1980s
Former Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson, Heller PhD’80, was the keynote speaker at Armstrong State University’s 2017 commencement. Named by Georgia Trend magazine as one of the Most Influential Georgians in 2006 and 2011, Otis made history when he transferred to Armstrong State in 1963, becoming the first African- American to attend and graduate from the institution, which is located in Savannah. James Trent, Heller PhD’82, wrote “Inventing the Feeble Mind: A History of Intellectual Disability in the United States,” published by Oxford University Press. James is a visiting scholar at the Heller School. János Kollár, PhD’84, the Donner Professor of Science and professor of mathematics at Princeton, is a co-recipient of the 2017 Shaw Prize in Mathematical Sciences. Awarded by the Hong Kong-based Shaw Foundation, the prize honors breakthroughs in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and life science and medicine. János shares the $1.2 million prize with Claire Voisin, a professor and chair in algebraic geometry at the Collège de France. They were recognized for their research in algebraic geometry. In October, Carol Fierke, PhD’85, became provost and executive vice president at Texas A&M University, whose main campus is home to more than 64,000 students. Previously, Carol served as dean of the Rackham Graduate School and vice provost for academic affairs/ graduate studies at the University of Michigan, where she held the Jerome and Isabella Karle Distinguished University Professorship of Chemistry. She has received the American Chemical Society’s Repligen Corporation Award in the Chemistry of Biological Processes and the Protein Society’s Emil Thomas Kaiser Award for her contributions to the study of enzymes. Howard Wach, PhD’87, joined Guttman Community College as vice president for academic affairs and provost. He has worked in the CUNY system for more than 20 years as an adjunct assistant professor, a fulltime faculty member, director of instructional technology, academic dean and interim vice president of academic affairs. Robert Lutz, PhD’88, the founder of Crescendo Biopharma Consulting, was named executive-in-residence at ShangPharma Innovation.