Two years, seven months and 10 days - but who’s counting?

David Szymanski, our guest speaker at the Chicagoans for Cincy! dinner meeting at the Metropolitan Club on March 11th, kicked off his presentation by reporting on developments since his tenure as the ninth Dean of the College of Business began – two years, seven months and 10 days ago.  Among the noteworthy accomplishments are the facts that the College of Business is the most profitable college at UC and enrollment has increased dramatically.  The faculty has increased with the appointment of 20 – 25 new members and many new programs have been instituted.

The Leadership Committee announced our proposed schedule of programs for 2013:

• Eva Maddox and Professor Craig Vogel will plan an alumni event to talk about DAAP's new strategic themes:
       DAAP Works
       DAAP Cares
       DAAP Thinks
       DAAP Connects
  
  
• Spes Mekus will plan an Annual Gala honoring notable Chicago-area alumni.
  
  
• Tom Gruenwald will organize a road trip to Champaign on September 7th to watch the Bearcats beat the Fighting Illini during their second football game of the 2013 season.
  
  
• Dave Watkins and Mike Schroeck will develop a mentoring program for our younger alumni - the CFC leaders of the future.  This will be a wonderful opportunity to fine-tune career paths with guidance from older, established alumni.
  
  
• Paul Green and Alan Channing will offer us a chance to visit to Mount Sinai Hospital and tour the emergency room - a Level 1 Trauma Center, providing care to nearly 60,000 patients.
  
  
• Bob Fealy will host a party to celebrate the conclusion of the Proudly Cincinnati Capital Campaign.  A possible venue is Arlington Park Racetrack - ladies, wear your big hats!  And, thanks to Mike Schroeck, we'll have a chance to tour the barns and pet the horses. 
  
  
• Sandy and Wally Becky will organize a family outing to Brookfield Zoo for your chance to meet a real Bearcat.
  
  
• Tom Gruenwald and Spes Mekus will plan an evening at the theater.  This is your chance to enjoy a local production featuring CCM alumni similar to the "Wicked" event held a few years ago.

We’re looking for volunteers to plan these events – if you can help, please contact Lola DeLeonardis – ldeleonardis@duch.com – 630-530-6831.

Santa Comes to Town

See photos from the event.

On December 20, 2012, the Chicagoans for Cincy! hosted a very special guest, UC President Santa Ono, at a holiday reception at The Drake Hotel. Russell Menkes (‘72 A&S), General Manager of The Drake, welcomed Dr. Ono and Deans David Szymanski and Ronald Jackson, as well as over 70 alumni and friends, to the beautiful Parkside Room.

Following the presentation of the CFC 2012 Year in Review by Eva Maddox (‘66 DAAP), Dave Watkins (’92 A&S) introduced Anabel Duarte, Chicago Regional Enrollment Center Coordinator, who has been visiting local high schools and college fairs for the past few months.

Bob Fealy (‘73 BUS) then introduced Dr. Ono, who discussed his love of Cincinnati and assured us of his commitment to the University by announcing that he recently signed a 10 year contract.  He spoke about the direction of the University under his leadership and explained his perspective of areas for improvement/expansion and the upcoming challenges.

Following a lively Q&A session, Dr. Ono returned the program to Bob Fealy for an update on the Proudly Cincinnati Capital Campaign.  Bob announced that we have raised $8.3M to date and  he is confident that we will meet our $10M goal by June 2013.

And no holiday party would be complete without a visit from Old St. Nick.  Dave Watkins played Santa Claus with the help of his special elf, Spes Mekus (‘72 DAAP).

Thanks to Eva Maddox and Spes Mekus for the festive decorations and to Dr. Ono and Deans Szymanski and Jackson for making our party a great success. 

CEAS Dean Teik Lim Visits Chicago

On November 16, 2012 CEAS Interim Dean Teik Lim received a warm welcome from Chicago area Engineering and Applied Science alumni at a luncheon event hosted by Denny Demoss at the Union League Club.  Attendees included Tom Behringer, Tom Cavalcante, Nick Campanile, Denny Demoss, Trent Edwards, Andy Eloff, Bob Fealy, David Kuhaneck, Blake Layda, and Bob Schneider. 

During the luncheon, Dean Lim shared important College updates regarding semester conversion, co-op, undergraduate education, research collaboration with industry, and the realization of the CEAS Learning Center, which was highlighted with a video featuring Bob Fealy and S. Jay Stewart. In addition, Dean Lim discussed the College’s current development and fundraising priorities for lab upgrades and scholarships. 

Kolodzik Business Scholars Visit Chicago

See photos from the event.

On November 8, 2012, the Chicagoans for Cincy! welcomed 21 Kolodzik Business Scholars and 3 faculty members at a reception hosted by Paul Green at Ernst & Young.   The students were in Chicago on a 3-day visit  to learn about the organizational and operational insights of several businesses, leading to career paths and professional development.   Marianne Lewis, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Director of the Kolodzik Business Scholars Program at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business, was joined by Dean David Szymanski and Marvin Kolodzik, the program’s founder. 

The Chicago alumni reached out to the students and made the event a pleasure for all. The students enjoyed meeting the alumni and realizing  that the UC network is vibrant in cities beyond Cincinnati.

During their visit, the students were hosted by five diverse organizations, providing them with what Marianne described as a phenomenal learning experience: 1871, Ernst & Young, OfficeMax, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, & Sinai Health System.

The students returned to Cincinnati  energized by these examples of personal and organizational excellence. 

UC College of Law Presents "DNA and the Innocence Movement"

See photos from the event.

Chicagoans for Cincy! and the UC College of Law were pleased to present "DNA and the Innocence Movement" at an event hosted by Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., and Chicagoans for Cincy! member Michael O'Shaughnessy on October 23, 2012.  Thirty five alumni and guests listened as UC Law Professor Mark Godsey, who is also the Director of the Ohio Innocence Project, presented the case of Dean Gillispie, a recently released exonoree who served 20 years of a 22-56 year sentence for crimes he did not commit.

Dean related his experiences from the time of his arrest, through the trial and appeal process, and his 20 year incarceration, until his eventual release thanks to Mark and his staff.  Dean's case was the first case accepted by OIP in January 2003, and more than 20 law students worked on his case over the years.

On December 16, 2011, in Dayton, Ohio, U.S. District Magistrate Judge Michael Merz ruled that Dean didn't get a fair trial in 1991 when he was convicted of rape, kidnapping and aggravated robbery for crimes committed in 1988.  On December 22, he was released on bond, allowing to enjoy Christmas with his family for the first time in 20 years.

Of the thousands of nationwide cases submitted to innocence programs over the last two decades, many exonerations have resulted through DNA evidence.  Dean's case was exceptional in that DNA was not a factor - instead, the federal court overturned his conviction on the grounds that the police violated his due process rights by destroying (or failing to disclose) before trial the written reports that demonstrated his innocence.

Dean is presently free on his own recognizance while the State of Ohio is appealing his victory.

UC Co-op Program and Admissions Office in Chicago

On April 16, 2012, the University of Cincinnati’s Division of Professional Practice partnered with Goettsch Partners to host the “UC Goes Chicago” event in the 18^th floor penthouse of the Santa Fe Building on Michigan Avenue. The goal of this event was to increase awareness of the UC Co-op program and network with potential employers to develop co-op jobs in the Chicago area. Read more on the UC Where You Are blog...

Chicagoans for Cincy Support UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science

Approximately 300 miles from their alma mater, at the W Hotel in downtown Chicago, a group of UC alumni and supporters gathered for breakfast at the Wave restaurant. This group of alumni along with the Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS), Carlo Montemagno, his wife Pam, and Senior Director of Development at CEAS, John Lagow, discussed the Proudly Cincinnati campaign for the college. The alumni in attendance at the breakfast were Denny DeMoss (’77), Bob Fealy (’73), Blake Layda (’99),  Chris Mekus (’72), Spes Mekus (’72), and Bob Schneider (’70). Read more on the UC Where You Are blog...