Class Notes
River Campus /Undergraduate
1951
Hugh (Bud) Garvin sends a photo and an update. After seeing one another only at Rochester reunions, he, John Lazor, and Don Stocking, who were brothers in Delta Upsilon, have made a tradition of getting together each year. The photo shows Hugh, Shirley Gantz Garvin ’52, ’53N, John and his wife, Barbara, and Don and his wife, Frances Anne, at their 60th minireunion this past May. Hugh writes: “After graduation, John and Barbara continued to live in Rochester, where John founded an electronics exporting and importing company. When not traveling the world, John pioneered bringing cable television to Rochester and Monroe County. He sold the system in 1983 to Time Warner. Don and I were members of the first NROTC class at the U of R—we were originally scheduled to graduate with the Class of 1950, but we extended to 1951 for additional studies—and we served in the Navy during the Korean War. Upon release from the Navy, Don began his career as a sales engineer for Consolidated Electrodynamics Corp. and moved with Frances Anne to Buffalo, then to Philadelphia, and eventually to Southern California, where he spent eight years as general manager of the Consolidated Engineering Corp. before retiring. After my naval assignment in charge of a Guided Missile Service Unit, I completed my PhD in physics at the University of California, Berkeley, then moved with Shirley to Southern California, where I served on the technical staff at Hughes Research Laboratories for 33 years before retiring. In 2006, John and Barbara’s oldest son moved with his family to New Zealand to open and operate a bed and breakfast. They fly down each year to visit and, to break up the long flight back to Rochester, stop overnight in Los Angeles. With great pleasure, Don, Frances Anne, Shirley, and I meet John and Barbara at their hotel for dinner. In May of this year, we recalled fondly the good times and friendships that began 60 years earlier at the U of R.”
1952
Shirley Gantz Garvin ’53N (see ’51).
1953
Ruth Maier Phelps sends a photo and an update. She writes: “My daughter, Barbara Phelps Kassmann ’94N (MS), received her doctor of nursing practice degree at Duke University. We are so proud—first doctorate in the family! Barb followed her two aunts, Barbara Tennant Hart ’59, ’60N and Carol Eddy Nettleton ’59, ’60N, into nursing. Present for Barb’s hooding ceremony in May was Helen Weiss Phelps ’78E, from Atlanta, who married our son, David. It was such a joyous occasion and it was fun to note all the U of R connections in the family!”
1956
Nina Stephenson Holland showed some of her paintings and prints in an exhibit entitled “Goldfish Variations” at the Camden Public Library in Camden, Maine. Nina works in acrylic, watercolor, collage, and block print, and explored fish as reflected in their glass bowls in the exhibit.
1962
Gail Meier Edwards writes that she held her first show of her paintings, and sold nearly half of them. Working in encaustic (melted wax), she portrays geological and environmental subjects. Gail is a retired art therapist and notes that her son, Adam Fenster, is a photographer for University Communications. . . . F. Malcom Piester (see ’98). . . . Steven Price has published two books in 2011, both through Skyhorse Publishing: The World’s Funniest Lawyer Jokes: A Caseload of Jurisprudential Jests and Endangered Phrases: Intriguing Idioms Dangerously Close to Extinction.
1963
Barbara Murabito Crellin writes: “The eighth annual Cape Cod reunion of some of the women of the River Campus Class of 1963 took place in June at the home of Karen Lieber Dahl. Fabulous company, great food, and more than one or two glasses of wine were shared.” Pictured are: (back row, left to right) Pat Hendrickson Dickman, Carolyn Curtis Gelderman, Janet Baker Jennison, Jeanne Torre, Kathleen Rafferty Dunn, Judy McElroy Darweesh; (front row, left to right) Bonnie Barney, Barbara, Eileen Cahill Cowley, Karen, Lynne Trimby Kroner, and Barbara Frank Jacobs.
1965
Bonnie Thornton Dill has been named dean of arts and humanities at the University of Maryland. Bonnie is the chair of Maryland’s women’s studies department, the president of the National Women’s Studies Association, and the chair of the advisory board of scholars for Ms. Magazine. . . . Lewis Lefer, a pathologist in Springfield, Mass., has published a mystery novel, Blood (Sweet Dreams Publishing).
1966
Mary Lupiani Farrell ’72W (Mas) has coauthored a book, Ready to Read: A Mutisensory Approach to Language-Based Comprehension Instruction (Paul H. Brookes). Mary is the director of the Center for Dyslexia Studies and the Regional Center for College Students with Learning Disabilities, both at Fairleigh Dickinson University. . . . Our apologies to Rebecca Schecter Jacobs, who writes that two errors appeared in the class note she submitted that was published in the May–June 2011 issue of Review. As we reported, Karen Rosenstein Alkalay-Gut ’75 (PhD) conducted the civil wedding ceremony of Rebecca’s daughter, Yael. The photo identified as “Alkalay-Gut and Jacobs” (one of two that Rebecca submitted) did not show Karen, but rather, the Jacobs family, with Rebecca at left. We’ve published, in this issue, the photo showing Karen (left) officiating at the wedding of Yael (center) and Ariel Sarig (right). Second, writes Rebecca, “You wrote the news as if Karen had written it. She is a very modest person and would never have called herself a ‘well-known poet.’ I reserved the right to say that, as she really is.” . . . Terry Newell is the coauthor of The Trusted Leader: Building the Relationships that Make Government Work (CQ Press). Terry is a writer and consultant and the former dean of faculty at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Va.
1967
Eric Berke sends an update. He has retired after 30 years of practicing infectious disease medicine in the Clearwater, Fla., area. He and his wife, Nancy Gilbert Berke ’69, moved to Dunedin, Fla., after Eric completed his infectious disease fellowship at Yale in 1981. He has been chair of the department of medicine and president of the medical staff at Morton Plant Hospital, as well as a clinical faculty member at the University of South Florida’s medical school. He writes: “We have two children and three grandchildren and enjoy golf, fishing, and family.”
1968
Lucy Chernow Brown, a circuit court judge in Palm Beach County, Fla., since 1991, has won the Justice Barbara Pariente Award. The award, offered by the Palm Beach County Florida Association for Women Lawyers, recognized Lucy for her commitment to advancing women in the legal profession, demonstrated through her service as a mentor to young lawyers, a mentor in the national youth court program, and participation in the Justice Teaching Program in Florida schools.
1969
Alan Abramowitz, the Alben W. Barkley Professor of Political Science at Emory University, has published a book, The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy (Yale). Alan was also the guest on a Washington Post Live Q&A last May on the topic “The party or the people? Republicans’ biggest 2012 presidential dilemma.” . . . Nancy Gilbert Berke (see ’67). . . . John Levi, a partner in the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin, was awarded the first Abner and Zoe Mikva Corporate Citizenship Award in April. The award is given by Mikva Challenge, an organization that promotes the development of civic leaders among students in Chicago’s public schools. John’s accomplishments as a corporate citizen include his election in 2010 as board chairman of the Legal Services Corporation, which funds civil legal assistance to low-income Americans, and his role in Sidley Austin’s partnership with Chicago’s Gerald Delgado Kanoon Magnet Elementary School, as well as in many other of the firm’s pro bono programs.
1970
Nancy Heller Cohen ’70N writes that her novel Silver Serenade (Wild Rose Press) won Best 2010 Romantic Science Fiction/Fantasy from Romance Reviews, and Shear Murder, the 10th novel in her Bad Hair Day mystery series, will be out in January 2012. She adds: “I’ve completed my latest mystery project and am now polishing the story. The research has been fun, involving yacht clubs, and I am hoping to find a home for this book soon.” . . . Paul Mintz ’74M (MD), a professor of pathology and medicine at the University of Virginia, is the editor of Transfusion Therapy: Clinical Principles and Practice (Third Edition) (AABB Press). . . . Daniel Sharpe (see ’05).
1972
Ann McGillicuddy-DeLisi, the Marshall R. Metzgar Professor of Psychology at Lafayette College, has been elected to emeritus status and was recognized during the Easton, Pa., college’s commencement. Ann has been on the Lafayette faculty for 26 years and was the chair of the psychology department from 1999 to 2002.
1973
Penny Drue Baird has published a book, The New French Interior (Monacelli Press). Penny is an interior designer and owner of the firm Dessins, with offices in New York and Paris. . . . Susan Hockfield, the president of MIT, is a cochair of the steering committee for the Advanced Research Partnership, an initiative announced by President Barack Obama in June to bring together federal agencies, businesses, and universities to promote research and development of emerging technologies to improve American manufacturing. . . . Jane Marinsky (see ’05). . . . Pam Straker has published Let Me Stop You Right There and 28 Other Lines Every CEO, Manager, and Supervisor Should Know (Morgan James Publishing). Pam is a psychologist and consultant who has worked with the New York State Council for Exceptional Children, the Child Welfare League of America, the New Jersey State Department of Health, Upward Bound, Excellence Charter School, the Medical Society of Kings County, N.Y., and other clients.
1974
Tony Gringeri ’89M (PhD) has been named chief development officer at ViaCyte, a preclinical cell therapy company focused on treatments for diabetes.
1976
Joanne Doroshow, the founder and executive director of the Center for Justice and Democracy, a civil justice advocacy organization in New York, appears in the HBO documentary Hot Coffee, based on the 1994 case of Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants. The documentary premiered in June.
1977
Dan Kimmel has published a book, Jar Jar Binks Must Die (Fantastic Books). Dan, a film critic who teaches at Suffolk University near Boston, writes that the book is a “collection of essays on the ‘forbidden genre’ of science fiction movies, the ones serious critics aren’t supposed to take seriously.”
1981
Glenn Stutz has coedited a book, Handbook of Optical and Laser Scanning (CRC Press). Glenn is the chief operating officer and chief technology officer at Lincoln Laser, a medical device company in Phoenix.
1982
John Murphy writes that he is a captain in the Navy and the director of staff at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in Arlington, Va.
1983
Hope Shapiro Lilian ’84W (MS) sends a photo of herself with Jill Segal Toporek, Jennifer Pekale Schulman, and Lori Tannenbaum Solano from their minireunion in the Hamptons. She writes: “Most photos of the four of us have Rush Rhees in the background!”
1984
Rob Kuberka is a project manager in the Buffalo office of the engineering firm O’Brien & Gere. A civil and mechanical engineer, Rob specializes in environmental projects.
1986
Lisa Pierson Bork writes that she is releasing a new novel in September. In Sickness and in Death (Midnight Ink) is the third book in the Broken Vow mystery series. . . . Chris Cicchetti has been named vice president of marketing at Veloxum, an information technology firm in Scotts Valley, Calif., near Santa Cruz. . . . Jeanne Putinas Spencer ’90M (MD) has received the 2010 Penn State College of Medicine Annual Affiliate Site Teacher of the Year award. The award recognizes one faculty member from each of the core clinical areas. Jeanne is the director of the Conemaugh family medicine residency program and chair of the department of family medicine at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center.
1987
Bill Heineman has been promoted to vice president of academic affairs at Northern Essex Community College near Boston. Previously, he was dean of foundational studies and liberal arts and sciences. . . . Robert Mandra ’93 (MS) has joined the corporate finance group at the investment bank B. Riley & Co. in Los Angeles. He’s a managing director in the technology and communications hardware sector with a focus on optical technologies.
1988
Robert Gelder writes that he was appointed county commissioner for District 1 in Kitsap County, Wash., in March. As one of three county commissioners, he will be responsible for the county’s $325 million budget and will serve in a legislative capacity for county ordinances and oversight of key services, including roads, parks, human services, and land use. Rob’s district includes two naval bases as well as the Suquamish and Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribes.
1989
Dan Chait ’90S (MBA) has been promoted to senior vice president of World Omni Financial Corp., a subsidiary of the automotive company JM Family Enterprises. Dan also serves on JM Family’s executive management team, which oversees long-range planning. In his new role, he’ll be responsible for portfolio management, dealer services, operations, and sales and marketing for Southeast Toyota Finance.
1990
Jolene Casatelli, an attorney and assistant vice president at the Utica National Insurance Group, has been promoted to director of field claims operations and of workers’ compensation claims.
1992
Jomark Garbatowicz has been appointed regional director of sales at the Rochester-based telecommunications firm Paetec. . . . Paul McCabe, a professor in the school psychologist graduate program at Brooklyn College and the associate editor of the journal School Psychology Forum, coedited three books, all released in 2010 by Corwin Press: Pediatric Disorders: Current Topics and Interventions for Educators; Genetic and Acquired Disorders: Current Topics and Interventions for Educators; and Psychiatric Disorders: Current Topics and Interventions for Educators. . . . Jeffrey Morrison has published a book, Cleanse Your Body, Clear Your Mind: Eliminate Environmental Toxins to Lose Weight, Increase Energy, and Reverse Illness in 30 Days or Less (Penguin). Jeffrey specializes in environmental and nutritional medicine and heads his own integrative medical practice, the Morrison Center, in New York City. . . . Trish Murley writes that she and her husband, Jeffery Strong, welcomed a son, Jensen Holland Strong, last October. . . . Sarah Robert is the coeditor of an essay collection, School Food Politics: The Complex Ecology of Hunger and Feeding Around the World (Peter Lang). Sarah is an assistant professor of learning and instruction at the graduate school of education at SUNY Buffalo.
1993
Nikki Izzo-Brown has been inducted into the Frontier Field Walk of Fame, a walkway on the field of the Rochester, N.Y., stadium, featuring the names of notable people in sports who have ties to Rochester. Nikki is the coach of the West Virginia University women’s soccer team. Over 16 seasons, she has coached 7 players who went on to become professional players, 14 All-Americans, 10 Academic All-Americans, and 9 Big East Players of the Year. In addition, the team has participated in each of the last 11 NCAA tournaments. Nicki made All-America status as a player for the Yellowjackets, started for the team all four of her seasons, and won the Merle Spurrier Award, given to Rochester’s top female athlete based on leadership and academics, in addition to athletic performance.
1994
Dan Houton has joined the Washington, D.C., office of the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association as director of government relations.
1995
Paul Frost has been named the first David Schindler Professor of Aquatic Science at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. As part of the induction ceremony in March, Paul led a panel discussion, “For the Sake of Our Lakes: Global Change and Its Effects on the Lakes of Ontario.” . . . Christina Valvo Hellner ’98W (MS) and her husband, Wade, welcomed a second daughter, Sienna Rose, in September 2010. Christina writes: “Sienna and her five-year-old sister, Linnea, returned to the Rochester area to camp in Letchworth State Park.” The family lives in northern Virginia. . . . Kristen Herlihy writes that she and her husband, Mark, welcomed a son, Connor Mark Flint, in April. “He is healthy and beautiful!” . . . Andy and Jill Robinson Spivak welcomed their second child, Raymond (Ray) Del Spivak, in January. Andy writes: “Ray joins big sister Claire in the hopes of being another U of R alumnus someday!”
1997
Asha Jackson has joined the Atlanta office of the law firm Barnes & Thornton as a partner. She joins the litigation group, where she focuses on commercial litigation, product liability, premises liability, and employment counseling. . . . Kristi-Jo Tutela writes that she married Benjamin Dane in September 2010. Pictured are Kristi-Jo, Benjamin, Rocco Tutela ’95 (Kristi’s brother), Tricia Tutela ’93 (Kristi’s sister-in-law and bridesmaid), Nicole LaNatra Waldman (bridesmaid), Dan Waldman ’98, Harry Katz (groomsman), Ben Noyes (groomsman), Julia Chatfield Levy, and Nir Levy.
1998
Matthew and Janis Coughlin Piester ’99 (MS) send an update. Janis writes that Matthew’s father, F. Malcolm Piester ’62, died in March. “Malcolm had very fond memories of his time at Rochester and was always excited to share stories and hear about our exploits as well. We have since learned that his hometown of Hopatcong, N.J., dedicated a hiking trail after him to honor his hard work in developing area hiking trails.” She adds: “Matthew and I also have happy news to share: In March, we welcomed our first child, Daniel Malcolm Piester. We live just outside Washington, D.C., in Arlington, Va., and also celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary this year. We couldn’t have asked for a better present than Daniel.”
1999
Carla Engelbrecht Fisher writes that she and her husband, Jonathan, welcomed a daughter, Lorelei, in February. “We live in New York City, where Jonathan is an economist for the U.S. Census Bureau. My company, No Crusts Interactive, is doing children’s game design, including for the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS Sesame Street games.” . . . Jeff and Alexandra Boyer Reidmiller ’01N welcomed their third child, Josephine Rose, in April. . . . Paul Smith has joined the Cleveland office of the law firm Tucker Ellis & West. He specializes in medical malpractice and pharmaceutical liability.
2000
Todd Florin ’05M (MD), a fellow of pediatric emergency medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has coedited Netter’s Pediatrics (Elsevier). The book contains text written by physicians at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and 500 images by medical illustrator Frank Netter and others working in a similar style designed to help clinicians diagnose and care for children with common conditions. . . . Beth Meyers ’00E, ’02E (MM) (see ’00 Eastman). . . . Amy Sonricker married Malik Hansen in April in the Boston Public Garden. Rochester alumni in attendance included Krista Hanypsiak. Amy is a project manager at Children’s Hospital Boston’s HealthMap.org and Malik is a robotics engineer at Boston Dynamics. In addition, Amy was accepted into SUNY Albany’s School of Public Health PhD program in epidemiology, which she’ll begin in fall 2011. Amy and Malik own a home in Roslindale, Mass.
2001
Lorrie Paston Jacobson writes that she and her husband, Mike, welcomed their second child, Jack Emmett, in March. “We live in Northern Virginia, where I’m a registered nurse, Mike is a physician’s assistant in a pulmonary and critical care practice, and Madeline worked hard in her first year of preschool!”
2002
Nate ’03 (MS) and Amy Chambers ’03W (Mas) send a photo and an update. Nate received his PhD in computer science from Stanford. Amy writes: “We’ll be moving back to the East Coast, where Nate will be an assistant professor at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., this fall.”
2004
Wenli Tan has been promoted to senior consultant at the Chicago firm of Mesirow Financial.
2005
Rebecca Sharpe writes that she married Gerald Dente in August 2010. “I had a whole slew of U of R alumni in attendance. Being the daughter of two alumni myself—Daniel Sharpe ’70 and Jane Marinsky ’73—I always knew I’d draw a crowd!” Pictured are: (back row, left to right) Daniel, Zoe Johnstone ’01, ’01E, Stephen O’Donohue ’03, Grace Melton O’Donohue ’04, ’06W (MS), Philip Reichenberger ’06, Angela Hamarich, and Elisha Church; (front row, left to right) Elyse Marinksy Friedman ’67, Jane, Rebecca, Katharine Wilcox, Colleen Kavanagh, Kumiko Tanaka ’07, and Frank DiGiacomo ’70. . . . Jonathan Vitale writes that he received a doctorate in osteopathic medicine in May from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pa. He lives in Chicago, where he’s a family medicine resident physician at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
2006
Jonathan Sholtis and Emma Chiappa ’07 were married in September 2010 in Pennsylvania. Pictured from left to right are Emily Mackin ’07, Eric Smith ’07, Richie ’08 and Natalie Modzelewski Canale ’07 and their son, Maximus, Latrice Akuamoah ’07, Laura Western ’07, ’09 (MS), Jason Goeller ’07, Ashley Lisiewski ’07, Steven Rockwell ’07, Erica Schubert ’07, and Korey Witt ’06.
2007
Emily Chiappa (see ’06). . . . Beth Lalime and Joe Contini were married in February in Norwalk, Conn., with a reception in Rockleigh, N.J. Rochester alumni in attendance were (back row, left to right) Eric Smith, Pat Gallagher, Tim Haynes, Nick James, Steve Blank, Pat Ellsworth ’08 (MS), and Alex Pisarski; (front row, left to right), Justin John ’08 (MS), Beth, Joe, Katie Gaudion Gallagher, Sasha Bilow, and Kate Erickson. In attendance, but not pictured, was Sonia Li. Beth writes: “Joe graduated in June from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and will be doing his medical residency in pediatrics at Yale New Haven Hospital. I work as a biomedical engineer at the medical products company Covidien in North Haven, so we are living close by in Hamden, Conn.” . . . Ashley Lisiewski received a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in June. Over the summer, she began an emergency medicine residency at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Fla.
2009
Joshua Hatcher, a composer and musician, has released his first solo album, Neuroses (self-produced). After graduation, he moved to Ithaca, N.Y., where he has played with several local bands on a variety of instruments.
