Updates - Y Magazine
Check out the latest podcast episode Listen
Alumni News

Updates


1964 | Orrin T. Colby Jr. (BS ’64, MAcc ’65; JoAnn Jacobson [’89]; Salt Lake City) has been named to the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) honor roll. He is a former president of the UTA Board of Trustees.

Su11_4408

Larry Nelson

1967 | Larry E. Nelson (BA ’67, MA University of Utah ’70, PhD Duke University ’75; Jalene Henry [’69]; Florence, S.C.) delivered the fifth annual William C. Moran address at Francis Marion University (FMU). He retired from FMU in 2009 as A. R. Avent Professor of History, chair of the Department of History, and the J. Lorin Mason Distinguished Professor.

1971 | Robert Starling (BA ’71; Sharon Long [’74]; Columbus, Ga.) is the executive producer of The Dee Armstrong Show, a one-hour daily program for women on WLTZ, a local NBC affiliate.

Wallace Goddard

Wallace Goddard

1973 | H. Wallace Goddard (BS ’73, EdM ’75, PhD Utah State University ’90; Nancy Thacker [’75]; Little Rock, Ark.) received the Margaret E. Arcus Outstanding Family Life Educator Award from the National Council on Family Relations. This prestigious award, the highest national honor in family life education, acknowledges Goddard’s contributions to teaching families through workshops, books, web articles, TV shows, and videos.

1976 | Forrest L. Flake (BA ’76; Jolynne [’12]; Springville, Utah) had five of his children marry in the temple last year. He is one of BYU’s assistant vice presidents in human resources.

1977 | Robert D. Chappell (BS ’77; Jan Burningham [BS ’75]; The Woodlands, Texas) was recognized on the America’s Top 1,000 Advisors: State-by-State list in the Feb. 21 issue of Barron’s magazine. This is the second year he has been recognized for his accomplishments on this list.

1978 | Karen Lillywhite Hanson (BS ’78, MS California State University, Los Angeles ’94, EdD California State University, Fullerton ’11; Curt; Orange, Calif.) received a doctorate in educational leadership from California State University, Fullerton, in January 2011. Her dissertation explored the experiences of female superintendents during their ascendancy in the public school system. She is the director of special education for a school district in Southern California.

1980 | Kelly Grant Horrocks (BS ’80, MS ’83; David [BS ’99]; Dryden, N.Y.) has published her first young-adult novel, The Time Traveler’s Apprentice. Soon to be published is an accompanying teacher’s workbook to be used in conjunction with the book, tying social studies and language-arts activities into each chapter.

1983 | John E. McClurg (BA ’83, MOB ’86, JD ’87; Jennifer; Hampton, N.J.) has been named vice president and chief security officer for Dell Global Security. Prior to his industry service, McClurg was a supervisory special agent with the U.S. Federal Bureau 
of Investigation.

1985 | D. Clark Turner (BS ’85, PhD ’91; Pamela Peterson [’88]; Payson, Utah) received the Utah Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology for his development of the NOMAD Handheld X-ray System, a portable and lightweight dental X-ray. He is president and CEO of Aribex.

David Harris

David Harris

1986 | David A. Harris (BS ’86; Valene Healey [BS ’84]; Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) has been nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the United States Air Force. He currently serves as vice commander of the Air Armament Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

1987 | David L. Politis (BA ’87; Allisha Mann [BA ’85]; Sandy, Utah) joined ISYS Technologies as its chief marketing officer. Politis will direct the marketing launch of ISYS and its subsidiaries. Since 1990 he has led Politis Communications.

1991 | Samuel J. Billin (BS ’91; Julie Vaterlaus [BS ’90]; Spring Creek, Nev.) was appointed the mining and minerals water treatment practice leader of Tetra Tech’s engineering and architectural services.

Donald Bugg

Donald Bugg

1992 | Deb Peshina Brown (BS ’92; Trevor [BS ’95]; Lakeville, Minn.) received the Destined to WIN Award from Women in Networking (WIN) for her significant achievements with her company, Time Creators. Donald N. Bugg (BA ’92, JD College of William and Mary ’07; Heather Perrine [’93]; Thetford, England) has been promoted to the rank of major in the U.S. Air Force. He works as an assistant staff judge advocate at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England. J. Rhett Evans (BS ’92, MA ’94; Colleen Cardon [BA ’90]; Lawrence, Kan.) has been named CEO of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

1994 | Karl W. Beckstrand (BA ’94; Midvale, Utah) has three titles on Amazon’s Hot New Releases list for Spanish-language books. He is publishing his fifth book, Bad Bananas: A Story Cookbook for Kids.

1995 | Dustin W. Smith (BA ’95, JD University of Idaho ’99; Christine Crowther [’97]; Malad City, Idaho) was elected president of the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association in February.

1996 | Reid L. Neilson (BA ’96, MA ’01, MBA ’02; Shelly; Bountiful, Utah) published the book Early Mormon Missionary Activities in Japan, 1901–24, which focuses on why the first LDS missionaries were sent to Japan and what led to their withdrawal. He is an assistant professor of Church history and doctrine at BYU.

Marianne Wardle

Marianne Wardle

1997 | Michael E. Matthews (BA ’97, MS University of Nevada ’03, PhD University of Iowa ’06; Colina Carlin [’99]; Omaha, Neb.) was honored by the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Alumni Association with the 2011 UNO Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award in mathematics. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics. Marianne E. Wardle (MA ’97; Durham, N.C.) has been awarded a PhD in art history from Duke University. She is currently interim curator and academic programs coordinator of Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art.

1998 | Kevin E. Larson (BA ’98; Pleasant Grove, Utah) has been hired as vice president of marketing by Nuriche to oversee the company’s strategic marketing needs. Nuriche produces and distributes whole-food products.

1999 | Jared L. Bryan (BS ’99, JD University of California, Hastings ’02; Colleen; Ladera Ranch, Calif.) was chosen for partnership at Jackson Lewis LLP, one of the largest workplace law firms in the United States. He works in the firm’s Orange County, Calif., office. R. Tyler Johnson (BA ’99, JD Texas Tech University ’03; Emily Dawson [BFA ’00]; Mesquite, Texas) has been elected partner at Brown McCarroll, where he focuses his practice in real estate law and general business counseling. He is editor of and contributor to the Texas Real Estate Law blog. Linda Squires Olsson (BS ’99; Kurt [BS ’01]; Midlothian, Va.) created a book of recipes and ideas for food storage and started an accompanying blog titled sevenyearsofplenty.blogspot.comDavid F. Pack (MPA ’99, PhD California Coast University ’02; Tiffany; West Jordan, Utah) is a professional singer in the group Octapella. He volunteers in 15 official capacities in community, society, civic, and church positions.

2001 | E. Alexandre Zobell (BS ’01; Erin Ross [BS ’04]; Ridgecrest, Calif.) graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School in December 2010. Following graduation, he resumed working for the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, Calif.

Mark Lyman

Mark Lyman

2002 | Mark J. Lyman (BA ’02; Katherine; Minot, N.D.) joined Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota as director of public relations. He will direct the company’s public information and media relations efforts, develop general communications strategies, serve as senior editor for internal and external communications, act as a company spokesman, and work with media in the state. Chad A. Magleby (BS’02, MBA ’07; Crystal Madsen [BA ’00]; Orem, Utah) was named president and CEO of Magleby Construction, one of Utah’s premier custom builders. Keith R. Smith (BS ’02; MBA Purdue University ’08; Arianne Hales [BS ’02]; Wilsonville, Ore.) joined AptClarity LLC as senior business intelligence consultant. He has previously worked as database programmer and administrator, business analyst, systems analyst, and business information manager. Anne Gardner Wood (BA ’02; Cameron; Sandy, Utah) has been named one of Utah Business magazine’s Forty Under 40, which recognizes young professionals shaping Utah’s business landscape within their respective industries. Wood is the COO of ThomasARTS, a direct-growth marketing company.

2003 | Tracy A. Denison (BS ’03, PhD Georgia Tech ’09; Wendy Ross [BS ’03]; Salt Lake City) works at the University of Utah as a postdoctoral fellow and was accepted into the Multidisciplinary Cancer Research Training Program within the Huntsman Cancer Institute. He is developing new tumor models as a tool for cancer drug and biology research. Bryce Loveland (BA ’03, JD University of Nevada, Las Vegas ’06; Erika Sanofsky [’02]; Las Vegas) joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as an associate in the health care and ERISA litigation groups.

2005 | Michael Lynn Wilson (BA ’05, JD Ave Maria School of Law ’08, LLM American University, Washington, D.C. ’09, LLM American University ’10; Cynthia; Mapleton, Utah) received the 2010 Outstanding Research and Writing Commencement Award in the American University LLM program. He has accepted a job with the Board of Veterans’ Appeals within the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C.

2006 | Jason Bergman (BM ’06, MM University of Michigan ’08, DMA University of Michigan ’11; Alexis Aggen [BS ’06]; Hattiesburg, Miss.) was appointed assistant professor of trumpet at the University of Southern Mississippi.

David Wilks

David Wilks

2007 | Jeffery D. Christenson (BS ’07, MS Northwestern University ’09; Irene Yin [BA ’98]; Salt Lake City), a research and development engineer at Motion Control Inc., a prosthetics company, was awarded the 2011 Fresh Faces of Engineering Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Utah Chapter. He was also awarded the 2011 Utah Engineers Council Fresh Faces of Engineering Award. Heather Dixon (BFA ’07; Salt Lake City) published her first book, Entwined, a retelling of “The Twelve Dancing Princesses.” Nathaniel Sorenson (BS ’07, JD University of Arizona ’10; Tennille; Ely, Nev.) was admitted to practice law in Arizona by the Arizona State Bar and is a clerk for the Seventh Judicial District of Nevada. David Jarrett Wilks (BA ’07, JD Cornell University ’10; Laura; Brighton, N.Y.) joined Harter Secrest & Emery’s trial practice group as an associate attorney.

2009 | Patricia Lund (BS ’09; Provo) started a new endeavor called L.O.V.E. (Life, Occupation, Vocation, Education) for her special-needs students at the Dan Peterson School in American Fork. She encourages each student to discover and develop a vocational talent, such as making chocolate treats or sewing.