We enjoy hearing from you so keep those cards, letters and e-mails coming! If you can provide information about your classmates, we like that, too. For those who prefer to correspond electronically, you can find our email addresses through the departmental web page. Or you may update us through a link on the Chemistry Department Careers & Alumni webpage.
Aaron Bezio (Chem ‘17) married Kellie Burke (Psychology ’17) in June 2020 in a small ceremony. They hope for a larger post-COVID celebration in the future.
Taylor Buckley (Chem ‘19) is attending the Drexel University College of Medicine.
Brandon Carcuffe (Chem ‘17) attended the July 2021 wedding of classmates Caroline Jager (Business ’17) and Campden Stoops (Religion ‘17), held in Christ Chapel on campus, along with several other Gettysburg College alumni.
Anthony Costanzo (Chem ‘51) reported the story of his post-college life to Professor Emeritus of Religion Lou Hammann, also a member of the Gettysburg College Class of ’51. Lou shared parts of Anthony’s story in the Class Notes section of the Winter 2021 edition of the Gettysburg College magazine. Anthony lived for 22 years in Cape May, N.J. where he served as president of the Senior Citizens Group and his homeowners association. He played saxophone in the community band and worked with the area chamber of commerce technical information services.
Craig Fryhle (Chem ‘79) hiked the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim in October 2021.
Dr. Tom George (Chem ‘67) retired in 2019 to Las Cruces, NM, after 16 years as chancellor at University of Missouri-St. Louis, preceded by 7 years as chancellor at University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. He continues to do research and recently finished his 800th paper and co-authored his 8th book, entitled “Introduction to Ultrafast Phenomona”. He compliments his career as a scientist and academician with a passion for music, playing jazz keyboard in performances throughout the United States and overseas in Bosnia, Croatia, China, Hungary, Kuwait, Oman, Romania and Russian Siberia. In 2015, he performed at Gettysburg College with his wife, Dr. Barbara Harbach, presenting works inspirational female jazz composers. He recently released a new CD, “Stardust, Songs of Hoagy Carmichael”
Lisa Gregory (Biology ‘86), along with husband, Prof. Don Jameson, spent time in France visiting with family during the summer of 2022. Lisa has been a lab instructor for the Chemistry Department since 1990.
Celina Harris (Chem ’17) received a 2023 National Sea Grant John A. Knauss Policy Fellowship. The Knauss Fellowship is a national program that places exceptional, early-career graduate students with host offices of the federal government for a one-year fellowship in Washington, D.C. Celina is currently a graduate student pursuing a doctoral degree in chemistry at the University of Minnesota. Her research is about how rust (iron oxide) interacts with common pollutants in the environment and how those interactions change the pollutants and the rust.
Dr. Kenneth Hess (Chem ‘82), a professor of chemistry at Franklin and Marshall College since 1987, received the F&M’s 2022 Faculty Distinguished Service Award.
Dr. Molly Hoke (Chem ’95) got in touch with the College via social media. She recalled her time on the cross-country team with Coach Schenk. She says, “The time I spent there was fantastic and filled with so many wonderful memories. … Battlefield runs were amazing – workouts were named after major battles – Pickett’s Charge, etc. (I think Devil’s Den was a particularly brutal workout)”
Brooke Krovic (Chem ’04) moved with her family to Zagreb, Croatia, in June 2021. Brooke and husband, Ivan Hrabiric, have two children, Ljiljana, 7, and James, 5.
Jeremy Kuhar (Biology & Environmental Studies ’01) and wife, Anastasia, celebrated the birth of a daughter in November 2021. Alina Sophia Kuhar joined sisters Ariana and Eliana. Jeremy was on paternity leave during the Spring and Summer of 2022 but returned to the Gettysburg College Chemistry Department in the 2022 fall semester, resuming his work as Lecturer and Chemical Hygiene Officer.
Dr. Tina Tao Maynes (Chem ‘05) earned her Ed.D. in Higher Ed Administration from Northeastern University in 2021. She is an academic advisor at St. Lawrence University where her husband Jeff Maynes (History, Philosophy ’05) teaches Philosophy. Together, Tina and Jeff teach a first-year course called “Sherlock Holmes and the Art and Science of Reasoning”.
Bryan R. Meyer (Chem ‘01) wrote a letter to the editor printed in the Winter 2021 Gettysburg College Magazine. In the letter, Bryan talks about the “challenging, dedicated and personable” Chemistry faculty he encountered as a student here. He recalls the enthusiasm and dedication of Prof. Don Jameson, Prof. Bill Parker’s calming steady approach in guiding students through the introductory chemistry classes and labs. He also remembers his academic advisor, Prof. Alex Rowland, “who always had a moment to listen, to answer a question, or to talk about his favorite professional baseball player, Willie Mays.”
Kimberly Grove McMenamin (Chem ‘08) gave a virtual presentation in November 2020 on The Science of Chocolate for STEMinists, a Gettysburg College student group for women and underrepresented students in STEM related majors. Kimberly is a Senior Research Scientist in Chocolate Product Development for the Hershey Company. For more about Kimberly’s presentation, check out this article on the College website or watch this YouTube video of the presentation.
Dr. Rowan Meador (Chem ’16) earned her Ph.D. from Syracuse University in September 2021 and is now a Degradation Chemist at GlaxoSmithKline in suburban Philadelphia.
Michelle Black Morritz (Chem ‘14) attended the November 2021 wedding of Casey Mensinger (Political Science/Public Policy ‘15) and Rich Cornish (Psychology ‘16) in Stroudsburg, PA, along with several other Gettysburg College alumni.
Dr. David Krug Nelson (Chem ‘93) serves as the correspondent for the Class of 1993 and would love to hear from former classmates at davidknelson@mac.com. A pediatrician at Gettysburg Pediatrics, he was the new guy in the practice when Lea Czar, administrative assistant for the Chemistry Department, had young children. Twenty-some years later, we are grateful for his kind, patient, knowledgeable care.
Ian Nuzum (Chem ‘17) attended the November 2021 wedding of Casey Mensinger (Political Science/Public Policy ‘15) and Rich Cornish (Psychology ‘16) in Stroudsburg, PA, along with several other Gettysburg College alumni.
Carrine Park (Chem ‘08) attended the December 2020 wedding of Jacob Conner (English History ‘08) and Rachelle DeCinque Conner (Political Science ’09) along with many other Gettysburg College alumni.
Dr. Taylor Plank (Chem ‘12) serves as the correspondent for the Class of 2012 and would love to hear from former classmates at taylorplank@yahoo.com.
Gabby Pros (Chem ‘13) attended the wedding of classmate, Kaitlin Chiarelli Merritt in September 2020 and enjoyed reuniting with several other Gettysburg alumni also in attendance.
David Salisbury (Chem ‘85) and Cynthia LeCompte Salisbury (Chem ‘84) were featured in an article appearing in the Winter 2022 issue of Gettysburg College Magazine. In 2017, the couple purchased and renovated an historic home in Gettysburg. They moved into the home in 2019. Prior to their retirement, David was the President of Polytek Development Corp where Cynthia was Vice President of the company. David is a member of the College’s Board of Trustees. Both are active in Gettysburg and Adams County community organizations.
Brian Schimpf (Chem ‘72) and Cindy Eichelberger Schimpf (Biology ‘72) reported in the Winter 2022 issue of Gettysburg College Magazine that they moved to San Diego in 2015 after spending 40 years in Boston. Happy to escape Boston’s winter weather, they enjoy downtown life where they can walk to restaurants, theaters, church and other places nearby.
Colonel Fred Schumacher (Chem ‘69) was a guest speaker at Fort Detrick on the 246th birthday of the U.S. Army in June 2021. He also presented a history of the military as part of Maryland’s Frederick County Veteran Recognition and Resource Days. Fred won 3 gold medals in the Maryland Senior Olympics, qualifying him to participate in the National Senior Games held in May 2022.
Zach Travis (Chem/Film Theory & Preservation ‘10) and his wife, Michelle, welcomed a new addition to their family, Edward Zachary Jr., born in April 2022. Zach also attended the December 2020 wedding of Jacob Conner (English History ‘08) and Rachelle DeCinque Conner (Political Science ’09) along with many other Gettysburg College alumni.
Dr. Vince Venditto (Chem ‘03) is an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky in the College of Pharmacy. His lab researches immune responses and therapeutics. At the start of the pandemic, Vince switched gears, using his lab to process COVID test swabs sent from pharmacies across Kentucky. This valuable service benefited the population while providing the lab with important data for use in their ongoing research.
Dr. Kevin Welch (Chem ‘02) was featured in an article at the University of Virginia. The article credits Kevin with transforming a large 500-student course into a more personal experience, even during the challenge of virtual instruction. Kevin, married to Rebecca Scimone (Chem ‘02), has been teaching chemistry since 2010 and joined the UVA Chemistry Department in 2016. Kevin’s UVA webpage notes his interest in developing curricula for undergraduate instruction in general and organic chemistry, with focus is on accommodating the students’ diverse background in chemistry.
We are saddened to hear of deaths among our Chemistry alumni family. In the last couple years, we lost Anna Latsha Babcock (Chem ‘56) in November 2020, Frank Barranco (Chem ‘52) in March 2020, Leonard Bausback (Chem ‘51) in February 2020, Arvid Carlson (Chem ‘65) in July 2021, Dr. Lawrence Caruth (Chem ‘61) in October 2021, Eugene Deardorff (Chem ‘58) in September 2020, Judith Derr Hofmann (Chem ‘60 )in May 2021, John Devoto Sr (Chem ‘50) in Ocober 2020, Emily Scheffer Dolbeer (Chem ‘45) in June 2020, Ronald Downey (Chem ‘57) in May 2020, Angeline Feeser Haines, (Chem ‘45) in April 2020, Phyllis Christ Hesser (Chem ’51) in January 2021, Richard Kornmann (Chem ‘61) in January 2020, Ronald Leib (Chem ’52) in February 2021, Robert Little Jr (Chem ’51) in October 2020, Virginia Leedom Macfarland Chem ’47) in September 2020, Joan Sibigtroth Murphy (Chem ’75) in September 2021, Don Peterson (Chem ‘49) in June 2021, Charlotte Rehmeyer Odell (Chem ’45) in May 2020, Richard Ott (Chem ’50) in November 2020, Frederick Shisler (Chem ’56) in January 2021, Joan Stein-Steilein (Chem ’56) in January 2021, Robert Trewella (Chem ’48) in August 2020 and Dr. John Zeigler (Chem ’52) in March 2020.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program
See the 2022 BMB Newsletter for BMB alumni news.
