Alumni and Friends
We love hearing from our alumni and friends. Please send us your news and keep your contact information up to date. We'll post your news item as we receive it. You can check out departmental news on our homepage, in our news archive, or on our Facebook page.
Rubén Rosario Rodríguez ('91): My first book, Racism & God-Talk: A Latino/a Perspective (NYU Press, 2008) just won the 2011 Alpha Sigma Nu Book Award in Theology. (2011)
Christian Colton ('84): I am currently living in Wilmington, Del., with my wife, Donna, and our two sons, CJ and Alex. My business partner and I run a power trading company that executes risk positions in four North American power markets. (2010)
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)
Arthur Traldi ('03): I'm working in the Hague right now. Am glad to hear that the department has been so well and active. (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)
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)
Laura Stevenson Canfield ('97): Married with a 12 month old daughter. Working at IBM since 2003 in Human Resources. Now responsible for all senior executive mobility. (2010)
Andrew Coombs ('03): After completing my Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics at Rochester Institute of Technology in 2008, I was awarded a two-year position as Artist in Residence at the Clay Art Center, a nonprofit ceramic studio and school in Port Chester, N.Y. I have just finished my residency and am continuing to work as an artist, teacher, and Programming Associate at the Clay Art Center. In addition I teach at several other art centers in the area. (2010)
Daniel Hieber ('08): I just had an article published on Mises.org, an institution dedicated to advancing the scholarship of liberty in the tradition of the Austrian School of economics. The article looks at the issue of language endangerment and how it relates to governments from a praxeological perspective, in the tradition of libertarian thinkers like Ludwig von Mises. (2010)
Robert Fanuzzi ('83): Just a long overdue thank you to the department. As a professor of English at St. John's University in New York, I am always reminded of the great training I received as an undergraduate and make use of it every day. (2010)
Jason Swartwood ('06): I am currently a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of Minnesota. I am beginning work on my dissertation, which will give an account of the intellectual virtues involved in successful moral inquiry. (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)
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)