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1980-89

Updated: 09 May 2008.

Tammy Lechner, BJ '80, is the author of Our Team - Our Dream: A Cubs Fan's Journey Into Baseball's Greatest Romance. The book, a first-person narrative, presents a passionate explanation of the Cubs fan's faith through more than 300 striking and unique photographs. Lechner is a former Los Angeles Times staff photographer and photo editor.  Added: May 9, 2008

Damon Romine, BJ '88, is the director of entertainment media at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the nation's largest advocacy group fighting for the fair, accurate and inclusive representation of gays and lesbians in the media.  Added: May 9, 2008

Stephen L. Brundage, BJ '89, is a writer and photographer for Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He writes about the energy business and economic development issues for company publications, national newspapers and magazines.  Added: May 8, 2008

William Holland, BJ '89
Julie and William Holland, BJ '89
Beth Wiggins, BJ '88
Beth Wiggins, BJ '88

Brian Smith, BJ '81, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning freelance magazine and advertising photographer based in Miami. His work appears in Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, Time, Forbes, New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair and Ocean Drive.  Added: May 6, 2008

William Holland, BJ '89, JD '92, is a litigation partner at Fox, Goldblatt & Singer, P.C. in St. Louis. In recent years, he was named a "Super Lawyer" by KC Magazine and an "Up & Coming Lawyer" by the Missouri Lawyer's Weekly. He also is a lifetime member of the Multimillion Dollar Advocates Forum. Holland and his wife, Julie (Hutcheson) Holland, BS Ed '88, live in Webster Groves, Mo., with their three children.  Added: May 5, 2008

Beth Wiggins, BJ '88, is director of creative services and product management for STLtoday.com, the online division of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  Added: May 5, 2008

Amy Minick Peterson, BJ '80, owns her own marketing consulting business, Minick Peterson LLC, after working for an advertising agency and a hospital system for more than 20 years. She said, "My Missouri J-School education has taken me far, and I proudly talk up Mizzou wherever I go. My husband just completed two terms as mayor of Indianapolis, so I have had some great experiences living in the political world and using my skills in a variety of ways."  Added: May 5, 2008

Daniel Rosen, BJ '82, has written his first book, Dope: A History of Performance Enhancement in Sports from the Nineteenth Century to Today. It will be published by Praeger, an imprint of Greenwood Press, in June.  Added: April 25, 2008

Steven Fainaru, BJ '84, a Washington Post correspondent, won a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for his heavily reported series on private security contractors in Iraq that operate outside most of the laws governing American forces. His was one of six Pulitzer Prizes won by The Washington Post in 2008. [More]  Added: April 8, 2008

Dana (Piper) Saal, BJ '83
Dana (Piper) Saal,
BJ '83
Ellie S. Grossman, BJ '86
Ellie S. Grossman,
BJ '86
Jill (Branson) Hammergren, BJ '88
Jill (Branson) Hammergren, BJ '88
Jay Anthony, MA '85
Jay Anthony, MA '85

Jack Bamberger, BJ '85
Jack Bamberger,
BJ '85
Steve Wasserman, BJ '87
Steve Wasserman,
BJ '87
Annie-Laurie Blair, BJ '82, BA '82
Annie-Laurie Blair,
BJ '82, BA '82
Kathryn (Schaefer) Morris, BJ '88
Kathryn (Schaefer) Morris, BJ '88

Jack Bamberger, BJ '85, was named to the 2008 FOLIO:40, a list of individuals who best represent an increasingly multifaceted media landscape. Bamberger, a senior vice president at Meredith Corporation, spearheaded the creation of Meredith 360°, the unit responsible for building large-scale integrated advertising and marketing campaigns across the full range of Meredith assets including experiential, digital, retail, broadcast, database, custom publishing, books and magazine brands. He is based in New York.  Added: April 7, 2008

Jennifer Borron Furla, BJ '83, BA '83, has been elected to the board of directors of the Giving USA Foundation, a national organization dedicated to advancing the research, education and public understanding of philanthropy throughout the United States. Furla is executive vice president of Kansas City-based Jeffrey Byrne & Associates, Inc., a nationally recognized fundraising firm that specializes in capital and endowment campaigns. As a senior member of the firm, she provides consulting services to nonprofits in Kansas City and across the nation, specializing in capital campaigns, strategic planning and planned giving. Previously, Furla was vice president and business development officer with Commerce Bank in Kansas City.  Added: April 1, 2008

Dana (Piper) Saal, BJ '83, is an independent meeting professional who works with small associations to plan and execute their seminars and conventions. Her husband, Rich Saal, is photography editor at the State Journal-Register in Springfield, Ill., where they live with their twin teenage daughters.  Added: March 19, 2008

Steve Wasserman, BJ '87, obtained one of Missouri's biggest defense verdicts of 2007, as reported in the Jan. 28, 2008, issue of Missouri Lawyers Weekly. Wasserman, a partner with the trial law firm of Williams Venker & Sanders LLC in St. Louis, defended a trauma surgeon and his surgery group in a medical malpractice/wrongful death lawsuit. The decedent, a 46-year-old husband and father of two teenage children, was injured in a car accident and admitted to a hospital where he came under the care of trauma surgeons employed by a surgery group. The family alleged the decedent's injuries, including a cardiac contusion, were not properly evaluated or treated, leading to his death as a result of arrhythmia. The plaintiff's last demand to settle was $1 million. However, the jury returned a verdict in favor of all defendants.  Added: March 19, 2008

Ellie S. Grossman, BJ '86, is the first grand prize winner of a national writing contest for "In The Motherhood," a groundbreaking online comedy series, starring Leah Remini, Chelsea Handler and Jenny McCarthy. Grossman is a freelance writer and author of the weekly parenting humor column, "Mishegas of Motherhood," which is published in the St. Louis Jewish Light.  Updated: March 3, 2008

Sonja Steptoe, BJ '82, BA '82, is now a client development manager, based in Los Angeles, for O'Melveny & Myers LLP. She develops and executes strategic communications initiatives for the global, values-driven law firm. Steptoe was formerly deputy news director for TIME Magazine. She also has been appointed to the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.  Added: Feb. 26, 2008

Debbie (Urbanckas) Jemison, BJ '85, is vice president of communications and marketing for the Illinois Bankers Association based in Springfield, Ill. She has been with the association since 1999.  Added: Feb. 25, 2008

Jill (Branson) Hammergren, BJ '88, is the media services manager for the North Carolina Agency for Public Telecommunications.  Added: Feb. 19, 2008

Jay Anthony, MA '85, is a copy editor at the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, where he has worked since August 2003. He came to the Times after retiring from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was on the faculty of UNC's School of Journalism and Mass Communication for 16 years. Anthony started the graphic design program at UNC in 1988, which began with one course and grew to four courses, all of which he developed and taught. Previously, he has been on the faculties at MU, the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and the University of Rhode Island Department of Journalism. He also worked as a photo editor and page designer at the Providence (R.I.) Journal-Bulletin prior to teaching at UNC. Since moving to St. Petersburg, Anthony has been a visiting associate professor at the University of Tampa and an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida-St. Petersburg. His wife, Kate Newton Anthony, MA '91, is art director of the UNC General Alumni Association's magazine, Carolina Alumni Review. She assumed that post in Chapel Hill and now does it from Florida thanks to the wonders of the Internet, FedEx and UPS.  Added: Feb. 14, 2008

Annie-Laurie Blair, BJ '82, BA '82, is a journalism instructor at Miami University of Ohio and a contributing editor at Cincy, a monthly business magazine based in Cincinnati.  Added: Feb. 14, 2008

Dennis Marshall, BJ '80, has served as sales marketing manager for KPIX-TV (CBS) and KBCW-TV (CW) in San Francisco for the past 12 years. His work history also includes stints at KGBT-TV, Harlingen, Texas; KPLR-TV, St. Louis; WOAI-TV, San Antonio; and KOVR-TV, Sacramento, Calif.  Added: Feb. 14, 2008

Kathryn (Schaefer) Morris, BJ '88, is the founder and president of KMorrisPR, a media relations consultancy that has been serving biotechnology, pharmaceutical, high technology and other firms since 1997.  Added: Feb. 14, 2008

Linda (Plofsky) Schneider, BJ '83, is quality assurance/editing manager for techniques.org in Denver.  Added: Feb. 14, 2008

Denise Mayer-Boyd, BJ '84, graduated in the 2007 class of the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking. She directs professional development at Boone County National Bank in Columbia, Mo.  Added: Feb. 14, 2008

Bob Clinkingbeard, BJ '81
Bob Clinkingbeard, BJ '81, at a stop out west from a cross-country Harley ride.

Bob Clinkingbeard, BJ '81, is the vice president and news director of WOFL-TV, a Fox television station in Orlando, Fla. Previously, he was in newsroom management in Milwaukee, Washington, D.C., Detroit and Birmingham, Ala. Clinkingbeard also has worked as a newscast producer in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit, Birmingham and Alexandria, La.  Added: Feb. 14, 2008

Stan Williams, BJ '87
Stan Williams, BJ '87
Donna (Billingsley) Miller, BJ '81
Donna Billingsley, BJ '81, and husband David Miller at their Dec. 1, 2007, wedding.

Stan Williams, BJ '87, just completed a book on thrift-store decorating for Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House. It will be published in the spring of 2009. Williams left Maxim magazine in May 2007, but he remains the contributing style editor for American Express Executive Travel magazine. He also is collaborating with legendary fashion designer Norma Kamali for an inspirational book about her career and is working with Vera Wang in the creation of her first e-commerce site.  Added: Feb. 14, 2008

Donna (Billingsley) Miller, BJ '81, recently married David Miller. They live in Columbia, Mo., where she works for the Western Historical Manuscript Collection on the Mizzou campus. She also tutors Korean students in English.  Added: Feb. 13, 2008

Spencer Crona, MA '81, is in his 19th year of law practice in Denver and is a senior associate with Wade Ash Woods Hill & Farley, practicing elder law and probate litigation. He periodically writes articles on legal issues for professional journals and newspapers, including The Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune. He lives in Denver with his wife, who is a senior assistant attorney in Adams County, Colo., and two dogs.  Added: Feb. 13, 2008

In January 2008, Mark Goodman, BJ '82, became the first Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism at the Kent State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication in Kent, Ohio. From 1985 to 2007, he was executive director of the Student Press Law Center in Arlington, Va. In 2007, Goodman received a First Amendment Award from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Gerald M. Sass Award for Distinguished Service to Journalism and Mass Communication from the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Reid H. Montgomery Distinguished Service Award from College Media Advisers.  Added: Feb. 13, 2008

Nancy (Melsheimer) Rudolph, BJ '80, is a freelance writer and creative communications manager at Maritz Motivation in St. Louis.  Added: Jan. 24, 2008

Jeff Meyer, BJ '85, is a producer, editor and photographer in the commercial production department of WSET-TV, the ABC affiliate in Lynchburg, Va.  Added: Jan. 17, 2008

Dean Davison, BJ '82
Dean Davison, BJ '82

Dean Davison, BJ '82, BA '82, is the director of communications for Lockton, the world's largest privately held insurance broker based in Kansas City, Mo. Davison is married to Patricia (Braymer) Davison, BJ '82, and they have four children. The oldest, Laura, 17, is editor of The Northwest Passage, the award-winning student newspaper for Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in suburban Kansas City. They live in Shawnee, Kan.  Added: Jan. 16, 2008

Gary McDonald, MA '86, is the associate vice president for public affairs and communications at the University of San Francisco. He spends four-to-six weeks each year based at the university's Bangkok office. Previously, McDonald produced the 11 p.m. newscast at KPIX/CBS in San Francisco, and newscasts at KSDK and KTVI in St. Louis, and WBIR in Knoxville, Tenn.  Added: Jan. 16, 2008

Sara Weaver, BJ '84, is the national sales manager for KPIX-TV, the CBS-owned station in the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose area.  Added: Jan. 16, 2008

John Blanton, BJ '85, is editor of the Personal Journal section of The Wall Street Journal in New York City.  Added: Jan. 16, 2008

Clare (Michaels) Blando, BJ '82, is the communications coordinator for Directory Marketing, Inc. in Greenwood, Mo. DMI is a service bureau to the publishers of Yellow Pages that focuses on marketing directories to national advertisers.  Updated: Jan. 16, 2008

Lamar Graham, BJ '87, has been named executive editor of Parade, the largest circulation magazine in the United States. Prior to his appointment, Graham was general manager of Parade Publications, a post he held since 2004. Before that, he spent three years as managing editor of Parade. He joined the company in 2000 as a contributing editor of technology. Graham has worked at GQ, Men's Journal and Rolling Stone, where he initiated an online edition of that magazine.  Added: Dec. 19, 2007

Stacey Levine, BJ '82, lives in Seattle and is an in-house writer for Milliman, an international consulting and actuarial firm. She has published three books of literary fiction, and her first collection of short stories won a PEN/West fiction award. Her second novel, Frances Johnson, was a finalist for the 2005 Washington State Book Award.  Updated: Dec. 18, 2007

Richard Koshner, BJ '84, is the senior director of Directbuy in Cincinnati. He has been with the company for 19 years in sales and marketing after working several years for newspapers in Missouri and Arkansas as a reporter and news photographer.  Added: Dec. 14, 2007

Sandi (Orent) Strother, BJ '86, is a conference coordinator for the MU Conference Office.  Updated: Dec. 14, 2007

Col. George Riebling, BJ '83, serves as chief of the operations and training division for NATO's Interim Deployable Combined Air Operations Center at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.  Added: Dec. 14, 2007

John St. Clair, BJ '84, is the mayor of the City of Fairway, Kan., a suburb of Kansas City, Mo. He has served in that position since 2003. Before that, he served on the city council starting in 1999. Professionally, St. Clair works for Jefferson Wells, an international business consulting firm. He conducts projects related to business operations improvement, strategic planning and financial analysis.  Added: Dec. 14, 2007

Xiaoyong Wu, MA '82
Xiaoyong Wu, MA '82

Xiaoyong Wu, MA '82, is the CEO of Phoenix Satellite Television (US) Inc., a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based Chinese satellite television group. After graduating from Missouri, Wu went back to China to work for Radio Beijing, now China Radio International. In 1990, he left the government radio service to work for the World Bank as a consultant and project officer. In 1994, Wu went to Harvard as a Nieman Fellow. After his return to China in 1995, he joined friends to found the Phoenix Satellite Television and launched the Chinese service in Hong Kong in 1996. The company went public through an initial public offering in 2000, and in the same year, Wu came to the United States to launch the Phoenix company and television service.  Added: Dec. 14, 2007

Randy Anglen, BJ '80, is a sole practitioner attorney in Branson, Mo. He has been elected the municipal judge in Hollister, Mo., for seven consecutive terms since 1993.  Added: Dec. 13, 2007

Michael Infante, BJ '80, is the vice president of corporate communication for United Community Banks, Inc. in Blairsville, Ga.  Added: Dec. 13, 2007

Nancy (Grasso) Schnoebelen, BJ '84
Nancy (Grasso) Schnoebelen, BJ '84

Nancy (Grasso) Schnoebelen, BJ '84, is the vice president of marketing and communications for the St. Louis County Economic Council. She oversees media relations, advertising, marketing and official communication for the Council. In addition, Schnoebelen is a liaison with the administration of the St. Louis County executive's office on various media and communication issues. The St. Louis County Economic Council services companies and communities through business assistance, financing programs, business incubator opportunities, real estate and community development programs, and international trade expertise through its World Trade Center.  Updated: Dec. 13, 2007

Scott Cytron, BJ '82
Scott Cytron, BJ '82

Scott H. Cytron, ABC, BJ '82, recently joined Pierpont Communications, Inc. in Dallas. Previously, he was president of Cytron and Company, an organization he started in 1996 with clients in professional services industries. An accredited business communicator, Cytron serves on the board of directors of the International Association of Business Communicators. He is very proud of his son, Bryan, a pre-Journalism freshman at Mizzou.  Added: Dec. 13, 2007

Katherine Buttler, BJ '88, and her husband, Dana James, welcomed their daughter, Riley Katherine, on March 26, 2007, in Atlanta, Ga. Buttler is a senior account director at Avenue A Razorfish.  Added: Dec. 13, 2007

Julie (Mobley) Gustafson, BJ '88, is the president of Words That Work, a St. Louis-based public relations consulting firm. She is also the co-author of the nationally published travel book, Quick Escapes St. Louis - 25 Getaways from the Gateway City.  Added: Dec. 13, 2007

Vivian King, BJ '87
Vivian King, BJ '87

Vivian King, BJ '87, is the director of public affairs for Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc., a Milwaukee-based supermarket chain that operates 153 retail grocery stores in Wisconsin and Minnesota. As company spokesperson, she is responsible for all media and community relations. King moved into the position in July 2005 after 18 years as a broadcast journalist. She spent the bulk of her television career, 10 1/2 years, at WTMJ-TV, the NBC affiliate in Milwaukee. Hired initially as an education reporter, King was later named co-anchor of the station's midday newscasts. She also contributed to the station's morning show, helped launch WTMJ-TV's first weekend morning show and created and produced her own lifestyle segment, called "Viv's View." King also did stints in television in Alexandria, La.; Tyler, Texas; and Battle Creek, Mich.  Added: Dec. 13, 2007

Kevin Jones, BJ '88, is the chief operating officer for The St. Louis American.  Added: Nov. 14, 2007

Joanie Lum, BJ '84, is a general assignment reporter for CBS 2 Chicago. She joined the station in October 2003 from WGN-TV, where she had worked since 1988. She lives in Chicago with her husband and two children.  Added: Oct. 19, 2007

Sonja Steptoe, BJ '82
Sonja Steptoe, BJ '82

Sonja Steptoe, BJ '82, returned to campus Oct. 17 and visited "Steptoe House," the official name of the fourth floor of Respect Hall in MU's Virginia Avenue housing complex. Two years ago, students began an initiative to name their residence hall floors after successful MU alumni, and Steptoe was one of several who received the honor. A former deputy news director of TIME magazine, Steptoe is now the talent and client development manager at global law firm O'Melveny & Myers LLP.  Updated: Oct. 19, 2007

Abdur Rahim, MA '87, is a dissemination manager for the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research based in Bangladesh.  Added: Oct. 11, 2007

Bobbie R. Bailey, BJ '81, is a partner at Howard, Rome, Martin & Ridley, LLP, in Redwood City, Calif. He is a trial lawyer practicing in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Seattle and Portland.  Added: Sept. 11, 2007

Jill Bauer, BJ '89, is a program host for QVC, the world's largest electronic retailer.  Added: Sept. 10, 2007

Scott Diener, BJ '87, was promoted to news director at KTVT-TV and KTXA-TV in Dallas in August. He joined the stations as assistant news director in June 2006 from KTVK-TV in Phoenix, where he was the news director for two years. He also has held news management positions in Louisville, Ky., San Francisco and Cincinnati. Diener has been honored with several industry awards, including an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award and a George Foster Peabody Award.  Added: Sept. 7, 2007

Susan M. Mays, BJ '87, marketing and communications director for Denver-based CH2M HILL OMI, received the first-place award in the full-page category of the American Water Works Association Manufacturers/Associates Council's annual best in advertising awards competition.  Updated: Aug. 28, 2007

Anne Hastings, BJ '83, is vice president of client relations for the San Francisco (Calif.) Giants.  Added: July 24, 2007

James A. Baggett, BJ '83
James A. Baggett, BJ '83

James A. Baggett, BJ '83, is editor of Perennials and Nature's Garden magazines for Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications. A garden editor and writer for more than 15 years, Baggett is the former executive editor of Country Living Gardener and Rebecca's Garden magazines. He is also the author of Flower Arranging, a Best of Martha Stewart Living Book (Oxmoor House) and the former garden editor of American Homestyle & Gardening. Baggett recently relocated with his good dog Scout from New York City (where he tended a 10-by-20-foot garden behind an 1850 brownstone) to Des Moines, Iowa, where his shrinking lawn is slowly being replaced with flowerbeds.  Added: July 23, 2007

Dave Murray, BJ '86, is the education writer at the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press.  Added: July 23, 2007

Mark Walker, BJ '85, is CEO of Spinrock Properties, a diversified commercial real estate investment company in San Antonio, Texas.  Added: July 23, 2007

Gardner N. Hatch, BJ '83
Gardner N. Hatch, BJ '83

Gardner N. Hatch, BJ '83, is managing supervisor at Gibbs & Soell Public Relations in New York City. He has spent the past 18 years of his career in public relations, specializing in agribusiness and biotechnology communications. He and his wife, Lori, have three children.  Added: July 23, 2007

David Bloom, BJ '83
David Bloom, BJ '83

David Bloom, BJ '83, is the associate dean and chief communications officer for the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.  Added: July 23, 2007

Mike Taylor, BJ '85, took first place in the magazine feature category in the annual Editorial Excellence Awards presented in June by the Alliance of Area Business Publications. Taylor is managing editor of ColoradoBiz magazine in Denver, Colo. His winning story examined mom-and-pop eateries and their efforts to compete with fast-food giants.  Added: July 23, 2007

Carol Dampf Anderson, BJ '83, is a founding partner of Anderson Fallon Public Relations in Kansas City, Mo. Prior to founding Anderson Fallon, Carol was a partner and group practice leader at Fleishman-Hillard International Communications.  Updated: July 23, 2007

Myrle Croasdale, MA '88
Myrle Croasdale, MA '88

Myrle Croasdale, MA '88, was part of a reporting team from American Medical News that won a bronze award in the Midwest-South region of the American Society of Business Publication Editors' annual awards contest. The team won in the regular department category for its "Professional Issues" series. American Medical News received three gold awards and one bronze award, all at the level of 80,000 or more circulation.  Added: July 23, 2007

Susan (Miller) Vollmer, BJ '83, is the author of a book published in May 2007 titled Legends, Leaders, Legacies. She also is the manager of contracts administration for UniGroup Worldwide UTS in St. Louis, Mo.  Added: July 18, 2007

Eric Fischer, BJ '89
Eric Fischer, BJ '89

Eric Fischer, BJ '89, has spent his career in the advertising and marketing world working at some of the largest advertising agencies and media companies, including McCann-Erickson Worldwide, Tribune Company, MGM, FOX, Disney, Clear Channel and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He currently lives in Los Angeles, Calif., and is a proud husband of nine years and a father of three kids.  Added: July 17, 2007

Marilyn Cummins, AgJ '80, is president of Cummins Consulting, a marketing communications and editorial services firm based in Columbia, Mo. She was on the MU faculty as the agricultural journalism coordinator from 2000-2004.  Added: June 25, 2007

Sally (Brewer) Howell, BJ '84, has been named executive director of the Alabama Association of School Boards. In her role, Howell will manage the association's affairs, direct legislative efforts, expand learning opportunities for Alabama's school boards and build public support. She joined the AASB staff in 1986 and has held several positions, including director of public relations, director of communications, director of research and special projects and assistant executive director. Howell earned a law degree from the Birmingham School of Law and was admitted to the state bar in 2003.  Added: June 21, 2007

Wade Lambert, BJ '84
Wade Lambert, BJ '84

Wade Lambert, BJ '84, is currently a news editor for Page One at The Wall Street Journal in New York. His new hobby is running in marathons, most recently the Boston Marathon in April 2007.  Added: June 13, 2007

Ellen Boyne, BJ '83, is an account executive for CIT, where she sells money to mortgage brokers. She has two adult children and is a part-time massage therapist, which she said is her fun job.  Added: June 8, 2007

Catherine Tyndall Boyd, BJ '80
Catherine Tyndall Boyd, BJ '80

After several years in church communications, Catherine Tyndall Boyd, BJ '80, was ordained as an Episcopal priest in January 2007. She lives in Austin, Texas.  Added: June 7, 2007

John Thiel, BJ '80, has started his own law firm, the John E. Thiel Law Office, in Appleton, Wis.  Added: June 7, 2007

If I Am Missing or Dead
If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus

If I Am Missing or Dead, a non-fiction book by Janine Latus, MA '88, came in at No. 10 on The New York Times Bestseller List in May. Called "[unforgettable], unsentimental and profoundly affecting" by Publisher's Weekly, the book chronicles two sisters who live in abusive and controlling relationships.  Updated: May 14, 2007

David J. Marcou, BJ '84, of La Crosse, Wis., had an article and photo published in the March 2007 Smithsonian issue about British photographer Bert Hardy's incredible photomontage of Queen Elizabeth II's entrance at the Paris Opera in 1957. Marcou's "Readers' Pick" about Ulysses S. Grant's autobiography was published in a February 2007 issue of The Christian Science Monitor. Soon he will publish an article on Frank Lloyd Wright in American History Magazine, and he has submitted an article about La Crosse-born civil rights leader James Cameron, founder of America's Black Holocaust Museum. Marcou's son, Matthew, just completed his first year at the University of Minnesota.  Added: May 7, 2007

Bette Phelan, MA '83, is the communications director for Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) in Washington, D.C.  Added: May 1, 2007

Jim Hirsch, BJ '84
Jim Hirsch, BJ '84
Cheating Destiny: Living With Diabetes, America's Biggest Epidemic
Cheating Destiny by Jim Hirsch

Jim Hirsch, BJ '84, is the author of Cheating Destiny: Living With Diabetes, America's Biggest Epidemic. The book brings a powerful, emotional perspective about this disease that goes beyond simply being a well-researched book. Hirsh was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 15, his brother at age 6 and his son at age 3. He is a former reporter for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.  Added: April 25, 2007

Dick Aldrich, BJ '83, is the broadcast services director for the Missouri House of Representatives in Jefferson City, Mo., where he has worked since 1998. Prior to working for the House, Aldrich spent 10 years as assistant news director at KRCG-TV in Jefferson City. He also broadcasts sports play-by-play at KWOS Radio and works as a sports producer at Learfield Communications, both in Jefferson City.  Added: March 19, 2007

David Lammers, MA '80
David Lammers, MA '80

Dave Lammers, MA '80, worked in Japan for 19 years with the Associated Press and the EE Times, an electronics industry newspaper. Now in Austin, Texas, he runs a Web site, WeSRCH.com, a social networking site for people in the semiconductor industry.  Added: March 13, 2007

Carl Kenney, BJ '86
Carl Kenney, BJ '86

Carl Kenney, BJ '86, is a columnist for the Independent Weekly in Durham, N.C. Prior to joining the Independent Weekly staff, he was a columnist for the Herald-Sun in Durham, N.C., and the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. Kenney writes as a freelance columnist for Tribes Magazine. He is a graduate of Duke University with a master's in divinity and is a Fellow of Pastoral Leadership at the Princeton Theological Seminary.  Added: March 13, 2007

Jean Marie (Kathe) Johnson, BJ '80, has been appointed vice president of advancement for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI), a statewide social services agency based in Des Plaines. Johnson joined LSSI from the Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Foundation, where as a vice president she was responsible for creating, executing and leading overall strategic fundraising for the healthcare system. Previously, she was the director of major gifts and planned giving at the Newberry Library in Chicago, Ill., one of the world's leading research libraries for the humanities, and also the manager of major gifts at Advocate Charitable Foundation.  Added: March 13, 2007

Thomas Blood, BJ '80, is the creative director at MediaCross, a marketing consulting firm in St. Louis, Mo. Blood joined MediaCross in August after more than 16 years as group creative director at Hughes, a full-service agency in St. Louis. His work has won local and national ADDYs and has placed in the finals of the New York Film Festival and several other award shows. As creative director at MediaCross, Blood and his team create a wide variety of print, broadcast, outdoor, interactive and guerrilla marketing tactics for clients in the areas of recruitment, government communications and business-to-business advertising and marketing.  Added: Feb. 20, 2007

William Cremins, BJ '80
William Cremins, BJ '80

William Cremins, BJ '80, is an attorney in Knoxville, Tenn.  Added: Feb. 16, 2007

H. Alan Wolfgang, BJ '83, is the senior vice president of PARADE Magazine in Chicago, Ill.  Added: Feb. 16, 2007

Fred Walters, BJ '81, has been publisher of Acres U.S.A., (a monthly magazine and book publisher covering organic agriculture) and Living Aboard magazine (a bi-monthly for people who live onboard boats) since 1994. Prior to his current position, Walters was director of national marketing for Barq's Root Beer in New Orleans, La., during its national expansion. He lives in Austin, Texas.  Added: Feb. 13, 2007

Melissa Clark Kozicki, BJ '84, is manager of internal communications for Williams, a natural gas company in Tulsa, Okla.  Updated: Feb. 13, 2007

Bobbi Nodell, MA '88, is the communications specialist for the International Training and Education Center on HIV (I-TECH), a $30 million global AIDS training program based in Seattle, Wash. "Helping an organization I admire tell its story and communicate is my true calling," Nodell said.  Added: Feb. 13, 2007

Jim McCarty, BJ '84
Jim McCarty, BJ '84

Jim McCarty, BJ '84, is the editor of Rural Missouri magazine based in Jefferson City, Mo. He recently authored three books: Let There Be Light, A History of Callaway Electric Cooperative; Big Isn't Always Better, a History of Howard Electric Cooperative; and Rural Wonder, a History of Farmers' Electric Cooperative.  Added: Feb. 13, 2007

Laura Bryant, BJ '80
Laura Bryant, BJ '80

Laura Bryant, BJ '80, was named "2006 Legislator of the Year" by the Creve Coeur-Olivette (Mo.) Chamber of Commerce. Bryant, a Creve Coeur City Council member since 2001, received the honor for her recent work against eminent domain abuse in her community.  Added: Feb. 13, 2007

Denise Boyd, BJ '84, received her master's degree in education from the School of Information Science and Learning Technology at the MU College of Education in December 2006.  Added: Feb. 13, 2007

Susan Kay Cantele, BJ '85, a Wheaton, Ill., advertising executive who worked to inform Illinois women of the signs of ovarian cancer, died Jan. 25 from complications associated with the same disease. In 1996 she and her husband started their own advertising agency, Cantele, Sedivy and Associates Advertising in Wheaton. In 2005 the firm took on as a client the Illinois chapter of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. Cantele worked tirelessly for its cause, organizing awareness campaigns for the chapter's events.  Added: Feb. 12, 2007

Missouri Journalism Alumni at WLOX, Biloxi
Missouri Journalism alumni, part of the award-winning Hurricane Katrina team at WLOX.

Citing the station's community service in the face of "personal danger and ultimately great personal loss," the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism recently honored WLOX-TV in Biloxi, Miss., with a 2007 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia-University Award for broadcast journalism. Even after Hurricane Katrina tore a hole in the newsroom's ceiling, WLOX continued to report for more than 12 days, collaborating with radio stations, local newspapers and its sister stations to keep the residents of South Mississippi informed about the disaster. In addition to the duPont award, WLOX has earned a George Foster Peabody Award and a National Edward R. Murrow Award for its Katrina coverage. Several Missouri Journalism alumni are members of the WLOX news team (pictured left to right): Rayanne Weiss, BJ '85, special projects manager; Dave Vincent, BJ '73, news director/station manager; Krystal Allan, BJ '06, reporter/anchor; Natalie Campen, BJ '86, executive producer; Mark Pardee, BJ '80, information technology manager; and Brad Kessie, BJ '87, senior reporter.  Added: Jan. 31, 2007

Dale M. Denny, BJ '82, died May 2, 2006. Denny was an instructor for the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is survived by his parents of O'Fallon, Mo., and one brother of Western Springs, Ill.  Added: Jan. 19, 2007

Kim Jay Green, BJ '80, died Dec. 1, 2006, in Jefferson City, Mo. He was a 1976 graduate of Southwest High School in St. Louis, Mo. After receiving his journalism degree in 1980, Green earned a Master of Arts in communications from Central Missouri State University in 1988. Green was the communications director for the Missouri Senate Democratic Caucus. He was active in Missouri Democratic politics, having also served as a former aide to retired Missouri Sen. Harold L. Caskey. An avid St. Louis Cardinal fan, Green was also a member of the MU Alumni Association, Lions International and the Jaycees.  Added: Jan. 19, 2007

John Dittmann, BJ '82, is a researcher/producer with ABC News Nightline in Washington, D.C. Dittmann also writes for ABCnews.com.  Added: Jan. 19, 2007

Jon Harmon, BJ '83
Jon Harmon, BJ '83

Jon Harmon, BJ '83 (Advertising), has launched a digital platform for thought leadership in public relations called Force for Good: Aspirational Public Relations. The blog is dedicated to high-integrity communication practices, centering on transparency, honesty and social responsibility. Harmon is the director of communications strategy for Ford Motor Company's public affairs staff.  Added: Jan. 18, 2007

The Media Effect: How the News Influences Politics and Government
The Media Effect: How the News Influences Politics and Government
Jim Willis, PhD '82
Jim Willis, PhD '82

Jim Willis, PhD '82, has written his 10th book, "The Media Effect: How the News Influences Politics and Government," due out this summer. He is in his fourth year as chair of the Department of Communication Studies at Southern California's Azusa Pacific University, a private liberal arts university of 4,000 undergraduates. Willis' first nine books mostly addressed journalism and the news media topics. His one non-media book, "Prelude to Greatness," with co-author Jay Smith, a former offensive lineman with the Sooners during that era, is a study of the University of Oklahoma football team during its turbulent 1990s. Willis' 11th book, "The Mind of a Journalist," is due out in 2008.  Added: Jan. 4, 2007

Ken Brashier, BJ '87, was recently honored as the U.S. Professor of the Year for baccalaureate colleges. His is one of four national awards sponsored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and administered by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Brashier is an assistant professor of religion and humanities at Reed College in Portland, Ore. In addition to his journalism degree, Brashier earned a bachelor's degree in German at Missouri and a master's degree at Harvard University.  Added: Dec. 14, 2006

Barbara Zoccola, BJ '83, is completing her year as president of the Memphis (Tenn.) Bar Association. She works for the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. Zoccola also received a bachelor of arts in political science and a law degree from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va.  Added: Dec. 11, 2006

Russ Mitchell, BJ '82, has been named news anchor of CBS' The Early Show, effective Jan. 2, 2007. He also will file reports for the broadcast and serve as a substitute anchor. Mitchell will retain his current duties as anchor of the CBS Evening News with Russ Mitchell broadcast on Sunday nights, and as one of the rotating anchors of the Saturday edition of the CBS Evening News. He will continue to serve as a correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning. Mitchell has received many professional citations, including a 2005 New York Association of Black Journalists Award for best documentary for a Sunday Morning report on Stax Records, a 2001 Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award for the CBS Evening News with Russ Mitchell's coverage of the Elian Gonzales story, a 1997 Emmy Award for coverage of the crash of TWA's flight 800, a 1995 National Association of Black Journalists Award, two Emmy Awards from the St. Louis chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and a 1989 Best Reporter honor from the Missouri UPI.  Added: Dec. 7, 2006

Cathy Landry, BJ '84, began her new duties as news editor of the Gaylord (Mich.) Herald Times on Oct. 23. She served most recently as the systems manager for the newsroom computer system at The Blade of Toledo, Ohio.  Added: Oct. 31, 2006

Robert F. "Bob" Fleischhauer, BJ '81, of Philadelphia, Pa., died May 19, 2006. He was 49. Fleischhauer was a 20-year employee of the Philadelphia Business Journal, where he was an award-winning staff photographer and photo editor. He was the only full-time photographer at the paper for 20 years, according to editor Bernard Dagenais. Before joining the Philadelphia Business Journal, Fleischhauer was a staff photographer for the Quakertown Free Press.

Greg Toney, MA '81, is an attorney with the State of Louisiana Division of Administration in Baton Rouge.

Anne E. Schwartz, BJ '82, is public relations manager for the Milwaukee Police Department in Wisconsin.

D'Ann Lawrence White, BJ '82, won four first-place honors -- more than any individual writer in the state -- during this year's Florida Press Association and Florida Society of Newspaper Editors Annual Convention in St. Petersburg, Fla. White is the editor of The Brandon News/The Tampa Tribune, owned by Media General. Among the awards White received was the prestigious Sally Latham Memorial Award for serious column writing and first-place honors for feature writing and in-depth reporting. In addition, White and her staff earned honors for general excellence, overall graphic design, front-page makeup, photography and sports design.

Kevin Young, BJ '82, is broadcast synergy director with Walt Disney World & Disneyland Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Jerry Cobb, BJ '83, is a broker with RE/MAX Properties, Inc., in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Jia Ching Hsiao, MA '83, is CEO with Henry Mazer Culutural Hall, Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra in Taipei, Taiwan.

Janet Kleve, BJ '83, was promoted to creative director at AbelsonTaylor, Inc., in Chicago. In her new role, she will expand her creative leadership responsibilities within the agency and focus greater attention on new business development.

Mark Palmer, BJ '83, has been named group president of communications and collaboration at Sysco Corp.in Houston.

Thomas Smith, BJ '84, is a public affairs coordinator with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in Atlanta, Ga.

Paul Nowell, MA '85, is media relations manager at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. Previously he was a reporter for The Associated Press.

Ken Reid, MA '85, is the editor and publisher of Washington Information Source Co. in Leesburg, Va.

Gerri Berendzen, MA '86, was elected in April to a two-year term on the Executive Committee of the American Copy Editors Society. Berendzen is the copy desk chief at the Quincy (Ill.) Herald-Whig.

John Kernan, BJ '86, is an anchor with ESPN in Bristol, Conn.

Laura Landsbaum, BJ '86, teaches at The Woodlands High School in Texas. "As a journalism teacher, I share with my students my unique perspective as an MU graduate. I tell them how an MU degree makes them unique, and I have three headed to Columbia for fall 2006."

Amy Owens, BJ '86, is the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium communications coordinator in Lexington, Ky. She was most recently managing editor of Thoroughbred Times, and under her leadership, the magazine received the 2005 American Horse Publications award as best equine publication.

Michael Triplett, BJ '86, is a legal editor/reporter with BNA Inc., in Washington D.C. Triplett says, "I went back into journalism after a career in education and law school. Every step of the way, my experience at Missouri's J-School has made me a better writer, a more focused interviewer and a more curious individual."

Tracy Barnett, BJ '84, MA '87, is the travel editor of the San Antonio (Texas) Express-News. Barnett was the founding editor of Adelante, a bilingual news magazine published in the Columbia Missourian that serves the Latino, immigrant and multicultural communities of Central Missouri.

Kirk Curnutt, BJ '87, is professor of English at Troy University in Montgomery, Ala.

Ann Haugen, BJ '88, is the executive vice president/general manager for EliasArts, an award-winning music, sound and brand identity company in Santa Monica, Calif.

Mark J. Lodato, BJ '89, an investigative reporter at KPHO-TV/CBS 5 in Phoenix, Ariz., is news director for Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and its newscast, ASU NewsWatch.

Jeff Morris, BJ '88, is CEO/Founder of AKA Communications in St. Louis, Mo.

Anita Vanderwert, BS '89 (Ag Journalism), is one of three recipients to receive the National Agri-Marketing Association's 2006 Professional Development Awards of Excellence. These awards honor NAMA members based on outstanding achievement in the professional development areas of marketing communications, public relations, product/species management and sales. Vanderwert, national director of ag sales for Brownfield, will be the recipient of the award of excellence in sales. She has been involved in ag communication and ag sales and marketing for more than 15 years.


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