MUCH ADO ABOUT 'I DO'
Few state secrets are as closely guarded as the details of former first daughter Chelsea Clinton and fiancé Marc Mezvinsky's summer nuptials. The interfaith ceremony took place July 31 at the famed Astor Courts estate in Rhineback, N.Y. The bride, who recently received her master's in public health from Columbia, wore Vera Wang; the groom, an investment banker, wore a Burberry suit and traditional tallit prayer shawl. The couple first met as teenagers in Hilton Head, S.C., during one of then-President Clinton's Renaissance Weekend retreats. Chelsea, '01, and Marc, '00, attended Stanford together, but were "just dear friends," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisted at the time. Their romance began in 2005, when both were living in New York City.
DREAM TEAM
A managing partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Joe Lacob heads the investment group that bought the Golden State Warriors in July for an NBA record price of $450 million. A lifelong fan, Lacob, MBA '83, invested in the now-defunct women's American Basketball League in the 1990s and had a minority partnership in the Boston Celtics franchise. Speaking to the Chronicle, former Stanford player Jennifer Azzi, '90, who starred for the ABL's San Jose Lasers and now coaches the USF women's basketball team, said of Lacob: "It's people like Joe who can see potential in something and make something great."
HE'S GOT HEART
Last spring, Charles Okeke became the first total artificial heart recipient in the United States to test the "freedom driver" portable support device, which powers his replacement heart. Okeke, MS '88, was 30 when a blood clot destroyed his heart. He received a transplant, but his body rejected that organ after 10 years. In 2008 he received an artificial heart and for two years he lived in a hospital, tethered to a 400-pound machine that supported the device. With the "freedom driver," Okeke, 43, has finally returned home to his three children. Doctors will continue to watch him closely, but say he could live indefinitely on the device.
ONE LUCKY LADY
Four-time Texas lottery winner Joan Ginther may well be the luckiest woman in America. In 1993, Ginther, PhD '76, split an $11 million lottery draw prize, followed by a $2 million win in 2006 and a $3 million win in 2008—both from scratch-off tickets. The biggest windfall for the former college professor came this summer: $10 million off a $50 scratcher. Ginther has never spoken publicly about her lotto winnings and has since moved to Las Vegas.
LEGAL LEADERS
San Francisco attorney Bill Hebert was sworn in as the 86th president of the State Bar of California in September. Hebert, '83, earned his law degree at UC-Berkeley and specializes in business litigation. He assumes leadership of the 228,000-member organization when it, like all public agencies, is operating in a difficult financial climate. Hebert has pledged to institute new rules for the State Bar Court that would streamline the discipline process and lower costs. His term runs through 2011.
In October, Rachel Moran assumed the role of dean at UCLA's School of Law, becoming the first Latina dean of a top-ranked U.S. law school. Moran, '78, has been on the UC-Berkeley School of Law faculty since 1983. She received her law degree from Yale, and has written widely on race and the law and education law.
On July 15, CNN.com named Tom Russell one of the day's "Most Intriguing People," (alongside Nelson Mandela and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen) Russell, MA '86, JD, '89, a professor at the University of Denver College of Law, researched the history of a residence at the University of Texas School of Law, where he previously taught, and proved the dorm's namesake, William Stewart Simkins, was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. As a result, the UT Board of Regents has removed Simkins' name from the building.
A FITTING TRIBUTE
Johnny McCormick Jr., '09 (right), organized a 5K run in his hometown of Redmond, Wash., to honor his father, John, who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in 2007. The elder McCormick, '73, was an orthopedic surgeon who practiced in Redmond for more than two decades while raising four children with his wife, Ann. "John loved the Redmond community and he loved to run," Ann says. The event raised approximately $12,000 to benefit the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
