Thomas Lents ’95 has been Chef at many restaurants in the U.S. and around the world.  He has landed, since 2012, at the fine dining Sixteen, located on the 16th floor of Trump International Hotel & Tower® in Chicago.  After Wabash, Chef Lents earned an advanced placement culinary art degree from the New England Culinary Institute.  Click here to read his chef bio.

If you don’t have a chance to dine at Sixteen in the next few months, you can always try the Bon Appetit Chicago Gourmet tasting event, September 25-27, 2015 in Millennium Park.  Tickets on sale soon; in the meantime, you can look here for ticket updates and other information.

Photo courtesy of
Bon Appetit.

Aman Brar ‘99, President of Apparatus in Indianapolis, will speak on a panel at the Indianapolis Business Journal Power Technology Breakfast Series on March 13 at The Marriott Downtown.  Click here for info on how to register for the breakfast.

The six-member panel will address questions such as  what are the next tech companies to go IPO, trends in technology for 2015, how to attract more funding from Silicon Valley firms, and more.

After Wabash, Aman earned an MBA from Kelley School of Business at Indiana University at Bloomington.  He has an extensive background in leading technology companies through periods of high growth and held key corporate strategy and finance functions at Fortune 500 companies. Prior to joining Apparatus, Aman was Vice President of Business Development for ChaCha Search where he led ChaCha’s corporate strategic partnership activities.

Photo courtesy of
Apparatus.

Scott Benedict ’98 has been named Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board at Tx:Team, which provides physical, occupational, and speech therapy to healthcare facilities in Indianapolis.  After Wabash, Scott began his career with healthcare consulting, and then became Director of Finance at St. Vincent Hospital in 2005.

Scott joined Tx:Team in 2009, serving as Vice President of Finance and Senior Vice President.  As Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Scott leads all strategy and business development activities, including the development of joint ventures.  He also oversees all financial, accounting, and tax functions, in addition to managing corporate negotiations, contracting, and external relationships with clients and strategic partners.

Congratulations, Scott!

Photo and bio courtesy of
Tx:Team.

Adam D. Miller ’12 has been busy since graduation three years ago –first, he rode his bike across the U.S. to start a charity, which led to an idea for co-founding CNVRS, Inc., producing a people-connection app which went live in 2013; then an NPR story about homeless unemployment led to an idea for a project called STTCHD, which hires homeless center residents to produce recycled clothing . . . and, he is currently taking part in a one-year fellowship at enFocus, a nonprofit that pairs recent grads with community organizations to help improve life in South Bend, IN.

It started at Wabash (scroll down to read his bio).  In Adam’s own words, since “volunteering on a service trip to the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans during spring break of my freshman year, I have been on a journey to connect, collaborate, and create with people for the common good.”

Congratulations, Adam!  What’s next?

Photo courtesy of enFocus.

Professor Emeritus of History James J. Barnes received the Eli Lilly Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Indiana Historical Society in December.  Dr. Barnes taught at Wabash for 44 years and was history department chair and Hadley Professor of History. His expertise includes British History.  He teaches events such as the American Revolution and Civil War from a British perspective.  Dr. Barnes is an avid historian and a member of the Montgomery County Historical Society.  Click here to read the news story.

Dr. Barnes has co-authored, with his wife Patience Barnes, books and articles which have been published widely in England as well as in the United States.  In 2013, they published the book 500 Strong – Wabash College Students in the Civil War and are currently working on another book.

Congratulations, Dr. and Mrs. Barnes!

Photo:
Patience Barnes, Professor James J. Barnes,
and John Herbst, president and CEO of the
Indiana Historical Society.

Dave Bowen ’99, CEO of MM4 and Managing Director of Xchanging Procurement Americas, recently received two awards:  CEO World Awards and Best in Biz Awards.  The annual CEO World Awards program encompasses leadership, innovation, organizational performance, in new products and services.  The Best in Biz Award was selected from hundreds of award nominations received in a variety of company, executive, team, and product focused categories from public and private companies of all sizes every major industry and region in the U.S. and Canada.

Click here to read the news release.

Congratulations, Dave!

Dr. Richard B. Gunderman ’83 will speak about “What can 21st-century managers learn about leadership from a 19th-century mad scientist?” at the Indiana University’s Kelley School’s Business of Medicine monthly MBA Friday lecture on January 23 on the Indianapolis campus.  He will examine Victor Frankenstein’s poor leadership qualities and their impact on the monster he created. Click here to read the news release about the lecture, which is free and open to the public.

Dr. Gunderman is Indiana University Chancellor’s Professor of Radiology, Pediatrics, Medical Education, Philosophy, Liberal Arts, Philanthropy and Medical Humanities and Health Studies at Indiana University. He received his A.B. summa cum laude from Wabash College, his M.D. and Ph.D. (Committee on Social Thought) with honors from the University of Chicago, and his MPH from Indiana University. He was a Chancellor Scholar of the Federal Republic of Germany and received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Garrett Theological Seminary at Northwestern University.

He is a nine-time recipient of the Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award; and in 2015, he received the Indiana University School of Medicine’s inaugural Inspirational Educator Award. He is also past president of the faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine and a correspondent for the Atlantic.

You know it is a good thing when your boss shares praises about your work!  The principal of DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, MD sent this about two teachers:  “I wanted to let you know that we have two alums of Wabash on our faculty and they are so impressive . . . I send all best wishes and thanks for producing such outstanding and exemplary men.”  Daniel J. McMahon, Ph.D., Principal, DeMatha Catholic High School.

Josh Harris ’08 has been at DeMatha for five years, teaching Theology, Independent Studies, and moderating Student Government. He was recently recognized by the Archdiocese of Washington for his work.  After Wabash, Josh earned an M.A. at St. John’s College, and is in progress towards an M.A. and PhD from Georgetown University.

Homer Twigg ’08 has taught Theology at DeMatha since last July.  After Wabash, Homer earned an MA at Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome, a C.M.A. at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and is a PhD student at the Catholic University of America.

Congratulations, all!

Steve Campbell ’92, former deputy mayor of Indianapolis and current small business owner, will become vice president of communications and oversee media and public relations, communications and new media for the Indianapolis nonprofit The Mind Trust.  The Mind Trust’s mission is to create enough great public schools in Indianapolis for every student to be able to attend one. Click here to read the news release.

After Wabash. Steve earned his JD from Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis; studied at The American University in Washington DC; and is a graduate of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series.  He is also an adjunct professor in Journalism and PR at IU-PUI in Indianapolis.

Congratulations, Steve!

Photo courtesy of IU-PUI.

Damon Carl ’03 and Matt Kriech ’00, with two other co-owners, opened with a storefront taproom on January 2 – a nano-brewery which sells carryout and in-house beer. They offer a unique twist — you will also be able to design your own beer and purchase small batches, from 5 to 45 gallons, for your next special event.  Click here for details such as hours, location, and ideas for custom brews.

Of course, the significance of “Wabash” in Indiana – including College, River, Canal, and others, inspired the name of their business as well as the names of the beers they offer.  Both Matt and Damon were chemistry majors at Wabash who went on to earn PhD’s, which they plan to use with analytical testing to come up with just the right brew for you!

Congratulations, Damon and Matt!

Logo courtesy of
Wabash Brewing.