Domers in the News

Author: John Monczunski

Tim Boyle ’77 recently made his Hollywood acting debut in the upcoming film The Final Season, a Hoosiers/Rudy-style movie starring Sean Astin about an Iowa high school baseball team. Boyle, president of the Cedar Rapids Convention and Visitors Bureau, had a few lines playing the father of the Astin character’s romantic interest in the film, which is set for an early fall release. Unfortunately, dashing any “best supporting actor” nominations he may have had, Boyle recently learned his scenes have been cut to shorten the movie’s running time. If you watch closely, you may still see him in the background of one scene. . . . Stephen J. Brogan ’77J.D., Jay Flaherty ’79 and John W. Glynn Jr. ’62 were elected to Notre Dame’s board of trustees in May. Brogan is managing partner of Jones Day, an international law firm, Flaherty is chairman and CEO of Health Care Property Investors, while Glynn is founder and general partner of Glynn Capital Management and Glynn Ventures. . . . Ben Ketchum ’97, assistant principal of Saint Ann’s Academy in Washington, D.C., and a graduate of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education program, was a member of a group of parents, teachers and administrators who met President Bush in the White House to discuss the contributions Catholic schools make to the nation and to lobby for more federal assistance. . . . Dr. Francis Price ’73, an Indianapolis ophthalmic surgeon, last spring became the first surgeon to perform a corneal transplant using a new silicone implant designed to prevent transplant rejection. The innovative implant releases small amounts of a drug commonly used to prevent kidney transplant rejection. . . . Brother John Stout, CSC, ’56M.A. surely holds the record for teaching Macbeth at Evansville, Indiana’s Memorial High School. The 85-year-old English teacher, who retired this spring after 55 years at the school, taught the play his entire tenure there. . . . Chris Zorich ’91, ’02J.D. will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame at ceremonies in New York on December 4; enshrinement at the South Bend hall will occur in August 2008. The former linebacker-turned-defensive lineman will be the 42nd ND player—the most of any school—inducted into the Hall. . . . Kellie Middleton ’06, who played varsity softball at ND and later, with two years eligibility remaining, as a graduate student at Georgia, was recently drafted in the first round of the National Pro Fastpitch league. The center fielder, named first team All-SEC this year, earned a master’s degree in hospital adminstration at Georgia and was accepted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. . . . Guitarist Gene Bertoncini ’59, who played with the Tonight Show Orchestra for many years, will be featured at the Interlochen Guitar Master Series in August. The jazz musician performed in June at the ASCAP Tribute as part of Lincoln Center Jazz in New York. . . . Capping a 70-year-career in journalism, legendary entertainment reporter James Bacon ’37 was honored in April with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The veteran newsman, who covered Hollywood for the Associated Press and Los Angeles Herald-Examiner for many of those years, still writes a column for the entertainment magazine Beverly Hills 213, available at beverlyhills213.com. Honoring him on the podium were actors Robert Wagner, Tim Conway, Angie Dickinson and Frank Sinatra, Jr. . . . Nicole Farmer Hurd ’92 recently received a Governor’s Volunteerism and Community Service Award from Virginia Governor Tim Kaine for creating the University of Virginia’s College Guide program, which partners recent University of Virginia graduates with public high school guidance counselors in an effort to increase the number of high school students applying to college. The program has increased college matriculation rates up to 25 percent at some schools. . . . Chris Carlin ’80J.D., former director of planned giving at the University and executive director of AIDS Ministries/AIDS Assist in South Bend, has been named fair manager of the Berrien County (Michigan) Youth Fair. . . . John L. Ratcliffe ’87 was named U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, a 43-county area extending from the Oklahoma border to the Gulf of Mexico. . . . Charles Christensen ’75M.A., former dean of Tiffin University’s School of Criminal Justice and Social Sciences, has been named that university’s vice president for academic affairs. . . . Former ND wide receiver Joey Getherall ’01, who played in the NFL for three seasons and now serves as a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department, recently was commended with two other officers for saving the life of another policeman. A suspect, who had been handcuffed, shot the officer with a gun not discovered in the initial search. Getherall and his partners returned fire, killing the assailant. . . . Marine Lt. Col. Kevin Chenail ’88, ’91J.D. was the lead prosecutor at the Guantanamo Bay military tribunal that convicted David Hicks, a 31-year-old Australian, who had pled guilty to providing material support to Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Hicks is the first Guantanamo detainee to be convicted. . . . Ann Weber ’82, executive director of Merck Research Laboratories’ Department of Medicinal Chemistry, was recently recognized as a “Woman at the Forefront of Chemistry” by the Women Chemists Committee of the American Chemical Society. She has been credited with co-leading the Merck research team that discovered JANUVIA, the first of a new generation of drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes approved by the Federal Drug Administration. . . . In April, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales named Kevin J. O’Connor ’89, the U.S. Attorney in Connecticut, as his chief of staff. O’Connor’s office has distinguished itself, bringing successful cases against child predators, corporate polluters and corrupt public officials. . . . Dr. Brian Hainline ’78, a neurologist, sports medicine expert and tennis champion, was profiled in an April 22 New York Times story. The neurologist, who played varsity tennis at Notre Dame, is the chief medical officer of the U.S. Open Tennis championships. He and his 20-year-old son, Arthur, are ranked as the No. 1 father-son doubles team in the eastern section of the United States Tennis Association. . . . The new president, publisher and chief executive of the Baltimore Sun is Timothy Ryan ’81, who most recently served as vice president of circulation and consumer marketing at the Chicago Tribune. . . . Jeremy Manier ‘ 92, science and medical reporter for the Chicago Tribune, was named recently as one of 10 Templeton-Cambridge Journalism Fellows in Science and Religion. . . . Former Irish standout kicker Nick Setta ’04, who currently performs that task in the Canadian Football League, in March gave a crash course in the art of kicking on behalf of the NFL to three Chinese athletes who, until then, had played only soccer and rugby. The football league hopes that the Chinese players will give fans in Beijing someone to root for when the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots play an exhibition game there in August.