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LAS Alumni Information
Alumni Network
Class Notes 2011
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.
Andrewe Johnson (AB ’92, history and rhetoric) has formed a new law firm, Johnson & Johnson, P.C., with offices in Lewistown and Canton, Ill., engaging in the general practice of law, including personal injury, workers’
compensation, criminal defense, civil litigation, collections, real estate, and municipal law.
Andrew J. Abrams (AB ’97, political science and history) has been elected a member of the Chicago law firm Boodell & Domanskis, LLC. Abrams concentrates his practice in the banking field, including workout and restructuring transactions, enforcement actions, commercial lending, insolvency, and commercial litigation.
Gregory Sledd (AB ’73, history) published Summer Never Comes, a novel taking place in Champaign-Urbana in the early 1970s, the days good rock ’n’ roll, bellbottoms, long hair, beards and sideburns, cheap beer, protesting against the Vietnam War, and finding ourselves. In the book, undergrad Paul Roberts is assigned to research the anti-war demonstrators for the campus newspaper. Through autumn and winter, he discovers the Champaign-Urbana peace movement includes not only resolute, naive, draft-age teenagers, but is controlled by bullies, subversives, and treachery. When Nixon escalates in ’Nam and University of Illinois students protest, Paul’s choice is exposing a conspiracy of concealing the truth. The novel is now available on Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Apple iPad, and Amazon CreateSpace.
Carol Mizrahi’s (AM ’69, English; AM ’71, teaching of English as a secondary language; PhD ’79, education) seriocomic novel, Coming of Age...AGAIN, is available for purchase on Amazon.com. It is the story of four women of a “certain age” whose well-planned lives are falling apart. With the support of good friends, a bit of moxie, humor, wisdom, and a weekly mahjongg game, they prove that “coming of age” can happen more than once. Readers call Coming of Age...AGAIN an “intelligent woman’s novel" and advise you not to read it in public. People will interrupt to ask you why you’re laughing.
Dave Jareo (BS ’56, teaching of social studies) presented “Winning our Second Independence” to a class of seniors sponsored by Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. It concerned how the Navy beginning in 1794 built six frigates that, on a one-to-one basis, was able to tame to some degree the British by 1815, then subdue the Barbary Pirates by 1816.
William Olson’s (BS ’96, psychology) second edition of his novel, Right on Time, has been published by Pelican Books to the iTunes iBookstore.
Philip W. Chapman (AB ’74, psychology) recently released his audio book entitled A Christian Field Guide to the Military through cdbaby. Rev. Chapman offers inspirational messages for American service personnel, veterans, and their families.
Therese Rowley (AB ’78, psychology) was featured in the November issue of Michigan Avenue Magazine. Through intuitive consulting, she has spent years counseling clients on how to achieve dramatic and transformative results in their business and personal lives.
Stephanie K. (Brown) Bowman (AB ’97, political science) was appointed a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the southern district of Ohio. She began serving an eight-year term on October 29, 2010.
Ryan Legue (LAS attendee, ’01) was promoted to vice president of sales and marketing at Las Vegas-based video and event production company, DAV Productions. Legue has led the DAV Productions sales team since 2002.
James R. Rowader Jr. (AB ’87, political science) was recently appointed to the Hispanic National Bar Association Legal Defense Fund’s Board of Directors. This organization is dedicated to promoting and facilitating educational programs, exposing underrepresented students and professionals to the benefits and opportunities in the legal profession, providing scholarship and financial support to individuals from underrepresented communities to pursue legal careers, and supporting the charitable and education mission of the Hispanic National Bar Association. He is currently vice president and general counsel, employee and labor relations, at Target.
Theresa Kaminski (PhD ’92, history) published her second book, Citizen of Empire: Ethel Thomas Herold, an American in the Philippines this summer by the University of Tennessee Press for its Legacies of War series.
Robert Gaynes, (BS ’75, biology) MD, professor of medicine (infectious diseases) just published a book, Germ Theory: Medical Pioneers in Infectious Diseases (American Society of Microbiology Press, Washington, D.C., 2011).
Robert Stamps (AB ’72, political science) won first prize in the North Carolina State Bar’s 2011 Annual Fiction Writing Competition. “Blackbeard’s Last Raid” is a swashbuckling tale of daring on the high seas published in the Fall 2011 NC Bar Journal. Stamps lives in Arlington, Va., and consults with small businesses on federal contracts and grants.
Lisa D. Duran (AB ’75, political science; AM ’79, teaching of English as a second language), a partner in the Phoenix office of the national law firm Quarles & Brady LLP, was elected to the UMOM New Day Centers’ board of directors. UMOM is the largest homeless shelter for families in Arizona. Duran practices in the areas of commercial litigation, international business law, and immigration law.
Mitchell Waldman (BS ’79, psychology) published a collection of 16 short stories, Petty Offenses and Crimes of the Heart, in August with Wind Publications.
Jeffrey M. Schwartz (AB ’89, political science) recently joined Chicago midsize law firm Much Shelist as a principal in the Creditors’ Rights, Insolvency & Bankruptcy practice group. Schwartz focuses his practice on the representation of secured and unsecured creditors in business reorganizations under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code and in out-of-court restructurings.
Laura Ortoleva (BS ’77, psychology; MS ’79, advertising) was recently honored with the Distinguished Achievement Award during RE/MAX’s annual awards ceremony for her dedicated service the past 20 years. As the network’s communications strategist, Ortoleva’s goal has been to increase RE/MAX brand name awareness in northern Illinois.
Frederick Maier (BS ’79, ecology, ethology, and evolution), environmental services coordinator for the Village of Itasca, has announced his retirement, which will begin on September 7, 2011. Maier served as the director of the village, operated Spring Brook Nature Center from its inception in 1979 through 2008, when he was made environmental services coordinator for the village.
Craig Hansen (AB ’76, political science; AM ’80, English) recently published The Skeleton Train, his first novel. Combining adventure, poignancy, and humor, The Skeleton Train tells the story of an alienated but resourceful young man who undertakes a quest to find a mysterious missing girl.
Lance Taylor (AB ’71, history) has been speaking at seminars and meetings about aspects of elder law and estate planning, which, along with real estate, are the areas of concentration of his law office in Oak Park, Ill.
Robert Kline (MS ’81, microbiology), president and CEO of Medivance, received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 Mountain Desert Award in the Health Care and Life Sciences category. The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in areas such as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.
John Gaudio (BS ’67, MS ’68, mathematics) has retired as professor of mathematics after 43 years teaching at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Ill.
Gene Wurth (AB ’73, English) was recently hired as the executive director of the American Dental Association Foundation. Wurth most recently served as president and CEO of the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, which raised more than $150 million for research and education during his 11-year tenure. He served as assistant dean for development of alumni programs at the University of Illinois College of Law, and served as president and CEO of Provena Covenant Medical Center Foundation in Urbana, Ill.
Nannette Castañeda Fosen (AB '91, sociology) was elected in June as the president of the McLean County, Ill., Bar Association. She is currently employed at State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company as counsel.
Kim Robinson (AB ’82, political science) is president of Frontline Public Strategies in Springfield, Ill., which was ranked 85th in the 2011 Inner City 100 list of the fastest-growing inner city companies in the U.S., released by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and Fortune Magazine. The Inner City 100 program recognizes successful inner city companies and their CEOs as role models for entrepreneurship, innovative business practices, and job creation in America’s urban communities.
John R. Bailen (BS ’73, MS ’75 biology) was awarded a Board of Governors Award by the Illinois State Bar Association at its annual meeting for service to the association. He is an attorney at Bruce Farrel Dorn and Assoc. in Chicago.
Bethany Snyder-Morse (AB ’03, Spanish; BS ’03, advertising) gave birth to her fourth child, William Michael Morse, on April 11, 2011, in Elk Grove Village, Ill. He was 9 lbs. 6 oz and 21 inches and joins siblings James (4), Julia (3), and Charles (1).
Robert Karton (attendee in psychology, history, and political science from 1958-1961) has been elected president of the Union League Club of Chicago, America’s number one city club, according to a recent independent survey of 6,000 club managers, presidents, and directors. It owns one of the nation’s largest privately held art collections with more than 700 pieces of Midwestern and American fine art. A colonel in the Civil Air Patrol, the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, Karton serves as commander of the Civil Air Patrol’s Great Lakes Region. Karton is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association’s standing committee on Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission; and the Chicago Bar Association’s professional responsibility committee and is a member of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers. He is admitted to practice law in Illinois and Florida; the U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. District Court (trial bar) in numerous districts; U.S. Tax Court, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit.
David Guthman (BS ’84, physiology) and Shana Bear Guthman (College of Media, 1985) are proud of their first son, Ethan, who will be attending U of I in the fall in the class of 2015.
Meghan M. Freund (BS ’05, molecular and cellular biology) is among 62 new physicians who graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in May. She will enter an obstetrics and gynecology residency at St. Louis University School of Medicine in July.
Hugh Fox (PhD ’58, English) released Through the Glass Darkly on Sunbury Press, a compilation of 22 short stories. Fox, one of the founders of the Pushcart Prize for literature, has also been published in numerous literary magazines and was the first writer to publish a critical study of American poet, novelist, and short story writer Charles Bukowski.
Stephen Parrish’s (AB ’42, general curriculum) debut novel, The Tavernier Stones, won an Independent Publisher gold medal in May. In June, Kindle Nation is sponsoring the novel as “Ebook of the Day.”
Carey Allen Weiss (BS ’74, biology), MD, FACR, was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Radiology (ACR) at 88th ACR Annual Meeting and Chapter Leadership conference in Washington, D.C., in May. Weiss is a senior attending radiologist at Mercy Hospital and a clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois. He is a member of the ACR and the Radiological Society of North America. Weiss received his medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Joyce Fay Fletcher (AM ’83, English) won the 2011 Silver Medal for Mid-Atlantic Regional Fiction in the Independent Publisher Book Competition for her novel,The Library. Her book is also included on Detroit Public Library’s 2011 African American Booklist. The Library explores how ordinary people sometimes become homeless in the nation’s capital, and how their lives intertwine and conflict with library workers. Fletcher once worked as a public librarian and is now a middle school librarian in Northern Virginia.
Steven W. Day (BS ’99, AM ’03, psychology) has joined the Cleveland law firm Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP as an associate in the employee benefits and executive compensation group. Day is a member of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and is involved with its Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts program. He is also involved in providing pro bono legal services through the Legal Aid Society.
Marty Bonick (BS ’95, psychology) president and CEO of Jewish Hospital Medical Campus in Louisville, Ky., has received the American College of Healthcare Executives Early Career Healthcare Executive Regent’s Award. Prior to joining Jewish Hospital, he served as CEO of Oklahoma State University Medical Center in Tulsa. He is board certified in healthcare management as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Paul Nick (AB ’87, economics) has been hired as the Ohio Ethics Commission’s executive director. Nick has served as the interim executive director since January and has been the commission’s chief investigative attorney since 2000. He joined the commission in 1995 as investigative counsel.
Stanley A. Rice (PhD ’87, plant biology) published his third book, Life of Earth: Portrait of a Beautiful, Middle-Aged, Stressed-Out World, released by Prometheus Books. Reviewers have considered it an entertaining Earth-centered story about the evolution of Earth, with a focus on the role of humans.
Tom Guebert (BS ’69, teaching of math), a COUNTRY financial agency manager, has earned a position on the insurance group’s distinguished All American team. This is the twentieth time he has been named an All American. The distinction is awarded each year by COUNTRY to those who have excelled in identifying insurance products and financial solutions that fit the needs of their clients.
George Ripplinger (AB ’67, political science), principal of the law firm Ripplinger and Zimmer LLC, has been elected to fellowship in the Litigation Counsel of America, a trial lawyer honorary society. The Litigation Counsel of America is composed of less than one-half of one percent of American lawyers; fellows are selected based on effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation, both at the trial and appellate levels, and superior ethical reputation. Ripplinger focuses on injury, wrongful death, and legal, medical, and other professional malpractice cases in Illinois and Missouri.
Kris M. (Hurt) Clements (BS ’97, biology) completed her master’s degree in veterinary clinical medicine at the U of I College of Veterinary Medicine in the spring of 2011.
Neil Leroux (AM ’85, PhD ’90, speech communication) received the University of Minnesota Morris Faculty Research Award. This award recognizes sustained research over the course of a faculty member’s career. Since graduate school, Leroux has been researching the rhetoric of Martin Luther. Leroux is currently a professor of communication, media, and rhetoric as the University of Minnesota.
Bryan Meeker (BS ’09, integrative biology) is currently serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Meeker serves as a biology teacher to over 150 high school aged students. He has been awarded a $3,000 grant to provide classroom furniture for his school and will serve as project director. Meeker hopes to return to the University of Illinois for graduate school after completion of his Peace Corps service in mid-2012.
Jacqui E. Marchese DiMarco (AB ’88, speech communication) recently published her book, When Your Child Is Being Bullied: Real Solutions for Parents, Educators and Other Professionals. DiMarco is a member of state, regional, and local anti-bullying task forces. She also works one-on-one with parents of children who have been bullied or are bullies. DiMarco has been working with elected officials to educate them on the negative impacts of bullying and the need for proactive steps to inform parents on the consequences of bullying.
Charles L. Turnbough Jr. (MS ’70, chemistry; PhD ’75, biochemistry) has been elected to Fellowship by the American Academy of Microbiology. Fellows are elected annually through a highly selective, peer-reviewed process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology. Turnbough is a professor of microbiology at University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Emily Stipes Watts (AB ’58, science and letters; AM ’59, PhD ’63, English) will be recognized for her accomplishments by the C-U Schools Foundation at the CUSF 2011 Gala in May. She will be recognized as a 2011 Distinguished Alumni honoree (Champaign High School graduate, class of 1954). Watts has taught American literature at the University of Illinois for nearly 45 years.
Michael H. Prosser (Phd ’64, speech) and Li Mengyu’s intercultural communication textbook for Chinese university students, Communicating Interculturally, with a foreword by Professor Jia Yuxin of Harbin Institute of Technology, will be published by Higher Education Press (Beijing) in early 2012. Prosser was a distinguished visiting professor at Ocean University of China (Qingdao) during the 2011 spring semester, and taught in Chinese universities from 2001-2009. He was president of SIETAR International from 1984-1986.
David W. Watkins III (BS ’98, chemical engineering) and Latasha M. (Napper) Watkins (BS ’98, chemical engineering) welcomed their first child, Jadon Alexander, on February 3, 2011. The little one decided to make his debut during the Chicago blizzard of 2011. The new parents are absolutely smitten by their little bundle of joy.
Warren H. Evins (BS ’65, chemistry), MD, has been elected governor of the Nevada chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP), the nation’s largest medical specialty organization. His term begins during Internal Medicine 2011, the ACP annual scientific meeting in San Diego, Calif., held in April. Evins has been a Fellow of the American College of Physicians since 1987. He also won the Clark County Medical Society’s 2010 Harold Lee Feikes Physician-of-the-Year Award and the 2009 ACP Nevada chapter’s award for volunteerism and community service.
R. Philip Sarnecki (AB ’92, political science) is the executive producer of the indie comedy Hitting the Nuts: The True Story of the Scott County Series of Poker. The improvised mockumentary has won Best Feature Film at both the Cincinnati International Film Festival in 2010 and the Derby City Film Festival in 2011.
Nell N. Griffin (AB ’06, sociology) has recently self-published her first ebook, Love Knots. Griffin credits her experiences during her years at the University of Illinois for giving her the skills and drive to self-publish. She currently works in the insurance industry.
Melissa Breger (BS ’91, psychology) is a professor of law at Albany Law School, a private independent law school in New York’s capital. She teaches family law, evidence, children and the law, gender and the law, and related courses.
Diane Lundquist (AB ’83, English) completed her master’s degree in nutrition education in the fall of 2010 from the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. She is currently a senior development editor at the American Academy of Pediatrics in Elk Grove Village, Ill., where she edits clinical books on a variety of topics for primary care physicians.
Margaret Peifer (AM ’71, English) was a nun for 36 years and then got married. She wrote a memoir about her life titled Nice to Meet Your Husband, Sister Martha. The book traces her life beginning with her desires as a young girl to become a Franciscan Sister and teach children, her years as a nun, leaving the order and starting a new life of work and relationships, battling cancer in her 50s, and then finding a loving husband in her 60s.
James Mercer (MS ’72, PhD ’73, geology) published his first novel, The Scrolls: The Eighteen Missing Years. Mercer used his own experiences and knowledge of geology to craft the story. He has previously published numerous technical articles. Mercer is executive vice president of Tetra Tech GEO, an environmental consulting firm in Sterling, Va.
Richard A. Silver (BS ’60, science and letters) has started a new company, Medvelope Alert Systems, Inc., that focuses on saving lives, minimizing medical errors, and reducing medical expenses. He has been awarded multiple professional fellowships and published a wide range of articles in learned medical publications. Dr. Silver was formerly the chief of orthopaedic surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital in Tucson, Ariz. He has served as an instructor at Northwestern University in the Department of Orthopaedics, the University of Washington Medical School, and the Arizona Health Sciences Center at the University of Arizona.
John Riffice (AB ’82, sociology) has published a new book, Waiting for Pops: A Journey from Boy to Man, a biographical novel set in 1950s Chicago that deals with spousal secrets and parental lies. Riffice has a grown daughter and lives in Chicago with Karen, his wife of 20 years.
Carla Neumann Busick (BS ’85, physics) was awarded the National Nuclear Security Administration Defense Programs Employee of the Quarter for the fourth quarter of 2010, at Sandia National Laboratories for Product Realization Leadership, successfully piloting Integrated Phase Gates to maintain schedule and remain within budget.
David Teuscher (BS ’80, psychology) was announced as chair of the Board of Councilors of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons at its 2011 annual meeting in San Diego, Calif. BOC members represent orthopaedists in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. military, Puerto Rico, Canada, and four of the regional orthopaedic societies. Teuscher is currently an MD of Beaumont, Texas, practicing orthopaedic surgery in a full-time private practice and specializing in sports medicine at the Beaumont Bone and Joint Institute.
Suzanne Coleman (BS ’91, psychology) has created a portfolio of artwork. Several of her pieces are being reviewed by art museums at this time. Coleman’s artwork can be described as expression of many things, from simple aesthetic beauty to a frustration with social issues that abound.
Paul Lisnek (AB ’80, political science; MA ’80, PhD ’85, speech communication) is the host of Politics Tonight, a nightly live television talk show on CLTV in Chicago. Lisnek continues as the political analyst for WGN-TV, appearing on the station’s newscasts. Paul also had his 13th book recently published called The Art of Lawyering.
Mike David (AB ’87, English) has been named a principal with the Edward Jones holding company, The Jones Financial Cos., LLLP. David has been a financial advisor for the company, located in Evansville, Ind., since 1992. Of the firm’s more than 40,000 associates, David is one of only 26 to be chosen this year for this honor. In addition to providing guidance to area investors, he serves as a regional leader for an area that includes southwest Indiana, making him responsible for the success of nearly 60 other financial advisors.
Deborah R. Schwartz (BS ’96, psychology) was one of 12 attorneys elected as partners within the Nixon Peabody LLP firm. Schwartz, who specializes in litigation and intellectual property, has extensive experience successfully representing employers in labor and employment litigation and dispute resolution, including single, multi-plaintiff, and class-action matters.
Denise Swanson (BS ’79, psychology) will celebrate the release of her 13th book, Murder of a Bookstore Babe, on March 1. Swanson is a New York Times bestselling author.
Stephanie Reynolds Mahlig (BS ’85, biology) obtained her CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) and is currently pursuing her Master of Information Systems degree at the University of Phoenix. She currently works for a major insurance company where she is responsible for the SOX compliance of 13 major applications systems. She also recently celebrated her 20th wedding anniversary to her husband, Bruce.
Ryan Bell (AB ’03, economics) has been named vice president and regional manager for Fifth Third Bank’s retail line of business. In this role, Bell will lead Fifth Third Bank’s North Shore region, encompassing Deerfield, Evanston, Glenview, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Niles, Northbrook, Skokie, and Wilmette. Bell previously served as a financial center manager of Fifth Third Bank Chicago’s flagship branch.
Latasha R. Johnson Thomas (AB ’87, political science) has been endorsed for re-election to the Chicago City Council for a fourth term by the Chicago Sun-Times. Thomas has served as Alderman of Chicago’s 17th Ward since July 2000 and has been re-elected in 2001, 2003, and 2007. She was a member of the Democratic National Convention rules committee in 2008, helping draft rules that paved the way for the nomination of President Barack Obama.
Bill Shannon (AB ’93, economics) has been appointed to managing director of Harris Bank, Barrington, Ill., region. He will be responsible for leading a team of highly experienced wealth professionals who deliver customized solutions and planning services in the areas of financial planning, investment management, trusts, customized banking, and philanthropic advice.
Sue A. Schultz (AB ’84, political science) has joined Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard P.C. She focuses on business, real estate, and utility law. Previously, she acted as general counsel to Illinois’s largest investor-owned water utility, where she was responsible for the management of the legal affairs of the company.
Steve Findley (AB ’78, speech communication) joined the Development Office in the College of Natural Science at Michigan State University, after 25 years in the telecommunications industry. He regulary meets with those who see higher education as a priority in their lives and choose to support scholarship and fellowships within the college.
Jason Cohan (BS ’97, teaching of biology), and his wife, Amy (Genrich) Cohan (BS ’96, psychology), have 8-month-old twin girls, Jordan and Olivia.
Paul M. Nick (AB ’87, economics) was designated interim director of the the Ohio Ethics Commission, beginning January 1, 2011. Nick is currently the commission’s chief investigative attorney and has served in that position since 2000. He joined the commission in 1995 as investigative counsel.
Elizabeth Barrette (AB ’94, rhetoric) has published two books with Diminuendo Press: From Nature’s Patient Hands: A Collection of Poetry and Prismatica: Science Fiction Poetry Spanning the Spectrum. In 2010, she won the Rose and Bay Award for Poetry and the Dwarf Stars Award, and was nominated for the Rhysling Award.
Obituaries
Dr. Herbert L. Slutsky (BS ’50, MS ’51, PhD ’59, geography) passed away on August 18, 2011, at the age of 85. He was the former chief epidemiologist for Chicago Department of Health and chairman of the Geography Department at Roosevelt University. Slutsky was also a U.S. Navy WWII and Korean War veteran. He was the beloved husband of 56 years to Maurine (nee Weinstein) and cherished father of Barbara Slutsky and Linda Thurmond. He was preceded in death by his parents Samuel and Dora Slutsky and one sister, Ethel (Alan) Sulkes.
Robert W. Johannsen, J.G. Randall Distinguished Professor of History, Emeritus, died on August 16, 2011, at Clark-Lindsey Village in Urbana at the age of 85. Johannsen was born on August 22, 1925, in Portland, Ore., the son of Walter Johannsen and Hedwig B. Flemming. He married Lois A. Calderwood on March 19, 1949, in Portland. They had 59 wonderful years together until her death on December 25, 2008.
His college years were interrupted by service in WWII in the 291st Field Artillery Observation Battalion in the Sixteenth Corps, Ninth Army. He served in Europe, using his math skills to determine the location of enemy artillery and later, after V-E Day, became a sergeant of the guard in a camp for German POWs.
In 1959, Johannsen joined the Department of History at the University of Illinois where he taught for more than 40 years, until his retirement at age 75 in 2000. His classes were concentrated in 19th century American history: the trans-Mississippi West, the age of Jackson, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the Mexican War. Over the course of his career, Mr. Johannsen wrote hundreds of articles and reviews and a number of books. He guided more than 35 PhD dissertations. He also contributed to several television documentaries, including Ken Burns’s Civil War.
Survivors include his two children, Nancy L. Morrice (Kevin) of Portland, Ore., and Robert D. Johannsen of Pacific Grove, Calif., along with four grandchildren, Katherine J. Morrice of Santa Cruz, Calif., Stuart J. Morrice of Portland, Ore., Andriah L. Johannsen of San Ramon, Calif., and Ryan M. Johannsen of Lake Mary, Fla. He is also survived by his sister, Betty L. Ramsey (Leon) of Portland, Ore., sister-in-law Maryhelen Calderwood of Portland, Ore., and several nieces and a nephew.
Nancy Jones Burke (AB ’45, general curriculum) passed away on August 5, 2011, in Oak Brook, Ill. A member of Pi Beta Phi, she was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur K. Burke (BS ’47, geology).
Dr. Robert Irby Wise (MS ’38, PhD ’42, microbiology) passed away on June 15, 2011 at the age of 96 in Williamsburg, Va. He was proud of his research, medical career and service as the Magee Professor of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and then as chief of staff of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Togus, Maine.
Rozann Rothman (PhD ’67, political science) passed away on December 20, 2010, in Indianapolis, Ind.
Ruby Ju (BS ’56, chemistry) passed away on February 2, 2011, from pancreatic cancer. After graduation, she worked in the department as a micro-analyst until 1958. She came to Albuquerque, N.M. in 1958 and was a resident there until her passing. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Frederick D. Ju; two sons, Dr. Wilfred T. Y. Ju (Arlington, Va.) and Manfred T. S. Ju (Salem, Ore.); a daughter, Dr. Winifred C. T. Ju (Salem, Ore.); two grandsons, Dr. Nathaniel C. S. Ju, and Conner C. M. Ju; and a granddaughter, Amaryah C. S. Ju, Esq.
Ruthie M. (Metzger) Katz (BS ’39, general education) passed away on January 28, 2011, at the age of 92. The Highland Park, Ill., resident was an early founder of the North Shore Brandeis Women’s Committee and its well-known book sale. She was a volunteer at Highland Park Hospital for 30 years and a fan of the Chicago Botanic Garden. She was a collegiate member of Sigma Tau Sorority and served as its national president and its representative to the National Panhellenic Council. She was active at North Shore Congregation Israel and on its Board of Trustees. The archives at North Shore Congregation Israel are named after her and her husband of 70 years, William Katz (BS ’38, chemical engineering). She is survived by her husband; three children, Ellen Katz (Dave) Block, Stan Katz, and Tania Lebelson Pinto; a sister, Frances Posner; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by a brother, Buddy Metzger. Funeral services were held on January 31.
Carlos Manuel Rubio (AB ’41, general curriculum) passed away on December 5, 2010, at St. Elizabeth Health Center Hospice, Edgewood, Ky., at the age of 91. His aviation career included 29 years flying for American Airlines. He retired in 1979. He leaves behind his wife of 68 years, the former Mary Kranos (AB ’43, science and letters); four children, Philip (Paula) of Durham, N.C., Thalia (David) of Somerville, Mass., Casilda (Paul) of Berkeley, Calif., and Benita (Dave) of Park Hills, Ky.; his brother, Al Rubio, and sisters, Jeanne-Marie Jackson and Ana Smith; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Private services pending.