Page14

continued from page 13

Keeping Up With You, Our Alumni, Faculty and Staff

Corsicana, TX, in addition to teaching English there. He also is a freelance writer for Progressive Farmer and is a worldwide hay baler tying systems specialist.

Roby Barrett (BA ’72) has been awarded the Dwight D. Eisenhower-Clifford Roberts Research Grant for 2003-2004. Roby is involved in a program of research focusing on Anglo-American policy development in the Middle East and South Asia during the late 1950s and early ‘60s. In addition to the Eisenhower Institute award, he also is receiving a David Bruton Fellowship from the University of Texas where he is completing a doctoral program. He plans to use the awards to help fund an extended research foray into the Middle East in the coming year. Although often on the road in Asia and Europe, his home is in McKinney, TX, where he lives with his wife, Cheryl Sawyer Barrett (BBA ’78), who is a program director at Electronic Data Systems in Plano, TX.

Kris Miller (BS ’76) manages the newly expanded Amarillo Civic Center and was the subject of a feature story in the May 19 edition of the Amarillo Globe-News.
At the Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant, it is usually the contestants who receive the honors and plaques, not their directors. This year, the executive director of the Miss Hunt County Organization—Warren Morrison (BS ’77)—not only received a plaque but special recognition as one of four individuals inducted recently into the Miss Texas Organization Hall of Honor. To be inducted into the Hall, an individual must have been associated with the Miss Texas Organization for at least 15 years and made significant contributions to the state pageant during that time.

The plaque Warren received cited his unselfish and dedicated service to the Miss Texas Organization and the young women of Texas. “It is an extreme honor to be included with so many of the pageant organization people I respect and admire and I can call my friends,” said Warren, who has been the executive director of the local pageant for 25 years. He also is news desk editor of the Greenville (TX) Herald-Banner. Warren is the third individual with University ties inducted into the Hall.

Jean Magness (BS ’71)— the organization’s chairman of the board, chief executive officer and executive director—was inducted in 1990. Regina Casaday (MED ’89) was inducted in 2001. Casaday currently is chair of the MTO Transportation Committee and travels with Miss Texas.
Dr. Colleen Altaffer Smith (BS ’77, MS ’79) is the new vice president of Instructional Services at Cisco Junior College in Cisco, TX after moving there from Wyoming, where she was an associate dean at Western Wyoming College. She and husband William Hamilton Smith III (BMED ’78, MS ’82), who was director of Extended Education at Western Wyoming College, had previously performed summer theater in Cisco.
Diane Stegall (BS ’78, MS ’82) has been named superintendent of Chisum (TX) ISD after serving as interim and assistant superintendent there four years. She has worked at Chisum ISD for 10 years.
After teaching third grade at Caddo Mills, TX, for eight years, Diane Ayers Lindsey (BS ’79, MED ’94) has completed her second year as an educational diagnostician with Tri-County Co-operative in Commerce. She and husband David reside in Caddo Mills with their two children, Desirae, 17, and Derek, 16.
Kathy Green (BMED ’79, MM ’80) is the band director at Totem Middle School in Federal Way ISD near Seattle, WA. Previously she taught at Thomas Jefferson and Kentwood high schools, also near Seattle, where she moved in 1992. During her time at Kentwood, the band program grew to include three concert bands, one marching band and two jazz bands, all receiving superior ratings at contest. Kathy also taught psychology classes. Currently she plays French horn in the Tacoma Concert Band.
Dora Martinez (MBA ’79) recently was recognized for her volunteer efforts. A vice president at Kleberg (TX) Bank, she has volunteered at a local museum, as a judge at history fairs and with the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association. She is a member of the Rotary Club, Business and Professional Women’s Club and is a Kingsville (TX) Chamber of Commerce Ambassador.

1980-1989

David Allen Ross (BS ’80) worked in radio until 1995. During that time he worked at Rock 103 in Memphis and Magic 105 in Little Rock, winning in 1994 a Billboard award for small market AOR Music Director of the Year. Since then he has pursued a career in mortgage lending and is now with First Greensboro Home Equity. He was named Originator of the Year four times and runner-up twice. In May he became manager of the Fayetteville branch of First Greensboro. He and wife Sharon Ross live in Springdale, AR.
Sherry Breed (BS ’82) has been promoted to associate superintendent for curriculum at Fort Worth ISD. She is a third-generation educator for the district and most recently was executive director of its Instructional Support Team-East. She is a past president of the District XI Texas Elementary Principals’ and Supervisors’ Association, which honored her as TESPAN of the Year in 1998. She has received the Distinguished Principal Award from the Texas Alliance of Black School Educators, the Outstanding Service Award from the National Women of Achievement, Inc., Southwest Fort Worth Chapter, and the Outstanding Administrator Award from the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa.
June 1 Patrick Canty (BS ’82) became the new publisher of the Odessa American in Odessa, TX.
Wanda Snowton (BS ’82, MS ’02) is founder and president of Advanced Career Search and has authored a book, 7 Steps to Career Success. She currently is program coordinator and an instructor for the training and development instruction certification at Eastfield College.
Philip Hinkle (BS ’84) was deployed to Iraq as a reservist with the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Philip is a police officer in Arlington, TX.
Don Wood Elliott (BS ‘85) is a defensive coach and world history teacher living in Commerce. He is married to a former student, Marla Sheppard Elliott.
Dr. Myrna Armstrong (EDD ’86), professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing, coordinates a Web-based curriculum that allows registered nurses to earn their bachelor’s of science in nursing. Her book Telecommunication for Nurses: Providing Successful Distance Education and Telehealth was recently published.
Millie Jean Coppedge (BS ’86, MED ’89) is a teacher in Dallas ISD and also pursues her interest in WWII research. Her book, War Memories are Forever, recounts the WWII experiences of 38 veterans.

1990-2003

Christi Hart (BS ’90, MED ’96) and former A&M-Commerce student Brian Murphy were married April 5. Christi is a teacher and cheerleader coach in Mesquite ISD. Brian is a commercial real estate broker employed by O’Boyle Properties in Addison. The couple honeymooned in Maui, Hawaii and now reside in Dallas.
Dianna Champion (BSIS ’92, MS ’94, MED ’97) has been promoted to principal of Burnett Elementary School in Terrell, TX. She was assistant principal at Kennedy Elementary there.
Julie Carol Turner Bruce (BS ’93) celebrated her sixth wedding anniversary with Alan Bruce. She has three children: Tyler, 11; Guy, 8; and Abigayle, 3. She is a technical writer for the administrative office of the U.S. Courts in San Antonio, TX.
Brian Harp (BS ’93) is a senior art director at Divid Studio in Austin, TX and recently was spotlighted in an “Up the Ladder” feature in the Austin American Statesman.
Documentary photographer Clint Norwood (BS ’93) presented his first solo show, “A Photo Documentary—Living God’s Way,” at the Creative Arts Center in Bonham, TX. Bonham is his hometown, to which Clint recently returned.
Greg Priest (BS ’93, MS ’95) married Nida Prapan of Commerce on June 27. The couple resides in Austin.
Dr. Tonia Alexander (BS ’94) is an adjunct professor of teacher education for the University of North Texas and is an assistant principal at an elementary school in Richardson, TX. Her book, Historical Interpretations: The Past, Present, and Future of African-American Representation in Texas Social Studies Textbooks, examines the quality and quantity of African-American representations in Texas fourth-grade social studies texts from 1953 through 2003.
Joe Wallace Bridges (BS ’94) recently earned his MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas. He works for Citigroup as a marketing specialist.
Carol Terry (MS ’94) has been named the Creative Arts Center Artist of the Month in Bonham, TX. She works full-time in husband Bill’s law office and teaches the Little Picasso children’s class at the Creative Arts Center.
Laurin Michelle Gagne (BS ’97) married Edward Muller of Chicago May 31 in Rockwall, TX. She is an energy software consultant. The couple reside in Chicago.
Hayley Billups Jobe (BS, ’97, MS ’99), assistant director of Housing at A&M-Commerce, has received two top honors in her field. She was among 30 professionals selected nationwide to attend the National Housing Training Institute, held at the

continued on p15

Dr. Sam Cochran

Dr. Samuel Warren Cochran, 81, former psychology faculty at the University, passed away June 5.
During his years here from 1969-‘85, Dr. Cochran was awarded a Fulbright scholarship.
He spent a year teaching at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara before returning to Texas.
Born Aug. 1, 1921, in Wayne County, Miss., he was the son of Samuel Wilburn and Bessie Robinson Cochran.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Mississippi College, a master’s from Peabody College, and a doctorate from Ohio State University.
Dr. Cochran was a retired lieutenant with the U.S. Air Force and flew 72 missions during WWII, including participating in D-Day.
The pilot and only survivor of a B-26 that was shot down over France in the summer of 1944, Cochran was saved by German soldiers. With the help of the French underground, Cochran eventually escaped from the hospital. He hid out and survived by eating pigeons until he was rescued.
Dr. Cochran, a Fulbright Scholar, also taught psychology at the Air Force Academy and the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he was a Professor Emeritus.
Throughout his life, He enjoyed long-distance bicycle rides (including a trip across the United States in 1998) and bicycle racing in the Senior Olympics.
Active in Southern Baptist churches, Sam held many leadership and service positions, most recently at First Baptist Church of San Antonio.
He was married to Pauline “Polly” Wingo Cochran for 48 years before she passed away in 1993.
He is survived by his son, Thomas Wilburn Cochran of Arlington, Va., and daughter-in-law Cynthia W. Cochran; daughter Suzanne Cochran Hening of Rocky Mount, N.C.; son-in-law Richard S. Hening; grandsons Andrew N. and Samuel M. Hening.
Burial was in White House Cemetery in Wayne County, Miss.