Newsmakers

QUOTE/UNQUOTE "If you had to visualize the ideal ambassador, Francis J. Ricciardone Jr. '73 would be it." DARTMOUTH PROFESSOR JOHN RASSIAS '49 ON RICCIARDONE'S RECENT APPOINTMENT AS U.S. AMBASSADOR TO EGYPT

Career diplomat Francis J. Ricciardone '73 was confirmed as the new ambassador to Egypt by the U.S. Senate in late July. Ricciardone most recently served as ambassador to the Philippines and to the Republic of Palau. He previously was the secretary of states special coordinator for the transition of Iraq. In the New Hampshire Union Leader, John Rassias, the William R. Kenan Professor and chair of Dartmouth's French and Italian department, said of the summa cum laude graduate: "He was simply fantastic in every sense of the word. He was a leader, he was a prize student. He did it all, man."... When Tracey Deer '00 left Quebec's Kahnawake Native reserve for Dartmouth, she swore she would never return. "I was suffocating from the plague that infects all Native communities—the alcohol, drugs, abuse, neglect, massive unemployment, apathy and low self-esteem," Deer told the Montreal Gazette. But ultimately the film studies major did return to the reservation, armed with a camera to record the lives of Mohawk teens. The resulting hour-long documentary, Mohawk Girls, opened the 15th First Peoples' Festival in Montreal last June. "I hope MohawkGirls will illustrate the reality of being young in Kahnawake," Deer said. "I hope it gets us talking about the issues that face our community." ...Dan Protz '98 summited Mount Everest on June 2. "I have never experienced such an extreme level of exhaustion. Sometimes Id take three or four steps and then need to rest," he told the Herald Times Reporter (Manitowoc, Wisconsin). Protz and his former heavyweight crew teammate Greg Vadasdi '89 led the Big Green Everest Expedition (www.biggreeneverest.com) to the 29,035-foot peak and, once at the summit, Protz photographed Vadasdi holding a sign he'd carried with him. Upon returning home to New York City, Vadasdi presented his girlfriend, Katie Bardzik '98, DMS '03, with roses, champagne and the photo. His sign read: "Katie, Will You Marry Me?" Bardzik, team physician for the expedition and a resident in orthopedics at the Hospital for Special Surgery, said "yes." A June 2006 wedding is planned....He's been a newspaper reporter, a law school professor and a member of the Missouri Supreme Court since 1998. In July Michael Wolff '67 added chief justice to his resume, as he took over the states highest court for a two-year term. "Having the opportunity to teach and to write gives an interesting perspective on some of the work that I've done otherwise in government," he told the Associated Press....Pamela Taylor '86 made history on Canada Day, July 1, when she became the first woman to lead the Islamic faiths Juma (Friday prayers) and deliver the Khutba (sermon) inside a mosque. The groundbreaking event took place at the United Muslim Association Centre, an ethnically diverse Sunni mosque in suburban Toronto that also includes many Shiites. Tarek Fatah, co-founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, told The National Post that men and women have equal rights under Islam, "but over a thousand years we have been fossilized in a very misogynistic interpretation, which keeps women out of mosques." Taylor converted to Islam 19 years ago and earned a master's degree in theology from Harvard Divinity School, with a concentration in Islamic studies. "We really have the opportunity to act as the conscience of the Muslim world here and we really need to," said Taylor, who lives in Indianapolis and is co-chair of the Progressive Muslim Union....Last spring, as officials investigated whether any of Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries were linked to insurance giant American International Group's alleged accounting improprieties, CNBC and other financial media turned to Tom Russo '77 for expert analysis. The lawyer-trained investor was a natural choice. Russo follows Buffett's value investment principles as a partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and was featured in the 2002 book, Of Permanent Value: The Story of WarrenBuffett. Author Andrew Kilpatrick told the Lancaster New Era that Russo is "in the most respected ranks of the people who really understand value investing."...How good is higher education in America? John Merrow '63 explored that question in Decliningby Degrees, a documentary that aired on PBS last June; a companion book came out the same month. Merrow also wrote last April's cover story for The New York Times' "Education Life" section, "The Invisible Student," which detailed the struggles of five students among their 37,000 peers at the University of Arizona....He's a Pakistani -born, Brooklyn-raised Muslim who's worked as a journalist and holds both an M.B.A. and a law degree. But instead of becoming a Wall Street master of the universe, Kamran Pasha '93 headed to Hollywood four years ago, hoping a job in the entertainment industry would enable him to present a positive view of Islam to the world. Now as a writer for Sleeper Cell, a Showtime TV series slated to premiere this winter, Pasha helps create the adventures and job perils of a Muslim F.B.I. agent who infiltrates a terrorist sleeper cell outside Los Angeles. "We're showing someone who is devout, who is so motivated by both his patriotism as well as his sincere faith as a Muslim that he has to stop these criminals who are abusing his faith," Pasha told The NewYork Times' Jacques (Jack) Steinberg '88. ...Former star fullback Curt Oberg '78 has traded a successful commercial real estate career for a position as Dartmouth's volunteer assistant coach and director of football operations. As reported in the Boston Globe in August, Oberg commuted to spring practice from Wellesley, Massachusetts, to help out former teammate Buddy Teevens '79, but is bunking in a Norwich, Vermont, condo during the season. "It's just so great to see him this excited because he's so passionate about coaching and football," said his wife, Sherri Oberg '82, Tu'86. "It's been his dream." ...If you know what the "river" card is and can identify Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, chances are you have Steve Lipscomb '84 to thank (or blame) foryour addiction to televised poker. Lipscomb is the founder and CEO of WPT Enterprises, which produces the two-hour World Poker Tour show for the Travel Channel every week. As Inc. magazine reported in its May cover story: "In three short years he has taken poker from smoky backrooms to the Nasdaq and prime-time television, with ratings that regularly top network coverage of the NBA and PGA." Much like the PGA Tour, which Lipscomb and executive vp Audrey Kania, Tu'90, used as a business model, WPT Enterprises oversees a thriving league with tournaments around the world. The hook is that, unlike other pro sports, anyone can buy a seat at a World Poker Tow event table for $10,000. "I created the only sports league in America where you can come out and play," said Lipscomb.

Pamela Taylor '86

Greg Vadasdi '98 (left) and Dan Protz '98

QUOTE/UNQUOTE "I'm pursuing my passion, for Dartmouth, for Dartmouth football, for helping young people and teaching young people." CURT OBERG '78, WHO'S TRADING A SUCCESSFUL REAL ESTATE CAREER TO BECOME THE BIG GREEN'S VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT COACH