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William Day Frederick Hagerman Stephen Hays, James Andrews Steve Hays Rodney Hood Seldon Strother Jack Matthews L.J. Hortin Gerald Dykstra Victor Whitehouse, Albert Gubitz, Gerald Dykstra Donald Clippinger Robert DeMott Walt Abendroth Edgar Whan, David Keck, Jeff Connor Seabury Quinn Ronald Socciarelli, Harold Robison, James Stewart Guido Stempel Father John Augustiniak Robin Lacy Robert Baker Waltraud Bald Janet Slater Karen Nulf Robert Winters Richard Danner, Dru Evarts, Daniel Keyes Hugh Bloemer Ralph Kliesch Art Marinelli Jr. Paul Hersey

Ralph Kliesch Keeping the expectations up I had several great profs at Ohio University, but the one who influenced me the most was Ralph Kliesch, now an emeritus journalism professor. To put it simply: Ralph Kliesch is a god! Twenty-five years after graduating from OU, I remain a journalist focused on accuracy, sometimes feeling alone in the world, even among my newspaper colleagues. Professor Kliesch hammered that high standard into me, and I'll always be thankful that he did. In his beginning reporting class, he set the tone right from the start: If we misspelled a name, we got an "F." There was no more stark way to make the point, and it sure stuck with me. Professor Kliesch also made class fun with his creative ways to present information to us, which we then had to write into a story. I recall he even arranged to have himself "shot" one day for us, by someone who burst into the classroom with a fake gun. Talk about learning the concept of breaking news! Some of my fellow students were less than enamored with this tough prof, but I was in awe of him, and my profound respect has never diminished, even though I haven't been in contact with him for more than 20 years. Just yesterday a friend who teaches at a University of Wisconsin campus near me asked if I would come talk to her students about the need for precision in language. Guess who immediately came to mind as my inspiration? Judith Ettenhofer, BSJ '77 Spring Green, Wis.