News & Media

E. Rolland Dickson ’55 Honored by Mayo Clinic for Contributions to Medicine

Ohio Wesleyan students, faculty, staff, and alumni make headlines every day with their expertise and accomplishments. Here are a few of the latest highlights…

E. Rolland Dickson ’55

E. Rolland Dickson ’55

E. Rolland Dickson, M.D., earns a 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for exemplifying Mayo Clinic’s ideals and mission.

Dickson is an emeritus professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, a clinician investigator in the Department of Internal Medicine, and a supplemental consultant in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

He is well-known for his contributions to the research of liver transplantation and hepatic disorders. Data acquired through his research was the basis and forerunner for the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score used throughout the world for assigning priority to patients awaiting liver transplantation.

Read the complete announcement, “Mayo Clinic Announces 2014 Distinguished Alumni Awards.”

Kathryn Barger Leibrich ’83

Kathryn Barger Leibrich ’83

Kathryn Barger Leibrich, chief of staff for Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, is announced as Antonovich’s choice to succeed him when he retires in 2016.

According to the Los Angeles Times: “Leibrich, one of the most seasoned aides at the County Hall of Administration with 25 years working for Antonovich, said she was seriously considering the race and would make a final decision in December or January. … She joined his office as an intern and rose to become his health and children’s services deputy before assuming the role of chief of staff.”

Read the full Los Angeles Times article, “Supervisor Antonovich endorses chief of staff to succeed him in 2016.”

Tom Goodman ’76

Tom Goodman ’76

Tom Goodman, founder of New York City-based public relations firm Goodman Media International, is featured in MediaBistro’s FishbowlNY column.

Column contributor Diane Clehane reports that Goodman founded his firm in 1996 “after 20 years in corporate PR for CBS, ABC, and J. Walter Thompson. … He started with three very high-profile clients – British Airways, Sony and MSNBC – and since opening his office … has ‘represented every major network and cable network at one time or another. …’

His company, which recently opened a Boston office, also “handled the launch of three Harry Potter books, rolled out the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book for 12 years and were ‘the agency of record’ for Grand Central Terminal’s 100th anniversary,” Clehane reports.

During her lunch with Goodman, she also reports seeing actor and 1963 OWU alumnus Granville “Buzz” Pine, who has appeared in such films as “The Graduate” and on NBC’s “CHiPs.”

Read the complete MediaBistro article, “Rosanne Cash, Donald Trump’s Latest Nemesis & Lessons in PR From Tina Brown’s Landlord.”

Kersten Mitton Rivas ’93

Kersten Mitton Rivas ’93

Kersten Mitton Rivas is named president of Source Marketing, with offices in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania. She previously was managing director for Havas Worldwide New York.

She discusses her career with Adweek, stating: “I’m really very hands on in the way that I work. … It’s really important that you stay close to the problems that the agency is trying to solve for clients, and it’s the best way to figure out how to be the kind of agency that will deliver the best results.”

At Ohio Wesleyan, Mitton Rivas studied international business.

Read the complete Adweek article, “Source Marketing’s Kersten Rivas on the Advantage of a Smaller Agency.”

John Kahl ’85

John Kahl ’85

John Kahl, CEO of ShurTech Brands, discusses his career and the vision behind ShurTech’s iconic Duck® tape with Smart Business Network editor Dennis Seeds.

According to the article, ShurTech’s sales have quadrupled since 1997, and booming global presence is booming now includes operations in Canada, Mexico, Peru, United Arab Emirates, Germany, the United Kingdom, and China.

At Ohio Wesleyan, Kahl majored in economics with a management concentration. In recalling his first job, he says, “I learned the harder you work the luckier you get.”

Read the complete Smart Business Network article, “John Kahl finds the formula of product, people and partners adheres to success for ShurTech.”

Bridget Donnell Newton ’80

Bridget Donnell Newton ’80

Bridget Newton, mayor of Rockville, Maryland, is recognized as an “Excellence in Government” award honoree.

Newton, a double major in politics and government and history at Ohio Wesleyan, tells reporter Holden Wilen of the Montgomery County Sentinel that she tries to lead the city with a positive attitude, driven by a phrase her parents used to tell her: to whom much is given, much is also expected.

The former City Council member also says she is surprised that she is a politician. Her only previous forays into politics were becoming president of her class at OWU and participating in an internship on Capitol Hill.

“I always thought I’d be the person behind the scenes doing the research work or helping the elected official,” she tells Wilen. “I never thought I’d be the one running.”

Read the complete Montgomery County Sentinel article, “Excellence in Government award honoree: Bridget Newton.”

Jason Ramsey ’07

Jason Ramsey ’07

Jason Ramsey joins the Akron office of Roetzel & Andress LPA as an associate. He will focus on litigation, with an emphasis on transportation litigation and general liability defense. Roetzel has more than 200 attorneys in offices throughout Ohio and Florida and in Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C.

At Ohio Wesleyan, Ramsey majored in history and political science. He then earned his law degree from Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law. He also earned the title of Best Oral Advocate at the 2013 American Bar Association National Appellate Advocacy Competition in Boston, Massachusetts.

Read more about Ramsey.

Evan Corns ’59

Evan Corns ’59

Evan Corns is selected as the recipient of 2014 David Hamilton Smith Award presented by the Order of Omega at Ohio Wesleyan.

For many years, the Smith Award was presented to outstanding OWU Greek alumni who had given time, talent, and treasure to Ohio Wesleyan both during and after their time on campus. Order of Omega reinstated the award last year after a several-year hiatus.

At Ohio Wesleyan, Corns majored in history and was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He has supported many initiatives, including providing a multimillion-dollar gift in 2000 to renovate the former Memorial Union Building into the R.W. Corns Building, named in honor of his father. Today, the building houses Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Economics and its Woltemade Center for Business, Economics & Entrepreneurship. He also has provided financial support for the Woltemade Center’s Corns Business and Entrepreneurial Scholars program, the Libuse L. Reed Endowed Professorship, the Richard W. Smith Civil War Lecture Series, the Richard Fusch Fund for Excellence in Geographic Studies, and much more.

In 2007, his family created The Evan R. Corns ’59 Endowed Scholarship in his name, and, in 2010, he was inducted into the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) Hall of Excellence. As a Smith Award recipient, Corns’ name will be added to the plaque hanging in Hamilton-Williams Campus Center. OWU Greek Life

More than 300 OWU fraternity and sorority members participate in the national 2014 “Make A Difference Day,” performing community service at 15 local sites including the nonprofit Strand Theatre, Arts Castle, and Delaware County District Library.“It’s a real partnership between campus and the community, and I think that’s one of the highlights,” Dana Behum, OWU’s assistant director of student involvement for fraternity and sorority life, tells reporter Gary Budzak.

Read the full Delaware Gazette article, “OWU students help make a difference.”