Alumni News
1972:
After graduating from UB in 1972, Susan Breslow completed a Master's degree in Journalism at Ohio State and since 1997 has been a travel writer/editor with About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. She is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and published 'Destination Weddings For Dummies' in 2007
1977:
Judith Kerman (MA ’73 and PhD ’77) was awarded the 2008 Earl L. Warrick Award for Excellence in Research from Saginaw Valley State University. The award is given annually to an SVSU faculty member who has made a significant and/or longstanding contribution to the advancement of knowledge in a recognized field of scholarship or artistic endeavor. Kerman is a professor of English at SVSU; a poet, artist, and musician, and owner of Mayapple Press, a small press in Bay City that publishes primarily poetry
Deborah Meadows’ (UB BA 1977) latest collection of poems, Thin Gloves, was published (Green Integer, 2006). She teaches at California Polytechnic State University, in Pomona.
1980:
Since 2006, Randi Minetor has written 25 books for The Globe Pequot Press on travel--most on the national parks. The "Passport To Your National Parks Companion Guides" series provides the locations of every Passport cancellation stamp in the national park system. Her most recent books (released this fall) include "Washington, DC: A Guided Tour Through History"; "Gettysburg: A Guided Tour Through History"; "Everglades National Park Pocket Guide" and Gulf Islands National Seashore Pocket Guide." In addition, Randi written four books in the "Best Easy Day Hikes" series, on Rochester (now in stores), Buffalo, Syracuse and Albany (all releasing in May 2010). For more info, visit her author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Randi-Minetor/e/B001JSBNEO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1 .
1982:
Richard Kopley (UB PhD 1982), a Professor of English at Penn State University DuBois, recently published "Edgar Allan Poe and the Dupin Mysteries" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), a work that explains the origins, structure, and personal significance to Poe of the first three modern detective stories.
1983:
Sharon J. McPeters (UB MA 1983)
1988:
James Morrison (UB PhD 1988) published two books in the last few months:† Roman Polanski (University of Illinois Press, 2007), a critical study, and The Lost Girl (Parlor Press, 2007), a novel.
1992:
Former UB undergraduate Scott Slawinski (1992), currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, recently published his second book, Emily Hamilton and Other Writings, a collected edition of the works of New England novelist and poet Sukey Vickery (1779-1821). Vickery's Emily Hamilton (1803) provides a decided constrast to Susanna Rowson's Charlotte Temple and Hannah Foster's The Coquette; the book's three main characters deftly navigate the marriage market, and the novel's resident rake is no match for the book's titular character.For more details, check out the University of Nebraska Press' web site for their entry on Scott's book: http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Emily-Hamilton-and-Other-Writings,674130.aspx.Scott's first book, Validating Bachelorhood: Audience, Patriarchy, and Charles Brockden Brown's Editorship of the Monthly Magazine and American Review, was published by Routledge in 2005). For more information about Scott's professional activities, check out his website:http://www.wmich.edu/english/facultyandstaff/profiles/slawinski.htm
1994:
Michelle Burnham (UB PhD 1994) has published Folded Selves: Colonial New England Writing in the World System (University Press of New England, 2007). She teaches at Santa Clara University.
1995:
Bansari Mitra (UB PhD 1995) presented papers to the William Morris Society, at the 2007 Chicago MLA convention and to the American Folklore Society, at the 2006 Philadelphia MLA convention.
1996:
Deborah Silverman (Ph.D. English 1996) is an assistant professor of
communication at Buffalo State College, where she teaches public relations
and media writing courses and is faculty advisor to the Public Relations
Student Society of America chapter. She is currently serving on the national
board of directors of the Public Relations Society of America, the first
person elected to the board from Buffalo. In August 2009, she was honored by
the Public Relations Division of the Association for Education in Journalism
and Mass Communication for her conference presentations on ethics to public
relations students and practitioners.
Victor Verney (UB PhD 1996) will soon publish a book titled "Warrior of God: Jan Ziska and the Hussite Revolution." The publisher is Greenhill Books.
1999:
Edward Comentale (UB PhD 1999) published Modernism, Cultural Production, and the British Avant-garde (Cambridge University Press, 2004). He is now teaching at Indiana University.
2001:
Rachel Sparacio-Foster Dateline Toronto, ON, July 6, 2009 – Rachel Sparacio-Foster won 2nd place in the Business-to-Business (B2B) Rising Star copywriting competition. American Writers & Artists Inc. (AWAI) sponsored the competition as part of their “Breaking into the B2B Copywriting Market” workshop. The workshop attracted over 250 copywriters from throughout the world.
“Rachel’s submission was selected as a finalist for this competition because she applied the principles from the workshop very effectively with fresh, clear copy,” said Denise Ford, AWAI Conference and Events Director.
Rachel earned a BA in English from UB in 1999 and received the Arthur Axelrod Memorial Prize in Poetry in 1998. She currently lives in Toronto and launched Fresh Perspective Copywriting to provide freelance copywriting services for B2B technology companies and non-profit organizations. For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact Rachel Sparacio-Foster at (647) 342-4921 or visit www.freshperspectivewriting.com.
Catherine Gray (UB PhD 2001) has published Women Writers and Public Debate in 17th-Century Britain (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007). She teaches at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
2002:
Evan Gottlieb (UB PhD 2002) is currently an Assistant Professor of English at Oregon State University. In 2007 he published : "Feeling British: Sympathy and National Identity in Scottish and English Writing, 1707-1832" with Bucknell University Press.
2004:
Charity A. Vogel (UB PhD 2004) gave a lecture on the “Angola Horror Train Wreck,” November 18, 2007 at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.
2006:
George Zornick (B.A. 2006) has been doing research and production work for "The Media Project," a documentary-style show about journalism that began its second season Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 at 11 p.m on the Independent Film Channel.
The first episode of the new season dealt with international news, with pieces on the U.S. media's coverage of the recent conflict in Georgia, the availability (or lack thereof) of al-Jazeera English in the United States, and coverage of the "pirates" in Somalia. Future episodes include pieces on how the media explains "clean coal," the moral and journalistic issues behind the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoe at President Bush, how the White House press corps functions, and on the current economics of the news business.
Below are some video clips about the show and a couple of reviews. Great work, George!
Season 2 promo (video)
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=157692395590&ref=mf
Only 2 cities in the US broadcast Al Jazeera English. Should we allow all Americans to watch? (video)
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=188189065590&ref=mf
When an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at George Bush, the Western media mostly missed the point. Was it an act of violence? A political act? An act of journalism? We investigate. (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRYkV7zW_00
Review: Alan Pergament, Buffalo News
http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/656535.html
Review: Associated Press
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2009%2F04%2F30%2Fentertainment%2Fe033707D07.DTL
2009:
Jill Twist (M.A., 2009) recently became the Assistant Proposals Coordinator at Ecology and Environment, Inc located in Lancaster, NY. Normal responsibilities include writing, editing and compiling information for client proposals. These proposals detail services to be offered by Ecology and Environment, Inc. such as environmental characterization statements and hazardous waste site remediation. In addition to building and sustaining a LEED-Platinum certified building, Ecology and Environment, Inc. provides an on-site nature trail, a carpool program and a 300-foot long atrium with skylight and over 1,000 indoor plants.
