Notre Dame graduates who recently made the news
Jerry Kammer ’71, a correspondent in the Copley News Service’s Washington bureau and a frequent contributor to this magazine, was a member of the team of Copley journalists who received a 2006 Pulitzer Prize for their investigative work that uncovered the bribery scandal involving former California Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham. . . . Some detective work by U.S. Marine 1st Lieutenant Jake Cusack ’04 led to the capture in July of four men suspected of kidnapping U.S. journalist Jill Carroll in Baghdad last January. From intelligence reports that described its unusual door, Cusack identified the house where Carroll had been held captive shortly before her release last March. The arrest of the homeowner launched a hunt for other suspects, which resulted in the rescue of two other hostages. . . . A new softball stadium will be constructed near the Eck Baseball Stadium in memory of Melissa Cook ’94, a former Irish softball player who died with her cousin in March 2002 when scaffolding fell off of Chicago’s John Hancock Center onto her car. Two other people also died in the accident. With funds from the legal settlement, Melissa’s mother and stepfather, Linda and Paul Demo, donated $3 million to Notre Dame for the stadium and have established the Melissa Cook Foundation, which will provide financial assistance to students from northwest Indiana to the college of their choice. . . . Tim Andree ’83, who played on the Notre Dame basketball team and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls but played in Europe and Japan, is now the CEO of Dentsu America, Inc., the U.S. division of Dentsu, the largest advertising agency in the world. Previously he had been the chief communications officer of the BASF corporation and senior vice president of communications for the NBA. . . . In July, President George W. Bush named Bryan Corbett ’95 a special assistant to the president for economic policy. Previously, Corbett had served as senior adviser to the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Treasury. . . . Kenneth M. O’Hara ’94, an assistant professor of physics at Penn State, received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers at a White House ceremony in July. The authority on ultra-cold atomic gases was one of 56 researchers honored. . . . Jeff Hurlbert ’91 was named director of security with the White House Military Office, which arranges all military support for the president. Among other things, the office coordinates the president’s security arrangements when he travels outside the United States. . . . Jerry Brady ’58 is the Democratic candidate for governor of Idaho. The executive in his family’s media business ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002. . . . KMT/n-o-m-a-d, the architectural design firm founded by Kim Thornton ’93 and two partners, designed for the city of Vienna, Austria, the official Mozart exhibition celebrating the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth. . . . In June, Jeffrey Jotz ’92 placed first out of 128 swimmers competing in the 1.5 kilometer Lady Liberty Swim along the Battery Park seawall in New York City. . . . Ted Fitzgerald ’60, ’62J.D., who served as an attorney for the Porter County, Indiana, welfare department for 34 years, received the Marilyn J. Niequist Memorial award recognizing lifelong service to the children of Porter County. . . . John Yelland ’30, said to be the last surviving member of Knute Rockne’s football teams, passed away recently. The Minnesota native who had a career in real estate played center on the varsity practice squad from 1927 to 1929. . . . Augie Bossu ’39, the winningest high school football coach in Ohio history (310-130-20) has set another record this year. At 90 years of age, Bossu undoubtedly has become the oldest football coach in Ohio history. The Ohio legend, who played for Elmer Layden at Notre Dame, has coached in six decades, winning state championships in 1957, 1973, 1980 and 1981. In coaching till 90, Bossu achieved one of his lifetime goals, equaling the achievement of the legendary collegiate coach Amos Alonzo Stagg. Bossu was varsity coach at Cleveland Benedictine High School from 1955 until he “retired” in 1993. Since then he has served as freshman coach at the school. . . . Alicia Ratay ’04, who played on Notre Dame’s 2001 national championship women’s basketball team, has been named head basketball coach at Hoffman Estates High School in suburban Chicago. . . . Eric Danapilis ’95, who was an All-American baseball player at Notre Dame, is the new baseball coach at Lake Michigan College. From 1993 to 1997 he played in the Detroit Tigers minor league system and has coached in the minor leagues as well as at the collegiate and high school levels. . . . The jazz-rock fusion band Umphrey’s McGee, whose members include Brendan Bayliss ’98 and Ryan Stasik ’99, appeared on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live May 18, and on May 21 sang the national anthem at the Chicago White Sox-Cubs game at U.S. Cellular Field.. The band is managed by Vince Iwinski ’97 while Kevin Browning ’01 is in charge of sound. The band offers two free podcasts of their music each month at www.umphreysmcgee.com. . . . Todd Woodward ’93, an executive vice president with the public relations and communications firm Weber Shandwick, was named in June to the newly created position of associate vice president for marketing communications at Notre Dame. At Weber Shandwick, Woodward developed strategy for product launches, brand repositionings and consumer education campaigns such as the “Got Milk?” celebrity milk mustache campaign. Before entering the public relations field, Woodward worked for The Washington Post for three years in various newsroom positions. . . . Carey Cavanaugh ’78M.A., former State Department ambassador and foreign policy political advisor to the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, has been appointed director of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky. Cavanaugh, who has experience as a peace negotiator, joined Kentucky’s faculty as a professor of diplomacy and conflict resolution. . . . Christopher Fenoglio ’80 received a third-place award for best regular column on culture, the arts and leisure from the Catholic Press Association. His column “Reel Life” (www.christopherfenoglio.com) examines Catholic themes in pop culture, relating them to his real life experiences as a music minister, husband and father of three teenagers. . . . Former Indiana Governor Joe Kernan ’68 now heads up the South Bend Silver Hawks minor league baseball team. Kernan, who also is an adjunct faculty member at Notre Dame, led a group of investors that bought the team in March. . . . Elizabeth Leveno Healy ’91 was featured in a Dallas Morning News story on her work as a co-founder of the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas. The agency provides legal representation and social services to immigrants seeking asylum from persecution in their home country; it also assists immigrants with special abuse issues such as domestic violence or sexual assault. . . . Rev. Stephen J. Kempinger, CSC, ’91 was named superintendent of schools for the diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend by Bishop John D’Arcy in June. Father Kempinger will oversee the diocese’s 44 schools. . . . Tom Knoles ’72 has been named the head librarian of the American Antiquarian Society, one of the foremost national research libraries of American history, literature and culture, established in 1812 by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.