Humanitarian and plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dennis
Nigro '69 has developed a bioabsorbable screw for use
in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery that would replace
traditional titanium screws. Nigro is the founder and chair of
Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, a non-profit group that assists underprivileged
children suffering from congenital birth defects or deformities.
. . . The Dallas Morning News profiled
Leo Linbeck III '84, president and CEO of Houston-based
NextStage Entertainment Corporation, which completed construction
of a 6,350-seat live-performance hall in the Dallas-Fort Worth
suburb of Grand Prairie. The article said Linbeck's company hopes
by 2015 to build a network of 20 to 30 such mid-size
venues geared to artists and shows too large to fit into a typical
theater but too small for an arena. . . . The American Lawyer
described the work of attorney Francis James '85
in Cambodia in the mid-1990s, when he launched two groups that
provide legal aid to poor Cambodians. The local people he helped
train went on to defend clients against illegal detention, coerced
confession and convictions based on secret evidence. Both organizations
are still operating, the publication said. . . . An article in
the Albuquerque Journal noted that Atkinson & Kelsey
in Albuquerque, headed by founding partner David H. Kelsey
'61J.D., is the oldest and largest family law firm in
New Mexico and fifth-largest among family law firms in the United
States. . . . After only three months in Belgrade, Michelle
Mack '99J.D., '00LL.M. was transferred by the International
Committee of the Red Cross to Jerusalem, where she was to facilitate
efforts to bring food and other aid to the area. . . . Meg
Penrose '99LL.M., assistant professor of law at Oklahoma
University, was voted "Most Outstanding" professor by the school's
students. She also received the Arkansas Traveler award from the
governor of Arkansas for her work with police officers and school
officials in the state. The efforts were part of her work with
the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the
U.S. Department of Justice. . . . Jack Simmerling '57,
Chicago artist and author renowned for his watercolor painting
and pencil renditions of historic and contemporary American cities,
received an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Saint
Xavier University in Chicago. . . . Congressman Jim Moran of Virginia
promoted Melissa Koloszar '89 to chief of his
staff. . . . Mike Radford '92, '98J.D. received
an award from the Arizona Bar Foundation as one of the top 50
pro bono attorneys in Arizona. . . . Coquese
Washington '92, '97J.D., assistant coach of the Notre
Dame women's basketball team and point guard for the WNBA's Houston
Comets, writes a Hoop Clinic column on women's professional basketball
for the bimonthly Women's Basketball magazine. . . .
Mark Frey '01M.A. has traveled to the West Bank
as a missionary for Christian Peacemaker Teams, a Mennonite organization
that promotes nonviolent alternatives to war. . . . Michael
C. Dugan, M.D., '83 was appointed vice president and
co-laboratory director of Specialty Laboratories Inc., a hospital-focused
clinical reference laboratory.
