ORIN SNYDER ’83 was selected as one of The American Lawyer magazine’s “45 Under 45.” A partner with New York’s Parcher, Hayes & Snyder, he competed with more than 600 candidates for a spot on the list, which also includes Amy Schulman ’82. Snyder, who received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, represents clients including Julie Andrews, Ozzy Osbourne, and AOL Time Warner’s Home Box Office unit. He previously worked for Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and then moved on to the U.S. attorney’s office in New York, where he became the chief of the narcotics division at age 30. He decided to join Parcher, Hayes because “representing entertainment clients sounded a lot more interesting than representing insurance companies.”
Robert Soiffer ’79, M.D., was selected as the new vice president of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, a national association of professionals who support advancements in this field. This appointment puts Soiffer next in line to assume the presidency of ASBMT in two years. Soiffer is currently the chief of hematologic malignancies at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and co-director of bone marrow transplantation at Dana Farber and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. A biology major as an undergraduate, he received his medical degree from New York University.
Christopher Swain ’90 was featured on CNN.com when he reached the Pacific Ocean on July 1, 2003, completing his 1,243-mile swim of the Columbia River. Swain, a self-described “advocacy swimmer,” first attracted notice for his 1996 Connecticut River Swim for Universal Human Rights. “Professors like Joyce Lowrie, Richard Slotkin, George Creeger, and Jeanine Basinger convinced me that it was worth putting my life on the line for the greater good,” he says. Swain, who began this journey on June 4, 2002, braved such extreme conditions as 38-degree F water-temperatures as well as bacterial, chemical, and radioactive pollutants. He is the first person in history to swim the entire length of the Columbia, and observes that clean water is not only an environmental issue, but a human rights issue, as well. For his efforts, he also received the International Earth Day Award from the United Nations.
Suzanna Tamminen ’90, MALS ’94 was named director of the Wesleyan University Press. With 15 years of experience in scholarly publishing, most recently as the Press’s associate director and editor-in-chief from 1997 to 2004, she was the interim director since last summer. Her recent notable acquisitions include last year’s National Book Award winner in poetry, Door in the Mountain, by Jean Valentine. “I like being in a job that allows me to see a project from the first kernel of an idea to the finished project,” she says. “It’s really the whole process I enjoy—and it’s never the same. Each book finds its way into the world differently. It’s a process that requires critical thinking at every step.”
James E. Udelson ’77, M.D., F.A.C.C., was installed as a member of the board of the American College of Cardiology during its annual meeting, held in March. As a teacher, Udelson was recognized with the Tufts University School of Medicine Excellence in Teaching Award three years in a row, chosen by his students. He serves as associate chief of the Division of Cardiology and director of the Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory for Tufts-New England Medical Center Hospitals. He received his medical degree from New York Medical College, and he currently sits on the editorial board of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Dr. Lori Verderame MALS ’89, a museum curator and certified art and antiques appraiser, discovered a lamp worth half a million dollars on her popular show What’s it Worth? on ABC. Verderame is the director of the fine art resource www.DrLoriV.com and of Masterpiece Galleries. Previously she taught art history at the Pennsylvania State University, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Yale University Art Gallery. She is currently on the faculty at Pennsylvania State University
DAVID WIBORG ’93 was selected as a semi-finalist in the international design competition for a memorial to the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon. Wiborg, a designer at Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc., was among 84 semi-finalists selected from an original pool of more than 1,100 entries to the competition, which is sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His design, “Honoring the Spirit,” included a Freedom and Remembrance Garden, a Living Wall, a Reflecting Pool, and a Glass Volume housing a replica of the American flag that was hung at the Pentagon after the Sept. 11th attacks.
Robert Weisbuch ’68, previously president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in Princeton, was named president of Drew University in New Jersey. An English major as an undergraduate at Wesleyan, Weisbuch earned his Ph.D. in philosophy at Yale. Says Barbara Caspersen, chair of Drew University’s board of trustees, “I believe everyone who met Dr. Weisbuch during our search process was struck by his commitment to the liberal arts and by the high quality of his academic and administrative credentials.”
Nancy Winkelman ’80, an attorney at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP, is one of 20 lawyers in the United States who have been selected as winners of The Burton Awards for Legal Achievement. These awards, presented in association with the Law Library of Congress, recognize outstanding achievement in legal writing. Her article, “Just a Brief Writer?” which was published in the summer 2003 issue of Litigation, discussed the importance of briefs in the appellate process. A graduate of Western New England Law School, she concentrates her practice in federal and state appellate litigation.
A photographer with National Geographic, Michael Yamashita ’71 received the National Journalism Award from the Asian American Journalists Association for his work, “DMZ: Korea’s Dangerous Divide.” The award, presented at the Unity Journalists of Color Conference this summer, recognizes excellence among Asian American journalists and outstanding coverage of Asian American issues. Yamashita’s most recent book, Marco Polo: A Photographer’s Journey (White Star, 2004), a 504-page photographic journal, retracing the 13th-century explorer’s route to China, is setting records as a bestseller around the world. It has been translated into 13 languages, and is again available.
