Updated: December 2015

Retired Lt. Gen. Roger L. Rothrock, BA’49, served in the Pacific with the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he went to college on the GI Bill and studied medicine. Rothrock subsequently served in a M.A.S.H. unit during the Korean War and then pursued a lifelong career as a doctor and medical consultant. He lives in Palm Springs, Calif.

Charlotte (Sutheimer) Cochran, BA’51, recently retired following a 28-year real-estate career in Indianapolis. Her husband, Lt. Col. Charles W. “Chuck” Cochran, BS’53, MS’85, retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1978, having flown 7,000 hours in nine types of aircraft. He did two tours of Southeast Asia, flying 87 missions in Vietnam and received two medals of commendation. He also was trained to rescue astronauts from the ocean after space missions. After earning a JD degree from the University of Dayton School of Law in 1985, Chuck Cochran became a public defender and later a magistrate. Retired since 1998, he now restores Chrysler and DeSoto Airflow cars. The Cochrans live in Shelbyville, Ind., with their retired racing greyhounds.

Ilvi Joe Cannon, MA’66, is the editor and translator of Mis teha – siin ta on, which was originally published in Germany in 1947. The book, which translates to Refugee in English, is about displaced Estonians in Germany after World War II and examines the role that the Western powers played in the lives of Baltic refugees in Germany. Cannon has been living in Estonia since 1997 and is the editor of Carrying Linda’s Stones: An Anthology of Estonian Women’s Life Stories, which recounts the stories of 15 Estonian women during World War II and the Soviet occupation.

East Carolina University professor David L. Edgell, MPA’70, was awarded the 2014 Board on Human Sciences Lifetime Achievement Award, which honors a nationally recognized leader with significant history of advancing human sciences in higher education. Edgell, who is a professor in ECU’s College of Human Ecology, has devoted much of his career toward promoting tourism as an economic and social development tool for communities and nations worldwide.

Robert A. Rush, BA’73, retired from a 42-year career in industry in March. He worked for Cummins Engine Co. in Columbus, Ind., for 27 years, and spent a further 15 years at Meritor Automotive and A.O. Smith, respectively, in information technology management. A lifelong Hoosier basketball fan, he recently moved to Panama City Beach, Fla., with his wife, Debbie, who worked in the IU Athletics Department while he was a student at IU.

Michael H. Starks, BA’74, MLS’12, is supervising librarian of computer instruction at the Indianapolis Public Library. He leads a team responsible for planning, scheduling, and implementing programs and classes in the Central Library’s computer lab and Makerspace. Since joining the library in 2012, Starks has taught computer and Internet skills and helped plan the library’s community digitization and historical preservation project. He lives in Zionsville, Ind., with his wife, Cynthia.

In February, the Immigrant Welcome Center, dedicated to serving newcomers to Indianapolis, elected Richard C. Miller, BA’77, to its board of directors for a three-year term. Before retiring in 2012, Miller served for 13 years as president and CEO of Kentucky-based E.D. Bullard and Company, a designer and manufacturer of personal protective equipment for people working in hazardous conditions. Fluent in Spanish and a frequent traveler to Latin America, he relocated from Lexington, Ky., to Indianapolis in 2014.

The photography of Indianapolis businessman Bruce W. Buchanan, BA’78, was featured in Chicago’s Millennium Fine Art Gallery in April. His work has been published in The New York Times, Nation’s Business, and Forbes. Buchanan is owner and CEO of Buchanan Group and Flanner and Buchanan, both family-owned, end-of-life and life-celebrating businesses located in Indianapolis. After graduating from IU, Buchanan went on to work as a photographer and picture editor at three daily newspapers. In 2013, he published a book of photographs, Broad Ripple, USA: The Quiet Side of the Village. For more information, visit BuchananPhotoCelebrations.com.

Marci A. Reddick, BA’78, JD’84, a partner in the Indianapolis office of the law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister, was selected for inclusion in the 2015 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the area of corporate law. She is a member of the firm’s real estate and business/ finance practice groups and represents clients in all phases of real estate acquisition, sales, finance, and development.

Hobart, Ind., native Richard B. “Rick” Welch, BA’80, current president and publisher of The Madisonville (Ky.) Messenger, was recently installed as 2015 president of the Kentucky Press Association. The association, in its 146th year, held its annual convention at the Marriott East in Louisville. Welch is a former publisher at the Michigan City News-Dispatch and is a former sports reporter, rock/pop columnist, and advertising executive at the Post-Tribune. He lives in Madisonville. 

In October 2014, Roger H. Bickel, BA’82, a partner in the Chicago-based law firm Freeborn & Peters, was named one of Illinois’ top 10 leading government, municipal, lobbying, and administrative lawyers by Leading Lawyers. The organization has recognized him as one of the state’s leading lawyers since 2004. Bickel, who is chairman of Freeborn & Peters’s government and regulatory practice group, lives in Winnetka, Ill.

John Bartlow Martin: A Voice for the Underdog, a new book by historian and prolific author, Ray E. Boomhower, BA’82, MA’95, was published by Indiana University Press in April. During the 1940s and ’50s, Martin’s name dominated the pages of the big “slick” magazines, such as The Saturday Evening Post, Harper’s, and Collier’s. A former reporter for the Indianapolis Times, Martin was a key speechwriter and adviser to the presidential campaigns of many prominent Democrats from 1950 into the 1970s, including those of Adlai Stevenson, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Robert F. Kennedy. He earned a small measure of fame when FCC Chairman Newton Minow introduced his description of television as “a vast wasteland” into the nation’s vocabulary.

Samuel D. Hodson, BA’82, JD’86, MBA’90, who works in the Indianapolis office of the law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister, was selected for inclusion in the 2015 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of bankruptcy and creditor/debtor rights and litigation–bankruptcy. His practice is focused on clients in transition who need assistance in acquisitions, debt restructuring, refinancing, workouts and turnarounds.

Mark T. Hayden, BA’83, JD’86, a partner in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky offices of the law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister, was selected for inclusion in the 2015 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the areas of commercial litigation and corporate law. His practice focuses on business disputes, with a particular expertise in the areas of products liability, competitive practices/unfair competition, insurance, and construction litigation. Hayden lives in Cincinnati.

“My wife, Heidi, and I live in Lafayette, Colo.,” writes Michael J. Foote, BA’95. “I am currently a state representative and vice chairman of the House Finance Committee.”

Journalist and baseball historian Ryan N. Whirty, BAJ’95, MA’05, won the 2015 Tweed Webb Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for American Baseball Research Negro Leagues Conference in Pittsburgh. He earned the top award of the annual conference for his blog, homeplatedontmove.wordpress.com, which has highlighted the accomplishments of dozens of forgotten Negro League stars over the years, including several who died penniless and are buried in unmarked graves. Whirty, a former Indiana University Alumni Magazine intern, lives in Gretna, La. [Note: Poli Sci minor]

Rebecca Gole Geyer, BA’96, JD’98, is the president of the Indiana Chapter of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys, a not-for-profit association consisting of lawyers who work with older clients and their families. She has served for five years as a member of the organization. An attorney in private practice, Geyer is also an adjunct professor of elder law at the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis.

In January, the Marion County Bar Association, an affiliate of the National Bar Association, the USA’s oldest and largest network of predominantly black attorneys and judges, announced its 2015 executive officers and board of directors. The executive officers are: Terrance T. Tharpe, JD’03, Indiana Court of Appeals, president; Roxana Bell, JD’11, Bingham Greenebaum Doll, president-elect; Amber Nicole Ying, JD’04, American College of Education, vice president and Indiana State Bar Association liaison; Hon. Noell F. Taylor-Allen, JD’07, Indiana Civil Rights Commission, treasurer; Detra L. Mills, BGS’99, JD’11, Mills Law, corresponding secretary and Indianapolis Bar Association liaison; and Carlton L. Martin, BA’09, JD’12, Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, recording secretary. The MCBA 2015 board members are: Cassandra Bentley McNair, BS’01, JD’04, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana; Pamela G. Grant-Taylor, MS’02, JD’06, Law Office of Pamela Grant-Taylor; Jimmie L. McMillian Jr., BA’98, JD’02, Barnes & Thornburg; Hon. Fallon Coleman-Hadley, BA’05, JD’09, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Andrea Sheneman Ciobanu, BGS’04, MPA’06, JD’10, Ciobanu Law; and Richard D. Hailey, JD’74, Ramey & Hailey.

In May, Mark W. Bina, BA’00, a partner in the national law firm Quarles & Brady, was elected to the board of directors of Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. CVLS is the oldest civil pro bono organization in Chicago, comprising more than 3,000 attorneys who donate free legal services to thousands of low-income residents. Bina practices in Quarles & Brady’s litigation and dispute resolution and health law practice groups. He lives in Highland Park, Ill.

In March, Gavin Mariano, BA’01, MSW’14, received a social worker license from the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. In May 2015, he celebrated 14 years at the Crisis Center Inc. in Gary, Ind., where he began working after he graduated from IU. Mariano lives in Merrillville, Ind.

James A. Ponce, BA’01, was one of four alumni invited to return to the Bloomington campus as IU College of Arts and Sciences Luminaries in November 2014. As Chicago city director for the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, Ponce works in the Office of Mayor Rahm Emanuel to drive environmental and economic benefits in Chicago. He focuses on energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure finance, and market-driven resource stewardship.

Marie E. Harf, BA’03, was also one of four IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences alumni invited back to campus to participate in the College’s Luminaries program in November 2014. She is deputy spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of State, where she oversees daily press briefings. During the 2012 presidential election, Harf was responsible for national security and foreign policy issues on President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. She was unable to attend the Luminaries program, as she had to accompany Secretary of State John Kerry at Iranian nuclear negotiations.

Strategic advocate Elizabeth Lewis Baney, BA’04, JD’07, has rejoined FaegreBD Consulting as a senior director on the firm’s health and biosciences team in Washington, D.C. She is responsible for creating and implementing public policy solutions for corporations, trade associations, not-for-profits, government entities, and individuals on issues involving health care, technology, and intellectual property. She also serves as legal counsel with FaegreBD Consulting’s parent company, Faegre Baker Daniels. Baney lives in Alexandria, Va.

Adam C. Schau, BA’05, MBA’12, and Elizabeth A. “Liska” Radachi, MA’09, of Washington, D.C., were married in Beck Chapel on the IU campus in October 2014. Schau is a strategy and operations manager for Microsoft’s international public sector services in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Radachi is associate director of development in the College of Education at the University of Maryland. Schau is the son of Duane J. Schau, BA’89, who works for IU Bloomington’s University Information Technology Services, and Natalia (Browar), BA’89, MA’10, who works as an academic advisor for the University Division on the IU Bloomington campus.

In June, Jason R. Sprinkle, BA’12, joined the IU Foundation’s Office of Gift Planning Services. He previously worked for the Office of the Chief Legal Counsel at the Indiana Senate. He will initially divide his time between the Bloomington and Indianapolis offices of the IU Foundation.

In July, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation named three recent IU graduates among the newest class of Woodrow Wilson Indiana Teaching Fellows. The 49 fellows include Sarah K. Cukrowicz, BFA/BS’13, Thomas A. Sheppard, BS’15, and Caitlynn Richardson, BA’15. The highly competitive program recruits recent graduates and career changers with strong backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and math and prepares them to teach in high-need secondary schools. Each fellow receives $30,000 to complete a specially designed master’s degree program. In return, fellows commit to teach for three years in urban and rural Indiana schools that most need strong STEM teachers.