Jake Stewart ’13 was chosen for inclusion on the 2025 North Carolina Rising Stars list, which recognizes attorneys under age 40 for their professional achievements and recognition from peers. Stewart is a defense litigation attorney representing municipalities and employers. Since 2016, he has been an attorney with Cranfill Sumner LLP, a firm with offices in Raleigh, Charlotte and Wilmington, N.C., and Washington, D.C.
Stewart earned a history degree at Roanoke, then obtained a J.D. at the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law. He served as a judicial intern in the Superior Court of New Jersey and was a law clerk for the Maryland Office of Attorney General and Janet, Jenner & Suggs, LLC, before joining Cranfill Sumner.
Jennifer Blaney ’14 started a new position as a tenured associate professor of higher education in the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia. Blaney’s research explores how community college degree pathways can advance equity in STEM fields.
In 2024, she received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award grant valued at more than $625,000, which is funding research on community college transfer trajectories for computer science students. Also in 2024, she received a NSF EDU Core Research grant, worth almost $1.5 million, to study the structures, policies and practices that shape community college transfer student success.
Blaney, a first-generation college graduate who took community college classes in high school, holds a B.A. in music from Roanoke and both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in higher education from the University of California, Los Angeles. At Roanoke, she was a member of the college choir, participated in the Summer Scholars Program, and worked as a research assistant for Dr. Julie Lyon.
In July 2024, Brian Hoffman ’74 celebrated 50 years as sports editor of the Salem Times-Register. He continues to serve in that role and as sports editor for the Vinton Messenger, Fincastle Herald and New Castle Record. When he was inducted into the Roanoke College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1985, Hoffman was hailed as one of the greatest supporters of local sports in the Roanoke Valley. In 2005, he received the Charles Brown Award, which is given annually to a Salem resident who has made a positive impact on the community.
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