Today,FALL/WINTER 2004 1 - University of the Ozarks

alumni news1950sRobert “Bob” Denniston ’50 of Alma,Ark., was one of the 2004 inductees into theArkansas High School Coaching Hall ofFame. He coached basketball for 36 years,including 18 years at Mountainburg, Ark.Dr. Fletcher Lowery ’52 was inductedinto the University of Central ArkansasSports Hall of Fame on Sept. 25, 2004, aftera 33-year career as a coach and administratorat the university. He and his wife Jo Nell(Alsip) Lowry ’52 are retired and living inConway, Ark.Dr. Laura (McClendon) Wilson ’52retired in 1993 as a public school superintendentin Houston, Texas. She is currentlythe training administrator for the City ofHouston Parks and Recreation Department.She also teaches part-time at the Universityof Phoenix, Houston campuses.Dr. Francis A. Sharpton ’58 is a retiredcollege professor in Idaho. After earning hisPh.D. in physics from the University ofOklahoma in 1968, he taught on the collegelevel for 33 years, including the last 31 atNorthwest Nazarene University in Nampa,Idaho. He retired in 2001.Phyllis (Johnson) Jones ’59 is a retirededucator living in Monticello, Ark., with herhusband Sonny. She spent 20 years in thePulaski County Special School Districtteaching physical education and biologybefore finishing her career as a secondaryschool counselor. In her 28-year teachingcareer in Arkansas, she also taught at Ozark,Cotton Plant, Des Arc and Warren schools.1960sThe Rev. Thomas Buzbee ’67 and wifeMaureen recently moved from Iowa toPauls Valley, Okla., where he has accepted acall to serve at First Presbyterian Church.Dr. Sharon Kay Stoll ’68 is the directorat the Center for Ethics at the University ofIdaho in Moscow, Idaho. The center is dedicatedto the practice of teaching ethics andcharacter to agencies, organizations andindustries.Continued on Page 14Liston proves science funDr. Charles Liston has proven thata career as a research aquatic scientistcan be an exciting and fulfillingprofession.Liston, a 1965 Ozarks graduate,retired in November after a 15-yearcareer with the U.S. Department of theInterior’s Bureau of Reclamation, anagency whose mission is to manage,develop and protect water and relatedresources in an environmentally andeconomically sound manner in theinterest of the American public.Working out of an office in Denveras well as a home office in Kentucky,Liston directed, coordinated andapplied fisheries research and technologydevelopment for numerous waterprojects throughout the Western UnitedStates. Over the past 20 years he hasbeen considered one of the country’sleading experts on how water developmentprojects such as dams andhydropower plants affect the environment,especially fish.“It really has been a rewarding andenjoyable career,” said Liston, whoserved as student government presidentat Ozarks in 1965. “I’ve had theopportunity to raft the Grand Canyonand other rivers in the West, hike allover Wyoming, Montana, Arizona andhelp make a difference for the environment.It’s been wonderful.”Liston, an Illinois native who cameto Ozarks through a connection withthe Presbyterian Church, said an earlyinterest in science and the outdoorsblossomed at Ozarks.“Professors like Ruby Reynoldsmade the subject matter very interesting,and the location of the universitymade it easy to go hiking or fishing allthe time,” he said.After earning graduate degreesfrom the University of Arkansas andthe University of Louisville, ListonDr. Charles Liston asstudent governmentpresident at Ozarksin 1965 (left) and athis recent retirementparty (below) fromthe Bureau ofReclamation.went on to an 18-year stint as aprofessor in Michigan StateUniversity’s Department of Fisheriesand Wildlife. While at MSU, he beganresearch on hydropower effects onLake Michigan’s fish, an expertisethat would lead the U.S. Governmentto come courting him in the late1980s.Despite what seems like a veryfocused and specialized career, Listonbelieves his liberal arts training atOzarks has helped make his life morebalanced.“I really treasure the education Ireceived at Ozarks because it wasbroad, and it allowed me to dabble ina lot of different areas,” he said. “Ithink a lot of colleges are getting toofocused in subject matter. I have aninterest in a lot of different subjectsand love to read different books. I gota lot of that from Ozarks.”Liston, who has been married tohis wife Elizabeth for more than 30years, will continue to do advisorywork within the profession as well ascommunity volunteering.Today, FALL/WINTER 2004 15