Union Alumni in the News 01/14/2015
Congratulations to Union Institute & University’s alumni in the news. Thousands of Union alumni have generously transformed lives and bettered communities across the country. Do you have a story to share? Tell us about your recent accomplishments.
On January 2
3, 2015, Raymond J. Petras (Ph.D. 1994) will be presenting “The Psychology of a Sports Injury” as part of the Pre-Super Bowl XLIX Symposium and Sports Health & Performance Symposium in Peoria, Arizona. Dr. Petras specializes in athletic performance, injury/pain management, and hypnosis.
Criminal justice management alumnus Donn G. Peterson (B.S. 2013) was sworn in as Humboldt State University’s new Chief of Police on January 5, 2015 in Arcata, California. He brings 29 years of law enforcement experience, including 12 years of command-level work in both large metropolitan areas and college campus enforcement services. Before joining HSU, Peterson served as Major for the Broward Sheriff’s Office in South Florida.
Alumna Joanna Hulton (Ph.D. 1998) has dedicated herself for the past 30 years, as a teacher, workshop leader, and practicing psychoanalyst. She is committed to improving children’s self-esteem, feelings of personal efficacy, and ability to learn by transforming the role of family, school, and community. Union Institute & University’s commitment to “explore ideas and issues from multiple perspectives” inspired her interdisciplinary approach. Dr. Hulton recently authored the insightful Parent Fatigue Syndrome: What to do When Conventional Wisdom is Not Very Wise. The book combines the knowledge of how children develop emotionally and intellectually, the newest research in infant brain-development, and the humanistic psychoanalytic principles of Heinz Kohut’s Self Psychology.
Criminal justice management alumnus Tim Mattos graduated in December 2014, and was sworn in as Suisun City, California Police Chief on January 6, 2015! Mattos was promoted from his previous position as Operations Commander, which he held since 2008. He has been in the criminal justice field for 25 years, serving Northern California communities in a variety of roles including police officer, investigator, corporal and sergeant.
Did you know that the City of Miami Chief of Police is a Union alumnus? Manuel Orosa graduated in 2012 with a B.S. in Criminal Justice Management. He is retiring from his post as Chief of Police soon, ending a 34-year-career in criminal justice in Miami. During that time, Orosa opened channels of communication with the community; hosted breakfasts with black clergy to try to repair long tattered relationships; he welcomed input by all Miami residents on the policing of their neighborhoods and managed to reduce crime every year as chief. Click here to learn more about Orosa’s career.
Alumna Lisa Clark (M.A. 2006) has been promoted to dean of online programs at The University of Northwestern Ohio. She will be responsible for curriculum, staffing and student issues within the online programs offered at UNOH. Clark has taught general education courses, served as a facilitator for several departments, and most recently served as assistant dean of the colleges of business, health professions and occupational professions.
Alumnus Joe Resnick (Ph.D. 2001) is the developer of oil spill cleaning products containing beeswax, named bio-boom and bio-sok. He is currently at the University of Malaysia’s Institute of Marine Biotechnology, working on a new generation of bioremediation products. His oil spill cleanup solutions have been featured on The History Channel show Modern Marvels and in 2014 Dr. Resnick was nominated for the St. Andrews Prize for the Environment.
Alumna, poet, critic, journalist, and teacher Nancy Shiffrin (Ph.D. 1994) will be reading from her work The Vast Unknowing on Saturday January 17, 2015 at the Santa Catalina Branch Pasadena Library. In addition to writing books, she has written for the Los Angeles Times, The Advocate, Canadian Jewish Outlook, Women and Judaism and poetix.net. Dr. Shiffrin’s work has earned recognition from The Academy of American Poets, The Alice Jackson Foundation, The Poetry Society of America, The Pushcart Prizes, and The Dora Teitelbaum Foundation. Through her literary arts consultancy Creative Writing Services, she helps aspiring writers. Dr. Shiffrin chose to study Jewish American authors as part of her Ph.D. program at Union
Alumnus Mike Brooks, was recently named president and CEO of Ann Arbor-based Busch’s Fresh Food Market, a grocery store chain with 15 locations. Brooks earned his BA with a concentration in Business Administration from Union in 2001. Before joining Busch’s he served as president and COO of iControl, a SaaS technology company based in Burtonsville, Maryland.
Recent grad E. Sepulveda Rodriguez (Ph.D. 2014), has been selected to participate in the Colorado Binational Teacher Exchange Program in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. Dr. Rodriguez is excited about the exchange program as the experience will help him better serve Colorado’s migrant students and families.
Congrats to alumnus Randy Danielsen (Ph.D. 2003) who recently received an Award of Appreciation from Logan University in Chesterfield, Missouri. Dr. Danielsen was honored for his commitment to excellence in education and integrated healthcare. He currently serves as dean and professor emeritus at A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Health Sciences.
Union Institute & University had a strong presence at the December 2014 Teaching Strategies Symposium in Kingston, Jamaica. The Prime Minister and esteemed Union alumna, the honorable Portia Simpson Miller (B.A. 1997) presided over the event. Union faculty Dr. Tom Frederick and Frank Scala delivered presentations and university representatives hosted workshops and met with the minister of education.
Congrats to alumnus George A. Pruitt (Ph.D. 1974), who earned the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJLM) 14th annual Distinguished Public Service Award. Dr. Pruitt has served as the president of Thomas Edison State College for 32 years. This award recognizes his public service and commitment to higher education.
Congratulations to alumnus John Fraire, (Ph.D. 2012) who has been named Portland State University’s new vice president for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. Dr. Fraire is a 35-year leader in higher education. Before joining Portland State, his career included work at Washington State, Truman State University in Missouri, Western Michigan University, Brooklyn College/City University of New York, Pace University, Chicago community colleges, and Harvard University.
Union alumnus Don Brady (Ph.D. 2004) was interviewed on ESPN radio WSKO 1260AM in Syracuse in December 2014. Dr. Brady discussed sports-related concussions and brain injuries, which was also the topic of his Ph.D. dissertation at Union. In addition to his extensive research on concussions, he also works in a variety of specialties including clinical psychology, school psychology, marriage and family therapy, and substance abuse counseling.
Union alumnus and founder of AgeWave Ken Dychtwald (Ph.D. 1976) published an interesting article about Alzheimer’s in the Huffington Post. Click here to read what his concerns are about this disease, and why it is considered the scariest disabling condition in later life.