© University of Rochester 1996-2012
1970
Ralph Singh Rakieten has published the book A Path to Follow, A Life to Lead. He writes that it “chronicles a classic spiritual quest and speaks to how we all can stay connected to the Voice within that leads us safely across the turmoil of the world.”
1971
Ken Adler sends a photo showing him (on the right) with Assis Flores ’74, taken as they recovered at Sperry Chalet in Montana’s Glacier National Park after climbing 6.4 miles and 3,500 vertical feet. Ken writes that he and Assis traveled together for a week, during which they “hiked, swam, soaked, and sweated across Idaho, Washington, and Montana.” Ken was Assis’s “big brother” in Zeta Beta Tau. Fraternity brother Ian Arcus ’71 participated by phone.
1972
Walker Smith Jr. has coedited Polynyas: Windows to the World (Elsevier), which synthesizes the physics, chemistry, and biology of polynyas, ice-free regions in polar marine environments that are harbingers of global change. He is a professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
1974
Tom Baker (see ’75). . . . Alan Farnsworth was named chief information officer and senior vice president of customer service and information technology for Bausch & Lomb. . . . Assis Flores (see ’71). . . . Michael Hertzel ’77S (MBA) has been named the Richard C. and Carole Kraemer Professor of Finance at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He teaches both undergraduate honors and doctoral classes. . . . Allan Marcil writes that after more than 20 years as a TV and film producer and writer in Los Angeles, he is a visiting instructor with the writing program at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. His play, The Specialist, was a recent winner of the Florida Senior Playwright Festival. Allan lives in St. Augustine, Fla.
1975
Dennis Leiner ’77 (MS) sends a photo showing him, Bob Walker, John Glover, and Tom Baker ’74 celebrating their 20th annual summer get-together under the original Smitty’s Birdland sign at Tom’s camp on Maranacook Lake in Maine. When they were not cooking hot sauce, they could be found kayaking the Allagash Waterway or other wilderness areas in northern New England.
1976
Ilene Busch-Vishniac is the new provost and vice president of academics at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. She has been a professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University and was dean of its Whiting School of Engineering from 1998 to 2003. . . . Richard Cogen was recognized in the 2008 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a Nixon Peabody attorney specializing in energy, state regulatory, and wholesale electric market matters. . . . Deb Schaffer (see ’77). . . . Rachel Schaffer (see ’77). . . . Ron Sofo writes that he had a solicited manuscript published in the Harvard Educational Review titled, “Beyond NCLB and AYP: One Superintendent’s Experience of School District Reform.” Ron, superintendent of the Freedom (Pa.) Area School District, argued that schools need bottom-up solutions more than top-down mandates if they are to prepare students to meet 21st-century workforce demands and academic standards. He also coauthored the book, No Bad Schools: On the High Road to Educational Reform.
1977
Bob Dardano writes that he cocurated an exhibit for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month on behalf of the Library of Congress Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Employees. The exhibit featured photos and short biographies of several famous American lesbians and gay men, as well as links to relevant material in the library’s collections. A former five-time chairperson of the library’s gay, lesbian, and bisexual organization, Bob marked 21 years of federal government service this year. Anyone who would like a personal tour of the Library of Congress or the U.S. Capitol, e-mail Bob at rdar@loc.gov. . . . Daniel Kimmel has published I’ll Have What She’s Having: Behind the Scenes of the Great Romantic Comedies (Ivan R. Dee), a book that explores the creative teams who bring romantic comedy to the silver screen every year. . . . Jean McCreary was recognized in the 2008 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a Nixon Peabody attorney specializing in the environment. . . . Judy-Ann West sends a photo showing her flanked by classmates Deb Schaffer ’76 and Rachel Schaffer ’76. After 24 years, the trio reunited at the Schaffers’ home in Billings, Mont. Judy-Ann teaches Spanish and French at Penfield (N.Y.) High School. Deb and Rachel are professors of English at Montana State University in Billings.
1978
Dale Rudiger ’79S (MBA) writes that he has published a booklet titled We Got It All Backwards—10 Mistakes That Can Lead Us to Hell.
1979
Earl Norman received the Excellence in Teaching Award for Clinical Faculty from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine for the fourth consecutive year. He’s pictured with his wife, Tamara Schanwald Norman ’80, a freelance medical writer and adjunct assistant professor for George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and daughter, Aviva. Earl left his general surgery private practice in Highland Park, Ill., in 2004 to join the faculty at the Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies. The Normans live in Kalamazoo and also noted in July that their son, Zach, had recently been married.
© University of Rochester 1996-2012