Ohio State honors four at spring 2004 commencement

COLUMBUS – Four individuals will be honored at The Ohio State University’s spring 2004 commencement for their contributions to society and academics, and their dedication to the university. Ceremonies begin at 2 p.m. Sunday (6/13), at Ohio Stadium.

The honorary Doctor of Science degree will be presented to David W. Harvey, an internationally recognized geographer and social scientist.

Distinguished Service Awards will be presented to Frank E. Bazler, an enthusiastic supporter of his alma mater for more than half a century; Virginia Hutchison Bazler, who with her husband, Frank, has served her alma mater in many ways; and Manuel Tzagournis, M.D., vice president for health sciences and dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health emeritus at The Ohio State University.

David W. Harvey, Doctor of Science

David W. Harvey, an internationally recognized geographer and social scientist, is Distinguished University Professor in Anthropology at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York. He also holds positions as senior research fellow at St. Peter\'s College Oxford and Miliband Visiting Fellow at London School of Economics.

A native of England, he received his bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in geography from Cambridge University. After several years on the faculty at Bristol University, he moved to the United States and joined the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at The Johns Hopkins University, where he served from 1969 to 1987 and from 1993 to 2000. In the interim period from 1987 to 1993, he held the prestigious Halford J. Mackinder Chair of Geography at Oxford University.

Professor Harvey’s interdisciplinary approach to the study of human geography is credited with helping to revolutionize the field of urban studies, bringing to the fore issues of geographically uneven development. His theory of historical-geographical materialism has become a powerful instrument for understanding human geographies.

He is the author of 10 scholarly books, including Explanation in Geography (1969), a work that provided quantitative geography with its philosophical foundations.

Following that publication, his work took a different direction, resulting in a number of highly acclaimed books, including The Limits to Capital (1982); The Urbanization of Capital (1985); Consciousness and the Urban Experience (1985); The Condition of Postmodernity (1989), which was named by the British newspaper the Independent as one of the most important works of nonfiction to be published since 1945; and The New Imperialism (2003).

Among his numerous awards are the Gill Memorial Prize of the Royal Geographical Society (London) in 1972, the Outstanding Contributor Award of the Association of American Geographers in 1980, the Anders Retzius Gold Medal of the Swedish Society of Anthropology and Geography in 1989, the Patron’s Medal of the Royal Geographical Society of London in 1995, and the Vautrin Lud International Prize for Geography in 1995.

Frank E. Bazler, Distinguished Service Award

Frank E. Bazler has been an enthusiastic supporter of his alma mater for more than half a century. The Columbus native earned his bachelor of science degree in business administration from The Ohio State University’s College of Commerce (now the Fisher College of Business) in 1951 and his juris doctor degree from the Moritz College of Law in 1953, where he served as senior class president.

Bazler served in the Judge Advocate General Corps in Louisiana for two years before returning with his bride, Virginia Hutchison, to Ohio, where the young couple settled in Troy. There he served as a partner with Miller, Bazler, McAdow & Schlemmer and its predecessor legal firms from 1955 to 1971; as corporate attorney and assistant secretary in the Hobart Corporation from 1971 to 1995; and as director and secretary of Golden Triangle Farms from 1972 to 2001. He is currently of counsel in the firm of Dungan & LeFevre. Balzer is the recipient of the 1987 Ritter Award of the Ohio State Bar Foundation and the 1990 Ohio Bar Medal. He is the Ohio Chair of the American Bar Foundation.

His service as an alumnus began with his graduation and continues to this day. He has been a member of the Miami County Ohio State Alumni Club since 1956 and the Moritz College of Law Alumni Association since 1953, serving as president in 1988. Together with his wife, Mr. Bazler co-chaired The Ohio State University National College and Schools Campaign in 1997
and now co-chairs the university’s Miami Valley Major Gifts Committee. He has been a member of the National Council of the Moritz College of Law since 1978 and is one of the organizers of the college’s Henry Folsom Page Society. In 2003, he chaired his law class reunion.

Bazler’s many leadership activities include his enthusiastic support as co-chair of the Buckeye Barristers Club campaign, an initiative designed to increase interaction between Moritz Law students and alumni. With his own gift and encouragement, the Class of 1953 leads the competition to raise funds for the club. With his wife, he has funded an office in the new 4-H
Center to be built on the Ohio State campus in honor of her father, Chester S. Hutchison. While at Hobart, he assisted the College of Human Ecology in developing a partnership between the corporation and the Department of Human Nutrition.

Virginia Hutchison Bazler, Distinguished Service Award

Virginia Hutchison Bazler has been associated with The Ohio State University all her life. Her father, Chester S. Hutchison, was assistant dean of the now College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. She is a 1954 graduate of Ohio State with a bachelor of science degree from the School of Home Economics (now the College of Human Ecology).

After her marriage to a fellow student, Frank Bazler, in 1954, she briefly lived in Shreveport, Louisiana, before moving to Troy, Ohio. From 1958 to 1962, she served as the Shelby County Extension Agent, working with young adults through 4-H, local clubs, and educational programs. She has remained active with Extension over the years through her volunteer efforts, often serving as a judge of 4-H and Open Class Competitions at various county fairs in West Central Ohio.

Bazler has long served her alma mater in a number of ways. Active in Ohio State’s Miami County Alumni Club, she has been its treasurer since 1990. Her efforts on behalf of the university have earned her several alumni awards, including the Miami County Club’s Prepared for Citizenship Award in 1993, the Alumni Association‘s Alumni Officer Award in 1994, and the Alumni Citizenship Award in 1997. In 1998, she and her husband received the John B. Gerlach Sr. Development Award from The Ohio State University Foundation for their fund-raising activities.

Bazler served on the “New Visions – New Ventures” campaign for the expansion of Campbell Hall in the College of Human Ecology, funding a room in the building. In 2000, she received an Affirm Thy Friendship Award from the College of Human Ecology for her dedication, and she was appointed this year to the College of Human Ecology Alumni Executive Committee.

The owner of Hutchison Farms in Troy, Bazler, along with her husband, established the Chester S. Hutchison Scholarship Fund in honor of her father and the Virginia Hutchison Bazler Scholarship Fund in the College of Human Ecology. In addition, they funded an office in memory of her father in the 4-H Center, to be built at Ohio State.

The Bazlers currently serve as co-chairs with Rick Moody for the Miami County Major Gifts Committee. They are longtime members of The Presidents Club, Life Members of The Ohio State University Alumni Club, and members of the A.B. Graham Club.

Manuel Tzagournis, Distinguished Service Award

Manuel Tzagournis, M.D., is vice president for health sciences and dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health emeritus and professor emeritus of internal medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Tzagournis has been affiliated with Ohio State for more than half a century, enrolling as an undergraduate student in 1952. He received his bachelor’s, master’s, and medical degrees at the university and, in 1966, joined the staff of the Department of Medicine as an instructor, becoming full professor in 1974. With a specialty in endocrinology, his scholarly activities have focused on the links among coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, and diabetes.

He was appointed dean and senior vice president in 1981 and 1982, respectively. During his tenure, the Medical Center was transformed from a college known primarily for teaching medical students to a contemporary health sciences center with three equally important missions of teaching, patient care, and research. In the same period, private support for the Medical Center increased tremendously. In 1982, the endowment stood at $16 million; by 1999, that figure had grown to $220 million.

Dr. Tzagournis led construction efforts that resulted in the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, the Neuropsychiatry Building, the Davis Arthritis and Geriatrics Facilty, the MRI Facility, and the Wiseman Hall Cancer Center laboratories. Under his leadership, a $12 million clinical research facility was built, funded by voluntary contributions from clinical departments and faculty. The building now bears his name and is an active site for genetics and cardiovascular research.

Dr. Tzagournis has been recognized by the Ohio Senate, the Ohio House of Representatives, and the U.S. House of Representatives for his outstanding service to the fields of medical education and patient care. Since his retirement in 2002, he continues to be active in his field of endocrinology by seeing patients and by leading the Diabetes Task Force to develop a blueprint for a new center. He also currently serves as president of the Columbus Medical Association.