May 2013
This month 2,092 BGSU students joined the ranks of Falcon alumni when they graduated at our May commencement. While all the students had their own unique story, particular highlights for me included Logan Wolph, the youngest graduate in our history; BGSU Firelands student Felicia Turner, who overcame enormous obstacles to attend college; and staunch BGSU supporter J. Robert Sebo '58 receiving an honorary doctorate.
There were also many graduates such as Travis Lohse who depended on the generosity of alumni and friends for scholarship assistance in order to realize their dreams of a degree from BGSU.
A new gift from Falcon Flames Paul '75 and Margo '74 Hooker will afford even more students the opportunity to attend BGSU through the Hookers' $160,000 pledge for our prestigious Alumni Laureate Scholars program. Now in its 10th year, the program provides extraordinary students with full tuition and opportunities for alumni mentoring and campus leadership.
Congratulations to the BGSU baseball team, under the direction of Danny Schmitz, on winning the MAC Tournament for the first time since 1999! Best of luck as they take on the Louisville Cardinals tonight at 6 p.m. EST, airing on ESPN3, and progress to additional play on Saturday.
Also, congratulations to Brooke Pleger, who won the NCAA East Regional in the hammer throw. Currently ranked fifth in the country, Brooke is the first regional champion in BGSU women's track and field history and a favorite to win the national championship.
Three faculty members in the Department of Sociology will be digging deeper into the issue of neighborhood change and violence in adolescence and early adulthood thanks to a $417,000 grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The team, made up of Drs. Ray Swisher, Danielle Kuhl and Jorge Chavez, will spend the next three years researching the topic with the help of a graduate student as well as undergraduates.
As we look ahead to June, Tom Limbert, a 1991 graduate in English literature, has inspiring words
of wisdom for Father's Day in his new book, "Dad's Playbook: Wisdom for Fathers from the Greatest Coaches of All Time."
June is also peak baseball season, so register here to join us for BGSU Alumni Night with the Toledo Mud Hens on June 18 at Fifth Third Field in Toledo.
Summer brings many opportunities for activities at BGSU, including a variety of sports and music camps as well as the popular Falcon Millionaires, a week long financial literacy day camp. We will also welcome more than 3,000 new students to campus at Student Orientation, Advising and Registration.
I hope you save some time this summer for reading! I highly recommend our campus Common Reading Experience selection,"Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen," by Christopher McDougall. Keep up to date with weekly reading recommendations from faculty, staff and students on our University website.
BGSU continues our national leadership in the area of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. The program was named third in the nation in U.S. News and World Report's 2014 listing of best graduate programs in the discipline, up a notch from last year.
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
Updated: 03/09/2020 09:12AM