by Laura M. Massie

Leo Di Nuoscio's goals in life were simple but high-achieving. Yet when it took him longer to realize one of them, he never took his eye off the prize-even after nearly 55 years.

On May 18, the 80-year-old husband, father, grandfather, Akron-area native, Firestone Company retiree and decorated World War II veteran who stormed the beaches of Normandy with the Army's 44th Infantry Division in June 1944 will accomplish his life's ambition by receiving his master's of business administration degree in accounting from the Weatherhead School of Management.

Di Nuoscio turns 81 in June.

"My goals in high school were to obtain my bachelor's and a master's degrees," said Di Nuoscio, who was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star after World War II. "It was always my life's ambition. I figured I'm 80-years-old, and I hadn't achieved my goal yet, so I decided I was going to try and go for it."

In July 2002, with encouragement and inspiration from his wife, Pauline, the retired Firestone industrial engineer called Julia Grant, associate dean of graduate programs and associate professor of accounting at Weatherhead, to ask whether he could finish what he started in fall 1948 at what was then Western Reserve University. By the end of spring semester in 1949, Di Nuoscio had completed all of his coursework except for his thesis, which was a requirement back then.

"When I first called Weatherhead, I told Professor Grant that I hadn't achieved my goal yet," Di Nuoscio said. "I was only three credit hours short, and all I needed to do was take one class and finish the work I began in 1948. Professor Grant, Professor (Paul) Gerhart and the rest of the Weatherhead School were very encouraging and supportive."

He entered Kent State University upon his honorable discharge from the Army in 1946 and received a bachelor's degree in industrial management in spring 1948. Goal No. 1 accomplished. His journey toward getting his master's degree was just beginning. He enrolled in New York University's MBA program but decided the newly established two-year program there-as well as New York City itself-weren't for him.

"I didn't like living in the tenement houses in Washington Square," he said. "And I didn't want to stay in New York City for two years. So I decided to come back home and go to Western Reserve. The classes were actually held at Cleveland College in Public Square. It was a one-year program and much more suited to my needs at the time."

With his coursework finished and his thesis essentially complete, the faculty review of Di Nuoscio's thesis wasn't. Unfortunately, his faculty adviser left WRU to take a job in the private sector, and the final sections of Di Nuoscio's thesis-his conclusion and recommendations-were left unreviewed in the spring of 1949.

Incredibly, he kept the original 161-page thesis, "Wage Incentive Systems in the Rubber Industry," for 54 years. It was written from both a management and union standpoint, and he had interviewed both sides from three major American companies-Goodyear, Goodrich and Firestone.

At first, he said, he thought he had lost the original thesis, but his wife found his old college books after their last move to a home in Sarasota, Fla., where the Di Nuoscios live during the winter, and he found the thesis with his old books-still intact. He felt it was in good enough shape to submit to Weatherhead, though

"I made copies of it for my meeting with Professors Grant and Gerhart. I didn't want them to have to read something old and musty," Di Nuoscio said.

Marian Hogue, assistant dean for academic affairs in Weatherhead's Professional Degree Programs Administrative Offices (PDPAO), said in order for Di Nuoscio to come back to CWRU to complete the necessary requirements, he would have to get approval first.

"We obtained the approval of the provost and Leo worked with Professor Gerhart to complete this requirement," Hogue said. "We are so excited and proud that Leo decided to come back to school. He is a delightful person."

Di Nuoscio marvels at today's college students and the technology they have at their fingertips.

"I'm a grandfather to most of those students and faculty," he said. "I'm from a different generation. They have a lot of things going for them today because they have such wonderful technology to help them. When I was in college the first time, we were lucky if we had calculators or adding machines. Graduates today also have so many different fields they can go into now, more than what we had."

He also offers today's "young" graduates a bit of advice.

"These graduates have some tough competition today, especially in this 'credit-card economy,'" he said. "Average credit card debt today is $9,000. You have to be technology-literate to compete with your peers. Jobs aren't plentiful right now because of restructuring and downsizing, but I believe the economy will rebound for them. Things will start looking up. I'm an optimist."

While Di Nuoscio won't formally use his MBA in the workplace, he plans on staying active in his community as much as possible, whether it's helping people with their income taxes or other accounting work that he volunteers to do.

While he lives in Sarasota during the winter, he still has a home in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

His life's ambition of receiving an MBA accomplished, Di Nuoscio said his only regret is that his parents aren't alive today to see him receive his master's degree.

"They were always pushing me to do the best I can do, to be the best I can be," he said. "They also said you can never have too much education. And that you're never too old to learn."

 

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