Table Gifts Create Professorship of ontents © Feline Physics < TOP KICKERS — Pete Crompton (left), Cory Jones (standing), Shelly Ririe (right) and Nichole Jaime pose with trophies from the men’s and > State’s Salesman women’s national soccer championships. The dual win is the first time two teams from the same school have © Two Reunions 7 Alumni Update eg » captured national titles. See story on page 3. Comments Friends of Dee and Lorraine Livingood of Ogden have donated more than $150,000 to create an endowed professorship at the University. The “Dee and Lorraine Livingood Distinguished Professorship of Hard Work, Integrity and Excellence” will reward faculty members who exhibit personal integrity, high ethical values and demonstrate commitment to teaching, research and writing. Faculty chosen as Livingood Distinguished Professors will receive an (ats Mechanical $8,000 yearly stipend. I read with interest “Nursing Students Visit Ukraine” in the Autumn 1994 University Times (p. 4). While the number of participants is given in the article, it fails to mention their names. Each participant put a in great deal of time and effort to serve as ambassadors for our country and the University. The very least they deserve for their efforts is a little recognition and acknowledgement from students and alumni. I realize University Times has been scaled back because of budget cuts. That is not an acceptable reason, however, for inadequate credit to University students, alumni or faculty. JoAnne C. Christensen, RN Class of ’92 Moroni, Utah (Editor’s note: The four students who spent two weeks in Ukraine are Cindy Argo, Jennie Barnes, Heather Smith and Kari Warner. Two nursing faculty members, Judith Pratt and Laurie Anderson, accompanied the students.) A CONCRETE CASTLE — Workers hope to finish a new student-services building by summer. The three-story, 375-foot- long building will house 14 student-service programs including admissions, registration, counseling and academic advisement. a > SORCERER’S APPRENTICE I feel very fortunate to have attended Weber State University from 1983 to 1985. I get such an ardent feeling when I think of WSU. All my professors were the greatest; to name two, professors Raj Kumar and (Eugene) Bozniak. Due to a permanent change of station, I had to leave WSU (sob!). About eight years later, we returned stateside after being in Europe for four years. We were assigned to Lackland AFB in San Antonio. I enrolled in the School of Business at St. Mary’s University. I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree of business administration with a specialty in accounting. I’ve been enrolled for one year and have two years left before I graduate, and I owe it to WSU for giving me a start, a wonderful academic environment and great professors who assisted in making this possible. Hats off to the staff and students of WSU. Marilyn Oliver San Antonio, Texas — David Harris casts spells from the Dark Ages as part of the 18th Annual Ye Olde Feaste in November. The event was part of a medieval literature class taught by Dr. Merlin Cheney. Some 50 students used fingers to eat pease pottage, roast stag, and lemon swete while listening to Gregorian chants, lyres, oboes and drums. Postmaster Send address changes to: University Times Weber State University Ogden, UT 3701 84408- (7 ew Mr. Livingood, 57, founded Big D Construction of Ogden in 1967. He has terminal cancer. In December, friends of Mr. and Mrs. Livingood gathered on campus for a tribute program. “One thing that has not changed in 27 years at Big D is the value of honesty, integrity and hard work,” said Jack Livingood, the company’s president and the Livingood’s son. “Those values are the engines of Big D.” Thomas S. Monson, a member of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said: “We have a man of great strength in Dee and a man of even greater compassion. Dee is big in every way; bighearted, generous, big in spirit, big in friendship. His company has the right name.” Mr. Livingood was born and raised in Ogden. From 1957 to 1961, he took evening classes at Weber State to prepare to start a business. His company is Utah’s largest construction firm. DNA Science Steps Cats Lab e Japan National Champs Dean Down Cyrus McKell retired Dec. 31 after six years as dean of the College of Science. Dr. McKell, 68, came to Weber State in 1988 from a position as vice president of research for NPI, an international biotechnology plant materials company. While Dr. McKell served as dean, the College of Science experienced a 68 percent increase in enrollment, added six faculty positions and six programs. The college also opened a DNA research lab. In 1990, Dr. McKell received the Governor’s Medal in Science and Technology for his international work. Samuel I. Zeveloff, chairman of the zoology department, said, “Dr. McKell has been a wonderful role model for top-level scientists. He’ll be a difficult act to follow.” J. Ronald Galli, chairman and professor of physics, will serve as interim dean until University officials name a permanent successor. Soccer Win Teams Nationals The University’s men’s and women’s soccer teams won national championships in November — the first time two teams from one school have won top spots. The men’s team defeated Baylor University, 2-1, at the National Collegiate Soccer Association tournament for the title. The women’s team edged Brigham Young University, 1-0. “The dual win was quite an achievement,” said adviser Henry Ibarguen. “The national titles are evidence that Weber State’s soccer program is one of the best.” Professor Solves Feline Physics For years, Professor Ron Galli, who will become interim dean of the College of Science, has been tormented by a nagging, unanswered physics question: | f) How do Ron Galli falling cats always manage to land on their feet? The way a cat rotates its body in mid-air to land on its feet seemingly violates the basic laws of physics, said Dr. Galli. For something to rotate, there must be torque: something it pushes against that causes the motion. But cats appear to rotate in mid-air with no torque. Dr. Galli said he started poking around in his workshop to find materials to simulate a cat’s spine. The idea evolved into mechanical cats that have backbones of copper tubing and springs held together with bolts, rubberband muscles and spring legs. Hold the spring-spine in an arched position, let it fall, and it will twist in the air and land on its spring-feet. “This research tries to understand a simple process that, until now, hasn’t been explored,” Dr. Galli said. This adapted article by Lori Bona Hunt appeared Oct. 4 in the Ogden StandardExaminer. Couple Donates To New Center A $101,000 donation from Dale and Adele Young of Brigham City, Utah, will help create a new center designed | to improve the education of future teachers.