Spring 2022 EditionAlumni & Friends Magazine

OHIO making headlines

Bobcats make the news—and the OHIO community proud—every day. Read about a few of the Ohio University alumni, students, faculty and staff who have made headlines in recent months.

March 9, 2022

Bobcats at the Olympics

Matt Barnes, BSJ ’08, was one of five OHIO graduates who traveled to Tokyo for a one-of-a-kind Summer Olympics. Russ College alumnus Joe Schroeder, MS ’19, made his Olympic debut as a member of the USA Men’s Rugby team. Behind the scenes were: Barnes, covering the Games for Nexstar Media Group; Michael Burns, BSC ’05, contributing to the media team at the Today Show; Jay Cohen, BSJ ’99, covering water polo for The Associated Press; and Preston McClellan, MBA/MSA ’14, who served as a press officer for USA Golf. Read about their experiences

Barnes and Burns also took their talents to Beijing for the Winter Olympics—Burns’ seventh trip to the Games.

Matt Barnes, BSJ ’08, covered both the Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the Winter Olympics in Beijing for Nexstar Media Group. Photo courtesy of Matt Barnes

Giraffes, hyenas and—not—bears!

Just months after joining the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine faculty, Dr. Ellison McNutt created quite the buzz as lead author on a study that found ancient footprints discovered in Tanzania—and attributed to bears—were actually made by early humans. The study, published in Nature, generated hundreds of headlines around the world. Read more about McNutt’s research

A ‘Supreme’ dream come true

Last fall, Sarah Welch, BA ’16, stepped into a position that law school graduates dream of. Welch, who majored in music through OHIO’s Honors Tutorial College and graduated from the University of Chicago Law School, was selected to serve as one of four law clerks for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh for the court’s 2021-22 term. Read more about Welch’s journey from Athens to the Supreme Court

Making the Best Maker Schools list

Ohio University was named to Newsweek’s inaugural “Best Maker Schools in Higher Education” list. The list recognizes institutions around the world that encourage learning by doing and collaborative problem-solving, as well as those that have well-developed makerspaces, labs and studios and that support diverse, interactive communities. Read more about the Best Maker Schools list

Among OHIO’s makerspaces is the Academic & Research Center Hangar, equipped with three glass garage doors, a floor hatch and an industrial crane. Russ College of Engineering and Technology students use the space for large senior design and team competition projects. Photo by Rich-Joseph Facun, BSVC ’01

National award and national coverage

Dr. Lisa Harrison, associate professor and program coordinator for middle childhood education, made headlines last fall for her expertise and service. She was presented the Association for Middle Level Education’s highest honor and featured in an article by the Hechinger Report —and picked up by The Washington Post —on the unprecedented trauma and mental health issues facing middle-schoolers. Click here to read more about Harrison.

One spud-tacular professor

Efforts by Ryan Ball, BSCE ’96, MS ’98, to bring a little humor to and capture the attention of his students went viral. The assistant professor of accounting at the University of Michigan used a filter on Zoom to deliver a two-hour review session—as a potato. Videos of the session have generated millions of views on TikTok.

Shattering OHIO, MAC records

In January, fifth-year senior Cece Hooks, BSIHS ’21, secured her place in Ohio University and Mid-American Conference history. The senior point guard has scored more points than any other men’s or women’s basketball player, surpassing the record 2,449 points set by Ohio Basketball Hall of Famer Caroline Mast Daugherty, BSED ’86. Click here to read more about Hooks.