Alumni News - July 2010

Raymond Petras, Ph.D. 1994
Dr. Raymond Petras Petras earned a Ph.D. from Union Institute & University in 1994, studying sports psychology and non-invasive pain management. Today, he runs a successful pain management and performance psychology consulting business in Scottsdale, Arizona, and has trademarked his technique, called “Taking Away Pain” or TAP. Read our full profile of Dr. Petras.

Ed Valenzuela, Ph.D. 1977
This is the second story featured as part of our series highlighting selections from the book Measures of Enduring Excellence. The book, published by UI&U alum Dr. Steven Swerdfeger, includes personal narratives written by UI&U graduates.

Corey Brant, B.S. 2008 and Corey Morgan, B.S. 2009
Sacramento Police Department Honors UI&U Graduates Corey Brant and Corey Morgan
Corey Morgan Officers Corey Morgan and Corey Brant, who both earned their bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice management at the UI&U Sacramento Center, were each recently honored with the Distinguished Service Award from the Sacramento Police Department for their dedicated and valuable service to the police department.

Officer Morgan was honored for his work in the reduction of residential burglaries in North Sacramento. Within a three-week period, he helped make several arrests and developed contacts with a neighborhood business where much of the stolen property was being sold.

Additionally, Morgan, along with a fellow Sacramento police officer, conducted follow-up on burglary reports in the Natomas area as plain-clothed officers.  “Their efforts on this project not only reduced burglaries in the Natomas area, but helped reduce burglaries by 30 percent in the entire North area for the first half of the year,” said the Sacramento Police Department in a statement to the public.

Officer Corey Brant was recognized for his contributions to the Mobile Data Computer Information Technology (IT) Sustainment Team. Working since 2007 as the IT liaison between the department’s patrol, communications, records, and public safety IT, Brant’s efforts in 2009 resulted in major improvements in police business processes, training, information gathering, and collaborating with outside agencies.

Corey Brant Brant worked directly with the Patrol Division to configure, develop, train, and implement the Mobile Report Entry software upgrade used by officers and sergeants in the field. He also worked with the command staff at the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department to streamline the jail booking process and helped reduce the department’s budget by $15,000 per year. Brant also played an instrumental role in the department’s implementation of the new County Web Known Persons File.  And, in 2009, his work on the Vehicle Stop Data Form Study resulted in a compliance of 99.2 percent from law enforcement officials, which is the highest in the department’s history.

Bob Henry Baber, Ph.D. 1993
Dr. Bob Henry Baber is currently serving as major gifts officer for Glenville State College in Glenville, West Virginia. He has been active in many occupations, including being a published poet and author, artist, and politician.

Recently, he participated in the college’s ongoing effort to plant trees at Yeager Airport in Charleston, in an attempt to reforest the hillside that has been disturbed due to 1,000-foot runway extension construction. The partnership between Glenville State College and the airport began in 2008, and college officials called the effort the largest ever “green” adoption of an airport. Students and staff from the college finished planting the 10,000 trees on April 22, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

"What they're doing is jumpstarting a forest," Baber said. "The idea is to keep the hillside from sliding into the Elk River and to overwhelm the deer with growth. With an 85 percent (tree) survival rate, within five to seven years the mountain will be ablaze with color throughout the year." In total, the college plans to plant more than 30,000 trees at the airport.

A creative writer, story teller, and mosaic artist, Baber is a well-known keynote speaker, a Kellogg National Leadership Fellow, and a populist politician. He is a former West Virginia gubernatorial candidate and current chair of the West Virginia Mountain/Green Party. He is also an environmentalist and one of only two ‘Heroes’ bestowed in 2007 by the National Wilderness Society for his advocating on behalf of the 25,000-acre expansion of the Cranberry Wilderness. He is also the former honorable mayor and current poet laureate of Richwood, West Virginia.

Rochelle Burns, Ph.D. 2001
In early June, Dr. Rochelle Burns and her husband, John, were presented to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at St. James's Palace in London, as part of the Royal Over-Seas League.

Approximately 750 people, representing all Commonwealth countries, were invited to a reception at the palace. Of those, 40 were selected by Buckingham Palace to be presented to the Queen. Dr. and Mr. Burns were selected in honor of their lifetime contributions, both professionally and charitably, to their society.  Burns and her husband spoke with the Queen, mainly about Canadian history, and had the privilege of meeting Prince Phillip and the Queen's cousin, Princess Alexandra, in addition to several other ambassadors, politicians, and dignitaries from around the world who have made positive contributions in all areas of life. To learn more about Dr. Burns and her work, visit: www.minervaRsocrates.com

Queen Elizabeth greets John Burns as Dr. Rochelle Burns looks on

Randy Danielsen, Ph.D. 2003
Dr. Randy Danielsen has been named new senior vice president of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting certified physician assistant excellence through research, education, and other initiatives.

In this new position, Danielsen will lead the foundation’s efforts to build on existing programs, particularly the NCCPA’s research grants program and its Concepts in PA Excellence DVD series, while expanding the foundation in new directions to be defined under his leadership.

Danielsen leaves his position as dean and professor of the Arizona School of Health Sciences (a school of A.T. Still University) to join the foundation’s team.

Gerald Haslam, Ph.D. 1980
Gerald Haslam, Ph.D. Dr. Gerald Haslam recently served as the commencement speaker at California State University at Bakersfield, helping the university celebrate its 40th commencement exercises. A celebrated writer influenced by the California landscape, Haslam is the recipient of the Western Literature Association's Distinguished Achievement Award and professor emeritus of English at Sonoma State University. He currently teaches at the Fromm Institute of the University of San Francisco. To learn more about Dr. Haslam and his work, visit www.geraldhaslam.com.

Katherine Mandusic Finley, Ph.D. 2007
Dr. Katherine Mandusic Finley was recently appointed executive director of the Organization of American Historians in Bloomington, Indiana. The organization was founded in 1907 and is the largest professional society (with over 8,000 members) dedicated to the teaching and study of American History. The executive and editorial offices are located at Indiana University.

Ruth A. Reko, Ph.D.1998
Dr. Ruth Reko was recently named a recipient of the Seeds of Hope Award by Wheat Ridge, an international Lutheran organization dedicated to seeding new ministries worldwide. Reko was cited for her leadership in helping establish dozens of new Lutheran health and human service organizations over the past 22 years, and for her work as director of the department for social ministry organization as part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Maria Martinez–Salazar, Ph.D. 2008
Dr. Maria Martinez-Salazar recently opened her own private practice, where she offers counseling as a licensed psychotherapist and certified family mediator specializing in individual, couples, and family therapy.  She has taught at Miami-Dade College in Miami, Florida, and was included in the Cambridge Who’s Who Among Executives, Professionals, and Entrepreneurs 2008-2009 registry. Prior to earning her doctorate at Union, Martinez-Salazar earned her master's degree in counselor education and bachelor’s degree in psychology, with research honors, at Florida International University.

George Salis, Ph.D.1995
Dr. George Salis was recently promoted to senior principal tax compliance analyst and tax counselor at Vertex Technologies, Inc. in Sarasota, Florida. Salis continues to write professional articles and teaches international taxation and transfer pricing at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California.

James Stittsworth, Ph.D. 2000
Dr. James Stittsworth recently received a National Science Foundation Scholarship-Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) grant for $599,000. Sponsored by the Florida Community College (FCC) at Jacksonville, Florida, Stittsworth, as primary investigator, will use the funding to support the Peers Organized by Discipline for Success (PODS) project.  The PODS project will provide scholarships and mentoring for academically talented, financially needy science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students in the sciences, mathematics, and aerospace engineering technology at FCC. The grant will support scholarships for 90 students in the amount of $6,000 over a five-year period.