HAL FAM OF
Terry Sorom ’62
Jennifer Weuve ’92
planning group at Luther College as well as a member of the Luther College Heritage Club since 2003. He and his wife, Sonja, have three children: Trevor, Thea, and Tatum. —Keith Christensen ’80, vice president for development
Terry Sorom ’62 Terry Sorom ’62 grew up the oldest of four children in the picturesque village of Lanesboro, Minn., in the Root River Valley. Inspired to go into the field of medicine by the town’s two doctors, Sorom enrolled at Luther intent on following that path. He graduated with majors in biology and chemistry. A year after graduation from Luther, Sorom married his high school sweetheart, Suzanne Johnson. They started a family while he completed a medical doctorate at the University of Minnesota. His residency at the University of Oregon was interrupted by the draft in 1967, and Terry joined the U.S. Air Force, serving as a flight surgeon in Panama. He returned to Oregon in 1969 and chose ophthalmology as his specialty. The couple settled in the beautiful Wanatchee Valley, where Sorom joined the Eye and Ear Clinic, and they immediately became invested in their community. Together they raised four sons there: Martin, Ted, Abe, and Jeb. Sorom practiced ophthalmology for 27 years, retiring in 2000. Sorom has served over these many years on numerous boards supporting his profession, health care, education, tourism, the community at large, his church, the arts, and his alma mater. He has been a leader in many different capacities, and both he and Suzanne have been honored as pillars of their community. He has lived his creed: “People who are successful are obliged to help their community because their community has obviously helped them.” —Marian Kaehler, professor of biology
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Luther Alumni Magazine
Jennifer Weuve ’92 Most of us—probably all of us—have someone we care about suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Of Americans 65 and over, one in eight has Alzheimer’s, and nearly half of us aged 85 and older have the disease. Jennifer Weuve ’92 is a very big hitter in Alzheimer’s research. Her most recent study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that long-term exposure to air pollution may speed up cognitive decline in older adults by as much as two years and may contribute to an earlier onset of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia. That translates to about two million cases over a 40-year period. Scientists agree that it is difficult to establish a direct link between environmental toxins and a disease like Alzheimer’s. However, if her findings are confirmed in other research, Weuve hopes air pollution reduction as public policy may help reduce the future population burden and incredible societal costs of age-related cognitive decline. But the best news is this: She is young and still working! When you see her on television or listen to her on National Public Radio’s Science Friday, she exudes the optimism and incredible personal warmth of a kindergarten teacher—a really high-powered one with a doctorate from Harvard. Weuve is an assistant professor with the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging and visiting scientist with the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. She is also a consulting epidemiologist for the Alzheimer’s Association. Her completed research grant proposals, and those pending and submitted in just the last 18 months to organizations such as the NIH and the Alzheimer’s Association, total in the millions of dollars. She is also a brilliant mentor to a long and growing list of young, talented researchers. Weuve and her husband, Jeffrey Gitelle, live in Chicago. —Steven Hubbard ’68, professor of mathematics
Seven inducted into Athletic Hall of Fame Seven alumni were inducted into the Luther Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 6 in the Noble Recital Hall of Jenson-Noble Hall of Music.
Josh Hildebrand ’02 Joshua Dale Hildebrand was the IIAC champion in the 800-meters in both 2001 and 2002. Two weeks after the 2002 conference meet, he set the school record in the 800-meters with a time of 1:51.59 seconds, which also qualified him for the NCAA championships. There he finished in seventh place to earn All-America honors. Hildebrand was also was part of four school-record-setting relay events, yet his greatest relay performance came at the NCAA Indoor National Championships in 2001. He teamed with Jake Nimrod ’01, Shaun Meinecke ’01, and Stacy Sundet ’01 to win the distance medley relay. Hildebrand’s 800-meter leg of 1:52.8 seconds was the fastest of the 10 teams in the race. Four minutes and 14 seconds later, when Sundet crossed the finish line, the Norse foursome was crowned national champions. Hildebrand teaches elementary physical education in the Iowa City Community School District and is assistant boys cross country coach at City High School. Hildebrand contributes his time and talents to Zion Lutheran Church in Iowa City, helps run the Get Moving for Healthy Kids 5K, and serves as assistant to the announcer at both the Drake Relays and the Iowa High School State Track and Field Meet. He and his wife, Lisa (Dettman) ’01, have three children: Asta, Lars, and Hans. Celebrating with Hildebrand were his parents, Jane (Greene) ’74 and Steve ’73, and brother Jake ’02. —Jeff Wettach ’79, assistant professor of health and physical education