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Sports Magazine, and aregular contributor to nationalmagazines, including GQ,Bloomberg BusinessWeek andPopular Science.Linda ArenaLASTING IMPACTLONGTIME TIGER COACH &ADMINISTRATOR LINDA ARENAHONORED BY ALMA MATERBY RYAN MAURER’97Brian Reed is a partner at Reese,Pyle, Drake & Meyer PLL inNewark, Ohio, where he haspracticed law since 2003. He andhis wife, Shani, live in St. Louisville,Ohio. He cycled 100 miles duringthe 2017 Pelotonia, his thirdconsecutive year completing therace in support of cancer research atThe Ohio State University.’01For Linda Arena, the 266 coaching wins at her alma mater, SUNYCollege of Brockport, and Wittenberg University are etched in her memorybut perhaps faded a bit with time. The thrill of breaking ground for femalestudent-athletes and sharing in their success years later never gets old,however.Arena returned to SUNY College of Brockport in October 2016 toreceive one of the most significant honors a coach or athlete can receive.Brockport named its new field hockey venue at Eunice Kennedy ShriverStadium in honor of Arena, who was a standout in both field hockey andsoftball prior to her graduation in 1969 and later a coach at the universityfor more than a decade.Arena said she knew she wanted to teach as soon as she began hercollegiate career at Brockport. Her success as a player carried over to herwork as a teacher and coach almost immediately after graduation. Yearslater, she would experience “the proudest moment of my career” when shewas inducted into the Brockport College Hall of Fame.“I truly believe that to teach is to touch a life forever,” she said. “I believethat coaching is teaching. So playing took a back seat to finding the mosteffective way to bring smiles to the faces of my student-athletes.”As a coach at Brockport, Arena not only accommodated rostersnumbering more than 60 student-athletes each year, but she led theGolden Eagles to the NCAA Division III Tournament three straight years.In 1981, Arena led the team to the national semifinals, marking the firsttime a Brockport women’s team has advanced that far in NCAA play.She went on to find similar success coaching at Wittenberg, whereshe also served as a professor in the department of health, fitness andsport and the university’s director of women’s athletics for more than adecade, in addition to amassing 194 wins while leading the Tiger fieldhockey program for 16 seasons. She retired from coaching in 1998 andfrom teaching in 2012, but not before making important inroads on behalfof female student-athletes at Wittenberg and beyond.To read the complete story about Arena and her groundthe field of women’s athletics, go to:www.wittenberg.edu/LindaArena4 breakingSTATUS UPDATESwork inEmily Rogalski Miller, directorof neuroimaging at NorthwesternUniversity’s Cognitive Neurology& Alzheimer’s Disease Center,was named to Crain’s ChicagoBusiness 40 Under 40 list for 2017for her groundbreaking work withSuperAgers, defined as seniors80 and older with memory that isat least as good as individuals intheir 50s and 60s.Shannon O’Keefe-Pero wonre-election in November 2017 asthe first female town justice inGreece, N.Y.’02’03Charles “Wes” Enicks has beennamed the new executive directorfor Generations Incorporated inBoston, Mass. Previously, he wasvice president of development forBig Sister Association of GreaterBoston.Jennifer Grossman Leopardcompleted her doctor of educationin higher education at ThePennsylvania State Universityin April 2017.’04Carrie Warvel Longley, a ceramicartist, had a solo exhibitiontitled “Corporealis” at CentralWashington University’s SarahSpurgeon Gallery in October2017. She is the chair of the fineand performing arts departmentand assistant professor of fineart at Indiana University East inRichmond, Ind.’05David and Ann Delaney Fleenor’06 announce the birth of theirson, George Richard Fleenor, onJan. 20, 2017.’06& Planetary Laboratory, wasfeatured in an August 2017 ToledoBlade article about research shepublished with Renu Malhotrathat provides evidence for aplanet at the far edge of our solarsystem. Their research appearedin the Astronomical Journal,a publication of the AmericanAstronomical Society.’07Kathy “Kat” Hittle Fields,principal of Heath High School inHeath, Ohio, has been named toThe Newark Advocate’s 20 Under40 list for 2017. She is creditedwith providing significantprofessional development toher staff and contributing to anincrease in student achievement.Anne Nichols married ErikFraley in February 2017.’08Peter Rahal, co-founder andCEO of RXBar, has sold thebusiness to Kellogg Co. for 600million, just four years afterlaunching the Chicago-basedprotein bar company in thebasement of his parents’ home.According to an article in theChicago Tribune on October 6,2017, Rahal will stay on as CEOunder Kellogg.Jamie E. Mack and Chase M.Bryson were married on June 3,2017.’10Dan Jacob is serving for a year asministry associate at Wittenberg.He received his M.Div. from YaleDivinity School and then becamea deacon commissioned in theELCA.Leslie Chasteen Nienhausannounces the birth of her son,Grant Gregory Nienhaus, on Sept.15, 2017.’12Rachel Lee works with theU.S. Olympic and ParalympicFoundation in Colorado Springs,Colo., which is the fundraisingarm of the U.S. OlympicCommittee.’13Karlos Marshall and MosesMbeseha have co-foundedThe Conscious Connect Inc., anonprofit dedicated to schoolage and neighborhood literacy inSpringfield, Ohio, and the GreaterMiami Valley area.’14Jessica Martin Kopp is theco-owner of RISE FitnessCommunity in Upper Arlington,Ohio. The fitness studio, whichopened its doors on May 1, 2017,offers RISE Run Club, Ohio’s firsttreadmill-based group indoorrunning program, as well as ahigh-intensity interval trainingprogram called HIIT IT.Libby Pike Sharkey and herhusband, Matt, welcomed theirdaughter, Emily Carol, in July2016.Kathryn “Kat” Volk,postdoctoral research associate atthe University of Arizona’s Lunar’09Hannah Johnson is the directorof operations for Vios Global,a fertility clinic managementcompany.Caroline Matchett, a secondyear medical student at theUniversity of Wisconsin Schoolof Medicine and Public Healthin Madison, Wis., was named a2017 TYLENOL Future CareWITTENBERG UNIVERSIT Y CLASS NOTESfa l l20185

BACK IN THEBUCKEYE STATEScholar. This competitivenational scholarship is awardedto students pursuing careers inhealth care who have displayedacademic excellence, exemplaryleadership, communityinvolvement and dedication to acareer of caring for others.TAVER JOHNSON '94RETURNS TO OHIO STATE TOCOACH DEFENSIVE BACKSAlison Wice received hermaster of arts in graphicdesign from Eastern MichiganUniversity in 2016. Sheis employed by CrossFitHeadquarters in Scotts Valley,Calif., as a junior motiongraphic designer.BY RYAN MAURER’16Chelsea Hovrath and HarleyShugart ’15 were married onSept. 3, 2017.’17Megan Bobbitt is a regionalsales representative with Nestléin Stamford, Conn.Trent W. Champlin isa legislative aide for StateSen. John Eklund of the 18thSenatorial District of Ohio.Ali Kukovich has accepteda one-year fellowship withTouching Tiny Lives, a nonprofit organization in Lesothothat works with childrenaffected by HIV/AIDS andmalnutrition.Taver Johnson ’946 STATUS UPDATESIt has been a long and winding road for former Tigerfootball All-American Taver Johnson, who recentlyarrived at his 11th coaching stop in 24 years. Hiscontinually sunny disposition indicates that he is noworse for the wear.In fact, Johnson insists he is better off for themyriad of experiences. A coaching career that startedat his alma mater in 1994 and 1995 includes stints atMillikin, Notre Dame, Miami (OH), the ClevelandBrowns, back to Miami (OH), Ohio State, Arkansas,Purdue, Temple, and, finally, back to Ohio State.He has coached every position on the defensiveside of the ball and even special teams in the NationalFootball League (NFL). His latest assignment isdefensive backs coach for the Buckeyes, who won theBig Ten title and ranked in the top five nationally in2017.“I would never say I’ve seen it all,” Johnson said.“It has been an amazing journey. I have met someunbelievable people along the way. This is part of whatWittenberg taught me, to cultivate and appreciaterelationships.”A native of Cincinnati, Johnson is one of the mostdecorated players in the storied history of WittenbergUniversity football, earning first-team All-NorthCoast Athletic Conference (NCAC) and first-teamAll-America awards in 1992 and 1993, in addition tothe Hank Critchfield Award as NCAC’s top defensiveplayer both years. He capped his career with NCAADivision III Defensive Player of the Year honors whileleading the Tigers to a 9-1 overall record in 1993.While working for Urban Meyer, who has wonmore than 90 percent of his games at Ohio State,and playing home games in famed Ohio Stadium infront of nearly 105,000 fans may seem like a worldaway from life at Wittenberg, Johnson said the goalsand expectations for both programs are similar. Anattitude and expectation of winning drives Johnsonas he replaces Kerry Coombs, who developed fiveBuckeyes into first-round NFL picks in six yearsbefore accepting a position with the Tennessee Titansin January 2018.“There are high expectations here, obviously,”Johnson said. “This will be a heckuva challenge,but I’m looking forward to it. It’s good to have highexpectations. ThatWITTENBERGis one of the thingsthat YattractedUNIVERSITCLASS NOTESme to Wittenberg.”fa l l 20187

FeatureJeff BrookingsDistinguishedTeacherBY TOM STAFFORD '76The Wittenberg Motto alludes toknowledge, wisdom and faith asthe sources of light the universityhopes to pass on to others. Likeothers who have come before him,Jeffrey Brookings is a testamentto how the warmth of a skilledand genuinely caring professoradvances that cause.Brookings reached a milestonewhen he received the WittenbergAlumni Association’s 2017 Awardfor Distinguished Teaching, anaward “presented in recognitionof superior classroom teachingand contributions to the academiclife of the students and faculty of8 DISTINGUISHEDSTATUS UPDATESTEACHERWittenberg University.”For Brookings, it is the careerbookend to the student-bestowedOmicron Delta Kappa Award forExcellence in Teaching, whichhe received in his early years atWittenberg.Last May, the holder of thePaul Luther Keil Endowed Chairin Psychology reached anothermilestone when he finishedhis final class in ZimmermanHall, taking home evidence ofperhaps his most noteworthyaccomplishments – thosementioned in notes fromstudents.WITTENBERG UNIVERSIT Y CLASS NOTESfa l l20189

“Where do I even begin?”Courtney McNutt, ’09, openslines written on a pale green cardneatly trimmed with pinkingshears.After thanking him for hishelp with academic work, shementions an item on the to-do listof so many who arrive on campusat 18: “Thank you for helping meattempt to figure out my life.”She then pens words everyaspiring mentor dreams ofreading: “I frequently tell peopleI want to be Dr. Brookings when Igrow up.”Finally,

title in 1958. At Wittenberg, he competed in football and baseball and currently serves as a member of the Wittenberg Board of Directors. ’69. Charles Painter, USPTA, collected . his 700th career coaching victory while coaching the boys’ tennis team at Archbishop Alter High School in Kettering, Ohio. He is the former Wright State University .