Acting on a measure approved in February 2009 to provide input and support from more sources, the Newman University Board of Trustees expanded its membership from 25 to 30 beginning this past September. The board welcomed five new members and Christine Siefers ’91, the Alumni Association Board representative.

“The current Board was unanimous about asking each of these individuals to become a Board member, and we are very happy they accepted,” said Chairman of the Board J.V. Johnston, a 1982 Newman graduate. “They will each bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Board that will be of great benefit to Newman University.”

“We are thrilled to welcome these new Board members,” added Newman President and Board member Noreen M. Carrocci, Ph.D. “They are excellent representatives of our business, educational and medical communities, and I look forward to learning from each of them.”

Those beginning their tenure on the Newman University Board of Trustees are:

Rene Steven Brand is director of operations for Spangles, Inc., the restaurant chain founded by her brothers Craig and Dale Steven. Among her many responsibilities are overseeing the opening of new stores, hiring new management personnel, implementing new products, and serving as the radio and television spokesperson for Spangles. Brand is involved in many community projects and organizations, including the Alzheimer’s Foundation, Catholic Charities, Main Place Youth and the Building Committee for St. Catherine of Sienna Parish. Brand earned a bachelor’s degree in business management at Kansas State University in 1985. She and her husband Mike have a 5-year-old son, Michael Joseph Brand Jr.

Kenny Doonan is owner/general manager of Doonan Truck & Equipment of Wichita, Inc. He is a member of the General Electric Capital Finance Advisory Board, Kansas Motor Carriers, the Used Truck Association, the American Truck Dealers Association, the Accuride Advisory Committee and Legatus. He is former chairman of the Kansas Food Bank Board of Directors, and a longtime supporter of the Jet Open Golf Tournament. Doonan earned a bachelor of science degree in business from Fort Hays State University in 1972. He and his wife Sue live in Wichita and have three grown children.

Bart Grelinger, M.D. operates the private practice Neurology Consultants of Kansas, and a practice at the Via Christi Wichita MDA/ALS Clinic. He is also on the active staff of several Wichita hospitals, and is clinical assistant professor of medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine, and clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, both at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. Grelinger is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Neurology, and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He has received many professional and academic honors, and was named one of Wichita’s Top Doctors in 2005 and 2007 in Wichita Register Magazine, as voted on by local doctors and nurses. Grelinger earned bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biology in 1983, both from Kansas Newman College. He earned a medical degree in 1987 from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita and Kansas City, Kan. He and his wife Melissa (Ewald) Grelinger, a 1982 Newman graduate, have two children, Katie, a 2009 Newman graduate currently studying medicine at the KU School of Medicine, and Adam, a current Newman student.

Christine Siefers, a 1991 Newman graduate in communication, is appointed to the board as the Alumni Association representative for 2010-2011. Siefers is currently a software specialist at Brainworks Software Development Corp., which creates software specifically for the newspaper industry. She previously worked as a family recruitment/intake specialist for the Catholic Charities of Wichita program Marriage for Keeps, and a classified system administrator for The Wichita Eagle. She has also worked as a reporter, editor and publications coordinator. Siefers lives in Wichita.

Dr. Jackie Vietti has been president of Butler Community College, El Dorado, Kan., since 1995. She is active on several local and area boards and committees, including the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas, Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital, Visioneering Wichita, and the El Dorado and Wichita Metro Chambers of Commerce. At the national level she serves on the board of the Higher Learning Commission and as a guest lecturer at Iowa State University and the University of Texas- Austin. She has received numerous awards, including the recent Chief Executive Officer of the Year award for the Western Region of the Association of Community College Trustees. Vietti earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Kansas State University, a master’s degree in community college teaching from Pittsburg State University, and a doctorate in adult and occupational education from Kansas State University. She and her husband Ray have five children and one grandchild.

Stephen Williamson, M.D. is professor of medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and medical director of the Clinical Trials Shared Resource for the University of Kansas Hospital’s Cancer Center. Williamson previously served 13 years as division director for the Department of Internal Medicine’s Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and medical director of the University of Kansas Hospital’s Cancer Center and Medical Pavilion. He also operated a private practice in internal medicine in Halstead, Kan., and was staff physician at the Wichita Veterans Administration Medical Center. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. He received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Kansas Newman College in 1976, and a medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine in 1979. He and his wife Marta reside in the Kansas City area and have three children, Christopher, Nicholas and Ashley.