September – November
1950s
Ruth Ann (Yocum) Nutt, ’50, turned 100 years old in November. Her husband, Don, ’50, turned 100 earlier in 2021.
1970s
Les Morrison, ’78, retired from the Kansas City VA Medical Center. While at Baker, Les and other biology students were part of the search committee that brought Dr. Roger Boyd, ’69, and Dr. Calvin Cink to Baker University.
1980s
Rhonda Harris, ’83, was honored as a Distinguished Mentor at the seventh annual Women of Influence Awards in Topeka, Kansas. Harris has served as the director of the office of women and minority business development at the Kansas Department of Commerce for 22 years.
Gayle Larkin, ’87, was selected to serve as the next disciplinary administrator for the Kansas Supreme Court.
Marcos Mendoza, ’86, received the Steven S. Goldberg Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Education Law for his law review article The Limits of Insurance as Governance: Professional Liability Coverage for Civil Rights Claims Against Public School Districts.
Candice Millard, ’89, author of the New York Times bestsellers The River of Doubt and Destiny of the Republic, will release her fourth book, River of the Gods, in May 2022.
1990s
Stacy Copeland, ’94, was promoted to division director with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Kansas City, Missouri.
Jay Harris, ’91, was named the next superintendent of the Platte County School District in Missouri. He begins his role July 1, 2021.
Deb Tompkins North, ’93, puts wrestling shoes on girls through her company, YES! Athletics, which promotes girl power and entrepreneurship through wrestling programs. Read Alumni Spotlight.
2000s
Derek Doerfler, ’09, was inducted into the 2021 Baker University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Erik Jones, ’01, head boys’ soccer coach at Blue Valley Southwest High School, led his team to the 2021 Kansas 5A State Championship.
Sara Mullins, ’03 MBA, and her agency were commissioned by the town of Indian Shores, Florida, to create a memorial paying homage to the Tocobaga and Timucua tribes indigenous to the area. Mullins is the owner of the award-winning fine art gallery service Galleries on the Go, in Tampa Bay.
Ariel Penner, ’09, was named the 2022 GenKC board chair and a member of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
Ryan Pitts, ’06, Baker University’s head track and field coach, received Joe Biden’s Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award at the second annual Presidential Lifetime Achievement Awards Ceremony in Houston, Texas.
Courtney Servaes, ’09, owner and brewer at Servaes Brewing Co. in Shawnee, Kansas, was featured in VoyageKC magazine. The article discusses how her business was able to survive during the pandemic. Read the article.
Matt Trumpp, ’06, head boys’ soccer coach at Olathe West High School, led his team to the 2021 Kansas 6A State Championship.
2010s
Mariah Barnett, ’13, who serves as the director of orchestras at Lawrence High School was recently honored as the Northeast District Kansas Music Educators Association Outstanding High School Music Educator.
Kyle Britton, ’12, and Sara Bell, ’14, were married on May 15, 2021, near Hermann, Missouri.
Jordan Brown, ’18, was named the sports information director at Park University in Parkville, Missouri.
Mack Brown, ’10, was inducted into the 2021 Baker University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Richie Bryant, ’10, was inducted into the 2021 Baker University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Brittni (Sayers) Dangers, ’13, married Jonathan Dangers in the summer of 2020 and celebrated with friends this fall.
Katie Duroe, ’14, serves as the head softball coach at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.
Matt Griffin, ’11, was inducted into the 2021 Baker University Athletic Hall of Fame.
Stacy (Yowell) Murphy, ’12, serves as senior human resources recruiter at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.
Aubree (Gustin) Taylor, ’11, was inducted into the 2021 Baker University Athletic Hall of Fame.