Niagara University elected four new members to its Board of Trustees during its December meeting: Jeff Bethke, executive vice president and CFO at DePaul University; Catherine A. Lyons, ’75, RN, MS, NEA-BC, retired vice president of patient services at SMILOW Cancer Hospital/Yale New Haven Health System; John T. Overbeck, ’75, retired faculty fellow of marketing, Niagara University; and Dr. Thomas Summers, ’84, president of Windsong Radiology Group. The appointments were announced by the Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., president of the university.
“I am pleased to welcome these four individuals to our Board of Trustees,” said Father Maher. “Their collective experience and dedication to Niagara University will help us continue our work of engaging our students and preparing them to be confident global citizens with clarity of direction and a heightened sense of purpose.”
Jeff Bethke joined DePaul in 2002, where he held positions including associate treasurer, associate vice president, budget director, and director of procurement services. He served as university treasurer from March 2008 to December 2015, and was named to his current role in January 2016.
Prior to DePaul, Bethke was a management consultant and principal at Jeslen Corp., a Chicago-based management consulting firm. He also has held positions in corporate finance, procurement, logistics management, and marketing, including director of procurement for the 79-branch Chicago Public Library System.
In the community, Bethke is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago, a board member of the Civic Federation, and a member of the board of directors of DePaul College Prep Catholic High School, where he also serves as chairman of the board’s finance committee.
Bethke earned a B.A. in English and history from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
Catherine A. Lyons began her career at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Her 25-year career with the institute included the position of chief nursing officer and vice president of clinical operations. While at Roswell, Lyons also served in the U.S. Army Reserves in the Army Nurse Corps, where she rose to the rank of major.
After Roswell Park, Lyons held positions as associate director of clinical services and nursing at the University of Rochester, James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, and associate director for Strong Health Center’s Cancer Services in Rochester, N.Y.; chief of the Office of Clinical Trials Support and Research Nursing in the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md.; and executive director of cancer services at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Md.
Lyons also served as an adjunct faculty member at the University at Buffalo School of Nursing, and an assistant professor of clinical nursing at the University of Rochester School of Nursing.
She is a member of numerous community and professional organizations, including the Medical Advisory Board of Gilda’s Club of Rochester, the Oncology Nursing Society, the American Association of Cancer Education, the American Organization of Nurse Executives, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. She is a 1992 graduate of Leadership Buffalo.
Lyons has been honored with Niagara University's Caritas Medal (2000), the NU Nursing Council's Clinical Excellence Award (2005), and the St. Louise de Marillac Award for Outstanding Service (2016). She was also named a Distinguished Alumnae of Holy Angels Academy.
Lyons earned her BSN at Niagara University and her MSN at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and is certified as an advanced nurse executive by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
John T. Overbeck joined the faculty of the College of Business in January 2009 as a visiting professor of marketing and was named a faculty fellow in 2012.
Overbeck’s 32-year career at IBM began in Buffalo, N.Y. He held sales, sales management, and sales and marketing executive positions. He served as regional manager for Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and East Texas, vice president of product marketing for the Midwestern Area, vice president of worldwide sales for its AS/400 division, and vice president of system sales for IBM’s Eastern region. He retired as IBM's managing director for the Ford Motor Company.
Overbeck served as treasurer of The Friends of Niagara University Theatre and as treasurer of the Heart, Love, and Soul Food Pantry in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
He is a 1975 graduate of Niagara University and has an MBA from the State University of New York at Binghamton.
Dr. Thomas Summers, a board-certified radiologist, joined Windsong Radiology Group in 1994 and became president of the practice in 2012.
Dr. Summers completed his medical training at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse in 1988. He completed an internship at the Wilson Memorial Hospital in Binghamton, N.Y., and residency training at Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Reading, Pa., where he was chief resident from 1992-93, and at the Penn State University Hospital at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
A diplomat with the American Board of Radiology, Dr. Summers was named to Buffalo Business First’s “Who’s Who in Health Care,” in 2012. He was a member of the Niagara University Board of Advisors from 2004-13, serving on its athletics and student life committees, and served as vice president of the NU Alumni Association board of directors. He and his wife, Jennifer, funded the Louise Summers Award in honor of his mother, Louise M. Summers, in November 2007. The award grants tuition support to a Niagara University graduate student in the College of Education committed to teaching in an underserved community.
In addition to his M.D., Dr. Summers also holds an MBA from St. Bonaventure University.