Class Notes Fall 2020
2020s
Kaydee Ecker (20BA), who was a member of the Society for Disability Studies and president of the UI Students for Disability Advocacy and Awareness while pursuing her degree in English and creative writing, received the UI's Hancher-Finkbine Undergraduate Student Medallion and Phillip G. Hubbard Human Rights Undergraduate Award.
Jason Kerst (20BBA), who plans to pursue an MBA at the University of South Carolina, received the UI's Robert F. Ray Faculty Representative Award.
Amy Lenderink (20BA), who plans to pursue a postgraduate degree in Educational Policy and Leadership Studies from Iowa, received the UI's Robert F. Ray Faculty Representative Award.
Joseph McDonell (20BS), who served as a clinic coordinator for the UI Mobile Clinic while pursuing a degree in human physiology, received the UI's Undergraduate Distinguished Student Leader Award.
Bernadette Nelson (20JD), who was a senior articles editor for the Iowa Law Review and vice president for the Organization for Women Law Students and Staff while pursuing a juris doctor degree, received the UI's Hancher-Finkbine Graduate/Professional Student Medallion.
2010s
Monica Ahrens (16BS, 18MS), a UI doctoral student in biostatistics, joined the Institute for Defense Analyses as a summer associate in the Operational Evaluation Division of IDA's Systems and Analyses Center in Alexandria, Virginia.
Mike Bednarsky (13BA) is lead singer of the Los Angeles-based pop band Ginkgo Balboa, which released its debut album in July.
Cole Chapman (10BS, 14 PhD) is an assistant professor in the UI Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science.
Sheryl Cline (12MA), a school counselor at Linn-Mar High School in Marion, Iowa, was named Counselor of the Year by the Iowa Association for College Admission Counseling.
Javier Enrique Flores (17MS), a UI doctoral student in biostatistics in the College of Public Health, received the UI Graduate/Professional Distinguished Student Leader Award.
Dexter Golinghorst (16BA, 20MHA, 20JD), who served as president of the UI Graduate and Professional Student Government while pursuing master's and juris doctor degrees, received the UI's Hancher-Finkbine Graduate/Professional Student Medallion.
Jaison Marks (17BS, 17BSE), co-founder of CartilaGen, a company developing a drug injection that prevents post-traumatic osteoarthritis, received the Graduate Student Startup of the Year Award from the UI's John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.
Cory Mead (11BBA, 13MHA) is chief operating officer of Overland Park Regional Medical Center in Kansas.
Roby Miller (10BA), founder of TelePharm, a telehealth software company, received the Young Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the UI's John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.
Robert Moreno (10DDS) of West Liberty, Iowa, recently completed his term as president of the Iowa Academy of General Dentistry and was named one of "10 Dentists to Watch" in 2020 by the Academy of General Dentistry's Impact magazine.
Robbie Schwenker (12PHR), a pharmacist in Coralville, is co-founder of the Mask of Wellness initiative, which enhances the safety of employees and patrons and provides education and tools for businesses during the COVID-19 crisis.
Shannon Vokac (15BA) is a clinical audiologist with the Ear, Nose, and Throat Center in Barrington, Illinois.
2000s
Nathan Chandler (03BBA) is CEO of Chandler Real Estate Investments, which has offices in South Lake, Texas, and Cedar Rapids.
Amy Hildreth Chen (06BA) is author of Placing Papers: The American Literary Archives Market, published by University of Massachusetts Press.
Brian David Metzger (03BS), a physics professor at Columbia University, was named a laureate of the 2020 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences for settling a long-standing question about the origin of gold and other heavy elements in the universe.
Matt Miller (00MFA, 07PhD), an associate English professor at Yeshiva University, is co-editor of Every Hour, Every Atom: A Collection of Walt Whitman's Early Notebooks and Fragments, published by University of Iowa Press.
Darren Rausch (01MS) is health officer and director of the Greenfield Health Department in Greenfield, Wisconsin.
1990s
Cory Harris (94BBA), president and chief operating officer of Wellmark, will become the Des Moines-based health insurance company's CEO effective Jan. 1, 2021.
Scott Heiferman (94BBA), co-founder and chairman of Meetup, a tech company that improves individuals' real-life community connections, received the Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the UI's John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.
John A. Heldt (99MA), a former reference librarian in Las Vegas, published The Fair, his 17th novel.
Roxanna Pellin Scott (96BA) is managing editor for sports at USA Today in McLean, Virginia.
Todd Thompson (98BSPh), CEO of SmartScripts, a personalized pharmaceutical technology company in Washington, Iowa, received the Venture School Business of the Year Award from the UI's John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.
Nathan Young (98BSE, 00MS, 06PhD), a UI research engineer for IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering, associate director of the Iowa Flood Center, and director of the Lucille A. Carver Mississippi Riverside Environmental Research Station, received a 2019 Board of Regents Staff Excellence Award.
1980s
Robert Joseph Keig (81BBA) is author of the novel Shadow of Descent, published by Hugo House Publishers under the pseudonym Robert Joseph.
James McIntyre (85BSE), a quality services manager for Sargent & Lundy in Chicago, has been elected to a three-year term as chairman of the standards committee for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Nuclear Quality Assurance Committee.
Steve Semken (87BA) is founder and publisher at Ice Cube Press in North Liberty, Iowa.
Todd Semla (81BSPh, 83MS, 85 PharmD), clinical associate professor of medicine and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University, received the American Geriatrics Society's 2020 Nascher-Manning Award, which recognizes individuals with distinguished, lifelong achievement in clinical geriatrics.
James Stolze (86BBA), a finance professional in Bellevue, Nebraska, is author of the book Participation Trophy: How the Rise of Progressive Socialism Leads to the Fall of the United States, published by Liberty Hill Publishing.
1970s
Susan Goodsell Assouline (75BS, 84EdS, 88PhD), director of the UI Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, is part of a team of researchers selected for the National Center for Research on Gifted Education.
Venise Berry (77BA, 79MA), UI associate professor of journalism and African American studies, is author of the new book Racialism and the Media: Black Jesus, Black Twitter, and the First Black American President, published by Peter Lang Publishers.
Jeffrey Dorf (77BS), a pulmonologist in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was voted as the Top Doc in Pulmonary Medicine by Albuquerque the Magazine.
1960s
Patrick Dougherty (69MA) is an award-winning artist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who creates monumental sculptures using environmental materials, including for a recent exhibition at Davidson College.
Alan Gorr (64BA, 71PhD) is professor of public health at Benedictine University and founder and director of the university's MPH program in cooperation with Dalian Medical University in China.
James C. Hamilton (63BA, 65MA, 68PhD) is author of Captain James Cook and the Search for Antarctica, published by Pen & Sword Books.
Carol Havemann-Lynch (69BA, 72JD), a retired attorney who is a member of the UI Center for Advancement's Board of Directors, received the UI's Hancher-Finkbine Alumni Medallion.
Alan Kotok (67BA) celebrated the 10th anniversary of the founding of his daily news website, Science & Enterprise.
Judith Franklin Lifton (68NMT, 69BS) is author of a memoir titled Letters to the Chief, published by Wisdom Editions.
Sarah Ray Schwarcz (63BA), a retired Chicago educator, is author of a memoir titled Pearls and Knots: Dancing on a String from the Mississippi to Lake Michigan.
Joseph Snow (65MA), professor emeritus at Michigan State University, is retired and living in Madrid, Spain, where he received the nation's Manuel Criado de Val Award for his work in the area of medieval Spanish literature.
1950s
Jerold (53BSME) and Jacqueline Dock of Steilacoom, Washington, have donated their home to the UI through a retained life estate, which allows donors to keep possession of their property until their passing while earning tax credits.
STUDENTS, FACULTY & FRIENDS
Michael Abramoff, founder and executive chairman of Digital Diagnostics, a health care technology company, received the Faculty/Staff Startup of the Year Award from the UI's John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.
Lindsay Agostinelli, a MD/PhD candidate in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Carver College of Medicine, received the UI Graduate/Professional Distinguished Student Leader Award.
Andrew Austin and Nate Elsner, UI students and co-founders of Peak3 Digital—a technology consulting, IT, and web design company—received the Undergraduate Student Startup of the Year Award from the UI's John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center.
Becky Gonzales, UI assistant professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, received the university's James N. Murray Award.
Anthony Haughton, a UI student majoring in ethics and public policy and minoring in economics and African American studies, with a certificate in sustainability, received the UI's Undergraduate Distinguished Student Leader Award.
Gregory LeFevre, UI assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and assistant research engineer at IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering, received the UI Office of the Vice President for Research's Early Career Scholar of the Year Award.
Charles Martin-Stanley II, a UI doctoral student in the higher education and student affairs program in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies at the College of Education, received the university's Phillip G. Hubbard Human Rights Graduate/Professional Award.
Marissa Mueller, a UI student majoring in biomedical engineering on the pre-med track in the College of Engineering, received the UI's Hancher-Finkbine Undergraduate Medallion.
Edith Parker, dean and professor at the UI College of Public Health, was named to the Fitwel Academic Advisory Group, which provides expert insights on COVID-19 and ensures best practices for viral mitigation in the building industry.
Aliasger Salem, a professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics at the College of Pharmacy, received the UI's Hancher-Finkbine Faculty Medallion.
Peg Schoonover, a secretary for University Housing and Dining, received the UI's Hancher-Finkbine Staff Medallion.
Mark Vander Weg is head of the Department of Community and Behavioral Health at the UI College of Public Health.
Sherry K. Watt, UI professor in educational policy and leadership studies at the College of Education, received the university's Marion L. Huit Faculty Award.