1970s Philosophy Alumni Updates
We'd love to hear from you. Please send us your news.
Jeff Berkin '78: My wife, Stephanie Buchanan (Class of 1981, Double Major in Philosophy & Economics) and I are very pleased to note that our son, Andrew, matriculated at our Alma Mater with the Class of 2019. (October 2015)
Jeff Berkin '78 Currently a Senior Vice President and the Chief Security Officer for CACI International Inc, a $4B professional services company focused on the defense and intelligence sectors. Retired from the Federal Senior Executive Service as Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI. Received a J.D. from The American University. September 2012
Jeff Berkin ('78): After 25 years as a Special Agent, I retired in 2008 as a Deputy Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In my second career, I am a Senior Vice President and the Chief Security Officer of CACI International, a Fortune 1000 defense contractor with employees and facilities around the world. (2010)
Robert Boyles '75: Robert is retired and is now writing full time. He has an e-book on Amazon, B&N, and Apple's iBooks entitled Crashing from Coast to Coast. He is also working on a memoir, a novel, and a work of non-fiction as well as short stories. (September 2013)
Alan Clarke '72 My second book is now out: Rendition to Torture, published this year by Rutgers. September 2012
Mike D'Orso '75: Mike is currently at work on his seventeenth book, a memoir of his career as a journalist. That career includes thirteen years writing for magazines and newspapers and nearly thirty years writing books of narrative nonfiction. Honors for his books include the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, the New York Times Notable Book of the Year list, Newsweek Magazine's 2009 list of "50 Books For Our Times," the American Library Association's Nonfiction Book of the Year, the Lillian Smith Book Award for writing on social justice, the Christopher Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the American Library Association's Alex Award, selection among the New York Public Library's "25 Best Books of the Year", and inclusion three times in The Sporting News' annual Best Sports Stories anthology.
Eight of Mike's books have been national bestsellers. Three have been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. His newspaper work as a feature writer at the Virginian-Pilot was also nominated three times for a Pulitzer. He has appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," C-Span's "Book TV," MSNBC and numerous National Public Radio programs, including Michael Feldman's "Whad'Ya Know?" Besides his books, Mike's writing has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Fortune, The Oxford American, Reader's Digest, People magazine, and The Washington Post. A chapter Mike wrote on journalistic research methods was included in The Complete Book of Feature Writing (Writer's Digest Books, 1991), and his writing on Jack Kerouac has been included in Studies in American Fiction and the QPB Literary Review.
Mike is on the Editorial Advisory Board of DoubleTake magazine, and he has taught narrative nonfiction writing at the College of William and Mary and at Old Dominion University, where he delivered the Commencement Address to ODU's Class of 2006. (September 2013)
Bill Harpine '73: I'd love to come this weekend, but it's not in the cards this year. My philosophy education has served me well over the years. I am Professor of Communication at the University of South Carolina Aiken. I find many opportunities to apply my knowledge of philosophy in my teaching and research, and have been fortunate enough to publish three papers in philosophy journals. Plus, it's always useful to know the meaning of life.....
My university web page is here: http://web.usca.edu/communications/faculty/harpine.dot
And my personal blog: http://harpine.blogspot.com/
I'll think about all of you, and hope you have a great get-together. I got a great education at William and Mary. (October 2015)
William Harpine ('73): I'm a Professor and Chair of the Department of Communications at the University of South Carolina, Aiken. My philosophy education has been endlessly useful. I often cite philosophical literature in my research, sometimes even my former professors! (2010)
David Kirk ('79): I am a partner in Oklahoma City's oldest law firm, practicing civil litigation in the areas of constitutional law, civil rights, employment, aircraft and insurance matters for more than twenty-five years. My wife, Nancy, and I have five children between us with the oldest two years out of college and the youngest a senior in high school. My background in philosophy--and history--at W&M has been invaluable in the critical analysis of facts, theories, and arguments in my AV rated practice. Both disciplines have also proven to be irreplaceable resources in dealing with business and personal growth issues over time, helping with the stresses of life, the need for continual inquiry and a necessary perspective for peace of mind. (2010)
Kevin Morgan '78: I was a history and philosophy major from the class of 1978 and am now a philosophy professor at St. Petersburg College for the past 15 years. My academic experiences at William and Mary represent the most formative period of my intellectual life, resulting in my life-long pursuit of knowledge. Philosophy is the mother discipline of the liberal arts and a vital part of any liberal arts institution, especially William and Mary. (September 2013)
Gregory Pence '70: is Chair of the Philosophy Department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and expert on cloning. (September 2014)
Gregory Pence '70 I am the new Chair of Philosophy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a department started by my former W&M philosophy professor, Thomas K. Hearn. I just published How to Build a Better Human: An Ethical Blueprint with Rowman & Littlefield. This is my 37th year teaching Philosophy at my university. September 2012
Gregory Pence ('70): I led a team of undergraduates last year to the national championship of the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl and hope to meet soon a team from William & Mary. I have taught Philosophy at UAB [University of Alabama at Birmingham] for 35 years. A former W&M professor, Tom Hearn, started the UAB department and hired me for my first job. (2010)
Thomas Reiser ('73): About 27 years ago the department asked for an update on careers, etc., and that was the last time I provided one. Since then I have formed several insurance brokerages, sold several, and currently run a boutique insurance brokerage trading with independent oil and gas producers. I suppose my philosophy background helped me deal with the logic, etc., that insurance underwriters employ in writing covers. Three years ago I formed/founded a bank, here in Houston with several friends: Allegiance Bank Texas. It has about $400MM in assets and is doing well, in spite of the current business atmosphere. I serve the Reves Center as an advisor. (2010)
Thomas G. Snow '77: I am a graduate in Philosophy from W&M. I am now an Immigration Judge in Arlington Virginia. (September 2015)
