October 2006

The best us

“Are you becoming the best version of yourself?”
Matthew Kelly posed this question to students Oct. 2 in Sears Recital Hall. Kelly, a motivational speaker and New York Times bestselling author, took an hour to talk with students about relationships with themselves and with others. He returns to campus Nov. 2 to talk with undergraduate engineering students at 1:30 p.m. in Sears Recital Hall. The talk, based on his book The Rhythm of Life, is open to the public.
Kelly focused his October presentation on his upcoming book, The Seven Levels of Intimacy, and took students through each level, applying them to all types of relationships -- those between spouses, boyfriends and girlfriends, and friendships. The common thread that tied all the steps together though was that the person in the relationship should help you to become the best possible version of you.
“We make decisions and choices everyday, and they all affect whether or not we are becoming the best versions of ourselves,” he said. Kelly suggested that students start figuring out whom that person is and what they want out of life because life is too short.

by Sarah A. Barnidge ’07 10-31-06

All in the legal family

On Oct. 16, the family of John Snyder ’98 stood behind his petition to be admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.
They also stood beside and in front of him, as nine members of his family gathered before the justices to become one of the largest family groups to be admitted together.
Chief Justice John Roberts had one question for them: "Nobody wanted to be a doctor?"
Lawyers in the family include John's parents, Donald and Mary Theresa Snyder, an uncle, three sisters and two brothers-in-law. Sister Mary Snyder Radel explained that the siblings had a knack for legal work.
"If John got sent up to his room, one of us would come upstairs and advocate for him so he could come back down and play," she told the local newspaper, the Utica (N.Y.) Observer-Dispatch.
While John Snyder (pictured third from right) said he doesn’t remember being sent to his room, he does remember his parents supporting the activities of all their children, including when an eighth-grade John was a finalist in a statewide Optimist oratorical contest.
"I think as I got older I wanted to be a litigator. I wanted to be challenged to think and react while on my feet," said Snyder, a partner with Levene, Gouldin & Thompson in Vestal, N.Y.
The Snyders will make another group appearance tonight, Oct. 27, on "Inside Edition." In Dayton, it airs at 7 p.m. on NBC.

by Michelle Tedford 10-27-06

What a relief

Friday afternoon, I channeled my artistic side during a relief printmaking workshop held in ArtStreet Studio E. Visual arts assistant professor Erin Holscher Almazon supervised a small group of students learning the basics of relief printmaking.
We carved away at blocks of linoleum and wood with gouges, rolled vibrant ink onto our designs, and applied pressure to paper placed over the inked blocks. The results were original, decorative creations for us to take home. I chose to carve out a leaf design, using fall as my inspiration.
"Printmaking is great because it's something you can do in your spare time at home," Holscher Almazon said. "You can purchase the supplies we used today from local art supplies stores."
The workshop was offered in conjunction with the Henry Sugimoto woodcut print exhibit, in the McGinnis Center through Dec. 15, and gave participants a chance to dabble in the arts for the afternoon.

by Anna Sexton ’07 10-24-06

Basketball kicks off

On Friday, Oct. 13, "the Frericks Center was electrified," Flyer News wrote. Assistant sports editor Will Hanlon was talking about Flyer Madness, the annual kickoff to the men's and women's basketball seasons. The teams, band, cheerleaders and Rudy joined 2,700 students and fans, who "got more than their share of entertainment for the night," Hanlon wrote.
Again this year, coaches Brian Gregory and Jim Jabir showed off some dance moves. Freshman Marcus Johnson's acrobatic dunk over a seated London Warren won him the dunk contest, as judged by Red Scare. The biggest winner of the night might have been student John Lincoln, who paired up with fellow student and Flyers guard Brittany Holterman to win the shooting contest and score front row seats for the Feb. 24 Xavier game.
For Quicktime highlights of the night, click the image of Rudy.
If you're in Dayton, you can see the Flyers in action at their annual scrimmage in UD Arena this Saturday, Oct. 21. The women tip off at noon, the men at 2 p.m. Fans will have access to the Donoher Center, the Time Warner Cable Flight Deck and the Boesch Lounge. Players will also be available for autographs. Check back here for autograph times.

by Matthew Dewald 10-18-06

Power of grace

Brother Thomas Wendorf, S.M., had heard enough of India.
“I built up an initial resistance to going to India simply because everyone was talking about it so much,” Wendorf said. “However, through my experience there, the barrier inside of me was bridged and I fell in love with it.”
Wendorf, an assistant professor of English, taught 20 young Marianist brothers Homer’s Odyssey, Dante’s Inferno and Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart during a five-week Masterpieces of World Literature summer course in India. The students are working toward degrees in philosophy or sociology at UD’s Chaminade Educational Centre in Deepahalli, outside of Bangalore.
While there, Wendorf said he roamed the country to become familiar with its complex culture. He remembers the loud motorists dodging people and animals.
“When the women in gleaming saris of brilliant colors would walk the streets they looked so clean and graceful amidst the clamor and barely contained chaos,” Wendorf said. “They were the beauty amid the craziness of the city.”
Wendorf said he would like to return to teach a semester-long course.
“The power of grace was at work to get me to go to India and to allow me to enjoy it so much. I was happy there and very sad to leave,” he said.

by Kathleen Miller ’07 10-17-06

Faith in one another, too

Westina Matthews Shatteen ’70 told students that her success on Wall Street is tied to the relationships she cultivates, relationships enhanced by her display of faith.
"You'd think being on Wall Street and having a book on faith would be a contradiction," she said, telling the audience packed into the Science Center auditorium about her Have a Little Faith series of inspirational books. "I'm actually a better employee, I am better on Wall Street, because clients really resonate once they know I've written these books. We have a better conversation."
Matthews Shatteen, managing director of community business development at Merrill Lynch in New York, was executive-in-residence for the annual Business as a Calling series, co-sponsored by the School of Business Administration and the Jacob Program in Professional Ethics. She and her husband, Alan Shatteen ’70, an executive coach, answered questions Friday about handling the challenges of being an executive couple.
"You decide it's not a challenge," he said. Instead, you recognize the differences between you and leverage them for a stronger whole.
"She doesn’t have to know how to do things with the computer," he offered as an example, which was immediately followed by her exclamation, "Thank God."

by Michelle Tedford 10-13-06

The weave of life

Artists were humble about their creations, but spoke generously on their inspirations, at the reception Wednesday for the current exhibit at ArtStreet Studio D.
“I like the art deco era, I like the jewelry and I like the clothes,” said Shelia Lambertson, who stood beside her acrylic painting "The Flapper." Lambertson is a continuing education student of the UD Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for people of age 50 or more. The institute's exhibit, "Visions of Experience: The Art of Lifelong Learning," showcases the work of invited guests and students taking the institute's art exhibit seminar. The exhibit runs through Oct. 26.
“We met a challenge of creative exploration and hope to inspire others to seek new ways of lifelong learning through the arts,” said seminar instructor Nancy Hatton, who also submitted several works. She said the course covered how to display artwork, featured talks from art directors and designers, and went on local art tours.
Mary Ann Hill teaches beginning knitting in the institute and exhibited a "Tumbling Block" afghan. “I learned to knit when I was 8, so I’ve been knitting for 51 years,” she said, commenting that her mother taught her and now her daughter is interested in the craft. “It’s the weave of life... .”

by Johnnie Kling ’09 10-13-06

Perfectly polished patent

While the Wright brothers invented the system that gracefully maneuvers an airplane, it is their patent attorney, Harry Toulmin, who received honor yesterday for the deft crafting of their patent application.
"When you look at the Wright brothers' claim, you not only see a masterful inventor, but you see a masterful lawyer," said John Fitzgerald Duffy, professor at the George Washington University Law School, during the panel discussion "A Century After the Airplane Patent: The Lawyer's Role in Innovation" in Keller Hall.
The audience of 60 heard from lawyers, judges and John Doll, U.S. commissioner of patents, on the synergy between invention and economic productivity.
"The law and the legal creation are always the servant and not the master of intellectual curiosity," Duffy said, "and if we forget this ... we should be held in contempt."

by Michelle Tedford 10-06-06

Winning big with U D Ghetto

Watch out Rudy, UD may have a new mascot. A 2-year-old gelding, U D Ghetto, has been accumulating fans.
"He just got to the race track in July," owner and breeder Michael Mackin said. Mackin named the horse such because several family members have attended UD, including his youngest daughter, Jessica, a current sophomore.
Dr. Andy Foley, a physician in the UD health center, has been following this new arrival on the racing scene. He said he previously followed another Dayton attributed horse, Dayton Flyer, who raced in New York about two years ago. U D Ghetto is currently in training for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile after winning the Kentucky Cup Juvenile race last weekend. Foley is expecting a strong showing: "He'll be watched and he'll be famous."
The horse has currently won about $80,000 and Mackin said he has considered sharing the horse's earnings with UD. He said he's not sure how receptive the school will be with the student neighborhood's infamous name attached to the horse, "but we'll see."

by Johnnie Kling ’09 10-4-06

Rockin' to battle breast cancer

What started out as a relaxing Sunday turned into UD's very own rock concert.
Zeta Tau Alpha sorority hosted the 10th annual FREEFAHL (Forever Reminding and Educating Every Female About Healthy Living) concert in Humanities Plaza. The six hours of music was an opportunity to raise money for breast cancer education and awareness.
The sunny afternoon was spent relaxing, playing cornhole and munching on burgers, brats and Cousin Vinny’s pizza. But once night fell, the energy level picked up and the crowd swayed to the music of more than half a dozen musical acts, half of them made up of UD students.
The crowd calmed only once, when ZTA sisters read names submitted by students of loved ones who have been affected by breast cancer. Luminaries, set up for the names said, cast a soft glow onto the stage, which only moments later was taken over by headliners and Ohio natives Red Wanting Blue.
The sea of students sang along, jumping up and down through the last song of their favorite new band, all for a good cause.

by Sarah A. Barnidge ’07 10-4-06