10/15/99
News directors, editors: The following news releases provide details of Ohio University's Homecoming Weekend Oct. 21-24, including:
*A schedule of weekend activities.
*A release on the rededication of the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.
*A release on the dedication of the African American Alumni Heritage Wall.
*A release on the dedication of the Lindley Cultural Center.
*Highlights of African-American history at Ohio University.
News directors, editors: Descendants of Ohio University's first male and female African-American graduates, John Newton Templeton and Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn, will be on campus Friday, Oct. 22. Descendants of William Williamson, whose family owned Templeton family members as slaves before freeing them and bringing them to Ohio from South Carolina, will meet with descendants of the Templetons for the first time Friday afternoon. To arrange an interview with the Templetons, Blackburns and Williamsons, contact Dwight Woodward at (740) 593-1886 or Janice Edwards at (740) 593-2580.
ATHENS, Ohio -- Descendants of John Newton Templeton, a former slave and the first African-American graduate of Ohio University, will meet descendants of Templeton's former owners for the first time Friday, Oct. 22, on the Athens campus of Ohio University.
The Templetons and the descendants of William Williamson, who brought Templeton family members to Ohio from South Carolina after they were freed from slavery by Williamson's family, will meet the day before the rededication of Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. The auditorium is named in honor of Templeton and Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn, who in 1916 became the first female African-American Ohio University graduate.
Templeton was born a slave of Thomas Williamson in South Carolina around 1805. Though Templeton died in 1851 -- before the Civil War or the Emancipation Proclamation -- he was emancipated by his owner's will in 1813 and brought to Adams County, Ohio, by his owner's son, the Rev. William Williamson, a Presbyterian minister and abolitionist. Templeton enrolled at Ohio University in 1824 and university President Robert Wilson hired him to work in his home. When he earned his degree in 1828, at a time when most blacks were enslaved and illiterate, Templeton became the fourth African-American college graduate in the United States.
Blackburn graduated from Ohio University in 1916 with a degree in English and a minor in home economics. Her father-in-law, John R. Blackburn, was the university's first African-American member of the Board of Trustees. Martha Blackburn taught at Central State University and later at Washington High School in London, W.Va. She received the Alumni Association's Medal of Merit, Ohio University's highest honor, in 1979.
Thursday, Oct. 21
2:30-3:30 p.m., Calling hour for Ohio University President
Emeritus John C. Baker, 1804 Lounge, Baker Center
4 p.m., Memorial service for President Emeritus John C. Baker,
Galbreath Chapel
6:45-8:30 p.m., "Yell Like Hell" Pep Rally, Convocation Center,
(740) 589-6142
Friday, Oct. 22
10 a.m., Konneker Klassic Golf Outing, Athens Country Club,
(740) 593-4300
1-2:30 p.m., "Netting the 'Net, A Mini-Seminar on the Internet,"
Computer Lab, (740) 593-1767
3 p.m., President Robert Glidden's State of the University address,
Irvine Auditorium
5:45 p.m., Alumni Awards Celebration (invitation only), Nelson
Commons, (740) 593-4300
9:30 p.m.-midnight, Swing Thing Dance, Old Nelson Commons,
(740) 593-4300
Saturday, Oct. 23
8-10 a.m., Alumni College Coffee Socials, Baker Center, (740)
593-4300
9 a.m., Alumni Awardees, Alumni Board and Thomas Ewing
Society Breakfast, Baker Center, 1804 Lounge
10 a.m., Parade and Float Competition, Court Street and
Convocation Center, with Parade Grand Marshals Don. H.
Voelker, Alumnus of the Year, and Marge Spooner Voelker, Medal
of Merit honoree
10 a.m.-2 p.m., Tours of Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial
Auditorium, (740) 593-1762
11 a.m., Dedication of Lindley Cultural Center, Lindley Hall, (740)
593-2580
11 a.m., Big Top Extravaganza, Pepsi Tailgate Park, (740) 593-4300
11:30 a.m., Alumni Cheerleader Reunion, south end zone of Peden
Stadium, (740) 593-4300
11:45 a.m., Alumni Band Reunion Luncheon, Pepsi Tailgate
Park
1 p.m., OHIO vs. Bowling Green State University, Peden Stadium,
(740) 593-1300 for game tickets
7:15 p.m., Dedication of African American Alumni Heritage Wall,
Memorial Auditorium, (740) 593-1762
8 p.m., Rededication of Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial
Auditorium and Concert, Dianne Reeves and The Count Basie
Orchestra, (740) 593-1780 for concert tickets
Sunday, Oct. 24, 1999
9-11 a.m., Breakfast with the Bobs, visit with the Bobcat, Bob Glidden, Bob Bauer and other Bobs, The Ohio University Inn, (740) 593-4300
ATHENS, Ohio -- The Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium will be rededicated at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, in honor of the university's first male and female African-American alumni, John Newton Templeton, an 1828 graduate, and Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn, who graduated in 1916. Descendants of Templeton and Blackburn plan to attend the dedication as do descendants of William Williamson, who brought Templeton family members to Ohio from South Carolina after they were freed from slavery by Williamson's family and helped Templeton begin his studies at Ohio University.
Memorial Auditorium originally was dedicated in 1929 following an eight-year campaign that drew donations from more than 2,000 alumni, $20 contributions from students and pledges from faculty who donated 10 percent of their salaries.
Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter have spoken in or near the auditorium as have the Rev. Martin Luther King and poets Robert Frost and Maya Angelou.
Memorial Auditorium reopened this fall following a two-year, $5.8 million renovation, including the installation of a larger stage and orchestra pit, improved acoustics, lighting, heating and air conditioning, seating and a 7,580-square-foot addition.
The rededication is open only to those with tickets for the Performing Arts Series concert that follows. The concert features three-time Grammy nominee Dianne Reeves and the world-famous Count Basie Orchestra.
ATHENS, Ohio -- Lindley Cultural Center will be dedicated at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 23, immediately after the Homecoming parade. The event will include speeches by university administrators and trustees, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, refreshments and the presentation of a video that illustrates the significance of the cultural center.
The center serves as a meeting place for students from a variety of backgrounds with programs that focus on culture. Housed on the ground floor of Lindley Hall, the 5,000-square-foot center includes a community lounge, meeting room, gallery, multipurpose room, computer lab and library.
ATHENS, Ohio -- Dedication of the African American Alumni Heritage Wall is at 7:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, in Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. The wall, located in the auditorium's new east lobby, allows African American alumni to recognize those who helped them succeed in college.
"This is the most significant monument to the accomplishments of African-American students in the history of the university," said Patricia A. Ackerman, a 1966 university graduate and vice chair of the Ohio University Board of Trustees and the wall's creator. "It links to the past with John Templeton (the university's first African-American graduate) and it carries forward to the new millenium.The notion of the wall ties the legacy together."
* John Newton Templeton graduated from Ohio University in 1828. He was the fourth African-American in the nation and the first in the Midwest to graduate from college.
* African-American Edward James Roye attended Ohio University for several years beginning in 1833. A successful businessman, he was elected president of Liberia in 1870 and is the only Ohioan to become president of a foreign country.
* Joseph Carter Corbin was the third African-American to attend Ohio University, graduating in 1853. A noted linguist and educator, Corbin established an early African-American newspaper in Ohio, The Colored Citizen. In 1873, he became president of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
* Arthur D. Carr, quarterback of the 1904 Bobcats football team, was the first African-American football player at Ohio University.
* Leonard Barnett founded the DuBois Club, the first African-American organization on campus, in 1915.
* In 1916, Martha Jane Hunley Blackburn became the first African-American woman to graduate from Ohio University. After graduation, she chaired the home economics department at Central State University near Dayton and later taught in West Virginia high schools.
* Ohio University has had six African-American members of its Board of Trustees. They are John R. Blackburn, father-in-law of the first African-American female graduate, who served from 1885 to 1892; the Rev. John Frederic Moreland of Cincinnati (1892 to 1896); Cleveland businessman James E. Benson (1892 to 1911); Cincinnati realtor Donald Spencer (1974 to 1983); Columbus businessman Lewis R. Smoot Sr. (1987 to 1991); and current board Vice Chair Patricia A. Ackerman.
(Source: Connie Perdreau, a university adminstrator and author of "A Black History of Athens County and OhioUniversity.")
Editors, news directors: Photos of alumni receiving awards may be found under their last name at: http://cscwww.cats.ohiou.edu/news/pix/
ATHENS, Ohio -- Each year, the Ohio University Alumni Association presents awards to alumni who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication to Ohio University. Here are the awardees to be honored at the Homecoming Weekend banquet:
Alumnus of the Year
Donald Voelker
Businessman Donald Voelker has had a full career in sales and manufacturing.
"I believe my education at Ohio University helped me obtain the type of job opportunities that led to an excellent business career," says Voelker, BSME '52. "I want to give this same opportunity to others."
A Cleveland native, Voelker served as president of D.H. Voelker and Associates, a manufacturer's agent for hydraulic equipment, for 29 years. He co-founded Great Bend Industries, a hydraulic cylinder manufacturing facility in Kansas.
Voelker has been a member of The Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees since 1990 and is a member of the Russ College of Engineering and Technology's Board of Visitors. He also is past president of the Ohio University Alumni Association Board of Directors. In 1995, he received the association's Medal of Merit.
He and his wife, Margaret "Marge" Spooner Voelker, AA '51, sponsor the Donald H. Voelker Engineering Scholarship for Ohio University mechanical engineering students. The couple are retired and live in Florida.
Medals of Merit
Margaret Spooner Voelker
Margaret "Marge" Spooner Voelker, says she's "honored and humbled to be able to represent all spouses who faithfully attend alumni functions at Ohio University." Co-founder of the Suncoast alumni chapter in Clearwater, Fla., Voelker has helped organize spouse programs and traveled with her husband, Donald, to countless alumni events across the country.
A retired secretary and member of the Trustees Academy in the College of Business, she remains involved with her alma mater "to be able to give back a small portion of what I have received and to help others less fortunate receive a quality education," she says. Voelker and her husband support the Margaret R. Voelker Scholarship in the College of Business.
Andrew Alexander
Andrew Alexander was editor of the Ohio University "Post" when student protests of the Vietnam War forced the university to close in May 1970. Alexander, BSJ '71, is chief of Cox Newspapers' Washington bureau. He co-edited the series of stories that won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting.
Alexander traces his success to his Ohio University mentors.
"As an aspiring journalist, Ohio University provided me with a solid grounding for my profession," he says. "I'd like for it to provide the same nurturing atmosphere for today's aspiring journalists, while also providing an increasingly challenging academic regime."
The alumnus has contributed to the university by serving on the School of Journalism Advisory Board, funding a scholarship to support minority students and mentoring a new generation of "Post" staffers. He and his wife, Beverly Jones, BSJ '69 and MBA '75, live in Washington.
Robert Fallon
Although Robert Fallon has spent much of his career working in Asia, he hasn't stopped contributing to his alma mater.
"I want to repay the university for the excellent education and mentoring I received as a student and to set a leadership example for current students," says Fallon, who graduated in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.
Fallon is a senior executive in charge of Chase Manhattan Bank's corporate and institutional banking activities in Asia. He has served on the Alden Library fund-raising committee, been involved with the Fred and Kaz Harris Asian art library collection and mentored students in Ohio University's College of Business and the Global Learning Community.
He and his wife, Joanne Fallon, have three children -- Alexandra, 18, Lindsay, 15, and Timothy, 9-- and live in New York.
JoAnn Fregalette Jansen
JoAnn Fregalette Jansen, BSED '70, has served as choreographer and movement coach on such Hollywood blockbusters as "What Dreams May Come" and "Michael." The seeds of her success were planted at Ohio University, where School of Dance faculty "changed the way I saw myself and the possibilities for my life," she says.
After graduating with a degree in dance, literature and education, Jansen moved to New York City, where she started her own dance company and served as an acting coach and director for theater and opera performances. She also has choreographed and co-produced several feature films and directed two short films.
Matt Lauer
Matt Lauer, co-host of NBC's "Today" show since January 1997, has become a household name.
Lauer began his broadcasting career in 1979 as producer of the noon news on WOWK-TV in Huntington, W.Va. After working in Boston, Philadelphia, Providence and Richmond, Lauer headed to New York City, where he joined NBC.
Lauer has conducted a number of noteworthy interviews, including an exclusive with first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton after the Monica Lewinsky scandal made headlines.
Lauer, one of Ohio University's most well-known alumni, returned to campus in 1997 to accept his bachelor's degree and address the graduating class at commencement. He lives in New York with his wife, Annette Roque Lauer.
Honorary Alumnae
Verda Chappell Jones
Verda Chappell Jones serves as a link between town and gown. Through her volunteer work with community organizations, the native Athenian and wife of distinguished alumnus John Jones, BSCOM '49, has encouraged a partnership between the university and the city.
"The school has contributed much in the way of diversity and cultural opportunities to the Athens community," Jones says.
Jones, vice president and co-owner of Jones, Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac Co., attended Ohio University on a scholarship until the start of World War II. Her community and university activities have included chairing the 1997 Athens City Bicentennial Celebration, membership in the Green and White Club, the Ohio University 1804 Ball committee, Friends of the Kennedy Museum, the Tower Club, the Athens Foundation and the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, and assisting Trisolini Gallery.
Dolores Russ
The Russ name will be a part of Ohio University forever. The Russ College of Engineering and Technology was dedicated in honor of Dolores Russ and her husband, Fritz Russ, BSEE '42, who received an honorary doctorate in engineering science from the university in 1975.
"Ohio University has brought a lot of enjoyment to both of us as we have watched it grow," she says. "I am proud to be associated with Ohio University, and I'm pleased to receive the Honorary Alumna Award."
The Russes co-founded six successful businesses, including Systems Research Laboratories Inc., Russ Venture Group Inc. and Monarch Engineering Co. In addition to financial contributions, Russ has donated time to the university by promoting the campus to high school students and hosting university officials visiting the Dayton area.
Distinguished Service Awards
Katja Auen
Immersed in American culture at Ohio University during the early '90s, German native Katja Auen soon understood the phrase "you can't go home again." Her time on campus helped her become a global citizen, an experience she recommends to all Ohio University students.
"Studying at Ohio University and living in Athens was one of the most important experiences of my life," says Auen, a German Academic Exchange Service student during the 1992-93 school year.
Auen is completing a master's degree in North American studies at the University of Bonn and works as a freelance public relations coordinator for the American Jewish Committee and various other academic and educational organizations operating in the field of international relations. She is helping to spread the university's name in Europe. She is a founding member and co-chair of the Ohio University Alumni Association Germany Serving Europe Chapter.
Marc Glasgow
Marc Glasgow says he planted the roots for his business, military and civic accomplishments at Ohio University.
"The university provided the guidance and challenges that matured my character," says Glasgow, who owns Stein Inc., part of Cleveland's steel mill service industry. "I hope the university continues to instill in young people the desire and equip them with the knowledge to serve society in a noteworthy manner."
Glasgow graduated from Ohio University in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. In Brecksville, Ohio, where he now resides with his wife, Glasgow is active in civic and political organizations. He has served as president of the Broadview Heights City Council and of the Brecksville Broadview Heights Schools Foundation and is a board member of Easter Seals of Northeast Ohio.
Through the years, he has supported Ohio University's leadership and athletic programs.
Robert Rings
Robert Rings knew he wanted to attend Ohio University after he participated in a journalism workshop on campus as a high school student. Nearly two decades later, he left the university with three degrees.
"Ohio University provided me an opportunity to attain an excellent educational background," he says.
Rings earned a bachelor's degree in biological sciences in 1962, a master's in mass communication in 1967 and a doctorate in organizational communication and development in 1976. He served as assistant director of the College of Business' Center for Management Development while earning his graduate degree.
Rings currently serves as the organizational development manager for the Computer Sciences Corp.'s contract with Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, Mass.
A resident of Massachusetts, he has expanded the Massachusetts Alumni Chapter Serving New England as president of the organization. He and his wife, Linda Rings, BFA '63, have two children, Shannon, AB '95, and Christopher, a 1991 graduate of the University of Miami in Florida.
Jim Wycoff
Jim Wycoff arrived at Ohio University as "an insecure and not very popular kid from Zanesville," he recalls. But by the time he graduated in 1971 with a degree in economics and mathematics, he had become senior class president, varsity football manager and Phi Kappa Sigma rush chairman. Within weeks of delivering his commencement address, he initiated his sales career with Procter and Gamble.
"The unique Athens student-faculty-town community and relatively large student enrollment allowed me to grow individually and find my own social and personal compass north,'" he says.
A veteran retirement-investment specialist, Wycoff is a registered principal and branch manager for Raymond James Financial Services in Cincinnati. He hosts and produces the "Jim Wycoff Money Hour" radio show and is co-founder of Mentap Systems Inc., one of the leading time-management software systems for the mutual fund industry.
The alumnus is helping develop Ohio University's Sales Centre Certificate and master's degree program in financial economics. Wycoff and his wife, Suzi Retherford Wycoff, BFA '71, live in Cincinnati.
Charles J. and Claire O. Ping
Recent Graduate Awards
Laralyn Sasaki
No one at Ohio University ever discouraged Laralyn Sasaki from doing what she wanted when it came to choosing a career. That's one reason she enjoys her job today as program director for the Ohio State Bar Foundation.
"Everyone always encouraged me, especially when I became editor of The Post," says Sasaki of Columbus, who graduated in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in journalism through the Honors Tutorial College. Today, she combines her writing skills and law degree from the University of Michigan to design statewide programming to improve the public's understanding of the law.
Sasaki has contributed to her alma mater as a member of the Honors Tutorial College Board of Visitors and the Society of Alumni and Friends for the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
Byron White
Byron White gives the same kind of guidance to Ohio University students that he received in the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in the late '80s. White, manager of community relations at The Chicago Tribune , visits campus regularly to mentor journalism students.
Since he graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1987, he's participated in several workshops and conferences on the Athens campus and has hosted alumni events in Chicago.
In 1987, White became the first African-American editor of the Ohio University Post . He began working at The Chicago Tribune five years ago as a reporter, quickly moving to an assistant editor position and then joining the editorial board. Now manager of community relations for The Tribune , White works to build relationships between the city and the newspaper. He lives in Chicago with his wife and five children.