Class of 2000 - Class of 2005
Class of 2000
Dr. Harry Meade-- a 1964 graduate, earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry and electrical engineering from Union College, Schenectady, New York, a doctorate in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has completed post-doctoral studies at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is vice president of Transgenics Research for Genzyme Transgenics Corporation. He directs all transgenic molecular biology research and development efforts conducted within the company. In addition, Dr. Meade is a co-inventor of the first issued patent related to the production of therapeutic proteins in the milk of animals
Dr. Frederick Porkolab—a 1964 graduate, is a cardiovascular electro physiologist and internist in Pittsburgh. After earning an undergraduate degree in science from Allegheny College, Meadville, he attended the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, fulfilled his residency training in cardiovascular diseases at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and in internal medicine at Case-Western Reserve University Hospital of Cleveland. Dr. Porkolab is pursuing an office-based practice in Pittsburgh.
Dr. William McWhirter—a 1950 graduate, is a physician with board certification in orthopedics. He graduated from Temple University, Philadelphia, fulfilled his residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and completed a fellowship at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, Downey, California. Dr. McWhirter is affiliated with UPMC Horizon Hospital System and the Northwest Orthopedic Association. His offices are located in Hermitage and Greenville.
James Patterson—a 1923 graduate, joined the faculty at Mercer High School in the fall of 1928 after graduating from Westminster College, New Wilmington. When Mr. Patterson retired, after 42 years of service as a teacher, he voluntarily returned to Mercer High School for five years, teaching advanced math courses without pay. In Mr. Patterson’s will, he established a fund, the interest of which makes it possible each year for the James Patterson Memorial Awards in math, Spanish, and German to be given to members of Mercer High School’s graduating class.
Thomas Cunningham Cochran- a 1896 graduate, was admitted to the Mercer County Bar in 1903. He served eight years in the United States Congress (March 4, 1927 to January 3, 1935) and was a member of a number of committees, including ways and means. Mr. Cochran was an official delegate from the United States Congress to the Inter-Parliamentary Union. He attended conferences in Paris in 1927, Berlin in 1928, Geneva in 1929, London in 1930, and Istanbul in 1934, and as an observer in Oslo in 1939, in Istanbul in 1951, and in Washington D.C. in 1953.
Class of 2001
John Armour Bingham- a native of Mercer, studied under the law firm of William S. Stewart and John J. Pearson, Mercer, Pennsylvania. He was admitted to the bar in 1840 and entered a private practice in New Philadelphia, Ohio. During his life Mr. Bingham held many interesting and important positions. He was a member of the United States Congress and a special judge advocate in the trial of the conspirators in Lincoln’s assassination. The House of Representatives appointed him as one of the managers in the impeachment proceedings against West H. Humphreys in 1862 and against President Andrew Jackson in 1868. He was also appointed the first American minister to the Imperial Court of Japan, serving in that capacity from 1873 to 1885. The Mercer County Republican Headquarters was Mr. Bingham’s childhood home. Mr. Bingham died in 1900.
Roberta Patterson Ringer- graduated from Slippery Rock University and began her long continuing association with Mercer Area School District in 1934 teaching fourth grade at Mercer Elementary School for 40 years. Mrs. Ringer is a charter member of the Mercer Business and Professional Women’s Club and is an active member of Mercer County Retired Teachers Association. She attends Trinity Presbyterian Church. Though retired, she remains devoted to the students and families of the Mercer Area School District serving as an assistant coach to the Mercer High School Speech Team for 18 years, primarily in oral interpretation, and has been collecting ballots and making tabulations for speech tournaments for the same number of years. The Mercer County Commission honored this energetic 86-year old as Distinguished Woman for 2000.
John Q. Stranahan- graduated from the College of Wooster in Ohio in 1942 and joined the United States Navy, serving from 1943 to 1945. After graduating from what is now Case Western Reserve University School of Law, he joined his father and later his brother in the law firm of Stranahan and Sampson in Mercer. The firm eventually became known as Stranahan and Stranahan. Judge Stranahan was elected district attorney of Mercer County in 1955 and was reelected four years later. In 1965 he was elected to the Mercer County Court of Common Pleas. Having served two decades on the court, retiring to become a senior judge in 1985, he continued to hear cases until January, 2000. Judge Stranahan was a member of the Mercer County Bar Association for more than fifty years.
John Oakes Hawthorne- graduated cum laude in 1951 from Grove City College with a B.S. in chemistry and membership in the Scroll and Key and the Kemikos honor societies. After graduation Mr. Hawthorn obtained a position of Research Assistant on the U.S. Steel Fellowship. It was on this fellowship that he worked on the development of new products from components of coal tar. Also during this time, Mr. Hawthorne attended the University of Pittsburgh under the Mellon Institute program and earned a Master Degree in Organic Chemistry and a Master Degree in Business Administration. He was granted membership in Phi Lambda Upsilon, the honorary chemical society, and Delta Mu Delta, the honor society in Business Administration. His lifetime work resulted in six technical publications and seventeen U.S. Patents.
Anne Wedemeyer, M.D., J.D.- earned her undergraduate degree in 1959 from the University of Pittsburgh, medical degree in 1962 from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and law degree from Duquesne University Law School in 1988. She fulfilled her internship, pediatric residency and pediatric cardiology fellowship at the University of Minnesota Hospitals. She has served in American clinics in Germany, been a member of the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and had a private practice in pediatric cardiology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania until 1997. Between 1990 and 1998, she built a dispensary in Tibet, sent medical supplies and medicines to the Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala (India), and worked for four months in a Tibetan refugee settlement in Poanta Sahib, India. Since 1997, she has been developing the pediatric cardiology program for the country of Nepal, working at Kanti Children’s Hospital and the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital which is the medical school in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
Class of 2002
Dr. John B. Sampson- graduated from Mercer High School in 1933, attended Allegheny College and Princeton Graduate School. He was a physics student assistant while at Princeton. Dr. Sampson taught physics at Worcester Polytech and Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, and wartime engineering for Aircraft, Buffalo, New York. In 1946 Dr. Sampson was hired by General Electric at Schenectady, New York, where he worked in research and development for power producing nuclear reactors. Dr. Sampson worked in this field for 18 years for General Electrict at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, and General Atomic, LaJolla, California. His most recent work, covering 24 years, has been in electronics at NASA Electronics Laboratory and Raythson Company in Massachusetts.
Marjorie Campbell- a graduate of the Class of 1970, graduated from Asbury College. Following graduation, she taught school and was director of a day care in Los Angeles. Miss Campbell felt a call to the missionary field and after much preparation, received an appointment with the World Gospel Mission. In 1982 she went to Africa and spent three months learning Swahili. She was assigned to Good Shepherd Church in Nairobi, Kenya, where she spent the next 15 years in various capacities. In 1977 Miss Campbell was assigned to Uganda where she served as a pastor at African Gospel Church in Kampala. During Miss Campbell’s many years of missionary work she met with heads of state and became a friend to the Kenyan ambassador to Belgium, who visited her in Mercer during a visit to the United States. Marjorie Campbell returned to the United States in 2000.
Dr. Alan D. Ealy- graduated from Mercer High School in 1983, received his B.S. from Pennsylvania State University in 1987, his M.Ed. in Animal Science from Michigan State University in 1989, and his Ph.D. in Animal Science from the University of Florida in 1994. Dr. Ealy was Research Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri and is currently Assistant Professor of Molecular Endocrinology/Developmental Biology at Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences. Dr. Ealy’s expertise is in the area of reproductive physiology. Dr. Ealy has co-authored and written extensively in this area and has traveled abroad while conducting his research.
Dr. Mari Lee Mifsud- a 1985 Mercer High School graduate, ranks as one of the true superstars in the 30-year history of the school’s award-winning forensics program. Recognized as Mercer’s best-ever original orator, Dr. Mifsud was a National Catholic Forensic League finalist in 1984, placing sixth nationally. In 1985 she became one of nine state champions in the history of the Mercer forensic program, winning top honors in persuasive speaking. A 1989 summa cum laude graduate of Thiel College, Dr. Mifsud received an M.A. degree in 1991 from Colorado State University. In 1997 she was awarded a Ph.D. from Penn State University. Dr. Mifsud is currently an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Director of Rhetoric and Public Address at the University of Richmond. She is recognized as one of America’s outstanding scholars in the study of the history of rhetoric and communication.
Class of 2003
Dr. Joan Newton Byers- Class of 1950, holds degrees from Jameson Memorial Hospital of Nursing, Youngstown State University, Pennsylvania State University, Westminster College, University of Pittsburgh, and International Graduate School in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Byers served in many capacities at Jameson Memorial Hospital and School of Nursing including staff nurse, head nurse, nursing education instructor, level coordinator, director of nursing education, and director of educational services. Of the many awards she has received, two stand out: the 1991 Edna A. Fagan Distinguished Service Award and in 1989, the Iris Machlan Gross Award in recognition for national leadership and service in nursing. Dr. Byers has conducted extensive valuable research and has presented at many state and national programs.
Dr. Carol Knoblock Redmond- Class of 1958, holds a Bachelors and Masters degree in Mathematics and Biostatistics from Waynesburg College and a Doctorate in Biostatistics from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Redmond served in many capacities at the University of Pittsburgh including assistant research professor, project statistician, associate professor, director of The Biostatistics Center and chairperson of the Department of Biostatistics. She currently serves as Distinguished Service Professor of Public Health and Vice Dean of Academic Affairs at the Graduate School of Public Health at The University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Redmond has served as a professor of biometry and epidemiology in the College of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina. She has earned many honors including Elected Fellow, American Statistical Association and American College of Epidemiology and Pittsburgh Statistician of the Year. She has extensively published in many journals and is sought throughout the country as a guest lecturer.
Joseph Stewart- Class of 1958, is a graduate of Westminster College and The Ohio State University where his major field was entomology. In 1972, Mr. Stewart left graduate school while working on his doctorate to pursue the ministry. He earned a Master of Divinity Degree in 1974 from the Denver Theological Seminary, Denver, Colorado. From 1975-1987, Reverend Stewart served as pastor of several churches in Colorado. In 1987, he founded and currently is the pastor of Cody Bible Church in Cody, Wyoming. Reverend Stewart is the head chaplain at West Park Hospital, West Park, Colorado and Cody, Wyoming Police Department.
Class of 2004
David M. Miller- Class of 1957, earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics in 1961 from Thiel College and a master in business administration degree in 1962 from the University of Pittsburgh. He was licensed in 1963 by Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science and pursued advanced study at Kent State University. Professor Miller has served at Thiel College since 1963 through the present, starting as a lecturer and progressing to full professor and chairman of the Department of Business Administration and Accounting. He serves as executive director of the Haller Enterprise Institute at Thiel College and has received numerous awards, including a full fellowship, MBA Program at University of Pittsburgh, and the Norman P. Mortensen Endowed Chair in Economics, the first endowed academic chair at Thiel College. He also serves as president of the Mercer County Historical Society and administrator of the Mercer County Chamber Players.
Dr. Carl E. Anderson- Class of 1958, earned a bachelor of science degree in agricultural engineering in 1962 from Pennsylvania State University, a master of science degree in agricultural engineering in 1965 from the University of Arizona and a doctorate degree in agronomy in 1975 from Kansas State University. Dr. Anderson served as associate professor in the Department of Agriculture and Engineering at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. His extensive research focused on the simulation of the hydraulic balance in agricultural fields and the impacts of this balance on crop growth and the movement of chemicals in the environment. Dr. Anderson is a member of the Iowa State University Linkage Project with the National Agricultural University of Ukraine. He traveled in 1998 as part of the ISU linkage team to Kiev to study the National Agricultural University of Ukraine’s facilities and review their plans of Master of Science programs.
Cindi McCullough- Class of 1974, holds degrees from Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, and Clarkson College and a diploma in nursing from Clarkson Hospital School of Nursing, Omaha, Nebraska. Ms. McCullough serves as the director of clinical studies at HDR, Inc. in Omaha. She previously served as senior consultant with HDR Consulting, HDR Inc. and in several capacities at Clarkson Hospital, including clinical manager, head nurse, staff nurse, and nurse assistant. She has been consulted by numerous medical and health care facilities throughout the country. She has been extensively published in many journals and is sought throughout the country as a guest lecturer. Ms. McCullough has been the recipient of numerous awards, including Professional Associate Award from HDR, Inc., the Outstanding Alumni Service Award from Clarkson College, and the President’s Award from Clarkson Hospital. She was also inducted as a member of Sigma Theta Tau International.
Matthew J. Rausch Jr.- earned a bachelor of science degree in education in 1949 from Slippery Rock University and a master of education degree in administration in 1954 from Pennsylvania State University. He pursued graduate work toward a doctorate degree in education. Mr. Rausch served as a science teacher from 1949 to 1958 in Kane Area High School, principal from 1958 to 1961 at Delaware Valley Junior-Senior High School, and principal, supervising principal, and superintendant from 1961 to 1980 at Mercer Area Junior-Senior High School. During his tenure at Kane Area Joint High School he achieved a basketball coaching record of 126-32 and served as an assistant football coach for seven years. Mr. Rausch oversaw several renovation projects in the Mercer Area School District, served as chairman of a number of middle school evaluation committees, and was a member of the Executive Board of the State Superintendents’ Association and the Executive Board of the State Retired Teachers Association.
Class of 2005
Dr. Bernadette Kutcher- Class of 1971, holds degrees from Westminster College, Youngstown State University and the University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Kutcher opened her medical practice in 1994 and has lectured in the field of sarcoidoisis throughout the United Kingdom and the United States. She is on the National Board of Directors of the Epilepsy Foundation, to offer assistance as a physician. Currently, Dr. Kutcher writes, speaks, and offers assistance to sarcoid patients and their families on a regional and national level.
Dr. Calvin D. Phillips- Class of 1983, holds degrees from Oklahoma State University, Slippery Rock University, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Phillips has served as the Director of the Academic Success Program at Shippensburg University and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Post Secondary Education at The University of Northern Iowa. Of the many awards he has received, several stand out: Frontiers Scholars Recognition Award and the 2000 Black Achiever Award. Dr. Phillips has conducted valuable research in student affairs and affirmative action, and has made presentations in his field on the national, regional, and local levels.
