and working hard to come up with a bedbug
treatment service that can be offered in Vigo County.”
While Robinson doesn’t have any buyers for the concept
yet, he has a team of students developing protocols, looking
at the equipment, procedures, marketing campaign, a fee
structure and staffing needs. The service will also incorporate supportive employment practices to help employ
some of the residents in MHAVC’s housing and other
locals with difficulties staying employed. The organization
will treat bedbug infestations and possibly offer preventive
37
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
The
New
Normal
Flag football players are all smiles as they play a game in Terre Haute.
INITIATIVE AIMS TO CHANGE
THE EMPHASIS OF YOUTH SPORTS
FROM COMPETITION TO HEALTHY LIVING
BY ELISE LIMA, ’15
W
INNING, winning and winning.
It seems like that’s the focus of
youth sports nowadays. Some
children can find themselves going
from tournament to tournament,
playing dozens upon dozens of high-pressure games each
season. Or some who might “lack” the skill, but have all
the enthusiasm needed to play, may be excluded from
teams altogether.
Sometimes that scenario can just make children fed up
with the whole thing —and lose interest in an activity that
gets them outdoors and exercising with their friends. But
the Indiana State University’s Lifespan Healthy Living Initiative is doing something to change that.
Where to start? The coaches.
The initiative has added a new component to the fourth
season of its flag football program for children 3 to 12 years
old: coach training. It’s called the Youth Sports Optimal
38
SPRING 2015
Coaching Program, and it’s all about improving coaches’
understanding of age-appropriate, value-based coaching
methods and sports safety.
With this program, the initiative hopes to transform the
competitive culture of youth sports to one that promotes a
healthy lifestyle, participation and, of course, fun.
“We think a lot of youth programs have lost sight of
what’s important,” said Jeriah Threlfall, director of the
Lifespan Healthy Living Initiative. “They’re focused too
much on just winning and pushing kids toward competitive travel teams. But really, kids are just kids. We want
coaches who are focused on making it a good experience
for each kid, no matter his or her skill level …. And we
need coaches with the right perspective to do it.”
Kathy Ginter and Jolynn Kuhlman, faculty in the department of kinesiology, recreation and sport, developed
and implemented lessons in basic coaching for flag football
coaches to help them understand how to effectively teach
and lead young sports players. They learned how to coach
children age-appropriately, how children think, what to
expect from them and the importance of focusing on skills
and success rather than winning games. “I want to make sure coaches have a good understanding of the developmental stage of youth, so they can target
their coaching efforts and interactions in a meaningful
way,” said Jack Turman Jr., dean of the College of Nursing,
Health, and Human Services and overseer of the Lifespan
Healthy Living Initiative.
Faculty from the department of applied medicine and
rehabilitation also participate by ensuring safety is a
major component of the Youth Sports Optimal Coaching
Program. Ensuring that component includes background
checks on coaches, certifying them in CPR and providing
online courses in concussions and general injury prevention. The flag football players even received a free medical
screening administered by Indiana State physician
assistant students, and an athletic trainer was present
during the games.
Threlfall said he believes the coaches’ training has made
an impact.
“I got to see firsthand that it really did take hold with
some of the coaches,” Threlfall said. “We had coaches
going about it a little bit differently …. I’ve had several of
them comment to me that they liked the training.”
The coaches agree.
“I felt the training program was very informative,” said
Richard Spencer, a flag football coach. The training changed
the way he interacted with his young players, he said.
Since Spencer received the training, he said he began
to explain the reasons behind his coaching decisions to
his players. Focusing on teaching children to be part of
a team, he explained why each player was given an equal
opportunity to play different positions — rather than
only letting the best players play a certain position such as
running back or quarterback.
And he had positive results.
“Most of the kids that were on my teams said they had
the best time,” Spencer said.
To change the culture of sports, the initiative aims to
go beyond just training its flag football coaches. Threlfall
plans to continue developing the coach-training program
and offer it as a resource for other sports leagues. “We think that offering the (coach) training will be a
good way to get in the door, and that will help us change
the culture to make it more kid-focused and truly fun,”
Threlfall said. “As a university, we have the ability to create
that change. We can make a difference in every league in
Terre Haute, and the Wabash Valley.”
“At ISU, we want to raise the bar and set the standard,”
Turman said.
Threlfall envisions creating a multifaceted, tried-andtrue resource. A checklist and manual would include all
the components of how to establish and operate a highquality youth sports program. It would even include
the most nitty-gritty of information, such as how to get
an insurance policy and where to go for quality and affordable background checks. The program would make
coach-training resources available online for other league
organizers to use.
“Our biggest goal is to have a good experience for the
kids, and having good coaches is the key to that,” Threlfall
said. “If the coaches promote the right attitude and values
to the kids, then we can change that culture.”
39
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
The
New
Normal
SAM AND SAM
STUDY ABROAD
A
ON THE WEB: To see more images
from Sam Barnes’ study abroad,
go to sambarnesvisuals.weebly.com.
40
SPRING 2015
S I walked to class down
the narrow cobblestone
streets, I could see the
architectural wonder of
Brunelleschi’s “Duomo”
clearly in sight. Many museums featuring
the great works of Michelangelo, Da Vinci
and other famous Renaissance artists were
only a short walk away.
Top that off with being able to enjoy
some of the greatest food, wine and gelato
in the world on a daily basis, and Florence
is quite an amazing place to spend the fall
semester of my senior year.
Studying art history in the cities where
the great artists themselves lived, walking
on the same streets they walked and
worked — it gave a greater dimension
to their beauty. Having the chance to
go and see these famous works of art
with my own eyes — it brought my
textbooks to life.
Time and travels went beyond
Florence to Tuscany, with her many
fine wines and exotic supercars —
both favorites of mine! Europe and
its rich history and diverse lifestyles
were weekend travel excursions.
My experiences included visiting
Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris
and Barcelona.
— Sam Barnes, ’15, two-dimensional art
major with a focus on photography
41
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
The
New
Normal
Faculty member leads workshops in Austria
WHAT WOULD
you do if you
knew that by
taking a test,
you could better
determine your
strengths of
personality and
by studying this,
you could better
understand other
people’s personalities? Within a few minutes
of meeting others, you would have a very
good idea of how they perceive the world
around them, as well as their preferred communication channels, environmental preferences, psychological needs and event their
predictable distress patterns when things
aren’t going so well. Best of all, you could do
something about their distress.
Ryan Donlan, an assistant professor in
the department of educational leadership,
has been doing this since 2007. Now that
more people are discovering the Process
Communication Model, a model with its
origins in clinical psychology and therapy, it
is being studied all over the globe. PCM is
a tool that enables individuals to understand themselves and communicate with
others. As the model applies to education,
it is called the Process Education Model.
Donlan joined others from around the
world at the Fourth Process Communication
Model World Conference in Vienna, Austria,
at the end of August.
Donlan presented four times while
overseas. The PCM uses a model that shows
each of us is comprised of six layers of personality: harmonizer, believer, do-er, imaginer,
funster and thinker. Donlan explained most
predominant personality is established at
birth or shortly thereafter with the remaining
layering themselves in, in order of strength,
by around age 7. Although the order of personality structure remains the same throughout one’s lifetime, the six layers may change
in their relative strength and accessibility,
depending on life events. Practitioners using
“process” have seen a positive lasting impact.
The National Aeronautics and Space
Administration used PCM in its recruitment
and selection processes of astronauts and
funded the first comprehensive validation
study on the model. President Bill Clinton
also used PCM in his presidential campaigns
and presidency.
“I would like other departments around
the university to see and experience this
model and see if it could work for them,” said
Donlan. He added, “This model could help
people with their marriages, relationships with
their children and even jobs.”— Betsy Simon
Indiana State students attend Obama Manufacturing Day event
DURING A REST STOP, INDIANA STATE
University student Kate Cox wondered
aloud if her absence from class on Oct. 3
would be excused.
Given the fact she’ll be able to prove her
absence with any number of newspaper
clips or C-SPAN footage, she might even
get extra credit. Cox, a sophomore from
Mount Vernon, Ind., and 14 of her College
of Technology classmates travelled to
Millennium Steel Services in Princeton, Ind.,
to hear President Barack Obama speak in
honor of Manufacturing Day.
Cox was one of just a few of the 200-or
so in attendance who had the opportunity to ask the president a question —
“Recently… we’ve been hearing a lot about
the EPA and the ‘war on coal.’ What are
your feelings on that?”
Cox, who wants to go into pharmaceutical packaging as a career, said environment
42
SPRING 2015
impact has been top-of-mind
for her recently.
The opportunity for
Sycamores to hear the leader
of the free world speak was
coordinated by Teresa Dwyer,
assistant director of employer
relations at Indiana State’s
Career Center. She and fellow
staff members had about an
hour to recruit a group of
students. Time, as it turns
out, was not a factor, and they
assembled a talented and
diverse group of student leaders.
Much of the day was spent waiting for the
president’s arrival, and Sycamores made the
most of it by networking. Their efforts were
not lost on the company’s management,
and the group was invited back for a tour
of the plant.
“It’s the president. Important people are
going to be here,” said Herman JeanBaptiste, a senior mechanical engineering
technology major from Deer Park, N.Y.
— Libby Roerig
News
Alumni
THERE’S ALWAYS A REASON TO REUNITE
BY HILARY DUNCAN, ’10
W
attending the event heard remarks from prominent program
representatives, including Joe Tenerelli, professor emeritus,
who taught from 1980 to 2007.
The Scott College of Business is honoring its past and
celebrating its future at the college’s 50th anniversary.
The culminating celebration event will be held April 10
at the Sycamore Banquet Center. Learn more about the
anniversary on the Scott College of Business’ website at
indstate.edu/business.
As a university, the most significant milestone will take
place this year, as Indiana State will celebrate its 150th
anniversary. The Sesquicentennial Celebration is set
to kick off during the 2015 Homecoming celebration,
Oct. 15-17. A special Sesquicentennial Celebration Gala
will be held Oct. 15. To learn more about this event, go to
indstatefoundation.org/150gala.
As a part of the Sesquicentennial Celebration, the Alumni
Association will provide numerous opportunities for alumni
to come back to campus. We will host a series of reunions
themed around your Indiana State experiences that allow
you to reunite with your peers and also see the transformation of the university since your last visit to campus.
A complete schedule of events will be available this fall at
indstate.edu/alumni.
Do you have an idea for a reunion or want to help
be a part of a reunion planning committee? Contact
Rex Kendall, executive director of the Indiana State
University Alumni Association at 812-514-8400 or
[email protected].
ERE you involved with student
government or a fraternity or
sorority as a student? Do you
remember your first performance in
music or theater? Did you participate in service initiatives or study-abroad programs within
your program?
Indiana State University has provided thousands of
students with a meaningful education, and the Indiana State
University Alumni Association is dedicated to ensuring that
as alumni, they continue to be inspired, connected and
involved with the university. It is these experiences that are
the essence of the unique relationship that each individual
has with their alma mater.
Whether you were involved with campus organizations, Greek life, athletics or have a strong affinity for your
college, reunions are a good reason for classmates, friends
and alumni to come together to celebrate being Sycamores.
And, it is the milestones and accomplishments of such experiences that bring alumni back to their roots.
This past fall, the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity
celebrated its 60th anniversary. Founded at Indiana State in
1954, the Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter is the longest running,
continuous male Greek organization on campus. The
chapter reunited and celebrated their brotherhood during
events they organized during homecoming.
Also during homecoming, one of Indiana State’s studentrun radio broadcast programs, WISU, invited alumni back
to campus for their 50th anniversary celebration. Alumni
43
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
Plan Ahead: Summer Alumni Events
GOLF OUTINGS ARE A GREAT WAY TO GET
together with classmates and meet other alumni living
in your area, while helping to support the education
of current students. Proceeds from the golf outings
benefit alumni scholarships awarded to students living
in the area.
The Dubois County Alumni Club will kick off the
alumni golf outing season June 3 at Buffalo Trace Golf
Course in Jasper, Ind.
As the month continues, we travel to Sullivan for the
Jim Hartman Classic June 18 at Sullivan Elks Club and
to Crown Point on June 26 for the Northwest Indiana
Alumni Golf Outing at the Lake of the Four Seasons.
In July, the Alumni Association will be back in Terre
Haute for the Terre Haute Alumni Golf Outing July
10 at Idle Creek Golf Course. Later that month, we will
travel up Interstate 70 for the Indianapolis Alumni Golf
Outing July 31 at Maple Creek Golf Course.
Also in June, we will host our 12th annual Churchill
Downs event. Join us in Louisville, Ky., for this fun
family gathering. Tickets can be purchased through the
Alumni Association office and include gate admission
and lunch.
Rounding out summer events includes the Alumni
Reunion Day on Aug. 1. A favorite Indiana State
tradition, this is a day dedicated to alumni celebrating
50 years of being Sycamores. The Class of 1965 will
be invited back to campus for this special reunion, as
they are inducted into the prestigious Grand Society
of Sycamores.
We encourage you to visit our website to check out
other summer activities, especially the new familyoriented events we are working on — ISU Alumni Day
at Holiday World on June 14 and an Indianapolis
Indians game.
To register for upcoming alumni events, go to
indstate.edu/alumni or call Ben Kappes, assistant
director of the Indiana State University Alumni
Association, at 812-514-8496. — Hilary Duncan, ’10
Additional event information will be emailed to
you. Make sure you are receiving information about
upcoming events and alumni news by updating your
contact information at indstate.edu/alumni.
Want to see an event in your area?
Contact Ben Kappes, assistant director of the Indiana
State University Alumni Association, at 812-514-8496
or [email protected].
44
SPRING 2015
Be social all year!
Alumni Association
@indstatealumni
indstatealumni
Alumni Association
News
Alumni
CARL NICKS, ’80
C
Carl Nicks, left, shares a laugh with teammate Larry Bird.
Toronto Tornados and Saint-Étienne in France.
Over the years, Nicks and Bird kept in touch. Bird went
on to become president of basketball operations for the
Indiana Pacers. After retiring from pro basketball, Nicks
served as coordinator of the Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program at Methodist Hospital and coached basketball in a local middle school. He and his wife, Kelli,
have been married almost three decades and have a son,
Carl Nicks Jr.
One summer morning in 2005, Nicks received a surprise
phone call. “It was just out of the blue. It was Larry asking
me if I still knew college basketball,” Nicks said. “He
wanted me to be a college scout for him and the Pacers….
I was so proud and excited to be back with him again.”
Then in October 2014, Nicks got another surprise. He
was asked to be manager of player relations for the Pacers.
“This is the perfect job for me, because I’m a basketball
guy. The players know that 30 years ago, I was where they
are now,” Nicks said.
“I am one of the most grateful, excited happy persons
in the world. After all these years, it seems like I’ve come
full circle. To give something back to these young guys,
to travel with the team, to work with Larry Bird —
I am so blessed.”
ARL Nicks can trace his life today back to
a pivotal basketball game at his southside
Chicago high school.
“ISU coach Bill Hodges was there to
watch a big 6’11’’ guy playing against me,”
Nicks recalled.
However, Nicks played such an outstanding game that
Hodges began recruiting him to play for the Sycamores
and play with Indiana’s own Larry Bird, ’79.
“I said, ‘Larry who?’ I had never heard of him,” Nicks
said with a laugh. “But once I met him and played a
pick-up game with him, I was in awe. I was stunned by
the unbelievable way he played. I decided then and there
that I wanted to go to ISU and play ball with Larry Bird.”
That decision, Nicks says, paved the path for his future.
Nicks and Bird were teammates of the 1978-1979
Sycamores team that went undefeated into the Final
Four and finished runner-up in the NCAA Championship. Nicknamed “Mr. Intensity,” Nicks was the second
leading scorer on the team that year with an average of
19.3 points a game, just behind team leader Bird, who
averaged 28.6 points.
After graduating from Indiana State University, Nicks
was drafted by the Denver Nuggets. He later played for
the Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers, as well as the
45
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
Submit your class notes
at statemagazine.com.
Connia Nelson, ’77
1948-1993
REV. JAMES HUNTER, ’48, received
a Pastoral Distinction Award from the
Progressive National Baptist Convention
in recognition of 50 years of exemplary
pastoral service.
DAVE LOTTER, ’68, GR ’73, was elected
to the Vigo County School Corporation
School Board.
FRANK KIEFER, ’75, joined the St. Vincent
Medical Group as a physician’s assistant in
Brazil, Ind.
DAVID WILLIAMS, ’75, was inducted into
the American Society of Hematology as
president. Williams is chief of hematology/
oncology at Boston Children’s Hospital
and chairman of pediatric oncology at the
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
BRIAN BURTON, ’81, was promoted to
president and chief executive officer of
the Indiana Manufacturers Association in
Indianapolis.
STEPHANIE BERRY, ’87, was appointed to
the board of directors for the Indiana Youth
Institute.
SANDRA JENSEN, ’87, was promoted
to chief administrative law judge for the
Indiana Natural Resources Commission.
KIM RHODES, ’89, was hired as a family
nurse practitioner in the cardiology department of UAP Clinic in Terre Haute.
TERESA SHAFFER, ’91, was named
marketing director for Fifth Third Bank’s
Greater Indiana region.
BRUCE HAUK, ’92, was named the new
president of Illinois American Water in
Belleville, Ill.
DOUG DUTTON, ‘93, was selected as
head football coach for Cardinal Newman
High School in Columbia, S.C.
46
SPRING 2015
AS HER MOTHER’S LIVING LEGACY,
Connia Nelson says she tries to live
each day to make her mother proud.
Nelson’s decisions are based on the
desire to pay it forward, the idea that
all things are possible, the belief that
it is important to help others achieve
their goals and the simple tenets of
“The Golden Rule.”
What it all boils down to, Nelson
says, is “to treat others as you would
like to be treated.”
Nelson and her twin sister, Lindia
Williams, grew up in Lawrenceburg with
their widowed mother. As a first-generation college student, Nelson recalls
her mother placing a heavy emphasis
on education.
“My mother knew that having a
strong education would be a critical key
to open many doors for me,” she said.
“That is indeed true.”
The sisters both attended Indiana
State University and roomed together
all four years. Some of her best college
memories, Nelson says, include singing
soprano in the Ebony Majestic choir
and making friends that are still part of
her life today.
“Some of the people I met freshman
year in the dorm have bonded into a
family relationship. You can’t place a
value on friendships like that,” she said.
As graduation grew closer, Nelson
worked with the Career Center at
Indiana State University. “It was a great
resource for me. I actually got my first
job with their help.”
Nelson later
earned a master
of arts degree
from Dallas Baptist
University and is now
senior vice president
for human resources
with Verizon
Communications —
responsible for the
global employee
experience for 175,000 Verizon
employees. She and her husband,
Darrell, live in West Orange, N.J., and
have a daughter, Adriel.
Over the years, Nelson has received
many awards and honors, including the
Eagle Leadership Award, being named
one of the “Most Influential African
Americans in Business” by Profiles in
Diversity Journal, serving on the Board
of Trustees for Post University, being
recognized as a distinguished Indiana
State University alumna, serving on
the president’s board of advisors for
Indiana State University and being
guest speaker at the 2010 Indiana State
University commencement.
“Being guest speaker was a tremendous honor and an amazing experience,” she said. “Never when I was a
student at ISU did I ever think I would
one day be speaking to graduates. I
was awed to be asked to do that.”
Nelson also is a founding board
member of Seed a Better Life, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to
helping people achieve an education
and improve their social and
economic status.
“Our current project focuses on
Rwandan genocide survivors. We
have a number of students in college
and several have already graduated,”
she said.
And that is something Nelson’s
mother, who died in 1987, would
wholeheartedly support.
“College was a dream of hers,”
Nelson said.
“Sometimes I think
the dreams of our
parents are deferred
and transferred into
our lives. Parents may
just one day realize
their dreams through
their child.” 19932014
ISU ALUMNI 101
How to stay in touch with your alma mater after graduation
Your journey with Indiana State University is not over; your involvement with your alma
mater is only beginning. The ISU Alumni Association wants to help you Be Inspired,
Stay Connected, and Get Involved. In order for you to get involved with Indiana State
after graduation, the ISU Alumni Association needs your updated contact information,
including email, phone number, mailing address, married name, etc.
DIANN MCKEE, GR ’93, was recognized as one of Indianapolis Business
Journal’s Chief Financial Officers of
the Year.
KAREN WEBB, ’81, GR ’83, GR ’88,
’97, received the Outstanding School
Librarian Award by the Indiana
Library Federation. Webb is currently
the media specialist at Honey Creek
Middle School in Terre Haute.
MARK SWINFORD, ’01, was named
head golf professional at Briar Ridge
Country Club in Schererville, Ind. He
was elected a Class A member of the
PGA on Oct. 12, 2009.
YOU
GREG VITALE, ’01, was named
parks and recreation director for
Munster, Ind.
STAY CONNECTED
Update your contact information with the Alumni Association
so you can receive communications from Indiana State.
Online at indstate.edu/alumni
Call us at 812.514.8400
Email at [email protected]
ERIC LOSEE, GR ’02, was appointed
regional chief for the Wisconsin
Department of Corrections in
Merrill, Wis.
WAYLON FONDERHIDE, ’06,
was promoted to correctional
sergeant at the Wabash Valley
Correctional Facility.
CODY MEDLOCK, ’13, was
appointed chief deputy of
the Lawrence County Sheriff’s
Department in Indiana.
KYLE MILLER, ’13, was named New
Orchestra Teacher of the Year by the
American String Teacher Association.
Miller teaches at Pierre Moran
Middle School in Elkhart, Ind.
4FALL 2014
ERSITY
STATE UNIV
INDIANA
AZINE OF
THE MAG
ANOTHER
SHADE .
OF BLUE
BE INSPIRED
GET INVOLVED
Sycamore TreE-mail
Sycamore TreE-mail is the official
alumni newsletter delivered electronically to your email every month.
Blue Card Club
The Blue Card Club is the official
membership program of the ISU
Alumni Association and information
can be found via email, our website,
and in your mailbox.
STATE Magazine
STATE Magazine is an electronic
and print publication, available all
year at statemagazine.com and
delivered to your mailbox each
spring and fall.
Alumni Clubs
Alumni living in various geographical
areas get together for Indiana State
events. Let us know where you are
living now so we can include you in
email invitations.
JOSE ORTIZ, ’05, GR ’13, was
promoted to sergeant at the Mount
Joy Borough Police Department in
Lancaster, Penn.
KACIE BENELL, ’14, joined Larsson,
Woodyard & Henson, LLP, CPA firm.
KYLE CROSS, ’14, was appointed
to the position of coordinator of the
Greene County General Hospital’s
Foundation in Indiana.
47
STATEMAGAZINE.COM
THEN
Romeo and Juliet, 1953
The Sycamore Players perform a scene
from “Romeo and Juliet.”
(Martin Photo Collection,
courtesy of University Archives)
48
SPRING 2015
&
THEN NOW
NOW
The Color Purple, 2014
The cast of “The Color Purple”
perform an Africa scene in
“The Color Purple: A New Musical”
as one of the Department of Theater’s
fall productions.
(Indiana State University
Photography Services)
Office of Communications and Marketing
217 North 6th St
Terre Haute, IN 47809-1904
NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
WWW.STATEMAGAZINE.COM
The magazine of Indiana State University
publishes all year! Check out our digital
editions the first of each month and look for
the next print publication in October.
Celebrating
150 YEARS.
Sesquicentennial Celebration Gala
Save the Date | Thursday, October 15
For 150 years, Indiana State University has provided a quality
college education to generations of Sycamores. Today, the
University prepares leaders for Indiana and the world through
education rooted in experiential learning and community
service. The Sesquicentennial Celebration Gala will honor the
university’s heritage and support our mission as we begin our
next 150 years.
Join us for this special evening by becoming an event sponsor
or reserving your tickets today. Event proceeds will provide
first-generation and need-based scholarships for Indiana State
students. Your support of this celebration makes our students’
dreams of earning a degree from Indiana State possible.
Learn more about the event or reserve your tickets by visiting
indstatefoundation.org/150gala or contact the ISU Foundation
at 812.514.8400.

View - State Magazine

Transcription

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