Alumni Digest

1970s

Douglas C. Jennings (BS 72) was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association's Hall of Fame.

Patrick Kerr (BA 75) was selected as one of 32 finalists for the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching in February by the Golden Apple Foundation in Chicago. Kerr currently teaches at Grayslake High School in Grayslake, Illinois.

The Rev. Fr. George C. Michalek (BA 73) celebrated his 25th Ordination Anniversary in October at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Morrice, Michigan, and at St. Mary's Cathedral in Lansing. He currently serves the Diocese of Lansing's Marriage Tribunal Office as a judge in canon law.

Lawrence Redd (PhD 74) has been appointed associate dean at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas.

1980s

Sister Linda Bevilacqua (PhD 80) has been appointed president of Barry University in Florida. She will assume the new position on July 1. She currently serves as president of Gwynedd-Mercy College in Pennsylvania.

Rogill Clute (BA 85) was honored as WalMart Teacher of the Year, a regional honor bestowed by participating WalMart stores. Clute, who teaches English at Thunder Bay Junior High School in Alpena, received $1,000 for her classroom.

Mark Forbush (BA 86/MA 89) was honored as Agriscience Educator of the Year by the Michigan Farm Bureau in December. Forbush teaches at Corunna (Michigan) High School.

Margaret Holtschlag (MA 87) was featured in an article in the Lansing State Journal about teachers using NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit to teach students about space exploration and geology.

Lonnie Mitchell (BA 83/MA 02) was recently honored with the Excellence in Education Award from Eastern Michigan University. Mitchell is chairman of the mathematics department at Chelsea (Michigan) High School.

Richard Zollinger (PhD 89) was recently appointed senior director for development in the L. C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University. Prior to joining Syracuse, Zollinger had been a founding partner of The Funding Factor, Inc.

1990s

Leah Barnett (BA 91) was selected as one of only 100 teachers nationally to receive the Milken National Educator Award, dubbed the "Oscars of teaching." Barnett chairs the language arts department at Kimball High School in Royal Oak, Michigan. She received a $25,000 cash award.

Tara Fry (MA 90/EDS 98) was acknowledged in Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm's 2004 State of the State address to the state Legislature. Fry was highlighted for her leadership as principal of Fairview Elementary School in Lansing. The school had failed to make adequate progress on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) tests. But under Fry's leadership, the school has made adequate progress for the past three consecutive years.

Rudy Hobbs (BA 98/MA 02) has been selected to participate in the Michigan Political Leadership Program (MPLP), administered by the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at MSU.

2000s

Sian Beilock (PhD 03) received the Young Investigator Award from the International Society of Sport Psychology.

Shannon Burton (MA 02) has joined the MSU School of Criminal Justice as an academic advisor.

Karen Klumpp (PhD 03) has been appointed associate provost at Alma (Michigan) College.

David A. Sam (PhD 02) has been appointed vice president for academic affairs at Pensacola (Florida) Junior College.

Kinesiology Alumnus Brings Order to Food and Health in New Book

Alumnus Chris Johnson (MS 89) wakes up every day and can't wait to talk about food and nutrition. It's his passion in life, and the fitness expert has been doing it for years in seminars and with individual clients at the Michigan Athletic Club (mac) in East Lansing.

Now, Johnson has another way of communicating his ideas of eating right with the publication of his book, Meal Patterning: Developing Healthy Nutritional Patterns for a Lifetime.

"There is just such a lack of knowledge that exists about nutrition and food," says Johnson, who received his degree in kinesiology. "So I wrote the book exactly like I teach my classes. I start the book by giving people basic information about food and nutrition and then I go step by step and actually show people how to take that information and put it on the plate, so to speak.

"I just feel that there are all these diets on the market, but nobody seems to know how to eat."

Meal patterning may sound fancy or complicated, he says, but it's actually a simple concept of developing good habits when it comes to eating. There is food that is healthful and there is food that will do you harm.

Johnson makes that case in the book that if you are not eating the right foods, you are doing yourself a disservice. Johnson emphasizes the unrefined, natural foods that range from leafy greens and broccoli to almonds and walnuts. He also recommends people eat five or six small meals or snacks throughout the day.

The key, Johnson says, is to start slowly and make small changes, and before you know it those good eating patterns will become healthful habits.

"It's like brushing your teeth," Johnson says. "It's not something that requires a great deal of thought. You just do it. The same thing happens nutritionally. You start developing some good habits, and after a while you don't even think about them anymore. It just naturally happens."