Cowell College
'80 Christine LANSDALE Willis exhibited her ceramics in Thessaloniki, Greece, in May. She is grateful both to her alma mater and to her teacher, Al Johnsen.
'85 Susan E. BRIGGS published her first novel, I Can See Heaven (Ex Machina Press), in March. Audrey HELLER has published her first book, Overlooked Undertakings, a collection of her playful, staged photographs. The book, her artwork, and her exhibition schedule may be viewed at audreyheller.com.
Stevenson College
'68 Allan HARRIS and his wife, Andrea, have continued world traveling. He attended the 40th Pioneer Reunion in April, and continues to enjoy philately and playing duplicate bridge. He attained the level of Bronze Life Master and won the Ace of Clubs for the South Bay Unit (Alameda County).
'91 Paula Gay LINDSAY Luebsen moved to a quiet suburb of Houston, Tex., with her husband and two small children. She writes, "Twenty years ago I was learning Latin at UCSC and now spend time helping my daughter" with her homework.
'98 Joshua CAULKINS was hired onto the faculty of the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, where he is working on a new initiative to improve undergraduate science teaching.
'01 Stefano BLOCH completed his master's degree in urban planning at UCLA in 2005 and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in geography at the University of Minnesota. He and his partner have a new baby boy as of April. Sean DAY works as a producer and editor for Comcast Sportsnet and won an Emmy for his work with the Oakland Athletics.
'04 Tyler ATKINSON, a business-litigation lawyer, became an associate of the McManis Faulkner law firm, San Jose, Calif., in January, after earning his J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 2008.
Crown College
'80 Theodore KRAYNICK was elected to a seat on the executive board of the Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 265, which represents about 90 percent of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's public-transit workers. He and his wife celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in October.
'97 Robert LEAF, a doctoral candidate in fisheries and wildlife sciences at Virginia Tech, was awarded the 2009 Robert D. Ross scholarship from the Virginia chapter of the American Fisheries Society. He plans to work in the area of conservation and management of fisheries.
Merrill College
'75 Laurie GARRETT authored the Newsweek article "The Path of a Pandemic: How one virus spread from pigs and birds to humans around the globe," which appeared in the May 2 issue.
'86 Will HALL was profiled in an article in the May 18 issue of Newsweek, "Listening to Madness," in recognition of his mental-health advocacy work.
'87 John TOROK was elected a fellow of the World Association of International Studies (WAIS) at Stanford University in January. He published commentaries in the WAIS report and on BlackCommentator.com earlier this year.
'99 Bryan STEELE, "after much toil and soul searching," became the assistant technical director of the New York City Ballet in November.
Porter College
'74 Dency NELSON was named one of two Democrats of the Year by the L.A. County Democratic Central Committee; he's a member of the Beach Cities Democratic Club.
'77 Steven M. WOLOCK was appointed to a four-year term on Michigan's State Board of Accountancy by Governor Jennifer Granholm.
'79 Deanna Jay Chu NIM completed a 12-piece calligraphy commission for a Berkeley patron. Her "Dylan Thomas" piece was exhibited in the San Francisco Main Library's Skylight Gallery from June through August.
'99 Nathalie S. MEDEIROS did research in psychiatry and anesthesiology for seven years at both Louisiana State and Tulane universities; she began medical school in August at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans.
Kresge College
'76 Paul D. SEEMAN, J.D., UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law, was appointed an Alameda County Superior Court Judge by Governor Schwarzenegger in March.
'99 Akim AGINSKY, a photojournalist, received a $3,500 grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, to document the financial crisis in Latvia for the The Nation magazine.
'03 Katelyn LOW received a master's degree in elementary education from the University of Massachusetts at Boston in June.
'08 Jean PAGANO participated in an archaeological dig in Rome with the American Institute for Roman Culture's Summer 2009 Villa della Vignacce program.
Oakes College
'94 Ernie BRAY is CEO of AutoClaims Direct, which was recently recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the U.S. He has created a virtual-office setting for his employees, who generally work from home.
'96 Stephen COPE's radio program, "Conference of the Birds," which he hosted on KZSC from 1993 to 1996, is now a weekly podcast; he currently blogs about the music, posts playlists, and offers world music links.
College Eight
'89 Rachel SCHWARZ presented a lecture entitled "Exploring Alchemical Vessels: Thinking Outside the Flask" in January at the Mysterium Conference in Las Vegas; she attended the Forestdance Festival in February at the Amalinda Eco-Ashram in Costa Rica.
'94 Peter W. CULP, J.D., University of Arizona, an environmental, health, and safety lawyer with Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P., became a partner in the firm's Phoenix office in December.
'96 Roberta ROMERO received an M.B.A. from the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University in May.
Graduate Studies
'80 Thomas BASS (Ph.D., history of consciousness), professor of English and journalism at the State University of New York at Albany, has published a new book, The Spy Who Loved Us (Public Affairs), which tells the story of a Time correspondent and Communist spy during the Vietnam war.
'91 Noel STURGEON (Ph.D., history of consciousness) is the author of Environmentalism in Popular Culture: Gender, Race, Sexuality, and the Politics of the Natural (University of Arizona Press, 2009); she is a professor of women's studies at Washington State University.
'93 L. Scott MILLS (Ph.D., biology) was named a Guggenheim Fellow in April; he is a professor of wildlife biology at Montana State University.
'00 John SANBONMATSU (Ph.D., history of consciousness) has been promoted to associate professor of philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Mass.) and has been granted tenure. He is the author of The Postmodern Prince: Critical Theory, Left Strategy, and the Making of a New Political Subject (Monthly Review Press, 2003).
In Memoriam
'72 Timothy L. McDANIEL (Crown), professor of sociology at UC San Diego, leading comparative-historical sociologist, and inspiring teacher, died March 10, 2009, from colon cancer in San Diego; he was 61.
'73 Celia Anne WELTERLEN (Crown) died April 11, 2009, in Santa Cruz, from complications of diabetes and kidney failure; she was 57.
'77 Sylvia C. PENA (Crown) died July 5, 2009, surrounded by her family, in Santa Barbara.
'78 Linda D. INLOW (Crown), pastor of the Elk Grove United Methodist Church, died February 28, 2009, after a long illness.
'91 Yehudit Anne SHERMAN (Kresge; graduate certificate in science illustration, '94), wife, mother of two daughters, and environmentalist, died August 2, 2007, from complications of breast cancer; she was 38.
'93 Wayne COLEMAN (Kresge), an organic farmer who managed a 15-acre vineyard in Aptos, Calif., died in July 2007; he was 41.
'97 Jacob KAUFFMAN (Merrill), an award-winning winemaker with Muccigrosso Vineyards, Los Gatos, Calif., died March 12, 2009; he was 34.
'05 Todd Anthony PEREA (College Eight) was killed May 16, 2009, when his car was broadsided by a murder suspect during a high-speed police chase. At the time of his death, he was working as a video editor; he was 26.
'09 Jerri Renee SKOG (College Eight) was killed July 3, 2009, in an automobile accident as she was driving home after graduating in June; she was 23.
