Pharmacy dean returns to faculty

Cassady to step down after 15 years as head of college

By JONI BENTZ SEAL, onCAMPUS staff

After 15 years as dean of the College of Pharmacy, John Cassady is stepping down to return to the faculty, turning over the reins of the college to Robert Brueggemeier, chair of the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, July 1.

Cassady earned his B.A. degree in chemistry from DePauw University, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in organic chemistry from Case Western Reserve University. He was a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Wisconsin, and began his academic career in 1966 at Purdue University, where he chaired the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and was appointed as the Glenn L. Jenkins Distinguished Professor. In 1988, he was appointed as the sixth dean of Ohio State's College of Pharmacy.

John Cassady

"I have been most fortunate to receive many awards, recognitions and honors during my 38-year academic career," he said. "My greatest honor is to have been selected to lead The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy as dean for 15 years during a most dynamic period of renewal and development, but I look forward to returning to the faculty to continue my teaching and research programs."

Under Cassady's leadership and through the efforts of its faculty, staff, alumni and friends, the College of Pharmacy has experienced tremendous growth across many fronts. The entry-level and nontraditional PharmD programs, which allow licensed, practicing pharmacists to earn their doctoral degree completely online -- the first online degree-granting academic program at Ohio State, and a new undergraduate major in the pharmaceutical sciences, were developed and implemented. The college's endowment underwent unprecedented growth, currently exceeding $12 million.

"This university owes a great debt of gratitude to John Cassady for his exceptional service to the College of Pharmacy and to the broader university," said Provost Ed Ray. "John was instrumental in moving the college through the difficult task of establishing the PharmD program and in establishing the pioneering and innovative online nontraditional PharmD program. Throughout John's tenure as dean, the college has been a leader in bringing externally funded research awards to the university."

This funding helped the college's practice enterprises -- including ambulatory sites in the University Medical Center, Columbus Neighborhood Health Centers and local community pharmacies -- flourish, offering excellent new training sites for professional students and residents. Facility enhancements have included renovations to the existing Lloyd M. Parks Hall and the dedication of the Vern G. Riffe Building and University Health Connection (an interdisciplinary health care clinic). The college's Office of Student Affairs was reorganized to provide stronger support for students, a new Dean's Corporate Council was established, and Ohio State's competitive funding for research and perceptual rankings increased.

Cassady's research in medicinal chemistry has involved the chemistry of natural and synthetic cancer therapeutic and chemopreventive agents. "We hope to see some of our discoveries move to clinical trials," he said. This research has resulted in more than 300 papers and abstracts and over $10 million in research support from the NIH and other funding agencies. "I also plan to lay the groundwork for the development of a national center of excellence in nutraceuticals and botanical medicines here at Ohio State," he added.

Cassady received an honorary D.Sc. from DePauw University; election to Fellowship by the American Association of Cancer Research, the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, and the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences; and was honored with the 1990 Research Achievement award in Natural Products Chemistry from the American Pharmacists Association.

"I think if you were to ask his dean colleagues to describe John's strengths beyond his obvious accomplishments within the College of Pharmacy, I think you would hear them say that he was always willing to step up and serve on planning and management teams for the colleges and that he always tried to think about the best interests of the university," Ray said. "He is a very accomplished scholar and a good man."

Gold retires after 35 years at Ohio State

MAPS thrived under dean's leadership

By MELISSA WEBER, MAPS Communications

After 35 years of service to Ohio State, Robert Gold, professor of mathematics and dean of the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, is retiring on June 30.

"Many people didn't realize I was dean until they received their invitation to my retirement party," he joked.

Gold grew up in the Philadelphia area, received his undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College, and his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he worked with K. Iwasawa in a special branch of algebraic number theory. He arrived at Ohio State in 1968.

Robert Gold

"I never really had a vision of life as a faculty member," Gold said. "As a graduate student, I was focused on study and research. Before I arrived, I envisioned several hours every day during which I would just think about math, and I quickly realized there was more to it than that. I was surprised to find that teaching was fun. The students were committed, with a good attitude toward intellectual challenge."

He also found helpful colleagues and a supportive environment in the math department. He gradually began serving on committees, as well as working in graduate recruitment and serving as course coordinator. But he found time to think about math, as well. During his career, he has published 25 papers and won a Humbolt Research Fellowship, which gave him the opportunity to study in Germany for a year. He became associate dean of the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences in 1991, interim dean in 1995 and dean of the college in 1997.

"People keep asking me to look back on my career and talk about my legacy," Gold said. "I think I want to be remembered as the dean who retired at the same time as John Cassady. I think he made it look easy!"

"Bob Gold has handled tough matters intelligently and with courage and sensitivity," said Ed Ray, provost and executive vice president. "During Bob's tenure as dean, the college has been awarded three selective investment awards in chemistry, mathematics and physics. And, both chemistry and physics have been awarded departmental teaching awards. The college also played a lead role in obtaining funding from the NSF for two national centers: the Mathematical Biosciences Institute, involving statistics and mathematics, and the Environmental Molecular Science Institute, centered in chemistry. Lonnie Thompson and colleagues in geological sciences have gained international recognition for their work on global warming and the disappearance of the mountain glaciers in the temperate zone. In addition, the Large Binocular Telescope project involving the Department of Astronomy is approaching completion. That is quite a record of accomplishment."

Gold's daughter, Rachel, who now resides in Minneapolis, remembers that he also found time to teach math to a small group of children at her elementary school. "I remember he asked us really different questions," she said. "Like, ‘how can an ant walk on the ceiling?' I even remember it has something to do with volume and weight displacement. It really made us think!" Gold also has a son, Daniel, who lives in Columbus.

Gold also has been a strong supporter of outreach activities in the college. During his tenure, he worked with the other colleges in the arts and sciences, and with the College of Education to create a new middle-school teaching degree to fit one of the new certification programs now required by the Ohio Department of Education.

Meek's devotion led to many milestones at Ohio State Lima

By RANDY GAMMAGE, onCAMPUS staff

Ohio State Lima Dean and Director Violet Meek carries a little bit of sadness around with her excitement as she approaches her June 30 retirement.

"I've made wonderful friends here, whom I intend to keep," Meek said. "You look forward to transitions like these with anticipation -- there are so many things to do and think about -- but, with a little bit of trepidation, too."

Violet Meek

Meek has served as dean and director of Ohio State Lima for 12 years. During that span she has guided the campus through an unprecedented period of growth. The campus has expanded from four to eight buildings and now offers the course work for 10 bachelor's degree programs, compared to one in 1990. The first seven people in its history were promoted to full professor and seven faculty members received the university's Distinguished Teaching Award.

"We clearly have a faculty of excellent scholars dedicated to excellence in both teaching and research," Meek said.

Community support has increased ten-fold, with annual fund-raising currently at about $400,000, compared to $30,000 to $40,000 12 years ago.

"We take that to mean the community values our land-grant tradition of service," Meek said.

Under her leadership, Ohio State Lima has provided a wealth of outreach activities to the community. A prime example of that is the Strategy Store, a neutral information-gathering unit that supplies survey research and analysis for government and area businesses. Lima also is the only regional campus with a county Extension office on its campus, Meek said; this exemplifies the teaching, research and service missions of Ohio State.

"By partnering with OSU Extension and the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, we have been able to accomplish some spectacular things in the community," Meek said.

While campus facilities have expanded, Meek is particularly proud of the Life and Physical Sciences Building that was dedicated in 1999. The new facility replaced "1960s high school-quality laboratories" with state-of-the-art labs and opened the door for students to complete course work for a four-year biology degree at Lima.

Jon Rockhold, director of external relations at Ohio State Lima, has worked with Meek on a number of levels. He first worked with her while he was superintendent of schools with the four-county Apollo Career Center; later as president of the Lima/Allen Chamber of Commerce while Meek served as board chair; then as a special assistant to Meek four years ago before being named to his current position.

"In the 12 years that I've known Violet, I've never known a moment when she was not on duty for the university," Rockhold said.

Meek has been very devoted to the land grant mission of Ohio State, he said, and never hesitated to send out staff or students to serve the community. She fought long and hard to get Ohio State Lima involved in the arts community — evidenced by the partnership with the Lima Symphony that created the Lima Symphony Chorus.

"She is very tenacious," Rockhold said, "Once she sets the course she never wavers."

Rockhold said a May tribute to Meek attracted more than 300 citizens from the surrounding community.

"She will be missed, clearly," he added.

Meek has led Ohio State Lima to the brink of a promising future, as they plan to open a new theatre facility within the year and residence halls in 2005.

She likes to refer back to a quote by former OSU President William Oxley Thompson (1899-1925) -- one of her favorites from Ohio State's cast of interesting and influential characters -- as a guiding reference.

"The University has built on too small a scale. It is hoped that future buildings will have a reference to future needs and provide liberally for the youth of the state. The University should no longer live by years. It should live by decades."

As for retirement, Meek said she plans to take seminary classes at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Bexley, where she served as chair of the board.

"I've done a lot of lay preaching -- filling in at various Lutheran churches. There are needs to be filled and I have the time now to make a contribution," she said.

It is a move not without precedence, Meek said, adding that Thompson became a pastor at Indianola Presbyterian Church after retiring as president of Ohio State.

Riedl's vision paved way for OSU-M growth

By RANDY GAMMAGE, onCAMPUS staff

After leading Ohio State Mansfield through 16 years of growth, Dean and Director John Riedl is not hedging on his plans to retire June 30.

"It's been a fun time and I've enjoyed it thoroughly, but it's time to let somebody else take over the reins," Riedl said.

John Riedl

Taking over as dean and director Aug. 1 is Evelyn Freeman, director and professor of the School of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education.

After a much-deserved summer vacation in Wisconsin with children and grandchildren, Riedl will return to the Mansfield campus autumn quarter for some post-retirement teaching. He will focus on business calculus and college algebra.

Hank Thomas, coordinator of Mansfield's admissions and financial aid, said Riedl's unselfish leadership skills would be sorely missed.

"I've met few people in my life who operate with less guile than John Riedl. This is a man who had no agenda other than what is good for the regional campuses," Thomas said.

As dean at Mansfield and coordinating dean of the regional campuses, Thomas said Riedl possessed a vision for the future role of the regional campus that was way ahead of its time. As an example, Riedl anticipated future needs for student housing, while recognizing an Ohio Board of Regents moratorium on new student housing on the regional campuses (later lifted in summer 2001), and initiated the building of privately owned apartments for student housing in 1998. Additional privately owned units were built in 2000 and 2002, increasing the number of beds at the Mansfield campus to 190.

"The addition of student housing really has changed dramatically the nature of the campus," Thomas said. "Our applications are up nearly 50 percent this year, and a lot of that is due to students who were deferred admission to the Columbus campus."

Student housing is now available or is being built at all four regional campuses in response to the Academic Plan and the final report of the Presidential Commission on Regional Campuses -- both stating as a priority the need to find more ways to provide access to an Ohio State education. Students who are not accepted for autumn admission to the Columbus campus are offered access to any Ohio State regional campus, all of which maintain open admissions policies for Ohio applicants and competitive admissions policies for nonresidents.

Thomas also credited Riedl with a scholarship budget that grew from $30,000 in 1989 to more than $500,000 currently -- a direct result of a fund-raising drive that Riedl initiated.

Riedl joined Ohio State in 1966 as assistant professor of mathematics, and served as assistant dean and associate dean of the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences and later acting dean of the college before becoming dean and director of the Mansfield campus. He has witnessed many positive changes at Mansfield during his tenure.

"I would say the most significant change is the enhanced quality of faculty," Riedl said. "Over the years we've built a strong faculty. They are excellent teachers who regularly beat the average on student evaluations, but also are deeply involved in scholarship and have performed at a high level," Riedl said.

A direct result of that is that Mansfield has been able to teach the upper level courses needed to support bachelor's degree programs. They now offer all of the courses needed for four-year degrees in education, English, history and psychology, in addition to a business degree offered through distance education by the Fisher College of Business. This spring, 51 students earned bachelor's degrees from the Mansfield campus.

Riedl is pleased that a majority of recommendations for the future of the Mansfield campus -- contained in a program review begun prior to his appointment as dean -- have now become reality. Among them are the development of an endowment to support faculty development, and stronger relationships between faculty and their departments.

"There's been a tremendous amount of progress in the area of technology," Riedl said. "Before I started, there were two shared computers on campus available to faculty; the campus now has 296 computers. Of those, 200 are accessible to students, in eight computer labs."

Riedl said the formation of an Ohio State Mansfield Board of Trustees nine years ago helped the campus stay connected with the local community's needs, and provided the necessary firepower to get the four-year business degree program off the ground.

Asked what he will miss the most about serving as dean, the easy-going Riedl replied simply: "I don't know. I've been too busy to worry about it. I'm working very hard on leaving my successor with a balanced budget."