Avis Lundberg Goodwin (SMG’41) of York Harbor, Maine, has had a long and successful career in health and human services. She was director of social services at Wentworth Douglas Hospital in Dover, N.H., until her retirement in 1985. She founded the first prenatal clinic in the Dover area, in 1969. In recognition of her long-standing commitment to the clinic, it was renamed he Avis Goodwin Community Health Center. Today, the clinic provides primary health care, dental care, mental health services, chronic disease management, and nutrition and health education.

Alan E. Goldsmith (SMG’47) of Montgomery, Ala., has published the novel Candle in a Glass (Xlibris, 2008).

George Michaels (LAW’48) of Naples, Fla., was awarded the Legion d’Honneur by French president Nicolas Sarkozy for his contribution as a combat infantryman in France during World War II. George is a past recipient of the School of Law’s Silver Shingle Award and a member of LAW’s Owen D. Young Society, which recognizes donors who have contributed more than $50,000 in their lifetime. He and his wife, Madeleine, established the Michaels Faculty Research Foundation at LAW several years ago. E-mail George at gemichaels@gmail.com.

Janet Moreau Stone (SAR’51) of Barrington, R.I., traveled to Beijing in August as the interfaith chaplain to the U.S. Olympic team. Janet was Rhode Island’s first Olympic gold medal winner, taking first place as part of the women’s 4x100 relay team in the 1952 Helsinki games.

Donald Howard (CGS’52, COM’54) of New Bedford, Mass., was honored last fall by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he worked for more than 40 years. During the event, the university dedicated the Donald C. Howard Student Leadership Wall, which displays photos of Howard with a variety of political leaders. Howard, retired dean of students, was hailed for his mentorship of thousands of students. He also received an honorary degree from the university in May 2008.

Robert M. Blais (DGE’56, COM’58) of Lake George, N.Y., has completed his eighth term as mayor of Lake George. His 40 years in office make him one of the longest-serving mayors in the state. Robert writes that during his years as mayor, the resort has received five New York State Local Government Awards for creative projects. The village’s lakefront walkway is named Blais Park in his honor.

Patricia Kilroy Donahoe (SAR’58) of Boston, Mass., a pediatric surgeon, the Marshall K. Bartlett Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and a longtime member of the BU Board of Trustees, was honored in the American College of Surgeons’ Owen H. Wangensteen Surgical Forum Program at the group’s annual clinical conference. The 2008 issue of the ACS journal Surgical Forum was dedicated to Patricia, the first woman to receive that distinction. She was recognized for her outstanding surgical and scientific career, her research productivity, her mentoring of surgical research trainees, and her commitment to teaching.

Donald F. Megnin (STH’60) of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., published the final book of his historical fiction trilogy, The Struggle to Survive (Xlibris, 2008). He is working on a two-part autobiography.

Bill Hennessey (SMG’61) of Morgantown, W.Va., has been executive director of the Foundation of Monongalia General Hospital since 1990. He recently raised $13.3 million for the hospital’s capital campaign to fund a $92 million expansion and renovation project. E-mail Bill at HennesseyB@monhealthsys.org.

Kathleen (Bready) Pellegrino (ENG’62) of Springfield, Mass., is principal of the firm LivingStone, L.L.C. This past November, she and her husband, Joseph, starred in a production of A. R. Gurney’s Love Letters for Panache Productions, a nonprofit theater company. Contact Kathleen at kpellegrino@livingstonellc.com.

Norman H. Finkelstein (SED’63,’64,’83) of Framingham, Mass., published Three Across: The Great Transatlantic Air Race of 1927 (Calkins Creek, 2008), a young-adult history of Charles Lindbergh’s race against two rivals to complete the first transatlantic flight. Norman is the author of 16 nonfiction books for young readers, 2 of which have won the National Jewish Book Award.

Curtis L. Carter (STH’63, GRS’71) of River Hills, Wis., a professor of aesthetics at Marquette University and its Les Aspin Center for Government, was featured in the September 11, 2008, issue of Beijing Review magazine. Curtis has in recent years focused his attention on China, giving lectures on aesthetics and contemporary art at China’s universities and publishing essays in academic journals.

Harvey Morse (SMG’63) of South Daytona, Fla., was featured in a story in the Wall Street Journal on February 21, 2007. His firm, Harvey E. Morse, P.A., locates missing, unknown, and unidentified heirs to estates. Visit www.probate.com. 

Richard Deats (GRS’64, STH’64) of Nyack, N.Y., published Marked for Life: The Story of Hildegard Goss-Mayr (New City Press, 2009), about Austrian theologian and activist Goss-Mayr, who has taught the philosophy and practice of nonviolence for more than a half century.

Daniel Tokar (ENG’64, GSM’64) of Prescott, Ariz., is keeping busy in retirement. He is a trainer for Northern Arizona SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and serves on the boards of the city’s Industrial Development Authority and its Community Center. E-mail him at pettittokar@netscape.net.

Barbara Lapidus Birenbaum (SED’65) of Clearwater, Fla., received a Best Children’s Nonfiction Award from the Florida Publishers Association for her book Groundhog Willie’s Shadow (Peartree, 2006). Her 14th and newest book, Amber’s Daschund Antics (Peartree, 2008) was nominated for the ASPCA Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award. Visit www.peartreebooks.com.

Alan J. Cushner (LAW’65) of Boynton Beach, Fla., published Under Nuclear Attack (CreateSpace, 2008), a thriller featuring a Boston University professor and retired CIA analyst who is called back into service to thwart a nuclear attack.

Shirley Laska (COM’66) of New Orleans, La., received the American Sociological Association’s Award for the Public Understanding of Sociology at the association’s annual meeting in Boston last August. Shirley, a professor of sociology and director of the Center for Hazards Assessment, Response, and Technology at the University of New Orleans, was honored for her role as a disaster, community, and environmental sociologist during the post–Hurricane Katrina period.

Steve Newman (DGE’63, CAS’66) of Charlotte, N.C., received the Bettie Dibrell Lifetime Achievement Award for Substance Abuse Advocacy, Education, and Prevention at the 50th anniversary lunch of the Anuvia Prevention and Recovery Center in Charlotte.

Andy Plotkin (DGE’67, CAS’69, COM’71, GRS’77) of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Philip Fishman (CGS’68) of Boca Raton, Fla., cofounded Advanced Biographies, which offers writing seminars and memoir-writing services. They are writing the memoirs of a prominent Palm Beach County physician. Contact Andy at aplotkin@bellsouth.net.

David Sterritt (CAS’67) of Ojai, Calif., coedited The B List: The National Society of Film Critics on the Low-Budget Beauties, Genre-Bending Mavericks, and Cult Classics We Love (Da Capo Press, 2008). David, a film professor at Columbia University, is chairman of the National Society of Film Critics.

Edward Kazanjian (ENG’68) of Belmont, Mass., retired as assistant superintendent for business and finance for the Westwood Public Schools. He and his wife, Mary, celebrated their 40th anniversary in November. BU runs in the family: his daughter, Karen Kazanjian Lilla (COM’95) and son-in-law, Paul Lilla (SED’95), are alums. E-mail Edward at eakazanjian@verizon.net.

David Lee Kirkland (CAS’68) of Saint Charles, Mo., published The Yesteryear Tales (High Hill Press, 2008), a collection of short stories praised by writers Fred Chappell and Dusty Richards and reviewed in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. E-mail him at kirk@davidleekirkland.com.

John B. Branson (SED’69) of Port Alsworth, Alaska, a National Park Service historian at Lake Clark National Park and Reserve, published The Canneries, Cabins, and Caches of Bristol Bay, Alaska (United States Department of the Interior, 2007).

David Hollowell (ENG’69,’72, GSM’74) of Wolfeboro, N.H., retired from the University of Delaware, where he was executive vice president and treasurer. He received the university’s Medal of Distinction in recognition of 20 years of service. David, who is president-elect of the Boston University Alumni Association, is doing consulting. E-mail him at daveh@udel.edu.

Robert E. Jalette (ENG’69) of Orange, Conn., a retired member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is a construction manager with Southern Connecticut Gas Company and chairman of the Northeast Gas Association’s Gas Operations School. Contact him at jalettefamily@hotmail.com.