Brandeis Magazine

José Rivera, M.S.W.’70, Ph.D.’72, is a professor in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of New Mexico. His teaching fields include rural community development, public policy analysis and water resources management. President Barack Obama appointed Deborah Lipstadt, M.A.’72, Ph.D.’76, to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. Deborah is the Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University and one of the leading Holocaust scholars in the United States. She also received an honorary degree from Yeshiva University. Thomas Glynn, M.S.W.’72, Ph.D.’77, formerly the chief operating officer of Partners HealthCare and now an adjunct professor at Harvard University, was recognized for his years of service on the board of the Pine Street Inn. The facility supports homeless men and women. Fernando Torres-Gil, M.S.W.’72, Ph.D.’76, is the director of the Center for Policy Research on Aging at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was quoted in a recent New York Times story on the political tensions between young and old voters brought on by the political debate regarding cuts to the system of health and economic support for retirees. Victor Matthews, M.A.’73, Ph.D.’77, is professor of religious studies and dean of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs at Missouri State University, his undergraduate alma mater. His specialty is ancient Near Eastern history and the social world of ancient Israel. Jean Bethke Elshtain, Ph.D.’73, is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School. She is regularly named one of America’s foremost public intellectuals. Duncan Harris, Ph.D.’73, is a professor of English at the University of Wyoming. Carolyn Keller, M.A.’75, stepped down after nine years as the founding head of school at MetroWest Jewish Day School, a pluralistic school in Framingham, Mass. In establishing the first Jewish day school in the suburbs west of Boston, she oversaw the development of a unique, integrated Judaic–general studies curriculum, welcomed families from across the spectrum of Jewish observance, and initiated educational and cultural programs for adults and families. Beryl Jean Khabeer, M.A.’76, writes, “A year after graduation, 1977, I brought my baby to term in lieu of attending law school. The ‘baby’ is now earning a huge hourly wage. In 1995, he was listed in ‘Who’s Who in American High Schools.’ I am to start Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich., in January 2012.” Professor Nancy Lohmann, Ph.D.’77, has been a faculty member at West Virginia University since 1977. Since 1983, she has held a variety of academic and administrative roles in the Division of Social Work and the university’s central administration. Nancy’s husband, Roger Lohmann, Ph.D.’75, is also a professor at WVU’s Division of Social Work. He chairs the university’s Nova Institute. Jeannie Lindheim, M.F.A.’77, has written a new book, “Trusting the Moment: Unlocking Your Creativity and Imagination,” which includes a collection of 50 exercises that can increase group cohesiveness and creativity. She has taught acting, movement, improvisation, creativity, auditioning and characterization techniques for 30 years at a variety of educational institutions, including the Boston Conservatory of Music, Harvard University Law School, Boston University and Boston College. Beth Pessen, Ph.D.’78, is owner and president at Pessen Strategic Research, a marketing research company. She had been research director at Hill Holliday in New York. Ruth Brandwein, Ph.D.’78, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Puerto Rican/Hispanic Social Workers. She was recently appointed legislative chair for the National Association of Social Workers. Janet Poppendieck, Ph.D.’79, is a professor of sociology at Hunter College, City University of New York. Last year she wrote “Free for All: Fixing School Food in America,” which explains how unhealthy meals came to dominate America’s school cafeterias. In the book, she advocates that lunches should be free for all students, a move that would remove shame from those who qualify for free or reduced-price meals while cutting costs associated with determining who is eligible.