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Washington C O L L E G E
Jefferson M A G A Z I N E
World Treasures
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In July 2013, Odyssey Marine Exploration recovered over 60 tons of silver from the 4,700-meter-deep SS Gairsoppa shipwreck that David Hebb ’65 helped to discover.
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PHOTO BY ELLIOTT CRAMER
World Treasures
On the cover An archival treasure hunter, David Hebb ’65 conducts the research to find shipwrecks. To learn more about how the inventions, discoveries and ideas of W&J’s people have shaped the world, turn to page 9.
Washington C O L L E G E
Jefferson M A G A Z I N E
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4 Table of Contents
4 news 9 feature 18 sports 23 alumni 28 class notes
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president’s message
Nurturing our creative spirits
Washington & Jefferson College Magazine
What is the most quintessentially human activity? Laughing? Think of hyenas. Using language? Whales have an intricate language, too. Making tools? No, monkeys and other primates do that as well. I think the most quintessentially human activity is inventing and discovering. While cats are notorious for their curiosity, humans are the ones who use their minds and their imaginations to discover that which is new, to be creative problem-solvers who can think out of the box, combine ideas in new and innovative ways, see previously unseen connections.
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Paradoxically, to think outside of the box, you have to thoroughly understand the box. Picasso had to be able to draw figures before he could transform the figure into his own expression of human nature. Einstein had to understand traditional physics before he could imagine an alternative, quantum physics. And Toni Morrison had to be able to appreciate poetic and narrative structures before she could find her own, unique voice. Humankind has evolved through invention and discovery.
Contributors
How do we nurture this creative spirit? I would argue through a liberal arts education. We know that many of the world’s most successful innovations and discoveries were the result of seeing familiar objects or ideas through a new frame of reference. The cellphone combined ideas of the radio and the telephone. Cirque de Soleil synthesized theater and circus. In other words, innovation arises from familiarity with different fields and the ability to see how they might inform one another. It is inherently interdisciplinary.
Director of Communications KAREN OOSTERHOUS
Editor ALLYSON GILMORE ’12 ERIN FAULK ’08 KERRI DIGIOVANNI LACOCK ’09 KAYLA MADDEN SCOTT MCGUINNESS
Editorial Assistant EMILY PAYNE ’15
Student Assistant EMILY STERK ’17
Designer JEFF VANIK, VANIK DESIGN LLC
Innovation requires flexibility—a kind of intellectual multi-lingualism that allows a person to think in different voices. This kind of mental flexibility is fostered when college students encounter chemistry, religion and economics all in the same day. Or when a student talks to those whose experiences and aspirations are very different from hers. In the course of a day, our students may debate with someone who disagrees with them about climate change, learn about Islam from an Egyptian student and marvel at the way in which a musician on campus comprehends and creates melody.
Photographers
Innovation and creative problem-solving have been the foundation of many of America’s greatest achievements, from the cotton gin to the crematorium to the currently popular Cronut. An economist told me recently that those who succeed in the future will be those who can do what machines cannot. Machines are fast and they do not make errors, but they are inflexible. Humans, on the other hand, are slow and error-prone, but they are flexible— and that will make all the difference. A liberal arts education that exposes students to diverse experiences, wide-ranging points of view and alternative modes of thinking nurtures the kind of flexibility America needs to stay strong as a global leader.
W&J Magazine, published twice a year by the Office of Communications, highlights alumni and campus news about and of interest to more than 23,000 alumni and friends of the College. To receive additional copies or back issues, please call 724-223-6074 or email wjmag@washjeff.edu.
Innovation requires not only an intellectual suppleness, but also the strong work ethic and the ability to persevere fostered by a rigorous college like W&J. Many of you have told me stories of how Dr. Porter or Dr. Sanderlin, or Dr. DeBerry or Dr. DiSarro made you work harder than you ever thought you could. And, in the end, you learned that hard work pays off. When our students work as interns at some of the country’s premiere labs, government offices and corporations, employers consistently report that they are better prepared and work harder than their counterparts.
Letters to the Editor
In the pages of this magazine, we celebrate some of the discoverers, innovators and problem-solvers who benefited from the challenging liberal arts education that they received at W&J. Over our 234-year history, we have produced a remarkable number of individuals who have made important breakthroughs in science, invented new business ideas and solved some longstanding mysteries. Those profiled here represent but a small part of the whole...Enjoy!
DENMARSH PHOTOGRAPHY ELLIOTT CRAMER MARTIN SANTEK
Printer FREEPORT PRESS
W&J welcomes feedback from readers regarding the magazine or topics related to the College. Submissions may be edited for style, length and clarity. Email wjmag@washjeff.edu or mail a letter to: Editor, W&J Magazine Office of Communications Washington & Jefferson College 60 S. Lincoln Street Washington, PA 15301
Corrections In the Spring 2015 issue of the magazine: TORI HARING-SMITH, PH.D. PRESIDENT
Want to hear more from the President? Follow Tori Haring-Smith on Twitter @wjpresident.
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On page 6, Kevin Ohlson ’82, a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, was mistakenly left out of the piece on judicial success.
Noted & Quoted “They had been bitter, bitter rivals throughout the 19th century.
IT WAS INCREDIBLY CONTENTIOUS.” TORI HARING-SMITH, PH.D., PRESIDENT1
“WE TAKE A LOT OF PRIDE in the student-athletes’ academic success as well as their success on the field.” SCOTT MCGUINNESS, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR.2
2. “Gateway graduate named to PAC athletic administration post,” Michael Love, Tribune-Review, July 8, 2015
“We are striving for a neighborly, community atmosphere...We want to see entire families, friends and neighbors gather here to laugh, celebrate and connect with each other.”
3. “New North Carolina Brewery Opens,” CraftBeer.com, May 29, 2015
JOEL MCCLOSKY ’003
4. “Cat and Gown: Pennsylvania college lets students matriculate with pets,” Jessica Hardin, Pittsburgh City Paper, June 10, 2015
“[See-More] went to school with me for three years. We joked that he earned it just as much as the rest of us.” ALEX NORRIS ’154
“ALWAYS WORK HARD AND BE HONEST… If you want to be a leader, you have to be able to earn the trust of your employees, customers and other important stakeholders.” SUSAN HUNT RALSTON ’855
“It was always good when we were playing at Kittanning because in a game, we were on the field together…It’ll be nice playing with him again because he can lead me through college sports, as well.” BRAYDON TOY ’196
“I’m the kind of person who runs to the fire when the fire alarm goes off, not out of the building.” ANDRÉ BARNABEI ’037
“I SET OUT TO WRITE ABOUT THE DARKNESS IN MEN, BUT I ENDED UP WITH A BOOK ABOUT HOW MEN KEEP THE DARKNESS IN CHECK.”
JONATHAN GOTTSCHALL, PH.D., WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON COLLEGE DISTINGUISHED FELLOW8
1. “W&J College unified after ‘contentious’ merger,” Mike Jones, Observer-Reporter, March, 8, 2015
5.“Bank @lantec CEO keeps earning credit,” Virginia Lascara, Inside Business, June 5, 2015 6. “Kittanning’s Toy brothers to reunite with W&J football,” D.J. Vasil, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 29, 2015 7. “Fast-Tracker: André Barnabei, Rivers Casino,” Monica Gagnier, Pittsburgh Business Times, June 30, 2015 8. “Like ‘Fight Club’ but for English professors,” Carlos Lozada, The Washington Post, April 15, 2015
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W&J news
Graduates begin a new chapter of their lives.
Paige Alderson celebrates her graduation with Walter Flamenbaum ’62, M.D., and his wife, Judith.
2015
commencement Turning the tassel
“Today, information is not only cheap, it’s overwhelming…which makes wisdom, discerning wisdom, that much more rare and that much more needed…As you go forward in whatever career you choose, whatever life you lead, I hope you will also take time to be citizen editors, to find meaning and moral essence in the noise, and find ways to contribute to the ongoing conversation that is our country,” said Howard Fineman during his address to the Class of 2015. Fineman, global editorial director of the Huffington Post Media Group, was the keynote speaker at W&J’s May 16th Commencement ceremony, where nearly 300 Presidents joined the ranks of W&J alumni. The rain did little to dampen the spirits of proud parents and faculty who came to celebrate our newest graduates. As they crossed the College seal exiting Old Main to the graduation tent, the soon-to-be alumni completed the ritual they began at one of their first college events—Matriculation. Timothy Klitz, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology, and Justin Dandoy, director of community engagement, were presented with the senior awards to faculty and staff. Valerie Dunlap ’15, the senior class Commencement speaker, spoke about how her class, along with the help of the W&J community, was able to thrive during their time on campus. Dunlap reminded everyone where our College motto Juncta Juvant, “Together We Thrive,” comes from. One hundred and fifty years ago, Washington College and Jefferson College made the fateful decision to merge into the great institution we know today—Washington & Jefferson College. And as these students learned to thrive together, so do current students.
The Class of 2015 is already leveraging its undergraduate accomplishments into successful careers. Class members, representing a diversity of backgrounds, majors and paths to success, are poised to attend medical and law schools, contribute to volunteer and sustainability missions around the globe, take on big business with new ideas and continue in the field of education—this time as teachers. President Tori Haring-Smith, Ph.D., sent the graduates off with these words of wisdom: “So carry your knowledge, your compassion, your integrity and your courage into the larger world. We are counting on you. Go forth, and create a self that you can be proud of.”
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The ROTC Color Guard led the procession to the Commencement ceremony.
Valerie Dunlap was the senior class speaker.
Nicole Allison (left) and Emily Bitting.
Howard Fineman delivered the keynote address at Commencement.
Beta Theta Pi brothers prepare for graduation.
Graduates Gadwin Stewart and Miriam Beavers.
Taylor Adams battled the rain with her W&J umbrella.
Luke Gatten poses for a photo after graduation in the Ski Lodge.
Chase Bennett celebrates with his family after graduation.
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Four long-time professors retire Joel Cannon, Ph.D., professor of physics, joined the College in 1999. He earned his B.S. from Willamette University, his M.E. from the University of Virginia and his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Cannon’s research interests include theoretical and computational condensed matter physics, focused on phase transitions and critical phenomenon, as well as biological physics. His experience as an expert witness also led to an interest in investigating methods of reconstructing traffic accidents using physics.
James Gormly, Ph.D., professor of history, has been with W&J since 1989. Gormly received his B.A. from the University of Arizona and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. Throughout his 26 years of service, Gormly has taught courses in United States, Latin American, and ancient Greek history and a survey of European civilization. He is writing a book on the history of American international civil aviation from the end of the First World War until the deregulation of the airline industry during the Carter administration.
John Gregor, Ph.D., professor of economics and business, joined the College in 1989. He earned his B.A. from Saint Anselm College and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. He taught at Plymouth State College in New Hampshire and at Penn State. He also worked as a research assistant for the Center for Environmental Policy at Penn State and the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. His experience as a professional consultant includes work at Policy Research Associates in State College, Pa., and Resource Planning Associates in Cambridge, Mass. Gregor’s areas of study include economics, environmental studies, financial economics and international business.
Susan Woodard, D.M.A., professor of music, joined the W&J faculty in 1990. She earned her B. Mus. and B.A. from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester and Adelphi University and her M.Mus. and D.M.A. from The Ohio State University. She taught courses in applied piano, chamber music and music history/literature. As chair of the music department from 1990 to 2010, Woodard designed, proposed and implemented a comprehensive music curriculum that would enable students to major or minor in music and allow non-majors to gain meaningful enrichment. She also developed an Intersession course—Composing Your Life and Music Inspired by the Sea—which became an environmental studies elective.
W&J awards four honorary degrees Howard Fineman, global editorial director of the Huffington Post Media Group, gave the keynote address at Commencement and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. Since 1984, Fineman has interviewed every major presidential candidate, and he won the 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence for his “Bush and God” series. The Pittsburgh native’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic and Newsweek. Fineman also regularly offers his political analysis on major news and public affairs shows, contributing reports to shows on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC. Additionally, he authored a national best-selling book, “The Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates that Define and Inspire Our Country.” The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and the first woman elected as primate in the worldwide Anglican Communion, received an honorary Doctor of Divinity and gave the keynote address at W&J’s Baccalaureate service. She serves as chief pastor to the Episcopal Church’s 2.1 million members in 17 countries and 108 U.S. dioceses. Under her leadership, a provisional rite for the blessing of same-sex unions was adopted and “gender identity and expression” was added to the church’s non-discrimination canons. Jefferts Schori is trained as both a scientist and a theologian. She began her career as an oceanographer, working for the National Marine Fisheries Services. Billy Porter, a Tony and Grammy award-winning singer, composer, actor, playwright and director from Pittsburgh, received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts. A veteran actor, Porter most recently originated the role of Lola in the smash Broadway musical “Kinky Boots,” winner of six Tony Awards. For this role, Porter himself was recognized with the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and the Tony Award for Best Actor. He was also nominated for a 2005
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The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Howard Fineman, Thomas Gaither and Billy Porter (from left to right) received honorary degrees at W&J’s 216th Commencement ceremony.
GLAAD Media Award for his one-man show, “Ghetto Superstar: The Man That I Am,” and won the NAACP Theater Award for Best Direction of a Musical for his production of “Once on This Island.” Thomas Gaither, Ph.D., a distinguished civil rights activist and retired Slippery Rock University professor of biology/botany, received an honorary Doctor of Laws. Gaither engaged in numerous civil rights movement events, including helping to recruit and train Freedom Riders. While acting as the national field secretary for the Congress for Racial Equality, he and a group of students from Friendship College commemorated the one-year anniversary of the Greensboro sit-ins by sitting down at the whites-only lunch counter of McCrory’s in Rock Hill, S.C. Within seconds, the “Friendship Nine” were arrested and convicted of trespassing. They were sentenced to either pay a $100 fine or serve a month of labor at a prison camp. They chose to perform hard labor rather than financially support the faulty system that punished them, which began the “jail no bail” phase of the civil rights movement.
Engineering and French major interns in Paris Not one to shy away from a challenge when it comes to following his dreams, Blynn Shideler ’18 wanted to pursue a Magellan Project from the moment he joined the W&J community. The Gibsonia, Pa., native is completing the dual-degree, 3-2 engineering program and is also a French major. After attending W&J for three years, Shideler plans to finish his engineering degree, concentrated on biomedical engineering, at W&J’s partner institution Columbia University. Shortly after his freshman year began, Shideler visited W&J’s Magellan Project Coordinator, Tyler Tenney ’14, and worked with his French professor, Katrine Pflanze, Ph.D., to help him reach out to companies and research groups in France. Shideler wanted to find an internship in the field of prosthetic engineering that also allowed him to use his natural talents in the French language. Beginning in October, Shideler sent emails to numerous prosthetic research labs in France, but was unable to secure an internship in his area of interest. Without missing a beat, Shideler continued his search and broadened his scope to biomedical research and engineering, which led to contact with Pierre-Paul Vidal at the research group Cognition and Action Group (COGNAC-G). Shideler was offered a biomedical engineering research internship at the renowned Université Paris Descartes in Paris. During his three-month internship, Shideler gained the experience of a lifetime as the youngest and only international intern to work with COGNAC-G. Shideler conducted research on a variety of projects. He analyzed skeletal muscular activity in the body during the gait (walking) cycle using electromyograms (EMGs) and constructed hypotheses for the similarities and differences found between people. He also researched “smart check,” a method of quantifying human behavior through consultation. The goal of this research is to work with neuroscientists and engineers to formulate non-invasive tools to collect data on the physical, psychological and sociological characteristics of individuals. “Working with COGNAC-G has given me a lot of opportunities,” said Shideler, who quickly took on many different roles and responsibilities at his internship. After two weeks, Shideler was given the opportunity to conduct an independent study in the lab observing acceleration patterns in the feet during a normal gait cycle. COGNAC-G wanted to do the experiment for over a year, but without the time and proper equipment to do so. Shideler stepped in at the right moment and was responsible for tracking down the necessary technology and designing the elements of the experiment.
“As far as my experience abroad goes, I can’t even begin to describe how beneficial it has been for me to grow as an individual.” – BLYNN SHIDELER ’18
After a successful three-week analysis, Shideler presented his results in both English and French to the research group Le Centre de Mathématiques et de Leurs Applications at the famous l’École Normale Supérieure, becoming the first teenager to conduct and present independent research for COGNAC-G. As the only native English speaker, Shideler had the honor of co-editing a COGNAC-G publication on a multimillion-dollar whiplash study. As part of the Magellan Project’s Franklin Internship Award, Shideler also conducted individual research while in France. Once a week, he visited a hospital in Paris where he helped engineers working to rehabilitate people who have muscular dystrophies. “I really enjoyed working at the hospital because the patients were very nice, and it was
Blynn Shideler completed a Magellan Project at the Université Paris Descartes.
such a warm feeling for me to think that in some way, I was making these people’s lives better. In fact, that’s sort of what made me interested in (biomedical) engineering in the first place,” he said. Embarking on a journey outside of the U.S. to intern at COGNAC-G could not have been a better fit for Shideler, whose dream is to work in prosthetic engineering and design artificial limbs. “As far as my experience abroad goes, I can’t even begin to describe how beneficial it has been for me to grow as an individual,” Shideler said. “I think anyone who wants to know what it means to be independent should do a Magellan. In fact, I believe that is what the Magellan Project is all about: learning how to solve problems and figure things out alone.” – EMILY PAYNE ’15
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W&J team wins first place at Mylan Hackathon Collaboration across fields and a strong liberal arts influence contributed to a major win for a Washington & Jefferson College team at the 2015 Mylan Hackathon in Southpointe, Cecil Township, Pa., in February. A team of five W&J students designed and built the mobile app SnapHealth to help consumers manage their medical needs and health goals. The team competed in the category of quality and consumer health care, winning first place among 29 teams of undergraduate and graduate students, and field professionals. “The idea was to make everything easy to use and friendly for the user,” said team member Gustavo Brito Sampaio. “We built the app using really new and emergent technologies. The idea was to explore new areas.” A prototype of the team’s app can be viewed at the SnapHealth website (snaphealth.hol.es). The working app would allow consumers to manage their medications, doctors’ appointments and general health habits, while also storing the consumer’s medical history and information about health insurance, among other features. Sampaio, with teammates Emerson Jair Reis Oliveira Da Silva, Leonardo Miguel De Moraes Vidal and Mario Scaglione Jr. are spending two semesters at W&J as part of the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program and are studying computing and information studies (CIS) to complement their study at their home universities in Brazil. The team was rounded out by fulltime W&J student Abigail Palmer ’16, who is majoring in cell molecular biology. The team had 36 hours to build the mobile app, but was allowed to plan the project ahead of time, a process Palmer said allowed the group to take on a challenge that is increasingly real in the medical world. “There’s a whole communications frontier where doctors are going to start communicating with developers more frequently,” said Palmer, who wants to make a career of building health
Emerson Jair Reis Oliveira Da Silva, Leonardo Miguel De Moraes Vidal, Mario Scaglione Jr., Gustavo Brito Sampaio and Abby Palmer (from left to right) created a health care app.
CIS students, gave the group an edge, said Amanda Holland-Minkley, Ph.D., associate professor of computing and information studies at W&J. Most groups approached the project mainly with technological components in mind, she said, and did not have a content-area specialist working with them. Scaglione, who participated in The Facebook Hackathon São Paulo with students from his
“This Hackathon improved my experience working in teams a lot, coordinating and managing people with different viewpoints.” – MARIO SCAGLIONE JR.
“Every member of the team collaborated in an awesome way to achieve this brilliant result,” he said. “The group was focused and determined, and most important, each member had an understanding of his role in the app development. This Hackathon improved my experience working in teams a lot, coordinating and managing people with different viewpoints.” Holland-Minkley said the team’s success is a great example of both collaboration across fields and the value of a liberal arts education, because it wasn’t raw technical ability that resulted in a win. “The best technical abilities alone aren’t going to help you solve a problem,” she said. “This was about the right people working together, planning and having the right perspective to solve the problem.” – ERIN FAULK ’08
care apps. “These are two very different fields of knowledge. Being able to communicate accurately between the two of them is my focus.” Palmer’s experience in health care research, combined with the technological skills of the 8
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home university, the University of São Paulo, described the W&J group as “a spectacular combination,” and said the experience helped him prepare for a career developing technology that will improve consumers’ lives.
World Treasures Treasures come in all shapes and sizes. They can be big or small, tangible or intangible, old or new; but, one thing they all are is precious. W&J students, professors and alumni have been revolutionizing the world with their ideas, inventions and discoveries since the founding of the two separate colleges. From lifesaving medicine to ivory religious statues on the bottom of the ocean floor, the people of W&J have contributed many important treasures to the world we live in.
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The lure of the sea SHIPWRECK HISTORIAN DISCOVERS CULTURAL TREASURES For nearly 400 years, the Santa Margarita rested at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean near Rota, in the Northern Mariana Islands. The Manila galleon was fighting adverse weather while traveling back to her home port of Acapulco, Mexico, from Manila when she was lost attempting to put in and safely anchor on Rota in 1601. She—and her precious cargo from the Far East—may have stayed in her watery grave at the bottom of PHOTO CREDIT: IOTA PARTNERS
the Pacific had it not been for David Hebb ’65, Ph.D. A historian by profession, but an adventurer at heart, Hebb is one of only a handful of researchers who are hired by investors to discover the location of shipwrecks. “In a way we are the Indiana Joneses of the shipwreck world, except we don’t go around using bullwhips or machine guns,” Hebb explained. “Our work is quiet and contemplative, with days spent carefully turning over and reading pages of 17th-century documents.”
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An ivory carving of the Madonna from the Santa Margarita shipwreck
Adventure Calls One might say that, without realizing it, Hebb was influenced by the sea from his childhood in Pittsfield, Mass., where Herman Melville wrote “Moby-Dick.” As a young boy, Hebb would spend countless hours amusing himself in the upper reaches of the Housatonic River, daydreaming of following the water to the ocean and the adventure that waited there. More telling, though, was his favorite board game as a child: Cargoes—a game that consisted of a map of the world with ports and trade routes, where you moved ships around, buying and selling.
It is no surprise then that, when Hebb began his education at W&J, he intended to study business; however, he couldn’t deny his natural inclination. He decided to major in history and although he tried working at an insurance company and going to law school after graduation, Hebb continually found himself drawn to the study of the past.
PHOTO CREDIT: ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION, INC.
But, like most of us, Hebb grew up in a world where he was expected to go into a career of insurance or banking—stable, secure professions. A place where games like Cargoes belong in the land of make-believe, and treasure hunting and pirates belong between the pages of books.
Gold on the ocean floor from the SS Republic wreck site
He finally decided to complete a doctorate in history from the University of London, and happened upon a maritime subject for his thesis: piracy in the 17th century.
“I accepted, thinking at the time it was likely to last no more than a year, but that I would never have another such offer and I could always return to teaching,” Hebb said.
Hebb planned to teach with his doctoral degree—as many do—but fate had other plans for him. While lecturing on history at the University of Essex, Hebb was approached by Sir John Hale, a professor he had known, to conduct shipwreck research. A London financier was interested in investing in a maritime salvage firm, but he wanted someone to research the prospects before he did so.
A Precarious Existence
For a few years, Hebb spent his vacation time in the archives and libraries of places such as Spain, Portugal, France and the Netherlands; however, it soon became clear that the company really needed a full-time historian to conduct all the research. They offered Hebb the position, and pulling from his venturesome spirit, he found himself leaving his steady profession as a professor to look for sunken treasure.
Nearly 30 years later, the historian still finds himself in his chance-profession of shipwreck research. Although Hebb does not consider himself to be rash, he does concede that he has been willing to entertain more risks than most. He leads what he describes as a “precarious existence.” Never knowing from where or when his next job will come, Hebb has learned through the years to adapt to a level of uncertainty about his employment—nowadays a more common experience for graduates. Fortunately, Hebb was able to learn quickly that his work was of value and was desired. Work has always happened to find him; he has never searched for employment, or advertised his skills—which is even more impressive given
Silver from the SS Gairsoppa
“I live by my reputation, of being a professional whose reports are factual and realistic and also as one who can find information, often in places where others have not looked or failed,” Hebb said.
CREDIT: ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION, INC.
At the end of his research, Hebb concluded the venture was not a promising one, but suggested that the company would be better served by looking for ships that were involved in the carriage of bullion (gold or silver bars). Valuing Hebb’s professional opinion, the company asked if he would be interested in working as a part-time consultant, since he had already begun teaching full-time.
Hebb’s lack of a digital footprint. If you search “David Hebb” on the Internet, you will have a difficult time finding him. You won’t find his name attached to the historically significant and highly profitable shipwrecks he has helped to find; his work is behind the scenes. Hebb prefers to keep a low profile, though, having learned early on that there are many “time-wasters or nutters” who will seek him out.
With Hebb’s employment record, one would assume that his research always leads to the profitable salvage of a shipwreck; however, this is not always the case. In nearly half the cases he researches, Hebb concludes that either there is insufficient information to make a firm evaluation or that the project would not be economical to pursue. Also, a fair number of the projects Hebb has worked on have taken years before salvage occurs. In others, salvage is never undertaken because of legal negotiations with governments, even though his research indicates the ships could be found and would be valuable. Hebb credits his success to being truthful. “I guess it has helped, I think, that I am brutally honest about what I discover,” Hebb said. “Too many people perpetuate the myth that the seabed is paved with gold. It is not.” WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON COLLEGE
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What Hebb does always find, though, is a definitive answer. “What is different about this work compared to normal academic historical research is if I do my research and say the ship is located here, when they go to send out a ship for the salvage purposes the answer will be very clear whether my research was right or wrong,” Hebb said. “And that part of it I like.” While there are only a few historians who do the work Hebb does, there are plenty of “researchers.” “They are interested in finding a valuable shipwreck or acquiring information that buttresses their beliefs about a ship and the value of its cargo; in contrast, the historian is more interested in discovering the truth, as far as it is possible, which results in taking a more judicious approach, compiling information both for and against the case, weighing the evidence.”
X Marks the Spot Much like Hebb, the sailors on the ships he researches were “willing to entertain risks.” Being a mariner was a dangerous occupation during the sailing ship era (1500-1850), when 3 to 5 percent of ships at sea wrecked every year, most due to inclement weather and taking new routes to avoid pirate vessels. With so many shipwrecks, there is a lot of profit to be made in salvage work, so it is no surprise that Hebb’s expertise has been in high demand over the years. Investors in these ventures vary widely, from Old World aristocrats to investment
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CREDIT: IOTA PARTNERS
CREDIT: ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION, INC.
A bronze cannon from the wreck of HMS Victory
An ivory statue of St. Francis from the Santa Margarita
banks to business-oriented salvage firms, and their knowledge of what they want to find varies as well. Sometimes, clients come to Hebb with a great amount of knowledge about a specific shipwreck, while other times the request is vague, such as “find me a wreck in the Pacific.” Generally, Hebb begins the background stage of his research by going through his own
note. I just read tens of thousands of pages of extraneous material until in the end I came across the information I needed. That is often the nature of this type of research.” As in detective work, Hebb often relies upon small details and follows the clues to a logical conclusion to come to his answers. Unfortunately, Hebb explained, historical
“Too many people perpetuate the myth that the seabed is paved with gold. It is not.” – DAVID HEBB ’65
library and then looking at collections in major libraries. The next phase involves manuscripts in archives that are often in different languages, which led Hebb to learn to read six different languages. Even if they are in English, Hebb explained they are still difficult to read not only because the parchment often has deteriorated, but because handwriting styles were very different in the 17th century. Researching takes persistence and patience. Hebb once spent six weeks in Spain investigating a ship. “I found something in the first week and then absolutely nothing for nearly the next five weeks,” Hebb said. “I didn’t take a single
records were not created to identify shipwrecks or value a ship’s cargo. “People generally weren’t interested in the same thing you are when they were writing at the time. So you start out thinking, at least I do, who in the past would have known something and would have written it.” Not only are the location of the ship and information on its cargo important, but also whether the ship has been salvaged already. When these ships wrecked, they were usually lost fairly close to the coast or in shallow water. “(This) means that they were susceptible to salvage at the time or, you know, fairly soon
CREDIT: IOTA PARTNERS
An ivory triptych of St. Jerome recovered from the Santa Margarita CREDIT: ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION, INC.
CREDIT: ODYSSEY MARINE EXPLORATION, INC.
Cargo from the SS Republic shipwreck
Odyssey Marine Exploration’s remotely operated vehicle, Zeus, is used to conduct work on the ocean floor.
coins and is worth tens or maybe hundreds of millions of dollars.
after, and that’s one of the very difficult parts of research,” Hebb explained. “You can learn fairly quickly that the ship was wrecked and even sort of what reef or coast you know it was wrecked, but to try to discover whether any salvage took place after that is very, very difficult.”
But for Hebb, the work he does is not about whether a ship has treasure on board or not, it is about the cultural significance of the artifacts recovered from the sunken vessels and the knowledge he is bringing to the world about the past. For example, while conducting research on WWI ships, Hebb uncovered records of the vast amount of non-war materials being transported at that time, such as cricket bats, tennis balls and perfumed shirts. Life still continued despite the war.
Hebb’s work is not finished when a ship is found, though. Ships tended to wreck in dangerous places, so it is not uncommon for there to be multiple wrecks in one area. Salvage operations can be costly (up to $100,000 a day) so it is important to identify the wreck early, so the wrong wreck is not being salvaged. Hebb assists in identifying the shipwreck for the salvage firms. “One way to identify an early modern wreck is to acquire information about the cannon aboard the ship you are looking for, since most ships were armed and cannon are not perishable and are easily identifiable on the seabed,” Hebb said. For all his passion for the shipwreck world, Hebb doesn’t have an interest in diving and has been on only a few salvage operations. One occasion was the Cape Verde Islands wreck of the Princess Louisa, a British merchant ship lost in 1743. “Two aspects of this experience amazed me,” Hebb said. “The first was that the wreck or parts of it were visible from the surface. I could see the cannon on the seabed below (about 60 feet) and the divers working away, measuring, recording and uncovering items of the wreck. The second aspect that amazed me is that this wreck had not been salvaged before since its remains below the
surface were visible. Something like 60,000 pieces of eight (Spanish silver coins of about an ounce) were recovered.” Although most of the ships Hebb has researched come from the sailing ship era, more recently, he has researched increasingly modern ships, specifically those sunk in the two world wars. The SS Gairsoppa, a 412 foot steel-hulled British cargo ship that was sunk by a U-boat in 1941 300 miles southwest of Galway, Ireland, has yielded 110 tons of silver to date from a depth of 15,400 feet, in what is called the “deepest, largest, precious metal recovery in history.” Over the years, Hebb has discovered many valuable wrecks, which have yielded gold, silver, gems and jewelry—what everyone imagines when they hear of sunken ships and treasure. One wreck yielded approximately 2,500,000
Of all the ships he has found, the one Hebb values most is the Santa Margarita, from which an ivory triptych and ivory statues that portray religious scenes of St. Jerome and the Madonna were recovered. These delicate pieces of art not only miraculously survived hundreds of years under the ocean, but also a shipwreck that was smashed on a reef. “And what makes them of especial value is not just the monetary worth of these objects (in the millions), but their cultural significance,” Hebb said. “They were created for the European market, but carved by Chinese craftsmen from African ivory that had been brought to Asia. And though made for Europeans and featuring European or biblical figures, the faces are all Asian and this work of art demonstrates the coming together of East and West at the very time they were meeting.” – ALLYSON GILMORE ’12
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234 Years of Ideas, Discoveries and Inventions
the first to pilot the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle for the Apollo program, which was used to develop piloting and operational techniques for lunar landings. Sadly, Walker died in a mid-air collision between an F-104 he was piloting and an experimental supersonic bomber in 1966.
Expendable Fuel Tanks
Since its founding in 1781, Washington & Jefferson College and its
Recognized by the United States National Space Society for “a lifelong contribution to the field of rockets, missiles, and spaceflight,” Maxwell Hunter ’42, Ph.D., was a well-respected rocket scientist and proponent of single-stage rocket ships and laser battle stations in space. Hunter greatly advanced the U.S. aeronautically by developing expendable fuel tanks for space shuttles and managing early stages of the Hubble Space Telescope. As chief missiles design engineer at Douglas Aircraft Company, he helped design Nike, Thor and other missiles during the Cold War and was a leading proponent of a space-based laser defense program. Later, as chief engineer of space systems, Hunter took charge of all Douglas space efforts such as the Delta launch vehicle and the Saturn S-IV stage of the Apollo moon rocket program. In 1965 Hunter joined Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., where he was responsible for the design of the Advanced Space Transportation Vehicles StarClipper and Shuttle, as well as the Hubble Space Telescope.
people have made monumental contributions to the world we live in. From lifesaving advances in medicine to the recreational activity of canoeing or just using an ATM, W&J has had an impact on you. This is just a small list of the numerous ideas, discoveries and inventions of the people (past and present) who make W&J the college it is today.
Battlefield Medicine and Triage
for days suffering or dying of their wounds. He invented an evacuation system that consisted of a field dressing station (set up on or next to the battlefield where medical personnel would apply dressings and tourniquets), a field hospital (usually in nearby houses or barns, where emergency surgery could be performed) and a large hospital (located farther away for long-term treatment of wounded soldiers). He also developed the concept of triage. Letterman’s developments in casualty management are still relevant in today’s emergency medical procedures.
Reverently known as the “Father of Battlefield Medicine,” Jonathan Letterman, Jefferson College 1845, M.D., was an American surgeon who played a critical role for the Union during the Civil War by saving thousands of soldiers from dying of their injuries on the battlefield. The Canonsburg, Pa., native was the assistant surgeon in the Army Medical Department, serving in battles from 1849 until 1861. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Letterman was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and soon became the medical director of the entire Army, during which time he revolutionized emergency medicine. He started the first Ambulance Corps, which taught men how to act as stretcher-bearers and operate wagons to collect wounded soldiers from the battlefield. Before Letterman’s advances, men were left on their own on the battlefield and could lie
Space Firsts
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City Flags
NASA PHOTO
CREDIT: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
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After riding in an airplane for the first time during his senior year at W&J, Joseph A. Walker ’42 decided to become a pilot. He would later go on to break world records and achieve many firsts in the name of space travel. Walker became the chief research pilot at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in 1958, piloting his first NASA X-15 flight in 1960. He piloted two flights of the X-15 spaceplane beyond 100 kilometers, making him the first person to enter space twice. Over the next three years, Walker flew the X-15 24 times and reached a world-record speed of 4,104 mph and record altitude of 354,000 feet. He also became
A minister, author and insect enthusiast, Henry Christopher McCook, Jefferson College 1859, was a jack of all trades who still found time to leave his mark on history. McCook studied for the ministry at the Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pa., and became a Presbyterian minister active in developing Sunday schools. He was also an author of fiction and an entomologist who published articles on ants and spiders. Despite his many titles and positions, McCook earned himself an even bigger legacy for his design of Philadelphia’s flag. Established on March 27, 1895, Philadelphia’s azure-blue and golden-yellow flag was the first civic flag in the country. McCook thought that a city flag could “inspire a spirit of civic loyalty.” The flag as designed by McCook is the only one of its kind that has never been altered and led to the tradition of having a city flag.
Canoeing If you have ever enjoyed the sport of canoeing, then you have a W&J graduate to thank. William Livingston Alden, Jefferson College 1858, was a well-known journalist, author, humorist, diplomat and canoe enthusiast. In fact, he is credited with bringing the sport of canoeing to the U.S. Previously, the canoe was viewed as simply a means of transportation. In 1871, Alden founded the New York Canoe Club—the first canoeing organization in the U.S. He was also a founding member of the American Canoe Association, serving as the Association’s first commodore.
Reed in Cuba in 1900. He was in charge of conducting studies into the bacteriology of tropical diseases. Following the recent discovery that mosquitos transmit malaria and Carlos Finaly’s theory on mosquitos transmitting yellow fever, Lazear conducted a series of inoculation studies on human subjects. Lazear soon noticed that there was an incubation period during which the virus in the freshly ingested blood could infect and spread through the insect’s salivary tissue, meaning there was a 12-day window before the mosquitos became fully infectious. Thanks to Lazear’s momentous discovery, the team confirmed that mosquitos carry yellow fever. However, Lazear paid the ultimate price for his work when he was himself bitten by a mosquito. On Sept. 8, 1900, Lazear wrote his wife a letter saying, “I rather think I am on the track of the real germ.” Seventeen days later, Lazear died at 34 years old.
McGuffey Readers
The Hofmeyr Skull
William Holmes McGuffey, Washington College 1826, educated generations of Americans through his invention of the McGuffey Readers. When he was president of Cincinnati College in 1836, McGuffey’s interest in public education became his life’s mission. He was a part of the Western Literary Institute, which sponsored educational meetings and lobbied for the organization of Ohio’s common schools. Inspired by his successes with the Western Literary Institute, McGuffey published a series of elementary readers to educate students on the western frontier, an area of the U.S. deeply divided by different ethnic populations and denominational groups. The first and second editions of the Eclectic Readers were published in 1836. The series ended in 1857 with the sixth edition. McGuffey readers sold over an estimated 120 million copies in English and various translations during the 19th century, which helped to educate elementary school children across the U.S.
In 2007, Frederick E. Grine ’74, Ph.D., a professor of paleoanthropology at SUNY Stony Brook and expert in hominid taxonomy from the Pliocene era, a period in the geologic timescale that dates back 5.33 to 2.58 million years before the present, made a ground-breaking, historical discovery with his research team. The Hofmeyr Skull, which represents the closest ancestor to modern living humans, was initially discovered in 1952 near the town of Hofmeyr, South Africa. By testing levels of radiation in sand that had filled the braincase, Grine and his team were able to date the skull to 36,000 years ago. TIME magazine recognized the team’s work as one of the “Top 10 Scientific Discoveries in 2007,” placing it among other discoveries such as the brightest supernova ever recorded, breakthroughs in stem cell research and the naming of hundreds of new organisms. Grine’s discovery provides critical evidence that supports the theory that modern man originated in sub-Saharan Africa.
A Better Understanding of Yellow Fever Thanks to the pioneering work of Jesse Lazear (who attended W&J in 1888), a better understanding of yellow fever and its transmission by mosquitos was achieved. Lazear joined the Yellow Fever Commission team led by Walter
Kirkwood Gaps The 19th century ushered in a new dawn of understanding of the Earth’s solar system. After the first and largest asteroid, Ceres, was discovered in 1801, there were still fewer than 100 known asteroids by 1866. The next big discovery did not come until Daniel Kirkwood, an American mathematician, astronomer and a professor at Jefferson College from 1865-1867, noticed that there were three regions of the asteroid belt that lacked asteroids completely. He discovered the gaps by arranging the known
asteroids by their distance from the sun. These gaps, later known as Kirkwood gaps, were caused by Jupiter’s gravitation. Throughout his life, Kirkwood continued to make scientific progress; he showed that the main gap in Saturn’s rings, Cassini’s Division, is caused by the gravitational effects of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
“Oh! Susanna” While Stephen Foster only attended Jefferson College for a year (1841), we still claim him as one of our own. The famed 19th-century songwriter penned American folk classics such as “Oh! Susanna,” “Camptown Races,” “My Old Kentucky Home,” “Old Black Joe” and “Beautiful Dreamer.” Although not formally instructed in music while growing up in Lawrenceville, Pa., Foster had an interest in music from the time he was young. Acknowledged as the “Father of American Music,” Foster left behind about 200 songs. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010.
Education Technology Although Tony Zanders ’07 is already being honored for receiving the Outstanding Young Alumni Award (see page 26) we couldn’t leave him out of our features. The education and technology guru founded Applyful. com, an online platform for enabling students to share information about colleges. Applyful.com was named a winner of the College Knowledge Challenge by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Currently, he serves as the vice president of global customer development for EBSCO Information Services.
The Jefferson Salamander The Jefferson Salamander was first described in print by Jacob Green, professor of chemistry and natural philosophy at Jefferson College during the 1820s, in the book “Contributions of the Maclurian Lyceum to the Arts and Sciences” in 1827. Green found the slender salamander with a wide nose and distinctive long toes in the marshy ground near Chartier’s Creek, in the vicinity of Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pa., thus giving the amphibian its name.
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Herceptin and Ibrance For 12 years, Dennis Slamon ’70, M.D., Ph.D., and his colleagues conducted clinical and laboratory research that led to the development of the breast cancer drug Herceptin. The drug targets a specific genetic alteration found in about 30 percent of breast cancer patients. In 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of the Herceptin monoclonal antibody for treatment of advanced breast cancer. Slamon’s research proved a relationship between the gene HER-2/neu and a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer. He continues to place research as one of his top priorities, and is currently investigating the effectiveness of Herceptin in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Slamon is also working to develop new treatments for women with breast and ovarian cancers. Treating women with early-stage breast cancer with a combination of chemotherapy and the molecularly targeted drug Herceptin significantly increases survival in patients with a specific genetic mutation that results in a very aggressive disease. Also, Slamon and his team at the University of California Los Angeles have created another drug, Ibrance, to treat patients with advanced breast cancer. Ibrance targets proteins in cancer cells and prevents the cells from dividing. The drug was considered a “breakthrough therapy” by the FDA and was the first medication in its class to be approved.
The ATM Today, we deposit checks from our phones and keep track of banking accounts through mobile apps. Yet, technology in the banking industry began with a much simpler introduction: the Automated Teller Machine (ATM). John Reed ’60, the chairman emeritus of MIT Corp. and retired chairman and CEO of Citigroup Inc., pushed for the development of ATMs in the U.S. and became a pioneer for computing in the banking industry. The ATM is still a fairly modern invention, having only been in use in the U.S. since the 1970s. In 1967, Citibank’s president gave Reed, a trainee at the time, a company report on the future of the banking industry and tasked Reed with researching the report’s findings, particularly the question of bringing computers into the industry. Reed studied the problem for a year, working with MIT faculty and equipment manufacturers who were developing computers at
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the time. Taking a leap of faith, Reed concluded that online, interactive systems would have an immense impact on banking, similar to the airline reservations systems being developed at the same time. Reed launched a company, Citibank Systems Inc., to work on the logistics of the task. The introduction of interactive, online systems used to move money became a well-deserved success, led to the rise of the credit card and continues to earn millions of dollars for banks every year.
YoCrunch Throughout his career, Charles Marcy ’72 has made numerous innovations in the food industry. In 2005, he founded Healthy Food Holdings, Inc., a management holding company for branded, “better-for-you” foods. Marcy’s main goal is to invest in high-quality companies dedicated to producing healthy, natural and organic food and beverage products. In 2010, Marcy acquired Breyers® yogurt products and created YoCrunch as a competitor to Yoplait and Dannon yogurt products, which accounted for about 70 percent of the yogurt market at the time. By adding a small amount of crunchy and sweet toppings like M&M’s and granola to the single-serving yogurt product, Marcy successfully made yogurt more than a morning snack.
Intraocular Lenses An innovator in the field of ophthalmic surgery, Ronald Salvitti ’59, M.D., pioneered new methods in cataract and refractive eye surgery, including the design of intraocular lenses, which replace the eye’s natural lens once it’s removed during cataract surgery. Before Salvitti’s breakthrough development, which was widely used across the United States in the early 1990s, patients had to wear very thick eyeglasses or special contact lenses to see after cataract surgery. Highly respected for his contributions to the field of ophthalmology, Salvitti continues to work as a consultant with many research and development staffs of the country’s leading companies, contributing to the development of cataract instrumentation technology.
Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Nothing says throw caution to the wind quite like giving up your career as a partner in your own New York City law firm and moving across the world to become a writer. Jeff Siger ’66 did just that when he moved to the Aegean Greek island of Mykonos to write mystery
thrillers. More than just fast-paced stories, Siger’s novels confront serious societal issues surrounding modern-day Greece through glimpses at the country’s ancient roots. His debut mystery thriller, “Murder in Mykonos,” created a series following Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis and received widespread international acclaim, becoming the best-selling English-language novel in Greece. Seven novels later, Siger has no regrets for taking the road less traveled.
Presidents Without Borders At a school where many students follow and succeed on the pre-health track, it only made sense to Nick Tyger ’12 that W&J Presidents should have boundless opportunities to explore the medical field and give help where it is most needed. After back-to-back medical missions to the Dominican Republic, Tyger created his own student service organization, aptly called Presidents Without Borders, to connect W&J students with those living in medically underserved areas of the world, much like the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders. Tyger formed the group in his senior year at W&J in hopes of leaving a lasting impact on relief efforts at the College after he graduated. The organization quickly grew to more than 40 students and since 2011 has made trips to the Dominican Republic; Managua, Nicaragua; and Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
The W&J Diversity Programming Board Huong Nguyen ’14 has a natural talent for finding ways to make a difference, something she strived to do at W&J and wants to continue doing throughout her life. Nguyen’s goal is to become a dean of students and work to increase accessibility and retention of underrepresented domestic and international students, a goal she began fostering as a freshman in college. During her first year at W&J, Nguyen founded the Diversity Programming Board, a student organization that seeks to promote a community of inclusion and awareness among its members
and the campus community. As founder and president, Nguyen helped build club membership, select board members and develop events around equality, social awareness and identities (gender, ability, race and ethnicity, etc.). Currently a graduate student at the University of Connecticut, Nguyen is in the planning stages of creating a program to support student activism and social justice agents at the University.
Beer! Four years of hard work and a passion for craft beer finally paid off for Joel McClosky ’00, who recently opened Four Saints Brewing Co. in Asheboro, N.C. The Four Saints taproom and seven-barrel brew house is now serving customers six brews, ranging from a light blonde to a rich stout. McClosky also brought back a nostalgic atmosphere, modeled after a European-style experience. You won’t find any oversized TVs broadcasting sports games on every channel at Four Saints. Instead you will find bar stools, tables and shelves where people can catch up with friends, or even strangers.
Beauty
Phi Kappa Psi and Phi Gamma Delta Both fraternities were founded at Jefferson College. Phi Gamma Delta was founded first, in 1846 by the “Immortal Six”—John Templeton McCarty, Samuel Beatty Wilson, James Elliott Jr., Ellis Bailey Gregg, Daniel Webster Crofts—all Jefferson College, 1848 graduates—and Naaman Fletcher, Jefferson College 1849. The founding of Phi Kappa Psi in 1852 followed a typhoid fever epidemic at the campus. Two students, William Henry Letterman, Jefferson College 1853, and Charles Page Thomas Moore, Jefferson College 1854, stayed on campus and cared for their sick classmates. These two formed a bond and wanted to create a fraternity based on helping others.
Patents in Polymerization
Nike’s Two-Color Sole A desire for beauty and simplicity, a need to express emotion and a love of nature all culminate in what Alice Ann Dobbin ’84 calls an inherent need to paint. Dobbin is a Pittsburgh native who discovered her talent for art at a very young age. She graduated magna cum laude from W&J and worked as an adjunct art professor of the College before moving to South Carolina. Working exclusively with oils for the past 25 years, Dobbin paints in an impressionistic style, often using heavy impasto applied with a palette knife. Her paintings surpass a sense of conventional realness through lush textures and detailed brushwork that brings the focal point of her artwork to life. Her paintings of landscapes instill a sense of tranquility and reverence for nature while her wildlife paintings capture the personality of each animal she paints. Dobbin’s complete body of work includes etchings, mezzotints, watercolors and pastels; her collectors are found throughout the United States, Europe and Australia and include an impressive list of doctors, legal firms, business owners, government officials and even a former U.S. president.
Dick Crosbie ’65 has always been about breaking the mold. Although he was a philosophy major, Crosbie later turned to the knowledge of chemistry he gained at W&J to become chief chemist at Nike. Today, Crosbie is one of most internationally respected experts in the chemistry of running shoes and a leader in “green” shoe manufacturing. In his 21 years with Nike, Crosbie revolutionized the athletic company’s footwear and manufacturing practices. When he joined the company in 1980, Nike offered only 15 styles with all-black or all-white outsoles. Under Crosbie’s guidance and spirit for experimentation, Nike launched the first shoe with a two-color sole, a feature now common in today’s shoes. To stop the emission of harmful pollutants into the air, Crosbie also developed water-based alternatives to the petroleum-and-oil-based adhesives used at Nike’s production factories. By reducing the company’s use of inorganic solvents by 90 percent, Crosbie helped save 1.8 million gallons of oil-based solvents per month, saving Nike millions of dollars and improving working conditions for its 600,000 factory workers across the globe. As president of his own consulting company, Crosbie still works with companies such as New Balance, Timberland and Under Armour to improve their production processes and sustainability efforts.
Walter Cooper ’50, Ph.D., worked as a scientist at Eastman Kodak for three decades. Acting as manager of research innovation and technical communication, Cooper published more than 25 papers and obtained three patents in polymerization. A lifelong advocate for civil rights and education, in 1973, he helped found Rochester’s Urban-Suburban transfer program, which still operates today. He also helped create the anti-poverty agencies, Action for a Better Community and Urban League of Rochester.
College Jersey Numbers Did you know that the Presidents were the first college football team to use numbers on the back of their jerseys? In the Sept. 19, 1908, game against Denison University, W&J wore numbered uniforms, starting a trend that would quickly catch on.
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A WINNING STANCE CARR BECOMES W&J’S FIRST NATIONAL WRESTLING CHAMPION Finding the right college can be a daunting task. And for Nick Carr ’16, it took a few tries before he found himself at W&J. A 2011 graduate of nearby South Fayette High School, Carr was recruited for his wrestling talents by the likes of Pittsburgh, Virginia and Pennsylvania before ultimately deciding on Kent State. Carr was a hot recruit after claiming the PIAA championship as a junior and finishing as runner-up during his senior season. He chose Kent State before his senior year began and went on to have a successful campaign with the Golden Flashes. He won the Michigan State Open with a perfect 6-0 record and collected a 21-10 overall record.
“Being the top-ranked guy puts a little bit of stress on you, but you have to go out, ignore the rankings and wrestle your match.”
Still, the Ohio campus didn’t feel like home for Carr, who was a National Honor Society member in high school and owned a 3.60 grade-point average. He decided to transfer to Seton Hill, but never wrestled a match for the Division II program in Greensburg, Pa. That’s where former high school teammate and W&J wrestler Brian Haney ’16 stepped in and asked Carr if he would consider giving Washington & Jefferson a look. Carr immediately felt comfortable with the Presidents. The campus and the wrestling program felt like home.
– NICK CARR ’16
“Wrestling at the Division I level felt more like being inside of a cage,” said Carr, who majors in communications at W&J. “I wasn’t able to truly experience college life. It was more of a job than anything, and I found it more difficult to concentrate on school. Wrestling at W&J is more laid-back. The coaches are much more supportive.” Head Coach Tommy Prairie was eager to work with a talent like Carr. After transferring midway through last season, Carr rolled to a 12-1 record in the 165-pound weight class. His body type was more suited for 157 pounds, but Prairie already had returning All-American Josh Etzel ’14 in that spot. Despite losing the size battle in most matches, Carr qualified for the national tournament in 2014 at the U.S. 18
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Nick Carr is the first wrestler from the PAC since 1983 to win a national championship.
Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, won three straight bouts, and became just the second W&J wrestler to reach an NCAA Division III championship match. Carr was finally defeated in his Red & Black singlet by Wartburg’s Cole Welter by a 5-3 margin. Prairie knew the significance of Carr’s accomplishment, however, and still had his eyes on the bigger prize. Minutes after the loss, Prairie said, “Nick will have to wait until next March to win his first NCAA title.” In March of 2015, the NCAA Division III Tournament was coming to the Carr family’s home away from home: the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. Carr won his 2010 PIAA title in the city popularly called “Chocolate Town USA.” In 2013, Seth Carr, who wrestled for the Presidents for one season at 125 pounds this winter, was the PIAA runner-up in Hershey. On March 7, Mikey Carr capped a 44-0 season for South Fayette by winning the 138-pound state title.
invitation to the NWCA National Duals, hosted this year in Fort Wayne, Ind. Carr won both of his matches, defeating wrestlers from Cornell (Iowa) and Ithaca (N.Y.), setting the stage for his historic run. Carr was joined in Hershey by Spearman, who competed in the 133-pound bracket. Spearman, a three-time Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) champion and two-time national qualifier, won a pair of matches but fell one triumph shy of becoming an All-American. Carr arrived at his family’s favorite arena with a 23-0 record and the bracket’s top seed. He had been the target all season long, yet no wrestler was able to break through and knock him off. Carr admittedly wasn’t fond of the way his opposition attacked all season.
Nick Carr and Head Coach Tommy Prairie at the NCAA championship.
“Sometimes your opponent looks at you differently because of that ranking,” he added. “Opponents back away from me and immediately think they can’t flat-out beat me, so they try to avoid wrestling me. Wrestling isn’t
Carr wrestled Reece Lefever of Wabash for the championship title.
similar results in the semifinals, knocking off Steven Dewitt of Loras College 10-3. That set up a showdown with second-seeded Reece Lefever of Wabash for the championship on the big stage Saturday night at the Giant Center. Carr’s approach in the national title bout was no different than any of his previous 70-plus collegiate matches. He left little doubt by grinding out a 6-2 victory to become W&J’s first national wrestling champion. Carr is just the fourth W&J student-athlete to claim an NCAA championship.
After the final whistle, Mikey jumped over the boards at the Giant Center right into the arms of his brother Nick. Nick was determined to make sure his family had a second celebration in as many weeks, this time on the NCAA stage. Carr had taken the tough road to the national championship as he entered the season as the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds. Under Prairie, W&J has gained national attention with talented wrestlers like Carr, Etzel, Jacob Spearman ’16 and David Dibenedetto ’14. Prairie accepted the school’s first-ever
supposed to be like a cat chasing a mouse. It’s important to wrestle and not just try to run away and avoid getting beat. I want to face someone who actually feels they can beat me. That makes it more fun and engaging.” In round one, Carr found that wrestler in Luther College’s Reed Van Anrooy. Carr trailed 4-2 in the second period, but forced overtime with a pair of escapes. Four seconds into the extra session, a takedown advanced him in the bracket with a 6-4 triumph. Later that evening, Carr rolled to a 13-5 win over Carl Elmer of St. Olaf. He produced
“Attitude is everything,” said Carr after the match. “If you have a good attitude, you’re going to win, and I’m happy I won. Being the top-ranked guy puts a little bit of stress on you, but you have to go out, ignore the rankings and wrestle your match. It’s a cool feeling (being W&J’s first national wrestling champion).” Carr (39-1 record as a President) is the first wrestler from the PAC since 1983 to win a national championship. He also became just the fourth W&J student-athlete to claim an NCAA championship, joining Pat Pyrch ’83 (1983 diving), Jaimee Heffner ’99 (1997 javelin) and Kaitlyn Orstein ’08 (eight NCAA swimming titles/2004-08). – SCOTT MCGUINNESS
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BRINGING IT HOME PRESIDENTS WIN PAC CHAMPIONSHIP AND HOST NCAA DIVISION III MIDEAST REGIONAL Washington & Jefferson College started playing collegiate varsity baseball during the same year that Idaho and Wyoming were admitted as the 43rd and 44th states. One hundred twenty-five years later, W&J baseball is thriving at the NCAA Division III level, and the program has never had more reasons to celebrate. W&J captured its 10th Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) baseball championship after racking up three victories in the conference tournament, which was hosted by Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky. The Presidents entered the four-team tournament as the No. 4 seed, knocked off top-seeded Thomas More (6-5) and second-seeded Waynesburg (5-1), and finally busted out 18 hits in another triumph over the Saints, this time by a score of 17-5 to clinch the crown. Left-handed pitcher Jared Baird ’15 became the story of the tournament for the Presidents. Against Waynesburg, he pitched a complete game, holding the Yellow Jackets to one run on six hits. Just 24 hours later, after W&J defeated Thomas More in the first PAC championship game, Baird brushed aside the typical four days rest and started the “winner-take-all” game and pitched a masterful seven innings, surrendering only one earned run. The PAC title gave the Presidents an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional in what was the program’s fifth regional
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appearance. However, this NCAA experience came with an added bonus to Head Coach Jeff Mountain, Assistant Coaches Ryan Verlihay ’12 and DJ Sammel, and the student-athletes. In March, W&J was selected as one of eight regional hosts for the first time in history. The Presidents would be playing at home at Ross Memorial Park in the NCAA Mideast Regional, making W&J the first PAC member to host an NCAA regional championship event. Ross Memorial Park opened in 2004 and has served as a first-class venue for the baseball program. The Presidents’ home underwent a
W&J baseball won its 10th PAC championship this past season.
spectator areas were introduced to enhance the fan experience. The final phase of the project incorporated a beautiful landscape design around the stadium. A member of the Washington & Jefferson College Athletics Hall of Fame and board of trustees, David A. Ross ’78 has been instrumental in each of the different project phases of Ross Memorial Park, including the new and improved Ross Locker Rooms. Ross dedicated the facilities in honor of his father, James David Ross. Ross’ vision and generous support of W&J’s world-class facilities were
“When we found out we were going to be hosting the regional, that was a big incentive to make it here. To play at the home field, in front of some great crowds, it was a great experience.” – KYLE SMITH ’15
significant upgrade this past fall as the entire synthetic infield surface was upgraded with brown A-Turf on first, second and third base. W&J College logos were also placed in foul territory sewn into the turf. The press box was remodeled and expanded, while VIP
instrumental in positioning the College to host a prestigious event like the NCAA Division III baseball regional. Quite fittingly, W&J played the first game of the 2015 Mideast Regional on May 13 against Frostburg State, the eventual regional
The NCAA Mideast Regional was held at Ross Memorial Park.
We just didn’t think it would happen this quickly. It is not surprising, though, because we have a fantastic baseball stadium, one that we are really proud of. When you are recruited to play baseball at W&J, you are going to play in one of the best facilities in the United States.”
David Ross, who was instrumental in the creation of Ross Memorial Park, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the NCAA Mideast Regional.
The Presidents ended up on the losing end of a 7-1 decision in the regional opener, but bounced back a day later with a 9-3 thumping of Adrian. Baird continued his dominance on the mound as he limited the Bulldogs to two runs on four hits, while striking out seven in 7 2/3 innings. “I think what Jared did that last week is unbelievable,” Mountain said. “It is one of the most amazing things that I have been a part of. I think he inspired the rest of the guys as well.”
champion. Ross, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch, had his friends and family on hand to cheer him on.
Baird finished the season with a 7-3 record and a 2.68 earned-run average. He fanned 74 batters in 80 2/3 innings and issued only 14 walks.
“Being awarded the bid to host the NCAA Mideast Regional was very important to Washington & Jefferson College and our baseball program,” said Director of Athletics Scott McGuinness. “Truly, a moment we will never forget. David envisioned Ross Memorial Park as a possible venue for an NCAA baseball regional.
Gannon Rooney ’18 and Nick Vento ’17 both hit two-run homers in the regional victory, while Kyle Smith ’15 scored a pair of runs. Smith, who was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team for the second consecutive season, had at least one hit in each of the Presidents’ three NCAA regional contests.
Nick Vento ’17
Jared Baird ’15
Derek Helbing ’17
“When we found out we were going to be hosting the regional, that was a big incentive to make it here,” Smith said. “To play at the home field, in front of some great crowds, it was a great experience.” Washington & Jefferson’s season came to an end the following afternoon when La Roche turned four double plays and snatched a 4-1 victory. Derek Helbing ’17 knocked in the Presidents’ lone run in the sixth inning. That loss brought the end of a remarkable four years for the Presidents’ senior class, which included Baird, Smith, Cory Bauer ’15, Alex Carr ’15 and Tyler Dean ’15. They finished their careers with 107 victories, three trips to the NCAA Regionals and two PAC championships. “I tip my cap to our seniors,” said Mountain. “It was a year, for the first time in a while, where not too much was expected from us just because of the losses (to graduation). They really did a good job of leading a team, primarily made up of freshmen and sophomores. We’ve established a good program here, the players continue to do a great job, and these seniors are a testament to that.” – SCOTT MCGUINNESS
Kyle Smith ’15 WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON COLLEGE
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Presidents’ golf teams advance to national tournaments For the first time in school history, Washington & Jefferson College sent two golf teams to the NCAA Division III tournament. The women’s program made its first-ever appearance at an NCAA championship after lapping the field in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) 72-hole championship tournament series (36 holes fall; 36 holes spring). The 36 holes during the spring were played at Cedarbrook Golf Club in Belle Vernon, Pa. Head Coach Sean Dove was honored as the PAC Coach of the Year for both sports, giving him conference coach of the year awards in each of his seven seasons with the Presidents. Dove helped W&J earn wire-to-wire victories during the 2014-15 academic year. W&J women’s golf claimed the NCAA automatic bid after winning its eighth PAC title by 146 strokes. The Presidents had five of the top eight finishers from spring’s 36 holes, including Both men’s and women’s golf teams claimed their respective PAC championship titles this year and advanced to the PAC spring medalist Jocelyn Sudar ’17, who NCAA Division III tournament. shot a tournament-low round of 79 Saturday to post a two-day score of 161. Marissa Sudar ’18 and Jennifer Suder ’15 both carded two-day totals of 174 to tie for third place. Kaitlyn Vogel ’18 and Michelle Klein ’18 were also part of the five-woman group that flew to Florida for W&J’s inaugural appearance in the NCAA tournament. At the NCAA championship, W&J placed 17th out of 21 teams in the four-round format at the Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. Marissa Sudar collected W&J’s best score at 350 strokes, which placed her in a tie for 65th place. The men’s team captured its league-record 17th PAC conference championship after edging Saint Vincent by five shots. That led to the Presidents’ sixth NCAA tournament appearance, this time at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, N.C. Patrick Jonnet ’17, the PAC spring day one leader, carded 153 strokes (75-78) to finish as the league runner-up. The Presidents, who return all five players who competed at the NCAA Tournament, placed 24th out of 41 teams at the national event. Tim Novic ’16 tied for 45th place after posting rounds of 74-76, while Evan Lestini ’16, an All-Academic Scholar, was one shot back in 57th place following scores of 75-76. Hunter Bagaitis ’17 and Owen Miller ’18 also represented W&J at the national championship tournament. The 2015 season marked the seventh time in school history that the Presidents swept both the men’s and women’s PAC golf championships. – SCOTT MCGUINNESS
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Marissa Sudar ’18
Evan Lestini ’16
Jennifer Suder ’15
W&J alumni Class of 1965 Celebrates 50th Reunion A WORD FROM THE ALUMNI EXECUTIVE COUNCIL As alumni, you are an integral part of the Washington & Jefferson College community. The Alumni Executive Council (AEC) serves as a management arm for all alumni, and we want you to know that your voice matters. To best represent you, the AEC would like to hear from you.
Members of the Class of 1965 returned to campus on their 50th graduation anniversary to be inducted into the Presidential Guard at Commencement.
To many, 1965 was a year to remember. The cost of a gallon of gasoline was a mere 31 cents, a dozen eggs was easily purchased for 53 cents and it only cost $1.25 to take your sweetheart into town to catch a “flick.” The Voting Rights Act became law and Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in for his first full term as president. But, for members of W&J’s Class of 1965, perhaps the most memorable event was graduating and embarking on a new and exciting chapter of their lives. To celebrate 50 proud years as W&J alumni, more than three dozen Presidents came back for a two-day reunion on May 15 & 16. The events of the weekend provided opportunities for alumni to visit with former classmates and renew old friendships, tour the campus to experience the exciting changes that have taken place since their student days and, most important, play a significant role in the 216th Commencement as the newest inductees into the Presidential Guard. And, while history and reminiscing will always play a role when old friends cross paths, this year’s reunion class insisted that the future also remain a topic of conversation. With the mindset of paying it forward and to proudly honor the giving tradition of the College’s 50th reunion classes, the Class announced a jaw-dropping donation of $980,397. A portion of the contribution will go toward the newly established Class of 1965 Endowed Give It Forward Together (GIFT) Fund to help support
“It’s good to know that through our generosity, there will always be money there to help them.” – DICK CROSBIE ’65
students who find themselves unable to pay tuition or other related college costs due to unexpected financial emergencies—a gift that will reach far into the future. Reunion committee member Dick Crosbie ’65 said, “I was happy to hear that through the generosity of my classmates, our class gift hit the endowed level for the GIFT Fund. There will always be students who for some unforeseen reason will need immediate financial help to stay in school. It’s good to know that through our generosity, there will always be money there to help them.” This year’s 50th reunion proved to be a memorable weekend full of alumni accomplishments, invigorating conversation, celebrated friendships and extremely generous support that will help to secure the W&J experience for current and future generations of students for many years to come.
• We are seeking nominations for our 2016 alumni awards! Do you know a distinguished alumnus/alumna who you think is worthy of an award? Each year, the following awards are presented to deserving alumni during Homecoming & Reunion Weekend: Alumni Award for Achievement, Distinguished Service Award and the Outstanding Young Alumni Award. The eligibility criteria for each award can be found at www.jayconnected.com/ alumniawards. • Your involvement with W&J after graduation contributes to the College’s continued success. One invaluable way you can stay connected is by volunteering your time. We are committed to providing a variety of volunteer opportunities that support W&J, current students and alumni. To learn about all the ways you can get involved, visit www. jayconnected.com/getinvolved. • Have suggestions, comments or topics that you’d like to bring to our attention? Send us an email at alumni@washjeff.edu. We appreciate the opportunity to serve as the alumni voice and look forward to moving forward together. In the meantime, get to know us at www.jayconnected.com/aec.
– KAYLA M. MADDEN WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON COLLEGE
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Plans are underway for the 2015-16 event season. Visit www.jayconnected.com/events to find out when we are visiting a region near you.
PRESIDENTIAL CONNECTIONS Washington & Jefferson College alumni events are touchstones of our culture of learning, connecting and giving. With W&J events happening regularly throughout the country, there is always an opportunity
CHICAGO
Alumni and friends enjoyed a fun evening in the Windy City at the home of Craig Varga ’76 and his wife, Noelle Brennan. Pictured together are Michael Thomas ’82, Mary Hevener Baron ’75, Claudia Love Curran ’78 and Karen Thomas.
for alumni to reunite, meet and connect professionally. Whether you’re looking to socialize over dinner and drinks or network with alumni in your career field, W&J gatherings are a great way to stay connected.
TEXAS #FlatGeorgeandTom made the trip to Texas to catch up with alumni in the area. Seen here are Ed Tomko ’65, his wife Katherine and Joe Herbst ’84.
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INDIANAPOLIS Elizabeth Griffin ’81, Regina Corabi Morrisey ’78, David Morrisey ’76, Patricia Frey, and Bill Frey ’57 shared memories of their time spent at W&J during the Indianapolis event held at Elizabeth’s home.
WASHINGTON D.C. Over 115 alumni from all generations joined us for an evening of cocktails and conversation in Washington, D.C., at the home of Patrick Correnty ’87, M.D.
Rebecca Keen Longsworth ’87, host Patrick Correnty ’87, M.D., and Kerry McBride ’89 enjoy a night of reminiscing.
Kappa Alpha Theta alumnae Charlene Louis ’06, Lindsey Polansky ’13, Amanda Knarr ’13, Ashley Briggs ’11, Cammie Monahan ’13, Meghan Skiff ’05 and Delta Gamma alumna (kneeling) McKenzie Graf ’13.
WE LOVE IT WHEN WE’RE CRUISIN’ TOGETHER... Varied and exciting destinations, expert faculty and local guides, like-minded companions—why travel any other way? Washington & Jefferson College alumni, faculty and friends regularly travel together on adventures across the world. For more information, visit www.jayconnected.com/alumnitravel.
NAPLES, FLA. DENVILLE, N.J. Kelly Dumela George ’00, Ph.D., and her husband, Michael, pose with their daughters and #FlatGeorgeandTom at their home in Denville, N.J., where they graciously hosted over 25 W&J alumni for an evening cocktail reception.
It was all sunshine and smiles during our stops throughout Florida. We visited with alumni in Orlando, Sarasota and Naples. Pictured here are guests Michael Sneeringer ’08, Colleen Kerins, Mauri Peyton ’04 and Susan Martinez.
PHIPPS CONSERVATORY, PITTSBURGH Pittsburgh-area alumni and friends, including Jimil Wilson ’00 and his wife, Tiffany Hofmann, gathered together for an evening of W&J camaraderie at Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens. Guests enjoyed food and drinks to the sweet sounds of the W&J student jazz band as they viewed Phipps Conservatory’s newest exhibit, “Congo.”
WASHINGTON, PA. Members of the Class of 2015 joined fellow classmates for an official welcome into the W&J alumni family. While the weather didn’t cooperate for outdoor festivities, students took advantage of the indoor photo booth!
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Three alumni to be honored at Homecoming ALUMNI AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT
The Honorable Kevin A. Ohlson ’82 The Honorable Kevin A. Ohlson ’82 has made a significant contribution to our nation’s legal system throughout his career and has admirably served our country in a variety of positions.
Ohlson attended W&J on a four-year Army ROTC scholarship, and during his time on campus he was the president of his fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau, and he served as the commander of the College’s corps of cadets and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Upon graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1985, Ohlson entered into active duty as an Army lawyer. He successfully completed Airborne training, and during the next four years, he parachuted more than 30 times into Honduras, Jordan and Egypt. Ohlson next became a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. However, in October of 1990, he volunteered to return to active duty and deployed to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service. Upon his return to civilian life, Ohlson resumed his duties as a federal prosecutor. Over the course of the next two decades, he served in a variety of positions in the Department of Justice, including as special counsel to the United States Attorney, chief of staff to the Deputy Attorney General, director of the federal immigration court system and chief of staff and counselor to the Attorney General. Most recently, Ohlson was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate to serve as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. He assumed his seat on the bench on Nov. 1, 2013, and is one of only five judges who sit on that court. When asked how his education and time spent at W&J have impacted him, Ohlson said, “The power and wonder of W&J is not that it simply ‘let me be me,’ but that it also forged me into who and what I would become. For that I will always be grateful.”
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Each year, the Alumni Executive Council selects a group of Presidents who, through their personal and professional accomplishments, have made an exceptional contribution to their communities and industries. This year’s Alumni Award for Achievement, Distinguished Service Award and Outstanding Young Alumni Award recipients all serve as role models to current students and graduates alike. They will be honored during Homecoming & Reunion Weekend, Oct. 9 & 10.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
Patrick Correnty ’87, M.D. Patrick Correnty ’87, M.D., a dedicated and passionate physician, knows what it means to give back, not only in his professional life, but also through a personal connection with his alma mater. Correnty sees W&J students and alumni alike as part of his family. He welcomes them with open arms and a kind nature that extends not just to Washington, D.C., area alumni at his annual gathering, but to current students as well. He regularly hosts students as summer interns at his primary care office, and interns regularly reside with Correnty while completing their internships. Educating today’s students on the importance of giving back and emphasizing that all gifts—no matter the size—make a difference, Correnty regularly matches all contributions to the senior gift. Whether hosting interns or matching donations, Correnty makes it clear that the only thing he wants from today’s students is for them to pay forward the help they’ve received. He is also dedicated to ensuring that future W&J students thrive by establishing the Patrick A. Correnty Endowed Scholarship Fund. A member of the board of trustees since 2006, Correnty has served as chair of the development committee, vice chair of the audit and risk management committee, member of the executive committee and member of the governance committee. He is also recognized as a member of the Lifetime John McMillan Society. Correnty is board certified in internal medicine and owns his own practice, Patrick Correnty, M.D. He has been named a “Top Doctor” by Washingtonian magazine six times and a “Top Doctor” by Consumer Checkbook. A dedicated member of his community, Correnty also volunteers as a clinical professor of medicine at Georgetown Medical School and as the medical director of the Mid-Atlantic Phoenix House, a treatment facility for drug and alcohol addiction. He is a member of the volunteer leadership team for the Virginia Hospital Center Foundation.
OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD
Tony Zanders ’07
Tony Zanders ’07 is a New Orleans-based technology guru with a clear passion for education. Currently serving as vice president of global customer development for EBSCO Information Services, a company whose goal is to assist libraries in creating strong user experiences and improve access to information, Zanders has climbed the ranks within the education-technology sphere in just eight short years. Beginning his post-college career in San Francisco as an associate for a global HR services firm, Zanders found himself drawn back to education. Early in his career, he worked for Simply Hired and Uversity, Inc. and, in 2010, landed a director position at Ex Libris in Boston. Zanders founded Applyful.com, an online platform enabling students to collect and share information on colleges. In January 2013, Applyful was named a winner of the College Knowledge Challenge by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. While his passion for education and technology may begin in the office, it certainly doesn’t stop there. In 2014, he served as a lead mentor of a team of five girls age 12-17 at the Black Girls Code Hackathon: “Breaking the Cycle.” Together, they created a mobile app solution to provide access to resources in identifying and managing unhealthy relationships, as well as how to leave abusive relationships. Zanders’ team placed second out of nine teams. Zanders credits a study abroad experience in Tanzania during his time at W&J for expanding his horizons and molding him into a well-rounded professional. “Back then, I had no idea that (an Intersession) course could prepare me for a career where I am consistently required to study new cultures, adjust to new time zones and apply what I’ve learned at home in new contexts.” He leaves Presidents with this piece of advice: “I encourage every W&J student to seize the opportunity to invest in an experience that is radically different from what they’ve been exposed to thus far.”
Former athletes donate to athletic complex When Sean Jasionowski ’09, from Beach Haven, N.J., and Emily Allen Jasionowski ’09, from Hillsborough, Calif., were searching for the ideal college, they had similar checklists. Both wanted a small liberal arts setting that provided a personal relationship with faculty and a place where they could compete in collegiate athletics. Both of their searches led them to Washington & Jefferson College. “Some of my favorite W&J memories are traveling with the lacrosse team. We bonded over playing cards and talking on long bus rides,” said Sean. “Same for me,” Emily added. “After early morning practices, the water polo team would have breakfast together and just really connect. It was also special to compete in my home state of California with the team on spring break.” While athletics were what attracted Sean and Emily to W&J, once students, they immersed themselves in the W&J experience. Emily double majored in psychology and Spanish and minored in gender and women’s studies. Outside the classroom, she was a swimming coach for Special Olympics and a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Sean was a member of Phi Kappa Psi and took advantage of W&J’s strong international program by studying in Australia for a semester. “W&J provided me the opportunity to make my own path and gain independence while abroad,” said the English major. The two, who met in the laundry room of Beau dormitory their freshman year, bonded over their mutual dedication to athletics as well as their involvement in Greek life. They dated throughout their time at W&J and were married in 2013. When Sean and Emily were in the position to support a philanthropic cause, they both thought of their days at W&J.
they felt compelled to support the project. The two decided to make a gift over five years to support the construction of the new athletic complex. The first floor lounge in the new center will be named in acknowledgement of the couple’s generosity. “W&J brought us to each other and our friends. Athletics are what took us to W&J. For me, my best memories are in the pool, and for Sean, they are on the field. Our hearts are in W&J athletics,” said Emily. The Jasionowskis’ gift will be included in An Uncommon Bond: The Campaign for Washington & Jefferson College. The campaign is a historic effort to raise $100 million to strengthen the College’s capacity to support the students and faculty of today and tomorrow. The campaign will increase endowments for students and faculty, improve spaces for living and learning and strengthen The W&J Fund. “The name of the campaign really describes the W&J relationship for us,” said Emily. “From the friendships I made while a student to the alumni I have met since beginning my career, I see W&J alumni in many aspects of my life.”
Sean and Emily Jasionowski, both former athletes at W&J, wanted to support new generations of W&J athletes.
“For me, my best memories are in the pool and for Sean, they are on the field. Our hearts are in W&J athletics.” – EMILY JASIONOWSKI ’09
“We may go five years without seeing someone from W&J, and then, as soon as we see them, we are back to senior year, sharing ‘remember when’ stories,” said Sean.
“Each of our parents have always been advocates of education,” said Sean. “If it wasn’t for our parents telling us to find a college that was the right fit for us, we may have never traveled from California and New Jersey to W&J. They taught us the value of education and what it can hold.”
With their gift to the College, the Jasionowskis hope not only to help current students but help attract future students to W&J.
When they learned of the College’s plans to renovate and expand the athletic complex,
The Jasionowskis’ dedication to the College extends past financial support. Both are regular
“Our hope is the renovation and expansion of the athletic facility will insure W&J remains competitive and even more so, that it differentiates W&J from the competition,” said Emily.
volunteers at Pittsburgh-area networking events. In addition, Sean has created an internship program between the College and his employer, BOP Land Services, as well as represented W&J at Carlow University’s Presidential Inauguration. “Being involved as alumni has been a great experience for us,” said Sean. “I encourage others to do the same. Whether you make a donation when Phonathon calls you or volunteer to meet with current students, a small commitment goes a long way with our alma mater.” – KERRI DIGIOVANNI LACOCK ’09
If you would like to support An Uncommon Bond: The Campaign for Washington & Jefferson College, please contact Lori Dougherty at 724-223-6545 or ldougherty@washjeff.edu. Learn more about An Uncommon Bond at: www.anuncommonbond.com.
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notes CREDIT: ERIC FELACK, TRIB TOTAL MEDIA
Ninety-five-year-old alumnus publishes book of Internet jokes Chuck Booth ’41 self-published a book titled “The World’s Funniest Internet Jokes.” The book includes 102 pages of jokes, which were shared amongst himself and his friends for about 10 years. Whenever friends would email him a joke, Booth would print the jokes out and keep them, eventually producing 15 three-inch binders full of jokes. After sifting through the hundreds of jokes he collected, Booth eventually picked out the ones he thought were the best. Maintaining that “people who laugh seem to enjoy life more,” Booth decided to publish his book of jokes because the world can be a rough place with little for people to laugh about. His book is his way of countering the difficulties one may face in life. Before delving into the world of Internet jokes, Booth served in World War II, successfully managed his family business and devoted much of his time to his community. After attending W&J for three years, Booth went on to join the Army Air Corps in 1944 and served as a bomber
pilot in Europe. Upon returning home, Booth began his long career in his family’s business, Burrell Construction. Booth sold the company in 1988 and then became president of a branch of the Burrell Group Inc., Burrell Mining Products. Booth remains active in his duties as president and has not yet thought of retiring. Having grown up in New Kensington, Pa., Booth also has strong connections to his hometown and has a strong presence in community affairs. Booth was a key proponent of establishing a Penn State University branch campus in New Kensington. “The World’s Funniest Internet Jokes” is available on Amazon.com.
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Dean Elson and his wife, Lois, celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary on Jan. 14, 2015.
Dennis Must was awarded the 2014 Dactyl Foundation Literary Fiction Award for his recent novel titled “Hush Now, Don’t Explain.” The novel was published last year by Coffeetown Press, in Seattle, Wash.
Charles Bens, Ph.D., had an article published in the April issue of Life Extension magazine, one of the leading health magazines in the country. The article, titled “The Beginning of the End of the War on Medicine,” chronicles the evolution of medicine over the past 100 years. Using several evidence-based studies, Bens reports on the emergence of functional (natural) medicine as the “medicine of the future” for the prevention and treatment of chronic disease. A recent turning point in this evolution is the decision by the Cleveland Clinic to focus on the development of functional medicine protocols due to their safety, effectiveness and lower cost. Bens is a regular contributor to several national health magazines.
1950 Warner H. Schlaupitz qualified to participate in the national Senior Olympics in Minneapolis, Minn., but was unable to attend. He qualified in bicycle and the 100-meter dash for the 90-95 age group.
1952 Roger Rollin, Ph.D., a lifelong civil rights activist, was featured in the Greenville Online newspaper to reflect on the 1965 Freedom Marches in Selma, Ala. Rollin was a 35-year-old assistant professor and chairman of the English department at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., when he journeyed with eight other professors in two cars to march with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights protesters. In 1975, Rollin accepted an endowed professorship at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C., and retired in 1995 as an internationally recognized specialist in 17th-century English literature.
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Chuck Booth has self-published a joke book.
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1960 Bertram Lubin, M.D., recently gave a TEDx Talk titled “Poverty as a Disease in Children.” Lubin, who is currently the CEO of Children’s Hospital Oakland (CHO), Calif., focused his talk on the United States’ need to reformulate the way we think about health care and well-being in this country, specifically pointing out the alarming correlations between childhood poverty and disease. With economic and social conditions as strong determinants of health, Lubin wants to steer the U.S. toward understanding and addressing the impacts. Lubin brings a wealth of experience to the medical field, as reflected in his TEDx Talk. He developed a Sickle Cell Screening, Counseling and Education Program at CHO. He also established the Sibling Donor Cord Blood Program, the first nonprofit cord blood program in the world after it was recognized that a stem cell transplant can cure sickle cell disease and the sibling donor program could be an effective source of stem cells for transplantation.
1966 James R. McAraw, D.M.D., and fellow doctors at River Valley Periodontics & Implant Dentistry celebrated the 35th anniversary of placing dental implants at their office locations in Connecticut. Their office was one of the first practices in the state to offer implants, which serve as permanent tooth replacements. McAraw founded the practice in 1974 and has been chosen as one of Connecticut’s top dentists six years in a row.
’70 Dennis Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., developer of the successful breast cancer drug Herceptin, and his team at the University of California Los Angeles have created another drug, Ibrance, to treat patients with advanced breast cancer.
1970 Dennis Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., developer of the successful breast cancer drug Herceptin, and his team at the University of California Los Angeles have created another drug, Ibrance, to treat patients with advanced breast cancer. Ibrance, developed by Pfizer, was studied in 165 post-menopausal women with advanced estrogen-receptor positive and HER-2 negative breast cancer. The drug was considered a “breakthrough therapy” by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration and was approved two months ahead of schedule. It is the first medication in its class to be approved by the FDA. Ibrance targets proteins in cancer cells and prevents the cells from dividing. Slamon was also featured in Ken Burns’ PBS series titled “Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies.” Burns’ documentary includes numerous references to groundbreaking research Slamon completed in Pittsburgh.
1974 Ralph Capone, M.D., published two articles discussing the ethical procedures and practices in medicine for those with life-threatening illnesses, such as “DNR” (Do Not Resuscitate) and “DNI” (Do Not Intubate). His articles were featured as part of a commentary of the “National Catholic Bioethics Center on Health Care.” Capone has worked in palliative medicine and continues to work part time in health care and higher education. Ken Ettinger, M.D., was named a 2015 “Top Doctor” in Portland, Ore. This was the fourth time he was so honored by his peers.
1975 Bill Sarris was honored by the brothers and alumni of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity for his
support of the fraternity with a dinner and the unveiling of The Sarris Chapter Room in the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house. Tom Squitieri wrote his first column for The Hill newspaper titled “Independent and third-party politicians could ease gridlock.” His article was then selected by the Aspen Institute as one of its top five ideas for the day.
1977 David White was motivated to create a way to improve the Gambia’s poor economy and poor living conditions after traveling there with Buba Misawa, Ph.D., of the political science department. White’s new business, Cruise Ship Crew Gambia (CSCG), helps Gambians find employment on cruise ships and obtain significantly higher salaries than the average dollar-per-day most Gambians earn. Recently, CSCG hired 88 Gambians to work aboard the cruise ship EPIC, managed by Norwegian Cruise Lines. White commented, “This is life changing. The 88 people hired so far will bring about $1 million to their local economy.”
1978 Glenn Rice, Ph.D., was profiled by Colorado State University for his work as a biotech entrepreneur. Rice began his career as a scientist
Chemist creates process to treat fracking flowback water Ray Roccon ’78 has created a process to treat flowback water so that it can be reused in fracking operations. Roccon founded In-Situ Treatment Technologies last summer and recently received a patent for his recycling process. Although he plans to expand his business, Roccon is currently a one-man operation working out of his home office in Harmony, Pa., servicing areas in southwestern Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Last summer, he helped a local drilling company recycle its flowback water at a Greene County well pad. Traditional methods of water recycling often use certain non-oxidizing biocides, which can degrade and form formaldehyde and hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous gas with a rotten egg smell, once water is injected into a well. Roccon has distinguished himself from others in the water recycling business by using a different biocide, a chemical that prevents microorganisms from growing in fracking water after the water is injected into a well. “I’m doing this because when you get off the airplane in Pittsburgh, I don’t want it to smell like it smells when you get off the airplane at Midland (Texas),” he said in an interview with the Observer Reporter. Therefore, Roccon says, unlike other companies, he adds the biocide before the final step of the process to allow more time for the biocide to work as it’s supposed to and prevent hydrogen sulfide from forming. In Pennsylvania, there are few deep injection wells and disposing of flowback water from fracking is not easy. Transporting fluids to
Chemist Ray Roccon has created a process to reuse water in fracking operations.
either West Virginia or Ohio is costly, and so most companies aim to recycle the water. Roccon uses a feed system made by a local company to pull fresh water from a river or stream or to pump flowback water from tanks into the piping system. According to Roccon, the process, which takes place entirely aboveground and uses roughly 70 percent fresh water and 30 percent flowback water, is able to treat approximately 6.3 million gallons of water per frack.
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class notes Modern Day House Calls Via New Website.” Seraly founded the website dermatologistoncall. com, which allows patients to upload their medical information and concerns online. With this feature, Seraly’s patients do not have to wait weeks for appointments and can receive faster diagnostic and treatment plans.
PRESIDENT SPOTTING A group of Beta Theta Pi brothers celebrated their lifelong friendship with a cruise to the Western Caribbean. The group set out from Ft. Lauderdale and sailed to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Brothers who attended the cruise pictured in the back row are (left to right) Paul Medvedo ’77, Bill Booth ’77, Mike Nettleton ’75, Bill Walls ’75 and Tony Solomita ’75. Pictured in the front row are (left to right) Dan Aloe ’77, Kurt Menges ’77, Dave White ’77 and Glenn Rice ’78, Ph.D.
at Genentech, after which he became the founding scientist of a start-up in Seattle. Since then, he has been involved with the founding of nine biotech companies. He is currently the president of MetronomX located in Houston.
1979 Peter Sullivan, general manager of University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., and regional manager for Philadelphia-based Global Spectrum, played a key role in this past year’s Super Bowl preparations. He has managed stadiums and convention centers in Jacksonville, Fla., and Lansing, Mich., and did stints at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh and the Stadium of the Alps in Turin, Italy. He worked for international stadium manager SMG before joining Comcast-owned Global Spectrum. He also helped put together plans for Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. Sullivan has been to seven Super Bowls and most recently attended the College Football Playoff National Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
1982 John Lucas has been named senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. Lucas brings more than 30 years of human resources leadership experience, previously serving as vice president of human resources for the electronic systems business area at Lockheed Martin Corp., a global security and aerospace company. Donald Snoke was appointed by the Trinity Area School Board to serve as assistant 30
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1987 Dennis Fingers has been named a wealth regional managing director at First Citizens Bank. His responsibilities include all North Carolina markets (except Charlotte Metro),Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland. Fingers has been with First Citizens for 12 years and most recently served as manager of the private wealth group.
superintendent. Snoke is a 1978 graduate of Trinity High School and served as high school principal for the past 15 years. He is currently pursuing his doctorate. Before he became an administrator at Trinity, Snoke taught in the Washington School District for 10 years and coached football, wrestling and track.
1985 Peggy Kuck Hunt has been elected president of the Utah Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. As president, she’s looking forward to promoting key education programs in criminal law and governing practices in federal courts. Peggy practices at the Salt Lake City firm of Dorsey & Whitney LLP, where she works on cases involving bankruptcies, receiverships, Ponzi cases and debtor/creditor rights.
’85 Peggy Kuck Hunt has been elected president of the Utah Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
1986 Mark Seraly, M.D., was featured on the KDKA newscast in a segment titled, “Doctors Making
Robert Smith, M.D., presented “It’s a Matter of Life” at Temple Israel’s “Ask the Doctor” forum in Charlotte, N.C. Smith is board certified in family medicine and hospice and palliative medicine. He is currently the medical director for Hospice & Palliative Care Charlotte Region and has been with the organization since August 2004.
1988 Brett Rosenberg Harris, a business, nonprofit and technology attorney at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, has been appointed to the newly-formed New Jersey Supreme Court Working Group on Ethical Issues Involving Metadata in Electronic Documents. Harris is serving on the group as the designee of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA). Harris is active in professional associations including serving as a past chair of the NJSBA Internet and Computer Law Committee, current member of the board of directors of the NJSBA Business Law Section and an active member of the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association. Among other recognitions, Harris was named as one of NJBIZ magazine’s “Best 50 Women in Business” in 2012. Michael Nusbaum, M.D., a dedicated researcher of African-American history as well as a politically and socially active proponent of civil rights, has published a work of fiction titled “Ere Aworan.” The novel is based around real historical events, and it is Nusbaum’s hope that his readers will not only learn about the Africa Squadron, but will also continue the dialogue of slavery in America. Nusbaum is currently the chief of bariatric surgery at Morristown Medical Center and the surgical director of the Metabolic Medicine and Weight Control Center for Atlantic Health in Morristown, N.J.
Alumnus honored with Waltersdorf Award Chong Park ’83, M.D., has been honored with the Maurice Cleveland Waltersdorf Award for Innovative Leadership. The award recognizes Washington & Jefferson College alumni who attain a high level of achievement and exemplify the spirit and leadership qualities of Dr. Maurice C. Waltersdorf, who served as a professor and chairman of the department of economics for 32 years. A highly respected and nationally recognized cardiothoracic surgeon, Park currently serves as chief medical officer at Jefferson Hospital, which is part of the Allegheny Health Network. Park has been a valued member of Jefferson’s physician leadership team for many years, both as a clinician and in medical staff leadership roles. He also has served as chair of the department of surgery and medical director of the Allegheny Health Network Cardiovascular Institute at Jefferson Hospital. Under Park’s leadership, Jefferson Hospital has achieved national acclaim for its excellent outcomes and quality initiatives, including its exceptional care for cardiovascular and thoracic patients. The Cardiac Surgical Program has achieved the highest three-star ratings from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons for its excellence in caring for its complex cardiac surgical patients. Of the participating hospitals that submit data for analysis, only approximately 10 to 15 percent of heart programs in the nation achieve this prestigious distinction. The Heart Program also received national recognition during his tenure from outside agencies, including The American Heart Association and Health Grades. Jefferson Hospital was the first health care facility in Pennsylvania to earn the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® Heart Attack Receiving
Center accreditation and also recently celebrated its 5,000th open-heart procedure since the Cardiovascular Institute opened more than a decade ago. Park serves as a member of several hospital committees at Jefferson, providing his expertise and experience to the carotid stent committee, credentials committee, environment and infection control committee and the health information technology committee physician advisory group. Park is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery, National Board of Medical President Tori Haring-Smith Examiners and American congratulates Chong Park on Board of Thoracic Surgery. receiving the 2015 Waltersdorf Award. His professional affiliations include the American College of Surgeons, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, American Medical Association, Pennsylvania Medical Society and Allegheny County Medical Association. He also served on the board of trustees at W&J and was a board member of the American Heart Association in Pittsburgh.
1990
1993
Joseph Alessandro, D.O., has joined Masonicare as associate medical director for its eastern Connecticut hospice region. Alessandro will be responsible for oversight and medical consultation of services provided to hospice and palliative care patients. Alessandro writes, “I am thrilled to join Masonicare and I look forward to working with such a caring and skilled hospice team.”
Bob Fittipaldo accepted the position of director of facility management at Burns & Scalo Real Estate Services Inc. in Green Tree, Pa. He will supervise more than 4 million square feet of commercial office structures, flex and warehouse buildings and storage facilities. Fittipaldo previously worked for Giant Eagle.
Aaron Mason, M.D., has accepted a position as assistant professor of plastic surgery and pediatrics at West Virginia University in Morgantown, W.Va. Ann Hartle Proudfit earned her doctorate from the University of Toledo in 2014. Her dissertation was titled “A National Longitudinal Study of the Influence of Federal Student Aid on Time to Associate-Degree Attainment.”
1992 Donna Deist has joined Catanese Group in Johnstown, Pa., as a tax supervisor. She will oversee individual and business tax compliance for the firm.
1994 Kenyon Bonner has been named interim vice provost and dean of students at the University of Pittsburgh. Previously, he served as director of student life and associate dean of students.
’94 Kenyon Bonner has been named interim vice provost and dean of students at the University of Pittsburgh.
Shawn Finn, D.C., was featured in an article in The Cranberry Eagle about the importance of chiropractic care. Finn has been practicing in the area for almost 17 years, mostly in Seven Fields, Pa., and for the last year in Adams Township near Mars, Pa. Michael Ghilani, Ph.D., has been appointed superintendent of Montour School District. Ghilani came to Montour from Upper St. Clair School District, where he had been named 2013 High School Principal of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals. Maj. Jonathan Kenney is serving as a future operations planner at Marine Corps Forces Central Command Forward in Manama, Bahrain, on a one-year tour. He received his master of operational studies degree from The School of Advanced Warfighting at Marine Corps University.
1995 Gina Gurgiolo has joined the defined contribution advisers specialty practice at Mercer in Chicago. Gurgiolo provides operational and investment advisory services to clients in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. She most
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recently served as fiduciary services director and senior investment consultant at Plan Sponsor Advisors in Chicago, and has also held positions at Multnomah Group, Standard Retirement Services and Great-West Retirement Services.
1997 Dale Sleva was named the acting principal of Mars Area Middle School for the 2015-16 school year. He previously served as the assistant principal at Mars Area High School.
1998 Adam J. Shaffer was hired as the Washington Symphony Orchestra’s general manager. Shaffer is the first full-time employee in the nonprofit organization’s 13-year history. Shaffer, the former executive director of Westmoreland County Arts and Heritage Festival, plans to seek individual and corporate donors, write grants for the organization and bring about a bigger presence of the symphony in the community, which can draw audiences of about 700 people to its concerts.
2001 Joanne Stanley Frye accepted a law clerk position with Virginia Supreme Court Justice Cleo E. Powell. She serves on the board of directors for the Junior League of Richmond and is slated to be the 2016-17 president. The Junior League is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and impacting the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Jason E. Hazlewood has been promoted to partner at Reed Smith LLP in the firm’s Pittsburgh office. Hazlewood is a member of the firm’s commercial litigation group, and his practice focuses on both complex commercial and financial service litigation. Hazlewood has handled a wide array of litigation including securities litigation, health care, class actions and employment. Joe Morascyzk was honored by the brothers and alumni of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity for his generous support of the fraternity with a dinner
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reception and the unveiling of the Morascyzk Family Library in the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house on Oct. 5, 2014.
2002 Michael Fuga has been named principal of Neal Middle School in Durham, N.C. Fuga began his career with Durham Public Schools at Neal where he taught 7th grade social studies and later became principal at Rogers-Herr Middle School. Previously, he was an assistant coach for boys’ basketball and the assistant principal at Southern High School. Graig Marx, a teacher at Winchester Thurston School, is this year’s recipient of the Carnegie Science Award for high school teaching. The annual awards are presented by Carnegie Science Center to individuals or organizations for their contributions to science in Western Pennsylvania.
’02 Graig Marx, a teacher at Winchester Thurston School, is this year’s recipient of the Carnegie Science Award for high school teaching. Danielle Muehlbauer McKain and her husband, Patrik, were honored by Allegheny County Council for starting Jameson’s Army, a nonprofit that raises money to help the staff at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the families of children there battling congenital heart defects.
2003 Tony J. Thompson has been elected to the board of governors of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law Alumni Association. Thompson is an attorney at Meyer, Unkovic & Scott in Pittsburgh. He counsels clients on a variety of matters, including contract negotiations, trade secrets, labor-management relations, complex commercial litigations, and commercial landlord and tenant disputes. Currently, Thompson serves on the Sarah Heinz House Associate Board and the boards of Rainbow Kitchen Community Services and Small Seeds Development, Inc. Thompson is also an active member on several committees of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Allegheny County Bar Association.
2004 Tanner Branam has joined the Somerset Trust Company’s Investment Services team, offering securities through Infinex Investments Inc. Branam will be available to meet with customers to discuss a wide range of investment services. He has extensive experience with large bank investment companies such as Citizens Investment Services, JP Morgan Chase and PNC Investments, and his concentration is in financial areas of retirement, insurance, education, estate preservation and wealth transfer. Salvatore Bauccio has been elected as a member of the law firm McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC. Bauccio practices in the business corporate and tax group and represents closely-held businesses in day-to-day legal matters and in negotiating business transactions. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
2005 Jonathan Flickinger earned the Advanced Certificate in Strategic Human Resources Management from Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School. Flickinger works for CENTRIA in Moon Township, Pa., as a legal and human resources specialist. Kellie Grom Kaminski has been hired as the executive director for Pathways of Southwestern Pennsylvania in Washington, Pa. Pathways of Southwestern Pennsylvania is a nonprofit social service organization dedicated to the development and advancement of children and adults with physical and/or intellectual disabilities. Kaminski has over ten years of nonprofit management experiences. Previously, she served the Northland Public Library and the Samaritan Counseling Center.
’05 Kellie Grom Kaminski has been hired as the executive director for Pathways of Southwestern Pennsylvania in Washington, Pa.
Caroline R. Mosites Kelly has been promoted to Of Counsel status at Steptoe & Johnson in the firm’s Wheeling, W.Va., office. Kelly focuses her practice in the area of energy law, particularly in the area of titles for coal, oil, gas and other minerals. She has been at Steptoe & Johnson since 2010.
2006 Bethany Henry Adhikari began working at Highmark Inc. in Camp Hill, Pa., as a supervisor of medical policy in May 2014. Lindsey Geisel Asfur has joined the Sarasota office of RE/MAX Alliance Group. She specializes in residential and investment properties. Asfur joined the real estate field in 2013 and worked for Century 21 Beggins Enterprises. Previously, she was a legal assistant with Greene, Hamrick, Quinlan & Schermer, P.A. in Bradenton, Fla.
2007 Corey DiGiovanni opened Countryside Deli on Henderson Avenue in Washington, Pa., this past December. The business offers deli meats and cheeses, along with snacks and hot dishes. Catherine Fischer was named Jefferson-Morgan School District’s middle school and high school guidance counselor.
the International Domestic Litigation Firm of Cordell & Cordell, P.C. Tony Zanders has been appointed vice president of global customer development by EBSCO Information Services. In this role, Zanders will work to delve deeply into the needs and goals of a wide array of libraries as they relate to optimizing both front- and back-end software services. Zanders is the former director at Ex Libris and most recently served as head of communications and outreach at 4.0 Schools, an education innovation lab dedicated to improving the future of schools.
2008 Kaitlyn Orstein has been inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League’s Hall of Fame. Orstein, a swimmer, made All-American status 25 times at Mt. Lebanon. She won six PIAA titles and eight Division III championships while at W&J. Shelby Walburn was voted Hampshire County’s Catalyst of 2014. Walburn created a swim team during her first year as a science teacher at Hampshire High School in Romney, W.Va., and arranges everything from rides to dinner for the swimmers on her own. Her work in the pool and behind the scenes has opened doors that up until three years ago did not exist for student-athletes in Hampshire County.
Raul Sandoval Jr. was named the “Top Overall Attorney” for 2014 out of 170 attorneys within
2009 Zack Zebrasky has been hired as an elementary principal for Avella Area School District. Before becoming principal, Zebrasky was a high school social studies and science teacher and coach at Avella. Zebrasky spent two years in Washington School District as a long-term substitute before going to Avella.
2010 Mitch Conner has been hired as the new coordinator of athletic business operations at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D. Prior to joining Northern State Athletics, Conner worked as the director of basketball development and operations at the National Club Basketball Association, where he created, developed and operated a nationwide collegiate club basketball league of 26 teams. Conner was also the North Atlantic regional director of the National Club Baseball Association. Kimberly Ann Furmanek was sworn in as a lawyer in Greene County, Pa., and is working in family law. Adil M. Qarni received his M.D. degree from the University of Toledo College of Medicine on May 30, 2014. He continued his training with an anesthesiology residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
W&J alum awarded prestigious transportation fellowship Zoe Levenson ’14, a 2015 graduate of the master of information systems and management program at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College, was selected as the 2015 recipient of the Women in Transportation Fellowship. The fellowship is offered in partnership with Traffic21 and the T-SET University Transportation Center.
Levenson, who wants to become one of the future leaders in the transportation industry, has already done great work in her program by building a database for T-Set, the National USDOT University Transportation Center for Safety, conducting research with Dr. Sean Qian and the T-SET UTC Mobility Analytics Center, and even forming a Transportation Club on campus with a group of other students. In addition to her on-campus activities, Levenson recently joined the board of the Women Transportation Seminar, Pittsburgh Chapter. “I get to work with a group of women already working in
CREDIT: CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY’S HEINZ COLLEGE
“The Women in Transportation Fellowship is an opportunity for a student like Zoe to gain systemic exposure to the industry,” said Traffic21 Program Director Courtney Ehrlichman. “From research, funding, politics, she sees how Traffic21 partners with real world agencies and organizations to get the technology out of the university and onto our streets.”
the field to form a chapter of an international organization and learn how to incorporate a nonprofit,” said Levenson. “Not only am I developing a great network among these professional women, but I’m also flexing my leadership muscles by being the board secretary and understanding the importance of this role to keep a board moving forward.” Over the summer, Zoe completed an internship with Boeing, where she was able to gain an even deeper understanding of the technology and management of transportation. Zoe Levenson was awarded the 2015 Women in Transportation Fellowship.
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2011 Alexandra Cabonor graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law on May 8, 2015. While attending Pitt Law, Cabonor concentrated on the practice of family law and domestic relations. She joined the firm of Lisa Marie Vari & Associates, P.C. in Pittsburgh as a junior associate. Amanda Loutitt has been appointed as the borough manager in Heidelberg, Pa. Loutitt will help run the town’s daily operations. Katie Wieber was hired by the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) as the league’s director of membership services. Wieber will be responsible for membership, orientation, development and satisfaction, including event management for the league’s more than 290 members at division, regional and national championships around the country. The primary contact for the league’s men’s Division III Collegiate Club, women’s Division III varsity and men’s/women’s National Collegiate Club and CWPA Championships, Wieber will coordinate the league’s Hall of Fame ceremony, assisting in site selection, event planning and management. In addition, she will serve as the league’s primary marketing specialist. Corey Young joined the W&J Center for Energy Policy and Management as the shale gas program coordinator. Young’s duties include designing and implementing a business plan for the knowledge center about shale gas development, transmission, consumption and impacts. He will also be conducting research on a variety of energy-related topics. Most recently, Young was the director of grants and planning for TAPS Public Transit in Sherman, Texas.
2012 Crystal Clement accepted a position with Moody & Associates, Inc., an environmental contracting company, in Houston, Pa. She is currently an environmental technician working on a stream monitoring project. James Gralka joined the W&J Center for Energy Policy and Management as a web application developer. Gralka’s duties include designing and implementing a web application regarding shale gas development, programing the web-based components of the Shale Gas Knowledge Hub and developing web solutions for the center. Before his employment with W&J, Gralka was the plant supervisor for Joseph Labriola Sausage Company. Meghan Reed accepted a position as registrar with the Massillon Museum in Massillon, Ohio. She is responsible for record keeping and management of the permanent collection.
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WEDDINGS
2003 Matthew Scheller and Saki Kawakita were married Sept. 1, 2013, at Valley Brook Country Club in McMurray, Pa.
2005 Anthony Mahramus and Jeana Rifici ’09 were married July 12, 2014, at the Chapel at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. A reception followed at the Bertram Inn. Members of the bridal party included Aaron Kern, J.J. Lendl ’07 and Alyssa Mahramus ’09. Ushers included Drew Aloe ’09 and Andrew Herrick ’04. Steve Zitelli ’06, M.D., was a reader. Jeana is pursuing a nursing degree and working as a hospice service coordinator. Anthony is employed by the Adcom Group, an advertising agency, as a paid search specialist. The couple honeymooned in St. Lucia.
2006 Loren Cribbs and Adam Zdunek were united in marriage April 12, 2014, at St. James Church in Sewickley, Pa. A reception followed at the Edgeworth Club in Sewickley. Angela Henderson Hadfield ’08 was a bridesmaid. Other W&J alumni in attendance were Jaya Mehta, Art Pratt ’97, Sarah Scharding and Alan Torrance ’84.
2007 Hillary Smith and Chad Bennetts were married Aug. 16, 2014. The couple met in the MBA program at Emory University’s Goizeuta Business School. They reside in Denver, Colo., where Hillary is a manager in KPMG’s Economic and Valuation Services practice and Chad is a manager in Kaiser Permanente’s strategy management group. W&J alumni in the bridal party included Jamie Headrick Cowden ’05, Molly Moore Steehler and Sara Drischler ’06.
2008 Cristi Rae Knopsnider and Ryan Andrew Work were united in marriage Nov. 8, 2014, at Indian Creek Baptist Church in Mill Run, Pa.
2010 Douglas Edwards Jr. and Shanna McDonough ’12 were married Oct. 18, 2014, in Ligonier, Pa. The ceremony and reception took place at the Ligonier Country Inn. Alumni in attendance were Donnelle Jageman ’12, Alicia Stoyanoff ’12, Meghan Stoyanoff ’13, Tabatha Dorman, Aric Wendorff, Matt Needles ’12, Katilyn Mascatelli ’13, Kim Loughman ’13 and Donald Edwards ’84.
Mitchel Erdely and Kayla Pringle ’11 were married Dec. 27, 2014, at St. John the Baptist Parish in Perryopolis, Pa. A reception was held at the Willow Room in Belle Vernon, Pa. W&J alumni in the bridal party included James Cavalancia, Tyler Charles ’11, Christina Festa, Courtney Holdrieth ’11, Courtney Sherwin ’11 and Tessa Slifka ’12. Almost 50 W&J alumni were in attendance. The couple resides in Pittsburgh, Pa. Ashley Rund and Dean Saunders were married April 18, 2015. The couple met in their sophomore year at W&J. Matthew Nicholas Srnec and Amanda Marie Imperatore, daughter of Rick Imperatore ’88, were married at Duquesne University’s Chapel of the Holy Spirit on Sept. 20, 2014. A reception was held at Duquesne University’s Power Center Ballroom that evening. Members of the bridal party included Josh Imperatore ’16, Jim Pasquine and Zack Pattison ’09. Amanda is a senior accounting manager at Rice Energy in Canonsburg, Pa. Matthew, a
doctoral candidate at Duquesne University, plans to pursue a career as a college professor.
2011 Michelle Graminski and Andrew Strittmater were married Feb. 28, 2015, at The Hotel Monaco, Pittsburgh.
2013 Rosanna Tsatie and Vaughn Awelagte were married Oct. 22, 2014, in Albuquerque, N.M.
NEW ADDITIONS
1995 Michele Streppa Niklaus and her husband, Neal, welcomed their daughter, Eva, March 1, 2014.
1998 Jason Schmotzer and his wife, Krystal, welcomed their son, Orion Gerard, Nov. 12, 2014.
Christopher Nesensohn and his wife, Kristina Nesensohn, D.P.T., welcomed their second daughter, Danica Claire, April 2, 2015. She joins big sister Arianna. Tara Wilmus Smith and her husband, Jason, welcomed their son, Weston, Nov. 24, 2014. He joins big brother Cameron. Jonathan Flickinger and his wife, Jenna, welcomed their first child, Lydia Rose, Sept. 27, 2014.
2007 Mary Rae Walton Rocco and her husband, Derek, announce the birth of their daughter, Violet McKinley, Dec. 11, 2014.
2008 Jason Pierce and his wife, Lauren Parcells Pierce, announce the birth of their daughter, Taylor Olivia, Nov. 21, 2014. Beth Mihalik Ziegler and her husband, Jamie, welcomed their first child, Hannah June, Oct. 21, 2014.
2000
2009
Joel A. McClosky and his wife, Kristen, welcomed their daughter, Estella Grace, March 4, 2014.
Justin Swank and his wife, Jennifer, announce the birth of their daughter, Addison Lynn, May 18, 2014.
Michelle Martelli Ocheltree and her husband, Leif Ocheltree ’01, welcomed their daughter, June Kathleen, Dec. 19, 2014.
2001 Chris Mosley and his fiancée, Sydney Sabel, welcomed their son, Julian Ryan, born Feb. 14, 2015.
2005 Jay Ernst and his wife, Emily, welcomed their son, Brady, Feb. 7, 2015. Elizabeth Bucci Pahel, and her husband, James, announce the birth of their son, Carter, April 21, 2014.
IN MEMORIAM Melvin N. Morrow ’37, Carmel, Ind., died Sept. 20, 2009, at age 95. Mr. Morrow was an avid collector of John Wayne mementoes and commemorative American items. He also was a semi-professional photographer and served in the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant communications officer during World War II. Curtis E. Stermer ’40, Columbia, Pa., died Nov. 19, 2009, at age 92. Mr. Stermer was a teacher at Susquehannock High School in the Southern York County School District, Glen Rock, Pa.,
and held several administrative offices in the district. After his retirement in 1975, he enjoyed traveling and woodworking. Mr. Stermer served in the U.S. Army during World War II as a first sergeant with the 120th Evacuation Hospital. Cmdr. Donald Allison ’41, Sun City, Ariz., died March 15, 2015, at age 94. Cmdr. Allison was a naval aviator who served aboard the USS Denver and USS Cleveland. He was a pilot in the Berlin Airlift, a naval liaison officer, 5th Air Force Headquarters, in Seoul, Korea, and served on ComAirPac staff and aboard the USS Essex and USS Intrepid. Cmdr. Allison was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for service in the Solomon Island, Saipan and Guam incursions. His other commendations included the Air Medal with Silver Star and the Navy Commendation Medal, with a bronze V for Valor. G. Thomas Moore ’41, Lansdale, Pa., died Jan. 21, 2015, at age 97. Harry Taylor ’43, M.D., Woodstown, N.J., died Jan. 26, 2015, at age 94. He entered the U.S. Army in 1942 and attended medical school at Temple University. Upon graduating in 1945, Dr. Taylor began his residency in obstetrics and gynecology. For over 30 years, he practiced medicine in Salem, Pennsville and Wilmington, Del. He also taught residents at Wilmington General and was an associate professor at Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia. Dr. Taylor published articles and traveled the world, giving lectures and studying new medical practices. At age 90, he was honored with the first of several exhibits of his photographs taken during the Depression. The photographs are on permanent exhibit in the Zanesville Art Museum in Ohio. Robert C. Waltz ’43, M.D., Naples, Fla., died Feb. 28, 2015, at age 93. Dr. Waltz was a vascular and general surgeon in Cleveland, where he was a prominent member of the staff of Euclid General & Hillcrest Hospitals. Dr. Waltz advanced to become chief of staff and director of surgery at Euclid General Hospital and a member of the board of trustees. He was also a former chairman of the Ohio Committee on Trauma. Dr. Waltz had a passion for photography. His work was featured in several significant exhibits and he received numerous prestigious awards for his work. During the Korean War, Dr. Waltz served in the Army and was director and chief of surgery for U.S. soldiers at an Army hospital in Hokkaido, Japan. Ralph J. Ceisler ’45, Boca Raton, Fla., died March 16, 2013, at age 91. James P. Geiger ’47, M.D., San Francisco, Calif., died April 16, 2015, at age 89. Dr. Geiger earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He practiced medicine as a cardiothoracic surgeon at St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco and at Marin General Hospital in Marin County, Calif. Throughout his career, Dr. Geiger was dedicated to teaching young physicians the science and art of medicine. He also served in WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON COLLEGE
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an Emmy-nominated TV movie starring Bette Davis in 1982.
James P. Geiger, M.D., served as chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Allenby Lewis ’49, Lakeland, Fla., died Feb. 24, 2015, at age 97. After a career with Jessop Steel in Washington, Pa., Mr. Lewis retired to Florida in 1974. He was an avid golfer for more than 75 years. Mr. Lewis played football for W&J and was inducted into the Washington-Greene County Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army for 23 years where he received 13 awards and decorations, including the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct. Dr. Geiger served in Europe, the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam and across the U.S. His most notable post was as chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
John C. Chogich ’50, M.D., Berwyn, Pa., died March 9, 2015, at age 86. After graduating from Temple Medical School, Dr. Chogich completed a three-year tour in the U.S. Army, serving at Valley Forge Army Hospital in Korea and Japan. Upon his return to the U.S., Dr. Chogich joined a general practice in Chester, Pa. After nearly a decade in general practice, Dr. Chogich entered a residency program in radiology at Philadelphia General Hospital. The rest of his career was spent in the private practice of radiology.
William A. Kettlewell ’48, Shrewsbury, Mass., died Feb. 21, 2015, at age 91. Mr. Kettlewell worked as an insurance salesman at Aetna Life Insurance Company for over 30 years. He was a longtime member of the Worcester Country Club, where he had served as a past president. While residing in Shrewsbury, Mr. Kettlewell sat on various boards involved in the administration of the town. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Robert T. Oliphant ’48, Ph.D., Thousand Oaks, Calif., died June 28, 2014, at age 89. After earning his Ph.D. from Stanford, Dr. Oliphant worked as a college professor at California State University, Northridge for 36 years. His novel, “A Piano for Mrs. Cimino,” was made into
Steve Grammen ’50, Clearwater, Fla., died May 1, 2015, at age 89. Mr. Grammen was the owner of an accounting firm in Wheeling, W. Va. He taught accounting classes at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College. Mr. Grammen served in the Third Army under General George S. Patton during World War II and was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge for his skill and heroism. John K. Henderson ’50, Humble, Texas, died Dec. 21, 2014, at age 87. Following his graduation as a distinguished military cadet from the ROTC program at W&J, Mr.
Henderson was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army. As a forward observer on the front lines in combat in Korea, he received the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star with valor and the Presidential Unit Citation. Mr. Henderson then went on to command the Supply and Transport Battalion for the 25th Infantry Division in Cu Chi, Vietnam, the 37th Transportation Group in Kaiserslautern and the 4th Transportation Brigade in Oberusal, Germany. Mr. Henderson also served on the staff for the Department of the Army and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C. He retired as a colonel in 1978 from command of the New Orleans Army Terminal Port, accepted a civilian position in Houston and moved to Atascocita, Texas. John M. Kyle ’50, Washington, Pa., died Nov. 16, 2014, at age 88. Mr. Kyle was a communications consultant for Bell Telephone Company, where he retired after 30 years. He was a member of Bell Pioneers and a founding member of Hickory Rod and Gun Club. Mr. Kyle served in the U.S. Army during World War II as part of Patton’s Army. Robert N. Manson ’50, Greensburg, Pa., died Jan. 6, 2015, at age 89. A retired teacher, Mr. Manson taught biology at Bethel Park High School for more than 30 years. Mr. Manson served in the U.S. Army during World War II. J. Leroy Myers ’50, Mt. Lebanon, Pa., died Nov. 5, 2014, at age 87.
Robert M. Beavers Jr. (1944-2015)
Visionary businessman and devoted trustee Philanthropist and entrepreneur Robert M. Beavers Jr. ’65 died Aug. 18, 2015, at the age of 71. Mr. Beavers was the founder, chairman and CEO of Beavers Holdings, LLC, comprised of nine operating companies that provide a variety of goods and services to quick-serve restaurants and the casual dining industry. Previously, he worked for 37 years at McDonald’s Corporation, rising from a part-time crew employee to senior vice president and the first African-American elected to its board of directors. For several years during his career with McDonald’s, Mr. Beavers was responsible for more than 1,800 restaurants generating more than $2 billion in annual sales. Mr. Beavers was involved in numerous philanthropic and community organizations including the Chicago Zoological Society and Ronald McDonald House Charities, and has been awarded mayoral citations by the mayors of Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. Dedicated to the College and its students, Mr. Beavers was a member of the W&J Board of Trustees since 2007, most recently
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serving on the Property, Building & Grounds and Investment committees. He returned to campus frequently to impart his valuable knowledge and advice to students. Mr. Beavers received the College’s Distinguished Service Award—the highest honor bestowed on an alumnus—for his dedication and many years of service to W&J in 1993. He was also recognized in 2011 as Entrepreneur of the Year at the College’s annual Entrepreneurial Leadership Dinner celebration.
Bob Beavers, founder, chairman and CEO of Beavers Holdings, LLC, was a member of the W&J Board of Trustees since 2007.
Roderick Norris ’50, Mt. Washington, Pa., died Nov. 30, 2014, at age 85. Mr. Norris served two years in the U.S. Army in El Paso, Texas, in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1954. He began his legal career in Pittsburgh at Smith, Buchanan, Ingersoll, Rodewald & Eckert. Mr. Norris later became one of the founders of the Eckert Seamans law firm, structuring its partnership agreement. Mr. Norris left Eckert Seamans in 1984, finishing his career in private practice with offices in the Union Trust Building and then in the Frick Building. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Gerald E. Oliver ’50, Mt. Lebanon, Pa., died Oct. 13, 2014, at age 86. Mr. Oliver worked as the controller for WRS Motion Picture and Video Laboratory in Crafton, Pa. Mr. Oliver was a member of the Bethel Park Artist Guild. Charles P. Roland ’50, Hanover, Pa., died Dec. 29, 2014, at age 87. He was employed for many years by the Malcolm Spinning Company, the Revonah Spinning Mills and the Fred Whitaker Company as a sales manager. Active in the Boy Scouts of America, Mr. Roland served as a Cub Scout Cubmaster, Boy Scout Scoutmaster and Explorer Adviser. Mr. Roland served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and later in the Army Reserve. Paul N. Cooper Jr. ’51, M.D., Myrtle Beach, S.C., died Nov. 14, 2014, at age 85. Dr. Cooper earned his medical degree in 1955 at the Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia and completed his internship at McKeesport Hospital. He then fulfilled his military obligation serving as a Naval medical officer at Parris Island Marine Corps Training Depot. Dr. Cooper spent the next 11 years practicing family medicine in McKeesport, after which he completed his anesthesia residency at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh and graduated as chief resident. He then joined McKeesport Anesthesia Associates, where he went on to become a partner and later chairman. Dr. Cooper was a member of the American Medical Association. He was board certified as a Fellow of the American College of Anesthesia and as a Diplomat of the American Board of Anesthesia. David B. Raab ’51, M.D., Lancaster, Pa., died March 10, 2015, at age 85. Dr. Raab graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and worked as a general practitioner at Lancaster General Hospital for more than 40 years. In his retirement, he took mission trips to Jamaica and served on the TEAMS (teaching evangelism and medical services) Agency. Dr. Raab served in the 82nd Airborne of the U.S. Army in Fort Bragg, N.C. William Kyle Whitlock ’51, Mechanicsburg, Pa., died on April 10, 2015, at age 87. Over an accomplished 50-year career, Mr. Whitlock was a builder-developer initially located in Philadelphia. He built many developments, starting with
Allendale, then Fair Oaks, High Meadow, Hedgerow and Laurel Woods Hershey as well as Cedar Run apartments and numerous custom homes. Mr. Whitlock was a member of the Home Builders Association, New Cumberland River Rescue and the American Legion. He served as a navigator on the USS Coral Sea in the U.S. Navy. Karl Keffer III ’52, Forked River, N.J., died Feb. 14, 2015, at age 84. Mr. Keffer spent his entire career as an executive in the steel industry, first with Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel and then National Steel. After retirement, he and his sister operated the Bay Book Store in Forked River for over a decade. Mr. Keffer served as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps in Korea and remained active in the Reserves for a number of years following his tour of duty. David S. Ray ’52, Ph.D., Lewisburg, Pa., died March 2, 2015, at age 84. Dr. Ray was a mathematics professor at Bucknell University for more than 30 years. He served as the chairman of the mathematics department and as chairman of the faculty. Dr. Ray served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. William O. Doub ’53, Keedysville, Md., died Feb. 21, 2015, at age 83. Upon graduating from law school at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Mr. Doub began his career at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad law department and then moved to the law firm of Bartlett, Poe, and Clagget before becoming partner at Niles, Barton, and Wilmer, a prominent Baltimore law firm. Mr. Doub served as People’s Counsel for the state of Maryland from 1967 to 1968 and chairman of the Maryland Public Service Commission from 1968 to 1971. A pioneer in environmental and energy law, Mr. Doub was appointed by President Nixon as a commissioner to the United States Atomic Energy Commission in 1971 and served until 1974. Mr. Doub promoted a more modern and open administration of the agency, including compliance with the new National Environmental Policy Act. In 1974, Mr. Doub accepted a position as partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby, and MacRae, where he worked until 1977, when he founded his own law firm specializing in international energy affairs. Mr. Doub was well respected in the energy industry and was active on numerous boards and committees, including the United States
’53 William O. Doub, a pioneer in environmental and energy law, was appointed by President Nixon as a commissioner to the United States Atomic Energy Commission in 1971 and served until 1974.
Energy Association; the World Energy Board, where he was appointed a lifetime honorary vice chairman; the Middle East Institute; and the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation. Edward Cree Friedrichs ’53, Bent Tree, Ga., died April 8, 2014, at age 84. Mr. Friedrichs was employed by Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation for 37 years. In retirement, he was actively involved in Fellowship Presbyterian Church. Mr. Friedrichs served as an officer in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Stanley J. Jankowski ’53, Ph.D., Laguna Hills, Calif., died March 22, 2015, at age 86. Prior to his retirement, Dr. Jankowski worked as a research scientist at Astra Zeneca in Wilmington, Del., for 22 years. He found pleasure in his life-long passion of the arts, particularly music and film, and took a special interest in botany. Dr. Jankowski served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Harry D. Ferguson ’54, Bethel Park, Pa., died Jan. 31, 2015, at age 82. Mr. Ferguson was a lifetime member of Aliquippa Lodge No. 375 Free and Accepted Masons, Pittsburgh Consistory and the American Legion Post 760 of Bethel Park. He volunteered for many years at the South Hills Area YMCA, serving with various parent-child programs and on the executive board. Theodore G. Ford ’55, Lake Charles, La., died Nov. 23, 2014, at age 81. Prior to his retirement in 2001, Mr. Ford worked at PPG Industries. He began his career with PPG as a lab supervisor at the Natrium Petrochemical Plant in New Martinsville, W. Va., and then moved to Lake Charles, La., to serve as the lab supervisor at that facility in 1972. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 4562 and the Patriot Guard. While at W&J, Mr. Ford was the president of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and president of Chi Epsilon Mu, the chemistry honor society. He also participated in ROTC and the National Defense Transportation Coalition. John C. Jenkins ’55, Lackawanna, N.Y., died July 15, 2014, at age 81. Robert A. Simonin ’55, Washington, Pa., died Jan. 4, 2015, at age 81. In 1961, Mr. Simonin founded the Robert A. Simonin Agency Inc. in Canonsburg, a business he later partnered with his son. Mr. Simonin was an avid golfer, and, at the time of his death, was the longest living member of the Golf Club of Washington, Pa. He served on many advisory boards, including the local American Cancer Society. At W&J, he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Mr. Simonin served for five years as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. Donald L. Berry ’57, Pittsburgh, Pa., died Jan. 30, 2015, at age 79. Mr. Berry was employed as an engineer in the telecommunications
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industry. He was a member of Chartiers Hill United Presbyterian Church, where he was the church organist and choir director. He traveled extensively and performed volunteer work for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Vincent S. Franz Jr. ’57, Naples, Fla., died March 9, 2015, at age 81. Mr. Franz owned the Wilmer G. Engel Insurance Agency from 1965 to 1997. While at W&J, he was president of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Mr. Franz served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Wasp and USS Hornet during the Korean War. Joseph A. Galasso ’57, North Charleston, S.C., died Nov. 16, 2014, at age 84. Mr. Galasso was a writer for PPG Industries in Pittsburgh and for Westinghouse Electric Corporation where he served as a technical writer for over 35 years. He was an avid musician and played in several regional bands and orchestras. Mr. Galasso served as an aviation electronic technician in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. Lt. Col. Robert B. Campbell ’58, University Place, Wash., died Jan. 20, 2015, at age 98. Lt. Col. Campbell devoted much of his life to military service, beginning in 1940 as a private. His wartime assignments included New Guinea, where he rose through the ranks first as infantry platoon leader, then company commander and regimental staff officer. Lt. Col. Campbell also served as a member of the post-war occupying forces in Japan. Following the end of World War II, he served as assistant professor of military science & tactics at W&J and commanded the 1st Battle Group 8th Infantry at Fort Lewis, Wash. During the Korean War, he was advisor to the
’58 Lt. Col. Robert B. Campbell dedicated most of his life to military service, including acting as chief of intelligence at Fort Lewis. 27th Infantry Regiment of the 5th ROK Division. He served as army advisor during the Berlin Wall crisis and the Arab Israeli conflict. When Lt. Col. Campbell returned to the U.S., he became chief of intelligence at Fort Lewis and later became chief of staff of the Brigade. He had many decorations including the Combat Infantry Badge with star, the Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster and the Army Commendation Medal. During his retirement, Lt. Col. Campbell was an active member of the Tacoma Elks Lodge 174, Veterans of Foreign Wars and was commander of the Tacoma Chapter, Military Order of the World Wars. Robert Carmichael ’58, Denver, Colo., died Jan. 17, 2015, at age 78. Samuel R. Malcuria ’58, Geneva, N.Y., died April 17, 2015, at age 78. Mr. Malcuria and his brother operated Malcuria Brothers Motor Trucks and International Harvester Truck Dealers as well as Malcuria Brothers Dump Trucks, the largest fleet in New York. He was a member of Winnek Post #396 American Legion. After his retirement, Mr. Malcuria moved to Arizona for 15 years and enjoyed traveling around the Western states before moving back home to the East.
Vaughn W. Ritchey ’58, Finleyville, Pa., died Feb. 10, 2015, at age 83. Prior to his retirement, Mr. Ritchey worked as a social studies teacher and a driver’s education instructor in the Ringgold School District. He was a member of First Bethel United Methodist Church in Bethel Park, American Legion Post 613, Mingo Rod & Gun Club and the NRA. Mr. Ritchey served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Anthony F. Babicka Jr. ’60, Crown Point, Ind., died March 20, 2015, at age 77. Mr. Babicka was retired from management in the steel trucking industry. He was a longtime member of the American Legion and was former president of the Andrean Athletic Association. Mr. Babicka served in the U.S. Army during the Cuban Missile Crisis. William E. Sloka ’60, Greer, S.C., died Jan. 9, 2015, at age 76. Prior to his retirement, Mr. Sloka worked as a quality control engineer for 39 years at Union Carbide BP Amoco. He was a founding member of Prince of Peace Catholic Church, where he was a member of the Perpetual Adoration Guild of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Men’s Bible Study. Mr. Sloka served in the U.S. Army. Stephen Bromley Tily III ’60, Vero Beach, Fla., died Jan. 24, 2015, at age 77. Mr. Tily began his career in finance as vice president of Farmers Bank. In 1981, he started Delaware Charter Guarantee & Trust Company, which specialized in retirement plans offered through stock brokerage firms. He acted as chairman and CEO of the company, which is now known as Principal Trust Company. Mr. Tily served as a captain in the U.S. Army. William A. Mason ’61, Bloomfield, Conn., died July 13, 2012, at age 73. Mr. Mason worked as
Michael J. Kinslow (1964-2014)
Dedicated attorney and advocate for social justice Michael J. Kinslow ’86, an attorney who worked exceptionally hard to represent those who had been physically, emotionally and psychologically harmed by others, died on Dec. 26, 2014, at the age of 50 after a courageous battle with cancer. Since 2005, when Mr. Kinslow entered the practice of law in California, he mainly represented survivors of childhood sexual abuse. He was greatly inspired by Robert Kennedy’s call to dedicate ourselves “to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.” While in law school, when his passion to help fight for the rights of others was only just beginning, Mr. Kinslow brought together a coalition to address TRICARE’s (the U.S. Department of Defense’s health care system) treatment of disabled individuals, which led to the passing of positive legislative and regulatory changes. After becoming an attorney, Kinslow continued to represent disabled dependents of active duty and retired military personnel on a pro bono basis in cases involving the denial of life-sustaining medical
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and home nursing care benefits through TRICARE. Mr. Kinslow was deeply involved in the community. He served as vice president of the Canyon Democrats in Canyon, Calif. He was a delegate to the California Democratic Party State Conventions from 2011 to 2014. In 2014, Super Lawyers magazine honored Mr. Kinslow, selecting him as a “Rising Star” in Southern California. As a passionate and dedicated advocate of social justice, Mr. Kinslow and the great work he did will be remembered by many.
Michael Kinslow was a passionate attorney who fought for the rights of others.
Rochelle Tatrai-Ray (1968-2014) Respected leader and humanitarian Rochelle Tatrai-Ray ’90, a respected CEO and a tireless advocate for those in need, died on Dec. 18, 2014, at the age of 46. Ms. Tatrai-Ray graduated from W&J with honors and was a founding member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. After earning her master’s from Duquesne University, Ms. Tatrai-Ray, a licensed health therapist, became an instructor at Westmoreland County Community College, Carlow University and Duquesne University. She worked as the supervisor at Family Based Mental Health and then moved on to become program director for Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Services. After moving to Florida in 2003, Ms. Tatrai-Ray worked as the chief operating officer and later the CEO at Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services, a company that provides essential services to the community’s most needy and vulnerable populations. She helped grow the organization from $15 million to $40 million in annual revenues and services. A spokesperson and advocate for children’s health policies and mental health policies for all, Ms. Tatrai-Ray presented at various state, national and international conferences, including SAMHSA’s National GAINS conference, Creating Effective Services in Washington, D.C., and the Association of Jewish Family & Children’s Agencies International Conference in Montreal.
She most recently worked to obtain additional funding for Hernando County, Fla., to help troubled individuals find employment that would enable them to support their children. She successfully campaigned for the right to have Pasco County, Fla., provide services to unaccompanied children from Central America. She established a number of advisory boards to engage key stakeholders in advocacy efforts for the disadvantaged, including those with mental illness, refugees and the local Jewish community.
Rochelle Tatrai-Ray, CEO of Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services, dedicated her life to advocating for others.
Ms. Tatrai-Ray dedicated herself to advocating for others, and she will be remembered for her never-ending passion to change the lives of the children and families she worked with.
FRIENDS
a math instructor at A.I. Prince Technical High School for 28 years. He served in the U.S. Army for four years.
at the PA Memorial Home and McKinley Health Center. Dr. Lynch was an Eagle Scout, avid outdoor enthusiast and life-long learner.
Edward L. Good ’64, Mount Vernon, Wash., died March 27, 2015, at age 73.
Raymond W. Noonan ’75, Pawtucket, R.I., died Feb. 5, 2015, at age 62. Mr. Noonan received his juris doctor degree from the University of San Diego and practiced law in California for many years before relocating to Pawtucket, where he continued to practice law. He was a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association and the Pawtucket School Committee.
Elaine Hooven Blakemore, Nags Head, N.C., died Jan. 7, 2015, at age 90. Mrs. Blakemore pursued a career as a staff writer for “The Guiding Light” with Agnes Nixon and later became active in the thoroughbred breeding industry. She was named Alabama Thoroughbred Breeder of the year in 1991. Mrs. Blakemore was the widow of William S. Blakemore ’42, M.D.
Roger Kenney ’83, D.M.D., Franklin Park, Pa., died Feb. 21, 2015, at age 54. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, Dr. Kenney served patients in Pittsburgh and Vermont for more than 25 years.
Dorothy Louise Bowers, Washington, Pa., died April 12, 2015, at age 72. Mrs. Bowers taught in the McGuffey, Washington and Trinity school districts, from which she retired after 34 years. She was one of the first special education teachers in Washington County and was instrumental in starting a work-study program in the area. She is survived by her husband Charles Bowers ’64.
James E. Kronenfeld ’64, Etiwanda, Calif., died Dec. 1, 2014, at age 72. Akiyoshi Yamada ’64, Hallandale, Fla., died Nov. 28, 2014, at age 72. Jack D. Baer ’65, Pittsburgh, Pa., died Jan. 8, 2015, at age 76. Thomas E. Weyer ’67, Marshall, Va., died April 27, 2014, at age 69. Mr. Weyer spent his career working as an aviation consultant for both domestic and international airlines. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army during Vietnam. William R. Beyer ’71, Norristown, Pa., died April 29, 2015, at age 72. Before he retired, Mr. Beyer was a psychiatric aide at Norristown State Hospital. He was a member of Norristown New Life Mennonite Church. William J. Lynch ’71, D.O., Brookville, Pa., died Dec. 5, 2014, at age 65. Dr. Lynch received his medical degree from Des Moines College of Osteopathic Medicine and proceeded to devote his career to his patients. For 38 years, Dr. Lynch practiced medicine at Family Practice Associates. He was very proud to have served five years as director of emergency services at Brookville Hospital and 32 years as co-director
Gail Joyce Begley ’89, Claysville, Pa., died Jan. 28, 2015, at age 67. Mrs. Begley was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star since 1971 and was an avid sports fan of all Pittsburgh teams. Mrs. Begley was employed at W&J for many years as a payroll and benefits specialist and an accounting clerk. Brandi Jomai Kann Coburn ’96, New Haven, Conn., died Jan. 14, 2015, at age 40. Mrs. Coburn served as a missionary with Campus Crusade for Christ for 13 years in Providence, Asia and New Haven. She traveled extensively, loved children and served those in need. Christy Joyce Schmieler ’04, Allegheny Township, Pa., died Feb. 3, 2015, at age 33.
Lenore Baldwin Bristor, Washington, Pa., died Feb. 15, 2015, at age 104. Mrs. Bristor was a member of Faith United Presbyterian Church and was a volunteer for activities at Church of the Covenant in Washington. She was also a member of Order of the Eastern Star and leader of Rainbow Girls at the Masonic Lodge. Mrs. Bristor worked at W&J’s bookstore for 10 years. Romaine G. Duskey, Washington, Pa., died Nov. 11, 2014, at age 86. Mrs. Duskey worked as a switchboard operator for Bell Telephone WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON COLLEGE
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Company and later for W&J. She was a member of New Hope Church and Martha V. Paul Chapter 404 of the Order of the Eastern Star. Robert E. Fosnot, Peters Township, Pa., died Jan. 25, 2015, at age 76. Mr. Fosnot had a great passion for baseball and was a longtime coach in his community and at W&J. He enjoyed being a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates Booster Club and attending spring training in Sarasota, Fla. Aside from sports, Mr. Fosnot had an entrepreneurial spirit which led him to start his own company. Mary E. Fritz, Richland, Pa., died March 5, 2015, at age 53. Mrs. Fritz was a member of St. Benedict Catholic Church, where she taught and volunteered at the school. She is survived by her husband William T. Fritz ’82, M.D. Dean A. Hoehle, Yarmouth, Maine, died Nov. 25, 2014, at age 45. Mr. Hoehle held a love for reading and writing throughout his life. He attended W&J. Frank S. Komorowski, M.D., Bellevue, Ohio, died Nov. 26, 2014, at age 69. Dr. Komorowski had a long and successful career in obstetrics and gynecology. He began his residency at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, N.J., where he became the residency program director and held a clinical professorship at Hahnemann University (now Drexel). In 1990
Dr. Komorowski moved to Bellevue, where he re-established the obstetrical department at The Bellevue Hospital. He ran offices in Clyde, Tiffin and Bellevue and was instrumental in bringing laser surgery to and progressing laparoscopic surgery at The Bellevue Hospital. He is survived by his wife Mary Jean Wall ’78, M.D. Maynard J. Mansfield, Ph.D., Fort Wayne, Ind., died Feb. 8, 2015, at age 85. Dr. Mansfield received his doctorate in mathematics from Purdue University in 1956. He served as a math professor at W&J before joining the faculty at Purdue University in Fort Wayne in 1963. A founding member of the Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne faculty, he served as chair of the mathematics department and the computer science department and finally as dean of engineering and technology until his retirement in 1994. He received an honorary Doctor of Engineering from Purdue University in 1998. Dr. Mansfield enjoyed flying and golfing and was an Angel Flight pilot. Fedor R. Salva, Canonsburg, Pa., died March 28, 2015, at age 84. Mr. Salva served as a U.S. Naval officer for 24 years and was a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars. Following his retirement from the military, Mr. Salva worked as a physical plant director at Krannert Center at University of Illinois and later at W&J. He
was a longtime member of the Lions Club and enjoyed playing golf. Richard T. Stavig, Ph.D., Kalamazoo, Mich., died April 5, 2015, at age 87. Dr. Stavig taught at W&J for two years, after which he was appointed to the faculty at Kalamazoo College, where he spent the rest of his career. Dr. Stavig was a member of the English department, served as the first director of the foreign studies program and acted as dean of off-campus education, helping to define the goals of the program and establish study centers throughout Europe and Africa. John E. Yothers, Longs, S.C., died Nov. 16, 2014, at age 72. Mr. Yothers taught art in the Burgettstown, Pa., area schools and also as an adjunct professor at W&J. Zachary Jon Zatezalo, South Park, Pa., died Feb. 28, 2015, at age 22. He was employed with Ron Lewis Automotive in Waynesburg, Pa. Mr. Zatezalo attended W&J, where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta and played on the soccer team.
Michael S. Pettersen (1958-2015)
Beloved professor and Renaissance man
Dr. Pettersen harbored an interest in physics since he was a child, inspired by the How and Why Wonder Books about science. His interests drove his research in the field of surface science as well as his inspiration to build a harpsichord. Dr. Pettersen studied surface properties such as wetting (interaction between a liquid and a surface) and capillarization, especially at low temperature, and he had a special interest in the quantum properties of liquid helium. He conducted research with a team at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris and authored over 30 publications throughout his years as a dedicated academic. John Zimmerman, Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, said, “There were very few questions of physics of which Mike didn’t have some understanding. He was an impressive scientist, and had a true enthusiasm for education.”
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Beyond scholarship, Dr. Pettersen was a true Renaissance man. He sang with the Mendelssohn Choir for seven years and also recently sang with the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale for its performances of Brahms’ Requiem. He was a strong supporter of the W&J music program, and his passionate pursuit to build a harpsichord inspired him to develop a lab course in musical acoustics for non-physics majors at W&J. His love of music blended with his love of science demonstrated the true meaning of the liberal arts.
ED MOLINARI/NY DAILY NEWS ARCHIVE VIA GETTY IMAGES
Michael S. Pettersen, Ph.D., W&J’s Joseph A. Walker Endowed Professor of Physics, died on April 1, 2015, at the age of 56. Dr. Pettersen chaired the department of physics since joining the College in 2002. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University, where he earned his A.B. in physics before earning his doctorate in physics from the California Institute of Technology.
Michael Pettersen served as chair of the physics department since he joined the College in 2002.
Dr. Pettersen had a profound impact on the campus and inspired many students in his class who will continue to remember him as a beloved teacher and mentor.
WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON COLLEGE
HOMECOMING
& REUNION WEEKEND OCTOBER 9 & 10, 2015
Celebrating the reunions of the classes of: 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990 & 1995 We invite you to return home to your alma mater and your W&J family to relive your days at Jay! Register for the Chemistry of Beer Student Showcase, Welcome Reception & Dinner, Tailgate Lunch, Fifth Quarter and much more!
Register today at: www.jayconnected.com/homecoming WASHINGTON & JEFFERSON COLLEGE
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Washington & Jefferson College 60 South Lincoln Street Washington, Pennsylvania 15301-4801
A NEW CHAPTER On May 16th, Washington & Jefferson College celebrated its 216th Commencement ceremony, where nearly 300 Presidents joined the ranks of alumni. For more Commencement coverage, turn to page 4.
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