Beyond Vassar

Vassar People

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Serge J-F. Levy ’95, a photojournalist, and Mary Beth Caschetta ’88, a writer, have been awarded the Vassar W. K. Rose Fellowship in the Creative Arts 2000. Levy’s work has been featured in Life, Harper’s, the Italian edition of Marie Claire, and other national publications. Caschetta is the author of Lucy on the West Coast and Other Short Lesbian Fiction, a work that was favorably reviewed in the November/December 1996 issue of Ms. magazine.

At a special ceremony at the National Air and Space Museum last May the Smithsonian Institution presented the 2000 James Smithson Society Founders Medal to Gloria Shaw Hamilton ’41. The award is given to those whose committed service, strong leadership skills, and generous support have benefited the Smithsonian. Shaw has volunteered her time, talents, and resources to the Smithsonian for over 20 years.

Rick Shenkman ’76 has been named managing editor of the new Internet magazine, Tom Paine.com (www.tompaine.com). Shenkman’s most recent book, Presidential Ambition, was published last year by HarperCollins. Shenkman, who has also authored Lies, Legends, and Cherished Myths of American History and One Night Stands with American History, is an adjunct lecturer in journalism at American University.

Nancy Alderman Ransom ’50 was honored as a Woman of Achievement by the Young Women’s Christian Association of Nashville and Middle Tennessee’s Academy for Women of Achievement. Ransom founded the Women’s Center at Vanderbilt University in 1978, served as a lecturer in sociology and women’s studies, has presented numerous academic papers on the topic of sociology and women, and sits on the boards of 14 community and professional organizations in Nashville, Tennessee. She earned her master’s in teaching and her doctorate in education, both from Vanderbilt University.

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Come to Leave, a one-act play written by Allison Eve Zell ’93, starred Lethia Nall ’95 as a Vassar student who, nearing graduation, contemplates her father’s death in a car crash four years earlier after driving her to Vassar to begin her freshman year. The play was performed in New York City and received a favorable review in the August 8 , 2000 issue of the New York Times.

The Consul General of Finland, Maija Lahteenmaki, recently presented Jane Fiske Thompson ’47 and her husband, Benjamin, with the Knight One Class of the Order of the Lion of Finland—Finland’s highest non-military honor. It is the first time the honor has been bestowed on a couple. Thompson, through his Design Research store, was the first to bring products of Finnish design such as teak furniture, glassware, and Marimekko fabrics to the United States in the late 1950s. Prior to marrying her husband and joining him in business ventures, Fiske Thompson had promoted Finnish design through the magazine she edited—Industrial Designs magazine.

Lurita Doan ’79 was featured in the July 28, 2000, edition of the Washington Business Journal. Doan owns and operates New Technology Management Inc. (NTMI), a company that installs, manages, and does systems integration for the monitoring systems used by the U. S. Border Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard. The company employs 148 people, has $3 million in cash reserve, and earns $25 million in annual revenue.

Ken Levine ’88 was one of several video game designers featured in the July 17, 2000, edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Levine is majority owner of Irrational Games located in Boston, Massachusetts. The company is developing two video game titles with seven-figure production budgets.

Marian Gray Secundy ’60, has been appointed director of the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care. Secundy will administer six program areas designed to reduce racial disparities in medical treatment, advance a more sensitive and effective healthcare ecosystem, and educate and train greater numbers of African American bioethicists.