NMU holds dedication ceremony

By KIM E. STROM

[email protected]

Ironwood - The late David J. Lucas, an Ironwood native, was honored by Northern Michigan University Sept. 20 by having the three-story atrium in the New Science Facility named after him. At the same time, another Upper Peninsula native from Kenton, the late Kathleen Shingler Weston, was honored by having the New Science Facility named after her. The designations are now the David J. Lucas Atrium within the Kathleen Shingler Weston Hall.

According to his wife, Marsha Lucas, in order to be considered a nominee for this distinction, three requirements have to be met:

-The person has to have been deceased for at least two years (Lucas passed away in December 2015).

-Over a long and illustrious career, the person has to have exemplified values for which NMU stands.

-The person has to have brought great credit to the university through major scholarly, professional or public service.

Lucas graduated from Luther L. Wright High School in 1971 and was later honored as a distinguished alumni by Gogebic Community College in 2013.

He started at NMU in 1986 in the physics department. His research was on modeling of molecular structures. In 1998, he became the coordinator for NMU's pre-medical/dental/health professional programs, according to a press release.

Lucas became the physics department head in 2001 and received NMU's distinguished faculty award in 2006. He was described as NMU's biggest and strongest supporter. He was very active in many campus activities, coached youth athletic teams and was involved in the U.P. Regional Science Olympiad for 30 years, according to the press release.

The current physics department head, David Donovan, Lucas's former colleague and friend said, "Dave was a true renaissance man, a gentleman, leader and scholar. He made working in physics fun and, more importantly, professionally rewarding. ... He would give all the time a student needed and help them in any way. He was always welcoming and patient."

Marsha Lucas, who was also honored as a distinguished alumni of GCC, said that in his earlier years, Lucas was a DJ, hosting among other things a radio show called "Mr. Dave's Polka Party Show." He also played in rock bands in the 1960s including playing with the band "Members of the Bar."

"It's a great honor," Lucas said of the dedication. "His name will be on that building forever. Hopefully they (students) will see that plaque and it might motivate them that a local man, through hard work dedicated his life to NMU."

Kathleen Shingler Weston of Kenton earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 1929 at NMU and was one of the the first women graduates to earn a medical degree, according to the press release. She was part of the team that developed the Salk polio vaccine and was later honored by President Lyndon B. Johnson as one of the nation's "outstanding medical women."

Weston's daughter, Susi Weston said, "It was her time here at Northern that really sparked her interest in science and eventually medicine. ... I'm a graduate of Northern and so were both of my parents, so this means so very much to me personally. I believe my mom would tell all young men and women who walk through these halls to take advantage of the opportunities that await him or her and the power of a great education."

According to the press release, Weston made learning a lifelong habit. After working on the polio vaccine project for three years, she became the head of the company's toxicology lab in Michigan and stayed in that position 10 years.

In 1968 she and her husband founded Weston Consultants, Inc. in virginia. It became a leader in toxicology analysis, according to the press release.

She retired in 1997 and worked with the Kenton Historical Society helping to document her home town's history. She died in 2016 at the age of 107.