2015 greenlee glimpse

Greenlee Glimpse 2015 | 3

Greenlee School of Journalism & CommunicationIowa State University

2015 Alumni Magazine

Covering the 2016 Caucuses

4 | Greenlee Glimpse 2015

Director’s LetterLast year we let you know that the Greenlee

School—among the longest, continuously-accredited journalism and mass communication programs in the country—was preparing for re-accreditation. Re-accreditation gives us national status. About 450 colleges and universities offer formal programs in journalism and mass communications and about 1,000 institutions offer some training in these fields. But only 115 enjoy full accreditation.

We were among the first to be accredited in 1948 and have maintained that status continuously to this day.

We undergo re-accreditation every six years. For the past two years the Greenlee School prepared for our Oct. 25–28 site visit by a prestigious team of academics and practitioners. Peter Bhatia, editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer, was chair.

In the summer of 2015, we sent the team our self-study, assembled by the Greenlee School’s standing committees. We sought compliance in each of the nine standards that ensure our advertising, journalism and mass communication, and public relations majors are receiving a quality education.

The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication evaluates programs to affirm that its values and competencies are addressed. Those values and competencies include understanding media law, history and ethics; appreciating inclusivity and other forms of diversity; demonstrating and applying theoretical principles; thinking critically; writing correctly and clearly across media platforms; mastering basic numerical and statistical concepts; and using tools and technologies in the communication industries.

The site team had a busy schedule, meeting with faculty, students, staff, and college and university administrators. It investigated our

GovernanceThe Greenlee School is a model for effective leadership, shared governance and smart planning. It is led by an outstanding director who has taken the school to new heights.

CurriculumThe Greenlee School has been meticulous in ensuring that students receive a strong liberal arts and sciences education. … Students receive a balance of theoretical and skills class within the school.

DiversityIts student body has a higher percentage of ethnic minorities than the university or the state of Iowa. The curriculum and culture are inclusive of minority issues, events and discussion.

FacultyThe faculty members are dedicated, hard-working and respected by their colleagues across campus. They are committed to enhancing the program and preparing the students to become successful professionals upon graduation.

ScholarshipFaculty scholarship is plentiful and regular at Greenlee. Junior faculty report a supporting environment with clarity as to the path they should pursue to eventually gain tenure. Student ServicesThe site team found the academic and career advising systems, extracurricular activities and online presentation of data meet accreditation standards. Upon graduation, students are prepared for diverse careers in a rapidly evolving profession.

ResourcesIn fact, creative use of space is the norm at Greenlee. Two years ago, the school converted an open lab and reading room into a digital newsroom.

Public ServiceThe school regularly consults and communicates with alumni. It serves the professions and the public by reinforcing the principles of journalism and mass communication education. The school manages public events, community service projects and various scholastic journalism activities.

Assessment[The Greenlee School] has embraced assessment … including the crucial use of feedback to “close the loop,” thus improving, changing and evolving instruction.

ACEJMC site team’s accreditation report excerpts:

claims in the self-study and then used its final day at Greenlee to write its draft report.

Among the strengths of the school, the site team praised the leadership, the support of junior faculty, a demanding internship program, “off-the-chart” placement rates (almost 100 percent), faculty known for collegiality and quality instruction, and “motivated students who represent the school well across the campus and in the professions.”

The site team also said this about our self-study: “The self-study was outstanding, the result of a collaborative process that involved significant work in advance by faculty committees. It was printed and bound, making the site team’s work much easier. In addition, graphics and charts used extensive color. This was a model for doing it right.”

In sum, the Greenlee School was found in compliance on all nine standards. But our re-accreditation is not yet official. We’ll report on that in the next edition of the Glimpse.

For the moment, we are awaiting two more important meetings. One is scheduled March 19-20 in Chicago and another in early May. The Accrediting Committee reviews the self-study and site team report and makes a recommendation to the Accrediting Council. Then our status will be affirmed or modified.

Because we are going into these meetings with no non-compliances, we are optimistic about the rest of the process.

We are also optimistic about the future of the Greenlee School, whose enrollment has grown from about 600 students five years ago to 870 today—an increase of about 45 percent. We take pride in the accomplishments of our students, alumni, faculty and staff. Reading the pages that follow, you’ll be inspired by our students and your fellow alumni whose successes demonstrate the value of a Greenlee degree.

Greenlee School Director Michael Bugeja delivers the opening remarks at the 2016 Iowa Newspaper Association Convention awards banquet on Friday, Feb. 5. Photo by Matt Wettengel

To read Bugeja’s full State of the School, visit:www.greenlee.iastate.edu/DirectorsLetter15

https://www.greenlee.iastate.edu/state-school-2015%E2%80%9316


Student Media ExpansionThough the Iowa State Daily moved out of Hamilton Hall, students filled the void with two new magazines and a new club.

Year in Review

Contents

EDITOR IN CHIEF & DESIGNMatt Wettengel

Communication Specialist

PHOTOGRAPHERSThomas Huhnkesenior in JL MC

Dennis Chamberlinassociate professor

WRITERSNicole Onken

senior in public relationsKelsey Batscheletmaster’s student

JL MC 344 STUDENTSFront row: Viera Nguyen, Emily Eppens, Cassidy Fischer, Kate Kruse and Lauren

Grant; Back row: Jake Miller, Kaili Meyer, Haley Banwart, Whitney Pittman, Lauren

Vigar and Stephen Ortiz

Front row: Noelina Rissman, Makayla Tendall, Michaela Ramm, Jessi Wilson,

Bri Levandowski, Denisha Mixon, Ellery Lowry, Taylor Ward and Danielle

Ferguson; Middle row: Caitlin Deaver, Kyle Heim, Will Dodds, Rachel Vipond, Lindsay Hostert, John Kruse and Shawn Johnson; Top row: Hannah Marsh and Jeff Lechner

Glimpse Contributors

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A Picture Perfect 2015Looking back on a year of achievements, celebrations and new adventures.

Covering their Communities In small towns across the U.S., alumni are using their reporting skills to inform locals and facilitate public discussion.

A Political TraditionAlumni and students have a prominent place in coverage of presidential election with Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.

End of a Greenlee EraA 33-year fixture in Hamilton Hall, Eric Abbott transitions out of the classroom.

Class NotesCatch up with your fellow alumni, former classmates and faculty.

RemembrancesWe remember those we lost in 2015, including the pioneer of Greenlee’s PR degree, Karl Friederich.

Awaiting ReviewFollowing a successful accreditation site team visit, the school is on track to maintain its 68-year accredited status.

Chamberlin LectureABC’s Juju Chang shared her experiences as a reporter, political correspondent, news anchor, and advocate for women and equality.

Catching up with Faculty & StaffRead the latest from the award-winning Greenlee team and meet our newest faculty members.

18 Off the Air Former KCCI anchor Kevin Cooney reflects on his life as a storyteller.

Features

Alumni

Alyssa Ruttprogram coordinatorSPECIAL THANKS TO Deb Gibson

senior lecturer


Year in Review A Picture Perfect 2015

2015New funding

fuels FAD

Peterson’s inspiration honored

Ad class taps big data

Last minute funding from the Koch Foundation allowed the continuation of Iowa State’s nationally-recognized First Amendment Day celebration last spring. The event included a Feast on the First, featuring Fighting Burrito, and Gene Policinski, COO of the Newseum Institute and its First Amendment Center, delivered the keynote address on the First Amendment in the 21st Century.

Emeritus faculty member Dr. Jane Peterson received one of six 2015 Faculty/Staff Inspiration Awards from the ISU Alumni Association. The awards are nomination-based and designated for current or former faculty or staff who had a significant influence in students’ lives.

Greenlee faculty Jay Newell and Sherry Berghefer created a new “Computational Communication” advertising course, where students learn how to use live, changing data to drive ad content. “We are helping students get ahead of the competition so when they get their first job, they’ll know how to create an ad that uses data,” Newell said. The course returned and is being offered this spring.

Alumni pen book of musts for ISU fansAlex Halsted, ‘14, who covers ISU athletics for the Scout Media Network, and Dylan Montz, ‘14, sports reporter for the Cedar Rapid Gazette, co-authored “100 Things Iowa State Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” The book was released last September and makes a perfect gift for any Cyclones fan. It can be purchased through Amazon.

IN PHOTOS

Read a story on Newell’s innovative new class online, at: https://alumni.las.iastate.edu/2015/12/11/this-ads-for-you/

Photos by MATT WETTENGEL

https://alumni.las.iastate.edu/2015/12/11/this-ads-for-you/


Year in Review A Picture Perfect 2015

Greenlees receive Schwartz Award

Lieutenant Gov. critiques students’ ad campaigns

In October, Greenlee School Director Michael Bugeja presented Diane and Bob Greenlee with the 2015 James W. Schwartz Award. The award is the school’s highest honor and recognizes distinguished service to journalism. “Diane and I were both astonished and extremely humbled. Our sincere thanks and gratitude goes out to all those who made this honor possible.”

Iowa Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds visited Catherine Huggins’s fall advertising campaigns course to observe and critique the class’s final client presentations. Huggins’s students developed campaigns for Iowa Women Lead Change, Iowa’s premier leadership organization for women, a group Reynolds actively supports.

Photo by DE

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February 13

Making its first trip to Ames, ESPN’s “College GameDay” show dominated the floor prior to the ISU men’s basketball game against conference rival Kansas, resulting in a Cyclone victory.

ESPN’s “College GameDay” Visits Hilton Coliseum: The former home of the agriculture

and biosystems engineering department was demolished during spring semester. Fortunately, much of its interior and exterior was repurposed or recycled. During summer semester a temporary parking lot was built where the building stood for 93 years.

Davidson Hall Demolition Begins:

By STEPHEN ORTIZ and MATT WETTENGEL

Photos by the Iowa State Daily, ISU News Service

Awaiting Final Accreditation ResultsAfter a successful site team visit in October, the school will receive its accreditation status in May

With its tradition of maintaining a high standard of education excellence, it’s not surprising that the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication has held professional accreditation since in 1948.

And in 2015, faculty and staff at Greenlee worked to continue that decades-old tradition as the school reached the six-year benchmark for reaccreditation.

A higher education program only receives reaccreditation when it maintains certain standards, and to director Michael Bugeja, it is the most valuable status any journalism and mass communication program can achieve. Since 1948, the school has received continuous accreditation from the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC), which sent a review team to Hamilton Hall Oct. 25–28.

During the October visit, the site team studied the school and drafted a report based on the nine ACEJMC standards.

Before the team stepped foot on campus, the school composed a comprehensive self-study report that encompasses the school’s activities over the accreditation period, including its mission, accomplishments and plans for the future.

During the site team’s visit members reviewed the self-study, visited with faculty and administrators across campus and prepared their own report recommending compliance on each of the nine standards and continuation of accreditation. Their recommendation was made to the ACEJMC Accrediting Committee and Council. The Committee will vote in March concerning the team’s recommendations and the Council will provide a final vote in May.

In her role as program coordinator, Alyssa Rutt helped to complete the self-study and prepared the school for the site team visit. She said there are nine standards a school must meet, including an inclusive and diverse curriculum, an environment that supports and rewards faculty research and innovation, and assessment practices that measure student learning and outcomes.

The process is significant, Rutt said, because it is important for school officials to know their current methods are fulfilling high standards. She said it is a very reflective process and an opportunity for improvement.

“For Greenlee, I think it’s not only important to keep up that tradition, but to keep that promise to our students that we are going to continually look at what we’re doing and to continually assess the learning environment they’re a part of from every angle to make sure students are getting the best experience possible,” Rutt said.

Bugeja agreed, “We’re not afraid of criticisms, because it will inspire change to help students and the industry more.

“I am confident that I am serving in one of the best journalism schools in the country, so I look forward accreditation in the same way a student looks forward to the final grade,” he said.

With the site team’s recommendation of no non-compliances and continuation of accreditation, the Greenlee School is in the best position possible heading into the Accrediting

By MICHAELA RAMMPhoto by MATT WETTENGEL

Year in Review Awaiting Review

2015 IOWA STATETIMELINE

January 17

Former professor Tom Beell guest lectures on broadcast journalism in Eric Abbott’s 201 course.

Greenlee’s accreditation timelineOctober 2015: Site team visits the Greenlee School and prepares the Site Visit Report

December 2015: Site Visit Report is finalized and submitted to ACEJMC Executive Director

March 2016: ACEJMC Committee reviews the Site Visit Report and votes on accreditation status based on the site team’s recommendation.

May 2016: ACEJMC Council reviews the Site Visit Report and ACEJMC Committee gives the final vote on accreditation status.

May 2016: Official accreditation status is granted. The Council will grant one of three statuses: accreditation, provisional accreditation or denial.

Committee and Council meetings in March and May.


March 7

For the fourth year, the Greenlee School hosted the annual statewide spelling bee finals. Zander Reed, from Ames Area Home Schoolers, won the competition for the third consecutive year after 49 rounds by correctly spelling the word “lokshen.”

Greenlee Hosts Iowa Final of the Scripps National Spelling Bee:

Year in Review Awaiting Review

Varad Diwate, a senior majoring in journalism and mass communication and minoring in political science, was the 2015 winner of the Hugh S. Sidey Scholarship in Print Journalism and the award’s first international recipient.

The award, honoring the late Greenlee alumnus Hugh Sidey, ‘50, commemorates Sidey’s decades-long career covering the U.S. Presidency for TIME magazine. Diwate’s winning essay focused on “Finding the Voice in the White House.”

“I am interested in how journalism and politics intersect,” Diwate said. “I found that the topic of the essay was just looking for that intersection.”

Since childhood, Diwate has incorporated politics into his life, both in his native India and now in Ames. “It gives me a broad perspective, looking at different issues,” Diwate said.

He develops those perspectives through his involvement on campus. Diwate works as a reporter for the Iowa State Daily, feature editor for Ethos magazine, community adviser for the ISU Department of Residence, international student ambassador and staff member for Veritas, a new student political magazine.

“My general interest is in reading and knowing more about the social and political worlds,” he explained.

Dr. Michael Bugeja, director of Greenlee School, said it was a very close competition for this year’s Sidey Scholar selection, but the judges are proud of choosing Diwate.

“In the end, it seemed he did more research and not only wrote well but had some prominent research that really made a case for Hugh Sidey’s impact on society,” Bugeja said. “He knew his subject, and he researched it to inform people who read it. I was so informed reading his work.”

Diwate received the $5,000 Hugh Sidey Scholarship, as well as an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. His trip involved visits to several media outlets and attending a briefing in the White House Press Briefing

Room, which he says was a highlight. Following the briefing he was able to meet with White House correspondents from various news outlets and get their perspectives on covering the presidency.

“I found the experience to be a unique learning opportunity,” Diwate explained. “You read from those sources, you listen to them, you watch them. It was a different experience to go behind the scenes and see how they function.”

Diwate’s story is featured on the White House Historical Association’s website, and will continue with updates throughout his career. He hopes to someday live in a city with a political capital or political institution, and plans to report on cultural, political and economic news.

Sidey Scholarship Sends Diwate Behind the ScenesBy DENISHA MIXON

After 10 years of connecting Greenlee alumni digitally and in Iowa, the school’s Alumni and Friends Group is working to strengthen its presence nationally.

The group works as a networking tool for Greenlee alumni and friends of the school and has a leadership board based in Des Moines. Their latest plan of action involves coordinating with alumni in other major U.S. cities with sizable populations of Greenlee graduates.

“We are excited to begin expanding Greenlee Alumni & Friends regionally,” said Emily Caropreso, chair of the Greenlee Alumni and Friends group. “Through our We Are Greenlee online community and face-to-face events, we are helping alumni stay connected to Greenlee no matter where they are located.”

The group has already identified alumni in New York City and Boston who are interested in coordinating events for Greenlee graduates and are continuing their search for alumni in other major media markets.

Carrie Boyd is a 2009 Greenlee graduate living in Des Moines, where she works as an associate food editor at the Meredith Corporation. Boyd has served on the Greenlee Alumni and Friends board since July 2013 and currently serves as vice chair.

“I can vouch for the amazing opportunities Greenlee Alumni and Friends has given me to reconnect with old classmates, meet and network with alumni and feel more connected to Greenlee and Iowa State since I graduated,” Boyd says.

If you are interested in coordinating Alumni and Friends events in your region, please contact Emily Caropreso.

Alumni & Friends Group Working to Spread PresenceBy MATT WETTENGEL

As the 2015 Sidey scholar, Diwate received behind-the-scenes tours of several D.C.-based media outlets including The Associated Press, Washington Post and NBC’s Meet the Press.

Des Moines - Emily Caropreso, [email protected]

New York City - Teresa Krug, [email protected]

Boston - Trey Hemmingsen, [email protected]

Regional contacts


March 26

After an extensive search, Beth McNeil was named dean of the Parks Library, effective July 15. Parks Library recently ranked 16 on CollegeRank.net’s list of The 50 Most Amazing College Libraries.

University Names NewLibrary Dean:

April 23

This spring crews placed a new 120-foot self-weathering bridge over the Squaw Creek on Veenker Memorial Golf Course. The original bridge was built in 1938 but experienced structural failure in November 2014. The new bridge accommodates both golf carts and utility vehicles.

Original Veenker Memorial Golf Course Bridge Replaced:

organization is going.”Throughout his one-and-a-half years back

working at the Daily, Cunningham has worked with ISU administrators to stake out new roles for the Daily at the university. While the media group’s primary focus will still be on strengthening the Iowa State Daily as a news product, the group’s move came with the launch of a new student-run creative services agency.

Dubbed the Model Farm, a name that pays homage to the university’s origins — Iowa State was originally named the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm — this agency will offer photo, video and graphic design services; content creation and marketing services; and copy- and PR-writing services, among others, to businesses, ISU departments, campus organizations and other groups.

“Our goal is to cultivate creativity here and grow the next generation of business leaders through the experiential learning programs,” Cunningham said. “The new space is going to allow us to have some additional opportunities in the academic realm that we don’t have today—the ability to serve a wider cross-section of Iowa State students, which is important to us.”

The new, nearly 8,000 square foot space is almost four times the size of 108 Hamilton and features an open floor plan, which will make it easier for students to work individually or in teams, says Mark Witherspoon, the Daily’s editorial adviser. Being in a new building, the space will have all new furniture and amenities. Computers are the only things that came with the Daily to its new space.

This move wouldn’t have been feasible without the support of the university, which has footed the cost of the Daily’s new facility and their moving expenses. For Dr. Thomas Hill, vice president of student affairs, the university’s investment speaks to the importance that the university administration sees in having a student newspaper on campus.

But with that support, Cunningham says, comes higher expectations for the Daily staff and the work that they produce. To him and the staff, it’s an exciting challenge.

“The feeling we get is that if people are investing this much in us, they must believe in us,” said Ferguson. “People are just excited and I’m excited to prove that we’re worth it.”

Since her freshman year, Danielle Ferguson, senior in journalism and mass communication, has called Hamilton Hall her home away from home. Between the many Greenlee classes she’s taken and her job as the editor in chief of the Iowa State Daily, Ferguson estimates she spends at least 12 hours in Hamilton every weekday.

That all changed in the final week of the fall 2015 semester, when the student newspaper emptied its office in Hamilton Hall—where it has been housed since 1940, when the Collegiate Press Building (now Hamilton Hall) opened—and moved to a new and larger office space in the recently-erected Kingland building in Campustown, on the corner of Lincoln Way and Welch Ave.

“We love our old space, it’s our little home away from home, but I think we’ve definitely outgrown it,” Ferguson said.

The Daily’s transition to a brand new space has been but a dream for the students and professional employees who work on one of the largest student newspaper staffs in the nation. It also follows another change in the organization, a transition from the Iowa State Daily to the Iowa

Story and photo by MATT WETTENGEL

Iowa State Daily transitions to ISD Media Group, Campustown

Iowa State Daily Editor-in-Chief Danielle Ferguson talks with Engagement Editor Madison Arnold in the Daily’s new newsroom at 2420 Lincoln Way in the Kingland building.

State Daily Media Group, a move which took effect last July, at the beginning of the ‘15-16 fiscal year.

The ISD Media Group is the brainchild of Lawrence Cunningham, ‘03, publisher and general manager of the Iowa State Daily Media Group, and the fruition of his efforts to diversify the organization.

“It gives us a lot more flexibility still and so we’re starting to see that based on the ideas we’re coming up with and where we want to go and customers are valuing that vision a lot more,” Cunningham said.

With the organization’s move to Campustown, his vision finally seems to be manifesting itself.

“Ultimately, it’s not about leaving Hamilton Hall, it’s about moving to a space that allows us to better serve our students,” Cunningham said. “Our new space will have a photography and videography studio in it; it’ll have conference rooms and board rooms; it just adds the legitimacy to the vision and the direction that the

Year in Review Student Organizations

Find out what’s planned for the Daily’s old space in Hamilton Hall online at:www.greenlee.iastate.edu/ISDmove

https://www.greenlee.iastate.edu/news/2015/fall/iowa-state-daily-moves-new-campustown-office


hope readers learn from the struggles of others and apply that knowledge to their own lives.”

Meyer said starting a new publication is much like starting a business, but she is confident her passionate team will help students “be excited to be alive” after reading her magazine.

Lissandra Villa, senior in journalism and mass communication, is the editor-in-

May 11 May 25

To accommodate the quickly growing student population, a new residence hall was approved to sit east of the original Buchanan dormitory. Breaking ground in May 2015 and opening in spring 2017, Buchanan 2 will feature eight stories and house 784 students.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded ISU $20 million to establish the Center for Statistics in Application and Forensic Evidence, which will focus research on pattern evidence, including fingerprints and bullet marks, and digital evidence, including data from cell phones and computers. The center was approved by the Iowa Board of Regents at their October 2015 meeting and will be the third of its kind in the U.S.

Construction Begins on Buchanan Hall 2:

Grant Received to Establish Forensic Science Center of Excellence on Campus:

chief of “Veritas,” a magazine that Villa hopes will serve as a resource for students interested in law and politics. This year’s content will mainly focus on the 2016 presidential election.

Even if readers do not have a direct interest in politics, Villa hopes her publication allows them to at least be informed about the world around them.

“Law and politics will touch everyone’s lives at some point,” Villa said. “You can’t just run away from it. Instead, you must learn to pay attention to the world around you and make sense of it.”

Calling “Veritas” her “experiment,” Villa hopes her team can play the roles of journalist, interpreter and teacher when discussing the importance of law and politics with their readers.

in multiple disciplines,” Munger Oakes said. “Not just journalism, not just advertising, but, at the student level, speech communication.”

Kennedy Graham, a senior in public relations, jumped on the opportunity when Munger Oakes suggested she act as president of the group. Graham dedicated significant hours last summer to gaining ISU and national organizational approval for the chapter. In the end, she said she believes it will create an outlet ISU doesn’t

Two new student magazines hope to revive conversations about health and politics – topics that can often be contentious, as well as pushed to the wayside, for college students.

Kaili Meyer, junior in journalism and mass communication, is the editor-in-chief of “Happy Strong Healthy,” a magazine focused on mental and physical well-being. The publication will cover a spectrum of topics, including students’ stories of mental and physical issues and how to live healthier lives, in general.

“Everything revolves around health,” Meyer said. “If you’re not mentally well, you’re not going to be physically well. They go hand in hand. I

There are still issues to work through when it comes to women in communications professions.

According to Dr. Michael Bugeja, Greenlee school director, some of these lingering issues include the emphasis on women’s appearances, equality of pay and women being hired for executive positions in the workforce.

“I think it’s important to have [the Association of Women Communicators] in the Greenlee School because a majority of our majors are women,” Bugeja said. “I think these issues have reasonable answers, but those reasonable answers shouldn’t come from me or another club. It should come from women in communications.”

Bugeja said that when he asked Lisa Munger Oakes, a Greenlee lecturer, if she would be interested in starting a professional network for women in communications-related fields, she quickly stepped up and took the initiative.

The AWC is a national organization geared both toward student and professional chapters. Each student chapter in the nation provides communication-major students with resources they can carry with them into the working world.

“The mission of the organization is to provide professional-level and student chapter affiliates for the advancement of women in communications

By EMILY EPPENSPhoto by MATT WETTENGEL

By EMILY EPPENS

Students start Association for Women in Communications chapter

Niche Magazines Debut on Campus

Lecturer Lisa Munger Oakes advises the new Association for Women in Communications chapter.

Year in Review Student Organizations

already offer women students. “This group is important because the

communications field is in an evolutionary era and we want to help put women at the forefront and have a forum for them to talk,” Graham said.

The chapter held its kickoff event Oct. 13, which was attended by over 70 students from a wide variety of ISU majors. The group plans to hold monthly meetings focused on topics that will help women enter the communications industry.

1VERITAS | Fall 2015

VERITASFALL 2015 | Issue One

https://issuu.com/happystrongandhealthymagazine/docs/hsh_magazine_vol1_final

https://issuu.com/greenlee-school/docs/veritas_final_print


June 8 June 30

After four successful years at Murray State, Steve Prohm comes to Ames with the hopes of continuing both his winning tradition and building on the legacy of former coach Fred Hoiberg, who accepted the head coaching position with the NBA’s Chicago Bulls on June 2.

The university announced that it had garnered a record amount of external funding—$424.9 million to be exact. Over half of the funding was used to support research projects across campus. The previous record was $388.2 million in fiscal year 2010. “This record funding is testimony to the confidence that government agencies, industry, foundations and individuals have in the expertise of our faculty and staff,” said Steven Leath, president of Iowa State.

Steve Prohm Hired as Men’s Basketball Head Coach:

Iowa State Breaks External Funding Record:

$424.9 million

The Coke can sat in the middle of the desk, oddly out of place on the otherwise organized platform. Her legs crossed, Greenlee Lecturer Lisa Munger Oakes sat near the edge of her seat, excitement clearly reflected in her eyes. She was ready to dish details on her newest Greenlee endeavor: leading the journalism learning community.

This program provides a strong foundation for incoming freshmen journalism students. The group meets monthly throughout the semester to talk news, participate in field trips to news outlets in the Ames and Des Moines Metro areas and listen to a variety of journalism professionals.

Freshman Felicia DaCosta said she thought the learning community would serve her well in her future as well as aid her in making new friends. She said she believes Munger Oakes will be a valuable resource to her in her journalism career.

“She’s great, she’s been so much help,” DaCosta said. “It seemed to me that it was right to be where I would get to write.”

Classes are set in advance by Munger Oakes for the entirety of the students’ freshmen year. The program is open to journalism-specific majors only and is offered to freshmen when they originally register for classes.

Courses Munger Oakes has picked for the learning community’s foundational year include journalism orientation, introduction to reporting and writing and introduction to world religions, for a diversity perspective.

“Part of my responsibility is to make sure these students are lit on fire for journalism,” Munger Oakes said. “I think being a journalist is the best job in the world—I think it’s fantastic. I want to keep them fired up about that and connect them with resources right away.”

By EMILY EPPENS

By HANNAH MARSHPhotos by THOMAS HUHNKE and MATT WETTENGEL

Learning community prepares fresh reporters

She confidently strolled into The Knoll wearing heels that made my calves hurt at the thought and chatting like she had known her driver for years. She exuded a presence that immediately put the room of freshmen at ease—and if it’s been awhile since your college years, let me remind you that’s no small feat.

“I wish I had been less afraid of not getting good grades, and more exploratory throughout college,” Juju Chang, Emmy award-winning journalist and ABC “Nightline” news anchor, told the new college attendees.

As she moved from topics that ranged from her fascination of emotional intelligence to her adoration of Pope Francis, her hands gestured with every sentence, as if words did no justice to the important messages she was trying to convey.

By Hannah Marsh

Year in Review Chamberlin Lecture

Chamberlin Lecture brings ABC’s Juju Chang

After transitioning from a nationally ranked swimmer at age 12 to a “has-been” at age 16, Chang threw herself into academics and extracurricular activities. While she initially majored in engineering in college as an aspiring Steve Jobs, Chang admitted to receiving a score of 27 percent on her first physics exam while simultaneously falling in love with a political science class – a semester that led to her switch into the latter major.

At Chang’s insistence, the students took turns asking questions, from her most interesting interview (“For you guys, I would say Nicki Minaj”) to an inquiry into her appreciation of all human beings as individuals.

“Talent will get you places,” she expressed. “But at some point, you need to learn to make


influence on young ISU female journalists. “Her example shows that it doesn’t matter

where you come from, but that if you apply yourself and ask the right questions, you can set out to make a difference,” explained Cozma.

“Good evening!” Chang welcomed the audience while gliding toward the podium.

“I’m surprised to see so many people here on a school night just to hear a girl talk for an

hour.” This, from the woman who just the day before had a casual sit down with Tom Hanks and Stephen Spielberg.

Over the next hour, Chang explored topics centered around her speech, “The Presidential Campaign – A Search for Meaning.” She spoke on the perception of journalists in today’s society, encouraging others to think of them as our nation’s watchdogs instead of paparazzi and stalkers, as well as the political bubble that Iowans find themselves every four years.

nice with people.”As the sun began to cast an evening glow

over the room, Chang leaned over and turned on the lamp on the end table next to her.

“It’s a daily, hourly struggle,” she replied honestly to the young girl’s question on balancing three kids, a husband and a full time career.

Chang spoke on her long distance relationship from San Francisco to New York City during her engagement, and then from Washington, D.C. during their first year of marriage. She touched on the baseball games that get missed during her trips around the world, and of her desire for her sons to learn to do things for themselves, and not for their parents’ approval.

“It’s the hardest thing I do – to balance.”

In the weeks before the 8th annual Chamberlin Lecture, the Greenlee School was buzzing. In fact, since the Twitter announcement last January that ABC News “Nightline” co-anchor and Emmy Award winner Juju Chang was the 2015 lecturer, professional and amateur journalists alike on Iowa State University’s campus eagerly anticipated her arrival.

Chang’s professional endeavors as a reporter, political correspondent, news anchor, and resilient advocate for women and equality have kept her on network television for 28 years (“I use a fantastic anti-aging cream.”) Chang also credits her strong family (her parents immigrated from Seoul, South Korea) for her success.

Raluca Cozma, associate professor, chair of the Greenlee School diversity committee and advisory board member of The Archives of Women’s Political Communication in the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, was especially enthusiastic to see Chang’s

Chang spent most of the evening discussing recent controversies between presidential candidates and analyzing leadership differences between them.

“We have so demonized the idea of being a politician, that 51 percent of Republicans want to give outsiders a shot,” Chang guffawed. “It’s the only job where it’s considered good to have no experience actually doing the job – and it’s arguably the most powerful position in the world.”

So what do we truly want from our leaders? Chang questioned.

Pope Francis, she pointed out, is wildly popular, universally viewed as a man of integrity, and 60 percent of Americans consider themselves “Francis Fans.”

“His leadership qualities are what people are looking for in a leader,” she contended.

If she was fazed by the line of students that trailed to the back of the room after she concluded her lecture, all wanting their fifteen seconds of face time, she sure didn’t show it. If the thought of her 6 a.m. flight the next morning ever crossed her mind, it wasn’t ever apparent in her conversations or in her contemplation of an invitation to end the night at Taco Tuesday.

As the cleanup crew began clattering and folding chairs and some straggling students grabbed the final few cookies, Chang made her way over to the bags she had set against the wall. She slung them over her shoulder and finished up a conversation with some young women as she made her way out the double doors. Six hours later, nothing had changed.

She wrapped up their discussion as if she were saying goodbye to old friends, while my calves continued to empathetically throb as she walked off campus in those same, confident strides that she arrived at Iowa State with.

July 31

The 2015 Formula Sun Grand Prix, a solar car race, was won by Iowa State’s Team PrISUm. The team also recorded the fastest lap during the three-day race that led to its first overall

victory. PrISUm competed against 14 other teams

in Austin, Texas, at the Circuit of the Americas.

Team PrISUm Earns First Victory:

August 5

The Iowa Board of Regents gave the green light to the construction of an Iowa State Student Innovation Center, approving $40 million in funding between FY 17–20. The center is a joint project between the Colleges of Engineering and Design that will replace the Nuclear Engineering Laboratory and part of old Sweeney Hall. The new space will provide students with a modern space to work on class and extracurricular projects with tangible and physical outcomes.

Iowa State Student Innovation Center Approved:

Year in Review Chamberlin Lecture

Above: Chang poses for a photo with Margy Chamberlin, sponsor of the Chamberlin Lecture series.


September 5

In February 2014, the bowl-in of the south end zone of Jack Trice Stadium was approved and was finished in time for the Cyclones’ first 2015 home game against UNI on Sept. 5. The roughly $60 million project increased the capacity of the stadium from 54,800 to 61,500.

Jack Trice Stadium South End Zone Addition Debuts:

August 24

After a long summer of construction, the historic Hub now has an updated patio. The patio offers seat walls, an accessible ramp, tables with umbrellas and a shade canopy.

New Hub Patio Opens:

Year in Review New Courses

Hemmingsen honored for connecting alumni

Just four short years ago, Trey Hemmingsen, ’11, was an Iowa State student majoring in advertising and working at the Iowa State Daily as an advertising account representative. Today the Greenlee School grad is one of the most involved members of the Iowa State Alumni Association, who devotes a substantial amount of time to his time to strengthening Iowa State’s alumni network.

This year Hemmingsen received the Iowa State Alumni Association’s James A. Hopson Alumni Volunteer Award, for his leadership in alumni-related activities. “It’s a great honor; the Alumni Association is a great organization I enjoy giving my time to,” Hemmingsen says.

Hemmingsen got his start with the ISU Alumni Association when he moved to Denver, Colorado, for his first job after graduation. His friend was the president of the Denver association at the time, and he got involved in events as the club’s marketing coordinator.

Upon moving to Boston for a new job, he found the same alumni support network wasn’t available. “I really wanted to keep that going,” says Hemmingsen.

With over 1,000 Iowa State alumni in the

By NICOLE ONKEN

New Course Prepares Students for Careers in Sports Communication

Who wouldn’t love courtside tickets for their favorite college basketball team? Beth Haag’s passion for sports has led not only to a career reporting those sports, but also swell seats for Cyclone basketball.

And recently, Haag, a lecturer since 2005, shared her passion for all things athletics via a new undergraduate course she created for Greenlee students, “Sports and Media.” “There was a need and that’s my background,” said Haag.

The goal of her new class is to teach students to apply their Greenlee-learned skills -- interviewing and article writing -- to an athletic setting and to learn to network themselves as sports reporters.

By JAKE MILLERPhoto by THOMAS HUHNKE

Boston area alone, he wanted to give them a place to meet up and keep them engaged with their alma mater. In 2014 he founded and became president of the ISU Alumni Association Club of Boston. The club hosts events like ISU football and basketball game watches and other networking events.

Along with his leadership role in the Boston club, Hemmingsen is also an active member of the Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Council. The Council’s mission is to build the nation’s largest active young alumni base. Most recently, he was selected to serve as the Council’s vice chair, because of his successful outreach efforts.

Haag, ’89, M.A. ’95, began working in sports media in high school as the sports editor of Des Moines Hoover High’s newspaper. While an ISU journalism undergraduate, she assisted with

public relations for the ISU Athletic Department. In time, she was employed fulltime with ISU athletics, handling PR for both the women’s and men’s basketball teams.

After seven years with the men’s basketball team, Haag began working for Wells Fargo.

Not interested in leaving her sports expertise behind, Haag soon was working as a freelance television producer for sports shows such as ESPN Regional. Haag left Wells Fargo for the Greenlee School, and is now in her 11th year also teaching visual communication and public relations writing.

A quick look around Haag’s office makes it clear she is a diehard sports fan, from her fervor for the Chicago Cubs to Iowa State basketball.

“It’s who I am, more so than anything I’ve ever taught,” said Haag.

His efforts this year will focus on an ambassador program that ties members to their local clubs, as well as the main ISU Alumni Association. The Council also cross-promotes career services, networking events, memberships and clubs with the ISU Alumni Association to alumni returning for Homecoming, and also during Senior Sendoff.

As a student, Hemmingsen was heavily involved in the Iowa State Daily, as well as the Iowa State Ad Club. He credits much of his career experience to these organizations and looks forward to continuing his involvement with the Alumni Association.

Trey Hemmingsen, left, helps organize ISU alumni events in Boston, like the Iowa game-watch party pictured right. Photos courtesy of Trey Hemmingsen.


September 9 September 9

The retirements of Dr. Thomas Hill, senior vice president of Student Affairs, Pamela White, dean of the College of Human Sciences, and Paul Tanaka, University Counsel, were announced at the Iowa Board of Regents meeting. All three will retire from their positions by the end of the 2015-16 school year.

Fall 2015 marked the seventh consecutive year of record enrollment for Iowa State University. Increasing 3.7 percent, or 1,269 students, the student body represents every Iowa county, every U.S. state, and 118 countries. Overall, the enrollment at Iowa State has grown by 40 percent over the past decade.

Hill, White, Tanaka Retirements Announced to Board of Regents:

36,001:

Hill White Tanaka

Year in Review New Courses

Lengthening their stayStudents opt-in for semester-long abroad in Urbino, ItalyBy NOELINA RISSMAN

Graduate students explore digital divide

Western perspectives and Ghanian viewpoints on the impact of the global digital divide spurred conversations during an international online collaboration between Greenlee graduate students in Professor Daniela Dimitrova’s Communication Technology and Social Change course and students at the University of Ghana in Accra.

Dimitrova organized the event with her former student Etse Sikanku, a 2008 graduate of Greenlee’s master’s program and assistant professor at the University of Ghana.

“It was so rewarding to see one of my former students now teaching his own master’s class at the leading university in Ghana,” said Dimitrova. “It felt like deja vu having Etse’s class involved in this online collaboration since he helped me set up a similar international activity when he was here in Greenlee.”

A shared blog facilitated the students’ conversations around a series of discussion questions concerning the global digital divide, a social issue which refers to the disparities between access to information resources, such as the internet and computers, across the globe.

“It was a very unique experience for me because I could relate the digital divide that my people in Nepal face with that of the students from Ghana,” said Amir Joshi, a first-year Greenlee graduate student from Nepal. “Also, it was quite a shock to know that there is a technological barrier here in the U.S. as well.”

Greenlee students and Ghanian students discussed the impact of technology on developing countries, the importance of mobile money transfers and how nations can address the global digital divide.

“As professors, we always look for opportunities to apply what we learn in the classroom to a real-world setting,” said Dimitrova. “The topic of the digital divide provided such an opportunity for my class this semester. The students not only broadened their horizons to see the dimensions of the digital divide globally, but also heard first-hand how technology and region impact the personal and professional lives of their student counterparts.”

By KELSEY BATSCHELET

While their ISU peers bundle up and skate across campus, 15 Iowa State students are training their lenses on La Dolce Vita.

The Greenlee School is offering a new, semester-long program in Urbino, Italy, starting in spring 2016. Associate Professor Dennis Chamberlin has led a month-long multimedia reporting course in Urbino each summer since 2010; however, students can now study courses focused on multimedia and the Renaissance, a topic that suits Urbino well.

“If you’re going to study the art of the Renaissance, why not go to the places where it still stands instead of looking at it in books or PowerPoints or slide shows?” asks Chamberlin. “There are these great opportunities to go places that normally you’d only hear about in history books.”

After a month of intensive Italian language classes at the University of Urbino, students will enroll in classes in Renaissance art history, literature and political thought, as well as a multimedia reporting course taught by Chamberlin. This course will require students to report on and write stories while incorporating photojournalism and video production.

Students will combine their classroom experience with what they learn on trips to cities like Florence, Siena and Rome, for an affordable

program comparable in cost to in-state tuition, Chamberlin says.

“It’s a great opportunity for students to go and combine their classroom work with actually being in the places where it happened, and at the same time, not busting the bank because I think that’s important. Nobody needs more student debt.”

For Jonathan Laczniak, junior in journalism and mass communication, studying abroad is more than a change in scenery for the semester.

“I am also just excited to have the experience of living in Europe,” he said. “It’s definitely something I’ve always wanted to at least try for a short time, and this is clearly the best opportunity I have for it at the moment. People also always tell me that now is the time to do stuff like this and go on adventures, and an adventure sounds nice right now.”

Follow these students’ adventuresThe class’s Instagram account, which they update with photos and videos from their semester abroad.

@cyclonesinUrbino

https://www.instagram.com/cyclonesinUrbino/


Greenlee Welcomes

Dara Wald, assistant professor

Kelly Winfrey, assistant professor

Dara Wald always knew she wanted to work in education, but didn’t pinpoint in what capacity until she was enrolled in graduate school.

“[Graduate school] allows you to do more advanced work when you work with college-aged students,” Wald explained. That experience not only fueled her desire to teach, but uncovered her passion for research as well.

“I discovered how much I loved research. I loved teaching through my research and using my research as examples,” Wald said of her studies, which include work on environmental and science communication, risk communication, collaborative decision making, natural resource conflict and collaboration, network governance and environmental policy.

Wald earned her undergraduate degree in biology (with a minor in theater) from Brandeis University in 2004. She remained in Boston for a time, working as a senior program educator and grant coordinator for the New England Aquarium and as an environmental justice intern

By LAUREN GRANT

for Alternatives for Community and Environment. From there she attended the University of Florida where she earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in wildlife ecology and conservation. Arizona State University was her last stop where she was a postdoctoral scholar for two years until moving to Ames in 2015.

Wald was drawn to Greenlee and Iowa State because of the university’s emphasis on research and the abundance of professors devoted to providing an outstanding education for their students.

“It was so important for me to be in a place that does both well and prioritizes both,” said Wald. “I looked at the faculty ratings of the Greenlee School and they are through the roof; they are fantastic. That’s important to me.”

Last fall, her first semester at Iowa State, Wald taught a graduate course in risk communication. She looks forward to teaching both graduate and undergraduate science communication and technology courses.

Politics. It’s what initially drew Kelly Winfrey to Iowa State to work with the Carrie Chapman Catt Center, where she heads up the Ready to Run Campaign, helping women enter politics.

Transitioning in August into the role of assistant professor at the Greenlee School only seemed natural to Winfrey, where she says she’s found a “home” among accepting and exciting colleagues.

Working on bridging the gender gap in politics, Winfrey draws inspiration from strong-willed women who came before her.

“That’s kind of motivating, these people who say ‘you know what, I’m going to do this anyway’,” said Winfrey, referring to women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a leading figure of the

By KAILI MEYER

early women’s rights movement.Already impressed by Iowa State’s student

engagement in the classroom and on campus, Winfrey hopes to inspire her students to use critical thinking skills in relation to the messages they’re exposed to by the media, such as advertisements, political ads and television.

Winfrey teaches both a publicity methods class and one on women in leadership. She likes to mix things up and keep her students engaged, making sure to always provide real-world examples and relevant, exciting information.

Though she finds research to be riveting (“I would even call that sometimes a hobby”), Winfrey also loves a good crime show and curling up with a thriller. Her most recent favorite is “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins.

Though she loves teaching and conducting research, Winfrey could see herself on the other side, perhaps holding her own office someday. Somewhere down the road she may run for something more local, maybe a city council seat.

Although moving from her home state

October 15 October 29

President Leath announced that Dr. Reginald Stewart would serve as the university’s first vice president for diversity and inclusion. The position was first recommended in 2013 from the Jackson Consulting Firm and the ISU Status of Women 2014 Report. Stewart will serve as the University’s Chief Diversity Officer and advise senior leadership about strategic diversity planning efforts that advance Iowa State’s mission and vision.

The Thielen Student Health Center finally named its next director, Erin Baldwin, COO for the Mahaska Health Partnership in Oskaloosa. In this role, Baldwin will be tasked with strategic planning for the student health, focusing on patient access and critical care needs. Baldwin assumed the position on January 4, 2016.

VP for Diversity and Inclusion Named: Health Center Director Named:

Year in Review New Faculty

of Kansas to Iowa wasn’t a huge change in geographic location, Winfrey has found her niche.

“You want to be here,” said Winfrey, referring to Iowa State University, her new home.

Photo by THOMAS HUHNKE

Photo by MATT WETTENGEL


A Greenlee graduate himself, Aronsen has returned to Iowa State University to complete his master’s degree. While working toward his master’s, he is also teaching two classes,

A Drake University senior patiently waited outside her faculty adviser’s office. Dr. Henry Milam was running late that day, and the student’s gaze shifted to a job posting hung on a nearby bulletin board. It advertised an internship at the governor’s office in Des Moines.

That will be a competitive interview process, the public relations major thought. And despite having three internships under her belt, she applied to gain more experience interviewing.

During the final interview, Gov. Terry Branstad reached out his hand and said, “Catherine, welcome to the team.”

“I joke about this,” said Catherine Huggins, a new lecturer in the Greenlee School. “If my professor wasn’t late that day, it would have changed the whole direction of my career.”

Her career started at Drake University where Huggins graduated with a bachelor’s degree

in journalism and mass communication after majoring in public relations. She later graduated with an MBA with an emphasis in marketing from the University of Iowa.

Today, along with lecturing, Huggins is the executive vice president of Huggins Consulting Group, a virtual marketing communications agency she started in 2009 with her husband, Jeff Huggins.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Huggins held a variety of positions including chief speechwriter and deputy press secretary to Gov. Branstad; chief adviser to Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds; and assistant vice president of corporate communications at Western & Southern Financial Group, a Fortune 500 company. For her, being a lecturer is “icing on the cake.”

Huggins is a lecturer for public relations and advertising courses including research and strategic planning, public relations writing, advertising creativity, ad account management and media management.

“I really believe that future generations are going to solve the issues of our nation and the world,” Huggins said. “One of my main focuses is to make the classroom environment mirror real-

By JESSI WILSON

By JOHN KRUSE

Catherine Huggins, lecturer

Gavin Aronsen, graduate assistant

Gavin Aronsen had just finished his work at the offices of Mother Jones magazine. He packed up his stuff and headed out. However, instead of heading home, as so many of his fellow employees did, Aronsen instead drove out to the city of Oakland. There, Aronsen threw himself into the streets with police and the protesters of the Occupy Oakland movement. As tear gas grenades leapt into crowds, and protesters chanted in unison over the sirens of police vehicles, Aronsen tweeted the entire display. He said it was an unforgettable experience, and it’s one of the many experiences he hopes to share with his new classes.

Photo by MATT WETTENGEL

November 29November 22

Iowa State announced Matt Campbell would succeed Paul Rhoads as the Cyclones’ next football coach. Campbell was the head coach at Toledo for four seasons and finished with a 35-15 record. Campbell was named the 2015 MAC Coach of the Year after accepting the ISU position.

The end of Paul Rhoads’ career was delivered via press release on Sunday, Nov. 22, one week before the final game of the team’s 3–8 season. Rhoads was 32–54 in his seven seasons at Iowa State and had a contract through Dec. 31, 2021, which the university bought out for nearly $4.9 million.

Campbell Named New Head Football Coach:

Pollard Announces End of Rhoads’ Reign as Head Football Coach:

Year in Review New Faculty

New Instructors

life situations.”The Michigan native said she is a proud

“adopted Iowan” who, through her past work, has traveled to 70 percent of Iowa. Along with travel, she and her husband love the outdoors, sports, fine wines and their dog, Kubuli Moon Wolf – a Norwegian elkhound named after the official beer of an island in the West Indies.

beginning reporting and writing, and public affairs reporting. Both classes focus on the basics in reporting and news writing. Aronsen said he hopes to pass along the skills he learned from working at esteemed publications like Mother Jones with his students.

“I always liked the idea of going out to the coast, and after a few years, you come back and share the lessons you learn,” Aronsen said. “I guess this is a pretty good way of doing that.”

After graduating from ISU, Aronsen moved out to the West Coast to work for Mother Jones, along with contributing to major publications like Al Jazeera America and Daily Beast. In 2013, Aronsen returned to Iowa to write for the Ames Tribune. While working there, he reunited with several of his old professors. One professor, Dennis Chamberlin, recommended he enroll in the master’s program.

Aronsen said he looks forward to the experience of teaching the same types of students he used to be just a few years ago.

Photo by THOMAS HUHNKE

Beth HAAGlecturer

Daniela DIMITROVAprof. & dir. of grad

education

Deb GIBSON

Meredith professional in residence

DianeBUGEJA

senior lecturer

EricABBOTT

professor

Jeff AMESlecturer

Joel GESKE

associate professor & associate director

Kim CURELL

account clerk, admin. & grad program secretary

Michael DAHLSTROMassociate professor

Raluca COZMA

assistant professor

Raluca Cozma specializes in political and international communication and was promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure. She credits the Greenlee School’s support, noting that at Greenlee “everyone can focus on what they passionately care about—I knew what I wanted to do when I came in and was able to do it.” Cozma has taught at Iowa State since 2009.

Gang Han was also promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure. His research covers primarily public relations and strategic communication, and he teaches at both undergraduate and graduate levels. “This is an honor; it shows acceptance by my colleagues as a valuable player on the team,” he says of the promotion. Having worked in the PR industry in the past, Han says he feels at home at the Greenlee School and that he enjoys the academic life.

Tracy Lucht was awarded the 2015 American Journalism Historians Association National Award for Excellence in Teaching, received the American Journalism’s Rising Scholar Award for her research, and received The National Endowment for the Humanities summer stipend, which allowed her to continue work on her current project, “Finding Their Voices: Midwestern Women Broadcasters, 1922-1992.” Students of Lucht often present a semester’s worth of research to their peers, and she says that one of the most rewarding parts of teaching is hearing “the sound of students’ voices when they’re engaging in informed discussions.”

Jay Newell earned the 2015 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching. Newell is part of a team developing a program for better feedback in student work and many of his classes provide multilingual learning tools.

The Iowa Newspaper Association named Kathie Obradovich a Master Columnist for her work at The Des Moines Register. Obradovich writes a regular political column and teaches introductory reporting and writing at the Greenlee School.

The ISU Greek Community named Erin Wilgenbusch and Lisa Munger Oakes Outstanding Faculty Members. Wilgenbusch also was given the Greenlee School’s Harry Heath Advising award, and Munger Oakes received the Pi Beta Phi Faculty Integrity Award and Alpha Delta Pi Excellence in Teaching Award. Both say they value the relationships built with students through advising.

Faculty & Staff

Kris ANGARAN

secretary

Michael BUGE JA

director & professor

Jan BOYLES

assistant professor

Kathy BOX

administrative specialist

Gavin ARONSEN

graduate assistant

Sherry BERGHEFER

lecturer

Faculty Awards, AccomplishmentsBy RACHEL VIPOND

Year in Review Faculty & Staff



Alyssa RUTT

program coordinator

Brenda WITHERSPOON

lecturer

Bret VORHEES

lecturer

Erin WILGENBUSCH

senior lecturer

Gang HAN

assistant professor

Jason WIEGANDacademic adviser

Kelly WINFREY

assistant professor

Jay NEWELL

associate professor

Jess HANSEN

academic adviser

Juli PROBASCO-

SOWERSinternship coordinator

Lisa MUNGER OAKES

lecturer

Matt WETTENGEL

media/communication specialist

Dara WALD

assistant professor

Andrew VERNON

analyst/programmer

Catherine HUGGINS

lecturer

Michael WIGTON

lecturer

Pauli MAYFIELD

graduate assistant

AndrewPRITCHARDassistant professor

Su Jung KIM

assistant professor

Suman LEE

associate professor

Tracy LUCHT

assistant professor

Not Pictured:Dennis Chamberlin, associate professor, director of undergraduate educationKathie Obradovich, lecturerShane Scherschel, systems support specialist

Year in Review Faculty & Staff

Read monthly updates from Greenlee School faculty

members online at: www.greenlee.iastate.edu/news/

achievements.shtml

http://www.greenlee.iastate.edu/news/achievements.shtml


Features Off the AirPh

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Features Off the Air

After 33 years of delivering the news to living rooms across Central Iowa, Kevin Cooney, ‘74, retired from his career as a storyteller last November

By KEVIN COONEY

Where did it start? When? For years I’ve tried to pinpoint my obsession with story telling. There just doesn’t seem to be a beginning, just as I assume

there won’t be an end. Let’s go searching.Maybe it started around the family dinner

table. My dad, Jim Cooney, was a reporter, assistant city editor and eventually City Editor for the afternoon Des Moines Tribune.

Mom, Patricia Harvey Cooney got her start as the first female copy editor for the Register & Tribune in the 1940’s. She would later become an award-winning feature reporter for the Sunday Register.

Two student journalists who met at Drake University before World War II and eventually raised their six kids in Beaverdale in northwest Des Moines.

You know the old saying about the two things you don’t talk about in polite conversation-- religion and politics? Those were about the only topics around the Cooney dinner table.

We’d talk about the news of the day from the classroom to the newsroom; Berlin wall to the Beatles. With all of us in Catholic school in the ’60’s, arguments often erupted over the many changes in the church. There were great debates. One was partially in Latin— hey, we were altar boys!

Maybe it started when Dad would let us come down to the Register newsroom on Saturday mornings to put the Tribune “to bed.” Sending grease pencil messages through the pneumatic tubes to the guys in the composing room. Standing for what seemed like hours in the wire room watching as the news revealed itself before our eyes. We saw it even before the editors did!

Maybe it started that day in fourth grade at Holy Trinity when Den 3 of the Cub Scouts made a field trip to KRNT-TV to visit with Bill Riley on “Variety Theater,” an afternoon cartoon show. We got a tour of the newsroom. I saw legendary broadcaster Russ Van Dyke.

Just like at the Register, I went right to the wire room, I was given a pile of AP wirephotos and Bill told me to share them with my fellow scouts.

I kept every one. Maybe it started in seventh grade when

Sister Donald had a “bulletin board newspaper.” We wrote stories on the side half of our lined paper, and folded them to make “columns” like a newspaper.

Other kids wrote about their pets. I did a story on the 1965 floods with pictures from my Kodak Brownie box camera of an inundated Birdland Park and quotes from sand baggers.

Eventually, the combination of dining room debates and the curiosity about all things media gelled into more than an interest. By the time I was in high school, writing for the Dowling Aquin, I was starting to find my passion.

Junior year at Dowling it became obvious I did not share my older brother’s football prowess, so I told legendary coach Jim Williams I was

THIS WAY

MAYBE I WAS BORN


their stories. I guess that’s it. That was the moment it came

together. I never wanted to leave.

As college looms, we all consider possible careers and it was no different for your average senior at Dowling in 1969 — and I do mean average! The only question was where would I find a school that would be a good fit for an average aspiring writer/journalist/screenwriter/photographer/director/undecided 17 year old?

With two siblings in college and three more at home, it was pretty clear my college exploration would be at my time and expense which immediately ruled out that USC/UCLA “west coast swing.”

I also discovered Northwestern’s emphasis was more at the graduate level, so I headed over to Iowa City where I was told journalism was about print and I wouldn’t take a journalism course until my junior year anyway. They didn’t know what to do with someone interested in

quitting and did what every child of a newsroom employee did. I got a job as a copy boy.

Sure, I was nothing more than a wire-ripping, coffee-fetching newsroom grunt. But this was just about as good as it could get. Hanging with reporters. Talking news. And sports. Spending hours in the photo lab, l watched as stories literally “developed.” Fellow copy kids at the time included Julie Gammack, Bill Bryson and some gal named Barbara Mack.

Pretty good company. You could feel the newsroom rumble when

the presses fired up for the first edition and the best smell on earth was of newsprint and ink wafting up that narrow stairway leading from the pressroom.

But that nagging “TV thing” was always there. In a sense I was like any other baby boomer. What kid of the 50’s and 60’s wasn’t fascinated with Edward R. Murrow’s “wires and lights in a box?” I found myself in the right place at the right time.....

Before his newspaper days, Dad was a radio reporter. Decades later, while talking to an old broadcasting friend, he inquired whether there was anything at KRNT-TV a high school kid could do-- because he had a high school kid who was nuts about TV.

Turns out, there was such a job. A ten hour a week tv production assistant’s job was available and the production manager called me because “I heard you might be interested.”

The Register newsroom was great, but now this 16 year-old was truly in hog-heaven. I got to “pull back the curtain” and learn the secrets behind the screen.

Less than 10 years earlier I was that Cub Scout stuffing KRNT wirephotos in my pockets. Now I was ripping those photos off for Russ Van Dyke, cleaning his glass weather maps twice a day and occasionally spiking the AE milk he used in the commercials with some bourbon extract from the studio kitchen.

Most of all, I was in a TV newsroom. We worked with film and video and audio tapes and editing machines. I watched as Ron Gonder, Al Buch, Jim Worthington, Paul Rhoades and Pete Taylor and many others reported, wrote and created.

This confirmed it. I wanted to write. Report. Tell stories. Photograph. Be places where things were happening. Learn about people by learning

broadcast journalism, and sent me to talk to a teacher in film studies. He was more into Ingmar Bergman than David Brinkley.

Bye Bye, Iowa City.Sensing a bit of confusion, Dad suggested

Iowa State. I had only been on the Ames campus once before for a Veishea weekend that’s as fuzzy now as it was back then. That’s probably because of a party at “the Bins,” a rather strange duplex made of grain bins, which I believe is still located somewhere in a residential area between the Towers and campus.

Iowa State? Cow College! Too damn close to home! Why would I even consider it?

But Dad again reached back into his broadcast past and pointed out a longtime radio-TV journalist we all knew of, who was now teaching at Iowa State and suggested that we should go up for a visit.

“Hello Jim!” Jack Shelley’s voice was unique in

broadcasting and in person. Within three syllables, probably fewer, you knew who was speaking.

He greeted us in his second story office one morning and he and dad reminisced about the old radio days for a spell. Then he asked me what I was interested in.

I recall saying I was interested in just about everything broadcast and journalism. And received a “you’ve come to the right place” type of answer.

I still wasn’t buying it…The Press Building (which later became

Hamilton Hall) was not much more than a collection of classrooms—some with typewriters.

Professor Shelley’s personally-guided tour started at the Iowa State Daily offices and finished across the hall at the photo lab. There was little, if any, actual broadcasting equipment and no studios in the building. Some aging film cameras were available to look at but they didn’t work.

But ISU had Jack Shelley who knew how to sell this still new broadcast emphasis program he was spearheading.

And most of all he was a real journalist. I had known of Jack all my life of course. He

had been the “other guy” on the Des Moines news (remember, we were a channel 8 household and Shelley was on 13.) Russ VanDyke and Paul Rhoades had plenty of positives to say about


Kevin Cooney worked at KCCI-TV for 33 years and is shown in the newsroom in the 1980s (left, middle). Throughout his tenure at the TV station, Cooney anchored alongside personalities including Heidi Soliday, Kathy Soltero, Connie McBurney and Paul Rhoades (right).Photos courtesy of The Des Moines Register

I WANTED TO WRITE. REPORT. TELL STORIES. PHOTOGRAPH. BE PLACES WHERE THINGS WERE HAPPENING. LEARN ABOUT PEOPLE BY LEARNING THEIR STORIES.


Those of us in the early 70’s were in journalism “before it was cool.”

I remember Barbara Mack’s laughable and legendary arguments with Jack Shelley that cannot be repeated here.

I also remember noticing a very smart, very funny and very personable student with whom I shared a love of reporting… and sarcasm. Mollie Smith and I would get married several years later.

It’s been more than four decades since I skipped the graduation ceremony (Hey, it was the 70’s. I was stupid.)

Like many careers, this one evolved with highs and lows. There were floods, and caucuses. Big stories and small.

I’ve been lucky enough to talk with presidents in the White House and while flying over the Midwest aboard Air Force One and in the midst of a flooded Fleur Drive in Des Moines.

Many times, the experiences have wound back through Iowa State.

In 1991 I was sent to Germany to cover the release of ISU alum Thomas Sutherland who had been kidnapped and held hostage for more than 6 years in Lebanon.

He told the touching story of hearing the bells of the campanile ringing one Christmas eve, in a broadcast from the BBC.

Several days later when hostage Terry Anderson, a fellow JL MC ’74 alum and co-worker at KRNT, was released, I returned to Germany to cover the story—with the gift of an Iowa State sweatshirt.

There have been disasters and debates and inaugurations and investigations.

Listing where one has been and who one has met is kind of like listening to another “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” essay. So I’ll stop here. I’m much more interested in what others have been doing than talking about my escapades.

Let’s just say once a reporter, always a reporter.

Let’s just say thanks. To Schwartz and Shelley and Blinn and Kunerth and Johnson and Nelson and Rod Fox who never taught me in class but taught me so much about photography. And life.

Let’s just say thanks to Dad and Mom. And Mollie.Let’s just say it’s been a blast!

The ISU years were filled with true “learning experiences.” Some examples: I went into Shelley’s office in the fall of 1971 to tell him I had learned pretty much everything I needed to learn in journalism, and would be leaving ISU effective the winter quarter.

Shelley didn’t try too hard to talk me out of it, but in case I changed my mind he reminded me of the last day for late registration.

Three weeks later, I was in his office pleading with him to get me re-enrolled. Even he couldn’t bend the rules that much. He told me to enjoy the time off and he’d see me for spring quarter. I did as he said, too.

A week doesn’t go by that I don’t use a skill that was honed in Kunerth’s reporting classes or Johnson’s photography courses.

I still consult Rod Fox’s book: “Creative News Photography.”

Jerry Nelson taught an incredible course that looked at the future of mass communication. I remember the laughter at the concept of a 24-hour news channel. And televisions with hundreds of channels delivered by satellites? Nelson was a Nostradamus.

As we watched Watergate unfold and a presidency implode, we also noticed a boom in the number of Woodward & Bernstein wannabes.

Shelley during my first year at KRNT. Shelley’s enthusiasm for the craft and the classroom was contagious.

I was starting to re-think this Moo U thing.

Turns out those TV cameras and microphones were across campus in what was called TCA. Telecommunicative Arts was part of the English department, which is where someone had pigeon-holed me.

After convincing them I wanted to major in journalism, not English, I had a new major, a new advisor (Shelley) and the worst schedule in the history of ISU.

As Meat Loaf would say much later, “Two outta three ain’t bad.”

Classes starting at 8 a.m. Monday and ended at 6 p.m. Friday were acceptable, because it allowed me to take “Introduction to Journalism,” which Professor Shelley taught. I can still plot out the “Berlo Model of Communications.”

Maybe it was luck, maybe it was Shelley again, but my second quarter I got into a 300-level photography course and a 200-level reporting course. I was off and running.

What followed was a series of classes that

didn’t seem like classes. I’m certain those with other passions for areas like sociology or chemistry or computer science can relate; Kunerth’s reporting sequence; Blinn’s mass communication law; Bob Johnson’s photography courses and, of course, Jack Shelley’s broadcast journalism classes topped it all off.

But in a blink, it was over. By the second quarter of my junior year, Department Chair Jim Schwartz called me up and told me to come to his office—he “wanted to talk.”

Pretty good way to scare the crap out of student, Dr. Schwartz!

Turns out he had good news—and bad. “You’ve taken more than enough hours for

your major,” he told me. “Unless you’re going to teach journalism, you should think of taking courses outside the department.”

He said I wouldn’t be reporting about journalism, but instead on politics and civics and society and science. So, he said, take courses that will help me understand those areas and others.

I did as he said.


Cooney covered many national news events throughout his career, including interviewing President Bill Clinton in the White House on April 19, 1995, the day of the Oklahoma City bombing. He followed his father, longtime Des Moines Tribune newsman Jim Cooney’s footsteps in covering news in Des Moines (middle) and continued anchoring KCCI newscasts until last November (right).


Features Covering their Communities

John B. Anderson enjoyed his daily morning routine while running the Britt News Tribune 60 years ago: He arrived at the office at 8 a.m. and culled the mail for letters from rural correspondents, about a half dozen stringers who sent in weekly letters full of news about their communities.

“That helped fill up the pages of our newspaper. If we didn’t have the rural correspondents, I don’t know what we would have done for news,” says Anderson, a 1949 graduate in agricultural journalism.

Rural correspondent. It’s not a job title that warrants a byline in The New York Times. But it’s an insight into the secret weapon of community journalism: the power of relationships.

“Getting those relationships built is the crux of what I do,” says Andrew Schneider, a news director and sports announcer at KNIA/KRLS Radio in Pella. “I think the aspect that’s attracted me the most is understanding and having to foster those relationships at a small-town level versus a big city.”

Schneider graduated from the Greenlee School in 2013 and started working for WHO-

By KATE KRUSE

HD Channel 13 News in Des Moines. When the Pella radio station had an opening, managers reached out to him.

“I had basically, maybe, stepped foot in Pella twice before I interviewed for the job,” Schneider says. “Now, as I’ve grown here, I’ve become someone who people ask about Pella every day.”

For Schneider, getting to know the community was all about taking the first step to reach out to people. “If you call someone enough, eventually they’re going to pick up their phone,” he says.

Ask a thousand reporters in small towns what the process was like to get to know their community, and you’ll get a thousand different answers.

For Anderson, one of ISU journalism’s oldest living graduates, getting to know the community meant joining Britt’s chamber of commerce. As secretary of the group, Anderson became an active planner of Britt’s most important event of the year: Hobo Days, the national convention of hobos held in the city each year. He later served as editor/publisher of The Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune and Register.

For Maia Zewert, a 2015 journalism and

Embedded alumni serve communities through reporting and relationship building

Reporting on the local front

YOU KNOW YOU’RE DOING IT RIGHT WHEN SOMEBODY’S MAD AT YOU.

John Anderson, ’49, (second from left) was editor and publisher of the Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune for three years. He sold the paper soon after this photo was taken in summer 1970.



mass communication graduate, getting to know her community meant learning all new lingo. For starters, it meant learning terms for a coastal city.

“I went in and asked my boss, ‘Hey, what’s the place where boats park?’ And he said, ‘First of all, boats don’t park,’” Zewert says.

She landed her job as a general assignment reporter at The Lincoln County News in Damariscotta, Maine, after applying for jobs in states she’d never visited. The choices were random, but she knew she wanted to work for a community newspaper.

Though Zewert just began her job in August, she quickly experienced the tried-and-true community journalism trademark of interviewing someone and then running into him or her at the grocery store. And when running into readers, they don’t withhold their opinions—they tell you what they think, Zewert says. But that’s part of building those relationships.

Lisa Munger Oakes, who teaches basic and intermediate reporting classes at Iowa State, says she teaches students through the model of beat reporting, because beat reporting is all about building relationships.

“Many of these smaller towns operate on the system where they’re going to know that you’re

the new person in town, and so if you don’t take the time to get to know them and have a conversation and establish a relationship of trust, they’re not going to tell you the stories that you’re missing,” Munger Oakes says.

Those in community journalism are part of a form of democracy within their industry. They can report the news as they see fit, but rest assured readers won’t hold back if they catch a mistake. It’s the built-in system of checks and balances for reporting small-town news.

“I have to see these people every day. I’m going to see the city manager at the grocery store, or I’m going to see the police chief at the restaurant over lunch,” Schneider says. “That’s what’s different between big city and small city.”

In small-town journalism, you don’t just run into the reader. You may have to write about that person, too.

“You will meet people and later have to write articles about them. It might be good; it might be bad,” Zewert says.

Chelsea Davis, a 2011 Greenlee graduate, knows that not all appreciate having articles written about them. She was the target of social media rants by a man who was displeased with one of her stories.

Below: Andrew Schneider, ’13, chats with Pella Police Chief Robert Bokinsky in his office. The two meet regularly to discuss the latest happenings in Pella.

COMMUNITY JOURNALISM ISN’T FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.



Left: Chelsea Davis, ’12, digital editor at The World newspaper in Coos Bay, Ore., works with a Chinese exchange student during a half-day job shadow.

“WE ARE THE HISTORICAL RECORD FOR THIS TOWN,”-Lee van der Linden, ‘80, co-owner of the Belmond Independent

Below: Maia Zewert, ’15, moved to Damariscotta, Maine, after graduating to work as a reporter for the local newspaper, The Lincoln County News.

“He made comments about my sex life,” says Davis, the digital editor of The World newspaper in Coos Bay, Ore. “Angry phone calls about a controversial story or people asking for corrections or calling me a moron are all very typical things for reporters, but that was definitely different.”

Community journalism isn’t for the faint of heart. “[Criticism] is sometimes hard to take, because you feel like it’s people

you have a good relationship with,” says Lee van der Linden, a 1980 graduate of the ISU journalism department.

She and her husband, Dirk, a 1978 ISU journalism graduate, have owned the Belmond Independent, in Belmond, Iowa, for 30 years. Van der Linden says both she and Dirk have been yelled at in public meetings by officials and by school board members at school board meetings.

“My father-in-law [ISU economics graduate John E. van der Linden, ‘40, former owner of Northwest Publishers Inc.] who was in community journalism for many years, said, ‘You know you’re doing it right when somebody’s mad at you.’ So, it’s just that kind of job,” van der Linden says.

Just about the worst thing that can happen is when an advertiser joins a city council or a school board, van der Linden says, because they always want the paper to spin things the right way. In a small town, the newspaper or radio staff might need to publish or air stories that put those advertisers in a negative light and then try to sell ads to those same people.

“You just have to print what the truth is,” van der Linden says. “And you have to live with the financial consequences. The public always wins, because the thousands of people that read what you write and subscribe to your newspaper, they are always more important than the one advertiser.”

In community journalism, you need to take things in stride. The person who yells at you one day is the person that comes to you a week from now and asks for a favor. “You can’t take any of it personally,” van der Linden says.

But community journalism provides an opportunity not given to most large-city journalists. It offers the chance to tell the stories of the community and raise awareness of the issues. But it also offers the occasion to take national and regional events and make them relevant to the people in the small towns. Schneider says his classes in the Greenlee School pushed him to see news events through the local lens.

Schneider says his professors in JL MC 101 and JL MC 201 would



Lee van der Linden, ’80, (left) talks with Connie Mattison, owner of the Klemme House Bed and Breakfast in Belmond, Iowa. Mattison advertises in the Belmond Independent, which Lee and her husband Dirk, ’78, have owned for 30 years.

A STORY YOU’RE WRITING MAY SEEM SMALL AND INSIGNIFICANT... HOWEVER, TO SOMEONE IN THE COMMUNITY, THAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STORY THEY WILL READ THIS WEEK.

emphasize the importance of localizing the news, but he didn’t take them seriously until he started his career in journalism. “You would be surprised, even in a town of 10,000, how many people can localize [an event] for you,” Schneider says.

Journalism classes at Iowa State also offer the possibility of bolstering a lifetime of journalism. Anderson’s 30-year community journalism career began with his undergraduate spring break trip with an Iowa State journalism class. The spring trips to various community newspapers offered students the chance to do everything involved in producing a newspaper for a week.

“We had those spring journalism trips, and our group was at the ‘Eagle Grove Eagle,’” Anderson says. “That summer when I was looking for a job, I contacted Maury Crabbe at the ‘Eagle Grove Eagle,’ and he gave me a job.”

Eric Abbott, an Iowa State journalism graduate and recently retired professor in the Greenlee School, says Rod Fox, who taught at Iowa State for 40 years, ran the journalism spring break trip program. “The idea was that this was an internship-like experience for the students,” Abbott says. “But it cemented our relationships with publishers as well.”

The Greenlee School’s role in community journalism has long fostered relationships between the students and newspaper publishers. Past faculty members reached out to newspaper publishers to build Iowa State’s presence in community journalism. The late Jim Schwartz, head of the journalism program for 14 years, conducted research on the number of college graduates working for community newspapers, worked to professionalize community journalism, and trained students to fill those jobs. In his time at Iowa State, he hired Dale Boyd.

“One-fourth of Dale Boyd’s job was through [ISU] Extension to work with Iowa newspapers,” Abbott says. Through conventions, presentations and training sessions, he worked to help Iowa community newspapers during the 1970s and 80s.

Bill Kunerth, a longtime faculty member, was another major player in Iowa State’s relationship with community journalism. He taught students to search and understand local-government records and linked students with prospective employers. “Bill was a no-nonsense guy. He was looking for opportunities for our students, but he was also well-linked and trusted by community newspapers,” Abbott says.

Communities need trusted journalists who foster the integrity of the news, because community journalism offers news about the community residents can’t get anywhere else. But above all, community journalism is about telling stories.

“My boss gave me the best piece of advice: ‘A story you’re writing may seem small and insignificant and not that big of deal,’” Zewert says. “‘However, to someone in the community, that is the most important story they will read this week.’ Since then I’ve really taken that to heart.”

Van der Linden’s favorite part of the job is getting to tell other people’s stories and being a conduit of all the news. “We are the historical record for this town,” she says.

Even after 30 years, van der Linden is still



discovering what the community gets excited about. “You never really know what’s going to hit a nerve with people. We write things or publish things, and we think, ‘Oh, everyone is going to love this’ or ‘Oh, this will really get people stirred up!’ And there’s nothing,” she says. “And then we’ll just do something in passing, and oh, my gosh, everybody loves it, everybody can’t believe what a wonderful thing you did, or they think that’s the dumbest thing they’ve ever heard.”

Without small-town papers or radio stations, small-town news would go unreported. School boards would be left unaccountable. The city council could make decisions without citizens’

awareness. Stats for high school sports would be harder to track down.

Anderson says community journalists have a certain importance that they wouldn’t have at a bigger operation. “You’re a big fish in a little pond,” he says.

The complicated relationship between small-town journalists and the towns they serve sets the community newspaper or radio station apart. “I don’t know if I’m addicted to it or what, but certainly in a small market, there’s a different flavor,” Schneider says. “There’s something to be said about the small-town experience.”

Below: Andrew Schneider, ’13, holds bi-weekly interviews with Pella City Administrator Mike Nardini for the daily “Let’s Talk Pella” for KNIA/KRLS.

Right: Photo of John Anderson, ’49, from Feb. 1955 while he was editor of the Britt News-Tribune in Forest City, Iowa.

“YOU’RE A BIG FISH IN A LITTLE POND,”- John B. Anderson, ‘49


Above: Students were able to attend several presidential candidates’ events in Ames and Central Iowa in the fall 2015 semester. From left: Top: Photos by Jessica Darland, JL MC sophomore, Kimberly Woo, JL MC senior, Claire Smith, JL MC senior; Middle: Matt Wettengel, Lissandra Villa, JL MC senior, Jessica Darland; Bottom: Jessica Darland, Max Goldberg/Iowa State Daily, Jon Laczniak, JL MC junior.

Watching the nationally-broadcast second Democratic debate on Nov. 14 from the Sheslow Auditorium at Drake University, viewers couldn’t have guessed that the debate’s panelists had only seen full copies of their script just one hour before the cameras started rolling.

The day before the debate, 130 people lost their lives and hundreds more were wounded by gunmen in the streets of Paris, in a series of attacks which were later revealed to have been

coordinated by ISIS.Greenlee alumni debate panelists Kathie

Obradovich, Des Moines Register political columnist, and Kevin Cooney, recently retired KCCI-TV news anchor, were on set for the first debate rehearsal as the attacks were unfolding. The debate’s sponsor, CBS News, was tracking developments and with just over 24 hours before the debate was scheduled to start, the panelists received word that drastic changes were being

made to the script they were rehearsing. CBS News’s new plan for the debate was to focus on foreign policy and homeland security.

“After weeks of research, preparation and more than a little worry, I went to bed after midnight, not knowing for sure what my role in the debate would be or whether I would be on at all,” Obradovich wrote in a first-person column explaining how the events unfolded the following Monday.

overing theCaucusesBy MATT WETTENGEL

Features A Political Tradition


She woke up the next morning and started researching some new questions on bioterrorism, until she received word that her original questions on economic issues had made the cut. Updates kept rolling in as the debate drew nearer. Just before noon Obradovich learned that she would be asking about Hillary Clinton’s email scandal, with about 90 minutes to research her question and prepare possible follow-ups.

Even though she’s spent her career working at Iowa newspapers, television is nothing new for Obradovich. Since 2009 she’s worked as the Register’s political columnist and before that served as the paper’s political editor during the 2004 and 2008 caucuses. In each role she’s been called on for many interviews with media outlets across the globe to share her knowledge about all things Iowa—its citizens, politics and its first-in-the-nation caucuses.

All the same, she admits that being on the presidential debate panel last November was mildly terrifying. The debate was not only airing in the wake of an international tragedy, but also of the third Republican debate, where the moderators from CNBC themselves became the story for their highly-criticized moderating

approach and questioning of the candidates. The fact that she and the other panelists—Cooney and CBS News Washington correspondent Nancy Cordes—didn’t see the fully-revised script until 7 p.m.—just one hour before the cameras started rolling—didn’t help anything either.

“It was sort of like trying to jump on to a moving train a little bit, but it was really exciting,” says Obradovich, an ’87 journalism graduate.

By the time she took her spot at the panelists’ table, her nerves had subsided, Obradovich wrote in her column. Before she knew it, the debate was over. She and the rest of the panelists along with debate moderator John Dickerson of CBS kept the spotlight on the candidates and the conversation focused on the issues.

To Obradovich, that meant the debate was a success.

It’s not every presidential debate that two Greenlee alumni end up on a moderating panel, but their presence in caucus coverage is unparalleled. This is especially true at Iowa’s largest newspaper, The Des Moines Register.

When she’s not making appearances on television or moderating presidential debates, Obradovich can be found, often along with other Register reporters, on the campaign trail covering candidates as they make stops across the state.

As the biggest newspaper in the state that kicks off the nomination process for the U.S. presidential candidates with its caucuses every four years, the Register has become synonymous with politics on both state and national levels. The paper takes an all-hands-on-deck approach to its political coverage leading up to the Iowa caucuses in efforts to provide the most comprehensive coverage possible.

“We don’t only cover the ones who are high in the polls. We cover everybody, and we feel like we have that obligation to our readers,” Obradovich says. To honor this commitment, the Register assigned reporters to each of the 2016 candidates since last fall.

In the 2016 election, this was no small feat, considering the race began with 17 Republican and 6 Democratic candidates. Of those, 12 Republicans and 3 Democrats remained in the running going into the Feb. 1 caucuses.

Register reporter Kim Norvell joined the

Features Covering the Iowa Caucuses

REPORTING FOR THE REGISTER

Kevin Cooney, ’74, and Kathie Obradovich, ’87, were both on the moderating panel at the second Democratic debate, which was broadcast from Drake University last November. Each of their respective employers, KCCI News and The Des Moines Register, sponsored the debate with CBS News. Photo courtesy of CBS News


paper’s staff in August, initially as a city reporter, but she was quickly tapped to cover candidates as they began to focus their campaigns on Iowa. In her first six months on the job, Norvell also covered two additional beats—first Democrat Jim Webb and then Republican Rand Paul.

After graduating from Greenlee in 2010 with a degree in journalism and mass communication, Norvell took a job as a city reporter for the St. Joseph News-Press in St. Joseph, Mo. The work was similar to her current beat at the Register, though she’s responsible for covering not one, but three of the largest cities in the Des Moines metro—Clive, Waukee and West Des Moines. The biggest change for Norvell was in adapting to the Register’s digital focus. “There’s a really strong eye at the Register for digital news. I think that’s been the biggest change —there’s a quick turnaround for getting your stories online and pushed out,” she says.

The Register requires reporters to track candidates’ positions and policies while following their campaign stops across the state. Webb wasn’t active in Iowa before dropping from the race in October, which made Norvell’s job relatively easy compared to her coverage of Paul’s campaign. As presidential candidates flood the state, political coverage becomes the priority and readers beyond Iowa start to pay attention.

“The most challenging thing is knowing that it’s on a national scale and making sure that what you’re reporting is fair and accurate, because a lot of eyes are on us and that’s a big change from being at a smaller paper,” Norvell says.

Covering presidential candidates entails more today than ever for Register reporters. When Obradovich started at the Register in 2003 as its political editor, her team’s digital endeavors mostly included posting its stories online. With advances in technology and more people looking for their news and information on the Internet, the Register has taken a digital-first approach to its coverage, extending its reach beyond its daily print edition.

Rather than being assigned to cover events with a certain number of column inches for the next day’s paper, reporters are expected to produce stories as soon as possible to be posted online and shared through social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. Each assignment also comes with the expectation of providing supplemental digital coverage from the field, which often includes social media-specific coverage.

When it comes to social media, Brian Smith, a ’12 graduate in journalism and mass communication, serves as the Register’s point person. As the paper’s engagement editor, Smith is responsible for ensuring the Register’s presence as one of the state’s most prominent storytellers permeates the media their audience uses today. In the 2016 election coverage, this included expanding to new platforms like Periscope and Snapchat.

“Iowa going first is a privilege and that we take that very seriously to make sure that we’re doing the best job we can to get the best information in front of voters to help make their decision,” Smith says. “Sometimes that’s printed word, sometimes that’s video, sometimes that’s

a Snapchat story. We’re committed to trying different things to get the information out there.”

Norvell’s first experience using Snapchat as a reporting tool came at the Iowa Democratic Party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner last October. Before the dinner started, she was covering the rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton—snapping quick interviews with supporters, 10-second clips of Clinton’s speech and even finding herself standing 10 feet away from Katy Perry at one point in the event.

Though she had used Snapchat personally, her biggest challenge using it as a reporter was overcoming the fear of compromising her objectivity.

“I was worried that I would be inserting myself too much into it,” Norvell says. She quickly realized that the behind-the-scenes perspective the application allows complemented the first-hand accounts of the stories she typically wrote or tweeted about. With Snapchat, she only added some contextual commentary, in addition to the app’s geofilters and even some emojis, when appropriate.

Like much of the Register’s coverage, its Snapchat presence is a collaborative effort among its staff. Reporters, photojournalists, interns and even Obradovich have taken over the account to provide first-person coverage of a wide variety of events across the state.

Kelsey Kremer, a ‘13 journalism and mass communication graduate, has covered every presidential candidate in the 2016 election in some way for the Register. Though she is just one of seven photojournalists, her job extends well beyond capturing still images. She regularly shoots videos, live-streams events and has even been specifically assigned to document events via Snapchat.

She’s caught some contenders at multi-candidate events like Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s first annual Roast and Ride last June. Others she’s been able to capture in more intimate settings—during one-on-one interviews with Register reporters, meetings with the Register’s editorial board or on the candidates’ own turfs and terms.

Kremer toured Donald Trump’s plane at the Des Moines International Airport before he officially announced his candidacy, along with a hoard of national media Trump threatened to make pay for any potential damages. She hitched a ride in Dr. Ben Carson’s Secret Service motorcade. She snapped photos of Rick Santorum moving furniture at a house party his campaign held in Waukee, and she was the only photographer to spend a January evening covering Martin O’Malley at Carl’s Place, a Des Moines dive bar, as he wooed caucus-goers with his guitar and some personal interaction.

One of her most memorable experiences was meeting Hillary Clinton at Kremer’s cousin’s coffee shop in Independence, Iowa. Kremer was documenting the second day of Clinton’s first trip to Iowa after announcing her candidacy and had just left an event in Cedar Falls when her aunt called her to say that the candidate would be arriving in 30 minutes for an unannounced stop before her next event.

Kremer couldn’t resist the opportunity and sped down Highway 20 from Waterloo to


A team of Iowa State researchers, including Greenlee faculty members Roaluca Cozma, Daniela Dimitrova, and Kelly Winfrey, analyzed data from 511 likely caucus-goes to determine where they get their political information. Their findings showed that both local and national sources play important roles in informing Iowans.

Where do caucus-goers get their political information?

61.9%National TV News

49.1%Local Television

45.9%Cable Television

42.8%Newspapers

41.5%Internet

34.2%Radio

Source: ISU/WHO-HD poll was conducted by Iowa State’s Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology along with WHO-HD, the NBC affiliate in Des Moines. Phone interviews were conducted with 511 registered voters (50.3% women) Jan. 5-22. The poll included 267 Democrats, 201 Republicans and 43 Independents.

Their findings indicate that news sources varied across age groups, with nearly 82 percent of respondents under 30 years old saying that they get their news online, compared to around 33 percent of caucus-goers over 50.

Top sources for likely caucus-goers:

www.news.iastate.edu/news/ 2016/01/29/PoliticalInformation

Read more about their study online at:

http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/ 2016/01/29/PoliticalInformation

mass communication, and his editors decided early in 2015 they wanted to do something different to provide historical context to the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.

As a fan of podcasts like “This American Life” and “Serial,” Noble found himself wanting to emulate their narrative style to tell the story of the caucuses using a variety of perspectives, from national figures to unknown Iowans who have been a part of Iowa’s political process.

“This is a story that’s going to be better told and a better experience for our audience as a podcast,” Noble explains. “As opposed to print, there’s a real richness that you can bring to it because you have people’s voices and a person’s voice alone can tell the story in a different way.”

The podcast, named “Three Tickets,” became Noble’s pet project and dominated his job for about four months in 2015. He traveled to D.C. to interview historical figures like Bob Dole, winner of the 1984 Republican caucus, and David Axelrod, former adviser to President Obama. He also traveled the state to gather

Kremer admits. But the experience set her up to take on similar events in the next election as a professional journalist.

As national networks like NBC, ABC and CBS reported on the results of the close contest between the top 2012 candidates Rick Santorum and former Gov. Mitt Romney, Kremer documented a snapshot of Iowa caucus history for the Daily—a shot of Matt Strawn, then-chairman of the the Republican Party of Iowa, declaring Mitt Romney the winner of the Iowa caucus.

Almost three weeks later, after vote recounts and the revelation that eight precincts’ results had gone missing, it was revealed that Santorum had actually won the caucus. This left many questioning the process, its validity and Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status in presidential elections.

These questions aren’t uncommon. Every four years since 1972, Iowa takes the national spotlight and media attempt to demystify why Iowa leads national elections. Register reporter Jason Noble, an ’03 graduate in journalism and


Independence. By the time she got there Clinton had already come through, but she had ordered a sandwich and promised to come back. When she did, Kremer was the only photographer in the room.

“I feel like that would only happen in Iowa,” Kremer said.

While 2016 is Kremer’s first presidential election for the Register, she and so many other Greenlee alumni earned their first stripes covering the Iowa caucuses as Greenlee students for student media like the Iowa State Daily and ISUtv. Kremer remembers cutting her winter break short in 2012 to return to Ames and cover the final events leading up to caucus night action. She spent caucus night surrounded by national media in the Google Media Filing Center that had been erected within the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.

“I had no idea what I was doing then,”

As the Register’s engagement editor, Brian Smith also takes a lead role on developing new outreach efforts for the newspaper in the Central Iowa community.

As the caucuses approached, Smith and his team at the Register applied for and received a Knight Foundation grant to host a four-part series, titled “Give a

Damn, Des Moines.” The non-partisan caucus-themed series was designed to increase civic engagement and get attendees thinking about politics and the issues that effect their lives.

The series was open to all, but its main target was young people .

“The percentage of voters that caucus in their 20s and 30s is really,

really low,” says Smith. “We knew that if we were going to try to make a difference and really connect with that age group, that writing stories or having a video about how to caucus wasn’t going to cut it.”

So the Register teamed up with the Des Moines Social Club and hosted events including a voter registration drive, mock caucuses for each party, a discussion on the issues that featured

IT STARTED AT GREENLEE

Not just informing, but engaging

One of the best parts of working on the Register’s Three Tickets podcast for Jason Noble, left, was interviewing historical figures like Walter Mondale. You can listen to “Three Tickets” on the Register’s website free of charge, just search “Three Tickets” at www.DesMoinesRegister.comPhoto courtesy of Ben Garvin/KARE

THE MOST CHALLENGING THING IS KNOWING THAT IT’S ON A NATIONAL SCALE AND MAKING SURE THAT WHAT YOU’RE REPORTING

IS FAIR AND ACCURATE BECAUSE A LOT OF EYES ARE ON US


http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/09/30/three-tickets-iowa-caucuses-podcast-debut-oct-8/73103038/

Iowans’ perspectives, spending a day touring northern Iowa with Senator Chuck Grassley and interviewing Iowa activists.

“This is not an authoritative history or explanation of the caucuses by any means, but we’ve captured some voices here for perpetuity that have a story to tell about the caucuses,” Noble says. “I think that really fulfills the mission of the Register to tell this story that’s so important to Iowa and Iowa’s place in political and American history in the last 40 years.”

Noble also got his first taste of politics and the caucuses as a columnist for the Iowa State Daily. As he chronicles in the first episode of “Three Tickets,” his time spent on the campaign bus with Howard Dean in 2003 was his first experience with politics and the Iowa caucuses. He covered the 2004 caucuses the following semester and returned to the Daily in the fall as a news editor and covered the general election.

For a Kansas native like Noble, being in Iowa and working at the Daily, with unprecedented access to presidential campaigns, set him on a

path that ended up defining his career.“I try to let young people know any time I

can—I tell them if you’re interested in politics you couldn’t be in a better place and you wouldn’t believe the opportunities that are open to you just by being here,” Noble says.

Current Greenlee students continue to benefit from the first-hand exposure they gain from Iowa’s top spot in national politics.

Alex Hanson, sophomore in journalism and mass communication, is the politics editor for the Iowa State Daily and oversaw the newspaper’s coverage of the state’s caucuses. As a double major in political science, the access that he and other students had to presidential candidates was a unique opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

Hanson conducted phone interviews with several candidates, including Bobby Jindal, Martin O’Malley and Rand Paul, and even got a few questions in with Carly Fiorina after

a town hall meeting she held in the Memorial Union last September. Even as a self-proclaimed political junkie, Hanson admits that talking to the candidates who could be the next president of the United States left him feeling somewhat anxious at times.

“It’s a great experience that not many students get the chance to do while they’re in college,” Hanson notes. “I get to try to help inform people at Iowa State and I love doing it.”

For students like Kimberly Woo, senior in journalism and mass communication, Iowa’s political saturation is an entirely new experience. Woo is an international student from Malaysia, who had no experience with American politics before enrolling in Greenlee Associate Professor Dennis Chamberlin’s multimedia production course last fall.

Chamberlin and Assistant Professor Tracy Lucht both decided to take advantage of Iowa’s political standing and gave their classes a political focus the semester before the 2016 caucuses. Chamberlin’s multimedia students worked on the


POLITICS, FRONT AND CENTER

the Iowa Republican and Democratic Party chairs and debate watch parties.

To help inform attendees, the Register tapped their own political aficionados, including Obradovich and Noble, who helped lead discussions and debates at the various Give a Damn events.

The Register wasn’t the only newspaper in the state to take a more active role in engaging Iowans. The Iowa State Daily also took on a larger role in assisting its

readership in making sense of the caucus process. They did this by partnering with the ISU College Democrats and College Republicans to host mock caucus events at ISU AfterDark, an alternative entertainment event that the university hosts on Friday nights.

“The more people who turn out, the more people who exercise their voice, the better the results are for Iowa and for the nation,” Smith says.

Current Greenlee students taking Dennis Chamberlin’s multimedia production course spent the fall 2015 semester covering politics in Iowa, as presidential candidates toured the state. Some candidates including Marco Rubio, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Rand Paul, Rick Santorum and Carly Fiorina even held events at Iowa State in the months leading up to the nation’s first caucuses. Photos by Matt Wettengel


Photos by Meredith K

estel


For students like Kimberly Woo, the chance to have her work published by a professional news organization inspired her to take on assignments outside of Ames. Her first experience using the Theta camera was at a Bernie Sanders appearance at the Latino Heritage Festival in Des Moines last September. She was surprised to be able to follow Sanders through the crowd and even more surprised to find herself in front of a swarm of media covering his speech.

“At that moment, for the first time, I felt like a real journalist covering the event in the middle of a crowd of reporters and photographers from national and local media outlets,” says Woo.

That feeling inspired Woo and others in the class to pursue more events throughout Iowa in efforts to publish work to their class website and possibly by RYOT.

“I just love the fact that this is a great learning experience for students to start to understand about the political process and also to get a taste of what it’s like to be covering a presidential candidate,” says Obradovich, who teaches an introductory reporting and writing course for Greenlee each spring when she’s not covering the caucuses.

As caucuses continue to take place every four years, every Greenlee student is able to try his or her hand at covering presidential politics. For some, like Kremer and Noble, this unique experience can change the course of their careers.


ground, providing an array of content to Lucht’s news and feature editing course. The two classes collaborated to publish their content online at www.thenewvoter.org.

In addition to covering candidates and events for the student-produced, millennial-focused website, Chamberlin also arranged collaborations with professional news organizations throughout the semester.

His students collected audio clips with Ames residents, some of which were used in a radio segment from IowaWatch on the issues important to caucus-goers. They also experimented with shooting 360-degree video for RYOT News, an organization based in Los Angeles, which supplies iPhones and RICOH Theta 360 cameras to people across the globe who make up their denizen journalism program.

RYOT has cameras in Argentina, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Nepal, New York, Europe and two in Iowa that Chamberlin’s students used throughout the semester to cover the 2016 presidential election from the first battleground state.

“I love seeing how students open up from the beginning, when you can see that they’re a little bit timid,” says Joi Lee, head of RYOT’s denizen journalism program. “Towards the end when I see their videos, I see them with this persona, like ‘yes, I am here to report on this, let me get up to the front, go up to these people and interview them, let me get Jeb Bush to hold a Theta 360 and take a selfie with it or interview Ben Carson about students.’”

Students learn from caucus advertising

Students in Associate Professor Jay Newell’s media planning class typically spend the semester developing, executing and evaluating campaigns for products or services. As presidential candidates began to descend upon Iowa, Newell saw a learning opportunity where most just find annoyance — in the flood of advertising that followed the candidates.

“While there are differences between products and candidates, there are a lot of similarities too,” Newell says. “What this class gives us is really a window to see how messages are sent out there.”

Each of Newell’s 24 students were randomly assigned a candidate and a budget that was commensurate with their candidate’s actual resources. In the end, the experience provided a real-life lesson that Newell hopes left his students with a more sophisticated understanding of the limits of advertising.

“I think they saw in this cycle that more ads, and sometimes even better ads, may not be the keys to success,” Newell says.

A handful of students also worked with Newell on an extracurricular collaboration with The Des Moines Register. The students spent the months before the caucuses sifting through FCC reports and tracking who—candidates, political action committees or interest groups—spent money on what, where and when.

For senior Christian Spendlove, looking through the data provided an interesting look at what demographics campaigns were targeting, which markets their efforts were focused on and when they chose to cancel space they had purchased.

“I think it’s really cool to see where the money’s coming from and where it’s going,” says Spendlove, who worked as a digital consultant for the Romney campaign in 2012. Coming from Texas, Spendlove says that he found himself fascinated by the total saturation in Iowa markets.

Between Newell’s media planning class and his experience collaborating with the Register, Spendlove says that his fall semester confirmed that he wants to pursue media planning after graduating, possibly even in the political realm.

Photo by Josh Newell

Photo by Lissandra V

illa

http://www.thenewvoter.org


SOFeatures End of a Greenlee Era

AFTER 44 YEARS AT IOWA STATE, THE GREENLEE SCHOOL ICON IS READY FOR HIS NEXT ADVENTURE

By DANIELLE FERGUSON

LONG,ABBOTT

PROFESSOR


Features End of a Greenlee Era

Abbott, Greenlee School professor and former director of the graduate program, officially retired in December, though he refers to the process as becoming “more gradually invisible,” as he will still hold an office in the graduate student space and continue to work with graduate students.

“I’m easing out,” Abbott, 70, said of his transition. “This is weird. I spend part of my time thinking, ‘Gee I’m never going to do this again.’ There’s kind of a sadness about that. Interacting with students is one of the things that’s been so wonderful.”

Abbott started as an undergraduate student in science journalism at Iowa State about 53 years ago. At the time, the basement of Hamilton Hall was where the Iowa State Daily was printed, the journalism program was part of the College of Agriculture, journalists used typewriters and linotypes instead of computers and software, and the program enrolled about 140 students.

The Osceola native involved himself with the Iowa State Daily, where he followed in his father’s

footsteps to become editor in chief. Abbott said he and his father, Lyle C. Abbott, who was editor when the Daily was the ISU Student in 1942, are the only case of which he knows where the position of editor in chief became a family tradition. Abbott’s uncle, H. Lee Schwanz, also held the title right after World War II, and who was editor when the ISU Student changed to the Iowa State Daily.

Abbott initially wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps in a different way when he came to college. His father was a fighter pilot in World War II, and Abbott wanted to join the Marines to be a pilot. He didn’t make the cut because of his vision.

“Now I say, ‘Thank God I had poor vision,’” he says.

So Abbott immersed himself in agricultural journalism. He soon got the itch to go international with his skills. While an undergraduate student at Iowa State, he joined a YMCA program in the summer of 1965 to build a school in South America. Though he didn’t see the school fully

Eric Abbott caught the journalism bug at age 5, when he licked envelope stamps and worked with a dog columnist at a newspaper in Osceola, Iowa, where his father was an editor. Fast forward 60-plus years, and Abbott boasts a plumb-full resume, chock-full of 41 years teaching experience, research trips to dozens of countries, numerous awards and thousands of impacted students.

built, he says he knows it’s now serving students who otherwise wouldn’t have received an education.

Abbott studied abroad every year after that trip. He jokes that he didn’t have a summer for five years. “But I loved it during that time.”

Among Abbott’s list of international travels is his 10 years of work as a social science specialist in Tajikistan. He returned there in November to help inform farmers how they can best divide their lands and learn their rights. This is a difficult task when the country boasts no roads or uniform method of communication.

He’s also worked in partnership with Makerere University in Uganda to help show people how to deal with the country’s major issues, such as AIDS and agricultural losses.

Abbott says people often ask, “Why is a journalism professor doing all this?”

Because, he says, he’s got the skills and the experience in agricultural journalism.

And it all started within the walls of Hamilton Hall. Abbott spent countless hours of his undergrad years in Hamilton Hall and graduated from Iowa State in 1967. Upon graduation, Abbott said he was sure of two things. One, that he would leave Iowa. And two, that he would never teach.

That clearly changed. But not without a few twists and turns.

The Military Selective Service Act in 1967 required men to enlist in the Army, unless they were exempt, with one of those exemptions being graduate school enrollment. Abbott chose graduate school. But, Abbott said, the military needed more able-bodied young men, as December of 1968 was a low point in the Vietnam War, and he ended up receiving the draft notice anyway, on what he describes as a “dark day.”

At the time, Abbott was enrolled at the University of Wisconsin. The school’s chancellor told him he would defend Abbott if Abbott wanted to stay, but Abbott turned him down.

“I thought, ‘Why am I special? Nobody wants to go,” he recalls.

So Abbott went, but not before using the month he had left in Wisconsin to write a master’s thesis. He defended the thesis the day before he left for basic training.

Abbott went through six weeks of basic training assuming he was one of the unlucky to be shipped to Vietnam. Because of his background in journalism, however, he was sent to fill a need

Abbott, ’67, followed in his father’s footsteps and served as editor of the Iowa State Daily in his senior year (’66-’67). Abbott also continued a tradition of former Daily editors returning to Iowa State as faculty and staff members. Other former Daily editors who returned included Rodney Fox, editor in 1929-30; Carl Hamilton, 1934-35; James Schwartz, 1940-41; and Tom Emmerson, 1959-60.

Watch a quick video of Professor Abbott refleting on his career at the Greenlee School of Journalism and

Communication on YouTube at: youtu.be/BnYlxMjsir4

http://youtu.be/BnYlxMjsir4



at the Fort Carson Mountaineer at Fort Carson in Colorado as an editor and communications specialist.’

“Now that was a great day,” he said. His time on the Mountaineer, from February

1969 to January 1971, Abbott said, helped him hone in on his interviewing skills, as he had to deal with people who often didn’t want to be interviewed, such as generals and soldiers.

“Every experience in life is a learning experience,” Abbott said.

After his return from Fort Carson, Abbott went on to receive a masters in agricultural journalism and a PhD in mass communications in 1974, both from the University of Wisconsin.

And then came the unexpected return to Iowa.

Abbott applied to a few places after graduating from University of Wisconsin and stumbled upon an opening at Iowa State.

In fact, the day he learned he was going to be returning to Iowa State as teacher about 41 years ago, a delivery truck rolled into Abbott’s driveway and severed a telephone line. A line that would soon connect him with his future.

But no worries, Abbott can fix a telephone line.

‘I had just went in the house (from repairing the line) and the phone rang and it was Iowa State offering me the job,” Abbott said. “I

accepted the position and never looked back.”Since then, he’s stacked up numerous awards,

including the Association for Communication Excellence International Award of Excellence, the Greenlee School Lou Thompson/Harry Heath advising award, the Liberal Arts and Sciences College International Faculty Award, the Certificate of Appreciation for two years of work

in setting up ISU activities in Uganda among other projects he’s worked on through the years.

All of this on top of teaching generations of journalists at his alma mater.

Giles Fowler, who taught writing and journalism classes at Iowa State from 1981 to 2003, team taught an editing class with Abbott twice, but says he and Abbott worked on “separate ends of the [journalism department]

football field,” as Fowler was more into writing and Abbott was more focused on his research. However, Fowler said he could tell Abbott’s students respected him.

“He’s an extraordinarily challenging teacher,” Fowler, who marks his age as “an old guy,” said. “He was popular with a lot of graduate students. His students adored him and that’s a sign that you’re good.”

Among those students was April Eichmeier Zack, 39, of Madison, Wis., who received a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State in advertising in 1999 and was one of Abbott’s undergraduate research assistants. Working with Abbott, Eichmeier Zack said, ignited her passion for research.

“I could tell working with [Abbott] that he really was genuine,” Eichmeier Zack said. “He was really involved in his research. It wasn’t just something he did. It seemed like it got him up in the morning. His passion for research really shone through.”

Eichmeier Zack, now teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has kept in touch with Abbott since 1999, she says, and recalls he was “instrumental in helping my career and really had an impact on my life.”

She sat in Abbott’s communication theory class and said his teaching style was engaging

Alumni remember Abbott as an exemplary graduate mentor and a consummate researcher. “For thousands of years man has been teaching/instructing and communication. Teaching and communication are arguably teleological in nature. We all instinctively do it, some like Eric just do it better than others” said John Thomas, Greenlee alumnus and former lecturer.

EVERY EXPERIENCE IN LIFE IS A LEARNING

EXPERIENCE



and passionate. She says she can’t remember anything she wrote, but does remember how helpful Abbott was and his love for the subject.

Now, Abbott teaches technology and social change, which looks at how technologies interact with societies, and has led Iowa State’s technology and social change interdepartmental minor for the last 15 years. He talks about the different technologies from various eras and how people use them, such as the extinct typewriter or linotype.

The classroom dynamic, much like the media industry, has changed, Abbott said, but the foundation of journalism hasn’t. Though the students roaming Hamilton Hall today no longer carry ash trays, have tea or coffee pots available in class, use typewriters or have to sit in JL MC 201 for four hours twice a week, they all still learn the basics.

Abbott stresses four elements to all of his students:

1. Get outside yourself. “I don’t care what you’re interested in, it doesn’t matter,” he says. “Can you figure out what others want and need to know?”

2. How can you get the information? You have to know where to go and how to get information you need to always stay a step ahead of your audience.

3. How do we organize it? Ledes, tweets. Abbott says they’re all similar. If you don’t start it right, you won’t capture your reader.

4. Channels of delivery: what’s the best way to reach the audience?

“I’ve said these for 40 years and I think it’s

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A Career of International ServiceSince 1978, Eric Abbott has been active in international development project work, both as a communications consultant and as a social science evaluation specialist. Much of his work for organizations including Iowa State University, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank and the InterAmerican Development Bank, links his research in diffusion of new agricultural practices, rural health practices, understanding of climate change, forest fire prevention and communication strategy.

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Cooperated with the Universidad de Guadalajara in

Mexico to implement an environmental awareness communication campaign in ‘94.

Conducted personal interviews with 140 farm families for

the Costa Rica Farm Family Decision-Making Project in ‘80. Returned in ‘92 as a Peace Corps Trainer teaching a course in communication, community development and leadership.

Established a journalism and mass communication

computer lab at The Polytechnic-Ibadan in Nigeria and provided a week-long training course on utilization of computers in journalism education throughout ‘93-98.

Conducted a baseline survey of home owners and

Worked with Sustainable Rural Livelihoods Project

beginning in ‘03, which seeks to develop community-based food security and sustainability in rural Uganda.

Developed innovative messages for farmers in Mozambique

as part of the ‘14 Farmer Decision-Making Strategies for Improved Soil Fertility Management in Maize-Bean Production Systems project.

Created a project implemenation plan for the Hashemite

Kingdom of Jordan as part of the ‘87 Technology Transfer in Agriculture Project.

Developed a benchmark survey assessing farmer

knowledge, attitudes and practices with respect to land rights issues and farm privatization/restructuring in Tajikistan between ‘06-07 and returned in ‘11-15 to measure impacts of Bank/USAID agricultural interventions on farmer vulnerability.

Conducted a multi-region survey of farmers in Kyrgyzstan

to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices concerning land reform issues for the Agricultural Reform Project from ‘03-04.

Initiated consulting activities for fire-prevention education

in Russia for the ‘01-04 Forest Project. Organized and lead the ‘01 ACE Summit in Moscow/Tula region for 18 Agricultural Communicators in Education members.

potential home buyers for the Egypt Financial Services Project in ‘05, used for the development of an Egyptian private mortgage market system.


do it right, but they say, ‘Hey I can do this.’”He won’t be out the door just yet, though,

as he’ll still be working closely with a few graduate students and keep his current office in the graduate student space in the basement of Hamilton Hall.

Though he’s traveled the world and even

how to manage people turned out to be a very important thing. Students are learning the hard way, the direct way, on how to do things, and I think it’s a strong part of our program.”

Abbott can’t predict what’s going to happen in the future of journalism. Traditional job routes are no longer the norm and it’s impossible to


still going to be true after I leave, but the ways we do that have changed dramatically,” Abbott said.

When Abbott isn’t handing down his years of journalism experience in the classroom or informing farmers in Africa of their rights, he can be found bowling on Monday nights with the Greenlee School bowling team (which finished first in their league in the fall 2015 semester), riding RAGBRAI through the roads of Iowa or ballroom dancing with his wife, Tatyana Abbott, whom he met when she was touring Iowa State from Russia.

“I was impressed by his work. And I guess eventually we decided we liked each other enough,” Tatyana, who at the time was head of the Department of Agriculture in Russia, chuckled.

But it didn’t happen quite that easily. When the two met, she didn’t speak a lick of English, and they had to communicate via translator and facial expressions.

Still, Tatyana was fascinated with Eric’s work. “I was nonstop asking questions,” she said in her Russian accent.

When the two didn’t have a translator, Tatyana said it took a lot of facial expressions, hand gestures and dictionary page flipping to communicate, but they humorously made it work.

The pair married 13 years ago and Tatyana was soon immersed in a culture that was nearly the opposite of everything she grew up with. But she jumped right in, studying English for three hours every day for months.

Now the Abbotts enjoy daily walks to Brookside or Ada Hayden parks, cheering on the Cyclones at football and basketball games and bi-weekly visits to the ISU Ballroom Dancing Club on Friday nights.

“Students see me and they can’t believe (teachers) have fun,” Eric laughed, as he caught his wife sneaking a sip from his unguarded cup of tea.

They’ve gotten to be pretty skilled at ballroom dancing, even dancing at a Moulin Rouge show in Paris before the show started.

Traveling together is important to the Abbotts, and is something both of them want to do more of when Eric has a bit more time after the retirement. Tatyana has gone with Eric to Tajikistan on the work-related trips, but also wants to travel for leisure. The first stop? Hopefully Argentina.

Eric also hopes to spend more time with his family, including son Matt Abbott and daughter Rachel Rooke. He also said he looks forward to seeing more of his six grandchildren. He even hopes to bring out his old, aluminum rowboat to take his 11-year-old grandson, Alex Abbott, fishing, a sport he’s had to push aside for more than 40 years to make time for his career and one he learned from his own father.

While Abbott says he’s looking forward to that free time, he has been wrestling with the idea of no longer having the responsibility of teaching students.

Those students are going to be one of the main aspects of his career Abbott says he’ll miss most, especially when teaching the beginning reporting and writing course, JL MC 201.

“From the first day to the last day, I see such improvements in students,” he says. “They understand how difficult and challenging it is to

Top: Abbott with wife Tatyana in Tajikistan.Left, top: Greenlee faculty celebrated Abbott’s retirement at the final faculty meeting of the fall 2015 semester.Left, bottom: Abbott with Greenlee alumnus and former Professor Paul Yarbrough in 1982. Below: Abbott has dedicated his career to research that has been applied across the globe to improve rural communities.

forecast how technology will evolve. But he says he knows the core values and the basic skillsets are still the most important. He’ll always be a newspaper junkie. His interest sparked at age 5 and his love for the industry won’t end with his retirement.

He says quietly with his head down, wearing a sly grin, “I’ll probably die with a newspaper in my hand.”

attended other universities for journalism, Abbott says one of the main ways Iowa State is ahead of the game is the way in which student publications are managed: by the students.

“You learn how to manage, and painfully so,” he says. “It turned out that the ability to manage, was one of the best things that ever happened [to me]. Yes, there were things I would write about that I was excited about, but learning


J. Newton Wallace, ’41Now publisher emeritus Winters Express.

Ruth (Midgorden) Goodwin, ’46I graduated from Iowa State in 1946 in foods and nutrition with a minor in journalism. I wanted a degree in journalism, not possible in that day when we had to major in one of five departments which were agriculture, engineering, home economics, science, and veterinary medicine. I’m from the era of linotypes and a flatbed press where the Iowa State Daily Student was published five days a week.

I am now 91 years old and live in an assisted living facility in Independence, Missouri. I remember fondly the days of putting the paper to bed, taking the last bus home—I was an Ames girl—and many other memories. I was managing editor and then editor during part of that time; Ken Marvin was department head. When I was there (1942-1946), it was in the years of World War II and most of the men except those excused from duty because of disabilities of some sort were in the military. That left us women the obligation/opportunity to take leadership roles in campus life. I am immensely grateful for my education from Iowa State and especially the things I learned in journalism.

Charlene Warren, ’47In 1943, when I enrolled in Iowa State College (it was not yet a university), freshmen women were housed in some of the empty fraternity houses. I lived in the Phi Gamma Delta house. We joined women from other close by fraternity houses for meals at the Farm House fraternity. It was during World War II and there were few more on campus. However, Iowa State had contracted with the military to provide for servicemen to get training on campus. They were housed in the large dormitories formerly used for women students. Women appreciated there being more men on campus. I met a nice fellow from Oregon. We would feed the jukebox in Trophy Tavern and have fun dancing to what I still call the “double shuffle”.

In my sophomore year I became a campus correspondent for the Cedar Rapids Gazette, thanks to the encouragement of my Iowa State Journalism Faculty. Had the stimulating experience of writing of the activities on campus in connection with Iowa State’s involvement in the development of the Atom Bomb. Really enjoyed my Iowa State experience, living on such a beautiful campus, and the great recognition I received when applying for jobs, as a graduate from such an outstanding educational institution.

John Anderson, ’49My health is still fairly good. I live at Edgewater Retirement Community in West Des Moines. There are a number of ISU graduates here and we enjoy watching the Cyclones together. My wife, Jo, passed away in October 2014.

9250 Edgeline Drive, Apt. 206, West Des Moines, IA [email protected]

Louise Brooks-Swegle, ’49I moved back to Iowa from Virginia in 2014 to be near to my daughters and their families and it has been a successful move. It’s nice to be near Des Moines and Ames again!

329 East Jefferson St., Osceola, IA [email protected]

Barbara Leach, ’50Still hanging in there, but poor health has slowed us down. However, hoping to continue organizing another Habitat for Humanity Bowl-A-Thon in February—something we have done as a fund-raiser for 15 years. Expect to raise at least $7000-$8000. Ray and I celebrated our 65th wedding anniversary last June. He’s still very active as Rotary Secretary and an avid bowler.

Class Notes40s

50s

Alumni Class Notes

By JEFF LECHNER

You can thank Lisa Jesser for treating you right. Or at least making sure you saw that message every time you hit the DQ drive-thru.

Jesser works as the integrated marketing campaign manager for International Dairy Queen in Minneapolis, joining the company in 2013.

She oversees all consumer advertising on television, digital and social media to ensure a singular cohesive message. For instance, she was responsible for overseeing DQ’s Valentine’s Day promotion of Cupid Cakes, Blizzard Cakes for two, and promotions eliminating the cliché of expected Valentine’s Day gifts.

The 2006 Greenlee advertising grad says

the favorite part of her job has everything to do with creativity.

“No day is the same, ever,” Jesser says. Advertising, she continues, is about solving a business problem and a consumer need in a creative way. “It’s an ever-evolving industry in the ways people consume media, and you have to be an ever-evolving student to keep up with it.”

Jesser’s studious ways at Iowa State included landing four internships before graduation, including marketing internships at Surface magazine and Sports Illustrated. For the next seven years, she worked in advertising in Chicago, starting at Rhea and Kaiser, then moving to Arc Worldwide (a Leo Burnett company), the Leo Burnett agency and Cramer Kasselt. Transitioning to larger firms also allowed her to work on higher-profile accounts. Her first multi-national campaign was the Happy Meal promotion that accompanied the first “Madagascar” movie, which continues to be one of her most memorable projects.

“I was very proud and it’s very rewarding seeing something you worked on out in the market-place,” Jesser said.

Lisa Jesser, ‘06

Our online news form allows you to submit your news as it happens, not just at our annual request. We enjoy nothing more than the successes of our over 7,000 alumni and look forward to hearing from you!

Tell us your story at www.greenlee.iastate.edu/AlumniNewsForm

http://www.greenlee.iastate.edu/AlumniNewsForm


to attempt to put the numerous changes in modern day agriculture into perspective for Farm News readers (Fort Dodge Messenger) with the occasional historical story intermingled as in the case of our special issues, i.e. barns and Century Farms as examples. Getting to know new ‘interviewees’ telling their special stories of coping – and achieving is always an added plus in doing these articles. Likewise the occasional family history book I’m...

Donald Arends, ’52Retired from agency after 56 years. Working on two anniversary books for clients of new business, “Consult and Create” communications auditing. Still spending five months in La Quinta, CA. Enjoy docenting at PSAM to help keep WWII Air history alive in young minds -- Two children’s books in the work for 2016. Grandpa Grouper and Norm have international fan base, I’m very grateful for.

Janet Aronson, ’51I still enjoy getting the Greenlee Glimpse. Busy here with editing a bit for our quarterly paper. Also producing some quilt-related items. Grand-daughters are 21 now!

Veryl Fritz, ’51See entry at section’s end, under former faculty.

Mary Kay (Pitzer) Bidlack, ’52 & MS ’57Just returned from a fine trip to Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar. Busy with historic preservation activities in my current home town of Beverly, West Virginia. Been retired from the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives (Washington, D.C.) for 23 years.

P.O. Box 202, Beverly, WV [email protected]

Floramae Geiser, ’52Volunteering at hospital, food pantry and several church activities. Still playing competitive golf and tennis.

Dr. Theodore Hutchcroft, ’53; PhD, Education, ’78We are in our third year at Green Hills Retirement Community, enjoying being close to Iowa State. Sorry to lose 1949 grad and colleague of Wenrick International, Wayne Sevegle. Best regards to friends of years past.

Dr. James Evans, ’54Greetings and best wishes, with special thanks to Professor Eric Abbott for his exemplary service.

Richard Reisem, ’55Still writing books on history and architecture, currently writing my 16th book since retiring from Eastman Kodak. It will be called: “FOREST LAWN: Historic Cemetery/Cultural Marvel. Iowa State inspired me to write.

560 Mount Hope Ave., Rochester, NY [email protected]

R. Jane Meyer, ’55, and Stanley Meyer, ’56Celebrated our 59th year of marriage and our 58th year in Montana this summer. We are grateful for all these wonderful years and to Iowa State for helping us find each other. We came to Montana as newly-weds; Jane had admired pictures of Glacier National Park!

Keith Ballantyne, ’57We continue to spend 8 months in Ashland and 4 (winter) months in Naples, FL. However that routine may not last much longer. We now take 3 days each way rather than 2. And we both have some health issues (surprise!). Son Clark has gone from Texas to Masabo, Equatorias Guinea West Africa; to Anchorage, Alaska; to Midland, Texas in his career with ExxonMobil.

Doris Mac Farquhar, ’57This was a fine year with a big birthday, another trip to Iowa for the Vintage Airplane Meet in Blakesburg, visits with family, friends and an Alpha Gam sister in Des Moines. I still migrate to Florida from November to April, enjoying grandsons, music, and work at

Macarthur Beach State Park, but beautiful western New York is still home.

Congratulations on continuing excellence of ISU journalism as it adapts to tech changes and growth.

Amy Millen, ’57Retired as Senior Editor for the office of the Comptroller of the Currency after 46 years of employment there. Enjoying retirement by attending functions at our Cosmos Club, classes at OLLI, discussions at women in finance and foreign affairs groups, and other activities, including travel.

Marcia (Neil) Myers, ’57Another year come and gone, and we continue our life here in Sarasota. Our family is scattered - New Hampshire, Myrtle Beach, New York City, London, Portland, OR, and Pittsburgh. Our annual cruise this year left New York City, traveled to Maine, Nova Scotia, the St. Lawrence River, Quebec City, Boston, Newport and returned to New York.

Otherwise, I volunteer as a house and as a garden docent at the Ringling Museum, and at the city/county Visitors Center; and Ken at the local hospital, as well as golf and bridge. We would love to show any of you the sights.

5408 Eagles Pt. Circle, Sarasota, FL 34231 [email protected]

Barbara Culver Van Sittert, ’58Husband Logan (BS in Architecture, ’58) and I traveled to London, Barcelona, Russia this year. But we’re concentrating our efforts on working with the Goldwater Institute to produce a series of videos promoting Constitutional and free market literacy. The Goldwater Institute is a Libertarian think tank located in Arizona.

1040 E. Osborn Road, Phoenix, AZ [email protected]

Nicholas Pierce, ’59Sadly watching the demise of our once valuable daily newspaper.

Sonia Porter, ’60It’s been a long time from graduating in 1960 till 2015 -- finally decided it was time to retire… Maybe it’s time to relax and enjoy life.

Edith Lillie Bartley, ’61I’m leading the typical retiree life-- playing some tennis and some bridge, driving a 2002 car, enjoying my grandchildren ( 1, 2, and 6, all boys) and wishing my kids would get their stuff out of my house-- I’m still in the house where they grew up. Involved in various activities but trying to extricate myself. Spending more time with the doctors but no real problems. Hoping the roofer really did find the leak this time. Just life, and it’s just fine.

Vincent Bradley, ’61Continuing to live here in paradise, ever conscious of the gratitude Iowa State and the Department of Technical Journalism. Best Aloha and Many Mahalos, Vince Bradley.

Jolene Stevens, ’61Recalling as I am the enjoyment of putting pen to paper – rather than again strike computer keys – tis’ time for the brief year’s catch-up. As I’m sure we all look to some bright spots in the present domestic/global picture and continuing political dialogue. It continues to be challenging as well as rewarding

60s

Alumni Class Notes

Evonna Sweis’ passion for advertising and broadcast media began before she was a teenager. Sweis knew in about the sixth grade that she wanted to work for the Leo Burnett Group, and when it came time to pick a college, Iowa State was her No. 1 choice.

“Choosing Iowa State was a pretty easy choice,” Sweis said. “It had so much to offer and such a great advertising program that is seemed like the perfect fit for me, and it was.”

Sweis’ four-year ISU career included a packed schedule. Aside from classes, Sweis spent time as the advertising design editor for Trend magazine, member of the features committee for Ethos magazine, Student Admission representative, co-chair for Freshman Council, team leader for Destination Iowa State and marketing and production intern for Iowa State Athletics.

“Cyclones.tv was the best internship experience for me,” Sweis said. “I loved sports. I loved getting the opportunity to really own my creative liberty and creative freedom. … It really helped me find my passion.”

After graduating from Iowa State, Sweis was quickly recruited by Daktronics for freelance work broadcasting live games and events.

In April 2013, Sweis left Ames to become associate producer at the Leo Burnett agency in Chicago. “I’m producing [radio, billboards and commercials] for Burnett, so producing is a pretty all-encompasing term,” Sweis said. “It’s anything from helping choose directors, casting, basically overseeing your voice-over sessions, your post-production sessions. You are your liaison between the creative and the account team. It’s basically about harvesting and executing the creative idea.

“There is nothing in the world greater than being able to take a step outside of work, and maybe your relaxing at home or your just riding in a cab,” Sweis said. “But hearing one of your radio spots or driving past a billboard or seeing one of your television spots on TV and being able to say, ‘That’s my commercial,’ ... it’s very cool.”

Outside of work, Sweis has plunged into volunteerism with the Chicago Advertising Federation, serving as its director of young professionals. She plans programs and hosts events for these members to help them network, learn about the profession and serve their community.

By KYLE HEIM

Evonna Sweis, ‘13

continued on page 40


...fortunate to take on. And can’t we, all as ISU journalism grads, continue to be proud of our Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication as it has come to the forefront under Michael’s guidance — and the role of our own earlier professors who were there when we needed them to help chart our professional future as writers and photographers learning ethics and dedication as well as how to use the basic writing/photography skills.

Look forward to staying in touch. Determined to avoid the Facebook traffic jams but do look forward to staying in touch via e-mail and/at times trustworthy snail mail or even phone.

2622 Ridge Ave. Sioux City, IA [email protected]

Christopher Brenner, ’62I retired in 2006 after 44 years in weekly and daily newspapering. Since then, I have been doing and enjoying just what I damn well please.

Mary Druding, ’62Communications majors may end up in unrelated areas, but that enhanced ability to write is never wasted. And when you retire, the volunteer work awaits -- with newsletters, bulletins, grants, appeals, and endless publicity jobs. I think I’ve made the full circle. Fifty years ago, we waited for the Linotype operators to convert typed-out article into a series of lines of type, which were cast into metal, lined up, inked and the paper was printed. Now, I press “print” and out flies one full-color page after another. I’m not sure which is/was more fun.

E. Beth (Beecher) Feldick, ’62Duane and I just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary with an open house in September. What a great time! Knee replacement surgery is scheduled in November. Then, my next projects include typing up some Buffalo Center, IA, history for the Quasquicentennial in 2017 and writing a history for my Hardin County, IA, farm which will have been in our Beecher family 150 years in 2018.

218 1st St. NE, Buffalo Center, IA [email protected]

George White, ’62Retired in 2011 after 48 years as a United Methodist pastor. Wife Martha and I celebrated our 50th anniversary in 2014. Our three daughters and their families live within an hours drive of Davenport. We have eight grandchildren. Our oldest grandson is a sophomore at ISU! My historical novel “Grubbing Hoes, Bibles and Gavels” has just been published. Writing a historical novel was somewhat like preaching- needing to based on facts and truth, with a touch of imagination. But it was much longer and more challenging than any sermon I preached.

2811 E Hayes St., Davenport, IA [email protected]

Jim Stephens, ’63Have been immensely well treated throughout the quickly-passing 52 years! I had a wonderful faculty and fun, sharp classmates. Spent three years in the NAVY, including two voluntary tours in Vietnam. Peg and I have six wonderful grandchildren and get to see them often. All the best to any/all of you! My

word... People are the best.

James Grunig, ’64I am in my 11th year of retirement. This year, Lauri and I had the opportunity to return to Colombia, where I did the research for my Ph.D. dissertation and for the Land Tenure Center at the University of Wisconsin from 1967 to 1969. I did a presentation for the Interamerican Confederation for Public Relations in Medellin and for Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá. I also got to visit familiar places in Bogotá that I had not visited in nearly 50 years. The visit also brought back memories of the times Eric Abbott and worked together in Bogotá.

41 Brinkwood Road, Brookeville, MD 20833, [email protected]

Donald Johnson, ’64Last year I joined Susan as a retired ski bum. This year we sold our mountain house and, I hope, never again will own two homes. We spend our time traveling N. America in our Itasca Reyo, which is a nice 25-footer that will fit in any Starbucks parking lot. Last year we attended the Winnebago annual rally in Forest City, IA. We just got home from a vacation in Illinois and Grand Have, MI, where we camped in a wonderful state park on the shore of Lake Michigan. So we usually cross Iowa one or two times a year. Next spring we plan to spend a month or so camping in Destin, FL, as well in states between Denver and Destin. We exercise one to two hours a day and try to eat healthy. Life is good. Every day’s a bonus.

120 Silver Fox Dr, Greenwood Village, CO [email protected]

Diane (Sharbo) Paul, ’65Bob and I retired at the end of the summer 2014, moved, and are now living in the Greenville, South Carolina area. New address: 18 Drystack Way, Simpsonville, SC 29681-4569. [email protected] and [email protected]. In September we traveled to China for a two week trip with Viking River Cruises, beginning in Beijing and ending in Shanghai. It was a “bucket list” trip!

18 Drystack Way, Simpsonville, SC 29681 [email protected]

Robert Dunaway, ’66Retired and doing service work.

Joseph Elstner, ’66Retired since 2008 after 38-year PR career with Bell telecom companies and The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Wife Diane (ISU ‘68) retired after a lengthy teaching career focused mainly on English As A Second Language (ESL). We volunteer with ESL and other civic and church groups. Continuing on keyboards with The Decades, a classic rock band playing St. Louis venues for 22 years. Check us out at the-decades.wix.com. Hi to all my buds from the Fox/Kunerth/Hamilton, et. al., days.

618 Forest Leaf Drive, Ballwin, MO 63011 [email protected]

Dr. J Paul Yarbrough, ’66See entry at section’s end, under former faculty.

Rick Davis, ’67Turned age 70 in March 2015. Prompted full retirement when filed final traffic column in July

2015 for Riverside (California) Press-Enterprise. San Antonio, Texas remains “good fit”—3 1/2 years now.

[email protected]

Richard Hull, ’67It seems the years pass more quickly when you reach 70. This past year I heard from two former classmates from ISU. What a surprise! I continue to serve on the Board of the National Association of Farm Broadcasts Foundation and still own 2 FM stations in Kansas.

Carol McGarvey, ’67I’m proud to say I use my Greenlee education each day. I continue to freelance for Welcome Home

Alumni Class Notes

It’s Chris Peters’ job to know goons. And grinders. And floppers. And iron crosses.

Peters, an ’06 Greenlee grad, has lit the lamp on his career as a professional hockey writer. Now 31, Peters works for CBS Sports while living in North Liberty, Iowa, with his wife, Ashlie and their son.

Peters’ race for the goal began in Colorado with USA Hockey’s prestigious Brian Fishman internship following his ISU graduation. He then worked as a freelance writer for several years while creating a blog, United States of Hockey. That project caught the eye of a CBS Sports staffer, and soon Peters landed a part-time hockey blog for the network. In July 2014, CBS Sports hired Peters as a fulltime staff writer.

For this diehard hockey fan, Peters’ CBS Sports gig is cooler than a hat trick. He writes about all 30 NHL teams – which means he watches a lot of hockey, analyzes the games and breaks them down for his readers all around the world.

Peters credits his tenure at the Greenlee School for teaching him to push himself and create his own reporting and writing style, though he admits he “was lucky to do just enough” academically. Even so, he remembers classmates and friends who pushed him “to become better at everything.” And he appreciates the guidance of late professor Barbara Mack.

“Barbara instilled a broad knowledge of ethics and practices I still lean on today,” Peters said.

By MATTHEW BARKER

Chris Peters, ‘06

Jolene Stevens, ’61 (cont.)


magazine, a central Iowa lifestyle magazine, and its sister digital magazine, Build Des Moines, as well as some other spot projects. For the seventh year, I’m continuing to learn in a memoir-writing group. Such fun. My husband Tom has retired for a second time. Our three kids and their spouses and our seven fantastic grandchildren are thriving. Life is good. Congrats to my classmate, Professor Eric Abbott, for career well spent.

Steven Mores, ’67Lots of changes for small town print media, but still “fighting the battle”. No full-time retirement yet but working more on golf game, lake time, etc. than in years past… hate to admit, it might “run” without me!

Judith (Gardner) Rutter, ’67Happily retired on the Central Coast of California. Continue to enjoy bicycling and hiking year-round. Travel included Washington, D.C., New York City, the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, a travel trailer trip around Texas and three weeks in Spain.

642 Stoneridge Drive, San Luis Obispo, CA [email protected]

Dennis Bries, ’68Still working — freelance writing for several local newspapers. Also started and completed my first year in a new occupation — in home health care.

W5602 Church Road, Johnaon Creek, WI [email protected]

Marjorie Groves ’68, ’73, and Wil Groves, ’68What a fun year! We started with a month-long drive through Texas, Arizona and California, ending with a cruise out of San Diego, then followed the Iowa State men’s basketball team to the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City and the men’s and women’s teams to Kentucky for the NCAA tournament. Wil directed Monty Python’s Spamalot and, following the closing performance, we drove along the Oregon coast for several weeks. We spent October volunteering in Yellowstone National Park. Wil was awarded the Successful Farming/Loren Kruse Outstanding Iowa 4-H Leader Award at the State 4-H Conference in Ames.

2995 Neely Ave., Jewell, IA [email protected]

Lawn Griffiths, ’68Fully retired from newspapering, I devote my time to about 10 organizations from Kiwanis to Salvation Army to Meals on Wheels to a behavioral health board and probably about 20 church-related duties. In May, I published my book, “Batting Rocks Over the Barn -- An Iowa Farm Boy’s Odyssey” (Xlibris Publisher) www.battingrocksoverthebarn.com or from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It is a compilation of my best rural-themed columns from 40 years ago when I was farm editor for the Waterloo Courier. Drawing from 40 years in newspapers, I’ve been editing manuscripts for others, enjoying our four grandkids and forever loving the Arizona sun and sunsets.

Marielle Harrison (Mary-Lynn Barker), ’68Greetings from Edina, Minnesota. I am retired from clinical social work, but still working as an elder companion. I’ve been traveling a fair amount since I last wrote. In 2014 I spent three months in Brooklyn, NY helping my daughter’s family after the birth of my second grandson.

The boys are now 5 years old and 1 year and 5 months. They moved to Alexandria, VA, and so I have been flying to see them there. I also have

continued to visit my former husband and friend, John, on Cape Cod every summer and Christmas.

In Oct. of this year I went to Dallas for the first time for an international conference on homeopathy and vaccines. And again in October I’m traveling to Iona, Scotland with a group from my church. My mother passed away, at age 95, last April. I stopped by the journalism building at ISU on my way home from Branson, MO, where she lived. I’m amazed at how different it all looks. My health is great—I bike and walk, and read voluminously about health issues. I’m on Facebook if you care to connect or contact me at

[email protected]

Vincent Gary, ’69Retired from full-time employment but still working freelance (mostly Unverferth Manufacturing through McCormick Company, and Iowa Select Farms). I still very much enjoy writing and my work helps me keep active and up to date in the ever-changing and exciting world of agriculture. Fun and proud to attend ISU football games this fall and watch my granddaughter Allison Vincent perform as a member of the ISU co-ed cheerleading squad! Allison is the third-generation of my immediate family to attend Iowa State...along with her grandfather, father Rob and uncle Greg.

1270 South 4th St., Clarisle, IA [email protected]

William Monroe, ’69Happily retired and living more and more at our retirement lake home in Cross Lake, MN. Still serving on the Iowa Public Information Board and as Governor Branstad’s Transparency Advisor.

Susan (Bussman) Simons, ’69Retired from The Pueblo Chieftain newspaper.

34 Country Club Village, Pueblo, CO [email protected]

Richard Volkmer, ’69Still adjusting to retirement...the clients have departed, no employees around, and it’s quiet here in the office after 40 years in the trenches.

Open days with few commitments do grow on you, however. Karen and I travel a bit with friends and, at this writing, will visit the campus in another week. October always brings such lush colors to Iowa, so the trip will be a real treat. Hope all old friends from our Iowa State days are well. I’d love to hear from you and have time to write back nowadays.

3S530 Mignin Drive, Warrenville, IL [email protected]

John Slothower III, ’70Recently retired from Best Buy after 12 years of building an electronics trade-in program. I am continuing at my church as the non-stipendiary (unpaid) Associate Minister.

Being retired is interesting - just figuring out what day it is can be a challenge. I am doing some pro-bono consulting with a local charity that runs a number of thrift stores, getting in more travel, and working on a collection of sermons in which I used Best Buy experiences as the sermon illustration. Should be interesting.

6617 Waterman Ave., Hopkins, MI [email protected]

Adriane Leigh Charlton, ’71 See entry at section’s end, under former faculty.

John Lytle, ’71Retired as Levitt Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication in May 2015, ending 38 years at Drake University, the last academic year as an adjunct. I miss the students and their projects but not the meetings.

1014 68th St., Windsor Hts, IA 50324

Patricia Steiner, ’71Continue to enjoy my career as a Nutrition &

70s

Alumni Class Notes

Ashley Schlag, ‘07Graduating from Iowa State in 2007, Ashley

Schlag has lived on the East Coast for almost a decade – and continues to love every minute.

“I’m living the dream out here,” she says, as she casually mentions working with big names such as Jennifer Lopez and Ryan Reynolds.

That dream career began with an internship for the Renewable Fuels Association, followed by her first “real job” with Ketchum Public Relations in Washington D.C. Schlag moved to New York in 2011 to work at Weber Shandwick; two years later, she accepted her current position as senior communications manager for America Online. Today, Schlag works with such AOL brands as MAKERS and AOL Build.

“My passion lies in women’s leadership and entertainment,” she explained during a recent interview. AOL Build is a live interview series that allows fans to sit within inches of celebrities while they discuss their current projects and passions. MAKERS is a women’s leadership platform that encompasses broadcast documentaries, web and mobile-first video content, and live events. MAKERS promotes women who dare to be

By CASSIDY FISCHER

leaders and role models to those around them, with over 270 women highlighted today. This project has allowed Schlag to work with many high-profile women, her favorites including Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen DeGeneres and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Through her involvement with MAKERS and AOL Build, Schlag says she has grown to value working with brands she believes in.

“The energy and excitement in New York is incredibly easy to feed off of. It’s so hard to be in a bad mood,” Schlag says. “The best thing is the people.”


http://www.battingrocksoverthebarn.com

http://www.battingrocksoverthebarn.com


Jack Trice. On game days my Cardinal and Gold flag proudly waves as a reminder to my neighbors where my loyalty lies.

205 Pilgrim Rd., Abilene, TX [email protected]

Harlen Persinger, ’72I remain busy with freelance assignments and operating the home farms in Grundy County. One major excursion for the year included attending the International Federated Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) congress in Hamilton, New Zealand, along with the pre-tour in Cairns, Australia. In November, I spent two weeks exploring parts of India and attended the 8th ASCPAC conference in Chandigarh and then explored areas around New Delhi including the early morning sunrise and the full moon at the Taj Mahal. The open photo competition seems to get stronger every year at the Iowa State Fair. I was thrilled to receive a second place in two categories. I always enjoy all the news from fellow ISU journalists.

207 N 123rd St., Milwaukee, WI 53226 [email protected]

Warren Riedesel, ’72Retired from marketing communications department at DuPont Pioneer in 2012. Enjoying travel with my wife, time with grandchildren and staying in contact with my former colleagues in agribusiness.

701 16th St, Des Moines, IA [email protected]

Rod Williamson, ’72I am in my 32nd year at Vanderbilt. My wife Phyllis and I have three grandkids. At age 65 I am still learning about new and better ways to communicate while missing some of the old ways I learned as a student and sports editor of the ISU Daily in 1971. We miss Iowa State after all these years and follow the Cyclones closely.

1208 Old Spring Trail, Arrington, TN [email protected]

Charles Barthold, ’73After 41 plus years in broadcast news (KPGY, WHO, KARE), I put the camera in lock-up and parked the microwave truck for the last time in November 2014. I retired a little earlier

Wellness program specialist for Iowa State University Extension & Outreach; along with travel! Top priorities my faith, my family, and my friends. Destination this fall is Argentina and Chile.

William F. (Bill) Tubbs, ’71Still active in publishing and Rotary. Highlights this year were attending the Rotary International Convention in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with my son-in-law, Matt Olson, in June, and receiving the National Newspaper Association’s James O. Amos Award for lifetime achievement, with Linda, at the NNA Convention in St. Charles, Mo., in October. Six grandchildren under age 7 in Urbandale, Iowa, and Middleton, Wis., also keep us busy!

302 S 8th St., Eldridge, IA [email protected]

Michael Turner, ’71Was appointed senior assistant governor for communications for Rotary District 5280, which encompasses 63 clubs and 2,500 Rotarians, in the Los Angeles area. Michael is responsible for managing marketing and public relations for the district including overseeing Facebook and Twitter sites, the monthly and weekly e-newsletters, and media relations.

10341 Canoga Ave., #29, Chatsworth, CA [email protected]

John Byrnes, ’72I retired three years ago but still do a bit of freelance work.

Dennis Miller, ’72, Looking forward to retirement from the Abilene (TX) Public Library in August, 2016 after 20 plus years. Should give me a chance to get back to Iowa more often including some games at

than planned after being offered a job as a conductor (with training to become an engineer) on the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad, a tourist operation and shortline serving two customers in Hayward, WI. I work for the freight side of the operation.

P.O. Box 11, Springbrook, WI [email protected]

Gary & Mary Ann Barton, ’73Continue to enjoy life with my wife of 41-years, Mary Ann (Podolski). We met in the reading room at the Greenlee School while we were both working on our MS degrees. Mary Ann graduated in 1973. Mary Ann retired after a long, successful career teaching high school journalism in Ames, IA, and St. Louis suburban school districts. Today Mary Ann is an active gardener and horse rider (horse’s name is Tango). We were blessed with three children and currently three grandchildren. One child (married) lives in Atlanta. The other two grown children (one married and one engaged) live in the greater Los Angeles area. Last winter found Mary Ann and I on a hiking trip Patagonia followed by a cruise along the coasts of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

2208 N. Konstanz Drive, Innsbrook, MO [email protected], [email protected]

Robert Day, ’73It’s been an amazing 41 year career at KCCI (CBS)/Des Moines – which has included three departments, four corporate owners and two buildings. But in 2015, Eleanor and I took the step into the next phase of our life together in retirement. We’re eagerly tackling a full plate of home and community projects, doing some travel (near & far), and enjoying extended time to spend with family and friends. Though we miss the daily broadcasting “buzz”, Eleanor and I plan to remain in the Des Moines area, and hope to stay in touch with all our great broadcasting friends.

10919 Hickory Drive, Clive, IA [email protected]

Sally Petersen, ’73I live in Greeley, Colorado, where I have a psychotherapy/ hypnotherapy practice. I still do some editing. My husband is retired, the dog recently died, and we are enjoying our grandchildren immensely.

Anne (Willemssen) McKeown, ’74Retirement will become reality for husband Kim and me in mid-December 2015. Kim will wrap up a 42-

Alumni Class Notes

Falling in love with journalism was not what Tara Deering-Hansen had in mind when she started college. In fact, her first semester at Iowa State was spent as an agricultural engineering student. Deering-Hansen says she was weeded out after the first semester.

Switching gears, she began her journey toward a career in journalism with an initial focus on broadcast. After all, as a sixth grader she was selected to be on the Fox Kid Cam where she read a story and appeared on the news, so she had experience.

But Deering-Hansen’s course changed again

By WHITNEY PITTMAN

Tara Deering-Hansen, ‘99

after she began working at the Iowa State Daily, where she says she fell in love with newspaper. She started out with community news and eventually became the Daily’s editor in chief. At the time, the late professor Barbara Mack advised the Daily. Deering-Hansen remembers Mack as her true ally and leader. She says Mack was hard on her, “but in a good way that made me better.”

After three newspaper internships and years of long hours spent as a reporter for the Omaha World-Herald, The Des Moines Register and the Chicago Tribune, Deering-Hansen began to shift her professional focus. Family, and time spent with them, became more of a priority, so she made the move to public relations. Today she serves as group vice president of communications for HyVee, based in Des Moines. She still uses her reporting skills, but has more time for both her husband and two young children and her passion for yoga.

Patricia Steiner, ’71 (cont.)


year career with HGM Associates Inc. (engineers/architects/surveyors) as a civil engineer and administrator. I technically retired four years ago but still work on special projects occasionally for HGM and serve on a foundation board for Iowa School for the Deaf. We sold our big house and acreage outside Council Bluffs this year, went through an exhausting downsizing, and shoehorned ourselves (plus two cats) into a condo tower along the Missouri River near downtown Omaha. I love urban living! We plan to spend 6+ months a year in our Las Cruces, New Mexico, home and long summers in Omaha/CB, at least for the next few years. Life is still an adventure, and we’ll always be Iowa Staters!

555 Riverfront Plaza, #501Omaha, NE 68102

Donna Proudfit, ’74Practicing realtor in La Crosse, WI since 1999. Working as a Broker Associate at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services-Lovejoy Realty in Onalaska, WI.

[email protected]

Terry Rich, ’74Authored “Dare to Dream, Dare to Act” for innovation presentations.

4113 Greenview Drive, Urbandale, IA [email protected]

Len Schulke, ’74Been happily retired from Hormel Foods Corp. in Austin, Minn., for three years after nearly 29 years in the Public Relations Department.

3409 7th Ave SW, Austin, MN [email protected]

Julie (Nielsen) Wolf, ’74This summer I joined the ranks of the happily retired. We sold our home in Lawrence, Kansas; I left the University of Kansas after 26 years (the last 5 as senior project manager for the Office of Marketing Communications); and we downsized to a tiny home in an active senior community in Casa Grande, Arizona. I had thought about taking a part-time job here, then realized that retirement, done properly, fills all the hours in a day. Life is good.

1110 N. Henness Rd. #134, Casa Grande, AZ [email protected]

Cliff Brockman, ’75Welcomed our first grandchild in March. In my 10th year of teaching journalism at Wartburg College and loving it!

David Drennan, ’75On Dec. 1, 2015, it will be my 20th anniversary as Executive Director of the Missouri Dairy Association.

Catherine Collison, ’76, and Bill Collison, ’75We can’t believe that this year was Bill’s 40th an next year will be Cathy’s 40th since graduating from the ISU journalism program. Bill has marked 35 years at the Detroit Free Press and continues in the Free Press sports department.

Cathy (‘76) retired from the Free Press, but continues to write and edit the Yak’s Corner news magazine, now distributed through the non-profit Michigan K.I.D.S., as well as other freelance projects. Her latest project was a book published this fall for young readers “Westward Expansion (with Arts and Crafts).” She and her co-writer shared the history with young readers while another editorial team did the crafts. That research happily coincided with a Collison trip out West to Wyoming two summers

ago. In family news, we’ll be heading east more often as daughter Maggie graduated from medical school and has begun her residency in Boston and son Robert in his second year of pursuing a PhD in

Chemistry in New York.Loved watching the ISU Cyclones get televised back here in Michigan during basketball season. Football, well, not so much, but a nice salute on Jack Trice was part of the recent broadcast. Cheers!

Elizabeth Hansen, MS ’76See entry at section’s end, under former faculty.

Janet Mason, ’76The Michigan Chapter of NATAS (National Academy of Television, Arts, and Sciences) gave Janet Mason its Silver Circle Award.

Linda Watson, ’76I retired in January after 38 years in the ever-changing newspaper business, capping off a long career at the Quad-City Times with a year as editor of our hometown newspaper in DeWitt. The free time is now spent gardening, exercising, reading, volunteering, and attending the many high school activities of our daughter, Sarah. She’s a junior, so we’ll be doing college visits this year. Iowa State is on the list already.

John Arends, ’77Anne and I continue to enjoy life in the Fox River valley west of Chicago.

All three kids are successfully launched. Our oldest, Kate, is an influencer/tastemaker/brand consultant via her blog “Wit & Delight” (www.witanddelight.com). Allie is reshaping the digital marketing landscape at class ring maker Jostens. David is living in Ankeny, IA, working in Target’s executive training program.

Anne is in her 14th year shaping young children via teaching preschool by day, and reshaping the Chicago classical music scene by night, via singing with Chicago Chorale (www.chicagochorale.org). For the past several years I’ve also been studying and practicing the craft of screenwriting, writing spec projects for feature films and TV series pilots.

I landed representation with CAA last year, via my screenplay “Trice” (inspired by the Jack Trice story), which has opened many doors in Hollywood. The incredible exposure and support of “Trice” via The Black List website (www.blcklst.com) recently led to my first paying gig. This past year, I was hired by the National Football League and producer Charlie Ebersol to write an original feature film to be produced by the NFL and Ebersol’s production company. In 2015, I also published my first collection of poetry, “SINEW: Muscle Poems & Mantras, Bar Rants & Bliss” which is now available via my Amazon author’s page: www.amazon.com/author/johnarends.

46 McKinley St., Saint Charles, IL [email protected]

Evelyn Boswell, ’77Retired in 2015 from news office at Montana State University. Continues to work part time at Reach, Inc., an organization that serves adults with disabilities.

Dana Drobny, ’77Expanding my literature/writing teaching at Santa Barbara City College into MINDFULNESS and delighting in how much it is helping students - and teacher! / Visited friends in France and Switzerland last summer - actually hadn’t been to Europe since Tom Emmerson’s summer study program in 1976! Things had changed a bit.

P.O. Box 968, Santa Barbara, CA [email protected]

Alumni Class Notes

On a normal day, Kate Gibson can be found hard at work amid a sea of white. Gibson is a 2013 graduate of the Greenlee School and is currently working in Kansas City as the social media coordinator for the bridal design company, Essense of Australia.

After her graduation in 2013, Gibson first followed her passions as a copywriter at Fire Engine Design Studio in Kansas City. After spending over a year there, Gibson pursued a career in the bridal fashion industry. Her position at Essense of Australia allows Gibson to utilize her talents as a fashion and beauty writer, a talent she discovered during her time at Iowa State University.

As the social media coordinator at this award-winning company, Gibson is in charge of creating innovative and engaging content over all social media platforms. On a daily basis, Gibson is interacting with brides, checking up on the latest trends and engaging potential future brides for this company.

“Everyone loves weddings,” said Gibson, which is what she attributes to being able to generate intriguing and interesting content each day. “I am always brainstorming and researching new trends to turn into content for the brand.”

During her time at Iowa State, Gibson was actively involved in many campus clubs and activities, including Trend magazine, SIR magazine and the Student Alumni Leadership Council. Gibson attributes her success today to the many activities and committees she was able to participate in during her undergrad.

Gibson’s one piece of advice: “Don’t limit yourself or sell yourself short.” She encourages those pursuing a career in the fashion industry to always keep up on the latest trends. The skills that Gibson acquired at the Greenlee School have perfectly prepared her for this exciting career, white dresses and all.

By LINDSAY HOSTERT

Kate Gibson, ‘13

http://www.witanddelight.com

http://www.witanddelight.com

http://www.chicagochorale.org

http://www.blcklst.com

http://www.amazon.com/author/johnarends


David Johnston, ’79We sold our house in Cumming, GA last August and moved into our new home in Gainesville, GA last November. In the interim we lived in student housing on the campus of Brenau University, where my wife Sue and daughter Annie both work. This was my first on-campus apartment -- certainly on the campus of a women’s university. Sue works in Student Services and loves her job. I’m in my 12th year of self-employment, still loving it. The Affordable Care Act not only cut my health insurance premiums in half; it is also responsible for a lot of my work: communicating benefits. The job is a nice mix of writing and public speaking, while leaving me enough time to practice smoking the perfect BBQ brisket.

3397 Cresswind Parkway SW, Gainesville, GA [email protected]

Maureen Jones, ’79After many years in communications, a few years ago I transitioned to Corporate Social Responsibility. I am enjoying the global opportunities and impacts we make on communities and peoples’ lives in many countries. A major milestone in our family’s lives this year when daughter Kyle graduated from Iowa State with a degree in graphic design. Happy she is employed in Chicago. Other daughter Kacy started her second year of law school. Lots to be thankful for in the Buckley-Jones house.

Sherry Newell-Opitz, ’79Getting ready to retire from Midwest Dairy Association after 25 years!

Susan (Suter) Mortensen, ’79Life seems very routine, but satisfying. Ron and I continue to think about ways to make our work life simpler, but no move has been made towards the

Wes Ehrecke, ’77In 16th year as President & CEO of the Iowa Gaming Association...still appreciatively using the many skills learned at Greenlee every day! This year, fulfilled a rewarding stretch personal goal riding my bike over 24,000 miles in 10 years; including 32 100+ mile century rides; reaching the top of 12 mountain passes ranging from 10,500 to 12,000 feet in Colorado’s Rockies and culminating at the Summit of Mt Evans--14,130 feet--the highest paved highway in North America. And became a first-time grandfather!!

13350 Cedarwood Ave., Clive, Iowa [email protected]

John (J.C.) Kain, ’77Both kids are out of college and making a decent living. Since neither is dead or in prison, I feel I’ve done my job.

4121 E. Windsor, Phoenix, Arizona [email protected]

Connie Fanselow, ’78Executive Officer for Intellectual and Developmental Disability Policy on the Iowa Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health and Disability Services.

Susan (Stephan) Holloway, ’78Susan is the Director of Marketing Communications, Communications and Brand Strategy at Michigan State University.

5684 Bayonne Ave., Haslett, MI [email protected]

Elaine (Harvey) Edwards, ’79, MS ’94Mark and I moved to Lanesboro, Minnesota in late June as part of our next adventure. We are the proud owners of the Habberstad House Bed and Breakfast. We live in a vibrant, small community with a focus on outdoor activities and the arts. In June 2015 I left my position at Kansas State University with Research and Extension as News Leader. I was there for seven years; served previously at Iowa State University Extension for 21 years in communications and marketing positions. I continue to use my communications background in our new business. Please stop in if you are in the area.

706 Fillmore Ave. S, Lanesboro, MN [email protected]

Beth Jasper, ’79Just finished programming films for Dallas VideoFest 28, and now preparing for our move to Eugene, OR in January. Would love to hear from any alumni there! Our documentary film, The Devil’s Box, continues to interest people worldwide. Take a look at some amazing Texas-style fiddlers and see the movie trailer here: www.DevilsBoxMovie.com.

1506 Grace St., Taylor, TX [email protected]

R word. The change of 2015 has been welcoming Ron’s dad to Fort Dodge. He took up residence at Friendship Haven early this year, moving from the farm just outside of Alta, Iowa. He is very happy and we both appreciate having him closer.

1937 15th Ave N, Fort Dodge, Iowa [email protected]

Margaret Grove Radford, ’79I have vivid memories of settling into a warm chair on a cold day in the department Reading Room, and thumbing through the Newsletter hot off the presses and thinking, “How could all of these really old alumni have attended the same place I did?” Crazy, huh? Now I’m one of the increasingly older alumni, living the challenging and meaningful professional life that Iowa State and the Journalism DEPARTMENT helped to make possible for me.

Today, I am a “construction facilitator” for Colorado Springs’ largest single public infrastructure project ever delivered at one time -- the Southern Delivery System (sdswater.org). In English, that means I do community involvement and stakeholder advocacy for the people affected by construction of our 50 miles of 66-inch water pipeline, 3 water pump stations and water treatment plant. My eight years as a City Councilwoman prepared me well to serve constituents (and all) and my writing, editing and strategy skills continue to serve me. It’s amazing what a solid education Journalism degree (a BS, by the way) can help one do.

On the personal side, husband Bill marks 27 years at the Gazette here in Colorado Springs (don’t get me started); our son, Ryan, is 25 and married, and working as a mental health professional in Denver; our daughter, Hope, is 21 and soon to graduate with honors at University of Montana in Missoula. We live on 5 acres now in the country to care

Alumni Class Notes

Growing up on a family farm near Humboldt, Iowa, Elaine Edwards always had an affinity for agriculture. When she first came to Iowa State University in 1975, she leaned on that passion while working toward a degree in agricultural journalism.

After graduating in 1979, Edwards went on to work at the ISU Extension Communication office while continuing her journalism schooling. She spent 21 fulfilling years writing, editing and publicizing exhibits for Iowa State and, in the process, earned her master’s degree in journalism.

Following her time at ISU, Edwards took her talents to Kansas State University, where she worked in news and marketing in a position very similar to her job at Iowa State. Seven years later, Edwards and her husband Mark decided it was time to leave their media jobs to attempt a more domestic career path.

The pair bought a Queen Anne Victorian style home in Lanesboro, Minn., and began their lives as the owners of a bed and breakfast. The Habberstad House, named after its original owner, Olaf M. Habberstad,, boasts six uniquely themed guest rooms, a spacious backyard and over a century of history.

A stay at the Habberstad house also includes what guests have called “fantastic family breakfasts,” a perk the Edwards’ pride

By TAYLOR WARD

Elaine Edwards, ‘79

themselves on. Up at 6 a.m. each morning, the couple begins preparing food for the guests’ morning meal.

“We’re like dairy farmers,” said Elaine Edwards. “We’re on every day.”

She sees this hard work pay off when visiting around the breakfast table with guests. Hearing the stories of strangers passing through her home is what Edwards finds most enjoyable about her new lifestyle.

“We have had a doctor who served in WWII,” Edwards said. “We had a couple who stayed their first night in America here. We had a doctor who delivered triplets to a mother who was already raising 15 children. You get to meet the most interesting people.”

http://www.DevilsBoxMovie.com


for our horses and keep me from running for City Council again. I’m living the life — best wishes to all. And PS: Have been working with fellow grad Mindy O’Neall (fellow employee of MWH Global) so here’s a shout out to Mindy and, oh yeah, Mark Reis and his family seem to be doing well here in Colorado Springs, too.

16340 Cathys Loop, Peyton, CO 80831

Richard Schara, ’79My brother, Ron Schara, ISU journalism grad in 1960 or so, was a key reason I chose to attend Iowa State back in 1974. Just this year, Ron was inducted into the 2015 Minnesota Broadcasting Hall of Fame. His local show on the NBC affiliate - Minnesota Bound - has run since 1995, with more than 600 half-hour episodes produced...unheard of in this television era. The show has won 11 Emmy awards and Ron Schara Productions employs 18 people in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Ron has also been honored by the Outdoor Writers Association of America in 2011 as the recipient of “Excellence in Craft” joining such notable inductees as Curt Gowdy and Patrick McManus. Congrats Ron on your Hall of Fame entry this year! I am so proud of big brother and to be Raven’s uncle!!

516 South Oak, Fergus Falls, MN [email protected]

Michael Swan, ’79, MS ’98My son is at Wichita State, my daughter is at KU and my wife is now teaching Family and Consumer Sciences at the local high school. I’m in year 17 at Butler Community College as Mass Comm Lead Professor and Sports Media Adviser.

So, we’ve got our bases pretty much covered. To make it complete, however, I do make frequent trips back to “God’s Country,” Iowa State. We will be broadcasting a football game at Ellsworth Community College soon, and my students are looking forward to the accompanying Maid-Rites.

We are covering five games in two days as I write this, but it’s fun. We’ve got a cat, Roxie, to help keep us calm through all of this. Our wonderful border collie passed in recent history. We are looking at adding a dog in the next year or so. And after a year of weekly conference calls and other communication, our Ames High School 40th Reunion Committee was able to pull off a really fun reunion. It was complete with some disco attire. AHS and ISU J-grad Nancy Phipps headed that group up. It was a honor to serve.

1403 Park Ave., El Dorado, KS [email protected]

Annette (Juergens) Busbee, ’80I’m now in my fourth year as a senior communications specialist at Rockwell Collins focused on employee and executive communications. I get to write about the incredible technology being developed at this company for the aerospace and defense industries, and capture the passion of the engineers about the work they’re doing. It’s a pretty great gig.

My husband and I downsized a bit this year and moved into a new ranch home in Cedar Rapids. As we filtered through the contents of our previous home of 25 years, we discovered that: 1) we had accumulated an unbelievable amount of stuff, and 2) our two sons didn’t want any of it. So we were frequent drop-off visitors to Restore and Goodwill. All in all, it was a good cleansing process. Now that we’re settled in our new place, we’re back to enjoying occasional weekend visits with our sons -- one is in Minneapolis and the other is in Milwaukee. We’re also gradually getting to the must-see cities on our travel list. And, of course, there are regular trips to Ames to meet family at football and basketball games. Go Cyclones!

Debra (Bell) Geiser, ’80Life is good for us in Cedar Rapids, with Dan traveling and teaching for Advancement Resources, me administrating at Peace Church, and Tristan leaning into his management and accounting major at the University of Iowa (the kid already nailed down his summer 2016 internship at CNA in Chicago--yes, we are proud!). I enjoyed a fabulous reunion with the Foxes of Fleming House, Helser Hall, in October, at the height of autumn beauty on ISU’s campus. It was great to be back at Iowa State!

108 Brentwood Dr. NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa [email protected]

Kurt Lawton, ’80Now in my fifth year as Director of Content (aka Editor-in-Chief) of Corn+Soybean Digest brand for Penton’s agricultural division. Enjoy encouraging (and some will say pushing) farmers to think different about soil health, agronomics, data usage and sustainability. Love our digital-first content mentality, while we keep our print efforts still profitable. Also,

just finished up my term as President of American Agricultural Editors’ Association, helping our great organization to reinvent their mission for the future.

The family has grown with the addition of my significant other, Shelli, and a rescue Golden Retriever, Hank. My two oldest kids continue in the communications biz; son Nick a reporter for CBS affiliate in Shreveport, LA; daughter Monica works at marketing agency Nelson Schmidt in Milwaukee. And my youngest son Matt graduates this spring with a BS in Nursing from University Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Finally, I’m glad to hear about some headway being made on possible reinstatement of an ag journalism/communications major. A group of us Ag JL MCers have been pushing for this. GO CYCLONES!

13996 Wellington Drive, Eden Prairie, MN [email protected]

Elizabeth Anderson, ’81I continue to copy edit and proofread for Meredith Corp. and Grey Dog Media. Loren is enjoying retirement, but seems busier than ever with work at our farm, church, the Iowa Christmas Tree Growers, and the Grundy Center community. John is a senior at Kansas State University, majoring in ag business. Kate is a senior at ISU, majoring in journalism. She is a Meredith apprentice at Midwest Living magazine this school year and plans to marry Drew Warnock (Aero E ‘14) in May.

3103 SW Court Ave., Ankeny, IA [email protected]

Jill Burkhart, ’81Hello fellow alumni from Picket Fence Creamery! The cows continue to do great work for us as we’ve expanded to 80 locations in Iowa and beyond. Our daughter, Jenna (‘10 education) joined our company this year after teaching middle school science at North Cedar Schools in Clarence. She is our “plant manager in training”, and our cheesemaker. Son James, 15, is a freshman at Dallas Center-Grimes. Stop by anytime; there will be a bowl of ice cream waiting for you! Like us on Facebook! www.picketfencecreamery.net

14583 S Ave., Woodward, IA 50276

Steven Dropkin, ’81After a couple of decades of moving away from... ...journalism with every new job, I’ve started edging back. I am the Treasurer for the Board of Directors

Alumni Class Notes

80s

Dan McClanahan, ‘08

It wasn’t until a couple years into the journalism program at Iowa State’s Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication that Dan McClanahan, realized he loved photography.

After taking some classes with the Pulitzer Prize-winning professor, Dennis Chamberlin, McClanahan developed a passion for photography. In one of Chamberlin’s photography classes, the class was assigned a portrait project. Many students turned in a good amount of shots, McClanahan turned in hundreds.

Shortly after graduating, McClanahan opened McClanahan Studio in downtown Ames with his wife, Alex, who he met while attending Iowa State.

Their collaboration has been so successful

By SHAUN JOHNSON

that they won three prestigious awards from the Professional Photographers of America in 2015 for their senior photos and wedding images, and were once again named International Photographers of the Year.

Both Dan and Alex will receive their photographic craftsmen degrees at Imaging USA this year. And Dan also remains one of the youngest photographers to receive his master of photography degree from the PPA.

McClanahan Studio has been open for almost three years now. Dan and Alex are the sole employees of the studio, which Dan says he prefers as it gives them the ability to connect with their clients on a personal level.

Though McClanahan Studio is nationally-acclaimed for its wedding photography, the couple has shot its last bouquet toss for awhile. With a baby McClanahan on the way in 2016, family portraits will soon dominate the schedule.


http://www.picketfencecreamery.net

http://www.picketfencecreamery.net


of our neighborhood newspaper, the Community Reporter, a monthly with a circulation of just under 10,000. The paper has been printing for 40 years and we’re hoping for at least 40 more, though the format may change by then! I’ve also started writing articles for the paper, which has been a great way to start exercising long-unused journalistic muscles.

Away from the newspaper, life is good. Teresa and I became grandparents for the first time last month. Heavy frost landed a week or two later than usual and El Niño predicts a warmer winter than last year’s interminable bitter version. Everyone is happy and healthy and it just does not get better than that!

489 Michigan St., Saint Paul, MN [email protected]

Sherilyn Hoyer, ’81In January 2016, I’ll start my 19th year as an Iowa State employee. Not a workday goes by that I don’t use something from at least one of my JL MC classes, either for my work responsibilities or when mentoring students working for me through the Science With Practice program. SWP is a course in the Agricultural Education and Studies department of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and provides undergraduate CALS students with the opportunity to learn and earn - course credit and a paycheck - at the same time. You can learn more about the program here <<http://www.ageds.iastate.edu/content/science-practice-swp>>None of my students have been journalism majors, but each one (22 since fall semester 2005) has experienced and practiced the basics of news writing and sharing objective information. Most rewarding for me is hearing from them how much they learn and how their self-confidence in all areas has grown because of their SWP experience.

1324 Kentucky Ave., Ames, IA [email protected]

Ken Clayton, ’82Working for a global aerospace and defense company has literally taken me around the world. In February 2015, I flew east to work in Bangalore, India for a week before going further east to Melbourne, Australia for a week. Another 15 hours east at 30,000 feet and I ended up in Dallas, before finally getting home. In April 2015, I finally made it to South America, working in Brazil for a week. So now I have worked on projects in -- and been to -- six continents. But the best destination is still home!

6000 Wayside Circle, Cedar Rapids, Iowa [email protected]

David Kurns, ’82Truly enjoying my third year at the helm of Successful Farming, and everything is changing. Meredith is now in the midst of merging with Media General, our properties are evolving, and staff is telling the best stories that matter to farmers. I enjoy working with fantastic people: true professionals who have served in the industry anywhere from 2 years to 40 years.

6920 Northglenn Way, Johnston, Iowa [email protected]

Al Nash, ’82After 19 years with the National Park Service and 9 years in Yellowstone National Park, this spring I made a big change and took a position with the Bureau of Land Management. I’m back in Billings, Montana, which has changed a lot from when I first moved here for a television news director’s job back in 1986. The move also involved buying a home for

the first time in over two decades, followed by a July wedding to my longstanding girlfriend and partner Debbie. We’re still unpacking boxes and working to combine two households into one. Outside of work, I still enjoy getting out hiking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing, as well as flying my Piper Cherokee 235 and my volunteer service with the Civil Air Patrol.

3038 Forsythia Blvd., Billings, MT [email protected]

Thomas O’Donnell, ’82Now in my tenth year with the Krell Institute, still writing about the science conducted with high-performance computers and other subjects. I’m the company’s social media guy and fumble around with Twitter and the like.

7005 Horton Ave., Urbandale, IA [email protected]

Jennifer (Speer) Ramundt, ’82The empty-nesting thing is going well for Randy and me! Both our kids are still in college. Our son, Will, is a grad student in classical archaeology at the University of Arizona and our daughter, Sarah, is a senior in the Greenlee School at Iowa State! She’s gotten a great education and had some wonderful internships, including three years at Cyclones.tv, the web-based ISU sports channel. She’ll graduate in May and hopes to continue working in video/digital media for a college athletics department.

211 38th Place, Des Moines, IA [email protected]

Mary (Gengel) Sommers, ’82Life is great in Central Nebraska. It is hard to believe I have lived in Kearney for almost 25 years. I continue to work at the University of Nebraska at Kearney as the Director of the Office of Financial Aid. Working on a college campus is simply a joy and I frequently reflect on my time at ISU as I wander around our campus here.

Matt and I have successfully transitioned to being parents who no longer have to transport children to various events. Our youngest, Sarah is now 16 and fully mobile. Our son Sam is in his second year at the University of Wyoming and is enjoying college.

5308 Avenue I, Kearney, NE [email protected]

Beth Wolterman, ’82The Ida County Courier-Reminder was sold in July 2015 to Mid-America Publishing and the publisher and I retired from the newspaper business. After 33 years of newspapering, I am finally getting to that “to-do list”, more freelancing and helping my farmer.

1210 Ridgeview Drive, Ida Grove, IA 51445

Philip Blobaum, ’83Recently I passed the 25 year anniversary of working as a videographer at Iowa Public Television! The time has seemed to go by quickly! I’m lucky to have the variety and challenges every day that position gives. Our eldest daughter, Emily is a freshman at Iowa State and is studying journalism at the Greenlee School! We are very proud of her and I’m sure she will have a great adventure! It is always great to hear all of the great things happening at the Greenlee School and Iowa State.

Susan Booker, ’83Launching into entrepreneurship! Editorial services and professional/workplace communication consulting. Still loving living and working in Virginia and welcome visitors any time!

1754 Rice Creek Rd., Meherrin, VA [email protected]

Alumni Class Notes

When Joe Crimmings started at Iowa State, he didn’t have aspirations to be a photographer. In fact, he didn’t even own a professional camera. After receiving his first DSLR camera for Christmas freshman year, Crimmings was hooked. Crimmings picked up some photo classes while pursuing a graphic design degree.

He eventually exhausted his photography options at the College of Design and turned to Greenlee. Crimmings started taking photojournalism classes and eventually tackled a degree in journalism. During his time at ISU, Crimmings rose through the ranks at the Iowa State Daily, starting as a photographer and eventually becoming photo editor. Crimmings valued the experience he gained at the Daily.

“It was a lot of fun being able to be hands on every day,” Crimmings said of his time there. His work with Ethos, one of the campus magazines, is what really led him to where he is today.

Working with Ethos as a photo editor was extremely beneficial. Crimmings was on set and involved in shoots for the magazine, getting real-world experience that he says is very similar to what he’s experienced post-graduation. He left Ethos with more interest and experience in magazine work. That work also led him to discover how passionate he was about photography.

When Crimmings left Iowa State in 06, he started an internship with the Meredith Corporation. From his internship, he continued work as a photography assistant with Meredith and then as an assistant to a Des Moines photographer. After bouncing around with PR work and other magazines, he found himself with Lane Bryant, a plus-size women’s fashion line.

Crimmings is currently working in Columbus, Ohio, as the senior art director in photography for the retailer. A typical day for him involves coordinating shoots, reviewing film and working with designers to create layouts for imagery on the site and in store. He’s also often on set, working with models and shooting. Crimmings enjoys working the shoots and traveling, but says the best part of his job is that he’s proud of his work.

“We’re empowering women to be who they are, and it’s really beautiful.”

By ELLERY LAWRY

Joe Crimmings, ‘06

Steven Dropkin, ’81 (cont.)

http://www.ageds.iastate.edu/content/science-practice-swp

http://www.ageds.iastate.edu/content/science-practice-swp


powerful and emotional space for the week of the Burningman festival and it culminates in a brilliant conflagration. I spent 4 months welding metal trees that provided people places to hang notes and memorabilia. The three trees were 14’ tall and required two semi’s to transport to the site. An interview here explains more about my process. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x33dzl3

278 4th St., Oakland, CA [email protected]

Coleen (DeVries) Myers, ’87I am retired and working hard at many volunteer positions including being the Master Gardener Coordinator for Iowa County and the Secretary/Treasurer of our Home Owners Association which can be a thankless job. My husband has recently

Jeffrey Hunt, ’83Entering my 25th year of practice as an attorney in the field of First Amendment and media law. Fly fishing, skiing, and riding my bike for fun. Wife, Cindy, teaches English and literature to seventh- and eight-graders. Oldest daughter, Madison, is a second-year medical student at the University of Utah. Son, Christopher, is a recent graduate from the University of Michigan, and applying to graduate programs in art history. Youngest child, Tess, is a high school sophomore and learning to drive. Yikes! Give us a call if your travels take you to Utah.

787 17th Ave., Salt Lake City, Utah [email protected]

Marshall Maddy, ’83See entry at section’s end, under former faculty.

Kent Schlawin, ’83After 32 years playing the corporate game, I’ve retired, or am being “re-tooled,” as my wife likes to say. Doing what most old writers do, I almost immediately jumped back onto the keyboard, opening a freelance creative business, The Copy Farm, LLC. Yes, most of my best ideas are “born in a barn.” (Well, actually in a spare bedroom, but it does have a wall painting of a farm scene in it.) I’m not sure what God has in store for me, hopefully it will be something exciting. Our twin sons are still the center of our lives -- Blake is an associate worship leader at Prairie Lakes Church in Cedar Falls, and Blaine is a second-year med student at Des Moines University. Hopefully, one will take care of my soul and the other my aging body.

8404 Weybridge, Johnston, Iowa [email protected]

Teri (Reese) Wonderlich, ’83Have worked for Saatchi & Saatchi promoting Toyota in a six state area for 75 dealers. Manage their dealer group advertising and sponsorships. Oldest daughter Anna is a sophomore at KU studying Strategic Communications and youngest daughter Maria will graduate from Blue Valley High School...making Jerry and I empty-nesters next fall when she leaves for KU to study Physical Therapy or Pre-Nursing.

15742 Cedar St., Overland Park, KS [email protected]

James Wyckoff, ’84Hello ISU JL MC alumni. It’s been 31 years since I left ISU, full of hope and enthusiasm for a rewarding and satisfying career--for I had just completed the university’s respected journalism program. I have not been disappointed in my career dreams and for that I give much credit to ISU’s journalism program.

For the past 30 years I have been writing about financial, currency and commodity markets. With a worldwide following I’m many times asked about my ability to survive and succeed in such a challenging arena. My response: There’s a whole lot of analysts that know about world markets, but very few can effectively communicate and articulate their analysis to the general business public. I have succeeded in my career because ISU JL MC taught me communication skills that I put to work every day. Enough about work and on to the important stuff. My third grandchild was born in August. My wife, my children and their families are healthy and thriving. Life is good. I hope to report the same next year and

for many years to come.

6716 Nicholl Drive, Panora, IA [email protected]

Paul Delger, ’85I continue to serve as a freelance writer doing mostly music reviews and grants. Inspirational speaking is also a pursuit. Based upon living with cerebral palsy, I speak to people on overcoming in their own lives with the theme of ‘Keep Your Uniform On”.

PO Box 175, Kanawha, IA [email protected]

Jeffrey Abbas, ’87Celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary this fall (Sandi Abbas, JL MC ‘86). All three daughters pursuing interests in writing and communications (senior and sophomore in college, the youngest is a junior in high school).

420 South 11th St., Adel, IA [email protected]

Kevin Byall, ’87This past year I was honored to collaboratively build the 2015 Burningman Temple, have my sculptural work featured in the center and light the structure on fire; sending it and the wishes of thousands into the ether. If you are unfamiliar with the Temple it is a non-denominational spiritual structure built once a year to give participants a place to mourn, remember, and honor those lost. It is a profoundly

Alumni Class Notes

“I’m very proud that I’m an Iowa Stater,”said Greenlee alumna Karol DeWulf Nickell. A Cyclone twice over, Nickell, 58, graduated from Iowa State with degrees in magazine journalism and interior design in 1979 and again in 2008 with her MBA. She’s passionate about the Greenlee School, and loves being “connected to it, and I talk about it all the time.”

By BRIANNA LEVANDOWSKI

Karol DeWulf Nickell, ‘79

Nickell, now the editor of Phoenix Home and Garden magazine, said her career was jumpstarted by Greenlee’s internship program.

She started at Meredith Corporation as a photography intern. “That’s where things clicked,” she said. Upon graduation, Meredith offered her a position as a trainee, and she became a full member of the Better Homes and Gardens magazine staff after her first summer.

After four years there, Nickell worked hard enough to be a part of the launch team for Country Home magazine; four more years, and she helped launch Traditional Home as editor in chief—the project she holds closest to her heart.

The publication recently celebrated its 25-year anniversary. “Traditional Home is my baby and that is a huge accomplishment for me as a professional,” Nickell said. A more impressive accomplishment? After 14 years at Traditional Home, she became the 13th editor in chief of Better Homes and Gardens. She says she considers leading that “American icon” as the high point in her career.

Currently, Nickell is hard at work in Phoenix, enjoying that beautiful part of the country and embracing her first time living outside of Iowa. “I love what I do. That’s a blessing.”

Home is never too far, though, for the eastern Iowa farm girl. She’s served two terms on the Greenlee Advisory Council, where she’s presently sitting as chair. She previously served on the MBA Advisory Council as well as the LAS Dean’s Council. While a student, Karol was also privileged to serve on the Student Advisory Council for the then-College of Home Economics, where she garnered great insight into the levels of professionalism from the dean and associate dean.

“I feel very strongly about how they mentored me, and I now have mentored a number of people in my career, and that is a great satisfaction.”


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x33dzl3


changed jobs so there is the possibility that we will be moving to the Des Moines/Ankeny area in the coming year.

121 Willis Blvd.., Williamsburg, IA [email protected]

Michele (Bogue) Appelgate, ’88After living in Pennsylvania and then Mason City, IA, my husband and I (Monte Appelgate, Landscape Architecture 1988) moved back to Ames in February 2015. I took a job as the new Director of Marketing and Alumni Relations at the College of Business. As a former reporter for the Iowa State Daily, it makes me smile to work with student writers in my new role at the College of Business. After being away for so many years, it’s great to be back in my hometown and work for Iowa State!

5589 S. Swing, Ames, IA [email protected]

Joel Dickman, ’88We’ve now been in San Diego 7 years, where I am station manager of KGTV-ABC 10. Our son graduates from high school this year. We’d love to see any visiting Cyclones!

Malinda Geisler, ’88We have added precut Christmas tree sales to our agri-tourism business. Please visit www.growingfamilyfun.com/.

John Naughton, ’88Time marches on, doesn’t it? One of the most common questions I hear is “How long have you worked at the Register?” That would be 28 years in January.

I did some overseas travel in the past year: England, Scotland, Austria, Germany. I was involved in several major work projects, including one about concussions among high school athletes. I’ve branched out into doing weekly radio shows/podcasts. Take care.

2923 Country Side Drive, West Des Moines, IA [email protected]

Gene Newgaard, ’88Serving as adjunct English instructor at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls and Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo. Elected Mayor of

Iowa Falls in November 2013 and am running for re-election this fall unopposed.

Craig Olson, ’88My company changed it’s name to Optimum Plastics earlier this year - I have now been here for about 3 years. I work in sales for our cast embossed films and blown films and bags that our two plants manufacture. I work with accounts all over the US and have one also in Mexico. My wife Lisa and I are proud of our daughters - our eldest Rachel graduated from UNI and works in West Des Moines while Katie is now in her sophomore year at Winona State studying nursing. As always, a special hello to all the old KUSR alumni!

413 N 29th St., Cumming, IA [email protected]

Chesapeake, VA [email protected]

Douglas Jensen, ’89I am Vice President of Consumer Relationship Management (CRM) and Corporate Marketing Analytics at the Estee Lauder Companies, now for two years. My role is to use econometric modeling with consumer-level data to drive better business decisions. In my role, I consult and work with presidents and heads of marketing globally and in key countries for brands like Estee Lauder, Clinique, MAC, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone London, Smashbox, Origins, Tom Ford Beauty, to name a few. The company is performing very well and our stock price reached an all time high this year.

144 W 18th St., New York, NY [email protected]

Doug Jeske, ’89I have been guest lecturing at Greenlee about once a semester over the past two years. (That’s a good frequency since a single lecture lets me cover the sum of my accumulated knowledge.) I recently joined the Greenlee Advisory Council; it’s very nice being back in Hamilton Hall.

6827 NW 88th Court, Johnston, Iowa [email protected]

Suzanne (Weuve) Schwartze, ’89Still enjoying life in the shadow of Pikes Peak! Our son, Charles, is now in kindergarten and seems to be leaning toward an Engineering career like his father rather than becoming a TV producer like his mom. That’s good... there’s more money in that! Go Cyclones!

14645 Air Garden Lane, Colorado Springs, CO [email protected]

Bruce Blythe, ’90Greetings Greenlee alums! All is well here in the Windy City. Since the previous update in 2014, I’ve transitioned to what’s basically a full-time role with Accenture, the big global management consulting firm. I’m one of the company’s lead digital writers/website editors, as well as a social media specialist (designated tweeter, in other words). Accenture is one of countless businesses—big, small and in-between—placing heavy emphasis on social media platforms (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc) as a branding/communications/messaging tool. This calls for people with writing and wordsmithing skills, fortunately, and more specifically those with a knack to write punchy headlines, which has always been near and dear to me, and I’m sure many of my former ISU Daily colleagues.

Outside of work, it’s been an eventful year in Chicagoland, personally and otherwise. We celebrated another Blackhawks Stanley Cup title in June, then didn’t really celebrate when Coach Hoiberg left Ames for the Bulls, and then my beloved Cubs finally provided us a reason to pay attention to baseball in October. It didn’t end well with a sweep

Alumni Class Notes

90s

Leave it to late professor Barbara Mack to encourage yet another student to pursue a Greenlee major. When Amber Mulle first began at Iowa State, she was studying graphic design. After she realized it wasn’t for her, she decided to take some journalism classes, since she enjoyed writing. It wasn’t long before Mack’s influence helped Mulle make the switch.

When Mulle graduated in 2012, she knew she wanted to be in the creative marketing field, but was unsure where to go. Mulle returned home to Chicago where she held internships

By LAUREN VIGAR

Amber Mulle, ‘12 with Two x Four and Monika Dixon PR, but could not quite find her niche.

In May 2014, Mulle moved to Minneapolis, where she began her career as a social media strategist for Sigma Beauty. While at Sigma Beauty, Mulle spent her time creating and planning social media content and events. For example, each month, a famous YouTuber or blogger would come to meet fans at the Mall of America, and Mulle planned these events from start to finish and broadcast them on social media. Mulle recalls one of her biggest accomplishments was growing Sigma Beauty’s Instagram following to over 1 million.

“If you’re not learning, you’ve got to move on,” Mulle said. With that as her inspiration, Mulle began a position as a marketing communications planner for General Mills in July 2015. Mulle now serves as the social media voice for Nature Valley and Fiber One, planning photos and copy to advertise the products on Facebook and Twitter.

Julie Radford, ’88We built a new home and moved to Ely, IA, (10 minutes from Cedar Rapids Airport). If you ever have a lay over or are stranded in CR give us a call we will come rescue you from the airport in the middle of the cornfields. I am currently Director of ISO and QA Compliance for PR Donnelley Forms and Labels Platform for the past 3 years. Working out of the Iowa City Manufacturing Center and enjoying working with many plants worldwide.

Mark Ferley, ’89This past May marked 26 years as a graduate, hard to believe. These 22 years in the Navy have not been directly involved in the PR industry but have been served well over and over with the skills and lessons learned in Hamilton. Blessed to still have the opportunity to fly the mighty MH-53E Sea Dragon after all these years; enjoying my current set of orders as Executive Officer of the Sea Dragon RAG teaching the newest and best Navy fleet pilots. Looking forward to a holiday’s trip to South Africa to visit our daughter who is on a mission trip during her gap year before starting at Virginia Tech in the fall of 2016. Talked her into a campus tour at ISU and she was pretty interested but alas she chose otherwise.

1508 Taylor Point Drive,

Coleen (DeVries) Myers, ’87 (cont.)

http://www.growingfamilyfun.com/

http://www.growingfamilyfun.com/


Alumni Class Notes

at the hands of the Mets, but we’re excited that things are looking up again in Wrigleyville. Also, a special shout-out to my old friend Marty Augustine (@MAugustineKMBC), who’s probably still cleaning champagne stains off his dress shirts after covering the KC Royals’ glorious World Series run. You earned it Marty! Now let’s share the love with your Chicago friends.

Finally, after 23 years living in the city I pulled up stakes last summer, and my girls and I relocated to the western suburbs (Elmhurst). Drop by and say hello sometime. Ours is the house flying the big Cyclone flag outside the front door. Best wishes for 2016 - Bruce / @BruceBlythe

Karen (Risch) Hieb, ’91After 2014, which was a year of significant loss (with the deaths of two parents and a dog), it was such a blessing this spring to take our first-ever trip “down south” during the month of March. We rented a travel trailer and made plans to be gone just over three weeks. Neither of us had been out of the Midwest much in nearly 12 years of marriage, so we set our sights a bit too high in terms of travel distance. My husband and I, along with our pound puppy, Scruffy, traveled nearly 5,000 miles over 11 states in 22 days! If we do this type of trip again, I think we’ll be planning a much more modest itinerary. It just felt so good to leave the cold dry climate of Minnesota for the warm moist air of Texas!

I’m also very thankful to have been able to take my job with me during that time. While my husband, Tim, drove the truck that was hauling our rented house on wheels, I formatted text for a new senior high Sunday school curriculum. I have now enjoyed 11 years of employment at Children Desiring God, and I continue to be very thankful for the privilege of being part of this God-glorifying, non-profit ministry.

It seems that there are not many people out there who really love their jobs and the people with whom they work. I have both a great job and wonderful co-laborers who are like family. I have so many reasons to be thankful.

6745 West 192nd Ave., Eden Prairie, MN [email protected]

Darcy (Duppong) Pech, ’91I’ve been employed with the ICN for the past 3+ years and love it. We launched an awareness initiative at the end of 2014 called Broadband Matters to showcase the importance of delivering broadband to all corners of the state using various technologies. I have been posting daily on social media to further awareness. In December 2014 I received a Certified Public Manager (CPM) designation from Drake University. My daughter Morgan is now a senior at Valley High School, looking forward to attending art school next year. She’s very talented if I do say so myself.

5241 Boulder Dr. Apt D, West Des Moines, IA [email protected]

Geoffrey Conn, ’93Into my third year as the News/Sports Director for Nodaway Broadcasting in Maryville, Missouri. Doing morning news and sports, play by play for Maryville High School and covering city council and school board meetings. This year I went to more Royals games than I did in any season, including Games one of the ALDS and World Series and Game two of the ALCS. Fun times for this 35 year fan of Kansas City. I get back to my hometown of Des Moines a lot to see family and help out with Grand View University sports broadcasts.

1216 Fox Road #3, Maryville, MO [email protected]

Eve (Doi) Lederhouse, ’93We just recently moved back to Ames (from Chicagoland) after I accepted a position as the Marketing and Communications Officer for VisionBank. We are a growing bank with 8 locations in 5 communities in Central Iowa, and I love being part of this team and all our markets. Additionally, it is GREAT to be back living in Ames!

Laura Miller, ’93I’m retiring! After more than 25 years at ISU (17 of them at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture), I am joining the ranks of the retired as of November 6. I probably won’t turn in my pen, but hope to enjoy grandchildren, gardening and beekeeping.

Diane Heldt, ’95In my third year with Two Rivers Marketing in Des Moines. Love to get back to Ames for events and games. Keeping in touch with lots of former Daily-ites on Facebook, so my ISU JL MC days are never too far away.

Colleen (Bradford) Krantz, ’95I completed my second documentary, West by Orphan Train, which was fortunate to win a regional Emmy in 2015. I’m also working at Iowa Public Television as a contract producer on the national agriculture show, Market to Market. I am beginning work on my next documentary.

33197 Timber Hills Drive, Adel, IA [email protected]

Amy tePlate-Church, ’95This past year I made a major career change, moving to a communication agency from the dairy and beef cattle cooperative where I had worked for the past 18 years. I had tremendous experiences in nearly two decades there, with fulfilling and challenging roles in public relations, marketing and sales, and business development. However, I was ready to expand my horizons and become more engaged in the dialogue between food consumers and food producers. In February 2015, I began work with CMA, a communication & strategy consulting firm based in the Kansas City area, which strives to help the food and farm sectors build trust with consumers and other stakeholders. It’s been a rewarding change, filled with the need to learn many new processes, to become acclimated with new co-workers and clients, and (most exciting) to better understand consumer preferences and food production beyond cattle!

N6088 Opperman Way, Shawano, WI [email protected]

Larry Vavroch, ’952015 has been an interesting and busy year in the Vavroch household. As operations manager and public affairs director of Family Radio’s Central Iowa signal, KDFR, 91.3 FM in Des Moines, I continue to host and produce a weekly public affairs program that covers a wide range of community issues. In addition, I host and produce weekly public affairs segments for our FM station in Emporia, Kansas as well as for our AM stations in Aberdeen and Redfield, South Dakota. Since graduating from Greenlee, I’ve done extensive newspaper and magazine writing with my goal this new year of getting back into freelance writing.

Linda is currently unemployed and seeking employment opportunities in the health care field.

When she is not hunting moose or catching fish, Rashah McChesney is shooting photographs and reeling in stories for the Peninsula Clarion, a newspaper for Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.

McChesney has not always lived in a community of only 6,000 people; in fact, she was born and raised in Houston and came to Iowa State to follow her love of photojournalism. She was particularly interested in the Russian culture and language, of which Greenlee Associate Professor Dennis Chamberlin had extensive knowledge. After graduating from Iowa State in 2010, McChesney landed an internship, then job at the Quad City Times. But eventually she decided to try her hand at community reporting so she moved to Alaska.

“As a community reporter, it’s a much smaller circulation but I hear from so many more of my readers and it feels more impactful,” said McChesney. “I have never lived in a community that size. I have to say I’ve learned more about how to be a storyteller and a good reporter, a conscientious reporter and a sensitive reporter.” McChesney said she struggled to find that sensitivity needed to determine which information is important to share in a story and which information could do damage in a town where everyone knows everybody. “It’s a fascinating trip around this world of journalism to spend time in a community where you can’t hide from people.”

McChesney also works for a Polish documentary company called Testigo, a group of photographers based in Poland that travel the world telling stories for different media outlets. McChesney has traveled to many places through this organization, including New Orleans and the Ukraine. She hopes to end up running the organization in the future.

After 10-hour workdays McChesney blows off steam by coaching and playing on a roller derby team. Her roller derby moniker is “Destroyovsky,” a play on the name of her favorite Russian author. “There’s nothing that gets rid of the stress of journalism like getting to hit people.”

By ELLERY LAWRY

Rashah McChesney, ‘10

Continued on page 50


Alumni Class Notes

An icy breeze cut through Scott Fountain and his family as they made their way down Welch Avenue. Fountain was showing his children the campus he attended 33 years ago, and the odds of it gaining their approval were slim.

In their home state of Tennessee, it was around 80 degrees that day. In Iowa, it was dipping below 5.

As Fountain’s wife split off with their daughter to investigate the sororities, Fountain turned to his son.

“Want to go check out the fraternity I was in?” Fountain said.

“No, I really just want to go to the hotel,” his son replied.

At that moment, Fountain knew his children wouldn’t attend Iowa State University. Back in Tennessee, Iowa might as well be a Canadian province. Fountain said he never forgot how cold Iowa could get. In some ways, braving that cold helped him.

“There’s something about the hardiness of the kids there,” Fountain said. “That is something that is so enduring about the kids that go to ISU.”

That hardiness guides Fountain to this day in his career as a fundraiser and senior vice president for Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. As a fundraiser, Fountain raises money to advance health care quality in the Tennessee region. He said his work goes toward

She does some temporary work assignments for a local staffing agency.

Our 24-year old daughter, Lisa Marie, who graduated from the Tippie School of Business at the University of Iowa in 2013, works full-time for the FDIC and is based in their Kansas City office. One aspect of her job is visiting banks in the region and she recently bought a house in Kansas City so we are very proud of her and commend her work ethic.

I cannot leave out the four-legged members of our family that now consists of two dogs. Our American Eskimo clan includes Spyke, our older male Eskie and Miss Maci, a three-year old Eskie girl that our daughter adopted from a shelter in Kansas City two years ago and brought her home to Mom and Dad. Prayer has been our source of strength as we cope with all the seemingly endless changes in our lives this past several years. Each day is a gift from God and we strive to live today to its fullest.

2021 53rd St., Des Moines, IA [email protected]

Marty Helle, ’96New relationship, same job. Have been a practicing lawyer for 15 years now. My daughter is seven years-old!

Marc Hollander, ’96I continue in professional services marketing in Des Moines, Iowa with Whitfield & Eddy Law, a 50-attorney business, family and litigation firm. Legal marketing continues to be an innovative and exciting area with something new happening every day and including web, public relations, advertising, business development training, events, sponsorships and general consigliere work. Mandy and I close

in on our 18th wedding anniversary while she continues as a small animal veterinarian and we keep busy with our kids, Madeline (11) and Malcolm (7). While typing this update out, I am realizing that we are closing in on the 20th anniversary of a great group of alums graduating from Iowa State. It has been fun to keep up personally and professionally in person and online.

4306 Aspen Drive, West Des Moines, IA [email protected]

Troy McCullough, ’96I’ve been in Hong Kong for nearly three years now with The Wall Street Journal, and this year I was promoted to Asia News Editor. In my new role, I oversee an editing desk of 25 news editors in our Hong Kong newsroom and coordinate all daily WSJ news coverage in Asia with our bureau chiefs throughout the region and editors in New York. Outside of work, my wife, Alison, and I are busy with our 17-month-old energetic toddler, Theo, who loves exploring Hong Kong’s parks, trails and beaches.

13-19 Sing Woo Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong, [email protected]

Keesia Wirt, ’98I’ve been working as a content strategist at Two Rivers Marketing in Des Moines, Iowa, since January 2014. When I started, I was excited to learn that two other ISU journalism alums were here with me: Diane Heldt (who was my first news editor at the Iowa State Daily) and Jamie Jackson (who was on the broadcast side). My husband and I have three children, and are considering moving to the Ames/Nevada area in the next year.

708 Arthur Ave., Des Moines, IA [email protected]

Brian Armentrout, ’00After having switch my career path from broadcast journalism nearly seven years ago, I’ve taken an interest and have developed my career in marketing in the energy space. Much of this experience is in solar energy, however I’m currently leading strategic marketing for a Fortune 200 energy company in Houston. I’m thrilled to announce my wife, Merry, and I have two young sons - Beckett who is three and Briggs, who is just eight months. Life is good!

27830 Astoria Brook Lane, Katy, TX [email protected]

Brett Hart, ’01After 10 years in the newspaper industry (were I collected 39 journalism award - the most ever in the more than 150 year history of The Dunn County News), my family and I moved closer to my wife’s family where she and a childhood mentor decided to start an Equine Therapy Facility. I am now getting my first chance to use my Advertising Degree as the SEO/social media marketing manager for a national specialty flooring leader -- Greatmats. I recently created, and am managing, four national awards contests, sponsored by my company. While not at work, I also manage the marketing and social media for my wife’s equine therapy center - Quarter Moon Acres - and have resumed participation in martial arts, which I began as a student at Iowa State University under Grandmaster Yong Chin Pak. I have two children.

1379 55th Ave., Amery, WI [email protected]

Amy (Pint) Kort, ’01We’ve had an exciting year at the Kort house! Jonathan and I welcomed Baby Simon on Sept. 29, who joined his sister, Abigail, who will be four in January. The four of us still live on the south side of Ankeny, and I’m approaching my fourth year as a freelance writer/consultant. I added a few clients this year, and I’m enjoying raising our young family while continuing to work part-time. Go Cyclones!

1903 SW 19th St., Ankeny, Iowa [email protected]

Jen (Hacke) Sass, ’01 Jenny Hacke and Wes Sass were married May 23 in Dubuque, Iowa (see photo on next page). Wes and Jenny met while taking Steve Coon’s JL MC 453 class in Hamilton Hall spring 1999. Our collection of

making the world a better place, which to him makes the job all the more rewarding.

This was never the plan for Fountain. At ISU, Fountain started as a landscape architecture major. Eventually, due to time constraints, Fountain switched his major to telecommunications. He planned on using it in the journalism field, but working with fundraisers in college motivated him to pursue a new career. It took him a few years and a lot of moving around, but eventually Fountain found a job with the University of Tennessee. After three years, he secured his job with Baptist, where he has now been for 21 years.

Fountain said if someone told him back in college that he’d be a fundraiser in Tennessee, he would have laughed. But over the years, he’s learned you never can know what will come next.

“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans,” Fountain said.

By JOHN KRUSE

Scott Fountain, ‘82

Larry Vavroch, ’95 (cont.)

00s


Alumni Class Notes

ISU degrees — Jenny ‘01 Journalism and Mass Communication, ‘04 Masters in Education, Wes ‘00 Journalism and Mass Communication, ‘02 Meteorology.

1532 Harding Ave., Ames, IA [email protected]

Carrie (Tett) Truesdell, ’01I got married this summer and moved to Orange City, Iowa! My husband, Tom, is the director of academic support and coordinator of the Writing Across the Curriculum program at Northwestern College. Together we have four kids ages 10, 10, 8, and 7. I continue to work from home part time as a copy editor for Meredith’s Special Interest Media, mostly on Diabetic Living magazine and BHG.com.

912 6th St. SE, Orange City, IA [email protected]

Brent West, ’01Living in Urbandale, IA. Going on 14 years with Wells Fargo.

4507 160th St., Urbandale, IA [email protected]

Jana (McBride) Staudt, ’02After working in the book publishing and marketing/printing industry for almost a decade, I started a new career path in January. I am now a development coordinator for the Iowa State University Foundation. I feel like I have come full circle, and being on campus again has brought back so many memories!

301 Prairie View Drive, Gilbert, Iowa [email protected]

Katie Jensen, ’03I recently accepted the position of Assistant Director, Curriculum Development at Arizona State University.

2610 S Bala Drive, Tempe, AZ [email protected]

Cavan Reagan Reichmann, ’03I became a partner at Spong, a creative agency in Minneapolis founded by fellow Cyclone Doug Spong, where we both work with another Greenlee graduate, Jessie Clapper.

10723 Major Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN [email protected]

Kim Bui, ’04The team I work for, reported.ly, a one-year old social news startup, won a prestigious Online Journalism Award for breaking news. The award was for reported.ly’s coverage of the Charlie Hebdo tragedy, while the team had only worked together for 48 hours. The coverage included real-time reports of the shooting and aftermath on various social media platforms, as well as reporting that spanned the situation and how a high school student was mistakenly identified as a suspect. Reported.ly is owned by First Look Media, which also runs The Intercept. We are a team of six that span the world and cover international news through the lens of social media 18 hours a day.

3889 Cimarron St., Los Angeles, CA [email protected]

Brianne (Splett) Anderson, ’05After getting my Masters at the University of

Wisconsin-Madison in Library and Information Studies, I received a professional job back in Ames at the Ames Public Library. It has been an interesting five years as we made it through a bond vote, moved out of our building, worked in a temporary space for a couple years, and then moved back into our brand new building in fall of 2014. It is an honor to serve the youth in Ames through our wonderful Library.

622 Crystal St., Ames, IA [email protected]

Emily Caropreso, ‘05This year I celebrated my 10 year anniversary working for the Iowa Credit Union League as the Director of Communications and Marketing. I am also honored to serve as the Chair of Greenlee Alumni and Friends. Our team of passionate ISU alums is working to connect Greenlee alumni, friends, current students

and staffers. We have created a forum to share news, events and job openings on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. We hope you will join our We Are Greenlee online community!

Tyler Rutherford, ’05I’m currently the Director of Digital Media in the Iowa State Athletics Department and oversee the day-to-day operations of Cyclones.com (Iowa State official athletics website) and Cyclones.tv (Iowa State athletics online video network and Mediacom TV channel). Our unit employs as many as nine Greenlee students each year for jobs and internship credit. My wife Brittney Rutherford (maiden: Lauterbach, ‘06 Greenlee grad) and I live in the Campustown area and have two kids (Beckett, 3 and Hudson, 9 months). She is the Director of Marketing and Communications with University Residence Life and ISU Dining.

2010 Kildee St., Ames, IA [email protected]

Kathleen Evans, ’07My appreciation and passion for serving others extends beyond that of a career and has been a key part of my personal and professional life since my school years. I am committed to making international work my lifelong focus. I am currently pursuing my master’s in global development and social justice through St. John’s University. I am currently volunteering in the field in Ethiopia during my studies.

Through my work and education, I hope to learn more about the policies central to development, discuss initiatives necessary for the next generation to be engaged and advocate for issues surrounding humanitarianism, and understand how building relationships at the local level can ensure the implementation of sustainable projects. Of course, I hope to do all of this while combining my background in journalism.

2810 Caulder Ave., Des Moines, Iowa [email protected]

Jenny Herring, ’07In February 2015, I joined the Denver office of Wilshire Associates, Inc., as a senior associate. Wilshire provides investment consulting services to large institutional investors. I’m part of the business development team and work on Requests for Proposals submitted by corporate and public pension plans, college endowments and foundations, and other institutional investors. I’ve also used my public relations and writing skills to help polish the firm’s website copy, and to write media responses.

I returned to my native state of Colorado in 2010, after working eight years in Des Moines for Principal Global Investors.

1416 Whitehall Drive, Unit H, Longmont, CO [email protected]

Jennifer Nelson, ’07After 5 years in the newspaper industry, I transitioned into a public relations role at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute in 2012. RJI is headquartered at the Missouri School of Journalism. In my free time I enjoy freelance writing for the Assemblies of God news service and volunteering as a media relations coordinator for Operation Christmas Child. It is my hope to one day use my experience and my ISU degree in full-time Christian Ministry.

[email protected]

Emily Elveru first thought about her dream career while sitting in her freshman dorm room in Willow Hall. Why not work for a parents’ magazine? She appreciated family and children dynamics, and had discovered a love for journalism. In fact, she took great satisfaction in school when assigned to discover and correct sentence errors.

Because Elveru graduated in May 2015 with no job prospects, snagging her dream job less than a month later came as quite a surprise. Today, she works as an editorial assistant for American Baby magazine in midtown Manhattan. Her days involve writing articles and social media posts for the title, as well as handling contracts and finances. She said she especially enjoys managing the social media channels because she welcomes reader interaction.

“American Baby” has even allowed Elveru to experience her first celebrity sighting. It was another casual day at work when Elveru looked up from her desk and saw a man wearing a white baking jacket and gray pants. It was Buddy Valastro from TLC’s reality show, “Cake Boss,” a show she had grown up watching with her mother.

“I feel very lucky to be here,” Elveru said. “I am loving this new adventure and can’t wait to see what each day brings.” Ultimately, she would love to move up to an editor position with a parenting magazine.

Elveru, who served as editor in chief of Trend magazine while on campus, counsels current students to “work hard and take any opportunity that is thrown at you. There will be many sleepless nights but all will be worth it in the end.”

By VIERA NGUYEN

Emily Elveru, ‘13


Alumni Class Notes

Ward Phillips, ’08Regional Sales Director for Watermark Retirement Communities overseeing sales operations of 11 communities serving seniors with Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, Skilled Nursing Rehab and Intermediate Care Needs.

More importantly, my wife and I have an 18-month old daughter named Norah. Life is good!

2725 Windsor Drive, Norwalk, Iowa [email protected]

Andrea Weare, ’08Andrea is a dissertating doctoral candidate at The University of Iowa’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She recently published an article based on her master’s thesis in the Northwest Journal of Communication, and is serving as Managing Editor of the Journal of Communication Inquiry.

She is collecting data for her dissertation on YouTube’s beauty vlogosphere and researching a side project on the digital media use of Iowa nonprofits serving women and girls.

1304 1/2 Marcy St., Iowa City, IA [email protected]

Emma Reed, ’10As an Associate Producer, I’ve begun traveling for Monday Night Football and producing elements on site.

44 Hurley Commons, Bristol, CT [email protected]

Ryne Dittmer, ’11Won 3 awards in 2014 Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest in the weeklies division: 1st place best story about education, 1st place best story about history, and 2nd place best story about education.

Trey Hemmingsen, ’11I’m currently a Sr. Extended Services Specialist for Dell at ServiceSource International. I manage Dell’s top channel partners, building services solutions specific to their needs.

I also am involved with the Iowa State University Alumni Association in various capacities. Currently, I’m the Vice-Chair of Engagement & Outreach on the Young Alumni Council, which focuses on connecting young alums back to Iowa State through various events and programming. I also am President of the ISUAA Club of Boston and plan gamewatches,

networking events, and group outings for alumni in the Boston area.

1645 Commonwealth Ave. #19, Boston, MA [email protected]

Sarah Binder, ’12Sarah currently works in digital news at the Cedar Rapids Gazette, helping to create overarching digital strategies for the team of reporters and editors. She transitioned to this new role after two years as a digital-first reporter covering startups and entrepreneurship in Eastern Iowa. She remains heavily involved with the startup community as an organizer of the weekly 1 Million Cups program and bi-annual Startup Weekends. Sarah was also recently honored as one of the Iowa Jaycees Outstanding Young Iowans for 2015.

1038 Mount Vernon Road SE #A, Cedar Rapids, IA [email protected]

Rachel (Begle) Simon, ’12I got married in May to fellow Cyclone Anthony Simon. I’m into my second year as producer of the show “Great Day” on KCWI.

2826 SW Tradition Circle,Ankeny, IA [email protected]

Cameron Johnson, ‘13 I’m currently working as an Account Manager for Intouch Solutions in Chicago, IL. Intouch Solutions is a Digital Marketing and Advertising agency specializing in Pharmaceutical clients. We help Pharmaceutical brands increase their digital presence and better communicate with patients through an innovative digital mindset.

As health and wellness tracking and maintenance become more convenient through our cell phones and mobile devices, working within this region of the advertising industry is keeping me on my toes.

When not working I enjoy cheering on the Cyclones at one of the designated Iowa State bars in Chicago, bicycling up and down Lake Michigan, and taste testing as many restaurants around the city as possible.

Amber Knutson, MS ’13I currently live in Alexandria, Virginia, working in the Marketing and Tech departments of The Motley Fool.

Nate Ryan, ’13I have recently moved on from working for a small public relations and marketing firm to join

Ameriprise Financial in downtown Minneapolis in October.

9699 Knightsbridge Rd #4, Eden Prairie, MN [email protected]

Chris Cox, ’14We all know how Greenlee has boasted a 99% placement rate within six months of graduation. Well, for nine or so months, I was the one percent that was not employed. From August 2014 through June of this year, I was actively looking for full-time work while freelancing and doing contract work. I was hired on as a media specialist at my church in June, and have been loving the chance to work on telling awesome stories from people’s lives since then.

1111 N 2nd St., Ames, IA [email protected]

Anika Ehlers, ‘14After I graduated from Iowa State, I stepped completely out of my comfort zone and made the thousand mile move to South Florida to further my education. I am currently a graduate student at Florida International University/Miami Ad School getting my master’s degree in Global Strategic Communications (aka, just a fancy word for Art Direction) and will graduate in Summer 2016. I take theory and research classes at FIU and creative classes at Miami Ad School.

Miami is nothing like Iowa! I’m still adjusting to the heat and humidity, but I’ve enjoyed learning about the different cultures and growing as a person. For the past year, I have been meeting people from all over the world, learning from some of the industry’s greatest heroes, pitching live briefs, doing research and of course, working on my portfolio. I love it! I wouldn’t be where I am today without the skills and knowledge I learned in the Greenlee school and I am so thankful for that!

15051 Royal Oak Lane, North Miami, FL [email protected]

Meredith Keller, ’14Working in marketing and social media for iWireless, a regional wireless carrier.

Brianna (Lemke) Mabra, ’14After living in Saint Louis for six months, I landed a job at KTIV-TV in Sioux City.

2444 Shields Ave., Sioux City, IA [email protected]

Dan Davenport, ‘84By WILL DODDS

Dan Davenport bikes through midtown Manhattan to get to work. A crush of creativity, passion and desperation, that ride rewards and tests Davenport every day. Not surprisingly, that’s an apt description of Davenport’s life.

Davenport graduated from Greenlee in 1984, and worked at newspapers and the ISU alumni magazine VISIONS before landing a job at Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, in 1996. Acting as an in-house agency, MXM produces media for other business and corporation brands nationwide. Davenport, who now serves as MXM’s executive content director, acts as an

editor in chief for such projects as a magazine for Lowe’s or recipe books for Kraft Foods.

D a v e n p o r t understood the growing presence of the digital realm and hired writers and designers to fill that need, including Greenlee grads. He also added team depth, hiring financial editors for business clients. This has amounted to multiple awards for MXM, including Best Content Agency twice in 2014. Davenport says the roots of his success can be traced back to Greenlee.

When Davenport walked the halls of Hamilton

Hall, professors like Bill Kunerth encouraged him to move beyond the superficial and better understand the story’s subject. In a job where you have to write content that ranges from baby formula to macaroni recipes, Davenport says digging is part of the job.

“You have to be able to understand the subject matter as good as your clients or readers, if not better.”

Davenport enjoys memories of working at the Iowa State Daily. A lab to test his skills and knowledge, it showed him the power of cooperation, the same power he harnesses as director. Typing away on his manual typewriter to meet the next deadline, Davenport learned that he could marry his passion for writing and the hard work that comes with it to become the professional he is today.

10s


Alumni Class Notes

Justin Mattingly, ’14The quality education and connections I obtained while at the Greenlee School helped me land an Assistant Account Executive position at one of the top independent PR agencies in the nation. At PadillaCRT headquarters in Minneapolis, I work in the Environmental Sciences Practice with clients such as BASF, Cargill Animal Nutrition and Ecolab.

I cannot thank the faculty and staff within the walls of Hamilton Hall enough for helping me navigate the ins-and-outs of undergraduate life and post-graduate plans.

1369 Spruce Pl., Minneapolis, MN [email protected]

Adam Ring, ’14My first job came about six months after graduation (May ‘14). In November 2014, I started at WHO-TV as a studio technician, working the morning weekday and weekend shows. I spend six months there setting up the studio, and being the go-between the on-air talent and those working in the control room. In May 2015, I moved back into my love of sports journalism. I started a sports writer and photographer position at the Marshalltown Times-Republican, covering high school athletics, Marshalltown Community College athletics, as well as covering my alma mater in Iowa State athletics.

710 S 11th St. A112, Nevada, IA [email protected]

Kevin Fitzpatrick, ’15After graduating from ISU in spring of 2015, I started working full time in a marketing role for Championship Productions, an Ames-based instructional sports video company started by ISU coaching legend Bill Bergan back in 1976. In August, I became the managing editor of Wide Right & Natty Lite, SB Nation’s Iowa State website.

1429 Walton Drive, Apt 102, Ames, IA [email protected]

Lauren Garin, ’15Currently employed by an advertising agency in Minnesota.

2770 174th Lane NW, Andover, MN [email protected]

Maia Zewert, ’15I currently work as a reporter for The Lincoln County News, a weekly newspaper located in Newcastle, Maine. During my two months on the job I have covered everything from car accidents to a local school’s rabbit program. As an added bonus, there’s unlimited coffee at the office.

Former FacultyVeryl Fritz, ’51, Faculty ‘82–’97 My - - how quickly time passes. I attended memorial services for retired Professor Karl Friedrich in October. A remarkable person. Congratulations to Professor Eric Abbott on his 41 years of service to Journalism at ISU. Eric achieved an unmatched record as an educator and researcher at ISU...and internationally. June and I are still living at our acreage near Indianola, Class ‘51 - BS - Ag Journalism Faculty 1982–1997.

17134 Hwy 92, Indianola, IA 50125

Dr. J Paul Yarbrough, ‘66, Faculty ‘68–’82 At age 78 I’m deep into nostalgia. The calendar shows that it has been 33 years since I left ISU to join the Cornell University Faculty. It doesn’t seem that long ago. My memories of the ISU JLMC faculty, staff, students, and educational enterprise we shared remain vivid. We had a good thing going in 1968-82. I’m proud to have been part of that endeavor, and I have been glad to see that the Greenlee School has built upon our efforts and continue to stress excellence. Multiple health problems keep me home-bound, but all my family--sons Jim and Tom, three grandkids and five great-grandkids-- living nearby I don’t have occasion to be lonely. Still hearing from oldie friends and colleagues adds zest to my life.

Stephen Coon, BS ’67, MS ‘70, Faculty ‘81–’04 We continued to enjoy life in Ames full of activities at home and occasional trips to visit our children and granddaughters. Beth serves on our Stone Brooke Homeowners Association Board of Directors. She is a member of several other community organizations including P.E.O. and the ISU Women’s Club. Beth and our next-door neighbor (her friend since high school) helped organize a very successful Ames High School Class of 1960 reunion this summer.

Meanwhile, Steve was one of the speakers at his Marshalltown High School 1960 reunion in September talking about his international media training over the decades. In October Steve delivered three, two-day workshops in Maputo, Beira and Nampula, Mozambique about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in the U.S. and the newly approved Lei do Direito à Informação in that African republic. The program was sponsored by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy, National Forum of Community Radio Stations, IREX and World Learning (October 16–29, 2015) Photographs taken by the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs section during the workshops are posted at http://on.fb.me/1XXSKln IREX interviewed Steve about project and that video is on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhEcD4pfhss.

[email protected], [email protected]

Elizabeth Hansen, MS ’76, Faculty ‘76-’79In retirement, I’m continuing to be engaged in professionally-related pursuits, including serving as a writing coach for the photojournalism portion of Western Kentucky University’s Mountain Workshops, chairing the Steering Committee of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, serving on the board of the Bluegrass Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and serving on the Greenlee Advisory Council. I’m also mentoring at an elementary school, serving on the Board of Directors of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington, studying Spanish, and leading an oral history project for my neighborhood association.

My husband, Gary, who retired from the University of Kentucky in June, and I are traveling and enjoying spending time with our children and grandchildren. We plan to spend Christmas in El Paso and Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

976 Stonewall Road, Lexington, KY 40504; [email protected]

Adriane Leigh Charlton, ’71, Faculty ‘92–’95I’m “working at being retired;” volunteering my writing and photography skills, taking care of my family and animals and trying to improve my golf game. I have a lifetime of images, both personal and professional, which need attention, so that’s an ongoing project. My husband and I have a lovely motorhome and have experienced the western US National Parks and travelled the Midwest to visit family and property. Life is often challenging, but worth it. Good health and love to all.

P.O. Box 940, La Quinta, CA 92247; [email protected]

Marshall Maddy, ’83, Faculty ‘86–’91After 28 years in the classroom (five years in Exhibit Hall at ISU), I am now in the marketing department at Newberry College.

P.O. Box 1142, Newberry, SC [email protected]

Our online news form allows you to submit your news as it happens, not just at our annual request. We enjoy nothing more than the successes of our over 7,000 alumni and look forward to hearing from you!

Share your story with us online at: www.greenlee.iastate.edu/AlumniNewsForm

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Butz, asked Wayne to join the department as Assistant to the Secretary and Director of Public Affairs. He served until 1975, when he became President of the Millers’ National Federation and later, Vice President of the Food and Agricultural Committee for the National Planning Association. Wayne ended his working career with Winrock International, leading him to Arkansas where he retired.

In 2013 he was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Agricultural Editors Association (AAEA). Wayne was preceded in death by his parents, daughter and great-grandson. He is survived by his children, Laurie Swegle, Sheri (Steve) Reynolds, Gary (Lee) Swegle, former wife Louise B. Swegle, ex-wife Sandra Swegle, seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

Dwight L. Teeter, 80, a journalism educator for more than four decades, an expert and author on media law and journalism history, and a mentor to countless graduate students, died Feb. 27 in Knoxville, Tennessee, following a long illness.

He retired from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, at the end of 2014 after nearly 50 years of university teaching at seven American universities. Teeter was dean of UT’s College of Communications from 1991 to 2002 and returned to full-time teaching in 2003. Prior to that, he was a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; the William P. Hobby Centennial Professor of Communication and chair of the Department of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin; professor and acting chair of the School of Journalism at the University of Kentucky; associate professor at the University of Wisconsin; visiting associate professor at the University of Washington; and assistant professor at Iowa State University.

He began his journalism career as a reporter with the Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier with occasional stints as editor for the city, wire and state desks. A legal scholar and historian, Teeter co-authored 13 editions of “Law of Mass Communication,” a widely used college textbook first published in 1969. Teeter also wrote media law and history books and articles with several of the top scholars in his field. Teeter’s wife of 54 years, Letitia (Tish) Thoreson Teeter, of Bismarck, North Dakota, died in 2009. He is survived by three children and one grandson.

University’s radio station, WOSU. He continued on-air radio work in Cincinnati, OH and at Iowa State University in Ames, IA. Richard worked in agricultural advertising, eventually operating his own communications/PR company until he retired in 1988. He was an amazing, dynamic force in agri-marketing. Richard is survived by his wife, Nancy, children and grandchildren.

Abby M. Penning, 31, passed away unexpectedly Friday, July 31, 2015, at her home in Lombard, Illinois. Abby graduated from Le Mars Community High School in 2002 and continued her education at Iowa State University, graduating with a degree in journalism and mass communication in 2006. While a student, Abby participated in the Meredith Apprentice Program.

Shortly after graduating, Abby accepted a position with Allured Publications in Chicago as an associate editor. With this position, Abby traveled to many countries around the world.

In 2013, Abby accepted a position with Intertek working as a content strategist creating technical writings. She was preceded in death by her mother, Cindy on Dec. 19, 2014. She is survived by her father, Lowell and stepmother, Pat Penning; a brother, Ben Penning; paternal grandmother, Muriel (Lyle) Koehlmoos; and several aunts, uncles and cousins.

Wayne E. Swegle, 89, passed away on Oct. 15, 2015 in Ames, Iowa. Swegle graduated from Indianola High School and enrolled at Iowa State College at the early age of 16. His schooling was interrupted by service in the Army Air Force during WWII, but he returned to Iowa State in 1947, becoming Editor of The Agriculturist magazine, writing for the Iowa State Daily newspaper. He graduated with a degree in agricultural journalism in 1949.

Following graduation, he worked with the Iowa State Extension Service. In 1952 he joined Successful Farming magazine as Assistant Editor in charge of economics and farm management. He became the Managing Editor in 1962. In 1972, the USDA Secretary of Agriculture, Earl

Norma Lucille (Shellito) Morgan, 89, died peacefully from heart failure on Friday, Aug. 28, 2015. Norma was a woman of deep faith, who was gracious and kind. Norma attended Iowa State College, earning a bachelors of science degree in home economics and technical journalism in 1946.

While a student, she served as an editor of the Iowa State Daily Newspaper during WWII, which was an important time for women in newspapers. Norma’s career was with the Iowa State University Extension Service, where she served as a county home economist. Through her years with Extension, she served Kossuth, Crawford and Ida Counties. In 1977, she was honored with the R.K. Bliss Award for outstanding achievement by Extension Staff for developing an educational program, and the N.A.E.H.E Distinguished Service Award.

Norma is preceded in death by her parents, Harley and Mabel Shellito, and her husband, Harold Morgan. She is survived by her four children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Richard (Dick) J. Cech passed away Friday, Jul. 3, 2015. He was 96. Richard lived a long and full life that began in Kansas. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1941. After graduation he went into active duty with the Army and achieved the rank of Major commanding anti-aircraft combat units in the Philippines during WWII.

Upon return from the military, Richard took a job as an Assistant Radio/Press Publicity Editor in K-State’s Agricultural Extension Service in Manhattan, KS. During his time in this position, Richard met, courted and married Nancy Reid, who was also employed at K-State as the Assistant Director of the K-State College Counseling Bureau. Richard and Nancy were married for 68 years and have 5 children and 5 grandchildren. After working at K-State, Richard moved on to an Ag Extension position at Ohio State University where he conducted a daily noon-hour radio program of information and entertainment on the

Alumni We Remember

We Remember


his actions at Loc Ninh, Rule was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, the Purple Heart and The Silver Star for gallantry in action.

Fifty years after Rule graduated from high school, his classmates honored the fallen Vietnam hero with a “Little Soldier Boy” statue in Cresco. At the 2011 dedication, his friend John Kramer stated, “When he died, he went in style – doing his job the best he knew how. There isn’t a man in this room, if given a choice of how he was to leave this earth, would choose any other way – doing the best he knew how.”

Alumni We Remember

Karl Friederich played a key role as a faculty member in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (now the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication) at Iowa State University. Karl joined the faculty in the fall of 1967 as an assistant professor with a half-time teaching and half-time extension appointment. He arrived from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was working toward his Ph.D. in mass communications, and also had significant newspaper and international communication expertise. His extension work carried him through 1975, after which he had a full-time appointment in the department.

Karl’s international experience and interests led him to become involved with a growing university interest in global affairs. He was named chair of the university’s International Studies program in 1973 and continued in that role for the next 13 years.

He and other journalism faculty members launched the department’s first European Study Program in 1976, and he helped direct this program over the next six even-numbered years. Students received academic credit plus invaluable contacts and training through the program. At Iowa State, Karl taught the department’s international communication course, and advised many international graduate student thesis projects.

Karl is probably best known by many of his former students for developing and teaching public relations courses in the department, and he built the foundation for what is now a stand-alone public relations major in the Greenlee School. The emphasis was on development of highly ethical media/company relationships.

In dealings with students, businesses and university colleagues, Karl practiced what he taught. He was straightforward and direct – you always knew exactly where he stood. His

By ERIC ABBOTT

Paying tribute to Greenlee’s PR leader

Ted Rule Memorialized on CampusTed Rule was

one of three soldiers memorialized on Nov. 9, 2015, in Iowa State University’s Gold Star Hall Ceremony honoring Iowa State servicemen from Vietnam and World War II.

Rule was born March 24, 1943, in Marshalltown and attended Crestwood High School in Cresco. Following graduation, Rule attended Iowa State for three years, studying agricultural journalism.

He enlisted in the Army in 1968, marrying Mary Ellen Shindler at Fort Ord, California. He graduated in October from Ranger School in

Fort Benning, Georgia before his deployment to Vietnam. He arrived Nov. 7, 1968, as a first lieutenant serving as an Infantry Unit Commander with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, 1st Infantry Division.

Just 27 days after Rule arrived, according to the official report, his unit was, “engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam,” north of Loc Ninh, Phuoc Long Province. Rule served as a platoon leader of his mechanized company, advancing toward an enemy base camp from which it was receiving enemy fire.

Prior to his death, Rule had been awarded the Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Sharpshooter Badge with automatic rifle and rifle bars, Marksman Badge and Ranger Tab. For

high ethics and management skills also were recognized outside the university. He served as co-chair of the Republican Party of Story County. Karl was not always on the same side of issues as other faculty members. In one case, Karl was in charge of communication for a campaign to privatize the City of Ames electric utility, while Democrat Bill Kunerth was running the opposition campaign. Both men continued to be close friends over the years despite their opposing political ideologies.

When members of the faculty decided to form an educational investment club, Karl was selected to be its treasurer, and served for almost 20 years.

In the department, Karl played a vital

role as adviser and later chair of the Bomb Yearbook Publication Board, and also served six years as a faculty representative to the Daily Publication Board. He was an expert in financial, production, and journalistic aspects for both of these publications. He also served as adviser to the local PRSSA chapter.

Those of us who had the privilege to work with Karl know that while he could be gruff on occasion, he cared deeply about us and our program. As can be seen by the many responsibilities he willingly shouldered, he saw what needed to be done, and he did it cheerfully and skillfully. When faculty who made a difference here are remembered, Karl is certainly one of them.

Above: Karl H. Friederich was one of the first public relations instructors in the then Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. PR became a stand-alone major at Iowa State in fall 2013 and has grown to 273 students as of spring 2016.

Read the full story online at:www.news.iastate.edu/news/2015/10/29/goldstarrule

http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2015/10/29/goldstarrule

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