1960s
FRANCINE (WEINSTEIN) TODER, M.A. ’64, Ph.D. ’68 (College of Education), retired psychologist, recently published her fifth book, "Your Kids are Grown: Parenting 2.0", a book for parents seeking new, healthier ways to engage with their adult children.
JEFFREY PURYEAR, ’65 (College of Social Science, Honors College), released his novel “Before I Forget: An Adventure Story,” from Yuba Books. The book outlines one person’s journey from growing up rural to helping some of Latin America’s top academic and political leaders make the world a better place—and what he learned.
1970s
BEVERLY YOUNG HAWKINS, ’70 (College of Arts & Letters), was honored at the 50th Anniversary Concert of the Meridian Community Band as the Founding Director in 1974. Hawkins recently retired from a 40-year career in music education with teaching stops at Okemos Public Schools, Forest Hills Public Schools and Lansing Public Schools in Michigan, Las Cruces Public Schools in New Mexico, and Winchester Public Schools in Virginia.
JANET KOLMER GROMMET, M.S. ’72, Ph.D. ’78 (College of Human Ecology), recently presented Mental Health, Nutrition, and Diet, an accredited continuing education program, for members of 1199 SEIU, a major health care union serving metropolitan New York City.
RICHARD “RICK” WARD, ’72 (College of Arts & Letters), recently retired following a 33-year career as the executive director of the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The chapter is the medical association of Georgia pediatricians and pediatric medical and surgical subspecialists.
JUDY FOSTER PEARSON, ’75 (College of Arts & Letters), published her seventh book, “Radical Sisters,” with a foreword by Nancy G. Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen. The novel follows Shirley Temple Black, Rose Kushner and Evelyn Lauder—three trailblazing advocates who never met but whose revolutionary ideas about breast cancer treatment and research changed the social and medical landscape and saved the lives of millions.
KAREN COUF COHEN, ’79 (College of Arts & Letters), owner of Karen Couf Cohen Public Relations, based in Franklin, Mich., has received the APR (Accreditation in Public Relations) designation after successfully completing the Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations. The announcement was made by the Universal Accreditation Board, a consortium of nine professional communication organizations.
JEFFREY MILEM, ’79 (College of Social Science), has retired as Dean of the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
1980s
RAYMOND HEARN, ’83, ’89 (College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, College of Social Science), President and Founder of Raymond Hearn Golf Course Designs, celebrated the first year of operation for two courses, The Cardinal (Plymouth, Mich.) and Doon Brae (Harbor Springs, Mich.). The Cardinal was awarded one of the Top Public Golf Courses in America by Golf Digest and USA Today, and hosted the $50M LIV championship in August 2025.
DOLORES SILKWORTH, ’83 (College of Social Science), was elected by the American Society of Landscape Architects as one of 50 ASLA Fellows for 2025. ASLA Fellows are recognized for their exceptional contributions to the landscape architecture profession and society at large.
CARMEN CID, Ph.D. ’84 (College of Natural Science), was honored by the Ecological Society of America with its 2025 Distinguished Service Award. Cid is Professor of Ecology and Dean of Arts and Sciences Emerita at Eastern Connecticut University.
BRUCE LEVINSON, ’84 (Eli Broad College of Business), received his master's in mass communication from Texas State University in May 2025 and began teaching in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State in fall 2025.
KELLI SEND, ’84 (Eli Broad College of Business), co-founder, principal and senior VP of Financial Wellness, has been awarded the prestigious Wisconsin Governor’s Financial Literacy Legacy Award. This lifetime recognition is conferred upon individuals whose sustained efforts in financial literacy, capability and inclusion serve as a model for others.
LISA DIETLIN, ’85 (College of Social Science), is being deployed on her first Fulbright Specialist grant to Turkmenistan, where she will work to build their NGO sector. Dietlin is an author of four books on philanthropy, and she is the president and CEO of the philanthropic consulting company The Institute of Transformational Philanthropy.
LISA HEILEMAN, ’86 (James Madison College), was appointed as recording secretary of the Michigan Association of Professional Santas and recording secretary for IBRBS FKS (the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas), the preeminent worldwide organization of professional Santas, Mrs. Clauses and supporting wives. Heileman is the principal officer of Goody Claus, the Thunder Bay Mrs. Claus, LLC.
DAVID PAHL, ’86 (College of Engineering), received the 2025 Claud R. Erickson Distinguished Alumni Award. The MSU College of Engineering award recognizes professional accomplishment, volunteer service and distinguished service to the college and the engineering profession. Pahl is vice president and head of Investor Relations at Texas Instruments.
MICHAEL DONNELLY, ’88 (James Madison College), has joined Butzel as a shareholder in the law firm’s office in Troy, Mich. He previously was at Fraser Trebilcock Davis & Dunlap, P.C. as managing shareholder of the Detroit Office.
1990s
SANDRA BURGESS, MBA ’90 (Eli Broad College of Business), was elected to a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the Troy Nature Society, which maintains the 100-acre Stage Nature Center preserve, provides environmental education and promotes healthy lifestyles in Troy, Mich.
MICHAEL HEBERLING, Ph.D. ’91 (Eli Broad College of Business), completed the Big 10K race in Chicago on July 12, 2025. He finished third in his 70-74 age group.
RONALD KUMON, ’92 (College of Natural Science, Honors College), was elected as the president of the Society of Physics Students. Kumon is an associate professor in the School of Foundational Studies at Kettering University.
MICHAEL REYNOLDS, ’95 (College of Natural Science), received the 2025 CRE Practice Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers for his contributions to the development of low-carbon fuel technologies.
ERIN O’CONNOR, ’98 (College of Arts & Letters), recently released her book “Fire Craft: Art, Body, and World Among Glassblowers,” published by Columbia University Press. O’Connor is an associate professor of sociology in the Department of Politics and Human Rights at Marymount Manhattan College.
2000s
JENNIFER BERNE, Ph.D. ’01 (College of Education), was selected as the next President of Madison Area Technical College (Madison, Wis.) following an extensive national search. Dr. Berne previously served as provost of Oakland Community College in Michigan.
KAZUMI HASE, M.S. ’01 (Eli Broad College of Business), was promoted to vice president, Finance & Corporate Planning Department at AISIN Corporation based out of Northville, Mich. Hase joined AISIN in 2015 and most recently was general manager in the Finance & Corporate Planning Department.
LINDSAY FAST, ’03 (College of Communication Arts and Sciences), was named sports services manager at the Lansing Sports Commission. Fast previously spent six seasons as Executive Secretary and Office Manager for the Michigan State University Men’s Ice Hockey program.
JOHN FONTES, ’03 (College of Engineering), was promoted to vice president, Sales & Marketing, North America at AISIN Corporation based out of Northville, Mich. Fontes began his career at AISIN as a sales engineer in 2007. Most recently, he was general manager, OE Sales and Marketing in the company’s Seating Business Group.
JAIME GOFF, Ph.D. ’04 (College of Human Ecology), is releasing “The Secure Leader” from Amplify Publishing. The book is an essential guide to navigating this new era of leadership—embracing the opportunity to lead with authenticity, purpose and resilience.
CHRISTINE FORCE, M.A. ’06 (College of Arts & Letters), is guest curator of the quilt exhibit “Stitches” at the Maine Historical Society in Portland, Maine. On display through Dec. 31, 2025, the exhibit brings Maine’s rich 19th-century quilting heritage to life.
JEREMY MANNING, ’06 (College of Natural Science), a procurement excellence manager at Wacker Chemical Corporation, earned his Six Sigma Black Belt Certification. The certification is a professional credential that signifies expertise in leading complex process improvement projects using Six Sigma methodologies and statistical analysis.
SHERRI MARIE CARR, J.D. ’07 (College of Law), was named a Paul Harris Fellow with the Rotary International Foundation and invited to become a fellow with the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association.
ANDREW KRAMER, Ph.D. ’07 (College of Agriculture and Natural Resources), was promoted to Associate Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida.
BERNARD ISSA, ’08, M.A. ’10 (College of Arts & Letters), has been selected to receive a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award for the 2025-26 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Issa is a faculty member at the University of Tennessee.
ANDREW BAJAJ, ’09 (College of Natural Science), joined Lupo Chiropractic Center in Roseville, Mich., as an associate chiropractic physician. For over 12 years, Bajaj has served patients across Michigan. He has been recognized annually as a Detroit Hour Magazine “Top Chiropractor” (2017-25) and was named one of America’s Top Chiropractors in 2016.
SARAH NIRENBERG, ’09 (James Madison College, Honors College), an attorney and shareholder for the law firm Butzel, has been named to DBusiness magazine’s “30 in their Thirties,” which celebrates metro Detroit’s rising business professionals who have made significant achievements in their respective fields, demonstrating leadership, innovation and success.
2010s
ASHTON HENDERSON, ’10, M.A. ’12 (College of Communication Arts and Sciences), was appointed senior deputy athletic director and chief operating officer at George Mason University. Henderson formerly served as deputy athletic director of championship resources and culture at MSU. He has previous stops at Florida State University, Clemson University and the Detroit Pistons.
PETER JOHNSTON, M.A. ’10 (College of Communication Arts and Sciences), an MSU Film Studies faculty member, recently finished in second place on the July 15, 2025, episode of the game show Jeopardy.
KEITH NICHOL, ’11 (Eli Broad College of Business), a former MSU football standout, was named to DBusiness Magazine’s 2025 “30 in their Thirties,” an honor recognizing metro Detroit’s rising business professionals for their leadership, innovation, and career success. Nichol is president and CEO of Carrera Capital Advisors.
CHERYL GRAFF, ’15, M.A. ’18 (College of Education), was named a Fulbright Scholar and accepted into the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program for the 2025-2026 academic year. This is a year-long professional development opportunity to engage in global education practices and a short-term international teacher exchange.
2020s
ROBERT SMITH, FACULTY RETD. 2020 (College of Human Medicine), released his new book “Has Medicine Lost Its Mind?” published by Prometheus Books. Drawing on decades of clinical experience and evidence-based research, Smith examines the devastating gap between physical and mental health treatment.
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