Jonathan Dube ’94 joined AOL as senior vice president and general manager of AOL news and information. Previously, he was vice president of ABCNews.com. Dube has twice served as president of the Online News Association and is now on the board of directors for the association. He was a history major at Wesleyan and has a master’s degree in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. An award-winner for his work in new media, Dube has also published in a number of print venues, including The New York Times and the Columbia Journalism Review. Jonathan Dube ’94 was appointed vice president in charge of ABCNews.com, responsible for the strategic planning, business strategy, editorial content, and production of the network’s 24–hour online news service. Dube, a pioneer in the online news industry, was also reelected to a second year as president of the International Online News Association. In the past three years, as director of digital media for CBC News, he has led the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to multiple awards. He is also an award–winning print and online reporter. A history major at Wesleyan, he earned his master’s degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism.
Dr. Joseph J. Fins ’82, chief of the Division of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. IOM membership is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. It recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Fins, the author of more than 200 publications in medical ethics and health policy, wrote A Palliative Ethic of Care: Clinical Wisdom at Life’s End (Jones and Bartlett, 2006). He is a co-author of the 2007 Nature paper describing the first use of deep brain stimulation in the minimally conscious state. President-elect of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, he is also a Governor of the American College of Physicians. The past-chair of the Wesleyan Alumni Association, he has served as a trustee of the University. At Wesleyan, he majored in the College of Letters.
Barry Fried ’81 has produced Uluwehi Guerrero’s new award-winning CD, Uluwehi Sings Na Mele Hula Aloha—beloved hula songs. The CD generated seven nominations at the prestigious Na Hoku Hanohano Awards (equivalent of the Hawaiian Grammies) and won the “Hawaiian Album of the Year” and “Liner Notes.” Previously, the CD won the Hawai‘i Music Award’s People’s Choice for “Best Traditional Hawaiian Album of the Year.” Fried produced the album under his new record label, Kaulupono Music, and wrote the string arrangements and played the flute in several selections. An art major at Wesleyan, he earned his master’s degree from New York University.
Daphne Kwok ’84, a Wesleyan Board of Trustee member, was recently appointed by President Obama to serve as chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Her new position will require her to be “the eyes and ears” of the Asian American community. She will continue to perform her current job as executive director of Asians and Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California. Kwok was recently interviewed by New America Media and was asked what some of the issues were that she will focus on immediately. She said: “The key issues will include the economy, jobs, education and health disparities. We want to increase the underserved AAPI communities in federal programs. The oil spill in the Gulf and its impact on the Vietnamese community is already a key issue for the Initiative. Vietnamese fishermen have been especially hard hit by the spill.”
On April 20, 2010, John K. Binswanger ’54 was honored at the Fairmount Park Conservancy Centennial Celebration as one of the “most dedicated champions of the park.” Featuring remarks by city Mayor Michael A. Nutter and NBC’s Chris Matthews, the celebration raised significant funds for the conservancy, which is dedicated to improving the environment as well as preserving historic treasures. “Great cities have at their heart great public parks and Philadelphia has a park system like no other,” said Katrina L. Wilhelm, executive director of the conservancy.
Vivian Chau Best ’03 was named one of the “Forty Under 40” young Hawaii business leaders by Pacific Business News for her work on her “Give It Fresh Today” program, which enables customers at farmers markets to donate fresh produce to homeless shelters. People normally give canned food to a shelter, but a donation table at a farmers market in Chicago challenged Best to think about “what it would feel like to eat something that was fresh, in season, and locally grown.” Best started the produce donation program with handmade signs, a basket for food, and a jar for monetary donations. In a local TED talk, Best said that they were receiving more than a thousand pounds of donated produce each month. Best graduated from Wesleyan with a bachelor’s degree in art history.
David Nixon ’53, senior partner of the Manchester, N.H., law firm of Nixon, Vogelman, Barry, Slawsky & Simoneau, P.A., received the Chief Justice Frank Rowe Kenison Award from the New Hampshire Bar Foundation. Nixon was chosen for his “substantial contributions to the betterment of New Hampshire citizens through the administration of justice, the legal profession, and the advancement of legal thought.” Nixon, an economics major at Wesleyan, earned his law degree with honors from the University of Michigan Law School. Nixon has served as president of the New England and N.H. Bar Associations. He has received the N.H. Bar Association’s Distinguished Service Award, the Distinguished Attorney Award by the N.H. Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence for his service representing abused women and children, and the Public Service Award by the Hillsborough County Law Enforcement Association for his 40 years as chair of its scholarship committee.
Walter J. Pories ’52, MD, professor in the department of surgery at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, was selected as a 2012–13 recipient of the annual East Carolina University Lifetime Achievement for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award. He joined ECU in 1977 as chair of the department of surgery at the medical school. While at ECU, he modified a type of weight-loss surgery into the “Greenville Gastric Bypass” and showed conclusively that not only does it result in durable weight loss but it also causes a long-term remission of type-2 diabetes. A biology/chemistry major at Wesleyan with a strong humanities background, he earned his MD at the University of Rochester. Among other honors, Pories is the 2001 recipient of O. Max Gardner Award, the highest honor given by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. Pories retired from operating at age 70 but still follows up with former patients and has continued with research related to his Greenville Gastric Bypass and diabetes.
Kimon S. Zachos ’52, a shareholder in the law firm of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green, was honored by the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) with the David C. Knapp Award for Trusteeship. NEBHE President and CEO Michael K. Thomas said, “Kimon Zachos’s outstanding record of leadership as a trustee at Southern New Hampshire University was recognized by the Board as being truly exceptional.” He added, “Kimon embodies the combination of political, business and civic experience that has made the New England Board of Higher Education such an effective connector over the decades.” A government major at Wesleyan, Zachos also holds an LL.B. degree from New York University and an LL.M. degree from Boston University. Additionally he received honorary degrees from Southern New Hampshire University and St. Anselm’s College.
Noted author John F. Ross ’81 received the first annual Fort Ticonderoga Prize for Contributions to American History on March 4, 2011. After a national search and in a unanimous vote, the trustees selected Ross for his broad contributions to 18th-century military scholarship with his book War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America’s First Frontier (Random House, 2009), which explores the exploits of the famed and often misunderstood partisan leader Major Robert Rogers. In addition, Ross was also cited for making America’s history accessible through his work as the executive editor of American Heritage Magazine. “John F. Ross is a scholar who understands the importance of bringing history, observation, and experience together when seeking to understand the past,” said Peter Paine, president of the Fort Ticonderoga Board of Directors. At Wesleyan, Ross majored in history. He is also the author of The Polar Bear Strategy: Reflections on Risk in Modern Life (Basic Books, 1999).
