Class Notes Archive 1931-2014
Class Notes are searchable back to our spring 2000 issue. You can browse the notes by decade (click on a decade to view its class notes):
Class notes from the 1970s
| 1970Marty Fabrick, M.S. ’72, was recently appointed executive vice president of Parsons Water & Infrastructure, a division of one of the nation’s largest employee-owned engineering firms. Fabrick, who has over 30 years experience with the company, works in the firm’s Pasadena headquarters. (appeared in the Spring 2006 issue) • Janet (Long) Levers, Rayme (Lichtenberg) Romanik ’71, Zoe McCandless-Grossman ’72 and Diana Lee, M.D. ’74, recently gathered in San Francisco to carry on a tradition of friendship dating back 35 years to when they were roommates in a house on Seventh Street in Davis. Over the years they have traveled together to Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada. Levers teaches science in Woodland and is married to Stan Levers ’69. Romanik oversees the ninth district Social Security Administration–Medical Section in Albuquerque, N.M., and is married to Allan Boyer. McCandless-Grossman manages a family pediatric dental practice in Sacramento and is married to Wayne Grossman ’71. Lee practices at a community clinic targeting underserved Asian groups in Hollywood and is married to Jack Seto, M.D. ’74. (appeared in the Spring 2006 issue) • Ed Sbragia, a winemaker at Beringer Vineyards for nearly 30 years, recently launched Sbragia Family wines. He runs the Healdsburg vineyard with his oldest son, Adam, marking the family’s third generation of winemaking in Sonoma County. The two were called “winemakers to watch” in a December San Francisco Chronicle article. Sbragia and his wife, Jane, have two other children, Gina and Kevin. (appeared in the Spring 2006 issue) • John Kleppe, Ph.D., received the inaugural Olympus Lifetime of Education Innovation Award from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance at a March ceremony in Portland, Ore. An electrical engineering professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, Kleppe has created curricula to promote innovative thinking and entrepreneurship, and is the founder of manufacturing company Scientific Engineering Instruments Inc., based in Sparks, Nev. (appeared in the Summer 2006 issue) • Jeremy Janes, M.A., died in April 2006 of lung cancer at the age of 63. Mr. Janes had been serving as the communications representative for the American Association for Retired People in Madison, Wisc. A native of the United Kingdom, Mr. Janes moved to California after marrying Helena Ellis. After receiving his master’s degree in French from UC Davis he taught at Dunn School in Santa Ynez and worked for the Community Action Commission in Santa Barbara. He is survived by his wife, Helena, two daughters, a son and one granddaughter. (appeared in the Summer 2006 issue) • Trinda Bedrossian, M.S., was recognized by the State Mining and Geology Board with a resolution of thanks for distinguished service as she retired after more than 35 years as an engineering geologist for the California Geological Survey. Since her retirement she has continued to work part time with the survey, assisting the state parks with soil conservation projects related to off-highway vehicle use. She lives near Davis with her husband, Donn Ristau, M.S. ’73, Ph.D. ’77, who is also a geologist. (appeared in the Fall 2006 issue) • Barbara “Babs” Wiener Davis lives in Cupertino and works as an independent organizational psychologist in the political, medical and financial arenas. (appeared in the Fall 2006 issue) • Ric Matthews is dean of math and sciences at MiraCosta College in Oceanside. (appeared in the Fall 2006 issue) • Martin Wizorek accepted a position as manager of occupational safety and health at the University of Maryland, College Park. Wizorek had served for 22 years in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, and worked for 14 years with various industrial hygiene and safety consulting firms. (appeared in the Winter 2007 issue) • John Madigan, M.S. ’72, D.V.M. ’75, was recently honored with a Distinguished Service Award during the American Association of Equine Practitioner’s 52nd annual convention in San Antonio, Texas. The award recognizes Madigan’s work as the co-presenter of the popular Kester News Hour session held each year during the convention. His witty delivery and ability to capture the meaningful news from equine veterinary medicine have helped to make the news hour a favorite among convention attendees. Madigan is currently a professor of medicine and epidemiology at UC Davis and heads its veterinary emergency response and helicopter rescue teams. (appeared in the Spring 2007 issue) • Evan Hillebrand retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in 2006 and is now associate professor of international economics at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky, Lexington. (appeared in the Fall 2007 issue) • Bradford Smith, D.V.M., associate dean for clinical programs and director of the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Teaching Hospital at UC Davis, received a 2007 Alumni Achievement Award from the school in recognition of his contributions as a distinguished clinician, educator and leader in food animal medicine. (appeared in the Fall 2007 issue) • Richard Swanson, Cred. ’72, M.A. ’74, was appointed superintendent of the Tehachapi Unified School District. Swanson has been a superintendent or superintendent/principal in various districts since 1999 and received a California Distinguished School Principals Award in 2000. He and his wife, Darlene, have four adult children. (appeared in the Fall 2007 issue) • John Crane, Ph.D., an emeritus professor of biology and zoology at Washington State University in Pullman, died in June 2007. Dr. Crane joined WSU in 1970 where he primarily taught large introductory biological science classes and parasitology. The esteem in which he was held by his students was demonstrated by his selection to be grand marshal of the Homecoming parade in 1999. He was also recognized by his peers with the 1989 President’s Faculty Excellence Award in Instruction (now the Sahlin Award). Although he retired in 2000, he continued to teach general biology through the Distance Degree Program (appeared in the Fall 2007 issue) • Cliff Krowne and colleague Y. Zhang edited the recently published book Physics of Negative Refraction and Negative Index Materials: Optical and Electronic Aspects—Diversified Approaches and Structures (Springer-Verlag Books). Krowne works with the microwave technology branch of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. (appeared in the Winter 2008 issue) • William Jarvis, president of Jason and Jarvis Associates, consultants in epidemiology and infection control, has edited the fifth edition of the influential reference Bennett and Brachman’s Hospital Infections (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins). Jarvis consults throughout the world on reducing health care-associated infections, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). (appeared in the Spring 2008 issue) • Nancy Felts and fellow UC Davis student Bill “Ag” Robinson, who attended in the late ’60s before graduating from California State University, Sacramento, had a chance meeting in the Sacramento International Airport 29 years after their last meeting. Felts has since retired from 35 years of teaching in California and joined Robinson in Florida. Robinson spent 30 years overseas in the Peace Corps and building embassies for the United Nations and the U.S. State Department, and now works as a general contractor. (appeared in the Summer 2008 issue) • Allen Marr, president and CEO of Geocomp Corp. in Boxborough, Mass., was elected to the National Academy of Engineers, in addition to being awarded the UC Davis Distinguished Engineering Alumni Medal in June 2007. (appeared in the Summer 2008 issue) • William Gray recently returned from serving as chief of party on a USAID-funded project in Afghanistan, where he assisted the leadership of the four universities in Kabul and the ministry of higher education in planning to enhance the quality of instruction and research at their institutions. Gray has been a faculty member at Washington State University since 1972. He can be contacted at gray@wsu.edu. (appeared in the Summer 2008 issue) • Tory Hoff is a psychologist in Toronto, and he operates an Internet-based used book business on the side. He has lived in Canada since 1972. (appeared in the Summer 2008 issue) |