Alumni Class Notes

1950s

Phyllis Peters Look ’51, retired director of professional standards for Deloitte & Touche, was named chair of the Manresa Jesuit Retreat House Board of Directors.

1960s

Richard Faist ’64 was honored with the 2012 Heritage Award from the St. Joseph Central Catholic Alumni and Friends Association. He was recognized for his dedication and involvement in his community.

Leo Hanifin ’69, ’72, ’76, former dean of the UDM College of Engineering & Science, was inducted into the Vestal Central School District’s Hall of Fame for 2012.

Mary Ellen Howard, RSM ’68, executive director of the Cabrini Clinic, was granted a fellowship from the McGregor Fund, through which she will be travelling to Ireland and visiting the Sisters of Mercy on Baggott Street in Dublin.

Janet Robinson ’69, provost at Lourdes University, was appointed interim president at the university.

Leonard C. Suchyta ’65, ’68 joined Hunton & Williams as counsel in the law firm’s Washington office.

Robert Swint, M.D. ’64 was honored with the 2012 Heritage Award from the St. Joseph Central Catholic Alumni and Friends Association. He was recognized for his dedication and involvement in his community.

1970s

Nelson (Jerry) Cannon ’76 recently retired from the Michigan Army National Guard.

Robert L. Critchfield ’75 joined First Financial Service Corporation as chief credit officer.

Charles Croskey ’78 was named chairman of the board of directors for Guardian Industries.

Lt. Gen Robert Elder ’75, ’85 was the honorary grand marshal for the Redford, Mich. Memorial Day Parade.

Rainy Hamilton Jr. ’79 was elevated to the College of Fellows by the 2012 Jury of Fellows from the American Institute of Architects.

James A. Hanlon ’75 recently retired from Comerica Bank after serving the corporation for 40 years. For the past 20 years, Hanlon served as the vice president in charge of the Banking Center Support Department, which included Comerica’s retail help desks located in Auburn Hills, Mich.

Derrick Kuzak ’73, ’74, ’76, a member of the UDM Board of Trustees, retired from Ford Motor Company as group vice president of global vehicle development.

John Kyees ’74 was appointed to the board of directors for Hot Topic, Inc.

John Szerlag ’76 was named city manager for Cape Coral, Fla. He most recently served as city manager for Troy, Mich.

1980s

Larry Angelilli ’81 has taken a position as senior vice president and treasurer at Moneygram, International in Dallas. He currently serves on the College of Business Administration Board of Advisors.

Andrew Arena ’88, former special agent in charge of the Detroit, Federal Bureau of Investigation, was named executive director of the Detroit Crime Commission, a nonprofit dedicated to dismantling criminal enterprises in Detroit.

Ryan Beckett ’88, ’90 was named Michigan Group Office manager at Sun Life Financial in Southfield and Grand Rapids, Mich.

Karen Bratus, D.D.S. ’84 was recently promoted to vice president for Academics at Baker College in Allen Park, Mich.

Kevin Braye ’85 was named chief financial officer at O’Brien Construction Company, Inc.

Carl J. Bridenbaugh ’83 was named vice president of Transmission at FirstEnergy.

Michael R. Desmet ’80 has accepted a new position with The Quantum Group.

Mark Duluk ’85 joined C.C. Hodgson Architectural Group.

Bhavesh Muni ’89 was recently promoted to the position of global business director for the advanced packaging technologies business of Dow Electronic Materials.

John R. O’Brien ’83 was named chief executive officer at Manning Regional Healthcare Center in Manning, Ia.

William A. Roberts ’85 was appointed national commander of The Salvation Army.

Julie Beth Teicher ’82, a shareholder at Erman, Teicher, Miller, Zucker & Freedman P.C., was selected for inclusion in the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

A. Michael Toroyan ’89 was promoted to chief operating officer and director for the restaurant Tossed.

Robert Wilke ’82 was named vice president, business development at Jet Support Services, Inc.

1990s

Bill J. Anderson, D.D.S. ’98 recently received his Diplomate with the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry.

Theodore G. Coutilish ’95, associate vice president, marketing at Eastern Michigan University, was named the IABC Detroit 2012 Communicator of the Year.

Stephen Glover ’94, partnership development manager for Stafford and Stone School Sport Partnership in Stafford, England, had the honor of carrying the Olympic flame in Cobridge, England on May 31 in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Glover played on the UDM Men’s soccer team from 1991-1993.

Lynda Jeffries ’93, a senior consultant with The Leadership Group LLC, was appointed chair of the Presbyterian Villages of Michigan Corporate Board.

Greg D. Komyathy, D.D.S. ’95 was presented with the Academy of General Dentistry’s 2012 Fellowship Award during its Annual Meeting & Exhibits in June in Philadelphia.

Paul Lachner ’92 was named president of Clarion Corp. of America.

Daniel Lawrence ’90, ’92, a school counselor at Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton Township, Mich., recently had his article, “Dashed Dreams: Detroit and the 1968 Summer Olympics,” published in the July/August 2012 issue of Michigan History Magazine.

Kimberley Lowe ’93, a shareholder in the Fredrikson & Byron law firm’s corporate, securities and nonprofit groups, was elected secretary of the Hennepin County Bar Association.

Shannon Mayfield ’95, ’00 was recently named principal at William Allen High School in Allentown, Pa.

Derk Pronger ’94 was named vice president of operations and a physician who specializes in physical rehabilitation at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Mich.

Rhett Rowe ’91 was appointed senior vice president and managing director of national accounts at Global Wave Group.Gary Seifert ’97 was recently appointed as vice president of Business Banking at Flagstar Bank. He previously served as a vice president in Private Banking and Wealth Management at Comerica.

Allen Shyu ’93, ’97 joined the Beijing office of Troutman Sanders LLP as office managing partner.

Teresa Soave ’96, ’98 has moved within Chrysler to a new position as head of Product Development Purchasing for Sport Utility
Vehicles and Minivans in the Purchasing and Supplier Quality division.

Lee M. Stacey ’98 was appointed CEO & president at Britton Gallagher, an insurance brokerage firm in Ohio. He was also elected to the firm’s board of directors and is a shareholder/partner.

Steven Stapleton ’94 joined the law firm of Miller Canfield as senior counsel in the litigation and trial group in the firm’s Grand Rapids, Mich. office.

Margaret Van Houten ’94, the Dearborn Heights City councilwoman, was appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder to a Wayne County Circuit Court judgeship.

Xiaoyi Wang ’99 was promoted to vice president for Business Strategy and Risk Management at Republic Bank and Trust. Wang earned a Ph.D. from the University of Louisville after graduating from UDM, and has recently published articles in the International Journal of Collaborative Enterprise and the Journal of Biomedical Informatics.

2000s

Daniel Assenmacher ’00, ’07 recently accepted a position as the North American sales manager for Asian Corporation of America, a global manufacturer of engine systems and fuel modules for automobiles. He is currently president of the CBA Alumni Board.

Nick Baldwin ’08 recently opened a new business, Blue Hippo Novelty, a specialty retailer of novelties and pop culture merchandise. The store is located in Southland Mall in Taylor, Mich.

Mitchell Early ’05 represented UDM at a college fair in Skokie, Ill. on April 10.

Paul T. Engel ’00 joined Howard & Howard Attorneys PLLC. He will be working out of the Royal Oak, Mich. office, where he concentrates his practice in intellectual property law.

Ken Gonzalez ’02, ’06 represented the University at a college fair in Palatine, Il. in April.

Willie Green ’03 is now a guard for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers.

Joshua Kushnereit ’06 graduated this spring from the Wayne State University Law School. He is also a member of the UDM College of Liberal Arts & Education Alumni Council.

Sarah Miller ’09 recently opened a new business, Blue Hippo Novelty, a specialty retailer of novelties and pop culture merchandise. The store is located in Southland Mall in Taylor, Mich.

Nicole Naum ’08 joined Price Benowitz LLP law firm.

Christopher Scott ’05, a systems engineer at the Army and U. S. Marine Corps’ Robotic Systems Joint Program Office, was included in Crain’s Detroit Business as one of its feature, “20 in their 20s.”

John W. Szczepaniuk ’04, ’08 was named business development manager at Saphran Solutions.

Elizabeth Trebilcock ’05 joined The Preventive Medicine Center as a family physician assistant.

James Welch ’01, manager – executive assistant to the CFO at Exelon Corporation, co-wrote the article “Leadership and Vision at Exelon,” which was published as the cover story in the May issue of Strategic Finance magazine.

2010s

Earl Cureton ’11, former UDM Men’s Titan Basketball player, was named assistant coach of the Phoenix Mercury for the 2012 WNBA season.

Sarah (Farrell) DeMellier ’11 was named assistant district attorney at the Oneida County (New York) District Attorney’s Office.

Mallory L. Fitzpatrick ’10, Army Reserve Specialist, graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

Stephen D. Jacobites ’11 joined the law firm of Collins, Einhorn, Farrell & Ulanoff in Southfield, Mich. He focuses his practice on general liability defense litigation.

Manny Lopez ’10 joined the Mackinac Center for Public Policy as managing editor of Michigan Capitol Confidential.

Brian Powrozek ’10 has become a staff accountant at Clayton & McKervey, PC.

Adam White, D.D.S. ’11 joined the staff of Health Delivery Inc. and will serve at the Bayside Dental Center in Bay City, Mich.

Alumni Bookshelf

Stafford Betty ’66 recently published two books. The Aferlife Unveiled examines the latest paranormal evidence purporting to describe the afterlife. The Imprisoned Splendor is a novel set in the afterlife. Betty has been teaching religious studies and philosophy at California State University, Bakersfield since 1972.

Steven E. Kemper ’73 recently published his second book of nonfiction, A Labyrinth of Kingdoms: 10,000 Miles Through Islamic Africa, about a 19th-century explorer of Africa named Heinrich Barth.

Richard Kibbey ’78 recently published the book Pat Boone: The Hollywood Years, which explores actor Pat Boone’s life and film career.

Fred Lauck ’65, ’69 one of the last NCAA football players for the University of Detroit, has penned a 600 page, three book chronicle, Children Of The Greatest Generation... An Emotional History, which traces, in dramatic and compelling “story” format, the lives and times of those children born to Greatest Generation parents, including ample references to Catholic School education, and the ultimate professional, career paths those children took.

Shel Silver ’75, ’76 has published his second book, CJ in the USA: An Introduction to Criminal Justice. Silver is the chair of the School of Criminal Justice at ITT Technical Institute in Westminster, Co. and is a former faculty member at Mercy College of Detroit.