Ron Haeske has published his latest novel under the pen name Luke Dawson. The title is Devine Appointment. His hero, Seth Devine, is a U-M college student with a divine gift. Haeske explains the plot as follows: ‘God arranges for him to meet people who have been seeking divine help. His appointments start out simple but soon become more intense–facing demonic spirits and Satanic worshippers. Allegro and Crescendo are the two angels assigned to Seth to battle in the supernatural realm. When Seth travels on a summer tour of northern Michigan with his band, he meets Grace Summers and wishes she was his next appointment. When he finds she is, complications arise.
The author invites readers to “enter the world of the supernatural in the first of a new series that will both entertain and inspire you.”

Gregory Wesner joined Preston Gates & Ellis’s Seattle office as a partner in its intellectual property law practice. Wesner brings 14 years of litigation experience to the firm including six years as a patent and IP litigator with Seattle boutique Christensen O’Connor Johnson Kindness. Wesner graduated with a degree in economics and earned his juris doctorate at Vanderbilt University in 1991.

On February 16, Dr. Boris Kozolchyk, president of the the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade, dedicated the Victor and Vicki Folsom Library of Inter-American Law. Victor and Vicki Folsom were among the most respected Inter-American lawyers. Victor Folsom, who died in 1995, was a general counsel of Sterling Drugs and United Fruit, and Vicki was a prominent member of the United Fruit legal staff.
In addition, Victor Folsom served as president of the Inter American Bar Association. Because of his efforts, the University of Costa Rica Law School received a donation of a United States law library collected from various US teaching institutions. Folsom’s writings on commercial credit in Latin America inspired Kozolchyk’s landmark study Law and the Credit Structure of Latin America, published as a Rand Monograph by the RAND corporation and by the Virginia Journal of International Law. This was the writing that initiated the process of modernization of Latin America’s commercial credit law.

The 25th anniversary meeting of the Prosper Meniere Society is honoring its founder, Dr. I. Kaufman Arenberg ’63, ’67MD, with the Gold Medal Award at the 12th annual international symposium and workshops on inner ear medicine and surgery. The symposium will be held March 4-11 in Zell im Zillertal, Austria.

Dr. Arenberg will be “honored for his broad and diverse contributions to inner ear medicine and surgery,” the society said, especially for his development of nondestructive surgical and inner ear drug delivery treatments for Meniere’s disease, one of the leading causes of vertigo.

A pioneer in the use of micro-flow-controlled drug delivery to the inner ear, Dr. Arenberg’s innovations are now used to treat other inner ear disorders. He co-founded IntraEAR Inc. to advance and enable the ability to better control and monitor severe otologic ailments.

As a medical student at Michigan, he worked with the Kresge Hearing Research Institute’s (KHRI)leading reseachers, Joseph E. Hawkins Jr., Lars Goran Johnssen and Jesef Miller. He recently donated the income of several medica device patents to the University for the benefit of KHRI.

Dr. Arenberg is, or has been, on the editorial boards of seven peer-reviewed journals and was made associate editor of the AMA Archives of Otolaryngology during his residency at Washington University. He has edited six books and written more than 100 publications.

His fascination with the art world resulted in an article on Vincent Van Gogh, which diagnosed the painter’s illness as Meniere’s disease rather than epilepsy. The JAMA published the article as its cover story in July 1990, and Dr. Arenberg appeared on “CBS This Morning” with Paula Zahn and Charles Osgood to discuss his report on Van Gogh.

A resident of Bayville, Long Island, Dr. Arenberg notes that his daughter, Julie Arenberg Bierer, followed his scholarly interests and received her PhD in neurosciences at KHRI in 2001. Her husband Steve received his doctorate in biomedical engineering at Krege the same year. Dr. Arenberg also has two sons who have joined him in his research and business enterprises.

U-M Graduate & West Bloomfield resident Fran Victor is being honored by the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) by presenting her the Silver Circle Award at a luncheon ceremony on Sunday, February 26 at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, MI. The NATAS Silver Circle Award is a lifetime achievement award given annually to television professionals who began their careers at least 25 years ago and who have made substantial contributions to the industry and to the community over the course of their careers. It is one of the television industry’s highest honors.
After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Film, Fran Victor began her television career in 1979 at WXYZ-TV Channel 7 in Detroit. While there, Fran helped create “Good Afternoon Detroit,” then a flagship afternoon talk show starring John Kelly and Marilyn Turner. In 1990 she began the second phase of her television career as a partner at Victor/Harder Productions. With VHP, Fran has been a leading independent creator of television entertainment, news, public service and fundraising content for national and international clients. Fran has produced television programming that has aired nationally on networks including ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, the Family Channel and Discovery, as well as internationally across Europe and Asia, including Singapore Television.
In addition to the Silver Circle Award, Fran Victor is the recipient of many industry awards including multiple EMMY© awards (also given by NATAS), a CINE Golden Eagle award, over 15 Telly awards and more.
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is television’s premier industry organization, with 20 regional chapters across the country. For more information about the organization and the award, visit the NATAS Michigan Chapter website at http://www.mi-nta.org. For more information on Victor/Harder Productions, visit their website at http://www.victorharder.com.

TIM FAGAN (UM ’01) WINS ESQUIRE SONGWRITING CONTEST

A songwriting contest was staged by Esquire magazine’s columnist/musician John Mayer. Famed singer/songwriter John Mayer offered original lyrics and challenged musicians to put them to music. They received 2,212 entries.

Tim Fagan’s new CD “Out of the Dark” was released in late January (www.TimFagan.com). It includes the winning song “Deeper.”

After graduating from Michigan, Tim lived in Ann Arbor and performed regularly in various the Ann Arbor-area clubs. He moved to the Los Angeles area in ’04, but he returns to Ann Arbor to perform each year.

You can read about the contest in Esquire’s January edition (with Howard Stern of the cover), and in Billboard Magazine:

http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/Esquire/2006/01/01/1108312?ba=m&bi=0&bp=7
http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/Esquire/2006/01/01/1108313
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001772374

is member of the California and New York bars, he is currently enrolled in the LL.M (Criminal Law) program at the University at Buffalo Law School, where he is writing a masters thesis and clerking part-time for U.S. Magistrate Judge Hugh B. Scott in Buffalo, New York. His fifth book, “Nightmares of Reason,” is scheduled for publication by C.A.L. Press this year. His most recent journal article was “If at First You Don’t Secede, Try, Try Again,” New England Law Review 39(4) (Summer 2005): 839-869.

, author of, “Prime Rib & Boxcars. Whatever Happened To Victoria Station?” Published in January, 2006, the book includes stories of Rob Lytle, Michigan All-America running back, 1975, with mentions of Bo Schembechler, long-time Associate AD, Don Lund, the late Dr. Gerry O’Connor, Michigan linemen Bill and Tom Keating, Charlie Kines, and running back Bruce Allison, and former football captain, Fred Jahnke, plus many other UM graduates. A unique memoir and business book combined. For info: www.vicsta.com. Tom lives in San Clemente, Calif., and is a columnist for the Orange County Register.

Scott W. Rooney, a 1984 graduate of Univ of Michigan Dearborn recently was selected to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, a select grooup of personal injury attorneys throughtout the country that have obtain ten or more verdicts and settlements in excess of One Million dollars throughout their careers. Mr. Rooney, whose main office is in Dearborn Michigan, practices throughout the country and specializes in products liability and employment litigation.