Condoleezza Rice ’75M.A. was nominated by President Bush to succeed Colin Powell as secretary of state. She served as national security adviser in the president’s first term. If confirmed she will be fourth in the presidential line of succession. . . . Defense industry executive Francis J. Harvey ‘65 was confirmed by the Senate as the new secretary of the Army. . . . Rhona Campbell Free ’81M.A., ’83Ph.D., professor of economics at Eastern Connecticut State University, was named 2004 U.S. Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. She won in the master’s universities and colleges category. Two years ago a Notre Dame chemistry professor, Dennis Jacobs, now vice president and associate provost, won in the research and doctoral universities category. . . . Congressmen Peter King ‘68 J.D. from New York, Michael Ferguson ’92 from New Jersey, and Peter Visclosky ’73J.D. and Mark Souder ’74MBA from Indiana were all re-elected. . . . Justice Alan Page ’67 was re-elected to the Minnesota Supreme Court. . . . Ray Funk ’74, was re-elected a district court judge in Fairbanks, Alaska. . . . Elizabeth Lochtefeld ’82 was found murdered in her Nantucket home October 25. Authorities suspect a man she dated briefly. . . . Alfonso Aguilar ’91, chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship, delivered a lecture at Notre Dame about building common civic identity and addressed the growing Hispanic population in South Bend. . . . Novelist Nicholas Sparks ’88 donated more than $700,000 to renovate the track at the high school near his home in New Bern, North Carolina. Sparks ran track at Notre Dame. . . . Steven R. Cramer ’85M.A. was formally installed as president of Bethel College in Mishawaka. . . . Ryan Shay ’02 finished ninth in the New York City Marathon in a time of 2:14:08. . . . Indiana Governor Joe Kernan ’68, who ascended to the governor’s post in 2003 after the death of Governor Frank O’Bannon, lost his bid for a new term. . . . Joe Donnelly ‘77, ’81J.D. was defeated in his first bid for Congress. He ran in the district that includes South Bend . . . . Steven Downey ’03MBA was unsuccessful in his campaign for an at-large seat on the South Bend Community Schools Board. . . .>Six of the Irish-Americans featured in the new book The Irish Face in America have ties to Notre Dame: Father Malloy, CSC, ’63, ’67M.A., ’69M.A.; Donald R. Keough, life trustee and former chair of the Board of Trustees; Michael O. Garvey ’74, assistant director of news and information; Sean Milligan ’04, a former Notre Dame football player; attorney John C. Dearie ’62, co-host of a weekly Irish-American radio show in New York City; and Maureen Mulvaney ’05, a senior from Danville, Illinois. . . . Lieutenant Commander Scott E. Groeschner ’91, serving with a Navy SEAL unit in Ukraine, died following an off-duty bike accident. . . . A new Catholic middle school in Montgomery, Alabama, was named in honor of Thomas L. Doyle ’73Ph.D., academic director of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education program. . . . Forbes.com wrote about Manuel “Matty” Moroun ‘49 and his 25-year ownership of the strategically placed Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Canada over the Detroit River. The news service said the toll bridge is the only major U.S.-Canada crossing that is privately owned. . . . The Chicago Tribune profiled Diane Aigotti ’90MBA, former budget director for the City of Chicago. She is currently treasurer of Aon Corporation, a Chicago-based insurance broker. . . . BusinessWeek included a story on Liz Claiborne CEO Paul Charron ’64 and his unique style of leadership. . . . Gerard A. Wills ’79 joined Immusol, a biopharmaceuticals company, as its chief financial officer. . . . Washington Lawyer profiled John C. Keeney Jr. ’73, who last June began his term as president of 79,000-member District of Columbia Bar. . . . Michael J. Faehner ’91, ’92 is the new president of the Young Lawyers Division of the 70,000-member Florida Bar. . . . Navy Supply Corps Commander Pat McClanahan ’90 is serving as a special assistant to the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of the White House Fellows program, a year-long opportunity to participate in the highest levels of government. . . . John Maimone ’70, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Ohio, was chosen to manage the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland’s finance department. He will provide direct financial counsel to Bishop Anthony Pilla. . . . Thomas J. Flaherty ‘59 has joined the board of directors at CECO Environmental, an air-pollution-control company. . . . George Scanlon ’79 was appointed to chief financial officer of Levitt Corporation, a developer of single-family homes and master-planned communities. . . . George T. Hawes ’68 was appointed to the board of directors of Proginet Corporation, a software developer in Garden City, New York. . . . W. Leslie Duffy ’61 was elected chairman of the board of directors of Lydall Inc. specialty engineered products in Manchester, Connecticut. . . . USA Today wrote about Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis developing land around Pittsburgh and Detroit in hope of revitalizing those cities’ downtown areas. . . . The International Astronomical Union named an asteroid in honor of ailing Notre Dame benefactor and Trustee Ray H. Siegfried ‘65. The suggestion to honor Siegfried in this way came from Terrence Rettig, a professor in Notre Dame’s physics department. The two met in the mid-1990s when Siegfried’s daughter, Milann, took an introductory astronomy class from Rettig. . . . Bloomberg News Service spotlighted John Keeley ’62 for his management of a quickly growing small-cap value fund, the Keeley Small Cap Fund. The fund has made above average returns by buying shares of U.S. companies that are emerging from bankruptcy or being restructured. . . . The South Bend Tribune profiled Tom Hanlon ’49, ’51M.A., who was once a roommate of Tom Dooley, the famed jungle doctor and one-time Notre Dame student. The 78-year-old is also a friend and former business partner of Coach Ara Parseghian. . . . Richard Sherman ’72, ’73 M.A. joined the software company Pelion Systems in Lafayette, Colorado, as senior vice-president of marketing. . . . Monsignor James T. Telthorst ’82M.A., pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in South Saint Louis, was featured in the St. Louis Review Online for his long career as a priest in his hometown. . . . The Cuyahoga Valley (Ohio) Chamber of Commerce named Peter P. Guerrera ’68, superintendent of Cuyahoga Heights Schools, its Outstanding Person of the Year.