Alumni Updates: Winter 2017

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1937 

Miller Milroy DEN ’37, a retired dentist in Richwood, W.Va., celebrated his 102nd birthday in 2016.

1938

Austin Hay A&S ’38 celebrated a birth in December at age 101. He had several careers after serving in World War II, including acting. Among his film credits are North by Northwest, Being There, Her Alibi, and The Contender. He now resides in Washington, D.C.

1948

Evelyn Louise Klahre Anderson A&S ’48 published Stars and Flowers: Informative Talks with Celebrities about Plants (Coffeetown Press). The book is based on interviews she conducted with celebrities ranging from Broadway stars and astronauts to presidents and first ladies on their personal memories connected to plants and flowers. She lives in Erie, Pa.

1959

Gary R. Hess A&S ’59 published a revised edition of his award-willing book, Vietnam: Explaining America’s Lost War (Wiley-Blackwell). He is Distinguished Research Professor of History at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

1962

Rosemarie Rizzo Parse NURS ’62G, EDUC ’69G is serving as the first visiting scholar for the Resge Center for Nursing Research at Binghamton University’s Decker School of Nursing. She was selected for her “outstanding contributions to nursing over the past four decades through her progressive leadership in nursing theory, research, education, and practice.”

1967

Patricia Ruth Messmer NURS ’67, EDUC ’88G received the 2016 Hall of Fame Award from the American Nurses Association. She is a consultant for nursing research and education at the Benjamin Leon School of Nursing at Miami Dade College, chair of the Nurses Charitable Trust, co-chair of the ANA-PAC Leadership Society, and president of the Florida Nurses Foundation.

1969

Anthony J. Basinski A&S ’69, LAW ’74 published Dead in the Water (CreateSpace), a mystery novel that follows a former LAPD homicide detective’s investigation of the disappearance of a bride on her honeymoon. Basinski is a Pittsburgh-based attorney and writer.

1970

Ed Roberson A&S ’70 received the Poetry Foundation’s Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. The $100,000 award honors outstanding lifetime achievement in poetry. He is the author of nine books and an artist-in-residence at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

1972

David A. Kendall EDUC ’72G published When Descendants Become Ancestors: The Flip Side of Genealogy (Balboa Press). He conducts presentations and workshops for genealogy groups and historical associations, encouraging people of all ages to write about their lives to educate future generations. Kendall lives in Alexandria Bay, N.Y.

1973

Dennis J. Palumbo A&S ’73 wrote an essay about his career transition from Hollywood screenwriter to psychotherapist that was published in How Does that Make You Feel? True Confessions from Both Sides of the Therapy Couch (Seal Press).

1974

Philip J. Benyo A&S ’74 was recertified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in the geriatric medicine subspecialty. He has been certified in internal medicine since 1981. Benyo is a physician with Lehigh Valley Health Network–Hazleton, where he serves on the board of directors.

Michael Hassett A&S ’74, GSPH ’76 recently retired. His initial career was with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, working in various roles involving water quality management and mining and reclamation. He then entered a sales and marketing career as an account executive with Comcast Spotlight, where he achieved President’s Club status.

Beulah C. Moody EDUC ’74 celebrated her 100th birthday in July. During her career, she taught in the Easter Seals school system, becoming the director of education at the Easter Seals society of Allegheny County. She leads a monthly book group, takes a pottery class, and volunteers.

1975

Sylvia V. Henderson BUS ’75G received certification as a Vistage Chair, through which she will share her business insights. She is launching a group of CEOs for Peer Advisory Group p in Mid-Montgomery County, Md.

Carole Ann Drick (Kimbrough) NURS ’75 is president for the American Holistic Nurses Association. She is based in Youngstown, Ohio, where she has a Conscious Living Center practice.

A.J. Kreimer A&S ’75 was elected to the Institute of Management Accountants’ Global Board of Directors. He is vice president of the Boy Scouts of America’s Northeast Region, and an assistant professor of practice in the accounting department in the Fox School of Business at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa.

Eddie N. Moore Jr. BUS ’75G is the president and CEO of Norfolk State University in Virginia. He served as interim president from September 2013 through September 2016.

Joseph B. Testa A&S ’75, a long-time investment professional and advisor, is author of Investment Dilemma (Crossroad Press), published in 2016. He is president of Testa Financial Management, Inc., in Pompano Beach, Fla.

1976

M. Rita Evans A&S ’76, SIS ’77G retired as library director for University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Transportation Studies.

1977

Kenneth Gormley A&S ’77 was recently named the president of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He previously served as professor and dean in its School of Law.

James E. Holliday ENGR ’77, ’82G completed the “Seven Summits,” the quest to climb the tallest mountain on all seven continents. He is an advisor engineer for Bechtel Bettis in Pittsburgh.

1978

Terry L. Calloway A&S ’78 received the East End United Community Center’s 2016 Volunteer Award. She is retired, and lives in Connellsville, Pa.

Albert V. Scala Jr. UPJ ’78 was promoted to vice president of Urban Engineers in Los Angeles, Calif.

1980

Donald K. McKim A&S ’80 published John Calvin: A Companion to His Life and Theology (Wipf & Stock Publishers). He also wrote New Members: Call to Discipleship (Congregational Ministries Publishing of the Presbyterian Church), a workbook. He and his wife, LindaJo, live in Germantown, Tenn.

1985

Jan S. Marcus A&S ’85 is assistant director of graduate admissions at Hood College in Frederick, Md., where he coordinates admissions for graduate programs in the arts, humanities, education, biology, and counseling. He is also the official scorer for Hood’s volleyball team, and is in his 18th season as lead football statistician for Shepherd University.

1986

Raymond M. Panas A&S ’86 GSPH ’91 is director of the new Clinical Studies Support Program at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. The program seeks to improve collaboration between the operating units that support clinical research.

1987

Keith A. Johnson ENGR ’87 joined the Pittsburgh office of Gannett Fleming as a senior project manager. He will bring transportation planning and traffic engineering services to the firm’s clients in western and central Pa., Ohio ,and W.Va.

1988

Timothy Murin A&S ’88G is president of the Division of Environmental Geosciences for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. He works for AECOM in South Park, Pa., as a senior principal scientist of geology focusing on environmental issues related to oil and gas development.

1989

Wende Dikec A&S ’89 is a writer specializing in romantic fiction under the pen name Abigail Drake. Her newest set of books, Saying Goodbye (Pennrose Press), is about a woman studying Japanese in college. The first volume in the series is dedicated to Pitt’s Department of East Asian languages and Literature.

Christopher D. Kuzneski A&S ’91, EDUC ’93G won the 2016 International Thriller Writers’ Thriller Award for Best E-Book Original Novel for his book The Prisoner’s Gold. Kuzneski, who is a New York Times bestselling author, has written 11 novels and lives in New York City.

1992

Brian D. Helfrich A&S ’92 has been promoted to deputy district director of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, Pittsburgh District Office.

Sagar Patel ENGR ’92 has joined the board of directors for Kennametal Inc., a supplier of tooling and industrial materials. He is the president of Aircraft Turbine Systems for Woodward Inc.; the chairman of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council in Rockford, Ill.; and a member of the Illinois Governor’s Innovation Advisory Council.

Donald D. Trexler SHRS ’92, GSPH ’94, BUS ’94 is CEO at Acadia General Hospital in Crowley, La.

1993

Ken Stillwell UPJ ’93 is CFO of Pegasystems, a software company based in Cambridge, Mass.

1995

Bruce R. Beemer LAW ’95 was named Pennsylvania’s attorney general after winning a unanimous confirmation vote in the Senate. He fills the remaining months in the term of former Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

John Jakicic EDUC ’95 was appointed to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. He will collaborate with 15 other national leaders to produce the 2018 edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which provides information on how adults and children can improve their health through exercise.

1997

Phalgun Raju ENGR ’97 was included in the 2016 Asia 21 Young Leaders list. She is founder/CEO of expertDB, a global marketplace for expert consulting.

2003

Dara Davis Beer A&S ’03 started a business, Shop ‘Til I Drop Concierge, which provides personal shopping services in Santa Monica, Ca. She lives in Pacific Palisades, Ca.

2005

Zachary J. Mastren BUS ’05 has joined the Pittsburgh office of Leech Tishman Fuscaldo & Lampl LLC. He will serve as counsel in the firm’s Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights, Corporate, and Internal Investigations practice groups.

2006

Debbie M. Henne SHRS ’06 published a children’s book, The Little Apple Seed (CreateSpace). She works part-time as a speech-language pathologist.

Rudi Navarra GSPIA ’06 is the program officer for The Solutions Project, a company seeking to accelerate the transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy, in Miami, Fla.

2007

Natasha A. Brown GSPH 07 is health scientist administrator and program director for the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Md. LaShawn D. Lopez A&S ’07 received the Teacher Excellence Award from Success Academy Charter Schools. She teaches Language Arts at SA Harlem North West in New York City.

Valerie Lee Nguyen A&S ’07 received a doctoral degree in osteopathic medicine from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is continuing her medical training in pediatrics at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa.

2009

Gary M. Sanderson A&S ’09, LAW ’12 was elected to the Allegheny County Bar Association as secretary and treasurer of the Corporate, Banking, and Business Law Section. He is an associate attorney at Meyer, Unkovic & Scott in Pittsburgh.

2010

Stephen J. Petrany A&S ’10 will be clerking for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito beginning in 2017. He is an associate in appellate litigation and critical motions practice at Jones Day in Washington, D.C.

Robin Z. Monroe BUS ’11 was promoted to tax supervisor at Boyer & Ritter LLC’s Camp Hill, Pa., office.

2012

Vincent Michael Pronesti A&S ’12 earned a doctoral degree in osteopathic medicine from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is continuing his medical training in internal medicine at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

2015

Dominique S. Luster SIS ’15 is an archivist for the Carnegie Museum of Art. She oversees the digitization, publications, and exhibition of images by Pittsburgh photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris.

2016

Malcolm L. Nelson BUS ’16 and Aditi R. Shah BUS ’16 were selected by Citizens Bank for its commercial banker Early Career Development Program. They join 18 other trainees in the bank’s highly competitive 12-month program, which combines classroom instruction with credit analysis writing and business line rotations. After completing the program, they will be placed in Citizens Bank business lines.

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