Reflections Magazine Issue #71 - Spring 2010 | Page 24

Alumni News—Class Notes

class notes
From The Sites

SHU—Online

SHU—Benton Harbor

Darric Roesler ’08 was elected to a four-year
term on the Montague (Mich.) City Council on Nov.
3, 2009.

Ronald Murdock ’02 married Lisa Swets Aug. 8,
2009. The couple resides in South Bend, Ind.

SHU—Lansing
Lee Ritter ’04 is currently serving overseas with
the U.S. Air Force’s Air National Guard. He resides
in Hilliard, Ohio.
Erin Buitendorp ’05 is completing her final
semester of the graduate program in counseling
education at Western Michigan University. She is
employed with WMU’s Lansing site at Lansing
Community College. She and her husband, Paul
Wozniak ’07, reside in Lansing, Mich

SHU—Southfield
Michael Bennett ’80 was
reelected mayor of Aberdeen,
Md., on Nov. 3, 2009. Bennett,
a Vietnam War veteran, is a
retired lieutenant with the
Maryland State Police. He still
serves the MSP as the civilian
director of the Electronic
Systems Division, and is beginning his 38th year
with the MSP. He is a life member of the Aberdeen
Fire Department, formerly serving as chief, and
also serves as the co-chair of the Local Government
Service Committee to the BRAC Sub-Cabinet chaired
by Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown. He and his
wife, Elaine, have one grown daughter.
Sheila Thomas ’89 is retired from Wayne State
University after working as a nurse for 34 years. She
currently volunteers as a tutor for children in Detroit
Public Schools.
Randy Walker ’02 was elected to a two-year
term as mayor of Garden City, Mich., on Nov. 3,
2009. Walker is employed as a manager at the Ford
Motor Co. and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He
served as a reserve officer for the Garden City Police
Department from 1997-2003.
Robert Ginther ’06 was sworn in as the new
public safety officer for the city of Farmington,
Mich., Oct. 19, 2009. Ginther previously worked
at the Lake Angelus and Beverly Hills police/public
safety departments and has police, fire and medical
first responder certifications. He currently serves on
the teaching staff at Oakland Community College
and at the County Combined Regional Emergency
Services Training center. Ginther is also a member
of the Oakland Community Medical Authority.

24

Reflections Spring ’10

Main Campus

Dr. Knight’s expertise is primarily in the area of
development and math method courses to undergraduates and curriculum courses to graduate
students. She is extensively published, including
recently in the Teacher College Record published
by Columbia University. She has also presented on
issues of education around the world.

1940s

1970s

Former Alumni Award winner Frances Bock
Nowakowski ’48 returned to Siena Heights Aug.
21, 2009, to thank her teacher and mentor, Sister
Marie Bentz, OP, ’42 (photo below). Sister
Marie, who is now living in Maria Hall of the Dominican Life Center, taught and guided Nowakowski—
the only math major in her class—through Siena’s
rigorous math program from 1944-48. Nowakowski
retired from a long career as a math teacher from
Memphis (Tenn.) Public Schools and credits Sister
Marie for her professional teaching skills. She and
her husband, Aloysius, reside in Emmett, Mich.,
and spend their winters in Ft. Myers Beach, Fla.
During her visit Nowakowski said she appreciated
all the changes that have happened on campus
and “will always be grateful to Sister Marie and
her other friends at Siena Heights.”.

Sister Judith Benkert, OP, ’71 is a faculty member at the University of California-San Francisco
School of Medicine in its Certified Nurse-Midwifery
Education Master’s Program. Last spring she and a
group of students spent two weeks in Guatemala
working with midwives and meeting with more
than 90 women in various stages of pregnancy.
Sister Benkert was elected chapter prioress of the
Dominican West Mission Chapter March 14, 2009.

1960s
Mary Alice Komar ’67 is now self-employed as
an artist/photographer. She also hopes to soon
begin canvas work with oils and pastels. She enjoys
horses and raises hay. She resides in Ossineke, Mich.
Sandra Kotulis ’67 was named the Outstanding
Faculty Member for the downriver campus of the
Wayne County Community College District. She is
a professor in the biology department. She retired
after 30 years as a teacher at St. Alfred School in
Taylor. She was also named the Walmart Teacher
of the Year in Taylor.
Dr. Eileen Quinn Knight ’69 was recently chosen
the chair of the Golden Apple Selection Committee
for 2010-11. The Golden Apple Foundation awards
10 sabbaticals to high school teachers in Illinois
for work in teaching at Northwestern University.
She is professor in the School of Education at St.
Xavier University in Illinois and has taught both
undergraduate and graduate courses for 24 years.

Mary Phillips ’71 has some of her recent artwork
on exh X