Alumni Class Notes
1950s
Michael B. Lange '58, '61 was honored by the Ohio State Bar Association for his 50 years of service in the law profession.
Elmore J. Leonard, Jr. ’50 recently accepted the Peabody Award for his FX television show Justified, which is based on Leonard’s novella “Fire in the Hole”. The show also earned this honor in 2010.
W. James White '59 was granted membership into the Knighthood in the Order of St. Gregory the Great in recognition of his personal service to the Holy See and the Church. White was also appointed Religious and Civil Rights Committee chairman of the New Jersey State Council, Knights of Columbus.
Gerald P. Ziemba ’57 retired from his third career after 17 years with the United States Government. Ziemba served as program manager of the Commerce Department Chemical Weapons Convention Inspection Management Teams.
1960s
Sister Evelyn (Claretta) Antoine ’67 recently celebrated 60 years as a Racine (Wisconsin) Dominican Sister.
Ned Apigian '66 was elected to the Dearborn Heights City Council for a four-year tem.
Michael Brogan '63 was appointed to the Library of Michigan Board of Trustees by Gov. Rick Snyder.
Emil Brolick ’69, ’72 was named president and CEO of The Wendy’s Company, which operates restaurants throughout the world. Brolick previously held positions as president of Taco Bell and president of U.S. Brand Building for Yum Brands (which owns Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken as well as other fast-food companies), in addition to president of A&W All American Foods and Long John Silver’s.
Donald E. Burdett ’66 recently published Sometimes with Malice: Years before the Civil War, the conflict had already begun, a novel that is a blend of history, romance, and morality play.
Adam Jablonowski ’65, who recently retired as the executive director of the Wayne County Medical Society of Southeast Michigan, was honored by the American Medical Association with the Medical Executive Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of his contributions to the medical profession.
Jack O’Keefe ’67 recently published Famine Ghost: Genocide of the Irish. The historical novel tells the story of The Great Hunger in Ireland from 1845-1850.
Robert J. Pliska ’69, owner and managing director of Sperry Van Ness/Property Investment Advisors, was recognized by the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants with its Public Service Award. He received the award for his dedication to the betterment of his community outside of his role as a CPA.
William C. Young '64, president of Absopure Water Company and chairman, president and CEO of Plastipak Packaging, Inc. and a member of the UDM Board of Trustees, was appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder to serve on the newly created Talent Investment Board.
John D. Webb ’68 recently retired after serving for 24 years as judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Paulding County, Ohio.
Raymond Weidenbach '63,'71 was appointed to the Election Commission for the City of Novi (Mich.).
1970s
Michael Carmody ’72 joined Intrinsiq Materials as director of Ink Research and Applications at the company’s Rochester, NY facility. Carmody also presented “Novel Low Temperature Copper Inkjet Inks are a Low Cost Alternative to Silver for Printed Electronics” Oct. 4 at the Digital Fabrication 2011 Conference. He also presented at Printed Electronics USA 2011 IDTechEx Printed Electronics & Photovoltaics USA 2011, Nov. 30 – Dec. 1, 2011.
Robert R. Cleary ’77 joined the law firm of Dean & Fulkerson as a shareholder.
William S. Demray, D.D.S., ’75 was selected as the 2011 Northville Citizen of the Year by the Northville Chamber of Commerce for his three decades of involvement in the city.
Michael J. Ferrell ’73 joined the law firm of Williams Mullen to launch its Washington, D.C.-based Federal Government Affairs practice.
Rainy Hamilton Jr. ’79 and his firm Hamilton Anderson Associates were commissioned by the Detroit / Wayne County Port Authority to design a new 22,000 square foot international ship passenger terminal. The facility opened in July at the foot of Bates Street, between Atwater Street and the Detroit River. According to the Hamilton Anderson blog, rogueHAA, the Port Authority Terminal is designed to function as both a domestic and international facility, including associated functions such as customs, border patrol, baggage handling, ticketing, and queuing. The building and dock will accommodate Great Lakes cruise ships, tall ships, and other large vessels, as well as the offices for the Port Authority.
Christopher Haserodt ’79 joined the emergency department at Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center in Ogdensburg, NY as a physician assistant.
Robert Hausmann '79 was named operations manager at Energy Optimizers, USA.
Bill Hermann ’72 co-authored Succession Transition: A Roadmap for Seamless Transitions, which offers an inside look at Plante Moran’s approach to grooming individuals to step into key leadership positions. Hermann is former managing partner of Plante Moran, PLLC and the current partner in charge of the firm’s services group.
Rena Johnson ’78 recently published the book, Epiphanies of the Soul: 52 Life Principles to Live and Love By, an inspirational self-development tool that provides practical wisdom about a variety of life experiences.
Neil Koepke ’70 joined the staff at MSUSpartans.com as a hockey writer.
Daniel P. Malone ’78 returned to Butzel Long law firm as of counsel and as director of Korean Client Relations and vice chair of Asia Practice.
Isaiah McKinnon ’75, ’78, associate professor of Education at UDM, was appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to the Detroit Financial Review Team. The appointment was made Dec. 27, under the Local Government and School Districts Financial Accountability Act of 2011.
Raymond G. Milnes, Jr. ’73 was appointed as an independent director to the board of Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc.
Richard Persiani D.D.S. ’73 was honored as a University of Detroit Mercy Distinguished Volunteer at the Annual Philanthropy Day Event Nov. 17, hosted by the Detroit Chapter of the Association of Fundraisers. Dr. Persiani was recognized for his service through his travels to various parts of the world as a dentistry volunteer helping to provide free cleft palate procedures for children in societies that reject them for the deformity. Locally, his service includes being vice-chair of Detroit’s Children’s ToothFairy Foundation, leading the effort with WDIV Reporter Paula Tutman to ensure that underinsured children in Southeast Michigan have access to oral health care for their physical and emotional wellbeing.
Edward T. Sprock ’75, ’78, a former director of Worldwide Transportation and Customs for Chrysler, has assumed the role of executive-in-residence for the UDM College of Business Administration.
James Timberlake ’74, a founding partner of Kieran Timberlake architecture firm, was nominated by President Obama to be a member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Building Sciences.
Martin E. Welch, III ’70, ’73, a current member of the UDM Board of Trustees, was appointed executive vice president and CFO at Visteon Corp.
1980s
John Alexander '86 was promoted to associate professor and granted tenure at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He was also granted a Regent's Outstanding Teaching Award.
Mark D. Bealin '84 has accepted a new position as managing director of UHY Advisors, Inc., part of Urbach Hacker Young International Limited.
Kevin Boyle ’82 is the author of the book, Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights and Murder in the Jazz Age, which was selected as the 2011-2012 Great Michigan Read. The book was selected by approximately 50 librarians, teachers, professors and authors across Michigan as part of a statewide initiative sponsored by the Michigan Humanities Council. The book also won the National Book Award in 2004 and was named a Michigan Notable Book in 2005.
Gregory Demopoulos ’88 was appointed as a trustee of Canton Township.
Mark Dietrick '85 was elected as the 2012 president of the American Institute of Architects, Pittsburgh Chapter.
George P. Dodds ’80 was appointed chair of the graduate architecture program in the College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Dodds has been a faculty member at the university since 2000.
Rhonda Hennessy, D.D.S. ’86 was inducted into the International College of Dentists (ICD) during the American Dental Association convention in Las Vegas. ICD is a world-wide organization that awards fellowships to dental professionals for conspicuous and meritorious service to the dental profession.
Katherine Kohn-Parrot ’87 was named CEO of the Greater Detroit Area Health Council.
Michael (Mickey) Jacob '82 was elected as the American Institute of Architect's national first vice president for 2012/president elect for 2013.
Michael J. Lavoie ‘81, an attorney and shareholder at Butzel Long, was appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder to serve a three-year term on the Michigan Community Service Commission, which works to create a culture of service and volunteerism.
Robert J. Lollini ’85 was appointed CEO of Myrexis, Inc. He was also appointed as a member of the company’s board of directors.
Sharon R. Newlon ’85, a member at Dickinson Wright, PLLC, was named a 2011 Michigan Super Lawyer in Environmental Law. Newlon was also included in The Best Lawyers in America 2012 in the areas of Environmental Law and Litigation—Environment.
Paul J. Orlando ’86 was named chief information officer at Shore Financial Services, Inc.
Michael J. Sullivan ’83, shareholder and president of Collins, Einhorn, Farrell & Ulanoff law firm, was named as a Detroit Best Lawyers Professional Malpractice Lawyer of the Year for 2012. This is Sullivan’s second consecutive year for earning this honor.
Josephine Wahl ’86 was recently named chief nurse at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital.
Roberta (Jones) Zanotti ’85 was named director of development for West Virginia University Hospitals-East.
1990s
Brad Brodie '99 and his research team from Denso was one of 40 selected from 400 applications to receive a $2.6 million grant from the Department of Energy for battery thermal research. He currently heads the project and manages the research team.
Ellen Bussey ’91, ’94 was appointed vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Doctors’ Hospital of Michigan, located in Pontiac.
Saad Chehab ’92 was appointed chief executive officer at Chrysler Lancia, an automotive brand owned by Fiat. Chehab was also made a member of a newly formed group executive council.
Jennifer A. Dukarski ’96, ’10 joined Butzel Long as an associate attorney in the firm’s Ann Arbor office. Her practice focuses on intellectual property, media law and automotive litigation.
Frank E. Henke ’94 was named partner at Warner Norcross & Judd LLP. He concentrates his practice in complex estate and trust planning, tax and business planning and business and corporate law.
Henry Huang ‘91, a technical specialist and supervisor for the SYNC platform QA group at Ford Motor Co., was named Test & Measurement World’s 2011 Test Engineer of the Year.
Michelle MacDonald ’98 joined the Lake Leelanau Creekside Clinic in Traverse City, Mich. as a physician assistant.
Myrtle C. Means ’97, ’00 published her first book, The Recipe for Ecstasy—What Women Want: Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction.
Sean Moran ’93, senior vice president and senior investment management consultant with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, and current standing president of the Detroit Athletic Club, was elected to the board of trustees of the Academy of the Sacred Heart. Moran is also on the board of The Parade Company and The DAC Foundation.
Joseph Nolan ’93 was promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army. He has served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ronald Tosto, D.D.S. ’92 joined the Godley Station Dental practice in Pooler, Ga.
John Stone ’93 was promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army. He has served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
2000s
Derek Atlas ’02, head track coach at Crockett School in Detroit, was recognized by ClickOnDetroit.com WDIV as an “Everyday Hero: Making a Difference” for his work to help overweight children build self-esteem and lose weight through a specialized track program that he developed out of the Paul Robeson/Malcolm X Academy. In addition to running track and competing, the kids learn about eating the right foods and overall health.
Ryann O’Boyle Bunch ’04 was named an associate with the Port Huron law firm of Kelly, Whipple, Zick & Keyes P.L.L.C.
Jana Cephas '05 was named Critical Studies Fellow at Cranbrook Academy of Art for 2011-12.
Kathleen S. Corpus ’00 recently joined the law firm of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston. She focuses her practice on products liability and commercial litigation.
Brad Haney ’09, ’10 was recently promoted to Post Entry supervisor at Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Inc. in Farmington Hills.
Kevin Dean Kijewski ’03 was appointed dean of Business Administration at Baker College.
Anthony Lynch ’04 was named business manager and part of the senior leadership team at Shore Mortgage in Birmingham.
Brandon Podolski ’01 was named an entity member of Plante Moran CRESA.
Lauren Sackey ’09, ’10 recently accepted a position as a campaign coordinator with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and entered a doctoral program at Wayne State University.
Jennifer Schneider ’00 was promoted to the head of Quality for Chassis & Safety, Hydraulic Braking Systems NA at Continental Automotive Systems. She recently completed the eight-month Continental International Management Program.
Juaquin Nuno Whelan ’00, vehicle chief engineer for North America, Chevrolet Sonic at General Motors Corporation, was the keynote speaker at the SAE dinner meeting, Sept. 15, where he introduced the new Chevrolet Sonic.
Mike Whiting ’01 was promoted to audit senior manager in the Southfield office of Grant Thornton.
2010s
Leandro Girardi ’10 was promoted to the position of managing director of Fras-le Europe GmbH.
Wesley J. Meier ’10 accepted a new position as an Enterprise Risk Services consultant at Deloitte & Touche LLP Technology Risk Advisory Security & Privacy Services.
Bruno Olvera ’11 accepted a new position in the Purchasing and Supply Quality Leadership Program with the Chrysler Corporation.
Dean Storm '11 was selected as a finalist for the "Drivers of Change" exhibition in London sponsored by ARUP and the Bartlett School of Architecture. His film was featured in the exhibition.
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.