Brandeis Magazine

Herbert Birnbaum, an assistant professor at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, was elected president of the Harvard chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon. Last year, he received the school’s Part-Time Faculty Award from the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, and he was elected program chairman at the American Academy of Dental Science. He reports he is enjoying life with Rebecca Hecht and is continuing the legacy of his late wife, Connie Spear Birnbaum, MJC’81, through the annual Connie Spear Birnbaum Memorial Lecture. His greatest joy is his three children and his four — soon to be five — grandchildren. Jane Corson-Lassiter has been named Conservationist of the Year by the Virginia chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society for her commitment to pollinator habitat establishment and management. She is working on projects that aim to support a diverse ecosystem on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Elissa Halperin and husband Richard ’74, who recently celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary, are new grandparents to twin boys. In retirement, the couple has traveled to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Bolivia and Montenegro; a trip to China is planned for this year. They live in Sarasota, Florida; spend summers in Lambertville, New Jersey; and would love to connect with fellow Brandeisians.