Vol. 13. No. 4
Spring 2004

 

THROUGH THE YEARS

Royal I. Hansen BS’72 JD’75 was appointed a Utah District Court judge by former Gov. Michael Leavitt in July 2003. Hansen is the 11th member of the University of Utah law school class of 1975 to serve as a judge. Judicial colleagues include: Lowell D. Castleton JD’75, Terry L. Christiansen BA’72 JD’75, Scott J. Daniels JD’75 (AM), Joseph C. Fratto Jr. BA’72 JD’75 (AM), Stephen L. Henriod BA’72 JD’75, Roger A. Livingston BS’72 JD’75, A. Lynn Payne JD’75, Nancy E. Rice JD’75, James L. Shumate BA’73 JD’75, and B. Theodore Stewart JD’75.

Hansen was admitted to practice in the state of Utah in 1975 and in the District of Columbia in 1977. Following law school, he served as a law clerk to Judge Frank Q. Nebeker BS’53 of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and practiced with the law firm of Moyle & Draper from 1976 to 2003.

Hansen served on the board of directors for Friends of KUED, the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center, the University of Utah Alumni Association, and the Utah Tennis Association. He is married to Laura Cowley Hansen BA’71. They are the parents of five children, all of whom have attended the University of Utah. LM

Cynthia Bruckner-Lea PhD’90 was chosen as the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) 2003 Woman of Achievement, in recognition of her outstanding personal accomplishments and commitment to the community. She was also selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering’s ninth annual Frontiers of Engineering symposium, which highlights the nation’s top young engineers.

A leading bioengineer, Bruckner-Lea heads PNNL’s biodetection project in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Chemical and Biological National Security Program. Recognized internationally for her scientific contributions, she has authored more than 20 publications in scientific journals and holds three patents in the area of bioanalytical chemistry and microfluidics.

Bruckner-Lea is the mother of three children. She supports their activities through science-related programs in Washington State. She teaches at a Montessori school, volunteers with the Boys and Girls Club, and participates as a Mid-Columbia Science Fair judge. She is also a Science Olympiad leader, and coaches fourth and seventh graders for math competitions. When she’s not working or volunteering, Bruckner-Lea is a distance runner who has completed more than 10 marathons.

'50S

Nick P. Sefakis BS’56 received the Hellenic Heritage Award from the Hellenic Cultural Association of Salt Lake City. The award honors leadership, community service, and dedication to the promotion of Hellenism. Sefakis was manager of the Water District of Salt Lake City for nearly 20 years, guiding the district as it negotiated construction of Little Dell Dam. He also served as parish council president for the Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Salt Lake, and as president of the Lions Club in Magna, Utah. Sefakis and his wife, Kelly, have been married for 47 years and have four children.

Ron Huntsman BS’57, a professor and CPA at Texas Lutheran University (TLU), has been honored with the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) 2003 Outstanding Educator Award. The award recognizes Texas accounting educators who have demonstrated excellence in teaching and distinguished themselves through service to the accounting profession. Hunstman is the Elton Bohmann Professor of Accounting and chair of the business administration department at TLU. Having been on the faculty since 1986, he teaches several accounting courses. In addition to his TSCPA honor, he was selected by the TLU Alumni Association to receive the 2003 Distinguished Faculty Award.

'60S

Preston Parker BA’68 has been recognized as Arizona Businessman of the Year for 2003. Vice President Dick Cheney was in attendance when Parker received a gold medal at a black tie gala in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Business Advisory Council. Parker, a former Utah Republican Party treasurer, chaired the Business Advisory Council last year. A Utah native, Parker was actively involved in promoting legislation to fund the Beautification Act, and he developed accounting and appraisal methods used to value billboards nationwide. He is president of Preston Parker CPA, PC, a Phoenix, Ariz., accounting firm.

'70S

Ann Weaver Hart BS’70 MA’81 PhD’83 has been named the University of Utah College of Humanities Distinguished Alumna for 2003. Hart has been president of the University of New Hampshire since July 2002. Previously, she was provost and vice president of academic affairs at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif. She also served as dean of the graduate school, accreditation liaison officer, and special assistant to the president at the University of Utah. Widely published as a higher-education researcher, Hart has authored five books and more than 75 refereed journal articles and book chapters.

Conan Grames BA’72 (LM) and David Wahlquist BS’78 were part of a delegation of attorneys sent to Nanjing, China, to establish a cooperation agreement between an American law firm, Kirton & McConkie of Salt Lake City, and a Chinese law firm, Top Hope. The agreement is the first of its kind in the Jiangsu Province, an area of 72 million people, with the second- largest gross domestic product in China. Grames is a senior member of the Kirton & McConkie International Practice Group. Wahlquist is a partner at Kirton & McConkie and a longtime member of the American Arbitration Association Panel of Arbitrators.

David H. Engleberg BA’73 MBA’78 has been named chairman of the board of directors of National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colo. Founded in 1899, National Jewish is the only medical and research center in the United States dedicated entirely to respiratory, allergic, and immune system diseases. Engleberg has served as a board member of several nonprofit organizations, including List College in New York City and the United Jewish Appeal. A National Jewish board member since 1994, he was a health care executive for over 25 years, and is now a real estate developer and investor. A native of Salt Lake City, Engleberg lives with his wife, Charlene, in Englewood, Colo. They are the parents of four children.


Mark N. Schneider BA’76 has joined Parsons Behle & Latimer as a member of the law firm’s corporate and tax department. During his 24-year career, Schneider has worked in private practice and as an in-house corporate counsel. From 1994 to 1999, he was vice president and deputy general counsel for American Stores Company, where he was responsible for corporate and securities matters. Schneider is a member of the Utah State Bar Securities Section. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business, and serves on the University’s College of Fine Arts advisory board.

Terry Tempest Williams BS’79 MS’84, nationally recognized writer and environmental activist, has been appointed by the Tanner Humanities Center and the University of Utah College of Humanities as the Annie Clark Fellow in Environmental Studies. The three-year appointment will begin in fall 2004. However, Williams will give the inaugural lecture for a new naturalist lecture series beginning in March 2004 at the Salt Lake Public Library. She will also teach a course in nature and writing each summer. Williams serves on several national environmental boards. Her work has appeared in many national and international publications, and she has published 13 books, including Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place.

'80S

Scott Douglas BS’86 will serve as the USA delegation’s assistant chef de mission at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. The United States Olympic Committee appointed Douglas to support athletes and attend official delegation functions as a representative of the United States. A three-time Paralympian, Douglas competed in wheelchair tennis in the Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996), and Sydney (2000) Games, winning a bronze medal in doubles for the final match of his career in Australia. The Paralympic Games are an elite competition for athletes with physical disabilities, and the second-largest sporting event in the world, after the Olympic Games.

Robert E. Mansfield BA’88 JD’92, an attorney at the law firm of Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy, is the new president of the Utah Elephant Club. The club helps raise funds for the Utah Republican Party, facilitating party operations and assisting with candidate expenses. Mansfield is involved in many community and civic activities and serves both as a director and general counsel to several nonprofit entities. He is also a member of the University of Utah President’s Club Board of Directors.

Scott Terrill BS’93, a nineyear veteran at KTVX, has been named creative services director of the ABC television station. He will head the art and promotion departments and retain his duties as a producer. Terrill, a two-time Emmy winner, is a Bountiful, Utah, native and a graduate of Woods Cross High School.

'90S

Ken Jenson BA’94, Bren Postma BFA’97, and Vanessa di Palma BS’00 recently joined W Communications, an advertising agency serving businessto- business, business-to-consumer, and political clients. Jenson is a business-tobusiness and technology account executive with extensive experience in worldwide marketing, branding, and sales programs. Postma, W Communications’ senior art director, spent four years at the Euro RSCG/Tatham agency and holds several awards for his work in print, broadcast, and interactive media. Di Palma is the company’s event manager. Her background is in fundraising and public relations with organizations such as the Sundance Film Festival, Milwaukee Brewers, and State of Utah Olympic Hosting.

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