Author Archive

PROFILE: Dr. Dailey's Katrina Kitty Kat

He was born one week before Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, and found one week after Hurricane Rita hit, by APAWS, Animal Protection and Welfare Society, of Baton Rouge, La. He was then taken to a pet store in Baton Rouge, where he anxiously awaited for someone to adopt him. This mystery animal is none other than Dr. Jane Dailey’s cat, Dante.

That is one interesting piece of information that someone would probably hear if they sat down and had a conversation to get to know Dailey. Dailey, who was raised in Gallipolis, Ohio, graduated from the University of Rio Grande with a degree in Communications. Although she graduated with a degree in communications, it was not what she originally had in mind as a freshman in college.

“I started out thinking that I would get a degree in science. Then I thought I would go for education, and that changed into nursing. Finally my parents told me I needed to figure out what I really wanted to do, so I chose communications,” Dailey said.

After graduating from Rio Grande, Dailey went straight to Ohio University and received a Master of Science in Journalism. Dailey then started her career in public relations at the Ohio EPA and worked there for three years. After working for the Ohio EPA, she went on to work for an environmental engineering firm for 13 years, where she helped build their government relations program from the ground up. From there, she went on the journey to teach.

“After working at the engineering firm for those years, I felt that I accomplished what I wanted to. And I always knew I wanted to teach. So I decided to go back to school,” Dailey said.

And that is what she did. Dailey went to Louisiana State University and graduated in 2008 with a Ph.D. in Mass Communication and Public Policy. She started teaching at Marietta College in 2007, the same year her mother retired from the University of Rio Grande as a communications professor. Dailey teaches a variety of classes at Marietta, including Introduction to Public Relations, Writing for Public Relations, and Crisis Communications.

When Dailey is not in the classroom, she likes to spend her time in the outdoors, especially hiking and camping. Dailey also enjoys listening to folk music, especially Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones, and Carol King. Occasionally, when in the mood, she’ll crank up Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby McGee”. She also enjoys traveling, spontaneous travel, among all.

“I really enjoy simple travel- just going to a random small town for a weekend suits me. At one time I traveled to Johnstown, Pa., and toured the Johnstown Flood Museum,” Dailey said.

And of course there is Dante. Dailey adopted Dante as a kitten while she was attending LSU. Weighing in at around 12 pounds, that cat is the man of the house. He has his own little quirks too, like sitting and watching Animal Planet, and DVDs made just for cats.

Down the road ahead, when retirement comes along, Dailey would like to own a small business, preferably a pub.

And if there is something Dailey would want people to know about her, it would be the fact that she likes to get to know people that are not like her.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  This article is by Stacy Frederick, a Media Writing Two student at Marietta College.  If you are interested in writing for Writing on the Mall, send an e-mail to Patrick_H@writingonthemall.net.

Looking Back: 2004 and 2005 Floods Changed College Preparedness

It was Friday Sept. 17, 2004. Remnants of Hurricane Ivan had just come through dropping almost five inches of rain over the Mid-Ohio Valley during the day. The Ohio River and its tributaries were already swollen due to three and a half inches of rain from the week before, when remnants of Hurricane Frances came through.

Early that Friday morning the National Weather Service in Charleston predicted that the Ohio River at Marietta would crest just above flood stage. Then later that afternoon, the National Weather Service called off the flood warning and said that the Ohio River at Marietta would crest more than a foot below flood stage.

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