Emeriti Connection

Issue No. 27 - October 2023

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Inside Insights:

Reflections from Executive Director

Pamela Person

One of the things I have seen and appreciate is the diversity of programs offered. It seems there is something for everyone, from opportunities to socialize, learn, serve, and keep fit at events held on campus and in the greater Cincinnati area—pre-concert receptions at CCM, monthly P.O.E.T.S. gatherings at area breweries and pubs, walks in local parks and neighborhoods, luncheon lectures, mentoring faculty approaching retirement, oversight of undergraduate student research, and more—to virtual engagement for those who live outside the Cincinnati area or just prefer to interact from home through an informative newsletter, weekly mindfulness meditations, on-line participation in lectures, and the upcoming virtual book club. And of course, there are the benefits of UC email, specialized parking privileges, library access, etc. to ease your continued engagement with the university. There is so much going on that I’m sure that I’ve missed mentioning something. The programming is sponsored by the Association’s committees, which you are welcome to join if you are interested in helping with planning.  

I am eager to hear from you. What do you value most about your Emeriti Association membership? What about the University’s current goings-on do you want to hear more about or engage with? How can I, as your Executive Director, or the Board officers you elect as your advocates, be of help to you? Please send me a note at personp@ucmail.uc.edu to let me know your thoughts.  

Pam

NOTE: The photograph above shows Pam in our Emeriti Association office in Lindner Hall, room 2412.

We welcome these colleagues to the community of Emeriti as ratified by the UC Board of Trustees on August 22, 2023:

We welcome the following colleagues to the community of Emeriti as ratified by the UC Board of Trustees on October 24, 2023:

News & Announcements

Clifton Court Hall Garners Fans

September 19th Grand Opening Draws Crowd

 Photo: Andrew Higley/UC Marketing+Brand

Unique Red Stairway Connects UC’s Sprawling Campus

The “great red stairway” is the surprising centerpiece of the new building. With its roller-coaster-like turns in direction, its stylish perforated side panels and overhead “gates” that might make you think you’re on a bridge, the red stairway is a veritable art object—an imaginative steel sculpture. With entrances on three different floors, the red stairway is a fun route to get from the school’s northwest sector to the central campus. It’s a clever conduit. Cincinnati Magazine.

Photo Gallery

The Cincinnati Business Courier provides a slide show of the collaboration spaces, study areas and classrooms, as well as the exterior of Clifton Court Hall. 

Photo: Amanda Rossmann

Patrons Are Fans

A&S Interim Associate Dean Margaret Hanson tells Cincinnati Magazine, “The interior of Clifton Court Hall is simply breathtaking and provides extraordinary views. The windows and internal glass allow natural light to classrooms and offices."

Fourth-year student Anna Carlson reports in The News Record, “I am a big fan of the natural light. There are comfortable cushions and individual cubby-like desks for a more personal study space.”  Anna also appreciates the collaboration rooms, which can be reserved for study groups.

Note: Seven schools/departments from the College of Arts and Sciences have moved into offices and labs in the new Clifton Court Hall. The $93 million structure is now the university’s largest classroom building.

Emeritus Craig Vogel

Honored with IDSA Award

Craig Vogel, Professor Emeritus, DAAP School of Design, received the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), FIDSA Individual Achievement Award at the International Design Conference in New York City, in August 2023.  His contributions to the field of Industrial Design have led to industry awards, such as the Crystal Cabin Award and the 2023 DMI Value Award for the Council on Aging's "Meals & More,” a design/research program of the Live Well Collaborative and the Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio. Vogel has been recognized as an IDSA Fellow and has served as President and Chair of the Board of IDSA. According to one of his nominators, “Craig is the rarest of polymaths. His dedication to the role of the IDSA in defining global Design Excellence is unequaled and the breadth of his service exceptional.” 

Vogel co-authored the influential book "Creating Breakthrough Products" and co-founded the Live Well Collaborative. Live Well was founded in 2007 as a non-profit collaboration between UC and Proctor & Gamble to develop breakthrough innovations for consumers in the 50+ market that meet the complexities of living well across the lifespan. Their cutting-edge design expertise is a product of multidisciplinary teams of UC faculty and students, embodying “age-friendly university” ideals and actions. The collaborative has worked on projects ranging from health care, yogurt, and financial advising to the “coffee house cabin,” a more intimate passenger space for airline travel. Industry partners include the Boeing Company and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. 

Since retiring in spring 2023, Craig has joined the UC Emeriti Association’s Board of Directors and serves on the Association’s Arts & Culture Committee. He also continues to represent the Live Well Collaborative, as well as the Emeriti faculty, on the Age-Friendly University Working Group.

Mentoring

Emeriti Invited to Volunteer with the

Doctor of Physical Therapy Program

Contributed by Joanna Mitro, Mentoring Committee chair,

with Rebecca Leugers, Associate Professor, CAHS

The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program is housed in the College of Allied Health Sciences.  The program incorporates traditional classwork, research, and clinical experiences, where students practice the clinical aspects of treating individuals with a variety of medical and neurological diseases/dysfunctions. 

In order to facilitate wholistic student learning, community-dwelling individuals who are living with particular disorders are invited to come to the practicum classes so small groups of students can interact with them to learn more about how their condition impacts them. 

Students interview these guests and will sometimes perform certain tests and measures with them as practice (depending on the topic, the guest's physical abilities, and time limitations, they may test muscle strength, muscle tone, gait speed, balance, wheelchair mobility, etc.). The program has a core group of people in the community that are asked back year after year, but they are always looking to expand the number in order to have smaller groups of students working with each guest. The time involved for a visit is usually 90 minutes to 2 hours. Guests may also participate on panel discussions .

The following is a list of the disorders studied for which living examples are needed:  

• CVA (Cerebral Vascular Accident )/Stroke
• Head Trauma 
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Parkinson's Disease
• ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Lou Gehrig's Disease)
• Post Polio

The program also seeks healthy older individuals to volunteer to be lab partners for our students while they practice some of their activities. For those who do NOT have the disorders above, but would like to interact with students and help them to become better clinicians, the program recruits community-dwelling individuals to serve as "mock patients" during lab practicals, during which the students will perform a portion of the Physical Therapy evaluation and a portion of a treatment (mild specific exercise, balance, walking, etc) as the mock patient portrays a patient with a neurological deficit. The time commitment for being a mock patient can be as short as 1 hour to as long as 4 hours as desired by the volunteer.

Doctor of Physical Therapy students are generally 22-26 years old. They do practice on each other in class, but it doesn't prepare them as well for working with a diverse group of patients, many of whom will be older and with whom they will be working in the clinic. Any opportunity to allow the students to have a lab partner who is older, maybe moves a little slower, or has some slight movement limitation is an opportunity for the students to develop a better appreciation for working with one important group of patients with whom they might meet. 

Interested? Please contact rebecca.leugers@uc.edu to discuss any of these opportunities.

The Emeriti/Student Mentorship Award for Collaborative Projects in 2024-2025

Accepts Proposals through February

Plan ahead! If you have a research or creative project in mind that an undergraduate could do with you in 2024-25, please identify a student partner and consider applying for our Mentorship Award.

Age-Friendly University

UC's Cognitive Aging Program is an

Age-Friendly Resource

The Age-Friendly University Working Group is putting the finishing touches on a white paper that presents the rationale for UC becoming an Age-Friendly University and summarizes the evidence we found of current age-friendly practices at UC. UC's Cognitive Aging Program is one of the programs we encountered as we collected this evidence. This program explores interventions that can slow cognitive decline.



Supporting our own individual healthy aging should be of personal interest to Emeriti Association members. With this in mind, OLLI has graciously opened the following program to all emeriti:

OLLI course:

Best Strategies for Successful Cognitive Aging

Free to Emeriti

#2806 Best Strategies for Successful Cognitive Aging

Friday, November 3, 9:30 am-12 pm (Ohio Living Llanfair) $ 0 LIMIT 100

Understanding how we age in terms of our memory and cognition is a central concern for seniors. We all need to understand the vulnerabilities and strengths of how our brains and sense of self age. We will review normal aging, basic cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, what to do with cognitive concerns when they appear in ourselves or loved ones, and the supports and changes in lifestyle that may be warranted. We will focus on ways to promote adaptive aging, including overall health, diet, exercise, and socialization.

Moderators: Janie Taylor, PsyD, and Amanda Stein, PhD, faculty with the Cognitive Aging Program at the UC Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuro Science. Dr. Michael Keys is a geriatric psychiatrist and Program Director for the Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program at UC.

The program is in person at Ohio Living Llanfair, 1701 Llanfair Avenue in College Hill. Follow the “OLLI” signs from the parking lot. No registration necessary.

Luncheon Speaker Series

In Case You Missed It

Our Luncheon Speaker Series for 2023-2024 kicked off in August.

Aftab Pureval, the 70th Mayor of Cincinnati and the city's first Asian-American Mayor, was our guest speaker on August 24.

Provost Valerio Ferme introduced our August speaker, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, who spoke on the topic “Asian-Americans in Politics.” Describing some of the challenges he faced when running for political office, the Mayor related how he tackled the unfamiliarity of his name by using a duck puppet to pronounce it in his television ads, a sly reference to the memorable Aflac ads.

Although Mayor Pureval developed self-deprecating humor as a device to reach people, he has mixed feelings about having to make fun of his name in order to be accepted. He noted that obstacles for entering public life are high for Asian Americans. While he has been successful meeting people face-to-face, he has also encountered racism and received xenophobic comments.

Mayor Pureval went on to discuss the tension Asians feel from being regarded as both a high achieving “model minority” and “forever foreigners” who should be grateful to be guests in this country. As the first Indian mayor of any city in the U.S., he feels pressure to succeed as a representative for people with similar ethnic origins. The Mayor concluded by emphasizing that increased diversity is critical to both the city and the university, and stressed that he is very proud of Cincinnati.

The audience of 85 people included emeriti, current faculty, and students. Approximately 50 were in-house, with 35 online. The Mayor was well received, and there were numerous questions. Emeriti President Sally Moomaw expressed gratitude for his gracious acceptance to speak to the Emeriti Association.

Carrie Harms, Warehouse Director, Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub spoke to us on September 26.

Her topic, "Sustainability: The Role of the Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub," introduced the audience to this valuable community asset.

The Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub (CRRH, or "the Hub") is a non-profit, volunteer-staffed organization that reduces the amount of waste going to landfills. It is a one-stop drop-off location that accepts items and materials that are recyclable and reusable, even some that are not permitted in traditional recycling bins.

The Hub is located at 911 Evans Street, just south and west of the Dalton Street Post Office. It is open for drop-off on Thursdays from 12 noon to 6 pm and on Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm.

The Hub asks that you do not bring items that can be recycled curbside via Rumpke. They accept to recycle (for free) a wide range of metal, plastic, styrofoam, and other materials (toothbrushes, shoes, denim) as well as items that can be reused (corks, hangers, binders and other school/office supplies, clean plant pots, egg cartons, tools). On the fourth floor of their warehouse you can "shop" for reusable items you might be able to use. They will weigh what you take as a record of how much they are able to divert from landfill. Other items can be disposed of here for a fee, such as light bulbs, batteries, electronics, tires, and more. The Hub is the only organization in Greater Cincinnati accepting such a vast amount of items for the general public to recycle in one place.

The Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub has a very informative website where you can learn more about what they do, find out how to drop off items, and get information about volunteering to help:

cincinnatirecyclingandreusehub.org

Coming Up

Thursday, October 26

Henry Fenichel, Professor Emeritus of Physics

"Survival of the Holocaust During World War II"

Light Lunch Served at 11:30 a.m.

Presentation from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

In-Person Venue:

Faculty Enrichment Center Room 540 (Langsam Library)

Virtual Venue: Zoom

Meeting ID: 978 6682 6257

Passcode: 644976

Next Month

Thursday, November 16

Daniel Durbin, Professor Emeritus of Architectural Engineering

"My Experiences in Antarctica"

We program August through April

(with a break in December).

Most lectures on Thursdays, noon to 1 pm.

Light luncheon provided at 11:30 am

in the Faculty Enrichment Center, Langsam Library

Zoom option for those who cannot attend in person.

Watch for announcements with more details as future events approach and plan to join us!

Do you have ideas for a speaker or a topic you'd like to hear?

Your ideas are welcome.

Contact Tim Sale, Luncheon Speakers Committee, chair.

Arts & Culture

The Arts & Culture Committee encourages you to experience these events of musical and artistic exploration and innovation.

In Case You Missed It

Contributed by Sally Moomaw, A&C chair

"Meet the Composer" Pre-Concert Reception at CCM

Reception attendees enjoyed coffee and pastries in CCM's Baur Room, hosted by the Emeriti Association's Arts & Culture Committee, on Thursday evening, September 21, for an opportunity to experience music and conversation with world-class musicians.  

CCM faculty members Dr. Ellen Harrison, composer, and Dr. Aik Khai Pung, conductor, joined the pre-concert event. Dr. Harrison discussed her composition process and collaboration with Dr. Pung and answered Emeriti questions. 

The concert which followed opened on a sad but forward-looking note. CCM is mourning the recent death of one of their students, Matthias Young. The orchestra performed one of his compositions, Broadacre – Visions of a City (2022), which portrays a city as a livable environment for residents, based on Frank Lloyd Wright’s vision for what our cities could be.

The CCM Concert Orchestra featured the first of four works commissioned for their 2023-24 season — the world premiere of Ellen Harrison‘s At the Intersection of Veil and Reveal — and included Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.

Exploring Cincinnati Neighborhoods:

Columbia-Tusculum’s “Painted Ladies”

Explorers: Karen & Brad Hughes, Diana & Henry Fenichel, Heather Arden, Kathy Lorenz, Debra DeGroot-Osswald, Craig Vogel, Terry Milligan, Pam & Lee Person, and Sally Moomaw (photographer)

October 19 was a perfect fall day for the initial Neighborhood Walk, a new activity of the Emeriti Association. Emeriti gathered at Daylily deli and coffee shop in the Eastside neighborhood of Columbia Tusculum. After getting to know one another a bit and glancing at our tour booklets, we began our stroll of about eight blocks through this historic neighborhood of “Painted Ladies” houses. 

Our tour guides Emeriti Terry Milligan (CCM) and Craig Vogel (DAAP), both residents of this neighborhood, kept us informed about the history of the area and the architectural features of the homes. Many are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The brightly painted houses vied with the autumn leaves to create a truly picturesque environment. After the walk, some of the participants congregated at Daylily to enjoy the delicious food and delightful conversation.

Watch your Emeriti emails as more neighborhood walks are planned.

Each one will be a unique and enriching adventure!

Call for Emeriti Artists

Call for Entry:

Faculty and Emeriti Faculty

from All Disciplines

Submission Due no later than

November 16th, 2023

Artwork displayed in Reed Gallery: January 29 – March 7, 2024



 Information & Entry

The Arts & Culture Committee identifies local arts and cultural activities to recommend to emeriti, and sponsors interesting and stimulating artistic and cultural occasions that emeriti are invited to enjoy together to gain deeper appreciation.

The Arts & Culture Committee welcomes new members.

Contact Sally.Moomaw@uc.edu

LET'S GET SOCIAL!

The Social Activities Committee

[George Babcock, Howard Jackson, Terry Milligan, Sally Moomaw,

and Joan Murdock, chair]

sponsors ongoing events for socializing and enjoying each other’s company.

P.O.E.T.S. Club Enjoys Cincinnati's Brew Pubs

Phooey On Everything! Tomorrow's Saturday!

Final Friday of each month at 5 pm

After two years exploring brewpubs, the P.O.E.T.S. branched out in August to Unwind, a Hyde Park wine bar featuring a stone-and-wood ambience, with wine scenes and bottles of wine everywhere.

Our new executive director Pam Person joined the regulars and guests at her first P.O.E.T.S. gathering.



Are those bottles of beer among the glasses of wine?

Slightly cooler September days brought the brew club to the Little Miami Brewing Company on the banks of the Little Miami River in Old Milford.

NEXT

5 pm, Friday, October 27, 2023

Listermann Brewing Company 

1621 Dana Ave 45207

Listermann Brewing Company is a neighborhood brewery founded in 2008. They say, "Our passion is all about innovative, high quality, award-winning craft beer and supporting the only full-service home brew supply store in Cincinnati. The taproom boasts an inviting, friendly character and historic charm."

Come for the beer, stay for the people.

Must-try brew for the adventurous:   

Saturday the 14th - "Hauntingly delicious! Made with peanut butter candy, cocoa nibs and vanilla, our black milkshake IPA is all treat and no trick!

Michael, Ghostface, Freddy, and Jason walk into a bar ..."

Also bring your spouses, significant others, friends, and neighbors for fellowship and a great time together.

NOTE: Listermann's is BYOF – Bring Your Own Food!

Feel free to bring guests ...

Newly-named Emeriti ... First Round on Us!

We hope to see you then!

2nd Annual

Emeriti Fall Picnic

Saturday, October 7

After a record-breaking heat wave, we experienced our first cool autumn-like weather just in time for the Emeriti Picnic on a Saturday in October. Finding a spot in the sun made it a pleasant afternoon … with complimentary drinks and sandwich buffet, plus outdoor games and music … and of course, we all enjoyed the camaraderie!

Don French, Lynn Davis, Joanna Mitro, & Joan Murdock intersect for a math reunion.

Sue & Don Shrey

with Rodney Parks in the background

Charlie & Sally Moomaw, Carol Kruse, Barbara Martin, Sharon Frost, Penny Freppon, Lee Person

Singer/Musician Ellen Mershon entertains.

... Stay tuned ... More activities coming ...

Look for announcements of our

2nd Annual

Emeriti Holiday Open House

Festive Buffet, Holiday Music

& Champagne!

Wednesday, December 13, 4-7 pm

CCM Baur Room

Health & Wellness Committee

The Committee invites you to explore free sessions in meditation, culinary medicine, health coaching, acupuncture, massage therapy, music therapy, tai chi, and yoga for healing and wellness care at:



UC College of Medicine's Osher Center for Integrative Health

Health & Wellness

BOOK CLUB

The Health & Wellness Book Club explores non-fiction and fiction books on topics supporting physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual well-being, and hosts both in-person and virtual discussions of selected books.

Contact: Andrea.Wall@uc.edu

Our next book club selection is

Please join us virtually for a spirited discussion regarding this book on Tuesday November 14, 2023 at 7:00-9:00 pm

Health & Wellness

WALKING for FITNESS Resumes Next Spring

This Program, sponsored by the Health & Wellness Committee, aims to enhance a healthy lifestyle for improving or maintaining health and wellness.

The Walking for Fitness group walks local parks in the Spring and Fall on Wednesdays at 9am

Janice Denton, Russ McMahon, Jennifer Pearce, Bernard Pearce, Bob Conyne, & Awatef Hamed at Summit Park in October.

See you in the Spring!

Contact Jennifer.Pearce@uc.edu

The Health & Wellness Committee

Seeks New Members

Our Health & Wellness Committee plans and schedules many events designed to promote our well-being, including the Walks for Fitness, the Book Club, and presentations like last fall's discussion of Senior Living Options and last summer's Pickleball demonstration. We're now in the UN's Decade of Healthy Aging, so there is a lot of attention these days on how important such activities are to all of us.

The Health & Wellness Committee seeks 2 new members. Ideally, one new member would have a special interest in building on the Pickleball work that has been done by developing concrete ways for Emeriti to get involved.

Interested in getting involved? Contact Committee chair Bob Conyne.

The Service Committee:

Calling for New Members

The Service Committee aims to encourage volunteer activity among emeriti by providing information about volunteer opportunities and by discovering and highlighting the exemplary volunteer activities that emeriti are doing in the community. The committee seeks to establish partnerships with non-profit community organizations and UC groups to create service activities for emeriti.

New chairperson Jennifer Pearce is working to revitalize this committee, and is recruiting new members to help. Are you engaged in community service? Do you have ideas about service projects we might promote? Please contact Jennifer.Pearce@uc.edu.

Living Downtown (Part I)

Observations from those who have taken the plunge

We've noticed that several emeriti have recently pulled up stakes and moved into downtown Cincinnati. Could this be the beginnings of a trend? We contacted some of these pioneers and asked:

• Why choose to live downtown?
• What factors influenced your choice of downtown location?
• What do you like best about living downtown?
• Are there disadvantages to living downtown (that you perhaps did not anticipate)?
• Do you have safety (or other) concerns?

In this issue we will feature the responses of three who moved into the "central business district" of downtown. In the next issue, we will hear from residents of Over-the-Rhine.

Margaret Hanson: Central Business District apartment

We chose to move downtown because we wanted to be able to travel for long stretches of time. We couldn’t maintain a yard and home while abroad. Apartments downtown provided excellent opportunities for interesting places to walk to, to eat, meet friends, and be entertained. We love the riverfront including the Kentucky side, the theatre, arts, music, pubs/bars and restaurants in the central district and OTR, and all the various festivals and events near to the river. We can walk to all of it, and it’s always an interesting walk no matter what direction we go. The downtown provides a broad spectrum of people to engage with. Downtown Cincinnati is nothing like Chicago in size. You quickly can comprehend the layout and get to know all that is within 30 minutes’ walk.

What do we like best about living downtown? We never get bored. There always seems to be something going on somewhere. There are many sub-neighborhoods with their own feel and vibe nearby, found in virtually every direction from our apartment. All the main federal, state, and regional agencies, as well as a post office are just a few blocks away. Car repair, drug stores, and most other services are nearby, too. As for disadvantages, we still must drive to get to a good dentist, physician, ophthalmologist, etc. This level of professional still tends to reside outside of the central district. Also, it is a shame that when people come to visit, they must pay for parking! It’s just $5-6 but it still seems a bit insulting to expect that of our guests.

The building was remodeled 20 years ago from an industrial building to apartments. Our apartment has 10' ceilings (even higher in the lower levels) and numerous huge windows. Ours is a 2-Bed, 2-Bath, washer/dryer/dishwasher, 1500 sq ft for $2100/mo (and only ~$130 more for heat/water/trash/internet). No property taxes or any other expenses. If something goes wrong, we call and they fix it or replace it for free.

This is a photo of our building, Sycamore Place. On the left is looking to the east, down 7th st, and to the right is looking down Sycamore, south towards the river just 0.5 miles away (equal distance to Mt. Adams, OTR, Reds Stadium, etc.). The building has many sections but is all fully connected with a first-floor gym. It wraps around a nice private yard with outdoor grills.  We love it and will be here for some time. There have been some brand-new apartment complexes with fancier kitchens opening across the streets from us to the north and east, but they are much more expensive per sq. footage, and we like the more interesting rustic look and history of our building. 

Safety concerns? No. But you will meet people who have very much less than you because of the food banks and other services downtown. This includes people with very, very much less than you and few options (the homeless, mentally ill, etc.). Unpleasant interactions are rare, and it only serves to remind you how important it is to support community services to aid those who are severely disadvantaged.

Note: Margaret Hanson is an emerita-in-waiting, A&S Physics/Astronomy. She retires in December. You can contact her at hansonmm@ucmail.uc.edu.)

Read more about Samuel Hannaford and UC below.

Russel Durst: Central Business District condominium

My wife (Kathy Wekselman) and I loved our five bedroom Clifton home with a beautiful back yard, in walking distance to Ludlow Avenue, Burnet Woods, and campus, with many friends nearby. But when we retired, we decided to sell our stately Gaslight house and buy a condo downtown. 

Our new home, with three bedrooms and a study, is on an upper floor of a condominium building at the southeastern edge of downtown. Our new neighbors include several former Cincinnati mayors, a number of Democratic Party stalwarts, and a whole bunch of smart, interesting people. We’re already making new friends and socializing regularly.

From my study I look up at Mt. Adams, from our bedroom we can see the heart of downtown, from our living room the view extends all the way to Clifton, and from our kitchen we get a glimpse of the Ohio River. The recent Oktoberfest, complete with bratwurst stands and polka music, was literally outside our front door… and yes, it was noisy. But in general, there’s little noise from outside. 



The riverfront, with its walkways, playgrounds, and stadiums, is an easy ten minute walk, as are Fountain Square, the Mercantile Library, and many of our favorite restaurants, museums, theatres, and concert venues. We can walk across the Purple People Bridge to Covington in fifteen minutes. Washington Park, the Downtown Library, Kroger’s, Findlay Market, Music Hall, TQL Stadium, and restaurant row in OTR are less than thirty minutes’ walk. And if we don’t feel like walking, we can hop on the streetcar, which comes regularly, is widely used, and is free of charge. When we need to drive, we’re very close to freeways and only fifteen minutes from the airport. We enjoy living in a diverse urban environment that we feel safe exploring. 

Note: Russel Durst is Professor Emeritus, A&S English.

Tina Whalen: Central Business District condominium

Why downtown? We lived in the suburbs since coming to Cincinnati for jobs right out of college and then stayed to raise our three children at our “family home” in Evendale. Last spring we got a great offer on our home and so we sold. At that point my husband said let’s do something different, let’s live downtown! We both retired in July 2022 and also planned to spend a good amount of our year on Kiawah Island in South Carolina and he felt it would offer a yin/yang to island living. We also liked the idea of having a pedestrian lifestyle in Cincinnati.

What do we like best about living downtown? The walking access to restaurants, parks, arts, festivals, special events and sporting venues. We chose to live a “bit removed” from the center of town – across from Sawyer Point – due to concerns about crimes of opportunity and so we live in a spot that is surrounded by green space. Coming from the suburbs I had a hard time imagining having no lawn or garden which frankly I enjoy very much and didn’t want to lose. This photo is taken from our back balcony (we live on the 7th floor of a ten-story building).

Do we have safety (or other) concerns? We are a bit out of the city center across from Sawyer Point Park in a secured mid-rise building so I have no safety concerns here but still wouldn’t feel comfortable walking alone after dark when there just aren’t many people around. I do think there is safety in numbers! 

Note: Tina Whalen is Dean Emerita, CAHS Rehabilitation Sciences.

I can barely remember a time when I didn’t have a camera. It started when I was a kid. I was given a box camera not much different from the revolutionary Kodaks introduced around the turn of the century. Later on, my father taught me how to develop and print roll film and by the time I was in high school, he passed on to me a 35mm Exacta single lens reflex he had used when he was a young man.

While I had never really ever stopped photographing, my attention to it rose as retirement approached. I found that I was drawn to photograph nature, especially still lifes. I liked taking pictures of flowers in all stages of their lives; there is something deeply elemental to a dead flower as it reveals a whole new set of shapes and colors. After all, the French term for still life is the evocative “nature morte”—dead nature.

So here is a thing about photography: everything in the world has been photographed, usually over and over and over. Outside of the news, nothing really needs to be photographed. This is why I have come to think of pictures as something you should make, rather than something you take. Photography affords me the chance to look really hard at the shapes and forms and colors of which a thing is made. (I like to photograph objects in museums—and feel a little bereft when it’s not allowed—because it helps me pay closer attention.) Photography helps me see and put what I’m seeing together differently. My work has zeroed in on close-ups and closer-ups. I photograph with a very narrow depth of field—only a very little is in clear focus—because that’s what I want to build my picture around, and because having everything else in a blur can be very beautiful.

Just getting very, very close to a thing, letting it fill my field of vision, can be breathtaking. But I must confess that some of my favorite pictures are where it looks like I’ve entered the world of the photograph. Honey, I Shrunk the Photographer.

People wonder what sort of camera they should use, and the answer is easy: Whatever you have. The further I am away from home, the more I depend on my iPhone. I am lucky enough to have the type with three lenses, but it’s a miracle machine regardless. The closer I am to home (because it’s heavy and easy to get wet), the more likely I am to use my SLR, which is a lower level Nikon. I have three lenses for it too.

When you take a picture—or do any sort of art—the most important thing is to please yourself. But your work isn’t really complete until it’s been experienced by others. There are lots of easy ways to get an audience. You can post your pictures online in all sorts of apps and forums; you probably do already. There are classes in Cincinnati at all sorts of levels; when you travel, there are workshops virtually everywhere so you could combine your adventures and an interaction with an audience. And there are many, many competitions you can enter at quite reasonable cost and effort, and be rewarded by seeing your work in the context of how other people have chosen to see the same sorts of things you are looking at.

Jonathan Kamholtz is Associate Professor Emeritus of English (A&S). His work has been accepted by Praxis Gallery in Minneapolis and Decode Gallery in Tucson, and he has shown work at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center five times, and won an Honorable Mention there.

Dr. Barbara (Stuehrk) Schare was born on October 6,1937 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She died with her family present on August 26, 2023.

Barbara graduated from Our Lady of Angels in 1955 and then from The Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Hamilton, Ohio. She earned her BS in Nursing from the University of Cincinnati in 1962 followed by an MS in 1968, while having three children under the age of 5. In 1982, Dr. Schare was awarded a Doctorate of Education and soon afterwards, a PhD in nursing from the Dean of the UC College of Nursing. 

After a career in the nursing field, Barbara became a full professor at UC's School of Nursing, focusing on pulmonary medicine. After her 32-year university career, Dr. Schare retired in 2000 as Professor Emerita. Her published research papers are still referenced today. Professor Schare served as president of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and was the first woman to negotiate a faculty contract at UC. She was the faculty representative to the board of trustees and served on the faculty senate. Barbara also served on the AAUP national council where she was recognized with the Dillwyn F. Radcliffe Award in 1992 for her distinguished service in the cause of academic freedom.

Barbara is survived by her husband and soul mate of 63 years, Dr. Charles Schare. Donations may be made in her name to the Saint Ursula Academy Scholarship fund in loving memory of her daughter Jenny Schare, or to the Cincinnati Free Store Food Bank.

The Emeriti Association received the following notice on Wednesday morning, October 25, from Professor Maura O’Connor:

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It is with considerable sadness that I convey the news of Professor Emerita Hilda L. Smith’s passing last night. She was in the company of her family at the end and they will keep us posted about a memorial celebrating her life. I am grateful that along with colleagues, Sigrun Haude, Tracy Teslow, and Sally Moffitt we could visit Hilda last month for her birthday. Sigrun and Sally visited again last week and Sally, the day before she died.

I will miss having lunch with Hilda and will miss updating her about the department, sharing work, and catching up about our grandchildren. Until the pandemic made it difficult for her to travel to London, she went regularly every summer in the years following her retirement working on Margaret Cavendish and her seventeenth century world, among other subjects.

Hilda came to UC in 1987 as Director of Women’s Studies and as a historian of Early Modern England. She was an intellectual historian of women and gender, and she was especially interested in women’s political thought. She received her doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1975.

I will keep you all posted about a memorial in her honor.



Professor Maura O’Connor

Head, Department of History

College of Arts and Sciences

Help us pay tribute to our deceased emeriti colleagues. If you know of any emeriti who have passed since our last issue, please send information to:  

Lynn Davis davislk@ucmail.uc.edu

Emeriti Endowed Scholarship Fund

Supporting Gen-1

The twenty-one-member Board of the Emeriti Association has pledged to establish an endowed fund for the Emeriti Scholarship for underrepresented, first-generation undergraduate students at UC. 

We, the Board, ask you to partner with us to grow the endowment principle to $125,000.  This will enable us to create a sustainable $5000 scholarship to be awarded yearly.

Together we can help make their dreams come true …

• Make a gift at: foundation.uc.edu/give

After the funds load, in the “Search Funds by Name” field,

Enter “Emeriti Scholarship”

• If you are 70 1⁄2, you may wish to transfer (not withdraw) directly to the UC Foundation all or part of your IRA's Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) to a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), naming this scholarship fund, and save on your taxes.  A QCD is also called an IRA Charitable Rollover. rmd/qcd/rollover

UC Foundation can work with you and your financial advisors to prepare necessary documents.    

Contact: Rodney Parks, Executive Director, Principal Planning, Rodney.Parks@foundation.uc.edu

Details: Fund Name and Number

“University of Cincinnati Emeriti Association

Endowed Scholarship Fund” (S201318)

Original McMicken Hall

Architect Samuel Hannaford 1894

"New McMicken" (now Arts & Sciences) Hall

Architect Harry Hake 1949

Samuel Hannaford, the renowned Cincinnati architect of Music Hall (the 1877 “crown jewel of the Queen City”), won the bid to design the first McMicken Hall in 1894.  His grand building was demolished and replaced with Harry Hake’s Georgian version in 1949, while the “McMicken” name lived on until its eradication from the campus in 2018-2022.

[Note: Hake was featured in our August issue’s “Did You Know?” We will take a deeper look at Hannaford and his UC connections in our next issue.]

The UC we know today was the result of a bequest by Charles McMicken in 1858 to the City of Cincinnati to create “two colleges for the education of white boys and girls” (though the City ignored many of the will’s restrictions).  The University of Cincinnati, briefly known as McMicken University, moved to McMicken’s hillside estate (near today’s Bellevue Hill Park) in 1875, then in 1889 moved up the hill to its present location on the south acreage of Burnet Woods.

[Read more: Cincinnati Enquirer's Origins of UC]

Charles McMicken (1782-1858) was a controversial and contradictory character. Due to his philanthropy, he is appropriately known as the founder of the University of Cincinnati. But because of his active engagement as a buyer, seller and exploiter of human beings of African ancestry and the segregationist wording of his bequest, his name has been removed from association with the College of Arts & Sciences and no longer designates any space on campus.

[Read more: Spencer Tuckerman’s Rise & Fall of McMicken Hall]

[Read more: McMicken's Legacy by Kevin Grace & Greg Hand]

First African American Alumni Honored

In 2022, the McMicken name was taken off the Arts and Sciences building. A new installation, with inscriptions by university archivist and emeritus Kevin Grace, honors the earliest African American alumni, including Henry Malachi Griffin (1858-1931) and Alice May Easton (1876-1962).

Having enrolled as an undergraduate in 1882, Henry Griffin was the first Black to graduate at UC.  He was popular with a fine sense of humor and was elected class orator at his 1886 graduation. He went on to work as a teacher and high school principal and later became a practicing physician in New York City’s Harlem.

Alice Easton was the first African American woman graduate in 1897. Alice was born into a distinguished family, the daughter of educator Lewis Easton and the granddaughter of famed photographer Alexander S. Thomas. Alice excelled in science and earned a B.S. in Mathematics. She taught at the renowned Harriet Beecher Stowe School until retiring in 1945. She was married to physician Dr. Marshall Leland. 

Memorial pillars behind A&S Hall, leading to Bearcat Commons

Memorial to Alice May Easton

Emeriti Association & Center

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Who We Are

President | Sally Moomaw | moomawsc@ucmail.uc.edu

Vice President| George Babcock | babcocgf@ucmail.uc.edu

Secretary | Kathryn Lorenz | lorenzkm@ucmail.uc.edu

Treasurer | Tim Sale | salejt@ucmail.uc.edu

Executive Director| Pamela Person | personp@ucmail.uc.edu

Editorial & Communications Team

Chair | Joanna Mitro | mitroj@ucmail.uc.edu

Editor | Lynn Davis | davislk@ucmail.uc.edu

Reviewer | Jonathan Kamholtz | kamholj@ucmail.uc.edu

Emeriti Connection is produced by the Office of the Executive Director

assisted by the

Editorial & Communications Team.

 Contact us at emeriti@uc.edu

The UC Emeriti Association & Center

is supported by the

Office of the Provost for Academic Affairs.

University of Cincinnati Emeriti Association & Center

2412 Carl H. Lindner Hall

P.O. Box 210066

Cincinnati, OH 45221-0066

Issue No. 27 - October 2023