James Barton Phelps (THS 1934)

2014 Hall of Fame Inductee

Superior Court Judge of California.

Judge Phelps earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and law degree from Harvard University. He was admitted to the state bar of California in December 1941. His father, Barton Phelps, was a key player in acquiring a USS Constitution spar that was put to use as the first THS flagpole in 1931. He was in the first class that attended THS in the present building all three years. As a student, he was a member of National Forensic League, Masque and Wig, Thespians, Trojan-Knights, Editor of the Sunflower and World, Student Council Officer, cast member of “The Quest,” “Captain Applejack,” and “Dulcy.”

Carl Nuzman (THS 1948)

2014 Hall of Fame Inductee

Certified Professional Hydrologist and Engineer

Mr. Nuzman is a licensed professional engineer in 19 states with extensive experience in the areas of groundwater modeling, water well and well field design and construction, water well treatment and rehabilitation, and soil and groundwater remediation. He is known throughout the United States for his work in resolving water problems and still consults companies with water issues. Recognized in the K-State College of Engineering Hall of Fame. As a THS student he participated in Track and Vocational Electricity.

Judy Stuenkel Soule (THS 1958)

Judy Stuenkel Soule (THS 1958)

2013 Hall of Fame Inductee

A Topeka High “over achiever,” Judy Stuenkel’s activities list in the back of the 1958 Sunflower goes on and on: A.F.S. Council, Thespians Sec. – Treas., Senior Class Sec. – Treas., plus two telling clubs: Future Teachers and Math Club. She attended Washburn University and began teaching mathematics at USD 501 in 1963. After a brief period as a substitute teacher, she resumed full time at Topeka High in 1976, becoming Chairman of the Math Dept. in 1978, a position held until retirement in 2001. The classroom hasn’t been the only part of her life; Mrs. Soule has been actively involved with Junior League of Topeka, Brewster Place Retirement Center Board of Directors, Topeka Symphony, ERC, United Way of Topeka; and the Topeka High School Historical Society and Friends of the Topeka High School Library. She is especially busy with the Washburn University Alumni Assn., serving as President in 1990-91.

Robert Dolgoff, M.D. (THS 1960)

2013 Hall of Fame Inductee

Psychiatrist and Medical Volunteer.

Topeka High activities were typical (debate, Boy’s Pep, Key Club) with one unique first; Dr. Dolgoff was Topeka High’s first A.F.S. student to study abroad, in France. College honors include Magna Cum Laude in English Literature from Harvard (1964) and Phi Beta Kappa followed with a medical degree, also from Harvard. After psychiatric residency in New York, Dr. Dolgoff moved to California, eventually becoming Chief Psychiatrist, Berkeley Therapy Institute (1978 – 2001) and then the Institute’s Medical Director (2001 – present). In 1990 he and another physician were invited to Laos to meet clinicians in that country. Seeing needs there, upon his return to America he sent textbooks, journals, and medications to Laos to bring them up-to-date. Out of this endeavor he established the non-profit, all-volunteer Doctor to Doctor program assisting medical facilities across the globe.

Norton Belknap (THS 1943)

2013 Hall of Fame Inductee

Chemical Engineer and Business Executive.

Graduating in 1943, the Topeka High ‘Honor T’ recipient would soon enter World War II. He became a 1st Lieutenant in the Army Air Force serving as a navigator on B-29s. After the war, he completed his education in chemical engineering, earning his Bachelor and Master’s degrees from MIT. He then joined Standard Oil, which is now Exxon. He quickly rose up in the ranks with executive positions in various foreign posts: Japan, Australia, and Europe. From 1979 to 1982 Mr. Belknap was Senior Vice President, Exxon International. Equally impressive are his credentials with New York and American cultural icons: President of the Paul Taylor Dance Co. (1983-2009), and Managing Director of Carnegie Hall (1983-1988) during its $50 million restoration.

Brent Kington

Brent Kington (THS 1953)

2012 Hall of Fame Inductee

Artist and Metalsmith.

One rarely thinks of artist and football player as the same person. In the case of Mr. Kington, one can, having been an end on the 1952 Trojan squad and a member of the track team (also member of the “T” Club). However, Art became his vocation – in particular jewelry, metal work, and design – inspired by Topeka High art instructor Fayeben Wolfe. He received his B.A. from KU and Master of Fine Arts from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. Today he is Professor Emeritus of the School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University. Mr. Kington has had numerous exhibits and has works in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Sabatini gallery at the Topeka Library, and the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution.

Paul Ebel (THS 1958)

Paul Ebel (THS 1958)

2012 Hall of Fame Inductee

Engineer.

Befitting an engineering graduate of Rice University and currently the Senior Associate in the Center for International Trade and Security at the University of Georgia, Mr. Ebel was a member of the Science and Math Clubs at Topeka High – less expectedly he was a Thespian in “Charley’s Aunt,” “Anastasia,” and “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” From 1963 to 1970 he served in the Navy as a Lt. Commander and Chief Engineering Officer aboard a nuclear submarine. Since then, he has focused on nuclear security, lecturing and writing numerous papers on the subject.

Margaret Hazard Beers (THS 1948)

Margaret Hazard Beers (THS 1948)

2012 Hall of Fame Inductee

Community Activist.

Mrs. Beers’ T.H.S. activities foreshadowed her involvement in Topeka charitable activities: Representative Council, Senior Girl’s Council and Treasurer Red Cross Council. The list of local organizations would fill pages and includes the Junior League of Topeka (Pres., 1968-69); Topeka Association for Retarded Citizens; Community Resources Council; Family Service & Guidance Center Board of Directors; Sheltered Living, Inc.; and organizer of the Festival of Trees. Married to Topeka retailer Ray Beers, Jr., she taught business courses at Topeka High from 1952-54.

Michael Miller (THS ’80)

Michael Miller (THS 1980)

2011 Hall of Fame Inductee

Medical researcher.

A National Honor Society member at THS, Miller participated in the Trojan and stage bands, playing sax, and Model U.N. In debate, he and his partner Dana Ault were 6A state champions and qualified for Nationals. In 1986 he received his B.A. in Microbiology (Departmental Honors) from the University of Kansas and PhD. in 1991 from Harvard University, Division of Medical Sciences. Working at several prestigious laboratories, among them the Hughes Medical Institute and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies at La Jolla (1993-97), he has been with the Merck Research Laboratories since 1997. Currently Miller is Directer of the Department of Antiviral Research at Merck. He is also author, or co-author of 60+ journal articles and papers. His team at Merck discovered Isentress™ which is an HIV-1 integrase inhibitor which won them in 2008 Prix Galien USA award, the highest accolade in pharmaceutical research and equivalent to a Nobel Prize.

Robert Ward (1944)

2011 Hall of Fame Inductee

Engineer, scientist.

An Honor T recipient and Student Council alternate at Topeka High, in contrast to that seriousness Ward was active in theatre playing Normal Peel in Masque & Wig play The Fighting Peels. His senior year he was vice president of the Thespians; however, he was able to graduate early in February. Entering Yale University in March, 1944, Ward then enlisted in the Navy late that fall. Returning to Yale on G.I. Bill, he graduated from the Engineering School Magna cum Laude with his degree in electrical engineering (1949). His PhD is from Stanford University (1963). Ward’s research has focused on missile guidance systems and communications; he worked at the Lockheed Research and Development Division from 1963 to retirement in 1993. Currently he enjoys part-time status as a consulting scientist at Lockheed; he has four patents to his credit and has written or co-written 25 technical articles. Bob Ward has four children.