MOREHE A D S TAT E UNIV ERSIT Y A LUMNI M AGA ZINE VOL . X X X II , NO.1

STATEMENT

MUCHMORE

IN THIS ISSUE

■ Hill Harper (p. 9)

■ Surgical Success (p. 16)

■ Eagle Eye (p. 34)

■ Eagle Evolution (p. 36)

STEM-ulatingScience, technology, engineering and

mathematics at MSU usher in the future of

the Commonwealth and beyond

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Fellow Eagles and Friends of MSU,

As I travel around the region and beyond, I continue to be impressed by the graduates of Morehead State University. They are everywhere. They don’t brag about themselves or their accomplishments. They just do their jobs and deliver quality performance. When I talk with them, they all have fond memories of their time at MSU — not only the fun times but the quality of the education they received. The themes repeat themselves over and over again: solid education, focused students, and caring faculty and staff.

I have met legislators, business leaders, plant managers, nationally recognized physicians and award-winning physicists. Our graduates include pioneers in innovative education, Tony Award winners, Hall of Fame athletes, acclaimed broadcasters, television celebrities, community philanthropists and “much more.” They all share the same warm feelings about Morehead State and talk about those special faculty and staff members who went above and beyond to help them succeed.

I’ve been at MSU for almost seven years, and the time has just fl own by. It has been a truly rewarding experience that has enriched my life. The graduates of Morehead State have played and continue to play a major role in the progress and well-being of our region and beyond.

STEM education is an important part of what we’ve done and will continue to do. Our acceptance rates into medical schools, dental schools, veterinary colleges and other professional programs rival any in the state. Our students excel and compete favorably with their colleagues from other schools. We will continue to improve our programs to keep that competitive edge.

So what’s ahead for 2015 and beyond? There are so many exciting initiatives that I really can’t address them all here. For example, our space science team continues to build working satellites and is partnering with NASA on some amazing projects. Our Department of Applied Engineering and Technology has received multi-million dollar grants and gifts from industry and foundations to build a new 21st Century Center for Manufacturing Systems. We will bring the fi rst class of high school juniors gifted in the STEM disciplines into the Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics in the fall of 2015. The list goes on and on.

I encourage you to stay involved and come back to campus to visit and share your experiences. We need your input and we need your time, talent and treasure. The best part of my MSU experience has been the people. Thank you for being so very special. I wish you all a happy, healthy 2015.

James ShawVice President, University AdvancementCEO, MSU Foundation Inc.

Winter 2015 | 3

STATEMENT MOREHE A D S TAT E UNI V ERSI T Y A L UMNI M AG A Z INE VOL . X X X I , NO. 2

Morehead State University is committed to providing equal educational opportunities to all persons regardless of race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, other protected veterans, and armed forces service medal veterans, or disability in its educational programs, services, activities, employment policies, and admission of students to any program of study. In this regard the University conforms to all the laws, statutes, and regulations concerning equal employment opportunities and affi rmative action. This includes: Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Executive Orders 11246 and 11375, Equal Pay Act of 1963, Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and Kentucky Revised Statutes 207.130 to 207.240. Vocational educational programs at Morehead State University supported by federal funds include industrial education, vocational agriculture, business education, and the associate degree program in nursing. Any inquiries should be addressed to: Affi rmative Action Offi cer, Morehead State University, 301 Howell-McDowell, Morehead, KY 40351, 606-783-2097.

STATEMENT is published two times a year by Morehead State University through an off-campus printing contract with Jeffrey Fannin Enterprises, Morehead, Kentucky. STATEMENT is distributed to alumni, faculty, staff, benefactors, parents, and other friends of Morehead State University. Articles may be reprinted without permission. We appreciate notifi cation of reprint use. Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily refl ect the offi cial policies of Morehead State University. Inquires should be addressed to: STATEMENT, Division of University Advancement, Palmer Development House, Morehead, KY, 40351, 800-783-ALUM, statement@moreheadstate.edu.

9 Hill Harper provides energetic message to Eagle students

11 A Hands-On Approach: Student research at MSU provides invaluable learning opportunities

15 Understanding and perspective: Meet MSU’s new provost

16 Surgical Success: Eagle alum Dr. Gary W. Mathern gives children better lives through neurosurgery

19 Craft Academy provides unique experience to Kentucky high school students

20 Father and son hit the books together at Morehead State

22 New MSU facility could shape the Eastern Kentucky economy

23 Boyd builds a positive image for lab animal research

24 Eagle grad lands in the Ivy League

30 Eagle alum wins Kentucky Science Teacher of theYear award

31 Kentucky economy could soar thanks to MSU space science

36 Eagle Evolution: A visual history of the MSU mascot

4 AROUND MSU

34 EAGLE EYE

38 FAME & GLORY

42 CLASSNOTES

49 IN MEMORIAM

51 SAVE THE DATE

IN THIS EDITION Science is all about seeking and fi nding answers to often complex problems. In this issue, you’ ll read about Eagle students, faculty and alumni who are using their knowledge and abilities in STEM-related fi elds to not only fi nd success, but also impact the present and shape our future.

9

16

11

36

www.moreheadstate.edu/statement

President, Morehead State University

Dr. Wayne D. Andrews

Chair, Board of Regents

Paul C. Goodpaster (89)

President, MSU Alumni Association Inc.

Eric E. Howard (81)

Chair, Board of Trustees, MSU Foundation Inc.

Steve Hicks (77)

Publisher

James Shaw

Editors

Mindy Clark Highley (91)

Jami Hornbuckle (96)

April Hobbs Nutter (97)

Art Director

Toni Hobbs (02)

Contributors

Jason Blanton (03)

Allison Caudill (05)

Matt Schabert

Matt Segal

Creative Services

Tim Holbrook (94), Photographer

Guy Huffman (02), Photographer

David Moore (09), Designer

Managing Editor

Blake Hannon

Production Manager

Amy Riddle (00)

4 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

AROUND MSU

MSU is top ranked college for 11th straight yearMorehead State University has been recognized for the 11th consecutive year as one of the top public universities in the South

in the 2015 edition of “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S.News & World Report.

“We are very pleased to be selected again this year as one of the outstanding regional public universities by this respected

college guide,” said President Wayne D. Andrews. “We continue to improve the quality of life of our students, alumni and

community.”

The newest rankings include MSU tied for 20th in the Top Public University-Master’s/South division, an improvement from 24th

last year.

The rankings place emphasis on acceptance rates, graduation rates, admissions selectivity and small class sizes. MSU has

consistently been recognized for relatively small class size and a high percentage of full-time faculty members, which are two

important factors of student success.

The rankings include public and private institutions, which grant bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 12 states of the South,

including Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia,

Arkansas and Louisiana. The rankings are based on research of more than 1,400 institutions nationally.

MSU signs space science transfer agreement with ACTCMorehead State University and Ashland Community and Technical

College signed an agreement to establish a transfer program in

space science.

In the 2+2 transfer program, students will complete two years of

specifi ed courses at ACTC before transferring to MSU for their

junior and senior years to fi nish the Bachelor of Science in Space Science.

Dr. Wayne D. Andrews, MSU president, and Dr. Kay Adkins, ACTC president and CEO, signed the agreement in the Rocky Adkins

Pavilion on ACTC’s Technology Drive campus.

“Space science is an exciting high-tech fi eld of the future,” said Dr. Adkins. “This collaboration with MSU will provide our

students with an additional option for continuing their education in the region.”

“Our space science program is one of fi ve in the United States to offer a bachelor’s degree in space science and has some

outstanding students enrolled,” said Dr. Andrews. “We value our partnership with ACTC and look forward to making it simpler

for students to convert their associate degrees and two additional years of study into a bachelor’s degree.”

For more information, contact Hope Perkey, ACTC/MSU transfer advisor, at 606-326-2098 or hperkey0001@kctcs.edu.

Winter 2015 | 5

AROUND MSU

Dr. Berglee, Fyffe join Board of Regents

Dr. Royal Berglee and Brad Fyffe are new members on the Morehead State University

Board of Regents.

Dr. Berglee, professor of geography and international studies, was elected for a

three-year term by the faculty to serve as the 12th faculty regent on the Morehead

State University Board of Regents, succeeding Dr. Ronald Morrison. For the past year,

Berglee also has been the coordinator for study abroad programs. On campus, he

has held a wide range of faculty leadership positions, including serving as chair of

the University’s Tenure Committee. He is a former chair of the Faculty Senate and has

served as a Faculty Senate representative from three different departments.

Brad Fyffe, Greenup senior, has been elected president of Morehead State University’s

Student Government Association. He will serve as the student representative on

MSU’s Board of Regents for the 2014-15 academic year.

A government and philosophy major, Fyffe served as vice president for SGA in 2013-14.

He also is vice president for Delta Tau Delta fraternity and is secretary for Societas

Pro Legibus. An Undergraduate Research Fellow for the School of Public Affairs, Fyffe

is a member of the Kentucky Young Democrats.

MSU’s 11-member governing board is comprised of eight citizens appointed by the

governor and elected representatives of the faculty, staff and students.

MSU named military-friendly school for sixth straight year

Morehead State University has, for the sixth straight year, been named a “Military Friendly School” by Victory Media, the

premier media entity for military personnel transitioning into civilian life. This places MSU once again in the top 15 percent of

colleges, universities and trade schools nationwide that are doing the most to embrace America’s veterans as students.

“We are pleased to be recognized as the campus community continues to build on MSU’s tradition of providing the help

veterans and their families need to transition from soldier to student and ultimately to college graduate,” said Max Ammons,

MSU’s director of military initiatives.

MSU also was previously recognized as a 2014 military/veteran-friendly university by GI Jobs magazine, Military Advanced

Education journal, the Military Times and U.S.News and World Report.

For a complete listing of military-related services, including enrollment, support services and benefi ts information, visit

www.moreheadstate.edu/veteran.

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COMING SOON!ALUMNI WELCOME CENTER

Every year, proud alumni of Morehead State University journey back to their alma mater to revisit their days as an Eagle and connect with fellow alums. While there are many nostalgic locations to visit on

campus, soon there will also be a place for all Eagles to gather when they return home.

Tell us what you’d like to see in YOUR Alumni Welcome Centerat www.moreheadstate.edu/alumniwelcomecenter.

To contribute to the creation of the Alumni Welcome Center, contactthe Offi ce of Alumni Relations & Development at 606-783-2033 or giving@moreheadstate.edu.

Winter 2015 | 7

MSU has been such a big part of my life. Over 36 years ago, I started my venture as a student in the late ‘70s. I worked in Alumni Relations for over 27 years and served as the executive vice president of the Alumni Association for over 15 years.

During my years at MSU, I’ve had so many opportunities and met so many wonderful people from all walks of life, forming numerous lasting friendships. I have wonderful memories I will carry with me into retirement and throughout the rest of my life.

Most of you know that plans are underway to build a new Alumni Welcome Center. The center is much needed and will allow fellow alumni to gather together in a common space to hold meetings and special events.

I’d like to personally ask each of you to join me in supporting this important and momentous effort.

Thanks again for allowing me the opportunity to serve the University we all hold so dear. It has been an honor.

Go Eagles!

Tami Jones (82)

Much more Eagle pride.Kentucky residents, show your Eagle pride with a newly redesigned Morehead State license plate.

A portion of the fee will benefi t the University.

For more information, visit mvl.ky.gov or call your local county clerk.

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Early College student discovers rare pulsarIn June, Rowan County Senior High School senior and Morehead State University Early College student Sonny Ernst

made what was confi rmed to be a scientifi c discovery of some signifi cance — a rare type of pulsar.

Ernst’s discovery is special because it is a rotating radio transient, or RRAT, what some scientists believe to be a

dying pulsar. Pulsars, many of which are billions of years old, are relatively new to the scientifi c world. The fi rst RRAT

was discovered in 2006. Since then, just over 85 rotating radio transients, including the one discovered by Ernst, have

been discovered.

“This is a signifi cant discovery,” said Dr. Ben Malphrus, chair of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences.

“RRAT pulsars are excellent laboratories for general and special relativity theory, as well as being interesting in an

astrophysical sense as extreme stellar endpoints.”

Ernst performed the research leading to this discovery through his participation in a project designed to involve high

school students in research in astrophysics called the Pulsar Search Collaboratory (PSC). The PSC is a joint project

of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and West Virginia University, funded by a grant from the National

Science Foundation and implemented at RCSHS in collaboration with Morehead State that offers college credit to

students involved in the program.

Winter 2015 | 9

Many people know actor Hill Harper as either the calm

and sympathetic crime scene investigator Dr. Sheldon

Hawkes from his time on the CBS series “CSI: NY” or his

current role as an ambitious and overly confident CIA

bureau chief Calder Michaels in the USA Network spy

drama “Covert Affairs.”

When Harper came to Morehead State on Nov. 13 for

“Perspectives with Hill Harper,” as part of the President’s

Performing Arts and Speakers Program, he displayed a

personality that was very different from the characters

he portrays on television. Instead, he used his charisma

and boundless energy to deliver a motivational message

encouraging the nearly 800 Eagle students and other

spectators in attendance to use their own energy and

positivity to become architects of their own lives.

Harper’s accomplishments extend far beyond acting.

He is the author of four New York Times Bestsellers, has

earned multiple NAACP Image Awards for his acting and

writing and is the founder of the Manifest Your Destiny

Foundation, a charity dedicated to providing mentorship,

scholarship and grant programs to underserved youth.

When Harper speaks at institutions like Morehead State,

he tries to use his life experience and celebrity status to

make a difference.

Hill Harperprovides energetic message to Eagle students

FEATURE

10 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

“If you’ve been blessed with a platform or an opportunity,

what’s the use of having those resources if you don’t

fi gure out a way to give back,” Harper said at a press

conference. “For me, that’s what all this is about. The

more I can reach students and maybe expose them to an

idea or motivate them in some way, it’s a good thing.”

During his time at MSU, Harper was a fast and frenetic

messenger walking the stage and fl oor of Button

Auditorium. He plucked students out of the audience and

used theories of physics and even leading a sing-along of

“This Little Light of Mine” to illustrate the value of making

positivity contagious.

Harper also stressed the value of a college education.

He told a story about how he played basketball with a

then-30-year-old Barack Obama at Harvard Law School,

saying, “there will be times in your life when you think

about what you want to achieve, you’ll have to go back to

go forward.”

He also frequently touched on the point that students

needed to become “active architects” when setting

goals after college. That being said, Harper used his

choice to step away from a career in law to pursue the

possibilities of acting as a way to illustrate education

should give students choices but also the confi dence to

pursue their greatest ambitions.

“If you can actually get into your heart and out of your

head, you would get what you need to take the next

step,” he said. “If (your choices) make too much sense to

some people, then you’re probably not making your own

choices. I want you to be unreasonably happy, but to do

that, you have to be unreasonable.”

We’re living in a time where cynicism

is running rampant. If you can start to use

some of your radiant energy, you can chip

away into cynicism.

We’re living in a time where cynicism “ “

Hill Harper

Winter 2015 | 11

There’s a reason why science students from Morehead State University graduate feeling like they have the knowledge and

skills they need to make an immediate impact in their fi eld. Various factors, from the small class sizes to the expert,

one-on-one instruction from faculty, all come into play. But when it comes to studying science, one of the most effective

ways to learn is through hands-on experience.

Student research has always been a key component in the science curriculum for any number of areas of study at MSU.

Whether it’s through our Undergraduate Research Fellowship program or other research opportunities, students often times

fi nd themselves working closely with faculty members, gaining invaluable experience and, in some instances, achieving

notable accomplishments along the way. Here are three Eagle students that are soaring examples of how student research

has done much more for their academic careers.

A Hands-On Approach

Student research at MSU provides invaluable learning opportunities

FEATURE

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Erich HohensteinGrowing up as a middle child in Santa Cruz de la Sierra,

Bolivia, Erich Hohenstein was willing to go wherever he

had to in order to get a high-quality college education.

When he contemplated coming to the United States to

continue his studies, with all of the potential options, his

advisor had a place in mind.

“My advisor back home recommended me to go to

Morehead State,” Hohenstein said. “They told me it

would offer a good education and because it’s in a small

town, it’s a great place to study.”

Hohenstein has certainly done plenty of studying since

he became an Eagle. He’s currently a senior triple

major in math, physics and computer science. But this

past summer, his love for science and success in the

classroom allowed him to do even more traveling for his

education.

He was accepted to a prestigious summer internship

position at the European Organization for Nuclear

Research in Meyrin, Switzerland, better known as CERN.

The internship allowed Hohenstein to work in computer

programming, becoming skilled in two different data

formats. While that experience proved invaluable, he

said some of the highlights of his trip were attending

lectures from some of the world’s top physicists and

taking in multiple cultures, both from traveling around

Europe and interacting with fellow students from across

the globe.

The internship was one of many sought-after science

internships for which Hohenstein applied. Before getting

accepted to CERN, he was an Undergraduate Research

Fellow in computer science, studying for two years under

Dr. Sherif Rashad, associate professor of computer

science. He also assisted in research in astrophysics

conducted by Dr. Thomas Pannuti, associate professor

of astrophysics and space science, in the space science

program.

Hohenstein thinks the hands-on instruction and research

opportunities at MSU were key to helping him get

accepted to CERN.

“With that research, I got to present at conferences in

Morehead and Lexington. That was really good,” he said.

“That is one of those things that CERN looks at.”

Hohenstein said he plans to pursue graduate school with

the hopes of a career involving research in theoretical

physics. With his drive and the skills he’s acquired at

MSU and at CERN, there seems to be no limit to how high

– or far – he will go in his future science career.

Hohenstein pictured with “The Big Bang Theory” actress Dr. Mayim Bialik during her visit to MSU in January 2014.

Winter 2015 | 13

Travis WitkowskiAs a senior biomedical sciences major at Morehead

State, Travis Witkowski got into his chosen area of study

for equal parts interest and impact.

“I really have a passion to help people and I’ve seen the

way disease can hurt people and I want to do something

about it,” he said.

Originally from La Grange, Kentucky, Witkowski excelled

academically and became interested in biology taking AP

classes at Oldham County High School. He attended MSU

on the University’s Honors Scholarship with aspirations

to go to medical school. Part of being in the MSU

Honors Program involves the Undergraduate Research

Fellowship, where a student gets to work closely with

an MSU faculty member on a specifi c research project.

It was here that Witkoswki realized he wanted to make

biological research his career aspiration.

Dr. Janelle Hare, associate biology professor who

specializes in microbiology, served as more of a

mentor than a professor to Witkowski and he said her

guidance and tutelage defi nitely gave him an advantage

throughout his academic career.

“Doing research ultimately gave me a leg up in classes

because I gained some knowledge and I learned topics

before taking them in a traditional classroom setting,” he

said. “I also like the labs at Morehead State that go along

with classes because you get to do a lot of hands-on

research you can’t do at other schools.”

The four years of undergraduate research Witkowski has

done with Hare have been important, but some of their

most recent research is particularly noteworthy. He and

Hare co-authored a recently published article on the

fi ndings of types of bacteria under the bacteria genus

acinetobacter that were capable of repairing their own

DNA. The research was published in the international

peer-reviewed journal, PLOS ONE, and they presented

their fi ndings at both the University’s Celebration of

Student Scholarship and the Kentucky Academy of

Sciences Annual Meeting, where they received a fi rst

place prize.

“Those are pretty cool times to gain experience

presenting our work,” Witkowski said. “That’s an

experience not a lot of undergraduates have: to go on the

Internet and say, ‘hey, there’s a paper I helped write,’ is

pretty cool.”

After graduation, Witkowski plans to continue to focus

on biological research in graduate school, hoping to

become a researcher who studies human diseases and

methods of treatment. He said he owes a lot to MSU and

the unique learning opportunities it has given him.

“After doing research for four years, I am feeling

comfortable with it and feel like this is another passion

that I have,” he said. “As corny as it sounds, it changed

my life.”

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Margaret PowellMargaret “Maggie” Powell has a lot of friends who,

like her, are attending college. However, based on

conversations she has with them, it certainly seems like

her experience at Morehead State might be quite a bit

different than that of her peers.

“They don’t even know how to take it sometimes, ”Powell

said. “Some of my friends say, ‘I can’t wrap my head

around what you’re doing, because … you’re in college.’”

If you knew what Powell has managed to do during

her four years at MSU, you’d probably have a similar

reaction. Currently from Lebanon, Kentucky, but a native

of Springfi eld, Massachusetts, Powell initially came to

Morehead State to study space science. She was hired

as a work study for Kentucky Space by Eric Thomas (92),

director of the Space Science Center’s Star Theater. While

she was there, she also got to do research for some of

the program’s most signifi cant projects to date, including

the launch of the satellite KySat-1 and helping research

and design the CXPN satellite. She also served as part

of the ground operations team for the launch and early

operations of satellites from the MSU Mission Operations

Center.

Powell said the close working relationships she formed

with her professors doing this research at MSU was not

what she initially expected.

“I’ve always pictured that strict college at the beginning

where your professor is your professor and that’s it,” she

said. “I get there and your professor wants you to succeed

more than anyone else besides yourself.”

After spending close to three years in the space science

program, she landed a few internships that left a lasting

impression. The fi rst was with Pentair Electronics and

Equipment Protection in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, and then

she spent from Fall 2012 to December 2013 interning with

Acer Technologies in West Liberty, Kentucky, focusing

on standards and quality control. This exposure to the

manufacturing industry led her toward a slightly different

career path.

“Everyone is a consumer and when I go buy something,

I expect it to be perfect,” she said. “I think everyone

deserves that moment when they buy something and say,

it’s perfect. It’s exactly what I want it to be.”

Now, Powell is a senior design and manufacturing major

who has already been tasked with a unique leadership

challenge. She has gone from working with machines in

space to machines on the ground as the robotics team

leader in the Department of Applied Engineering and

Technology under the advisement of associate professor

Dr. Yuqiu You.

Powell said being the robotics team leader has been a

wonderful opportunity to gain both management skills and

her professor’s input.

“She’s made me see what the industry standard is versus

what you would see in the classroom,” she said. “I feel like

it’s getting all of us ready for industry.”

Powell couldn’t have asked for a better college experience

at Morehead State, and she believes student research has

been essential to her success in the classroom and will be

key to her success once she graduates.

“It’s almost to the point of indescribable,” she said. “There

are so many opportunities and so many chances to

succeed and get experience here that I don’t think a lot of

places offer.”

Winter 2015 | 15

What were some of the key reasons that led to your

decision to accept Morehead State’s offer to be provost?

Among the many reasons I accepted the kind offer from

Morehead State included the hard-working and dedicated

faculty, staff and students. The heart of any great institution is its

people. This is no less the case for MSU. Another reason I accepted the offer is the University’s commitment to student achievement.

MSU faculty and staff are focused on student success, in and out of class, on and off campus. The beautiful region also attracted me and,

fi nally, President Andrews’ leadership, characterized by a high concern for mission and people, made it easy to accept.

This is your fi rst position with MSU and you’re relatively new to the campus. What is it you enjoy about the University and what do you

think its strengths are as an institution?

The strength of the institution, like all great institutions, is the people, and in particular, the faculty and staff. I also appreciate the ‘can do’

attitude so apparent among them. I fi nd another compelling strength of MSU is its commitment to regional engagement.

You formerly held positions as the dean of the School of Communications and the Arts at Marist College and a professor and chair of

the Department of Communication at Northern Illinois University. What have you gained from that prior experience that will help you as

provost?

I believe that my past academic administration experience has given me a wealth of perspectives from which to draw in solving

challenges. Problem solving is often more productive with the inclusion of multiple perspectives. Moreover, having served successfully

as a faculty, chair and dean, I bring to my role as provost multiple viewpoints and experiences.

As educational costs continue to grow, how do you convince students and parents that a college degree is still an important fi nancial

investment?

The data are clear: College degree attainment is a good investment. However, controlling costs along the way is critical. I believe that we

must help students achieve their goals with the least amount of expense, which includes staying in college and graduating within four

years. In this way, our students can spend less and make the most of their investment.

One of the challenges of any university is not only enrolling students but also retaining them. How would you improve MSU’s retention

rates?

Retention and graduation are critical to our students’ success. There is a plethora of ways we assist student to stay in college and

graduate in a timely fashion, including robust support services. Our student population is increasingly diverse, which is a positive trend

but one that also brings greater need to provide appropriate support. I also believe that working smart at the time of recruitment pays

great dividends by ensuring students have the right information at the right time before accepting our offer and coming to Morehead

State. We must ensure potential students make the best choice for their future.

What are the leadership qualities you possess that you think will be most benefi cial to the administration?

There is no substitute for effective listening. Effective listening begins with a desire to learn all that is possible about another’s

perspective. My experience is that most people respond favorably when they believe they are heard.

What strides do you hope MSU makes in the future to help it become “the best public regional university in the South?”

I believe that if we will concentrate on meeting the needs of our students — undergraduate, graduate, adult and more — we will be

successful. No matter the situation, if we ask ourselves what is the in the best interest of students, our future will be secure and bright.

Understanding and perspective

MSU’s new provost, Dr. Steve Ralston, describes his

strengths and his vision for the University’s current

challenges and successful future.

16 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

It’s usually the responsibility of a surgeon to call upon

their knowledge and skills to either save lives or improve

the health and overall quality of life of their patients.

Dr. Gary W. Mathern (78) is often called upon to do this

in his profession, but as a pediatric neurosurgeon who

specializes in pediatric or children with intractable

epilepsy, the end result is particularly unique and

extremely rewarding.

“If I can stop this kid’s seizures, then I turn their life

around,” he said. “If I operate on a kid who is two, I’m

buying them a life.”

Mathern currently works at The Mattel Children’s

Hospital UCLA in Los Angeles as one of the top pediatric

neurosurgeons in the country. Many of his research

and success stories have been featured from news

outlets like the Los Angeles Times and Reader’s Digest

to news programs like Nightline and the TODAY show.

But Mathern’s own success story was a long journey

that began in the classrooms and on the campus of

Morehead State University.

A native of Washington, D.C., Mathern, moved to

Fairborn, Ohio, his sophomore year of high school. While

in high school, he and one of his friends decided to travel

to “this place in Eastern Kentucky” to go to school, which

ended up being the starting point of his college career.

“We both very much enjoyed the class sizes and there

were some pretty spectacular teachers,” Mathern

recalls at MSU. “The competition that you used to hear

about from the other big league schools, that wasn’t an

issue there. As students, we were all in this together.”

Mathern admitted he had a knack for academics but a

lack of direction, initially taking a diversity of liberal arts

classes before leaning toward science and philosophy.

But during his last two years, he got some real-world

experience that would give him a future focus.

One was interning with a local allergy specialist. The

other was a National Science Foundation paid summer

research project at the University of Kentucky that

involved mapping local bird roosts to locate the root

cause of increasing cases of histoplasmosis (an infection

from inhaling fungus spores) in Rowan County and

surrounding areas.

“It was a science to help people,” he said. “It was new,

it was science, it was investigational, I thought it was

pretty cool and medicine might be the way to go.”

Mathern graduated from MSU with a double major in

biology and chemistry and a minor in philosophy, and

went on to graduate with his M.D. from Case Western

Reserve University in Cleveland in 1982.

He initially enrolled in medical school to be either a

general practitioner or a pediatrician, but he got his

earliest experience in surgery during his third year

clerkship. During that rotation in pediatric surgery, the

Surgical Success:Eagle alum Dr. Gary W. Mathern

gives children better lives

through neurosurgery

Photo courtesy of UCLA

FEATURE

Winter 2015 | 17

chief of service told him he had what it takes to be a

successful surgeon. His next rotation in neurosurgery

allowed him to combine his knack for surgery and a new

passion in the field.

“The neurosurgeon is the intellectual surgeon. The

brain isn’t just a black box, you have to think you’re way

through it,” he said. “It brings together the practical

and the intellectual, the two kinds of themes I had been

looking at over my life.”

Before he could become a surgeon, Mathern cut his

teeth in downtown Cleveland. He completed a one-year

rotational internship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation

before serving as an emergency room doctor at the

Lutheran Medical Center from 1983-85. Over this period,

Mathern regularly found himself delivering babies,

treating burn victims and caring for casualties of the

“knife and gun club.”

A holiday trip to the Caribbean resulted in a meeting with

his future wife. He eventually moved to Los Angeles to

be with her and later landed a surgery internship at the

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

Since arriving at UCLA, Mathern has become what he

calls a “super specialist,” who performs some of the

most radical surgical procedures for some of the rarest

brain conditions and diseases. One of these, known as

hemimegalencephaly, causes newborns, infants and

young children to experience an extraordinary amount

of epileptic seizures – sometimes hundreds a day. It

affects less than a dozen U.S. children each year and can

severely inhibit a child’s mental development.

Families often travel to see Dr. Mathern so children with

hemimegalencephaly can undergo a procedure called

a cerebral hemispherectomy, where the malfunctioning

(and often sizable) part of the child’s brain is completely

Photo courtesy of Ann Johansson

18 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

removed to stop the seizures. Choosing to put your child

through this type of procedure is a harrowing decision

for any parent but Mathern always explains the rewards

far outweigh the risks.

“The reality is you have to have more empathy and you

have to explain this to the families and explain to them

that this is the only option to give your child the best

quality of life and the longest life they can have,” he said.

As a pediatric neurosurgeon, Mathern said his work on

the operating table is often just the beginning.

“You think you’re doing the right thing, but you don’t

know until you’ve followed these kids for a number of

years,” he said. “Most neurosurgeons follow someone

six months, a year and then they’re done. My practice is,

as long as they are willing to come back, I’ll see them on

an annual basis.”

When Mathern is not performing surgery, he is serving as

an educator, a contributor to nonprofi t consumer epilepsy

organizations and an advocate for fi ghting epilepsy and

supporting the families it affects.

He is currently professor of pediatric neurosurgery,

director of the UCLA Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Program

and co-editor-in-chief of the journal Epilepsia. He

has assisted in the development of epilepsy surgery

programs for children in Brazil, China, India and Taiwan.

He was a speaker at a TEDx presentation in 2011 titled

“What Can You Do with Half a Brain?” and was honored

in 2012 with the Ambassador for Epilepsy Award by the

International Bureau for Epilepsy and the International

League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), which Mathern said was

a highlight of his career.

“If you’re coming from LA, the worst thing you want to

do is believe your own press releases. As individuals,

we are our own worst enemies when it comes to self-

assessment,” he said. “When your peers recognize your

accomplishments, that’s when you pay attention.”

Mathern has come a long way from the young man

who lacked direction as a teenager. When he came to

Morehead State, he found direction. After he left, he

found a passion and a specialty. Now, he wants not

only make a positive impact on the young individuals

he operates on, he wants to use his standing in the

educational and medical communities to make a

difference that can be seen and felt years from now.

“There are things where I can say I’ve contributed back

to the common good and here are the examples,” he

said. “There’s a social role for the academic specialist.

For me, it’s one of our obligations in 2014. It’s taking

science methodology and purpose and social good and

wrapping it together.”

Photo courtesy of Ann Johansson

Photo courtesy of Ann Johansson

Winter 2015 | 19

Craft Academy provides unique experience to Kentucky high school students

Whether it’s the success of graduates from its Department of Applied Engineering and Technology or the campus being

home to the Commonwealth’s only space science program, Morehead State continues to emphasize education in the fields

of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

MSU has taken another huge step in its mission toward STEM education with the establishment of the Craft Academy for

Excellence in Science and Mathematics, which will provide an incredible opportunity for Kentucky’s young students.

The Academy is a dual-credit residential high school that will allow academically exceptional high school juniors and

seniors to take college-level courses while living in a newly renovated residence hall designed specifically for Academy

students. They will be able finish high school and earn a minimum of 60 credit hours they can use to further their education

at MSU or transfer to another college/university.

MSU President Dr. Wayne D. Andrews worked alongside Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, House Majority Floor

Leader Rocky Adkins (82) and Alliance Resource Partners CEO Joe Craft to establish the Academy. State lawmakers

budgeted $2.3 million to fund the Academy and Craft pledged $4 million to support the project, making it the single largest

cash gift in the University’s history.

“I’m excited to be a partner with Morehead State University in making this program available to exceptional young men

and women to develop their God-given talents,” Craft said at a press conference for the Academy’s unveiling in April. “My

passion is to provide opportunities for people that want to help themselves and develop professionally.”

“This is what happens when people reach, when they think and try to figure out not how to stop something but to make

something work,” Sen. Stivers added. “Today, I think, is something that you will see make systematic changes in Eastern

Kentucky and a huge difference for our youth and the way we are perceived, not only here in the state, but nationally and

internationally.”

Dr. Carol Christian, director of the Craft Academy, said it will start by enrolling 60 juniors in Fall 2015 with hopes to grow

enrollment to 120 juniors and seniors annually.

“There are many academically exceptional students across the Commonwealth,” Christian said. “Universities must step

up to the plate to replenish STEM fields on a local, state and even global level. The overall goal is to develop the next

generation of leaders and change-makers.”

For more information, email craftacademy@moreheadstate.edu or visit www.moreheadstate.edu/craft-academy.

FEATURE

20 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

Father and son hit the books together at Morehead State

Like most caring, supportive and attentive fathers, Brad

Johnson is very interested in how his son, Tildon, is doing

in school. In fact, they talk about classes all the time –

just not in the ways most people would expect.

Tildon is currently a student at Morehead State

University, and Brad is not just a proud parent, he’s also

a fellow Eagle. Both Brad and Tildon are on a journey to

earn their college degrees at MSU. For Tildon, his pursuit

of higher education is a new chapter. For Brad, however,

going to college has been a completely new beginning.

Actually, to say it’s “completely” new for Brad, 44, would

be a bit inaccurate. Growing up in Pike County in the

small town of Virgie, he enrolled in MSU after graduating

high school in 1988. He majored in robotics engineering,

which was a good fit for his childhood fascination with

taking things apart and putting them back together and

his overall academic strengths in math and science.

Brad only attended MSU until 1990 before he dropped

out, chalking it up to having the wrong set of priorities.

“I spent more time socializing than going to school,” he

said. “At that time, I was smart enough, just not mature

enough.”

After leaving MSU, Brad did what many Eastern

Kentuckians did for a living and “went underground.”

He took a job in coal mining with Mine Management

Consultants, an engineering firm in Jenkins, Kentucky.

It would be the start of what would be a career in coal

mining that would span almost two decades, with Brad

earning 15 certifications and learning practically every

trick of the trade both above and below ground.

“The more I could learn from it, the more I liked it,” he

said.

It was back in 1996 that Brad and his ex-wife had Tildon,

the first of three children. One year later, Brad started to

feel the physical wear-and-tear of the mines. It started

off as lower back pain and got progressively worse the

more he bent over and crawled underground upwards

of 70-80 hours a week. One time, he bent down to pull a

pair of pants out of the dryer and had to miss four days of

work when his back gave out.

“He kept doing stuff less and less,” Tildon recalls. “He’d

come home some days and all he could do was sit

around. He couldn’t get back up.”

FEATURE

Winter 2015 | 21

“It catches up with all of them,” Brad explained of coal

miners. “They always say the mine will get you early or

late, but one way or another, it’ll get you.”

After a severe injury working on a rock truck in 2009,

Brad injured his back so badly that something he had

been putting off doing had to be done. After a trip to the

doctor, he learned he no longer had discs between three

of his vertebrae. He had two options, neither of which

were good: Keep going without surgery and end up in a

wheelchair by the time he’s 50 or undergo back surgery

and never be able to return to the mines, and the career

he loved, ever again.

By that time, Brad had a young daughter he hoped to

one day walk down the aisle, so a decision was made.

After the surgery, he received disability, but his physical

limitations and not being able to work or support his

family like he used to led to a bout with depression and

heavy drinking.

Once he came through that dark time, he decided he

was too smart and too driven to stay at home. Before

his surgery, he would often talk to Tildon about his MSU

days, even driving him around campus showing his son

the classrooms and hangouts he used to frequent as a

student. When he spoke to his family about the possibility

of returning to school to earn his college degree, there

was only one real option in his mind.

“I told my wife, if I’m going to do this, we’re going to go to

Morehead and do this,” he said.

So, in 2012, Brad, Tildon and the rest of his family packed

up from their long-time home in Dorton, Kentucky, so

Brad could go back to MSU to major in nursing. But that

major soon changed when he walked by Rader Hall

and saw students working with survey equipment. He

went up to speak with them and learned that they were

a part of MSU’s Department of Applied Engineering and

Technology.

“I thought, that’s not a whole lot different than what I was

doing in the mines,” he said.

Brad changed his major to construction management

with a concentration in civil engineering. Now a senior,

he was elected president of the University’s branch of

the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC)

and is completing an internship with the University’s

Office of Facilities Management. Brad said he’s as much

a mentor as a student, and MSU’s faculty appreciates his

unique situation and what he brings to the table with his

extensive work and life experience.

“They understand I’m not just that student. I’m a father,

I’m a husband, I’m a lot of different things,” he said.

“They really embraced that and made it really easy to get

my degree there.”

As for Tildon, 18, he certainly shares his father’s love for

science. He’s a freshman living on campus and majoring

in space science with aspirations to build satellites either

working for NASA or with MSU’s Department of Earth &

Space Sciences.

Both Brad and Tildon are looking forward to earning their

college degrees. However, when Brad dons his cap and

gown in Spring 2015, it’s going to be a huge achievement

not just for himself but for everyone close to him.

“It’s going to be a big moment for my whole family,”

Tildon said. “That will be one moment that I’ve thought

about since I was little.”

Until then, Tildon just loves being able to call his dad

one of his classmates. He loves being able to stop by

the house and talk about school. He loves when the two

meet up at the Adron Doran University Center every

week to grab a bite and bond like best friends. But, even

more so, he loves seeing the renewed energy his father

has getting a second chance to pursue his dream.

“It makes me extremely proud to tell people who my dad

is. He is a guy who, at 42 years old, decided to scrape up

from the bottom to make something for his family. That’s

something I can brag about.”

“Morehead State is going to provide everything you

need,” Brad said, “but it’s up to you to go get it.”

2 2 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

New MSU facility could shape the Eastern Kentucky economy

Ever since it was founded in 1887, Morehead State

University has been devoted to giving its students an

education and skills that would have a positive impact on

the future of Eastern Kentucky.

For students in the Department of Applied Engineering

& Technology (AET), their ability to graduate and have

an immediate impact will be greatly enhanced thanks

to the establishment of the 21st Century Center for

Manufacturing Systems.

The idea for this facility fi rst came about as part of the

Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) initiative, which

was created to help usher in the “new economy” for

Appalachian Kentucky as coal and mining jobs diminish.

Morehead State University’s Offi ce of Alumni Relations

and Development and AET received a challenge grant

from the James Graham Brown Foundation with a value

of $497,505. The Foundation’s grant matched gifts and

pledges received through 2014. The anticipated total cost

of the center is $1.5 million, with MSU and private donors

raising the remainder of the expense in addition to MSU’s

$500,000 commitment.

The funds will be used to repair existing laboratories and

construct the center itself, which will give AET students

access to the latest equipment and allow the AET

department to fully utilize the recent gift from Siemens

Global Opportunities in Product Lifestyle Management

software (GO PLM), which has a commercial value of

$209 million.

“The push in AET over the years has been to provide

entry-level engineers with 21st century skill sets,” said

Jim Shaw, vice president of university advancement.

“Our students can now take the theory and take the

software and apply it to state-of-the-art equipment.”

The ultimate goal of the 21st Century Center for

Manufacturing Systems is to both prepare students for

jobs of the future and provide Eastern Kentucky with a

highly skilled workforce that will hopefully attract new

businesses and lead to more job creation.

“The 21st Century Center for Manufacturing Systems

will enhance our potential to teach-cutting edge

technologies, conduct applied research in science,

technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and

aid technology transfer from the University to industries

that will result in economic development in the region,”

said Dr. Ahmad Zargari, AET professor and department

chair.

For more information on how to donate to the 21st

Century Center for Manufacturing Systems, go to

www.moreheadstate.edu/giving.

FEATURE

Winter 2015 | 2 3

Summer Boyd (02) absolutely loves what she does for a living. That

being said, she hopes to do her job so well that in the future, it will no

longer be required.

“I approach my job every day thinking of the three R’s: reduction,

replacement and refi nement,” said Boyd, who is senior training and

project manager at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

“I think any lab animal person will say the same thing. We want to put

ourselves out of business.”

A native of Winnona Lake, Indiana, Boyd followed in the footsteps of

her parents, Paul (77) and Christine (76), and came to Morehead State

on a cross country and track scholarship to earn an associate degree

in veterinary technology. At fi rst, she wanted to go on to veterinary

school, but MSU’s intensive and invaluable program revealed a

different path.

“I decided that was more where my heart lies, being a nurse for

animals rather than being a doctor for them,” Boyd said.

She eventually landed her fi rst vet tech job in her home state,

working for the lab animal program at Purdue University, where she

also earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in veterinary technology. Her career

would later take her to Texas. She was a vet tech supervisor at the University of Texas Galveston in 2007 and later an

educational specialist for the Cancer Prevention Research Training Program at the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center before

“moving across the street” to work for the Baylor College of Medicine in 2011, fi rst as a training coordinator and then at her

current position.

Boyd’s career has been dedicated to both increasing the effectiveness and safety of lab animal testing and improving the

fi eld’s public image. She even recently appeared on the cover of an ad for the American Association for Lab Animal Science

(AALAS) to hopefully raise awareness for what she sees as important work.

“These animals are little baby heroes that are doing the hardest job that we won’t even ask a person to do. It’s necessary

research because human beings want to be safe,” she said. “It’s a fi ne line to walk sometimes. I know at the end of the day,

I made a difference. I know it sounds crazy, but I love to go to work. I feel like I accomplish something so much greater than

me every day.”

As Boyd continues to do her work with both competency and compassion, she said she gained a lot of confi dence in her

abilities while honing her skills at MSU.

“I always tell everybody that of my three degrees, my associate degree from Morehead State is my most precious one,” she

said. “It’s the one I use the most.”

Boyd builds a positive image for lab animal research

24 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

Eagle grad lands in the Ivy League

Some students may hit the books, but Lauren Maynard (12)

embraces them.

“I’ve always loved school,” the Pikeville native said. “I always

enjoyed it and I guess it came easily because I enjoy it.”

Even though Maynard has always excelled academically, the

MSU grad is occasionally in disbelief when she thinks about

where she ended up. Currently, Maynard can be found walking

the esteemed grounds of one of the world’s most prestigious

institutions of higher learning as a student at Harvard Law

School at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Maynard experienced Morehead State before she became

a student there thanks to her participation in the Kentucky

Governor’s Scholars Program and the Future Educator’s

Association.

As much as she loved school, dealing with numbers was

her greatest interest and she eventually went on to earn a

bachelor’s degree in mathematics. Before graduation, she

contemplated law school after seeing her then boyfriend and current husband,

Jordan (10), attend law school at Northern Kentucky University. She took the LSAT her junior year and did okay. She

decided to take it again and her score improved … a lot. In fact, it was worthy of the Ivy League.

“It wasn’t something that I planned from the beginning,” she recalls. “When I saw the new score, I did think it was possible

and decided to go for it.”

Even with her exceptional LSAT score, she thought Harvard might be a long shot. After a bit of prodding from Jordan, she

applied, went through the interview process and was accepted. Even though Maynard said studying at Harvard isn’t quite

as different as many people think, there are still moments walking campus that remind her where she is.

“All these buildings, literally the oldest ones are from the 1700s. It kind of takes your breath away,” she said.

Maynard has plenty of books to embrace on her way to a Harvard Law degree. She would ideally like to work in either

government or the private sector dealing with statutes and regulations. She said she hopes to use the wealth of knowledge

and experience she gets from Harvard Law and bring it back to the Commonwealth.

“I would eventually like to give back to Eastern Kentucky,” Maynard said. “I would like to do something systematically there

and really try to do something to make a difference. It’s home and there’s work to be done.”

Winter 2015 | 25

Eagle’s internship was a call to the wild

How does a self-proclaimed “homebody” from Northern

Kentucky end up spending a summer internship halfway

around the world in South Africa? For Morehead State

senior Sarah Jo Schmitt (14), she simply followed her

passion wherever it would take her.

Growing up in Petersburg, Schmitt was always fond of

animals and worked at the petting zoo at the Creation

Museum in her hometown. Her graduation present – a

trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World in

Orlando – made her want to work with animals more than

ever.

“I just thought it was so cool that they got to work so

close to the animals … and it was to help the animals,”

Schmitt said.

Even though it was a bit far from home and she hadn’t

really heard much about Morehead State, she went to an

open house. Her petting zoo farmer’s tan caught the eye

of veterinary technology professor Dr. Phillip Prater.

“He kind of pulled me aside,” Schmitt recalls. “He said,

‘you know, I can tell an agriculture kid when I see one.’”

That personal attention left an impression on Schmitt

and she later became an Eagle. She earned an associate

degree in veterinary technology in Spring 2014 and

plans to earn her bachelor’s in Spring 2015. But this past

summer, she got the educational experience of a lifetime

completing a four-week internship at the Cango Wildlife

Ranch in Outdshoorn, South Africa.

There, she got to live with students from across the

globe and get up close with the country’s wildlife,

interacting with and assisting in veterinary procedures

on tigers, lions, crocodiles, meerkats, lemurs, tortoises,

porcupines, elephants and a variety of other animals.

“They would say, ‘before you go to bed, we have to play

with the cheetah cubs,’” Schmitt said. “They brought

them in the living room and they climb all over you and

it’s pretty amazing.”

Schmitt credits her knowledge and passion for veterinary

technology to MSU. She’s spent the past two semesters

living on the University Farm working with horses and

other animals and really getting a feel for what her

job may entail after she graduates. At this point, she is

certainly proud she became an Eagle.

“I had never heard of Morehead State before and it’s so

amazing. I wish more people knew about it,” she said.

“Coming to MSU was defi nitely one of the best decisions

I ever made.”

26 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

Anthropology has always interested Dr. Timothy Hare,

associate professor of anthropology in the School of

Public Affairs’ Institute for Regional Analysis and Public

Policy (IRAPP). He initially got in it for the sense of

discovery that comes from examining the past. That being

said, the fi eld continues to surprise him.

“Anthropology is big. It’s so diverse,” Hare said. “There’s

plenty that changed my mind within anthropology and

what I was going to do.”

Nowadays, Hare’s anthropologic work in and out of the

classroom is just as much about uncovering the past as

much as it is shaping the future.

The native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, earned both a

bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a master’s degree

in economic anthropology. He enrolled in 1994 at the

State University of New York in Albany and eventually

walked away with a Ph.D. in economic anthropology

in 2001. During much of this period, he was in doing fi eldwork helping to unearth an

ancient Aztec city in Central Mexico, combing through artifacts to discover the nature of the city’s political and economic

systems and how they change over time.

“It is a lot of detective work. You have to look for the clues left behind and decipher them. For me, that’s pretty exciting,”

Hare said. “The idea is to understand the big picture of humans and societies and how they transform.”

Hare came to MSU in 2003 when his wife, Janelle, was hired as a biology professor. When he’s not instructing students,

he continues to make the trip down to Central Mexico every other summer to continue to map and study the Aztec city.

However, a great deal of Hare’s past and current work is contemporary research focusing on the Commonwealth’s future

through IRAPP. His research has focused on the disparities in lung cancer in Eastern Kentucky and he’s worked with

criminologist Paul Steele to examine regional crime patterns, map gang territories and publish fi ndings on the access sex

offenders have to mental health services.

“Whether it’s working with ancient people or working with modern day people today, I’m still looking for the same things —

looking for the material clues that show what’s affecting people,” Hare said.

Hare thoroughly enjoys his work and hasn’t lost that sense of wonder and discovery he fi rst had. As a professor at MSU, he

gets an added thrill of passing his passion and knowledge on to a new generation.

“I guess it’s rewarding in two different ways. The work I do informs my teaching and I take satisfaction in working with

students and helping them develop strong skills in research and helping people,” he said.

MSU anthropologistis fueled by discovery

Winter 2015 | 27

Some people may look up at the sky and wonder.

Dr. Thomas Pannuti has spent his entire career looking

beyond the sky — getting answers to the universe’s most

confounding and fascinating questions and phenomena.

As an associate professor of space science and

astrophysics, Pannuti continues to do important research

while passing on his enthusiasm and knowledge for space

science to the next generation.

Born and raised in Irving, New York, Pannuti got

his science education on both sides of the country.

He earned his bachelor’s in physics with a minor in

astrophysics in 1994 from Rensselaer Polytechnic

Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York, before going to the

University of New Mexico in Albuquerque to obtain both

a master’s degree and Ph.D. in physics. His post-doctoral

work took him to MIT Kavil Institute for Astrophysics and

Space Science Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts,

from 2000-03 and later to the Spitzer Science Center at

Caltech in Pasadena, California, from 2003-06.

When Pannuti learned about a position in MSU’s Department of Earth and Space Sciences in 2006, it felt like the stars

aligned.

“I’ve always wanted to teach and conduct research with students and this seemed like a great fi t for what I wanted to do,”

he said.

Since coming to MSU, Pannuti has not only helped to develop upper-level astronomy classes, he has allowed students to

assist him in conducting important space science research.

“They’re just like professional astronomers,” he said. “For students, opportunities to be involved in projects like this are

very limited. They are representing Morehead State on a national and an international scale, and that means a lot to me.”

Using MSU’s state-of-the-art equipment, he has continued to expand on his earlier research on multi-wavelength (X-Ray,

optical, infrared and radio) observations of galactic and extragalactic supernova (a.k.a. exploding star) remnants and the

acceleration of subatomic particles. In his most recent fi ndings, he’s discovered supernova remnants from a supernova in

the Milky Way galaxy that swept up an incredible amount of material – roughly 45 times the mass of the Sun.

“As a researcher, the exciting thing is for many of these results, I’ve been the fi rst person to explore these objects. I’ve had

the chance to prove some theories and challenge others,” he said. “There’s a recognition and a far reach of what’s being

accomplished here.”

Pannuti does explosivespace research at MSU

28 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

Some people may have seen images of those who have

been affected by atomic bombs and other forms of

radiation, but George Kerr (62) has made the impact of

radiation on the human body his life’s work.

This past spring, he was honored for his work in health

physics with the Robley D. Evans Commemorative Medal

Award, the most prestigious award from the Health and

Physics Society. Of the society’s 5,000 members, Kerr is

only the 10th member to receive this recognition.

A native of Circleville, Ohio, who now resides in

Knoxville, Tennessee, Kerr earned a bachelor’s degree in

mathematics and physics before going on earn a master’s

in physics from North Carolina State University and his

Ph.D. in nuclear physics from the University of Tennessee.

From 1964 to 2000, Kerr worked as a physicist for the Oak

Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He

retired from Oak Ridge in 2000 but would later go on to

become a self-employed physics consultant. From 1973

until 2011, Kerr worked as a U.S.

appointed consultant on radiation

dosimetry to the Radiation Effects

Research Foundation (RERF),

where he conducted research on

the medical effects of radiation

exposure on atomic bomb

survivors from Hiroshima and

Nagasaki, Japan.

Kerr describes receiving

the Robley D. Evans Medal

recognizing his dedication to his fi eld as a “mighty good

feeling,” and he said he owes MSU a debt of gratitude for

his achievements.

“I got a fi rst-class education at Morehead State,” he said.

“The years I spent at Morehead were probably some of the

most enjoyable years of my life.”

It only seems appropriate for Kathleen Pollard (78) to have

the responsibility she has in her current position. This

proud Eagle is helping NASA take fl ight.

Pollard, who fi rst began working for NASA in 1985 at the

Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, was

recently promoted as manger of the Program, Planning

and Control Offi ce for the Space Launch Systems (SLS)

Program.

The Manassas, Virginia, native transferred from Virginia

Tech to Morehead State in 1976 when her husband took

a job at Ashland Oil. She earned a bachelor’s degree in

accounting from MSU. Upon moving to Huntsville for her

husband’s new job, she applied at NASA and was fi rst hired

on as a price analyst with procurement and then the shuttle

program. She later went back to school to eventually earn a

master’s degree in industrial and systems engineering from

the University of Alabama in

Huntsville in 1998.

She continued to gain

responsibilities and move

up NASA’s ranks to her

current position, which

entails formulating and

implementing SLS resource

plans and its $1.6 billion

annual budget. The SLS

Program’s focus is on the engineering, construction and

launch of the rockets that will have Americans exploring

deep space by 2018.

“It’s a really cool endeavor to work on,” Pollard said. “At

the end of the day, you just hope you’ve made the country a

better place.”

Kerr awarded Health Physics Society’s highest honor

Pollard’s career continues to lift off at NASA

Winter 2015 | 29

Morehead State University and the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center unveiled their new astronomical exhibit,

“Satellites, Aerospace and the Bluegrass State,” with a reception and ribbon cutting ceremony Dec. 4.

Designed by Eric Thomas (92), director of MSU’s Star Theater and staff member of the space science program, the exhibit will

inform visitors about the role satellites play in the fi eld of aerospace, featuring 1:1 scale models of satellites built and fl own

by MSU, and highlighting the University’s role in preparing students to work in the challenging fi eld of aerospace. The exhibit

takes up 840 square feet in the basement of the Highlands Museum and Discovery Center and was created to encourage

middle school and high school students to learn about space science and STEM (science, technology, engineering and

mathematics) disciplines.

“We are excited to get this exhibit open and excited about the partnership between MSU and the Highlands Museum and

Discovery Center,” said Thomas. “A lot of people worked on this project and we couldn’t be happier with the way it turned

out.”

Thomas also stated the MSU’s space science program intends this to be a long-term relationship with the Highlands

Museum and Discovery Center. Through this partnership, the exhibit space will continually be updated and collaborations on

workshops, summer camps and guest speaking opportunities will also be forthcoming.

“It started out as a small project and turned into this,” said Dr. Ben Malphrus, chair of the Department of the Earth and Space

Sciences. “This exhibit is for all ages and we hope that this will excite students into careers in STEM, especially careers in

engineering and space.”

Additional information is available by calling the Highlands Museum and Discovery at 606-329-8888 or Thomas at 606-783-9593.

MSU and Highlands Museum and Discovery Center unveil new exhibit

3 0 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

As a teacher at Simons Middle School in Fleming County,

Kentucky, Cindy Combs (99, 08) believes her students

should defi nitely hit the books. As a science teacher,

however, she also believes there is benefi t that comes

from putting the books down.

“I fi nd that if students can get their hands on doing things

and start doing the science instead of just reading about

it, they actually get involved in it and they really enjoy it,”

Combs said.

Combs’ dedication to science is working for her students,

but it’s also winning the respect of her peers. Last fall,

Combs was named middle school science teacher of

the year by the Kentucky Science Teacher Association

(KSTA).

Before Combs became an award-winning teacher, the

Laurel County, Kentucky, native found her pathway to

teaching while attending Morehead State. She originally

planned to study either social work or psychology

and work with children before changing her focus to

education. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in

elementary education and soon landed her fi rst teaching

job at Rowan County Christian Academy. She taught

various subjects, but one in particular quickly became

her passion.

“I found when I was teaching science, I would get

really excited about it,” she said. “I could see my energy

there.”

After more than fi ve years at Rowan County Christian

Academy, she went to work for Hillsboro Elementary

School in 2005 for two years and decided to go back to

MSU to get her master’s in middle school education. In

her current position, Combs is always focusing on how

she can do her job better, attending and presenting at

numerous state teaching conferences, being a member

of various educational committees and participating in

science-based workshops like the Project to Elevate

Aerospace Careers in Kentucky (PEACK) workshop

hosted by MSU in 2013.

“It’s not just about teaching and that’s it. I’m constantly

working on ways to expand my knowledge and

understand my content,” she said. “It’s not just a single

approach that’s going to help students understand it. It

takes a little bit of all of it working together.”

Combs was equally surprised and honored to receive the

award from KSTA and she said the hands-on approach

and dedication of her science instructors at MSU taught

her a valuable lesson she will take with her throughout

her career.

“The more we learn about science, the more we fi nd out

what we thought we knew is not really the way it is,” she

said. “That’s what I tell my kids. In science, you’re not

wrong. You can’t be afraid to make a mistake this is how

we learn and how we change.”

Eagle alum winsScience Teacher of theYear award

Winter 2015 | 31

When people talk about diversifying an Eastern

Kentucky economy dominated for a century by coal

mining and poverty, they often don’t aim very high:

low-wage factories and corporate call centers.

But you can see another possibility at Morehead

State University’s Space Science Center. Over

the past decade, in partnership with the Kentucky

Science and Technology Corp. and the University of

Kentucky, the center has become a world leader in

designing and building small, high-tech spacecraft of

the future.

One morning last week, I stood with Kris Kimel,

president of KSTC, in the center’s control room as

engineers used computers to locate two Morehead-

built satellites now circling the Earth. Faculty and

students use the control room to download data and

upload instructions to the satellites as they pass

within range of one of the world’s biggest space-tracking

antennas, visible out the window on a nearby hilltop.

“This is a different kind of call center,” Kimel said.

Lexington-based KSTC was created 27 years ago as

a nonprofi t corporation to develop innovation-driven,

entrepreneurial companies in Kentucky. A decade ago,

Kimel saw an opportunity to grow Morehead’s already

strong astrophysics program in a new direction.

He realized that the micro-technology then

revolutionizing computers and cellphones would also

change spacecraft, especially as NASA was turning over

much of its traditional work to private industry. Somebody

needed to design and build this new stuff, Kimel thought.

Why couldn’t it be done in Kentucky?

“We knew we had really smart people here; we knew

we had smart students,” he said. “But we had to be

aggressive and ambitious and move quickly.”

KSTC set up a lab in California’s Silicon Valley. Benjamin

Malphrus, chairman of Morehead’s Department of Earth

and Space Sciences, and UK engineering professor

James Lumpp spent several weeks there in 2005 with

about 20 graduate students, learning all they could about

new satellite technology.

They collaborated with engineers at NASA and Stanford

University. Among them was Robert Twiggs, who helped

develop some of the fi rst small satellites, including

the CubeSat, which has become an industry standard.

Twiggs left Stanford in 2009 and moved to Morehead to

teach.

KSTC created Kentucky Space LLC in 2010 as a nonprofi t

corporation to coordinate this university research with

industry. Last week, KSTC created Space Tango, a for-

profi t enterprise, to commercialize the work.

Much of that work involves designing and building

CubeSats, which are 10-centimeter cubes packed with

off-the-shelf technology and powered by solar panels.

Kentucky economy could soar thanks to MSU space science

FEATURE

32 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

When launched from a rocket or the International Space

Station, the satellites take advantage of space’s zero-gravity

environment to gather a variety of scientific and commercial

research data. Other CubeSat uses range from tracking

ships at sea to making high-resolution photographs of Earth

for mapping and surveillance. Almost all of Kentucky Space’s

hardware and software is designed and built in Kentucky.

“We’re trying to develop a home-grown set of technologies

that can integrate into spacecraft,” Malphrus said. “There’s

an incredible variety of applications people have thought of,

but we don’t even know what all the applications are yet.”

Another Kentucky Space product is the DM processor,

whose development was funded by the Defense Department.

It is a supercomputer — 20 times more powerful than a

desktop computer — that can be built into a small satellite

for such applications as on-board processing of high-

resolution images. It weighs about 12 ounces.

Kentucky Space, Morehead and UK have had several

experiments on the Space Shuttle and International Space

Station. They also have built two research platforms on the

space station and are developing more.

“We’re clearly one of the global leaders in trying to work on

and design this next generation of spacecraft,” Kimel said.

“Our specialty is building small machines quickly.”

Kentucky Space also recently announced a partnership with

FedEx Corp. to develop a Space Solutions division to help

global clients safely move payloads between laboratories

and launch sites.

Morehead State’s space science studies program now

has about 60 students. This fall, it will start its first master’s

degree program in space systems engineering with 10

students. While many are from Eastern Kentucky, about

one-third of the students are internationals who sought out

Morehead, Malphrus said.

Kentucky Space and Space Tango are small, with five

contract employees and one full-time engineer: Twyman

Clements, 27, a UK engineering graduate who grew up on

a farm near Bardstown. But Kimel said a half-dozen small

companies already have been created out of Kentucky

Space’s work and he said he thinks that is just the beginning.

Spacecraft might seem an unlikely Kentucky product, but it’s

not. Aerospace products have become Kentucky’s largest

export, edging out motor vehicles and parts, according to the

state Cabinet for Economic Development. A diverse array of

aerospace exports totaled $5.6 billion last year — 22 percent

of the value of all Kentucky exports.

Economic development strategies are changing from the old

model of luring corporate branch plants with jobs that are

here today and may be gone tomorrow when incentives run

out or cheaper labor is found elsewhere. There is more long-

lasting economic impact in creating specialized knowledge

and an environment where entrepreneurs can use it to

create high-value companies.

“This is not just about education; we’re growing a new

industry here,” Kimel said. “If we don’t commercialize this

technology, these students won’t stay here because there

won’t be opportunities for them.

“I’m not one of these people who thinks everyone should

stay in Kentucky; they shouldn’t,” he added. “But for those

that have the opportunity and want to, great. And we want

people to come here from other places who are interested in

this industry. We want them to say this is the place to be.”

Eastern Kentucky has a long way to go in creating the

workforce to support many high-tech companies but

Kentucky Space shows what is possible. It isn’t the only

answer for the region’s economic challenges, but neither are

low-wage factories and call centers.

“Kentucky historically has done an excellent job of putting

together other people’s ideas,” Kimel said. “What we need

to start doing is building our own ideas because that’s where

the value proposition is. We have to find things that we can

do better than anybody else.”

- By Tom Eblen

Reprinted with permission from the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Winter 2015 | 3 3

The Visionary Society includes individuals who remember MSU through planned gifts such as bequests, gift annuities, trusts, life estates, life insurance, or another planned gift vehicle and therefore provide for the future beyond their years.

If you have chosen to include MSU in your estate plans, we want to recognize you. Please contact theOffi ce of Alumni Relations and Development at 1-877-690-4483 so we can add your name to the Visionary List!

What will your legacy be?

Creating A Legacy forFuture Generations . . .

The Thomas Raymond Curtis Scholarship

In 1997, an unassuming teacher from Flat Gap made an extraordinary decision that would

touch the lives of students from Johnson County forever. Thomas Raymond Curtis lived

modestly and worked passionately in Johnson County, Kentucky, for 30 years. When he passed

away, he left the largest bequest in the Morehead State University Foundation’s history, $1.3

million, to fund the Thomas Raymond Curtis Memorial Scholarship.

In 1999, the fi rst Curtis Scholarship was awarded. Since that time, the Curtis Scholarship has

been the incentive for many other students to achieve their dream of becoming teachers. Each

year, at least one scholarship valued at $10,000 per year will be awarded to a member of the

graduating class of Johnson Central High School. This scholarship can be renewed for three

years if a minimum renewal criterion is met.

Since the fund was created, over $558,000 has been awarded in student scholarships, and, with

investment income, the fund has grown to its current market value of nearly $1.53 million.

From left, Stephen A. Trimble, recently-retired Johnson County

Schools superintendent, and Kayla Cantrell, the 2014-15 recipient

of the Thomas Raymond Curtis Memorial Scholarship.

3 4 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

EAGLE EYE

HOMECOMINGFrom left: Athletic Hall of Fame inducteesMarquis Sykes (03), Ricky Minard (ND) and Gary Shirk (73); Alumni Hall of Fame inductees Kim McClanahan (79, 80), James Osborne (65), Debra Merchant (78); and Keith Kappes (70), Founders Award recipient, were all honored at MSU’s 2014 Homecoming Banquet on Oct. 4.

The MSU Marching Band once again put on an amazing musical showcase during the halftime festivities.

Reno (Rennie) Davis of Lancaster and Austin Casebolt of Pikeville (center) were named Morehead State University’s 2014 Homecoming Queen and King.

Eagle running back Rees MacShara scores a touchdown during the Homecoming contest with Campbell.

Winter 2015 | 35

COMMENCEMENTFALL 2014

Among those who took part in the ceremonies was Matthew E. Prater (14) of Hillsboro, Kentucky, who was a candidate for a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science. He was congratulated by MSU President Wayne D. Andrews.

Johnson Arena was once again fi lled with proud spectators during MSU’s Fall 2014 Commencement.

Melissa Bull (14) of Pearl City, Illinois, was the student speaker.

Cadets of MSU’s ROTC program were commissioned as offi cers by Lt. Col. Robert Hilton during the commencement ceremony.

EAGLE EYE

3 6 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

EAGLEEVOLUTION

There have been many people who have shown up to support Morehead State University student-athletes over the years, but there’s only one that has the ability to instantly get kids smiling and crowds cheering. That would be our MSU Eagle mascot, currently known as Beaker.

In our last issue of STATEMENT Magazine, we did a piece on Jeff Wilkinson (76), who we highlighted as MSU’s “fi rst Eagle mascot” when he donned the “war eagle” outfi t back in 1969. After the article was published, we received a message from another alum, Lee Mueller (77), stating that our assertion that Wilkinson was the fi rst Eagle mascot may have been a bit inaccurate.

After consulting his 1962 yearbook, he found a picture of Jim Norsworthy (62) dressed as “the Collegiate Eagle,” a mascot he claims was started as a new tradition by the University’s men’s club, the Collegiate Knights, during the 1961-62 academic year.

We here at STATEMENT Magazine would like to apologize for the error ... but we’d also like to thank Mr. Mueller for the inspiration for the piece you see here. We fi gured after this oversight was brought to our attention, we would do some yearbook digging of our own to see just how much our beloved mascot has evolved into the Beaker you see today. The readers have squawked, and we have answered.

Winter 2015 | 37

1963

1979

19691970

1984

20141991

2000

3 8 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

The Morehead State soccer program has once again earned a Team Academic Award from the

National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The award, which celebrates achievements during the 2013-14 school

year, marks the seventh overall and fi fth consecutive year MSU has earned this honor.

MSU was one of six Ohio Valley Conference teams earning this year’s accolade. Soccer also claimed the honor in 2002-03,

2006-07, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13.

“We stress the importance of being great students and great athletes,” Head Coach Warren Lipka said. “I am very proud of

our program for accomplishing this mark again.”

To qualify, a team must compile a minimum 3.0 grade point average for a specifi c academic year. The 2013 team claimed the

OVC Tournament Championship and made the program’s second NCAA Tournament appearance.

Soccer program earns seventh NSCAA Team Academic Award

FAME & GLORY

Winter 2015 | 39

Carver returns to lead sports medicine program

“Light Up The Lot” draws enthusiastic crowd

Jamey Carver, who previously served

more than 10 years on the Morehead

State sports medicine staff, has

returned as assistant athletic director

and director of sports medicine.

Carver was promoted to assistant

AD and director of sports medicine

in 2011-12 before pursuing other

opportunities. He spent the last two years as a surgical

assistant at Cave Run Surgical Specialists in Morehead.

Carver also participated in outreach programs for local

high schools the past two years.

Prior to his promotion to assistant AD, Carver was

elevated to head trainer for men’s sports in 2008-09.

He began his career at MSU in 2001, fi rst serving as

the men’s basketball trainer from 2001-08 and later

as football trainer from 2008-11. A former graduate

assistant at the University of Kentucky, Carver earned

his master’s degree in kinesiology from UK in 2001. He

earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from

Northwestern State in 1998. Carver is married to the

former Brandy Morris (02), an assistant principal at

Rowan County Senior High School and former soccer

student-athlete at MSU. The couple has three daughters:

Mia, Ava and Lana.

A large and enthusiastic crowd attended Morehead

State’s fi rst-ever “Light Up The Lot” basketball preview

event Oct. 16 in the parking lot of the Academic-Athletic

Center.

A special FlexCourt was erected during the day and fans

were treated to complimentary food.

The event, presented by the Kentucky National Guard,

also featured performances by Morehead State’s

cheerleading and dance teams and an exhibition game

with the Greek organization all-stars.

The 2014-15 men’s and women’s basketball teams were

introduced and both participated in skills and shooting

competitions. Head Men’s Coach Sean Woods made

a “grand” entrance in a convertible from Larry Fannin

Chevrolet/Buick/GMC in Morehead.

“We appreciate everyone who came out,” Woods said.

“What a great event. We hope this is the fi rst of many

like this in the years to come. We feel like we have a very

strong team this year and we certainly cannot achieve

ultimate success without the support from the

community and campus.”

Head Women’s Coach Greg Todd, who is in his fi rst

season at MSU, said his team and staff were thrilled to

be part of such a unique event.

“I had never been involved in an outdoor preview event

like this,” he said. “We want to thank our staff for putting

on a wonderful event and I think everyone who came out

enjoyed the activities.”

FAME & GLORY

4 0 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

Sean Woods, who is in his third season as the head

men’s basketball coach at Morehead State, will be

included in an ESPN “30 for 30” documentary on

Selection Sunday in March. Woods played at the

University of Kentucky from 1989-92 and has been

coaching at the collegiate level since 2003.

ESPN’s documentary is titled “’I Hate Christian Laettner”

and features the former Duke star. Laettner hit one

of the most memorable shots in NCAA Tournament

history, helped the Blue Devils to two NCAA national

championships and played 13 seasons in the National

Basketball Association.

A starting point guard, Woods played on nationally-

ranked teams his final three seasons. He helped the

Wildcats to a Southeastern Conference Tournament

championship his senior year. He still ranks first in

Kentucky history for career assists (5.30) and career

steals (1.58) per game.

Woods has been associated with six Division I men’s

basketball programs. The 2014-15 season is his seventh

as a D-I head coach and 12th at the collegiate level. He

spent an hour with ESPN representatives on Oct. 15. His

segments were taped inside the MSU basketball locker

room.

A school-record crowd of 4,012 rolled through Wetherby

and Laughlin Gyms on Say Boo to Drugs Night on Oct. 31

to watch the MSU volleyball team take on Belmont.

While the Bruins came away with a 3-2 victory, Head

Coach Jaime Gordon was thrilled with the overwhelming

support.

“A school-record crowd with a win would have been

nicer than a school-record crowd with a loss, but the

support was still outstanding,” Gordon said. “Our players

and coaches want to thank everyone who came out. We

hope they return for future matches.”

Morehead State volleyball had an uncharacteristic

three-win season in 2014 but still owns 12 Ohio Valley

Conference Championships. Prior to 2014, the program

had eight consecutive 20-win seasons.

Sean Woods to be included in ESPN

“30 for 30” documentary

FAME & GLORY

Volleyball program sets single-match attendance record with 4,012

Winter 2015 | 41

Jade Flory, a senior forward

on the MSU soccer team,

has been named a Second-

Team Capital One Academic

All-American by the

College Sports Information

Directors of America. She

becomes MSU’s fi rst Academic All-American, in any

sport, since 2011.

“I am really proud of Jade and everything she has

accomplished,” Head Coach Warren Lipka said. “This

is a very prestigious honor for academics and athletics.

Jade is the true meaning of a student-athlete. She

competes at a high level, takes academics seriously and

gives back to the community.”

Flory owns a 3.66 cumulative grade point average as a

business administration major. She is in her second year

at Morehead State after transferring from Youngstown

State. Flory was a First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference

choice in 2014 after being named OVC Player of the

Year in 2013. She recorded 27 goals and 13 assists for 67

points as an Eagle.

A native of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, Flory ranks

third in school history for goals and points despite

playing just 44 matches in a Morehead State uniform and

fourth in assists. As a senior, Flory ranked among the

league leaders in assists (T-1st, 8), goals (2nd, 13), points

(2nd, 34), points per game (2nd, 1.55), game-winning

goals (3rd, 4) and assists per game (5th, 0.36).

Flory recorded three goals against Eastern Kentucky as a

junior and three more at Illinois-Chicago as a senior. She

posted six multi-goal performances in her two seasons at

Morehead State.

Emma Keough (12), a former middle blocker for the

volleyball program, was MSU’s last Academic All-

American. She earned the honor following her senior

campaign in 2011.

Jade Flory earns Second-Team Academic All-American Honors

FAME & GLORY

DAY DATE OPPONENT TIMEFri. Feb. 20 Bowling Green 3 p.m.Sat. Feb. 21 Bowling Green 2 p.m.Sun. Feb. 22 Bowling Green 1 p.m.Fri. Feb. 27 Coppin State 3 p.m.Sat. Feb. 28 Coppin State 2 p.m.Sun. March 1 Coppin State 1 p.m.Tues. March 10 Ohio 3 p.m.Fri. March 13 Southeast Missouri * 3 p.m.Sat. March 14 Southeast Missouri * 2 p.m.Sun. March 15 Southeast Missouri * 1 p.m.Tues. March 17 East Tennessee State 3 p.m.Fri. March 27 Eastern Kentucky * 3 p.m.Sat. March 28 Eastern Kentucky * 2 p.m.Sun. March 29 Eastern Kentucky * 1 p.m.Fri. April 3 La Salle 3 p.m. April 3 La Salle 6 p.m.Sat. April 4 La Salle 1 p.m.Tues. April 7 Alabama A&M 6 p.m.Wed. April 8 Alabama A&M 4 p.m.Fri. April 17 SIU Edwardsville * 6 p.m.Sat. April 18 SIU Edwardsville * 2 p.m.Sun. April 19 SIU Edwardsville * 1 p.m.Wed. April 29 Northern Kentucky 6 p.m.Fri. May 1 Eastern Illinois * 6 p.m.Sat. May 2 Eastern Illinois * 3 p.m.Sun. May 3 Eastern Illinois * 1 p.m.Thurs. May 14 Murray State * 6 p.m.Fri. May 15 Murray State * 6 p.m.Sat. May 16 Murray State * 1 p.m.

DAY DATE OPPONENT TIMEWed. March 11 Dayton 2 p.m. March 11 Dayton 4 p.m. Sat. March 14 Jacksonville State * 1 p.m. March 14 Jacksonville State * 3 p.m. Sun. March 15 Jacksonville State * 1 p.m. Sat. March 21 Eastern Illinois * Noon March 21 Eastern Illinois * 2 p.m. Sun. March 22 SIU Edwardsville * Noon March 22 SIU Edwardsville * 2 p.m. Wed. March 25 East Tennessee State 2 p.m. March 25 East Tennessee State 4 p.m.Tue. March 31 Cleveland State 2 p.m. March 31 Cleveland State 4 p.m. Wed. April 8 Northern Kentucky 2 p.m. April 8 Northern Kentucky 4 p.m. Sat. April 11 Belmont * 1 p.m. April 11 Belmont * 3 p.m. Sun. April 12 Belmont * 1 p.m. Wed. April 15 Wright State 2 p.m. April 15 Wright State 4 p.m. Sat. May 2 Tennessee Tech * 1 p.m. May 2 Tennessee Tech * 3 p.m. Sun. May 3 Tennessee Tech * 1 p.m.

EAGLE BASEBALL2015 HOME SCHEDULE

EAGLE SOFTBALL2015 HOME SCHEDULE

All Time Eastern | * = Ohio Valley Conference game

To purchase tickets, view current schedules and more, visit

www.MSUEagles.com.

42 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

CLASSNOTES

Marianne Castillo (73) published two

volumes of inspirational poetry titled

“From The Heart: Book One” and “From

The Heart: Book Two.” Now retired and

residing in Corpus Christi, Texas, Castillo

was formerly a physical education

teacher and girls basketball coach at St.

Joseph Academy in Brownsville, Texas.

Her books are available to purchase on

Amazon.

Carolyn Schaefer Bewley (75) and Lt. Col.

(Ret) Tony Warren (78) are now married.

Bewley is a retired registered nurse and

birth place manager at Hardin Memorial

Hospital in Elizabethtown and is currently

president of Outdoor Power Source

Inc., in Elizabethtown. Lt. Col. Warren is

retired as manager of community and

public relations at Blue Grass Energy in

Nicholasville and is a 39-year veteran of

the U.S. Army.

Martha Emmons (75) was named

Kentucky’s 2014 Speech Teacher of the

Year. Emmons currently serves as the

coach for the speech team and forensics

team at Paducah Tilghman High School,

a position she’s held since 2004. She is

the co-owner/manager of BikeWorld in

Paducah.

Audrey Phillips-Cunningham (76, 79)

was honored by the National Forensic

Association (NFA) with the Eddie Myers

NFA Distinguished Service Award. The

award is presented to members of the

NFA community who have demonstrated

exceptional dedication to the mission,

goals and events of the organization.

Phillips-Cunningham, who currently

serves as instructor of communication

and director of forensics in the

University of Indianapolis’ Department of

Communication, has served on numerous

NFA committees for nearly three decades.

Lee Mueller (77) was one of seven

journalists inducted into the Kentucky

Journalism Hall of Fame during 2014.

Mueller, now retired, formerly served as

the Eastern Kentucky bureau reporter for

the Lexington Herald-Leader in Lexington.

The Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame

was organized by the University of

Kentucky Journalism Alumni Association

to honor journalists, living or dead,

who are natives of Kentucky and spent

signifi cant portions of their careers in the

Commonwealth.

Story retires as MCTC president

After 32 years with Maysville Community and Technical College (MCTC) and seven years as the institution’s president, Ed Story (62) retired Dec. 31, 2014. But when he was a teenager growing up in Fleming County, higher education wasn’t the fi rst thing on this farm kid’s mind.

“I had not intended to go to college, actually, and I had a senior English teacher that encouraged me to go one semester,” Story said. “I guess I must have got hooked on education.”

That fi rst semester led to Story becoming the fi rst in his family to graduate college, earning his bachelor’s degree with a double major in biology and geography. He served as a science teacher in public education for 10 years in Kentucky and earned his master’s in biology from Murray State University before moving to the University of Southern Mississippi to earn his Ph.D. in biology and come on at Southern Miss as a faculty member.

Story moved back to Kentucky to be closer to his family and took a job at MCTC as a biology instructor in 1982. He would later become a division chair and chief academic offi cer before being selected as MCTC’s president in 2007.

Story has seen a lot in his 32 years with MCTC and is proud to have been a part of the College’s growth and expansion during his tenure, but he said nothing quite compares to what he and his institution has helped others to achieve.

“Probably the most important thing is watching the students go through the line at graduation and helping them move from one level to another in education or career tracks,” he said. “We change lives at this college every day and that’s our mission, to make life better for our students.”

Winter 2015 | 4 3

Eddie McNutt (78) has been selected

as the new manager of information

technology at Eastern Kentucky Power

Cooperative in Winchester. He will

oversee the company’s network and

computer operations and business

applications.

McNutt has worked for EKPC for 32

years and was fi rst hired as a computer

operator. He later served as a senior

programmer before moving into his more

recent position of business applications

supervisor in 2002.

Randy McCleese (80, 02, 12) has been

selected to serve as the 2014 chair of

the College of Healthcare Information

Executives (CHIME) board of trustees.

McCleese has spent the past two

decades working in information systems

management and 18 years at his current

position as CIO of St. Claire Regional

Medical Center in Morehead.

McCleese was named “100 Hospital

and Health System CIOs to Know” in

2014 by the Becker’s Hospital Review,

a publication focusing on up-to-date

business and legal news and analysis

relating to hospitals and health systems.

John Huysman (82) was honored in June

with the Richard L. McLaughlin Volunteer

of the Year Award by the Florida Economic

Development Council. The award was

given for his work on the training center

project and its ancillary economic

contributions to the state of Florida.

For the last three years, Huysman has

spearheaded an effort to develop a

supply chain workforce pipeline through

the development of a regional career

training facility in the south central

Florida heartland which is designated

as a Rural Area of Economic Concern,

eventually resulting in a $3.5 million state

appropriation to Glades County for the

construction of Gateway Logistics &

Manufacturing Training Center.

Huysman’s career in education spans

32 years, including teaching K-12, adult

education and as an adjunct professor

for undergraduate and graduate-level

courses.

Barker tackles complex health problems at ASU

When she graduated from Morehead State, Dr. Anna Barker (63) felt like she left with a great “trans-

disciplinary background” studying a variety of subjects. However, Barker’s main interest ended up being

how things work on an elemental level.

“I think chemistry especially appeals to people who like to think in three dimensions,” Barker said.

Since the Olive Hill native earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from MSU, she’s tackled multi-

dimensional problems throughout an incredible scientifi c career, and continues to do so at her current

position at Arizona State University.

Barker currently serves as co-director of Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) with the goal of using a trans-disciplinary

approach to understand and provide innovative solutions for many forms of cancer and some of the most complex problems

and diseases in biomedical and health sciences.

Prior to joining ASU, Barker had an extensive career in research and managing advanced research teams in the academic,

nonprofi t and private sectors. After graduating with both her M.A. and Ph.D. from Ohio State University (where she trained

in immunology and microbiology), she went to serve as a senior executive at the Batelle Memorial Institute in Columbus,

Ohio, for 18 years. She then co-founded a publicly traded biotechnology company and later became the deputy director and

deputy director for strategic scientifi c initiatives for the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Here,

she led an effort to implement research that combined fi elds from the physical sciences like mathematics, physics and

engineering with cancer biology.

Barker has always enjoyed trying to solve “head-exploding problems” in her career, and what MSU gave her as a student

has only fueled her drive to succeed.

“What I really took away from Morehead State was a real love of learning,” she said. “I really loved to learn and I took that

in every position I’ve ever held and every position I’ve ever done and I try to instill that excitement in people.”

CLASSNOTES

4 4 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

Jeff Elswick (82) received the 2014 State

of Kentucky Financial Services Advocate

of the Year award by the Kentucky District

Offi ce of Small Business Administration

in Lexington. He earned his nomination

after being named the 2013 Small

Business Champion of the Year by the

2013 Northeast Kentucky Small Business

Awards Committee, which is sponsored

by the Morehead State University Small

Business Development Center at the

Ashland regional campus.

Elswick has spent 40 years in the banking

industry and currently serves as senior

vice president and chief commercial

lender at Kentucky Farmers Bank in

Ashland.

Dr. Frank Spaniol (84), professor of

kineseiology at Texas A&M University

– Corpus Christi, recently appeared in

the second episode of the third season

of Stan Lee’s “Superhumans” on H2, an

extension of the History Channel. The

show, inspired by comic book icons, takes

viewers across the globe in search of

real-life “superhumans.” Spaniol served

as an on-screen sport science expert

during a trip to Bangkok, Thailand, to

analyze the skills of Kie Willis, a renowned

free runner and parkour champion from

London, England.

Spaniol is a national and international

leader in sport science research, having

published numerous articles in journals

and being rewarded more than 20

research grants for exercise science and

instructional technology.

Brad Phillips (87) had his baseball

playbook, “Baseball Playbook for Youth,

High School and College Players and

Coaches,” published in May. The book

is available in both paperback and

digital formats at Amazon and Barnes

& Noble. Phillips was a baseball player

at MSU from 1984-87 and a graduate

assistant coach in 1988 under Coach

Steve Hamilton. He went on to coach high

school baseball in Michigan from 2003-10.

Dominick Yanchunas (90) has been

promoted to editor at Professional

Mariner magazine. Yanchunas won

the 2013 National Azbee Award for

Investigative Reporting for his story on

the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster

in Italy. He was also elected to the board

of the American Society of Business

Publications Editors, New York chapter.

Mains’ science career is buzzing with MosquitoMate

When Morehead native Jimmy Mains (02, 05) was a little kid, he liked playing in the creek near his

house collecting all kinds of “critters.” As an adult, Mains is focusing on one critter, in particular.

Mains is the chief scientist and chief operating offi cer at MosquitoMate, which is dedicated to

using novel methods to control mosquito populations.

Before Mains would move on to studying bugs, he was a standout student-athlete who earned

an athletic scholarship playing second base for the Eagles baseball team. He earned both his

bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from MSU and spent his post-graduate work studying

birds in the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Mains developed the biotechnology for MosquitoMate at the University of Kentucky on the way to earning his Ph.D. in

entomology in 2012. MosquitoMate’s products specifi cally target the Asian Tiger mosquito that’s commonly found in the

U.S. and infects males with a either a bacteria that sterilizes female mosquitos or giving them a powerful larvicide that

eliminates breeding mosquitos.

Mains and his company currently have a grant to conduct fi eld tests in Lexington, New York, Florida and Los Angeles. In

the future, he hopes to apply for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration to have MosquitoMate be available to

mosquito control and abatement districts across the country.

Mains has essentially made his early fascination with critters into a full-time job, but he said MSU is what helped him

pursue his love to this level.

“I give all my credit to where I am now to MSU,” he said. “It really gave me a solid foundation to advance my career.”

CLASSNOTES

Winter 2015 | 45

Tim Moore (96) has been named a plant

superintendent for Brock Grain Systems,

a leading global designer, manufacturer

and marketer of systems and solutions

for producing grain, poultry and eggs,

and processing poultry in Milford,

Indiana. Moore has nearly 18 years of

plant experience, working in metal and

automotive industries at companies like

Six Sigma, Toyota Production System

(TPS) and 5S.

Matthew Lewis Johnson (97) is currently

serving as a visiting professor of theatre at

Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond.

He also plans to teach theatre at Centre

College in Danville while maintaining his

work as a director and designer.

Prior to his current position, Johnson

was an instructor at the University of

Kentucky, an associate artistic director of

the then-Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival

and a stage actor, commercial actor

and puppeteer for numerous shows and

theatre companies in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ramona Justice Vikan (98) was named

one of the Forty Under 40 by the Dayton

Business Journal. This honor is bestowed

upon Dayton, Ohio’s top 40 business and

community leaders under 40 years old.

She is currently employed at TACG LLC.

She joined the then-named Ahrens

Consulting Group in 2007 and was

promoted to director of acquisition and

program management services in 2013.

Vikan also participates in numerous

Dayton area philanthropic and

professional organizations. She helped

launch SouthBrook Christian Church’s

Cancer Hope ministry in 2011. Cancer

Hope supports those battling cancer

and their families through fellowship and

support.

Means receives Thirty Under 30 Award from Pi Kappa Phi

Glenn Means (11, 13) doesn’t seem to know how to achieve. He only really knows how to over-achieve.

One year after being selected to participate in the 2013 Health For America fellowship program in

Washington, D.C., Means received the 2014 Thirty Under 30 award from Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

Pi Kappa Phi’s Thirty Under 30 was started in late 2013 as a way for peers, older alumni and friends of the

fraternity to recognize young alumni for their achievements after they graduate college.

Means was a member of MSU’s Delta Eta chapter, where he served in several offi cer positions including Archon. While at

MSU, he was active on campus in the Student Government Association, the Alumni Advisory Board and Board of Regents

while earning his bachelor’s degree in psychology and later a master’s degree in public administration.

Currently, Means works as a college and career advisor for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate

Programs (GEAR UP) Kentucky, a federally-funded program administered by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary

Education. It provides academic advising, life skills training, college tours and other resources to students and parents in 30

middle schools and their corresponding high schools in 22 Kentucky counties.

Means remains active in his community raising awareness for equality and education. He seems determined to make a

difference, and he said MSU played a big part in shaping him.

“As far as my career and where I will go, MSU helped me fi nd my passion and helped me keep moving forward,” he said.

CLASSNOTES

Much more about you.Share your story. Email your classnote to alumni@moreheadstate.edu.

4 6 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

Eagle’s calling takes her to Cambodia

Brian Isaac Phillips (98) was recently

announced as a member of the Forty

Under 40 class of 2014 by The Business

Courier in Cincinnati, Ohio. The program

recognizes Greater Cincinnati’s next

generation of young leaders and

innovators who have already made a mark

professionally in the community.

Phillips has lived in Cincinnati for 16

years and has been with the Cincinnati

Shakespeare Company (CSC) for the

past 16 seasons. For 11 seasons, he has

served as producing artistic director.

He has also worked for Cincinnati

Playhouse in the Park, Ensemble Theatre

Cincinnati, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati

Ballet, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra,

The Children’s Theatre, Know Theatre of

Cincinnati, New Stage Collective and over

100 productions for CSC.

Jen Roytz (03) is currently working as

a contract consultant for the Markey

Cancer Foundation. Following her

previous position as marketing and

communications director for Three

Chimneys Farm, Roytz still remains

very active in the equine industry. She

manages freelance writers and marketing/

PR consulting clients in the industry,

writes a weekly column about retired

racehorses and their careers after racing,

and assists in Thoroughbred aftercare

efforts.

Lori Frees (03) works in a place where providing clean water isn’t a common occurrence, it’s a massive event.

“It’s as if you won a football game and scored a touchdown. They just cheer,” Frees said describing a time she helped dig a

well for a Cambodian village. “And if they’re pumping at the time, they keep pumping and the kids just play in it.”

Frees, originally from the aptly named town of Mineralwells, West Virginia, attended Morehead State on an equestrian

scholarship but ended up with a Bachelor of Science in Geology. It was a subject that really connected with both her love

of the outdoors and her inquisitive nature. Upon graduation, she held positions as a biologist, geologist and chemist working

with the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection in Frankfort until 2009.

Frees’ heart wasn’t in the Bluegrass State as much as it was helping people in Third World Countries. After departing her

government job, she sold everything she owned and found her way to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital and largest city. She

has spent the last fi ve years there as part of Resource Development International, a Louisville-based nonprofi t dedicated to

providing clean water and education on health, nutrition and water-related issues.

“There’s some kind of deep inner joy and peace that comes with serving other people,” Frees said. “There’s something

inside me that resonates knowing that you’re doing something worthwhile.”

CLASSNOTES

Winter 2015 | 47

Holtkamp goes from MSU stage to FOX drama

Every aspiring actor is ready for his or her close-up. Blaine Holtkamp (88) has already had his a few times.

The Independence, Kentucky, native, who spent his college years as an avid actor in MSU’s theatre

program, has spent the last decade on the hit FOX crime drama “Bones” serving in roles both behind the

scenes and in front of the camera.

The path that led Holtkamp to his job in television after initially earning his bachelor’s degree in

communication – radio, television and speech, with a minor in theatre, took him to plenty of places. He

worked as an entertainer at both Disney World in Orlando and EuroDisney in Paris and was a player in Off-Broadway

productions in New York before eventually moving to Los Angeles.

Holtkamp made a living doing voiceover work and commercial acting. You may have even seen his face performing opposite

comedian Adam Carolla in a Taco Bell TV spot or ads for Honda and Quizno’s.

But Holtkamp would soon land his current gig on “Bones” as a stand-in/photo double, who works with lighting and camera

crews to set up shots for the lead actors. He’s been with the show since its fi rst episode and has also played a recurring

role as one of the FBI lab techs.

The show is now in its 10th season, and for all the acting Holtkamp does, he can’t act like he saw this coming.

“You don’t go in expecting something like that, but when it happens, it’s a great thing to happen,” he said.

Holtkamp will also be the fi rst one to credit Morehead State for helping him believe it was a possible for a kid from Kentucky

to fi nd acting success in Hollywood.

“The theatre program got me to where I wanted to be,” he said. “They let you see that it was a possibility. You could go out

there and actually make a career of acting.”

CLASSNOTES

Is there a future Eagle in your family?

Share your baby announcement with us and we’ll mail a“Future Eagle” baby bib to celebrate your newest family member!

To request a bib, email alumni@moreheadstate.edu with “Future Eagle” as the subject line. You may also post pictures of your little one in the bib and share it with us on Facebook (search for “Offi cial Morehead State Alumni & Friends” and become a fan). This is open to both parents and grandparents who are MSU alumni.

Future Eagle Jennie Arya Depp, son of Casey Depp and Noel Bramblett Depp (98).

SPRING GALASaturday, April 25, 2015

SPRINGSaturday, April 25, 2015Saturday, April 25, 2015

GAGAG LASaturday, April 25, 2015Saturday, April 25, 2015

GSaturday, April 25, 2015Saturday, April 25, 2015

´ ´´

Saturday, April 25, 2015´

Mesdames et Messieurs!

Experience the spectacle and excitement of the Morehead State University Spring Gala at the world famous Moulin Rouge!

It will be everything you can-can imagine, from magnifique Parisian dining to fantastique cabaret acts!

www.moreheadstate.edu/gala

For more information, contact MSU’s Office of Alumni Relations and Development toll free at 877-690-4483 or email events@moreheadstate.edu.

4 8 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

Winter 2015 | 4 9

Hazel H. Calhoun: 1944

John E. Collis: 1949

Andy P. Wheeler: 1949

Madison E. Pryor: 1951

William B. Furnish: 1953

Charles G. Porter: 1953

Phyllis Ann George: 1954

Jean H. Woods: 1954

Thelma J. Delong: 1956

Shirley Potter Hamilton: 1957

Bobby D. Breeding: 1958

Sandra S. Dillman: 1958

M. Katherine Dunaway: 1958

Georgia Crump May: 1958

Albert L. Todd: 1959

Martha P. Nevin: 1960

Edith B. Tolliver: 1960

Woodrow W. Burchett, Jr.: 1961

Orbie K. Rivers: 1961

Elliott P. Slagle: 1961

William Floyd Davis: 1962

Olive Rose Hannah: 1962

Ninettie F. Risner: 1962

Faye Madonna Sykes: 1962

Niles King Walton: 1962

Carol Ann Georges: 1963

Clara C. Gingerich: 1963

Charles A. Gordon: 1963

John Thomas Tucker: 1964

Patsy Adams: 1967

Dale E. Fraley: 1967

Susan Arthur Mullins: 1967

Luna Joyce Ferris: 1968

Ada Lee Salisbury: 1968

Susan W. Dodson, Ph.D.: 1969

William Ross Hollar, CPA: 1969

Dennis J. Judge: 1969

Nelle Walters Dickison: 1970

Russel Jay Flippin: 1970

Jean Pierre Houser: 1970

William Richard Kirkpatrick: 1970

Myron Lee Doan: 1971

Alvin G. Phillips: 1971

Philip Russell Rice: 1971

Luther S. Safriet: 1971

Donna Q. Booth: 1973

Elva Curt Cornett: 1973

Diane M. Lindsey: 1974

Richard K. Barber: 1976

Eloise A. Hall: 1976

Dallas Arthur Hill: 1976

Samuel T. Sanders: 1976

Jacquelyn Lee Ramsden: 1977

Maria M. Sloan: 1977

Mary Jane Colley: 1978

Carman Regina Lee: 1978

James D. Newman: 1978

Thomas G. Boodry, USMC: 1979

Peggy B. Butcher: 1979

Barbara E. Rice: 1979

Wendell Lee Vittitow: 1980

Jan D. Tuckley: 1981

Earl Howard Alderman, Sr.: 1985

Barry A. Williamson: 1986

Ramona Carol Suttles Carroll: 1991

Leland Harold Hogge: 1991

Robert Tyler Needham: 1991

Steven Wesley Fife: 1991

Randall Willard Armstrong: 1993

Amy Elizabeth Amburgey: 1993

James Paul Ison, Jr.: 1994

Ralph F. Henry: 1995

David P. Beaver: ND

Terry Cain: ND

Jean Click: ND

Sally Ann Harlan: ND

Carroll Thomas Otis: ND

Alice F. Wick: ND

The Morehead State University family remembers ...

2014 Memorial Brick Dedication Ceremony

To make a gift in memory of one or more of these individuals, call the

Office of Alumni Relations & Development at 877-690-GIVE.

A complete list of all memorial brick honorees is available at www.moreheadstate.edu/memorialbricks.

IN MEMORIAM

Darrel Bloomfield 1991 – 2012

Thelma Ruth Clark Branham 1966 – 89

Troy Wyatt Burgess 1964 – 90

David Ramon Collins 1998 – 2000

John E. Collis 1949 – 88

Virginia Lucille “Bunny” Cooper 1983 – 87

Jacklynn Scott Darling 1979 – 2014

Myron Lee Doan 1972 – 2004

Mescal Dillon Gray Fraley 1967 – 88

Leona Marie Stafford Fuoss 1967 – 88

Dan Johnson Haley 1983 – 84

Dr. M. Louise Hickman 1968 – 85

Roger Lee Hilderbrand 1974 – 99

Russell Glen Howard 1975 – 99

Dr. David Kent Hylbert 1963 – 99

Emil Mabry 1977 – 2004

Dr. Franklin Mayer Mangrum 1959 – 99

Jack W. Peters 1979 – 99

Steven Joe “Steve” Porter 2004 – 2014

Dr. Layla Bayati Sabie 1965 – 2001

Melissa Denise Gilliam Sabon 1999 – 2000

Rosemary Grower Stokes 1976 – 82

Patricia Ann Ascough Watts 1970 – 90

Sandra L. “Sandy” Weaver 1978 – 81

Dr. Charles Benson Whitfield 1981 – 84

Morehead State University is proud to recognize the faithful years of service of our former employees who have passed on during or after their years of employment through the Memorial Bricks Program. Through this program, these employees will be forever recognized in the center of campus along the Memorial Brick Walk.

Each year, a Memorial Brick Dedication Ceremony is held on the Friday of Homecoming Weekend. We invite you to help us identify and memorialize others whose names should be added in future years. Please contact the MSU Office of Alumni Relations and Development at 606-783-2033 or 877-690-4483 or email alumni@moreheadstate.edu.

5 0 | w w w.moreheadstate.edu/statement

Shirley Potter Hamilton (57), 79, of Morehead passed away Nov. 23, 2014, at Baptist Health Hospital in

Lexington, Kentucky.

Born in Raceland, Kentucky, Hamilton graduated from Morehead State with both a bachelor’s degree

in 1957 and a master’s degree in 1962. She began her career in Morehead as a city planning aid and

joined the staff at MSU in 1979.

She was assistant director of community services with the Appalachian Development Center and

other titles, which refl ected her dedication to community development and continuing education.

She was a member of the Morehead/Rowan County City Council, Morehead Women’s Club and Adult

Basic Education/Literacy Board. She received MSU’s 1997 Distinguished Staff Service Award before retiring as director of

community development and continuing education in 2000.

Dr. Madison “Matt” Pryor (51), 86, passed away Nov. 12, 2014, at his home in Cherry Grove, South Carolina.

Pryor is a native Kentuckian, graduating from Lafayette High School in Lexington as a standout student-athlete in football and

track. He earned his undergraduate degree from Morehead State, where he was a star halfback on the football team.

He served in the U.S. Army and then returned to school to earn his master’s degree from Ohio State University and a Ph.D. from

the University of Tennessee.

Pryor served as a biologist on two research trips to Antarctica in 1959 and 1962 to study emperor penguins and later returned

to MSU in 1964 to serve as a professor of biology and Russian for three decades. During his tenure, he served as acting chair

of the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences on two occasions and a faculty representative on the Board of

Regents from 1971-74 before retiring in 1993. He also received the University’s Distinguished Faculty Award in 1968.

Jay Flippin (70), 68, passed away peacefully in his home on Oct. 16, 2014, after a battle with liver cancer.

Flippin is a native of Stuart, Virginia, and attended Mars Hills College in North Carolina, where he earned a

Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance. He came to Morehead State University in 1969 to earn a

Master of Music in piano performance and later became an MSU instructor.

Flippin taught keyboards, jazz studies, theory, history of Rock n’ Roll and music history for 45 years at

Morehead State University. Following retirement, he served as an adjunct professor at MSU, Kentucky

Christian University and Marshall University. He has also served as accompanist/arranger for the

Lexington Singers since 1976.

He performed as a soloist, accompanist, conductor and ensemble player throughout the U.S., South and Central America,

Europe, Africa and the Caribbean, playing with the likes of Clark Terry, James Moody, the Count Basie Orchestra, Percy

Sledge, Ray Charles, LeAnn Rimes and Wilson Pickett. Flippin composed and arranged more than 3,500 works, wrote more

than 300 jingles, scored more than 30 fi lms and videos. He won fi ve Emmys for scoring documentaries and received a Daytime

Emmy nomination in 2001 for Best Original song. In February 2006, Flippin was chosen as the Kentucky Artist of the Year by the

Governor’s Council for the Arts.

IN MEMORIAM

Winter 2015 | 51

Connect with #EagleNation

msualumniandfriends

@MSU_AlumniAssn

Offi cial Morehead State University Alumni

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SAVE THE DATE

SATURDAY, JAN. 31Open House, 11 a.m., ADUC

THURSDAY, FEB. 5MSU Alumni Reception at the Kentucky Music

Educators Association Conference (Louisville, KY)5:15-7:30 p.m., Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant

FRIDAY, FEB. 6MSU Alumni Reception at the Ohio Music Educators

Association Conference (Cleveland, OH)6:15-7:45 p.m., Westin Cleveland Downtown,

W. Stenia Room

SATURDAY, FEB. 7Alumni Day at MSU Basketball

5:15 p.m., Tip-off MSU Women’s Basketballvs. Tennessee State

7:30 p.m., Tip-off Men’s Basketball vs. BelmontJoin the MSU Alumni Association for a special reception

in the West Lobby of Johnson Arena between games.

TUESDAY, MARCH 3Career Fair, 10 a.m., ADUC

SATURDAY, MARCH 7Open House, 9 a.m., ADUC

FRIDAY, APRIL 10MSU Alumni Day at Keeneland

Details coming soon!

THURSDAY, APRIL 23President’s Spring Concert on the Lawn featuring

the MSU Percussion Ensemble and Steel Band5-7 p.m., ADUC Commons

FRIDAY, APRIL 24Spring Celebration Golf Outing hosted by the

College of Business & Public AffairsEagle Trace Golf Course

SATURDAY, APRIL 25MSU Annual Spring Gala, ADUC

Corporate and individual sponsorshipopportunities available

THURSDAY, MAY 724-Hour Challenge, Multiple Event Locations

Details coming soon!

FRIDAY, JUNE 12 – SATURDAY, JUNE 13Breckinridge All-School Reunion

MSU Campus

SATURDAY, JUNE 27MSU Alumni Day at Kings Island (Cincinnati, OH)

THURSDAY, OCT. 8 – SATURDAY, OCT. 10MSU Homecoming

www.moreheadstate.edu/homecoming

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