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Linda Amspaugh George Barbour Alexander Bereskin Eugene Blee Lanthan Camblin Gustav Carlson Ben Felson Harris Forusz Lee Foshay Phil Foster Warren Huff Robert Hundley David Jacobs Kay King	Hilmar Krueger George Kisker Len Lansky Walter Langsam Lou Laushey Malcolm MacGregor Reginald McGrane Bill Middendorf Carl Mills Carl Osterbrock James Robinson Helen Swineford Gerry Weller Rollin Workman Fred Ziv
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Helen Swineford: Math teacher provides life lessons
Shortly before I graduated from Cincinnati's Withrow High School in 1928 and before I knew what I was going to do next, my mathematics teacher, Helen Swineford, suggested I talk with Dr. Herman Schneider at UC. The very idea of an undecided high school student getting advice from the president of a university seemed to me ludicrous. Nevertheless, a few days later, she made an appointment for me to see Dr. Schneider.

The time arrived, and I shivered in my boots as I approached his office. He greeted me warmly and acted as if he had nothing else to do but talk to young people who could not make up their minds. From him, I learned why he was willing to share a busy day with me. He told me that during his tenure as dean of engineering some of the best math students had received their training under Miss Swineford and that he had a very high regard for her and her products. I can't remember much of our conversation, but it led to my decision to enter UC. The rest is history.

Now, more than three quarters of a century later, I have no connections with the Cincinnati area except your magazine and many warm memories. Thank you.

P.S. I wonder how many of Miss Swineford's students are still among the living.

H.W. Abplanalp, A&S '33
La Jolla, Calif.

Phil Foster: Taught art students to 'see'

Phil Foster must have been born a curmudgeon. He was a wizened Popeye of a man who was the greatest art teacher I will ever have. He's the only person I known who could mix white, yellow and green pigment into a beautiful blue hue. Most of the mythic stories about him are true. I witnessed this iconic example: Phil didn't teach you to draw; he taught you to see. His technique involved capturing a still-life with a single line that divided your canvas precisely in half. The drama of that first line could be something to behold, but its complexity often eluded the best of us. When an ashtray was not close at hand and a student's work somehow deserved it, Phil would put out his ever-present cigarette in a strategic location on your drawing. Funny thing was, it often made an interesting composition out of a mediocre exercise.

Jeff Seibert, DAAP '81

Cincinnati

 

Harris Forusz: Provocative, entertaining and accessible

Planning Prof. Forusz was an expansive thinker and shared his love of learning at every opportunity. He was provocative, entertaining, and accessible. But what I remember best are his three main ideas that he would frequently bring up in his teaching:  (1) Always visit the site -- a planner thing -- (2) Make a commitment to something in your life, e.g., either family, career, a cause, etc., and (3) Power corrupts and corrupts absolutely. These three ideas have served me well over the years -- among many other opinions about urban design and life that Harris (as he was better known) was readily willing to share.  Hail Harris, long gone but not forgotten!

Henry Jackson, DAAP '74

Lexington, KY

 

Robert Hundley: 'Character and dignity second to none'

Early upon my arrival as an engineering student, in Dorm D, (now that is ancient history) I listened to tales of the infamous engineering course Tech Mech (Technical Mechanics) and it’s absolute monarch, Prof. R. L. Hundley, who was credited with creating more six-year engineers than anyone else. When my turn came to experience that legend I found that the scuttlebutt was quite inaccurate.

Robert Hundley was a model professor who gave passing grades only to those who proved beyond a doubt that they had comprehended, digested and were capable of applying their knowledge of the subject via the solution of individual daily problems as well as bi/tri weekly tests. Professor Hundley maintained absolute academic control of his class in a respectful manner while exhibiting an occasional sense of humor. He was a man of superior teaching ability with character and dignity second to none.

William Koenecke, Eng '55

Glen Rock, NJ

Linda Amspaugh: Inspired students with her extra effort

My friend Jenifer and I loved the personal notes Dr. Amspaugh wrote on all of our papers in her elementary reading/literacy course.  It was evident that she took the time to read every word each student wrote, because there were little comments, smiley faces and inspiring remarks in every section.  It encouraged me to work harder and "say" what I wanted to say in the best way possible.  She really had a relationship with the students in her classes and a passion for teaching.  When Jenifer and I had to write lengthy papers for other professors, we were so disappointed not to find any comments--there was simply a grade on the front page.  So, we (Jenifer and I) traded papers and wrote our own "Amspaugh-ish" remarks for each other!  I still have some of the pieces I wrote in Dr. Amspaugh's classes and I enjoy reading what she wrote with her pencil all over them.  The words still inspire me as a teacher and as a person.

Denise Kramer Kushner, Ed '90, Med '97

Cincinnati

 

Kay King: How to fight for a job -- literally

Kay King was the first truly freethinking professor I had the pleasure of having. I will never forget her putting a shoe in the middle of two of us (in Drama class) and saying it represented a job. "What are you going to do?" The two of us battled for that shoe!

Her "sensitivity sessions" really helped provide a new perspective on getting in touch with ourselves. It may have been the first self-reflective course I had been through and that proved valuable to my future.

Mary Blair, Ed '72

Cincinnati

Walter Langsam: People came first

This is not a story about a faculty member but rather one about the university's president. Walter Langsam had been a history professor but when I met him as a senior he was president of the university, and he invited every graduating senior to his home for dinner. The Spanish-style home was on Clifton Avenue, and the buffet dinners were a very special way to cap a senior year. Dr. Langsam and his wife mingled about the students and he addressed many by name. We were always amazed that he seemed to know who we were.

About 15 years later I returned to UC, joining the library faculty. One day I was waiting for an elevator in the new library and looked sideways to see then-retired Dr. Langsam also waiting. When I said "Good morning Dr. Langsam. It's nice to see you again."  He said, "Good to see you also Marcia.  Welcome back to UC."  I was speechless. Walter Langsam always put people first, and I will continue to treasure that special morning greeting.

Marcia Deddens, A&S '65

Cincinnati

 

Lee Foshay: A diagnosis that'll make you squirm

Dr. Foshay was best known as the describer of Cat Scratch Fever (pdf download about his work) and the developer of the serological test for Tularemia. He lectured every day at 1:00 PM and his "sing-song" voice tended to make students sleepy so he spiced his lectures with humorous anecdotes.  They were the same every year. The most memorable ones were on sexually transmitted diseases when he pointed out that "venereal diseases were transmitted by the sexual route only; however, they had been known to be transmitted through contact with doorknobs and toilet seats. However, these latter modes of transmission were usually reserved by physicians for other physicians and members of the clergy." 

When I was on the Internal Medicine Ward he was called to consult on a patient that had peculiar abdominal pains. We all stood by the patient's bed while the chief resident presented the history to Dr. Foshay.  At the very moment that the resident finished his presentation, the patient became nauseated. Without saying a word, Dr. Foshay reached for the emesis basin on the nightstand and held it in front of the patient's mouth. The patient then threw up a live 8" red ascaris parasitic worm into the basin. Without saying a word Dr. Foshay looked at the parasite, handed the basin to the resident, smiled and walked away. Diagnosis made!  No one ever forgot that ascariasis causes abdominal pain.

Dr. Foshay died that year from a melanoma. I was in the last class he taught (Bacteriology/Parasitology). He was a wonderful teacher.

Dr. Edward Miller, MD '61

Cincinnati

 

Ben Felson: One 'moooving' experience

And then there was the night that someone's cow needed to be X-rayed and the only machine capable of doing the job was the one at The Cincinnati General Hospital.  The cow arrived in the dark of night, was led through the basement halls beneath the "The General" to the X-ray department where Dr. Felson supervised the radiological study.  The radiology resident was assigned to remain close behind the cow with a bucket for the inevitable — which did in fact occur. The bucket worked, the study was completed and the cow was saved.

 

Besides being a brilliant radiologist, Dr. Felson was a great teacher and a wonderful inspiration to many young medical students and residents. (YouTube video describes medical terms coined by Dr. Felson, including "Aunt Minnie.")

Dr. Edward Miller, MD '61

Cincinnati

 

Fred Ziv: A brush with Bing Crosby

Thank you for the article on my boss of days of yore. I worked for Mr. Ziv in the late '40s , De Sails corner. What a memory we had. I recall his asking me to find a packet of paper "up in the storage room, tied with a green string, with a yellow sheet marked Bing." Then he added, "not the one with Crosby, the one marked Bing, and it should be with the 1933 files unless we moved it to the California file." Sure enough it was just where he said it would be. Also, you might ask Dean Nelcamp (UC Evening College) about Mr. Ziv's ability to notice the one paper from the hundred on your desk, which was handled wrong. Mr. Ziv enjoyed jazz and being with young folks, one might see him at Mecklinbergs any Friday or Saturday night. Thanks for the memory.

Charles Ellman, Eve '59,

Georgetown, Ky.

 

Fred Ziv: A kind boss

I really enjoyed your February issue very much, particularly the feature "Class Acts." The piece about Fred Ziv brought back memories of almost 62 years ago, when I worked for Mr. Ziv. I had just graduated Walnut Hills High School, and I thought that I wanted to pursue a glamorous career in advertising, as portrayed in Mademoiselle Magazine. My grandmother asked her bridge partner, Rose Ziv, if I could have a summer job with Mrs. Ziv's son, Frederick, to try out the profession.

He kindly took me on. My job, among other things, was to write a précis of each Boston Blackie episode and send one to each of the radio stations that carried the series. I remember a lot of mimeographing and postage metering, and particularly corresponding with Station WPAR in Parkersburg, WV.

On August 14, VJ Day, I went off to celebrate the end of World War II, and that was the end of my brief career in advertising. I became a freshman at the university soon after that historic date and discovered my true academic love,  Economics — and never did get to live in New York City.

Alice Wiley Schlessinger,  A&S '49

Chicago

 

Fred Ziv: Simpler times

I first met Fred when he had just retired after selling his company (then UA-TV, which in about 1960 bought Ziv-TV) and he had returned to his hometown of Cincinnati and showed up at CCM to hold some seminars. He also kept a residence in Palm Desert in California.

I graduated in 1968 and went to UCLA for graduate studies and while there went down to visit Fred in the desert. He agreed to a request by me to write my master's thesis about the history of his company. After a two-year delay due to military induction, I was finishing the thesis when I needed to return to his desert home to clear up some questions I had encountered in the research.

Fred had successfully adapted some of his radio syndicated shows to television, one of which was "Boston Blackie", a detective yarn. In researching the contracts, I couldn't cleanly track the rights issues from radio to television. When I asked Fred about the missing documents, he showed his frequently exhibited impish grin and commented to the fact that he couldn't wait to clear up all the rights issues, and he clearly remembered just going ahead with it and worring about it later!

Obviously simpler times and a less litigious society!

His success with Ziv-TV was, and still is, unprecedented. I believe it was 1957 when Ziv-TV, an independent company, owned something like four of the top eight shows then on television (not sure any more of the exact numbers) competing against the then three national networks. All that from an attorney from Michigan who repurposed local advertising for rye bread on records for radio stations in the Midwest.

He was always a gracious man that wore his success well.

Tom Bruehl, CCM '68

Burbank, Calif.

 

Fred Ziv: Master of the chase

He was passionate about his work and his stories revealed the passion. It is exciting to be around someone who is passionate and successful. He was clear that a good show needed good writing. "In the beginning was the word." We heard that often.

He explained that his formula was a simple one, it was the chase. The chase underwater was "Sea Hunt." The chase on land was "Highway Patrol" with the besotted Broderic Crawford. The chase on horseback was "Cisco Kid."

He was comfortable with us. Happy to tell stories. He'd stress fundamentals of storytelling. He seemed to relish his place as teacher at the head of the seminar table. He wanted to be there as teacher, he wanted us to benefit from what he knew.

What I do remember is that he was modest about his accomplishments and as I recall didn't need to tell us how wonderful he was.

Jef Gamblee, CCM, '74

Staten Island, N.Y.

 

Carl Mills: He made language exciting

Carl Mills taught my introduction to linguistics course, and I always looked forward to taking the other courses he taught throughout my college career.

I still remember a principle he would often repeat, one I use myself even to this day:  When we are presented with two credible alternatives and asked to choose between them, sometimes the answer is simply "Yes!"

Carl knew how to connect his excitement about the idea of language to anyone who showed even some interest in the subject.  He also knew how to encourage a student while evaluating them honestly; not an easy combination to find in this world.

He said something else I'm not likely to forget, that "some day the study of language will probably become a branch of biology," an idea that I believe is gradually coming true.

Part of a small but great linguistics program at UC, I know Carl Mills is missed by many to this day.  He left us too soon, and often I think of him and what he taught me.

Doug Pennington, A&S '02

Washington DC

 

George Barbour: 'Your lives are changed forever'

It was December 8, 1941, a Monday, and it was a busy after-lunch time in the UC News Record offices as the student staff prepared to get the twice-weekly paper ready for publication. But we took time out to gather around the little radio in the office of Editor Carl Rubin to listen to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress and the declaration of World War II.

Into the office, wearing a suit jacket but no topcoat on this cold, wintry day -- he never wore a coat as he wandered across campus, even on the coldest days -- came Dean George B. Barbour of the College of Liberal Arts (now A&S). He huddled with us in the hushed atmosphere of that little room. When war had been officially declared, he broke the silence.

"Young ladies and gentlemen," he said in a quiet voice, "Your lives are changed forever." And with that, he turned, walked to the door and disappeared. How true those words were to be.

Through those troublesome times, until today, I still remember Dean Barbour's wise and foretelling comment.      

                                    

Ethel Samuels Rosner, A&S '45

Cincinnati

 

Rollin Workman: Inspiring generations of philosophy students

I am delighted that you paid appropriate tribute to Dr. Rollin Workman. It was he who inspired me and generations of students like me to major in philosophy and to appreciate the complexity as well as the thoughtfulness and relevance of philosophy and philosophers throughout the ages.

As a student in the joint undergraduate program which existed between Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and UC, Dr. Workman spent a great deal of time with the students of HUC-JIR. Through his friendship, kindness and guidance, to say nothing of his excellence of his academic achievements and his teaching ability, he certainly has made his mark (and obviously continues to make his mark) on so very many students.

Thank you, Dr. Workman!

By the way, from the look of your picture, you haven't changed a bit!

Sheldon Harr, A&S '68

Plantation, Fla.

 

Rollin Workman: One grad student's enriching experience

I was much interested in your essay on "Class Acts" in the February issue, featuring Rollin Workman, and the course on the history of ethics he taught for so many years. Pardon a bit of history, but I think the course originated as "War and Ideas" during WWII, and was  team-taught by Prof. Howard D. Roelofs, and two other profs, from economics and political science. Then, after the war, it became "Man and Ideas," etc. I took the course with Dr. Roelofs, as a senior, during the '57-'58 school year.

Rollin came to UC the next year, and sort of supervised the teaching assistants, and acted as one, too, along with me and Harvey Mullane. The next year Dr. Roelofs retired, Rollin took over the course, Harvey went to the University of Michigan (for a year), and I became Rollin's first (and only, for that year) graduate assistant. It was a very enriching experience; Rollin was (and is) a great teacher!!

I am officially retired now, but still teach one course per term, in my 45th year here at Baylor. Unlike Rollin, I have taken to the Internet, and anyone looking at my syllabus will see that I have modeled  much of what I try to do on Rollin's course:

Oh, I also, along with my wife, do volunteer work (at the local hospital), and work out three times per week. This is only to say that Rollin is right again; retirement should mean finding some other useful work to do, not hitting the hammock, and watching the soaps--I wish him ANOTHER 80 useful years; UC is so very fortunate to have this great guy on their campus!

Elmer Duncan, PhD A&S '58, MA (A&S) '60, PhD (A&S) '62

Waco, Texas

 

James Robinson : A student of Robert Frost

James Robinson had taught in the English department for decades before I arrived, but not long before then he had been very ill and its toll was heavy. Still standing tall and dignified despite these new disabilities, he was back on campus to teach a seminar on the British novelist and poet Thomas Hardy and works like "The Mayor of Casterbridge" that Professor Robinson had written on extensively.

Perhaps because he felt how much closer he was to the end of his university days than he was to their middle, he told many tales of being a student at Harvard, especially of his favorite teacher, the legendary poet Robert Frost.  The story he seemed to tell most often was from September 1st, 1939, after Hitler's forces had crashed into Poland igniting World War II. The students waited anxiously for whatever wisdom and insight the great Frost, who'd already won three of his four Pulitzer Prizes, would share about the grave news. He entered the room and began: "In times like these …" — he then paused and inexplicably, for the moment, smiled.  He then added what stayed with Professor Robinson, and then me, for so many years. "Whatever times have there ever been?" That was Frost's somber but reassuring question.  It is the story I told my students on September 12th, 2001.  I try to make sure I mention Professor Robinson and this legacy to many of my classes, such as Creative Writing or Literature or Education courses, and they seem to appreciate knowing that each is the student of a student of a student of Robert Frost, only a few degrees of separation from  "Mending Wall" and "The Road Not Taken."

I had told the stories to a lively first-year English course at UC before they talked me into taking them outside one warm, bright morning.  We headed for the center of McMicken Hall, under its steeple, to the colonial style carriage entrance facing Clifton Avenue at the end of the brick and cement walkway announced by the small stone lions, Mick and Mack.  While I was talking to my class as they sat on the short white walls, I saw a car pull up near the lions and someone help Professor Robinson out and up the few steps onto the walkway.  He greeted me warmly by name and I did likewise. As he got seven or eight feet away, I motioned to my students to lean in closer as if I had a secret. "That's my teacher who studied under Robert Frost," I loudly whispered and the entire class then swung their faces and shoulders back toward the building, a few letting out a low "woooo," as they watched him ease himself under the red brick archway and walk into the shadows of memory.

Michael Young, A&S '89

Pittsburgh, Pa

Gus Carlson: A calming presence during wartime

My memories of Dr. Carlson are pretty vague. After all, I graduated 60 years ago. I do remember being on campus during WW II. That was quite an experience. The world was in chaos, but Dr. C. was always cheerful, calm, and devoted to his subject matter. He seemed to be just as devoted to the students.

Garnet Greenspan Silverblatt, A&S '47

Cincinnati

Gus Carlson: Frequent bathing causes wrinkles

I was delighted to read the February, 2007 tribute to Gus Carlson in the UC Magazine. He was the finest professor I had (out of many outstanding teachers) during my undergraduate years. I graduated from UC with high honors in 1962. The two Carlson pronouncements I best remember from my Carlson class and have retold many times since then:

“China regains world hegemony approximately every 500 years." In 1960-61, Carlson forecast that the 500 years would occur in 2010.” He may be literally off by 5 to 15 years, but who among us does not believe China will be top dog by 2020?

“Americans bathe too frequently and that is why we have more wrinkled skin at an earlier age than do Europeans.” Oh, if I had only believed that one.

Nina Jaffe Gruen, A&S '62, MA (A&S) '63

El Cerrito, Calif.

 

Reginald McGrane: Kept politics out of the classroom

Dr. McGrane set the tone of Contemporary Problems (one of the few humanities in the fixed, no electives engineering program of the time) at a high level in the very first class session. He advised that he had been a delegate to every National Democratic Nominating Convention since 1932 but did not knowingly bias his classroom presentations and welcomed any input to the contrary. No input was ever offered to my knowledge, as the class was exemplary in both its content and presentation.

Despite my unsophisticated background and engineering education and career, I hold professors Reginald McGrane and Robert Hundley in the highest esteem in every category and have endeavored to follow their lead in my career and private life.

 

William Koenecke, Eng '55

Glen Rock, NJ