Class Notes
1970
Patrick F. McIntyre, BA Business and Public Administration ’70, retired after 32 years at the North Country Community College in Saranac Lake, New York. He was the director of library services there for 25 years.
Col. Charles L. Gebhart, BS Business Administration ’79, assumed command of the 142nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron of the Delaware Air National Guard in March 2008. He has served more than 40 years in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard and is a veteran of conflicts in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Bosnia, and current operations in Southwest Asia.
1980s
Donald J. Purser, JD ’80 was named general counsel for the Barack H. Obama Sr. Foundation in September 2008. The nonprofit foundation, founded in memory of the president’s father, raises funds for the development of Kenya’s infrastructure and health care facilities, as well as other international issues.
David L. Smiga, JD ’80, was promoted to assistant general counselenvironmental at United States Steel Corporation, where he oversees all environmental affairs legal matters across the company.
Tom Hill, MBA ’81, retired from IBM Global Services as an associate partner. Before joining IBM in 1995, he was a senior manager in the Information Systems consulting practice of Ernst & Young. Hill resides in Nipomo, California.
Lt. Col. Sandra Smallwood- Stockton, BSN ’81, retired on December 31, 2008, after nearly 30 years in the armed services. She spent most of her military career as a nurse and received numerous commendations for her service.
Rita K. Chow, CERG Gerontology ’82 and BIS ’83, received the 2009 Spirituality and Aging Award from the National Coalition on Aging for her exemplary commitment and service toward the spiritual well-being of the elderly.
Richard L. “Ricky” Leonard, MEd Education Administration/Supervision ’85, was named superintendent of the Winchester, Virginia, city school system, effective July 1, 2009. He previously was the school district’s assistant superintendent.
Joan Evans, BA Government and Politics ’86, was sworn in as assistant secretary for congressional and legislative affairs for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on August 10, 2000.
Patricia Zissios, MEd Education Administration/ Supervision ’87 and PhD Education ’94, was named a Distinguished Educational Leader by the Washington Post. The honor is given to metropolitan- area principals who “go above and beyond the day-to-day demands of their position to create an exceptional educational environment.” Zissios is the principal of Lyles-Crouch Traditional Academy in Alexandria, Virginia.
Janis Kupferer, BA Speech Communication ’87, founded a social networking site for women, SocialJane.com.
Ramona Buck, MS Conflict Management and Resolution ’88, received the Robert M. Bell Award from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Maryland State Bar Association for her outstanding contributions to alternative dispute resolution in Maryland.
Ken Budd, BA English ’88 and MA English ’97, was promoted to executive editor of AARP The Magazine, which has the world’s largest periodical circulation with more than 30 million readers.
Deborah L. Stevenson, BIS ’88, was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She also won two fellowships to Oxford University from the English-Speaking Union.
1990
Robert A. Hayes, MA Psychology ’90, was named vice president for academic affairs by Westfield State College in Westfield, Massachusetts. He joined the college in 1997 as a faculty member in the Department of Psychology and most recently served as dean of the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education.
Ellen Murray, JD ’90, was nominated by President Barack Obama to be assistant secretary for resources and technology at the Department of Health and Human Services. She had served as staff director for the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies since 1999.
David Ciccone, BA Economics ’91, joined the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council to Management, a national committee comprising 15 financial advisors who represent different geographies and demographics within Global Wealth Management. Ciccone is a vice president and wealth management advisor for Merrill Lynch.
Dawn M. (Hester) Offenberg, BA Psychology ’91, is a substitute teacher in Prince William County, Virginia. She has a master’s degree in clinical psychology. She and her husband, Keith, have a daughter, Ashley Marie (6).
Michael L. Goodove, JD ’92, was recognized as a 2009 Virginia Super Lawyer in the area of personal injury law by Law and Politics magazine. He is a partner with the Norfolk, Virginia, law firm Rabinowitz, Swartz, Taliaferro, Swartz & Goodove P.C.
Cameron Gray, BA Speech Communication ’92 and MA Telecommunications ’99, is a executive producer and on-camera reporter at NRA News.
Charniele Herring, BA Economics ’93, was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in November 2008. She represents the 46th District, which covers part of the city of Alexandria and part of Fairfax County.
David Bobzien, BA Government and Politics ’94, won re-election to the Nevada Assembly on November 4, 2008. Then, on November 29, his wife, Lisa, gave birth to identical twin boys, Finnegan and Luca.
Charles Hutton, BS Business Administration ’94, received an MBA from Philadelphia University in May 2009. Hutton is the Over-the-Counter Department head at the Walmart Supercenter in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
Brian K. Madden, JD ’94, vice president of the commercial division at Brock Realty in Arlington, Virginia, broke the longstanding single transaction production record at the 65-year-old firm in March 2009. He represented a buyer whose commercial property listed and closed in the $4 million range. Madden already had been named the 2009 Agent of the Year.
Bryan Anderson, BS Accounting ’95 and MS Accounting ’97, and his wife, Nicole, announce the birth of their daughter, Taylor Lane, on October 29, 2008, who joins her older brother, Carter (7). The family lives in Herndon, Virginia.
Shafat F. Khan, BS Computer Science ’95, works for ExxonMobil Corporation. He recently relocated from Fairfax, Virginia, to Houston, Texas, to become the supervisor for Africa and Middle East Upstream Applications Support. He is married to Najmus Sehar, MS Information Technology ’03, and has two children, Saadia and Daud.
Laura A. Logie, BSEd Health Education ’95, received her PhD in women’s studies from the University of Maryland, College Park. She serves as a faculty research assistant and assistant director of the Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity at the University of Maryland.
Andrea C. Todd, MA English ’96 and CERG Teaching English as a Second Language ’96, was named associate director of Virginia Tech’s Language and Culture Institute, a newly expanded program in the National Capital region.
Michael Whitlock, BA Government and Politics ’96, just celebrated his first wedding anniversary to Monica V. M. Arce- Whitlock. Michael, a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, and Monica live in Arlington, Virginia.
Evan Balkan, MA English ’97, had two new books published by Menasha Ride Press, Shipwrecked! Deadly Adventures, Disasters at Sea and Best in Tent Camping: Maryland.
Deirdre Lavery, MEd Education Leadership ’97, was named the Fairfax County Public Schools 2009 Principal of the Year. She also received the Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership Award. Lavery has served as principal of Glasgow Middle School since 2004 and has been with the school system for 22 years.
Peter Lawson, JD ’97, was named vice president of government relations for Ford Motor Company. He previously was vice president of congressional and public affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Tamer Ureten, BS Finance ’97, received his certified public accountant license in January 2009. He is an auditor at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Patricia Farley, BA English ’98 and MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’00, is a seventh-grade English teacher at Royal Palm Middle School in Phoenix, Arizona. She received her national board certification for teaching in December 2008.
Andrew Wheeler, MBA ’98, has joined B&D Consulting (a division of Baker & Daniels LLP) as senior vice president with the energy and climatechange practice group. He was previously staff director and chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works.
James Culbert, MS Biology ’99, retired after 30 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. He and his wife, Kathleen, have moved to Oregon.
Jennifer “Jayleen” Schott, BA History ’99, married Carl Bruce Jr. on April 18, 2009. She is a high school teacher in the Stafford County Public Schools.
2000s
Debbie Hersman, MS Conflict Analysis and Resolution ’00, has been appointed chair of the National Transportation Safety Board by President Barack Obama. She was sworn in on July 28, 2009.
Seann S. Kalagher, BA Government and Politics ’00, has been appointed assistant dean of student affairs at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He previously was the associate director of student conduct and community standards at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island.
Brad Pfaff, MPA ’00, was named by the Obama administration to serve as the Wisconsin state executive director for the Farm Service Agency at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Give Green to Stay Green Give online at give.gmu.edu to help us save some of the paper and energy we use. And if you give online, we won’t contact you by phone or mail for the rest of the calendar year. Go green for a great cause—Mason!
Angela D. Sargent, BA Biology ’00, is a single parenting columnist for the Examiner. She was also accepted for a listing in the Poets and Writers Directory.
Nicole Walden, BSN ’00, joined St. Peter’s Hospital in Helena, Montana, as director of quality. She is responsible for developing a comprehensive quality and risk management plan for the hospital. She previously was a legal nurse consultant to a law office in Leesburg, Virginia.
Amy (Welch) Bonaccorso, BA History ’01, is the author of a book tentatively titled Reality Check: A Dating Guide for Christian Women. The book will be published by Servant Books and is scheduled for release in 2010.
Giovanni Calabro, BA Communication ’01, was promoted to vice president of user experience for Siteworx Inc., an independent web design and development company in Reston, Virginia.
J. Lee Hill Jr., BA Integrative Studies ’01, married Christie Nicole Love on February 15, 2009, at the Riverside Church in New York. The couple resides in Harlem, New York.
Lt. Colonel Robert Hohman, MA International Commerce and Policy ’01, serves in the Army Reserves. He was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and 2008.
Dean Stansel, MA Economics ’01 and PhD Economics ’02, was promoted to associate professor of economics at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers where he has taught since 2004.
Marypat Warter, MEd Education Leadership ’01, was selected to receive the Washington Post’s 2008–09 Distinguished Educational Leadership Award, which is presented to one principal in each area district. She is principal of Claude Thompson Elementary School in Fauquier County.
Three dance alumni performed Mark Morris’s “L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato” together in California, April 21 to May 31. Company member Rita Donahue, BA English ’02 and BFA Dance ’02, was joined for this performance by Billy Smith, BFA Dance ’07, and Prentice Whitlow, BFA Dance ’09
Jennifer Beverage, BS Biology ’03, graduated from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine on May 30, 2009. She plans to enter the family medicine program at United Hospital Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Beverage and her husband, Mark, have two children, Sean (5) and Morgan (1).
William C. Thomas, PhD Public Policy ’03, completed a visiting fellowship as a Fulbright Scholar at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Thomas taught a course on U.S. national security policy and American strategic culture in the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies master’s degree program.
Lisa Ampleman, MFA Creative Writing ’04, teaches at Fontbonne University in St. Louis. Her poems have appeared in Court Green, Passages North, and the Notre Dame Review. She was awarded a 2006 residency at the Ragdale artists’ colony. This fall, she will enter the PhD program in creative writing at the University of Cincinnati.
Michelle Bragg, PhD Public Policy ’04, was named assistant professor of health policy and public health at the University of Sciences in Philadelphia.
Jacqueline C. Smith, BA Government and International Politics ’05, joined the law firm of Turbitt, O’Herron & Leach, PLLC, in Fairfax, Virginia, after graduating from the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law. She works primarily in the areas of personal injury and medical negligence law.
Wendy de Windt, MS Bioscience Management ’06, and Gavin de Windt, MS Bioscience Management ’05, announce the birth of their daughter, Giselle Joleigh, on January 21, 2009.
Sequina DuBose, MM Performance ’06, was selected to compete in the International Belvedere Competition in Vienna, Austria, June 29 to July 5, 2009. She was one of 159 singers out of an initial field of 3,000 performers worldwide. On June 6, 2009, she was presented as a finalist in the Inaugural Accadia Competition for Operatic Voice at Carnegie Hall.
Mark Flanigan, MS New Professional Studies ’06, was selected to join the U.S. delegation to the 39th World Federation of United Nations Associations Plenary Assembly, held in Seoul, South Korea, in August 2009. A former Presidential Management Fellow, he is the international response officer at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Jessica (Sarvay) Isemann BM Music Education ’06, was married on December 27, 2008. She resides in Richmond, Virginia.
Shelley Brower, MM ’07, and her husband, Matt, welcomed their first child, Cecelia Helen, on January 28, 2009.
Nicole Gerber, BA Government and Politics ’07, is teaching at her high school alma mater, Woods Charter School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Stephanie J. Arnold, JD ’08, is an associate with Cooper Ginsberg Gray PLLC, a firm practicing family law in Northern Virginia.
Durrell Comedy, BFA Dance ’08, performed Mark Morris choreography in Orfeo ed Euridice with the Metropolitan Opera, which was televised on PBS.
In Memoriam
Alumni
Elizabeth M. Lynch, BSEd Elementary Education ’70, May 31, 2009
Geraldine F. Buchanan, BSEd Elementary Education ’71, July 1, 2009
William A. Embry, BS Business Administration ’73, January 26, 2009
Michael L. O’Kane, MEd Curriculum and Instruction ’73, March 4, 2009
Jack C. Sawicki, BS Biology ’76, May 24, 2009
Stuart B. Gonseth, BS Business Administration ’78, June 11, 2009
Gregory G. Injeian, BA Philosophy ’78, February 7, 2009
George G. Spater, MA Psychology ’80, July 8, 2009
Flora M. Crater, BA Government and Politics ’81, February 1, 2009
Rosetta C. Essex, MEd Counseling and Development ’83, January 26, 2009
Eileen S. Glenn, MEd Education Administration and Supervision ’83, April 21, 2009
Margaret A. Teague, MEd Education Administration and Supervision ’83, February 16, 2009
Jo A. Standley, BS Marketing ’85, March 3, 2009
Nancy E. Titus, BIS ’85 and CERG Psychology Technician ’85, May 28, 2009
Michael J. Trainor, BS Computer Science ’85, April 16, 2009
Joseph A. Kersey, BS Computer Science ’87, December 12, 2008
Darcy S. Cors, BA English ’88 and MA English ’99, May 5, 2009
Kristin B. Cooper, JD ’90, May 17, 2009
Lorena A. Asperin, BS Accounting ’94, March 19, 2009
Peter E. Shoop, MS Information Systems ’94, April 29, 2009
M. Catherine Wiant, MA English ’96, July 2, 2009
Jeffrey L. Kellogg, MFA Creative Writing ’98, March 25, 2009
Lynettee R. Heppe, MA New Professional Studies ’99, July 6, 2009
Joseph J. Sullivan, BSN ’00, April 5, 2009
Christy A. Craig, MEd Education Leadership ’01, June 11, 2009
Andrea J. Holcombe, BS Accounting ’01, July 8, 2009
Faith A. Jones, BA Art ’04, May 1, 2009
Eula B. Tate, MPA ’06, July 11, 2009
Victoria H. Kimmel, BS Psychology ’08, January 31, 2009
Editor’s Note: In the spring 2009 issue, degree information for John A. Newman was listed incorrectly. Newman, who passed away on December 23, 2008, received a JD in 1987.
Faculty and Staff
Nancy de Laski, a long-time friend of George Mason University, died on June 19, 2009, at home after an 18-month struggle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Along with her husband Don, Nancy was an avid supporter of the local arts and cultural scene. In addition to serving on the Arts at Mason Advisory Board for the College of Visual and Performing Arts, she also served on the boards of Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Arena Stage, Mount Vernon, and CharityWorks. In recent years, the couple’s gifts to Mason through the de Laski Family Foundation totaled more than $14 million, and helped to establish the Potomac Arts Academy, expand the Performing Arts Building, and found the Center for Consciousness and Transformation at Mason. For their generosity and public service to Mason, the couple was honored with Mason Medals at the 2009 Commencement. She is survived by her husband, Don, their three children, and six grandchildren.
Margaret Cain Duffner, who taught speech for Mason’s English Department in the late 1960s through 1975 and founded the Forensics Team in 1971, died at the age of 90 on April 5, 2009. She was instrumental in coaching Mason’s first national champions and in establishing her guiding vision for the team, which is commemorated in the annual Margaret C. Duffner Award, given to the team member who best represents the goals and ideals of Mason Forensics. Duffner held a BA degree from MacMurray College and an MA degree from Northwestern University. Her writings have appeared in popular periodicals and professional journals. She and her husband, John, were married for more than 60 years and had six children. Her son Michael, BA History ’71 and MA History ’74, was one of the first recipients of a master’s degree at Mason.
Klaus Fischer, professor and chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, died on July 2, 2009, at the age of 65 from respiratory failure associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Fischer received his PhD from Northwestern University in 1973 and joined the Mason faculty that same year. He was serving a second term as chair of the Mathematical Sciences Department at the time of his death. Widely respected by colleagues from across the country, Fischer had a multifaceted career that put him at the forefront of education for students at all levels, teacher training, statewide education initiatives, and mathematics reform activities. His research interests spanned a variety of complex problems, including algebraic geometry, commutative algebra and graph theory, and combinatorics with a geometric bent. Fischer also was an avid tennis player; a founder and 30-year member of a noontime faculty basketball team; and a cyclist who pedaled across the country in 30 days one summer. He continued to bike to work until recently. He is survived by his wife, Eva Thorp; their son, Eric; and daughter and son-in-law, Kathryn and Juan de Chamie.
Leo C. Rigsby, associate professor of educational transformation, faculty member, and former director of the Initiatives in Educational Transformation (IET) Program in the College of Education and Human Development, died on February 6, 2009, of an aneurism. He was 70. Rigsby joined Mason in 1996 and served as director of IET from 1999 to 2003. His research at IET focused on the epistemological and social bases of teacher research. Before coming to Mason, Rigsby served on the faculties at Vanderbilt University and Temple University. He earned his PhD from Johns Hopkins University. He is survived by his wife, Mary; two daughters; a brother; a sister; and two grandchildren.