We salute your achievements!

The NYU Office of Alumni Relations welcomes the chance to inform your fellow graduates of the events and activities in your life. Browse here by class to find news of your former classmates and take a moment to submit a note of your own. Our class notes are now entirely online, allowing the information here to be updated more frequently and be displayed for a longer period of time.

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Class Notes

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1930's | 1940's | 1950's | 1960's | 1970's | 1980's | 1990's | 2000's |

1940's

Dr. Alexander Flax (ENG 1940, Aeronautics and Astronautics) has been selected to receive the 2007 Daniel Guggenheim Medal Award, which is jointly sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), American Society of Mechanical Engineering, American Helicopter Society, and Society of Automotive Engineers. The Daniel Guggenheim Medal was established in 1929 for the purpose of honoring persons who make notable achievements in the advancements of aeronautics. Dr. Flax will be presented with his award on May 14, 2008 at a banquet of the AIAA.

Richard K. Bernstein (ARTS 1942, English) passed away April 5, 2008 at his home on Long Island. He was a dedicated New York City public servant, serving under six administrations. He was Executive Director of NYC Planning Commission and NYC Public Development Corp. Among the projects he directed were the 1961 Zoning Plan and the Midtown Manhattan Redevelopment Project. After retiring, he joined PEIR, a lifetime learning program at Hofstra, where he taught and held the position of Chairman. A WWII veteran, he served in the Coast Guard, commanding ships in Alaska and the South Pacific.

Robert Treuhaft (STERN 1948, Advertising) passed away at home on April 16, 2008. He leaves his wife of 55 years, Ellie, and two daughters. Bob was a buyer at Bloomingdale's in New York for many years until he became a merchandise manager at John Wanamaker's in Philadelphia in 1968. He was a member of Temple Emanuel in Cherry Hill for over 40 years, and volunteered for Jewish Family Services and for SCORE (Counselors to America's Small Business).

Dr. Ellen Angres Loeb (Steinhardt 1949) of Barrington, Rhode Island died Wednesday, April 2, 2008 at Charleton Hospital in Fall River due to complications from Parkinson's Disease. Born in Beuthen, Germany, the daughter of the late Herbert and Hanna (deLevie) Angres, Dr. Loeb lived in Barrington for 40 years. She was a professor at Roger Williams University for 20 years and taught at the University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and Bryant University as well. She taught Sunday School at Temple Habonim in Barrington for nearly 20 years, was an active swimmer at the YMCA and loved the beach. Dr. Loeb leaves three daughters, Barbara Bernstein (married to Howard Bernstein) of Madison WI, Nancy Loeb (married to William C Williams) of Davis CA, Victoria Loeb Ziss (married to Jonathan Ziss) of Merion, PA, her beloved brother, Ret. CMDR Fred Angres USN of San Diego, CA. Dr. Loeb had five grandchildren: Laura and Tom Bernstein, Sophy and Simone Ziss and Max Williams.

Dr. Gerald J. Fox (WSC 1949) of Stony Brook, NY, passed away on December 30, 2007. He leaves behind his wife of 52 years, Roberta and three daughters.

1950's

Richard P. Kleva (Steinhardt 1956) was recently honored by Middletown High School North when the school dedicating The Wrestling Wall of Champions in his name. He is considered "The Father of Wrestling in Middletown." Through the years teams he has coached have won six District Championships and six A Division titles. His grapplers also earned 35 individual district championships. In addition to his impressive wrestling coaching career, he also won two state championships as coach of the Lions’ football team.

Tristan John Argenti (WSC 1959, GSAS 1960) a retired private investor, was married in Mountain Home, Arkansas on September 8, 2007 to the former Sheila Williams Davis. The couple have five children and four grandchildren between them by previous marriages. They now live in Mountain Home, a small community near the Missouri state line where the principal occupation is fishing and gazing at the admirable Ozark Mountain scenery.

1960's

Harvey Seltzer (WAG 1960) has developed an easy to use internet program to help homeowners and owners of rental houses plan for the unexpected, often overlooked expenses of replacing the roof, or the furnace, or the water heater, or fencing, or repainting, and so on. “Home Maintenance Cost Estimator” (www.homemaintenancecost.com) is the first systematic approach to avoiding those cost “surprises”, and utilizes variables such as zip codes, weather data, area cost differentials, average life cycles, and average costs, to forecast replacement costs during the next 10 years.

Jay B. Winderman (ENG 1963) is the author of the Thunder Tortoise trilogy: Thunder on the Desert, Thunder on the Reservation, and Thunder in the Backyard. The Thunder Tortoise books are animal fantasy stories for middle-grade readers. In the series, Thunder confronts issues that an actual tortoise might have to deal with during his lifetime. Jay also worked for General Dynamics for 31 years, most of that time on millimeter-wave and infrared research projects. In 1981, his company named him co-engineer of the year. Jay has been a free-lance copyeditor since 1986, specializing in book manuscripts, professional papers, proposals, and dissertations.

Barney Popkin (WSC 1964, Geology/Mathematics) is a foreign service officer for USAID in Washington, DC, where he recently completed environmental reviews of over 800 projects in Asia and the Middle East worth over $40 billion. He also trained over 400 USAID staff and contractors in environmental management and environmentally sound design. Prior to that, he was Halliburton/KBR's Northern Iraq environmental manager to restore Iraqi oil.

George S. Rotter (GSAS 1964, Psychology) passed away on June 12 after an extended illness. He was a member of Congregation Shaya Ahavat Torah and the Society of American Baseball Research. Dr. Rotter was a professor of psychology at Montclair State University for 33 years and received the distinguished title of Professor Emeritus. He was also the former research director of the Institute for Human Sexuality at Montclair State. Dr. Rotter was a charter fellow of the Association of Psychological Science. Dr. Rotter was also a United States Air Force veteran, serving his country as a weather observer, from 1947 to 1950. Additionally, he bore a lifelong grudge against Walter O’Malley for moving the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles. He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Dr. Naomi Rotter (GSAS 1974) two daughters Nora Tillman (Seth) of Philadelphia and Valerie Levin (Miles) of Teaneck a son, Ephraim of Thomasville, GA and eight grandchildren and numerous beloved nieces and nephews.

Abe Peck (Peckolick) (WSUC 1965) is relocating to Santa Barbara, CA, with his wife, Suzanne, after 27 years as a professor at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University. He will become Professor Emeritus and consult to Medill as Director of Business to Business Communication, and will continue to consult to magazine companies in the U.S., U.K., China and India.

Felissa R. Lashley (NUR 1965) dean of the College of Nursing at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is stepping down as dean effective June 30.

Alan D. Rosenberg (STERN 1967) is a certified public accountant and president of Alan D. Rosenberg, P.C. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the College of Westchester.

David L. Cohen (STERN 1967) has been elected to serve as Vice-President for the Eleventh District of the Association’s Executive Committee.

Thomas G. Angelo (STERN 1967) of Stratford, CT has been appointed to the Town of Stratford’s Financial Advisory Committee. Tom retired in 2002 after 13 years as Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of Beck’s North America, a North American subsidiary of the Belgian firm INBEV, the world’s largest brewer. Since his retirement Tom has be involved with various community activities.

Robert F. Lima, Jr. (GSAS 1968) was awarded the Institute for the Arts and Humanities Medal by Penn State University on April 10, 2008.

1970's

Richard K. Adler, Ph.D. (Steinhardt 1970, Speech and Linguistics) had been a Professor of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences and was recently promoted to Dean of Graduate Studies at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Dr. Adler has also published the first work on Speech and Voice Therapy for Transgender Patients: "Voice and Communication Therapy for the Transgender/Transsexual Client: A Comprehensive Clinical Guide," Plural Publishing, San Diego, 2006. Also had published "Neurology for the Speech Language Pathologist," 2007 through Elsevier Publishing, St. Louis.

Vicki Beth O'Har (ARTS 1972) passed away in Orlando, Florida, on February 22, 2008. Ms. O’Har worked as a project accountant for HRH Construction and Skanska. She was a dear friend and unique spirit who will be much missed by all of us who loved her.

Raymond T. Coppola (Steinhardt 1972, Early Childhood Education, MA) is the author of Empowering Children For Success, How Parents and Teachers Can Open the Door of Success for Every Child (Book Clearing House, 2008). The book is based on the latest findings of neuroscience and the research of infant care, and tackles the nature/nurture debate.

Celeste Marsella (WSC 1973, TSOA 1976) has published her first novel with Random House. DEFENSELESS will be in bookstores on September 30, 2008

Mark G. Leeds (STERN 1974) a certified public accountant from Eastchester, was awarded the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants Outstanding CPA in Industry Award. Leeds was honored at the society's 111th Annual Election Meeting and Dinner. Leeds is chief financial officer of Win Properties, a national real estate company based in Rye Brook. This award recognizes CPAs who are financial executives and who have distinguished themselves with outstanding service and professional development in a private business or industry.

Mei-Ching Chow (LAW 1976) is the new First Lady of Taiwan. She is keeping her job as head of the legal affairs department at International Commercial Bank.

Laura Foti Cohen (WSUC 1978) has launched www.LoveHowTo.com, with advice on finding love, keeping it alive, and moving on gracefully if it fades. The core of the site is a directory reviewing more than 150 dating services.

Vincent Skuderna (Steinhardt 1978) is currently working on a Stage to Screen piece reflecting the 1930's to present looking for fellow NYU alumni collaborators.

Noemi Figueroa (Steinhardt 1979) produced, wrote and directed The Borinqueneers which won Best Documentary in the Puerto Rican Film category at the Rincon International Film Festival in Puerto Rico.

1980's

Robert E. Pershes, Esq. (LAW 1980) was named Vice President at his law firm Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLP. He is also a Shareholder in the Firm’s Boca Raton office and is a member of the Litigation and Intellectual Property Practice Groups. He specializes in patents having been registered to practice as a patent attorney by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Pearl M. Jones (GAL 1980) was recently named Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) . Prior to this appointment, Pearl worked as the AmeriCorps Senior Program Director at LISC for ten years.

Elise Meisner Healy (WAG 1980) is a founding shareholder in Spencer Crain Cubbage Healy & McNamara, a majority-owned female law firm in Dallas – the first significant firm of its caliber in Texas.

Bonnie Rosenstock (Steinhardt 1982) is a freelance journalist in New York City. Two of her articles were cited in garnering first and second place awards for The Villager for coverage of Business, Financial & Economic News and coverage of Religion at the 2007New York Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest. Rosenstock also teaches ESL part time at Baruch College

Bruce Nozick (TSOA 1982) is working as an actor in Los Angeles and his recent guest star television appearances include "Entourage," "Shark," "Big Shots," "Women’s Murder Club," and "Private Practice." He is also married and has two teenage boys.

George Gulla (STERN 1983) was appointed vice president of publications for American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a private not-for-profit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. standardization and conformity assessment system.

Jonathan A. Lucas, Ph.D. (WSC 1984, GSAS 1987, GSAS 1995) has authored a book that has been published by Trafford Publishing The book - First, Fourth and Last - focuses on a memorable first visit to Yankee Stadium in June of 1971 and special memories of that era in NYC. More details can be found at Trafford's site: www.trafford.com.

Jon Nicholas Austin (GSAS 1984, History/Museum Studies, GSAS 1985) is the executive director of the Museum of Funeral Customs in Springfield, IL, received the 2008 Excellence in Peer Review Service award from the American Association of Museums during its recent annual meeting in Denver.

Lorna Peachin (CAS 1986, Psychology, SSW 1989) went back to graduate school and obtained her MLIS in 2007 after working as a holistic psychotherapist for 20 years. She is currently the new Chief Librarian of the Kristine Mann Library at the Carl G. Jung Center in New York City.

Cathy Mezinis-Balenovic (GAL 1986, Language Arts) has just launched Sagesse Designs™ which offers greeting cards and relaxation CD's for those with cancer or going through challenging times. Visit www.sagessedesigns.com for more info.

Vincenzo Paparo (GSAS 1987) has been inducted into the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers (ACCFL). Paparo is a partner in Proskauer Rose LLP’s Corporate Department and co-chair of its Finance Group.

Jill Lebowitz (GSAS 1988, LAW 2000) has been appointed senior counsel to the Estate Planning & Administration and Taxation Groups at law firm of Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, P.A.

Pedro Reina-Perez (WSC 1988) has received two awards for print and radio journalism: the 2nd Bolívar Pagán Award 2006 (Puerto Rico), and an Honorable Mention in the José Ramón Piñero León International Journalism Prize (Spain). His latest book on Pablo Casals in exile will be published in the Fall.

Lydia Panas (Steinhardt 1989, Studio Art & Environmental Art) was awarded a Grant Award from the Puffin Foundation Ltd. for her project "IT NEVER MADE SENSE TO THEM," a display of 11 texts on 11 bus shelters throughout the Lehigh Valley, in southeastern PA. The project was selected by Zendai MoMa in Shanghai to be translated into the Chinese as part of their INTRUDE: ART & LIFE project for 2008.

Dara P. Richardson-Heron (MED 1989) was recently appointed CEO of the Greater New York City Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Dr. Richardson-Heron will be the first CEO of Komen Greater NYC. Previously the top position was known as Executive Director. A 10-year breast cancer survivor, she is also the first physician and African-American in the post.

1990's

Daniel Putkowski (TSOA 1990) recently published his novel An Island Away (Hawser Press, 2008), a vivid and absorbing tale of personal endurance, bartered souls, and stifled ambition that unfolds against the backdrop of San Nicolaas, Aruba.

Robert E. Massengill (STERN 1992) has been named president of SES Advisors, Inc.

William J. Castillo (GSAS 1993) a partner in the intellectual property law firm of Caesar, Rivise, Bernstein, Cohen & Pokotilow, recently addressed lawyers from around Pennsylvania on IP issues affecting the pharmaceutical industry at the 2nd Annual Intellectual Property Law Institute sponsored by PBI.

Kristine Mercuro Tooker (CAS 1994) earned her Master's in Library Science from Rutgers and is the librarian at Point Pleasant Beach High School (NJ) and a reserve reference librarian at Ocean County College where she is also an adjunct instructor of Humanities. She serves as a Councilwoman in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ where she is the of Chair the Finance Committee and serves as Council liaison to the Planning Board, Environmental Commission, Shade Tree Commission, Recycling Task Force and the Animal Welfare Committee. She helped to start her town's Farmer's Market and is also a trustee of the Point Pleasant Beach Public Education Foundation.

Keeley P. Mitchell-Wallace (CAS 1994) recently joined SouthSearch Legal Recruiters as the attorney search firm's vice president. She is responsible for establishing and managing the firm's Research Triangle Park, NC office. Her practice involves all aspects of attorney placement and legal career counseling. Prior to joining SouthSearch Legal Recruiters, Keeley practiced commercial real estate at such prominent law firms as Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP, Miami, FL and Wolf Block Schorr and Solis-Cohen, LLP, Philadelphia, PA.

David Kubersky (WSC 1994) has been appointed president of SimCorp USA, the North American subsidiary of SimCorp A/S.

Stephanie (Rosenblatt) Korenman (CAS 1994) was recently promoted to Senior Vice President and Senior Attorney of the Executive Financial Services arm of Citigroup's Global Wealth Management Division.

Douglas D. McInnis (TSOA 1994) received a juris doctor degree from New England School of Law during Commencement ceremonies at the Citi Performing Arts Center on May 23, 2008.

Dr. Stephen Haven (GSAS 1995, American Civilization) has published three new books in 2008, The River Lock: One Boy’s Life along the Mohawk (memoir, Syracuse University Press), Dust and Bread (poems, Turning Point), and the chapbook of collaborative translations The Enemy in Defensive Positions: Poems from China (with Wang Shouyi and Jin Zhong, Poetry Miscellany Chapbooks). Haven is Director of the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Ashland University, where he also directs the Ashland Poetry Press.

David C. Suarez (TSOA 1995) has been facilitating corporate training and team building workshops for the past five years for such organizations as: Burger King, Taco Bell, Bayer CropScience, Honeywell, Florida International University, American University of the Caribbean, and Miami Dade College.

Berl D. Jones, Jr. (Steinhardt 1995, MPH - Public Health) was recently promoted to Director of the Individual Assistance Division, within the Disaster Assistance Directorate within the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Brian Kennelly (GSAS 1996, French) has been promoted to Professor at Cal Poly, where he is Chair of Modern Languages and Literatures.

Greg Siers (TSOA 1998) is now working as manager of live events for Discovery Communications in Silver Spring, MD.

Carolyn Banfalvi (formerly Chapman) (CAS 1999, Journalism) will publish her book "Food Wine Budapest" in June 2008 by the Little Bookroom. "Food Wine Budapest" will be the first culinary guidebook to Budapest and Hungarian food and drink. Carolyn has been based in Budapest for the past several years, and is now at work on her next book. Learn more about the book at www.carolynbanfalvi.com.

Ken Schneck (CAS 1999, Steinhardt 2001) successfully defended his dissertation entitled "That's So Gay: Deconstructing the word gay and its place in the daily parlance of high school students" and received his PhD in Education from Fordham University.

Hebron Simckes-Joffe (TSOA 1999, Film & TV Production, GAL 2007) is working at Warner Brothers on a new digital initiative. His job is to conceptualize, write and direct content with a team of filmmakers in a "creative lab."

2000's

Susan L. Johnston (TSOA 2000, Dramatic Writing, GAL 1998) co-authored a book due to hit shelves in July 2008. PARTY FAVORS: A novel of politics and greed published by The Lyons Press an imprint of The Globe Pequot Press. PARTY FAVORS will launch its national book tour with stops at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in Denver and Minneapolis.

Helena Coronado-Salazar (CAS 2001, Politics and Romance Languages) has been awarded an Equal Justice Works Legal Fellowship for 2008-2010. Ms. Coronado-Salazar will work at the Equal Justice Center, Inc. in Austin, Texas (not affiliated with Equal Justice Works). As Wage Collections Counsel, she will be assisting immigrant and low-income workers recover unpaid wages.

José Antonio Cruz (GAL 2002, Steinhardt 2005) was recently promoted to Associate Producer of Repertorio Español, New York’s most respected Spanish-language theater dedicated to presenting plays by Hispanics from the United States as well as classic and contemporary works from Latin America and Spain. Mr. Cruz started working with Repertorio in 2002 as Director of Audience Development and Public Relations.

Christian Alberto Ledesma (CAS 2002) was married at a beach ceremony in Negril, Jamaica to Wendy Miller of Nebraska. Christian is currently a teacher in Harlem and will be a founding teacher of The Active Learning Elementary School in Flushing, NY in September 2008. Christian and Wendy met through their participation in Teach for America.

Timothy M. Hull (GAL 2002) recently had a major solo exhibition in Chelsea entitled “The Swarm of Possible Meanings Surrounding the Ancient Pyramids,” which was composed of videos, paintings, intricate drawings, sculptures and sound surrounding ancient Egypt.

Kristin Blemaster Hogan (CAS 2002) is an associate at Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto and was named winner of the 2008 Burton Award for Legal Achievement for an article she co-wrote “High Court to Rule on Territorial Reach of Patents,” originally published in the January 22, 2007 issue of The National Law Journal. This year marks the second time Ms. Hogan received a Burton Award. She was a recipient of the Burton Award in 2006 for an article she co-write while in her third year of law school at Columbia.

Alec Tabak (GAL 2003) plays guitar and sings in a band called Attack Release, in which another '03 alumnus (Simon Henin, CAS) also plays guitar. Attack Release recently played their first shows at Mercury Lounge and The Annex. They are in the process re-booking at Mercury for a gig in the early summer. Check for up coming shows at myspace.com/attackrelease.

Heather A. Vaughan (Steinhardt 2004, Visual Culture: Costume Studies) has recently had two articles "Foreign Treasures: Elizabeth Ginno's Costume Etchings at the 1940 Exposition on Treasure Island, San Francisco" published in the International Journal of Local & Regional Studies (University of Lincoln, UK) (Series 2 Vol. 3, No. 2 Autumn 2007) and "Natacha Rambova, Fashion Designer (1928 – 1931)" published in Dress (Journal of The Costume Society of America) 2006 issue, released May 2008.
She is also now a regular contributor to the fashion history blog, http://www.wornthrough.com. More information about Heather is available at http://www.fashionhistorian.net

Julie Harbey (CAS 2004, Economics) rang the closing bell at the NYSE on Friday, April 11, 2008 on behalf of the Women's Syndicate Association (WSA) for which she serves on the Executive Board. She was joined by the entire Executive Board and some active NY-based members.

Jordan Silver (WAG 2005) recently opened Silver Lining Opticians, a luxury optical boutique in Soho featuring independent brands and unused vintage from around the globe.

Dr. Elizabeth McPherson (Steinhardt 2006, Ph.D. Dance & Dance Education) has written a new book "The Contributions of Martha Hill to American Dance and Dance Education, 1900-1995" has just been released with the Edwin Mellen Press.

S. Elizabeth Lockman (GAL 2006, Film & Linguistics) premiered the coming-of-age feature, "Wrestling", on which she served as co-producer, in Wilmington, Delaware this April. She was recently named Program Director of the Hearts & Minds Film Initiative of Serviam Media. She develops and runs a range of outreach programs which engage the community (especially youth) in social issues and media literacy through film exhibition and production training. The organization is located in Wilmington, Delaware, where she grew up and now resides with her young daughter.

Tania P. Dougherty (SCPS 2007) is the Founder and President of The Little Wine Bus (www.thelittlewinebus.com) which is a company that provides fun, safe and educational culinary wine adventure tours in the Hudson Valley for any occasion.

Dan Carmeli (Steinhardt 2007, Environmental Conservation Education) has just launched his own sustainable business: "Namaste of Mind". Namaste of Mind’s mission is to provide rural artisans with a market to sustain livelihoods, to improve communities, and to connect people with the source of a product. They are committed to achieving the highest levels of environmental stewardship, social consciousness, and customer service. They do this by providing customers with unique, handmade, natural fiber goods and fairly sharing profits with the artisans. Please feel free to visit the website at www.namasteofmind.com.

Jeffrey Yip (WAG 2008, Management) has accepted an Audit Supervisor position with the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation.

The following abbreviations are used to represent NYU schools and colleges, past and present: ARTS University College of Arts and Science (Heights) | BPA College of Business and Public Administration (formerly School of Commerce, now the Stern School of Business Undergraduate College) | CAS College of Arts and Science (formerly Washington Square and University College of Arts of Science) | DEN College of Dentistry | ED Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development (formerly Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, Health, Nursing, and Arts Professions) | ENG School of Engineering and Science (Heights) | ESSW Ehrenkranz School of Social Work (formerly School of Social Work) | GAL Gallatin School of Individualized Study (formerly Gallatin Division) | GPA Graduate School of Public Administration (now Wagner Graduate School of Public Service) | GSAS Graduate School of Arts and Science | HON Honorary Degree | IFA Institute of Fine Arts | LAW School of Law | MED School of Medicine (formerly College of Medicine) | RET School of Retailing | SCPS School of Continuing and Professional Studies | SCE School of Continuing Education | SEHNAP Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, Health, Nursing, and Arts Professions (now Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development) | SG Stern School of Business Graduate Division (formerly Graduate School of Business Administration) | SSW School of Social Work (now Ehrenkranz School of Social Work) | SU Stern School of Business Undergraduate College (formerly College of Business and Public Administration) | TSOA Tisch School of the Arts (formerly School of the Arts) | WAG Wagner Graduate School of Public Service (formerly Graduate School of Public Administration) | WSC Washington Square College of Arts and Science (now College of Arts and Science) | WSUC Washington Square and University College of Arts and Science (formerly Washington Square College of Arts and Science; now College of Arts and Science)