1956
Marilyn and the Rev. Dr. Tom Summers received the 2019 Outstanding Ally Award from the South Carolina Pride Movement in Columbia, S.C. They were recognized for their “strong and dedicated advocacy for full and civil rights on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community in South Carolina.”
1959
Dr. Bill Hester is the first person in South Carolina awarded the American Medical Association (AMA) Benjamin Rush Award for Citizenship and Community Service. The award was given to Hester in November 2019 at the 2019 Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates in San Diego. Hester lives in Florence, S.C.
1963
Henry M. Smith spent a 10-day sojourn in Cuba in March 2019 with Witness for Peace. He also recently traveled to France for six weeks with friends and witnessed the Notre Dame Cathedral following the 2019 fire that damaged it. He took in many fine museum exhibits while in France. He lives in Newmarket, N.H.
1968
Henry Giles announced plans to retire as president of Spartanburg Community College in June 2020. Giles’ career with SCC began in 1969 when he started as a math instructor. He’s held various leadership roles at the college over the years. Giles was responsible for financially managing the college for most of its history.
1972
John B. White Jr., managing partner of the law firm of Harrison White, was honored as a platinum recipient of the University of South Carolina School of Law's 2020 Compleat Lawyer Award. The award is given to individuals in practice 31 years or more who have made significant contributions to the legal profession and exemplify the highest standard of professional competence, ethics and integrity.
1973
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Rick Cohn to serve as the chair of S.C. Educational Television Commission (SCETV). Cohn’s term will expire June 2020.
1975
Doug Lowe, of Spartanburg, S.C, was inducted into the S.C. Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Lowe was the longtime basketball coach at Spartanburg High School, where he had a 626-212 record while leading the team to 19 region titles, four state finals appearances and a state championship.
1977
A reviewer of John Lane’s latest book, “Neighborhood Hawks: A Year Following Wild Birds,” wrote that she thinks of him as “Thoreau in a pick-up truck.” The review was published in The Pilot, a community newspaper for Southern Pines, N.C. Lane, a Wofford professor and director of the Goodall Environmental Studies Center, shares the experience of following a group of hawks in his Spartanburg, S.C., neighborhood and how it led him to reflect on his fascination with wild things.
1978
Barnwell Fishburne recently was named vice chairman of the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) Commission. Fishburne has represented the state’s 6th Congressional District on the commission since 2018. He owns Fishburne and Co. Development Corp. in Walterboro, S.C.
1979
South State Bank named Bob Graham corporate insurance program manager. Graham is responsible for managing South State’s insurance program. He was previously with KeenanSuggs, a division of HUB International.
1980
Joe Taylor was named to Columbia (S.C.) Business Monthly’s 50 Most Influential list. Taylor is president and CEO of Southland Capital Partners. He’s also a managing member of Park and Washington.
1983
Tim Wallace is entering his 29th season as a head baseball coach at Spartanburg Methodist College. In 28 seasons, Wallace has more than 1,200 wins and seven trips to the NCJAA national championship. SMC is the reigning Region 10 baseball champion. The school made three consecutive Junior College World Series appearances from 2012-2014.
Dr. Betsy K. Davis has joined the Medical University of South Carolina as an associate professor of otolaryngology and associate professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery with special interests in maxillofacial prosthodontics, implant prosthodontics and dental oncology.
1984
Nate Woody was named defensive coordinator for Army’s football team. He spent last season as a defensive analyst at Michigan. He’s been a defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech, Appalachian State and Wofford.
Dr. David Williams was selected as a 2019-20 Fulbright Scholar for his research project, “A Study of Austrian Biopharmaceutical Ecosystems.” Williams will travel to Austria in the spring of 2020 to teach health care management to a diverse group of international students at Management Center Innsbruck (MCI) and perform research on Austrian and other central European biopharmaceutical ecosystems. He is a professor at Appalachian State University.
1985
Sonoco Products Co. named Howard Coker president and CEO. Coker, who has been with the company 35 years, also was elected to its board of directors. He most recently served as the senior vice president of Sonoco’s global paper/industrial converted products segment. Coker lives in Hartsville, S.C.
1986
Bill Carstarphen received the Gaston (N.C.) Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Spirit of the Carolinas Award. Carstarphen is CEO of Pharr USA.
1987
Rick Booth, president and owner of Intrepid Artists International, is celebrating 25 years in business. The booking agency represents about three dozen blues, zydeco and rock acts. The agency’s name reflects Booth’s love of reptiles, which he collected as a student at Wofford.
United Community Bank’s Spartanburg, S.C., office recently named David Ward senior vice president and commercial relationship manager. Ward is responsible for managing and expanding relationships with commercial clients in Spartanburg and Cherokee counties.
1991
Furman University Libraries named Caroline Curry Mills its new director and librarian. Mills most recently served as Furman’s interim director of libraries and assistant librarian. She’s worked with Furman since 2008.
1993
Wendell Jones is the new Greenville (S.C.) Chamber Minority Business Accelerator (MBA) instructor. Jones’ role prepares high-potential minority-owned businesses for growth and expansion.
1995
Roopal Ruparelia earned the Certified Litigation Management Professional (CLMP) designation from the Claims Litigation Management Alliance. Only 100 participants are selected for the Litigation Management Institute, which is hosted by Loyola Law School. Ruparelia is a shareholder in Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd’s Columbia, S.C., office.
1996
LeAnne Oliver Flack was profiled in Specialty Fabrics Review in a story focused on women who are leading the way in the textile industry. Flack is marketing manager with Milliken & Company.
1998
Brigid Littleton Meadow, of Vestavia Hills, Ala., was named United Soccer’s High School Girls’ National Coach of the Year in the large school division. She was also named the National High School Coaches Association’s National Coach of the Year for Girls’ Soccer.
The city of Missoula (Mont.) has named Josh Martin its director of development services.
1999
Dr. Anthony Johnston Leigh earned his doctorate of education in higher education management from the University of Georgia in December 2019.
Nikole and Dr. Michael Patrick O’Quinn celebrated the birth of Shepherd Holland O’Quinn on Aug. 30, 2019. The couple also have an 8-year-old, Oliver, and a 4-year-old, Poppy.
2000
Coastal Beverage Co., a 60-year-old business owned by Tee Nunnelee’s family, recently moved into a new 162,000-square-foot facility in Pender County, N.C. Nunnelee is the company’s president. Coastal is one of the largest beer distributors in eastern North Carolina.
2001
South Carolina Federal Credit Union named Trey Gantt its new chief operations officer. Gantt has worked with the credit union more than 17 years. He most recently served as senior vice president of lending services.
Craig Melvin was featured in a recent edition of the Columbia Journalism Review in an article focused on 18 MSNBC personalities included in a logo promoting the network. Melvin is a Wofford trustee and an anchor of NBC’s TODAY Show.
Mackie James Walker III was named district sales manager for Insulet Corp. for the southeast.
2002
Tony Prestipino joined Wespath as its director of plan sponsor relations. He is transitioning from his role as conference treasurer for the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.
2003
Sarah Woodard Thornton and Mitchell Thornton welcomed Henry Styles “Harry” Thornton on June 29, 2019. The couple also has 3-year-old daughter Anna Clarke Thornton. They reside in Charleston, S.C.
2007
Matt Howsare joined Cooley in Washington, D.C., as special counsel. He will lead Cooley’s North American product safety practice. He previously served as chair of the consumer product safety practice for Mintz.
S.C. Children’s Theatre named Matt Giles its new artistic director. Giles is returning to South Carolina after serving as general manager of the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, Minn., the nation’s largest theater for multigenerational audiences.
2008
Perry McPherson Buckner IV joined the law firm of Yarborough Applegate in Charleston, S.C.
Mariel Willenberg Norton was named special counsel for Baker, Ravenel and Bender, a Columbia, S.C., law firm. Norton spent eight years as an associate at the firm before being promoted.
Ashleigh Wilson was named to Columbia Business Monthly’s 50 Most Influential list. Wilson is an associate in the Columbia, S.C., office of Bowman and Brooke. She represents product manufacturers from a variety of industries in complex product liability and commercial litigation matters.
2009
Cameron Simmons and Sarah Beer were married Nov. 2, 2019 in Avery Island, La.
Jonathan Spitz was promoted to partner at Todd and Johnson, a boutique estate planning firm in Columbia, S.C.
2010
Dr. Kristen DeYoung Pitts joined Spartanburg ENT as an otolaryngologist.
2011
Claudia Brownlee Albergotti and Stuart Clifton Ruffin were married May 18, 2019 in Anderson, S.C. They reside in Spartanburg, S.C.
Dr. Bo Bryan joined Lexington (S.C.) Medical Center as a family medicine physician. He earned his medical degree from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia and completed his family medicine residency at Self Regional Healthcare in Greenwood, S.C., where he served as co-chief resident.
Mason Ellerbe and his wife, Mariel, welcomed a daughter, Eva Jones Ellerbe, Jan. 21, 2020.
Tom Fenner joined the Elliott Davis accounting firm’s Greenville, S.C., office as a campus recruiter.
2012
Jennifer Lane Coggins was named archivist for collection development in manuscripts and archives at the Yale University Library.
2013
Sara Beth Fowler and Julius Martin Weathers of Columbia, S.C., were married Dec. 31, 2019 at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Ridgeland, S.C.
Raymond Christopher Jones wrote and published “The Prince of Wisdom,” an 88-page book intended for children in grades K-6. Jones lives in Greenville, S.C.
Taylor Coryn Marcus and Audie Miles Cooper were married on Oct. 26, 2019 at First Presbyterian Church in Orangeburg, S.C. The couple resides in Orangeburg.
Jared Singleton, former offensive lineman for the Terriers’ football team, is a broadcaster on Southern Conference games aired through Nexstar for ESPN television networks. Singleton is a credit analyst with Milliken & Co.
Melissa Elaine Simondi joined Bleecker Law Firm as an associate attorney. She practices family law.
Sara Beth Fowler Weathers has joined Pope Flynn as an associate in the firm’s public finance and governmental law practices. She’s based in Pope Flynn’s Columbia, S.C., office.
2014
Zach Charles Barnes earned a master’s degree in legislative affairs from George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management. He serves as an advisor for congressional intergovernmental relations at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C.
2015
Amelia Catherine Norman and Joshua Wood were married Sept. 14, 2019 at Bruntwood Hall in Manchester, England. They reside in Nashville, Tenn.
Erin McGaha Prevost and John Prevost welcomed daughter Anna Grace Prevost on July 22, 2019 in Prince George, Va. The couple also has a 2-year-old daughter Emma Kate Prevost. John, a nuclear bomb disposal technician in the U.S. Army, was recently promoted to captain.
Ellen Keely Richardson and Joseph Thomas Vermilya ‘17 were married Nov. 9, 2019 at The Episcopal Church of the Advent in Spartanburg, S.C. They reside in Pittsburgh, Penn.
Caroline Barnett Shea joined Husch Blackwell’s Chattanooga, Tenn., office as an associate. She focuses her practice on a variety of client matters including commercial litigation, toxic tort and bankruptcy.
2016
Cole Shannon joined Young Clermont Rivers as an associate in the firm’s construction law practice group.
2017
Quinn Popp Carlisle and Jake Carlisle ’15 were married on May 18, 2019 at The Gardens at Gray Gables in Summerfield, N.C.
Former Terriers’ golfer Andrew Novak earned his first professional victory Feb. 16, 2020 at the LECOM Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. He birdied Nos. 17 and 18 to finish with a one stroke win on the Korn Ferry Tour.
2019
Binh Nguyen had a part in “Of Angels and Dragons,” a play that recently premiered at Anderson (S.C.) University.
Mid-Major Madness named Fletcher Magee to its All-Decade team. Magee holds the college basketball record for 3-point shots with 509 and an average of 43.5% made during his college career.
Faculty notes
Dr. Courtney M. Dorroll, assistant professor of religion, has been awarded a program development grant from the Council of Independent Colleges NetVUE initiative in the amount of $47,298. NetVUE is the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education. The purpose of the grant is to deepen the intellectual and theological exploration of vocation among undergraduate students.
Dr. Maria Hofmann’s paper “Austria’s Indirect Cinema. Avoiding representation in Kurz davor ist es passiert (2006)” has been published by Studies in Documentary Film. Hofmann is an assistant professor of German.
Dr. Dan Mathewson, associate professor of religion, and Curt McPhail ’96, executive director of the Career Center, were named to the All-Southern Conference Faculty and Staff Team. Faculty members selected have demonstrated strong contributions to teaching, research and/or service, while staff members are recognized for bringing out the best in others and creating conditions for success.
Dr. Geoff Mitchell, assistant professor of biology, along with five student coauthors, published “Genome-Wide Analysis of Cell Cycle-Regulating Genes in the Symbiotic Dinoflagellate Breviolum minutum” in G3: GENES, GENOMES, GENETICS.
Dr. Jeremy S. Morris, assistant professor of biology, co-published “Sexual dimorphism in human arm power and force: implications for sexual selection on fighting ability” in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
Dr. Tracy J. Revels, professor of history, has two new publications: “‘A Benevolent or Malevolent Agency’: Beryl Stapleton and Laura Lyons in The Hound of the Baskervilles,” an essay in Villians, Victims and Violets: Agency and Feminism in the Original Sherlock Holmes Canon, and “Dreams and Nightmares: Central Florida and the Opening of Walt Disney World” in the Journal of Florida Studies.
Dr. Laura H. Barbas Rhoden, professor of Spanish, was elected co-president of the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment, a 1,500+ member professional organization dedicated to inspiring and promoting work in the environmental humanities. She also has a new publication, “Gendering EcoHispanisms: Knowledge, Gender and Place in a Pluricultural Latin America” in Hispanic Ecocriticism.
Dr. Anne Rodrick, professor of history, has been accepted into the inaugural Belcher Colloquium in Victorian Studies at St. Hugh's College, University of Oxford, in June 2020. Her presentation is titled “An Ecosystem of Talk: Exploring Mid-Victorian Knowledge-Based Culture.” A volume of essays will follow the colloquium.