summer 2014

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n o r t h e r n k e n t u c k y u n i v e r s i t y

just for you:announcing four

new nku alumnibenefits!

why banned pcbsare still making

us sick

s u m m e r 2 0 1 4 vo l u m e 1 2 , n o. 1M A G A Z I N E

president mearnson nku's road

to 2018

Cold Cases, hot tempers,

and the art of Criminal

investigations:

CinCinnati’s new homiCide

Commander david Johnston

takes us deep into the dark

shadows of Crime1. —pg.14

EditorBrent Donaldson ’05

dEsignEr Dionne Laycock ’90

copy EditorTira Rogers ’01, ’05

photographErTimothy D. Sofranko

EditoriaL intErnKyle Thompson ’14

pubLishEr Deidra S. FajackDirector of Alumni Programs

Eric GentryVice President for University Advancement

contributorsIan AldrichMike AndersonCarol BeirneRyan Clark ’10

aLumni associationExEcutivE committEEJim Cutter ’81, PresidentFrank Birkenhauer ’92, ’95, President-electTracy Schwegmann ’95, ’08, Immediate Past PresidentJanet Brinkman ’95, ’98, ’09, Vice PresidentDeidra S. Fajack, Secretary/Treasurer

corrEspondEncE Northern Kentucky UniversityOffice of Alumni Programs421 Old Johns Hill RoadHighland Heights, KY 41099phone: (859) 572-5486web: alumni.nku.eduemail: alumni@nku.edu

northErn magazinE is published by the Office of

Alumni Programs at Northern Kentucky University for its

graduates, donors, and friends. Copyright 2014 Northern

Kentucky University.

Comments, questions, concerns? We want to hear from

you! Email us at northernmagazine@nku.edu.

M A G A Z I N E

v o l u m e 1 2 , n o . 1

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Feoshia DavisBecky FitzsimmonsChris VariasMolly Williamson

noRTheRn MAGAZIne

summer 2014SUMMeR 2014

northern MAGAZIne

This year, our University graduated nearly 3,000 students –

the largest number in our history.

Before thousands of proud parents and grandparents,

brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, classmates, profes-

sors, and friends, these students—now alumni—became our

latest success story. I am inspired by their achievements and

their aspirations.

To each of our newest alumni: congratulations on earning your degree, and best of luck on your new

journey. I look forward to hearing about your future successes.

By any measure, this academic year was a very good one for NKU. Our most notable achievements in-

clude the creation and implementation of a five-year strategic plan. We also received $97 million from the

state to design and build a Health Innovations Center, and we welcomed the most academically qualified

freshman class in the history of the university.

This past January, NKU began a new era of service to our students and our community. The strategic

plan, titled Fuel the Flame, is already building on our existing strengths and furthering innovation across the

entire campus. In this issue of Northern Magazine, I share some background into the creative process behind

Fuel the Flame—a truly collaborative experience that involved input from the entire NKU community. You

helped tailor Fuel the Flame for the future success of this outstanding institution. And for that, I thank you.

As part of this new era, NKU is expanding its campus facilities. Northern Terrace is being converted into

a 200-bed residence hall. We have begun major renovation on our Campus Recreation Center, which will

double the size of Albright Health Center (p. 6). We are also in the planning phase of the Health Innovations

Center (p. 25). The center will be a hub for teaching, learning, and conducting research in innovative and

collaborative ways in the health professions.

Additionally, I plan to travel across the commonwealth of Kentucky this fall. Be on the lookout for news

about my tour as we seek to increase awareness of the great things we’re doing here at NKU.

It’s an exciting time at NKU. I look forward to welcoming our new students in August, and I am eager to

continue working with NKU alumni as we move to the next level of service to our students and community.

Best wishes for a healthy summer!

geoffrey s. mearnsPresident

a message from the president

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NORTHERN MAGAZINE S u m m e r 2 0 1 4

contents

Departments

4president’s page

6norse nuggets

8northern neWs

12northern athletics

28alumni journal

31class notes

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Features

14city conFidentialCincinnati’s new homicide commander isn’t your typical police lieutenant. David Johnston (’08) has two master’s degrees, a disarming humility, and a predilection for spotting criminal trends. With each new case, Johnston walks a high wire anchored between crime and justice. Presenting a behind-the-scenes look inside the Cincinnati homicide unit.

22Fuel the FlameThroughout 2013, NKU engaged in a comprehensive strategic planning process. Led by NKU President Geoffrey Mearns along with the entire campus community, the result is the five-year strategic plan, Fuel the Flame. As the real work of implementing the plan begins, we sat down with President Mearns to talk about the steadfast transformation of Northern Kentucky University.

26alumni aWard Winners!Several of NKU’s best and brightest received our top honors at this year’s Alumni Awards celebration. The talent, generosity, and intelligence of these graduates should make each of us proud to be a Norse. Let us introduce you.

NortherN magaziNe is oNliNe! Check us out at northernmagazine.nku.edu, and then write us at northernmagazine@nku.edu to share your story!

Previous Page: Professor David Kime talks to a group of NKU honors students in the "New Discovery" section of Mammoth Cave. Kime and his students mapped, catalogued, and assessed the cultural artifacts in this rarely seen portion of the cave system.

northern MAGAZIne

good readsAt the risk of exploding any illusion of modesty, we’re happy to inform you that the magazine you’re reading was named “Grand Champion” of college and alumni magazines in the state of Kentucky—for the third year in a row! In total, the Council for Advancement and Support of education honored nKU with 41 awards for Northern Magazine, overall alumni practices, online innovation, and more. Visit www.casethree.org/caseky/awards/winners.html to see the list.

get pumpedone of the benefits of being an nKU graduate is about to get better: Your discounted membership to the Campus Rec Center is going to mean a lot more after a massive rec center expansion and renovation project is completed in the fall of 2015. With nearly triple the amount of recreation space, the new building will transform the campus rec experience with amenities that include a “bouldering wall,” two racquetball courts, an indoor soccer field, and more.

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pan-tastic campusToday’s students and recent graduates know that nKU’s campus has changed significantly in recent years —softer, greener, more inviting, with flourishes of high-tech art. Acclaimed panoramic photographer Tom Schiff knows, too, and was so impressed that he decided his next book would feature photography of nKU architecture. his book, titled From Flicker to Flame: A Panoramic View of Five Eras of Northern Kentucky University, is scheduled for release in fall 2015.

radiant artBio-artist Zachary Copfer ’06 has developed a process that uses bacteria and radiation to grow living photographs—including a series of celebrity images made from each subject’s own cells. Developed while Copfer was in grad school, Copfer’s proprietary process involves shooting radiation through bacteria-covered halftone negatives and “growing” the image in an incubator. Visit sciencetothepowerofart.com to see the process in action.

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spring-summer 2013

1BENEFITS and OPPORTUNITIES for STUDENTS, ALUMNI, and FRIENDS of

NKU!

n o r t h e r n k e n t u c k y u n i v e r s i t y

M A G A Z I N E

LOVE AND HEALTHY EATING, EXPLAINEDA PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY INSIDE NKU'S RESIDENCE

HALLS

THE ROAD TO bLACK AND GOLD—THE ORIGIN OF NORSE ATHLETICS

s p r i n g - s u m m e r 2 0 1 3 vo l u m e 1 1 , n o. 2

mr. misunderstood?For her new book Taking Down the Lion (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), nKU professor Catherine S. neal was granted unprecedented access to Dennis Kozlowski—the former Tyco International Ceo who, before being sent to prison for eight years for grand larceny and numerous other charges, was best known for his $6,000 shower curtain. neal’s book has been called “the definitive telling of a largely misunderstood episode in U.S. business history.”

kicking ButtsThis past January 9, the nKU Board of Regents voted unanimously to adopt a tobacco-free campus policy, making nKU the third public university in the state of Kentucky to do so. “We want to prevent nKU students from becoming addicted, which in turn ensures a healthier future workforce for local employers,” President Mearns said of the change. Read the full policy at tobaccofree.nku.edu.

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“and gladly Wolde he lerne”Middle english can sometimes be as difficult to decipher as a teenager’s Twitter account. Which is why nKU english professor Dr. Tamara o’Callaghan is developing a smartphone app that not only helps students understand Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales but also brings the period’s culture to life with digital 3-D images that pop right off the screen. For more info visit www.nku.edu/features/2014/april/educational-app.html.

Nku buzz

eat your heart out, harvard. You’re not as good as northern Kentucky University.

—From a Times Higher Education article by University of notre Dame history professor Felipe Fernández-Armesto, in which he discusses the “commitment of the teachers, the ambition of the students, and the zeal of the communities that surround them” at nKU. “I doubt whether any elite university exceeds or even equals northern Kentucky University’s history department in transformative power,” Fernández-Armesto said. tinyurl.com/Ltcma86

nKU has played a major role in their life together. They are fervent supporters of the school’s athletic teams, especially the women’s basketball team, and they travel regularly to support the norse. each of their children graduated with multiple degrees from nKU as well.

—From a Cincinnati Enquirer article about nKU’s norse nuptials program and annual event, which alums Katherine and Raymond Rack attended back in February. norse nuptials was created for graduates who met their spouse or significant other while attending nKU. Mark your calendar for Valentine’s Day 2015 for the next norse nuptials event, and visit alumniconnect.nku.edu/page/norsenuptials to share your story.

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Northern Kentucky University is a

tobacco-free campus.

Smoking and use of tobacco products are prohibited on university property.

Thank you for helping to make NKU a healthy place to learn, work, live and visit.

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The PCB ParadoxStudying the effects of a lingering poison

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are so resilient that their use in thermal insulators, paints, caulks, plastics, adhesives, and capacitors was nearly ubiquitous around the globe during much of the 20th century. When PCBs were discovered to be highly toxic—the compound has been linked to cancer and debilitating neurotoxic effects in humans—the United States government banned the chemicals in 1979. But, as NKU biology professor Dr. Chris Curran and her student researchers can attest, it's the incredible resiliency of PCBs that have allowed the chemical not only to linger but also to spread around the globe. Toxic levels still can be found from the American Midwest to the coast of Antarctica—decades after its worldwide ban.

In addition to funds from the Kentucky Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network, Curran has been making use of a recent $300,000 grant from the National Institutes of Environmental Health to research genetic susceptibility to PCB-induced motor dysfunction.

"It's a worldwide problem," Curran says. "The reason PCBs were made was because they don't break down. They are still out in the environment and are making people very sick—particularly those who are exposed early in life."

Curran and her team of students have been studying genetic susceptibility to developmental neurotoxicity. While the developing brain is most vulnerable to the effects of pollutants, our individual genetic differences can influence how these pollutants affect our overall health. Curran and her team model this genetic variation in mice with a long-term goal of identifying and protecting humans at the highest risk.

"Some relatively recent studies show that there are a lot of older homes, building stock, and schools where [PCBs] were used in wood treatments and in caulks," Curran says. "So just like the asbestos cleanup, now we're having PCB cleanup in some of these older schools."

Curran recommends that people educate themselves on PCBs and the risks they pose, especially through bio-magnification in our environment.

"In an ecosystem, it can be passed from the water to a small organism into a larger organism into a larger organism. So we find the highest levels of contamination are in seafood and fatty fish.

"My message to the general public is that when you see that PCB warning sign at a lake or river, read it and believe it." —Brent Donaldson

Persistent ProblemFacts about PCBs from the ePA

MorE CoMINGAmong other ways these

chemicals are still accumulating in the environment, “PCBs can still be released into the environment from poorly maintained hazardous waste sites that contain PCBs.”

WIll TrAvEl“Once in the environment,

PCBs do not readily break down and may remain for long periods of time cycling between air, water, and soil. PCBs can be carried long distances and have been found in snow and sea water in areas far away from where they were released into the environment.”

EduCATE YoursElf“PCBs can accumulate in the

leaves and above-ground parts of plants and food crops. They are also taken up into the bodies of small organisms and fish. As a result, people who ingest fish may be exposed to PCBs that have bio-accumulated in the fish they are ingesting.”

Dionne Laycock

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summer 2014

the Baby monitorWorking to lower the infant mortality rate

Ryan Adcock (’06) is trying to figure out why Cincinnati has a high infant-mortality rate compared to national numbers—and what he can do to lower it to zero.

Adcock, 34, was named executive director of the nonprofit Cradle Cincinnati last year. In February, Adcock and Cradle Cincinnati released new statistics for infant deaths in Cincinnati and hamilton County. There were 53 deaths in the city last year, down from 62 in 2012. however, the city’s rate of 9.9 deaths per 1,000 live births is still worse than the national average of 6.1.

Adcock cites the importance of the “three S’s”—spacing, smoking, and sleep: pregnant women should not smoke, and babies should sleep alone on their backs. Spacing refers to the amount of time between pregnancies: no less than 18 months is best.

Like any public-policy issue, there’s a human element to Adcock’s work, and Cradle Cincinnati’s can be especially poignant: behind the numbers are babies and families. “Some of my best friends a few years back had twins who were born 12 weeks early,” Adcock says. “The smaller of the two was just a little over one pound. Both boys survived, but it was very touch and go for a while. And just watching a couple of my best friends go through this and how heartbreaking it was and also watching the support system that is in place—that was compelling. The issue was not on my radar back then, but that certainly got it on my radar.”

Then and now, Adcock sees his job as doing what’s best for his hometown.

“I see the infant mortality issue much less as about health and healthcare than about how we’re doing as a city,” he says. “It’s one of the better indicators of how things are going in town, and that means [it indicates] how everything’s going.”

—chris varias

Africa fire MissionDavid Moore’s quest to train, equip, empower

Teaching basic fire safety in a school in Nairobi, Kenya, changed David Moore's life. While there, the 2006 grad and former Glendale fire chief was particularly stricken by the city's woefully under-resourced firefighters.

“I learned from the fire chief that they were protecting a city of five million people with two working fire engines, one ladder truck, and 156 firefighters,” Moore says. “The government doesn't provide services to the slums. They pretend they aren't even there.”

Moore left the city's poorly trained and ill-equipped fire district in 2012 determined to make a difference. After resigning as Glendale fire chief in 2013, he founded the Africa Fire Mission, a nonprofit that offers firefighter training, equipment, and resources to departments in Kenya and Ethiopia. Its aim is high: building and increasing the sustainable capacity of fire departments across Africa.

With the help of area volunteers, Africa Fire Mission donated nearly

200 sets of personal protective bunker gear to the Nairobi Fire Service last year. The organization also sent Nairobi two shipments of training material to help the department establish a fire training library and provided in-person training over several days last November.

“We have 15-20 departments donating training equipment,” Moore says. “We're slowly spreading out from the nucleus of the Greater Cincinnati area.”—Feoshia Davis

For more information and ways to help, visit africafiremission.org.

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thE digitaL FrontiEr Teaching teens to navigate the Internet

even in 2014, the Internet is still the Wild, Wild West. For teenagers, that can spell trouble.

With this in mind, the northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law, through the nKU Chase Law + Informatics Institute, has partnered with Fordham Law School's Center for Law and Information Policy and select other law schools to develop a new Internet privacy education program for middle school students.

Using the curriculum developed by Fordham, Chase student volunteers taught middle-school students in Ft. Mitchell, Ky., about the numerous privacy issues faced by teens today. The program will also be taught in middle schools across the United States by law students from 14 other schools including harvard, Yale, U.C. Berkeley, Princeton, and Georgetown.

The program is meant to help teachers, parents, and students manage and navigate the Internet and online environments, which are becoming intrinsic parts of our everyday lives—especially for children. Session topics include how to deal with passwords and behavioral ads; navigating social media and tricky situations; understanding mobile, Wi-Fi, and facial recognition; and managing a digital reputation.

The need for this type of education is highlighted by recent reports from the Pew Research Center that show that 93 percent of teens ages 12–17 go online; 53 percent of teens post their email address online; 20 percent post their cell phone number; and 33 percent are connected online to people they have never met. —Becky Fitzsimmons

To learn more about the program, visit chaselaw.nku.edu/chase-news/internetprivacymiddleschool.html.

It Pays to be Norse!New benefits for NKU alumniWe’ve been working hard to increase the value of your membership in the NKU Alumni Association. Just in time for summer, here are four brand new benefits just for you!

Cincinnati ZooReceive $2.50 off adult tickets or $4 off of the zoo’s “Total Experience” package including admission, rides, and theater shows. Discounts for children and seniors as well.Online only.Promo code: NORSE68

Newport AquariumReceive $2 off general admission when purchased online.Free admission for children under 2.Company code: APPRECIATION

City BarbequeTo receive a 15% discount at the Highland Heights City Barbeque, simply visit the store and show your NKU ID or alumni card!

The Beach WaterparkReceive $9 off daily waterpark pass when purchased online.Code: adult 4188Youth 4189

For more information on these and many other NKU alumni benefits, visit alumniconnect.nku.edu/?page=benefits.

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summer 2014

CYNThIA rEEdCynthia Reed is the

new dean of NKU’s College of Education and Human Services. Reed most recently served as an endowed professor of educational leadership and director of

the Truman Pierce Institute at Auburn University.As dean of education and human services,

Reed will lead a college of three departments: teacher education; kinesiology and health; and counseling, social work, and leadership. The Rochester, N.Y., native earned her B.S. in elementary education and her M.S. in elementary education with specialization in gifted education from SUNY Oswego; a certificate of advanced study in school administration and supervision from SUNY Cortland; and an Ed.D. in administrative and policy studies with specialization in policy, planning, and evaluation from the University of Pittsburgh.

FacuLty buLLEtinNKU welcomes new deans Katherine Frank, Rebecca Porterfield, and Cynthia Reed

KAThErINE P. frANK

Katherine P. Frank is the new dean of the NKU College of Arts and Sciences. Frank recently served as dean of humanities

and social sciences at Indiana University East.

As dean of arts and sciences, Frank will lead NKU's largest college, with 13 academic departments and five centers. The college enrolls approximately 4,800 undergraduate majors and 300 graduate students taught by more than 500 full-time and part-time faculty members.

Frank is from Colorado Springs, Colo., and earned her B.A. in English from Bates College, magna cum laude, and her M.A. in English and Ph.D. in English from University of Washington.

dr. rEBECCA I. PorTErfIEld

Dr. Rebecca I. Porterfield is the new dean of the NKU Haile/U.S. Bank College of Business. Porterfield most recently served as graduate associate dean

of University of North Carolina Wilmington Cameron School of Business.

As dean of business, Porterfield will lead a college of four departments—accounting, finance, and business law; construction management; management; and marketing, economics, and sports business. Porterfield earned a B.S. in management and an M.B.A. in management from Mississippi State University, a Ph.D. in industrial management from Clemson University, and a management and leadership in education certificate from Harvard University.

hard hats, Theater, and the Three Women

Three little-known facts about Provost Sue Ott RowlandsEarlier this year, Sue Ott Rowlands joined NKU as its new provost and executive vice president

for academic affairs—a high-profile position that oversees all of the university’s academic programs as well as numerous other departments. Since much has been written about Ott Rowlands’ prior professional experience in higher education, we now present you with three little-known facts about one of NKU’s most senior administrators.

—Brent Donaldson

A rEfINEd CArEErOtt Rowlands grew up in Duncan, Okla.,

and worked her first job in an oil refinery. “It was all steel-toed boots and safety glasses and hard hats and sweltering conditions,” she says. “I was one of only three girls who were hired to do this field work—fixing pipes and going inside empty tanks to wash them out. All I could think of when I got up each morning was ‘If I can get up and put on my boots and go, I’ll make $3.80 an hour.’”

ThrEE Is ThE MAGIC NuMBErOtt Rowlands’ hobbies include traveling

and collecting art—specifically, images of three women. “Paintings, sculpture, ceramic—don’t ask me why three women. I’m one of three sisters, so maybe that resonates with me, though I don’t think it was intentional. I just sort of noticed that I was beginning to collect large paintings and sculptures that had three women in them. I’m very courageous when it comes to getting something home. It’s amazing what you can check!”

All ThE World’s A sTAGEIn addition to being the founder of theater

collectives across the U.S., Ott Rowlands has performed on theater stages across the world, including three one-woman plays written just for her. So how does her role as provost fit with her deeply creative side? “Being provost is constantly about creative problem solving. We have challenges around budgets; we have challenges around personnel; we have challenges around student success. Big issues. So I find nothing dry or boring about any of it.”

Read more about Sue Ott Rowlands at president.nku.edu/executive_team/ms--sue-ott-rowlands.html.

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The highlight reelThe best of fall/winter Norse athletics

The NKU athletics teams continue to excite and excel on the fields of play as they continue the transition into full membership as a Division I program. Here are just some of the highlights the Norse have put up during the 2013–14 year. —Mike Anderson

• Junior J.J. Webber became NKU's first-ever Division I conference champion, claiming the individual title at the 2013 Atlantic Sun Cross Country Championship. Webber became the first cross-country runner in NKU history to claim an individual crown, completing the six-kilometer course in a time of 24:58.38.• The Norse men's soccer program posted the A-Sun's highest overall

winning percentage, going 9–4–6 on the year for a .632 mark. Head coach John Basalyga became the program's winningest coach, now with 146 coaching wins in his 11 years on the Norse bench.• Norse goalkeeper A.J. Fleak became the first Norse goalkeeper to

score a goal in 20 years when his long-distance punt bounced into the Wright State net. The goal proved to be the game-winner in a 2–1 Norse victory.• Katelyn Newton became NKU's first women's soccer player to earn

A-Sun All-Freshman Team recognition after finishing the season with eight total points in her first year with the Norse. In addition, NKU earned the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Ethics Award, the only A-Sun team to receive the honor, and secured its eighth-consecutive National Team Academic Award.

• With a 61–57 win over Lipscomb Feb. 22, the women's basketball team secured its 31st consecutive winning season. Along the way, the Norse stunned Florida Gulf Coast with a 63–43 win Feb. 1, snapping FGCU's 44-game conference winning streak.• Women's basketball forward Mel Doss earned the team's first-ever

A-Sun Player of the Week honor in the opening week of the season. Doss then proceeded to take down her second, third, and fourth Player of the Week awards throughout the season. The junior has averaged almost 15 points per game to lead the Norse and rank among the top scorers in the A-Sun.• NKU men's basketball set a Division I-era school record, scoring 96

points in a win over Stetson Feb. 27. But this season wasn't just about the number of points the Norse scored—it was how they scored them. Two Norse players found themselves on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays this year, starting with Jalen Billups' one-handed rebound slam against North Carolina. A few weeks later, SportsCenter featured Daniel Camps blowing by the Florida Gulf Coast defense for a monster two-handed jam.

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Athletics Alumni Challenge!Student-athlete alumni are getting back in the game

this year during the norse Athletics Club’s second annual nKU Alumni Challenge. The drive encourages former nKU student-athletes to give back to their former sport programs. All alumni who give at least $25 to the norse Athletics Club will be considered a participant in the Alumni Challenge. At the conclusion of the challenge, if your team has the highest percentage of participation,

your former team WInS!The winning team will earn a bonus of $5,000 added

to its budget for the coming year, which means that you have a chance to make a big impact on your former sports program!

For information and current standings, visit www.nkunorse.com/alumnichallenge or call (859) 572-7894.

summEr sports

For the third consecutive season, nKU men’s soccer will open the season at home with an exhibition contest against the University of Kentucky August 17 at the nKU Soccer Stadium. This game has sold out and set attendance records each of the last two years, so you won’t want to miss it! Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

nku women’s soccer takes the field Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. for their home opener against eastern Illinois.

nku volleyball will host a tournament at Regents hall Sept. 5-6, featuring Southern Illinois, edwardsville, eastern Michigan, and Samford.

northern MAGAZIne

14brent donaldson

City Confidential

In the shadows between crIme

and justIce, davId johnston

Is tr ansformIng the art of

crImInal InvestIgatIons

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finding elvis

If they’re being honest, most police officers will admit they were scared to death of going on their first radio run2. Which is only logical, since most people don’t call the police because something wonderful has just happened. Police calls often occur mid-crisis or post-tragedy. After something terrible has happened. or is happening.

or is about to happen.David Johnston (’08) cops to having rookie jitters when

his first big call came in 1994. For a six-foot-two-inch veteran officer who has been addicted to lifting weights for most of his life—and who works in a profession filled with hard-driving Type A personalities—Johnston has a disarming humility. Paired with two master’s degrees and a predilection for spotting criminal trends, Johnston’s empathic disposition is the secret ingredient for his recent rise to lieutenant and to one of the most coveted positions in all of law enforcement: homicide commander.

But back when his first big call came in 1994, Johnston was a greenhorn—a Cincinnati West Side beat cop who’d just been cut loose from his training officer. he’d get a bit twitchy when his radio squawked.

Those jitters broke on a cold Sunday morning when a call from dispatch relayed a possible murder. A woman’s ex-boyfriend—named elvis—had broken into her house and stabbed her live-in boyfriend multiple times. When Johnston arrived, the woman said that elvis didn’t have a car but she knew he was going to try and make it back over the river into Kentucky. “That was the only information she gave me about him,” Johnston says. “That, and that he was drenched in blood from head to toe.”

But Johnston the rookie cop had learned his beat and so determined that elvis likely would head south on nearby elberon Avenue, down to where the road breaks east and hugs the muddy ohio River. he got in his car and began cruising slowly up and down the old residential road, looking for elvis, scanning the houses atop their high-sloped lawns.

he saw a man standing at a door. “And I stop and I keep watching,” Johnston says, “and he’s trying to get into the house, trying to get into the house. And he turns around and looks at me and takes off running. So I chase him up this big flipping hill and I wind up tackling the guy.... I remember being soaked in blood. The guy he was stabbing put up a helluva fight.”

When he returned to the station with elvis in tow3, Johnston was a changed man. “I think that moment was an epiphany for me,” he says. “When I walked into the station I remember this old-school shift sergeant. he was like, ‘how the hell didya find that guy?’ And I remember just laughing. I remember this tremendous feeling of accomplishment. I realized I had a knack for this.”

It was trial by fire for a rookie officer, but after spending nearly six years in Cincinnati Vice4, four years in undercover narcotics5, three years on SWAT6, and two years as district investigative commander7, he’d face similar trials again. Including this past February, on his first day as homicide commander.

1 From the cover: Criminal offenses that are not reported to the police (such as a drug dealer who robs another drug dealer) are known within law enforcement as “the dark shadows of crime.”2 A call dispatched from central command.3 Incredibly, elvis’ victim lived.4 The Cincinnati Vice Control enforcement Squad enforces laws and ordinances dealing with the suppression of illicit activity in dance halls, liquor, gambling, prostitution, narcotics, obscene materials, and regulatory violations.5 The narcotics Unit conducts mid- and upper-level drug and vice enforcement as well as pharmaceutical compliance, asset forfeiture, and drug abatement. The unit is combined with the Vice Unit as the narcotics and Vice Section within the Investigations Bureau.6 SWAT stands for Special Weapons and Tactics. The Cincinnati SWAT unit responds to hostage, barricaded person, and other high-risk situations as needed. The Tactical Coordination Unit engages in planning, preparation, coordination, and implementation of the department’s response to critical events, which include terrorist threats, dignitary protection, mass arrests, and civil disorder.7 Dave Johnston’s former position before being transferred to the homicide unit. District Captain Mike John says that this officer must be “up to speed in terms of current criminal conditions in the district, including shootings, aggravated robberies, and working with district crime analysts. You also must be someone who recognizes seasonal crime trends and trends associated with frequent offenders and be able to analyze these trends.”

City Confidential

footnotes

15Scene of a triple shooting on Elm Street in Over-the-Rhine from May of 2013. Johnston says that while officers were able to identify the shooter, the intended victim did not cooperate with police.

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the Wire

As Cincinnati’s new homicide commander, David Johnston oversees the day-to-day operations of the homicide and criminalistics units for the entire city. Five sergeants, 16 detectives, and more than a dozen criminalists—the personnel who process each crime scene through photographs and forensics gathering—report directly to him. As each case moves forward, Johnston also works with prosecuting attorneys to ensure the correct information is relayed to the court during each phase of the prosecution.

At his essence, Johnston is a tightrope walker on a high-wire anchored between crime and justice. Weighing down one side of the balance pole are jurisdictional interests, strong personalities, strong emotions, and institutional bureaucracy. Stacked on the other side are numerous and disparate investigations. Cincinnati Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell can assign to Johnston’s unit just about any investigation or task, including homicides, but also kidnappings, suicides, accidental deaths, patient abuse at hospitals, even dignitary protection8.

To walk the wire from beginning to end, Johnston must stay balanced while managing lopsided interests. Back in March a 14-year-old boy was killed in a quadruple shooting in Walnut hills. By the time Johnston arrived there were more than 100 people at the crime scene, including officers, detectives, criminalists, command staff, residents, family and friends of the victim, onlookers, and potential witnesses. his first steps on that wire took place amid barely controlled chaos.

To get to this point in his career, whatever Johnston didn’t possess in the areas of leadership and management skill he sought out through his Master of Public Administration degree at nKU. “everything we talk about focuses on this on a broad level of organization,” says Dr. Shamima Ahmed, the chair of the M.P.A. program and one of Johnston’s former professors. “We have students who are city administrators, and we have students who are police chiefs in other communities. They all focus on the public sector, and the mission is the same: how can we serve the broader community? Public policies, hR, government budgeting, planning—everything is relevant, even to someone in the homicide department.”

8 Dignitary protection works with federal law enforcement agencies to provide protection for foreign and domestic governmental officials whose position entitles them to temporary or full-time protection by a law enforcement agency of the United States government.

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The other job requirements—fairness and trustworthiness and the ability to succeed in a complex bureaucracy—were either inherent in his character or gained through experience.

“I saw that he had the respect of his subordinates, and they were willing to go the extra mile for him,” says Captain eliot Isaac, Criminal Investigations Section commander and the man who recruited Johnston. “There are certain stereotypes of people in this position; they characteristically have a brash, outgoing personality. But Dave is a little more reserved, thoughtful. he’s a

very analytical person. he can take a step back, assess a situation, and approach it not only with diligence but also from a logical perspective, and I think that has given him the success that he’s achieved so far.”

“his whole demeanor—he has a way of staying engaged but not getting flustered or getting overly excited,” says assistant police chief James Whalen. “I’ve seen that carry through in an office environment, and I’ve seen that carry through in the streets, when things are going crazy around you and someone needs to keep their head or everybody’s going to lose theirs.”

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Evidence photos (shell casings, hand prints from the exterior of a truck, and a gun) collected and photographed by the District 1 Investigative Unit.

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shooting intelligence

In 2013 Cincinnati experienced 75 homicides, a 42 percent spike over the previous year. For the previous year in District 1, composed of Mt. Adams, over-the-Rhine, Pendleton, Queensgate, and the West end, there were six fatal shootings. But in this single district—the one in which Johnston worked as an investigative commander for the last two years until his recent transfer—there were a staggering 64 nonfatal shootings. of those 64 nonfatal shootings, nearly 63 percent were “group-member involved”9. noncooperation from victims is where the wheels fall off during many investigations. Many GMI victims themselves have extensive criminal records. Some won’t talk to police out of fear for their safety; some plan to retaliate outside of the law.

“Typically you’re a bad guy if you walk yourself into the hospital,” Johnston says. “If you’re a private conveyance,10

chances are you’re trying to conceal something, and what I’ve found is that by far and away the majority of people

who get shot and survive [in District 1] are non-cooperative victims.” For instance, Johnston says, on January 8, 2012, in over-the-Rhine, an assailant forced a man onto his knees and shot him twice in the head. The victim somehow survived but refused to cooperate with police. “he had two bullet holes through the top of his brain,” Johnston says, “and they basically were able to put two Band-Aids over those holes and released him the next day. I’m not making this up. We had witnesses tell us that he was put on his knees and shot in the head. Does he know who shot him? Well, hell yes he does. They tried to execute him, but he’s not telling us sh**. That’s what we’re up against.”

Johnston is known by his colleagues for writing meticulously detailed “shooting intelligence files” for these cases—an idea he adapted and expanded upon from his former supervisor and current District 1 Captain Mike John. Within the files, Johnston includes case details and accounts that can be shared with other districts for future cases and cross-referenced when found to be part of a pattern.

9 People identified on the group-member involved list are described by Captain Mike John as “people who take part in high-risk activities” such as drug trafficking and violent crimes.10 A victim of violent crime who checks him- or herself into a hospital.

Captain mike john

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“In District 1 we have a couple hundred people that are associated with probably more than half of our violent offenses,” says John. “So one of the things that I did and Dave has done very, very well is, if there’s a shooting, it’s not just, ‘Give me the name and give me any suspect information.’ What’s the history of that individual that was shot? have they ever been shot before? Who are their associates? Are they likely to cause some kind of retaliation to the person who shot them, or to the associates of the person who shot them? Gone are the days when you sit in the office, sip your coffee, and wait for something to happen. Dave was very, very good at identifying core groups of individuals who were causing issues in the district and creating an approach to make an enforcement effort against them.”

“That’s his thing, and he’s awesome at it,” says Tony Faillace, an investigative sergeant whom Johnston supervised in the District 1 investigations unit. “especially in the dope world and the shootings—with every shooting he’s very elaborate with how he captures each detail. For instance,” Faillace says, tapping on the monitor atop his ancient metal desk in District 111, “this is our CIRV12 list. This guy’s considered the leader of a gang. There are dealers in the gang, and shooters. This guy’s considered a dealer and a shooter. This lady, she rents cars for the group. When these guys get popped, they’re always in rental cars, and every car that’s come back is associated with her.”

Faillace, a 22-year veteran straight out of central casting for grizzled police detectives, says that between the CIRV list and Johnston’s files, the district can often cross reference known affiliations for shooting suspects and victims. In other words, “Dave knows his sh**,” he says. “he’s done time on the street, did time in Vice, got promoted, went back to the street for awhile, went back to vice as a supervisor, got promoted again, back on the street, and then right away falls into [his previous job as district investigative commander]. And now he gets one of the primo jobs in the whole police department—the homicide lieutenant. That’s where he starts on Monday.”

11 If you’ve ever worried that your tax dollars are being spent on gratuitous office furniture at District 1 headquarters, you can rest assured: no.12 The Cincinnati Initiative to Reduce Violence, a multiagency and community collaborative effort designed to reduce gun violence and associated homicides with sustained reductions over time. CIRV was modeled loosely on the Boston Gun Project from the mid-1990s but has expanded rapidly in the ensuing years.

sergeant tony faillaCe

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for his mother as she struggled with brain cancer, was by all accounts a good neighbor and son through a trying period dealing with his mother’s illness. Which is why his confession shocked so many people.

“I just murdered my mother,” he told the 911 dispatcher. “You need to come.”

At a press conference that followed the incident, Assistant Chief Whalen said that the situation escalated quickly after four officers arrived at the scene. When the officers attempted to talk to Sanders from his front porch, Sanders allegedly grabbed a Chiang Kai-Shek rifle outfitted with a bayonet and descended the front porch toward them, rifle extended in a firing position. Sanders reportedly ignored dozens of verbal commands to stop and drop the weapon, forcing the officers to shoot. When Sanders died, the situation became what’s called a police intervention shooting—one of the most complex

MonDAY

Welcome to homicide.Technically, Dave Johnston became the city’s homicide

commander Sunday, February 23 of this year. But that day was about formalities and paperwork and getting detailed into his new role. his real debut was scheduled for the next day—a day that didn’t wait for Dave to make it into the office.

“Monday morning I get up and as soon as I get in the shower the phone rings,” Johnston remembers. “Captain Isaac, he had called me and he says, ‘Dave, you’re going to think I’m joking, but there’s nothing like a little trial by fire.’”

Before dawn that morning, a 34-year-old Walnut hills man named Gregory Sanders called 911 to report a murder. Sanders, who had been living with and caretaking

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The “homicide board” displayed in the Criminal Investigations section out-side David Johnston’s office door. The board contains homicide information for the current and previous year and is updated as arrests are made.

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situations to supervise as an investigative commander.

When Johnston arrived on scene much of the command staff and scores of media reporters were already there. “I’ve supervised crime scenes before,” he says, “but of course this [police intervention] takes everything to an entirely new level.”

Being Johnston’s first case as homicide commander, his colleagues cut him some slack. “I probably had a dozen people walk up to me and say, ‘Welcome to homicide,’” he says. Johnston walked through the crime scenes—the first one inside the house and the second in the street where the police intervention had taken place. “I consulted with the captain,” he says. “I didn’t come in strutting around with my chest stuck out. I’m asking questions: ‘What can I do to help you guys? What do you need? how can I best facilitate you and facilitate your investigation?’”

It’s that kind of selflessness that many of Johnston’s colleagues from District 1 are going to miss—even Tony Faillace, the grizzled veteran investigator. “At least I know that when he’s not here and I take care of something, I know I can take care of it the way he would have wanted,” Faillace says. “I think I had a better working relationship with him than with anybody. I can ask him questions—anybody can, and he doesn’t look at you like you’re stupid. It’s been a nice couple of years. every once in awhile you fall into something good, and it was. It’s depressing in a way that he’s leaving, but I’m proud of him. If anybody deserves it, it’s him.”

“I think we have one of the best departments in the country,” Johnston says from his new office on downtown’s Broadway Street. outside his office window Mt. Adams towers above the city traffic. “I love the city; I love downtown. I really do. I just want to lock up people who need to be locked up. Certain people attract violence, and when they’re out and about, bad stuff happens. If you lock up the right people, you can basically shut down the shootings and homicides in a neighborhood for a long time. People feel a little safer. And that’s what it’s all for.

That’s what it’s all about.”

master of publiC administrationthe secret to success in the public sector is only at nKu.

NKU’s Master of Public Administration is an applied 39-semester-hour degree designed to prepare students for careers in public management. Offered at night and on Saturdays, the program is suited for mature, career-oriented people working in the public or nonprofit sector.

For people like Lieutenant David Johnston, homicide commander for the city of Cincinnati, the program was key to achieving success within the Cincinnati Police Department. While Johnston holds a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees, he credits the NKU M.P.A. program with being the best of all of his higher-education experiences. “I learned more in my classes at NKU than any other courses in my university career,” he says. “I met a number of officers and people in law enforcement, and it was absolutely valuable in giving me real insight into the inner workings of city administration.”

“We have a very diverse program,” says Dr. Julie Olberding, the M.P.A. program director. “Overall it is designed to prepare managers and leaders in the public sector. We have police officers and firefighters who want to become chief or upper management, but we also have students who work in nonprofits in the arts and social services.”

Students who complete the M.P.A. program will learn about public policy making, human resource management, government budgeting, planning, and media relations. As Johnston attests, they will also gain valuable practical experience. “At a fundamental level,” Johnston says, “it made me a much better reader and writer. And I was never that comfortable a public speaker until I went through NKU.”

Northern Kentucky University offers the only M.P.A. program in the northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati region. In fact, it’s one of only six M.P.A. programs in the state of Kentucky to be accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration.

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Fuel the Flame

As an NKU graduate, you know the boundless joy that fills your soul when you accomplish something big. You know the joy of mapping out a long and difficult path and then completing the journey.

Throughout 2013, your alma mater engaged in a comprehensive strategic planning process. Led by NKU President Geoffrey Mearns along with faculty, staff, students, community members, and the Board of Regents, the result is the five-year strategic plan, Fuel the Flame—a roadmap that will lead NKU to its 50th anniversary in 2018. (fueltheflame.nku.edu)

As the real work of implementing the plan begins, we sat down with President Mearns to talk about the steadfast transformation of Northern Kentucky University. —Brent Donaldson

Illuminating NKU’s road to 2018

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Northern: The initial work for Fuel the Flame began early on in your tenure here. You began a sort of campus “listening tour.”

Mearns: When I started in Fall 2012, I talked to the Board of Regents about how quickly we should begin the strategic planning process. We collectively concluded that the best thing I should do is to spend that first semester collecting information and developing relationships on campus and off. So that really was, for me personally, a preparation phase for the plan.

Northern: What themes developed from those conversations?

Mearns: I was aware during the interview process that people were proud of NKU, but I think I may have underestimated the level of pride. You see it quite visibly on people wearing all different kinds of NKU garb and on NKU license plates and bumper stickers. I hadn't fully anticipated that. I think the second theme was an optimism about the future. When you see how much ground we've traveled in 45 years, it really gives you a sense of optimism that this is an institution that has the capacity to overcome challenges. The third theme relates to pride but is maybe a little bit different. People embrace our mission. I heard numerous people say that they found it professionally and personally rewarding to be a part of this institution.

Northern: Coming off the Great Recession and state funding challenges, I imagine there must have been a sense of concern in those conversations.

Mearns: We talked candidly about concerns with declining state support and the threat posed by technology that might disrupt what we do in higher education. If you look at the demographic trends for Kentucky and the immediate area, the number of high school graduates is declining. So you have increasing competition coupled with a declining supply. That's a threat, particularly for an institution like ours that is increasingly dependent on tuition*. But it was in the context of talking about those challenges that I got a sense that people were optimistic.

*kentucky funding per full-time-equivalent studentKSU

UK

UL

MUSU

MOSU

EKU

Other Regionals Avg

WKU

NKU

$23,537,400 (2,003 FTE Students)

$283,869,300 (27,635 FTE Students)

$141,194,800 (18,720 FTE Students)

$48,005,800 (8,768 FTE Students)

$41,016,400 (7,741 FTE Students)

$67,673,700 (12,920 FTE Students)

Excludes KSU, NKU, UL, UK from calculation

$72,425,200 (16,003 FTE Students)

$46,835,100 (12,134 FTE Students)

$11,579

$10,272

$7,542

$5,475

$5,299

$5,238

$5,134

$4,526

$3,860

$ 1,274 Difference

x 12,134 NKU FTE Students

$15,458,716 NKU Deficit

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Northern: It seems that part of the sense of optimism comes from the fact that, compared to other regional universities, NKU is distinctive in a number of ways.

Mearns: There are universities that do a very good job of providing a distinctive academic experience for a particular type of student—traditional college students seeking traditional residential college experiences. And then there are some who do a very good job at providing for that post-traditional group—students who transfer from other institutions, or returning adults who may have gained some college credit along the way. I think we can be distinctive if we can do both of those really well.

Northern: Can you talk about the role NKU alumni play in the strategic plan?

Mearns: Vibrant institutions have an active, physical presence of alumni. They come to sporting events; they come to arts performances; they serve as mentors or do mock interviews for students. We have alumni at all levels of small, midsize, and large companies and civic organizations who can help a student prepare for an interview or expand their network. And maybe even go so far as to offer a student that first job.

Northern: You said that despite personal challenges, the last two years have been among the most rewarding of your life. Can you talk about the contrasts and similarities between your experiences as both a prosecutor and defense lawyer and that of being president of NKU?

Mearns: Having the honor of representing the United States in any capacity was tremendously rewarding. But in those cases you're obtaining a result for a limited number of people. Here, for all of us who are participating in higher education, the scope of the people we're helping every day is 15,000 or 16,000 students. And then if you think about the impact that you're having on those students and the concentric circles of the people they're helping—their family, their spouses, their children—that gives you a sense of the profound, systemic, and sustained impact we can have. That's pretty special.

Our Delivery…

of distinctive academic programs

Our Dedication…

to the development and wellbeing of our

people

Our Effectiveness…

in securing and managing resources

sustainably

Our Contribution…

to regional progress and economic

growth

Our Success…

in preparing outstanding

graduates for a global society

Our 2018 VisionNKU will be acclaimed by students, alumni, the region, and the commonwealth for:

Our MissionAs a public comprehensive university located in a major metropolitan area, Northern Kentucky University delivers innovative, student-centered education and engages in impactful scholarly and creative endeavors, all of which empower our graduates to have fulfilling careers and meaningful lives, while contributing to the economic, civic, and social vitality of the region.

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Our Core Values

Excellence Integrity Inclusiveness Innovation Collegiality

These are the core values that NKU embraces as we go about our work:

This past April, the Kentucky General Assembly appropriated $97 million of the state capital budget toward the construction of the Health Innovations Center at NKU. Here President Mearns talks about the importance of the center and the revolutionary health education that will take place within it.

Mearns: The Health Innovations Center has the potential to be a very significant engine that will drive the university over the next 20 to 25 years in terms of having a real, sustained, positive, lasting impact.

There are needs in the employment market for men and women who are trained in a variety of healthcare professions. We presently don't have the facility capacity to expand existing programs or add new programs, so there's an unmet demand on both sides of the equation in terms of employer demand as well as student interest.

Our idea is to train students in an interdisciplinary way—a transdisciplinary way. All of the research is starting to show that you get better outcomes if healthcare professionals are trained to treat a patient as a team rather than from different stations along an assembly line of treatment.

Every year there are thousands of healthcare mistakes that often result in injury or death for patients because of the lack of coordination and communication between healthcare professionals who should be working as a team. I think what's distinctive about what we're doing at NKU is our transdisciplinary programs. That's the key to the success of informatics. If we do it right, that's going to be the key to success in our Health Innovations Center. If you improve outcomes and reduce mistakes, you're necessarily going to drive down costs. And that's what we hope to accomplish.

The Coming Healthcare RevolutionNKU’s Health Innovations Center is about to become a reality

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Faculty/staFF

strongest inFluence

aWardDr. François Le RoyDr. François Le Roy

joined the full-time faculty of NKU in 1998. Since then, Le Roy has taught a variety of courses in modern Euro-pean and U.S. history.

François Le Roy was born and raised in Brittany, France, and graduated in 1987 from Université de Haute-Bretagne with a master's in history. Before earning his Ph.D. in history, Le Roy was assigned to the Press Service of the French Prime Minister.

In addition to teaching, Le Roy is also the director of the Office of Educa-tion Abroad as well as the executive director of the International Education Center. He has authored numerous academic publications and spoken at universities across the world, but his most notable work is evident in the lives of the faculty and students he has influenced at NKU.

outstanding young

alumnaShelley Heavrin Snyder

’05"Be kind, for everyone

you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

For NKU's Outstand-ing Young Alumna Award winner Shelley Heavrin Snyder, this is more than a familiar quotation—it's her life's work. As the executive director of the nonprofit Kentucky Circuit Court Clerks' Trust for Life, Snyder strategizes to increase organ donations through the commonwealth of Kentucky. Snyder travels from county to county, developing public relations and media campaigns, coordinating fundrais-ers and public education activities, and raising public awareness about the impor-tance of becoming an organ and tissue donor—all while overseeing the day-to-day operations of the organiza-tion.

Today, Snyder travels to all 120 Kentucky counties, proudly touting her NKU education while teaching others about the impor-tance of organ and tissue donation.

distinguished service aWard

Sheree L. Paolello ’96Sheree Paolello has been

cherished around the region as a news anchor on WLWT News 5 for nearly a decade. Paolello's service to NKU has included multiple turns as the emcee of the NKU Alumni Award Celebration, serving as a political debate moderator at the NKU Alumni Lecture Series, and inspiring students as a guest speaker in NKU communications classes for more than a decade. Still a journalist at heart, Paolello is involved at the ground level of WLWT broadcasts, contrib-uting to both the writing and editorial process.

In addition, Paolello works closely with numerous foundations, and she, her husband, and her three sons also raise money for research to fight against M.S., pancre-atic cancer, and lupus.

Paolello was emceeing the alumni awards once again this year when NKU surprised her with the Distinguished Service Award.

outstanding alumnus,

chase college oF laW

Larry C. Deener ’79"Dedication" describes

the life of Chase College of Law graduate Larry Deener. Dedication to family begins with his wife of 42 years, Martha. Dedication is also present in his relationship to his daughter, Elizabeth, who also works at the offices of Landrum and Shouse LLP in Lexington, Ky., where the father and daughter are law partners.

Deener's theme of dedica-tion can be seen in his service as an active duty captain in the United States Air Force prior to attending law school. After active duty, Deener attended NKU Chase College of Law, after which he served as a law clerk to the late Justice Robert O. Lukowsky of the Kentucky Supreme Court. In 1980, Deener joined Landrum and Shouse where he has practiced law ever since. He serves on numerous committees and founda-tions and is a former board member and board president of the Lexington Philharmonic Society as well as the current board chair of the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra Foun-dation. Deener remains an active private and commercial pilot and serves as the vice chair and treasurer for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board.

Sheree l. Paolello Dr. François le Roy Shelley heavrin Snyder larry C. Deener

visit nku.edu/features/2014.html to see the alumni award videos

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outstanding alumna,

college oF arts and sciences

Dr. Lindsay K. Hixson ’97When The Washington

Post, The New York Times, national policy makers, busi-ness consultants, or scholars from Harvard and beyond need up-to-date information on the ever-changing racial composition of the United States, to whom do they turn?

More than likely, it's 1997 NKU graduate Dr. Lindsay Hixson. Hixson is senior analyst in the racial statistics branch at the U.S. Census Bureau. Hixson analyzes race and ethnicity data, advises stakeholders, and researches strategies to improve how the Census Bureau collects and tabulates race and ethnic data to reflect the self-identities of the U.S. population.

Hixson earned her Ph.D. in sociology from University of Albany, State University of New York. She received a master's in sociology from Portland State University. During her graduate studies, Hixson taught 11 different courses in four universities, including NKU where she taught summer courses on racism and sexism.

outstanding alumnus, haile/u.s.

Bank college oF Business

John F. Neace ’79Good humor, street

smarts, compassion, and staying connected to your roots: These are the qualities that have made John Neace's professional ventures—especially Neace Lukens with its 500-plus nationwide employees—such a rousing success.

Neace earned his degree from NKU in 1979, and in 1991 he went on to cofound Neace Lukens, where he served as chair and CEO until 2012. Though founded and headquartered in Louisville, Neace Lukens currently has 22 offices in 10 states.

Neace's entrepreneur-ship goes far beyond the insurance industry. Neace opened Old 502 Winery in Louisville—a company dedicated to processing Kentucky-grown grapes. He has owned a majority stake in more than a dozen prominent businesses, including Ashley Furniture franchise stores, Neace Ventures Real Estate, Talon Logistics, and Blue River Cabinetry. Neace and his wife of 33 years, Penny, live in New Albany, Ind., and have three children—Jon Ryan, Max, and Katie.

outstanding alumna,

college oF education

and human services

Lisa Geiman Resing ’00,

’03, ’10 Resing is a leading force

for education in her position as principal of Florence Elementary School in Flor-ence, Ky. Resing's positive, student-focused, and self-motivated style as an educa-tional leader helps provide a strong commitment to the development of students and staff. Resing's years as an athlete—she helped take the NKU women's soccer team to the Final Four and brought home the national Division II championship for women's basketball in 2000—have transferred into her being a solid professional team player, leading her school community and colleagues through the development and implementation of new programs and activities.

During Resing's career she has also provided stu-dent instruction for NKU el-ementary education majors. Today, Resing resides with her husband, fellow NKU alum Joe Resing, and their two boys in Florence, Ky.

outstanding alumnus,

college oF inFormaticsJames A. Fortner ’87An economics and infor-

mation systems graduate from NKU, Jim Fortner im-mersed himself in IT, taking on internships with General Electric Aviation and work-ing with many companies in the area with projects in systems development. Per-haps most notable from his years as a student was the day he met his wife, Julie, on the volleyball court in the rec center, with whom he now has five children.

Fortner's emphasis on hard work and family has shaped the work he's done as a vice president of information technology and Global Business Services for P&G Worldwide, a company with which he's developed an expansive career since 1989. As P&G expanded globally in the 1990s, Fort-ner globalized its IT data center operations in both Europe and Asia. In 2010, Computerworld named Fortner a Top 100 global IT leader.

outstanding alumnus, college

oF health proFessions

Matt G. Stuart ’98Matt Stuart is a man of

many hats. Radiographer, business owner, firefighter, fire investigation team leader, HAZMAT unit specialist, and response advisor for terrorist events in the United States—in short, Stuart is the person you want at your side in nearly any emergency situation.

Stuart is a graduate of the NKU radiologic technology program and has served the northern Kentucky commu-nity in safety preparedness and education ever since earning his degree in 1998. Due to Stuart's emergency response training for WMD and terrorist attacks, he has taught preparedness to numerous fire departments across the region.

Stuart currently serves as the radiation safety officer for Campbell County and works with emergency management as the team leader for the Northern Kentucky Regional Weapons of Mass Destruction Hazardous Material Response Team. Stuart also received his paramedic license and has been active in teaching CPR, AED, first aid, and ACLS for the last 18 years to citizens, first responders, nurses, and medical students. His dedica-tion and passion for service have resulted in the safety and education of the greater NKU community.

Dr. lindsay K. hixson John F. Neace lisa Geiman Resing James a. Fortner matt G. Stuart

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AL

uM

NI

JOu

RN

Al

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Fuel the FlameWe just celebrated another com-

mencement this past May with more than 1,200 graduates. As we watch our graduates move into the next phase of their lives and careers, the NKU Alumni Association strives to strengthen the connection they made to NKU during their time on campus. Please take a moment to visit our website (alumni.nku.edu) and read about the many ways you can stay engaged with your former classmates, NKU staff, and faculty. This past year the association sponsored over 80 events, and we encourage you to join us at one of the many regional and national events we will host throughout the coming months.

As the university embarks on the new 2013–18 strategic plan, Fuel the Flame, I encourage each of you to participate in the future success of your alma mater. Engaging alumni is an integral part of the plan, and your support is crucial. It is never too late to connect with your university.

One of our top priorities this year is creating college-based alumni councils, and we’re off to a great start. We started the first Haile/U.S. Bank College of Busi-ness Alumni Council last September and just finished recruiting members of the first-ever NKU College of Informatics Alumni Council. Both of these brand-new groups are already working hard to foster lifelong bonds between those colleges and their alumni, students, faculty, and staff.

If you would like to learn more about NKU alumni benefits, events, and engagement opportunities or about our new college-based alumni councils, please do not hesitate to contact me or one of our alumni staff members for more information.

Go, Norse!Deidra S. FajackDirector Alumni Programs and Licensing

ALuMNI JOuRNAl

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1. Alumni enjoy chili at the annual Alumni Chili Cookoff before the 2014 Homecoming basketball game. 2. Lindsey Jaeger ’07 visits with alumni at the annual Spring Fling luncheon in the Student Union ballroom. 3. Gizmo the owl visits NKU alumni at the second annual Black and Gold Bash at the Cincinnati Zoo. 4. College of Business Alumni Council members celebrate after presenting the inaugural Haile/U.S. Bank College of Business Alumni Impact Award to Dr. Linda Marquis. 5. Victor, Rosie, and Mr. Redlegs join members of the Cincinnati Reds for the national anthem at NKU Night at the Reds. 6. Washington, D.C.-area alumni joined President Mearns and 12 NKU students for a “study away” program at a reception held at Hawk ‘n’ Dove. 7. Alumni who met their spouse or significant other at NKU celebrate at NKU’s first Norse Nuptials event. 8. Sheree Paolello’s husband and sons join her as she receives the 2013 NKU Alumni Award for Distinguished Service. 9. Alumni celebrate at the Alumni Homecoming Party in The Bank of Kentucky Vault following the Norse basketball game. 10. NKU alumni play giant-sized Jenga at NKU’s first-ever Alumni Block Party.

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@nkuedu: Where are you from, and how long have you held your current job? #SocialMediaRules

@mdcurley: Louisville. And almost five years. #DontAskMyAgeAgain

@nkuedu: How did #NKU help prepare you for your current career? #GoNorse #NorseNation

@mdcurley: Social media didn't exist when I was at #NKU! Journalism education prepared me for any medium and writing style, and copywriting applies nicely to tweets—boil down the message, entice to read more.

@nkuedu: Of course, proper spelling and stuff goes out the window. #ByeByePunctuation

@mdcurley: It's getting more and more difficult to honor those rules we learned in school! #SorryEnglishTeachers

@nkuedu: How did you land your current position? #NeedJobAdvice

@mdcurley: I wrote a description of the things I wanted to do for the zoo and sent it to COO Dave Jenike. My skill set fit perfectly with the zoo's needs, and I was hired! #luckyme

@nkuedu: How do you measure success in social media? #CountMyTweets

@mdcurley: It's a combo of the number of followers u have and how engaged they are. The zoo is lucky to have active and loyal social media ambassadors who help us share important messages.

@nkuedu: What’s the next social media tool we need to be ready for? #DoWeNeedSnapchat

@mdcurley: Instagram and Vine are popular and likely to stick around. Snapchat is huge right now but businesses will have to be creative to effectively use a tool that erases your message after a few seconds.

@mdcurley: Perhaps NKU students could help the zoo come up with a good Snapchat promotion?! #Please….

@nkuedu: Hmm. We don’t know. That sounds like homework. I think we’ve said enough. Thanks! #worried

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ZooTweetsTwitter talk with the Cincinnati Zoo’s social media guru

ZooTweetsTwitter talk with the Cincinnati Zoo’s social media guru

ZooTweetsTwitter talk with the Cincinnati Zoo’s social media guru

ZooTweetsTwitter talk with the Cincinnati Zoo’s social media guru

Michelle Curley (@mdcurley) could say her life is a bit of a zoo—and she would be telling the truth. The NKU grad is the online communications manager for the Cincinnati

Zoo, which means, among other tasks, she maintains their social media networks.

Curley’s advice for businesses and educators? “Have an active social media presence. It's the

best place to find customers and students.” We invited her along for a Twitter chat.

—Ryan Clark

Follow

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C L A S S NOTEs

1976ken leeds (speech) has recently been appointed director of sales for Quality Casing Company in hebron, Ky.

1978thomas donnelly (anthro-pology) has been named Ath-letic Director of the Year for Southwest ohio for his work at Cincinnati Public School's

Walnut hills high School. During his ten-ure he has raised the level of the football team as well as added numerous sports at the school.

sheri rolf (biology) has completed her Master of Music in clarinet performance at University of Montana and is playing for the Great Falls Symphony orchestra and the Yellowstone Chamber Players.

1981jana camm (Master of education) has been promoted to associate professor teaching education in the protective and professional services division at Gateway Community and Technical College.

1983carol henderson Blackburn (psychol-ogy) has been recognized in the July 2013 issue of Cincinnati Magazine as a "Five Star Professional" realtor while celebrating her 20th anniversary with Sibcy Cline Realtors.

1987/1988harold kremer (accounting 1987) and george sparks (accounting 1988) have recently combined their north-ern Kentucky firm Bertke, Sparks, and Kremer—ranked 22nd locally—with Barnes Dennig, which is ranked sixth lo-cally. This combination will allow Barnes Dennig to provide enhanced service to Kentucky clients and will provide access to broader resources for the clients of Bertke, Sparks, and Kremer.

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1989john dietz (public administration) is currently serving as the benefits super-visor at Cincinnati Retirement System. Dietz earned his M.P.A. from University of Colorado Denver and is serving as sec-retary of the Friends of Linden Grove, Inc.

uyen pho (computer science) has added her own line of beauty products to Winter Springs Salon, which she owns and operates in Winter

Springs, Fla. Pho attended a recent nKU alumni event in orlando and shared her amazing personal story, which is presented here in her own words: “My name is Uyen Pho, and I was born in Saigon, South Vietnam. My family escaped from the communist regime after my father was released from a concentration camp. We lost everything but not the most important thing: We had each other and found freedom. I came here as a teenager and attended Northern Kentucky University. I graduated in 1989 with a B.S. in computer science. I found my first job in corporate America and lived in Kentucky almost seven years. I finally decided to move to Florida to be closer to my family. Ten years ago I almost died of cancer and I lost my best friend and husband of 25 years, Vinh Nguyen, to cancer. These experiences have taught me how important it is to share your life with others. Life is a gift. When you come from a situation in which your family has had to leave everything behind, or when your health and that of your life partner is in jeopardy, you come to realize how important relationships with others are. My mission is to empower and inspire others to live life to the fullest and make a difference in the world. True security and wellbeing come not from what we own but who we are and the love we give and receive in our lives. I want to remind people not to take for granted. Love itself is a gift. God bless.”

1990linda Black (B.A. in education; master in education) is entering her second year as principal at Yealey elementary School in Boone County. The school's 50th anniversary coincides with the 50th anniversary of Lego, and they used 50 Years Strong Building a Lego-acy as their theme.

1992holly michelle deeley-Wilhite (speech) has been promoted to professor teaching oral communication in the arts, humani-ties, and social science division at Gate-way Community and Technical College.

regan Forman (fine arts) is the new vice president of strategic planning and con-sumer products for nickelodeon Corp. She and her family just moved from Los Angeles to Montclair, n.J., where she commutes into new York City to her new position on the 41st floor of the Viacom building at Broadway and 45th Street.

1993charles hollis (history, political sci-ence) has founded The hollis Law Firm, LLC. It is located in Anderson Township and handles immigration and personal injury cases. hollis has been named a Super Lawyer in the field of immigration law for the 2014 edition of ohio Super Lawyers magazine. Fluent in Russian and conversational in French and German, hollis has counseled clients from over 100 countries.

1995Bob Beatrice (psychology) has founded his own insurance agency—Beatrice Insurance Agency—which is located in northern Kentucky and is a full-service, independent agency licensed in Kentucky, ohio, and Indiana. Bob's daughter Stephanie has joined him in his business.

1996juli hale (journalism) joined Forza Marketing, an estab-lished and rapidly growing downtown public relations and marketing agency as

manager of multiple local and interna-tional accounts.

jamie ramsey (sociology, Chase '99), a veteran litigator who focuses his prac-tices on litigation and dispute resolution, is a new litigation partner with the law firm of Calfee, halter, and Griswold LLP. Ramsey represents both private and public companies in complex commer-cial litigation including breach of con-tract claims, fiduciary duty claims, busi-

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Pappy Van Winkle. Enough Said.harlen Wheatley, Buffalo trace's master distiller

ness torts, unfair competition claims, shareholder derivative lawsuits, fraud and the dissolution of LLCs, and part-nerships and closely held corporations.

1997cindy dehlinger (Master of Science in nursing) has been added to the staff at Christ hospital as a certified nurse prac-titioner with the Christ hospital Pelvic Floor Center.

1998Brian Weinrich (social studies, Master of education 2004) has been named the new head football coach at highlands high School. he will replace Coach Dale Mueller, who has led highlands to 11 state titles over 20 seasons. Weinrich is also a social studies teacher at high-lands Middle School.

1999anita adkins (social work) has a picture to share of her family—Mi-chael Adkins '12, Steven

Fischer '05, Kari Adkins Fischer '07, and Anita Zike Adkins '99—along with future norse Jonah Fischer (age 6), Brianna Fischer (age 8), Micah Fischer (age 3), and elijah Fischer (age 11 months) all showing their norse pride by throwing up their norse at Mt. Rushmore.

shannon mullane kramer (fine arts in acting) is using her nKU degree by sing-ing the national anthem at the Bengals game, as lead singer for the Stays in Vegas local band, and by teaching voice to up-and-coming singers at the School of Rock in Mason, ohio.

2000sara jackson (speech) has joined Scooter Media in Covington as vice president of client services. Jackson brings more than 13 years of public relations and market-ing experience to the agency. Scooter Media is owned by nKU alumni Shannan Boyer '00 and Marty Boyer '99.

2001albert "Bo" drake (speech) has been ap-pointed executive director for Ivy Tech Corporate College in the Southwest Re-gion. Drake brings with him experience

We all think about the future. People like harlen Wheatley ('91) quite literally make it. As master distiller at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Ky., it's his job to make sure that the 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle that's consumed in 2037 is actually made in 2014.

"When you talk to people who don't know much about bourbon they're always surprised at how long term it is," Wheatley says. "They'll say, 'Why don't you just make more of it?' Well, because it's not that easy. Making bourbon takes time."

Wheatley, a Kentucky native who has dual degrees in chemistry (nKU) and chemical engineering (University of Kentucky), came to Buffalo Trace fresh out of college in 1995 as the distillery supervisor. he was named distillery manager in 2000 and then five years later was promoted to master distiller, just the sixth person to helm the position for 240-year-old Buffalo Trace, the country's oldest continuously operated distillery since the Civil War.

"The history and the legacy of this work have always interested me," says Wheatley. "And I got lucky because I

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SUMMeR 2014

never wanted to leave Kentucky.”his is a job that requires him to be

part chemist, part project manager, part promoter. Beyond being sure that, say, the Stagg Jr. is infused with the right hints of chocolate and brown sugar, there are ingredient orders to manage, a swath of regulatory paperwork to file, and new shipments of barrels to examine. At least once a month Wheatley is on the road, hosting public tasting events in places as far away as Australia and Scotland. "Talking to people, educating them about bourbon, is something I love doing," says Wheatley.

The level of interest in what Wheatley produces is something he couldn't have envisioned when he first arrived at Buffalo Trace 19 years ago. Back then the distillery was a small, struggling operation that offered just a handful of bourbons. "They couldn't afford to even really hire me," jokes Wheatley. But then the foodie boom came, and with it an appreciation for finely crafted liquors, Buffalo Trace bourbons especially. Today, a single bottle of Pappy Van Winkle can retail for up to $3,500.

of course, Wheatley hasn't just ridden that success; he's helped shape it, leading the creation of 10 additional bourbons and greatly expanding the operation. Last August, Buffalo Trace began running its distillery around the clock, doubling production to 800 barrels a day. Wheatley's craft has not gone unrecognized. In February he was named a James Beard finalist for outstanding Wine, Spirits, or Beer Professional, the second time he's received the honor.

A portion of that success he credits to nKU, which he says offered him an unmatched education in chemistry. "It was exactly what I was after," he says. "The classes were small; the teachers were great; and I learned so much. I remember arriving at UK and having such an advantage over the other chemical engineering students. What I learned at nKU made me a better engineer."

And a better distiller. Bourbon fans can certainly drink to that.

—ian aldrich

in training, coaching, and consulting with agency owners and sales managers in multiple states while working at na-tionwide Insurance in Columbus, ohio.

2002charles Warburton (mathematics) has been promoted to associate professor teaching mathematics in the develop-mental education and orientation to college division at Gateway Community and Technical College.

2003jeff Ballard (M.P.A.) was named executive director case advocacy-east with the Tax-payer Advocate Service, an independent office within IRS. he provides executive oversight for 74 offices and over a thou-sand employees that assist taxpayers in resolving issues with the IRS.

t. eric Bates (anthropology, master in lib-eral studies '06) has had his book Native American Identity, Christianity, and Critical Contextualization published by Cherohala Press. The book is based on his master's thesis. Bates regularly teaches a section of AnT 230 north American Indians at nKU each fall semester.

craig gray (education, master of edu-cational leadership '06) has accepted a teaching position at the American embassy School in new Delhi, India. Gray has been teaching for the past four years at the Anglo-American School of St. Petersburg, Russia. Prior to moving overseas he taught in Chandler, Ariz., and Cincinnati.

2004Bree main (journalism) has worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates since 2007. She married husband, Kevin, in 2005, and they welcomed their son, Cooper, to the family Jan. 24, 2013.

2005justin lawrence (Chase) was named to the Thompson Reuters Super Lawyers list of Rising Stars for 2013 and 2014. he is the principal of the law firm Lawrence and Associates in Florence, Ky., and focuses his practice in personal injury civil litigation, workers' compensation, and bankruptcy.

2006kyle shumate (marketing) has recently been named business development manager at BlueStar. Shumate recently served as marketing manager for Dins-more and Shohl LLP.

2008d. michael mcgowan (M.B.A.) has been named vice president of client leader-ship for dunnhumbyUSA, the world's leading customer science company. he is responsible for driving engagement with consumer packaged goods clients. he previously served as associate direc-tor and director of client leadership—working with consumer packaged goods clients focusing on the development and implementation of customer-centric strategies across their organizations.

david stetter (psychology), program ad-visor of fraternity/sorority life at Univer-sity of Southern Indiana, was the recipi-ent of the 2013 Fraternity and Sorority Advisor of the Year at the Lambda Chi Alpha annual Stead Leadership Seminar. This is awarded to an advisor who has rendered exemplary service to the Greek system on a particular campus or on a number of campuses.

2009Brian Budai (political science, Chase '12) has joined the Garretson Resolution Group as a mass tort attorney in its Cin-cinnati office. GRG is a neutral provider of services to parties who are settling personal injury claims.

steven doan (economics, Chase '12) has joined the Covington law firm of Taliaferro, Carran, and Keys as an as-sociate, primarily practicing in the ar-eas of personal injury, family law, and criminal law.

justin otto (M.P.A.) started working with the largest real estate investment trust in the United States, Simon Property Group. otto's assignments with Simon allowed him to spend time in Indianapo-lis; Columbus, ohio; and, most recently, Memphis, Tenn. While at Simon, Justin won the Value enhancement Leadership Award and executed one of the nation's largest shopping center active-shooter

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Ted Harris. Courtesy of Schlachter University Archives, W. Frank Steely Library, Northern Kentucky University

Falling into Historyted harris keeps african american history alive at nku’s schlachter archives

When Ted harris left the U.S. navy, he looked for the closest, most affordable school where he could pursue a degree in history. now, 40 years later, he is leaving his legacy at northern Kentucky University. The 1973 graduate recently donated all of the artifacts he collected while documenting local African American heritage and history to nKU’s Steely Library.

harris did not set out to be a historian. he was a technical writer at General electric for 34 years in evansville, Ind., and wrote maintenance manuals and worked with engineers on the military side of the corporation. But through his education and personal background he knew that much of northern Kentucky’s African American history was undocumented. harris also knew that many of the people who knew the history were dying off. his family and friends had photographs and old stories, but there was no central repository for the information.

So Ted harris started asking around. If people had pictures that showed the region’s education, history, politics, civic organizations, fraternal organizations, or architecture, harris would ask to borrow and copy them.

“Working at Ge, I knew people in the lab who took photographs of jet engines who could help me,” harris says. “We set up a dark room, and I learned about flashes, ring lights, and how to cut down on shadow.”

harris started searching for pictures in the 1970s and now has information that dates back to the turn of the century. he found

drills collaborating with local and fed-eral law enforcement agencies.

2012lisa gentry-Fay (nurse executive leader) has been promoted to special needs pop-ulation program manager and disease management nurse at ATRIo health Plans. She also welcomed a son—Sawyer Joel Fay—last June.

paul spence (anthropology/geology) moved to new Mexico for the Master of Anthropology program at eastern new Mexico University. his thesis is a lithic study of artifacts found at Tsiping'uinge, an ancestral Pueblo ruin north of Santa Fe, n.M. he is also working as a research/teaching assistant at enMU, where he is part of an ancestral Pueblo ceram-ics project that hopes to identify a new type of pottery, and he helps students learn about maps and presentations in archeology.

lindsey m. Watson (accounting), certi-fied public accountant, has joined the growing staff of Cooney Faulkner and Stevens, LLC. Watson's accounting and business consulting experience includes assisting clients with budgeting, cash flow projections, and analysis of finan-cial statements.

2013casey robinson (Chase) has joined Lawrence and Associates LLC in Flor-ence as an associate. her primary area of practice is Chapters 7 and 13 debtor's bankruptcies. In addition to her work in federal court, Robinson will also assist in trial preparation for civil litigation in Kentucky state court. She was previously a judicial extern for the honorable Mar-tin Sheehan and a summer fellow with the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky.

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noRTheRnTell us what you’re up to!NAME: __________________________________________________________________________ADDRESS: __________________________________________________________________________________________________TELEPHONE: (___________)_____________________________________________________EMAIL: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________GRAD YEAR/MAJOR: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________WHAT’S NEW WITH YOU? NEW BABY? SPOUSE AN NKU GRAD? NEW JOB OR A PROMOTION? EARN ANOTHER DEGREE SINCE YOU LEFT NORTHERN? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Send to:NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITYOffice of Alumni Programs421 Old Johns Hill RoadHighland Heights, KY 41099

Are you firmly planted in the digital age? Then fill out our online form to let us know what’s new with you. If you’ve got a new baby, we’ll send a gift for your baby! alumni.nku.edu.

SUMMeR 2014

Ted Harris. Courtesy of Schlachter University Archives, W. Frank Steely Library, Northern Kentucky University

photographs of the original First Baptist Church on Greenup; Isaac Black, the first black lawyer in Kentucky; the Buffalo Soldiers; African American-owned stores throughout Covington and newport; and a photo of St. Joseph Church in Covington after a tornado toppled its steeple in 1915.

In Steely Library’s eva G. Farris Special Collections, the items donated by harris join papers from prominent local politicians, businesses, and organizations. “Ted was a founding member of the northern Kentucky African American heritage Task Force, and his collection adds breadth and depth to those collections and others on this subject,” says Lois hamill, university archivist. hamill says that in addition to the collection, harris also made a planned gift to pay for the processing and upkeep of the artifacts. “Ted was astute enough to recognize that it requires resources to properly rehouse archival collections in order to preserve them for use as well as to arrange them and describe them so that researchers might discover them. he generously gave a financial gift to support that work for his collection,” hamill says.

The collection, which hamill anticipates will continue to grow, is stored in the eva G. Farris Special Collections and Schlachter Archives at W. Frank Steely Library. It is open to the public and to all university and community researchers. —molly Williamson

For more information about the eva G. Farris Special Collections and Schlachter Archives, visit steelyarchives.nku.edu.

Theodore H. H. Harris Local History Research Papers, Eva G. Farris Special Collections, W. Frank Steely

it’s been said that snakes

project their mood and intent

through physical movements and

“body language.” We’re not sure

what happened in the immediate

aftermath of this photo, but clearly

the student in the striped shirt did

not like what he was seeing.

this snake (reticulated python?),

however, was no ordinary apex

predator. as far as we know, he

never hurt anyone. in fact, rumor

has it that the snake had the power

to raise your grade-point average in

a certain professor’s class.

is this true? do you know the

story? do you know the year of

the photo, the snake’s name, or

the name of the professor? What

about the students? let us know

at northernmagazine@nku.edu!

thankssssss!

NON-PROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE

paidCOLUMBUS, OH

PERMIT NO. 4416

NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

OFFICE OF ALUMNI PROGRAMS

421 OLD JOHNS HILL ROAD

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY 41099

NKu Schlacter archives presents... mystery photo!

solve the mystery For nku history!