Class notes
Our class notes have moved to an online format. That means you will only find our most recent updates from 2023 and moving forward.
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FEATURED ALUMNI 1970s
James Stegeman, MD ’78
“Still working, still playing, still coaching swimming. My best swimmer, Ryan Held, got a second gold medal in Paris.”
FEATURED ALUMNI 1980s
Ed Paul, MD ’81
"I have been enjoying semi-retirement over the past year, which has led me to some exciting work focused upon developing new primary care GME (residency) programs in rural Arizona. My career has mostly been in academic family medicine as a residency program director for many years in various settings.
Through a state appropriation that specifically funds this initiative to support rural physician workforce development, I have been co-leading a team at the University of Arizona AHEC program targeting community health centers, critical access hospitals, and tribal sites in rural locations around the state. We have funded residency program start-ups (mostly family medicine) at 8 rural sites to date and we anticipate doubling that number in 2025. I have had the opportunity to meet with and to offer advice to various groups interested in primary care GME development in Arizona and to foster collaboration among institutions invested in training various learners in rural locations. I'm enjoying being often on the road in such a beautiful
state helping to remedy our rural workforce crisis."
FEATURED ALUMNI 1990s
Suzanne Hoekstra, MD '93
"I am in my 15th year as a breast surgeon and Director of both the Breast Program Director and Lymphedema Program at Northern Light Mercy Hospital in Portland, Maine. (Prior to that I practiced in Western North Carolina for 12 years.) In addition to leadership of our NAPBC-accredited program, I am also an NAPBC site reviewer and a member of the NAPBC Standards and Accreditation Committee. I hold a position of Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of New England College of Medicine. My husband John and I have four adult children who live out west and we enjoy traveling to visit them as well as visiting other destinations throughout the world."
FEATURED ALUMNI 2000s
Melinda Lukens, MD ’05
“Moving from private practice full scope OB/GYN to academic practice GYN only focusing on menopause osteoporosis and obesity medicine. Board certified obstetrics & gynecology, American Board of Obesity Medicine and clinical densitometry. Also started independent weight loss coaching and app: www.reshapeandrise.com"
FEATURED ALUMNI 2010s
Ian Ridge, MD ’18
Dr. Ian Ridge joins the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow Orthopedics as an orthopedic surgeon offering comprehensive care for hand and upper extremity orthopedic issues, including the treatment of fractures, tendon and ligament injuries, carpal tunnel, cubital tunnel, and other conditions from the hand to the shoulder. Ridge is an active member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and a candidate member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.
FEATURED ALUMNI 2010s
Austin Beason, MD '17
Dr. Beason is a Graduate/Professional Young Trustee finalist for Duke!! He commutes to Duke once a month for Friday-Sunday courses to earn his Master of Business Administration through the University’s Executive MBA program. A Young Trustee role is a fiduciary of the university, responsible for ensuring the long-term health of Duke University.
FEATURED ALUMNI 2020s
Ben Hauter, MD '20
Dr. Hauter and wife Brittany welcomed their second child, James Christian Hauter, on February 21, 2025. Congratulations!
In Memoriam
Robert Mitrione, MD '87, passed away on November 18, 2024. Read the obituary here.
Terence Robert "Terry" Anthoney, MD and founding professor of SIU SOM, passed away on November 5, 2024. Read the obituary here.
Richard A. Norden, MD '80, passed away on March 14, 2021. Unfortunately this notice is delayed. Read the obituary here.
Deborah Lynn Fairchild Harding, MD '83, passed away on October 14, 2024. Read the obituary here.
Linda E. Hungerford, MD '82, passed away on August 22, 2024. Read the obituary here.
Sergio Rabinovich, MD and beloved Professor of Medicine at SIU SOM, passed away on May 26, 2024. Read the obituary here.
Todd Allyn Baxter, MD '90, passed away on April 15, 2024. Read the obituary here.
Mark E. Weaver, MD ’80, passed away on March 1, 2024. Read the obituary here.
Larry Charles Alexander, MD '81, passed away on February 4, 2024. Read the obituary here.
Paul Allen Salmon, MD '00, passed away on December 19, 2023. Read the obituary here.
Wesley Robinson-McNeese, MD '86, passed away on September 18, 2023. Read the SOM tribute here. Read the obituary here.
Nathaniel Horn, MD '82, passed away on August 18, 2023. Read the obituary here.
Steven Kenneth Reich, MD ’82, passed away on May 24, 2023. Read the obituary here.
Benjamin Mathis, MD ’13, passed away on April 3, 2023. Read the obituary here.
Abner Satterthwaite-Phillips, MD ’12, passed away on March 29, 2023. Read the obituary here
Antonio Barajas, MD '89, passed away on March 17, 2020. Unfortunately, this notice is delayed and we do not have an obituary to share.
Susan L. Redmond, ’83, passed away (date unknown).
David Sizemore, MD '79, passed away on February 4, 2019. Unfortunately, this notice is delayed and we do not have an obituary to share.
*Our in memoriam information has moved to an online format. That means you will only find our most recent updates from 2023 and moving forward.
Contact us
SIU School of Medicine, Office of Development & Alumni Relations
409 W Calhoun | Springfield, IL 62702
Phone: 217-545-7800
Email: alumnirelations@siumed.edu