“Publication” Class Notes

Lauren Ritacco Seufert (Engr ’02 L/M) published her first book this spring, True Connection: Discovering Ourselves in a Distracting Digital World. The book covers topics such as emotional intelligence, self-awareness and inclusive communication, and provides tools and strategies for the digital age. Seufert has received her MBA and held several global leadership positions in the chemical industry. In 2018, she started her company, emOcean Coaching & Consulting, which supports individuals and businesses to develop the skills necessary for leadership and organizational impact in the future. 

Joe Essid (Col ’83) was coeditor of Writing Centers at the Center of Change, a look at how 11 writing centers internationally have adapted to widespread institutional change. He is director of the Writing Center at the University of Richmond.

Jay Cost (Col ’01 L/M) earned a doctorate in political science from the University of Chicago in 2017. He is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., and is currently writing his fourth book, a biography of James Madison, to be published by Basic in 2021.

John W. Warner (Col ’86 L/M) is a writer and “gentleman farmer” whose passion for history, vintage cars and the unsung heroes of WWII has inspired two large-scale creative ventures: a DVD documentary series on the early bootlegging days of NASCAR, ​The Golden Era of NASCAR​ , and a historical novel titled Little Anton.

Warner is the son of retired Senator John W. Warner III (R-VA), former Secretary of the Navy and Chairman of the Armed Services Committee (KBE), ​and Catherine Mellon, daughter of philanthropist Paul Mellon (U.S. Army, OSS, CIA, KBE). Growing up in a whacky military family that had a seat at many of the most historically significant tables––military, corporate, and intelligence––led to his insatiable quest to find and reveal the hidden truths behind world events. 

A “gear head,” he has spent most of his adult life quenching his thirst for knowledge about race cars, first as a professional Grand Am, IMSA, and American LeMans Series racing driver (a plodding “middle of the pack man” behind the wheel of a Corvette GT1 and a Porsche GT3R, back in 1995-2001), and later researching the southern history of the sport for his NASCAR DVD series, “The Golden Era of Nascar,” and the “Wendell Scott Story,” (find them on Youtube).

He has now finished his first book, “Little Anton,” which is the first in a series.

An avid researcher of revisionist/alternative history, both ancient and recent, he began writing this book series during a two year-long recovery from a racing car accident. His extensive research for ​”Little Anton​” evolved into a gripping historical narrative that reveals hidden truths about technological advancements, top secret German non-linear physics, and the many prominent leaders active in the WWII era, including Adolf Hitler, Henrich Himmler, physicist Walter Gerlach, Ferdinand Porsche, and Winston Churchill. Part love story and part satire, the book centers on Hitler’s use of Porsche’s brilliant engineering mind to build the world’s fastest and most advanced machines, and the occultism of the SS to further new advanced weapons of the ​”Wunderwaffe​ .”

He and his wife, Teba,  split their time between our Washington D.C. area residence and their humble Virginia hay farm, where he is finishing the sequel to L​ittle Anton​, titled​ Lion,Tiger, Bear​. They also host a biannual deer hunt and picnic for wounded veterans with the Virginia Wildlife Foundation.

Tony Gentry (Educ ’06), associate professor in occupational therapy at Virginia Commonwealth University, has published his debut novel, The Coal Tower, a domestic drama set in Charlottesville on the first day of the UVA football season. The book is available in paperback or e-book. He will be reading from the novel at New Dominion Book Shop on the downtown mall on August 28, 2019.

Brian Sayre (Col ’75 L/M), Craig N. Thomas (Col ’82), and Cody Pennetti (Engr ’07, ’25) contributed to the publication of the fourth edition of The Land Development Handbook as reviewer, legal contributor, and co-editor and contributor, respectively. The handbook is a reference for design professionals, students, and private and public land developers. Authored by Dewberry and originally published in 1995, the first three editions have sold nearly 40,000 copies. The new edition and accompanying books are available through McGraw-Hill, Amazon and other retailers. 

Pete Hardesty (Col ’97 L/M) finally figured out how to be an adult (barely) and published a book, Adulting 101, in March 2018. It became an Amazon #1 bestseller within a week.  The book covers topics like the purpose of life, money, time management, how to interview and get a job, how to become a millionaire, relationships, sex and dating, professionalism, how to be wildly successful at work, and much, much more.

Vivian Lerner (Col ’74) published Stories of My Aunt Greta: A True Survivor. The book tells a series of stories about Greta, who grew up in pre-Nazi Austria before her family had to leave suddenly. Ending up in Lima, Peru, she found herself in a strange new world of new language and new customs. Her attempt at adapting is told with honesty and humor. The story then follows her move, at age 21, to New York. The book tells a survivor’s story of a life well-lived. It is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and local bookstores.

Richard Fowler (Col ’56, Educ ’60 L/M) recently completed the third volume of the previously unpublished history of Laurens County, South Carolina through 1900 as chief writer and editor. He served as president of the South Carolina Education Association in 1973 and served as editor of the Virginia Literary Magazine in 1958.

Deborah Sheetenhelm Hammond (Arch ’82) has released her nineteenth novel. Scotland for the Summer, it is a contemporary story about second chances set primarily in the Highlands of Scotland and in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Scotland for the Summer is available on Amazon.

JoAnne Mancini (Col ’90 L/M) published Art and War in the Pacific World: Making, Breaking, and Taking from Anson’s Voyage to the Philippine-American War. She lives in Dublin with her husband and two children.

Kate Hendricks Thomas (Col ’02) published an anthology, Bulletproofing the Psyche: Preventing Mental Health Problems in Our Military and Veterans. An assistant professor of public health at Charleston Southern University, Thomas’s anthology pulls together a team of leaders in the fields of security studies, social work, public health, and veterans’ health practice to outline the case for such skills-building. Mental fitness training methods include body-based protocols long used in the treatment sector to rewire brains after trauma. Weaving together personal stories from military veterans and the latest in holistic behavioral medicine research, this book offers a call to action and health for those interested in peak performance. Watch the book trailer at www.bulletproofingthepsyche.com. 

Peter Lovie (Engr ’64 L/M) published a book, ETA and Its Jackups: Pioneering, Engineering and Making it in America, which tells the story of his company, Engineering Technology Analysts, and its innovative designs for jackups, elevated rigs used in offshore oil drilling. Learn more here. 

Don Jenkins (Col ’71) published a book, The Lost Civil War Diary of John Rigdon King (Arcadia Publishing/The History Press) on Oct. 29, 2018. Jenkins wrote the book, a biography of a 17-year-old civilian from Hagerstown, Maryland, alongside the transcription of the civilian’s diary, after retiring from a lengthy career in public service.

David G. Rojohn (Engr ’74) contributed to a book by his sister, The Piggyback Flight Pilot’s Journey, which is about their father’s landing of two B17s simultaneously after a mid-air collision over the North Sea in World War II. The book, which chronicles Glenn Rojohn’s journey as a pilot, life as POW and the aftermath, was the result of several years of work and research and comes out a year before the event’s 75th anniversary.

Michael N. Widener (Col ’72 L/M) is adjunct professor of business law and ethics in the School of Business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. His paper, “Populist Placemaking: Grounds for Open Government-Citizen Spatial Regulation Discourse,” will be published in Vol. 119 of the West Virginia Law Review in early 2019.

Mark Scharf (Grad ’84 L/M) had three of his new plays recently published: The Quickening, his adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine and his play Fortune’s Child. Visit his website for more information. 

Mike Ross (Col ’70, Law ’77 L/M) published two more collections of quotations. Ross’s Thoughtful Discoveries was published in Dec. 2017 and Ross’s Personal Discoveries in Nov. 2018, both by Rare Bird Press. The books are available on Amazon.

Betty Roberts (Nurs ’53) published Midnight Chronicles, which tells the story of a strong man’s journey as he deals with Alzheimer’s day after day. Told through the eyes of his nurse/caregiver/wife, it relates the effect on his life and on the lives of his family from the early, undiagnosed stage one to the disability of stage seven. A member of the Apollo Team who helped put the man on the moon, he now forgets how to live like a man on earth. 

Lisa Wechsler Childress (Col ’96) published the second edition of her book, The Twenty-First Century University: Developing Faculty Engagement in Internationalization (Peter Lang Publishers). The book identifies what successful universities have done to overcome endogenous challenges and successfully engage faculty in the internationalization process. Lisa’s husband, Trey Childress (Col ’97), is on sabbatical from Pepperdine University School of Law, where he has served as dean of faculty and professor of law, to serve as counselor on international law at the U.S. Department of State. Trey recently argued before the International Court of Justice in the Hague.

Lloyd Stamy (Col ’73 CM) has published a novel, Reunion of Strangers. The tale chronicles the lifelong relationship of an investment manager (and occasional CIA operative), and his former high school classmate, a world renowned psychologist, after they reconnect in surprising, rewarding and frightening ways. The story is one of unbridled, abiding passion for love and life itself. Stamy, an English major who lives in Pittsburgh, began writing full-time after retiring in 2013 following a decades-long career in the institutional investment business. Visit his author page for more information: www.amazon.com/author/lloyd.stamy

Cheryl Fuller-Bragg (Col ’78) co-authored a book, Maine Colonist, Nathaniel Fuller and Descendants: Including the Russ Family of Oxford County (GreenKids Press).

Cassie Premo Steele (Col ’89) published a new novel, The ReSisters (All Things That Matter Press) on Sept. 24, 2018. The book is based on current events in the news such as detention centers, the rise of nationalism in the public sphere, and violence against targeted groups spurred on by political rhetoric. But it was written before any of these events took place. In the month since its release, the book became No. 1 on Amazon’s bestseller list for new releases of children’s books about prejudice and racism. The ReSisters is available on Amazon.

Justin Humphreys (Col ’01) is publishing a new book, The Dr. Phibes Companion (Bearmanor Media) this fall. 

David Williams (Engr ’76) self-published two e-books. Philly Math: A Teacher’s Daily Stress provides a glimpse at the field of education through the lens of one day in which Williams commuted from the suburbs to teach high school math to inner city kids in Philadelphia. A Liberal’s Search for Truth, Justice and the American Way details his political consciousness through book reviews, analysis and letters to the editor.

Rich Tarbell (Col ’89) published Regarding Charlottesville Music (Richie Heart Publishing). The 300-plus page book of portrait photography covers more than 100 Charlottesville musicians alongside a supplemental oral history compiled from interviews. The timeline begins with The Casuals and Skip Castro and goes through 2018 with chapters on venues such as The Mineshaft and Trax as well as unexpected musical centers of influence like the Corner parking lot. Find out more here.

Robert C. Hauhart (Grad ’81), a professor in the department of society and social justice at Saint Martin’s University, has published his fifth book, a co-edited volume of literary essays titled European Writers in Exile (Lexington Books/Rowman and Littlefield). His monograph, The Lonely Quest, an analysis of the relation of self and society in the twenty-first century United States, will appear later this year from Routledge/Taylor and Francis.

Gregory Ashe (Col ’88, Law ’95 L/M) published his first collection of poetry, a chapbook titled Explorations (Finishing Line). The poems are reflections and observations on nature and life. Bookended by the poems Rotunda Dreams and Appalachian Dawn, the poem Western Explorations is a series of poemettes in which the author’s journey through several National Parks in the American West parallels a spiritual journey of the soul.

David D. Schein (Darden ’75, Educ ’05 L/M) published The Decline of America: 100 Years of Leadership Failures. 

Jason Zeitler (Col ’96) will publish his novella Like Flesh to the Scalpel (Running Wild Press) in November 2018. It will be sold as part of an anthology through Amazon and Powell’s. His short stories and narrative essays have previously appeared in Midwestern Gothic and other print and online magazines.

John Attanasio (Col ’76 L/M) published Politics and Capital: Auctioning the American Dream (Oxford) in May 2018. The book explores five ideas the author considers to be critical to addressing problems besetting the American political and economic systems.

Fritz R. Franke (Com ’83 L/M) published his second novel from The Savior Project series, Terlokya. The novel charts the covertly trained existence of Chris Gates from his planned birth in 1966 to childhood to baseball star to U.S. senator, his life unfolds on Earth, guided, shaped, and rescued by “those who have watched over us” — before he is extracted by our protectors to be trained to lead Earth.

Scott Horton (Col ’02, Law ’05) published his first book, New York Management Law:The Practical Guide to Employment Law for Business Owners and Managers (Modern Legal Media). He also recently celebrated the first anniversary of his law firm, Horton Law.