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 |

1930's

Dr. Jesse J. Dossick (Steinhardt 1934) passed away May 11, 2009, he was 98 years old. Dr. Dossick was Professor Emeritus at the Steinhardt School of Education and also the former head of Student Affairs at NYU. The research from his doctoral dissertation on the Aztec culture was used by Warner Brothers when they were filming the 1939 movie Juarez. His most recent book, The Ancient Aztecs: A Complete Account of the Life of the Ancient Aztecs from Birth to Death was published in 2008. Dr. Dossick and his family have close ties with the New York University community, and he will be missed.

Julius S. Youngner (ARTS 1939) is Distinguished Service Professor (Emeritus, 1991) at University of Pittsburgh where he taught beginning in 1949. Among many achievements Dr. Youngner has worked for the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Cancer Institute to name just a few.

1940's

Max Oppenheimer, Jr. (WSC 1941) has authored Is That What It Means? III Metaphors Are the Source of Meaning in Language has been published by LULU and is available on amazon.com. His second autobiography Cultivating Gratitude and Playing Your Cards As They are Dealt has been published by kspublishinginc.com.

Louis M. Soletsky (ARTS 1945) has published 100 Years of Medicine, (i-universe), a collection of stories, gaffs, and triumphs from the combined 100 years of medical practice of him and his late father David Soletsky, M.D.

Samuel Garry (Steinhardt 1947) was selected third place winner of the F.E.G.S. Haym Salomon Arts Awards Competition for his artwork Israeli Tribal Formation in the Sinai Desert. Garry will be named Haym Salomon Fellow and receive a limited edition Haym Salomon Medal.

S. Spencer Grin (ARTS 1948) has published the biography of Norman Cousins and the history of the 50 year old magazine, The Saturday Review. The title of the book is Norman Cousins, Why This Man Matters.

Arnold B. Blumenthal (WSC 1949) is currently volunteering as a paralegal for Nassau/Suffolk Law Services' Senior Unit, after 50-plus years in publishing with Cygnus Business Media as a group publisher, and also serves as secretary/treasurer of the Metropolitan Burglar and Fire Alarm Association.

1950's

Louis Lauer, Esq. (WSC 1950, SCPS 1997) has passed away in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the age of 79, on Sunday, April 26, 2009. Long a resident of New York City, and subsequently Wilton, Connecticut, Mr. Lauer and his wife, Elizabeth, moved to the Southwest almost four years ago.
Besides his wife of 49 years, Mr. Lauer is survived by his children and grandchildren: Amy and her son, Justin, of San Francisco Kate and her husband, Mati Teiblum, their daughter Noa and sons Lev and Adam of Berkeley and Erik, of Seattle.

Burton S. Wasserman (WSC 1953, DEN 1957) is the guest editor for Dental Clinics of North America, "The Special Needs Patient", April 2009.

William Silver (DEN 1953) authored his first book Dental Autopsy which has been published by the international house of Taylor and Francis.

Leonard Schonberg (ARTS 1955) has posthumously published his latest, and fifth, novel, Blackfeet Eyes, the first in a crime trilogy set on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana. Mr. Schonberg passed away in November 2008 on his ranch in Clancy, Montana

Warren J. Pearlman (Steinhardt 1956) has been inducted into the Oceanside, NY School District Hall of Fame after teaching physical education for 50 years in Massapequa. He has been voted Teacher of the Year and cited for many honorary achievements during his tenure.

Milton Pachter (LAW 1957, LAW 1958) was honored when a lecture hall at the New York Law School’s new building located at 185 West Broadway was named after him. Last year, the American Bar Association presented him with the Jefferson Fordham Award for Lifetime Achievement.

1960's

Michael A. Brody (ARTS 1962) is still practicing psychiatry and recently authored- Messages: Self Help through Popular Culture.

Joel M. Levy (Steinhardt 1965) has served as a national leader in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities during his career which has spanned four decades. He was the recipient of The Burton Blatt Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing his contributions to the field in May 2009.

Paul N. Schwartz (ARTS 1967) was elected to he Textile Museum’s Board of Trustees in April 2009.

Richard A. Lynn (WSC 1967) opened his private practice in vascular and general surgery in West Palm Beach, Fla. in 1976 where he raised his three sons, all of whom are now Orthodox Rabbis. He was on the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons from 2000-2006 and was President of the Florida chapter of the American College of Surgeons from 2006-2008. He is currently expecting his 13th and 14th grandchildren.

Alan A. Wartenberg (ARTS 1967) has been awarded the Nyswander/Dole award from the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependency (AATOD). This award is given to those who have advanced the field of treatment for those afflicted with narcotic abuse, and is named after the founders of methadone treatment, Drs. Marie Nyswander and Vincent Dole. He is semi-retired, but still practice part-time at the Providence Veterans Hospital and in a private addictions practice in North Kingston, Rhode Island.

Max D. Leifer (STERN 1968) is an attorney and owner of BRANDY LIBRARY in Tribeca.

Gerard J. Pelisson (GSAS 1969, American history) has co-authored The Castle on the Parkway: The Story of New York City's DeWitt Clinton High School and Its Extraordinary Influence on American Life (Hutch Press, 2009). For more information, visit www.castleontheparkway.com.

1970's

Ellen Langer (ARTS 1970) has published the book Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility which is about opening our minds to what’s possible, instead of presuming impossibility, can lead to better health–at any age.

Francis C. Spataro (Steinhardt 1971) is the retired Bishop of the Association of Independent Evangelical Lutheran Churches. He is also the author of Charles Mason Remey and The Baha'I Faith (1987) and Images of Godly Living (1994) as well as many poems published in sundry periodicals like Stopinder, Haiku Harvest, The Rose, The Journal of Pastoral Care, and Templar Phoenix Literary Review.

Jane Rubino (WSC 1972, Dramatic Literature, Theatre History & Cinema) with her daughter Caitlen Rubino-Bradway, have co-authored a novel-length reconstruction of Jane Austen's early novella Lady Susan. Titled Lady Vernon and Her Daughter, the novel will be released by Crown Books in the fall of 2009. Jane is also the author of a mystery series set at the Jersey shore and a volume of Sherlockian novellas.

Solomon Oliver Jr. (LAW 1972) a U.S. District Judge from Cleveland, has been elected to the Judicial Conference of the United States, the policymaking body of the federal judiciary which is chaired by the Chief Justice of the United States.

Martin E. Karlinsky (WSC 1972) has been elected President of the American Friends of The Hebrew University, and will receive an honorary fellowship from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in recognition of his longstanding leadership in the American Jewish community and advocacy for and defense of the State of Israel.

Joan I. Siegel (GSAS 1972) has published her new collection of poetry Hyacinth for the Soul (Deerbrook Editions 2009).

Richard T. Foltin (ARTS 1973) was appointed Director of National and Legislative Affairs at the American Jewish Committee in Washington, DC. In addition, having served for a number of years as co-chair of the First Amendment Rights Committee of the American Bar Association's Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, Foltin was elected last year as a member of the IRR's governing council. In May 2009, Foltin received the SALDEF (Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund) Dorothy Height Coalition Building Award.

Nancy Krasa (GSAS 1976) announced the publication of her new book, NumberSense and Number Nonsense: Understanding the Challenges of Learning Math. The book, published by Brookes Publishing Co. takes an in-depth tour of essential math skills and the difficulties students may encounter. It provides education professionals will the insight they need to turn number nonsense into number sense for children who struggle with math.

Sherry L. Reiter (Steinhardt 1976) is a clinical social worker and registered poetry therapist who combines talk therapy with writing therapy. As Director of The Creative *Righting* Center, she focuses on poetry, story, and the reclaiming of voice as dynamic healing components. Dr. Reiter divides her time between writing, teaching at Touro College, Hofstra University, and private practice. She is also the coordinator of Poets-Behind-Bars, a writing therapy program for inmates of the Indiana State Maximum Security Prison. Writing Away the Demons, published in 2009 is her first book.

Mireille Grangenois (WSUC 1978) has been appointed as publisher of the Chronicle for Higher Education. Grangenois has three decades of media experience including editorial, advertising and public relations and will oversee advertising for the organization’s two newspapers – The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Chronicle of Philanthropy – and its three Web sites – http://www.chronicle.com, http://philanthropy.com, and Arts & Letters Daily, http://www.aldaily.com/ – as well as its newsletters and special reports, including The Chronicle Review.

1980's

Janet Goldner (Steinhardt 1981) has been selected for a Fulbright Specialists project in Bamako, Mali at Balla Fasseke Kouyate Conservatory of Arts and Multimedia during the month of May, according to the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Goldner will conduct a three week seminar for visual art and multimedia students.

John A. Barnes (CAS 1982, Journalism) has been appointed Executive Speechwriter at BP America, headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Teri Coyne (TSOA 1983, Acting) will publish her debut novel The Last Bridge from Ballantine books in July 2009.

Bruce O. McBarnette (LAW 1983) appears in a small role in the recent film called State of Play, starring Ben Affleck and Russell Crowe. He also appears in SALT a film starring Angelina Jolie shot in Washington, DC and the following television pilot films all of which were also shot in April 2009: Past Life, shot in Baltimore Body Politics, shot in Richmond and Inside the Box, shot in Washington, DC.

Gayle Berg (Steinhardt 1983) was appointed an overseer of Boston University and is a current member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at BU’s College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences and the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. Berg has served as chair of PLANY (Psychologists for Legislative Action in New York), the state’s political action committee for psychology since 1998, and the chair of Nassau County Psychological Association’s Legislative Committee. She is an active board member of New York State Psychological Association’s Council of Representatives and conducts a full-time private practice in Roslyn, N.Y.

Eric Comstock (WSUC 1985) made his fifth appearance with Lincoln Center’s American Songbook in 2008, and received excellent reviews for his March 2009 concert Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams with his wife Barbara Fasano.

Margot Mifflin (GSAS 1986) has published The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman (University of Nebraska Press). The book is a biography of a 19th-century Mormon pioneer who became a celebrity after she was captured, raised, and tattooed by Southwest Indians, then ransomed back five years later.

Nancy Balbirer (TSOA 1987) authored her memoir Take Your Shirt Off and Cry which was published by Bloomsbury in April 2009. The memoir is an account of her time as an actor in the blistering trenches of show business and the whole first chapter concerns her time as a student at NYU.

1990's

Lance LaVergne (STERN 1991) has been named vice president and chief diversity officer at New York Life Insurance Company. Mr. LaVergne is now responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s diversity program, including the implementation and execution of the company’s diversity strategy coordination of diversity activities and events with particular emphasis on the areas of recruitment, training, development and retention and communication on diversity both internally and externally.

Kristina Marie Rios de Lumbreras (GSAS 1991, Spanish) is Partner, Director of Sales at FANDANGO Catering, a boutique catering business she founded with her husband, Executive Chef Jesús Lumbreras-Calvo, whom she met in Madrid while studying with NYU in Spain. She is active in historic preservation in Houston and also is managing partner for FANDANGO Properties, a family-held real estate investment firm.

Robert Derbabian (STERN 1992, Finance) accepted a position at Wells Fargo Business Credit located in New York as Vice President. His previous company Capital TempFunds, was purchased by Wells Fargo Business Credit, effective March 2. He will still be travelling along the Northeast corridor, from Maine to Washington D.C., working to assist middle market companies with business financing.

Jeffrey Hoffman (GAL 1994) was elected to the city council in Woodcliff Lake, NJ and officially sworn in to office in January 2009.

Mona Elyafi (GSAS 1994) has published her memoir DisCOKEnnected. The book chronicles a period of three years and the terrifying descent into the hell of addiction and retraces with painstaking detail the series of breakdowns and insane self-destructive behavioral excesses of the intoxication and but ultimately sheds light on what the human spirit can destroy, endure and overcome.

Claire Olivia Moed (TSOA 1995, Dramatic Writing) was the recipient of the 2009 Elizabeth George Foundation Grant in Fiction for her trilogy Wire Monkey. Her photograph, The Luncheonette is being shown at the Pen And Brush exhibition, Contemporary Expressions in May 2009.

Kevin R. Kosar (GSAS 1995, GSAS 2003) a researcher at the Library of Congress since 2003, recently was named Contributing Editor to Public Administration Review.

Charles E. Stull (Steinhardt 1998) graduated with a doctor of education degree (Ed.D) in adult learning and leadership from the Department of Organization and Leadership at Columbia University's Teachers College in New York City. He researched learning in cross-functional global virtual teams. After 17 years in the substance abuse counseling field, Charles has launched his own consulting business, providing leadership development and executive coaching services.

Traci Stein (Steinhardt 1998, Community Health Education) received a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. She will begin a postdoctoral fellowship in Pain Psychology in the Department of Anesthesiology at Columbia University Medical Center this summer.

2000's

Cindy Pon Preston (Steinhardt 2000) authored her debut young adult fantasy novel, Silver Phoenix: Beyond the Kingdom of Xia, which was released by Greenwillow Books / HarperCollins in April 2009. Pon’s book was named one of the top ten Sci-Fi/Fantasy reads by the American Library Association for 2009. A sequel will follow in 2010.

Diane Henry (GAL 2001) with her friends Shauna Gray / STERN ’01 / and Janelle Benjamin / STERN ’01 / have launched the real estate company Red Real Estate in Manhattan. Check out their website: www.red-realestate.com

Kami Lewis Levin (Steinhardt 2001, Secondary Social Studies Education) is thrilled to announce the launch of her blog, The Fence, dedicated to working moms who struggle to keep a foot on both sides of the proverbial fence. Check it out at http://www.livefromthefence.blogspot.com. She was recently hired as the k-12 social studies instructional coach for the Cambridge Public School District in Cambridge, MA. She currently lives outside of Boston, MA with her husband Seth, also a '01 grad of Steinhardt and their two sons, Sydney, age 3, and Elijah, age 1.

Timothy Hull (GAL 2002) completed a research trip to Egypt and produced a body of art work related to the trip that was featured in a solo exhibition in April 2009 at the Taylor de Cordoba Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.

Ashwin Madia (LAW 2002) joined the Marines after graduation where he served a tour of duty in Iraq and worked as a prosecutor, defense attorney and legal counsel to senior officers. In 2008, Madia ran for the open seat in the 3rd Congressional District, and although he fell short in the general election, he has since announced he is opening his own law firm, Madia Law LLC.

Sylvia Mohen (CAS 2003, Anthropology) has recently graduated with a Doctor of Medicine from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. She will be starting her internship in June at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and will continue her training in Neurology at Albert Einstein the year following.

Alexis Anne Holroyde (CAS 2005) is finishing her third year at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

Anne A. Brooksher (LAW 2006) has joined the law firm of Winston & Strawn LLP as an associate.

Adam Zeller (STERN 2008) has been promoted to Director, Digital Media from Senior Manager, Digital Marketing of Starz Digital Media. In his expanded role, Zeller remains responsible for overseeing the marketing of long-form content for digital and on-demand transactional (EST & VOD/PPV) distribution. His primary duties in this regard include partner relations, marketing, and advertising strategy for digital sell-in and sell-thru of content from several of Starz’ business units. In addition to Zeller’s marketing responsibilities, his role is expanding to include the management and product development for Starz Media’s burgeoning gaming business. Zeller received his MBA in Finance and Marketing from NYU’s Stern School of Business and his BA in Economics from Wesleyan University.

Jason Sevier (STERN 2008) has joined McGladrey & Pullen, a leading national certified public accounting firm, in their mid-Atlantic region as a partner in the SEC audit practice.

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)