| Vol.
13. No. 3 |
Winter
2003 |
Through
The Years
Alumni
updates, from Salt Lake City to New York City.
'50s
|
Coming full circle—back to the office where he was an administrative intern — Richard E. Kendell MEd’70 PhD’73 has been named the state’s commissioner of higher education, replacing Cecelia Foxley BS’65 PhD’68, who is retiring after 10 years as commissioner. With issues such as growing enrollments and funding cuts, the new commissioner is eager to face the challenges. “I know it is a lot of work,” he says, “[but] education is the great opportunity our state offers to people.” Appointed on Sept. 18, 2003, Kendell had to plunge immediately into work: education’s budget proposals had to be on the governor’s desk by Nov. 3. Nolan Karras, Utah Board of Regents chair, half jokingly said to Kendell on his appointment, “Now get to work, we need the money.” Kendell is no stranger to education or to politics. He has served since 2001 as Gov. Michael Leavitt’s deputy of education. He has also held several positions at the U, in teaching and administration. Karras says, “Rich’s experience and proven track record of success indicate that he is the right person to fill this position and help us meet the challenges facing higher education now and in the future.” Kendell believes the needs of higher education
will not be solved by the commissioner alone and hopes that college
and university presidents will see him as the education advocate
he intends to be. |
Javier Saenz MSW’58 PhD’74, a Salt Lake City psychologist, was honored by Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU) in Mitchell, So. Dakota, with its Alumnus of the Year award. Saenz, who earned his undergraduate degree from DWU in 1956, is a social psychologist with more than 40 years of professional experience. He has treated patients suffering alcohol and substance abuse and chronic mental illness, and has developed and administered a hospitalization and human services training program for the Salt Lake City community mental health system. Although retired, Saenz continues in private clinical practice and in clinical and administrative consultations to local organizations. He also serves as an advocate for ethnic minorities in the Salt Lake City area and in the Southwest. He is a trustee for Intermountain Health Care and a member of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, National Association of Social Workers, Registry of Certified Group Psychotherapists, and the Utah Psychological Association. In 1988, Saenz received the Golden Key Award from the Utah Governor’s Committee for Employment of People with Disabilities. He served on the U’s Chicano Scholarship Fund Committee, received the National Council of Community Mental Health Center’s Minority Program award, the Utah State Chicano of the Year award for outstanding contributions in the field of health, and the American Academy of Human Services Outstanding Professional in Human Services award. Saenz and his wife, Karol BS’70 MS’72 PhD’82, live in Salt Lake City. AM
'60s
Richard A. Robb BA’65 MS’68 PhD’71, Scheller Professor in Medical Research, professor of biophysics and computer science, and director of the Mayo Clinic and Foundation’s biomedical imaging resource, received the ninth annual Satava Award from Medical Education Technologies, Inc (METI). This award is named for Richard M. Satava, the first recipient, and acknowledges an individual or research group that has made significant contributions to the medical application of electronic technologies in a clinical or educational context. Robb received a gift of $2,500 from METI and Mentice Medical Simulation in connection with this award.
'70s
Brent Bradford BS’70 recently retired as deputy director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), after 31 years of involvement in state environmental programs. During that time, he helped draft legislation to create the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, developed Utah’s hazardous and radioactive waste policies, wrote Utah’s first air pollution reduction plans, implemented the state’s underground storage tank inspections, and devised a method for disposing of used oil and recycling used tires. Bradford has served in several leadership positions with the Environmental Council of States and has helped improve the way in which environmental information is managed and accessed.
Eddie F. Brown MS’72 PhD’75 is director of the Kathryn M. Bruder Center for American Indian Studies at the George Warren Brown (GWB) School of Social Work in St. Louis, Mo. Brown originally taught at Arizona State University before working for the Arizona governor’s office in a newly created position focusing on improving the working relationships between Arizona’s Indian tribes and its counties and cities. He later became assistant secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for overseeing all Indian programs for the United States. As a member of the Pasqual Yaqui Indian Tribe, Brown is affiliated with the Tohono O’odham Nation, which brought him back to Arizona as executive director of the tribe’s Department of Human Services. There, he restructured its health and social services agency and established a tribal-controlled community college. Eventually, Brown returned to his “first love,” teaching and education, in St. Louis. Under his leadership, the Bruder Center and GWB have had 45 American Indian students complete the program. In 1993, the University of Utah Alumni Association honored Brown with its Distinguished Alumnus award.
David Hayward BS’75 MS’79 is an economist for the Management Consulting Services Group in the San Diego, Calif., office of R.W. Beck, Inc., a management consulting and engineering firm. Hayward conducts utility valuations and consulting studies for clients in the areas of finance, privatization, ratemaking, and regulatory policy. With more than 20 years of experience in the utility sector, Hayward has authored three books or training manuals on valuing utilities. His previous work includes serving as a utility/ energy advisor to cabinet- level government officials in nine developing countries. He has served as president of his own consulting firm—Hayward Consulting Group—for the last 10 years, and is currently a part-time economics instructor at the University of Phoenix in San Diego.
David Hartzell BS’79 was an active student at the U, participating in the Honors program, student government, College Republicans, chess club, intramural sports, college bowl, and the U Entrepreneurial Program. Following some graduate study, he worked five years at Maytag and five years at General Electric as sales manager in upstate New York before starting his own company—Cornell Capital Management—in 1990. Hartzell is featured on the cover of Business Week Investor, Jan. 20, 2003, and in a feature article outlining Cornell’s road to success. In addition, he and his wife, Carolyn, a former Ute swimmer, host a TV show, “It’s YOUR Business, BUFFALO!” which has become western New York’s premier business TV program. He contributes to numerous print and electronic publications and has been a guest lecturer and speaker in cities across the country. The Hartzells have four children and live in Clarence Center, New York.
'80s
|
Does a tree grow in Brooklyn? Would it grow better in rural New York? This was the riddle Jillian W. Gregg BS’85 MS’91 set out to solve in her study of pollution’s effect on trees she planted in both areas. Her findings are published in the feature article in the July 10, 2003, issue of Nature magazine on “Urbanization Effects on Tree Growth in the Vicinity of New York City.” Gregg and her associates, ecologists at Cornell University and the Institute of Ecosystem Studies (IES), found that trees planted downwind from New York City grew only half as well as those planted in the city. “I know this sounds counterintuitive,” she states in the Nature article, “but it’s true. City-grown pollution—and ozone in particular —is tougher on country trees.” Gregg began work with trees as a joint Cornell/IES graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in ecology. She planted identical clones of cottonwood trees (also known as poplar trees) in and around New York City and in the Hudson River Valley. The study was intended to show the impact on trees in a city environment where a variety of gaseous, particulate, and photochemical pollutants from fossil-fuel combustion can affect trees struggling to grow in metal-laden soil. Gregg returned to the selected sites for three consecutive growing seasons to plant cottonwoods, harvesting them each year, weighing their biomass, and performing other analyses. Her studies were controlled for differences in light, precipitation, season length, and soil factors, thus making air quality the main factor of consideration. The trees planted in Queens and the Bronx were subject to the same pollutants that other plants and people in the boroughs were breathing. Those along the Hudson River and on Long Island were equally exposed. To the surprise of Gregg and her colleagues, the city trees thrived, with their biomass doubling that of rural trees. The ecologists found that in some areas of metropolitan New York City and in other high-pollution cities, there were “footprints” of lower-than-expected ozone exposures. Gregg explains the atmospheric chemistry of the urban areas thus: “Ozone is what we call a secondary pollutant. So while the primary precursors for ozone are emitted in the city, they must act in the presence of sunlight, over time, before ozone is formed. By then, the air mass has moved to rural environments.” The New York City air presents an even more complicated situation in that it is downwind from densely populated and industrialized New Jersey. Much of the ozone that moves into New York City is actually formed in New Jersey. But the reactions of ozone are cyclical, with nitric oxide (NO), a primary precursor occurring in high concentrations in the urban atmosphere, destroying ozone once it is formed. Gregg explains that as new NO compounds develop, three-atom oxygen is reduced to the more benign two-atom variety. The concentrations of NO in most rural areas are very low, so ozone remains in the atmosphere longer in those areas and plants are exposed to the harmful gas for extended periods. One-hour peak exposure to ozone can be intense in the urban areas, but exposure in rural areas is longer and the cumulative exposure is much greater. So, Gregg’s study answers the question: the tree that does grow in Brooklyn benefits from the NO agents that reduce the ozone in the air, while that tree planted in the lush area of the Hudson River Valley is not so lucky. Who would have guessed it? —Nettie Pendley BA’59 is
Continuum editorial assistant. |
Lloyd W. Sadler BS’81 MS’84 MBA’89 JD’96 has been named a shareholder in the law firm of Parsons Behle & Latimer, where he has worked since 2001. A registered patent attorney, Sadler is in the firm’s technology and intellectual property department, concentrating on drafting patents, patent prosecution, litigation, and intellectual property counseling. He also advises clients on the protection of inventions, trademarks, trade secrets, and works of authorship. Before beginning his legal career, Sadler worked for over 15 years in research, design, and engineering positions in the computer and electronics industries.
Michael Patrick O’Brien JD’86 has been selected as chair of the litigation department of Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough PC, where his practice includes litigation of first amendment, commercial, employment, and employee benefits cases. In his 18 years with the firm, he has served as chair of the labor and employment and media practice groups and as a member of the board of directors. O’Brien is also an adjunct professor at the U’s S.J. Quinney College of Law and serves as editor of The Utah Labor Letter. In 2001, he was named Utah State Bar Employment Lawyer of the Year.
David Jolley MBA’89 recently became managing partner in the Salt Lake City office of Ernst & Young, an international CPA firm. He joined the firm in 1997, and was promoted to partner in 2000. Jolley has spent his career serving companies in such industries as technology, transportation, and life science, with a particular focus on emerging growth markets. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Utah Society of CPAs, and Texas Society of CPAs. He serves on Ernst & Young’s Assurance and Advisory Business Services (AABS) area management committee, the Technology to Market (T2M) executive board, and the Utah Life Science Association.
'90s
Ross I. Romero BS’93, former member of the U of U Young Alumni Association Board of Directors, has been promoted to shareholder in the law firm of Jones Waldo Holbrook & McDonough PC. He practices in the areas of commercial litigation, labor and employment, intellectual property, medical malpractice, and government relations. Romero received his J.D. degree from the University of Michigan law school, where he was a note editor of the Michigan Journal of Race & Law, and a semi-finalist in the Campbell Moot Court competition.
Jessica Millward BA’95 has received the Huggins-Quarles award from the Organization of American Historians for her doctoral dissertation, “A Choice Parcel of Country Born.” The work examines the gendered context of slavery and freedom for African American women in Maryland during the early days of the Revolutionary era to the period before the Civil War. Millward explores the ways in which the deep-rooted commitment to slave labor impacted the lives of bonded women, both in their lives and in their communities. She suggests that the trend of many slave owners to release their slaves at the end of the Revolutionary War presented the opportunity to freed black women to transform their economic and legal status. Millward earned her Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Christine Keyser BS’96 MS’99 has been appointed by the Utah Dept. of Commerce as its new public information officer (PIO). She will be in charge of all media and public relations for the seven divisions that comprise the department. She will also handle Web site content, presentations, reports, and public requests for information. Keyser received her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in speech communication and her master’s in communication. For the past few years, Keyser has been teaching communication classes at the U and involved in corporate consulting and leadership training for The Villard Group. She has served as vice president of communication for the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), been a presenter at the Governor’s 2003 GIFT Marriage Conferences, and a member of the Powersport Vehicle Franchise Act Board.
Jason P. Perry JD’99 has been appointed by the Utah Dept. of Commerce as the new deputy director. He will serve as the product manager for online initiatives, represent the department at legislative hearings, and play a role in accounting and human resource functions. Previously, Perry worked with the Division of Consumer Protection, where he drafted legislation and acted as an administrative hearing officer. He also served as an assistant attorney general for the Utah Attorney General’s Office, where he was involved in drafting legislation, prosecuting cases for the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and prosecuting child abuse and child sex abuse cases. He received the 2002 FBI Director’s award for distinguished service to the law enforcement community.
'00
Jeffrey R. Jeppsen BS’00 has joined the intellectual property law firm of Rader, Fishman & Grauer PLLC as an associate in its South Jordan, Utah, office. His area of focus is preparing and prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications, primarily in computer hardware and software. Jeppsen was a clerk and legal research assistant with intellectual property law firms in Salt Lake City and Sydney, Australia, and was an associate engineer for a data communications company in Salt Lake. He earned his J.D. degree at Brigham Young University and now resides in South Jordan, Utah.
LM:
Life Member - AM: Annual Member