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Virginia Allen
Virginia Allen, former vice chancellor for student services and enrollment management at U-M-Flint, died May 21, 2005 in Ann Arbor. She was 59.
Just prior to her death, the University of Chicago (UC) had announced her appointment as director of an ambitious new urban education program. Her husband, Stephen Raudenbush, a U-M professor of education and statistics, has been named the Lewis-Sebring Professor in Sociology and chair of UC's Committee on Education.
Raudenbush was an activist long before moving into academia. Friends and acquaintances saw her as a powerful spirit-someone who called on students to do more than take up space; who got people's attention even when she stood at the opposite end of a corridor.
Raudenbush began her pursuit of social justice early. As a student at Cardinal Cushing College in Brookline, Mass., she helped organize the first hospital workers' union in Massachusetts.
After graduating in 1967, she became a social worker for 10 years, engaging in battles for welfare rights. She later led the Parents Support and Action Center in Cambridge, Mass., and facilitated school desegregation in Weston, Mass. In 1984, she moved with her family to Michigan where she directed service-learning programs for undergraduates, first at Michigan State University and later at U-M.
In 2001, she launched the award-winning LUCY program, a partnership between U-M and community organizations that trains undergraduates while improving instruction for Detroit children.
Besides her child development research, she promoted service. Raudenbush earned her master of education degree from Harvard University and recently helped publish the book, "Gathering of Elders: Wisdom Teachings for the Service-Learning Movement."
Survivors include her husband of 37 years, Stephen; children, Jesse, Danielle and Catherine, all of Ann Arbor; parents, Lemar and Maggie Pipkins of Buzzards Bay, Mass.; siblings, Elbert Pipkins of Buzzards Bay, Jerrolyn Simpson of Jamaica Plain, Mass., Robert Pipkins of Staten Island, N.Y., Judy Leavis of Epping, N.H., and Rottisha Mewborn of Buzzards Bay; and two grandchildren.
A memorial service was held May 25 in Ann Arbor.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to the Stella Raudenbush Memorial Fund to assist undergraduates from Detroit. Gifts can be made online at: http://www.soe.umich.edu/contribute/index.html or by mail to Steve Bates, School of Education, Room 1123, 610 E. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Checks should be made payable to the University of Michigan with a notation that the gift is for the Stella Raudenbush Fund.
James F. Brinkerhoff
James F. Brinkerhoff Born in Chicago in 1923 and raised outside Buffalo, N.Y., Brinkerhoff came to Michigan for college and stayed. In 1941, Brinkerhoff and his future wife, Margaret, enrolled at Alma College. His studies were interrupted, however, by a call to active service in the U.S. Army.
Following the war, Brinkerhoff returned to Michigan to his wife and met for the first time his 2-year-old son, James. Following completion of his MBA at U-M, he worked for Argus Camera in Ann Arbor.
Brinkerhoff was hired into U-M administration in 1962 as director of plant operations and buildings. He later served as director of business operations and as associate vice president of the University before departing Ann Arbor in 1971 to become vice president at the University of Minnesota. In 1977, Brinkerhoff returned to U-M as vice president and CFO of the University, a position he held until his retirement.
Brinkerhoff was especially proud of his contributions toward the building of the new University Hospital.
Robben Fleming, U-M president from 1968-79 and interim president in 1988, said Brinkerhoff was very skilled at the difficult task of budgeting for a university in the face of uncertain state support.
"He was a very good CFO and a first-rate business manager," Fleming said. "He understood the business problems we had, and I had a great deal of confidence in him. I thought he was a very good person in his post and he served the University very well."
Brinkerhoff received the Distinguished Business Officer Award from the National Association of College and University Business Officers, recognizing his distinguished contributions to business and financial management education.
He was an active member of the Ann Arbor community for more than half a century. He served on the Ann Arbor City Council, chaired the United Way, and was active in the Chamber of Commerce, the Brotherhood, the Vice Presidents Club, Ann Arbor Golf and Outing, and the Ann Arbor Rotary. At First Presbyterian Church, he was ordained an elder in 1951, serving several terms during the years on the congregation's governing board.
Brinkerhoff is survived by his wife and partner of 62 years, Margaret (Peshke); son, James (Maureen); daughter, Jill Arnold (Jack); son, David; and son, William (Kathleen). He also is survived by 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Contributions can be made to the Comprehensive Cancer Center or to the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, where a scholarship will be established in his name.
Donald Canham
Former athletics director Donald Canham preceded in death by first wife, Marilyn (Bunny), and is survived by second wife, Margaret. Survivors also include his brother Robert Canham (Donna); his son, Don Canham Jr., and daughter, Clare Eaton (Don); grandchildren Amelia and Don Eaton; stepdaughters Karla Schoemer and Kirsten Roberts (Shawn); and step-grandchildren Aaron, Allison and Joslin.
Dr. Rodney Pacifico
Dr. Rodney Pacifico, a clinical lecturer in the Division of Gastroenterology at the Medical School, married in 1999.
Following his graduation with distinction from the Medical School in 1997, Pacifico began a three-year residency in internal medicine at the University of Wisconsin. In 2000, he moved to Rochester, Minn., where he pursued a fellowship in gastroenterology at the Mayo Clinic.
Pacifico focused his research on Barrett's esophagus, a condition that increases a patient's risk for esophageal cancer. As a budding expert in the field, Pacifico received research grants from several organizations, including the Mayo Foundation and Janssen Pharmaceutica.
While his medical career was brief, Pacifico earned many accolades. One of his most prized awards was the David Sunde Humanitarian Award, given to residents who demonstrate the finest humanistic qualities in the care of patients. He also twice received the American Gastroenterological Association/Wyeth-Ayerst Resident and Fellow Reporter Program award.
Pacifico held professional memberships with the American Medical Association, American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Pacifico grew up in Congers, N.Y., a small town along the Hudson River, 40 miles north of New York City. He attended Clarstown North High School, where he graduated in the top 10 of his class and was a star member of the track and field squad.
He is survived by his wife and twin 2-year-old daughters, Alexa and Gabrielle; parents, Orlando and Rosenda; brother, Oliver; grandmother, "Nanay"; and his godmother, Norma (Dan) Ortilla.
