2004 Alumni Board Election
Candidates will be vying for seven seats on the Alumni Board. They are: Region 1—Amy Hirsh Guarino ’83, Danville, California, and Ray Riehle ’84, Orangevale, California; Region 6—Thomas M. McCabe ’87, Lake Bluff, Illinois, and J. Thomas McIntire ’56, Rockford, Illinois; Region 8—John G. Leicht ’74, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Richard Nussbaum ’74, ’77J.D., South Bend, Indiana; Region 9—Lonnie L. Luna ’78 Ph.D., Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and Modesto Ruggiero ’83, Cleveland, Ohio; Region 13—Robert M. Bertino Jr. ’85, Dallas, Texas, and Michael W. McDonald ’97EMBA, Mabank, Texas; Region 16—Thomas D. Lupo ’82, ’85J.D., Chicago, Illinois, and John E. Scully ’64, Riverside, Illinois; and Young Alumni—Robert Holcomb ’99, San Jose, California, and Gabriel J. Seaman ’98, Oakdale, Pennsylvania.
The ballot and biographical information about the candidates will be mailed to all alumni in January, and will also be available at http://alumni.nd.edu. Alumni can also vote by calling toll free 800-668-0764.
Alumni Awards;
Adam A. Milani ’88 of Macon, Georgia, will receive the Rev. John J. Cavanaugh, CSC, Award in April. Milani, assistant professor of legal writing and analysis at Mercer University School of Law, has distinguished himself in the area of disability law and as an advocate for persons with disabilities.He is co-author of The Law of Disability Discrimination and Federal Disability Law in a Nutshell. Milani co-founded Project Enable, which links persons with disabilities, government officials and business leaders in order to facilitate opportunities presented by the Americans with Disabilities Act. He also co-founded Think First to educate youth about preventing spinal cord and head injuries. Milani is a quadriplegic, paralyzed by a hockey injury in high school.
Paul Wright, M.D., ’72 of Brookfield, Ohio, will receive the Dr. Thomas A. Dooley Award on January 23 at a dinner in his honor, with the Alumni Board present. A cardiologist at the Ohio Heart Institute, Wright founded the “Poorest of the Poor” project with his father, S.P. Wright, to provide clothing, food and supplies to residents in poverty-stricken areas of Appalachia, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. The program has also conducted relief airlifts to Rwanda, India, Guatemala and Honduras. Wright assisted Mother Teresa’s humanitarian efforts and was her cardiologist and her friend.
John P. Santos ’79 of New York City will receive the Rev. Arthur S. Harvey, CSC, Award on January 22. An award-winning writer, producer and documentary film maker, Santos has worked both on and off camera for CBS News and PBS, and directed and produced programs on subjects relating to the arts and culture as well as politics and religion. He is former director of the Media Projects Fund of the Ford Foundation. Santos, a Rhodes Scholar, continued his graduate studies at Yale University.
William Schickel ’44 of Loveland, Ohio, will receive the Rev. Anthony J. Lauck, CSC, Award on January 23. As a creator of religious art and architecture, Schickel is a painter, sculptor, stained-glass maker and an architectural and furniture designer. He won the American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal Award for his design of the renovation of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. He also designed the renovation of the National Shrine of Philippine Duchesne in Saint Charles, Missouri. At Notre Dame, Schickel designed the triangular fountain at the Grotto.
Elaine V. DesRosiers, O.P., ’66M.S. of Mishawaka, Indiana, is recipient of the John Cardinal O’Hara Award to be given at Reunion ’04. A specialist in closed-circuit and broadcast television, Sister Elaine was director of educational media at Notre Dame from 1976 until her retirement 21 years later. She also assisted faculty members in the use of new forms of teaching technology and played an integral role in the development of DeBartolo Hall, recognized as one of the most technologically advanced learning centers in higher education.
Nicholas Sparks ’88 of New Bern, North Carolina, is the first recipient of the Rev. Robert F. Griffin, CSC, Award, to be presented on January 23. The best-selling author of The Notebook, The Rescue, A Bend in the Road, Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember is commended for establishing an initiative in the University’s Creative Writing Program that includes fellowships, internships and an annual Sparks Prize to support a student writer-in-residence.
Donald Diebel, M.D., ’89 was honored posthumously with a Distinguished Alumnus Award on the field of Notre Dame Stadium during half time of the Florida State football game, in the presence of his widow, Karen Diebel ’89, his sons and parents. Diebel was fatally injured when he stopped to assist at an accident scene on the Florida Turnpike in June 2002. The Notre Dame Club of Greater Orlando has established a Good Samaritan fund in his name.
Robert J. Perry, M.D., ’72 of Kingston, New York, will be presented with a Distinguished Alumnus Award at April’s Alumni Senate in recognition of his kindness and generosity during two decades of providing pro bono service to the students, faculty and administrators of Notre Dame’s International Studies program in Angers, France. Perry took part in the Angers program as a student, and attended medical school in France.
For more information on Alumni Association awards, visit http://alumni.nd.edu.
Alumni Travel
Italy’s Po River Valley and Switzerland’s Valais Region are among more than 40 destinations for alumni and friends who travel with the Notre Dame Alumni Association in 2004. “The Art of Living—Parma, Italy,” May 27 to June 4, takes participants to the heart of the province of Emilia Romagna in north central Italy, an area credited with great cultural contributions to art, music and cuisine. This adventure features Italian language and cooking classes, a lecture on Verdi with a private concert at the Parma Conservatory, and a gathering with local residents.
Carolyn Woo, dean of the Mendoza College of Business, along with her husband and sons, will host the July 21–29 trip to Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Woo will present two lectures: “Grace in a Competitive World” and “Managing Across Cultures,” and will join participants in exploring several villages with views of some of Switzerland’s highest mountains. For more information, visit alumni.nd.edu/travel or call 800-634-2631.