Classes & Obits

Class Note 1994

Issue

Sept - Oct 2015

Ten years ago Nihad Farooq handed over the reins of this column to me. So it seems fitting to report, in this, my last column, on what she’s been doing this past decade! After receiving her Ph.D. in English from Duke University, Nihad became a professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Literature, Media and Communication—where she recently received tenure! So a hearty congratulations to Nihad, whose areas of study include American studies, transatlantic anthropologies of race, migration and ethnicity, evolutionary theory, gender studies and British fin-de-siècle literature.

Also receiving tenure and a promotion is JeffreyBart” Bingenheimer, who is now an associate professor in the department of prevention and community health at the George Washington University Miliken Institute School of Public Health. An expert in the social determinants of health-related behavior and social epidemiology and the quantitative methods for studying both, Bart has conducted research on sexual behavior, HIV risks and the impact of neighborhood on health and mortality. Prior to joining the school, Bart was a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development-funded postdoctoral fellow in family demography and individual development at the population research institute at Pennsylvania State University. After completing his doctorate in 2005, he was a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society scholar at the Harvard School of Public Health. His current research focuses on the influences of gendered family, peer group and community contexts of behavioral risk factors for HIV, STIs and pregnancy among adolescents and young adults in Ghana.

And in yet more academic news, David S. Cohen has just been promoted to full professor at Drexel University’s School of Law. In addition David was recently awarded a 2015 Innovation in Scholarship Award from the Center for Reproductive Rights for his scholarly work on issues at the intersection of constitutional law and gender, masculinity and violence against abortion providers.

And I’m pleased to report that Mike Houston and his design team were recently awarded a daytime Emmy for their work on the PBS production, The Mind of a Chef, in the category of outstanding main title and graphic design.

Jen Skoda gave birth to a third child, a May Day girl named Astrid Rose.

Kimberly “Nala” Walla and her partner, Keeth, of nationally acclaimed children’s music band The Harmonica Pocket, have just released Sundrops, their third all-ages recording. Their albums Ladybug One and Apple Apple won national acclaim, awards and radio play. They recently performed with the Seattle Symphony and they plan a full slate of concerts around the Pacific Northwest. Visit www.harmonicapocket.com for updated concert details, and to hear their album-streaming sampler, visit https://soundcloud.com/theharmonicapocket.

So that’s all, folks. Thanks for reading, and rest assured because I’m handing over this awesome responsibility to the equally awesome Laura (Hardegree) Davis, who is also going to continue to serve as our class’s vice president in addition to taking on the ’94 class newsletter. So please help her out and get in touch with her soon with all of your news at lauradavis723@mac.com, because if she can do all that, you can do that little, can’t you?

So long, and thanks for all the dish.

Suzie Fromer, 76 Dogwood Lane, Irvington, NY 10533; suziefromer@gmail.com