Welcome to Northeastern Alumni Class Notes
Find out what your fellow alumni are up to these days. Share your news and events by submitting a note.
Linda Winer
(B.A. ‘68 Music)
Winer received the League of Professional Theatre Women Special Award at the 2018 Theatre Women Awards ceremony. Winer was the Chief Theatre Critic for Newsday until 2017. She taught critical writing at Columbia University’s School of the Arts and hosted the LPTW’s “Women in Theatre” series on CUNY-TV. Winer was also the 2013 NEIU Distinguished Alumna Award recipient and Commencement speaker.
Richard Swanson
(M.A. ‘68 Mathematics)
Swanson served as teacher, school district administrator and author for more than 40 years. He received a Ph.D. on Mathematics Education from The Ohio State University.
Anthony C. Parla
(B.A. ‘73 Political Science)
Parla worked in the insurance industry for more than 40 years reaching the position of vice president.
Hy Thurman
(B.A. '73 Anthropology)
Thurman wrote an autobiography titled "Revolutionary Hillbilly," which is centered in the '60s, around the start of the Rainbow Coalition. Thurman gave a talk about the book on the University's Main Campus in Fall of 2022, as well as an interview on radio station WZRD. In the past, he has been a cofounder of the Uptown People's Northeastern Illinois Center. Currently, he is the chairman/president of the North Alabama School for Organizers and the cofounder of the Second Rainbow Coalition.
Richard C. Lindberg
(B.A. ‘74, M.A. ‘87, History)
Lindberg was honored by the Illinois State Historical Society (ISHS) for his work on publishing Northeastern’s first comprehensive history book, “Northeastern Illinois University: The First 150 Years.” Recently, the Chicago History Magazine published an article Lindberg wrote highlighting the early years of NEIU as the Cook County Normal School. Lindberg was also interviewed on WGN Radio’s Behind the Curtain Show with Paul Lisnek. Lindberg is a Chicago writer whose work includes “Chicago by Gaslight: A History of the Chicago Netherworld, 1880-I 920, The White Sox Encyclopedia,” and “The Armchair Companion to Chicago Sports.” He is also a member of the NEIU Alumni Advisory Board.
Greg Herriges
(B.A. ‘75 English)
Herriges published a book titled “Inherit the Streets,” an investigative report about Chicago street gangs for the Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine in 1978. Herriges has written numerous novels including “Someplace Safe,” “The Winter Dance Party Murders,” “The Bay of the Marseilles and Other Stories.” He has also produced documentaries including “TC Boyle: The Art of the Story” and “Player: A Rock and Roll Dream” won Platinum and Gold at the Aurora Awards in Salt Lake City.
Karen (Hull) Schmitz
(B.S. ‘75 Physical Education)
Schmitz recently retired after a long career as a physical health and dance teacher, writer and marketing professional. She has two adult children.
Seema (Crandall) Ghori Imam
(B.A. ‘75 Elem and Learning Disabilities; M.A. ‘83 Reading Specialist; M.A. ‘87 Educational Administration)
Ghori Imam completed a Doctorate in Curriculum and Social Inquiry at National Louis University and a second Doctorate at Graduate Theological Foundation. In 2017, she was awarded full Professor at National Louis University. Ghori Imam was also the recipient of the Mary McLeod Award in Educational Administration at Graduate Theological Foundation and the Inspiring Women’s Award from the Muslim Women Alliance.
Jarice Hanson
(B.A. ‘76 Speech)
Dr. Hanson served as the 2018 Brommel-Hahs Lecturer at the Communication, Media and Theatre Celebration Week this spring. Hanson is a professor of communications at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Hanson is the author, most recently, of “24/7: How Cell Phones and the Internet Change the Way We Live, Work, and Play;” “New Communication Technologies in Developing Countries;” “Understanding Video: Applications, Impact, and Theory, and Connections, Technologies of Communication;” and has edited or co-edited more than a dozen others.
Gerald Gems
(B.A. ‘77 Physical Education)
Gems retired as a professor of kinesiology from North Central College, Naperville, IL. He served as the past president of the North American Society for Sport History, is a Fulbright Scholar, received the 2016 Routledge Award for scholarship, and is author of more than 250 publications. He has made more than 70 international presentations of his research and is currently working on his twentieth book.
