Ohio State honors five at winter 2003 commencement

COLUMBUS – Five individuals will be honored at The Ohio State University’s winter 2003 commencement for their contributions to society and academics, and their dedication to the university. Ceremonies begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday (3/21), in St. John Arena.

Honorary doctorates will be presented to Eva Klein, professor of tumor biology at the Karolinska Institute’s Microbiology and Tumor Biology Center in Sweden; Elizabeth McKeever Ross, a 1940 graduate of Ohio State who has played a vital role in the cultural and philanthropic life of Central Ohio; and Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., one of America’s most influential scholars and Pulitzer Prize winner.

The Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Jane Fawcett-Hoover, vice president of national government relations for The Procter & Gamble Company and daughter of Novice G. Fawcett, who served as president of Ohio State from 1956 to 1972; and Charles W. Lifer, professor emeritus in the Department of Agricultural Education.

Historian Geoffrey Parker, the Andreas Dorpalen Professor of History and Associate of the Mershon Center at Ohio State, will deliver the commencement address.

Eva Klein, Doctor of Science

Eva Klein is professor of tumor biology at the Karolinska Institute’s Microbiology and Tumor Biology Center in Stockholm, Sweden. Her distinguished career spans more than a half century during which she has focused on understanding the immunobiology of cancer.

Professor Klein studied at the University of Budapest in Hungary before receiving her M.D. degree from the Karolinska Institute in 1955. She was named vice director of the institute’s Department of Tumor Biology in 1970 and full professor of tumor biology in 1976. The Karolinska Institute is one of the preeminent biomedical research institutions in the world.

In 1975, Professor Klein, along with two colleagues, published a landmark paper describing their study of “natural killer (NK) cells,” which are now known to have an important role in protecting humans against a variety of pathogens, especially viruses. These cells may be an important first line of defense against tumors. Professor Klein’s seminal studies have also included the discovery of immunoglobin as an antigen receptor for bone marrow derived (B) cells and other important concepts of contemporary immunology.

In addition to her research, Professor Klein has been the mentor for a large number of students, including the current president of the Karolinska Institute. Along with her husband and fellow professor at the Tumor Biology Center, Georg Klein, she visited Ohio State in 1982 for a week of lectures. She has written more than 518 papers during her career.

The recipient of a number of honors and awards, Professor Klein is a member of the Research Council of the Swedish Cancer Society, the Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institute, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Elizabeth McKeever Ross, Doctor of Humane Letters

Elizabeth ‘Libby’ McKeever Ross, a native of Columbus and a 1940 graduate of Ohio State’s College of Education, has been a vital part of the cultural and philanthropic life of Central Ohio for many years.

She was the first woman president of the board of trustees of the Columbus Museum of Art where she continues to serve, currently as trustee emeritus. In addition, she was one of the founders of the Women’s Board of the Columbus Museum of Art. She was also one of the founders of Columbus’ Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, and, in the early 1970s, she was invited to join the National Board of Spoleto USA. She has served as chair of the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

In recognition of her work for and support of the arts, the Ohio Arts Council honored Mrs. Ross and her late husband Richard M. Ross with its 1987 Governor’s Award. She is also the recipient of the 1999 Harrison Sayre Award from The Columbus Foundation.

In 1995, she established the Richard M. Ross Chair in Management at Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business in honor of her husband. Through other gifts to Ohio State, Franklin University, Ohio Wesleyan University, and Trinity School for Ministry, she has supported and encouraged education in business, medicine, religion, and the arts.

Mrs. Ross’ generosity and compassion have made a difference in the lives of countless individuals. Her service for many years on the board of trustees of Children’s Hospital and on the National Hospice Foundation Board demonstrate her commitment to health care and quality of life issues. This commitment has culminated in the major gift for the creation of the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital at Ohio State.

She is a member of Ohio State’s Heart Center Campaign and served on the university’s National Major Gifts Committees of Central Ohio and East Coast Florida. She presently resides in Vero Beach, Florida.

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., Doctor of Humane Letters

Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. is Albert Schweitzer Professor of the Humanities Emeritus at the City University of New York Graduate Center. One of America’s most influential scholars and historians, Professor Schlesinger is the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Book Awards, and a 1998 National Humanities Medal.

He was born in Columbus, where his father was a member of Ohio State history faculty. His mother, a descendant of the eminent 19th-century historian George Bancroft, was a pioneer in women’s history. At age 16, he entered Harvard University, graduating summa cum laude in 1938. He was a Henry Fellow at Cambridge University the following year and a member of Harvard’s prestigious Society of Fellows from 1939 to 1942.

Following overseas service in the U.S. Army and the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, he joined Harvard’s history faculty in 1946, winning his first Pulitzer Prize that year for “The Age of Jackson.” In 1954, he became a full professor. In addition to his academic duties, he served as a member of Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson’s campaign staff in 1952 and 1956. In 1961, he was appointed special assistant to President John F. Kennedy, serving in the White House for the duration of the administration. His account of the Kennedy presidency, “A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House,” won the Pulitzer Prize in Biography and the National Book Award in 1966.

Dr. Schlesinger joined the CUNY Graduate Center faculty in 1966 as Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities, retiring in 1994. In 2001, the Graduate Center announced the establishment of the Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Chair in American History to honor his contributions to a broad spectrum of political, diplomatic, and intellectual history.

Among Dr. Schlesinger’s highly acclaimed works are his three-volume “The Age of Roosevelt” (1957, 1958, 1960) of which the third volume, “The Politics of Upheaval,” won the Parkman and Bancroft prizes; “Robert Kennedy and His Times” (1978), which won the National Book Award; and “The Disuniting of America” (1991). His most recent book is the first volume of his autobiography, “A Life in the 20th Century: Innocent Beginnings, 1917 – 1950” (2000), and he is at work on the second and final volume.

Jane Fawcett-Hoover, Distinguished Service Award

Jane Fawcett-Hoover is vice president of national government relations for The Procter & Gamble Company. In this capacity, she is directly involved in all federal legislation and executive policy in Washington, D.C., that affects the company’s global business.

A native of Defiance, Ms. Fawcett-Hoover received her B.S. degree in home economics from Ohio State in 1965 and did additional studies in journalism and communication. Her father, Novice G. Fawcett, served as president of Ohio State from 1956 to 1972, and Ms. Fawcett-Hoover has continued the family legacy of service to her alma mater.

As a student, she was a member of Block O, Pi Lambda Theta, the Women’s Self-Government Association, Mirrors and Chimes, and Mortar Board, and she was named one of the university’s five outstanding senior women.

As an alumna, she served as chair of the Washington regional area of Ohio State’s very successful first fund-raising campaign from 1985 to 1990. In 1988, she was elected to serve a five-year term on the Alumni Association’s board of directors, serving as vice chair from 1992 to 1993. She was subsequently appointed to the Alumni Advisory Council in 1993 and served two three-year terms representing the Office of Student Affairs. From 1999 to April 2001, she chaired the council, also serving as ex-officio of the Alumni Association board. In 1988, she received a Distinguished Service Award from Ohio State’s College of Agriculture (now Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences).

The Novice Fawcett Memorial Library, which opened in 2001 in the Fawcett Center, was made possible by gifts from Ms. Fawcett-Hoover and her family and is furnished with items from her father’s presidency.

An active participant in numerous community and professional organizations, she is a member of the American League of Lobbyists, Women in Government Relations, Pharmaceutical Industry Washington Advisory Committee, board of directors of the National Safety Council, and the board of directors of the League of Women Voters. She also serves on the boards of Ford’s Theatre and the Wolf Trap Foundation and on the executive committee of the National Race for the Cure.

Charles W. Lifer, Distinguished Service Award

Charles W. Lifer is professor emeritus in The Ohio State University Extension’s Department of Agricultural Education and former director of legislative affairs in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

A native of Ohio, he holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in agriculture and extension education from Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. He began his service to OSU Extension more than 40 years ago as a Monroe County extension agent, and, in the intervening years, he has become known as an innovator of non-formal educational programs designed to improve the lives of Ohio citizens.

Dr. Lifer has been involved with OSU Extension at the county, district, and state levels, and his leadership roles in overall extension matters extend to the national and international levels. His particular interest through the years has been 4-H, and he has earned a national reputation for his efforts to improve and expand 4-H programming. His research findings and recommendations have led to a nationwide development of youth programs by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Extension Service. During Dr. Lifer’s 16-year tenure as state leader for 4-H Youth Development, the program expanded into reaching nearly 150,000 Ohio young people.

In recent years, he has been a leader in educating and informing legislators about the impact and efficacy of OSU Extension, resulting in increased budget appropriations for Extension programming. He remains actively involved in public and private fund-raising initiatives at Ohio State, where he has established two 4-H endowment funds. He serves on the Major Gifts committee in the campaign to raise $12 million for the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center and is himself a major donor and sponsor of the State Leader Room.

He currently serves as program chair and president elect of the Ohio State Ag. Retirees Association and is a member of the OSU Extension Florida Snowbird Association in Sarasota, Florida. His honors include induction into the Ohio State 4-H Hall of Fame in 1999 and the National 4-H Hall of Fame in 2002. He has received Distinguished Service Awards from the National Association of Extension Agents and the Ohio Future Farmers of America Association.

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