Tom Bachtell CAS ‘80. Tom’s drawings and caricatures appeared in “The Talk of the Town” and other sections of the New Yorker for more than 20 years, in addition to the New York Review of Books, Newsweek, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal among other national and international publications. His ad campaigns range from the late Marshall Field's department store to Lands' End mail order to the chamber music series at The University of Chicago.
Trained as a pianist at the Cleveland Institute of Music and with a liberal arts degree from ϳԹ, Tom is self-taught as an artist. Working primarily in brush and ink, Tom's drawing style pays homage to many of the classic American illustrators and cartoonists of the 1920s and 1930s. He has drawn countless celebrities, artists, and politicians. He recently created the official poster for "The Girl, The Grouch, & The Goat," a new musical comedy by Jack Helbig and Mark Hollmann. An active chamber pianist, Tom also performs and teaches swing dancing, particularly the Lindy and the Balboa.
Ronald Chambers retired from ϳԹ after 20 years of service at the Kelvin Smith Library, where he managed the off-site depository, oversaw alumni applications and mobile shelving systems, assisted patrons at the Service Center, and mentored high school students through community outreach programs. In 2025, he earned his Master of Nonprofit Organizations (MNO) degree from ϳԹ—nearly five decades after completing his bachelor’s degree in industrial design and receiving his commission through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program at Kent State University. Ron’s experiences span service in the U.S. Army, work as a facilities engineer, substitute teaching in public schools, freelancing as a cartoonist, and holding a variety of roles in both public and academic libraries. Today, he continues to work part-time as a standardized patient (actor) for medical students at the Cleveland Clinic and Northeast Ohio Medical University. Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, he helped lead his church for three years after the sudden loss of his pastor, until a new pastor was in place—an experience that deepened his faith and ultimately inspired him to pursue his MNO degree.
He enjoys spending time with his family, staying active, appreciating the beauty of creation and the universe, exploring ancient technologies, and unwinding with superhero movies, comics, and a healthy dose of slapstick comedy.
Thalia Dorwick, PhD, earned her bachelor’s degree and Doctorate in Spanish from ϳԹ. She taught Spanish at the college level, most notably at Allegheny College and California Sate University, Sacramento, in addition to ϳԹ. She joined McGraw-Hill in 1979 where she would eventually retire as editor-in-chief for the publishing company’s Humanities, Social Sciences and Languages group for Higher Education. Thalia is the co-author of several best-selling Spanish texbooks and was recognized as an Outstanding Foreign Language Teacher by the California Foreign Language Teachers Association. She is an emeritus member of the ϳԹ Board, where she was a Vice President of the Board and served as co-chair of the Capital Campaign and Chair of the Academic Affairs and Student Life Committee. As emeritus Board member, she is a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Visiting Committee. She was president of the Board of Trustees of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and directed the Theatre’s Docent Program for many years.
Thomas Fleming earned his MSLS from ϳԹ in 1972 and worked in the government and then in private law firms for 43 years. His career started as the Director of the Law Library at the U.S. Department of Commerce and then as director of information resources management in various law firms where he managed the libraries, records, conflicts, and docketing departments. He was an adjunct professor at the Graduate School of Library Science at both Catholic University and the University of Maryland. He was active in many professional associations and spoke and wrote on information management as it evolved from almost totally paper to almost totally electronic. Tom also served on the advisory boards of many government and private organizations and companies.
George W. S. Hays, LYS ’80. George worked in academic and public libraries for more than thirty-four years. He is retired from the Salem Public Library where he was Director and Fiscal Officer. He was integral in operational automation projects and expanding public access to technology. Hays is a member of numerous national, state and local professional associations and civic organizations. He is a program presenter and consultant in the areas of time, paper, OSHA and personnel management, productivity, policy development and library administration. He has been recognized by many associations for his leadership skills and commitment to service. He is active in Rotary and the Rotary Foundation.
Anne-Marie (Wielhouwer) Littenberg graduated from ϳԹ in 1980. Born in Vancouver, Canada, of parents who emigrated from the Netherlands, she did most of her growing up in New York City. She graduated high school at age 16, started college at City University of New York (CUNY), and took time off to work as a “mad men” secretary on Madison Avenue in the mid 1970s. When her mother, now a single mom raising 6 children while working two jobs, announced she was returning to the Netherlands, Anne-Marie decided it was time to continue her education. A good friend, (Ben Littenberg, ϳԹ 1979, Med 1983) advised she apply to ϳԹ. Anne-Marie was reluctant because she had absolutely no family resources available to fund her education. To her joy, ϳԹ provided a package of scholarships and work study that allowed her to complete her education and pay her living expenses. She is deeply grateful to the University. She married Ben after graduation, and she and he have a deep appreciation for all that ϳԹ has done for them.
Upon graduation from ϳԹ, Anne-Marie took a job in the development office of the ϳԹ School of Medicine, helping to put together the Alumni Directory. She later worked on the Medical School’s alumni magazine, as well as helping to organize and implement the annual medical school reunions (attendance was in the 500 range every year at this time). She then moved on to direct fundraising, traveling the east coast of the USA to raise support for the School of Medicine. This blossomed into a robust career. She worked in fundraising at the School of Medicine at ϳԹ for six years, subsequently advancing her career at Stanford University (where her she was director of development for the Stanford University Libraries) and Dartmouth College. She worked in Dartmouth College’s major gifts division, and then moved on to the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center where planned and individual giving reported to her, and she had the extraordinary pleasure of working with former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop.
In later years, Anne-Marie developed a second career in the arts. She traveled throughout the USA teaching workshops in the traditional American craft of rug hooking, and authored two books and numerous publications on the subject. She also owned and managed rental properties in Burlington, Vermont, where she and Ben reside. Now retired, she has served on a variety of non-profit boards, and relishes her volunteer work delivering Meals on Wheels.
Clyde Miles is the Executive Vice President of Creative Services at The Adcom Group where he oversees the development of innovative integrated marketing, media, content, and brand strategies for clients. Prior to Adcom he was a division president at both Bozell Worldwide in Detroit and Meldrum & Fewsmith Communications in Cleveland, and VP and director of client services at DMB&B in Chicago. He attended Northwestern University where he studied history and is a Leadership Cleveland alumni. He serves on the Arts Impact and Assembly for the Arts Board of Directors.
Elizabeth Papp Taylor received her Master of Library Science from Rutgers University in 1988 where she also worked as a Chemistry and Physics librarian. After moving to Cleveland she worked as a reference librarian in the former Sears Library, and then at Kelvin Smith Library after it opened. She subsequently worked as a librarian in the Shaker Heights Schools from 1998 to 2012. She has served as President of the Cleveland Hungarian Development Panel since 2013.
Robert M. Torok, 89 Professional Fellows at ϳԹ's Weatherhead School of Management, Bob is a retired CPA and former Partner at Barnes, Wendling & Cook, Zalick, Torok, Kirgesner, & Cook, Hausser & Taylor, and McGladrey and Company. Many of these moves were due to mergers and acquisitions. Bob was a CPA for over 40 years and also held credentials as a Certified Valuation Expert, and Certified Fraud Examiner. For several years Bob also lectured at several colleges and universities including ϳԹ, John Carroll University, and Kent State University to name a few. Bob lectured in disciplines in accounting from beginning to advanced and also lectured in Fraud Examination as well as Ethics for graduate and undergraduate classes. He served as the Representative from the 23rd District in Ohio on the State School Board. He has served on several non-profit boards and presently is on the Lakewood School financial committee serving Lakewood City Schools.
Bob is the former Alumni President of Cleveland State University and has coauthored a book entitled Operational Profitability which was published by Wiley and Sons. Bob lives in Lakewood, Ohio and also resides in Florida. He enjoys golf, bridge, reading, and his grandchildren.
Victoria Wagner, LYS, ’79. Tory was a Medical Librarian at Lorain Community Hospital, Lorain, Ohio from 1979-1989 and established a library that was used by medical, nursing and administrative staff to improve medical outcomes. For the next several years, she operated a small business to provide financial reporting services to various politicians including George Voinovich in his successful Governor’s race. This led to an appointment as the Executive Director of the Cleveland Area Metropolitan Library System whose membership included public, school, college and special libraries in the Northeast Ohio area. Following this, Tory taught at a private inner city school in Cleveland, Ohio helping students master educational and computer literacy skills. Since retiring, Tory divides her time between Lakewood, Ohio and Kissimmee, Florida enjoying golf, reading and family life.
Andrea Yelin, LAW ’85, LYS ’85. Andrea attended Vassar College and graduated from Rice University with a B.A. in History and Political Science. Andrea received her MSLS degree from the Matthew Baxter School of Library and Information Science at ϳԹ. While in law school at ϳԹ, where Andrea received her JD, Andrea pursued her MSLS at the same time.
After graduation, Andrea worked as a law librarian for nine years. Andrea also taught legal research and writing to law students at Loyola University Chicago School of Law where she currently teaches Advanced Legal Research. Andrea also teaches in the Writing, Rhetoric, and Discourse department at DePaul University where she teaches business writing and legal writing. She is the author of several textbooks in the areas of legal research and writing, and contracts and lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, David, who is also a ϳԹ School of Law graduate. They met in family law class. They have two grown children.
In Memoriam. Walter Freedman was a visionary businessman and devoted supporter of the Kelvin Smith Library. He had a passion for family and philanthropy and a willingness to share his business knowledge and expertise by participating as a member of the KSL visiting committee for 17 years. Walter's generous legacy includes creating The Freedman Student Digital Scholars Program, a program that further enhanced the impact of the Freedman Center for Digital Scholarship which was funded in 2005 by his parents, Samuel and Marian Freedman.