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Volume 11.1 Spring 2008
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Deborah Shear brain research / FBI director Andrew Arena / Pat Hackett receives CMU degree / Alumni updates by year Iraq war intensifies CMU alumna's research on traumatic brain injury
CMU alumna Deborah Shear works with CMU psychology professor Gary Dunbar in a psychology research lab during her time as a graduate student at CMU. Central Michigan University alumna Deborah Shear understands the meaning of perseverance. For 15 years, CMU became her home away from home while she completed a bachelor’s degree in 1996, master’s degree in 1999, and Ph.D. in experimental psychology in 2007.
Now she is searching for ways to improve the quality of life for troops injured in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
She recently accepted a prestigious research position at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, where she studies ways to treat and prevent traumatic brain injury with an emphasis on brain injuries sustained in combat situations.
“It’s been a long haul and a lot of work . . . but I just got the job of my dreams,” Shear said. “To do this kind of research at this time in our country is a tremendous honor and a privilege. And to do it at Walter Reed in our nation’s capital is just off the charts.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 50,000 people die each year in the United States from a traumatic brain injury. Most brain injuries occur as a result of automobile accidents, falls, violence, and more recently from injuries sustained in war.
“It’s one of the most serious injuries on the battlefield,” Shear said. “There has been an increase in the attention given to these types of injuries due to the war in Iraq.”
Shear is researching brain injury using a model that mimics a bullet or piece of shrapnel twisting into the brain at different angles. She is studying ways of protecting the brain from injury, as well as treatment strategies aimed at repairing the injured brain.
As a student at CMU, Shear had extraordinary success. During her first year as a graduate student, she co-authored two scientific papers and a book chapter with CMU psychology professor Gary Dunbar. She received a three-year National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship—the first one ever awarded at CMU. She also worked full time during her doctoral studies as a research scientist at the Field Neuroscience Institute in Saginaw. “The number one reason why I’m here at Walter Reed today is the education and experience that I received at Central Michigan University,” Shear said. “It is professors like Dr. Gary Dunbar who believe in their students and inspire them to make a difference in this world that make CMU a great university.”
CMU alumnus is top agent at Detroit FBI office
CMU alumnus Andrew Arena (center) swaps stories with his former instructors Delbert Ringquist, political science professor (left), and Bill Bulger, retired history professor. Central Michigan University alumnus Andrew Arena says he’s enjoyed waking up and going to work every day for the past 20 years even though his work has placed him in some of the most dangerous places in America.
Arena is the Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Detroit Field Office. His prior assignments with the FBI have included investigating organized crime in New York, leading a violent street gang task force in Los Angeles, and supervising the violent crimes and major offenders squad in Cleveland. Since 2001, he’s been involved in counterterrorism and counter-intelligence efforts. He was promoted to the top position at the Detroit office in December 2006.
“I don’t think of it as a job . . . and a lot of that is because I feel like I’m doing the right thing,” said Arena, who returned to campus February 12 for the first time in more than 20 years to share information about his success in the FBI with CMU students.
“One of my reasons for wanting to come back to CMU was the effect that this university had on me. My instructors were the people who really helped shape me and pushed me to do the best that I could,” he said.
Arena described one such “push” that came from retired history professors Bill Bulger and Dennis Thavenet.
“During my senior year, Bill Bulger encouraged me to apply for the Dennis Thavenet scholarship, so that I could study abroad at Cambridge University for a semester. The history department was hosting an essay competition that Saturday morning at 10 a.m. to select the recipients of the award, and he wanted me to attend.”
But when Saturday morning arrived, Arena decided not to participate in the essay competition.
“At about 11:30, there was a knock on my door, and it was Bill Bulger and Dennis Thavenet . . . and they dragged me to Anspach Hall and made me write the essay,” he said.
While visiting campus, Arena met with CMU students and hosted a public lecture entitled “Counter Terrorism: What are the Implications for Civil Liberties?” During the presentation, he stressed that Americans do not have to give up their Constitutional rights to protect the homeland or to feel safe.
He also encouraged CMU students to consider a career with the FBI. As the organization continues to expand and as many agents reach the mandatory retirement age of 57, the FBI will be hiring hundreds of employees to fill positions in intelligence, financial, investigative and clerical divisions, to name a few.
“Everybody has a preconceived notion of what the FBI is all about, and it’s usually based on something that they read in a newspaper or saw in a movie or television program where the Bureau is portrayed as a ‘super’ law enforcement agency,” Arena said.
He also noted that while the structure and focus of the FBI has changed significantly throughout its 100-year history, he hopes to see even more improvements in the future.
“When I hear concerns about the FBI, I always say, come work for us. If you want to change the organization, change it from within. Bring your skills, bring your culture, and bring your view of the world into the organization.” Arena received a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from CMU in 1985. He received a juris doctorate from the University of Detroit School of Law and joined the FBI in 1988.
81-year-old railroad lawyer receives CMU degree
Retired attorney Pat Hackett (right) poses with his wife, Barbara Hackett, and Joe Dumars, president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons, prior to Central Michigan University’s commencement ceremony in December. Dumars was the featured commencement speaker. When Patrick Hackett began taking classes at Central Michigan University in 1943, he never expected it would take more than 60 years to earn his bachelor’s degree, but World War II had other plans for him.
His education was interrupted when he served in the U.S. Navy’s South Pacific Theatre during World War II. He returned to CMU in 1946 and 1947, but then decided to attend law school before receiving his bachelor’s degree, which was not required at that time.
“I went to law school without getting my bachelor’s degree, and I have wanted to get one ever since,” said Hackett, 81. “I just have always felt that there was a gap in my resume without a bachelor’s degree, and coming from a long line of CMU grads, it is something that I knew I had to get.”
In December, Hackett proudly donned his cap and gown and marched in Central Michigan University’s 5 p.m. commencement ceremony where he received a bachelor of science degree in community development with a concentration in public administration. CMU accepted credits from courses he had completed at CMU and during law school in order to grant the degree through the university’s off-campus programs.
After receiving his juris doctorate degree from the University of Detroit School of Law in 1950, Hackett went on to serve as general attorney for Conrail and the Penn Central Transportation Company and assistant general attorney for the New York Central Railroad. His distinguished legal career of 49 years also included work as a railroad legal adviser, trial lawyer and public educator.
Hackett’s trial and appellate work covered a broad range of issues critical to railroads, including: railroad crossing accidents and regulation, employee injury and death cases, labor relations, and interstate commerce. He also authored the Michigan Railroad Code of 1993. Hackett was inducted into the Michigan Transportation Hall of Honor in 2006.
Hackett and his wife Barbara, a former U.S. District Judge who was appointed by Ronald Reagan, have seven daughters and reside in Brighton, Mich.
“We give him so much credit for going after what he believes in. This is something that he always wanted, and he went after it,” said Hon. Carol Hackett Garagiola, one of Hackett’s daughters and chief judge of the Livingston County Circuit Court. “He made education a priority in our family. It was something that he felt was very important. Even though he was a very accomplished man he missed having his bachelor’s degree.”
Hackett’s mother received a teaching certificate from CMU in 1905 and four of his nine siblings and many nieces and nephews also have received CMU degrees. Hackett’s service to CMU includes serving on the Vision of Excellence campaign advisory board for the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences from 2003 to 2006.
1950s / 1960s / 1970s / 1980s / 1990s / 2000s Barbara (Subia) Burgoyne (Soc. Sci. ’51) lives in Texas and spends summers in Mexico. She volunteers at a hospital and police station. Annlee (Beckstrom) Boonstra (Soc. Sci.’65; MA ’69) retired from Mona Shores Schools and has spent the past 19 years in south Texas. She and her husband, William, have traveled extensively, visiting all 50 states, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Canada and Mexico.
Judge David Martin Bradfield (Pol. Sci ’68; MA ’70) retired in 2006 after being elected four times and giving 20 years of service on the bench to the people of the city of Detroit. He and his wife, Karen, ’68, continue to be politically active and involved in his real estate practice, Compensation Services P.C. They have three adult children, John, Joseph, and Elina. Timothy J. Burke (Pol. Sci. ’78) is the director of the Office of Travel and Transportation Services for the Federal Acquisition Service, the procurement arm of the U.S. General Services Administration.
James A. Carolan (Govt. Admin. ’76) is one of the first 200 financial professionals to obtain the industry’s newest designation of Certified Wealth Strategist. He is vice president trust and estate adviser for Comerica Bank.
Michael J. Fraser (Bus.’77; MPA ’79) is the director of public works for Salina, Kan.
Robert Gaskill (Eng. ’72; MA ’74, ’82) is the new superintendent of the Cabrillo Unified School District in Half Moon Bay, Calif.
Darryl B. Goncharoff (Eng. ’72) taught in public schools in Detroit, Dearborn Heights and Walled Lake. He retired from Walled Lake Schools and teaches English at Schoolcraft College.
Donald W. Koivisto (Pol. Sci. ’71) is the director of the state Department of Agriculture. Previously, he served three terms with the Michigan House of Representatives and 12 years with the state Senate.
Kay E. Neal (Speech & Eng. ’75) was promoted to full professor in the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
Richard J. Pauly (Soc. Sci. ’72; MA Edu. Admin. ’76) retired from the Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port School District after 35 years of service. He spent 18 years as a teacher and 17 years as a junior high and elementary school principal and also was the athletic director or assistant athletic director for 29 years. Audrey J. Forbush (Pol. Sci. & Eng. ’84) joined the law firm of Plunkett Cooney as a shareholder in the Flint office. She focuses primarily on municipal liability and has particular expertise in police matters. She serves as legal adviser to the Law Enforcement Action Forum, an organization consisting of select law enforcement executives throughout Michigan.
Steve North (Psych. ’80) was named the new senior pastor for Jenison Christian Church in Feb. 2008.
Dave Shane (MA Hist. ’89) is sports editor for The Bay City Times. Leslie Allen Bayles (Eng. ’90; MA ’91) has joined the international law firm Bryan Cave LLP as an associate in the firm’s Chicago office. She focuses her practice in the areas of creditors’ rights, bankruptcy, corporate reorganization, and insolvency law.
Heather (Harrison) Edwards (Hist. & Eng. ’97) and Jeffery Edwards, ’99, welcomed a son, Asa John Edwards, on Aug. 30, 2007.
Paula McLain’s (Eng. ’91; MA ’93) debut novel, “Ticket to Ride,” was published in Jan. 2008.
Thomas Olver (Pol. Sci. ’98) was installed as the director of the College Fraternity Editors Association at the annual conference in May. He is director of communications at Beta Theta Pi Fraternity and editor of The Beta Theta Pi. Jonathan Bourgault (Hist. & Eng. ’04) teaches English at Ithaca High School and has published a science fiction novel, “The Eye of God.”
Nicole Culver (Spanish ’02) lives in Tempe, Ariz. and is a translator and interpreter for the Scottsdale Unified School District. She is training to compete in the Ironman Coeur d’Alene in June 2008. The one-day competition consists of 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and 26.2 miles of running.
Lt. David J. Pritchard (MPA ’01) was promoted to captain of the Chesterfield County Police Department in Virginia. Jonathan Seyferth (Pol. Sci. ’02) is the district representative for U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra’s Muskegon office. He was named the Muskegon Jaycees Outstanding Young Man of the Year in February.
To submit an alumni update, please send your full name, graduation year and brief announcement to CHSBS@cmich.edu or Editor, Anspach 106, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, 48859. We encourage you to submit a photograph with your announcement.
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