Dave Kane ’92 placed seventh in the 35-39 age group and 43rd overall in the amateur division at the 2006 World Triathalon Championships that took place in Lausanne, Switzerland, this September. At Wesleyan, he was a member of the men’s swimming and track teams. An art history major as an undergraduate, he received his master’s degree in education from Harvard. He attended the World Triathalon as a member of the U.S. team, finishing the event in just over two hours.
Russell Hoxsie ’48, M.D., received the Creative Living Award from the Permanent Endowment Fund of Martha’s Vineyard. Hoxie and his wife, Maryann, have lived on the Massachusetts island for 51 years, where he worked as a family physician and is the resident expert on Lyme disease. He recently published a local bestseller, Let’s Walk, Lilly, about his favorite places to walk on the Vineyard with his springer spaniel. Additionally, with a co-author, he has published a book of poems. As an undergraduate at Wesleyan, he pursued pre-medical studies and received his medical degree from Cornell.
June M. Jeffries ’75, an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia’s specialized cases unit, was profiled in the Aug. 6, 2006, Washington Post as “The Avenger,” by Neely Tucker: “With Child Slayings, There May Never Be a Why. But Prosecutor June Jeffries Makes Sure There’s a Who.” A government major at Wesleyan, she received her J.D. degree from Georgetown and joined the U.S. Attorney’s office. In the mid-1980s, she began her current focus. In the article, Superior Court Judge Michael L. Rankin calls Jeffries “the ultimate prosecutor.” While acknowledging to Tucker that most wouldn’t choose her career, her answer is firm: “Well, the fact is, somebody has to.”
Lee M. Mitchell ’65 was elected chair of the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that since 1934 has been dedicated to improving economic development, quality of life, and equity of opportunity in the greater Chicago metropolitan region. A partner with Thoma Cressey Equity Partners, he has been a member of the MPC board for 22 years and has already served as board chair once previously, in addition to holding other offices as well. A government major at Wesleyan, he earned a J.D. degree from the University of Chicago.
Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Leonard Edwards ’63 received the 2004 William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence from the National Center for State Courts. NCSC President Mary Campbell McQueen calls him “one of the most effective and progressive trial judges in America.” In fact, under Edwards the juvenile dependency court in Santa Clara County was named a “national model” be the National Council of Juvenile and Family Courts Judges. Edwards has also received the Judicial Council’s Distinguished Service Award, and in 1966 the California Wellness Foundation declared him the recipient of the California Peace Prize Award.
Aimee Eng ’03 was recently crowned Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival Queen, a Japanese-American community ambassadorial position. In her official capacity, she travels to various cities–in and out of the state–to promote the cultural ties between Japanese American communites. She will meet with community members, as well as city mayors and governors, to talk about the cherry blossom festival traditions. In addition, she will take an extended trip to Japan and meet with several of the Consul Generals and other dignitaries. Eng is an active volunteer in her community.
Delcy Ziac Fox ’81 was named director of marketing at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. Most recently, she was assistant director of marketing. Prior to joining Rensselaer in 1999 as senior account executive, she was with marketing services agencies in the New York-New Jersey area. She received a master of science degree in management in May 2003 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and also holds a master of arts degree in anthropology and biology (1983) from the University of Albany. She is the chair of the Wesleyan Annual Fund National Committee, the Class Agent for the Class of 1981, and a Wesleyan Alumni Admission Volunteer. She lives in Niskayuna, N.Y., with her husband Bill, son Liam, and daughter Alta.
Page Fortna ’90 and Joseph Entin ’91 are both members of the first group of visiting scholars at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, Mass., in a program designed to support research conducted by young scholars of promise. Fortna, an assistant professor of political science at Columbia University, is studying the effectiveness of international peacekeeping in civil wars. Entin, a postdoctoral scholar at Yale University, is researching “Sensational Modernism: Disfigured Bodies and Aesthetic Astonishment in American Literature,” which examines interpretations of the lives of immigrants, African Americans, and working-class communities in America.
Nadine Finigan ’92 was promoted to senior research project manager for her work with Steppin’ Up, a mentoring initiative through Johns Hopkins University, intended to increase interest in academics and reduce aggression in middle-school children. She previously worked for Teach For America in Baltimore and has continued efforts “to make this adopted city a better place for children.” She has also been working with Evette Maranda ’92 on a paper, “A Cultural Lens: Exploring the school behavior of urban, low-income, African American students,” which they were asked to present at the National Black Child Development Institute’s Conference.
Musician and activist Rebecca Fanya Lichtenfeld ’97 wrote a song that has been released on For the Lady (Rhino Records, Oct. 2004), a benefit album with contributing artists U2, Peter Gabriel, Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Merchant, Coldplay, Paul McCartney, and others to raise awareness for Aung San Suu Kyi, the imprisoned democratic leader of Burma. The project was put together by the U.S. Campaign for Burma. At Wesleyan, she majored in Latin American studies. For more information, please visit www.rebeccafanya.com.
