Alumni Classnotes
1940s
Charles L. O'Brien '42,and his wife Mary Fran celebrated 60 years of marriage on May 25.
1950s
Richard E. Czarnecki '57, was honored by University of Michigan-Dearborn School of Management for his teaching excellence. UM-Dearborn established a collegiate professorship through contributions to an endowment fund in honor of Czarnecki. He retired from UM-Dearborn in 1997. Czarnecki had also been a professor of accounting at University of Detroit from 1956-1968 and chair of the Department of Accounting and Business Law from 1960-1967.
John DiBiaggio, DDS, '54, '58, '67, was honored by the UDM School of Dentistry as Alumnus of the Year. The award was presented during Alumni Day on April 28.P
1960s
Frederick Bidigare '65, was recently awarded top prize in the 2005 International Exhibition of the American Watercolor Society. Also in 2005, Bidigare received the Merit Award from the Transparent Watercolor Society, Louisiana Watercolor Society, and the Rhode Island Watercolor Society. In addition, he received the Best Portrait Award from the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society.
Armando Delicato '62, has written and published a book entitled Italians in Detroit. The book details the history of Italian immigration in Detroit and is part of a series entitled Images of America.
Lawrence M. Haber, DDS '65, has been appointed to the Michigan State Board of Dentistry and was inducted into Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Honor Society for Dentistry. Haber is presently an assistant clinical professor at UDM's School of Dentistry.
Thomas A. Holton '67, an attorney with Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP, will be listed in the 2006 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
Gloria Kalbfleisch '65, was invited to attend the fourth annual Oxford Roundtable women's leadership session in Oxford, England, where she presented "A Perspective: Organizational and Procedural Norms and the Authority of the Magisterium in the Catholic Church." Kalbfleisch is the superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Marquette, Mich.P
Thomas Olkowski '64, '66,has been invited to act as spokesperson for Allied Van Lines Nation Moving Month. Co-author of Moving with Children, Olkowski is a regular contributing writer to GOLFViews magazine.P
Tymon Totte, DDS '64, received the Lifetime Achievement award at the 46th Annual Guild Dinner, benefiting St. John Hospital and Medical Center on June 7, 2006.
1970s
Armando Cavazos '74, president and CEO of Credit Union ONE and a UDM Board of Trustees member, received UDM's John Conti Letterman of Distinction Award during the UDM Homecoming game on Feb. 25. Cavazos is a former Titan football player.
Maj. Gen. Robert J. Elder Jr. '75, '85, was nominated by President George W. Bush to be the new head of the 8th Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base. Elder was also nominated for advancement to three-star grade, subject to Senate approval.
James Harkness '79, has been named partner a Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP. Harkness practices in governmental and regulatory matters.P
Kenneth A. Hiltz '76, was named chief financial officer for the Dana Corporation. He will lead the advancement of the company's global financial organization.
Kurt A. Kazanowski '76, has opened Homewatch Caregivers, a personal care private duty home care business that serves Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. Kazanowski also has his own health care consulting firm and works internationally primarily with hospice organizations.P
Lt. Col. Peter Munoz '78, was appointed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm to be the next director of the Michigan State Police. Munoz is currently the deputy director of the field services bureau for the Michigan Sate Police.
Thomas C. Phillips '74, a principal in the law firm Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, PLC, will be listed in the Environmental Law section of the 2006 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.P
James Wynalek '72, has been appointed executive vice president and chief technology officer for Collins & Aikman Corporationn. He will direct and oversee all research, engineering, development and design activities for the company.
1980s
Ryan S. Beckett '87, '90, has been appointed president of Wilson Beckett, a national benefits brokerage and consulting firm in Troy, Mich. Before becoming president, Beckett was the vice president of Wilson Partners. P
Kevin Boyle '82, was the keynote speaker for Saturday's Night for Notables, an event hosted in May by the Library of Michigan Foundation. Boyle won the 2005 Library of Michigan's Notable Book Award for his book entitled Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, & Murder in the Jazz Age.
Bruce G. Chapman '83, has joined the Los Angeles office of Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz, LLP as partner. He practices in the area of intellectual property with a primary focus on patent litigation.
Leonardo Fabilli '84, has joined the Neumann/Smith & Associates architecture firm as a project manager.
S. Pamela (Haines) Herrera, DDS, '88, was honored by the UDM School of Dentistry as Honorary Alumnus of the Year. The award was presented during Alumni Day on April 28.P
Denise (Nadai) Lee '84, has been named vice president of sales and marketing–chassis at ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
Judy McNamara '87, '88, has joined ReviewWorks as a medical rehabilitation consultant. Before joining ReviewWorks, McNamara worked as a certified nurse case-manager with Citizens' Insurance. P
Hon. Daniel P. Ryan '84, recently published two books: Ryan's Essential Evidence Outlines, which contains the Federal Rules of Evidence with outlines and a summary of the rules; and Essential Principles of Contract and Sales Law in the Northern Pacific: Federated States of Micronesia, the Republics of Palau and the Marshall Islands, and the United States Territories, which compiles and summarizes general contract and sales case law and statues for these locations.
Kathi (Ray) Shepherd, '82, '83, '95, was honored by the UDM School of Dentistry as Allied Dental Health Alumnus of the Year. The award was presented during Alumni Day on April 28.P
1990s
Steven Bieda '92, was recently promoted to minority vice chair of the House Tax Policy Committee and was also assigned two new committee assignments: Tort Reform Committee and Subcommittee on the Sex Offender Registry. Bieda is currently serving his second term in the Michigan House of representatives from the 25th District.)
Carla Gribbs '90, has received the DTE Energy Foundation's 2006 Walter J. McCarthy Award for Volunteer Leadership. Gribbs is a regional relations manager at DTE.
Mark Kleinlein '95, has joined the Eugene, Ore. office of Willis Group Holdings, Ltd. as an insurance broker.
Jonathan D. McHugh '98, has been awarded the America Society of Civil Engineers' 2005 Young Civil Engineer of the Year (Pittsburgh Section) and was nominated to the Board of Directors for ASCE. McHugh is a structural engineer at Gannett Fleming Inc. in Harrisburg, Pa.P
Stephen M. Taratuta '92, a senior trial attorney with the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office–Homicide Unit, has been appointed to the District H Character and Fitness Committee for the State Bar of Michigan. He was also appointed to the board of directors for the Michigan Arson Prevention Committee.
2000s
Johanna Cameron '02, has joined the SmithGroup, Inc. architecture firm's midwest learning studio in Detroit.P
Kevin L. Larin '04, has joined the law firm of Kerr Russell and Weber, PLC. Larin practices in the areas of business law, business transactions, commercial litigation, and bankruptcy.
Marc D. Melamed '04 has joined Maroko and Landau, P.C. Melamed focuses on estate planning and charitable giving.
Gina Mundy '02, has been promoted to senior associate at Kitch Drutchas Wagner Valitutti & Sherbook. Mundy focuses her practice on birth trauma defense.P
Rashad Phillips'00, has signed with the Continental Basketball Association's Dakota Wizards. While attending UDM, Phillips made many records as a Detroit Titan, including being UDM's all-time leading scorer with 2,319 points.
Jason Pollak '03, has joined the Chicago office of Deloitte & Touche LLP. As a member of the Multistate Tax Practice , Pollak concentrates his practice in the area of state and local taxation, including corporate and partnership tax.
Marriages /Birth Announcements
Nancy Helganz '97,married Chris Rovik on June 4, 2005. The couple welcomed their daughter Mackenzie Abigail on January 14, 2006. (PHOTO)