Class Notes
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Your classmates want to know about — and see — the milestones in your life. Send us news about weddings, births, new jobs, new publications, and more — along with hi-res photos — to: Alumni News & Notes, UConn Foundation, 2384 Alumni Drive, Unit 3053, Storrs, CT 06269.
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Michael Wallace Gordon ’57 (BUS), ’63 JD writes that he would enjoy hearing from other UConn alums from the 1950s. He reports that he retired in 2007 as both the Dasburg Professor of Law at the University of Florida and the Distinguished Fulbright Professor of International Law at Universidade Catholica Portuguesa in Lisbon. At the age of 74, he built a drift boat, went to Wyoming, and became a professional fly-fishing guide. He lives in St. Augustine, Fla., in the winter and Montana and Wyoming during the summer. In his spare time, he has written the first 11 of the Macduff Brooks Fly Fishing Mysteries. Writing as M.W. Gordon, his first novel of the series, “Deadly Drifts,” won Book of the Year and Best Suspense/Thriller of the Year in the Royal Palm awards from the Florida Writers Association.
Ray Olderman ’62 (CLAS), ’64 MA, of Madison, Wisc., and his wife, Star Schechter Olderman ’64 (CLAS), celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary in January. He reports that he became a teaching assistant upon graduating from UConn and then an instructor at UConn Waterbury in 1965. He recently published a memoir called “Good as a Girl.”
Helen Cabaniss Brown ’63 (NURS), Allison Clarke Harper ’63 (NURS), and Grace Fleet Bates ’63 (NURS) held a reunion this summer at the Martha’s Vineyard cottage where many of their classmates vacationed. She says a number of them got jobs at the little hospital there during the first summer after graduation.
David R. Goldfarb ’65 (BUS) reports that he has had a long career at the Connecticut Hospice, Inc., rising in the ranks from chief accountant to chief financial officer. At the same time, he took on various positions at his synagogue and is currently the “Gabbai” or sexton, a position he has held for 24 years. In June 2018, he received the Henry M. Zachs Spirit of Judaism Award from the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford for his contributions to the greater Hartford community. He credits his education at UConn for allowing him to commit the resources he learned for the betterment of humanity.
Richard Sohn ’69 (CLAS), ’76 Ph.D. is one of several editors of the newly published book “Quantum Field Theory: Lectures of Sidney Coleman.”
Alan Srebnick ’71 (BUS) and his wife Carole took a 10-day hiking trek through the Peruvian Andes to the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu. He said he found the Incan history and culture fascinating and the people lovely and gentle.
Jane Keddy ’71 (CLAS) recently published a memoir, “Serial Monogamy: An illustrated memoir.” The story opens in a classroom at UConn in 1968 and continues with her experiences in the Urban Semester Program run by Mike Wogan.
Judy Barlin ’73 (CLAS), of Miami, Fla., received the first Sandra C. Raymond Advocate of the Year Award at the Lupus Foundation of America 2019 National Lupus Advocacy Summit. Judy, along with her husband Wayne ’73 (BUS), has dedicated countless hours advocating for families impacted by lupus and has given and raised millions of dollars to ensure the needs of children with lupus are recognized in research. Judy is a member of the Foundation’s National Board of Directors and chairs the Board’s Advocacy and Government Relations Committee. Her son, Michael, lost his life to lupus at the age of 24.
UConn Trustee Philip Rubin ’74 MA, ’76 Ph.D., of Fairfield, Conn., CEO emeritus and board member at Haskins Laboratories and adjunct professor in the Department of Surgery, Otolaryngology at Yale University School of Medicine, has been named to serve as a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Challenges for International Scientific Partnerships (CISP) Large-Scale Science Working Group. The research goal of CISP is to assess the challenges and opportunities presented by evolving trends in society, as well as changes in the types and structures of international science partnerships.
Harold Haldeman ’74 JD, a veteran naval officer and family law attorney, was made partner at the Law Offices of Edward Nusbaum, a Westport-based family law practice. He lives in Fairfield, Conn.
Bill Hendricks ’75 (BUS) reports that he was recently appointed director, branch control officer at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. in Los Angeles, Calif. He has more than 30 years of experience in the securities industry, holding management positions for Wells Fargo Advisors, UBS, and Paine Webber.
Thomas Welsh ’75 (CLAS), ’80 JD has been appointed general counsel of Nippon Steel & Sumikin Bussan Americas, Inc.
Tom Ingrassia ’75 MA was recently honored for his book “Reflections of A Love Supreme: Motown Through the Eyes of Fans,” by the National Association of Book Entrepreneurs with its Pinnacle Award as Best Musical History Book of the Year. This is the second award for the book, which was named Best Music Book by the National Indie Excellence Awards. Ingrassia’s first book, “One Door Closes: Overcoming Adversity by Following Your Dreams,” is currently being adapted as a documentary film due out in late 2019. Ingrassia is also the host of “The Motown Jukebox” on WCUW 91.3 FM in Worcester, Mass.
Bongi Magubane ’77 (CLAS) of Hartford, Conn., a former information-technology executive at Aetna, was sworn in as the new Connecticut Commissioner of Motor Vehicles in March. Magubane, who was born in South Africa, built a long career as an information technology specialist. Prior to Aetna, she was a consultant for the information technology company Keane and, before that, at Cigna. , Mass.
Diane Lee Baron ‘77 (CLAS) is a teacher of the visually impaired in Montgomery County, Md. She has worked in the fields of multiple disabilities and/or visual impairment for 43 years. Her contemporary comedy/romance novel, “Gal Wonder,” was published in 2017. Her interview book, “The Fandom Fifty,” about people involved in the Maryland/D.C. science fiction community, will debut in July.
Kevin Baldwin ’81 (CLAS), of Hebron, Conn, has been named president of the American College of Financial Services Alumni Association. Baldwin co-founded and is managing director of B&L Financial Architects.
James T. Healey, Jr. ’82 (BUS) is the new president of the Connecticut State Golf Association.
Novant Health named Mark J. King ’83 (CAHNR) vice president of research and innovation in March. He previously served as assistant vice president of research administration at Atrium Health, where he oversaw clinical trials and research operations.
Robert J. Smith ’83 6th Year, ’86 Ph.D. was honored by The Woodstock Academy in Woodstock, Conn., with the installation of his portrait in the school library, the first such recognition of a faculty member by the school. He is a faculty emeritus of the academy, his 30 years as English Department chair the longest such tenure in school history, and his dissertation on the school’s role as a town academy was recognized by a lifetime trustee appointment as academy historian. He also recently published “A History of The Woodstock Academy, 1801—2016.”
David Samuels ’83 (BUS) received the National Outstanding Eagle Scout Award (NOESA) by the National Eagle Scout Association (NESA). The March 2019 reception was held at the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Va.
Steve Patten ’85 (CLAS) has been awarded the National Association of Realtors National Commercial Award in recognition of his professional achievements in commercial real estate.
Susan Cragin ’76 (CLAS), ’86 (CLAS) was elected Merrimack County (New Hampshire) Registrar of Deeds for a term that began January 2019.
Barbara T. Burke ’87 MS has joined the law firm Carlton Fields as a nursing consultant in the Hartford office. She is a member of the firm’s mass tort and product liability practice group.
Alison L. Clarke ’88 MBA of Norwalk, Conn., recently established ALC Health Plans, an insurance agency with an emphasis on Medicare-eligible individuals and health plans for individuals and small employer groups.
C.J. Karamargin ’89 (CLAS) has been named deputy state director for U.S. Sen. Martha McSally of Arizona. He served as the senator’s district director when she was in the House of Representatives and as communications director for U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Karamargin is a former reporter and editor whose father, John ’54 MA, aunt, Felia ’49 (NUR), and uncle, Michael ’57 (CLAS), ’71 Ph.D., also hold UConn degrees.
Jacqueline McLean ’92 MSW was a featured guest on the 6th annual NightSide with Dan Rea show on nonprofits on WBZ-AM radio in Boston recently. Jacqueline is co-founder of NFL Speaks, a nonprofit charitable organization. NFL Speaks’ mission is to develop, recruit, and maintain a highly skilled national network of behavioral health professionals to offer a model of care that responds to the unique mental health needs of retired professional football players and other professional athletes and to reduce the stigma that perpetuates the silent crisis of men’s mental health.
Jeff Rossi ’93 (BUS) recently was named national partner in charge of manufacturing and distribution practice at CohnReznick LLP and office managing partner for the firm’s Hartford and Stamford offices.
Conway Campbell ’93 (CLAS) has been named to a new position of vice president for student success at Assumption College in Worcester. He will focus on student achievement across the college’s many departments and divisions.
Daniel Johnson ’94 MS has been promoted to associate at Dewberry, a privately held professional services firm. Johnson, who works in the firm’s Boston office, serves as a project manager in the structural engineering department.
Rob Carolla ’94 (CLAS) reports that he and several UConn alumni, including (right, from left) Sherrie (Medeiros) Muncy ’91 (CLAS), Carolla, Bob Studley ’94 (CLAS), ’99 MA, Tod Levesh ’97 (CLAS), Geoff Bushman ’96 (CLAS), Kyle Muncy ’92 (CLAS), and Tammy (Garr) Donovan ’91 (CLAS), reunited as part of the media coordination team when UConn hosted the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship first and second rounds in Hartford. All had been undergraduate student workers for the UConn Athletics Communications staff: (left, from left, back row) Studley, Levesh, Bushman, Carolla, Andrew Prince ’85 (BUS); (from left, front row) Jim Waldinger ’94 (CLAS), Medeiros Muncy, Luanne (Pudlo) Dunstan, Mike Lanza ’83 (CLAS), ’86 JD.
Kevin S. Fox ’95 (CLAS) has been selected as one of the 2019 National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellows in recognition of his commitment to geography education. Kevin recently returned from a 10-day expedition on the National Geographic Explorer to enhance his geographic knowledge of Arctic Svalbard.
C. Taylor Leigh ’97 (BGS) has opened a private practice in divorce mediation and integrative life coaching at The Center for Divorce and Healing in Southington, Conn. She has worked with families in transition through divorce professionally for more than 25 years.
Kim S. Johnson ’98 (CLAS) is director of marketing for a not-for-profit called Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. In her role, Kim directs all aspects of digital and traditional marketing to support the organization and the nine social enterprise businesses it operates. Homeboy Industries seeks to provide free services and job training to former gang members and previously incarcerated men and women, allowing them to redirect their lives and become contributing members of the community. After attending UConn, Kim received her MBA from The College of William & Mary.
Simone Morris ’98 MBA, CEO of Simone Morris Enterprises, published her first book, “Achievement Unlocked: Strategies to Set Goals and Manifest Them.” Her company was recently certified as a minority and woman business enterprise
Spencer Cerruto ’00 (BGS) has been named chief of police of the New Milford Police Department. He has 32 years of police experience and a community policing philosophy. He is an adjunct professor of criminal justice at Post University and Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, Conn.
Raghu Savalgi ’00 MBA, with his wife Vani and son Praveen, started the SPLAR Foundation and Savalgi Nutritional Center, which provides protein-rich powder for children to mix into their drinks, and Savalgi Creative Innovation, a center for education in business management and information technology.
Michael Boecherer ’00 (CLAS), ’02 MA has a Ph.D. from Stony Brook University and just earned the title of full professor of English at Suffolk County Community College in Riverhead, N.Y., after 12 years of service.
Amanda Bundock-Simjian ’01 (CLAS) received the Wallingford Education Foundation’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
Clyde Tinnen ’01 MBA has joined Foley & Lardner LLP’s Business Law Department and Transactions Practice Group as a partner in the Milwaukee office. He is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Wisconsin African-American Lawyers Association, the Chicago Black Partners Alliance, and the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and volunteers with the Waukesha Teen Court Program. He was named one of Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Black Lawyers in 2015 and 2018.
Jackie Burns ’02 (SFA) starred as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in “Wicked the Musical” at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre.
Craig Orski ’03 (BUS), a former UConn men’s swimming and diving team captain and CNBC’s VP, Finance & Strategy and Seth Harris ’06 (CLAS), Senior Director of Audience Growth & Partnerships, were among a group recognized for their work at CNBC and their support of Financial Literacy Month by ringing the NASDAQ opening bell in March.
Jon Dahlquist ’03 (ED), ’05 MA has been named the first dean of wellness and athletics at East Catholic High School in Manchester, Conn. Dahlquist previously served as associate athletic director for Towson University in Maryland and director of football operations at UConn.
Courtney Lundgren Connors ’04 (BUS) was the Grand Marshal of this year’s Greater New Haven St. Patrick’s Day Parade. From Hamden, Conn., she remembers watching her father marching in the parade as a New Haven firefighter. An assistant controller at Yale, she also runs Courtney Connors Events, has three children, and has been involved in the parade committee for years.
Grace Festa ’04 (CLAS), business development manager at the Greater Richmond (Va.) Partnership, Inc., has earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer. She coordinates the Business First Greater Richmond program, which assists local economic development offices in expansions and retention.
David J. Rotatori ’04 MBA has been named CEO of Ion Bank. He lives in Naugatuck, Conn., with his wife, Pam, and daughters Cara, Mia, and Alena.
Jennifer (Mitrano) Huntington, ’05 (PHARM), ’07 Pharm.D., and her husband, Daniel Huntington ’04 (CLAS), announce that their son, Ryan Daniel Huntington, was born in April 2018. He joins big sisters Ella and Avery.