Alumni News 2008-2009

(please sent updates to louden@wfu.edu, Also love to receive photographs)
Earlier Alumni News can be found at Alumni Updates


Wake v. MSU, Smithsonian


Julian Burroughs


Alan Coverstone


Doug Elam


Jason Gronberg


Hall, Kerry, Gore at Harvard


Jo Chaldler Holcomb


Henry Huff - 1949


Katelyn Sophia Grace


Sarah Ann Prestes


Donny Rich Layne


Junya's Wedding


Cecyle Arnold O'Bryant (right)


George Allen Parker, 1958


Mark Rubinstein



Jennifer Burlingham Wamelink

Wake Debaters featured in Smithsonian Inaugural Program. What should President-elect Barack Obama do in his first 100 days of office? Should he push for universal health care? Intervene in the Israel-Gaza conflict? Put forward legislation to create green jobs? These questions were discussed by some of the nation’s top college debaters at The Inaugural Debate Series that took place Monday, January 19 at the National Museum of Natural History.The event is sponsored by Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in cooperation with the Debate Consortium, a pilot program that partners nationally competitive university. Wake is rpresented by Odile Hoebeika and Rohit Nath who debated Michigan State on Energy policy. The Wake Team was coached by Ross Smith, the event co-sponsored by Tim O'Donnell and Adrienne Brovero, both Wake MA Comm Alumni, who teach at The University of Mary Washington.. See Wake story & Smithsonian Story

Gloria Cabada-Leman (’88) is owner/operator of Carolina Sauce Co., an online retailer of specialty foods with a focus on N.C. products. She recently launched “Operation Sauce Drop”
(carolinasauce.stores.yahoo.net/opsadr.html) to deliver a taste of home to U.S. military
personnel stationed abroad. Military personnel with an APO or FPO address can choose from among seven free gift boxes of hot sauces, BBQ sauce and more.

Julian C. Burroughs ('51), the longtime communication professor who led the growth of radio station WFDD into the modern era and introduced film studies into the curriculum 40 years ago, died May 7 in Winston-Salem. He was 80. Julian attended Wake Forest College after enlisting and serving 13 months in the U.S. Army in Korea. He was student manager of WFDD radio station on the old campus from 1950 to 1951 before earning Master' s and Doctorate degrees at the University of Michigan. His dissertation on educational television at Michigan was one of the pioneering studies in what was then an emerging field.
In 1958, he returned to Wake Forest University as an assistant professor of speech communication and manager of WFDD, which he directed until 1981. Julian was among the station representatives who helped to create National Public Radio in the late 1960s, and WFDD became a charter member of NPR in 1971, the first radio station in North Carolina to do so.
In the 60s and early 70' Julian often helped Franlin Shirley out with the debate team, traveling to many tournaments over the years and helping host tournaments and workshops on campus.. Wake Forest University remberance. WFDD audio story

Scott Burton (’82, JD ’86) has joined the corporate practice group of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP in Atlanta.
Robert Chandler ('86 MA) has been named as Directorof the Nicholson School of Communication,
University of Central Florida. He will oversee a large and growing group of departments.
Alan Coverstone ('91) was elected to the Nashville School Board, winning a five way race in Nashville's District 9. Be sure to check out media interview and campaign webpage
Dr. Richard Frederick Curlee (’64)  Quality is not an act. It is a habit,” said Aristotle. No truer words could be spoken about the late Dr. Richard F. Curlee, who died January 29, 2008 in Tucson, AZ.  Dr. Curlee’s habit of high-quality personal and professional contributions was not happenstance; it was a choice that he made as a student as well as during his long tenure as professor, interim Head and Associate Dean at his beloved University of Arizona. Dr. Curlee received his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Southern California.

He was a natural leader.  Fellow students flocked to him for guidance.” A recipient of the Malcolm Fraser Award from the Stuttering Foundation of America, Dr. Curlee was a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, from which he had also received its highest award. Curlee was well regarded for his early scholarly attempts to apply and/or test the tenets of learning theory relative to stuttering research/treatment.  These ahead-of-their-time scholarly contributions were followed by several textbooks, aptly described by Dr. Ingham as classic, treatises that have stood the test of time in terms of relevance and impact. Dr. Curlee remains, to this day, one of the first to apply “expert system” technology to the diagnosis of early childhood stuttering, another contribution far ahead of its time
Chris DeVault (02') fairly newly minted U. Miami Ph.D and married to Ann, will be an assistant professor in the English Department at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, IA in the fall.
Douglas B. Elam ('48) passed away Aug. 16, 2008. He served in Merchant Marines WWII, founder of Buckhead Brokers, Inc. Real Estate and Buckhead International, commercial Real Estate and Development in Atlanta. He was active with the Urban Debate League in Atlanta. In 1999 Doug sent a rememberance about his debating days at Wake Forest and how they intersected with WWII. Link
Bill Evan ('83) after 20 years as professor of Economics at the University of Maryland is now Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Economics at Notre Dame University in Indiana. His professional career is of note: www: www.nd.edu/~wevans1
Jason Gronberg passed away Nov. 8 at his residence in Locust Grove Virginia at the age of 28 He was an Eagle Scout, a member of Cameron United Methodist Church in Alexandria and a graduate of Thomas Edison High School in Fairfax, and attended Wake Forest University. During high school and college, Jason enjoyed policy debating.

Brad Hall (BA 06, MA '08) continues his work with Al Gore in Nashville, researching, preparing speeches and congressional testimony. Brad is pictured (center back) with John Kerry and Al Gore and at a Harvard Seminar he helped prepare last fall.

Casey Harrigan (MA '08) is the new debate coach at the University of Georgia

The Rt. Rev. Clarence Hobgood (1936), Episcopal Bishop for the Armed Forces, Retired, 93, of Charlotte, NC, died Friday, February 29, 2008 He was a graduate of Wake Forest College, Yale Divinity School and Command and Staff College, Air University. He also studied at Episcopal Theological Seminary, Cambridge, MA and received a Doctorate of Divinity from Episcopal Theological School, Lexington, KY.

He served as Pastor of First Baptist Church, Hertford, NC, Associate Rector of Church of the Good Shepherd and Chaplain, NC State College, Raleigh NC, and Rector of St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, Wilson, NC.

He began his military career as a Chaplain in the U.S. Army Air Corp in the China-Burma-India theater during WWII. He served in the Air Force in Thule, Greenland during the Korean Conflict, and in many other assignments including Senior Chaplain, Headquarters Command, Washington D.C. and Senior Chaplain, USAF Europe, in Weisbaden, Germany. He retired from the Air Force as a colonel, having served as National Chaplain for Civil Air Patrol and Command Chaplain for Strategic Air Command. Among his commendations are the Bronze Star, the Four Chaplains Award for Interfaith Relations and two Meritorious Service Medals.

He was elected Suffragan Bishop for the Armed Forces and consecrated in the National Cathedral in 1971. He oversaw Episcopal chaplains serving in the Armed Services, the Veterans' Administration and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and ministered to Episcopal service personnel and their families worldwide. Following retirement in 1978, he served as visiting Bishop to the Deocese of of North Carolina and Southern Virginia.

Dr. Josephine Chandler Holcomb of Nashville, formerly of Fayetteville, N.C., died Wednesday, May 19, 1999. She was a retired College Admnistrator.
Han Hsiang Hsaio ('07) is working for a retail/trading company called Testrite in Taiwan. In June he will enroll in the Taiwanese Compulsory military services

Henry Blair Huff, 84, of Mars Hill, passed away Saturday, October 25, 2008. He practiced law from 1954 to 1991. Mr. Huff served as president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention in 1975 and was vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1985 and 1986, and taught Sunday school for thirty five years. Henry Huff was a major debaters on one of Wake's golden eras in the late 1940s. Henry visited the 50th NDT when it was held at Wake Forest. Some history at this link

Audrey Johnson ('00, MA '02) and husband DeVante welcomed a new daughter into their lives Katelyn Sophia Grace, April 1, 2008. Audrey lives in Kernnersville and works for Wachovia.
Sara Traigle van Geertruyden ('95) added to her family welcoming 2nd child Joseph Traigle van Geertruyden to the family November 10, 2007. Sara works at Patton Boggs law firm in Washington, DC.
Chris Mills ('00) graduated from Duke law, worked for a law firm in D.C. and now is doing a clerkship with a Federal District Court Judge in Los Angeles. He adventures with, for example, hiking the 900 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Junya Morooka (MA '98) was married in late March 2009 in Japan. (see pic)
Sean Nowak ('98 ) finished law school at Notre Dame, the worked at Latham & Watkins in New York City, where he practiced patent litigation for the past 6+ years.  This coming fall Sean is going to business school at Wharton -- planning on making a transition to venture capital / investing in intellectual property.  This summer he is going to work for a small venture capital fund in Kigali, Rwanda. 

Cecyle Arnold O'Bryant, 79, died on Tuesday, January 6, 2009, at Duke Raleigh Hospital
Cecyle graduated from Wake Forest University, where she was a member of the Debate Team. In 1951, she became one of the first four women ever inducted into the National Forensics honorary, Pi Kappa Delta, at Wake Forest University. She went on to teach English, retiring with over 30 years of service in the Raleigh schools.

Elva Lawrence Hunt, Cecyle Arnold O'Bryant and Ann Kelly Leake were active and successful team participants. Partners Lawrence and Arnold traveled with the team to Pi Kap National in Oklahoma, but only after there was a special effort by Professor Shirley to get permission from Dean Lois Johnson for the girls to leave the campus for the long trip, even though it was a spring vacation week. In 1950 the team combined to win first place Women's negative team at Wingate College's Strawberry Leaf Tournament.

Douglas Osborne, Jr (’71) passed away at age 59 in Eden NC. He was a U.S. Army veteran and a member of First Baptist Church of Leaksville. He was a graduate of Wake Forest University Law School and a past member of several organizations including the Lion's Club, Fraternal Order of Police, American Bar Association, and the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity.
Dr. Ed Panetta (M.A. '85) is the debate coach at the University of Georgia.  He recently received the Coach of the Year Award, and his top squad won last year’s Copeland Award.  This school year marks his twentieth year as UGA’s debate coach, and to celebrate, Georgia debate alumni recently endowed the Ed Panetta Permanent Debate Fund, which will help ensure the long-term viability of intercollegiate debate at UGA.  Upon his arrival in Athens, Ed took over a program that was not competitive with other national collegiate debate programs and he quickly brought it to national prominence.
George Allen Parker (60) passed away December 16, 2008 in Rockwell, MD. He debated on the 1958059 team.
Brian Prestes ('97) and wife Amy welcomed into their family Sarah Ann Prestes, born Jan 5, 2008. 
Mark Rubinstein (MA) is living in Hong Kong where he lawyers with Lehman Brothers. Mark has spent the last 11 years in Asia -- 3 in Korea, 4 in Hong Kong, 3 in Japan and now 1 in Hong Kong.
  Donny Layne Rich Sheridan ('78) is has a large real estate agency in Ogden Utah, a beautiful area just north of Salt Lake City. www.laynesheridan.com
  Shane Stafford (MA '89) will be teaching and coaching position at the Blake School in Minneapolis
  Jennifer Burlingham Wamelink ('92) works as Asst. Director of Housing n at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
  Mark Yopp ('01) will marry Laura Millendorf at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, NY on May 13, 2008
Pictures from the 2008 Alumni Gathering, April 2008 (Click for full Album)
Alumni2008FriReception
Alumni2008PublicDebateEvent
Alumni2008Banquet
Alumni2008Brunch