Class Notes

Published on a quarterly basis, class notes are user-submitted and edited by the College of Arts and Sciences.

The class notes below are organized by decade and, following that, are ordered alphabetically.

1950s

Nancy Kierspe Carlson Dodd (B.A. ’58, Speech and Theatre) writes: “While I was at IU, my script for a musical won the Annual Jordan River Review Contest, and it was produced. Theatre has been my hobby all of these years since, and just last month, Pioneer Drama Press published my play, The Wedding Grift. It’s a comedy about a wedding scam a couple and their daughter are grifting among the wealthy. I am still floating on clouds. Thank you, IU!”

1960s

Carl Boyd (B.A. ’62, M.A. ’63, History) writes: “One of the most substantial foundation stones in my career as a university professor is my days at IU, in particular two professors of history stand out among several, Robert H. Ferrell and C. Leonard Lundin. Professionally it goes without saying they were top notch in their areas of historical specialization, but I maintained an ongoing correspondence with them, especially with Bob Ferrell, over the decades and enjoyed meeting them at history conferences and on other professional occasions. Their professional advice assisted my career enormously long after the IU classroom.”

Malcolm McClintick (B.A. ’66, Sociology) retired from practicing law to write fiction, and has since published four mystery novels with Doubleday and one produced screenplay. He writes that he’s married and currently living in Florida “to escape ice and snow.”

Jerome Krase (B.A. ’67, Sociology) received a Fulbright Grant in 2018, and he was recently featured in a “Fulbrighter Snapsnot” online. His most recently published article is “How do Wars become Unknown? A Brief Personal Reflection,” in Unknown Wars, edited by Vitalii Lunov and Maxim Lepskiy (European Academy of Sciences of Ukraine 2022).

Francis L. Rowe (B.A. ’60, Psychology) is a retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel who now serves as a financial consultant.

1970s

In 2021, Robert Bartlett (B.A. ’74, Ph.D. ’84, Political Science) published Democratic Norms of Earth System Governance: Deliberative Politics in the Anthropocene, co-authored with Walter F. Baber (Cambridge University Press). Bartlett has retired from the University of Vermont and now lives in Valparaiso, Ind., with his spouse Sally, who earned a B.S. in 1973 from the IU School of Education.

Sally K. Brann (B.A. ’74, Sociology) retired in 2018, having previously served as senior assistant bursar and manager of client relations at Indiana University Bloomington. Between 2018 and 2022, she also served as a volunteer advocate for the Student Advocates Office.

Richard Jones (B.A. ’72, Chemistry) served as the 2022 president of the American College of Dentists (ACD). He writes that, “It was founded in 1920 and established dentistry as a profession. The ACD is still considered the conscience of dentistry. The oldest major dental honorary represents the top 4 percent.” In addition to his degree from the College, Jones earned a D.D.S. in 1975 and an M.S. in 1978, both from the IU School of Dentistry.

William M. Tierney (B.A. ’73, Biological Sciences) writes: “I served on the IU School of Medicine faculty for 35 years as a general internist practicing primary care, emergency medicine, and hospital medicine. I was also physician-investigator focusing on biomedical informatics and health services research. I was an investigator in the Regenstrief Institute for 35 years where I founded the IU/Regenstrief Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research (now named the William Tierney Center for Health Services Research) and eventually served as President and CEO of the Regenstrief Institute Inc. At this time I also served as associate dean for comparative effectiveness research for the IU School of Medicine. I was a health services researcher and practiced medicine at the Roudebush VA Medical Center for 11 years, but other than that my clinical practice was at Wishard Health Services (now named Eskenazi Health), where I eventually rose to be chair of the Wishard/Eskenazi Department of Internal Medicine. I left IU for six years beginning in 2015 to help establish the new Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin where I was the Founding Chair of its Department of Population Health. After stepping down as chair, I remain a part-time faculty member there but have returned to IU’s Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, where I serve as professor of global health and associate dean for population health and health outcomes. I have received more than $30 million in extramural research as principal investigator and have published more than 300 articles in peer-reviewed medical journals that have been cited by others more than 27,000 times. I was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2006; I am a fellow in the American College of Medical Informatics, where I served as president in 2019-21; a master in the American College of Physicians; and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London.”

Carl N. Williams Jr. (B.A. ’72, Political Science) was recently selected to the Nevada State Medical Board in a four-year term. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, he also traveled to several countries doing volunteer work repair children’s cleft lips and palates.

1980s

Howard E. Hinman (B.A. ’81, Computer Science) has previously served as a technical advisor to Bill Gates at Microsoft, world wide chief technologist for Micro Focus, and as North America public sector community lead and chief technologist for DXC. Hinman writes that he currently serves as principal partner and development manager for Amazon Web Services, where he’s responsible for the mainframe modernization relationship with Accenture.

1990s

Traci Schubert Barrett (B.A. ’92, Telecommunications) writes: “I just published a book (January 24, 2023) called What If There's More? Finding Significance Beyond Success. It tells my story as one of the founders of HGTV and helping build that company from an idea to a billion-dollar media empire. After 20 years in television, then pivoting to answer the big questions that arise at mid-career crossroads, the book provides a framework for rediscovering who you are and what you want for your future.”

Christine Cook Mania (B.A. ’91, Journalism) writes: “In December 2022, I graduated with a master of arts degree in humane education from Antioch University New England in partnership with the Institute for Humane Education.”

Gary Gassman (B.A. ’90, Sociology) has again been selected by Crain’s as one of their most notable “Gen X Leaders in Law.” This marks the third time he has been so recognized. In 2022, Gassman was elected as chair of ABA TIPS and was promoted to a senior leadership position within his firm Cozen O’Connor in Chicago.

Darren J. Schmidt (B.A. ’96, Philosophy, Psychology, Religious Studies) writes: “As associate general counsel at Spotify (global head of record label licensing), I head up the team that does the deals with hundreds of record labels providing over 100 million tracks across Spotify’s 184 countries. Spending 23 years in the music business isn’t exactly what I thought would happen with my philosophy and religious studies degrees, but it's been a blast.”

2000s

B. Afeni McNeely Cobham (M.A. ’00, Afro-American Studies) has been named the first associate vice chancellor and vice provost for equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (EDIB) at the University of North Carolina’s School of the Arts. Read more about her appointment here. In addition to her master’s degree from the College, she earned a Ph.D. from the IU School of Education in 2003.

Julie Duhon (B.A. ’06, Mathematics) and Haddie Katz (B.A. ’09, Gender Studies) are co-founders of the nonprofit Tandem Community Birth Center and Postpartum House. Tandem's first phase of operation in Bloomington is now open, including a community space for perinatal supportive services and midwifery-led gynecology services. They have raised over $250,000 in grants and donations since launching in 2020, including a 2022 $100,000 National Project Grant from the Gannett Foundation, which will fund renovations for the birthing suites in their facility, planned for 2023.

Paige Gray (B.A. ’05, English), a professor of liberal arts and writing at the Savannah College of Art and Design, will have her second book, Children of the Black Press: Youth Periodical Writing and the Making of an African American Literature for Young People, published by The Ohio State University. Gray specializes in children's literature and culture, with a specific interest in the intersections between youth and newspapers. Her first book, Cub Reporters: American Children's Literature and Journalism in the Golden Age, was published by SUNY Press.

Tim Granholm (B.A. ’08, Political Science) writes: “After 15 years working in politics—in the Obama and Biden Administrations—and at Boeing, I recently co-founded a boutique communications consulting firm called Shallot Communications. We are focused on helping leaders and organizations talk more persuasively about who they are and what they do, focusing on the healthcare and sustainability sectors.”

2020s

Jack West (B.A. ’20, Political Science) writes that he is currently working as a legislative aide in the U.S. House of Representatives.