Class Notes 1950s 1970s 1980s
Charles Suhor ’56 (English education) published “Don Suhor: From Dixieland to Bopsieland,” a biography of his brother, in the 2016 issue of Jazz Archivist, a journal of the Jazz Archive at Tulane University. Don Suhor was a student in the Loyola College of Music from 1950 to 1953; his participation in the burgeoning postwar modern jazz culture at the school is described in the context of a sustained 55-year career as a jazz clarinetist and saxophonist in New Orleans.
1960s
John R. Kemp ’68 (history) has released a new book, Expressions of Place: The Contemporary Louisiana Landscape, published by the University Press of Mississippi. Justice Jeannette Theriot Knoll ’66 (political science), J.D. ’69, was honored with the Louisiana Bar Foundation’s Distinguished Jurist Award in April 2017 at the LBF’s 31st Annual Fellows Gala at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. Knoll, who retired from the Louisiana Supreme Court at the end of 2016, was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court seat for the Third District in 1996. She has read and voted on more than 58,000 writ applications and authored nearly 200 Louisiana Supreme Court full opinions. She also wrote more than 850 opinions during her 14-year tenure at the Third Circuit Court of Appeal. A talented operatic soprano, she also performed at the Red Mass at the St. Louis Cathedral this past fall, and now that she is retired, she plans to help her parish church, St. Joseph’s in Marksville, with its choir and liturgical music and devote herself full-time to being a wife, mother, and grandmother.
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Johnny Vidacovich ’72 (theory and composition), a beloved fixture on the New Orleans music scene and a talented drummer, received a Lifetime Achievement in Music Award at Offbeat magazine’s Best of the Beat Music Awards. An instructor in the School of Music, Vidacovich has worked with legends such as Professor Longhair and James Booker and was a co-founder of Astral Project. J. Patrick Beauchamp ’70 (philosophy), J.D. ’73, of McGlinchey Stafford was named to New Orleans CityBusiness’ 2017 Leadership in Law class. Larry Dorman ’73 (journalism), a former New York Times sportswriter and golf industry executive, has been named the recipient of the 2017 PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism. He was honored on April 5, 2017, at a dinner in Augusta, Ga. Bill Capo ’75 (communication), WWL-TV’s veteran action reporter, retired on March 3, 2017, after a 36-year career. He spent much of his career reporting on people who needed help and problems that needed fixing, and he also served at times as a substitute weather forecaster and covered major news stories, including Hurricane Katrina, the papal visit, the Saints’ Super Bowl win, and many elections. He mentored scores of younger reporters. His plans for his retirement include training to become a tour guide at the Cabildo. Maureen Blackburn Jennings ’74 (economics), J.D. ’78, a solo practitioner in Houston, was named a 2016 Texas Super Lawyer in the category of Employment and Labor Law. Susan Polowczuk ’79 (communication) was promoted to senior public relations account executive at Zehnder Communications. She joined Zehnder in 2013.
Antonio García ’81 (jazz studies) was promoted to professor of music at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he has served as director of jazz studies since 2001. He also received the VCU School of the Arts 2015 Faculty Award of Excellence for his teaching, research, and service and continues to serve on the board of The Midwest Clinic, the largest international band and orchestra conference in the world, and as jazz editor of the International Trombone Association Journal. He also has been appointed a research faculty member at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, after leading a three-year exchange program of faculty and students between UKZN and VCU. He recently released a new book, Jazz Improvisation: Practical Approaches to Grading, published by Meredith Music Publications. His recent scores for two independent films have screened across the U.S. and in Italy, Macedonia, Uganda, Australia, Colombia, India, Germany, Brazil, Hong Kong, Mexico, Israel, Taiwan, and the U.K.
Kurt Goins ’78 (political science), J.D. ’81, an attorney with the Caddo Public Defender Office, was named to the list of Top Attorneys in the March 2017 issue of SB Magazine, which covers the Shreveport-Bossier City area. The selection was made by a vote of fellow attorneys in the area. Tom Gruber ’81 (computer science and psychology), an executive with Apple and a co-founder of the original parent company of Siri, joined the Board of Trustees of the Partnership on Artificial Intelligence to Benefit People and Society. Other corporate members of the group, along with Apple, are Amazon, Facebook, Google/DeepMind, IBM, and Microsoft.
Keith Horcasitas ’81 (social work) had an article titled “The Birds and the Bees” published in Where Y’at magazine. Holly Klaine ’83 (graphic design and communication) had her artwork featured inside and on the cover of Georgia Mountain Laurel magazine, which also profiled her. Allen J. Krouse III ’77 (speech), J.D. ’84, of Frilot was named to New Orleans CityBusiness’ 2017 Leadership in Law class. Dr. Kenneth St. Charles ’85 (management) was named the new president and chief executive officer of St. Augustine High School in New Orleans. He is currently the vice president for institutional advancement at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va., which during his tenure raised $15.6 million, the highest in its 125-year history. He also served for 10 years as the vice president of institutional advancement for Xavier University of Louisiana, raising more than $95 million for the school. He is a 1981 graduate of St. Augustine High School and will be the sixth president in the school’s 65-year history. Magdalen Blessey Bickford ’83 (general studies), J.D. ’86, of McGlinchey Stafford was named to New Orleans CityBusiness’ 2017 Leadership in Law class. Laurie M. Joyner ’86 (sociology), president of Wittenburg University in Ohio, has been chosen as president of St. Xavier University in Illinois. She previously served in multiple vice presidential and decanal roles at Rollins College in Florida and was on the faculty at Loyola. In addition to her Loyola undergraduate degree, she holds master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from Tulane University. She is a two-time recipient of POWER 50 (in 2014 and 2015), which honors the most influential female executives in the Dayton, Ohio, area. She also received the Woman of Distinction Award from the Girl Scout of Western Ohio in 2014. Hon. John J. Molaison Jr. ’83 (general studies), J.D. ’86, was appointed a member of the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana. The Judiciary Commission is a nine-member constitutional