Class Notes

Medallion Reunion

Medallion Reunion Alumni who graduated before the Class of 1971—this year’s 50th reunion class—are invited to take part in Medallion reunion events. Learn more.

1947 Louis Evangelistidied last November, writes his son, Robert (Bob) Evangelisti ’76, a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. Louis was in the US Navy V-12 program at Rochester and achieved the rank of lieutenant junior grade in the Navy.

1958 Ed Hajim, a life trustee and chair emeritus of the University’s Board of Trustees, has published a memoir, On the Road Less Traveled (Skyhorse), about his unlikely rise from being largely abandoned by his father to be raised as a child in foster homes and orphanages to become a prominent Wall Street executive, financier, and philanthropist. The namesake for the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, he’s currently the chair of the Boston-based money management company High Vista.

1962 Steven Price has published a memoir, The Outside of a Horse: My Life On, Off, and Around Horses (Ashmere Books), in which he shares seven decades of equestrian adventures as participant as well as spectator. Highlights include fox-hunting in Ireland and Virginia, cross-country riding in Spain and France, dude ranching in Wyoming and real ranching in Montana, and an equestrian journalist show-jumping class in New Jersey. Steven is the author, editor, collaborator, or compiler of 44 books, 20 of which are on horse-related topics.

1967 Dale Peterson, a longtime adjunct faculty member in the English department at Tufts University and the author of 20 previous books, has written Thirty-Three Ways of Looking at an Elephant (Trinity University Press). The edited collection of 33 writings about elephants from across history ranges from folktales to current practices. . . . Daniel (Bill) Record writes, “With a BS in mechanical engineering from the U of R, as a world traveler, and as a student of various Traditional Teachings, I have formulated a few unique thoughts about the human condition [that are] summarized in my website, www.reality-r-us.com.” Bill adds, “There was a centerfold article about my motorcycle travels in Europe and Africa in the Campus Times in 1973 or so.”

1970 Steve Coffman has retired as professor and chair of the Department of Communication at Montana State University–Billings after 41 years of service. . . . Nancy Heller Cohen ’70N writes that her book A Bad Hair Day Cookbook (Orange Grove Press) won first place in the 2020 TopShelf Magazine Book Awards in the Non-Fiction–Cooking/Food category. Nancy adds, “These past few months have seen major changes come our way. We’ve packed and moved to the Orlando area to be near our kids. From worrying about moving logistics to hiring vendors to getting our new home comfortable, it’s been an anxiety-fraught journey. Hours that I could have spent writing have been occupied in researching service companies and shopping online for bookcases, bathroom shelves, and towel racks. We’ve had a steady parade of workmen that provides a constant disruption. Despite these intrusions, we are slowly getting reorganized. As the clutter abates, so does the chaos in my mind. This means I am finally able to resume writing-related activities.”

1971 50th Reunion

1973 Mary-Frances Winters ’82S (MBA) has published Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit (Berrett-Koehler). Mary-Francis, a diversity and inclusion leader, author, and University life trustee, joined University President Sarah Mangelsdorf for a virtual presentation and conversation in October as part of REAL, a new monthly lecture and discussion series focused on authentic and candid discussions about equity, measurable action, and meaningful change.

1974 Ray O’Neill (see ’75).

1975 Rickard (Rick) Renzi died in December due to complications from COVID-19, writes Sandra Hughey ’76, his former wife. Rochester attorney Ray O’Neill ’74, a colleague of Rick’s, also wrote; he adds that Rick played football at Rochester and was a longtime Yellowjacket sports supporter. . . . Mathew Tekulsky has published Galapagos Birds: A Photographic Voyage (Goff Books), a collection of 54 photographs from a trip to the Galápagos Islands in 2004 with his mother, the late Patience Fish Tekulsky, to whom the book is dedicated.

1976 45th Reunion

1976 Science writer and medical ethicist Harriet DeBose Washington was appointed to the National Book Critics Circle Board of Directors in July 2020. Harriet also has a new book coming out in 2021, Carte Blanche: The Erosion of Medical Consent (Columbia Global Reports). She is a fellow at the New York Academy of Medicine and has been a research fellow in medical ethics at Harvard Medical School, a visiting fellow at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, a visiting scholar at DePaul University College of Law, the Miriam Shearing Fellow at the University of Nevada’s Black Mountain Institute, and a senior research scholar at the National Center for Bioethics at Tuskegee University. . . . Robert Evangelisti (see ’47). . . . Sandra Hughey (see ’75).

1977 Randy Kulman, a licensed clinical child psychologist and the founder and president of LearningWorks for Kids, has written The Gaming Overload Workbook: A Teen’s Guide to Balancing Screen Time, Video Games, and Real Life (New Harbinger Publications). He writes, “My long-standing interest in children’s play—hence my second book about kids playing and learning from video games and an ongoing informational website for parents and professionals—derives from many classes with Dr. David Elkind as an undergrad at the U of R.” Randy adds that out of 30 vignettes of teenagers used as examples in the book, about a third “are named [for] and based upon my close group of Rochester friends—all of whom have very regular contact 47 years later.” . . . Rose Lewis has been named executive director of marketing communications at Commonwealth Medicine, the consulting and operations division of UMass Medical School.

1978 Jodi Rosenshein Atkin ’82 (MA), an independent college admissions counselor in Rochester, has earned the designation of Certified Educational Planner. She provides support and guidance to students and their families in the college selection process, and she advocates for students engaged in the transfer process as well. In addition to the designation, Jodi is a professional member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, Higher Educational Consultants Association, National Association of College Admissions Counselors, and the New York state Association of College Admissions Counselors. . . . Jane Dubin ’79 (MS), president of the production company Double Play Connections, writes, “My first movie—Radium Girls—missed its national rollout last April, but not to be deterred, it is streaming.” Jane adds, “[I’m] excited that Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner are executive producers of the film.”

1979 Peter Blanck, who holds the title of University Professor and chairs the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, writes, “My new book may be of interest to the UR community and classmates.” Disability Law and Policy (Foundation Press), released in honor of the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, provides an overview of the themes and insights in disability law. . . . Seth Rubenstein was elected president of the American Podiatric Medical Association last April. His practice in Reston, Virginia, is affiliated with Foot and Ankle Specialists of the Mid-Atlantic. Seth writes that he has enjoyed volunteering in his profession for 35 years, including serving as a board member and leader for many of the association’s committees and organizational activities. He adds that he and his wife, Caroline, have made multiple trips to the University for Meliora Weekend, “taking in the beautiful fall colors and enjoying the many social activities on and off campus.” . . . Theresa King Mattioli ’84 (MS) (see ’84 Nursing).

1980 Penny Cagan has started teaching at Columbia University’ School of Professional Studies. She is a managing director for MUFG Union Bank and sits on the boards of the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association and the Workforce Professional Training Institute. She also writes a daily blog published at the Times of Israel online newspaper. . . . David Higgins ’87 (PhD) has been appointed to a second term on the Independent Citizen’s Oversight Committee at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, also known as California’s Stem Cell Agency. The committee was created by voter initiative in 2004, and in 2020 California voters extended its life with additional funding. The committee is the governing body of the institute and is responsible for funding and managing one of the world’s leading organizations dedicated to stem cell research and the development of stem cell therapies to treat and cure neurodegenerative diseases, heart disease, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, blindness, blood cancer, MS, and others.

1981 40th Reunion

1982 Meredith Fine writes that she “won a case of first impression in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The court ruled that Medicaid claims against an estate must be presented within three years from the beneficiary’s date of death or are otherwise barred.” Her position was supported by the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Real Estate Bar Association, and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Meredith has offices in Gloucester and Ipswich, Massachusetts, and focuses her practice on real estate, business counseling, and dispute resolution. . . . Randy Kornfeld Marber writes, “I am happy to report that I have been reelected as a New York State Supreme Court Justice. In 2021, I will begin my 20th year as a judge, following many years of private practice as a trial attorney and two years as a principal law clerk.” She adds, “My best to all in the Class of ’82.” . . . Patrick Simning sends an update: He retired from medical practice after 14 years with the US Navy (including medical school), and 25 years in private practice with Bend Memorial Clinic in Bend, Oregon. He attended the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland, after earning a BS in neuroscience in 1981 and a BA in philosophy in 1982 from the University. “My favorite professor was Professor Colin Turbayne of the philosophy department. His book, The Myth of Metaphor, holds an honored place on my office shelf. Rochester provided me with a superb undergraduate education, mixing together scientific and metaphysical elements which have served me well during my career in medicine.”

1986 35th Reunion

1986 Ted Hart, president and CEO of Charities Aid Foundation of America, has been recognized as part of Virginia Business magazine’s inaugural Virginia 500 Power List in the Nonprofits/Philanthropy category. In addition to his role with the foundation, Ted is a motivational speaker and author. He also hosts a radio show/podcast, Nonprofit Coach, interviewing experts from the nonprofit sector.

1988 Mara Shapiro James, founder and CEO of the Extraordinary Lives Foundation, sends an update. She started her nonprofit in 2015, and she has a children’s book scheduled for a March release: The Power of Piggie Bear (Brown Books). Mara adds, “After the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be a mental health pandemic, and Piggie Bear will be there to help children’s emotional and mental well-being.”

1989 Jenifer Kirin (see ’91).

1990 John Geremia (see ’91).

1991 30th Reunion

1991 Luke Bellocchi has returned to the Department of Homeland Security as ombudsman in the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, a new position that reports directly to the secretary to assist in resolving immigration detention-related issues, investigate detention facilities, and recommend changes to improve immigration detention conditions. He had previously served at the department as assistant commissioner and as deputy ombudsman for Citizenship and Immigration Services. . . . Jeremy Sarachan, chair and associate professor in the Department of Media and Communication at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, writes, “Staff members of The Norm, the campus humor magazine from 1987 to the mid-1990s, have been meeting on Zoom to reconnect during the COVID pandemic and see where we all ended up. Apparently, working on a humor magazine leads to careers in publishing, writing, teaching, medicine, engineering, and art. We are all still funny.” Pictured are Marney Roemmelt, Jeremy, Eric LoPresti ’93, Dennis Tucker ’94 , Merritt Taylor ’93, and Tom Mutchler ’93. Not pictured but present at previous meet-ups are John Geremia ’90, Jenifer Kirin ’89, and John Todd ’93.

1992 Shail Mithani Rajan has written and published her first novel, The Summer Breeze (independently published), which is set in upstate New York. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and three children.

1993 Eric LoPresti (see ’91). . . . Tom Mutchler (see ’91). . . . Merritt Taylor (see ’91). . . . John Todd (see ’91).

1994 Emily Hackett ’95 (T5), a software engineer in Portland, Oregon, writes, “My newly self-published memoir, Ghost Years: Recollections of an American Student in 1990s China (independently published), recalls the year of graduate study that I did at Tsinghua University through the generous support and sponsorship of the UR mechanical engineering faculty.” . . . Dennis Tucker (see ’91).

1995 Kavita Daiya has written Graphic Migrations: Precarity and Gender in India and the Diaspora (Temple University Press), which explores how stories of the 1947 Partition of India migrations shape the political and cultural imagination of secularism and gendered citizenship for South Asians in India and the United States. Kavita is the director of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program and an associate professor of English at George Washington University.

1996 25th Reunion

1996 Ramón Rivera-Servera has been named dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas–Austin, where he will be the first Latino dean of the college. Currently the chair of the Department of Performance Studies at Northwestern University, he begins his role at Texas on July 1. As dean, Ramón will oversee the Butler School of Music, the Department of Art and Art History, the Department of Theatre and Dance, and the School of Design and Creative Technologies; Texas Performing Arts, the university’s arts presenting organization; and Landmarks, the university’s public art program. He’s the author of Performing Queer Latinidad: Dance, Sexuality, Politics (University of Michigan Press) and the coauthor of Performance in the Borderlands (Palgrave Macmillan) and Blacktino Queer Performance (Duke University Press).

1997 George Getman sends an update: In November 2020, he was appointed executive director of the Newark Housing Authority, where he’s responsible for the administration of HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher and the Rental Assistance Demonstration housing programs, in Wayne County, New York. . . . Classmates, faculty, and friends of the late Robert Greene are working to establish a lecture series in Robert’s memory. A scholar of Russian and Soviet history, Robert was a professor and former chair in the history department at the University of Montana. A founding member of the University of Rochester Stingers, an a cappella trombone group, Robert died last December due to complications from pancreatic cancer. For more information. . . . Jason Hart directed, edited, and starred in The Dying Light, a music video that won Best Short Film in the Experimental Dance & Music Film Festival in January. His film was selected from among 7,000 entrants in the short film category.

1999 Laura Kelley Wagner was appointed to the position of support magistrate in Niagara County (New York) Family Court last spring. Laura writes, “After working for the Niagara County Department of Social Services for 17 years prosecuting cases of child abuse and neglect, this new role allows me to expand my experience in the judiciary. I was also reelected to my third term as town justice in the Town of Royalton.”

2001 20th Reunion

2001 Matthew Burns, an associate professor of humanities at SUNY Cobleskill, has published his first collection of poems, Imagine the Glacier (Finishing Line Press), which was released in March. His poetry and essays have appeared in national and international journals, and his poem “Rhubarb” was the winner of the James Hearst Poetry prize from North American Review. Matthew and his wife, Jill Tominosky, live in Schenectady, New York.

2006 15th Reunion

2008 Daniel Cochran, an art historian of the late Roman and early medieval Mediterranean world as well as an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, has published his first book, Building the Body of Christ: Christian Art, Identity, and Community in Late Antique Italy (Fortress Academic), an academic monograph which argues that monumental Christian art and architecture played a crucial role in the processes of religious and social change that shaped early medieval Italy.

2010 Lauren Davis has been named marketing specialist at CPL, a full-service design firm serving public and private-sector clients in Rochester. She most recently served as client services marketing analyst for PartnerCentric. . . . Shirali Shah, a senior attorney in the tenant protection unit of the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, married Kartik Pilar in November 2019. Shirali and Kartik, center, are joined by fellow alumni (left to right) Christina Kuraciose ’11, Neha Kale Karambelkar ’09, Aleida Sainz ’09, Zachary Shulruff ’09, Daniel Mooncai, Julia Munteanu, Brett Sereysky Kaufman, Aalok Karambelkar ’07, and Rohan Naik ’09. . . . Rosemary Shojaie writes to announce the publication of another picture book she illustrated: Comme on s’aime (Didier Jeunesse), written by Marie-Sabine Roger. In 2020 The Snow Fox (Starfish Bay Publishing), which Rosemary also wrote, was released in English and as Tout Seul? (Didier Jeunesse) in French. . . . Raisa Trubko has joined the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, as an assistant professor in the Department of Physics. She was previously a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University. While a PhD student in optical sciences at the University of Arizona, Raisa founded the University of Arizona Women in Physics group.

2011 10th Reunion

2011 Andrew Scala wrote And So, He Did: A Children’s Book for Adults . . . And Children . . . About Following Your Mind’s Glow (independently published), which was released in September 2020. Andrew works with special education students in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

2013 Alina Czekai and Ross Pedersen write to announce that they got engaged in Rochester in August and are planning a May 2022 wedding. They met while working on former Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks’s campaign during their senior year. Alina works as a senior advisor at the US Department of Health and Human Services, and Ross is training to become an Army Green Beret. . . . Conor Reynolds was selected in October by the Rochester Police Accountability Board as its inaugural executive director. In December, the board submitted its plan for police reform as part of a working group organized by Mayor Lovely Warren to satisfy New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s mandate for a reform plan from each municipality by April. Conor is a lecturer at Yale Law School. He has worked for President Barack Obama and clerked for a federal judge in Mississippi, where he helped handle cases of police misconduct and discrimination.

2016 5th Reunion

2016 Malia Rogers ’17W (MS) writes that she has been enrolled in New York University’s counseling for mental health and wellness master’s degree program since September 2020. Malia adds that after she graduates in May 2022, she’ll have two master’s degrees. “My goal is to use my U of R knowledge in higher education, brain and cognitive science, and psychology to become a well-informed and effective mental health counselor for college students.”

1958 Tom Harris (MS), a fellow of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and of the Optical Society of America, writes, “At the age of 90, I still follow developments in optics. I am in touch with the staff at Optical Research Associates (now Synopsys), which I founded after my year at Rochester. They have succeeded beyond my hopes! I still remember my teachers, Rudolf Kingslake and Bob Hopkins, both the best. I know some of the Institute of Optics current staff and keep track through your publications. Their quality continues!”

1970 Joseph Amato (PhD) writes: “I just completed my fifth book of poetry, The Trinity of Grace (Legas). It comes after a long career of writing numerous reviews, articles, and more than 25 books with 10 or so major university presses and a variety of small presses. My primary focus has been in European intellectual and cultural history. I also pioneered rural and regional studies in Southwest Minnesota State University and reflective works of bypass surgery, golf, and death. My work in poetry started in my 70s and continues to last into my early 80s. My five published works crowned by The Trinity of Grace began with Buoyancies: A Ballast Masters’ Log and include My Three Sicilies, Diagnostics: Poetics of Time, and Towers of Aging. Together they form a continuing studying of aging registering my standing interest in everyday life and mind, anthropology, philosophy, and religion. Poetry proves a vehicle for preparing for the end, considering aging; making sense of life as met and thought; and expressing thanks for a life, the gift of words, faith, and hope—the graces of the Trinity.”

1979 Jane Dubin (MS) (see ’78 College).

1982 Jodi Rosenshein Atkin (see ’78 College).

1984 Theresa King Mattioli (MS) (see ’84 Nursing).

1986 John Bird (PhD), professor emeritus of English at Winthrop University, has coedited, with Judith Lee, Seeing MAD: Essays on MAD Magazine’s Humor and Legacy (University of Missouri Press), an illustrated volume of scholarly essays about the popular and influential humor magazine. John is a past president of the Mark Twain Circle of America and of the American Humor Studies Association.

1987 David Higgins (see ’80 College).

1998 Aalok Misra (PhD), a professor of physics at the Indian Institute of Technology, writes that he organized, as convener, “the first online Mysteries of the Universe Institute Lecture Series [October–November 2020], which featured Professor John Schwarz (Caltech), Professor Edward Witten (IAS, Princeton), Professor Cumrun Vafa (Harvard), Professor Juan Maldacena (IAS, Princeton), and Professor Abhay Ashtekar (Penn State) as the speakers.” He adds that, in collaboration with Professor T. V. Ramakrishnan of the Indian Institute of Science, Aalok is organizing the second installment of the online series, which began in January and runs through May 8 this year.

1999 Laura Ettinger (PhD), an associate professor of history at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, produced the short documentary Trailblazers: The Untold Stories of Six Women Engineers along with a related collection of three educational videos. She writes, “I am very grateful for my education at the University of Rochester. In particular, my advisors, Ted Brown and the late Lynn Gordon, were so supportive of me as a budding academic and as a person. My education in the UR’s history department encouraged me to want to use history to make a difference in the world.”. . . Jeff Jackson (PhD) has been recognized this year by the American Library Association for his 2020 book, Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis (Algonquin). It was selected for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence Longlist for Nonfiction and was named a Stonewall Honor Book in Non-Fiction. Offered since 1971, the Stonewall Book Awards recognize books published in English demonstrating “exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience.” Jeff’s book tells the story of two French women, artists and lesbian partners Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbem, and their creative and subversive campaign against the Nazi occupation.

2001 Evelyn Jennings (PhD), the associate dean of academic affairs and the Margaret Vilas Professor of Latin American History at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, has published her first single-author book, Constructing the Spanish Empire in Havana: State Slavery in Defense and Development, 1762–1835 (LSU Press), the first book-length exploration of state slavery on the island.

1963 Chuck Mangione ’63 (see ’68).

1966 Robert (Bob) Ludwig ’01 (MM) was nominated for a Grammy Award in the best engineered nonclassical album category as the mastering engineer for Black Hole Rainbow (Capitol) by Devon Gilfillian. . . . Craig Wright, the Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor of Music Emeritus at Yale University, has published The Hidden Habits of Genius: Beyond Talent, IQ, and Grit—Unlocking the Secrets of Greatness (Dey Street Books), which examines the lives of transformative individuals ranging from Charles Darwin and Marie Curie to Toni Morrison and Elon Musk and demonstrates that the habits of mind that produce great thinking and discovery can be actively learned and cultivated. Craig is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1968 Tony Levin has published a new a coffeetable-sized book of photographs from his life as a touring bass player with prominent jazz and rock groups and performers, from King Crimson to Paul Simon to Seal and others. Photographs taken by Tony featured in Images from a Life on the Road (independently published) include Peter Gabriel, Sting, Peter Frampton, Steve Gadd, and Chuck Mangione ’63, as well as scenes from their travels. Tony also tells the stories behind some of the images.

1973 A composition by Bruce Reiprich ’75 (MA), a professor of music and director of Ensemble Flageolet at Northern Arizona University, was performed in a program produced by PARMA Recordings and livestreamed from the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an early baroque church in Vara‑din, Croatia, in October. Bruce adapted an earlier arrangement of his piece, “Lullaby,” specifically for the event featuring Goran Koncar on violin and Edmund Borich-Andler on organ.

1975 Bruce Reiprich (MA) (see ’73).

1985 Conductor and composer Maria Schneider (MM) received two Grammy Awards in February: Data Lords (ArtistShare) by the Maria Schneider Orchestra won for best large jazz ensemble album and “Sputnik” from Data Lords earned a Grammy for best instrumental composition.

1987 Bassist Gregg August was nominated for the best large jazz ensemble album Grammy Award for Dialogues on Race (Iacuessa).

1990 As composer, arranger, and conductor on his 2020 release Songs You Like a Lot (Flexatonic), John Hollenbeck ’91 (MM) was nominated for the best large jazz ensemble album Grammy Award. Eastman associate professor of jazz studies and contemporary media Gary Versace, who plays piano and organ on the album, was also nominated.

1992 As cellist with the Pacifica Quartet, Brandon Vamos was nominated for a Grammy Award in the best classical chamber music/small ensemble performance category for Contemporary Voices (Cedille). . . . Caroline Whiddon was featured in a documentary about the organization she cofounded in 2011 with her husband, Ronald Braunstein. The film, Orchestrating Change, follows the development of Me2/Orchestras, a classical music organization created for individuals living with mental illness and the people who support them. The film was broadcast on PBS stations nationwide last fall.

1997 Ben Newhouse, a faculty member and course author for the continuing education department of the Berklee College of Music, published Creative Strategies in Film Scoring (Berklee Press/Hal Leonard), which details a sixstep process for making creative decisions when composing or selecting music for film.

2000 Todd Queen (DMA) has been named dean of the College of Music at Florida State University. Before his new appointment, he served as dean of the Louisiana State University College of Music & Dramatic Arts, where he’s credited with helping to modernize the undergraduate curriculum for 21st-century artists and led the college in a multimillion-dollar fundraising campaign. Prior to LSU, Todd served as a professor of voice and chair of the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance at Colorado State University.

2001 As members of the vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth, Eric Dudley and Martha Cluver ’03 received Grammy Award nominations in the classical producer of the year category for The Ascendant (New Amsterdam). . . . Robert (Bob) Ludwig (MM) (see ’66).

2003 Martha Cluver (see ’01).

2004 Soprano Sarah Brailey received a Grammy Award in February for The Prisoner (Chandos), which was nominated for best classical solo vocal album. As a member of the Lorelei Ensemble, Sarah received a second nomination in the classical producer of the year category for love fail (Cantaloupe). . . . As a member of the Chicago-based quartet Third Coast Percussion, Sean Connors was nominated for a Grammy Award in the best engineered classical album category for the quartet’s album with Devonté Hynes, Fields (Cedille). Sean is pursuing a doctoral degree at Eastman.

2006 Amy Wlodarski (PhD), a professor of music and director of the college choir at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, has been named associate editor of the Journal of the American Musicological Society. In 2023, she will automatically transition to editor-in-chief for a two-year term.

2008 Christopher Van Hof (MM) (see ’10).

2009 Soprano Julia Bullock has been named one of three Artists of the Year for 2021 by Musical America. Julia lives in Munich, Germany, with her husband, pianist and composer Christian Reif.

2010 The New York City–based tenor Brian Giebler writes, “I am overjoyed that my album, a lad’s love (Bridge Records), and I were nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Classical Solo Vocal category.” The debut solo recital recording, released in July, is a collection of English songs primarily from the early 20th century that explore love and loss. Brian adds that the recording has earned favorable international reviews and many additional accolades, including appearing on Billboard’s Traditional Classical Chart and earning an Opera News Critic’s Choice stamp. . . . Baritone Malcolm Merriweather (MM) was nominated for a Grammy Award in the best classical choral performance category for the album Sanctuary Road (Naxos). . . . Thomas (T.J.) Ricer (DMA), tubist for the Emerald Brass Quintet, a group composed entirely of Eastman alumni, writes, “We have just released our debut album, Danzón (Albany Records).” He and fellow group members—trumpeters Brett Long ’13 (DMA) and Max Matzen ’11 (DMA), hornist Leslie Beebe Hart ’11 (DMA), and trombonist and arranger Christopher Van Hof ’08 (MM)—each serves on the music faculty of a US university: Utah State University (Max), Ball State University (Chris), East Tennessee State University (Brett), University of Hawaii (T. J.), and Santa Clara University (Leslie).

2011 Leslie Beebe Hart (DMA) (see ’10). . . . Max Matzen (DMA) (see ’10).

2012 Ethan Helm and Owen Broder, saxophonists and cofounders of the jazz quintet Cowboys & Frenchmen, along with bandmates Matthew Honor (drums), Addison Frei (piano), and Ethan O’Reilly (bass) have released Our Highway (Outside In Music). Recorded live at SubCulture in New York City, the “video album” juxtaposes high-definition footage of the band onstage in one of the city’s most renowned venues with footage taken during a cross-country tour. Ethan wrote all of the music and envisioned the theme for the project.

2013 Brett Long (DMA) (see ’10).

2015 Mezzo-soprano Megan Moore (MM) won one of only three first prizes awarded in the 2020 Young Concert Artists International Auditions. More than 100 artists from around the world competed in the months-long audition process. She is a board member of Lynx Project, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization she cofounded in 2015 with Catherine (Caitleen) Kahn (MM), Steven Humes (MM), and Florence Mak ’17 (DMA). Megan is currently completing her artist diploma at the Juilliard School.

2017 Florence Mak (DMA) (see ’15).

1968 Martin Curzon (Pdc), ’69 (MS), a professor emeritus of child dental health at the University of Leeds and a former University associate professor on the staff of the then Eastman Dental Center, has written Teeth, Trees and Totem Poles (self-published). He writes that before coming to Rochester in 1966, “I had been a paedodontic extern in British Columbia, traveling the backwoods communities, including First Nation reservations, caring for children. Having kept a diary, and [my] parents having kept all my letters home, I have now written this . . . memoir and travel log.” Martin adds, “It records a time when dental services for many isolated villages of Canada were provided by young, recently graduated dentists. Children 3 to 9 years of age had to be made dentally fit, without any possibility of backup support, radiographs, or general anesthesia, before [the dentist moved] on to another village.”

1969 Martin Curzon (MS) (see ’68).

1979 Kenneth Bock (MD) writes that he has a new book scheduled to be released in March: Brain Inflamed: Uncovering the Hidden Causes of Anxiety, Depression, and Other Mood Disorders in Adolescents and Teens (HarperCollins). He’s the coauthor of four previous books: The Road to Immunity (Pocket Books), Natural Relief for Your Child’s Asthma (Harper Collins), The Germ Survival Guide (McGraw Hill), and Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies (Random House). Kenneth is board certified in family medicine; a certified clinical nutrition specialist; and a fellow of the American Academy of Family Practice, the American College of Nutrition, and the American College for Advancement in Medicine, of which he is a former president. He is also a faculty member of the Institute for Functional Medicine.

1986 Betsy Edwardsen (MD), ’89 (Res) has written Elusive Equity, Empathy and Empowerment (Rushmore Press), a “partial memoir about the gender bias and inequality I experienced while striving for and achieving a career in medicine.” She has also written short articles in American Medical Women’s Association Member Spotlight and Emergency Medicine News. She adds, “I am a 1982 graduate of Colgate University (summa cum laude in mathematics). I grew as an activist and an individual with a greater sense of social responsibility while in Hamilton, New York. . . . Health care is a national issue. My action and conflict pyramids are generalizable to any social bias. Cultural biases may be allowing our institutions to maintain self-interest over morality.”

1987 Robert Montgomery (MD) was honored in October with the Physician Award from the nonprofit organization Hearts for Russ. The organization was formed in memory of Russ Housman, who died after waiting more than a year for an unsuccessful heart transplant, to bring awareness to and raise money for organizations that help those who need organs, organ recipients, and their families. Robert describes his life as a transplant surgeon as well his experience as a transplant recipient in “I Died Seven Times,” a November 2020 episode of the podcast Vital Signs from NYU Langone Health and SiriusXM. Robert is chair of the Department of Surgery at NYU Langone Health and director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, where, in 2018, the team he assembled performed a heart transplant on him.

1988 Robbin Dick (Res), a consultant in observation medicine and hospital capacity management, has published a novel, Longevity (Dorrance), a thriller about a recent college graduate on assignment in the Amazon rain forest for a medical research company. “It is fiction and my first attempt,” Robbin writes. “I am a previous faculty member and was a resident at the University in internal medicine from 1985 to 1988. I hope individuals find the book entertaining.”

2004 Roger Di Pietro (Pdc), a clinical psychologist in private practice, wrote Decoding Persistent Depression: Book Three—Strategies and Tactics (Lulu), which provides ways to illuminate why long-term depression arises and persists and what’s necessary to reduce it.

1970 Nancy Heller Cohen (see ’70 College).

1984 Kathleen (Kathy) King (PhD), professor emerita of the School of Nursing, died in January at Strong Memorial Hospital, writes her sister Theresa King Mattioli ’79, ’84 (MS). “She was an MS and PhD graduate of the School of Nursing. She was a professor of nursing at UR, and she was recently appointed to the board,” writes Theresa, adding, “I have two other sisters who graduated from UR as well.”

1979 Gordon Jensen (MBA) has published a science fiction novel, The Way Out (Highsmith Creative Services), the first in a series.

1982 Mary-Frances Winters (see ’73 College).

2013 Kristen Willmott (PhD) has published Gender, Tenure, and the Pursuit of Work-Life-Family Stability (Information Age Publishing), in which she offers an insider’s glimpse of modern faculty and administrative life for the benefit of tenure-track faculty, their departments, their families, and higher education institutions at large.

2017 Malia Rogers (MS) (see ’16 College).