Class Notes, Spring 2025

2020s

Tyler Ust (20MHA), CEO of Sanford Health Thief River Falls in Minnesota, was named to the 2024 Becker’s Health Review list of “90 Critical Access Hospital CEOs to Know.”

2010s

Jamel Brinkley (15MFA), an assistant professor for the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, received the 2024 Maya Angelou Book Award, sponsored by the Kansas City Public Library and six Missouri universities, for his collection Witness: Stories.

Jenna Ferdon (17MA) is the executive director of Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Wisconsin.

Katie Jones (12MPH), program manager for the Comprehensive Cancer Control Program at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services in Des Moines, received the Spirit of Collaboration Award at the 2024 Iowa Cancer Summit for her work connecting cancer control partners across the state.

Michael Kemerer (19BBA, 21MS, 22BBA) is an assistant wrestling coach for the University of Minnesota.

Kristi Mindrup (12PhD) is the 13th president of Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois.

Rebecca Novacek (13R), a neurologist, is on the board of directors for Altru, a nonprofit health care organization based in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Cory Schlobohm (14PharmD), an assistant clinical professor at the University of California San Francisco, has been named EMPoweRx’s 2024 Emergency Medicine Pharmacist of the Year.

Home Stage

PHOTO COURTESY HANCHER AUDITORIUM

From Broadway musicals to renowned lecturers, Hancher Auditorium attracts international talent each year. This season, that talent includes these UI alums, returning to teach, talk, and perform for their fellow Hawkeyes:

• Percussionist and conductor Steven Schick (76BM, 78MA) visited campus this past fall for a weeklong residency. The Percussive Arts Society hall of famer gave lectures, master classes, and performances of both solo and ensemble percussion, including at an outdoor concert in Iowa City’s City Park.
• Brian Quijada (11BA) returned to Hancher in October with his creative partner Nygel D. Robinson to perform songs from their musical Mexodus. The hip-hop musical tells the story of those on the Underground Railroad who escaped to Mexico.
• David Lang (80MA), a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, was in residence at the UI School of Music in February alongside soprano Anika Kildegaard (20MA). The UI choir Kantorei and professional choir The Crossing performed Lang’s newest work poor hymnal at Hancher.

2000s

Mary E. Hicks (06BA), an assistant professor of history at the University of Chicago, released her first book, Captive Cosmopolitans: Black Mariners and the World of South Atlantic Slavery.

Sushil Nepal (07MS) is the planning director for the City of Gastonia, North Carolina.

1990s

Joel Burken (91BSE, 93MS, 96PhD), a Curators’ Distinguished Professor and Mathes Chair of Environmental Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, received the 2024 President’s Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Michael Ernst (97PharmD), a professor of pharmacy practice and science and family medicine at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, received the Russell R. Miller Award from the American College of Clinical Pharmacy for his extensive publications in the field.

Bill Field (94PhD), founder of the occupational epidemiology training program at the UI College of Public Health, posthumously received the George Weiner Cancer Control Visionary Award at the 2024 Iowa Cancer Summit for his world-renowned radon research.

Jeremy Glenn (97JD), a managing partner and board of directors member at Cozen O’Connor law firm in Chicago, has been named to the 2025 list of Top Leaders in Corporate Employment Lawyers by Lawdragon for the fifth consecutive year.

Timothy Hill (93MA) is the director of marketing and communications at Palm Beach Opera in Florida.

Daphne Hunt (98BA) is chief deputy director at the California Department of Community Services and Development in Sacramento.

Tracy Ullman (90BA) is co-author of The Serial Killer’s Apprentice: The True Story of How Houston’s Deadliest Murderer Turned a Kid into a Killing Machine, which releases April 16 to accompany a two-part documentary and podcast of the same name.

Mascot Master

PHOTO COURTESY CHRIS PIO

Chris Pio, a patient access specialist for University of Iowa Health Care, may be the national authority on school spirit. This past fall, he released Mustangs, Mariners and Moose: Nicknames and Mascots of the NAIA and Other Non-NCAA Groups, the fourth book in his Nicknames and Mascots series. Together, the books catalog team nicknames, costumed characters, and images from nearly 1,500 colleges and universities, along with stories about their origins and evolutions. The University of Iowa's own Herky the Hawk is featured with other Division I logos on the cover of volume 3, Governors, Gauchos and Gaels: NCAA Division I Nicknames and Mascots From Aces to Zips.

The mascot project got its start when Pio was working as a coach and sports information director for Monmouth College in Illinois. While putting together a record book for the school’s athletic programs, he became fascinated with the story of the Fighting Scots nickname, and a deeper dive into mascot history led to his first book. Pio says his favorite mascot so far is Gus the Gorilla from Pittsburg State in Kansas, as it is the only gorilla represented in college sports.

Pio is far from finished with his research. He’s now publishing the fifth book in the series, a compilation edition listing the mascots and nicknames of all 2,000- plus two-year, four-year, and community colleges with athletic programs. After that, volume six will feature professional sports teams. Pio’s book series is also being featured this spring at the 2025 Tucson Festival of Books at the University of Arizona and can be purchased at nicknamesandmascots.com.

1980s

Thomas Baer (89MD), a doctor based in Malvern, Iowa, received the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians’ 2024 Iowa Family Physician of the Year award.

Thomas Boyd (84BA, 87JD, 87MA), a shareholder at the Winthrop & Weinstine law firm in Minneapolis, received a 2024 Hillsborough County Bar Association Excellence Award for Improving Access to Justice/Pro Bono Service.

Carl A. Cook (87MBA), CEO of Cook Group, which manufactures medical devices and other products, has been inducted into the Indiana Academy for his advancement of Indiana private higher education.

Kamala Martinez (87BA) is president and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast.

Brian McClatchey (80BA, 82MA) retired from his position as manager of the UI CAMBUS transit system after more than 35 years of service.

Martín-José Sepúlveda (85F), a distinguished university professor at Florida International University in Miami, recently received the Walsh McDermott Medal, which recognizes a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for distinguished service.

Kirk Speraw (80BBA), a former Hawkeye basketball player and assistant coach, has been inducted into the University of Central Florida Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2024.

1970s

Martha Haag Behlow (77BA) has retired from Geneva Community High School in Geneva, Illinois, after 32 years of teaching French.

Deborah Darling (74BA), an Iowa Writers’ Workshop grad, published her first book of poetry, Into the Splashing, about the grief of losing her son.

Stephen Gerkin (74DDS), a writer based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, released his fourth book, Echoes of Light: Images into Writing.

Susan Neely (78BA), CEO emeritus of the American Council of Life Insurers, has been named to the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on the American Workforce, which aims to improve national human capital challenges.

1950s

Lyell D. Henry Jr. (59MA, 73PhD), a professor emeritus of political science at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, released his book Trekking Across America: An Up-Close Look at a Once-Popular Pastime through UI Press.

Faculty & Friends

Carri Casteel, a professor of occupational and environmental health for the UI College of Public Health, received the 2024 Distinguished Career Award from the American Public Health Association Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section.

Bill Maxwell, UI strength and conditioning coach and director of athletic performance, retired after 22 years with the Hawkeyes.

Alyssa Park, an associate professor of history at Iowa, is a Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank Humanities Scholar for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Edith Parker, dean of the UI College of Public Health, is chair-elect of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health board.