Networks
Alumni Announcements, Class Notes, Memoriams
Spring 2016
Purdue University
ALUMNI IN RESIDENCE (AIR), ALUMNI SHARING KNOWLEDGE (ASK) ACCEPTING VOLUNTEERS
AIR is an opportunity for alumni to return to campus and share their insight and experiences with students. Volunteers will provide career development support for students through one-on-one advising, resume reviews, mock interviews, career conversations and/or office hours. ASK helps students connect with Krannert alumni for advice and expertise in a specific functional area. When contacted, alumni volunteers will answer career questions and provide functional insight. Both programs are a great opportunity to share accomplishments, impact students, connect with Krannert and give back through candid discussions and real-world advice. To volunteer contact Wendy Dukes, director of corporate stewardship and alumni engagement for the Krannert Professional Development Center.
CLASS NOTES
1970s
FREDERICK G. SCHATTNER (MS ’72), Palatine, IL, has retired after 40 years of service as director of engineering for the Village of Skokie. Schattner and his wife, Jacquie, have three grown children and four grandchildren. He now works as a guest services ambassador for the Chicago Cubs.
CAROL BULLOCK (LA ’72, MS ’73), Homewood, IL, received the Freida & Winifred Parker Pioneering Purdue Women Award from the Sagamore Sankofa Awards Committee. She is the director of The Hollins Group in Chicago.
MARK J. VALPONI (MS ’74), Sheffield Lake, OH, was honored by St. Edward High School as the 2015 Legal Eagles Man of the Year.
ROLAND PARRISH (BS ’75, MS ’76), DeSoto, TX, was honored by Humanitarian Hands Charities in October for his funding of construction and furnishing of a medical clinic that will care for 2,500 orphans in Uganda. Parrish also received the Sagamore Sankofa Award and the Kappa Alpha Psi Nu Chapter Achievement Award in November. He owns 26 McDonald’s franchises in Texas and is chairman and CEO of the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association.
SONIA WINSLETT (BS ’76, MS ’76), Hobart, IN, received the Freida & Winifred Parker Pioneering Purdue Women Award from the Sagamore Sankofa Awards Committee. She is a physician and humanitarian.
CHUCK SPEVACEK (BS ’77), Minneapolis, MN, was named the 2016 Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants Lawyer of the Year for Minneapolis by The Best Lawyers in America. He was also named to the Minnesota Super Lawyers list for the 13th time. He works for the firm of Meagher & Geer.
1980s
KEVIN SULLIVAN (BS ’80), Treasure Island, FL, recently published an eBook titled Breaking Through: Communications Lessons from the Locker Room, the Board Room, & the Oval Office, based on his experiences with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, NBC, the US Department of Education, and the White House. The eBook is available at iBooks, amazon.com, and most other digital retailers.
DEB KARSTETTER (BS ’81) was recently elected to Financial Fitness Group’s board of directors. She is past president of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Specialists and vice chair of the Council of Employee Benefits Executives. She was also executive vice president at ABD Insurance & Financial Services and division president at Minet Insurances Services. She is the founder of Executive nSight, a consulting agency to developing organizations for sustained growth and profitability, and an investor with the Angels Forum, a venture capital firm specializing in in seed and early stage companies.
ROBERT TOTH (BS ’81) recently joined CCMP Capital Advisors as managing partner with responsibility for sourcing new investment opportunities in the industrial and chemicals sectors, as well as working with CCMP’s current portfolio companies in these sectors on growth plans and value creation opportunities in partnership with management teams. He previously served as CEO, president and chairman of Polypore International Inc.
LINDA CLEMENT-HOLMES (BS ’82), Cincinnati, OH, received the Freida & Winifred Parker Pioneering Purdue Women Award from the Sagamore Sankofa Awards Committee. She is a member of the corporate board at Procter & Gamble.
SUSAN DANKO (BS ’83), Dallas, TX, was recently re-elected to her position as executive board vice president at the Alpha Omicron Pi Fraternity. She works as the vice president of human resources at Fujitsu Network Communications.
CINDY ADAMS (BS ’86), Greenwood, IN, was hired as a senior manager of the WealthPlan team at BKD Indianapolis.
JOHN GROTON (BS ’87), Minnetonka, MN, was promoted to director of equity research at Thrivent Asset Management in Minneapolis.
BRAD STOCK (MS ’88) is now chief information officer at PayPal, a publicly-traded spinoff of eBay that launched in 2014. He previously served as vice president of global operations and technology and led the company’s IT effort in the transition.
