Michael L. Dillard became a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, an organization that improves the standards of trial practice, the administration of justice and the ethics of the profession, as well as recognizing outstanding trial lawyers. Tony Miller ran for lieutenant governor in the recent California primaries, but was defeated by front-runner Cruz Bustamante. During his political and legal career Miller has acted as the chief deputy secretary of state, acting secretary of state and chief deputy state controller. He also has a private law practice, founded the Californians for Political Reform Foundation and co-authored Proposition 208.

Jeffry R. Jones was appointed chair of the board of Sacramento law firm McDonough, Holland & Allen, where he represents home builders, institutional investors, lenders and title insurance companies, and serves as special counsel to public agencies throughout the state. Thomas C. Thomas, M.S., recently retired from 35 years of civil service as a scientist with the U.S. Air Force and has accepted a position as director of missions at his church in Garden Ridge, Texas. At Thomas' retirement ceremony in March, he was awarded the Department of the Air Force Outstanding Civilian Career Service Award, a financial Incentive Award, letters from President Clinton, Texas Gov. Bush and Texas Congressman Bonilla, all honoring his scientific achievements for the Department of Defense.

Rick Arthur, D.V.M. '76, an equine specialist and surgeon in Southern California, was awarded the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine's Alumni Achievement Award. Dennis Cavaille teaches French and math at San Lorenzo Valley High School, near Santa Cruz. He received his master's degree in French from UC Santa Barbara in 1997. His wife, Donna, teaches Spanish at the same high school and also received her master's in the language at the same time as Cavaille. Both serve as team leaders for the Monterey Bay Foreign Language Project at California State University, Monterey Bay. Babs Marie Meairs serves as a staff chaplain at the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System in Dallas, where she works with the spinal cord injury center, in intensive care units and with women veterans. Meairs received the Secretary's Hands and Heart Award from the Department of Veterans Affairs for her professional expertise and attentive care with her patients. In her spare time she plays in the VA employees' golf league and planned to visit her new grandson in Detroit this summer. She is married to the Rev. Edward Busch.

David Beaver was appointed by Gov. Pete Wilson as general counsel to the California Housing Finance Agency, where he had served for the past year as interim general counsel. He lives in El Macero. Gajendra Singh, Ph.D., recently achieved fellow status in the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, recognizing his extraordinary accomplishments as an agricultural engineer. Singh is a professor at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand.

Kathy Behrens, Ph.D. '80, was named president of the National Venture Capital Association after serving on the board of directors since 1994. She is a managing director at Robertson Stephens & Co., a large investment banking firm in San Francisco. Terald A. Zall, Sacramento Valley historian and son of the late Sam Zall '34, recently helped mount an exhibit at the Colusa County Hall of Records, which included photographs and historical data about the Jan. 1, 1889, solar eclipse and photos of the astronomers and families present at Norman during the eclipse. This exhibit is part of his research for the book The Hospital for the Fremont-Rideout Health Group and James B. McClatchy, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Rideout Memorial Hospital.

Col. John M. Urias was nominated for promotion to brigadier general by President Clinton. Urias has been responsible for modernizing and replacing the U.S. Army's $7.5 billion terrestrial communications infrastructure. He earned a master's of science degree in electrical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and a master's of arts in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College. He recently assumed duties as deputy for systems acquisition in Warren, Mich. D. Katey Walker, specialist in family resources and public policy and a professor in the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University, received the Faculty Extension Excellence Award, presented by Kansas State's College of Human Ecology, and an Epsilon Sigma Phi Award for Meritorious Service for her role in training, educating and mentoring Kansas residents in community involvement.

Mary Fingal Erickson, J.D., was appointed by Gov. Wilson to the West Orange County Municipal Court bench. Maj. Eric P. Johnson recently received the Meritorious Service Medal while serving in the Marine Corps Forces as an exercise action officer in Okinawa, Japan. Johnson is currently assigned to a Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz. Robin J. Kalota has joined the Mellon Financial Group­West Coast Bank Corp. as the head of portfolio management in its Newport Beach office. Kalota has more than 14 years experience in the financial industry, as a partner and portfolio manager for McCrory Associates Investment Management in Houston and as an investment officer for the University of California. Robert P. Oglesby was appointed the new legislative director for the state Air Resources Board by Gov. Pete Wilson. Oglesby was previously deputy chief of the state Bureau of Automotive Repair.

Keith Barr was promoted to chief information officer for Sento Technical Innovations, an Orem, Utah, computer training and support services firm. Barr develops Sento's information technology strategy and manages a technical help desk and technical support center. He was previously director of international information technology for Sykes Corp. and also worked for the U.S. Department of Defense as chief of information systems at a large military base in Shreveport, La. Andy Dreyfus became creative director of the San Francisco office of CKS Partners, a marketing communications company, in 1996. He joined the newly formed company in 1993 and supervises more than 20 designers, overseeing such accounts as VISA, General Motors and Nike. Richard Moreno recently published the second edition of The Nevada Trivia Book (Gem Guides Books), which features Nevada's controversial history through facts about interesting people and events. Moreno also publishes Nevada Magazine and has written a weekly Nevada travel column since 1987. John B. Swartz, M.S., Ph.D. '81, has been promoted to senior manager of research and development for Heinz U.S.A., an affiliate of the H.J. Heinz Co. Swartz has worked at Heinz since 1989; he, his wife and their three daughters live in Pennsylvania. Liz Sutton Wisner was a senior art director at Apple Computer before joining her current firm, Stone Yamashita, as an art director for the San Francisco agency whose clients include IBM and Netscape.