Spring 2005

Contents:


April 3, 2005

Hello Carla,

Indeed I am the Sandra J Lobbestael who endowed 3 scholarships at Eastern Michigan University---1 in the Chemistry Department (1988), 1 in the Mathematics Department (1989), and 1 in the College of Business (1990). As an EMU undergraduate (1962-1966), I majored in chemistry and mathematics. Following graduate work in chemistry at Vassar College (MA, 1968), I returned to the area to work as a chemist in the research laboratories of Parke-Davis & Company in Ann Arbor. (Warner-Lambert bought Parke-Davis; Pfizer later bought Warner-Lambert.) While thus employed, I returned to EMU part-time to complete general business studies and subsequently completed an MBA (1985) in the College of Business.

I put myself through undergraduate studies by working during college, and the numerous scholarships I received allowed me to complete my BA degree without taking out student loans. To express my deep gratitude for this financial assistance, I vowed to establish a scholarship in each department from which I had received a degree that was the basis for my career success. I named the ones from my undergraduate training for myself and the one from my graduate training for my father, Alfred F Lobbestael, who was associated with the Ford Motor Company and who was well known in the Ypsilanti business community.

I remained in the research laboratories for 20 years and did design and synthesis of novel compounds that were tested as drugs in many therapeutic areas. Using my dual certification as a pharmaceutical and medical writer, I then transferred to the Medical Writing Department, where I prepared documents to support the registration of new drugs, many of which are currently on the market. After several years in that capacity, I moved to the Clinical Research Department, where I conducted clinical trials, and later I moved to the Regulatory Affairs Department, where I was involved in Drug Safety Surveillance, the department that monitors the safety of all marketed products worldwide.

During the years I was working, I conducted numerous workshops and seminars, lectured, participated on panels, prepared book chapters, produced newsletters, and established my own company, AZTECH Communications, for which I do writing, editing, research, and desktop publishing.

Six years ago almost to the day (April 1, 1999), I retired from Warner-Lambert (when I turned 55), to write fiction---novels and short stories---a promise I had made to myself when I was at EMU as an undergraduate!

There you have it---a short bio of me---and I am attaching a recent photo, so you can put a face to the name.

Sandra J Lobbestael

Sandra Lobbestael Scholarship
For the past 15 years, the Department of Mathematics has awarded one of our top students the Sandra J. Lobbestael Scholarship. We rarely get the opportunity to thank her for her contribution. This scholarship has had a significant impact on the lives of many of our students all of these years. Recently Dr. Tayeh contacted Sandra Lobbestael. She lives in Michigan and wrote the following letter:
Sandra Lobbestael