Updated: October 2012

Guy O. Kornblum, BA’61, a principal in the San Francisco law firm Guy Kornblum & Associates, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Foundation of Hastings College of the Law at the University of California in San Francisco. He was recently certified in civil pretrial practice advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Kornblum lives in San Francisco.

Mary Hudak Tuytschaevers, BA’68, MLS’90, of Hobbs, N.M., is director of library services at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs.

In 2011 retired U.S. Army Reserve Col. Michael F. Herman, BA’70, was recalled back to active duty at age 64. He was assigned as commander of a security forces assistance team in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The recipient of numerous military commendations, Herman initially retired in 2004 at the mandatory age of 57. He now consults part-time as an executive protection detail leader and has protected dignitaries from the Dalai Lama to celebrities. Herman lives in Hobart, Ind.

Journalism and political science major, John S. Fagan, BA’71, is the editor of The Monitor in McAllen, Texas, a newspaper serving the Rio Grande Valley. Fagan still has many memories, “some of them fairly coherent,” from his time at the Indiana Daily Student. He recalls summers at the IDS, when “Chancellor Herman B Wells would surprise us by showing up with ice-cold watermelons for the staff sweating away at Ernie Pyle Hall to get the paper out.” A former managing editor of the student-run paper, Fagan remembers when “the bells on the AP and the UPI wire machines were going nuts” the nights Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. Fagan lives in Mission, Texas.

Robert D. Smither, BA’71, has been named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. In addition to being an academic administrator, Smither uses his IU degree in political science to write newpsychopolitics.com, a blog on the psychology of politicians. He lives in Maitland, Fla.

Veteran broadcaster Jane Pauley, BA’72, LHD’96, moderated a panel of nationally recognized authorities on the future of teacher education during the August meeting of the IU Board of Trustees in Indianapolis. Pauley is a member of the board of directors of the Mind Trust in Indianapolis, which is dedicated to improving public education for underserved children. Also in August, she attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Jane Pauley Community Health Center Dental Clinic on Indianapolis’ east side, where she grew up. Pauley lives in New York City.

Michael E. Brown, BA’74, JD/MBA’78, is a senior partner in the Indianapolis office of the law firm Kightlinger & Gray. Practicing law for over 30 years, he focuses on corporate and business litigation, insurance coverage and bad faith, and professional liability cases involving accountants, attorneys, insurance agents, and other professionals. He served as a law clerk to a federal judge and has served on the firm’s management committee for nearly 20 years. Brown has been recognized by his peers with numerous legal awards, including Diplomat of the Indiana Defense Trial Counsel in 2009, inclusion in Indiana Super Lawyers from 2004 to 2011, and being selected for inclusion in the 2009–2012 editions of Best Lawyers in America in the area of malpractice law. He lives in Indianapolis.

Danuta Bembenista Panich, BA’75, JD’78, has been elected as a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. She has been a shareholder in Ogletree Deakins, a national labor and employment law firm, since 2007 and works out of the firm’s Indianapolis office. Panich lives in Carmel, Ind., with her husband [346219] Nick, BA’76, who retired in 2008 as chief of police after 30 years with the Munster (Ind.) Police Department.

Barton A. Bixenstine, MA’76, PhD’77, is a partner in the law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease’s Cleveland office and a member of the labor and employment group. He is a certified specialist in employment and labor law and a fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Bixenstine represents employers in employment and labor litigation as well as providing legal counsel and advice in a wide range of employment-related issues. He has litigated claims involving breach of contract, wage and hour, FMLA, hostile environment, sex harassment, wrongful termination, and age, race, religious and national origin discrimination. Bixenstine lives in Cleveland.

Donald R. Winslow, ’76, is an editor for News Photographer magazine. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Rosemary F. De Bellis, BA’83, is an attorney living and practicing in New York City. She was recently appointed assistant commissioner of the New York City Police Department. De Bellis writes that she would be happy to hear from former classmates and can be reached at rosemary.debellis@nypd.org.

Thomas R. Schultz, BA’84, JD’87, is a principal partner in the Indianapolis law firm Schultz & Pogue. He is a trial attorney in both federal and state courts with over 50 jury trials to his credit and numerous bench trials. Schultz has also argued and presented briefs to the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He currently serves as the Indiana State Representative for the Defense Research Institute, the international organization of attorneys defending the interest of business and individuals in civil litigation. Schultz is also a past president of the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana, the largest organization of civil defense trial lawyers in the state. He was named Defense Lawyer of the Year for 2011 by the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana. Schultz has been recognized as one of the top Indiana lawyers by being named as a Super Lawyer for the last five years. He lives in Carmel, Ind.

Tracy Borgert Marshall, BA’87, is a civil trial lawyer who works in the Orlando office of the Florida law firm GrayRobinson. She practices in the areas of eminent domain, land use litigation, and commercial litigation. Marshall’s general commercial litigation practice includes state and federal court litigation regarding franchises, trademarks, trade secrets, employment discrimination suits, landlord/tenant disputes, foreclosures, title insurance claims, and fraudulent transfer claims. She was named as an “Outstanding Attorney” in Best Lawyers in America 2012. Marshall, who lives in Winter Park, Fla., joined GrayRobinson in 1990.

Tadas E. Viskanta, BA’89 is the author of Abnormal Returns: Winning Strategies from the Frontlines of the Investment Blogosphere, published in April by McGraw-Hill. Viskanta is the founder and editor of the financial blog abnormalreturns.com and a private investor with more than 20 years professional experience in the financial markets. He lives in Zionsville, Ind.

Christina McConnell Bennett, BA’90, vice president of meetings and events of the Indiana Bankers Association, was named 2011 Association Professional of the Year by the Indiana Society of Association Executives. The award recognizes exemplary contributions to the association and not-for-profit management profession; dedication and innovation in provision of services; continued professional development; and community leadership and service. Bennett joined the IBA in 1990 and is responsible for the association’s largest events, including its Mega Conference, annual convention, legislative reception and Indiana Economic Outlook Forum.

Alison B. Betty, BA’92, is a partner in the Washington, D.C., advertising agency GMMB. The company is known for its creative, PR, and consulting work with nonprofits, advocacy groups, and political leaders. Betty manages a diverse portfolio of projects in health care and public policy. A leader in health care communications, she has great experience in campaign management, advertising, business development, fundraising, and grassroots organizing to help forge partnerships between the public and private sectors. Betty lives in Washington, D.C.

Stephanie Fields Cassman, BA’97, JD’00, is a partner in the Indianapolis law firm Lewis Wagner. She focuses her practice on premises liability, product liability, and employment law. Cassman is an active member of the Defense Research Institute’s employment law section and trial tactics committee of the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana. She is also an active member of the Indianapolis Bar Association, where she serves as the chairwoman of the litigation section.

Since 2007, James R. Holden, BA’97, JD’01, has served as chief deputy treasurer and general counsel in the Indiana State Treasurer’s Office. Between 2002 and 2005, Holden acted as deputy attorney general for the Office of the Indiana Attorney General. He also worked as deputy insurance commissioner for the State of Indiana. Aside from his other responsibilities, Holden is an adjunct professor of political science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. In 2006, he received the IUPUI Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Holden lives with his wife Kristina (Dreiband), BA’98, in Zionsville, Ind.

Max E. Fiester, BA’99, JD’02, a partner in the litigation department of Evansville, Ind., law firm Rudolph, Fine, Porter & Johnson, was named as a 2011 Rising Star by Indiana Super Lawyers. Fiester concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial litigation, insurance coverage, and insurance defense. He also serves on the editorial board for the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana.

Ryan M. Hurley, BA’00, JD’03, is a partner in the law firm Faegre Baker Daniels’ Indianapolis office. He is a business litigator with significant experience in the areas of antitrust, health care, contract disputes and bankruptcy litigation. Hurley has litigated class actions and multi-district litigation proceedings, and has first and second chair trial and arbitration experience. He also has appellate experience, including a Seventh Circuit oral argument on behalf of a pro bono criminal client. Hurley lives in Carmel, Ind.

Robert M. Baker IV, BA’02, JD’05, is an associate attorney in the Indianapolis Law firm Lewis Wagner’s litigation group. He concentrates his practice in complex litigation, insurance coverage, professional liability defense and product liability defense. Baker assists clients through all phases of federal and state litigation. Prior to joining the firm in 2007, he served for two years as a judicial law clerk for Chief Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.

Christopher M. Nancarrow, BA’04, JD’09 is chief deputy clerk of the Allen County Circuit and Superior Courts in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Sandra Reineke, PhD’04, is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Her research and teaching interests are in the fields of political philosophy, comparative, and international politics with a focus on citizenship rights and gender, particularly in Europe and North America. Reineke’s work is published in various scholarly journals, including the International Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics, Simone de Beauvoir Studies, and Contemporary French Civilization. Her book, Beauvoir and Her Sisters: The Politics of Women's Bodies in France, was published by the University of Illinois Press in May 2011. Reineke is currently working on a new book manuscript about the abortion debate in postwar France and national bioethics laws governing new reproductive and genetic technologies.

Andrew M. Pittman, BA’08, JD’11, has joined Williams Law in Evansville, Ind., as an associate attorney practicing in criminal defense, civil litigation, and family law. He lives in Evansville.

John D. Hill Jr., BA’09, is attending law school at the University of Cincinnati. [minor in Political Science]