Summer 2012
Connections

Class Notes

 Class notes are the perfect way to share your news with friends and classmates. Read about your classmates in this issue of GSU Magazine, then share your own news, achievements, accomplishments and photos. Mail your class notes to GSU Magazine, P.O. Box 3983, Atlanta, GA 30302-3983 or e-mail them to winman@gsu.edu.

1970s

  • Stephen Garber (M.A. '72, Ph.D. '74) has been named a 2012 Outstanding Alumni by the College of Arts and Sciences. Garber served as the director of Child and Adolescent Services at South Central Fulton County Mental Health Center and the Southside Comprehensive Health Center before going into private practice. That practice, the Behavioral Institute of Atlanta, is now one of the largest in the state.
  • Felicia Mayfield (B.S.'75, M.Ed. '80, S.Ed. '87) recently retired as associate superintendent of student support services from the DeKalb County School District after 36 years and started her second career in the department of educational leadership at Clark Atlanta University. She is currently teaching assessment and measurement, and human resources management.
  • Randy Pierce (B.B.A.'71, M.Ed. '76, Ph.D. '80) past president of Georgia Highlands College, was recently named interim president at Gainesville State College. Pierce will act as the interim president until consolidation of Gainesville State and North Georgia College & State University takes effect Jan. 1, 2013.

1980s

  • Sandra Barnhill (B.S. '81) has been named a 2012 Outstanding Alumni by the College of Arts and Sciences. Barnhill is the founder of ForeverFamily, a nonprofit that supports children whose parents are incarcerated.
  • Brian M. Conlon (B.B.A. '81) was recently promoted to CEO of Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation. Conlon will continue to serve as a director of Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation, and as president and a Director of Inland Securities Corporation.
  • Thomas Couch (M.P.A. '89) is county manager for the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners in Statesboro, Ga.
  • Andrew Cripps (M.B.A. '83) has been named president of IMAX Europe, Middle East and Africa. In this role, Cripps will be responsible for the expansion of IMAX's theatre network in these regions and will work closely with the company's Filmed Entertainment division to identify international local-language distribution opportunities. Cripps was also named executive vice president of IMAX Corp.
  • Barry Herrin (B.A. '87, J.D. '90) an attorney at Smith Moore Leatherwood, was recently presented with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Senior-Level Healthcare Executive Regents' Award at the 2012 Georgia Hospital Association meeting in Atlanta.
  • Stacy Mays (M.B.A.'85, M.H.A '87) has been named president of North American Medical Management of Illinois. Mays served as interim president for the company since August 2011.

1990s

  • Charles Briscoe (M.H.A. '98) was recently named CEO of Coliseum Health Systems in Macon, Ga.
  • Lara Caldwell Stout (B.B.A.'92) was recently appointed vice president of professional services for Vitera Healthcare Solutions, one of the nation's largest providers of electronic health records and practice management software and services. Stout will optimize training, data conversions and software delivery for Vitera.
  • John Carson (R-Marietta) (B.B.A '94) was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in an October 2011 special election. He represents House District 43.
  • Pratt Cassity (M.S. '93) is director of the Center for Community Design and Preservation in the College of Environment and Design and lead instructor for the Global Engagement Learning Community at the University of Georgia. He recently won UGA's "First-Year Seminar Outstanding Instructor Award for 2011," given by the university's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
  • Tammy Davis (B.B.A. '95, M.B.A. '04) has been promoted to manager in the tax and business advisory department of Atlanta accounting and advisory firm Gifford, Hillegass and Ingwersen.
  • Bridgette Dixon Thurman (M.Ed. '99) was named the 2011 Teacher of the Year at Dunaire Elementary in Stone Mountain, Ga., where she teaches fifth grade.
  • Jeff Irvine (M.B.A. '98) has joined Grubb & Ellis as an associate specializing in leasing and brokerage of retail investment commercial real estate near Charleston, S.C.
  • Bryan Tucker (B.A. '98) has been appointed as Georgia's state archaeologist. Tucker joined the Historic Preservation Division as the deputy state archaeologist and Archaeology section chief in March 2010.
  • Richard M. Vogel (M.A. '91) chairs the Department of History, Economics and Politics at Farmingdale State University of New York.
  • Ann White (Ph.D. '98) interim dean of the University of Southern Indiana College of Nursing and Health Professions, has accepted the position on a permanent basis. White will be only the second dean in the school's history.

2000s

  • Brigit Armbrister (M.Ed. '02) was named a DeKalb County Teacher of the Year for Austin Elementary, where she serves as a literacy coordinator.
  • Todd M. Bailey (M.B.A. '08), a Robinson Council of Young Business Leaders board member, has been employed by AGCO Corporation, a global manufacturer and distributor of industrial farm equipment for the last 10 years. He was recently promoted to senior enterprise architect supporting the sales, marketing and service functions globally.
  • Chris Currie (M.P.A.'02) is assistant director for the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), where he specializes in homeland security and justice-related issues, managing audits and evaluations of federal government programs and spending. Currie has received the GAO Meritorious Service Award in 2008 and the Institutional Stewardship Award in 2010.
  • Samantha Ellison (B.B.A. '05) recently joined Carolina One Real Estate as a sales associate. Ellison was previously employed with Advance Food Company and Coca-Cola.
  • Larry Higdon's (M.Ed. '02) debut novel, "The Storms of Deliverance," has been published by Tate Publishing.
  • William Jones (B.S. '04) recently became a principal transportation planner for the City of Atlanta.
  • John Michael Lee Jr. (M.P.A. '05) is the president and CEO of North Star Educational Consulting, LLC, in Philadelphia and policy director for the Advocacy and Policy Center in the Advocacy, Government Relations and Development unit at the College Board.
  • Robert Marbun (M.A. '02), a graduate of the International Center for Public Policy's first Indonesian Master's Program, is a lecturer at Centerawasih University in Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia. He has had articles published by the U.N. Development Program, the World Bank and AusAID.
  • Kenneth Mims (M.Ed. '08), an eighth grade physical science teacher at Snellville Middle School in Gwinnett County, received the Marshall Memorial Fellowship from the Civic League for Regional Atlanta.
  • Jessica Sevin (M.Ed. '09) was named Teacher of the Year at Dunwoody Springs Elementary School.
  • Brandon White (B.S.'05), a planner for the County of Charleston, S.C., was recently awarded membership in the American Institute of Certified Planners.

2010s

  • Matthew Blaszka (M.S. '11) won the Sport Marketing Association Best Student Paper Award at the 9th Annual Sport Marketing Association Conference in Houston, Texas.
  • Trevor Boylan (B.B.A. '10) recently joined the Hyatt Regency Atlanta as sales manager.
  • Jason Delaney (M.A. '10, Ph.D. '11) was recently named an assistant professor of economics in the College of Business at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
  • Elaine Hudson (M.P.A. '10) was recently named manager of marketing and programs for Leadership Atlanta, where she overseas event planning, marketing, communications and media relations.
  • Stephen Newhouse (M.P.A. '10) was recently promoted to a transportation planner for AC Transit in Oakland, Calif. He moved to San Francisco upon earning his degree to intern with the San Francisco County Transit Authority and Oakland Public Works Department.
  • Kiva Rabinsky (M.P.A. '10) is programs director in the Department of Service Learning and Experiential Education at Yeshiva University's Center for the Jewish Future, Jerusalem.