Founder and Executive Director of American Women Veterans
“Serve. Honor. Empower: A Conversation with Genevieve Chase”

November 20, 2012
7 p.m.
Student Union Apollo Room
Free & Open to the Public
Community Reception begins at 5:30 p.m. in E156 Student Union

Genevieve Chase is the founder and executive director of American Women Veterans and a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom VII. After enlisting in the U.S. Army Reserve in 2003, Chase volunteered to serve with the Army’s 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry). While deployed to Afghanistan as a sergeant in 2006, her vehicle was attacked by a suicide vehicle–borne improvised explosive device. The passengers survived the attack, but suffered varying degrees of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress. To counter various symptoms of TBI and PTS, Chase dedicated herself to veterans advocacy.

Since returning from active duty service, Chase has worked tirelessly to bring to light the issues faced by today’s veterans. While advocating on their behalf, she discovered a need for a focus on women veterans and their families from all eras and branches of service. To fill that void, Chase created American Women Veterans and began, in earnest, the 21st century women veterans’ movement.

A recipient of the Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge, Chase has testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee about her experiences in Afghanistan as well as the

U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee concerning women’s health care. She serves as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, in addition to her role as executive director of American Women Veterans. The U.S. Army selected her as a 2010 All American Soldier Hero for her outstanding work both in and out of uniform. Recognized as an advocate for female veterans and for her knowledge and experiences in Afghanistan, Chase acts as a media consultant to major media outlets and publications.

President, The Ohio State University

November 28, 2012
2 p.m.
Student Union Apollo Room
Free & Open to the Public
Join us for cake immediately following in E156 Student Union

E. Gordon Gee is president of The Ohio State University, a world-class public research institution and one of the nation’s most distinguished land-grant universities. As chief executive officer, he oversees Ohio State’s six campuses, 65,000 students, and 48,000 faculty and staff. Gee is among the most highly experienced and respected leaders in higher education, having been named in 2009 by Time magazine as one of the top 10 university presidents in the United States. Prior to his service at Ohio State, he led Vanderbilt University (2001–2007), Brown University (1998–2000), The Ohio State University (1990–97), the University of Colorado (1985–90), and West Virginia University (1981–85).

Born in Vernal, Utah, Gee graduated from the University of Utah with an honors degree in history and earned his J.D. and Ed.D. degrees from Columbia University. He clerked under Chief Justice David T. Lewis of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals before being named a judicial fellow and staff assistant to the U.S. Supreme Court. In this role, he worked for Chief Justice Warren Burger on administrative and legal problems of the court and federal judiciary. Gee returned to Utah as an associate professor and associate dean in the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, and was granted full professorship in 1978. One year later, he was named dean of the West Virginia University Law School, and, in 1981, was appointed to that university’s presidency.

Gee is a member of several education-governance organizations and committees, including the Big Ten Conference Council of Presidents, the Inter-University Council of Ohio, the Business-Higher Education Forum, and the American Association of Universities. He is chair of the American Council on Education’s Commission on Higher Education Attainment and serves as co-chair of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ Energy Advisory Committee. In 2009, Gee was invited to join the International Advisory Board of King Adbulaziz University in Saudi Arabia. Active in a number of national professional and service organizations, he also serves on the boards for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc., Limited Brands, and the National 4-H Council. In 2011, Gee was appointed to serve as secretary on the Board of Directors of Ohio’s economic development program, JobsOhio.

Gee has received a number of honorary degrees, awards, fellowships, and recognitions. He is a fellow of the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest science organization. In 1994, Gee received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Utah, as well as from Teachers College of Columbia University. He is the co-author of 11 books, including the recent Law, Policy and Higher Education, which is currently in press. He is also the author of numerous papers and articles on law and education.

Gee’s daughter, Rebekah, is the director of the Louisiana Birth Outcomes Project, and an assistant professor of Public Health and Medicine at Louisiana State University. She is also a Norman F. Gant/American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology/IOM Anniversary Fellow.

President, Miami University

November 28, 2012
2 p.m.
Student Union Apollo Room
Free & Open to the Public
Join us for cake immediately following in E156 Student Union

Since arriving in July 2006 as Miami University’s 21st president, David Hodge has been a visible presence among students, staff, faculty, and alumni. Emphasizing the unique qualities of the Miami Experience during his first year, Hodge has actively supported the transformation of teaching and learning in higher education through his work on developing the “student as scholar” model.

Hodge came to Miami following his 31-year tenure at the University of Washington, where he served as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1998 to 2006, the largest college at the UW, with 40 departments, 900 faculty, and 500 staff who serve more than 24,000 students.

Joining the UW faculty in 1975, Hodge held the appointment of professor of geography and adjunct professor of civil engineering. In 1990, he earned the prestigious University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Award. Prior to his appointment as dean, he served as chair of the geography department (1995–97) and divisional dean for computing, facilities, and research (1996–98).

His research, which has attracted grant support from the National Science Foundation and other federal, state, and local agencies, focuses on urban and transportation geography with special interest in the impact of telecommunications. Hodge served as program director at the National Science Foundation in 1993–94 and was editor of The Professional Geographer from 1994 to 1997.

Additionally, he has served on numerous Seattle and Washington committees and boards dealing with issues of community development and transportation.

A native of Minnesota, Hodge earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in geography from Macalester College in 1970 and went on to earn his master’s degree (1973) and Ph.D. (1975) in geography from Pennsylvania State University. From 2000 to 2006, he served on Macalester’s Board of Trustees. Prior to this, he also served on the Macalester Alumni Board. An NCAA All-American, he is a member of the Macalester College Athletics Hall of Fame and remains the school’s outdoor track and field record holder in the 880 (now 800 meters) with a time of 1:50.2.

President Hodge and his wife, Valerie, have two children: Gene, a graduate of the University of Washington, and Meriem, a graduate of Miami.

Astrophysicist and Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History

"Ten Things You Need to Know about the Universe"

March 7, 2013
7 p.m.
Wright State University Nutter Center McLin Gym*
Free &a Open to the Public

Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City, where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his B.A. in physics from Harvard and his Ph.D. in astrophysics from Columbia.

Tyson’s professional research interests are broad, but include star formation, exploding stars, dwarf galaxies, and the structure of our Milky Way.

In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on a 12-member commission that studied the future of the U.S. aerospace industry. The final report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and for the major agencies of the government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security.

In 2004, Tyson was once again appointed by President Bush to serve on a nine-member commission on the Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy, dubbed the Moon, Mars, and Beyond commission. This group navigated a path by which the new space vision can become a successful part of the American agenda. And in 2006, the head of NASA appointed Tyson to serve on its prestigious Advisory Council, which will help guide NASA through its perennial need to fit its ambitious vision into its restricted budget.

In addition to dozens of professional publications, Tyson has written and continues to write for the public. From 1995 to 2005, Tyson was a monthly essayist for Natural History magazine under the title Universe. And among Tyson’s 10 books is his memoir The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist; and Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution, co-written with Donald Goldsmith. Origins is the companion book to the PBS-NOVA four-part mini-series Origins, in which Tyson served as on-camera host. The program premiered on September 28 and 29, 2004.

Two of Tyson’s recent books are the playful and informative Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, which was a New York Times bestseller, and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet, chronicling his experience at the center of the controversy over Pluto’s planetary status. The PBS/NOVA documentary The Pluto Files, based on the book, premiered in March 2010.

For five seasons, beginning in the fall of 2006, Tyson appeared as the on-camera host of PBS-NOVA’s spinoff program NOVA ScienceNOW, which is an accessible look at the frontier of all the science that shapes the understanding of our place in the universe.

*Please note the change of venue.