FOUNDATION BOARDADDS F<strong>OUR</strong> TRUSTEESBy Kathy Busch • kbusch@wufoundation.orgFour new members of the Washburn University Foundation Boardof Trustees took office at the May 2 board meeting. The board is thegoverning body responsible for implementing the strategic mission of theFoundation to develop and invest private support for Washburn University.George A. Barton, jd ’77Barton’s legal career spans morethan 38 years. Since 1998, he hasbeen the principal in the LawOffices of George A. Barton P.C.,which specializes in complexbusiness litigation. Duringthat time, he has devoted the majority of his practiceto representing mineral interest owners in royaltyunderpayment litigation against natural gas producers inColorado, Kansas and Oklahoma.During the past 10 years, Barton has been a frequentguest lecturer to Washburn School of Law students onvarious topics related to the preparation and trial ofbusiness litigation cases.In 2011, he was named an Alumni Fellow inrecognition of his distinguished service to andachievements in the legal community. The School of Lawconferred an honorary doctor of law on him in 2015.He received a bachelor of arts from the Universityof Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, in 1973 and graduatedmagna cum laude from Washburn University School ofLaw in 1977. While at Washburn, he was a member ofPhi Delta Phi and executive editor of the law journal.In 2009, Barton and his wife created the George andTheresa Barton Law Scholarship Fund.Barton grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. He and hiswife, Theresa, have two children and one grandchild.Deanna (Dee) Smelser-Bisel,bba ’70Smelser-Bisel began her careerwith General Printing & Paperin Topeka as sales manager.Six years later, she landedher first job with Hallmark,where she held a variety of management positions inTopeka, Osage City and Kansas City, supervising800 employees as Hallmark’s first female productionmanager.In 1993, she left Hallmark and opened MinutemanPress franchise in Lawrence, Kansas. Her companyearned the designation of a Sustainable Green Printer,one of only 55 in the United States.Smelser-Bisel serves on the executive board ofPrinting & Imaging Association of MidAmerica inDallas, Texas. She was named the PIAMidAm Executiveof the Year in 2012. An active member of the LawrenceSertoma Club, she serves on its leadership team. She hasbeen a trustee for Lawrence Heights Christian Churchfor several years.33 Alumni News
Smelser-Bisel earned her bachelor of businessadministration degree from Washburn. While atWashburn, she was a member of Alpha Phi sorority andheld various offices. She has since served on the Schoolof Business advisory board.Through an estate gift, Smelser-Bisel will endow aRonald and Deanna Bisel Memorial Scholarship thatwill benefit students wishing to pursue a degree inentrepreneurship and innovation.Smelser-Bisel and her late husband, Ron, made theirhome in Lawrence, where she still resides. They have twomarried children and four grandchildren.Michael W. Falk, bba ’84A native Topekan, Falkgraduated from Washburn in1984 with a bachelor of businessadministration in accounting.He earned a master ofaccountancy degree from KansasState University, where he was a graduate teachingassistant and instructor.After receiving his master’s degree, Falk joinedDeloitte in Kansas City in the tax practice division.Shortly after becoming a manager at Deloitte, he joinedPricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC). Now a partner atPwC, Falk leads the firm’s tax services for a number ofclients in a diverse group of industries. In addition, hehas overall firm relationship responsibilities for severalof the firm’s clients.Falk is active in the Kansas City community. Hehas served as a board member for several not-for-profitorganizations, including Hope House, Camps for Kids,the Kansas City Zoo and the Kansas State UniversityAccounting Advisory Board.In 2006, Falk and his wife, Linda, established theFalk Accounting Scholarship Fund to provide financialsupport for future School of Business students. In 2013,Falk was honored as an Alumni Fellow.Falk and his wife reside in Overland Park, Kansas,and have two children.Steven W. Weeks, Esq., bs ’72Weeks is a partner in theCincinnati office of the law firmof Taft Stettinius & HollisterLLP. In his 38th year at the firm,he focuses his legal practice onthe construction and real estate,computer/technology, and health care industries.He worked for the Kansas Department of Healthand Environment in the water quality section foralmost two years, and managed a Kansas River waterquality study for the National Sanitation Foundation,before leaving for Harvard Law School. He graduatedcum laude in 1977.Weeks has received national recognition for hisworks including Woodward-White’s Best Lawyers inAmerica for 20 years. Marquis, publisher of Who’sWho in American Law, Who’s Who in Americaand Who’s Who in the World, has listed him in itsdirectories for more than 15 years. He is also designatedas a Leading Lawyer by Cincy Magazine, and has beenawarded an AV Peer Review Rating (Preeminent) byLexisNexis/Martindale-Hubbell for many years.Weeks is a native of Topeka and came to Washburnafter finishing first in the Garvey Scholarshipcompetition. While on campus, he was involvedin many campus activities including Sagamoreand Interfraternity Council. He graduated summacum laude and Phi Kappa Phi in 1972 majoringin chemistry, with non-major concentration inmathematics and computer science courses as well.In 2012, he established the Steven W. WeeksScholarship Fund for future chemistry students.Weeks is proud of his daughter and twogranddaughters living in the San Francisco Bay area,and has several other family members in Topekaand Kansas City. He enjoys golf and working withcomputers.Alumni News 34
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