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John W. Cegielski, J.D. 1961, was named 1999 Defense Lawyer of the Year by the Western New York Defense Trial Lawyers’ Association. A partner in the Buffalo, NY, law firm of Bouvier O’Connor, he has been a trial lawyer for 36 years, specializing in the areas of negligence, personal injury and litigation. The award recognizes not only his courtroom successes, but also his exemplary conduct as an attorney. He and his wife reside in Amherst, NY.

Hedria P. Lunken, Ed.B. 1961, presented at the April 2000 Creativity Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, for the second consecutive year. A member of the National Speakers Association, she is president of Hedria Consulting, a Williamsville, NY based firm specializing in coaching, facilitation, consulting and training in the areas of creativity, leadership and team-building.

Raoul Hailpern, Ph.D. 1962 & M.A. 1959, is teaching math part time at Park School in Amherst, NY, at age 83. A resident of Eggertsville, NY, he teaches an honors precalculus class for juniors and an advanced placement calculus class for seniors.

Robert H. Claxton, M.A. 1964, professor at the State University of West Georgia, has announced his retirement after 33 years of service to the university. In the coming year, he plans to visit family in Western New York, travel to Cuba with a West Georgia student/faculty group, and complete a manuscript on the history of early radio in Argentina.

Maureen W. Saab, M.S.W. 1964, has been elected chair of the board of trustees of Hilbert College in Hamburg, NY. A resident of Buffalo, NY, she is the first woman to serve in this position in the college’s history.

Robert G. Rose, B.A. 1965, was honored by the Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark, NJ, as its distinguished graduate of the year. Currently a partner in the law firm of Pitney, Hardin, Kipp & Szuch LLP, in Morristown, NJ, he concentrates his practice in the areas of commercial and environmental litigation, regularly representing Fortune 500 companies. He lives with his wife, Ellen, in Mendham, NJ.

Carl M. Ingraham, Ed.M. 1966, a high school teacher in the Buffalo Public School System, has earned numerous distinctions during his career: He is a life member of Kappa Alpha Psi, a Golden Heritage member of the NAACP and a recipient of the NAACP Human Relations Award. Additionally, he has served as a cochair of the Buffalo Teachers Federation’s Channel 7 Variety Club Telethon for the past 25 years, as well as serving as the cochair of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation’s Annual Walk-A-Thon.

Dennis L. Menza, B.S. 1966, has been appointed treasurer of Toastmasters International District 65, which includes all of upstate New York. Employed by Lumsden & McCormick LLP, certified public accountants, since 1969, he is a senior manager in the firm’s tax department. He resides in Kenmore, NY.

Maxine S. Richman, B.A. 1966, is a sales consultant for Zaner-Bloser, a textbook publisher in Columbus, OH.

Lester A. Gerhardt, Ph.D. 1969 & M.S. 1964, associate dean of engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, received an honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Denmark this past May. He is the author of numerous papers and articles relating to practical applications of sonar, radar, and biomedical and seismographic signal processing, in addition to extensive works on image and speech compression, and computer-integrated manufacturing emphasizing automated inspection. He holds several patents, the most recent of which—a vision tracking system that allows physically challenged people to “speak” with their eyes—won the 1997 Inventor of the Year Award in New York State.

Carol V. Kociela, B.A. 1969, has been appointed secretary of the Hilbert College Board of Trustees in Hamburg, NY. A resident of Amherst, NY, she is a senior vice president at HSBC.

William R. Shosho, B.S. 1969, was recently promoted to principal at Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Architecture & Engineering PC, in Boston, MA, where he will be responsible for managing electrical group activities, quality assurance and new business development. He specializes in electrical distribution design, investigating power quality and harmonic mitigation is sues, and energy efficient “green” design initiatives. He also manages the electrical engineering design on several projects, including a science and technology center for Assumption College in Worcester, MA, and a science center and campus electrical system master plan for Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA.