1960s

Agate Nesaule, B.A. ’61, M.A. ’63, published Lost Midsummers: A Novel of Women’s Friendship in Exile in December 2019. It tells the story of two young Latvian women who meet in 1950s Indianapolis and begin a life-long friendship. The diverse experience of exiles in the Midwest is both the foundation of their friendship and a cause for action—remaining relevant today as immigrants from around the world search for their place in America. Dr. Nesaule earned a Ph.D. in 19^th- and 20^th-century British and 20^th-century American Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1972. She was instrumental in developing the Women’s Studies program and worked as a professor of English and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

1970s

Clifford W. Garstang, M.A. ’79, J.D. ’81, made the Small Press Distribution’s Fiction Bestsellers list for May and June 2019 for his first novel, The Shaman of Turtle Valley. The book has received positive reviews from Virginia Living Magazine, Peace Corps Worldwide, and Amanda’s Book Reviews.

Betsy K. Greene, B.A. ’79, J.D. ’82, received the Howard Twiggs Commitment to Justice Award by the American Association for Justice (AAJ). The Howard Twiggs Award recognizes an AAJ member of at least 10 years standing whose passion, civility, cordiality, and professionalism reflect the high standards set by Howard Twiggs and whose courtroom advocacy and distinguished service to AAJ have brought honor to the trial bar and the legal profession.

Susan L. Houseworth, B.A. ’76, and Ann Massing (B.A. ’71) organized an exhibition of the artwork of their mother, Barbara Rogers Houseworth (B.F.A. ’46). The exhibition was held at the Madden Arts Center in Decatur, IL in March 2020. Barbara Rogers Houseworth studied under Steve Greene and Harry Engel in the 1940s and won awards at the John Herron School of Art during the years after her graduation. She continued painting after her daughters were born, but in the 1950s it was extremely difficult for a woman to make it as a professional in the art world, and so she packed away her entire oeuvre, moving on to other pursuits. Her daughters found her artwork in 2006, intact and complete. Ann wrote a book about her mother and her art, entitled “Indiana Born: Barbara Rogers Houseworth (1925-2015) One Woman’s Artistic Journey Through the 1950s and Beyond.” Her work is also available at the Lost Art Salon in San Francisco, CA, lostartsalon.com.

David G. Mick, B.A. ’74, Ph.D. ’87, is the Carter Professor of Marketing at the McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia. Dr. Mick was recently named a Fellow in the Association for Consumer Research, its highest honor, and was only the 37th such recipient in the 50-year history of the association. He has won multiple awards for his research, being cited over 16,000 times, and he has been invited to give seminars worldwide, including at Oxford, Trinity (Ireland), London Business School, Stanford, and Harvard. Dr. Mick is co-founder of the Transformative Consumer Research movement, which studies and advocates for well-being in the context of consumer behavior.

Marsha R. Turner-Shear, B.S. ’78, M.A. ’83, Ed.D. ’92, was named Assistant Faculty Lead for Arts, Sciences, and Education for IvyOnline, Ivy Tech Community College’s statewide online academic unit. She began her second career teaching English at Ivy Tech in 2009, after retiring from a 30-year career as a K-12 English teacher and school administrator. Dr. Turner-Shear advanced from adjunct instructor to Associate Professor at Ivy Tech before moving into the IvyOnline Assistant Faculty Lead position in July 2020.

John D. Walda, B.A. ’72, J.D. ’75, was inducted into IU Bloomington’s most prestigious donor recognition society, the President’s Circle, which recognizes individuals whose lifetime giving has reached $100,000.

1980s

Lynn K. Power, B.A. ’89, spent 30 years in advertising (most recently as CEO of J. Walter Thompson NY – the world’s oldest and largest ad agency), then left to become an entrepreneur. She just launched MASAMI, a clean premium haircare brand, in February. She is a New Yorker, but her son is now at IU.

1990s

Jennifer R. Dalton, B.A. ’93, recently published a novel, Of Butterflies & Bullies. Filled with empathy, this coming-of-age story revolves around Molly, 10, a girl from the other side of the tracks who attends the “rich kids” school, and how she handles a year of being bullied. Molly’s quest for authentic friendship, love, and acceptance will remind us all about the humanity of youth.

Shane D. Graham, M.A. ’97, Ph.D. ’01, was recently promoted to Professor of English at Utah State University. His second book, Cultural Entanglements: Langston Hughes and the Rise of African and Caribbean Literature, has been published by the University of Virginia Press. The book maps American poet Langston Hughes’s legacy as a global writer and a central figure in the emergence of Caribbean literature as early as the 1920s, and in the African literary “boom” of the mid-twentieth century. Dr. Graham is the author or editor of two previous books: South African Literature after the Truth Commission: Mapping Loss (Palgrave 2009) and Langston Hughes and the South African “Drum” Generation: The Correspondence (Palgrave 2010). He guest edited a special issue of the Langston Hughes Review published in 2021 to commemorate the centenary of the publication of Hughes’s first adult poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” Graham has been co-editor of Safundi: The Journal of South African and American Studies since 2015, and he stepped into the lead editor role at the end of 2020. Dr. Graham lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, his cat, and his bicycles.

Kenneth M. Lubinski, B.A. ’96, is a former member of the Student Body Congress and is a Chicago personal injury and workers compensation attorney in his 20th year of practice. In September of 2018, he joined the Chicago law firm Morici, Longo and Associates, where he has successfully tried several cases to verdict. Ken has fond memories of his days at IU and especially of freshman year at the McNutt quad, tailgating at the football games, and walking through the beautiful campus. You can contact Ken at lubinski@MoriciLongo.com.

Katherine Sobczak Gibson, B.A. ’91, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP), has been named Coordinator of EAP Corporate Services for New Avenues, Inc. She serves as a direct liaison with corporate clients in contracting and coordinating a full range of behavioral health and wellness services including training, health and benefit fairs, management consultations, and critical incident response, and she will contribute to New Avenues’ sales and marketing efforts.

Heather L. Wilson, B.A. ’90, J.D. ’97, Member-in-Charge, Indianapolis of Frost Brown Todd LLC has been recognized by the Indianapolis Business Journal as part of its 2019 Women of Influence. IBJ’s Women of Influence recognition program profiles Indiana women who are leaders in their fields and in the community and who have achieved levels of success that can be earned only through focus, commitment, hard work, and talent.

2000s

Paige M. Gray, B.A. ’05, published an article in The Conversation in February 2021 titled “When Black Kids – Shut Out from the Whitewashed World of Children’s Literature – Took Matters into Their Own Hands.” Her book Cub Reporters: American Children’s Literature and Journalism in the Golden Age (SUNY P) was released in paperback in 2020. Dr. Gray is a professor of liberal arts at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta. 

Parker A. Lynch, B.A. ’06, patented a learning device called the Hoglet and has started a company called HedgeHog Health, which will provide telehealth services to unique learners, as well as devices to aid at-home learning.

Joseph S. Pete, B.A. ’06, published 100 Things to Do in Gary and Northwest Indiana Before You Die with Reedy Press in St. Louis. The book serves as a guide to cool and interesting things to see and do across the Calumet Region. Pete published his first book, Lost Hammond, Indiana, with The History Press in 2020 and also contributed a chapter to Belt Publishing’s The Gary Anthology. The author, who lives in Dyer with his wife Meredith Colias-Pete, is a Business Reporter and Sunday columnist at The Times of Northwest Indiana. He has won numerous awards, including Lisagors from the Chicago Headline Club, Hoosier State Press Association awards, Chicago Journalists Association Sarah Brown Boyden Awards, Indiana Society of Professional Journalists awards, Inland Press Association awards, Associated Press Media Editors awards, and National Federation of Press Women awards. Pete has appeared on Lakeshore Public Radio, Lakeshore Public Television, WGN, WJOB, WFHB 91.3 FM, and X-Rock 103.9 The Rock of the Region. He is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee who has read his work for the Fictitious series on the iO Theater stage in Chicago, exhibited his photography at the Oddtropolis Art Show in San Francisco, and had plays staged at the Detroit Heritage Theatre Festival and the Veterans 10-Minute Play Festival just outside Boston. His creative work has appeared in more than 200 literary journals, including The Tipton Poetry Journal, Proximity Magazine, The Perch Magazine, Bull Men’s Fiction, Rising Phoenix Review, Thoughtful Dog, shufPoetry, The Roaring Muse, Prairie Winds, and Blue Collar Review.

Anthony J. Sams, B.A. ’06, is a Full Professor of English at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana at the Sellersburg campus and has been Chair of the Department of English since 2013. He drafted the constitution and bylaws for the Sellersburg campus’s first shared governance body, the Sellersburg Faculty Council. He joined the statewide council in 2020, and in 2021 became the Chair of the Statewide Faculty Council, which has allowed him to play a leading role in improving shared governance, academic freedom, and academic due process.

2010s

John R. Brown, II, B.A./B.S. ’12, was chosen by the Knowles Teacher Initiative as a member of its 2020 Cohort of Teaching Fellows. He began his second year of teaching mathematics at Lake View High School in Chicago, Illinois, during the 2020–21 school year. He serves on the program committee of Math Circles of Chicago, where he worked as an instructor for four years. The Knowles Teacher Initiative supports a national network of mathematics and science teachers who are collaborative, innovative leaders improving education for all students in the United States. The Knowles Teaching Fellowship is an intensive and cohesive, five-year program that supports early-career, high school mathematics and science teachers in their efforts to develop teaching expertise and lead from the classroom.