Alumni & Friends
LAS Alumni Information
Alumni Network
Class Notes 2013
Alumni from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences share their personal and professional updates.
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Send us your news by filling out our online form. Notes are posted chronologically by submission date. Obituaries are listed at the end.
Emily A. Renwick (BA ’05, MA ’07, political science), an associate at the law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, was recently appointed to the Women’s Empowerment Council for the Women’s Foundation of Colorado. She will work with other young professional women to help build resources for Colorado’s women and girls to be active and productive members of society.
Andrea Kramer (BA ’75, history), of Andie K Wearable Art, which donates all profits to charities that benefit women and children, received the Founder’s Award from the Alliance for Women of Chicago Bar Association. The award is given to “honor women lawyers who have significantly contributed to the advancement of women in the legal profession or other areas, and whose careers reflect the highest level of professional achievement, ethics, and excellence.”
Elaine Fuchs (BS ’72, chemistry) is a recipient of this year’s Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Medical Research Award in Cancer Research. She also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from
the American Skin Association. Additionally, Fuchs will receive the Kligman-Frost Leadership Award, which is the highest award for the Society of Investigative Dermatology. Fuchs’s lab investigates the molecular mechanisms of skin stem cells, how they make and repair tissues, and how cancers develop.
Todd Glassman (BS ’02, political science and history), a partner at the family law firm of Ladden & All, has been named a 2013 SuperLawyers Illinois Rising Star. He was first named a rising star in 2012. Glassman joined Ladden & Allen in 2007 as an associate attorney, and was promoted to partner in 2011.
Michael Harring (BA ’72, political science) was recently elected to the American Law Institute. The American Law Institute is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law. Mike is vice president and deputy general counsel of Deere & Company.
David Gordon (BS ’48, general curriculum) was awarded the Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur (French Legion of Honor) for his service in liberating France in World War II.
Jeffrey Roberg (MA ’91, PhD ’96, political science) co-authored the book Tourism in Northeasern Argentina: The Intersection of Human and Indigenous Rights with the Environment.
Paul Retzlaff (BS ’81, actuarial science) director and chief actuary, was recently named the interim head of the Life Division at Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance. He resides in Carmel, Ind., with his wife, Pam, and twin daughters, Lauren and Nicole.
Micah Reitz (BS ’01, biochemistry) was named a registrant of the National Registry of Certified Microbiologists. He became certified as a specialist microbiologist in pharmaceutical and medical device microbiology.
James Stinson (BA ’05, political science and speech communication), a financial representative with the McTigue Financial Group of Northwestern Mutual, has been appointed a field director. Since 2006 Stinson has been associated with the McTigue Financial Group.
Anne Reuss (BA ’11, English) was recently featured in a new publication from Mobility International USA, Find Your Career Path by Going Abroad. The book features 12 people with disabilities whose international experiences changed their careers and their lives.
John R.F. Baer (BA ’63, science and letters), leader of law firm of Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., has been named as a leading global lawyer in franchising. Mr. Baer is listed in Band 1, the highest possible ranking, in the 2013 edition of Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers for Business.
Jennifer Dahm (BS ’07, communication) has been promoted to vice president at Maslansky + Partners, a New York City-based strategic communications and consulting firm that focuses on language and messaging.
George Ripplinger (BA ’67, political science) has been reappointed to a fourth, three-year term as a Member of the Minimum Continuing Legal Education Board of the Illinois Supreme Court. Ripplinger is a managing partner of the law firm Ripplinger & Zimmer, LLC, of Belleville, Ill., and St. Louis, Mo.
Sharon Rossi (MA ’86, speech communication) was appointed as the new senior vice president and sector market leader for Phillips Consumer Lifestyle, North America. Rossi was also recently recognized as a 2012 executive Woman Worth Watching by Diversity Magazine, and was honored by the Griffin Report as a 2011 Woman of Influence.
Michael R. Lied (BS ’75, psychology) joined the list of people on the Illinois Super Lawyers list in the category of Employment Litigation: Defense.
Tiffany L. Carpenter (BA ’04, economics and political science) was recently named to the list of Illinois Rising Stars in the category of Business Litigation.
Gregory L. Skuta (BS ’77, psychology) was recently elected as president-elect of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He will serve as president-elect in 2013 and as president in 2014.
John W. Vires (BS ’89, economics), CFA, CFP, has been named chief investment officer of the Trust Company of Illinois by the firm’s board of directors. Vires is a partner of TCI and the Wheaton City Treasurer. He is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago, the Fox Valley and DuPage Estate Planning Councils, and the Wheaton Lions Club.
Stephen Miller (MS ’72, PhD ’74, chemistry), senior consulting scientist and Chevron Fellow at Chevron, was recently awarded his 200th U.S. Patent, one of only a few scientists in the petroleum industry to reach that mark. Among his inventions is technology that is used to make the most of the world’s premium motor oil.
Michael Kick (BA ’80, philosophy) was recently elected Chief Judge of the 21st Judicial Circuit, presiding in Kankakee, Ill.
Obituaries
Arvarh E. Strickland (PhD ’62, history) died on May 1. He was one of the first two African Americans to earn a doctorate in history at Illinois, the first black faculty member at University of Missouri-Columbia, and the first black president of Phi Alpha Theta, the professional fraternity for historians. He was a professor emeritus of history at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In 1997, he received an Alumni Achievement Award from the College of LAS.
Tamise Van Pelt (PhD ’94, English) passed away on January 18. She was an assistant professor of English at Idaho State University.
James F. McDivitt (MS ’51, PhD ’54, geology) passed away on July 26 in Los Barriles, Mexico.
Clayton Dawson passed away at home in Atlantic Beach, Fla., on February 19, 2013. He was head of the University of Illinois Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures (1966-1976) and a professor of Russian until he retired in 1988.
Milton Sanderson, 102, of Lewistown, Pa., formerly of Urbana, passed away on December 12, 2012. He was a faculty member in entomology from 1942-1976.
Elizabeth (Betty) Stout Ehman (BS ’39, psychology) passed away on January 4, 2013, at the age of 95 in Marquette, Mich. She was a member of the Delta Gamma sorority, and the Psi Chi honorary sorority.
Bart Schmidt (BS ’72, biology) passed away on January 18, 2013, in Estes Park, Colo. He practiced optometry in Naperville, Ill., until he retired to Estes Park in 1997.