Updated: June 2012

James Cougias Christopher, BA’58, MS’65, is a retired teacher. He writes that he lived in Hawaii for more than 20 years and recently moved to Nebraska to be closer to his daughter.

Guy O. Kornblum, BA’61, principal in the law firm Guy Kornblum & Associates in San Francisco, has been recertified through 2015 in civil trial advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He was also recently named a Super Lawyer for 2011, the sixth straight year he has been so honored. Kornblum, whose law firm specializes in mediations, trials, arbitrations, and appeals, is also a member of the Elite Lawyers of America and the Verdict Club, two organizations that recognize the most accomplished lawyers in the United States. He lives in San Francisco.

“I’ve practiced law in Dayton, Ohio, for over 45 years,” writes Dennis M. Hanaghan, BA’62, LLB’65. He adds, “My practice revolves around estate planning and probate.” Hanaghan is also a trustee and executive director of the Fred & Alice Wallace Foundation, which helps local organizations meet the health-care and educational needs of adults and children in the Miami Valley of Ohio. Hanaghan’s sister, Patricia Hanaghan Whisler, BS’62, and his son, Matthew D. Hanaghan, BA’95, (who also majored in political science) both attended IU Bloomington.

“As an IU grad of half a century ago, I wanted to send along a simple update on the next-to-last day of my journalism career,” writes James R. Polk, BA’64. “After working 55 years as a journalist,” he continues, “I [have] retired as a senior documentary producer for CNN in Atlanta. My first full-time job as a reporter was at the Bloomington Herald-Telephone while I was still an IU student in 1960. My career took me from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C., with the Associated Press, and included a 1974 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for my investigative coverage of Watergate in The Washington Star. I was a national correspondent on NBC News for almost 20 years before moving to CNN for another two decades.” Polk and his wife live in Marietta, Ga.

In October, Indiana University and the IU Foundation honored five alumni as Partners in Philanthropy, recognizing the key role that volunteers play in the university’s philanthropic achievements. Mark E. Hill, MBA’82, received the Cornerstone Award for his longstanding support of the School of Informatics and Computing. Peter H. Kroener, MBA’70, DBA’73; his wife, Monika (Herzig), MBA’71, DBA’82; and Robert A. Borns, BS’57, each received the Keystone Award for their exemplary volunteer leadership through multiple IU fundraising campaigns. The Kroeners have established fellowships in both the Jacobs School of Music and the Kelley School of Business. Borns’s dedication and leadership have ensured that IU has one of the leading Jewish-studies programs in the nation. Former president of the IU Board of Trustees James T. Morris, BA’65, received the Herman B Wells Visionary Award, which recognizes a lifetime of dedication to shaping the future of IU and to helping see that future realized.

In February former U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul H. O’Neill, MPA’66, announced his plan to give $100,000 to endow the Lynton Keith Caldwell Professorship in international environmental studies through the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. A student of Caldwell’s during his time at IU, O’Neill continues to cite his mentor as a pivotal influence on his career. After graduating from IU, O’Neill worked for several government agencies and in the not-for-profit and private sectors. He rose to become CEO of Alcoa, one of the world’s largest producers of aluminum, and led the company to dramatic revenue growth over a 12-year period. O’Neill was subsequently named secretary of the treasury in 2001 by President George W. Bush and served for close to two years. O’Neill has remained active in a variety of civic, corporate, and philanthropic roles since leaving the Bush administration. He lives in Pittsburgh.

The American Property Tax Counsel elected Stephen H. Paul, BA’69, JD’72, of the law firm Faegre Baker & Daniels as president for the 2011–12 term. Comprised of 32 member firms and more than 100 attorneys from across the country, APTC provides major real estate owners advice on the nuances of property taxation systems in numerous states. Paul is a founding member of APTC, the official Indiana representative, and only the third president in the two-decade history of the organization. A partner at Faegre Baker & Daniels, with close to 40 years of experience in tax law, he represents clients before the Indiana Tax Court, Indiana Department of Revenue, Indiana Department of Local Government Finance, Indiana Board of Review, and numerous local boards and agencies in state and local tax matters. Paul also serves on the board of visitors and as an adjunct law professor at the IU Maurer School of Law. In March, he was inducted into the school’s Academy of Law Alumni Fellows. Induction into the academy — which includes U.S. senators, federal judges, successful business leaders, and distinguished attorneys — is the highest honor the law school bestows on its graduates. Paul lives in Carmel, Ind.

Robert D. Smither, BA’71, has been named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. He has been acting as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences since 2011. During his yearlong tenure, Smither was responsible for managerial duties including oversight of curriculum, faculty recruitment, evaluation, development, and strategic planning. He lives in Maitland, Fla.

Douglas A. Wissing, BA’71, is the author of Funding the Enemy: How U.S. Taxpayers Bankroll the Taliban, published in March by Prometheus Books. The study is a sobering account of attempts by several U.S. administrations to both wage war in and provide aid to Afghanistan, often with confusing and contradictory results. Wissing is an award-winning independent journalist, who has reported widely on the war in Afghanistan for print, radio, and the Web. He has contributed hundreds of stories to numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Asia Times, The Independent on Sunday (UK), and Salon, as well as the BBC, VOA News, and NPR networks. Wissing, who has also written for the Indiana Alumni Magazine, is the author of five books, including Pioneer in Tibet: The Life and Perils of Dr. Albert Shelton. He lives in Bloomington, Ind.

Jeffrey L. Gage, BA’72, JD’77, is a partner in the law firm Quarles & Brady’s Phoenix office. He practices in the firm’s real estate group in the areas of real estate development, real estate finance, corporate, commercial and county government. Gage has been listed in Best Lawyers in America, 2010–present in the area of real estate law. He lives in Scottsdale, Ariz.

In October the IU College of Arts and Sciences honored Adam M. Robinson, BA’72, MD’76, LHD’10, and Carolyn Kroll Reidy, MA’74, PhD’82, by presenting both with 2011 College Distinguished Alumni Awards. Robinson is surgeon general and chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery for the U.S. Navy. He was also IU’s Commencement speaker in December 2010. Reidy is president and CEO of Simon and Schuster. Both recipients of the College’s Distinguished Alumni Award presented public seminars during their time on campus.

Award-winning health-care journalist Stephen B. Jacob, BA’73, MA’80, MS’86, is the author of Health Care in 2020: Where Uncertain Reform, Bad Habits, Too Few Doctors, and Skyrocketing Costs are Taking Us, published in January by Dorsam Publishing. Based on more than a year of intensive research, Jacob offers an analysis of the American health-care system, examining its problems and presenting solutions that transcend partisan politics. Jacob recently retired after a 13-year career as publisher of the suburban editions of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He is editor of D Healthcare Daily, a website about the business of healthcare in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and an adjunct professor at the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas in Fort Worth. Jacob, who lives in Colleyville, Texas, was editor of The Indiana Daily Student in 1973.

Janis L. Summers, BA’75, JD’78, has reached 30 years of service as an attorney with the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. She writes, “As a Presbyterian elder, I will attend the 2012 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly in Pittsburgh.” Summers lives in Gaithersburg, Md.

Building Indiana, a bimonthly publication that covers economic development news across the Hoosier state, has named Ernest Summers III, BA’76, JD/MBA’80, to its Who’s Who in Indiana Class of 2011, in recognition of his professional and civic contributions. Summers is a partner in the law firm Baker & Daniels’ business litigation practice group where he focuses on commercial litigation regarding product liability, insurance recovery claims, antitrust, licensing and distribution, securities fraud, and mass toxic tort. A resident of Michigan City, Ind., Summers practices in Baker & Daniels’ Chicago office.

Kathleen Harsh Jonas, BA’78, MLibSt’97, received the Association Executives Council’s Spectrum Executive of the Year Award at the annual conference of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors – National Association in Minneapolis in 2011. Jonas is executive director of the St. Joseph Valley PHCC in South Bend, Ind. The award recognizes community involvement, including her work with the We the People program, which teaches the Constitution in schools and leadership efforts with the St. Joseph County Chapter of the IU Alumni Association. Jonas and her husband, Bill, BA’78, JD’81, live in South Bend.

The IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law presented the school’s 2012 Distinguished Alumni Awards and Early Career Achievement Awards at a ceremony on the IUPUI campus in May. Distinguished Alumni Award recipients were G. Frederick Glass, BA’81, JD’84, IU vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics; Jane E. Magnus-Stinson, JD’83, judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana; and Michael W. Wells, JD’79, president of REI Investments Inc., a real-estate management company. Early Career Achievement Awards were presented to Chasity Q. Thompson, JD’02, assistant dean of the Office of Professional Development at the McKinney School of Law; and U.S. Representative for Indiana’s 9th congressional district Todd C. Young, JD’06.

In July, Michael W. Griffin, BA’81, MPA’95, of Highland, Ind., was elected to serve on the board of directors of the Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada during the organization’s 46th annual conference held in Oklahoma City. He has served as clerk-treasurer for the town of Highland since 1992.

In July 2010, Mark T. Hayden, BA’83, JD’86, managing partner of Greenebaum Doll & McDonald’s Cincinnati office, was appointed to a three-year term on the Ohio State Bar Association’s Litigation Section Council. A business trial attorney for more than 25 years, Hayden has experience in a wide variety of litigation matters. He concentrates his trial practice on complex business disputes, product liability, insurance coverage, ERISA litigation, trademark/copyright litigation and employment litigation. Hayden lives in Newport, Ky.

Rebecca Friedberg Sullivan, BA’84, writes, “In my career I’ve tried so many things, from five years in media relations to obtaining an MBA and partnering in managing an aerospace consulting firm for 17 years; writing as an at-large-editor for an international auto publication; serving as an employee-benefits columnist for a company newsletter; organizing fundraising events; sitting on many boards of directors; and now assisting the chairman of a large industrial development company.”

Stephanie A. Gattman, BA’89, writes, “I recently left The Elkhart Truth after almost 23 years as an editor and reporter to take a job as a communications specialist with the Congregation of the Holy Cross, U.S. Province of Priests and Brothers in Notre Dame, Ind. I have two sons — Steven, 16, and Alexander, 13. We live in Goshen, Ind., and they attend Concord High School, where I am a football and band mom.”

Lonnie D. Johnson, BA’89, JD’92, is a partner in the law firm Clendening Johnson & Bohrer, which recently opened offices in Bloomington, Ind. The firm provides litigation, business, and personal legal services. He lives in Bloomington.

Amy Olson Miller, BA’91, writes that she married Lester C. Miller, JD’77, in April at the Indiana Statehouse. Miller’s sister, Terry Miller Mumford, JD’73, officiated at the wedding. Amy is a grant consultant in the IUPUI Office of Research Administration. She previously worked as a project development manager at Hoosier Oncology Group. Lester is a principal at IYP Solutions, a government-consulting firm based in Indianapolis. He has more than 20 years of government service, including time spent in the Indiana Governor’s Office. Mumford is a law partner at Ice Miller in Indianapolis.

Kathryn Morgan Cimera, BA’92, is Of Counsel in the law firm Bingham McHale’s Indianapolis office. She is a member of the firm’s pension and fiduciary industry team. Cimera concentrates her practice in the areas of pension benefits, board governance, fiduciary counseling, institutional investors, and government relations. She lives in Greenwood, Ind.

Pamela J. Hensler, BA’92, JD’00, a partner at the Bloomington, Ind., law firm Clendening Johnson & Bohrer, is a trial attorney specializing in business, product liability, insurance, tort, and bankruptcy litigation. She received her law degree from the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis in 2000, and is admitted to the bar in Indiana, U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana, and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. Hensler previously practiced in Evansville, Ind., in the area of civil litigation, and later worked as an in-house cargo attorney for a large insurance company specializing in insuring the trucking industry. She lives in Bloomington.

Daniel L. Joseph, BA’92, works as the Africa desk editor at Voice of America in Washington, D.C. He writes and edits news stories for the organization’s eight African language services and recently celebrated his 10th anniversary with the organization. Joseph and his wife, Yoni, have two kindergarten-age sons. They live in Lorton, Va.

“I graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, R.I., in June, earning an MA in national security and strategic studies,” writes Christopher D. Compton, BAJ’95. “Additionally, I was promoted to lieutenant colonel on Aug. 1 and selected to command 2nd Battalion, 2nd Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Sill, Okla.” [Outside area/minor in political science]

Rafael Reuveny, MBus’96, PhD’97, is co-editor of Coping with Terrorism: Origins, Escalation, Counterstrategies, and Responses (SUNY Press, 2010). In the book, political scientists analyze various facets of terrorism from theoretical and empirical perspectives in a series of scholarly essays. Reuveny is professor of political economy at Indiana University Bloomington. His books include Democracy and Economic Openness in an Interconnected System: Complex Transformations.

Jennifer Gallas Steffus, BS’96, is vice president of annual programs and events at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. She lives in Palatine, Ill., with her husband, Tom, BAJ’96, a freelance documentary producer, writer, and broadcast producer. The couple has two daughters, Lainey and Holly. [Minor in political science]

Shannon R. Burford, BA’97, writes, “I graduated from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in May 2011. I received a call to pastor Springhill and Kingston Presbyterian Churches [in Greensburg, Ind.] in October.” Burford lives in Morristown, Ind.

Last summer, Daniel K. Wiseman, BA’98, joined the staff of Georgia State University as director of development in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business. He lives in Marietta, Ga., and can be reached at dawisema@yahoo.com.

In November, Andrew T. Lennie, BA’99, won an Emmy at the 53rd Annual Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards Ceremony. A senior producer for television station WGN in Chicago, Lennie won the award for a series of Chicago Cubs promotional spots. He and his wife, Nicole (Parham), BS’99, a child-life specialist at Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill., live in Forest Park, Ill.

The Indiana Bankers Association has promoted Dax E. Denton, BA’01, to vice president of government relations. He joined the IBA’s government-relations team as assistant vice president in 2008 and was promoted to his current position in March. Previously he was manager of state relations for the Indiana Statewide Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, prior to which he was deputy legislative director of the Association of Indiana Counties. A member of the Governmental Affairs Society of Indiana, Denton has been active with the Indiana Geographic Information Council, Transportation Enhancement Appropriations Committee, Indiana Historic Preservation’s Courthouse Preservation Task Force and the Lead Elimination Plan Advisory Committee of the Indiana Department of Health. He lives in Indianapolis.

Independent filmmaker, writer, and professional speaker, Roy P. Germano III, BA’01, returned to the IU Bloomington campus in March 2011 for a screening of The Other Side of Immigration, his award-winning film about why Mexicans migrate to the U.S. and what happens to the families and communities they leave behind. Germano, who shot, directed, and edited the 55-minute documentary, conducted more than 700 interviews for the film, which illuminates Mexico’s economic hardships and the social pressures on its citizens to seek a better way of life. An offshoot of Germano’s doctoral dissertation work at the University of Texas, the film has screened at dozens of film festivals, universities, and conferences throughout the U.S. and Europe and was recognized as a 2011 Notable Video by the American Library Association. Germano, whose prior academic positions include visiting assistant professor of politics at the New School in New York City and scholar-in-residence in the Department of Hispanic and Spanish Studies at Texas Christian University, speaks frequently on immigration issues around the country. For more information about the film and the director, visit www.roygermano.com.

Gavin Mariano, BA’01, has completed his first year in the IU School of Social Work’s MSW program at the IU Northwest campus. He was also selected to have an original quote permanently displayed on the IUN Diversity Landmark Wall of Fame in Savannah Hall. IUN Chancellor William Lowe presented Mariano with a certificate honoring his selection during a reception in April.

In April, Marie E. Harf, BA’03, married Joshua P. Lucas in Vienna, Va. Currently based in Chicago, she is associate policy director for national security for President Obama’s re-election campaign. Before joining the campaign in December, Harf — who holds a master’s degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia — was a spokeswoman for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Kathy L. Osborn, BA/BS’87, JD’99, and Sarah C. Jenkins, Cert/BAJ’03, JD’06, who both work in the Indianapolis office of the law firm Baker & Daniels, have been named recipients of the 2011 Pro Bono Award for Attorney Aiding Individuals by the Indianapolis Bar Association. Osborn, a partner in the firm’s antitrust, appellate, and business litigation practices, and Jenkins, a business litigation associate, were recognized for providing access to justice to underserved individuals. In its announcement, the IBA described Osborn and Jenkins’ recent work on a guardianship case on behalf of a man with a mental health disability who was living in a homeless shelter when he approached Baker & Daniels about legal representation. In 2007, the man’s guardian caused his home and personal belongings to be demolished against his wishes, without his consent, and without notice. He came to Baker & Daniels seeking legal assistance, and Osborn agreed to represent him on a pro bono basis. In the past four years, Osborn and Jenkins have spent almost 700 hours advocating for his rights through legal advocacy briefings, meetings, and social service contacts. Jenkins and Osborn litigated the client’s case with a successful result from the Indiana Court of Appeals. In addition to litigating the case, Osborn and Jenkins developed effective communication and representation strategies to facilitate the process of counseling a client with a mental health disability. The strategies they constructed and employed during this case have been the focus of various continuing legal education presentations on this topic. Osborn and Jenkins were honored along with other award winners at the IBA’s annual recognition luncheon on Nov. 29, 2011, at the Conrad Indianapolis. Osborn and Jenkins both live in Indianapolis. [Outside area/minor in political science]

Cullen C. Harkness, BA’04, is an associate attorney for the law firm Bodwin & Associates in East Lansing, Mich. His practice areas include criminal defense, municipal law, family law, estate administration, and general civil litigation. Harkness also serves multiple municipalities as prosecuting attorney for Meridian Township (Mich.), city attorney for Albion (Mich.), and special prosecutor for the city of East Lansing. He lives in Okemos, Mich.

Douglas W. La Fave, BA’04, was awarded the Michigan Rural Water Association’s City Manager of the Year for 2011. He is city manager for Grant, Mich. He lives in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Eric C. Lewis, BAJ’04, JD’08, recently established the Indianapolis-based law firm Lewis Legal Services, which specializes in consumer bankruptcy, estate planning, and probate and mediation. Lewis lives in the Indianapolis area and is licensed to practice law in Indiana and Illinois.  [Outside area/minor in political science]
 
In August 2011, Meghan A. Dwyer, BAJ’05, JD’08, took a job as an investigative reporter for television station WIFR, the CBS affiliate in Rockford, Ill., covering crime and legal issues. Dwyer was recently nominated for a 2011 Chicago/Midwest Emmy for a documentary she co-produced and filmed while getting her master’s degree in journalism at Northwestern University. Previously, Dwyer practiced law in Chicago, specializing in commercial litigation and representing large corporations in contractual disputes. She lives in Chicago. [Outside area/minor in political science]

Mary D. Clerkin, BAJ’06, JD’09, is world wide certification and functional excellence leader, product environmental management for Cummins Inc. in Columbus, Ind., where she lives.  [Outside area/minor in political science]

Michael W. Wagner, PhD’06, has won the Hazel R. McClymont Teaching Fellow Award at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science. The UNL College of Arts and Sciences named him an Academic Star in January, and he received a UNL Parents’ Association teaching award in February. The University of Nebraska named Wagner Outstanding Educator of the Year in 2009. He lives in Lincoln.

Kacie Foster Axsom, Cert/BA’07, lives in Indianapolis. Axsom received a BA in communication and culture with a minor in political science and a certificate in journalism. She is a former editor of the Indiana Daily Student.

Nina Mehta, BAJ’07, MS’11, is a designer for Twilio, an Internet-based voice and data-communications company located in San Francisco. The company allows software developers to make and receive phone calls and send and receive text messages using its web service application-programming interface. Mehta lives in San Francisco and she writes that she is interested in networking with students and alumni. She can be reached at ninameh@gmail.com. [Outside area/minor in political science]

Daniel Palermo, BS’07, will receive a law degree from Loyola University College of Law in May and an MBA in December. He lives in Cincinnati. [Minor in political science]