EHE News
Cauffman, Duncan, Smith merit Alumni Association honors
Joy Garrison Cauffman
Archie Griffin with Cauffman.
- B.S. Education, 1948
- M.A. Physical Education, 1953
- Ph.D. Physical Education, 1959
Dr. Joy Garrison Cauffman's pioneering research in the detection of colon cancer has contributed to a significant decrease in deaths due to the disease.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Cauffman directed a team at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine that studied the benefits of colonoscopies and similar tests versus fecal occult blood tests to detect symptoms of cancer. Following publication of her results in professional journals, doctors worldwide began changing their screening advice for colon cancer.
U.S. News and World Report announced her findings in an August 1992 article, "20 Medical Stories You May Have Missed." The American Cancer Society has since reported that colon cancer deaths decreased 25 percent from 1990 to 2003, partly due to better screenings.
Cauffman is also recognized as a distinguished educator at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels. She was the first woman to receive a tenure-track, full professorship in the Keck School of Medicine. She received the school's award for serving with distinction as the first woman president of the USC Medical Faculty Assembly. Now a professor emerita after 30 years of service, Cauffman leads a study on how continuing medical education for physicians affects physician performance and patient health care.
Cauffman has also traveled the world to promote her research and the continuing education of physicians. She worked with doctors behind the Iron Curtain and visited clinics in Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. She has also made presentations at conferences in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Japan, among others.
Cauffman also played a major role in teaching professionals and the general public about the importance of healthy lifestyles. She served on President Eisenhower's Council on Youth Fitness, was a consultant on President Kennedy's Council on Physical Fitness, and served on President Nixon's Committee on Health Education.
While president of the Association for the Advancement of Health Education, Cauffman envisioned how health education organizations could collaborate on important issues. In the early 1980s, she brought together eight national organizations to form the Coalition of National Health Education Organizations, which remains a vital force in health education today. The Professional Service Award from the AAHE for her leadership is among Cauffman's many honors.
Cauffman has received many service awards, including induction into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame, the Award of Distinction from the college's School of Physical Activity and Educational Services, and the Republican Senatorial American Spirit Medal.
Despite the loftiness of these honors, Cauffman never forgets her roots in Blanchester, Ohio. She visits the state regularly and is proud of the service awards she received from the Garrison Corner Cemetery Association and from the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post.
Robert M. Duncan
Archie Griffin with Duncan.
The Ohio State University Alumni Association this year named the Distinguished Citizenship Award in honor of the Hon. Robert M. Duncan. A native of Columbus, Duncan has long been an advocate for education and educational opportunities for learners of all ages. He graduated in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Education and in 1952 from the Moritz College of Law. He was elected president of his law school class.
He began his judicial service in 1966, when he was appointed and then elected to the Franklin Council Municipal Court. Gov. James A. Rhodes appointed him to the Supreme Court of Ohio where he served until 1971. He was appointed to the United States Court of Military Appeals in Washington, D.C., in 1971. He became Chief Judge of that court in 1973.
In 1974 President Richard Nixon appointed Duncan to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. In that office he presided over any number of cases involving the U.S. Constitution and various civil rights statutes. His landmark decision in 1977, Penick vs. Columbus Board of Education, led to the desegregation of the Columbus Public Schools.
In 1985, Duncan left the bench and joined the Jones Day law firm - a large international organization. After his retirement, President Gordon Gee appointed him vice president and general counsel at Ohio State. Later, he became secretary of the University Board of Trustees. He retired from the University in 1996.
In 1998 he was appointed to the University Board of Trustees and served as chair in 2006-2007.
In 2002, he was inducted into the College of Education Hall of Fame in recognition of his efforts on behalf of education.
He continues his role as an educator for the Moritz College of Law, where he shares his experience with students as the Distinguished Jurist in Residence. The Robert M. Duncan/Jones Day Designated Professorship was established in the law college in his honor.
He is a member of the Ohio Public Defenders Commission.
Duncan has served on the boards of: The Ohio State University, Franklin University, Urbana University, and the Columbus College of Art and Design. He has also served on advisory boards at Wake Forest and the University of Miami law schools. He has been a member of the board of directors of: American Electric Power, Gartmore Mutual Funds, Online Computer Library Center, and First Federal Savings and Loan of Newark.
He has received honorary degrees from five universities. He also has received the United Negro College Fund Frederick Douglas Patterson Award, the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Achievement Award, the Temple Israel Community Humanitarian Award, and a number of others.
He is a United States Army veteran. He and his wife, Shirley, live in Columbus.
Sarah M. Smith
Archie Griffin with Smith.
- B.S. Education, 1951
- M. Education, 1953
- Ph.D. Education, 1978
In the 1940s, Dr. Sarah Smith was one of Ohio State's first three female cheerleaders. In one capacity or another - donor, student adviser, Alumni Awards juror, cheerleader judge, or sports fan - she has been a cheerleader for the university ever since.
Smith's love affair with Ohio State began during her undergraduate years as a dance major - and it never ended. She went on to earn a master's degree in education and a Ph.D. in special services from the university. In the early 1950s, Smith worked as an assistant to the dean of students, and for many years, she served as a judge at cheerleader tryouts. She helped organize the Cheerleading Alumni Society, whose reunions she still attends. Believing that cheerleaders are athletes who deserve financial assistance for their efforts in representing the university, she and her husband, Paul Craig Smith, also endowed cheerleading scholarships.
Smith has won numerous awards over the years, including the Pauline Hershey Award for dedication and volunteer contributions to Alpha Xi Delta sorority. She was the first recipient of the Richard M. Delaney Award for dedication to cheerleading at Ohio State.
Smith has taught dance and physical education to middle and high school students in central Ohio, danced for a New York summer stock company, and served as director of choreography and production assistant for Vaud-Villities, Columbus' annual all-volunteer musical revue.
She was a counselor in the Upper Arlington School system before venturing into a new career in travel in 1985. Currently, she is an international agent and European consultant with BCD Travel. For six years, she was the only U.S. representative at the Italian Government Travel Symposium. She was featured in Smart Money magazine as one of "Ten Travel Agents You Can Trust."
Wherever she has gone, Smith's connection with Ohio State has remained vital. The Columbus resident has served as scholarship chair for Alpha Xi Delta alumni and as a member of Ohio State Advocates, the President's Club, and the Buckeye Club. She is a life member of The Ohio State University Alumni Association.
If there's an Ohio State event-especially an athletic event-that's where you'll find Smith. To this day, Smith attends football and basketball games and athletic banquets, and she contributes both time and financial support to the men's tennis program. As a long-time friend and fellow alumna put it: "Sarah bleeds scarlet and gray."
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