1984
CHERYL PEARSON-MCNEIL (BA, Brian Lamb
School of Communication) received a Freida &
Winifred Parker Pioneering Purdue Women Award
from the Sagamore Sankofa Awards Committee.
She is an executive for Nielsen Media Research,
and was also named a Liberal Arts Distinguished
Alumna in 2012.
1986
KEVIN SPEER (BA, Political Science) was named
a 2016 Distinguished Alumnus by Purdue Liberal
Arts. Speer is chief executive officer for Hendricks
Regional Health in Danville, IN.
1987
A. RAYMOND ELLIOTT II (MA, School of
Languages and Cultures) received a Regent’s
Outstanding Teaching Award from the University
of Texas, Arlington. The Regent’s Award is
granted yearly to professors of undergraduate
students based on classroom performance and
innovation.
1989
MELISSA STAPLETON BARNES (BA, Political
Science) was named a 2016 Distinguished Alumna
by Purdue Liberal Arts. Barnes is the senior vice
president for enterprise and risk management and
chief ethics and compliance officer for Eli Lilly and
Company in Indianapolis, IN.
LORI WHITE (BA, Communication) is executive
director of the City of Indianapolis Citizens Police
Complaint Office & Board and project manager for
the city’s participation in the White House Police
Data Initiative.
1990
HENRY HUGHES (MFA, Creative Writing; PhD
2002, English) published two new books: a
collection of poetry, Bunch of Animals (Cloudbank
Books, 2016), and a fishing memoir, Back Seat
with Fish: A Man’s Adventures in Angling and
Romance (Skyhorse Publishing, 2016). The memoir
has two chapters set in and around Purdue and
Greater Lafayette and, of course, on the Wabash,
Tippecanoe, and Wildcat waterways.
KENDA RESLER-FRIEND (BA, Brian Lamb School
of Communication) received the Lea S. Hitchner
Service Award from CropLife America, the
association’s highest honor. She is the external
communications and media relations leader at
Dow AgroSciences, LLC in Indianapolis, IN.
1991
JANE KINGSEED (BA, Brian Lamb School of
Communication) was recognized with a Hall of
Legends Award from Howard County, IN. The
award recognizes Howard County’s remarkable
sons and daughters. Jane operates from the
NASDAQ to provide business news to television
stations across the country through her own
company, LilaMax Media in New York, NY.
MATT REESE (BA, English) has been appointed
senior vice president with JLT Specialty USA,
a U.S. subsidiary of Jardine Lloyd Thompson
Group, providers of specialty insurance, employee
benefits advice, and brokerage and associated
services in Chicago, IL.
SHELBY PARHAM SLOWIK (BA, Brian Lamb
School of Communication) has been named
director of human resources at Conner Prairie in
Fishers, Indiana.
1992
KATHLEEN HENSON (BA, Brian Lamb School
of Communication) has been honored as
Entrepreneur of the Year by Fifth Third Bank of
Chicago, IL. Henson is founder and CEO of Henson
Consulting, a public relations and communications
firm in Chicago, IL.
1994
KRISTINE BLAIR (PhD, English) has been named
dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social
Sciences at Youngstown State University in
Youngstown, OH.
1996
THEODORE W. BUMBLEBURG (BA, Liberal
Arts) was reappointed by Governor Pence to the
Regulated Amusement Device Safety Board of the
State of Indiana, where he serves as chair. He has
also served as president of the College of Liberal
Arts Alumni Board.
TOM MOORE (BA 1965, Theatre; HDR,
1995; CLA), film, theater and television
director, screened his new documentary
The Flight Fantastic at Purdue in October.
The documentary presents the world of the
flying trapeze through one of its famous
families, the Gaonas.
The Flight Fantastic is Moore’s first
documentary feature. He directed the
original Broadway production of Grease,
which ran for eight years, as well as the
Pulitzer Prize–winning ’night, Mother,
which starred Kathy Bates and Anne
Pitoniak. He received a Tony nomination for
that production and also directed the movie
version, starring Sissy Spacek and Anne
Bancroft. On television, Moore received
Emmy nominations for episodes of ER, Mad
About You, and L.A. Law. His other directing
credits include Ally McBeal, Gilmore Girls,
The Wonder Years, Cheers, and Felicity. He
also received two international film awards
for his short film The Journey.
Moore, a West Lafayette native, obtained
his MFA from the Yale University School of
Drama after graduating from Purdue. He has
taught and directed at the State University
of New York at Buffalo, Brandeis University,
and the University of London. While on
campus this fall, Moore also served as the
grand marshal for Purdue’s Homecoming
Parade. Photo and image courtesy of Tom Moore.
