Missouri Southern State University - Crossroads Yearbook (Joplin, MO)

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(Clockwise from top left} Coach Rod Giesselmann takes the field with his players . Missouri Southern ROFC present the colors before the game , President Julio Leon and former Homecoming Queen Marsha Bishop stand ready to crown this year ' s royalty.

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Homecoming: At the Game • - (This page, clockwise from top right) Greg Garton (No. 24) and his parents participate in pre-game activities. Homecoming queen Robin Reed and escort Richard Spencer are introduced at halftime. Cheerleaders Dee Dee Wessel and Juan Triplett watch the Lions on the field. Tony Clay, a member of the Lion Pride Marching Band, performs at halftime. (Opposite page, clockwise from top) Jim Frazier is inducted into the College ' s Athletic Hall of Fame while Al Potter (center) holds a portrait of the late Jim Talbott. Joel Weeh.es con¬ centrates on his xylophone playing. The Lion Pride Marching Band turns in another outstanding performance. Senior Wade Williams (No. 11) and his parents are honored as part of Parents ' Day.—Photos by Allen Stinebrook

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Outstanding Alumnus Mark Claussen, a 1974 graduate of Missouri Southern , rides in the Homecoming parade with his son. Claussen credits Southern for Very good background ' C rediting Missouri Southern for providing a very good back¬ ground in math and physics ' astrophysicist Mark J. Claussen was the Outstanding Alumnus for 1986. Claussen, a 1974 graduate, original ' ly came to Southern as a mathematics major. He later realized it was not for him. I planned on going into the math field, he said. But my junior and senior years I turned to physics. I wanted to go into astronomy Claussen ' s mother, brother, and friends had been interested in astronomy for several years. His older brother, Sam, is currently an assistant professor of theatre at Southern. I had to decide what to do after I graduated, Claussen said. I don ' t know what the impetus was, but I decided math wasn ' t it The change in career choice has worked to Claussen ' s advantage. He is currently employed by the University of Massachusetts as a senior research fellow. The university is the home of the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory, which houses the largest single telescope of its kind in the U.S. I have been fortunate to be at places on the cutting edge of astronomy, said Claussen, and have, in some part, contributed to that leading edge. One of his contributions was in help¬ ing to build and use the three-element millimeter wave interferometer, an in strument used in high-frequency radio astronomy. He became involved with this while serving as a research fellow at the California Institute of Technology. Through the use of these instruments, Claussen has found evidence that a black hole actually ex¬ ists in our own galaxy. Recently, he has obtained information pertaining to starbursts in another galaxy Before going to Cal-Tech, Claussen earned a bachelor of sciennce degree in mathematics from Southern, his master ' s degree in physics from New Mexico State University and his Ph.D, also in physics, from the University of Iowa. After graduating from Carl Junciton High School in 1970, Claussen and his parents decided Southern was the col¬ lege to attend. I picked Missouri Southern for several reasons, he said. It was close to home, and I had a president ' s scholarship. I didn ' t see any point in going somewhere else; the cost was a lot more, and it wasn ' t worth it. We felt the reputation of Southern was good enough. Although Claussen was at first a mathematics major, he spent much time working in the theatre department. I had been to the theatre with Sam even before I started school at Southern he said. I enjoyed it, and followed up on what he was doing. The department gave monetary awards every semester, and I received a small scholarship that paid my tui¬ tion. While working in theatre, Claussen said three faculty members made an impression on him. They were Milton Brietzke, director of theatre; Duane Hunt, assistant professor; and Joyce Bowman, assistant professor. All three are still employed by the College. Claussen also recalled mathematics faculty members. I remember Paul Jenson. He was an instructor, and also my adviser, said Claussen. He also worked in the theatre. Martha McCormick, professor of mathematics, and Charles Allen, assis¬ tant professor of mathematics, also stand out in his memory Allen would come into class without any notes, he said. In his class, we had to prove things, and he could just stand up there and prove them. He gave me a very good background in math. After Claussen ' s decision to leave mathematics for physics, he realized he needed to beef up his physics. Two instructors—Marion Sloan, assis¬ tant professsor of physics; and Dr, Russ Phillips, professor of physics; were considered by Claussen to be quite good for an undergraduate school Said Claussen, With Southern be¬ ing a small school and not in the mainstream, for its size I received a very good background in math and physics. It was very good for its size.