Christa McAuliffe Vice President George H. W. Bush announced that she had been selected for the position. Another teacher, Barbara Morgan, served as her backup. According to Mark Travis of the "Concord Monitor", it was her manner that set her apart from the other candidates. NASA official Alan Ladwig said "she had an infectious enthusiasm", and NASA psychiatrist Terrence McGuire told "New Woman" magazine that "she was the most broad-based, best-balanced person of the 10." Later that year, she and Morgan each took a year-long leave of absence from teaching in order to train for a space shuttle mission in early 1986.
Ron McAuliffe of Origin series. The 1980s were to prove a golden period for rugby league in Queensland. McAuliffe sat in the Senate until 30 June 1981. At the end of 1981 he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire. McAuliffe died in August 1988 from a stroke. His funeral was held on 17 August 1988 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Fortitude Valley and he was buried in Nudgee Cemetery. His pall bearers included then Australian and Queensland captain Wally Lewis. In his obituary "The Courier-Mail" journalist Barry Dick wrote that "he [Ron McAuliffe] loved a drink,