Robert Olsen BFA’66 has given an inclusive scholarship to the College of Architecture + Planning that will positively impact aspiring architecture students. Olsen was a first-generation college graduate in his family. His father, Kenneth, did not graduate from high school because he had to work on the family farm. His mother, Sarah, had two years of college and taught school briefly before becoming a full-time homemaker. At the U, Robert married classmate Jody Olsen BS’65 and the pair went into the Peace Corps in Tunisia, then moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where he worked as a planner and architect and their children grew up before further travel and his entrée into international consulting. The couple divorced years ago when Robert came out as gay. “Jody and I are best friends, see each other regularly, and spend holidays together,” notes Robert. “I married Bruce Swanson a few years after gay marriage became legal.” Before Olsen’s father died, he set up a family partnership with his farmland. The family recently sold some land, and Olsen decided to give the equity, diversity, and inclusion-oriented scholarship, named after his parents.
Monica Bertagnolli MD’85 is the 16th director of the National Cancer Institute and its first woman director. Bertagnolli was previously the Richard E. Wilson Professor of Surgery in the field of surgical oncology at Harvard Medical School, a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a member of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Treatment and Sarcoma Centers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Erik A. Christiansen BA’86 BS’87 JD’90 is president-elect of the Utah State Bar. Christiansen is a shareholder at Parsons Behle & Latimer, with more than 30 years of experience in high-stakes litigation, and an adjunct professor of law at the U. He was named Alumnus of the Year in 2019 by the S.J. Quinney College of Law.
Keith Embray BA’92 MA’98 recently returned to the U in a dual capacity with the Division of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (EDI) and Department of Athletics. Embray is the first executive director of EDI Operations as well as associate athletics director for EDI and Student Belonging. He most recently served as Penn State University’s assistant A.D. for student-athlete welfare and development. In his new role, he will be responsible for infusing student belonging and EDI values throughout Athletics. He was previously an assistant A.D. at the University of Central Florida and an associate director for student-athlete welfare and development at the University of Notre Dame. He also spent more than a decade as a project manager in HR and management consulting, and taught undergraduate sociology courses and was a program coordinator for the federally funded McNair Scholars Program at Westminster College. In addition to his bachelor’s in history and master’s in sociology from the U, he holds an MBA from Westminster. In Embray’s senior season with Utah Football, he was elected a team captain and voted the team’s defensive MVP. He went on to play seven years of professional football in the Canadian Football League, Arena Football League, and National Football League, and spent three years as an on-air TV and radio personality and reporter.
Gina Butters BS’90 MEd’97 is the first female superintendent for Weber School District in Utah. A high school graduate of the district, Butters started her teaching career there in 1992. She gradually moved up in administration, becoming director of student services in 2016 and executive director of secondary education in 2019.
Christy Hopkins BS’91 MD’96 MPH’06 MPA’17, emergency medicine professor and physician with University of Utah Health, has been named the inaugural chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine in the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine. Hopkins was previously medical director of U of U Hospital’s emergency department and was recently interim leader of the Division of Emergency Medicine.
With the appointments of Justices Jill M. Pohlman BA’93 JD’96 and Diana Hagen BA’94 JD’98 to the Utah Supreme Court in 2022, the bench of the state’s top court became majority female for the first time in its history. As a fourth grader, Pohlman fell in love with the law while participating in a special unit on the justice system. “After seeing how the courtroom worked, I thought, ‘I love this,’ ” she says. Hagen had initially sought to go into acting, but a free speech class at the U piqued her interest. She decided to take the LSAT and apply to law school on a whim—and got a scholarship. “I thought, I didn’t have anything to lose, so I might as well try it out.” And the rest is history. The two join Justice Paige Petersen BA’94 BS’94, Justice John A. Pearce BS’92, and Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant on the court.
Denise Dearing PhD’95 is the new director for the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems at the National Science Foundation. Dearing is Distinguished Professor in Biology at the U. Her research focuses on understanding how small mammals overcome challenges related to diet and disease.
Robin Hutcheson MS’97 is now deputy administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation. She was previously the department’s deputy assistant secretary for Safety Policy, coordinating safety efforts across multiple modes of transportation, including COVID response and recovery. She also led the development of the first National Roadway Safety Strategy for the U.S.
Holly Rowe BA’04 discussed her journey from The Daily Utah Chronicle to local news to ESPN as the keynote speaker at the U’s Career & Professional Development Center Career Fair on campus this past fall. Rowe has spent more than 25 years covering everything from softball to gymnastics—but especially, college football—for the ESPN sports television network. Read more in our interview here.
Luz Gamarra MSW’09 was named USA Today’s 2022 Woman of the Year for Utah. One woman from each state was chosen for her significant positive impact on her community. As lead academic advisor for Humanities and English-as-a-second-language students at Salt Lake Community College, Gamarra helps immigrants and ESL students get into college, then connects them with peer mentors (in two programs she created), working to help students stay motivated and thrive. Gamarra had worked as a prosecutor for over seven years in Peru, where she obtained master’s and doctoral degrees in law and political science, when she immigrated to Utah in 2004 and found that she would need to essentially start over. “It was very hard in the beginning. But I said to myself, I will achieve, and when it is over, I will help others to find the resources they need to achieve,” Gamarra says. She serves on the boards of several other area organizations supporting education efforts and has previously been recognized for her work with honors including the Peruvian Congress award. Gamarra’s daughter Elizabeth BSW’16 MSW’17 became one of her first peer mentors before graduating from SLCC in 2014 (at age 16) and going on to be a Fulbright Scholar and TEDx speaker, among other achievements.
Razvan Ungureanu JD’10 was elected to the American Law Institute, an independent group that works to simplify and modernize the law. A partner with Smyser Kaplan & Veselka, Ungureanu's practice focuses on civil litigation and appeals. He is also an adjunct professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center, where he teaches Complex Litigation and Conflict of Laws. A native of Romania, Ungureanu is also an avid chess player and has competed in the World Chess Open.
Alexa Knutzen BFA’21 of Mapleton, UT, is the first national Miss Volunteer America, receiving a $50,000 scholarship and the chance to meet with Creative Artists Agency Nashville, Big Machine Label Group, and other movers. With the motto “Volunteers working to educate and inspire our next generation of volunteers,” the new program seeks to empower young women across the country through educational scholarships and extraordinary opportunities.
Comments
Comments are moderated, so there may be a slight delay. Those that are off-topic or deemed inappropriate may not be posted. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).