Glenn Cummings ’83 Named President of University of Southern Maine
Also in this edition: Roger Brigham ’76, Gael Bissell ’75, Stephen Martin ’97, Joseph Murray ’90, Jim Kyner ’93, Chad Garland ’94, Katie Nunner ’15, Samantha Borkovic ’09, Joe Wechsler ’03, Ned Van Riper ’95, Jean Rockwell Beach ’51, and Ohio Wesleyan University.
Glenn Cummings ’83
Glenn Cummings ’83
Glenn Cummings, Ph.D., is named president of the University of Southern Maine (USM). He previously served as interim president of the University of Maine at Augusta.
“Glenn is the right person at the right time to lead the University of Southern Maine,” says U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine). “From the Maine legislature, to the U.S. Department of Education, to the University of Maine at Augusta, Glenn has demonstrated an unsurpassed commitment to helping Maine students succeed.”
Cummings, a native of Maine, has a strong background in education, both at the state and federal level, and years of government leadership experience. He previously served in the Obama Administration as deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, where he helped manage a $1.9 billion annual budget that focused on improving access to adult education and literacy training, career and technical education, and community colleges.
Cummings majored in history at Ohio Wesleyan and earned his master’s degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in teaching from Brown University and a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.
Read the full usm.maine.edu article, which includes a video of Cummings’ welcome message.
Roger Brigham ’76
Roger Brigham ’76
Roger Brigham, sports columnist and editor for the Bay Area Reporter (B.A.R.), is inducted into the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.
Brigham was the first openly gay sports editor at a major metropolitan daily, the Anchorage Daily News, in 1982. He is the founder of the Equality Coaching Alliance and author of the B.A.R.’s Jock Talk column.
Brigham majored in journalism and classical civilization at Ohio Wesleyan.
Read the full newspaper article, “B.A.R. columnist to receive sports honor.”
Gael Bissell ’75
Gael Bissell ’75
Gael Bissell retires after a 31-year career as a wildlife biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, having had a hand in nearly a quarter of a million acres of wildlife habitat conservation.
Bissell helped secure land purchases, donations, and easements throughout Northwest Montana worth approximately $120 million. She also worked to protect the common loon. College interns continue the outreach program in Northwest Montana each summer, educating people on how to help the recovering species.
“[Bissell] was always really good at connecting with and mentoring young people, and there are several of them that ended up becoming wildlife biologists working for Fish, Wildlife and Parks,” says Alan Wood, regional wildlife mitigation coordinator.
Bissell majored in zoology at Ohio Wesleyan. She worked as an environmental consultant in Buffalo, New York, before receiving her master’s degree in environmental studies at the University of Montana.
Read more about Bissell’s significant contributions to wildlife conservation in the Daily Inter Lake article, “Wildlife Biologist Reflects on Career.”
Stephen Martin ’97
Stephen Martin ’97
Stephen Martin is named senior associate general counsel of Cardinal Innovations Healthcare, the largest specialty health plan in the country.
Martin previously worked at Nelson Mullins, where he focused on civil litigation and regulatory advice in the field of business litigation. Martin has extensive experience with managed care waivers within North Carolina’s Medicaid program.
Martin graduated from Ohio Wesleyan as a politics and government major with minors in religion and history.
Read the full businesswire.com article, “Cardinal Innovations Announces Leadership Appointments.”
Joseph Murray ’90
Joseph Murray ’90
Joseph Murray is named commander of Marine Corps Base Quantico in Fredericksburg, Virginia, for the next three years.
Previously, Murray was involved in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, where he served as the Director of Logistics, J-4, U.S. Forces Afghanistan.
After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan, Murray entered the U.S. Marine Corps as a second lieutenant in 1990. He graduated from the Basic School, Supply School, Amphibious Warfare School, Command and Staff College, and the Marine Corps War College.
Read the full military.com article “New Commander Installed at MCB Quantico.”
Jim Kyner ’93
Jim Kyner ’93
Jim Kyner is named coordinator of high school testing and preschool programs for Charlottesville City Schools in Virginia.
“We are pleased that Mr. Kyner will offer leadership for two important programs in our division,” says Charlottesville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Rosa Atkins. Kyner previously served for seven years as principal of the district’s Greenbrier Elementary School.
Kyner majored in elementary education at Ohio Wesleyan and his earned his master’s degree in administration and supervision from the University of Virginia. Before becoming principal at Greenbrier Elementary, he taught fourth grade there for 10 years, and he has taught and served as an assistant principal in other divisions.
Read the full Charlottesville Tomorrow article, “Charlottesville City Schools Announces New Appointments.”
Chad Garland ’94
Chad Garland ’94
Chad Garland is hired as director of the University Center at University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS).
“The University Center as well as Conference and Event Services play an integral part in the student experience, the entire campus family, and the greater community,” says Garland, who has 18 years of experience working in higher education. “I am excited to be joining and leading such a strong and impactful department.”
Garland previously worked at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and at Central Michigan University.
He majored in zoology and religion at Ohio Wesleyan, and earned his master’s degree in college student affairs leadership from Grand Valley State University. He is working toward his doctorate in higher, adult, and lifelong education at Michigan State University.
Read the full UCCS Communiqué article, “New University Center director hired.”
Katie Nunner ’15
Katie Nunner ’15
Katie Nunner serves as a summer intern at CARE for AIDS, a nonprofit organization that partners with Kenyan churches to operate centers that serve the physical, spiritual, economic, and social needs of men and women living with HIV/AIDS.
“I’m honored to be paired with CARE for AIDS this summer,” Nunner writes in an online news article about her experience. “I’ve always had an interest in Africa and learning about ways I can be engaged with the international community.”
Nunner received her internship through the Praxis Future Founders Program, a program that seeks to provide highly entrepreneurial individuals with hands-on exposure to a Christian-led startup environment. To conclude her experience, Nunner will present at Praxis Academy in August and engage with the other students in the Future Founders program.
At Ohio Wesleyan, Nunner majored in economics management and minored in religion. In the fall, she will start a graduate program in international development at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Read the full Care For Aids article, “Meet Katie” to learn more about Nunner’s internship.
Samantha Borkovic ’09
Samantha Borkovic ’09
Sam Borkovic is named head varsity girls’ soccer coach at Edgewood High School in Ashtabula, Ohio. She previously served as assistant varsity girls’ soccer coach and junior varsity coach.
In high school, Borkovic played for the prestigious Seweckley Academy outside the city of Pittsburgh. She helped win three Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic League titles from 2002 to 2004.
At Ohio Wesleyan, Borkovic played soccer and majored in economics. She is a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon, an International Economics Honor Society.
Read the full Star Beacon article, “Borkovic excited to lead Warriors.”
Joe Wechsler ’03
Joe Wechsler ’03
Joe Wechsler joins Knowledge Capital Group LLC in Charleston, South Carolina, as consulting manager. He previously worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Wechsler has more than 12 years of professional experience in large consulting organizations and in other entrepreneurial settings.
At Ohio Wesleyan, he majored in economics management and Spanish. He earned an M.B.A. in strategy and internationalization from Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University in 2010.
Read the full Charleston Regional Business Journal article, “Knowledge Capital Group hires Joseph Wechsler.”
Ned Van Riper ’95
Ned Van Riper ’95
Ned Van Riper is hired as director of recruiting for Independent Financial Partners (IFP), one of the largest firms in the hybrid Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) sector.
“Ned brings technological savvy, but also knows that a financial advisor’s professional transition needs a personal touch,” says William Hamm, IFP’s chief executive officer.
Van Riper is the co-founder and managing partner of an online recruiting platform that helps advisors and firms connect. He previously worked for Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney before transitioning to advisor recruiting. He worked as an external recruiter for LPL Financial before becoming an external recruiting consultant at Finetooth Consulting.
At Ohio Wesleyan, Van Riper majored in history.
Read the full announcement, “New director of recruiting brings expansive network to Independent Financial Partners.”
Jean Rockwell Beach ’51
Jean Rockwell Beach ’51
Authors Jean Beach and Don Steele chronicle the history of the Shepler family’s ferry business in the new biography, “Undefeated: The True Story of How the Family-Owned Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry Service Survived and Advanced through Three Generations.”
Since graduating from Ohio Wesleyan, Beach has pursued further study at Delta College, Mott College, Northwestern College, and in Europe with Dr. James Chillman of Rice University. She is the author of several books about Michigan history.
An advertising copywriter, account executive, and freelancer, Beach has won several prizes for successful ad campaigns. She also has lectured frequently in Saginaw Valley State University’s humanities lecture series.
Read the full prweb.com article about Beach and Steele’s “Undefeated,” published by AuthorHouse.
Ohio Wesleyan University, The 25 Best Great Books Programs
Ohio Wesleyan is ranked No. 24 on Best College Reviews’ list of the nation’s “25 Best Great Books Programs.”
Great Books schools utilize classics that have been tested and tried by time for their enduring contribution to civilization. The best Great Book schools also have small class sizes and utilize Socratic dialog in their pedagogical methodology.
According to Best College Reviews, Ohio Wesleyan’s “Classics Program is small but academically rigorous. Students study ancient Greece and Rome, the ancient Greek, and Latin languages and literature through an epic, lyric and elegiac poetry, tragedy and comedy, ancient history and philosophy, and classical mythology and religion. Classics majors are equipped for a variety of career and lifetime pursuits, as well as continuing education. Given the sound training in skills of critical reasoning, graduates often go on to pursue graduate degrees in law and medicine.”
Read the full list of the 25 Best Great Book Programs from bestcollegereviews.org.