Fall/Winter 2020-21 Class Notes

1970s

Michael Chanak Jr., BS ’71, Cincinnati, LGBTQ+ activist and former Procter & Gamble employee, appears in the short film They Will See You: LGBTQ+ Visibility in Advertising, created by P&G in partnership with Great Big Story. The film explores the history of LBGTQ+ advertising and highlights the inspirational people whose lives have been impacted by seeing their stories represented on screen.

In May 2020, Chanak was part of a P&G/CNN virtual press conference with Kate Bolduan, CNN moderator; Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO of GLAAD; Brent Miller, P&G LGBTQ Global Equality Leader; and Marc Pritchard, P&G Chief of Brands, where the film was introduced.

He was one of the people profiled in the June 2020 issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine in a P&G spread for Pride month. P&G also asked him to contribute his perspective on their website in response to the June 15, 2020 ruling by the US Supreme Court, which states that an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And he was listed in “The Moments that Shaped Cincinnati’s LGBTQ History” in the June 2020 issue of Cincinnati Magazine.

Thomas J. Friel, BBA ’71, Augusta, Ga., wrote, “I volunteer at Golden Master's Table every week to help the needy. We feed 250 to 300 people each day.”

Marjory M. Pizzuti, BA ’72, Columbus, Ohio, who has served as president and CEO of Goodwill Columbus since 2005, announced her plans to retire in August. Pizzuti’s executive leadership experience in the community spans 40 years. Prior to joining Goodwill, she served for a decade as senior vice president of strategic marketing and community development at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and held key leadership positions for more than 20 years in economic development and tourism marketing, communications and public affairs for the State of Ohio and City of Columbus.

During her tenure at Goodwill, Pizzuti has guided the agency through the most significant growth in its 80-year history. She will continue serving in her current role through the completion of the search for her successor, which is anticipated to happen in the first quarter of 2021.

Carter Strang, BS ’73, MEd ’79, Shaker Heights, Ohio, partner in the law firm Tucker Ellis, was elected chair of the Cleveland Council on World Affairs (CCWA) Board of Directors effective July 1, 2020. He is a member of CCWA’s education committee and a longstanding participant in CCWA’s programs. CCWA’s mission is to inspire engagement in international affairs and world cultures through education, citizen diplomacy and civic dialogue.

Gary Fincke, PhD ’74, Selisgrove, Pa., wrote the essay, “After the Three-Moon Era,” which originally appeared in the Kenyon Review and has been selected to appear in Best American Essays 2020. A story, “The Corridors of Longing,” has been chosen to appear in Best Small Fictions 2020. His ninth collection of stories, The Sorrows, was published early this year, and his fourteenth collection of poems, The Mussolini Diaries, will be published in late 2020.

Daniel Gallik, MEd ’74, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, recently had his second novel, Love on Blue Waves, published by Halo Press. The book, which explores what love is really about, takes place in the Buckeye section of Cleveland in the sixties. His first novel, A Story of Dumb Fate, is about a child with disabilities who lived in the same neighborhood. Both novels are for sale at amazon.com. Gallik once attended seminars and poetry readings at the Kiva.

Michael N. Oser, BA ’75, Columbus, Ohio, is proud to announce that, after 30 years as a divorce attorney, he is also known as Marriage Mike, the publisher of Marriage Mike e-books 2021, with the intent of helping people avoid marital disharmony and follow a positive path towards happiness. Although his career as an attorney practicing criminal defense, juvenile and family law includes terminating marriages, he is now reflecting on what he has learned about keeping harmony in marital relationships from sociology professors at Kent State, professional experiences, his first marriage and divorce, and his current marriage of 35 years. He is working on an e-book, A Guide to an Irish Wedding. If you have pictures, articles, or stories of an Irish wedding—yours or someone else’s—please email him at marriagemikeebooks2021@yahoo.com.

David J. Bronczek, BBA ’76, Johns Creek, Ga., has been appointed to the board of directors of Tyson Foods as of May 2020. Bronczek is the recently retired president and chief operating officer of FedEx Corporation, the global logistics and transportation company. He was part of FedEx for more than 40 years, starting as a courier and progressing into the company’s management ranks. His roles included leading FedEx Express in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and later serving for 17 years as president and CEO of FedEx Express. A native of Ohio, he also has experience as an independent public company director, previously serving on the board of International Paper, and he served as United Way Mid-South Board Chairman.

Edward R. Canda, BA ’76, Lawrence, Kan., retired as Professor Emeritus at the end of 2019 after 33 years as a social work professor, the last 30 at the University of Kansas. He also has an MA in religious studies (University of Denver) and MSW and PhD degrees (The Ohio State University). His work focused on two main areas: 1) creative responses to crisis, chronic illness and disability; 2) international perspectives on social welfare, with many collaborations in East Asia and Central Europe.

He established a life-long special interest in South Korea due to his Fulbright Award and Graduate Fellowship at Sungkyunkwan University, 1976-1977, arranged by his KSU advisor, Dr. Gerard Kennedy (in memoriam) and encouraged by the Honors College. He has more than 200 publications and more than 200 presentations.

In 2003, the KSU Honors College conferred him with the Honors College Alumni Award for Excellence in Scholarship. In 2013, the national Council on Social Work Education conferred him with the Significant Lifetime Achievement in Social Work Education Award.

Paul M. Hedeen, BA ’76, Monroe, Mich., wrote, “After taking my BA in English and a short stint in business, I returned to graduate school for an MA and PhD in English from The University of Akron and Northwestern University respectively. I went on to teach at the University of Maine at Fort Kent (1990-1994) and Wartburg College (1994-2012) before finishing my career as an academic dean at Monroe County Community College. I won three teaching awards. I am also an award-winning writer (poetry and fiction) and a Fulbright scholar.  My critical and creative writing has appeared in numerous magazines and journals including The North American Review, Confrontation, Rosebud, Philosophy and Literature, and many others.

“In addition to my most recent novel, The Butterfly (BHC, 2019), which is a 2019 Foreword INDIES Book Awards finalist, I have also published the novel The Knowledge Tree (Wide Water, 2013). I am the co-editor (with DG Myers) of the essay collection Unrelenting Readers: The New Poet-critics (Story Line, 2004), and I authored two poetry collections: When I Think About Rain (Final Thursday, 2009) and Under a Night Sky, (Final Thursday, 2016).

“I began at KSU in fall of 1971. Because the Vietnam War was not yet lost, KSU was a place full of active debate of and resistance to government policies. I worked at the Student Center with Mr. Dean Kahler, and I remember him as an articulate and courageous critic of the war and a defender of freedoms for which he’d already made a profound sacrifice. Like many young people, I was just beginning to understand these freedoms often come at a terrible price. I was lucky to be at KSU, a great school just beginning to shoulder its burden of history.”

David Schwartz, BA ’76, Cleveland, has spent the last 30 years in LA as a director/artist/writer in television animation. He has worked on numerous animated series, including Darkwing Duck, Johnny Bravo, The Simpsons, Rugrats and Bugs Bunny. He has spent most of his career at the Walt Disney Company and Warner Brothers Studios, but he has also worked at Dreamworks, the Cartoon Network, and drawn comics for DC and Marvel, among others. He retired last year and is currently an adjunct professor in the animation department at the Cleveland Institute of Art. 

Charles Lance Mathess, BS ’77, MPA ’78, Cody, Wyo., served over 30 years with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and retired in 2009 after attaining the rank of Staff Lieutenant in the Strategic Services Section at General Headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. After retirement, he and his wife, Dianne, moved to Cody, Wyoming, where he served over nine years with the Park County Sheriff’s Office as their Public Affairs Officer and Search and Rescue Coordinator. He retired for good in February 2020. Says Mathess, “I felt public service was my calling in life, and I am proud to have served over 40 years in law enforcement.” He is an avid outdoorsman, hiker and hunter. He and Dianne have two grown children.

David Swartzlander, BA ’77, Seward, Neb., was inducted into the John A. Boyd Hall of Fame by College Media Association (CMA) at its National College Media Convention in November, 2019, in Washington, DC. Swartzlander, an associate professor of practice in journalism at Doane University in Crete, Neb., served as vice president and president of CMA from 2009–2013. He also has served on various committees within the organization and presented numerous times at conventions. The award is the most prestigious honor given by CMA, recognizing longtime members whose dedication, commitment and sacrifice have contributed to the betterment and value of student media programs of both the campus and nation.

Swartzlander is one of 40 advisers to be honored in the organization's 66 years. He has taught journalism at Doane University for 22 years. He advised the student newspaper, yearbook and magazine for 21 years. He advised the website since its inception more than 15 years ago. Before Doane, Swartzlander worked as a journalist for daily newspapers in Ohio, Florida, New York and Nebraska. He retired in May 2020 from teaching at Doane University.

Gerald Canton, BA ’79, MA ’98, Chagrin Falls, Ohio, was reelected in November 2019 for a second term of office as a member of South Russell Village Council. He is also a member of the Chagrin Falls Village Schools substitute teaching staff. Canton and his wife, Darleane, who retired from KSU as an administrative assistant, enjoy visiting the Kent Campus and attend sporting events and performing arts throughout the year. They are the parents of seven children and eleven grandchildren.

Donald Funk, BArc ’79, Canton, Ohio, wrote, “In October 2019, KSU Architecture Class of 1979 held their 40th Class Reunion in Kent. Events included a campus tour conducted by Marti Ring, a reception and state of the college talk by the dean of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design and a dinner downtown. It was attended by more than 30 returning classmates. Many of us had spent part of our fourth years in Florence, Italy, and traveling all over Europe. We plan on having our 45th Reunion in fall 2024.”

Ronna S. Kaplan, MA ’79, Cleveland, was recently awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) Board of Directors. In 1988, she began her clinical career at the renowned Cleveland Music Settlement, where she developed programming and treatment plans for children and families as part of an interdisciplinary team. She also lent her expertise to supervising interns and practicum students while undertaking community and medical setting research.

Never one to shrink away from a challenge, Kaplan quickly assumed expanded responsibilities at the Settlement—as senior staff supervisor, quality assurance coordinator, director of the Music Therapy Department, and ultimately chair of the Center for Music Therapy, where she remained until her retirement in 2019.

Kaplan’s volunteerism for music therapy is as phenomenal as her clinical work. Regional highlights include president of the Association of Ohio Music Therapists and Ohio representative to the Great Lakes Region (GLR) board, editor of Voices of the Lakes, GLR Assembly delegate, and GLR vice president. In addition, she served as scholarship chair for the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs. Nationally, she established and co-chaired the Early Childhood Music Therapy Network in 1994, while continuing to serve on the assembly.

In 2004, she was elected AMTA vice president elect, and went on to become vice president, president elect, president and past president on the Board of Directors. Kaplan has also contributed to AMTA in a wide array of other capacities including the Financial Advisory Board, Wilson Trust Advisory Committee, Diversity Task Force, MLE Subcommittee, and the Autism Task Force, in addition to serving on the CBMT Continuing Education Committee. She has gone on to chair the National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations (NCCATA) and is presently an associate editor of Music Therapy Perspectives. 

Connie Schultz, BA ’79, Cleveland, recently published a New York Time’s bestselling debut novel, The Daughters of Erietown. The novel, which explores the evolution of women’s lives during the second half of the 20th century, opens with a prologue set in 1975 as the college-bound protagonist is on a road trip to Kent State, accompanied by her parents and younger brother.

She is the author of two previous nonfiction books: a collection of her columns, Life Happens: And Other Unavoidable Truths, and the memoir, …and His Lovely Wife: A Memoir from the Woman Beside the Man, documenting her time campaigning with her husband, US Senator Sherrod Brown.

Schultz won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2005 for her column in the Plain Dealer, as well as such prestigious awards as the National Headliner Award for Commentary, the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award for Commentary, the Batten Medal, the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Social Justice Reporting and more.

In 2016, she joined the Kent State College of Communication and Information and teaches as professional-in-residence in the newly named School of Media and Journalism. She is also a nationally syndicated columnist for Creators Syndicate.

On August 18, 2020, Schultz took part in “A Conversation about Writing” on the Zoom platform with fellow professor and author Jacqueline Marino discussing her debut novel, writing careers and advice for students and alumni.

Sara Lukose-Silver, MEd ’79, PhD ’83, White Plains, NY, wrote, “Since 2001, I have been a senior research associate at Measurement Incorporated in White Plains. I manage longitudinal evaluation studies in education (K-16), labor, health, and public policy for local, state and federal agencies. Before 2001, I managed school-to-work programs for local educational agencies and also served as assistant professor at several universities. Today, as I approach the tail end of my career, I mentor junior researchers, write grant proposals and provide professional development. I am available to KSU graduates for pro-bono career counseling. Write Saralukose5@yahoo.com.”