Graduate Schools

Accountancy Class Secretary — Kim Talianko; ktalianko@alumni.edu

 

Architecture

Lois A. Donovan Tovik ’01 is a partner with Meld Architecture in Melbourne FL. The firm is noted for their high end residential, commercial and institutional projects. In June 2023, Marianne Cusato ’97, professor of practice and Director of Notre Dame’s School of Architecture Housing and Community Regenerative Initiative was selected to display her latest concept home in the 2023 Innovative Housing Showcase in Washington DC, hosted by the Office of Policy Development and Research, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the National Association of Home Builders. The showcase included several dozen exhibits, featuring new building technologies and housing solutions designed to make housing more innovative, resilient, and affordable. Cusato and her company, Cypress Community Development Corp (CDC) displayed her designed 540-square-foot dwelling constructed of steel frame panels pre-finished off-site and designed for rapid assembly in less than a week. The house was assembled on the National Mall in front of the National Gallery of Art. She is renowned for her work on innovative housing solutions for disaster recovery and workforce housing — including the design of the Katrina Cottage, created as an alternative to FEMA trailers. More than 450 Katrina Cottages were distributed in Louisiana after hurricane Katrina. Her firm is a nonprofit housing corporation dedicated to creating resilient and energy-efficient homes that are also dignified and attainable. If you’re looking for a great and thorough architectural campus history, view Douglas K. Marsh ’82, VP for Facility Design and Notre Dame University Architect’s presentation Oct. 12, 2023 during an Advisory Council event. Congratulations to Nancy Becker Bastian ’84, managing partner for CBP Architects of Philadelphia, who was elected to the AIA College of Fellows, “recognized with AIA’s highest membership honor for their exceptional work and contribution to architecture.” Michael D. Brennan ’92, Ph.D. of Falls Church VA, Executive Director of the Office of Construction and Facilities Management at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, serves as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the U.S. Access Board. — Orlando T. Maione, FAIA Emeritus, FACHA Emeritus, 27 Bucknell Lane, Stony Brook, NY 11790; 631-246-5660; omaione@optonline.net

 

Biological Sciences

Sincere condolences to James L. “Jim” McDonel ’73Ph.D. on the sudden loss of his younger son before last Thanksgiving due to heart disease. In celebration of her 89th birthday on March 9, Sister Katherine “Kay” Seibert, SC, MD, ’67MS, ’73Ph.D., recipient of the 2018 NDAA Dr. Thomas A. Dooley MD Award, did what she always does — she checked in on her cancer patients. In deference to the amount of travel this has required, Kay now relies on Zoom calls to maintain contact with patients as far away as the Catskills from her residence at Seton Village in Nanuet NY. Many undergraduates and graduate alumni in the biological sciences will fondly remember Prof. Karamjit S. Rai, who died March 7, just 17 days short of his 93rd birthday, in his ancestral home city of Jalandhar, Punjab, India. He is survived by his wife, Gurmit; daughter Ravinder; sons Jagraj Rai, Sukhdev “Dave” Rai ’82, Amar Rai ’85, ’89MS and Rajinder “Raj” Rai ’93; and granddaughter Amarpreet Rai ’15. Students who took Prof. Rai’s general undergraduate genetics course or other courses at the graduate level, such as cytogenetics, will recall that Rai, a Sikh, had such a large number of turbans that he could wear a different color of turban for each lecture in a semester. Rai received a faculty position at Notre Dame in 1960 after completing his doctorate at the U of Chicago; he stayed at ND through his entire career. Prior to his 1999 retirement, Rai had been elected to the National Academy of Sciences of India in 1996 and previously had been given an honorary professorship at the Guru Nanak Dev U in Punjab in recognition for the establishment of its Department of Biological Sciences that he had fostered in 1973. Making good on a promise to his mother when he accepted his faculty position, Prof. and Mrs. Rai returned to their native land upon retirement. It is there that Rai established a charitable trust in memory of his father, mother and grandmother. The trust has contributed to buildings for a grade school, a high school, a local college and, in Moranwali his birthplace, a hospital. Rai’s legacy lives on at Notre Dame in the form of his book, titled Four Decades of Vector Biology at the University of Notre Dame: A Scientific Perspective, which is available through Amazon. Since their children (and perhaps more importantly their grandchildren) remained in the USA, Prof. and Mrs. Rai made frequent trips, with extended stays, back to the US. Fortuitously, your correspondents, both having taken a class from Rai, were able to spend a long afternoon with him at the Vestal NY home of his son Amar in October 2021. Many memories were revived during the visit. One of PBC’s personal memories was as an undergraduate when he was employed to care for the biology department’s greenhouse. Prof. Rai came in to attend to his plants and, upon spotting Dr. Gerd Benda’s pepper plants full of mature fruit, he exclaimed “Peppers!” After he was done filling his jowls with red peppers, he went about his business. Seeing this, PBC thought the fruit must be good and popped one into his own mouth . . . with the expected result. — Joan Smith Carter ’71MS and Philip B. Carter ’67, ’71Ph.D.; 12916 Barsanlaw Drive, Raleigh NC 27613-6400; res 919-848-2192; phil@ncsu.edu

 

History Class Secretary — Mary Linehan ’91Ph.D.;

mlinehan@uttyler.edu

 

Mathematics Class Secretary — Patti Strauch;

255 Hurley Hall, Notre Dame IN 46556; bus 574-631-7083; strauch.1@nd.edu

 

Master of Nonprofit Administration Class Secretary — Betsy Quinn ’12;

2110 Brummel St., Evanston IL 60202; 847-733-0557; betsyquinn@alumni.nd.edu

 

Master of Science in Management Class Secretary — Maddie Corsaro ’17;

mcorsar1@alumni.nd.edu

 

Political Science Class Secretary — Charlie Kenney;

455 W. Lindsey, Room 205, Norman OK 73019; 405-325-3735; ckenney@ou.edu

 

Graduate Degrees

Betty Germano ’66 M.A., passed away peacefully at her home after a long illness. She was 96 years old. Betty was a bright light whose positivity touched all that knew her. She was a music and special reading teacher, music consultant, and Principal in the Mishawaka School System. She played cello in the South Bend Symphony and taught Suzuki cello in the area. She met the love of her life, Rocco, a fellow student at Notre Dame, while they were both commuting to school on the South Shore. Albert K. Wimmer ’64M.A., ’67M.A., Emeritus professor of German, passed away at Memorial Hospital, South Bend. Born in Altötting, Germany in 1939, he was a professor at the University for over 50 years in the Department of German and Russian Languages and Literatures. He served for several years as Chair. He was beloved by his many students. A memorial service was held at the Cedar Grove Cemetery Chapel on campus. Tom Willis, ’08EMBA, recently released The Great Engagement. Based on over 30 years of experience, the book is about creating exceptional teams and cultures. — Marvin J. LaHood ’58MA, ’62Ph.D. English; 93 Parkhaven Drive, Amherst NY 14228; 716-691-4648; mlahood@roadrunner.com