Class Notes

1956 Noel Abronowitz Allan has self-published a book, Mok: The Incredible Labrador. Noel writes that the book is “a series of true adventure stories, some humorous, some hair-raising, covering 15 years of friendship, a love story between a human and his dog.” Noel adds that he retired from the Navy after 23 years, and as CEO of a nonprofit fundraising company after 20 years. He lives in San Diego and “hunts and fishes in Canada, Mexico, and the states in between.”

1961 Ron Karpick sends a photo and an update. He and three other members of the Class of 1961—Larry Ossias ’66M (Res), Carl Ellenberger, and Carl Hunt—went on to Yale Medical School, and reunited this past May at their 50th medical school reunion. Pictured in Yale’s Medical Historical Library are, from left to right, Larry, Linda Michaelson Ossias ’64, Carl Ellenberger, Carl Hunt, and Ron. Ron and his wife, Jane, live in Falls Church, Virginia. Ron writes that he retired from private practice in pulmonary diseases and critical care in 2001, and from the Fairfax County Health Department as the tuberculosis physician in 2015. Yale Medical School awarded him the Distinguished Alumni Service Award at the reunion. He adds: “Carl Ellenberger and his wife, Emi Snavely, live in Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania. Carl is retired from his neuro-ophthalmology and neuroimaging practices and continues to play classical and jazz music in the Gretna Music Festival, which he started 40 years ago. Carl Hunt and his wife, Joyce Shoemaker, live in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Carl continues to work as the research professor of pediatrics at the Uniformed Services, University of Health Sciences. He has had a long career in pediatrics, from a professorship at Northwestern, to the University of Toledo, to the director of sleep disorders research at the NIH. He and Joyce spend their weekends on the 54-foot Hatteras motor yacht berthed in the Annapolis Marina. Larry and Linda live in New York City, where Larry continues to work in his private practice of hematology and internal medicine. He’s an assistant professor of medicine at Mt. Sinai.”

1964 Linda Michaelson Ossias (see ’61).

1967 Ira Schildkraut writes, “I have retired as director of college guidance at Shalhevet High School for Girls, a girls’ yeshiva in North Woodmere, Long Island, New York. I continue on the school’s faculty, teaching economics and Advanced Placement U.S. History and serving as the advisor for the school’s debate team and Model Congress delegation.”

1968 David Pankenier has published a book, Astrology and Cosmology in Early China (Cambridge University Press). David is a professor of Chinese at Lehigh University. . . . Bill Rapaport has received the International Association for Computing and Philosophy’s 2015 Covey Award. The award recognizes “senior scholars with a substantial record of innovative research in the field of computing and philosophy, broadly conceived.” Bill is an associate professor emeritus of computer science and engineering at the University at Buffalo.

1969 Barbara Boychuk Cantalupo has been promoted to full professor of English at Penn State’s Lehigh Valley campus. She’s taught at the campus for 25 years. . . . Arnold Wolfe writes that his one-act play, That Was Then, was accepted by a Manhattan theater company for the staging of three performances. The performances took place over Labor Day weekend as part of the annual Thespis Theater Festival, which brings first-run plays to the stage. Arnold writes that That Was Then is about “a group of college guys who start a ‘soul’ band in the Vietnam era” and “features some of the music by artists such as the Temptations, Wilson Pickett, and the Rascals that echoed from the fraternity quad to the MDC across to Todd Union half a century ago.”

1970 Nancy Heller Cohen ’70N has released her 12th Bad Hair Day Mystery, Peril by Ponytail (Five Star Publishing).

1972 Kenneth Cohn died in June after an 11-month battle with lung cancer, his daughter, Olivia (Livie) Cohn ’12 writes. A general surgeon as well as a surgical oncologist, Ken served on the faculty of SUNY Downstate, Brooklyn VA, and later Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center. After earning an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, Ken remained an active surgeon in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, while helping physicians and hospitals improve clinical and financial performance through his work as a consultant in his company, Healthcare Collaboration. He recently authored a medical mystery thriller, Dead at His Desk, in addition to many medical books and articles. . . . Donald Stevens writes that he retired in 2012 after 32 years in anesthesiology—seven in Florida and 25 in Massachusetts. He adds: “I spent the last 20 years or so practicing pain medicine. Then I spent the last two years helping my son run an auto shop. Now I’m retired again. I joined the Freemasons in 2007, and enjoy the lodge and charitable work greatly.”

1973 Barbara Regenspan ’80W (Mas), ’94W (PhD) writes that she’s been teaching in Colgate University’s Department of Educational Studies for the past 10 years, and has published her second academic book, Haunting and the Educational Imagination (Springer).

1974 David Perlmutter has been appointed dean and vice chancellor for medical affairs at Washington University’s medical school. David was a faculty member in the medical school’s pediatrics department for 15 years before leaving in 2001 for the University of Pittsburgh, where he’s been the Vira I. Heinz Endowed Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief and scientific director of the university–affiliated Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

1976 Deb Schaffer (see ’77). . . . Rachel Schaffer (see ’77). . . . Daniel Wofsey, a real estate lawyer at the St. Louis firm Armstrong Teasdale, has been named in the 2015 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business.

1977 Judy-Ann West ’82W (MS) sends a photo and an update. She, Liz Quinn Nally ’82W (MS), Deb Schaffer ’76, and Rachel Schaffer ’76 met in May for a minireunion. It included “a tour of the campus and its new buildings, College Town, and the Lilac Fest. No visit is complete without a stop in the stacks!” Pictured in the Rush Rhees Library stacks are (left to right) Deb, Liz, Judy-Ann, and Rachel.

1978 Jane Dubin ’79 (MS) has been elected to the board of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She writes: “My current Broadway show, An American in Paris, received four Tony Awards and is 2015’s most awarded musical on Broadway.” She began producing a new off-Broadway show in July, The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey.

1981 Jonathan Dayton has been named director of property management for the Beverly, Massachusetts, real estate investment and asset management company, Brookwood.

1983 Evans Lam ’84S (MBA), a University trustee and a graduate of Ying Wa College in Hong Kong, attended a performance at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre in June by the college’s concert band, string orchestra, boys’ treble and male voice chamber choirs, and Chinese orchestra, which includes traditional drums and bowed and plucked string instruments. Evans’s wife, Susanna, performed Farewell of Lady Zhaojun, a Chinese operatic solo by Xian-nü Hong, with the orchestra. Evans and Susan are pictured with Jamal Rossi ’87E (DMA), the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music, and his wife, Pam.

1984 Noah Beerman has joined the French biopharmaceutical company Poxel, which specializes in the development of drugs to treat type II diabetes, as executive vice president of business development and president of U.S. operations. Noah will be based in Boston, where he’ll spearhead the company’s efforts to establish a foothold in the American market.

1985 John Austin passed away unexpectedly near his home in Charlottesville, Virginia, in late May, writes his sister-in-law, Helen Gatling-Austin. Helen invites classmates to learn more about John’s recent activities, find a link to an obituary, and share remembrances at a Facebook memorial site at Facebook.com/John-Curtis-Austin-Memorial.

1986 John Simmonds has been elected to the board of directors of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. John is a project manager at the Smithfield, Rhode Island, office of Fidelity Investments.

1987 Lawrence Creatura ’94S (MBA) has published a book, Long and Short: Confessions of a Portfolio Manager (Mill City Press, 2015). Lawrence is co-portfolio manager of the small-cap value portfolio at Federated Clover Investment Advisors, near Rochester. He’s offered commentary for CNBC, Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal, and other financial news outlets.

1989 Warren Firschein writes that he’s published a book, Out of Synch (Chapter Two Press). It’s “a middle grade sports book aimed at girls, and quite possibly the first novel to focus on the underappreciated sport of synchronized swimming.” Warren adds that he lives near Tampa Bay, Florida, with his wife and two daughters, “both of whom are enthusiastic synchronized swimmers.” . . . Jennifer Traylor Kruschwitz ’95 (MS) writes that she earned a doctorate in color science at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The principal optical coating engineer at JK Consulting in Rochester, Jennifer starts in September as an assistant professor at the Institute of Optics.

1990 Laura Kelley Hart has been named director of online educational initiatives for the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy. Previously, she was senior director for digital initiatives at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she helped develop massive open online courses, or MOOCs, for lifelong learners. She has a certificate in e-learning design and development from the University of Washington. . . . Jodi Rubtchinsky Smith has published revised and updated editions of From Clueless to Class Act: Manners for the Modern Man and From Clueless to Class Act: Manners for the Modern Woman (Sterling Publishing). Jodi is founder and president of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting.

1991 Joe Armstrong ’92 (MS) and his wife, Rachel, welcomed their third child, Grace, in May. Grace joins brothers Liam, 5, and Callen, 2. They live in Fremont, California. John is an optical engineer at KLA-Tencor. . . . Bryan Bond ’96S (MBA) has joined Lawley Benefits Group in Rochester as an employee benefits consultant.

1994 Vinod Srihari ’98M (MD), associate director of the psychiatry residency training program at Yale Medical School, was honored by the Connecticut chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin, or GOPIO, for his service to the medical profession and to the Indian-American community. Vinod received his award at a June banquet attended by members of the state legislative and U.S. congressional delegations, as well as a representative from the Indian consulate.

1995 Stewart Bushman writes that he’s the propulsion lead engineer for NASA’s New Horizons mission, which entered the Pluto system in July, flying within 7,800 miles of the dwarf planet, bringing back close-range photographs of its geography. Previously, he was the propulsion lead for NASA’s Messenger spacecraft, which completed a four-year orbit of Mercury last April. His next project, again as propulsion lead, is NASA’s Solar Probe Plus, which launches in July 2018, and will explore the sun’s outer atmosphere. . . . Balaji Gandhi has joined Press Ganey, a provider of health care analytics based in South Bend, Indiana, as senior vice president of corporate development and strategy. . . . Robert Kerr has been named special assistant to the Georgia attorney general. An attorney in Augusta who represents clients with a variety of disabilities and medical conditions, Robert will represent Georgia’s Department of Family and Children Services during legal-dependency proceedings.

1996 Matthew Aufman has been named general counsel and vice president of legal for Welch, the Concord, Massachusetts, makers of grape juice and other grape-based products.

1997 Michelle Dowd has published a book, The Dynamics of Inheritance on the Shakespearean Stage (Cambridge University Press). Michelle is an associate professor and director of graduate studies in the English department at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

1999 Melany Silas ’01W (MS) was one of five women in Rochester’s Monroe County to be honored by Links Inc., a service organization of African-American women, at an awards luncheon at the Rochester Plaza Hotel last May. Melany is founder and CEO of the theatrical company MJS Productions.

2000 Cindy Feinberg, 15th reunion cochair, sends a message to the Class: “Help us set a reunion-year record the weekend of October 8–11! To set the new record, we need 80 of us to attend. We know that we can blow the record out of the water! And more importantly, we want to see you and catch up. Visit the Facebook group “Class of 2000—University of Rochester” and our 2000 University reunion page at Rochester.edu/college/alumni/reunion/classes/2000.”

2001 Amir Dehestani and his wife, Jen, welcomed a baby boy, Cullen Bond, in April. They live in the Boston area, where Amir is the global sales solutions manager for Eagle Investment Systems, and Jen is the owner of JFit360° personal training. . . . Adam Litwin is an attorney as well as an actor, producer, and screenwriter. In June, he joined the Dallas law firm Bell Nunnally & Martin in the corporate and securities, entertainment, advertising and new media, and mergers and acquisitions practice areas.

2002 Jessica Steele Lambert has been named counsel at the Boston law firm Choate, Hall & Stewart. The focus of her practice is wealth management.

2006 Andrew and Ivana Kalanovic Dylag welcomed a son, Lukas Vojislav Dylag, in April. . . . Maria (Maru) Eugenia Vega writes: “I just completed my PhD in cell and molecular biology/cancer biology from the University of Pennsylvania, investigating Barett’s esophagus. I’m now working as a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton.”

2012 Olivia (Livie) Cohn (see ’72). . . . Jon Scahill ’98, ’04S (MBA) sends the following news: “On June 21, my sister-in-law Samantha Fabricant ’12 was awarded her JD from John Marshall Law School in Chicago. I’m extremely proud of her.” . . . Conor Flynn writes: “I’m engaged to be married to Ann Dillon, Villanova Class of 2010.” Conor and Ann are both graduates of SUNY Buffalo law school and plan a July 2016 wedding.

2013 John DiBartolomeo, who has been playing professional basketball in Spain, has signed with Israel’s Maccabi Bazan Haifa professional basketball team. His contract runs through the 2016–17 season.