Dear Alumni and Friends,

It's hard to believe that the academic year — my first at BGSU — is coming to a close.

It's been a busy and exciting spring. We're extremely proud of the more than 300 students who took part in this year's annual Dance Marathon. The 32-hour event raised a record $225,000 for the local Children's Miracle Network.

Did you hear about journalism alumnus Chris Hawley? We were so pleased to learn that Chris, '95, was part of a team of journalists at The Associated Press that was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.

We hosted another outstanding Sebo Series in Entrepreneurship last Friday. Our students, faculty, and guests had the opportunity to hear from and meet alumna Jodi Berg, '88, president and CEO of VitaMix; alumnus Doug Cahill, '82, president and CEO of Oreck; coaching legend Lou Holtz; and Michael Thaman, CEO of Owens Corning.

We've hired Jennifer Roos as the new head coach for women's basketball. Jennifer is no stranger to BGSU, having spent 11 years as an assistant coach. We look forward to continued success under her leadership. Speaking of athletics, take a minute to vote to bring ESPN GameDay to BGSU! The sports giant will film a commercial this summer at the school with the highest number of votes.

Mark your calendar. I hope you will come back to Bowling Green for Homecoming 2012 on September 29. There will be reunions for the classes of 1962 and 1972, and the football game against the University of Rhode Island.

I'm continuing my visits to alumni chapters across the country. Next up are visits in Dayton, Toledo, and Asheville, North Carolina. I encourage you to join us if I'm in your community. The schedule is 
available here.

This weekend, we'll be awarding over 2,000 degrees at our spring commencement ceremonies. One of our outstanding new graduates is Cory Tuttle, who will receive a business degree in supply chain management. Cory is a scholarship recipient who studied abroad for a year in Alsace, France. He also worked at internships for Goodyear in Shanghai, China, and Akron. Cory has accepted a job with the company as a procurement specialist.

If you would like to help students like Cory, consider a gift to support scholarships at BGSU. And be sure to check out stories about some of our other outstanding graduates that we'll be highlighting this week on our website.

In the spirit of alumni giving back, what advice or wisdom would offer our new BGSU graduates? Share your thoughts on my Facebook page.

Regards,

Mary Ellen Mazey, Ph.D.
President