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From The Associate Chair: Changing of The Guard

Were our oldest alumni to visit our campus today, they would find a University and a Department that has profoundly changed from what they recall from their student days. Even the elm trees have almost disappeared!

The greatest change, however, has occurred in the human side of the equation. Graduates of the thirties and early forties attended two separate but (un)equal Colleges – one for men, one for women. That split was mended in 1944, when the two Colleges were made one.

At the time, our Department did something that bucked the tenor of the times, when Professor Quaesita Cromwell Drake (FAC 18-55) was chosen to be the Chair of the yoked Departments, following her 25 years of service as the Chair of the Chemistry Department in the Women’s College. Although her subsequent tenure as Chair was brief (less than one year), her legacy has been profound. Her appointment symbolized our Department’s recognition of the importance of female chemists, when it was simply the right thing to do, rather than being politically expedient. She had been a solitary female presence in the University of Chicago’s doctoral program during the second decade of the 20th century. Fifteen years later, Professor Elizabeth Dyer (FAC 33-71) was still one of only two women in the chemistry Ph.D. program at Yale University. I had the pleasure and honor of meeting Professor Drake when I arrived at the U of D in 1964. Though small in physical stature, her force of personality was entirely congruent with her name. Were she alive today, she would be pleased and proud to see what has happened on the distaff side. Undergraduate female enrollment at the University is pushing 60%, and that in our Department has almost kept pace (50% of the class of 2007 is female).

When Professor Drake died in 1967, alumni of both sexes sought to perpetuate her memory by giving to an endowment that supports the Quaesita Drake Scholarship Fund, the first award from which was made in 1969. The excellence represented by the roster of Drake Scholars (the “Divine Drake Sisterhood”) serves as a stark reminder of what might have been, had the emancipation of women occurred much earlier or, better yet, had never been necessary. [N.B. The University’s alumni files do not include the names of the institutions which have awarded advanced degrees to our alumni. I am therefore depending upon my (admittedly failing) memory in those cases where schools are cited. Likewise, the files no longer include original last names for women who have changed their names after graduating. Consequently, there are gaps in the post-graduation histories of some of the Drake Scholars].

1969

Liana E. Dicou (BS69, PhD, Harvard), whereabouts unknown

1970

Noreen C. Campbell (BS70, MS73), Manager, Ink Jet Print Production, DuPont, Wilmington <noreen.c.campbell-2@USA.dupont.com>

1971

Susan (Breen) Bailey (BS72, MD, Pittsburgh), homemaker, Festus, MO

1972

Katherine A. Holter (BS73, PhD, Ohio State), Senior Scientist, Bechtel Group, South Park, PA <holterka@bettis.gov>

1973

Jane (Moore) Crosby (BS74, MS, New Orleans), whereabouts unknown

1974

Paula (Sherman) Kitson (BS75, MS, Dalhousie, PhD), Research Scientist VI, GlaxoSmithKline, Chapel Hill, NC

1975

Karen (Hyatt) Stump (BS76, MS, Carnegie-Mellon), Principal Lecturer and Director of Laboratories, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

1976

Jane F. Kinsel (BS77, PhD, Kansas), Associate Director for Science Policy and Operations, National Institutes of Health, Boston, MA <jk36j@nih.gov>

1977

Joan P. Snyder, Esq. (BS78), Environmental Lawyer, Stoel Rives LLP, Portland, OR

1978

Sheree (Gehman) Fleming (BS79), Strategic Planner, ExxonMobil, Sterling, VA <sheree.g.fleming@exxonmobil.com>

1979

Holly L. Souder (BS80), whereabouts unknown

1980

Eileen (Fleck) Warwick (BS81), Research Section Manager, Rohm and Haas, Lansdale, PA <rsiefw@rohmhaas.com>

1981

Tracy (Simpson) Olson (BS82, PhD), Senior Scientist, Alkermes, Inc. Winchester, MA

1982

Beverly (Dunn) Lawrence (BS83, MS, Penn State), Receptionist, Weight Watchers International, Newark, DE

1983

Carol (Renfrew) Haft (BS84, PhD), Program Director, National Institutes of Health, Olney, MD <haftc@extra.niddk.nih.gov>

1984

Christine A. Grygon (BS84, PhD, Princeton), Associate Director, Biology Department, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Redding, CT <cgrygon@rdg.boehringer-ingelheim.com>

1985

Victoria (Kunz) Metz (BS86, MD), Science Teacher, MacDuffie School, Longmeadow, MA

1986

Jennie B. Nerenberg (BS87, PhD, Yale), Research Chemist, Merck, Maple Glen, PA

At this point,
the Drake Endowment reached a level sufficient to support two Drake Scholarships per year.

1987

Jennifer J. Johnston (BS87), whereabouts unknown
Jennie B. Nerenberg (BS87), PhD, Yale), Research Chemist, Merck, Maple Glen PA

1988

Jody E. Beecher (BS89, PhD, Cornell), Consultant, Menlo Park, CA <jody_beecher@mac.com>
Kristi L. Kiick (BS89, MS, Georgia, PhD, UMass-Amherst), Assistant Professor of Materials Science, University of Delaware <kiick@udel.edu>

1989

Iris C. Gibbs (BS90, MD), Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, CA <iris@reyes.stanford.edu>
Rebecca (Wagner) Alexander (BS90, PhD, Cornell), Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC

1990

Holly C. Gaede (BS91, PhD, UC-Berkeley), Senior Lecturer, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX <holly_gaede@yahoo.com>
Sheila (Hogan) Levie (BS91, VMD), Veterinarian, Black Horse Pike Animal Hospital, Sewell, NJ <slevie@snip.net>

1991

Dorothea (Heit) Roberts (BS92), Regulatory Affairs Staff, GlaxoSmithKline, Morrisville, NC <dorothea.x.roberts@gsk.com>
Alexandra T. Whoriskey (BS92, MD, North Carolina), whereabouts unknown

1992

Kimberly L. Mayhew (BS93), whereabouts unknown
Kelly (Wright) Brush (BS93), homemaker, Newark, DE

1993

Kristina M. Russell (BS94, PhD, Virginia), Faculty Member, Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Carbondale, CO
Catherine (Saltern) Hill (BA93), Homemaker, Milford, DE

1994

Wendy L. Hall (BS94), position unknown, Newark, DE
Michelle M. Olson (BS95, MD, Medical College of PA), Colorectal Surgeon, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA <mmolson@geisinger.edu>

1995

Catherine (Jones) Bergquist (BS96, PhD, Columbia), Project Supervisor, National Starch and Chemical Corp., Woodbridge, NJ <cathy.bergquist@earthlink.net>
Stacie (Levin) Julie, Esq. (BS96), Associate Director of Legal Affairs, Teva North America, West Chester, PA <staciejulie@hotmail.com>

1996

Lori A. Hamby (BS97), Genetic Counselor and Research Fellow, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD <lhamby@jhsph.edu>
Laura (Swanson) Henning (BS97), Teacher, Huntington Learning Center, Broomall, PA

1997

Lora E. Barnhart (BS98), Research Chemist, AstraZeneca, Silver Spring, MD <lorabarnhart@gmail.com>
Dolly Batra (BS98, PhD, UC-Irvine), Post-doctoral Associate, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL – see Alumni News section

1998

Alison R. Liechty (BS99), Research Chemist, Ciba-Geigy <alison.liechty@cibasc.com>
Jennifer L. Paulson (BS99, PhD, UC-San Francisco), Post-doctoral Associate, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR – see Alumni News section <jennifer.paulson@gmail.com>

1999

Amanda L. Stouffer (BS00, PhD, Penn) – see Alumni News section
Elizabeth R. White (BS00), position unknown, Arlington, VA <lryanw@yahoo.com

2000

Nicole C. Goodwin (BS01, PhD, Cal Tech), Research Chemist, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Princeton, NJ
Laura (Tolen) Scarpaci (BS01, D. Pharm, Maryland-Baltimore), Research Scientist, ExcelleRx, Philadelphia – see Alumni News section

2001

Ching Hang (Candy) Tong (BS01), Doctoral Candidate, CalTech <chtong@its.caltech.edu>
Catherine M. Visintainer (BS02, MD, NY Medical College), Resident in Emergency Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA – see Alumni News section <cathyv10@yahoo.com>

2002

Denise (Birk) Conner (BS03), Doctoral Candidate, Penn State, University Park, PA <silvrdrgn13@yahoo.com>
Shih-Wen (Wennie) Lin (BS03), Doctoral Candidate, Penn – see Alumni News section

2003

Alaina M. Brown (BS04), MD Candidate, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA
Susan A. Ricketts (BS04), Research Chemist, Pfizer, Inc., Groton, CT <susan_ricketts@groton.pfizer.com>

2004

Heather S. Egolf-Fox (BS05), Doctoral Candidate, University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill
Amanda L. Peters (BS05) Doctoral Candidate, Princeton <littlemsmandy@hotmail.com>

2005

Agata A. Bielska (BS06), MD/PhD Candidate, Washington University, St. Louis
Charlotte A. Mason (BS06), Doctoral Candidate, CalTech – see Alumni News section

2006

Katharine M. Frysinger (BS07), High School Chemistry Teacher, Seaford, DE
Katherine E. Vodra (BA07), High School Teacher, TBD

2007

Aly D. Bourreza (BS08)
Andrea J. Passarelli (BS08)

By any and all standards, the rich mosaic of accomplishments noted in the preceding list is impressive, indeed. Best of all, it should continue indefinitely.

The last formal honor accorded Professor Drake occurred on November 17, 1973, when Quaesita Drake Hall was dedicated. Ironically, what was once a state-of-the-art undergraduate teaching laboratory facility has become the only CHEM/BIOC building that is in dramatic need of renovation. While some spot renovation has been executed to convert some of the laboratory rooms to research use, the teaching labs used for general chemistry, quantitative analysis, and organic chemistry in QDH are in compelling need of renewal. Indeed, President Roselle, in one of his outgoing messages, cited a new science teaching laboratory as one of his two major unfulfilled dreams for the U of D. Current projections are targeting that new construction for 2013.

All the Best
John L. Burmeister