1970s
Michael Chanak Jr., BS ’71, Cincinnati, OH, wrote, “I was invited to speak to a group of 16 students at Northern Kentucky University who enrolled in the course Queer Activism, hosted by the Honors College and taught by Dr. Bonnie Meyer, director of LGBTQ Programs and Services, for Gay History Month in October 2021. I also spoke at the city of Cincinnati’s LGBTQIA+ employee resource group in October. The two P&G videos on the history of inclusion at P&G that I appeared in (The Words Matter and Out of the Shadows) have been subtitled in Mandarin and 14 other languages. In 2022, it will be 30 years since the change I advocated for was made to P&G’s non-discrimination policy.”
James Ellor, BS ’73, McGregor, TX, arrived at Kent in fall 1970. During his time at Kent State, he initiated the McElrath/Skeels Rehabilitation Group and served in the University Year for Action and Volunteers in Service to America (now AmeriCorps VISTA). He went on to McCormick Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago to become both a social worker and Presbyterian minister. He earned a DMin. and PhD from Chicago Theological Seminary while working at the University of Chicago to bridge religious and spiritual concerns of older adults.
He taught at National Louis University for 21 years and at Baylor University for 17 years, recently retiring from Baylor as the Dorothy Barfield Kronzer Endowed Professor Emeritus in Family Studies at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Asbury Theological Seminary. He has written 10 books, more than 150 juried articles and is an internationally known speaker on the topic of religion and aging.
Ellor has been the general editor of the Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging for the past 23 years. He is currently the co-general editor of the new Encyclopedia of Death and Dying (Routledge Press).
His work with the local community in Ravenna, Ohio, started him on a 50-year career to serve people in communities and churches, training students on these topics and filling gaps in the literature. In his retirement, he continues to offer counseling for first responders and to support churches with ministries for older adults.
M. Scott McBride, BM ’76, MM ’78, DuBois, PA, retired as chancellor of Penn State DuBois, effective July 1, 2021. He received a Nittany Lion statue from the DuBois Educational Foundation board members in recognition and appreciation of his service. Under his direction, Penn State DuBois raised more than $12 million, mostly in support of student scholarships. The funds also helped establish the North Central PA LaunchBox, one of 21 entrepreneurial centers the university has founded across the state to promote economic growth in the region.
Before coming to Penn State DuBois in March 2017, McBride was dean of the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Morehead State University in Kentucky, beginning in 2008. Prior to that he was chair of the department of music and a professor of music at Morehead State. In 1990, he earned a doctorate in philosophy of music education from the University of Oklahoma.
Rick Haines, BBA ’77, MBA ’89, North Canton, OH, was named president and CEO of Aultman Health Foundation as of July 1, 2021. He previously was president and CEO of AultCare, the Aultman Health Foundation’s affiliated insurance company, since 2001. AultCare has been named among Best Insurance Companies by U.S. News & World Report over multiple years for its Medicare Advantage Plan. Haines’ volunteer work includes past board chairmanships with the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and Kent State University at Stark.
Annalisa Stubbs Williams, BA ’77, Akron, OH, was selected to serve on the Kent State University Alumni Association’s National Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2021. The 21-member volunteer board meets quarterly.
In May 2022, she was honored as a Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, and she received the University of Akron School of Law's Outstanding Law Alumni Award.
After graduating from Kent State with a degree in political science, Williams earned master’s and law degrees from The University of Akron. She was elected to the Akron bench in 2003 and has started and presided over several programs in the court, including the Mental Health Court.