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MAHG grad named first site manager of Colorado historical site
Unlike many students who have gone through Ashland University’s Master of Arts in American History and Government program (MAHG), Chris Mather isn’t a social studies teacher. Mather works for the National Park Service (NPS). “While the MAHG program is generally focused toward secondary school social studies teachers, I believe this program can be a benefit to anyone who is involved with government functions, acts as a steward to our public resources or has a…
AU graduate courses help longtime educator have a varied career, including his new director of administrative services job
Even though Geoff Halsey said he’s about five years away from retirement, the longtime educator plans to earn a doctorate degree before he retires. That’s because he said he loves learning and being in school settings. Some of the best of the many graduate courses the 52-year-old said he has taken throughout his education career were through Ashland University, where he earned his building principal license, as well as a master’s equivalency in educational…
Ashland University art education graduate Mindy Duncan earns award at Mansfield Senior
Mindy Duncan has never forgotten how much Ashland University helped her career as an art teacher. “It helped immensely,” said Duncan, who has been teaching art for 29 years at Mansfield Senior High School. “I feel the close relationships with the very caring and excellent staff at AU helped foster my artistic and educational pursuits. Even after I graduated, there was continued support from art professors and colleagues.” Duncan was recognized recently for…
Ashland University graduate Bryan Wittman looks back on his incredible career with Disney
You’ve probably heard of Disney rides Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World and Space Mountain. How about the Bryan Wittman Disney ride? “It was a hell of ride,” said Wittman, an Ashland University alum who worked with Disney for 29 years, starting in its promotions department and retiring as the corporate vice president of global marketing events. He was responsible for the creative development, production and marketing of major grand openings,…
Ashland University grad Beery returns to area to teach theatre with experience in New York
While she enjoyed her time in New York, 1997 Ashland University graduate Maria Beery is happy to be back in the area teaching theatre classes at the Richland Academy of the Arts. “The building may be different and many of the faces are new, but RAA still has the same unmistakable creative energy that it had 25 years ago when I first started there,” said Beery, who first taught classes, workshops and summer programs part time for RAA while she was a student at…
Opera career taking off for Chanáe Curtis, an Ashland University music graduate
What started in Ohio and Ashland University as a love of music for Chanáe Curtis has blossomed into a successful opera career that has taken her not only across the U.S. but overseas. Curtis, who earned a Bachelor of Music from AU in 2012, recently finished performing “Falstaff” in San Jose and is now in London with the English National Opera for Jeanine Tesori’s “Blue.” “It is a privilege to be on any stage in front of a live audience doing what I love to…
MBA from Ashland University shifts trajectory of Ambur Banner's career in social work
Ambur Banner says her Master of Business Administration degree from Ashland University really shifted the trajectory of her career. “Most people don’t think of a social worker as a seasoned business leader – but here I am,” said Banner, who was recently named the acting director of the Unified Government Public Health Department in Kansas City, Kansas. “Social workers are leading in different spaces every day,” she added. “My MBA gave me the education I…
Gupta praises AU for helping him on his career path to superintendent job
Neil Gupta says his career wouldn’t have advanced as successfully as it has without Ashland University. “All the jobs I’ve gotten have directly been related to what AU prepared me for,” said Gupta, whose recent job advancement was being named superintendent of the Oakwood school district in the Dayton area. Not only has Gupta earned a master’s degree (educational curriculum and instruction) and a doctorate (educational leadership) from AU, he also has served…
Russell, M.Ed. alumnus, loves promoting diversity in education as National Teacher of the Year
Kurt Russell still often uses one of the things he learned from his time in Ashland University’s Master of Education program in the mid-1990s. “I learned to make sure you are honest to yourself as a teacher, not copy another teacher’s style and be authentic,” said Russell, who has been teaching history at Oberlin High School since earning his master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from AU in 1996. “I use that every day as I teach.” That philosophy…
1965 Ashland alum authors two books in one year
The past year has been a busy one for Clinton Stanley “Stan” Zimmer, a 1965 Ashland College graduate. He has written two books, one about his parents’ experiences in China as missionaries from 1936 to 1948 and the other about coping with mental illness in his family. “They will probably be the only two I write,” Zimmer said about his hectic year of writing, which saw “The Pull of China” published in December and “Eagle Wings Over the Valley” finished in…
AU grad Jennifer Winkler creates unique school art program in Smithville
“Thank you for allowing me to come into your awesome classroom. You should be so proud of the teacher you have become, evolving to meet the interests/needs of your students. I was so inspired.” This is one of several notes hanging on the bulletin board in the classroom of the high school and middle school art teacher at Green Local Schools, Jennifer Winkler, a 2012 Ashland University graduate. Surrounding the bulletin board of notes, photos and drawings are…
Star of critically-acclaimed ‘Till’ received an MFA in Creative Writing from Ashland in 2017
Danielle Deadwyler’s acting career has taken her from the Atlanta stage in her hometown to many parts in television and film, including the lead role in the recent movie “Till.” Earning a creative writing master’s degree in 2017 from Ashland University has helped in her journey toward movie star status and talk of possibly winning a Best Actress Oscar with “Till.” “The potential of teaching and writing were given, however, I always sought to incorporate the…
