Rebecca Gilman ’87, Texas Tech professor and award-winning playwright, was teaching a playwriting class at Stateville Correctional Center, located outside of Chicago, up until new restrictions due to COVID-19. The Chicago Tribune featured “Stateville Voices,” the postponed spring showcase of the inmates’ plays. Gilman has received numerous prestigious awards and was a 2001 Pulitzer Prize finalist for “The Glory of Living.”

Jasen Jonus ’12, formerly the associate coach for men’s basketball and head coach for cross country teams at LaGrange College, was named as the school’s head coach for women’s basketball. In 2013, Jonus joined LaGrange as a graduate assistant for the men’s basketball team after spending one season with the Birmingham Blitz. He quickly made an impact at LaGrange and has seen multiple tournament appearances and wins.

Dr. Desireé Melonas, BSC assistant professor of political science, has been named a 2020 Career Enhancement Fellow by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Melonas is one of ten junior faculty members from across the country to receive a 12-month fellowship. She is planning to use the fellowship to work on her book manuscript.

Duane Reboul, former BSC basketball coach, is coming out of retirement to join Bucky McMillan ’08’s staff at Samford University as a special assistant to the head coach. McMillan, former coach at Mountain Brook High School, was named Samford’s new basketball coach last month. Reboul coached during their time at BSC when McMillan was the point guard. Inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in January, Reboul spent 17 years on the Hilltop and became the winningest coach in school history with 402 wins.

Carter Thomas Green on September 17, 2019, to Brad Green ’03 and Thomas Gamble.

Rhodes Malone Odendahl on April 8, 2020, to Ben Odendahl ’11 and Madeleine Walker Odendahl ’12.

Mary Sue Williams ’44 of Wilsonville, Ala., on April 30, 2020. Williams majored in music at BSC and sang with the College opera and choruses. Music remained an important part of her life as she sang in the choirs at Highlands United Methodist Church and Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church. She was a longtime employee of Protective Life Insurance Company, and throughout her life, she was a talented seamstress. Upon retiring, Williams enjoyed creating beautiful ceramics and loved to travel, especially throughout the West.

Dr. Nancy Coleman Johnson ’50 of Birmingham on April 13, 2020. Johnson graduated Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from BSC before earning her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Alabama. She taught in the Birmingham City School System for 18 years and served as a professor at UAB for 19 years. Upon retiring, Johnson became very active in First Presbyterian Church, where she was an Elder and Sunday School teacher. She was also active in the American Association of University Women, Ikebana Garden Club, University Hospital volunteers, Birmingham Museum of Art volunteers, and the Sherlock Holmes Society.

Shirley Eran Ezell McCulloh ’55 of Birmingham on April 1, 2020. McCulloh earned a degree in drama from BSC, and she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Phi Service Sorority. Throughout her adult life, she performed in and directed many theatrical productions. She orchestrated numerous Christmas pageants at St. Mark United Methodist Church in Vestavia Hills, where she was a long-time member. McCulloh was also an avid participant in Birmingham's Speech Arts Club, the Savants Literary Club, and the “Rosebuds” birthday group.

Geri Ellzey Craig ’62 of Montgomery, Ala., on April 10, 2020. Craig was a finalist in the 1959 and 1960 Miss Alabama pageants. After attending BSC, she continued her education at Judson College and Samford University, where she studied voice. Craig was a well-known singer, entertainer, author, and motivational speaker as well as the anchor for a WSLA television talk show in Selma for 13 years. She was devoted to many causes in her life, including support of Alabama artists and writers, preservation of Selma’s historic district, and ensuring better mental health care for Alabamians. When she moved to Montgomery in 1989, she became a member of the Francis Marion chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, serving two terms as Regent, a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames, and a member of the Daughters of the American Colonists. She also joined First United Methodist Church, its cathedral choir, and the Seekers Sunday School class. Her stepsons, the late James Craig ’89 and Ben Craig ’91, and her daughter-in-law, Laura Boyd Craig ’89, also graduated from BSC.

Barney Bonfield ’82 of Birmingham on April 19, 2020. Bonfield spent his college afternoons, weekends, and interims working in the sports department at WBRC in Birmingham, where he served as the public address announcer for BSC basketball and baseball and UAB basketball. After graduating, he served in various sports broadcasting positions for WCOV TV-20 in Montgomery, WKEU in Griffin, Ga., and WLYU in Vidalia, Ga., and received many awards during his career. He covered sports events across the country on his website and was known throughout the county.

Dr. Ron Hooten of Birmingham on April 23, 2020. For 30 years, Hooten served as director of bands at BSC and led the mighty BSC Pep Band to cheer on the football and basketball teams season after season. His interim music class was a campus favorite for students learning to play an instrument for the first time and came to be known as “Tootin’ for Hooten.” He was an accomplished trombonist, and excellent teacher and conductor, and a thoughtful and patient parent, who would travel halfway around the world to help one of his children or grandchildren. Hooten’s two youngest children, Kirk Hooten ’09 and Claire Hooten Prendergast ’10, both graduated from BSC before his retirement in 2010.

Read more about Hooten’s life and legacy in this extended Class Note.