Alumni Profiles:
Lipitor inventor found inspiration as graduate student  Roger Newton '74 M.S.
Helping governments work better  Jennifer L. Dorn '77 M.P.A.
Taking comic art seriously  Gene Kannenberg Jr. '02 Ph.D.

Also of Interest:
Forever friends
Alumni help SeeMore to sing-along  
2007 Alumni Association awards presented 
Reunions
In Memoriam

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Let your fellow UConn alumni know about the milestones in your life. You can keep them up to date by sending information and, if possible, a photograph, to Alumni News & Notes, University of Connecticut Alumni Association, Alumni Drive, Storrs, CT 06269; by fax to 860-486-2849; by e-mail to alumni-news@uconn.edu; or by filling out the online News & Notes form.

Edward Sammis ’37 (ENG) and Ruth (Nielsen) Sammis ’38 (CANR) are celebrating 67 years of marriage.

Francis Brennan ’43 (CLAS), a retired major in the United States Marine Reserve who served in the South Pacific and Korea, is working as an eminent domain expert. He has been married for 63 years and has five great-grandchildren.

Ina (Rude) Mish ’48 (CLAS) retired from nursing education and moved to Cape Cod, where she is active in the hospital auxiliary. She teaches and lectures on embroidery and samplers and has won awards for her embroidery and doll making.

Richard Spellman ’48 (ENG) retired from N.Y. Telephone in 1980 and enjoys traveling. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran from World War II and the Korean War. 

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Forever friends

Photo from University Archives

Six members of the Class of 1937 who were members of Sigma Upsilon Nu have kept a round robin letter going for 70 years, writes Elizabeth (Palmer) Platts ’37 (CANR). The long-time friends are identified in a 1937 Nutmeg yearbook photo of the sorority. Circled photos from left: Esther (Mead) Weed ’37 (CANR), Priscilla (Champlin) Campbell ’37 (CLAS), Frances (Schenk) Carlson ’37 (CLAS), Margaret (Dean) Nichols ’37 (CLAS), Florence Louise (Mead) Lent ’37 (CANR) and Elizabeth (Palmer) Platts. Esther is married to Richard Weed ’39 (CANR).

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Carlos Fetterolf  ’50 (CANR) co-authored Scope of Cooperative Fisheries Management Globally and addressed the International Association for Great Lakes Research and the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Fishery Commission. He has received awards for his work from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the North American Lake Management Association and the Michigan Charter Boat Association. 

Lawrence Muccino ’50 (PHR) retired in 1981 after 31 years working for Abbot Labs. He and his wife recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

Edwin Rabinowitz ’50 (BUS), ’77 6th Year retired in 1989 after 24 years as a professor, associate dean and dean at Thames Valley State Technical College in Norwich, Conn. He was the first of three generations to graduate from UConn. 

C. W. Lassen ’52 (BUS) is a retired financial planner and enjoys fishing at his summer home on Long Beach Island, N.J.

Marcel Angers ’53 (ED) retired from the Portland, Maine, school system and is director of In-School Suspension at the high school in Biddeford, Maine.  

Anton Jungherr ’54 (BUS) is the founding business manager of Making Waves Academy, a public charter middle school in Richmond, Calif., which opened last September.

Joseph Maggipinto ’55 (BUS) retired in 1992. He enjoys traveling with his wife, Anne, and is the father of four daughters and the grandfather of five.

Lois Greene Stone ’55 (ED) has a personal essay in the newest Chicken Soup for the Soul series and poetry published in two books.

Ken Cucuel ’57 (CLAS) recently competed in the World Squash Championship held in Cape Town, South Africa, and finished in the top 20 in his division. 

John C. Yavis, Jr. ’57 (CLAS), a lawyer with Murtha Cullina, LLP, in Hartford, Conn., received the 2007 Professionalism Award for the Second Circuit from American Inns of Court, an association that fosters excellence in professionalism, ethics, civility and legal skills.

Gordon Frank ’58 (CLAS) retired from IBM after 30 years as a computer consultant. He has eight children and 17 grandchildren. For the past 10 years, he has visited all of the more than 400 National Park sites in the lower 48 states on his motorcycle. 

William D. Pardus ’58 (CLAS) ’60 M.A., professor emeritus of music at Keene State College, received the Outstanding Service Award for 2007 by the Keene State College Alumni Association. He taught at the college for 32 years and retired in 1998 and has more than 44 composing titles to his credit.

William H. Brewster, Jr., ’59 (ENG) was named vice president for global marketing and product management for Gerber Technology in Tolland, Conn. Previously he was vice president for marketing with Konica Minolta Business Machines, U.S.A., during his 21- year career in software, Internet, office equipment, business services marketing and product management.

Ulysses Brualdi ’59 (ENG), now retired president and chief executive officer of ADT Inc., is chairman of the National Crime Prevention Council (McGruff), a national organization focused on reducing crime and violence. He is also the vice-chair of the Sarasota Opera.  He and his wife, Carol (Pandolfo) ’60 (ED), have been married 47 years and have seven grandchildren.

Leroy Rowe ’59 (CANR) has retired from the Weeks Agency, an insurance business in Storrs, and moved with his wife to Vermont.

Bruce Cagenello ’60 (CLAS) retired after almost 20 years of service with the Connecticut Real Estate Commission, including nine years as chairman. 

Ann Corbett ’60 (CLAS) is teaching at a community college in Arizona.

Susan (Duhan) Felix ’61 M.A. had a one-person show of her ceramic artwork at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum in New York City. She and her husband, Morton Felix ’63 Ph.D., both read their poetry at the Cornelia Street Café in New York City. They helped start the Wormwood Review while attending UConn.

Joseph Rution ’63 (CLAS) retired from California Golf Service, a shop he ran with his wife, Janet, since 1975 in Santa Barbara, Calif. He now is involved with planning activities for Santa Barbara City.

David Switzer ’63 M.A., ’71 Ph.D. retired after a 39-year teaching career at Plymouth State University. He serves as the consulting nautical archaeologist for the state of New Hampshire and continues to teach as an emeritus professor.

Donald D’Ambrosio ’64 (CLAS) is president of International Perfect Smile, Inc., a new company in the dental tourism industry. He splits his time between homes in Kona, Hawaii, and Long Beach, Calif.  He previously was with CIGNA, Corp.

Gerri Lipman King ’64 Ph.D. is a social psychologist, organizational consultant and president of Human Dynamics Associates, Inc., in Concord, N.H. She has been focusing on facilitating mergers and acquisitions, speaking about building public/private partnerships as part of disaster preparedness and delivering seminars and training on a variety of topics throughout the U.S., Asia, and Canada.

William Licata ’66 (ENG) is an engineering fellow with Raytheon Missile System Company in Tucson, Ariz., where he serves as the guidance, navigation and control lead engineer on the KEI boost phase interceptor test program.

Robert Wettemann ’66 (CANR), Regents Professor of Animal Science at Oklahoma State University, was named a 2007 Fellow of the American Society of Animal Science.

Donna (Dee Dee Shanbron) Granski ’67 (ED), ’72 M.A. is in her 25th year teaching English in grades 6-8 at St. Michael’s Episcopal School in Bon Air, Va. She and her husband, Joe Granski ’70 (ED), who were married 40 years ago at Mirror Lake, have two children and four grandchildren.

Thomas Roberts ’67 M.A. is co-editor of the recent publication Psychedelic Medicine: New Evidence for Hallucinogenic Substances as Treatments.

Tae-Hee Yoon ’67 Ph.D. is senior vice president for Project International, a Washington-based advisory firm. He recently joined the advisory board of NeXplore, a Nevada corporation that creates Web tools.

Betty Gerich ’68 (SFA) had a one-person exhibition of sculpture “Head to Toe,” at the Artworks Gallery in Hartford, Conn.

Mark Gothberg ’68 (ENG) is chief operating officer of Strategic Health Care Communications and the editor of eHealthcare Strategy and Trends, both in White Plains, N.Y.

Joseph Zaccagnino ’68 (BUS), ’70 M.P.H. was appointed to the board of directors at Premise Corporation, a provider of clinically focused software. He recently retired as president and CEO of Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale New Haven Health.

Leonard Polletta ’69 (CLAS) was appointed chairman of the New York Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board. He previously spent 22 years as an assistant general counsel for District Council 37, AFSCME. 

Bob Stepno ’69 (CLAS) is teaching journalism at Radford University in Radford, Va. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 2003 and taught for three years at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville

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Alexander Carpp ’70 (CLAS) has been named the first president and chief executive of Choose Worcester Inc., a nonprofit organization created to market Worcester, Mass., to employers.

Jackie French Koller ’70 (CLAS) will publish her 33rd children’s book, Peter Spit a Seed at Sue, with Viking Press in 2008. She also owns an art gallery, The Little Black Dog Gallery, in Westfield, Mass., where her watercolors are featured. She is married to George Koller ’70 (ED) and has three children and three grandchildren.

Theodore D. Zucconi ’70 M.S. has been named president of Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Newton, Mass., a development stage pharmaceutical company focusing on advanced treatment of cancer, liver, microbial, cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. He previously was president of Implementation Edge, a management consulting firm.

Maria Lundberg ’71 (ED) has joined the faculty of Francis Marion University in Florence, N.C., as an assistant professor of mass communication. 

Nancy (White) Simonds ’71 (ED), ’80 M.A. started her own copy writing business, Nancy Simonds Communication LLC, after a career as an educator. She creates promotional materials and teaches small business owners how to create effective marketing materials.

Rev. Patricia N. Dickson ’72 (CLAS) is the new minister for the Sierra Vista Community United Church of Christ in Sierra Vista, Ariz.

Wendy Edson ’72 (CLAS), associate professor of paralegal studies at Hilbert College in Hamburg, N.Y., was promoted to chairperson of legal studies. She has been on the faculty for almost 30 years.

Thomas Scibek ’72 (CLAS) accepted a position at the government printing office in Washington, D.C., as national account manager. He looks forward to the challenges and growth opportunities with the U.S. government.

Franklin Chang-Diaz ’73 (ENG) has returned to his native Costa Rica to build the country’s first rocket laboratory. He has launched a private venture to build a plasma-powered rocket engine to send a spaceship to Mars faster and cheaper than by conventional fuels.

Catherine (Otto) Montgomery ’73 (CLAS) is executive director of the American Institute for Stuttering, a specialized non-profit treatment center for people who stutter and their families.

Craig Treiber ’73 (BUS) is chief operating officer of Hemi Energy Group, Inc., in Graham, Texas.

Frank Shor ’74 (CLAS) was elected to the board of trustees of the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District in Carrollton, Texas. He and his wife, Susan (Campbell) ’76 (NUR), have three children: Adam, 23, Elliot, 21, and Matthew, 15. Frank earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University in 1977 and has practiced in Dallas and throughout the U.S.

Photo by Dollie Harvey

Roger Newton ’74 M.S. knew he wanted a career in science when he began his college studies as an undergraduate.

He initially thought he would become a medical doctor but says that while working in the clinical laboratory and blood bank at a hospital, he witnessed the protracted death of a great aunt to whom he was very close.

This experience gave him a dose of reality that doctors must face in life’s final chapter, which caused him to change his mind.

As a graduate student at UConn working on a master’s degree in nutritional biochemistry, he was looking for another career track.

“I wanted to pursue science,” he recalls, “and I had promised my parents that I would look for work that could allow me to make the world a better place.”

Late one night, studying in a UConn laboratory, the light bulb suddenly went on. While reading a book about atherosclerosis, the buildup of fat deposits in blood vessels that causes coronary disease, Newton realized he had found the figurative mountain he wanted to climb.

“My career began at UConn,” he now says. By understanding the basic science of fat metabolism, his imagination was captivated by the possibility of discovering a therapeutic agent that could beneficially affect the disease process that leads to arteriosclerosis and heart disease. Ever since that night, it has been his mantra for more than 30 years. 

In 1981, after earning his Ph.D. in nutrition at the University of California, Davis, and completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Diego, he joined the venerable pharmaceutical company Parke-Davis.

Over the next 17 years, he would devote himself almost wholly to the daunting task of developing a drug to help people whose elevated LDL cholesterol put them at high risk of heart disease.

It was, he says, “extremely complex” work. But it paid off. In early 1997, Newton and his colleagues at Parke-Davis unveiled a powerful statin drug that reduces blood cholesterol levels to a greater level than any other statin at that time.

The largest selling pharmaceutical in the world, it is better known by its trade name, Lipitor. In 1998, he and three of his colleagues co-founded Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., a biotech company dedicated to the discovery and development of HDL therapies to promote the removal of cholesterol from diseased vessels. After promising results in an early clinical trial, Esperion was acquired by Pfizer in 2004.

Newton says his passion for finding pharmaceutical solutions for mankind’s struggle with heart disease has not waned since that night in the lab at UConn.

Among the many scientists who helped him along his career path, he credits the late Robert Jensen and the late Hamilton Eaton, both professors of nutritional sciences during Newton’s time in Storrs, as encouraging mentors. 

— Jim H. Smith

Tom Condon ’75 J.D. was named deputy editorial page editor of The Hartford Courant. He was a news columnist for nearly 18 years.

Jim Main ’75 (ED), ’79 M.A. has been appointed vice president for administration and finance at California State University, Monterey Bay, in Seaside.

Dan Carlin ’76 (CLAS), ’77 Ph.D. has been appointed chair of the film scoring department at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He previously co-founded and was CEO of Segue Music, the largest and most successful music post-production business in Hollywood history. He won an Emmy for music editing for the 1992 film, Under Siege. Other films he has worked on include, The Black Stallion, Last of the Quest for Camelot, Steel Magnolias, Sister Act and Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid.

Mark Chmielecki ’76 M.B.A. was promoted to director of compensation and benefits at Kaman Industrial Technologies in Windsor, Conn. He lives with his wife in Vernon, Conn.

Albert Harper ’76 Ph.D., ’90 J.D. is the forensic anthropologist for the state of Connecticut and the executive director of the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science at the University of New Haven in West Haven, Conn.

Robin Ritter ’76 (BUS) married Payton Turpin at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C.

Lendley Black ’77 M.F.A. was appointed provost and vice president for academic affairs at Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Ga. He has been a professor of theater and performance studies at KSU and is active in several community and global initiatives.

Sherry Ballou Hanson ’77 (CLAS) is a freelance writer and has published her first book, A Cab to Stonehenge, with Just Write Books. She also does poetry readings and teaches adult education. She is working on Fodor’s Maine Coast Travel Guide.  

Pat (Raccio) Hughes ’77 (CLAS), ’80 M.A. has published her fourth book, Seeing the Elephant, a story of the Civil War, with Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Patricia Gill Murphy ’77 Ph.D. retired as director of teacher training at the Language Institute of St. Croix, which she co-founded in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She has published three historical novels, writing as Patricia Gill, and her forthcoming novel, Paradise ’36, deals in part with academic life at the University of Connecticut.

Miguel Pardo de Zela ’77 M.B.A. retired in July as commercial counselor in Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam after a career in foreign commercial service in Panama, Australia, India, Portugal, Brazil and Nigeria. He recently published the book Global Trade and Investment Management-Core Competencies for Prospering in the WTO Global Economy and produced training videos now being shown throughout Vietnam.

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When government services fail, there is usually a lot of talk from pundits and politicians about how to remedy the situation but few realistic solutions offered. That task falls to the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), an independent, non-partisan organization chartered by Congress to help government solve its problems and improve operations.

“Problem solving has to be undertaken in an interactive way,” says Jennifer L. Dorn ’77 M.P.A., who was named president and chief executive officer of NAPA earlier this year.

“We believe someone can maintain independence and objectivity, even having regular conversations with the agency experiencing the complex issue.”

Dorn has worked as a manager of nonprofit and government organizations for nearly 30 years, holding senior positions at the World Bank, Federal Transit Administration and the American National Red Cross.

She says the academy relies upon the 600 Fellows elected to the membership in the organization, each an expert in various disciplines and with distinguished accomplishments in government. Panels then are formed to address issues specific to the background and expertise of the Fellows.

Recent studies reviewed progress in strengthening counter-terrorism and security programs at the FBI and another examined work processes and organizational structure at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

“Everyone recognizes that public expectations for performance of government are increasing beyond any institution’s ability to fulfill them,” Dorn says.

“In today’s complex environment, solutions to problems require many different perspectives. The whole leadership model has changed. One can’t address problems without a collaborative approach, partnerships and reaching across disciplines.  It’s just not as easy to solve a problem within your own organizational silo anymore.”

Dorn says during her time in graduate school at UConn, initially she was not sure that learning the skills of a generalist would be as helpful in her career as focusing on one area of expertise. 

“One of the best aspects of being a generalist is that I’ve worked with experts in science, medicine, technology and corporate CEOs. You can learn a lot from all different disciplines,” she says.

“As the years have progressed, I have understood the value of being a generalist. Working in large organizations, I’ve developed the kinds of skills sets that allow you to look at the big picture, ask people to develop questions and then help to develop solutions that focus on producing significant change and positive results.” 

Dorn says having a background that includes experiences working with international and national organizations has strengthened her ability to address the nation’s domestic issues. She also keeps in mind the wisdom of her UConn mentor, the late political science professor Harold Seidman: “Where one stands, depends on where one sits.” 

— Kenneth Best

Edward A. Bouquillon ’78 (ED) is the superintendent and director of Regional High School in Lexington, Mass. 

Kirk Ferentz ’78 (ED) is head coach for the University of Iowa football team. He has been coaching for more than 30 years.

Frederick Harrison ’78 M.B.A. retired from Waters Corporation in 2004 as director of manufacturing.  He returned to college in Rhode Island to earn a degree in mathematics and secondary education and will be teaching in the Warwick, R.I., school district. 

Mary Alice (Eike) Henley ’78 (ED) was promoted to assistant director for program development at the State Education Resource Center (SERC) in Middletown, Conn. She lives with her husband, Jim Henley ’78 (PHR), in Cromwell, Conn.

Kerry J. Kuhlman ’78 (CLAS), ’82 J.D. has been elected president and executive director of the Northeast Utilities (NU) Foundation. She began her career with NU in 1981 as a law clerk.

Jeffrey McCubbin ’78 (ED) was recently named a Distinguished Professor of Kinesiology at Oregon State University. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education, has co-authored two books and published dozens of research papers while serving on the OSU faculty since 1988. 

Maureen Banks ’79 (NUR) has been named president of Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital in Salem, Mass. In addition to her new role, she will continue to serve as president of the Skilled Nursing Division of Partners Continuing Care.

Laura Govoni ’80 (NUR), retired UConn professor of nursing, lives in Ormond Beach, Fla.

William J. Leahy ’80 (BUS) is chief financial officer for the U.S. Energy Department after serving in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve for 24 years. 

Thomas Burns ’81 (CLAS) is the assistant treasurer and branch manager for Hudson City Savings Bank in Brookfield, Conn. 

Susan Carrano-DiNicola ’81 (CLAS), ’83 M.A. helped design curriculum for the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, Conn., with 20 other teachers for Fortune’s Story, which tells the story of a slave who lived in Waterbury in the 1700s. She is a certified history, Italian and special education teacher. She also created lesson plans for a unit at this museum, “The World is Our Neighborhood.” She lives in Woodbury with her husband, Fernando, and their two sons, Marc, 15, and Steven, 13.

Gary Cesca ’81 (BUS), ’99 M.S.W. is a licensed clinical social worker at Coventry High School in Coventry, Conn. He lives in central Connecticut with his wife, Sarah, and son, Benjamin, 2.

Scott Decker ’81 (ENG) married Jennifer Galloway in August 2007. 

Richard Aries ’80 (CLAS) served as best man. Scott is an engineer for IBM. They live in South Burlington, Vt.

John Harrington ’81 (BUS) was named executive vice president and director of investments for Rampart Investment Management.

Robert Wonneberger ’81 (CLAS) is a partner in the law firm of Pepe & Hazard LLP in Hartford with a specialty in commercial law and finance.  He received his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He lives in Milford, Conn., with his wife and children.

Jonathan D’Elia ’82 M.B.A. has joined Marsh, the world’s leading risk and insurance services firm, as a senior vice president and ishead of its middle market business practice in Hartford, Conn. He and his family live in Fairfield County.

Eric Weller ’82 (SFA) has been named by Stevens Roofing Systems, as the district sales manager for the Pacific Northwest region. He lives in Seattle. Wash.

Lauren (Kula) Miller ’83 (CLAS), ’06 M.P.A. is director of Cultural Satellite Offices at the Greater Hartford Arts Council.

Catherine Nettles Cutter ’84 (CANR), ’87 M.S., associate professor and food safety specialist at Penn State University, was selected to serve on the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Robin Dutta ’84 (ENG) has been living in India for the past 20 years and is married with two sons. 

Ronald Goodspeed ’84 M.P.H., president of Southcoast Hospitals Group in New Bedford, Mass., received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Robert Lenhardt ’84 (CLAS) is general counsel of ORIX Finance/Houlihan, Lokey, Howard & Zukin in Dallas. He also serves as chief legal officer of the World Boxing Council.

Marcia L. Marien ’84 (BUS), managing partner of Marien & Company, LLC in Norwich, was appointed to the advisory council of the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Gabriel Miller ’84 (BUS), ’88 J.D. has joined the law offices of James Sokolove as general counsel.

David Pazdar ’84 (CLAS) and his wife, Tracy, owners of Pazdar Winery, won silver, gold and a double gold medal in this year’s Big E wine competition in Springfield, Mass. UConn students and alumni designed all of the labels on the wines.

Philip E. Stoetzner ’84 (SFA) has founded Your Holistic Life, a holistically focused supplement manufacturing and online marketing company after a successful real estate career with Coldwell Banker in South Florida.

Jeannine Bradley ’85 (NUR), a nurse at Yale-New Haven Hospital for 21 years, received the Nightingale Award for Excellence in Nursing. She and her husband, Dennis, have four children and live in West Haven, Conn.

John Neal ’85 M.M. is  director of music at Oak Hill High School in Wales, Maine. He is a pianist who has earned several awards. He performed with Oak Hill High School at Carnegie Hall in 2003. He is working on an original electronic ballet, Vasalisa, to be released later this year.

Charles Obeid ’85 (PHR) is the owner of Sheehan Pharmacy in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., a family business he has operated since his father retired in 1989.

Cynthia Portner ’85 (ED) is spa manager at Equinox Fitness Clubs in Long Island, N.Y.  She is a licensed massage therapist and a former UConn women’s volleyball team member. She now lives in Seaford, N.Y., with her family.

Les Twible ’85 M.B.A has worked for 37 years in rural advancement, public transportation, housing, community development and economic development in North Carolina and Connecticut. He lives in Cary, N.C., with his wife, Sue, and has two grown children, Jennifer and Mitchell.

Lynne (Schocher) Zeoli ’85 (CANR) is a registered dietitian specializing in neuro-rehabilitation providing consulting services to health care facilities in Massachusetts. She lives in Plympton, Mass., with her husband. 

Lori Bean ’86 (CLAS), an associate professor of chemistry and biology at Monroe County Community College in Monroe, Mich., was appointed to the board of directors at the MCC Foundation.

Monica Brajczewski ’86 M.A. has been teaching special education in the Hartford public school system for 22 years. She and her husband, Alfred Mercier, have a daughter, Rose Chantele, 5.

Susan Cragin ’86 (CLAS) has published Nuclear Nebraska, the story of a small farming community that fought off the government’s efforts to place a nuclear waste dump in a wetlands. She is working on a memoir of Stanley Evans, a pioneer in substance abuse medicine.

Jay Gillotti ’86 (BUS) has released Cohesive, an 11-song CD of pop and folk songs. He works for Cartus, an employee relations and workforce development firm in Seattle, Wash., where he lives with wife, Debbi.

Lee Ann (Lewis) Jasinski ’86 (CLAS), director of marketing and events for 56 Degree Wine in Bernardsville, N.J., received the Wine Spirits and Education Trust Advanced Certificate in wine and spirits from the International Wine Center in NewYork. She and her husband, Joe, live in Pittstown, N.J.  

Alan M. Katten ’86 (CLAS), ’91 M.B.A. was named administrative director for surgery at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Conn. He is president of the Greater Hartford Chapter of the UConn Alumni Association and serves on the finance committee of the Alumni Association. He lives in Berlin, Conn., with his wife, Deborah Katten ’01 M.P.H.

Barry Musco ’86 (CLAS) was promoted to director of implementation at Fidelity Investments, where he has been project manager for eight years. 

Kimberly St. John-Stevenson ’86 (CLAS) is communications officer at Saint Luke’s Foundation in Cleveland. She lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, with her husband, Anthony, and their two daughters.

Gary P. Austin ’87 (ED), ’94 M.A., ’98 Ph.D., associate professor of physical therapy at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., received the first Outstanding Physical Therapy Professional Award from the Neag School of Education Alumni Society.

Joseph Bittner ’87 (BUS), ’90 M.B.A., a consultant and manager of education programs at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, received the 2007 National Business Education Association Distinguished Service Award.

Cheryl Crespi ’87 M.B.A., ’04 J.D. is an associate professor in the School of Business at Central Connecticut State University. She lives in Meriden, Conn. with her husband, Tony Crespi ’95 M.A., a full professor at the University of Hartford.

Christopher Giomblanco ’87 (BUS) was named chief financial officer of Alienware, a subsidiary of Dell Corporation. He and his wife, Cathy, reside in Weston, Fla. with their three children. 

Allen Jones ’87 (ED), owner and chief executive officer of Dominion Physical Therapy & Associates Inc., in Newport News, Va., was appointed to serve a five-year term on the Virginia Port Authority’s board of commissioners.  

Paul McCarthy ’88 (CLAS) was appointed senior associate director of athletics at the University of Connecticut after serving as University counsel in at the Office of the Attorney General. He lives with his wife, Tina (Mirante) ’89 (NUR), and their two sons and a daughter in Storrs.

Andrew I. Schaffer ’88 (CLAS) and his wife, Hilary, announce the birth of their second child, Chloe Jena, born on March 17, 2006. He opened his own law practice in Hamden, Conn., focusing on family and matrimonial law.

Kaia L. Vayenas ’88 (CLAS) has been promoted to vice president of eCommerce at TD Banknorth, Inc., in Falmouth, Mass.

Christina (Nielsen) Hall ’89 (BUS) and Michael Hall ’89 (CLAS) welcomed their first child, daughter Caroline Helene, on Nov. 30, 2006.

Kelley Hangos-Carrano ’89 (SFA) has returned to Connecticut with her husband and son after 10 years in North Carolina. She is continuing her graphic design business, Kellgraphics.

Joseph Petrokaitis ’89 (ENG) and wife, Gina (Paternastro) Petrokaitis ’89 (BUS), announce the birth of a son, Joseph John Jr., on March 8, 2007. He joins sisters Julia and Gianna. 

 Alumni News & Notes Menu

Linda C. Cimma ’90 (ED) married Serges Yves LaRiviere on May 26, 2007. She is a physical therapist and the owner of Holistic Physical Therapy Specialist, LLC in Amherst, Mass. They live in Shutesbury.

Kelly (Kirby) Shaw ’90 (PHR) and her husband, Joseph, announce the arrival of their daughter, Paige Sophia, born on May 2, 2007 in Boston.

Anne Halloran Tortora ’90 (SFA), a second-year doctoral student at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford, received a Gender and Ethnic Equity Scholarship from the College Band Directors National Association. She attended the Wind Conducting Symposium held at Florida International University in Miami and wasselected to conduct in the final concert after attending the wind band conductors course in Sherborne, England, held by the British Association of Symphonic Bands.

Jon Weisblatt ’90 (SAH) and his wife, Kathy, just completed their doctor of physical therapy degrees atDaemen College in Amherst, N.Y. Both work at Cape Cod Hospital.

Asim Zaheer ’90 (BUS) joined SEPATON Inc. as vice president of marketing. He has more than 15 years experience in senior marketing positions in the storage industry, most recently working for Hitachi Data Systems.

Joseph Coppola ’91 (CLAS), a lieutenant of the Norwalk (Conn.) Fire Department, received the Fire Safety Commendation Award from the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution for saving the life of an electrician who had gone into cardiac arrest after being electrocuted. 

Geri (Blau) Fisher ’91 (SFS) and her husband, Keith, announce the birth of their daughter, Savannah Jaidyn, on March 19, 2007. Savannah joins a sister, Arianna Karolina, 2. Geri is a third-grade teacher in Rye Brook, N.Y. She received a master’s in teaching from Sacred Heart University and a master’s in literacy from Mercy College. The family lives in Carmel, N.Y.

Kim (Fine) Jackson ’91 (CLAS) was promoted to curriculum specialist with the West Hartford, Conn., public schools.

Matthew Paulsen ’91 (CLAS) is director of marketing for MDMC, one of South America’s most prestigious destination management companies. He lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Laura (Chapman) Rubbo ’91 M.A. and Antonio Rubbo, Jr. ’92 (ENG) announce the birth of a daughter, Ava Victoria, on Feb. 2, 2007, who joins sister Sophia. The family lives in Pasadena, Calif.

Ambrose Sharnick ’91 M.D. joined the Danbury (Conn.) Hospital department of anesthesiology. He had previously worked as anattending physician at Jordan Hospital in Plymouth, Mass. He lives in Newtown, Conn.

Alison (Fine) Berks ’92 (CLAS) and her husband, Lance, announce the birth of a daughter, Mia Francine, on April 30, 2007. Mia joins brother Benjamin, 2. The family lives in Sydney, Australia.

Mary (Sweeney) Crow ’92 (BUS) and her husband, Al, announce the birth of their daughter, Megan, on April 10, 2007. Megan joins a sister, Dana.  Al and Mary operate a UPS store franchise in Buffalo Grove, Ill. They live in McHenry, Ill.

Kate (Conway) Crowe ’92 (CLAS) and husband, Mark, announce the birth of a son, Thomas Michael, born on May 15, 2007, and named after his grandfathers Thomas Crowe and Mike Conway '66 (CLAS). Tommy joins siblings Ashley, Paige and Mark Jr.

Michael Depascale ’92 (CLAS) was promoted to technical manager at Yale University. 

Lisa M. Labenski ’92 (BUS), ’04 M.B.A. was promoted to assistant controller for commercial engine business and operations at Pratt & Whitney.  

Ana (Mendes) Mabry ’92 (CLAS) and her husband, Scott, announce the birth of a daughter, Sarah Caitlin, born on July 1, 2006, in Germantown, Tenn. Sarah joins a brother, Matthew. 

Shawn Szturma ’92 (ENG) and his wife announce the birth of a daughter, Annika Davon,  born on May 4. She joins a sister, Katja.

Meredith Trotta ’92 (CLAS) and Dan Parzych ’93 (CLAS) announce the birth of their son, George Trotta Parzych, on Sept. 13, 2006. George joins his sisters, Grace, 6, and Lily, 4. Meredith is the recruitment manager for Time Inc. in New York City. Dan is the vice president of analytics for Alliant Data in Brewster, N.Y. The family lives in Ridgefield, Conn.

Laurie (Klopper) Warshawsky ’92 (CLAS) is a judicial attorney in the 8th District Court of Appeals in Cleveland, Ohio. She is also a jewelry designer at Elle-a-Belle Designs. She started making jewelry while in law school 11 years ago and now has clients all over the world.

Mark Austin ’93 (ENG), an engineer for Bristol, Conn., was named a Fellow of the National Society of Professional Engineers. He is a member of the society’s mentoring task force.

Laura (Ducret) Botoff ’93 M.S. and her husband, Dan, announce the birth of a son, Dylan Irving, on April 22, 2007.

Jean R. Homere ’93 (ENG) was appointed an administrative patent judge for the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences of the U.S. Patent Trademark Office.

Marc Isikoff ’93 (BUS) and his wife, Kelly, announce the birth of their first child, Katrina, on April 29, 2006.

Warren Strong ’93 (CLAS) is the new senior executive director of Capitol Ridge, a senior living community in Providence, R.I.

Stephen Swett ’93 M.B.A. was named senior vice president of research by KBW for its new expansion into the equity real estate investment trust sector. KBW is the largest full-service investment bank specializing in the financial services sector.

Marie Wacaser ’93 (CLAS) received a master’s in library and information science from Syracuse University in December 2006.

James Waldron ’93 (CLAS) was named regional vice president of business development for Infinity Property & Casualty Company. He lives in Wallingford, Conn., with his wife, Kristina (Congo) Waldron ’93 (ED), ’94 M.A. and their two children, Drew and Grace.

Ari Cohen ’94 (BUS) and his wife, Aliza, announce the birth of a daughter, Sage Hannah, on May 17, 2007. Sage joins brother Holden, 5, and sister Finley, 2. Ari was recently promoted to partner at the New York city office of Ernst & Young LLP.

Timothy Crader ’94 (BGS) was promoted to vice president of global sales for EYP Mission Critical Facilities, a global 350-person engineering firm based in New York City. He received a doctoral degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix’s School of Advanced Studies in June.

Cynthia (Panek) Nick ’94 (ED), ’95 M.A. and Joel Nick ’89 (CLAS), ’92 M.A. announce the birth of a daughter, Elizabeth Hadley, on April 10, 2007. She joins big sister Alexandra, age 2. Cindy teaches mathematics at Lyman Hall High School in Wallingford, Conn. Joel is the chairman of social studies at Lyman Hall and recently served as the Teacher-in-Residence for Social Studies for Connecticut. The family lives in Middlefield, Conn.

Maureen Noonan ’94 (SFA) is a customer support specialist with Therap Services, based in Waterbury, Conn., and Bangladesh,  a provider of online services for the developmental disability community.

David E. Birkhahn ’95 M.B.A. was promoted to vice president in the tax credit group at TD Banknorth in Portland, Maine.

Kandace Einbeck ’95 Ph.D. just returned to the U.S. after two years living in China, teaching German and English at Jiaotong University in Xi’an. 

Elizabeth (Wendling) Falcigno ’95 (CLAS) and Stephen Falcigno were married in April of 2007. Both are teachers and live in Cromwell, Conn.

Christine Sedensky Fioritto ’95 (CANR) and husband, Chris, welcomed their third son, Christopher, on Feb. 15, 2007, Christopher joins big brothers James, 4, and Sean, 1.

Beth Hatterman ’95 M.A. married Brian Gillin on Aug. 4, 2007. She is head of the English department at Stamford High School in Stamford, Conn., where the couple lives.

Sally Ann (Williams) Lee ’95 (CLAS) and Dylan T. Lee ’96 (CLAS) announce the birth of a son, Colin Patrick, on Jan. 30, 2007. Colin joins his sister, Lauren Alexandra. Sally is a development associate at Middlesex Hospital, and Dylan is the engineering manager at PCC Structurals. The family lives in Old Saybrook, Conn.

Kimberly (Norton) Smith ’95 (CLAS) and her husband, Todd, announce the birth of their second child, Gracelyn Kathleen, on March 10, 2007. Gracelyn joins sister Presley Helene, 2. Kimberly has been a juvenile probation officer in Connecticut for 12 years and received her M.B.A. from the University of New Haven in 2006. The family lives in Pawcatuck, Conn.

Laura Williams ’95 (SFA, ED), ’98 M.M. is director of  choral programs for children and youths for The Community Music School in Springfield, Mass.

John Cross ’96 (CLAS), ’97 M.A. and wife, Angela (Scalzo) ’95 (CLAS) welcomed daughter, Alexa Benette, in November of 2006. Alexa joins sisters Alison, 6, and Olivia, 4. 

Michael B. Davidson ’96 (CLAS) completed an endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. He will be joining the medical staff of Wentworth-Douglass Hospitalin Dover, N.H.

Sujit Ghosh ’96 (CLAS) Ph.D. was promoted to the rank of full professor with tenure in the department of statistics at North Carolina State University. He is also the founding member of the Bayesian Statistics Working Group. 

Amy Kopchak ’96 (BUS) joined Flowery Beauty Products, Inc. as director of marketing. She previously was an associate product manager at Playtex Products, Inc. and the director of marketing at W.E. Bassett Company.

Alicia (Ballenger) Marie ’96 (CLAS), owns a fitness and nutrition consulting company called Project: BODY Fitness that conducts the “HotBody” fitness workshops. She was named Ms. Muscle & Fitness Magazine 2006, the first in the magazine’s 60-year history. A former UConn cheerleader, she is also the fitness coach on MTV’s MADE program.

Sarah (Little) McDevitt ’96 (SAH) and her husband, Paul McDevitt ’97 (CLAS), announce the birth of a son, Connor, on Jan. 7, 2007. The family recently relocated to Connecticut from North Carolina.

Donna Roy ’96 (CLAS) received  an M.D. from Drexel University in May 2007.  She will be doing her residency in internal medicine at Tufts-New England Medical Center.

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Photo by Peter Morenus SeeMore’s Playhouse is an Emmy Award-winning, first-of-its-kind preschool television series broadcast on PBS that features the talents of School of Fine Arts alumni. The show uses a unique blend of lovable characters, animation, live action and infectious sing-along music to teach children the basics of safety, health and wellness. Taking a break during production in New York City, from left: 1st row: Will Pike ’04, Lindsey “Z” Briggs (currently working on M.F.A.), Carole Simms D’Agostino ’97, Sarah Frechette ’01; 2nd row: Michael Carolan ’04, Julia Darden ’07, Frankie Cordero ’04; 3rd row: Megan DeCristoforo ’03, Eric Wright (2001-02), Abby Roderick ’03; 4th row: David Stephens ’00 M.A.

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Daniel Albanese ’97 (SAH) and Kim (Filip) ’96 (CLAS) announce the birth of a son, Tyler Jordan, born on Feb. 25, 2007, in Hartford, Conn.

Adam Cormier ’97 (CLAS) is a managing supervisor with Fleishman-Hillard in Boston and the media market manager in Connecticut for the AT&T account. He lives in Uncasville, Conn., with wife, Pamela, and two children, Kaya, 3, and Jed, 2.

Diane (McVeigh) Curci ’97 (BUS) and her husband, Joseph Curci ’96 (CLAS), announce the birth of their daughter, Alessandra Grace, born on April 30, 2007. They currently reside in Wolcott, Conn.

Michael Donaleski ’97 D.M.D. was promoted to the rank of commander in the United States Public Health Service. He is the deputy chief dental officer at the Yakama Indian Health Center in Toppenish, Wash.

Barbara Ginty ’97 (SSW) married Richard Smith. She is a social worker at Holyoke Medical Center in Holyoke, Mass.

Jessica (La Brecque) Lengenfelder ’97 (CLAS) has purchased a second Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Glastonbury, Conn.

John Pallof ’97 (SAH) married Lisa Belanger of Worcester, Mass., in September.

Dana Pierce ’97 (6th year) was named principal of Booth Hill School in Trumbull, Conn., where he lives with his wife, Mary.

Kimberly (Haggerty) Roy ’97 (ED), ’98 M.A. and her husband, Philip, announce the birth of a son, Tyler William, on June 11, 2007. Kim is the graphics manager at M&M Marketing in Milford. The family resides in Orange, Conn.

William Russell III ’97 (ED), ’98 M.A., ’03 6th year received the Outstanding Greek Alumnus award in April 2007. He is the chapter advisor to Pi Kappa Alpha, UConn’s Iota Chi Chapter.

Timothy Shriver ’97 Ph.D., chairman of Special Olympics International, has been awarded the 2007 Lions Humanitarian Award, the highest accolade bestowed by the Lions Club International organization. Previous recipients include former President Jimmy Carter and Mother Teresa. 

Jennifer Wardwell ’97 (CLAS) is advancement officer for Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., after previously serving as the assistant athletics director for marketing and development.

Abigail Carreno ’98 (CANR) graduated with a master’s degree in biomedical sciences from Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine in May  2007, where she is currently employed.

Nicole (Perras) Fuller ’98 B.S. and her husband, Greg Fuller ’97 (ED), announce the birth of their first child, Jackson, born June 15, 2007.

Marisa Elana James ’98 (CLAS) was accepted to the H.L. Miller Cantorial School at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and will begin her studies next year in Jerusalem.

Corrie Balash Kerr ’98 (CLAS) and her husband, Bret, announce the birth of a daughter, Lily, on Aug. 1, 2007. Corrie is associate director of media relations at Wesleyan University in Middletown,Conn.

Dana (Slifkin) McCreesh ’98 M.B.A. and her husband, Michael, received the 2007 Edward B. Kochan Award from the Bridgeport Dental Association, which recognizes the efforts of people who work tirelessly to improve the world around them. They were honored for their work with TeamBrent, which funds children’s cancer research.

Renee (Iwaszkiewicz) Neiger ’98 (CLAS) and her husband, Ted, announce the birth of their son, Kristopher Marek, on March 7, 2007. He joins sister Izabella Lilia, 2. The family lives in Trumbull, Conn.

Shannon (George) Phillips ’98 (NUR) and her husband, Scott, announce the birth of their second daughter, Caroline Esther, on December 26, 2006. Caroline joins older sister, Julia.

Marya McAndrew Baldwin ’99 (CLAS) and her husband, John, announce the birth of their son, John Everett on January 15, 2007.  The family lives in Providence, R.I.

Michael Banks ’99 M.D. is a co-founder of the Doctor’s Channel, a Web site that allows doctors to learn from each other, featuring streaming video clips with insights and opinions from experts in 35 different specialties.

Renee (Caggiano) Berman ’99 (CLAS) opened the Law Office of Renee C. Berman, LLC, in Hamden, Conn., specializing in family and matrimonial law.

Johanna (Spadory) Lucas ’99 (CLAS) and her husband, Ted Lucas ’00 (BUS), announce the birth of a son, Connor Hugh Theodore, on July 16, 2007. Johanna is a technical writer for an engineering company in Wallingford, Conn., and Ted is an accountant for a firm based in New Haven. The family lives in Meriden, Conn.

Augustin Margary ’99 (CANR) is engaged to marry Irene Checchin ’00 (CANR) in July 2008. He works as a property agent for the Connecticut Department of Transportation, and she is a seventh grade science teacher at Dodd Middle School in Cheshire, Conn. They live in West Haven.

Lance Pylko ’99 (ENG) and his wife, Mairead, announce the birth of their son, Dylan, on June 11, 2007. The family lives in Middletown, Conn.

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2007 Alumni Association awards presented

 

Four alumni were recognized for their professional achievements and service to UConn at the annual Alumni Association Gala on Oct. 20. From left: Kevin Bouley ’80 (BUS), owner and president of Nerac, Inc., received the University Service Award; Allen Bennett ’69 (CLAS), partner in Ropes & Gray, received the Distinguished Alumni Award; Lani Fortier ’04 (ED), co-founder of CharityGlobal, received the Humanitarian Award; and Josh Dunn ’92 (CLAS), vice president, wealth management at Smith Barney, received the Connecticut Alumni Service Award.

Photo by James Kimura-Green

John Christian ’00 (CANR) and Stacey Atwood ’02, ’05 (CLAS) announce the birth of a daughter, Haley Mabel, on March 31, 2007.

Timothy Johnson ’00 (BUS) has opened his own real estate investment brokerage company, Realty Asset Advisors, specializing in retail and multifamily investments, in Tampa, Fla. He was formerly a director at Marcus & Millichap. 

Stefanie Dion-Jones ’00 (CLAS) was named special projects editor in the office of University Communications in Storrs. She previously was a communications manager in executive and employee communications at The Hartford. She is pursuing a master of library science degree at Southern Connecticut State University.

Daniel McCann ’00 (BGS) was recently promoted to director of labor and government relations for Halsted Communications.

Joshua Sheehan ’00 (CLAS) received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine. He is an internal medicine resident at Boston Medical Center and hopes to specialize in endocrinology. 

Erika Thompson ’00 (SFA) married Troy Killam ’99 (CLAS) in July 2007. The couple lives in Stamford, Conn., where she manages Elements Yoga & Wellness Center.

Antonette (Annie Casole) Tiberio ’00 (BUS) and her husband, Rico Tiberio ’05 (CLAS) announce the birth of a daughter, Victoria Marie, on March 24, 2007. They live in Stamford, Conn.  

Jonathan Way ’00 (CANR) has been studying social habits of the Eastern coyote population of Boston and Cape Cod, Mass., for nine years. He has published several papers on the subject and co-authored Suburban Howls by Dog Ear Publishing.

Gary Gianette ’01 (CANR), ’05 M.S. completed Ride for Your Life, a 50-day, 50-state bicycling effort to raise funds for cancer. The effort was part of his company, Healthy Altitudes, which promotes health and supports cancer patients.

Catherine Holahan ’01 J.D. and Christopher Murphy ’01 J.D. were married in Lakeville, Conn. She is a lawyer with Connecticut Legal Services in New Britain, Conn., specializing in child advocacy law representing low-income children.  He represents Connecticut’s Fifth District in Congress.

Michael Jordan ’01 (BUS), ’02 M.S., a tax manager for Blum Shapiro in West Hartford, Conn., was appointed as a member of the advisory council for The Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Patrick Glaser ’02 (CLAS), ’04 M.P.A., M.A. is engaged to marry Gillian Angliss ’03 (CANR). He is the director of the Council for Marketing and Opinion Research, and she is scheduled to graduate from Cornell Veterinary School in 2007. 

Elizabeth (Radovich) Mayne ’02 (ED) married Christopher Mayne in April 2005. They have a son, Benjamin Walker, born in 2006, and a daughter, Charlotte Anne, born in 2007. Elizabeth is head lifeguard for the parks and recreation department in Cheshire, Conn. The family lives in East Haven, Conn. 

Emily Trombley ’02 (SFS) married David Baffaro ’99 (BUS) in August 2007.  They reside in West Hartford, Conn.

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Photo by Wayne Hanson

Like many, Gene Kannenberg Jr. ’02 Ph.D. became an avid fan of comic books as a youngster when his youthful imagination came under the spell of superheroes such as Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four.

But for Kannenberg, the fascination with the graphic story turned into something quite different: he was still reading comic books as he earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in British and American literature at Marquette University.

He was still reading comic books in 1991 when he arrived at UConn to begin doctoral studies in English.

By then Kannenberg’s literary tastes and his view of comics’ place in popular culture had significantly evolved, especially after he discovered RAW magazine, a comics anthology edited by French artist-designer Françoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman, the legendary comics artist and writer whose graphic memoir, Maus, won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize. RAW introduced him to an entirely different way of looking at comics.

At UConn, he met a few other graduate students who helped to further develop his scholarly view of the genre, especially Charles Hatfield ’00 Ph.D.,  and he took classes that provided focus for his initial doctoral research on medieval studies.

“I became interested not just in the words, but in the materiality of the page,” he recalls. “The old documents helped me to understand how the look of the page conveys meaning.”

Kannenberg found a mentor in Thomas Roberts, emeritus professor of English, who taught a class on graphic novels and helped him to shape the ideas that would inform his doctoral dissertation.

“I looked at text and image, at how page design — text and image together — tell the story, how the eye gets led around the page,” he says.

That synergy still fascinates him. After three years at the University of Houston-Downtown, he has settled in upstate New York with his wife, Kathryn Laity ’95 M.A., ’03 Ph.D., a medievalist who teaches at the College of Saint Rose. They share a house with his immense collection of comic books and related literature.

Author of dozens of papers about comics, former chair of the International Comic Arts Festival, a lecturer in frequent demand and host of a scholarly Web site, ComicsResearch.org., he is currently writing a guide to “essential graphic novels.”

Kannenberg is, by general consensus, one of the world’s leading comics scholars, but he describes himself as “a guy who knows a lot about comics in general, and comics from around the world.”

— Jim H. Smith

Bonnie Durgin ’03 (CLAS) teaches second grade at Marjorie H. Dunbar School in South Bronx, N.Y., and is part of Teach for America, a four-year program designed to bring teachers to low-income districts.

Megan Lilliedahl ’03 (CLAS) is a first-grade teacher with East Elementary School in New Canaan, Conn.

Peter J. Murphy ’03 J.D. and his wife, Becki, announce the birth of their son, Brendan Emmett, on August 9, 2007. Brendan joins his sisters, Brynn, 4, and Megan, 2.

Kerry Orshal ’03 (CLAS) has joined the English department at The Williams School in New London, Conn.

Nicole Schmitt ’03 (CLAS) received a master’s degree in public health from the Boston University School of Public Health.

Jennifer Babulsky ’04 (CLAS) married David Ritter Pencek on June 16, 2007.  She is associate publications editor at the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State University.

Sarah McCabe ’04 (PHR), ’06 Ph.D. is engaged to be married to Timothy Thompson ’02 (ENG) in September 2008.

Kelly Reopelle ’04 (CLAS) and John Paul Demko ’03 (CLAS) are engaged to be married in December 2008. She is a media assets coordinator at ESPN and he is president of sales for Specialty Transport Solutions International.

Mark Williams ’04 (SFA) M.F.A. was chosen by the internationally known artist Sol LeWitt to participate in the Connecticut Contemporary exhibition earlier this year at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford.

Maria Conlon ’05 (CLAS) has joined Barnum Financial as a financial services representative. Last year she assisted in coaching the Southern Connecticut State University women’s basketball team to win the Division II national championship.

Karen Hatem ’05 (NUR) is a nurse and supervisor at a nursing home in Putnam, Conn. 

Jennifer O’Leary ’05 (SFA), a program director at the Winchester (Mass.) Youth Center, received her master’s with a focus in leadership through the arts from Lesley University, Cambridge, Mass.

Brian Mackey ’05 (CLAS) was named national recruitment manager for GEI Consultants, Inc., a mid-sized engineering consulting firm based out of Woburn, Mass.

Melissa Miller ’05 (SFS) earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University in Los Angeles.

Joshua Proulx ’05 (CLAS) was promoted to complex coordinator for the office of residential life at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I. He received his master’s in political science and international relations in September 2006 from Suffolk University.

Nicole Snyder ’05 Ph.D. is an assistant professor of chemistry at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y.

Tanya Rzeznikiewicz ’05 (SSW) is engaged to marry Erik Abram in the summer of 2008. She works at United Community and Family Services in Norwich, Conn.

Morgan Valley ’05 (CLAS) was named assistant coach for the women’s basketball team at the University of New Hampshire.

Bambi Billman ’06 M.A. is engaged to be married to Matthew Mroz ’99 (CLAS). She is pursuing a doctoral degree in French at UConn, where she teaches undergraduate language courses. He is pursuing a doctoral degree in English at UConn, where he is an assistant director of the freshman English program.

Bart Lorancaitis ’06 (BUS) was sworn in as a police officer in Newton, Conn.

Paul Marcley ’06 (BGS) is the senior computer specialist for a pharmaceutical advertising agency in New York City. In addition to a full-time career, he continues to grow the client base of his IT consulting company, PGM Computer Networks. He lives in the Forest Hills section of Queens, N.Y.

Mikki Meadows-Oliver ’06 Ph.D., a nurse practitioner in Yale-New Haven Hospital’s Lead Program, received the distinguished Mary E. Mahoney Award for Excellence from the Southern Connecticut Black Nurses Association. She serves as an assistant professor at Yale School of Nursing and works with the Adopt-a-Doc program. She mentors in the New Haven public school system and volunteers at the soup kitchen and child care centers. She lives in Hamden, Conn., with her husband, Philip, and her children, Philip J. and Melina Oliver.

Matthew Will ’06 (CLAS) biked across the United State to raise awareness for autism. He started in Phoenix and headed west to Laguna Beach, Calif., before turning east and ending in Stone Harbor, N.J.

Rebecca Lussier ’07 (ENG) is engaged to marry Daniel Rossi ’03 (BUS) in the summer of 2009.  She is pursuing certification at the Newington Certificate Program in Prosthetics in Newington, Conn.  He is a financial analyst at Sikorsky Aircraft Co. in Stratford, Conn., and is pursuing a M.B.A. at the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Michael Ruwet ’07 (BUS) is pursuing his M.B.A. at UConn and works for Deloitte & Touche. He is the son of Robin Ruwet ’76 (BUS) and David Ruwet ’75 (BUS).

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Alumni News & Notes compiled by Debra Crary and Tina Modzelewski