Sport Management Prof Featured in Ranking of Best Fan Cities

Dr. Charles Campisi (center) interviewed earlier this year about a BW sport
management majors trip to work the Super Bowl.

Cleveland is a home for die-hard sports fans from the Cavaliers "all in" believers to the Browns' Dawg Pound. So, when a new survey by WalletHub ranked Cleveland 19th overall best city for sports fans, and highest ranked city in Ohio, the site turned to BW Sport Management professor Charles Campisi to get inside the city's fan culture.

"Being completely irrational is what makes a good sports fan, or at least a loyal one," Campisi told WalletHub.

Campisi also weighed in on the rankings in a follow-up interview with The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com, noting that a team’s performance does not always correlate with passion from the fan base, especially in the case of the Cleveland Browns. Although the Browns have not always performed on the field, the long-suffering fans remain loyal.

Campisi says his BW sport management majors benefit from living and going to school in top-20 city for sport fans, with access to high profile games, internship opportunities, and a network of industry professionals.

Busy Sax Prof Banaszak Tours India, Earns Rave CD Reviews

Banaszak outside the National
Performing Arts Center in Mumbai

This fall semester, Conservatory saxophonist Greg Banaszak is coming off "the busiest 18 months" in his 25-year career, including an incredible and rare two-week tour performing with India's only symphony orchestra at the invitation of India's Ministry of Culture and their "pro-Western," progressive leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The tour with the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) began at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mumbai and then moved across the country to various cities throughout India, earning Banaszak a feature in Rolling Stone - India.

"This was the first time the country featured a saxophonist and was exposed to both the classical and jazz sides of the instrument," Banaszak explains. "It was a humbling, happy, extraordinary experience." The August performances presented works for saxophone on the first half of the program and the celebrated "Bird with Strings repertoire!," paying tribute to jazz icon Charlie Parker, on the second half.

Meantime, enthusiastic reviews are in for Banaszak's latest CD with Maestro Gerard Schwarz on Naxos records. A reviewer for Gramophone wrote, “The highlight is Hovhaness’s Saxophone Concerto, in which Greg Banaszak milks the tone and timbre of his unaccountably neglected solo instrument in an irresistible series of romantic episodes.”

Fanfare praised, “The saxophone concerto is…delivered with just the right lilting rhythms by the excellent Greg Banaszak,” and American Record Guide raved,"...it is hard to imagine any player anywhere with more beautiful tone than Greg Banaszak."

In an interview with Vandoren, Banaszak said "this recording experience was really exceptional, to say the least. Having the honor to work with Maestro Gerard Schwarz, one of America’s finest conductors, was beyond words. He has almost three hundred recordings to his name and he knows exactly what he wants and expects out of all the musicians under his baton--soloist included."

Radio Listeners Enjoy Ongoing Inside Look at BW Music Theatre

“I feel at home and at my best when I’m on stage,” said Warren Franklin ’19, Music Theatre major in the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music.

On top of rehearsals and schoolwork, Franklin will give WCLV Classical 104.9 listeners an inside look into the life of a first-year BW Conservatory student during a series of on-air interviews. In his first interview for the series, Franklin explained his admiration for BW's renowned Music Theatre program before he was even admitted.

“I knew ever since growing up, I wanted to go to BW,” said Franklin. “The shows were amazing, but it was when I saw Carrie the Musical at the Beck Center where I was just like, ‘this is my home, this is where I need to be.’”

A graduate of the Cleveland School of the Arts, Franklin is no stranger to the stage. This past June, he starred in Cain Park’s production of Godspell as Jesus.

With just a few weeks into his freshman year, Franklin has adjusted to a full course load to hone his craft. One class, Eurhythmics, comes natural to Franklin.

“I was a percussionist for 6 years in a competition drum corps,” Franklin said, “so eurhythmics comes very, very easy to me. I’m having a lot of fun in Eurhythmics; it’s helping me a lot.”

Listeners can tune into Franklin’s next episode on the WCLV Classical 104.9 live-stream channel on Ideastream.

BW Graduate Lands Dream Job in Korea

(L to R) Asia Foundation Country Representative Dylan Davis, Shinyoung Park,
U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, and Chairman of the Friends
of Asia Foundation Han Sung-Joo. Courtesy of the Asia Foundation

A diverse liberal arts education can be an instrumental foundation for a successful career and Dylan Davis ’03 offers a perfect example. Davis graduated from BW with a double major in psychology and music and now works as The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Korea.

It’s a position that Davis says he had been “following for at least ten years” and an opportunity he could not pass up. The passion that Davis has for the Korean people and culture was ignited when he became the first BW student to Study Abroad at Ewha University in Seoul. In a news release, The Asia Foundation pointed to his liberal arts education, in combination with graduate coursework at Yonsei University Graduate School of Public Health and his deep work experience in Korea as helping to prepare him for this new dream job.

Prior to landing his current post, Davis was program director for the Center of Korean Studies at University of California, Berkeley where he promoted knowledge of Korea on campus while working to build and expand programming centered around the country.

Before Berkeley, Davis spent eight years residing in Korea, working for the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, serving as an International Affairs Officer at Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital, and working for the Korean-American Educational Commission where he had formerly been a Fulbright Grantee. Davis is exceptional in not only speaking, but writing Korean.

Davis has been recognized for his service by several distinguished organizations including the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. In 2013, the Mansfield Foundation also selected him as one of only ten Korea specialists to partake in the first gathering of Korea-Foundation-Mansfield Foundation Korea Nexus Scholars.

Legendary BW Alum Feted at U.S. Open

Tennis players (L to R) Rosie Casals, Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova, with Bud Collins and his wife Anita Collins, and Katrina Adams, USTA president and U.S. Open chairwoman at the dedication. Courtesy U.S. Open

The U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) recognized the extraordinary career and colorful contributions of preeminent tennis journalist and commentator Bud Collins '51 over the Labor Day weekend, officially attaching his name to the media center at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during the 2015 U.S. Open.

Following praise by Billie Jean King and other tennis luminaries at the early Sunday ceremony, Collins, attired in trademark loud pants and bow tie, quipped. "I'm at a loss for words. It's sacrilegious."

The legendary tennis broadcaster and BW Athletics Hall of Fame inductee began his sportswriting career at BW's student newspaper, The Exponent. After graduation, Collins started writing for the Boston Herald and later the Boston Globe before going on to do tennis commentary for major broadcast news networks such as NBC and ESPN. He has also written several books including Bud Collins' Encyclopedia of Tennis and The Education of a Tennis Player.

Photo Credit: Ben Solomon for The New York Times

Media coverage of the dedication included a New York Times tribute headlined, "Celebrating Bud Collins, a Tennis Treasure Told in Words and Pants," by Jon Wertheim. The story, which also appeared in Sports Illustrated, ended with, "It’s a nice and fitting honor. But we all know this truth: it just makes official what was always tacitly understood. It was Bud’s room. The rest of us were just fortunate to be in his presence, lucky to call him a colleague."

New York Newsday wrote that Collins' "spirited work rendered him the sport's premier historian, conscience and connoisseur of fun," while a very personal New York Daily News column by his protege, Mike Lupica, was titled, "Bud Collins the best friend tennis ever had." 

The new commemorative plaque at the center reads, “Journalist, Commentator, Historian, Mentor, Friend.” At BW, we'd add one more to that list: YJ4L! Congratulations Bud!

BW Student Ambassadors Program Receives ICAA Recognition

The BW Alumni Relations' Student Ambassadors Program has been recognized with a 2015 Independent College Advancement Associates (ICAA) Program of Excellence Award.

Lisa M. Judge '00, Assistant Director of Alumni Relations, BW Student Ambassadors Kyle Johnston ’16 and Abigail Snow ‘16, and Terry Kurtz ‘91, Director of Alumni Relations (pictured left to right) all attended the ICAA conference in Pittsburgh this summer where the award was presented. Kurtz and Judge are co-advisors to the Ambassadors organization, which is currently comprised of 40 BW sophomores, juniors, and seniors representing a variety of academic disciplines and campus involvement.

The ICAA Program of Excellence Award recognizes successful programs that “enhance the work of advancement or the university as a whole. “The goal for this award is to celebrate people or teams that have developed innovative programs, tools and systems and additionally, to help recognize best practices in the field of advancement.”

“BW Ambassadors allow our alumni connect with the BW of today and generate excitement about the University’s future,” Judge said. “We are thrilled that their hard work has been recognized with this award.” 

At the ICAA conference, Judge, Johnston and Snow also co-presented a session on Harnessing the Energy of Student Volunteers: Best Practices from BW Student Ambassadors.

Recruitment for new BW Student Ambassadors will begin again in January 2016.

International Studies Grad Works to Launch a First for NEO

Laughlin-Caroff '05

Northeast Ohio's only foreign language immersion school--the state's first Mandarin immersion school--is gearing up to open in Cleveland in August 2016 and a BW alumna Kristen Laughlin-Caroff '05 is playing an instrumental role in the development of the new Global Ambassadors Language Academy (GALA). Laughlin-Caroff, who triple majored in international studies, French and economics at BW, serves on GALA'sboard and is chief marketing officer for Cleveland International Fund.

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District-sponsored charter school has initial plans are to enroll Kindergarten and First Graders Mandarin and Spanish immersion programs, with the goal of adding Arabic and Portuguese and developing an international school for grades 9-12 in the future. The school will be tuition free and provide instruction of all core subjects in both English and a target language, "leading to dual proficiency in reading, writing,

listening, and speaking by the 3rd grade."

Laughlin-Caroff is optimistic for the future of GALA, telling us that "it will serve as a change agent for Cleveland," offering area families "innovative school options" as it works to "strengthen culture and diversity, and produce a globally competitive local workforce for multinational companies in the Cleveland area."

Senior Takes Psychology Research to NYC

Undergraduate research successes at BW often result in impressive national presentation opportunities. That's the case for BW psychology/ pre-medical major Kyle Johnston '16, who spent three semesters researching the effects of concussion in athletes. His unique study analyzed information from all 23 athletic teams at BW. 

In May, the rising senior and aspiring medical professional took his research on the road. Johnston and his faculty advisor, Dr. Dale Grubb presented the research at the American Psychology Society's 27th annual Conference in New York City. APS not only provided an excellent conference for showcasing the research, but allowed Johnston to gain insight on similar psychological studies.

Alumna Named Dean of Undergraduate Admissions NSU

Deanne "Dee" Voss 

Alumna Deanne "Dee" Voss '90 has been named dean of undergraduate admissions at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Voss is heading to NSU after spending more than 20 years as an enrollment professional at the University of Miami. Brad A. Williams, NSU's vice president for student affairs and dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies stated in a News Release that, "Miss. Voss brings a wealth of knowledge about admission and enrollment management and relationships with high school counselors throughout Florida, nationally and internationally."

She holds a bachelor's degree in international studies from BW and a master's degree in higher education leadership from the University of Miami. Voss is active in the National Association for College Admissions Counseling and the Southern Association of College Admissions Counselors.

Sport Management Majors Intern with NFL's Dawg Pound

Photo Courtesy of the Cleveland Browns.

Everyone sees Johnny Manziel, Joe Haden and other Cleveland Browns superstars in the news and on the field. But not everyone sees them at work every day.

Eric Kwiatkowski '17 and Kevin Hulsmann '16 are working as Team Operations interns for the Browns this summer. The sport management majors assist with Training Camp in a variety of ways, driving shuttles of Browns players back and fourth from their hotel to the training facilities, taking inventory and distributing training camp schedules to players, managers and other members of the Browns' support staff.

"I like working with the Browns because I get to be a part of something that I've loved my whole life," Kwiatkowski tells us. "I get to see what goes on behind the scenes to make a Browns season happen."

Both students found out about the internship through BW sport management professor Charles Campisi. "The sport management professors at BW are always sending us emails about internships in the sporting industry which gives us many opportunities," says Hulsmann.

Both Kwiatkowski and Hulsmann believe they are fortunate to have landed summer internships that are exposing them to a side of the pro sports industry that they have never seen before.

Student Writer Spends His Summer at Outlook Ohio Magazine

The multi-talented Nathan Cole '17 took his passion for writing to Columbus this summer. Cole, an English major who also writes student and alumni success stories for BW, spent his summer in an editorial internship with Outlook Ohio magazine. Outlook Ohio is a free, monthly publication that is geared for the LGBT and allied community and can be found on newsstands in over 2,000 locations around the state. 

"I have had so many different opportunities to grow in the field of journalism and communications," Cole explains. In addition to contributing to Outlook Ohio's online blog, Cole had articles published in the July and August print magazines, and will have another article published in the upcoming September issue.

He had the opportunity to interview and write about RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7 runner-up, Pearl; fashion director of the Columbus Fashion Meets Music Festival, Horacio Nieto; and Neon Trees lead singer, Tyler Glenn, just to name a few. 

The publishing industry, according to Cole, is nothing like what we see in 'The Devil Wears Prada.' He says that he could not be happier about his summer at Outlook Ohio.

Cole's published article on the 2015 Gay Softball World Series in Outlook Ohio Magazine. 

Pre-Physical Therapy Major has High-Flying Internship Overseas

Levin (bottom) skydiving over the coast of Israel. 

As college students, many of us spend our summers building our resumes through internships and volunteer opportunities. Jon Levin '17 is spending his summer doing just that, but with a major plot twist. Levin's internship is in Bnei Brak, Israel.

The pre-physical therapy and exercise science major is interning as an assistant to the physical therapists at Ateret Rimonim, a retirement home, located in Bnei Brak. The eight week internship has included working with patients on motor functions, occupational therapy activities and daily exercises. Although he is not licensed to lead physical therapy by himself, Levin is able to assist with small physical therapy exercises and activities under supervision.

Representing Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity at The Kotel in Jerusalem

Levin and his fellow interns use their days off to travel around Israel. He's had the opportunity to visit Jerusalem and the City of David, repel down a 164-foot cliff in Tel Aviv and, his favorite experience: skydiving over the coast of Israel (see photo!). At 11,000 feet above the coast, he was able to see some incredible views of both Israel and Lebanon.

The Olmsted Falls native tells us that his time in Israel has exceeded his expectations. "I am loving being in Israel for the summer and the experiences that I have had are ones that cannot be replicated in the States."

Levin heard about this opportunity through the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, and competed to land the internship in an extensive interview process. The effort, he says,  has proved to be completely worth it!