1950s
JoAnne Hungate (’56 Gen. Stu.) was selected to exhibit her art at the national show “The Unknown Nature of Being” at the Tubac Center of the Arts in Tubac, Arizona. Hungate has worked in water media, collage, assemblage, miniature art, and photography for 70 years. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and kept in collections in Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries.
1960s
Gerry Lindgren (’68 Poli. Sci.) is an inaugural inductee of the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame Class of 2022. As a WSU athlete, Lindgren won 11 straight NCAA titles and shared a world record for the 6-mile with a time of 27 minutes, 11.6 seconds. He was the first American to ever beat Russians in a distance race, winning the 10,000 in Los Angeles in 1964. He won a spot on the 1964 US Olympic team but suffered a sprained ankle during training and finished ninth in the 10,000.
1970s
David Miller (’75 German, Gen. Stu., ’84 MA Ag. Econ.) was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, by Koji Tomita, ambassador of Japan to the United States. The award recognizes Miller’s nearly 15-year career at the US Embassy in Japan. As the former agricultural minister-counselor, Miller fostered strong relationships in Japan. During his final tour of duty, he restored wheat trade exports to Japan from Pacific Northwest wheat producers.
1980s
Dave Wike (’80 Comm.) was inducted into the Northwester Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Silver Circle, which recognizes individuals who have served in the industry for 25 years or more. Wike is honored for his work as a television news photographer for Seattle’s KING-TV, where he has worked since 1982.
Henry Rono (’81 Gen. Stu., ’83 Psych.) is an inaugural inductee of the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s Collegiate Athlete Hall of Fame Class of 2022. In 1978, he set four world distance records for track and field in 81 days. He also won six NCAA titles for cross country.
Nella Ludlow (’82 Gen. Stu., Phys. Sci.) will lead a new program in quantum computing at Wright State University, where she will also establish research opportunities between the university and the US Air Force. Ludlow became a professor of computer science and mathematics at WSU in 2015 and was later named director of data analytics. She continues to teach at WSU as an adjunct professor of mathematics. As a WSU student, she received an Air Force scholarship to study at the University of Edinburgh, earning a doctorate in artificial intelligence and completing postdoctoral work in computer science at the University of Cambridge. After retiring from the Air Force, she worked for various tech companies before going into teaching.
Mary Stohr (’83, ’87 MA Crim. Jus., ’90 PhD Poli. Sci.) received the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences’ John Howard Award for her contributions to the practice of corrections. Stohr became a professor in the WSU Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology in 2013 after working at Missouri State University, Boise State University, and New Mexico State University for 23 years. Stohr also worked as a correctional officer and counselor at a men’s prison in the 1980s.
Jim Barnhart (’84 Elec. Eng.) is chief operating officer at Velodyne Lidar, a leading provider of 3D light detection and ranging solutions for products such as autonomous vehicles, driver assistance, robotics, and more. His new book, Elite and True: Leadership Lessons Inspired by the U.S. Navy, translates real-life experiences in the US Navy’s Office Candidate School, Nuclear Power School, and submarine service into deeper leadership insights.
Don Kalkofen (’85 Accounting) is chief financial officer for Alpha Cognition, a biopharmaceutical company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that focuses on neurodegenerative disorders. Kalkofen has been a CFO for more than 20 years at both public and private companies, including Protagonist Therapeutics. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
1990s
Raelyn Farnsworth (’93 DVM) is chief medical officer at the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the largest veterinary referral center in the Pacific Northwest. Farnsworth has worked with the hospital for 20 years. She previously worked at private practices in Virginia and Minnesota.
Deborah Reynolds (’94 Gen. Sci., ’06 MA Regional Planning) is interim director of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission’s Regulatory Services Division. Reynolds has served more than 22 years at the commission, most recently as assistant director for Conservation and Energy Planning, and she has aided implementation of the Clean Energy Transformation Act.
Ben Ferney (’97 Gen. Stu., Ed., ’18 Superintendent Cert.) is superintendent of the Cheney School District. Ferney has also served as superintendent at Valley School District, principal at Freeman Middle School, and assistant principal at Cheney Middle School.
2000s
Brad Wilson (’00 Soc. Stu., Ed., ’11 Principal Cert.) is Lake Chelan School District’s superintendent. Wilson was principal of Lake Chelan High School. He is also the Association of Washington School Principals’ 2022 Principal of the Year.
Melinda R. Roberts (’05 MA, ’09 PhD Crim. Jus.) is dean of Indiana State University’s College of Arts and Sciences. Roberts was an associate dean, professor of criminal justice, and director of gender studies at the University of Southern Indiana since 2009.
Tony Poston (’08 Poli. Sci., ’11 Crim. Jus.) is executive director of CougsFirst!, a network for businesses owned, managed, and affiliated with WSU alumni. Poston cofounded College Hill Custom Threads in 2011. He stepped down as its CEO in January.
2010s
Christina Baum (’11 MA Busi.) is vice president of digital transformation and chief information officer at Utah Valley University. She previously served as associate vice president of academic and student digital services at UVU as well as CIO for Ensign College. Before that, she worked in information and communication services at technology companies.
Zach Coccoli (’11 Poli. Sci.) is deputy director of the Montana Department of Agriculture. A native of Choteau, Montana, he previously served as deputy legal counsel, acting deputy director, and agriculture development division administrator for the MDA.
Craig Carstens (’12 MHPA Pharm.) is chief financial officer at Floyd County Medical Center in Charles City, Iowa. Carstens was CFO at Osceola Regional Health Center in Sibley, Iowa, and previously directed financial operations at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
Johanna Brown (’13 MIT) won the National Science Teaching Association’s Robert E. Yager Exemplary Teaching Award, which honors teachers who make science education accessible to students. Brown teaches chemistry and computer science at Pullman High School and leads the science department.
Amethyst Freibott (’17 English) received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant award. She will begin teaching in Budapest, Hungary, this fall. Freibott previously taught English as a volunteer in Kenya, Mexico, Myanmar, and the Dominican Republic.
Laura Guido (’17 Comm.) is city editor at the Idaho Press. Before that, she was managing editor at the Woodinville Weekly and a reporter at the Whidbey News-Times.
2020s
Karl Krotke-Crandall (’21 PhD Hist.) won the WSU Academic Outreach and Innovation’s student-nominated 2021–22 Excellence in Online Teaching award. Krotke-Crandall became a lecturer in 2021 for the WSU Department of History, where he teaches Global Campus courses.