University of Utah Alumni Association e-newsletter, U-News & Views, April 2006

Linda Bonar BA’76 MA’80 has joined The Leonardo at Library Square, where she will oversee major gifts as part of the organization's development effort. Bonar has 22 years of experience in the nonprofit sector.

Chris Burbank MBA’89, former Salt Lake City Police Department assistant chief, took over as chief when Rick Dinse retired March 31. Burbank, selected over two other candidates by Mayor Rocky Anderson, said he wants to continue the programs Dinse established while also focusing on Internet crime and identity theft, two areas that have traditionally been under the purview of the FBI.

Shannon Hale BA’98 has received the prestigious Newbery Honor Award for her third book, Princess Academy. Hale, the 32-year-old mother of a 2-year-old, has written three children's books in the past three years: The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, and Princess Academy. Hale says her favorite fairy tale was always “The Goose Girl” by the Brothers Grimm. The original tale is very short, but she expanded it into her lively first book. Her fourth book, River Secrets, is forthcoming in September; all are published by Bloomsbury Press in New York City.

Spencer Jenkins BS’00 BS’02 left his position as Utah Republican Party director to join the state Office of Information Technology after two tumultuous years running GOP day-to-day operations. Jenkins had previously worked on the staff of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee and in 2003, managed the unsuccessful Salt Lake City mayoral campaign of Frank Pignanelli, a Democrat, running in the officially nonpartisan race. AM

Gary L. McArthur BA’83 has been appointed vice president and chief financial officer of Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries. A Certified Public Accountant, McArthur joined Harris in 1997. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business. McArthur joined Harris in 1997 as director-Corporate Development and was promoted to vice president-Corporate Development in 2000. During the following five years he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, venture capital investments, product line management initiatives, and restructuring actions. In 2005 he was named vice president-Finance and treasurer, with responsibility for division controllers and their organizations as well as the treasury and tax functions.

Patricia Anne Murphy BS’88 checked in this month to let friends and former classmates know she is currently working at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. (as an office assistant in Pharmaceutical Sciences) and “busy being grandma.” Patty can be reached at slenderbells@wsu.edu.

Emile C. Netzhammer III MS’84 PhD’87, dean of arts and humanities at Buffalo State College of the State University of New York, has been named the first provost of Keene State College in Keene, N.H., after a national search. In the position, Netzhammer will lead Keene State's academic program and also serve as KSC's second-highest-ranking administrator, under President Helen Giles-Gee. His appointment will begin July 1.

Mark T. Nielsen BS’83 MS’89 was selected by students at the U of U’s LDS Institute of Religion for their second-annual Excellence in Education Award, honoring him at a luncheon ceremony on March 21 at the Institute Atrium. Nielsen teaches several courses on human anatomy. The goal of the Excellence in Education Award is to recognize a U professor who exemplifies teaching, mentoring and supporting students in achieving their academic and personal goals.

Lisa R. Petersen HBA’93 JD’96 has been named shareholder in the law firm of Parsons Kinghorn Harris. Petersen's practice focuses on commercial litigation, contract disputes and employment matters. She is a former chairwoman of the Labor and Employment section of the Utah State Bar.

Sandra Phillips BS’69 and her business partner, cleaning expert Don Aslett, recently advanced to the final round of ABC’s new reality show American Inventor, a brainchild of American Idol’s Simon Cowell. Phillips is also a featured home economist on HGTV’s (Home and Garden Channel) Smart Solutions program, has presented of lectures on parenting and organization in numerous countries, and has authored numerous articles and partnered with Aslett in writing the book How Successful People Keep Their Lives Out of the Toilet.

Marty Schimpf PhD’87 has been named the new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Boise State University, effective March 6. He most recently served as the interim dean of the college. After several years in industry, Schimpf joined Boise State in 1990 and became a full professor in 1998. He served as chairman of the chemistry department before becoming the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 2001. His research has been funded by the U.S. departments of energy, defense and agriculture; the National Science Foundation; the National Institutes of Health; and several private foundations.

Gregory W. Seibt BS’97 JD’01 has joined Greenberg Traurig Phoenix (Ariz.) as an associate. His practice focuses on commercial and construction litigation, appellate advocacy and alternative dispute resolution in Arizona's state and federal courts. Seibt also helps businesses, financial institutions, and individuals with issues related to contract, business torts, major collections, and general commercial matters.

Stephen C. Sheppard BS’77, professor of economics at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., is authoring the new study “The Causes and Consequences of Urban Expansion.” Among his observations, Sheppard notes that while increase of income doesn't often figure into public and political discussions about sprawl, as people's incomes go up, they buy more land and larger houses, which expands the urban footprint even if the population remains constant. Once the study is completed (the final report is due in October 2007), Sheppard wants to bring together representatives of the cities studied to work on answers that might help everyone. “Very useful lessons could be learned by bringing policy makers from the five to 10 best-performing cities and the five to 10 worst-performing cities together to exchange ideas," he says. Interim results and data produced by the research are available on the Web at www.williams.edu/Economics/UrbanGrowth/HomePage.htm

Jody Stock BS’95 has been promoted to associate in the San Francisco office of architecture firm Architectural Resources Group (ARG). An architectural historian, Stock researches and conducts historic structure reports, historic resource surveys, building assessments, and evaluations for environmental review.

Paul Summers BS’74, P.E, received the 2006 Engineer of the Year Award from the Utah Engineers Council. The award recognizes Summers’ many significant contributions to the engineering profession and to the state of Utah during his 38-year career. Summers spent 25 years with the State of Utah working in the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and with the Division of Water Resources (DWR). In 1987, he joined the engineering firm of JM Montgomery, now Montgomery Watson Harza (MWH), where he is now vice president and works with major water conservancy districts within the state of Utah to develop water resources projects.

Paul Warenski BS’86 has been named senior vice president and general counsel for Intravare, Inc., a leading provider of electronic software and license delivery and management solutions. Warenski joins Intraware from Commerce One, Inc., where as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, he managed and negotiated Commerce One's divestiture of assets, including the sale of the company's software operations and patent portfolio, and advised the board and senior management on legal matters for five years.