Called to serve

Edward Mikula, above and left, assistant director of the Ohio State airport, has spent 16 years in the Ohio Air National Guard. He has prepared his co-workers for the possibility that he may get called up for active duty in Operation Noble Eagle and Operation Enduring Freedom.   By Jo McCulty

Faculty and staff who do double-duty in the military say sacrifices are worth it

The events of Sept. 11 held special significance for Edward Mikula, Ben Walters and Randy Dunham, all Ohio State staff members who also serve in the military.

For Mikula and Walters, it meant being put on alert, ready to be given short notice for deployment with their respective military units. For Dunham, it meant immediately going on active duty, and leaving for Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida to fulfill responsibilities to the Ohio Air National Guard.

"We estimate that there are 350 student members of the Reserves or National Guard who could be affected by the call up, and 150 faculty and staff,"said Bill Hospodar, director of Veterans Affairs at Ohio State. As of Nov. 1, approximately 42 faculty, staff and students had either been activated or put on alert.

In accordance with state and federal law, and University policy, Ohio State faculty and staff called to active duty are eligible for military leave, pay, continued health coverage and reemployment rights.

"I've had all my gear ready to go since Sept. 11, and it's closer to the door now,"said Mikula, assistant director of the Ohio State Airport. He is company commander of Alpha Company 112th Engineer Battalion in the Ohio Army National Guard.

Mikula and Walters have both prepared their staffs for their possible departures.

Walters, who works in maintenance control for the 121st Maintenance Air Refueling Wing of the Ohio Air National Guard, is director of systems and operations for the Medical Center at Ohio State.

"I have tried to plan both for short-term and long-term leaves with my staff, peers and supervisors, all of whom have always been very supportive and accommodating. They understand that I may have to leave at a moment's notice. I have tried to set up a support structure for my staff that will allow them to continue to do their jobs in my absence with as little interruption as possible. Hopefully, I'm not putting too much of a burden down on others,"Walters said.

Mikula has also designated co-workers to take on his responsibilities, in the event that he needs to leave. He said he appreciates the flexible attitudes of his co-workers and supervisors for the military work he does year-round.

"It is quite a balancing act, and even more so, when you add the family in, too,"he said. "I've always had very supportive employers, in terms of my supervisors. I tell them from the start that I will have e-mails and calls come in during the day, but I manage it."

Col. Richard Green, commander of the 179th Airlift Wing, congratulates Randy Dunham, right, assistant director of media relations for the Office of University Relations and a journalist for the Ohio Air National Guard, on winning an achievement medal for feature writing in the Air Force.

Dunham had spent just two weeks at Ohio State as assistant director of media relations for the Office of University Relations when he received the cell phone call from his commander on Sept. 11, requesting that he report to his base, where he is a public affairs technician and journalist for the 179th Airlift Wing in Mansfield.

"My commander said, 'I need you here.' I got to the base and went on active duty for an indefinite amount of time,"Dunham said.

He served for 15 days in a media relations capacity, fielding media inquiries regarding North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the military unit charged with monitoring the skies of the U.S. borders through Combat Air Patrol missions, sent out over 15 U.S. cities designated as potential targets for terrorism.

Dunham, Mikula and Walters all have had long careers in the military, prior to and concurrent with their civilian careers.

Dunham spent eight years on active duty in the Air Force, and since 1987, has had three stints in the National Guard. Walters was on active duty for 7 1/2 years with the Air Force, and has spent 11 years in the Ohio Air National Guard. Mikula spent two years in the Army, and has spent 16 years in the Ohio Army National Guard.

As a company commander, Mikula is responsible for 113 people. Having that kind of experience, he said, has helped him immensely in his Ohio State career.

"Just from an organizational and management standpoint, it's been extremely useful,"he said. "I promote Ohio National Guard to everybody because of what I've learned. Here I am, in the hierarchy of the third busiest airport in Ohio -- if you had told me that 18 years ago, I would have said, 'Yeah, sure.'"

Dunham said his original enlistment was for all the wrong reasons. "But once there, it quickly became a part of my life. I even went so far as to get an American flag tattooed on my shoulder,"he said.

When he was called up on Sept. 11, he had the option of saying no. "My daughter said, 'Why are you doing this?' I said, 'Because other people can wave flags and donate money and feel they're doing their part, but I can put on my uniform and go to the front.' To be involved in the military, it's not this noble gesture, it's this intrinsic belief that you have to do something."

Leaving family behind can be a strain. Dunham has a wife and five children, aged 10 months to 16 years, and he worries about them when he is called up for duty. Walters has a 7-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old son.

"Of course, I'll be anxious,"Mikula said, if his status becomes active. "I have a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old. My wife would be a single parent while I'm gone. I'm uneasy with that, but by no means does that mean I'm not willing to go. If someone notified me, 'It's time to go,' I'd go."

Walters shared the sentiment. "I'm not going to tell you I'm gung ho about it -- I have a family and a job to maintain,"he said. "But my buddies on base are getting one, two days off a month and I told them, 'I don't care what the situation is, you tell me if you need me.' Am I excited about war? No. Do I think something needs to be done? I do. This is what I signed up for 19 years ago."

OSU Marion opens facility in Delaware

A growing demand for courses offered by Ohio State Marion in the Delaware community has led to the opening of a modest, but well-stocked, new facility located off U.S. Route 23.

The new two-story, 20,000- square-foot Delaware Center is equipped with a combination of traditional classrooms, computer rooms and continuing education rooms, as well as a science lab, art studio, small book store and faculty and staff offices, said Dominic Dottavio, dean of Ohio State Marion. He is also the one ultimately responsible for the Delaware program.

Thirty classes are being offered this quarter, with 45 to be offered winter quarter.

"For the most part, our focus is on providing students with the courses they need to meet the general education requirements,"Dottavio said.

He said OSU Marion began offering courses outside of Marion in the mid-1990s to answer a challenge made by the Ohio Board of Regents to the regional campuses to make higher education more accessible and affordable. Evening classes were offered at the Delaware South Joint Vocational School on a limited basis.

"The demand soon outpaced the schedule we were able to offer in that facility,"Dottavio said. "The new center is a continuation of our effort to provide a convenient, accessible Ohio State education for students in one of the fastest-growing central Ohio communities."

The facility is being leased from TREL Properties. Dottavio said OSU officials preferred not to purchase property or build their own building.

"We do not intend for this to be a significant redirection of our on- campus programs,"he said. "Our primary intent is to reach out to the community and to provide better access to OSU courses."

The Delaware Center is further enhanced by the presence of the Alber Enterprise Center, which is using a $700,000 Board of Regents grant to furnish the Delaware Center, including distance education technology, computer labs and furniture. The Enterprise Center, which originated on the Marion campus, collaborates with the Marion and Columbus campuses to offer work force development and customized employee training for small- to medium-sized businesses that don't have training departments, said Debbie Bowden, manager of corporate education with the Enterprise Center.

"Our goal is to help fill that role and bring the resources of the University to those businesses to help them become more competitive,"Bowden said.

Dottavio said staffing follows the traditional model for a regional campus, using a combination of tenured faculty from Marion, faculty from the Columbus campus, and adjunct faculty hired to teach select courses.

Managing the facility is center director Blythe Boger, a longtime Delaware resident who also directed Ohio State Marion coursework at the Delaware JVS for the past 3 1/2 years. She said the new facility allows for more than twice as many courses; previous Delaware offerings they were limited to evening classes, whereas classes are now held from 8 a.m. to 10:15 p.m.

"The students are loving it. They can take a full load of courses here at the center now,"Boger said.

And while the coursework is currently focusing on general education requirements, that will soon expand.

"We expect to offer graduate education courses by summer quarter,"Boger said.

Dottavio said the Delaware Center extends the land grant mission of the University.

"Whenever Ohio State can reach out to the community, and make the University an integral part of that community, it demonstrates to the people of Ohio that we are committed to providing them with an Ohio State education,"Dottavio said.

The Delaware Center opened this fall with an estimated enrollment of 262 students. Individuals attending the new center find many of the student services typically provided by Ohio State, including admissions and financial aid counseling and academic advising.

The center is located near the corner of U.S. 23 and Orange Road, 4.5 miles north of Interstate 270.

For details, call (740) 549-4426 or 292-9133, or visit the Web at www.marion.ohio-state.edu/delaware or www.marion.ohio-state.edu/gaec.

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