In the News

"I'm a terrible holiday junkie."
—Opera star Renée Fleming '83E (MM) talking with Gannett News Services about her first appearance in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade last fall.

Alumni named to Halls of Fame
Classical marimbist Leigh Howard Stevens '75E has been inducted into the Percussive Art Society's Hall of Fame in recognition of his influential work as a performer and educator. Recognized for his four-mallet method of playing the marimba—known as the “Stevens Technique”—he also holds four U.S. patents for keyboard percussion designs, and is the author of the widely used textbook Method of Movement. . . Virginia Duffy '92N (PhD) was inducted into the Nurses in Business Hall of Fame for her contributions to and support of nurses in nontraditional careers. A consultant and seminar leader, she is the author of Behavioral First Aid: Managing Emotions During Emergencies.

Warner Graduate Named Top New Hampshire Superintendent
Marjorie Chiafrey '73W (MA) was named the 2007 superintendent of the year by the New Hampshire School Administrators Association. Chiafrey, who has been teaching in New Hampshire since 1978, was named superintendent of the Merrimack, New Hampshire, school district in 2001.

Cancer Society Recognizes Thayer '66 with National Award
The American Cancer Society has recognized the volunteer work of Gaylord (Chip) Thayer Jr. '66, a founding member of the board of directors of the society's New England division. Thayer received the 2006 St. George National Award in recognition of outstanding commitment to the society's mission.

Army Surgeon's Essay Selected for NEA Anthology
An essay by Paul Danielson '92M (MD), '99M (Res), a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves, is included in the first-ever anthology of writing by soldiers from an ongoing U.S. war. Titled Operation Homecoming and published by Random House, the collection was organized by the National Endowment for the Arts and features work by returning soldiers and their families. Danielson's essay, "A Case for Being There," recounts an especially memorable operation in which he helped save the arm of a wounded American officer while serving a three-month deployment in Iraq in 2003. Danielson is a pediatric surgeon at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.