Brandeis Magazine

John “Jack” Hansan, Heller PhD’80, launched the Social Welfare History Project in 2010. The project is designed to help the public better understand and appreciate the history of social reform and the development of social welfare services that have strengthened the fabric of American society. With the aid of a number of prominent contributors, the project’s website has grown to include more than 1,100 entries that not only reflect the glory and greatness of social reformers but describe the acts (either of omission or commission) that brought hurt and discrimination to generations of Americans. Deb Sterling Chittur, MA’82, associate dean of humanities at Independence University, is working on her PhD dissertation at Pepperdine University. Deb heads up a social enterprise, Hope Global University, which brings certificate and degree programs to students in developing countries. Her daughter Rachel works at Facebook, and her son is a film student in Los Angeles. Deb lives with her husband and stepdaughter in Huntsville, Alabama. Ian Silverman, MJC’82, and his wife, Beth, are celebrating their 33rd wedding anniversary this year (Ian says Professor Bernie Reisman, Heller PhD’70, strongly encouraged him to make his feelings known to her). Sons Marc and Alan are in their 20s, one aspiring to a career in library science, the other a career in music. Ian and Beth have lived in East Northport on Long Island for the past 13 years, and Ian’s career as a pulpit rabbi is approaching the 30-year mark. In the summer, he enjoys the company of an aging chocolate Lab and semi-regular kayaking outings in Northport Harbor. Mark Snyderman, Heller MMHS’82, P’20, was named deputy director for management and budget at the Administration for Community Living, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Daughter Rachel ’20 is a Brandeis freshman. Janos Kollar, PhD’84, the Donner Professor of Science and a professor of mathematics at Princeton, received the Frederic Esser Nemmers Prize in Mathematics, awarded every other year in recognition of major contributions to new knowledge or the development of significant new modes of analysis. Anne Brady, MFA’85, a faculty member in the theater department at Binghamton University for the past 17 years, was profiled in the Press & Sun-Bulletin. She is head of acting and directing, and teaches voice, movement and acting. “I love teaching. I love being in the rehearsal room. I see myself facilitating the creative process of others,” she told the newspaper. Edward Lawlor, Heller PhD’85, stepped down as dean of the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. He will continue as the William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor. Edward had served as dean since 2004. Judith Ann Leff, PhD’85, has retired after a 40-year career in employment and technical-education policy development and program evaluation. Thomas Horsky, MA’86, PhD’89, is chief technology officer and executive vice president at Nissin Ion Equipment USA, which purchased the company he founded in 2000. He has authored more than 100 patents on ion implantation technology. Davida (James) Lindsay-Harewood, Heller MMHS’86, successfully defended her dissertation on June 15, 2016, at Seton Hall University, completing the requirements to earn a doctorate in educational leadership with a focus on K-12 school administration. Her dissertation is titled “The Influence of an Extended School Day on Middle-School English Language Arts and Mathematics Achievement in a New Jersey Suburban School District.” Eric Furfine, PhD’88, was named chief scientific officer and acting CEO at ImmuneXcite, a biopharmaceutical company. Steven Kates, PhD’88, joined Lakewood-Amedex, a developer of anti-infective pharmaceuticals, as chief scientific officer and vice president of regulatory affairs. Roberta Ward Walsh, Heller PhD’89, emeritus professor of public affairs at Florida Gulf Coast University, has done online public-administration teaching and consulting with the University of Virginia and Norwich University since retiring in 2007. Roberta, formerly tenured at the University of Vermont, had earlier government-service appointments at the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy.