“Other” Class Notes
Thornton Staples (Engr ’80)
Thornton Staples (Engr ’80) had his composition, “Symphony #1, in F major,” performed by the American Contemporary Classical Orchestra at the Miracle Theater in Washington, D.C., on May 22, 2025.
Polina Chesnakova (Col ’14)
Polina Chesnakova (Col ’14) will publish her cookbook, Chesnok: Cooking from My Corner of the Diaspora: Recipes from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia on September. The book explores life and cooking in the Soviet diaspora through her family’s immigrant story and recipes. It can be found through several major online retailers. She will host a series of events in November to celebrate the book launch.
Chesnakova and her husband, Lee Eschenroeder (Col ’11, Med ’17 CM), recently moved from Seattle to Rhode Island. They are expecting their second child in July.
Andrew Arthur (Col ’88 CM)
Andrew Arthur (Col ’88 CM) was invited by The Oxford Union Society of Oxford University to participate in its June 5, 2025, debate on the topic “This House Believes No One Can Be Illegal on Stolen Land.” The Oxford Union, founded in 1823, has hosted a range of speakers from the Dalai Lama, to President Nixon and the late Queen Elizabeth II. Arthur partnered with David Seymour, Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand.
David Doukas (Col ’79 CM)
David J. Doukas (Col ’79 CM) was awarded the title Professor Emeritus at Tulane University after a distinguished four-decade career in medical ethics and family medicine. His scholarship focuses on the areas of professionalism, primary care bioethics, genetics and end-of-life care decision-making. He is the originator of the concept termed the Family Covenant (1991) and the co-developer/author of Values History (1988). He held the James A. Knight Chair of Humanities and Ethics in Medicine at Tulane from 2017 to 2024 and was founding director of the Program in Medical Ethics and Human Values at Tulane University’s School of Medicine. Doukas was also the past executive director of the Master of Science in Bioethics and Medical Humanities at Tulane. He previously worked at the University of Louisville, serving as the William Ray Moore Endowed Chair of Family Medicine and Medical Humanism, the director of the Division of Medical Humanism and Ethics, and founding co-director of the Interdisciplinary Master of Arts in Bioethics program from 2004 to 2013.
kari miller (Educ ’07)
Kari Miller (Educ ’07) was featured in an interview with CharlottesvilleFamily Magazine, in which she talks about International Neighbors, the Charlottesville-based non-profit she founded. International Neighbors works to help ease the transition to life in the Charlottesville community for immigrants and refugees.
Adam Olenn (Col ’95 CM)
Adam Olenn (Col ’95 CM) launched a special program for job seekers, StoryStrengths, through his business, Rustle & Spark. This online course, created in response to the mass layoffs of federal employees, combines resume polishing and specialized coaching to communicate career accomplishments through the power of business storytelling. He offers a discount for StoryStrengths to UVA alumni.
Suzanne Goldlust (Col ’90 CM)
Suzanne Goldlust (Col ’90 CM) competed on Jeopardy!, America’s Favorite Quiz Show, in June 2023. She won one game, winning $18,700. She also participated in the Champions Wildcard tournament in February 2024.
Justin Humphreys (Col ’01)
Justin Humphreys (Col ’01) has co-authored a new book, Salem’s Lot: Studies in the Horror Film (2nd Edition), published by Centipede Press. The book includes interviews with major figures of the 1979 Salem’s Lot miniseries, dozens of rare photographs, and discussions of various unused script materials.
Andrew Wozniak (Col ’00)
Andrew Wozniak (Col ’00) just returned from leading a research expedition to the East Pacific Rise (EPR) deep ocean spreading center. Wozniak and two other passengers in the HOV Alvin—a deep-ocean submersible—had the tremendous fortune to be the first to ever witness a clearly active undersea volcanic eruption at a mid-ocean ridge.
Wozniak is an associate professor of chemical oceanography at the University of Delaware and lives in Lewes, Delaware with his wife and daughter. He and his team were at the EPR to study how the organic geochemistry of hydrothermal vent ecosystems influences ocean chemistry.
Cathy Delligatti (Nurs ’75)
Cathy Delligatti (Nurs ’75) is partially retired and working remotely. She spent her career as a chief nursing officer and an interim consultant in nursing and quality. She is using her retirement to quilt, garden, cook and visit her seven grandchildren. This year, she and her husband will celebrate 49 years of marriage.
Bruce Woodruff (Col ’64)
Bruce Woodruff (Col ’64) played with professional tennis players Kim Clijsters, Leylah Fernandez, Jack Sock and Sam Querrey in the Bea for Kids Champions Challenge in Orlando. The charity tennis tournament raises funds for children with complex medical issues.
Alvin Garcia Garcia (Nurs ’06, Col ’88 CM)
Alvin Garcia (Col ’88, Nurs ’06 CM) completed his Professional Master of Business Administration program from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California last December. He is currently stationed in Rota, Spain.
Adam J. Ruffin (Arch ’02)
Adam Ruffin (Arch ’02), Katie MacNelly (Arch ’02), and Danny MacNelly (Arch ’02) are proud to have their practice ARCHITECTUREFIRM featured in “A South Forty: Contemporary Architecture and Design in the American South,” an exhibition at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., which celebrates contemporary architectural practices in the American South. Featuring over forty architecture firms, the exhibition examines how southern architects are responding to a diverse set of challenges, including natural disasters, rapid urbanization and changing cultural landscapes. The exhibition showcases innovation and functionality with a respect for the region’s heritage. Ruffin considers his time at UVA as being crucial to his understanding and love of southern architecture. “A South Forty” will be open to the public through 2026.
Ronnie Poff (SCPS ’12 CM)
Ronnie Poff (SCPS ’12 CM) was initiated as the national president of Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE), a co-ed business fraternity focused on professional development in sales, marketing and management. Poff is an associate professor at Virginia Tech.
Irwin Shur (Col ’80, Law ’83 CM)
Irwin Shur (Col ’80, Law ’83 CM) has just released his fourth solo album, “The Farther Away You Get, The Better I Look,” available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and other music streaming services. He continues practicing law but focuses on his passion for music.
Richard Scher (Res ’90)
Rich Scher (Res ’90) will release his debut album, Mill Pond, in March. Scher transitioned into the world of music after a successful career as a physician to channel his passion for storytelling, using it as his new medium of healing. He crafts gritty folk and Americana songs inspired by his observations and connections with the many people and places he’s encountered throughout his life.
Scher is a former professor of surgery at Duke University and head and neck cancer surgeon who trained in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at UVA. He is based in North Carolina.
Justin Ruth (Grad ’97 CM)
Justin Ruth (Col ’97 CM) has been appointed as associate circuit judge in St. Louis County, Missouri, by Gov. Mike Kehoe.
Philip Whitman (Col ’04 CM)
Philip Whitman (Col ’04 CM) was raised to the sublime degree of master mason on Sept. 21, 2024 and currently is serving as junior deacon of Bremond Lodge #241 in Newport News, Virginia.
Joan Green (Educ ’62 CM)
Joan Burcher Green (Educ ’62 CM) reports that her son, Chad Green, was elected to the Virginia General Assembly, House of Delegates, in 2023. Green serves the 69th District.
A. Ross Rommel Jr. (Col ’69 CM)
Ross Rommel (Col ’69 CM) is enjoying retirement in the Texas Hill Country after 30 years as a partner with the law firm Hunton Andrew Kurth in Houston. Rommel and his wife Deborah live on seven acres in Hunt, Texas, with 13 chickens, 70 peach trees, and an abundance of vegetables.
Rommel served as general counsel at Hunton Andrew Kurth for 12 years and as head of its trial division for seven years. In 2019, he received the University of Houston Law Center’s Lifetime Achievement in Advocacy Award, which honors an individual who contributed significantly to teaching the art of advocacy to law students.
Rommel was a prosecutor with the Harris County (Texas) District Attorney’s Office for seven years before joining Hunter Andrews Kirth. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a platoon sergeant before attending law school at the University of Houston Law Center.
Rommel wrote a book, Of Tight Lines and Cupped Wings, which recounts his adventures in the outdoors with family and friends. He’s currently taking voice and cello lessons at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas.
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