1980s
Tessie Che, PhD’80, was named to the board of directors for Stellar Biotechnologies. Jerzy Weyman, PhD’80, left Northeastern University to become the Stuart and Joan Sidney Endowed Professor of Mathematics at the University of Connecticut. His research is in theoretical mathematics, particularly abstract algebra. Michael Hunter, Heller MMHS’82, is the executive director of the Massachusetts Office of Business Development. He earlier served in the administration of Gov. Deval Patrick as undersecretary for business development at the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. Acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Theresa Rebeck, MA’83, MFA’86, PhD’89, is serving as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Playwriting at the University of Houston’s School of Theatre and Dance. Stephen White, Heller PhD’85, was named chair of the board of trustees for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. In 2002, Stephen’s daughter died of pulmonary hypertension, a disease of the lungs that can lead to heart failure. Gayle Keller, MFA’86, an independent casting director who has worked in television and film in New York City for the past 20 years, was nominated for an Emmy Award. She was tapped for casting the fourth season of the FX series “Louie,” which stars comedian Louis C.K. Alan Taylor, PhD’86, joined the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia as the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Chair. In 2014, he won his second Pulitzer Prize in history, capturing honors for “The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832” (see story on page 32). The book, which chronicles how slaves assisted the British during the War of 1812, was dubbed by the Pulitzer committee “a meticulous and insightful account of why runaway slaves in the Colonial era were drawn to the British side as potential liberators.” In 1996, Alan received a Pulitzer for “William Cooper’s Town: Power and Persuasion on the Frontier of the Early American Republic.” Marc Gopin, MA’88, PhD’93, is the director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, and the James H. Laue Professor in the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. He is also co-owner of a peace tourism business that embraces the multiple narratives of indigenous peoples. Ha Jin, MA’89, PhD’93, H’05, the author of nearly 20 books, including the highly acclaimed novels “Waiting” and “War Trash,” was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a professor of creative writing at Boston University. Ted Steinberg, PhD’89, a professor of history and law at Case Western Reserve University, wrote “Gotham Unbound: The Ecological History of Greater New York.”