UAlbany Magazine, 2013 September

Big Picture
Shabana Hoosein, a student in the master’s program in ecology and evolutionary biology at UAlbany,  
checks out blooming plants in the biology department’s greenhouse.
www.albany.edu
1
	
6 	 The Value of Higher Education
	
	
University at Albany President Robert J. Jones and alumni  
who serve as leaders in education make the case for  
the continued value of a college degree.	
	 14	
The RNA Institute: Distinguishing  
UAlbany in Life Sciences Research
	
	
At UAlbany, researchers are working toward a deeper  
understanding of RNA and its potential in developing  
therapeutics effective in the treatment of drug-resistant  
infections and other diseases.        
	 18 	 Getting Down to Business
	
	
The University’s new School of Business boasts 
spaces and technologies designed to meet the 
needs of students preparing for 21st-century  
entrepreneurial and workplace opportunities. 
	 20	
Three Literary Masters 
	
	
A new book, an international literary prize and a commission for 
an operatic Roscoe are the most recent achievements from a trio 
of authors with New York State Writers Institute connections.	
	 24 	 Something to Cheer About!
	
	
Just in time for the start of football season, UAlbany’s  
long-awaited multi-sport stadium opens. The men’s  
and women’s soccer teams will compete there, too.  
	
	
UAlbany
University at Albany Magazine
Fall 2013, Volume 22, Number 2
Contents
Departments
	
2	
From the Podium	
	
3	
Gifts at Work
	
4	
Out and About
	12-13, 19	
Alumni Profiles
	
26	
Ask Geoff 
	
28	
The Carillon (Alumni News and Notes)
	
48	
Last Look 
Features
Mark Schmidt
www.albany.edu
2
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
From the Podium
By Carol Olechowski
Inauguration Week
Join us for a week of special events commemorating the inauguration of  
the University at Albany’s 19th president, Robert J. Jones, Ph.D.
The following events are open to the public:
Tremayne Price, B.A.’12, has been installed as president of the 
State University of New York Student Assembly for 2013-14.
Price, a native of Elmira, N.Y., earned a bachelor’s degree in 
public policy and management from UAlbany. He is currently 
pursuing a master’s in educational administration and policy 
studies at the University.    
The Student Assembly president, elected annually in the spring 
by his or her peers across the SUNY system, heads a body 
committed to empowering SUNY students throughout New 
York State and nationally, and to ensuring the highest quality 
of student life on each of the system’s 64 
campuses. As president, Price serves as a 
member of the SUNY Board of Trustees, 
with full voting privileges, and as a voting 
member of the board for the Higher 
Education Services Corporation (HESC).
In congratulating Price, Chancellor Nancy 
L. Zimpher noted, “Trey brings leadership experience to the 
post, as well as a deeper understanding of how students can get 
the most out of their higher education and help shape SUNY 
for future generations.”
Sept. 21
All day, Science Library Atrium: Celebrating Students  
and Faculty of the University at Albany, 1844-2014.  
(The exhibit continues during regular Science Library  
business hours until May 1, 2014.) Free.
7 p.m., Bob Ford Field (multi-sport stadium), Great Danes 
football: UAlbany vs. Central Connecticut State. Purchase 
tickets at www.ualbanysports.com or call (518) 442-Dane.  
Sept. 23
6 p.m., Page Hall, downtown campus: A Dialogue  
With the Tutu Sisters. Free.
Sept. 24
7:30 p.m., Performing Art Center (PAC) Main Theatre: 
An Evening With Three-Time Tony-Nominated  
Broadway Star Carolee Carmello ’83. Purchase tickets at  
www.albany.edu/pac or call (518) 442-3997. 
Sept. 25
4:30-8 p.m., Lecture Centers and PAC:  
A Celebration of Research, Scholarship and  
Creative Activity at UAlbany. Free.
Sept. 26
4:15 p.m., PAC Recital Hall: Seminar, New York State  
Writers Institute Visiting Author Gilbert King. Free.
Sept. 28
10 a.m., PAC Main Theatre: Installation Ceremony  
for President Robert J. Jones, followed by reception  
(registration required).
8 p.m., SEFCU Arena: World Within Reach  
Speakers Series (registration required).
For additional details, link to 
www.albany.edu/inauguration/events.php.
A Milestone for Five Quad 
Five Quad members – past and 
present – gathered April 27 at  
the Albany Hilton for a banquet 
celebrating the ambulance 
squad’s 40th anniversary.  
Here, guests pose for a photo 
commemorating the occasion.
Price Heads SUNY Student Assembly
SUNY
www.albany.edu
3
Gifts at Work
By Carol Olechowski
Jordan Arnold, B.A.’97, and David 
“Brink” Brinkerhoff, B.A.’01 met while 
serving on Five Quad “and became fast 
friends.” Arnold recalled: “We were 
steady shift partners on the ambulance. 
Brink had a tremendous work ethic. 
He was sharp and really funny. He was 
also a genuinely good person; helping 
others came naturally to him.” The two 
“remained close and saw each other 
regularly” even after Brinkerhoff left 
to attend the New York State Police 
Academy and Arnold went off to law 
school at Vanderbilt University.
Arnold clearly remembers April 25, 2007, 
the day Brinkerhoff – by then a state 
trooper who had returned to UAlbany to 
complete his degree in political science 
– died in the line of duty. On receiving 
the news that his friend had been shot 
during a manhunt, “I grabbed a suit, 
left work and drove to Brink’s house just 
south of Albany,” said Arnold. “Later, I 
stayed near the uptown campus and ran 
the [Perimeter Road] loop each day to 
clear my head. On one of those runs, I 
was thinking about how often Brink ran 
the loop, during college and while at the 
academy. Brett Morey, B.A.’98, one of 
Brink’s best friends, and I had already 
been talking about how we would honor 
his memory.” A scholarship funded by “a 
charity run on the loop, held as close to 
April 25 as possible so that Brink’s family 
could look forward to something positive 
around that day every year,” seemed a 
fitting tribute. “It had the BRINK 5K 
name before I finished that run.”
The course, a certified 5K, “includes a 
portion of the loop, so that runners get to 
trace Brink’s footsteps. It’s a challenging, 
multi-terrain course that also cuts around 
Indian Lake.” The race is open to anyone, 
“and every year, the pack includes active 
and retired New York State police, as  
well as active and alumni members of 
Five Quad.” 
Arnold credited Five Quad volunteers 
for their work in building the scholarship 
endowment. “They took on this event 
with amazing spirit and limitless 
dedication. It says so much about Five 
Quad that the volunteers didn’t even 
know Brink, and yet they honor him 
like family, year after year. It’s deeply 
satisfying to know that the values he 
stood for and the contributions he made 
will be honored at UAlbany forever,”  
said Arnold.  
Last April, more than 250 runners 
participated in the BRINK 5K. A 
highlight of the 2013 event – the 
awarding of the first David C. Brinkerhoff 
Memorial Scholarship to sophomore 
Brendan McCann, a criminal justice 
major and Five Quad member – was 
“incredible,” Arnold observed. The race’s 
tagline, “Run Toward It,” was developed 
because “first responders – police, fire, 
EMS – run toward danger.” It also 
ties in with the award: “Through the 
scholarship, we want to help each year’s 
recipient run toward his or her goal,” 
explained the New York City resident. 
Arnold, a Manhattan District Attorney’s 
Office prosecutor who led the 
development of the office’s Financial 
Intelligence Unit, noted that the BRINK 
5K has reconnected him with UAlbany. 
“I spent some of the most special years of 
my life at the University,” he said.
For more information about  
the David C. Brinkerhoff Memorial 
Scholarship, please link to  
www.brink5K.com.
BRINK 5K Honors Alum
From left, Mike Brinkerhoff, Karen Howard, Barbara Brinkerhoff-Anslow and Roy Brinkerhoff  
present a ceremonial check to Five Quad member Brendan McCann, right, the first recipient  
of the Brinkerhoff Scholarship.
Out and About
By Christine J. Binney, B.A.’05, M.A.’07
4
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
Bunshaft Lecture
Photo: Mark Schmidt
Jonathan Rochelle ’85, director of Product Management at 
Google Apps, shared his advice for becoming and staying 
innovative during the second annual Bunshaft Lecture in 
April. Rochelle co-founded, built and sold two technology 
start-ups, one of which was acquired by Google and used as 
the foundation for Google Docs.  
University at Albany President Robert J. Jones and Jonathan Rochelle ’85 pose 
with Caryn Bunshaft ’82 and Albert Bunshaft ’80, who established the Bunshaft 
Endowment to provide information to the student community about a broad 
range of topics related to careers in computing science.
Celebrating Philanthropy
Photo: Mark Schmidt
UAlbany’s most loyal donors were invited to University Hall 
in June to meet with President Robert J. Jones and The  
University at Albany Foundation board for a reception  
to celebrate philanthropy at the University. Prior to the 
reception, guests were treated to an informational talk by 
Nobel laureates Ada Yonath and Jack Szostack, who  
discussed the origins of life.  
Jack Szostack and Ada Yonath pose with President Jones. The two were  
the keynote lecturers for Albany 2013: The 18th Conversation, a four-day  
symposium sponsored by the University’s departments of Chemistry and  
Biological Sciences and the National Institutes of Health.
Business Leaders Breakfast
Photos: Mark Schmidt
Capital Region business and community leaders gathered at the main campus April 25 for breakfast and a 
conversation with President Robert J. Jones. The event was hosted by Omar Usmani, executive partner with 
Aeon Nexus, sponsor of the event. Attendees included delegations from Afghanistan and Mongolia.  
University at Albany Foundation Board Member 
Omar Usmani welcomes attendees.
Delegations from Afghanistan’s government and from the Mongolian  
University of Science and Technology meet with School of Social Welfare 
Dean Katharine Briar-Lawson, Stephanie Wacholder and President Jones. 
UAlbany
Magazine
Fall 2013, Volume 22, Number 2
UAlbany magazine is published twice a year for alumni, parents, 
faculty, staff and friends of the University at Albany, State Univer-
sity of New York. Our objective is to produce a lively, informative 
publication that stimulates pride and interest in UAlbany.
Vice President for University Development
Fardin Sanai
Director of Development Operations and  
Assistant to the Vice President
Cecilia Lauenstein
Editorial Staff
Executive Editor
Carol Olechowski
colechowski@albany.edu
Art Director/Designer
Mary Sciancalepore
Writers
Jill U Adams; Christine J. Binney, B.A.’05, M.A.’07;  
Paul Grondahl, M.A.’84; Jim Sciancalepore, M.A.’93;  
Geoffrey Williams 
Photographers
Janie Airey; Cecilia Lauenstein; Gary Gold, B.A.’70; 
Suzanne Lance; Mark McCarty; Colleen Piccolino; Mark 
Schmidt; SUNY; Times Union; UAlbany Alumni Association
Researchers
Jennifer Casabonne, M.S.’03; Deborah Forand;  
Agostino Futia, B.A.’01, M.A.’08; Lisa Gonzalez, M.A.’03; 
Mailing Coordinator
Pushpa Royce
Web Editor
Melissa Fry, M.B.A.’12
Business Manager
Lillian Lee
The Carillon
Editor
Melissa Samuels
msamuels@albany.edu
Class Notes Editor
Julie Maio
alumniassociation@albany.edu
Art Director/Designer
Mary Sciancalepore
UAlbany magazine is available online at  
http://www.albany.edu/news/index.shtml
The University at Albany’s broad mission of excellence in under-
graduate and graduate education, research and public service 
engages more than 17,000 diverse students in nine schools and 
colleges. For more information about this internationally ranked 
institution, please visit www.albany.edu. 
Cover: Today, escalating tuition costs, mounting student debt, 
stagnant graduation rates and uncertain job prospects are  
calling the value of a degree into question. In this issue of  
UAlbany, University President Robert J. Jones, Ph.D., and  
five other high-level education professionals testify to the value 
of their own college experiences and encourage young people  
to prepare for life by pursuing post-secondary studies.
www.albany.edu
5
Summer Alumni Gatherings 
Photos: Courtesy UAlbany Alumni Association
The Alumni Association took full advantage of the beautiful summer 
weather by hosting a variety of alumni events.   
Football alumni met July 13 at Normanside Country Club in Delmar, N.Y., for an afternoon of golf  
celebrating a new era of UAlbany football in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Conference. 
In August, alumni enjoyed a pre-game gathering at McFadden’s in Flushing, N.Y., before catching 
a Mets game. 
In July, Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) gathered at Brown’s Brewing Co. in Troy for a party 
featuring beer and food pairings. Attendees included Brian Fessler ’06, ’07; Casey Crandall ’07, ’12; 
Jacob Crawford ’08, ’09; Leah Rotella ’11, ’13; and Jillian Pasco ’10, ’12.
THE VALUE OF
Higher
Education
6
UAlbany Magazine • Fall 2013
By PAUL GRONDAHL, M.A.’84
UAlbany President Robert J. Jones joins four other college and  
university presidents and a school district superintendent – all UAlbany  
alumni – to discuss the importance of higher education.   
www.albany.edu
7
W
ith higher education under intense scrutiny, 
the value of a college degree is being 
questioned like never before. For generations 
of Americans, attending a four-year residential college 
was part and parcel of the American dream, a path that led 
to a career with upward mobility and often a rise in social 
class, as well. For working-class families, in particular, 
a college degree was the great equalizer and a portal to 
opportunity. Now, however, naysayers point to escalating 
tuition costs, mounting student debt, stagnant graduation 
rates and uncertain job prospects as arguments against 
the primacy of a college degree.
College 
presidents 
are 
battling 
on many fronts against the forces 
undercutting higher education. For 
this article, University at Albany 
President Robert J. Jones, Ph.D., 
and four college presidents and the 
superintendent of a large suburban 
upstate New York school district – 
all UAlbany alumni – added their 
voices to this important discussion, conceding that 
they have never felt such intense questioning about the 
importance of higher education. “Unprecedented” and 
“crossroads” are among the words they used to describe 
such disturbing trends as declining government funding, 
a boom in online learning and concerns that high tuitions 
are pricing middle-class families out of the market.
On the other hand, the presidents cite statistics to 
bolster their argument. For instance, despite a lingering 
recession, the unemployment rate for college graduates 
with bachelor’s or advanced degrees was 3.8 percent 
compared to 7.4 percent for high-school graduates, 
according to a May 2013 report from the U.S. Bureau 
of Labor Statistics. A 2012 study by the Georgetown 
University Center on Education and the Workforce 
found that, between 2010 and 2012, people with 
bachelor’s or graduate degrees gained 2 million jobs, 
while those with high-school diplomas, and those with 
less than a high-school education, lost 230,000 jobs over 
the same two-year period. That same study confirmed 
that, on average, college graduates still earn nearly twice 
as much as high-school graduates over the course of 
their working careers – a stark wage disparity existing 
since 2005. At the same time, such narrow assessments of 
return on investment fail to recognize 
the less-tangible benefits of a college 
degree, such as civic engagement, 
societal contributions and a richer 
understanding of the world.
“The ultimate purpose of higher 
education is to give students a broad 
base of knowledge and skills, rather 
than to train them for a specific 
job,” said Jones, who attended three 
national forums since May to discuss the “perfect storm” 
of forces challenging higher education. “We need to 
prepare students who possess analytical and critical skills 
and also have the entrepreneurial ability to shift jobs 
several times. We need critically engaged citizens who 
can reinvent themselves for jobs that, in some cases, 
don’t even exist today. I get worried about this growing 
trend of trying to commoditize higher education. We are 
a four-year public university at UAlbany, and we’re not 
meant to be a technical school that offers training for a 
specific job.”
Jones said a president’s challenge is leading large and 
complex institutions that are not very nimble and tend to 
“The ultimate purpose of  
higher education is to give 
students a broad base of 
knowledge and skills, rather  
than to train them for a  
specific job,” said Jones.
The University at Albany’s downtown campus
move at a glacial pace, ruled by committee. 
But 
ever-accelerating 
workplace 
and 
societal changes require a swift and agile 
response. Jones is endeavoring to bring the 
methodology of academia and the demands 
of corporate America into closer alignment, 
and he has a sense of urgency about the 
task. “There is no doubt in my mind that 
the higher-education landscape will be 
shaped and re-shaped in unprecedented 
ways in the next 10 to 20 years,” Jones said.
M
ary Ellen Jukoski, M.S.’74, 
president of Mitchell College in 
New London, Conn., concurs 
that rapid change is inevitable, but she 
believes that higher education cannot afford 
to abandon its bedrock principles. “As with 
health care, media and other industries, 
higher education is at a crossroads today,” 
she said. “But we cannot forget that we 
need to have an educated citizenry for the 
continued success of our country. Today’s 
college students are the future leaders 
of our nation, and they will require a 
liberal-arts foundation and the ability to 
communicate articulately, to think critically 
and to work well with others in a team-
oriented workplace environment.”
Jukoski added, “I don’t have all the answers 
about the future direction of higher 
education, but I have a strong belief that 
the residential-college experience has value 
and that it has a place now and will have 
a place in the future.” As the daughter of 
first-generation immigrants from Europe, 
Jukoski, who grew up in Massena, N.Y., 
near the Canadian border, understands 
firsthand how a college degree can open 
many doors. “My parents always stressed 
the value of higher education because they 
saw it as a great opportunity,” she said. “I 
loved it at UAlbany, and it led me to pursue 
a career as a leader in higher education.”
C
alifornia State University, San 
Bernardino, 
President 
Tomás 
Morales, 
M.S.’78, 
Ph.D.’98, 
whose career in higher education spans 
38 years, puts it plainly: “There is no 
way I would be where I am today without 
my Ph.D. from UAlbany. The return 
on investment has been huge for me.” 
Morales, who raised three children with 
his wife of 41 years, Evy, worked full time 
as an administrator at the State University 
of New York at New Paltz when he began 
graduate school part time at UAlbany. It 
took him eight years to complete his Ph.D. 
in educational administration and policy 
studies. Born in Puerto Rico, Morales 
grew up in the South Bronx in a lower-
middle-class family. His father worked in a 
Farberware factory, and his mother was a 
crossing guard; they made great sacrifices 
to send Morales and one of his brothers to 
college. His other brother chose to join the 
military and later served with the New York 
City Police Department. 
At San Bernardino, situated in a financially 
challenged county in southern California, 
fewer than one adult in five has a 
baccalaureate degree. The college’s motto, 
“Transforming Lives and Communities 
Through Higher Education,” is more 
than a slogan to Morales. He is testament 
to the transformative effect of a college 
degree, and he wants to ensure that future 
generations of students from humble 
backgrounds such as his still have that 
opportunity to attend college. 
“There is no doubt in my mind that the 
higher education landscape will be shaped 
and re-shaped in unprecedented ways in 
the next 10 to 20 years,” Jones said.
8 
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
www.albany.edu
9
Next year, Morales will assume the chairmanship of the 
American Association of State Colleges and Universities. 
“We are going to have to embrace change and control 
our destiny as a higher-education industry,” he said. “I 
am on other national organizations, and we are talking 
about this issue constantly. I would not say we are not yet 
pushing the panic button, but we are all looking at how 
best to serve students, how to increase student success 
and how to reinforce the value of a baccalaureate degree.”
U
niversity of South Carolina President Harris 
Pastides, B.S.’75, said a college degree has 
never been more important. He added: “But 
don’t just take my word for it; ask business leaders and the 
innovators in our technology sector. They will tell you 
a bachelor’s degree is now the minimal entry point for 
getting a decent job. There is simply no better pathway 
to earning a healthy lifetime living than a college 
degree.” Pastides noted the current rate of 35-40 percent 
of Americans earning a bachelor’s degree “is not good 
enough,” and the U.S. is losing ground to China, India, 
Brazil and other countries that are robustly subsidizing 
and placing a premium on higher education.
Pastides said his biggest concern remains rising tuition 
costs resulting from cuts in government funding, and his 
top priority is to devise ways to hold the line on price. 
But he refuses to be an apologist for higher education: 
“The American model of public higher education is the 
best ever developed in the history of the planet. That’s 
why we pull the best and the brightest students from 
around the world to U.S. colleges and universities. I 
believe if we fiddle with that too much, we’re going to be 
in trouble. College is the last organized place society has 
for inculcating leadership.” 
Pastides grew up in a working-class family in New York 
City and graduated with honors from highly regarded 
Stuyvesant High School. He had many choices for 
college but chose UAlbany, where he majored in biology, 
“because it was a high-quality education at a very low 
cost.” A New York State Regents Scholarship covered 
nearly his entire tuition. At the University, “I made 
lifelong friends, and it was one of my best choices and 
among the most formative experiences of my life. It 
all started for me at Albany,” said Pastides, who went 
on to earn a master’s of public health and a Ph.D. in 
epidemiology at Yale University.
J
oseph S. Brosnan, M.S.’69, Ed.D.’81, president 
of Delaware Valley College in Pennsylvania, grew 
up lower-middle class in Levittown, Long Island.  
  Neither his father, a plumber, nor his mother, a 
secretary, had gone to college, but they were committed 
Robert J. Jones, Ph.D.
President, University at Albany
Mary Ellen Jukoski, M.S.’74
President, Mitchell College 
Tomás Morales, M.S.’78, Ph.D.’98 
President, California State University,  
San Bernardino
10
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
to ensuring that Brosnan and his brother and sister would 
enjoy the benefits of higher education. After earning a 
bachelor’s degree from Marist College, Brosnan was 
accepted to Columbia University for graduate school but 
chose UAlbany because the tuition was more affordable. 
He praised provost Susan Phillips, who chaired the 
committee that reviewed his dissertation on determinants 
of student success in college, noting that the University 
“gave me access to a great education.” Added Brosnan, 
who received fellowships that provided tuition waivers 
and stipends: “Albany really launched my career 
and provided me with a great network of colleagues.  
It opened up a door that helped me get hired in the 
SUNY System at Potsdam, where I worked eight years 
as an administrator.”
A veteran of 40 years in higher education, Brosnan said 
this “is one of the most critical periods I’ve experienced.” 
He added that the pressures and challenges of being a 
college president are underscored by the fact that the 
average tenure for a president has dropped from eight 
years to five in the past decade. “We used to emphasize 
the intrinsic value of higher education and how a well-
educated person would have a better, richer life. But I 
make the economic argument much more often now. 
I’ve seen studies that show a person with a college degree 
is going to earn anywhere from $300,000 to $1 million 
more over the course of a lifetime than a person with a 
high-school diploma. I also quote the statistic that shows 
that a high-school graduate will only be able to earn  
67 cents to every $1 earned by a college graduate,”  
said Brosnan.
But he cautioned that the irrefutable evidence of a 
college degree’s superior value will be moot if colleges 
and universities cannot rein in costs and control rising 
tuition rates. “Affordability is the most important issue 
facing higher education,” Brosnan said. “The economic 
model we’re working with now is broken. We have to 
find a more affordable model. My bottom line is that yes, 
higher education has value, but if college is no longer 
affordable for families, the question is irrelevant. That 
is why continued federal and state support of post-
secondary education is so important.”
L
Oliver 
Robinson, 
M.S.’94, 
Ed.D.’96, is 
 superintendent of the Shenendehowa School    
 District in Clifton Park, an Albany suburb. 
Eighty-five percent of the 740 students who graduated 
in the high school’s Class of 2013 will attend a two- or 
four-year college. That rate of college-bound students 
continues to increase, but Robinson said parents, with 
growing concern, are questioning higher education’s 
value. “The parents I talk with are still afraid their 
children will lose a competitive edge in the workforce if 
they don’t get a college degree,” Robinson observed. “But 
they also want to get the biggest bang for their buck. I 
Harris Pastides, B.S.’75
President, University of South Carolina
Joseph S. Brosnan, M.S.’69, Ed.D.’81 
President of Delaware Valley College
L. Oliver Robinson, M.S.’94, Ed.D.’96 
Superintendent,  
Shenendehowa School District 
.
www.albany.edu
11
think colleges need to add more skills-oriented classes to their 
liberal-arts cores. Students need to come out of college with 
skill sets that are marketable, and that’s a legitimate concern 
for parents. I am hearing a lot of concern from parents who 
say they’re spending a lot of money and taking on debt, and 
the kids are coming out college educated but grossly under-
skilled for the labor force. Parents want to see their children 
get practical experience while they’re in college, through 
internships and other workplace opportunities.” 
Robinson’s parents were adamant that he and his seven 
siblings would all have a chance to attend college, and they 
did. Robinson, the youngest, earned a bachelor’s degree in 
economics at Brown University, and his graduate degrees in 
educational administration and policy studies at UAlbany, he 
said, were a sound investment. “The practical nature of my 
courses at UAlbany gave me direct skills that applied in my 
field. The biggest benefit was that they prepared me to be a 
school administrator,” added Robinson. 
Jones, who grew up poor on a sharecropper’s farm in Georgia, 
said his parents instilled the value of education at a very young 
age in him, his brother and sister. “My parents made sure we 
went to school and did well,” he said. “I remember they went 
to PTA meetings after working in the fields all day so they 
could meet with our teachers and check on our progress. My 
parents only went to school through the sixth or seventh grade, 
but they encouraged me to go on to college and graduate 
school. The only thing intentional in my entire career was to 
get a Ph.D. and to become a scientist. Everything else that has 
happened, from working with Bishop Desmond Tutu in South 
Africa to becoming the president of this University, has been 
unexpected. 
“With a college education, all kinds of unintended, 
exciting things can happen in your life. Once you acquire 
the credentials, the world is an open door, and you can  
go anywhere.”
Jukoski congratulates a recent Mitchell College graduate.
A high-school graduate will only 
be able to earn 67 cents to every 
$1 earned by a college graduate.
12
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
Larry Bortstein, J.D., 
B.A. ’91
Alumni Profiles
L
arry Bortstein arrived on the University at 
Albany campus in 1987, “the dawn of a new era 
in computing. I literally came to Albany with a 
typewriter and left with a PC.” 
Now one of the preeminent legal experts in his field, 
Bortstein was named the top information-technology 
attorney in the New York City area for 2013 by Lexology, 
a firm that rates attorneys around the globe. Chambers 
USA, publisher of “the world’s leading guides to the legal 
profession,” has recognized the New York-based Bortstein 
Legal Group (BLG) in the “Technology and Outsourcing” 
category for three years.  
Bortstein, who earned his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, 
served as senior technology counsel at American Express 
and global head of technology law at Lehman Brothers. 
After Lehman’s bankruptcy in 2008, he founded BLG, a law 
firm specializing in technology transactions with a focus 
on the financial-services industry. “We bring expertise and 
dedication to a unique area of law,” Bortstein says of the 
firm, which recently opened a London office.  
“Albany instilled in me an appreciation for the utility of 
technology, and the classes I took helped me understand 
how I could apply it in the real world,” recalls the former 
political-science major, who minored in English and history. 
“It was an exhilarating time to be studying technology.”  
From Nancy Belowich-Negron, who worked for  
Disabled Student Services and now directs the University’s 
Disability Resource Center, Bortstein “learned perseverance 
and toughness. She is an incredible person, and the 
number of students she’s helped throughout her career is 
remarkable. I’m forever grateful to Nancy for the time  
she spent with me.” 
Through Belowich-Negron, Bortstein has supported the 
Disability Resource Center Scholarship Fund. “I have very 
fond memories of Albany, and I want the school to be 
great,” he notes, adding that he tells friends whose children 
are UAlbany students that “their children are getting a 
phenomenal education.”   
Although he hasn’t visited UAlbany recently, the Great 
Danes basketball fan would welcome the opportunity to talk 
with students on campus. “Albany is a hub for technological 
investment and innovation in New York State,” Bortstein 
observes. “That’s exciting for me. I really got the bug at 
Albany, and I still get excited by technology.” 
For more information about Larry Bortstein and BLG, 
please visit http://blegalgroup.com. 
By Carol Olechowski
From Typewriter to Personal Computer
www.albany.edu
W
hile a student at UAlbany, Deborah 
Rosenbaum was hungry for additional 
experiences that could enrich her 
education. Her experiences included an internship in 
a senator’s office, student teaching and independent 
study – all while earning her degree in business 
administration.
This hunger continues today.
In July of 2012, she took a six-month leave from her 
job as an account manager in graphic-arts solutions 
for Xerox to volunteer her talents to the Syracuse 
chapter of Say Yes To Education, a nonprofit education 
foundation designed to increase high-school and 
college graduation rates for urban youth. During this 
time, she helped Say Yes cultivate new relationships in 
the Syracuse business community. Her efforts will not 
only enhance fundraising for the organization, but will 
also help attract mentors and create internship and job 
opportunities for youths in the Say Yes program.
“It’s such an important organization,” explained 
Rosenbaum, when asked why she chose to volunteer 
full time for Say Yes. “I believe that education is the 
key to ending the cycle of poverty.”
The best part: Her leave was not only approved  
and encouraged by Xerox – it was paid in full  
through the company’s Social Service Leave  
program. Through a rigorous application  
process, Rosenbaum was one of only 11  
Xerox employees nationwide selected to  
take part in this program last year.
“It’s such a unique program; I was very  
fortunate to be part of it,” said the mother  
of four and native of Manlius, N.Y.  
“Xerox is truly committed to fostering  
stronger communities.”
Even though her full-time stint is over, Rosenbaum 
remains active in the Say Yes organization. She also 
maintains strong ties to the UAlbany community 
… from annual trips with close alumni friends to 
occasional trips back to campus. Rosenbaum credits 
UAlbany with providing a foundation for her  
well-rounded life and career.
“I got a great education and opportunities for  
great experiences,” Rosenbaum noted. “Life is  
about experiences.”
Deborah Rosenbaum, B.S.’81
Taking Time to Give Back
By Jim Sciancalepore, M.A.’93
13
14
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
The RNA Institute: 
Distinguishing UAlbany  
in Life Sciences Research
By Jill U Adams
Photos by Gary Gold ’70
Professor of Chemistry 
and Biology Daniele  
Fabris is the director  
of the RNA Mass  
Spectrometry  
Center, part of the  
RNA Institute.
www.albany.edu
15
Muscular dystrophy, antibiotic 
resistance, breast cancer, arthritis. 
These disparate diseases have 
something in common, something 
beyond biology gone wrong.
“Central to all that bad biology is RNA,” says Paul Agris, director  
of the newly christened RNA Institute expansion at the University  
at Albany.  
A quick primer for the non-biologists out there: RNA is a kind of 
middleman between DNA and proteins. Our genes are made of DNA 
and represent the blueprint for all our features and predispositions. 
Proteins are the workhorses of the cell; they include enzymes, 
hormones and structural components.  
The job of RNA is to “transcribe” the DNA information and “translate” 
it into proteins. In the realm of scientific research, however, says 
chemistry professor Dan Fabris, “RNA is a little neglected.”
Some researchers have studied RNA their whole careers. Agris 
became intrigued with RNA in graduate school. Others, such as 
biology professor Ben Szaro, came to RNA late, by following a 
research question to its core.
Szaro studies how neurons send out projections in order to connect 
to other neurons. “When connections are lost between neurons, 
disease results,” he explains, naming neurodegenerative diseases 
such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer’s. Focusing 
on neurofilament proteins, which provide structural support for 
neuronal projections, Szaro studies how nerves can regenerate. “We 
originally focused on proteins,” Szaro says. “Then we focused on 
DNA. Then we realized, nope! It’s the RNA that is the major central 
point by which the neurons decide how much protein to make.”
Birth of a New Institute
The story of the RNA Institute begins 
with a coincidence – a conglomeration of 
UAlbany and Capital District scientists 
whose research focused on RNA and 
who nurtured their shared interests 
through the Hudson Valley RNA Club. 
It continued with a strategic vision, a 
recognition that UAlbany could not 
compete against the country’s top 
research universities in genomics  
and proteomics.
Lynn Videka, then UAlbany’s vice 
president for Research, saw that by 
fully engaging this RNA research, the 
University could get ahead of the game. 
A senior scientist was needed to  
provide leadership.
Enter Agris, who had spent years at 
North Carolina State University as 
researcher, professor and department 
chair. There, he formed the RNA 
Society, which brought together 
Research Triangle Park scientists to 
share data and methods. But his efforts 
to establish a formal RNA center never 
gained traction.
Former Duke postdoctoral fellow Scott 
Tenenbaum, now at the College of 
Nanoscale Science and Engineering, 
called Agris to come take a look at 
UAlbany. Agris took up the challenge 
16
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
and, in 2009, started working on formalizing the RNA 
Institute, hammering out new faculty lines and new facilities 
while still doing research at NC State. He moved to 
UAlbany full time in 2010. At that time, senior faculty slots 
were filled first by Fabris and later by Marlene Belfort, who 
was previously at the Wadsworth Center of the New York 
State Department of Health.
Since then, two new junior faculty have been hired, and two 
more are on their way. “We’re using the institute as a way 
to recruit great faculty,” Agris says, adding, “The institute 
wouldn’t be here without the desire of UAlbany faculty in 
the first place.”
Research and Applications
How niche is RNA research? It’s not exactly a poor stepchild 
to genetics and protein research: Indeed, researchers in the 
field have been the recipients of more than 30 Nobel Prizes, 
eight of them since 2006. Still, with perhaps one exception, 
it’s been largely limited to very basic research in cell biology. 
Viewing RNA as a road to therapeutics has been slower to 
catch on. That one exception is the potential of a type of 
RNA that silences, or turns off, genes.
“Two-thirds of the research in my lab is disease-oriented,” 
Agris says, and includes rare and neglected diseases, such 
as multi-drug-resistant infections. Agris has identified a 
bacterial RNA target for novel antibiotic drugs, which 
would be effective in treating drug-resistant infections that 
confound current antibiotic arsenals, such as multidrug-
resistant tuberculosis and methicillin-resistant staph 
infections (MRSA).  
The vast majority of pharmaceuticals on the market are 
designed to target proteins in the body. Take, for instance, 
the top two prescribed drugs of 2010: Hydrocodone binds 
to neuronal proteins that dampen pain signals, and lisinopril 
binds to an enzyme in blood vessels to lower blood pressure.
Fabris says RNA has the potential to be a much more 
efficient target for therapies. Here’s why: To provide enough 
drug to interact with most copies of a particular protein, 
the dose is often high enough to produce other effects – 
including toxic side effects – on the body. But a single strand 
of RNA can code lots of the same protein, so in theory one 
might get more effect with lower doses. It’s comparable to 
shutting down production of widgets at the factory, rather 
than trying to track down and pull the product from store 
shelves later.
RNA Institute Director Paul Agris looks on as biochemistry student Seoyeon Hong works on a UV-visible spectrophotometer; 
Hong consults with her mentor, postdoctoral fellow Kimberly Harris.
www.albany.edu
17
Innovation Rules
Making RNA the focus of an institute is novel in itself – 
and UAlbany covers the spectrum, from biophysics of the 
molecules to cellular functions. The RNA Institute has 
proved innovative in other ways, too.
The research facilities, located in the Life Sciences 
Research Building, include specialized laboratory spaces, 
such as an advanced computational center and an advanced 
instrumentation lab. Agris is adamant that these facilities are 
of a programmatic nature, much more than “core facilities,” 
because they also house potential collaborators for anyone 
investigating RNA. “They’re not just instruments, but staff 
people, too,” he says. “Thus, the institute engages in full-
fledged, long-term collaboration with investigators on papers 
and on grant proposals. It is also a necessity to make the 
institute economically sustainable.”
Another way the RNA Institute distinguishes itself is 
through its commitment to undergraduate research. No 
lip service here: The institute supports graduate students’ 
and postdoctoral fellows’ travel to present at national 
and international meetings. Individual faculty members 
financially support undergraduate research in the labs.
Seoyeon Hong, a biochemistry major, learned about research 
opportunities from a friend and, after working about 10 
hours per week, for credit, during her junior year, spent her 
summer in the Agris lab. The work sharply contrasts with 
her coursework experience, where she followed standard 
written protocols to obtain expected data. Doing real 
research in a real lab is beyond what’s in a textbook, she says. 
“We sometimes get data we can’t explain.” 
When that happens, Hong consults with Agris or 
postdoctoral fellow Kimberly Harris to troubleshoot. Or 
she combs through the scientific literature for alternative 
methods or interpretations.
Hong is undecided about her future, but continuing research 
science is an option she’s considering.
Agris, too, got his start as an undergrad. “I came out of that 
experience motivated to look for things that were new – not 
just what everyone else is doing.”
You know what he found: RNA.
After working in the Mass Spectrometry Center lab, student Yik Siu pauses for a photo with, clockwise from left,  
graduate student Rebecca Rose; Agris; Fabris; Harris; and Hong.
Getting Down  
to Business
After years of planning and fundraising and months of construction,  
UAlbany’s new School of Business building opens this fall.  
The 96,000-square-foot LEED-certified structure, designed  
by architect Perkins+Will and constructed by  
Kirchhoff-Consigli Construction Management,  
was completed at a cost of $64 million –  
$9.75 million of it from private sources.  
To date, 81 percent, or nearly $8 million,  
of the private funding has been raised.
Designed to accommodate  
21st-century teaching and learning, 
the School of Business includes:
• one trading room  •  17 classrooms, 
including a specialized executive-education 
classroom, a computing classroom and  
an honors/enhanced classroom   
•  one business center  •  one Student 
Services suite  •   five labs  •  one research 
computing lab  •  one graduate student 
lounge  •  one faculty lounge   
•  11 seminar rooms  •  two interview offices   
•  five conference rooms   •  10 group-study 
rooms  •  Office of Career Services   
•  50 faculty offices  •  one café and  
seating area
18
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
www.albany.edu
19
Stacy J. Kanter, B.S.’79
The Art of the Deal
By Jim Sciancalepore, M.A.’93
“I love puzzles,” said 
Stacy J. Kanter, partner 
at Skadden, Arps, Slate, 
Meagher & Flom LLP, one 
of the largest law firms in 
the world. “I enjoy working 
through a challenge  
and bringing something to 
a successful conclusion.”
It’s this love – and a unique 
combination of problem-
solving and people skills, 
underscored by tenacity 
and perseverance – that 
has made Kanter a 
nationally recognized leader in the legal community.
She was recently named a “Dealmaker of the Year” by 
The American Lawyer magazine, which honored Kanter 
for her work in guiding Realogy Holdings Corp. through 
a successful initial public offering (IPO). The task was 
a multi-year, multi-layered challenge as she helped the 
real-estate giant (parent company to brands such as 
Century 21 and Coldwell Banker) navigate the intricacies 
of a debt restructuring during a real-estate downturn 
… and ultimately raise $1.2 billion dollars, making it the 
biggest private equity-backed IPO of 2012.
In her work for Realogy and other clients, Kanter 
employs expertise that intersects law and business, 
building on a foundation she formed as a business 
major at UAlbany.
“I was looking for a quality education from a public 
university, and UAlbany was my best choice,” she 
explained. She also credits experiential opportunities  
at the University – such as serving as an R.A. and  
on student boards – with helping to foster her  
leadership skills.
The mother of two currently lives and works in 
Manhattan. She is both co-head of her firm’s Global 
Corporate Finance practice and co-chair of its  
Global Diversity Committee.
Whatever puzzles are coming her way in the future, 
Kanter is ready.
Gary Gold ’70
Alumni Profile
20
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
Three
Literary
Masters
By Paul Grondahl, M.A.’84
The following profiles, excerpted from stories published by the Albany Times Union 
in May and June 2013, are reprinted with permission.
Joseph E. Persico, B.A.’52
Merging History and Biography
At age 78, Joseph E. Persico took on the most demanding 
assignment of his career: a sweeping history of President 
Franklin D. Roosevelt and his interactions with the military 
commanders he appointed to lead American forces in  
World War II. “I told my wife this book was either going  
to keep me alive or kill me,” said the author, now 83.  
“Well, I’m still here.”
Roosevelt’s Centurions: FDR and the Commanders He Led to 
Victory in World War II was published May 28 by Random 
House. The magisterial work merges an expansive military 
history with an intimate political biography. The 650-page 
volume includes 70 pages of bibliography and source notes. 
Persico’s research techniques are a curious hybrid of old 
school and new technology. “The material that can be found 
online now is miraculous,” he said. He read the Marshall  
Papers (housed in Lexington, Va.) and the Eisenhower 
Papers (Johns Hopkins University) online from his winter 
home in Mexico. Persico still takes research notes in long-
hand on 3x5 index cards and files them in a large box kept 
under his bed. When the box is full, he starts writing. “The 
under-the-bed box worked its magic again,” he said.
Roosevelt’s Centurions probes the machinations of FDR as 
commander-in-chief and adds profiles of the deep bench 
of talent the president recruited. “He made some brilliant 
choices,” said Persico. “[George C.] Marshall was FDR’s 
stout oak and a selfless man, universally respected. Hap  
Arnold became the founding father of the U.S. Air Forces. 
The team Roosevelt appointed was so good that they stayed 
in place throughout the war, while Churchill was firing  
generals left and right.”
Persico was critical of FDR for contradicting commanders 
and choosing North Africa for the initial campaign 
www.albany.edu
21
Coming Attractions
Through the New York State Writers Insti-
tute’s Visiting Writers Series, Man Booker 
International Prize winner and UAlbany 
professor Lydia Davis will give a reading 
Oct. 1 at 4:15 p.m. in the University’s  
Performing Arts Center Recital Hall.
Other literary luminaries appearing  
this fall include:  
Sept. 26 
Seminar and reading by Pulitzer Prize- 
winning nonfiction author Gilbert King
Oct. 5 
Reading by bestselling nonfiction author 
Bill Bryson
Oct. 8 
Seminar and reading by fiction writer T.C. 
Boyle
Oct. 18 
Reading by U.S. Rep. and author  
Luis Gutierrez
Oct. 23 
Seminar by Ava Homa and Kaziwa Salih, 
writers of the Kurdish Diaspora
Oct. 24 
Seminar and reading by Iranian fiction 
writer Goli Taraghi
Oct. 25 
Reading and film screening: A Celebration 
of Swedish Author Stig Dagerman  
(1923-1954)
Oct. 29 
Seminar and reading by fiction writer and 
essayist Douglas Bauer
Nov. 14 
Lecture by religious studies scholar  
Robert Orsi
Nov. 21 
Seminar and reading by Native American 
fiction and nonfiction writer David Treuer
Dec. 3 
Seminar and reading by novelist Ayana 
Mathis
Each event is free and open to the public. 
For times and locations, and for more 
information about NYSWI Fall 2013  
programming, link to  
www.albany.edu/writers-inst/.    
in the European theater: “Churchill saw the Mediterranean 
as the lifeline of the British Empire, and he was focused on 
preserving it. He was very persuasive and had so much military 
expertise that FDR went along with him. It turned out to be 
a bad decision because the American campaigns into North 
Africa, Sicily and Italy postponed D-Day and the invasion of 
Normandy by at least a year and extended the war.”
Still, FDR “was the right commander-in-chief for the time,” 
Persico said. “It’s hard to argue with victory.”
John D’Annibale/Times Union
University at Albany professor and writer-in-residence 
Lydia Davis, who has published a chapbook of observations 
of three cows that graze across the road from her rural 
Rensselaer County house, is the 2013 winner of the Man 
Booker International Prize. The prestigious literary award, 
presented in London last May, carries a cash prize of  
£60,000 (roughly $91,000).
“She is a unique fiction writer who writes very short stories 
that are highly reflective, kind of ironic and sometimes 
comical. They play with the very concept of what 
storytelling is,” said Donald Faulkner, director of the  
New York State Writers Institute at UAlbany.
“This is a wonderful tribute and great recognition of a 
brilliant writer,” said fiction writer and UAlbany faculty 
member Lynne Tillman, who shares an office with Davis  
and teaches a fiction workshop with her. “She’s very 
observant of the world around her. I think of her as  
making paintings with words.” 
Sir Christopher Ricks, chairman of the Booker Prize judges, 
said that Davis’ fictions “fling their lithe arms wide
to embrace many a kind ... They have been called stories 
but could equally be miniatures, anecdotes, essays, jokes, 
parables, fables, texts, aphorisms or even apophthegms, 
prayers or simply observations.”
In the first sentence of “Cows,” Davis, 66, writes: “Each 
new day, when they come out from the far side of the barn, 
it is like the next act, or the start of an entirely new play.”
Davis, recipient of a 2003 MacArthur Fellowship, is also an 
acclaimed translator of classic works of French literature 
into English. She was named a Chevalier of the Order of 
Arts and Letters in France for her translations of Proust  
and Flaubert.
“She is an excellent editor, great teacher and sympathetic 
reader who has helped a lot of young writers,” Faulkner 
said. “She’s not a prima donna on any level.”
After she won the MacArthur grant, Davis chose to 
remain in the classroom. “I’ve realized I miss working with 
undergraduate students because they make me laugh and 
their writing can be very exciting and unexpected,” the 
Writers Institute Fellow told the Times Union in 2005.
22
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
Lydia Davis Painting With Words
Janie Airey
www.albany.edu
23
William Kennedy
Roscoe’s Operatic 
Rendering
William Kennedy finds it fitting that his 
novel Roscoe, a fictional reconstitution of 
Albany’s legendary Democratic political 
machine, is going to be turned into an 
opera by composer Evan Mack.
“I think Roscoe would approve because he 
led a grand, operatic life,” Kennedy said 
of the title character, Roscoe Conway, 
the fixer and bagman who wants to quit 
politics after 26 years of carrying out 
the machine’s chicanery. The New Yorker 
praised the novel – set in Albany on V-J Day 1945 –  
as “thick with crime, passion and backroom banter.”  
Roscoe was published in 2002 and reached the New  
York Times bestseller list.
Last June, Mack announced a two-year development 
deal with Kennedy to render the fictional portrait of the 
O’Connell-Corning machine into a new American opera. 
“The novel had been sitting on my desk for a while. I read 
it a few months ago, and it hit me in the gut that this is 
an opera,” said Mack, an Albany-based award-winning 
opera composer and professor of music theory and piano at 
Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs.
“Roscoe” will be Mack’s third full-length opera and his 
second collaboration with librettist Joshua McGuire. Mack’s 
operas have been performed around the country. He figured 
it will take about one year to create the opera.
Kennedy, founder and executive director of the New York 
State Writers Institute, said Mack approached him. He 
listened to the composer’s work and liked it. 
It is the first time that the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, 
who has sold movie and stage options for his novels, inked a 
deal for an operatic rendering of his work.
“The world of opera is a new musical incursion for me,” said 
Kennedy, who is known for singing popular tunes at parties, 
sometimes while playing ukulele, and for performing in a 
barbershop quartet.
Kennedy reads at Skidmore each summer as part of the 
Writers Institute. At 85, he is rewriting two plays and 
“fiddling around with a new novel.”
Suzanne Lance
24
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
The UAlbany family is cheering the completion of the University’s long-awaited multi-sport complex.
Ground was broken April 17, 2012, for the complex, which features seating for a total of  
8,500 spectators, as well as chairback seats and luxury suites. The total construction cost  
of $23 million includes $3.5 million for the new track facility.
Great Danes football and men’s and women’s soccer will be played at the complex.
To view a webcam video of the construction process, link to http://tinyurl.com/n5ngl5b.
Mark Schmidt
Vice President for Athletic Administration and Director of Athletics Lee McElroy, left, 
and Deputy Athletics Director Rick Coe, right, check out the press area.
Times Union, photo 
used by permission
Something to 
Cheer About!
www.albany.edu
25
Colleen Piccolino
Colleen Piccolino
Mark Schmidt
Student-athletes attend the April 2012 groundbreaking ceremony.
Times Union, photo used by permission
Great Danes football players will enter Bob Ford Field along this ramp.
A state-of-the-art video screen is mounted atop the scoreboard. 
The two dotted screens on either side are also video screens;  
the four white rectangles are advertising boards.
Coach Bob Ford, who has announced he will retire after the end of  
the current season, poses in front of the field named for him.
Mark Schmidt
Ask Geoff
By Geoff Williams, University Archivist 
26
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
Home Sweet Home
PArt 2
B
y the early 1960s, noted 
architect Edward Durrell Stone 
was designing and building the first 
of the University at Albany’s uptown 
campus dormitory complexes.  
Dutch Quadrangle was partially 
occupied in Fall 1964, two years 
before courses were held on the  
new campus. 
In many ways, the uptown 
campus dorms were similar to 
those on Alumni Quadrangle. 
All had communal spaces where 
students could congregate, but 
rooms were now gathered around 
central suites. Each suite had 
an individual washroom, rather 
than shared bathrooms down the 
hall. (The Indian Quad low-rises, 
the exceptions, are now being 
remodeled to include en suite 
bathrooms.) Gone, however, were 
such amenities as the beautiful 
molding that characterized Alumni 
Quad, as the pressure to build 
on a massive scale as quickly and 
inexpensively as possible meant 
the elimination of molding and 
woodwork. The Stone dormitories 
would be the last residences to 
have dining halls. By 1972, the last 
of the uptown campus residence 
hall complexes, Indian Quad,  
was completed.   
No new construction of residence 
halls or academic buildings would 
take place on the campus until 
the late 1980s. While there were 
many reasons for the halt in 
construction – including the ’70s 
decline in student enrollment 
and periodic New York State fiscal 
problems – one major reason was 
repaying the bonded debt that Gov. 
Nelson Rockefeller had accumulated 
while expanding every campus in 
the SUNY System simultaneously. 
In the mid-1960s, University 
President Evan Collins required 
every fraternity and sorority to 
sell, or give up the lease on, its 
house and relocate residents to the 
uptown campus dormitories. Fully 
occupied dorm rooms paid off the 
quadrangles’ construction.   
The Greeks’ move to campus would 
have long-term consequences, 
though. The anti-establishment 
atmosphere of the time made it 
difficult for the Greeks to fill 
dormitories, and most of the 
groups disbanded. A grouper law 
imposed in the mid-’70s prevented 
fraternities and sororities from 
having houses in Albany, and the  
era of small-group housing owned 
or rented by the organizations and 
the school was over. 
The housing situation retained 
the status quo until 1988, when 
Freedom Quadrangle opened 
across Fuller Road. Projected to 
cost $6.8 million, Freedom Quad 
represented a distinct departure 
from all former housing at the 
school. Driven by demand for 
more amenities in student housing, 
the project represented the first 
campus residences based on an 
apartment model. Each unit had a 
fully equipped kitchen. Arranged in 
four clusters of buildings, Freedom 
Quad provided accommodations 
for 410 graduate and upper-division 
undergraduate students. 
An even more ambitious project, the 
apartment-style Empire Commons, 
opened in 2004. The complex, 
consisting of 26 buildings on 25 
acres on the western side of the 
campus, houses 1,200 graduate 
and upper-level undergraduate 
students. Each building designated 
for undergraduates has 12 four-
bedroom, two-bath apartments. 
Members of Gamma Kappa Phi 
gathered at Herkimer Hall for this 
photo published in the 1968 Torch. 
www.albany.edu
27
Graduate accommodations include 
four bedrooms and four baths 
per unit. All Empire Commons 
apartments include kitchens, living 
rooms, and washers and dryers. A 
commons building houses exercise 
and mail facilities, vending rooms, 
staff offices and meeting areas.  
All rooms provide high-speed 
Internet access – an amenity since 
retrofitted into older residence  
halls at considerable expense. 
The $59 million cost of Empire 
Commons’ construction was funded 
through tax-exempt municipal bonds. 
UAlbany’s newest student housing, 
Liberty Terrace, built at a cost of 
$66.2 million, continues the 
trend of apartment-style 
living. The 500-bed complex, 
which opened in Fall 2012 on 
the east side of the campus, 
overlooks the pond behind 
Indian Quad. A typical apartment 
layout features four single bedrooms 
and two baths. Liberty Terrace has 
a number of commons areas. Like 
Empire Commons, it includes weight 
rooms, which are being retrofitted 
into all uptown housing. UAlbany’s 
Student Housing Corporation 
manages the complex.
Although much smaller than Empire 
Commons, Liberty Terrace affords 
“swing space” to house students 
while older uptown-campus 
dormitories – the oldest opened 
nearly 50 years ago – can be gutted 
and remodeled. The complex 
also boasts another distinction: 
It’s environmentally sustainable. 
Equipped with a geothermal  
heat-pump system, Liberty Terrace  
is expected to reduce energy  
and water usage by 50 and  
45 percent, respectively.  
Housing options have expanded on and near the uptown campus over 
the past 25 years, as evidenced by the aerial photo, below, of Freedom 
Quad; the Empire Commons picture, right; and the interior and exterior 
shots of Liberty Terrace, below, right.
The Liberty Terrace floor plan depicts the 
apartment-style layout of the complex.
Mark Schmidt
Mark Schmidt
Mark Schmidt
Mark Schmidt
Gary Gold ’70
41  In November 2012, at the ages of 94 
and 96, respectively, Vincent Gillen and his 
wife, Margaret, celebrated their 70th wedding 
anniversary. Vince reports that he tried to get 
to the reunion, but was not able to make it. 
He called Charlie Quinn, Shirley Tooker, 
Buzz Miller, Josie Autilio, Janet Risacler 
and Harvey Klaus and found them all to 
be in reasonably good health, but they were 
also unable to attend the reunion. If you have 
a news item please contact Vince, who now 
lives in New Bern, N.C., at (252) 638-1048. 
Norman Baldwin’s wife, Louise Owire ’43, 
passed away in 2003. He has since moved 
into a retirement home in San Francisco, Calif. 
Norman, now 93, is still the secretary for the 
Stanford School of Business’ Class of 1947. 
Miriam Newell Biskin is the author of many 
books and remains active.
Class notes councilor: Vince Gillen,  
vpgillen@yahoo.com
47  College of the Atlantic commemorated 
its third president, Dr. Louis Rabineau, by 
dedicating The Lou 
Rabineau Educational 
Studies Center April 5. 
An avid educator who 
had previously served 
as chancellor of the 
Connecticut Commission 
for Higher Education, Lou 
served as president of 
COA from 1984 to 1993. 
Lou’s intellectual curiosity, humor, openness and 
astute ability to engage experts in a wide variety 
of fields have been credited with saving the 
college while it was in a state of turmoil. 
48  A note from your class councilor: 
Donald Sayles has summed up the feelings 
of the Class of 1948 by wondering what kind 
of news people of our vintage might have 
that’s worth being published in The Carillon. 
Since most of the men had started college 
in the early 1940s, then served in World War 
II, they are now approaching some 90 years 
of age. However, Don reports that he can still 
walk, see, hear, drive, sail, swim, read and do 
yardwork. There are limitations about work, 
though. In army training, the march lasted 
50 minutes, followed by a 10-minute break. 
Now any energy demanding work calls for 10 
minutes’ work and 50 minutes’ rest. He says 
that he does value the magazine and mentions 
his happiness about the new football stadium, 
which will be opening this fall. Helen Kisiel 
Schick traveled for four days from Long Island 
to Potsdam for her grandson’s graduation from 
Clarkson University in May. Helen was able to 
spend Mother’s Day with family before returning 
to Bay Shore Atria in New York. Another one 
of her grandsons graduated from UMASS 
Amherst – now all five of her “varsity” are out of 
college, leaving the “junior varsity” five to follow 
in the years to come. Helen did her “Queen 
Elizabeth” wave from a convertible in West 
Islip’s Memorial Day parade and participated 
in the after-parade festivities. Her work with 
historical societies, Atria programs and planning 
for the 36th County Fair keeps her busy. Sam 
Dickieson reports from Seneca Falls, N.Y., 
that all is well with him and his wife, Dorothy 
’47. They are looking forward to their 66th 
wedding anniversary. Edna Wylie is continuing 
her work at her retirement community. Both of 
her grandchildren are college students. Jane 
O’Brien is well and enjoys seeing her five 
children and 11 grandchildren. Isabel Cooper 
Baker’s grandson from Glens Falls, N.Y., earned 
first place in a recent pentathlon, and will enter 
Syracuse University in the fall. He plays lead 
trombone in the All State Youth Orchestra. 
Isabel and Robertson Baker ’49 have five 
grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. 
Ruth Doran from Baldwinsville, N.Y., is holding 
her own but not traveling. Eileen Abrams 
Pettersen and Wanda Tomasik Methe live in 
the Cohoes area, are doing well and see each 
other often. 
Class notes councilor: Eleanor Holbig Alland, 
ealland214b@nycap.rr.com
 49  A note from your class councilor: I 
am sad to report that some of our classmates 
have passed away recently. They are: Annette 
Gardiner DeLyser (6/15/13), Horty 
Zeilengold Schmierer (6/15/13), Joe Amyot 
(1/4/13), Jeanne Valochovic Carpenter 
(1/24/13), Joe Carosella (9/7/12), Elsie 
Landau Finkelstein (1/21/13), George Frank 
(2/12/13), and Larry Appleby (5/31/13).  
Bonnie Lewis Adkins notes that her 
granddaughter, Dee Hertzberg, has moved from 
Paraguay to Madagascar, where she is serving 
as country director of Mission for the Peace 
Corps. Bonnie and Lee have finally finished 
remodeling their living quarters in Middlebury, 
Vt. They have a new living area with a bedroom 
alcove. Now, classmates traveling through the 
Vermont/New England area have a place to stay 
free of charge. Bonnie states, “We are looking 
forward to our 65th reunion in 2014 and seeing 
all of our classmates.” Doris Hoeninger 
Andersen writes from Grand Rapids, Mich., 
that her husband, Dan, a V-12 graduate of 
Union College, celebrated his 88th birthday May 
30. She keeps in touch weekly with Ruth 
Leiger Fishburn, who lives in Good Samaritan 
Village in Kissimmee, Fla. Lena Sorcinella 
the
Carillon
Alumni News & Notes
28
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
www.albany.edu
29
Capuano sounded so happy when 
she wrote about the birth of her great-
grandson, Brady, born April 9, 2013. 
Brady’s father, Marine Staff Sgt. 
Wesley, is stationed in Japan and 
Okinawa, but made it home three days 
before the birth. Lena states: “Spring 
is unbelievably beautiful here in 
Altamont. It’s great to be alive and see 
the beauty all around us.” Doesn’t she 
sound happy?! Elsa Moberg Cox 
writes that she is so busy in southern 
California that she does not even think 
of traveling elsewhere. She did travel 
to Arizona for a week to visit her son 
and grandson. Elsa is very involved in 
church activities, serving as a circle 
leader for a women’s group and as 
deacon, and administering communion 
to shut-ins. She may make plans to 
attend our 65th reunion and again 
bring her daughter Kristen. Don 
Dickinson continues to be involved in 
his church library in Tucson, Ariz., and 
also attends regular meetings of two 
book clubs (a true librarian!). In May, 
he attended the high-school 
graduation of a granddaughter. 
Richard Foster reports from Sarasota 
that he has little to complain about. He 
still plays for Vesper services and 
enjoys singing with the Harmonaires, 
playing bridge two or three times a 
week, and attending theater often. It 
was great to receive a letter from 
Mary Jane Peris Fredericks, who 
was the editor of our yearbook, The 
Pedagogue. She and her late husband, 
Charlie, made many moves around the 
United States, including California and 
Delaware, before settling in 
Gloversville, N.Y., near their Johnstown 
roots. Charlie passed away far too 
young in 1982, but Mary Jane states 
that she was fortunate to be left with 
four terrific daughters. Her family now 
includes seven grandchildren and four 
great-grandchildren. She retired from 
teaching French at Gloversville High 
School in 1988. Being involved in 
church activities, the local library and 
playing bridge regularly keep her 
active and out of trouble. It was great 
to receive a nice, long letter from 
Janet Lewis Hanson. She graduated 
from Fort Edward High School with 
Marea Battershall Reid-Roberts, 
Bob Nichols and Ursula Neuhaus 
Schiff, all of whom attended NYSCT. 
At Albany, Janet lived with nine other 
girls on Western Avenue, in a house 
connected to Pierce Hall and called 
“New House.” The girls have remained 
close all these years, although some 
have passed away. Janet served as a 
librarian in the Hudson Falls, N.Y., 
Central School for 30 years and retired 
more than 20 years ago. She keeps 
active as a guide and archivist of 
photographic materials for the Fort 
Edward Historical Association; Janet 
also belongs to AAUW and a local 
garden club. With two grandsons, 
three great-grandsons and the rest of 
their family, Janet and her husband 
celebrated their 60th wedding 
anniversary in July. Audrey Schmay 
Jones reports that her husband, Art, 
92, is in poor health but great spirits. 
He is receiving skilled nursing care in 
the Vermont Veterans’ Home in 
Bennington. Audrey has a room in the 
“Dorm” and comes and goes as she 
pleases. Congratulations to Audrey 
and Art on celebrating their 60th 
wedding anniversary in May. Audrey 
keeps in touch with Betty Uline 
Engineri, Helen Califano Belanger 
and Glenyce Jones Trainor. Bob 
Kaiser proudly reports his grandson 
Alex graduated from St. Michael’s in 
Winooski, Vt., in May, and his 
grandson Zachary graduated from MIT 
with a degree in graphic arts. Bob 
Kittredge and wife Diana are on the 
go, as usual. In January, they spent a 
W
ith this fall comes a new 
stadium, new fountains and a 
new School of Business building. 
This is an exciting time for UAlbany 
as we will have access to the types 
of facilities worthy of UAlbany’s 
stature. 
What does this mean  
for alumni? 
As your university grows, so 
does its reputation as a leading 
public research university. Our 
development is symbolic of the 
growing prestige of UAlbany and in 
turn the value of your diploma. It 
also allows us to build school pride 
for future alumni (some people 
call them students) as they will 
watch their first Colonial Athletic 
Association football game being 
played on the brand new Bob Ford 
Field here on campus. A previous 
stroll by the fountains will now be 
a stroll through (yes, through) the 
fountains with exciting new multi-
color LED lighting. The business 
building will host collaborative 
programming with business leaders 
from every industry.
You’ve got to see this! 
I invite you to join us as we embark 
on this next era of the UAlbany 
journey. Homecoming Weekend 
(October 18-20) will provide the 
perfect opportunity to experience 
this new excitement. On Friday 
night, you are welcome to a wine-
tasting reception and tour of the  
new business building. 
Saturday’s tour of the campus will 
show you what’s new and remind 
you of what was. I guarantee you will 
be in awe of what goes on in these 
facilities every day, from providing 
access to a great education at an 
unbelievable value to the cutting- 
edge research that is creating new 
knowledge for the future.  
Of course, our tailgate party prior 
to the big game on Saturday is 
always a can’t miss. Only this year 
the live music, food and games will 
take place in the shadow of our new 
state of the art facility. Who knows, 
maybe your image will even end up 
on the new scoreboard?
Attend the game, tour the facilities, 
come home. Trust me, you will 
not be disappointed. Please visit 
www.albany.edu/homecoming13 
for detailed information about 
Homecoming Weekend. And, 
as always, please contact me at 
lserravillo@albany.edu to find  
out how you can stay connected  
and collectively, we can make 
UAlbany stronger.
A Message from Lee Serravillo ~ Executive Director, UAlbany Alumni Association
Did you hear 
what’s happening? 
30
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
week at the Palm Springs Film 
Festival, and in May they flew to 
Spokane, Wash., to attend the 
graduation of their granddaughter, 
Hannah, from Gonzaga University.  
Bob couldn’t help bragging about her 
achievements: graduating summa  
cum laude and receiving both the 
president’s four-year leadership  
medal and the Honor Society medal.  
In November, Bob and Diana will be on 
a cruise through the Panama Canal. 
About once a month, they travel from 
Fresno to San Francisco to visit family 
and dine in their son’s restaurant, the 
Tryptych. Gloria Maistelman 
Herkowitz and husband have their 
house in Albany on the market and 
plan to move to an independent 
retirement community. Gloria says in 
order to “keep moving or you lose it,” 
she takes classes in Gentle Ballet, NIA, 
which consists of martial arts, dancing 
and healing arts and an osteo class. 
Freddy Laemmerzahl Miller 
traveled to Fountain Hill, Ariz., to 
attend her grandson’s high-school 
graduation. Oklahoma had some 
terrible tornadoes and floods in May, 
but Freddy said she was lucky and 
missed the devastation. Anne Sulich 
Raser, who lives in Los Angeles, 
continues to participate in the 
Women’s Health Initiative at UCLA as 
she has for the past 20 years. She is 
also part of the California Teachers 
Study run by USC. Both activities keep 
her hopping, keeping regular 
appointments and filling out lengthy 
questionnaires, but she feels her 
efforts are worthwhile because the 
research these studies publish adds to 
our general knowledge about health 
issues. Jerry Reisner and Estelle 
proudly report that two of their 
granddaughters have graduated from 
college. One is employed by the 
federal government and one is a CPA. 
Jerry states that he is finally retiring 
from substitute teaching and jokingly 
says that he is now dependent upon 
Estelle for extra income. Estelle 
continues to donate blood and to date 
has given 32½ gallons! Good going, 
Estelle! Ursula Neuhaus Schiff 
received a lengthy write-up in The 
Piper, the newspaper of the Glenridge 
Retired Community, where she lives. 
The article was a tribute to Ursula 
upon her retirement after serving for 
more than seven years as coordinator 
of ushers for the Glenridge state-of-
the-art theater. From the article, it was 
obvious that Ursula’s diligence and 
organizational skills were instrumental 
in developing a professional group of 
ushers. Betsy and Jake Schuhle 
report that four generations of 
Schuhles gathered in May to celebrate 
Betsy’s 85th birthday. In mid-March, 
she traveled solo to North Carolina to 
celebrate the 90th birthday of a 
beloved cousin. Jo Ann Joplin Stutz, 
widowed since 1976, writes from 
Winter Park, Fla., that her three 
children, six grandchildren and three 
great-grandchildren all keep her 
entertained and involved in all those 
“landmarks of evolving lifelines.” Jo 
Ann says that having spent time with 
the U.S. Foreign Service in such “hot 
spots” as Iraq, Sudan, Morocco and 
Lebanon – before they were as “hot as 
they are now” – she thrives in the heat 
of Winter Park all year. Millicent 
Robinson Tubbs reports that her life 
has taken quite a turn. Instead of 
volunteering with several groups, she 
has now taken up the responsibility of 
caring for her 96-year-old husband. 
One daughter has moved from 
California back to Trumansburg, N.Y., 
to be of assistance. Milli and her 
husband celebrated their 60th 
wedding anniversary in April. In June 
Joe and Joyce Zanchelli had two 
occasions to celebrate: their 62nd 
wedding anniversary and the high-
school graduation of  their grandson 
Patrick, who lives in Mechanicsville, 
Va. He will be attending Virginia 
Commonwealth University starting this 
fall. By now, you should have received 
a survey letter from our reunion 
committee concerning our 65th 
reunion, which may be our last. It 
would be of tremendous help to our 
committee if you would return it to us. 
Please explore all possible means to 
attend. WE NEED YOU! It was great to 
receive news from so many “new” 
classmates for this edition; I am very 
grateful for your cooperation.  
KEEP IT UP!
Class notes councilor: Joe Zanchelli, 
jjzanch@yahoo.com
50  A note from your class 
councilor: Elise DeSeve and 
Irwin Baumel remained in touch 
after graduation. When both were 
widowed, they traveled together 
to South America. Thereafter, they 
passed the spring and fall in Elise’s 
condo in Washington, D.C., and 
summer and winter in Irwin’s home 
in Whittier, Calif., enjoying the best 
of both locations. They have taken 
several trips abroad: three weeks 
in northern Italy, where they visited 
Sparky Vaughn in Florence, and 
three weeks in northern Spain, plus 
a trip to visit some of Elise’s family in 
Alaska. They also took a weeklong trip 
to London, followed by a week in Paris. 
Elise has been retired from teaching 
for 20 years. Irwin has been out of the 
line of fire for about the same period 
of time. Fortunately, the income from 
his real-estate properties is being 
managed by one of his daughters, 
making travel possible. Irwin and 
Elise have made three round trips 
by car between Washington, D.C., 
and California, visiting state capitals 
and friends. Another trip is planned 
for September, beginning in San 
Francisco, where Irwin will celebrate 
his 89th birthday watching the 
Giants beat the Dodgers (hopefully). 
Irwin reports, “We are in pretty good 
health for octogenarians and hope to 
squeeze out a few more good years.” 
Alumni News & Notes
2014 Excellence Awards 
Call for  
Nominations
Recognize alumni and 
friends of the University 
for their outstanding 
achievements and  
service. More details  
and nomination forms  
are available at  
www.albany.edu/alumni/
excellenceawards.php.
The nomination deadline 
is Oct. 18, 2013. 
Paul Dybas ’12 joined other alumni for an accepted-student  
reception in Syracuse in March. He was one of 33 alumni who  
volunteered to share their experiences and enthusiasm for UAlbany  
at spring admissions receptions in New York, New Jersey,  
Connecticut and Massachusetts.
In April, Ben and Gloria Jackson 
attended the spring concert of the 
New Albany Symphony Orchestra in 
New Albany, Ohio. It was the first time 
they were able to combine a visit with 
Benita and her family and a concert 
since she became a member of this 
community orchestra. In an interesting 
coincidence, the conductor’s father 
was the conductor of the Saratoga 
School for the Performing Arts when 
Benita spent the year there while in 
high school. Lila Lee Harrington 
wrote from Ames, Iowa, while visiting 
her daughter, Leslie, and family for 
two and a half weeks over Mother’s 
Day. She attended her grandson 
Andy’s high-school graduation 
and enjoyed family time together. 
In February, they were blessed to 
spend a glorious week in Sarasota, 
Fla. From Ames, Lila will fly back 
to her Saratoga Springs apartment 
at Prestwick Chase and resume 
work on the in-house newspaper, 
The Chase; review Belva Plain’s 
Heartwood for Book Chat; check on 
the bluebird houses’ and interview 
residents. She hopes to visit Maggie 
Winne in Oneonta this summer. Lila 
keeps in touch with Jeanne Walsh 
in Norwich and Audrey Feathers 
in Glens Falls. “Hello to all my ’50 
classmates. Life is good.” Marjory D. 
Lyons continues an active life with a 
major focus on the theater. On May 4 
and 5, she appeared in a short play, 
the comedy Dead to Right by Jon 
Frangipane, a member of the South 
Florida playwrights group active in the 
Fort Lauderdale area. “A wonderful 
cast party,” Marjory wrote. In March, 
she attended a University at Albany 
Alumni Association event where she 
met the new president, Dr. Robert 
Jones. She brought the Class of 1950 
Pedagogue Yearbook, which Dr. Jones 
found intriguing. She was the judge 
for the young-adult category of entries 
in the South Florida Annual Writing 
contest. It was the 15th year of the 
contest, which began when she was 
president. Some years ago, Marjory 
taught young-adult literature at Nova 
Southeastern University, where she 
currently works online with doctoral 
students. She will be in Washington in 
July and plans to see Sparky Vaughn 
and other friends in the area. Earline 
“Ken” Sorensen wrote that nothing 
much has changed – “which is 
probably a good thing” – since she last 
wrote. She still walks every day; does 
Tai Chi daily; does volunteer work; 
and, best of all, travels as much as 
possible. Earline had a great trip last 
August to Scandinavian countries, with 
several days on the fiords of Norway 
(“Absolutely beautiful”) and felt very 
much at home in Denmark, where 
her last name is among the most 
common. In May, her oldest grandson, 
Dylan, graduated from the College of 
Environmental Science and Forestry at 
Syracuse University. Harold “Sparky” 
Vaughn served on the host committee 
for the University at Albany reception in 
Washington D.C., in honor of the new 
president, Dr. Robert Jones. He would 
like to continue playing tennis but has 
run out of partners, which he realizes 
is subject to various interpretations. 
Daughter Karen just returned from 
a month in Florence, Italy, where 
she and a few friends stayed in the 
Vaughn family apartment, as they did 
a year ago. Her architect daughter, 
Christine, came near the end. In June, 
Sparky will join much of the family in 
California to take part in the wedding 
of a grandson, Matthew Scaglione,  
son of daughter Connie.
Class notes councilor:  
Audrey Koch Feathers,  
akochfeathers@roadrunner.com
51  Howard Swartz, husband of 
Goldie Brenner Swartz ’51, made 
a generous contribution to The Goldie 
Brenner Swartz ’51 and Howard 
Swartz Scholarship Fund on Mother’s 
Day, in memory of Goldie and in 
dedication to all mothers past, present 
and future. Goldie, who passed away 
June 1, 2010, was the mother of their 
two sons, Mark and Barry. Howard 
misses Goldie very much.
52  A note from your class 
councilor: Jeanne Seymour Earle 
has some happy news. Her son Chuck 
was married in September 2012 to a 
“very wonderful young woman” and is 
now involved in settling into a new 
apartment. Best wishes, Chuck.  
Although Jeanne is no longer subbing, 
she is still working three days a week 
at the Putnam Valley Library, 
overseeing her large property and 
taking care of her health. Vickie 
Eadie Eddy brings us up to date on 
her oldest daughter, Pamela, who was 
named a full professor in the higher 
education department at William and 
Mary College. She also received the 
Senior Scholar Award from the Council 
for the Study of Community Colleges. 
She and husband David have three 
children; two have graduated from 
college, and one is a junior at the 
University of Mary Washington in 
Virginia. Vickie is grateful that her five 
children are healthy and remain 
involved with their children and with 
her, whether she is at her winter home 
in Yuma, Ariz., or in her summer home 
in Olean, N.Y.  “I am very blessed,” she 
writes. Evie Erdle Eisenhard states 
that she and her husband now live in 
Ashburn, Va., just west of Washington, 
D.C., in Ashby Ponds. She says there 
are lots of interesting things to do 
there, which keeps them busy. Cheryl, 
one of their daughters, lives close by 
and works at the United States 
Geological Survey in Reston, Va. She 
ends her email with, “so many 
interesting things to do daily … we 
are always busy.” Tom Holman 
reports that he’s still avoiding Long 
Island winters by spending them in 
Naples, Fla., and St. Maarten. He was 
in New York City in March to help 
entertain his nephew and his nephew’s 
daughter, who came from Japan for 
her first visit to the United States: 
“Good to see the Big Apple through 
the eyes of a 15-year-old.” On May 
18, Kitty Kloser Irons welcomed 
Megan, her oldest granddaughter, 
home from South Africa, where she 
had spent the second semester of her 
junior year. Her younger sister Erin has 
joined her at St. Michael’s, having 
transferred from the University of 
Vermont. Kitty also reports that her 
mini-quilt group just finished a  
Quilt of Valor and is sending it off to 
Afghanistan. Each wounded soldier 
receives a quilt when he or she is 
taken to the hospital.  It is theirs to 
keep and was made by a quilter in  
the United States. Jane Minckler 
Jennings writes that, this spring, she, 
her daughter and son-in-law visited 
her niece in her beautiful, huge house 
on the outskirts of Tucson, Ariz. Jane 
said they saw many interesting sights 
and had beautiful weather. She also 
reported that Mimi Gorski Blake’s 
husband fell, which necessitated a 
partial hip replacement, followed by 
rehab. Anna Morrissey Karpiak had 
a lovely four-day trip to the Catskills 
with the members of her St. Pius X 
Senior Club. She said, “It is so much 
better to travel with people you know 
and like (as well as those with whom 
you have so much in common) rather 
than alone.” True, Anna. Dave Manly 
alluded to some maladies and 
medicines but says retirement living  
at Hilton Head is still wonderful. He 
continues to fill the pulpit at nearby 
churches while up north, more often 
preaching than officiating at weddings 
or funerals. “Life is good with caring 
wife Jean in our 48th year of 
marriage.” Maureen Davis Mullin 
www.albany.edu
31
President Robert J. Jones and Nishtha Modi ’12 chat during  
the fifth annual Celebration of Vital Volunteers April 20.  
Modi, Samantha Hiza ’13 and Jennifer Pollard ’13 shared their  
compelling volunteer experiences with more than 125 volunteers. 
Alumni News & Notes
32
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
expresses regrets that she missed our 
60th reunion, but she had accepted a 
job teaching French at Santa Ynez 
High School. Two of her sons live 
there, one of whom also teaches at the 
high school; the other is a professor at 
UC Santa Barbara. With her in the high 
school were her grandchildren Abigail 
in 9th grade; Alice in 12th grade;  
and Maureen and her son in the 
classroom: “We were running the 
show.” She had an interesting 
conversation with Joan Baez this year. 
Ms. Baez and her sister, Mimi, were in 
Maureen’s class when she taught in 
Belmont, Mass., so they relived old 
times. She adds that SUNY Albany is 
getting well known on the West Coast 
and that the four years she spent at 
Albany were four of the best years of 
her life. Joan Bennett Kelly spent 
two weeks with “the kids” because  
her daughter turned 50 and her 
granddaughter turned 21 – milestones 
both. She attended a track meet in 
Binghamton and two lacrosse games 
in two different states. Those Kellys 
sure do get around. Joan’s oldest 
granddaughter has the lead in an 
off-Broadway play, Blood Brothers; it 
got a good review in The New York 
Times. Let’s hope we soon see it on 
Broadway. Congratulations to Joe 
Persico on the publication of his 12th 
book, Roosevelt’s Centurions and the 
Commanders He Led to Victory in 
World War II. The book, which deals 
with FDR’s relationships with his 
military commanders, has already 
garnered favorable reviews. The 650-
page volume includes 70 pages of 
bibliography and source notes and 
took Joe four years to write. Nancy 
Frey Pettinelli sent her usual 
“tongue-in-cheek” humorous 
response. She starts her email, “Well, 
this just in … I have just won the 
lottery for the sixth time this year … 
I’m pretty much set for life now …”  
She surely has fun with her “news.”  
Shirley Feinstein Rosenbaum 
sounds very involved. She’s an active 
member of the League of Women 
Voters (LWV) and a board member  
of both the Virginia state and local 
leagues. This year, she was trained  
as a coach for the Membership 
Development Learning Program for 
LWV. She also continues to perform  
in the Morgantown Community 
Orchestra. Good to hear from 
Kathleen Cody Sengle, who 
celebrated two granddaughters’ 
college graduations: one in nursing 
from Pittsburgh, and the other in 
industrial design from Pratt. She hopes 
to attend her 65th high school reunion 
in Cazenovia in July, then spend a 
week in Maine in August. Kathleen 
also hopes to get together with 
classmate Barbara Anderson 
Hadden sometime this summer.  
Jean Faville Smith celebrated her 
daughter’s wedding on Valentine’s Day 
in Hilo, Hawaii. It was held in a pagoda 
with all the Hawaiian traditions. 
Sounds beautiful. Jean and Smitty are 
planning a 22-day cruise later this 
year from Rome to Athens, Cairo, and 
home from Istanbul, with more stops 
in between. They will celebrate their 
61st wedding anniversary this year. 
Jean also states, “Our reunion last 
year was wonderful, and we wish 
more of you would attend.” Marilyn 
Johnson VanDyke, class president, 
and Joan Roeder Barron, class 
councilor, attended UAlbany’s 
Department of English 2013 
Recognition Ceremony during 
graduation weekend. They presented 
the Class of ’52 Scholarship to English 
major Samuel Joseph Gorenstein. 
They met Samuel’s parents and 
brother after the ceremony and 
learned the Gorensteins are from 
Guilderland. Samuel is planning to 
study improvisational performance  
in New York City. Marilyn proudly 
announces that her grandson, 
Alexander Aust, completed his first 
year as director of Brubacher Hall, 
which is now leased to The College  
of Saint Rose and houses first-year 
students from CSR. Alex has a 
bachelor’s degree from SUNY Oneonta 
and a master’s in student living from 
Saint Rose. A nice, long email from 
Bill Wiley tells us that he retired  
as president of his Townhomes 
Association coincident with him and 
his wife moving to a great Hilton Head 
senior community that provides all 
kinds of trips, activities and diversions. 
Their “kids” are spread up the  
East Coast: two in Florida with two 
granddaughters (one working for Best 
Buy and the other a very talented 
middle schooler); and one in Marietta, 
Ga., with two grandkids, a boy who is 
Bill’s namesake, a great Cub Scout 
and superior lacrosse and soccer 
player, and a girl who is a joy and a 
good soccer player. She’s also a 
flautist and sings like a bird! A 
daughter in Indianapolis has two 
daughters. One, an electrical engineer 
working with an aerospace company 
in Dayton, is taking a leave to  
attend the University of Arizona to  
get her master’s; the other is an 
anthropologist from Grinnell College.   
Bill’s oldest daughter, who has her 
doctorate in art history, has worked 
most of her career as a development 
consultant for universities, hospitals 
and other entities. Joyce Leavitt 
Zanchelli and husband Joe had two 
reasons to celebrate: Their grandson 
Welcome 
to our new Alumni Association  
Board Members
Catherine Provost ’05 
Senior Manager of  
Alumni Engagement,  
National Society of  
Collegiate Scholars
Elizabeth Ukpe ’07 
Merchandising Manager, 
Moda Operandi
Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy honored seven distinguished individuals for their  
outstanding contributions in the areas of political science, public administration, leadership and  
continuing professional development at its annual Alumni Dinner and Awards Ceremony May 17.  
Left to right: Dean David Rousseau; The Honorable Bonnie Jenkins, M.P.A. ’88; The Honorable John 
McHugh, M.P.A. ’77, The Honorable Addie Russell B.A. ’00; Brian Fessler B.A. ’06, M.P.A. ’07;  
Peter Brusoe, B.A. ’03, M.A. ’04; Edward Murphy, M.P.A. ’81; George P. Richardson;  
Assistant Dean R. Karl Rethemeyer; and Department of Political Science Chair Julie Novkov.
www.albany.edu
33
Patrick, who lives outside Richmond, 
Va., graduated from high school  
and will be attending Virginia 
Commonwealth University in the  
fall, and they celebrated their  
62nd wedding anniversary. Joyce  
and Joe continue to enjoy life in 
Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where  
there are a number of activities  
to keep them busy.
Class notes councilor: Joyce Zanchelli, 
jjzanch@yahoo.com
53  A note from your class 
councilor: It has been 60 years since 
the Class of 1953 graduated from 
what was then New York State College 
for Teachers. What good times we had 
getting to know one another in Frosh 
Camp, participating in rivalry, being 
awed by the faculty, and doing our 
student teaching. Students today have 
trouble believing that women students 
of our time had curfew – and that, 
consequently, the men had a curfew, 
as well. So many of the upper-
classmen were WWII veterans; how we 
admired them. A great number of us 
were first-generation Americans and 
were fulfilling our parents’ dreams of 
seeing their children succeed through 
education. There we were on the old 
campus, where you could move from 
one building to the next via the elegant 
peristyles. As freshmen, we had to 
wear our red beanies, and we gave 
homage to Minerva in the rotunda of 
Draper Hall. We were required to 
answer questions from our handbooks 
when stopped by upperclassmen – 
especially the dreaded Sophomore 
Yellowjackets. Proudly, we performed 
in our Big-4 productions and cheered 
for our Red Devil teams. Was there 
ever a better life? Because our class 
was relatively small when compared to 
today’s classes, we knew one another 
and greeted our classmates when 
encountering them. We got our mail  
in The Commons and met there for 
noontime dancing. If we had extra 
funds, we could eat at “The Boul” – or, 
even better, go to Joe’s Delicatessen 
for indescribably wonderful 
sandwiches. The years went swiftly  
by and, with great surprise, we were 
graduating. One never expected the 
sadness as we watched our class 
officers walk off into the dark with our 
banner on their backs as Torch Night 
came to an end. We were expected to 
grow up now … to put into practice 
what we had learned. We were well 
prepared for the world after State; no 
better education could be found. Some 
of us went on to earn more degrees; 
some went to teach in secondary 
schools; others found jobs where they 
could use their talents; and others 
went into the military. Since that 
sunshiny day of our graduation, some 
no longer are with us. Reading the list 
of those who have passed on, one is 
reminded that we are no longer those 
young graduates who had the world 
before them. Our class of close to 300 
has lost 96 – almost 35 percent. Let 
us remember them with those lovely 
words from “Follow the Gleam,” the 
Torch Night Song: “When the sun sets 
on college days, resplendent with love 
you’ve won; when you leave all the 
friendly ways to those who will after 
come. We will follow, follow the gleam, 
torches alight, all through the night; 
we will follow, follow the gleam, of the 
Great Fires of S.C.T.” Millie Foote 
Frandino Sheerin was the first to 
respond to our call for news from the 
class. She’s still full of that pep she 
exhibited as a student and walking 
three miles a day! She reported that 
she, Ruth Dunn Reed and Joan 
Allen Balfe enjoyed a mini-reunion at 
Ruth’s home in Rome, N.Y., last year. 
“We still try to meet at least every year 
or two at one or another’s homes.” 
Millie recently directed the Neil Simon 
play “Lost in Yonkers” for a local 
community theatre in Orleans on Cape 
Cod. She manages to stay involved in 
either acting or directing as often as 
she can. She proudly told us that she 
is blessed with 18 grandchildren and 
has her first “great” on the way! Can’t 
help but wonder if Millie wins the prize 
for having the most grandchildren! 
Rosie Keller Hughes and Bob 
Hughes are quite proud of their  
son, who won an Emmy in April as 
producer for a documentary, Signs  
of the Time, about the signs used in 
baseball. This is the first year that the 
Hugheses haven’t gone on a major 
trip, but they hope to get back in the 
swing next year. They’ve traveled to 61 
countries; they set a goal to visit 100, 
but time has marched on and is 
running out. During some of their 
foreign travel, they have researched 
their genealogical roots. Rosie has 
13,971 relatives on her family tree, 
thus far. Both Bob and Rosie agree 
that the Internet has been the greatest 
tool in their quest. Hank Koszewski 
stopped in Rochester on his way to 
Toronto a year or two ago and regaled 
Bob and Rosie with his life in Hawaii. 
Hank should be getting a stipend for 
promoting our beautiful 50th state! 
Linda Hopkins McGrath tells us that 
all is well in Naples, Fla. Fortunately, 
she enjoys good health. She plays a lot 
of golf and bridge, and works with the 
boards of her homeowners association 
and country club. Linda has two young 
grandsons, ages 2 and 5, and family 
visits are high on her list of activities. 
She sends warm greetings to her 
former classmates and has high hopes 
that a 60th reunion becomes a viable 
undertaking. Irene Brezinski 
McDonald’s travel with husband Dan 
has become limited because of Dan’s 
glaucoma-induced blindness, but they 
still keep busy at the nearby University 
of South Alabama, enjoying the music 
programs and the great recreation 
center there. Irene and Dan still live at 
the same address in Mobile, Ala. 
Despite their attempts to bribe their 
children with room and board and 
other benefits to live in Mobile, the 
children continue to live in Phoenix, 
Austin, and St. Croix. Irene writes a 
column for their diocesan publication 
Catholic Week, a kind of non-
denominational affair called “Reading 
and Renewal.” Irene went on to say 
that the McDonalds love company and 
would enjoy seeing any alums who 
venture to this lovely area; as an 
enticement, she added that there  
are beaches nearby. Unless we hear 
differently, we have to list Betty 
Coykendall-Hart as the Class of 
’53’s secondary teacher with the 
greatest longevity! When questioned 
whether or not she is still teaching, her 
reply was: “Yes, I am still in the saddle 
and loving it, but many changes are  
on the horizon all around, including 
teaching and medicine. Probably this 
will be my last year. The poor district 
has put up with me for 50 years.” It’s 
this reporter’s opinion that the 
Webster, N.Y., educational system has 
indeed been lucky to have Betty there 
for that length of time! Betty, you 
amaze us! Janet Norton DeFabio 
tried changing her address but went 
back to her beloved Florida. “In 
January of 2012, I sold my home and 
moved to North Carolina (near 
Charlotte and one of my three 
daughters!). I stayed until June 1, 
2012, when I moved back to Florida!! 
Mayflower Moving loves me and I love 
Florida!!!” As with a lot of us, Janet’s 
activities have been scaled down in 
the last few years. After eight years  
as a volunteer with the Make-A-Wish 
Fundation, she is now planning to 
begin participating in the volunteer 
program at Golisano Children’s 
Hospital in Fort Myers. Janet is still 
ready to get back in the saddle! In 
March 2013, her family gathered for  
a second time in Myrtle Beach – and 
they have decided to come together 
annually. Janet went on to say, “I even 
went horseback riding with everyone 
Alumni News & Notes
All-Alumni Wine Tasting  
at the New School of  
Business Building
Oct. 18,  
5-7 p.m.  
Start off the  
weekend activities  
at the All-Alumni  
Wine Tasting and  
get your first glance  
at the new School of Business. Connect  
with alumni from all classes, while enjoying a 
sample of New York wines and cheeses.  
Tours of the building will be available  
throughout the evening. Register at  
www.albany.edu/alumni/homecoming13.php.
34
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
(and I have the pictures to prove it!).” 
Doing physical or adventurous things 
seems to be a theme in our class of 
senior citizens. For his 80th birthday 
last year, Bob Hughes was given a 
flying lesson. It had always been his 
secret wish to learn how to fly. He 
loved the whole experience: a half-
hour of instrument instruction, then an 
hour of soaring over the beautiful 
countryside of western New York, from 
Rochester to Canandaigua. Bob’s 
flying time included takeoff; he would 
have handled the landing, too, if the 
wind had not been so strong that day. 
Another item was checked on Bob’s 
bucket list: He is thinking of taking 
another lesson this year! Marie 
Hoffman earned a chuckle for her 
comment: “Please condense as you 
see fit.  A keyboard encourages me to 
‘talk’ too much.” No condensing was 
needed. Marie is very interested in 
genealogy and has used the Internet  
in her quest. The Hoffman Labs  
email, her son’s website, is how we 
connected with Marie. She told us all 
about her son and his wife, something 
we all tend to do; talk about our kids; 
they live in New Hampshire. No 
grandchildren, but her son produced 
two computer books, “one adopted  
by some college as a textbook.”  
Her daughter-in-law, Kelly Kreiger 
Hoffman, worked in the computer lab 
at SUNY in the early 1980s. Now she 
works for Agilent Technologies. Marie 
retired at 55 in 1986 from Algonquin 
Middle School in Averill Park, N.Y. She 
was happy to report that she did not 
die several years back, as reported by 
the alumni magazine. Paul Ward 
straightened that out before Marie 
even knew her death had been 
incorrectly reported. It was another 
woman of the same name, and Paul 
and Marie were both volunteering in 
the Education building, so he knew it 
wasn’t true. (Mark Twain would have 
enjoyed this situation, as he is  
quoted as having said, “The reports  
of my death have been greatly 
exaggerated.”) In the late ’90s, Marie 
ran for Poestenkill town justice and 
became the first woman judge in town. 
After that, she tried a seat on the town 
board for four years. At the end of that 
stint, Marie wanted more time to 
volunteer at the New York State 
Library, so she didn’t seek re-election. 
She was (and still is) active in Capital 
District Genealogical Society. Marie 
has bad knees, which got her out of 
the State Library, but she gets around 
pretty well and is still driving. Her 
health is good. She had some laser 
eye surgeries and the usual little 
things that all of us get. Joyce Turner 
Ogden loves her location: “I’ve been 
retired out here in Olympia, Wash., for 
about 17 years. I love not having to 
shovel snow (used the shovel just four 
times since arriving) and don’t mind 
the rain that comes and comes from 
about September 25 to July 5. So if 
anybody is traveling this way they can 
leave their umbrellas behind and enjoy 
our NON-humid version of summer 
after those dates.” Joyce went on to 
say that she has happily shared a 
house with her “never-married 
daughter,” and they’ve done a 
marvelous job of taking care of each 
other. Her daughter has had cancer 
since 2007, and the doctor is 
confounded every month when she 
walks into his office yet another time. 
According to Joyce, Olympia is a great 
place for gardeners. In April, she had 
about 17 different kinds of flowers  
in blossom; in May, there were  
about a dozen – plus the multiple 
rhododendrons. “The downside, of 
course, is that when the sun DOES 
shine, I’m out there wearing out my 
back and shoulders pulling weeds.” 
Your councilor wants to thank all those 
who contributed to the first of her 
class notes, but she is expecting an 
even greater response for the next 
alum magazine! The Class of ’53 was 
a great participatory group. Don’t let 
me down; live up to your great 
reputation! Help me do a good job 
keeping us connected! Stay well and 
enjoy each moment!
Class notes councilor:  
Rose Mary (Rosie) Keller Hughes,  
Rhughes5@rochester.rr.com
 54  Gerry Holzman has 
started a blog about 
the quirkiness and 
unpredictability of 
life by relating some 
unusual, and oft-times 
humorous, moments 
in his 43 years of 
chiseling and gouging 
as a woodcarver. 
He updates the blog 
weekly on Mondays and 
hopes that by telling 
a few of his own stories, readers will 
come away with some useful ideas 
for surviving and even flourishing in 
this increasingly perplexing world. 
More information: http://www.
soundsofcarving.com. Dick Bailey 
sends regards to all 54’ers from sunny 
northern California. This summer, he 
and his partner, Geri West, plan to visit 
the Boston; Geri’s son is a professor 
of astrophysics at Boston University. 
They will also be in the Finger Lakes 
area visiting some of Dick’s relatives. 
Art Stone is still working steadily 
at his costume company, making 
costumes for dance studios all over 
the United States and many other 
parts of the world. He also is still 
putting out a magazine about dance 
teachers. Art currently is teaching at 
conventions in Chicago and Phoenix, 
but only ballroom dancing. At his age, 
he is thrilled to still be doing what he 
loves. Ed Osterhout and his wife, 
Carol, are still actively participating in 
Volunteers in Mission. They completed 
their 17th annual mission to Salem, 
Maine, to work on poverty housing 
this past July. Ed spent his 80th 
birthday moving his mother-in-law 
into a condo; he also helped move 
his daughter and son-in-law to New 
Mexico. Ed’s house was recently 
remodeled to make it accessible for 
their 42-year-old multiple sclerosis-
afflicted son. Barbara Vanderveer 
retired from Finger Lakes Community 
College, where she held a really 
interesting part-time job as manager 
of the computer help desk. The 
retirement lasted over the winter. 
Now, Barbara works as a docent 
at Rose Hill Mansion, a restored 
Greek revival mansion owned by the 
Geneva Historical Society. She also 
has spent time working at The Center 
of Concern and the affiliated food 
pantry. In addition, Barbara made 
time to visit her daughter in Willsboro 
Bay, N.Y. James Thompson turned 
80 last fall and had two parties in 
Alumni News & Notes
• Join a board committee.
• Help plan a milestone 
class reunion or an affinity 
reunion.
• Host or assist with planning 
an event in your area as a 
regional volunteer.
• Assist at alumni events,  
such as Homecoming and 
Big Purple Growl.
• Mentor students or  
young alumni.
• Represent UAlbany at  
Admissions receptions  
or college fairs.
VOLUNTEER
The possibilities are endless.
Who says U  
can’t make a  
difference at UA?
Get involved on a level that’s comfortable for you.
Contact alumniassociation@albany.edu  
or 1-800-836-2586 for details.
www.albany.edu
35
honor of the milestone. The first, 
mostly for family, was at his son’s 
home in New Jersey; the other was in 
Latham, N.Y., for a limited number of 
friends. James sees Bill Floyd once 
a month for lunch, so he celebrated 
at the Latham party. James also got 
the chance to visit his son, a Navy 
captain in Washington, D.C.; his son 
and family in New Jersey; and his 
daughter and her family in Vermont 
this past year. He and his wife enjoyed 
their summer season at Tupper Lake, 
N.Y., with their travel trailer. Gertrude 
Smith Daly reports that she is 80 
years old and is in pretty good health. 
She is still working with the Hudson 
River Shakespeare Company, where 
her daughter is the general manager, 
her son is the artistic director and 
Gertrude is the treasurer. The company 
is in its 15th year of operation. John 
Centra is still consulting with a former 
employer, Educational Testing Service. 
He also is conducting an evaluation 
study of online teaching and learning. 
He and Nancy spent their 12th year 
wintering in Charleston, S.C. Bonnie 
Brousseau had major back surgery 
in June, so she wasn’t able to travel 
this past summer, but is hoping that 
this year will be better. John Cooper 
and his wife followed their visit to the 
Oregon Shakespeare festival with a 
trip to central Oregon this past June. In 
August, they headed to Alaska to visit 
Denali, also known as Mount McKinley. 
Aside from traveling, John has been 
delivering meals on wheels. Trying to 
keep alive intellectually, he has sent 
off a scholarly article on Milton for 
publication. John also enjoys spending 
time with his one granddaughter, who 
just turned five. Bea and Jim Finnen 
are doing well and staying involved in 
their community. Bea belongs to two 
book clubs and volunteers for the St. 
Vincent de Paul Society and at the 
nearby St. Francis Retreat House; 
Jim also helps out at the retreat 
house. They have been residents of 
Easton, Pa., for more than 50 years, 
and Jim is entering his 49th year as 
the public-address announcer for 
Lafayette College athletics. They’re 
also preparing for a grandson’s 
wedding and a granddaughter’s 
departure for Pennsylvania State. 
Stu and Myra Macnofsky went to 
San Diego. From there, they took a 
trip to California Berkeley for their 
grandson’s graduation and attended 
their granddaughter’s graduation from 
the University of California. They also 
stopped over in Santa Barbara and 
Paso Robles along the way. Eileen 
Sloth retired this past July after 
serving as a minister in the Methodist 
Church for 23 years. She is planning 
to move to Jacksonville, Fla., after she 
and her husband, Sven, purchase a 
house there. Phyl Weaver spent four 
weeks in Laos and Vietnam this past 
May. Anne Sichel has moved from 
Michigan to a lovely retirement home, 
North Hill, in Needham, Mass. She has 
been playing duplicate bridge, and 
enjoyed the weather this past spring 
season. Joseph Stella has been 
keeping busy attending graduation 
ceremonies for his his granddaughter, 
from Drexel Medical School, and 
his grandson, from Johns Hopkins 
University. Joseph notes that he and 
his wife, Madeleine, are fine and strive 
to keep pace with their active family. 
They also enjoy the pleasures of 
retirement, mainly golf, bridge, cultural 
events, reading, and visiting family and 
friends. Mimi Webb enjoyed a family 
reunion in Maine this past summer, 
with family members traveling in from 
New Mexico, New Hampshire, Florida, 
California and Europe. Bradford and 
Ingeborg Miller celebrated their 48th 
wedding anniversary May 14 during 
a trip to South Carolina. They were 
able to visit the fantastic 9,000-acre 
Brookgreen Sculpture Gardens on 
Pawleys Island. The gardens contain 
more than 1,000 bronze and stone 
statues, all done by American artists. 
Bradford and his wife even spotted 
some alligators on their visit. Arline 
Lacy and George Wood report that 
they lead a pretty relaxed life with 
no bumps in the road. They hoped to 
spend time at their house at Babcock 
Lake in Petersburg, N.Y., this past 
Arash Alaei, second from left, and Kamiar Alaei, second from right, pose with UAlbany Alumni  
Association President Timothy Murphy ’77, left, and University President Robert J. Jones, right,  
after receiving the Citizen of the University Award at the 2013 Excellence Awards Gala in April.  
The brothers were among 15 alumni and friends of the University honored at the annual event.
Class Reunions: Make 
New Memories and  
Relive Old Ones!
It’s coming! Reunion 2013 (Classes of 2003, 1988, 
1973 and 1963) is just right around the corner.  
Follow the crowd and head back to campus to  
rediscover UAlbany. Bring your Great Dane spirit  
and celebrate your milestone reunions with us. 
For details, visit 
www.albany.edu/alumni/homecoming13.php.
Members of the Class of 1954 met in May for their annual get-together.
36
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
summer. Frank Giannone spent three 
months in Maui last winter, as he and 
his wife, Laura, usually do, enjoying 
the sun, sand and sea. Laura was 
recovering from back surgery, and 
the Hawaiian weather was just what 
she needed. They are now settled 
back in Rochester, N.Y., hard at work 
getting their gardens back into shape 
and maintaining their 118-year-old 
historic house. If you would like to see 
some scenes of their home, visit their 
website at www.berkeleymansion.
com. If any of you are visiting in the 
Rochester area, please call Frank and 
Laura and they will share a bottle of 
wine and memories of things past. 
Rose Mary Zongrone reports that 
because they had such a good time at 
the 25th reunion years ago, a group 
of classmates decided to meet for 
lunch on an annual basis. They have 
been meeting for 34 years as of this 
past August. This year, they met in 
May, when Buz Neumetzger was 
visiting from Florida. This year’s group 
included Dottie Potochnik; Mary 
Lou Ricci; Bernice Shoobe; Barb 
Usborne; Rose Mary Zongrone; 
Buz and her daughter, Cheryl; and 
good friend Lucretia Zongrone. A note 
from Cheryl Neumetzger: “I would 
like to thank you for your card and 
birthday gift. It was nice to observe my 
mom’s college generation (two before 
me) reminisce about their days of 
education and pure fun. I admire that 
you do make the effort to get together 
every year.”
Class notes councilor:  
Bernice Gunsberg Shoobe,  
bshoobe@pol.net 
55  A note from your class 
councilor: Dee Montalbano’s book, 
Crossing Seventy: Moments in 
Outrageous Aging, has been published 
as an e-book and is currently available 
from Amazon.com, “cheaply,” she 
says. And, as a by-the-way to her 
email, she added that, after two years, 
her request for citizenship has been 
granted by the Italian government. In 
2012, Dee and Nancy Bush had a 
reunion at Nancy’s oceanside North 
Carolina home – an affectionate and 
laugh-filled visit, they agreed. Joan 
Rogers writes that her husband, 
Ray Peterson, died in 2012. Joan’s 
home is Cape Vincent, N.Y., and she 
spends her winters in Florida. Dottie 
and Custer Quick are delighted with 
another grandchild, born in 2012. In 
June, Ada and Mel Gollub took a 
Baltic Sea cruise. Wilma Thorton 
was delighted by the same cruise 
in May. In June, Wilma attended her 
granddaughter’s wedding in Colorado. 
Jan Garvin Gillespie is pleased 
with her new home in Hilton Head 
Island, S.C. In addition to pursuing her 
interest in genealogy, she enjoys the 
company of her daughter’s family, who 
live nearby. The 2013 recipient of the 
Class of 1955 Award, Josiah Boehike, 
wrote to express his gratitude for our 
generosity as he pursues a master’s 
degree in the University’s curriculum 
development and instructional 
technology program. As a student 
teacher, he won praise from his 
supervisor for his creative teaching 
methods. Take a moment to pencil in 
2015 for our class’ 60th anniversary. 
Details later.
Class councilor: John Orser,  
xiety3jo@hotmail.com 
56  Margie Kelleher Shea writes 
that she and George (Jerry) continue 
to enjoy cultural and political life in 
New York City.
Class notes councilor: Vivian Benenati, 
TomVivian@aol.com
59  A note from your class 
councilor: Our Facebook page, 
formerly “Green Gremlins of Albany 
State,” is now titled Class of 1959, 
SUNY Albany. The page can be found 
here: http://on.fb.me/147pSLI. Herb 
Piper and I are the only two there, so 
far. Log on and send us a greeting, 
responses, “likes” or pictures. For 
the next “Alumni News” for Class of 
1959, please send information to 
alumniassociation@albany.edu or 
to Alumni Association, University at 
Albany, 1400 Washington Avenue, 
Albany, NY 12222. Jane Bruskawicz 
Stephan is a medical technologist 
and has been a member of the 
New York State Society of Medical 
Technologists for more than 30 years. 
She has been employed full and now 
part time for 45 years and is also 
blood-bank technologist certified 
through the American Society for 
Clinical Pathology. Her grandson, 
Derek Treonze, also will be a graduate 
of UAlbany, and she couldn’t be  
any happier.
Class councilor: Miriam Russell, 
msrussell38@gmail.com
60  John and Nancy Lou Ryan 
Gnan enjoyed a pleasant 21-day 
transatlantic cruise in May, stopping 
in Gibraltar; France; and Italy, where 
they visited Florence, Pisa and Rome. 
They were treated to a royal tour 
of Barcelona by Lotta, a Swedish 
exchange student who was in Nancy’s 
high-school Spanish class when she 
used to teach. In February, Nancy 
and John spent a day with Charlie 
and Doris Hische Brossy at Disney 
World in Orlando for a long-overdue 
mini-reunion.
61  A note from your class 
councilor: Thanks, everyone, for 
keeping in touch and sending in your 
class notes. It is always good to hear 
from you. If you are not receiving my 
emails, please send me your current 
email address (melandsis@yahoo.
com). Sissy and I have been enjoying 
our four granddaughters, a winter 
month in Florida, vacations in Ireland 
and Las Vegas, and keeping active 
in the yard and in my organizations 
(Rotary, US-China Friends and 
Character Education). Minerva Janet 
Woodward Beardsley has lost 55 
pounds over the past year. Dr. Peter 
A. Spina was named president 
emeritus of the State University of 
New York Institute of Technology at 
Utica/Rome May 6, 2013. He served 
as president there from 2003-2008. 
This is his second such honor; he 
was named president emeritus 
of Monroe Community College in 
Rochester in 1999. Judith Bacon 
Bleezarde spent a lot of time on 
the beautiful Taconic Golf Course in 
Williamstown, Mass., this past spring. 
She also enjoyed summer theater 
and Tanglewood and notes that the 
Berkshires in the summer are glorious. 
Judith invites anyone to come visit! 
Irv Freedman retired 16 years ago 
from SUNY-Administration, where 
he was vice chancellor for Capital 
Facilities and general manager of the 
State University System Construction 
Fund. Jackie, Irv’s wife, who graduated 
after us but knew most everyone in 
our class, also retired just before Irv 
as executive director of the Large City 
Boards of Education. Since then, they 
have strived to be model grandparents 
to six wonderful kids (three from 
China), and they spend lots of time 
at their house on Brant Lake. Irv and 
Jackie hope to hear about others in 
their classes. Janet Beardsley had 
a great winter in Florida and learned 
how to play mah jong. Next winter, 
she is going to learn how to play 
pickleball; it is all the rage in Florida. 
Her grandson is now 13, and her 
granddaughter is 11. They are the 
delights of her life. Janet expects to 
do the Great Escape with them this 
Alumni News & Notes
Calendar of Events
September
   23-28 – Celebrate & Advance UAlbany
          24 – An Evening with Broadway’s Carolee Carmello ’83
October 
   11-13 – EOP Reunion  
   18-20 – Homecoming and Reunion and Family Weekend
        18 – GOLD Reunion, Albany
        18 – All-Alumni Wine Tasting at the School of Business
        19 – Touchdown Tailgate
        25 – Atlanta Alumni Reception with President Jones
November 
          8 – UAlbany vs. Siena Basketball Game  
and Pregame Party
        11 – Culinary Institute of America Dinner and Tour
For additional events and details, visit 
www.albany.edu/alumni
www.albany.edu
37
coming summer. Jan Goodermote 
Newport and her husband are now 
completely retired. Due to health 
considerations, they sold their house 
in Poestenkill, N.Y., last fall. They 
had lived there for 48 years. They 
now own a townhouse near Hudson 
Valley Community College, which they 
love. Two of their three children live 
locally, so they are able to see them 
frequently. Their youngest son and 
his family, including the two youngest 
grandchildren, live in Charleston, S.C., 
so they travel now primarily to visit 
there. Jan and her husband have been 
privileged to have three grandsons; 
unfortunately, the first was killed at 
age 16 nine years ago by a drunken 
hit-and-run driver. Every year on 
his birthday, their family and friends 
ring the Salvation Army bells in his 
memory. After having majored in social 
studies at Albany, Jan received an 
up-close-and-live dose of government 
in action following Christopher’s death. 
With great effort and time, the family 
succeeded in having a law passed 
that makes “leaving the scene” the 
same degree felony as is DWI in 
New York State. Their intent was to 
encourage drivers to stay with the 
victim and get help, as opposed to 
leaving the scene in order to “sober 
up.” They also advocated strongly for 
widespread implementation of the 
ignition interlock device, knowing that 
its usage could be a significant factor 
in preventing DWI-related deaths. The 
only member of our class with whom 
she maintains close contact is Dave 
Murphy. Jan never knew Dave when 
they were fellow students, but they 
started their teaching careers together 
at Bethlehem Central. She does often 
think of others from that bygone era 
and would love to hear from people 
she knew then. Elaine Frankonis 
is living a relaxing life in western 
Massachusetts with her daughter 
and family, experimenting with 
suburban farming, continuing to blog 
sporadically, and learning math and 
science concepts she never knew as 
her 11-year-old grandson explores the 
excitement and innovations of home 
schooling. Joan and Carl Herman 
are well and enjoying retirement. They 
spend 10 weeks in Florida, where 
they play a lot of golf and spend time 
with good friends. Joan continues to 
be involved with two choruses: one, a 
community mixed chorus; the other, a 
Sweet Adeline chorus. Other than that, 
golf, quilting and Italian class keep 
her busy. She wishes the very best to 
everyone in the class of ‘61. Nancy 
Rubin Bernstein is sorry she was 
not able to make the 50th reunion. 
She has such fond memories of her 
days as an undergraduate at Albany, 
but unfortunately, she has been out of 
touch with many of our classmates. 
She does see Connie Herodes and 
Barbara Dolansky every so often, 
as they all live in the Poughkeepsie 
area. Nancy and Sandy ’58 celebrated 
their 50th anniversary. They have 
three daughters and five grandsons. 
They have been fortunate to enjoy 
retirement. Donna Steele Parks 
still lives in “God’s Country” a.k.a. 
Watertown, N.Y., where they have 
snow but no tornadoes or floods! She 
has been married 52 years; Donna 
and her husband have five children 
and nine grandchildren whom they 
happily enjoy during their retirement. 
She still enjoys her horses (and also a 
very spoiled springer spaniel), and she 
has been reading John Sullivan’s book. 
Donna had a great time reconnecting 
with old friends at the 50th reunion, 
and she wishes good luck and good 
health to you all. Joan Valesente and 
Bob sold their home and purchased a 
townhome a few blocks away on the 
marsh in Hilton Head, S.C. They enjoy 
beautiful sunsets from their deck, 
but not all the remodeling projects. 
Their children and grandchildren all 
live nearby, so they can visit often. 
Joan and Bob celebrated their 51st 
anniversary this past summer and  
note that life is good.
Class Councilor: Mel Horowitz, 
melandsis@yahoo.com
62  Hannah Schnitt-Rogers 
and husband Steve welcomed their 
first grandchild in February. Robert 
Sweeney relocated from Asheville 
to Flagler Beach, Fla., and would 
love to find classmates or an alumni 
chapter there. Fran Shepherd 
and husband spent a joyful time 
in Florida with her Albany roomie, 
Linda Zucconi Dellea. Sheril Joan 
McCormack spent three weeks in 
Belgium, Holland and Scotland in April. 
Hannah Schnitt-Rogers, Carole 
Pixie Wilbourn, Linda Bosworth 
and Sheril 
McCormack all 
met and stayed 
at the Algonquin 
Hotel in New York 
City; they did some 
serious theatre 
attending. Alice 
Green was an honoree at the 42nd 
annual Legislative Conference of the 
New York State Association of Black 
and Puerto Rican Legislators, which 
was held in conjunction with the 
Westchester Black Women’s Political 
Caucus’ 32nd Annual Leadership 
Breakfast. Alice is the executive 
director of the Center for Law and 
Justice in Albany, N.Y. She also is an 
adjunct professor at UAlbany, and 
has taught at Russell Sage and Siena 
College over the years. 
Class notes councilor:  
J. Sheril McCormack,  
vanillastar202@yahoo.com
65  Dave Simons retired from 
IBM Corp. in 2005 after 42 years of 
service. Most of that time was spent in 
Raleigh, N.C., although two years were 
spent on assignment in Nice, France. 
He now stays busy with three nonprofit 
organizations. He is in his third year as 
secretary of the United States Power 
Squadrons® District 27 (mostly North 
Carolina). Dave volunteers two days 
a week at Saint Saviour’s Center, a 
venue for several different services for 
low-income families and the elderly. 
He also is a founding member and the 
current administrative officer of Global 
H20, a charity that provides clean 
water in poor countries. In November 
2012, Dave and his wife, Carolyn, 
spent two weeks in Uganda,  
where the GH20 team saw the 
completion of seven new wells and  
New graduates played the Great Dane Toss, won prizes and learned 
about GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) at the Alumni  
Association’s GOLD tent at the May Commencement Picnic. 
Great Dane Pregame
Oct. 19, 1-3:30 p.m.  
Get into the UA spirit, and check out the new  
multi-sport complex before the Homecoming  
football game. Enjoy food, fun and entertainment. 
Free parking in the Dutch Quad lot.  
Registration required. 
For a detailed list of activities  
visit www.albany.edu/alumni/homecoming13.php.
Alice Green
38
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
the rehabilitation of five old ones. 
These wells will provide clean water 
for approximately 20,000 people. 
Carolyn officially retired Feb. 28 of 
this year. The next morning, they left 
for three weeks of skiing in Colorado. 
Now that she is retired, they are 
able to spend more time on their 
boat. They have four children and six 
grandchildren between them.
66  C.W. Sullivan has retired as 
distinguished professor of arts and 
sciences from East Carolina University, 
Greenville, N.C., after 34 years. C.W. 
and his wife, Sheree Scarborough, 
now live in a log cabin near Floyd, Va., 
and he teaches in a summer graduate 
program in children’s literature at 
Hollins University in Roanoke, Va.
Class councilor: Gary Spielmann, 
spielmann92@fairpoint.net
68  Diane Call has been 
appointed president of Queensborough 
Community College. She has been 
the interim president since July 
2010. Prior to that, Diane was 
Queensborough’s provost and senior 
vice president for academic affairs. 
She also has served as vice president 
for Finance and Administration, 
assistant dean for Instructional 
Support Services, and in other posts 
in a career spanning three decades at 
the college and The City University of 
New York.
70  Your co-councilor, John 
Michalke, ended his rewarding 40-
year career as an associate economist 
with the New York State Department of 
Labor in Albany this past October. He 
started with the department in October 
1972 as an unemployment insurance 
reviewing examiner. After bouncing 
around different state departments, 
he returned to the labor department 
and was primarily involved in extensive 
reports and research projects relating 
to the state’s unemployment insurance 
program. He plans to catch up on 
reading, long-neglected hobbies, doing 
volunteer work, and traveling to visit 
family and friends. 
Class notes coucilor: John Michalke, 
jmichalke@aol.com
72  Adewale Troutman is the 
American Public Health Association’s 
(APHA) newly elected president. 
APHA “is the oldest, largest and most 
diverse organization of public health 
professionals in the world” with more 
than 20,000 members. 
Class councilor: Rick Corcione, 
rickcorcione@yahoo.com.
73  Pryor Cashman partner 
Kenneth Schulman was honored 
by Ronald McDonald House New York 
as a recipient of its 2013 Hope Award 
for his distinguished leadership and 
dedication as a volunteer. The Hope 
Award, which represents optimism, 
faith, promise and positive expectation, 
is the most prestigious recognition 
the organization can bestow upon a 
volunteer.
75  Paul Morton has been 
elected a fellow in the 
College of Law Practice 
Management. He will 
be inducted at the 
college’s annual Futures 
Conference in Chicago 
in October. Paul is the 
chief operating officer 
of Boston-based law firm Burns & 
Levinson LLP.  Harry Feiner was 
the scenic and lighting designer for 
the production The Silver Cord, a 
harrowing and hilarious melodrama 
from Pulitzer Prize- and Academy 
Award-winning author Sidney Howard. 
76  Nate Salant has been 
appointed to the NCAA D2 National 
Championships Committee. Nate is in 
his 21st year as commissioner of the 
Gulf South Conference.
77  John Gionis was awarded 
the Legal Eagle award for Civil and 
Criminal Litigation by the Long Island 
Pulse magazine in April. John’s 
practice encompasses commercial 
litigation; personal and catastrophic  
 
Alumni News & Notes
Donna Ashcraft, M.A.’87, Ph.D.’88
Donna Ashcraft, professor of 
psychology at Clarion University 
and one of the “founding 
mothers” of the Women’s 
Studies program there, recently 
published Deconstructing Twilight: 
Psychological and Feminist 
Perspectives on the Series. Using 
feminist and psychological theory, 
the author examines the behavior, 
relationships and gender roles 
depicted in the popular Twilight 
series, and includes perspectives 
from both fans and detractors of 
the series. The book discusses 
whether the character Bella, and 
the series in general, is antifeminist 
or an example of modern feminism, 
and whether the relationship 
between Bella and Edward is 
healthy or maladjusted. Integrating 
research findings and theories in 
the areas of personality and social 
psychology, as well as scenes from 
the novels and surveys of readers, 
Deconstructing Twilight separates 
myth from reality regarding the 
series’ depictions of women, 
men, romantic relationships and 
motherhood. A social learning 
perspective is employed to 
demonstrate the effect the novels 
can have on gender role formation 
and the development of relationship 
scripts in young-adult readers. 
Social psychological concepts are 
used to explain and integrate the 
discrepant views of fans and critics. 
Ashcraft also edited and wrote 
three chapters for Women’s Work: 
A Survey of Scholarship by and 
About Women, an introductory  
women’s studies 
text. Her Personality 
Theories Workbook is 
currently in its 5th edition, and 
she is working on the 6th. Ashcraft, 
who received her bachelor’s degree 
from Buffalo State College, has 
taught at Clarion since 1988. For 
more information about purchasing 
her books, visit www.peterlang.
com, barnesandnoble.com or 
www.amazon.com.
President Robert Jones (left) had 
an opportunity to speak with past 
UAlbany president Patrick Swygert 
at the Washington, D.C.,  
alumni reception in April.
Paul Morton
injuries; real estate; trusts and estates; and criminal law, including 
white collar crime cases involving fraud. He has successfully tried 
to verdict cases in both state and federal courts in the New York 
metropolitan area. John McHugh, secretary of the Army, received 
the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Rockefeller College Alumni 
Dinner and Awards Ceremony May 17. Allison Berg is happy to 
announce the birth of her grandson, Trace Martin Petriccione, on 
Jan. 1, 2013. Stuart Gelberg was selected as a Top Long Island 
Legal Eagle for the third consecutive year by Pulse magazine. 
Recognized as a Top Attorney by Newsweek magazine and 
featured in its final print issue, Stuart was also selected as a Top 
Attorney by New York magazine in its December 2012 special 
double issue.
78  Steve Basset recently formed the Steve 
Basset Band and has released an acoustic debut 
album, So Beautiful. He uses his love for the 
Grateful Dead, the Beatles and Willie Nelson to 
inspire his folk leanings. He has been a supporter 
of the Salt Lake City music scene since moving to Utah in 1994. 
You can listen to and see Steve perform at www.reverbnation.
com/steveabasstet and http://steve-bassett.com.
79  Johannes Froebel-Parker was part of a live online 
interview this past June at a new program/website for authors 
helping authors and future authors. More information:  
www.slushheap.com.
80  Patricia Nugent has been featured in a new 
collection of true narratives, I Wasn’t Strong Like This 
When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse. 
In this collection, nurses remember their first “sticks,” 
first births and first deaths, reflecting on what gets 
them through long, demanding shifts and keeps 
them in the profession. More information: http://
bit.ly/16wRyve. Michael Levy was elected judge 
of the 15th Judicial Circuit by the Virginia General 
Assembly on April 3, 2013. He has served as a 
judge in the 15th District Court for the past four 
years and took his new seat on July 1, 2013. Tom 
Burke was faced with a great surprise when two 
UAlbany Roof and Maintenance Division staff members, Scott 
Thomas and Brian Edwards, found his high-school ring, lost 36 
years ago on Colonial Quad. They mailed the ring back to Tom 
immediately – and he was very impressed by their sincerity and 
the lengths they went to to return it.
81  Joshua Bloom has been elected chair of 
the Executive Committee of the Bar Association of 
San Francisco’s (BASF) Environmental Law Section 
for 2013. Joshua’s environmental and natural 
resources practice involves counseling, litigation 
and transactional work. The mission of BASF’s 
Environmental Law Section is to serve and educate both attorneys 
and the general public about environmental law. Ian Farrell 
has been appointed assistant vice president of Development 
for Colleges at Virginia Tech. He brings to the position extensive 
experience in university development and fundraising. Most 
recently, he served as director of regional development at 
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he assumed responsibility 
for a major-gifts program. Edward Murphy, president and 
executive director of Workforce Development Institute, received 
the Distinguished Continuing Professional Education Leadership 
Award of Excellence at the Rockefeller College Alumni Dinner and 
Awards Ceremony May 17.
82  Lauren Solotar has been promoted to president and chief 
executive officer of May Institute in Randolph, Mass. Lauren began 
her career there in 1996 as chief psychologist and vice president 
of Clinical Services. May Institute is a nonprofit organization that 
www.albany.edu
39
It only takes a minute  
to make a gift
that lasts a lifetime.
www.albany.edu/giving
Steve Basset
Michael 
Levy
Patricia 
Nugent
Joshua 
Bloom
40
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
provides educational, rehabilitative 
and behavioral health services to 
thousands of individuals with special 
needs and their families every year. 
83  Maritza Martinez has 
been awarded the 2012 Director’s 
Community 
Leadership 
Award. Maritza 
is the director of 
the Educational 
Opportunity 
Program (EOP) 
at the University 
at Albany. EOP, which 
provides admission 
opportunities for low-income New 
York state students, also supports 
students in academic, financial, 
social and personal matters. Maritza 
demonstrates leadership through 
her personal involvement with the 
students. Under her leadership, the 
EOP at UAlbany has been recognized 
as a model program in New York 
State public higher education. A note 
from your class councilor: Fellow 
classmates, it is hard to believe that 
we graduated 30 years ago. The 
style of our class obviously set the 
tone for the decade that would later 
become famously known as “The Big 
’80s.” Please think about returning to 
campus to celebrate that golden era 
during Homecoming/Reunion Weekend 
this Oct. 18-19. 
Class councilor: Dave Schaffer, 
dpschaffer@mblaw.net
84  Karu Hangawatte, a 
professor of criminal justice at the 
University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) 
has been 
appointed 
by the 
government 
of Sri Lanka 
as the next 
ambassador 
to France and UNESCO, with 
oversight authority of Spain and 
Portugal. From 2010-2012, Karu 
served as a commissioner of Sri 
Lanka’s Lessons Learned and 
Reconciliation Commission, a post-war 
presidential commission. As an expert 
commissioner, he investigated and 
analyzed the national issues occurring 
between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam and successive governments in 
Sri Lanka. 
85  Elizabeth Donovan works 
as a clinical program director at Ave 
Maria School of Law in Naples, Fla. 
She previously worked as an assistant 
clinical professor at Ave Maria School 
of Law in Ann Arbor, Mich. Her areas 
of focus are human trafficking and 
mediation-
law; she 
teaches 
law clinics 
in both. 
Michael Shaps was recognized 
this past April at Fenway Park 
before the start of a Red Sox 
game as the 2013 Most Valuable 
Educator by the Massachusetts 
Teachers Association and the 
Boston Red Sox. A school 
psychologist for 19 years, he is 
currently working in the Waltham, 
Mass., Public Schools. To watch 
the video of Michael receiving his 
award, visit: http://bit.ly/11jz56r. He 
is featured about four minutes in. 
Class councilor: Patty Salkin,  
psalk@albany.edu
86  Gordon Plutsky is the chief 
marketing officer at King Fish Media 
in Salem, Mass. King Fish Media is 
a leading content-marketing agency. 
Gordon also is an adjunct faculty 
member at Endicott College in Beverly, 
Mass., teaching marketing strategy 
and digital marketing to master’s 
students. Jennifer Manner has been 
hired by EchoStar Corp., a leading 
global satellite services provider and 
developer of hybrid video-delivery 
technologies, as vice president of 
Regulatory Affairs. Jennifer, who has 
more than 20 years of experience 
as a telecommunications policy and 
regulatory executive, 
formerly was the deputy 
chief of the FCC’s 
Office of Engineering 
and Technology. Joan 
Solotar was honored by 
the National Organization 
for Women, New York 
City, with a 2013 Women of Power 
& Influence Award. She is the senior 
managing director and head of the 
External Relations and Strategy Group 
for Blackstone.
87  James O’Sullivan joined 
the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley 
Charitable Trust as a program director 
this past March. James, who leads 
the trust’s IBD & Crohn’s Program, 
also serves as a senior adviser to 
its Israel program. He comes to the 
trust from Rockefeller Philanthropy 
Advisors (RPA). Prior to joining RPA in 
2008, James worked at the John A. 
Hartford Foundation. Dave Schaeffer 
is a physician based in Phoenix, Ariz. 
He recently was recognized by the 
U.S. News and World Report as a top 
physician in the Southwest. Phoenix 
Magazine also recognized Dave as 
“Top Doc” in gastroenterology for 
the metropolitan Phoenix/Scottsdale 
region.
88  Donna Barket has been 
named a Woodrow Wilson Indiana 
Teaching Fellow by the Woodrow 
Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. 
With the $30,000 stipend, Donna 
will complete a special intensive 
master’s program at Purdue University 
to will prepare her to teach math 
and/or science in Indiana’s urban 
and rural public schools. Bonnie 
Jenkins, coordinator for Threat 
Reduction Programs with the United 
States Department of State, received 
the Distinguished Alumna in Public 
Administration and Policy Award at the 
Rockefeller College Alumni Dinner and 
Awards Ceremony May 17.
90  Thembayena 
Dlamini, who earned her 
Ph.D. in economics at 
UAlbany, was appointed 
ambassador to Russia from 
her country, Swaziland, 
this past year. She is pictured here 
shaking hands with Vladimir Putin. 
Michael Rosenblut, president and 
CEO of the nationally acclaimed Parker 
Jewish Institute for Health Care and 
Rehabilitation, was named Business 
Person of the Year by the 
Queens, N.Y., Chamber of 
Commerce this past March.
92  Ken Rosenberg was 
sworn in as president-elect 
of the Essex County Bar 
Alumni News & Notes
Annual Homecoming  
5K Run and 2.5K Walk
Saturday, Oct. 19  
To benefit the UAlbany Cancer Research Center’s 
Fund for Memory and Hope. 
Timing, prizes and giveaways. 
Event is open to all.
For details and registration, visit  
www.albany.edu/alumni/homecoming13.php.
In London on business last spring, Saks 
Fifth Avenue senior executives Thomas 
Ott, B.S.’88, left, and Ronald Frasch, 
B.S.’70, right, came across a familiar 
name on fashionable Savile Row. We’re 
glad they shared the moment with us!  
Michael Shaps
Joan 
Solotar
Thembayena 
Dlamini
Ken 
Rosenberg
Karu Hangawatte
Maritza 
Martinez
Association (ECBA) this past April. The ECBA 
is the largest county bar association in the 
State of New Jersey. 
94  Meredith Celentano has been 
named chair of the 2013 Philanthropy 
Day by The Association of Fundraising 
Professionals Long Island. Philanthropy 
Day, which will take place in November, 
focuses on harnessing the latest advances 
in development, learning best practices 
and new techniques, and networking with 
accomplished members of the development 
profession. Meredith is the assistant vice 
president for Development and Alumni 
Affairs at Hofstra University.  
95  Atlanta-based accounting firm 
Moore Colson CPAs recently announced the 
admission of Michael Elliot as a partner 
in the firm’s tax services 
practice. Moore Colson is 
a full-service accounting 
firm located in Atlanta, Ga., 
providing tax and assurance 
services, management-
consulting services, lender 
services, estate and financial 
services, information-technology audit 
services and corporate accounting. Carmen 
Pena has launched a new business that 
uses her passion and the unique skills and 
knowledge she’s gained over the years to 
help people of all ages and at all stages 
of life. She has developed a universal 
message of personal awareness and 
growth, “Life Conversations with Carmen: 
Life’s Big Questions & Practical Ways to 
Live Your Best Life Now.” Her intention 
is to conduct seminars, small-group and 
private sessions with people or 
organizations interested in making 
the courageous and empowering 
decision to do “life work” to create 
successful outcomes and balance 
in all life areas. 
97  Chuck Bennett was 
commissioned in April as a U.S. 
Foreign Service officer. He currently 
is serving a two-year tour as vice 
consul at Embassy Kingston in 
Jamaica.
98  Lauren Rudolph was featured 
in Nyack News and Views 
for recent artwork and 
accomplishments. In 2011, 
inspired by her daughter, 
Lauren opened Little Light 
Art Studio for children ages 
3 through 6. After the birth 
of her son, Gabriel, in 2012, 
Lauren’s creative spark was reignited. Her 
paintings are typically portraits, and she 
plans to continue to expand as an artist. 
99  Rachel Santarlas 
recently was promoted to 
counsel in Wolff & Samson’s 
Intellectual Property and Media 
and Technology Groups in West 
Orange, N.J. Previously an 
associate at the firm, Rachel 
counsels both domestic and international 
clients in a variety of areas, including those 
in the fashion, perfume, clothing, music 
entertainment, media, Internet, spice, 
food and beverage industries, as well as 
nonprofit organizations. 
Rachel 
Santarlas
www.albany.edu
41
Lauren 
Rudolph
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Through this free network of UAlbany alumni, you’ll  
find inside connections to jobs, industry experts and  
business partners. Use it to:
• Leverage the power of the UAlbany alumni network to  
connect with other alums and their non-alumni contacts.
• Present yourself and your professional capabilities. 
• Search LinkedIn’s job database and connect with UAlbany 
alumni at companies around the world.
• Accelerate your career through referrals from  
UAlbany alumni.
To register, visit www.linkedin.com  
  and search for “UAlbany Alumni.”
Miguel Aguilera,  
M.A.’98, Ph.D.’04
“Explaining Our 
World”
In an email from Tempe last 
spring, Arizona State University 
(ASU) Associate Professor of Religious Studies 
Miguel Aguilera confirmed that good things 
do come in threes.  
Aguilera published The Maya World of Commu-
nicating Objects: Quadripartite Crosses, Trees, and 
Stones (the University of New Mexico Press) 
in 2010. That same year, the ASU School of 
Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Stud-
ies faculty member was tenured. And last May, 
he received the Zebulon Pearce Distinguished 
Teaching Award, named for an 1899 graduate 
of the Territorial Normal School at Tempe, 
now ASU. In accepting the award, Aguilera 
acknowledged the “professors, colleagues, 
students, relatives and Maya consultants” who 
have inspired him. “I try to bring to my teach-
ing what I admire most in many of them: a 
vivid interest in explaining our world and our 
place within it.” 
His students attest to Aguilera’s success as both 
teacher and mentor. One noted: “Dr. Aguilera 
has influenced my scholarship and teaching 
in profound ways. While these have been 
critical to my professional development, my 
interactions with Dr. Aguilera have resulted 
in strengthening my character, as well. He has 
instilled in me ethics that guide my work and 
interpersonal relationships. Most of all, he has 
taught me that honesty and personal account-
ability are key for being a good researcher, 
teacher and human being.”  
Aguilera learned those same lessons at UAl-
bany. Anthropology faculty Marilyn Masson 
and (now emeritus) Gary Gossen – to whom 
Aguilera dedicated his book – co-chaired his 
doctoral dissertation committee and “taught 
me what it means to be a scholar. They gave 
unselfishly of their time in guiding and men-
toring me. Without them, I doubt I would 
have attained a tenure-track position, never 
mind Distinguished Associate Professor status, 
at Arizona State University,” Aguilera said. 
– Carol Olechowski
Mike Elliot
42
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
Alumni News & Notes
00  Addie Russell, a member of 
the New York State Assembly, District 
116, received the Distinguished 
Alumna in Political Science Award at 
the Rockefeller College Alumni Dinner 
and Awards Ceremony May 17.
01  Michael Schnipper was 
promoted from attorney to partner this 
past February by Nixon Peabody LLP 
in Boston. Michael’s practice focuses 
on the representation of both public 
and private companies in business law 
and transactional matters, including 
mergers and acquisitions, as well 
as debt and equity financings. Matt 
Ammerman has created a startup 
company called Apprenda. His 
company utilizes a software platform 
that enables large businesses to 
develop and deploy their own cloud 
applications. Cloud computing moves 
applications from individual desktops 
and puts them on servers that 
users access remotely via network 
connections. Some of Apprenda’s 
clients include JP Morgan Chase and 
Diebold. Apprenda is a Clifton Park-
based company, and Matt believes 
that the Capital Region was helpful in 
the success of his startup.
02  Karen Schwimmer has 
joined the law firm Porzio, Bromberg 
& Newman P.C. as an associate. She 
will be based in Porzio’s New York 
City office and is a former member of 
Wagner Davis P.C. Karen represents 
clients in commercial real-estate 
transactions.
03  Peter Brusoe, campaign 
finance and lobbying data analyst for 
Bloomberg, L.P., received the Young 
Alumnus in Political Science Award at 
the Rockefeller College Alumni Dinner 
and Awards Ceremony May 17.
05  Angelo Maddox has moved 
to expand his business, Fresh & Fly 
Clothing, formerly Young Fresh & Fly, 
to 13 South Pearl Street in Albany, N.Y. 
06  Samantha Williams, who 
works in the Tax-Exempt East office, 
has been promoted from in charge 
to senior at the Bonadio Group in 
Albany, N.Y. The Bonadio Group is 
upstate New York’s largest provider of 
accounting, consulting and financial 
services. Matthew Cueter has 
joined Rawle & Henderson LLP as 
an associate at the firm’s New York 
office. Matthew’s practice focuses on 
the areas of construction, insurance, 
products liability, premises liability, 
toxic tort litigation and professional 
liability. Stephanie Amann-Winokur 
and Lyle Winokur purchased their 
first home in Albany. Brian Fessler, 
specialist with Questar III State Aid 
and Financial Planning Service, 
received the Young Alumnus in Public 
Administration and Policy Award at the 
Rockefeller College Alumni Dinner and 
Awards Ceremony May 17.
07  Ralph Underwood is currently 
the senior accountant at Dormitory 
Authority, State of New York (DASNY), 
in Albany. Priya Anand is fashioning 
an acting career in India. She recently 
starred in the Vashu Bhagnani’s 
Priyadarshan-directed movie 
“Rangree.” She has starred in nine 
other films and finds that acting is a 
way to discover herself. Monika Nizio 
married her law school sweetheart this 
past September. She has been working 
as a real-estate attorney in Miami 
after graduating from the University 
of Miami Law School. Katelyn 
Primomo graduated from Albany Law 
School this past year, passed the bar 
and was admitted. She is currently 
working for The Legal Project as a 
domestic violence attorney. Katelyn 
was married in January 2013; her 
new name is Katelyn Primomo-
Millwood. Amy Bourdeau recently 
received her master’s from the 
University of Phoenix online while 
working full time at Capital Living and 
Rehabilitation Centers. She started 
there in May 2010 and previously 
was with Leverpoint Management 
LLC for three years. Amy planned to 
sit for one of the C.P.A. exams this 
past July or August. Marc Pallozzi 
graduated from Albany Law in 2012 
with honors and is currently working 
Networking can be key to your personal success, and your alumni  
association is making it easy for you to expand your professional  
network with UCAN, the UAlbany Career Advisory Network.
• Tap into an online, worldwide network  
of UAlbany alumni professionals.
• Get feedback on your career  
strategy and goals. 
• Establish new business contacts.
• Develop new knowledge resources  
and more. 
Learn more at www.albany.edu/alumni/servicesforjobseekers.php.
Expand your 
professional  
network with
UCAN
Proud to be ... 
EOP!
Celebrate UAlbany  
EOP’s 45th Anniversary  
Reunion: 1968-2013
Oct. 11-13, 2013  
For information and online registration,  
go to www.albany.edu/eop or  
eopreunion@albany.edu or contact Patrick Romain 
or Latonia Spencer at (518) 442-3200.
www.albany.edu
43
for Gilberti, Stinziano, Heintz & Smith 
P.C., an environmental law firm with 
offices in Albany, Syracuse and New 
York City. After completing a master’s 
degree in criminal justice at UAlbany in 
2008, Dianna Maneksha relocated 
to Boston, where she works as a crime 
analyst for the transit police. The 
rock-music duo she co-founded, Satin 
Kittens, has played to large crowds 
in both Boston and New York City. 
Amanda Munk lives in Albuquerque, 
N.M. She married Peter Munk in 
2011 and had a daughter in August 
2012. She works in the microbiology 
department of a medical laboratory. 
Karen Granger graduated from the 
Basic School of the New York State 
Police Academy this past May. She is 
assigned to Troop D in Oneida. 
08  Alicia Garofalo has been 
promoted to paralegal at the law firm 
of Harter Secrets & Emery LLP. Alicia’s 
litigation work focuses on design 
malpractice, product liability and 
commercial litigation. She previously 
worked with the firm’s corporate 
department concentrating on mergers 
and acquisitions, as well as venture-
capital deals. 
09  Caitlin Root has been 
promoted to staff accountant by 
Lumsden McCormick. Caitlin joined 
Lumsden McCormick as a general 
ledger analyst serving the company’s 
commercial business team. A 
certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, she 
is specially trained as a QuickBooks 
expert. Diana Mauro received a 
Juris Doctor degree from the Roger 
Williams University School of Law 
during commencement ceremonies 
this past May. Diana was a member 
of the Criminal Law Society, Phi Alpha 
Delta and the Student Bar Association. 
She completed a legal externship 
with the Rhode Island Medical Legal 
Partnership at Hasbro Children’s 
Hospital in Providence, R.I. She also 
worked as a summer associate with 
Gaines, Gruner, Ponzini and Novick 
LLP, based in White Plains, N.Y. 
10  Vimmi Bhaskar has been 
hired as a senior for the small 
business advisory team within The 
Bonadio Group. Previously, Vimmi 
worked as a senior staff member  
with Crow Horwath LLP. 
11  Benjamin Parsons has been  
appointed by Civil Service Employees 
Association President Danny Donohue 
as a state legislative representative 
in the union’s Legislative & Political 
Action Department. Ben is working 
alongside fellow UAlbany alumnus 
Joshua Terry ’05, who has been with 
the department since 2007. 
13  Luis Gabriel Sanchez 
(Gabe) traveled as an observer/
volunteer to Haiti with Dr. Robin 
Rose, leadership programs director 
at Brown University. They visited the 
Partners in Health program, which 
has helped bring emergency medical 
care and supplies to survivors of the 
massive earthquake that struck Haiti 
in 2010. Julie Parlato recently was 
appointed regional preparedness 
associate for the American Red 
Cross Northeastern Region. Julie will 
oversee the disaster-preparedness 
curricula in the community, as well as 
CPR skills for the general public. In 
addition, she will manage up to five 
full-time AmeriCorps state members 
and approximately 90 volunteers 
across four chapters and 17 countries. 
Chol Majok welcomed new United 
States citizens at a naturalization 
ceremony held in the U.S. District 
Court in downtown Syracuse this past 
April. Chol recently was hired as the 
scheduler for Syracuse’s mayor. He 
is an immigrant from Africa, and his 
journey to the United States was not 
an easy one. More information:  
http://bit.ly/13xhIfw.  
Classes of 2004-2013
Don’t Miss the Sixth Annual 
GOLD Reunion 
Join hundreds of other recent graduates,  
meet up with old friends and see what’s new on  
campus at the sixth annual GOLD (Graduates of  
the Last Decade) Reunion, Oct. 18-19
Check out some of the exciting events:
• GOLD Friday night get-together at  
Professor Barley’s 
• Tailgate Party Saturday afternoon
• Great Danes Football vs. the Towson Tigers 
• Great Danes Great Bash at WT’s, with  
free food and drinks for all alumni
For details, visit  
www.albany.edu/alumni/homecoming13.php
For a complete list of class councilors:  
www.albany.edu/alumni/avc.php  
or call the Alumni Association at  
(518) 442-3080.
Christina Esposito, 
B.A.’00, Ph.D.
Congratulations to Christina Esposito, 
who recently attained tenure at Macalester 
College in St. Paul, Minn. The associate 
professor of linguistics researches the 
interaction between phonation and prosody 
(the rhythm, stress and intonation of speech) 
and languages, such as White Hmong, 
Zapotec, Gujarati and English, that use 
different voice qualities 
to make phonological 
contrasts. A summa 
cum laude graduate of 
the University at Albany, 
where she majored 
in anthropology and 
linguistics, Esposito 
completed her doctoral 
studies at the University 
of California, Los 
Angeles. 
44
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
Deaths
1930s
Margaret Mulligan Noon ’31, April 20, 2010
Ruth Lecaro Peckham ’34, Jan. 26, 2012
Beatrice Burns Montgomery ’35, Aug. 30, 2010
Ethel Bayley Scofield ’35, Jan. 1, 2009
Emma Mead King ’36, Feb. 5, 2011
Luella Wersen Taylor ’36, Aug. 21, 2008
Jane Miller Elia ’37, Dec. 13, 2012
Norma Fletcher Oakes ’37, Oct. 15, 2012
Alice S. Bennett ’38, Feb. 1, 2013
Dolores Leffler Corcoran ’38, Dec. 30, 2008
Elizabeth Allen Derr ’39, June 27, 2010
Mildred King Hopke ’39, June 26, 2009
Margaret Hora Mach ’39, June 13, 2011
Anne Kalichman Parnes ’39, Jan. 17, 2013
Eleanor Wise Wood ’39, Jan. 12, 2013
1940s
Norman W. Arnold ’40, April 26, 2013
Mary Koonz Egan ’40, Feb. 4, 2013
Sadie Flax Schneider ’40, Sept. 16, 2011
Yolanda Richardson Smith ’40, June 2, 2011
Enes Novelli Burns ’41, March 25, 2011
Marion Simon Kehl ’41, Dec. 15, 2012
James E. Gillan ’42, Aug. 28, 2012
Mary Menihan Starkey ’42, May 10, 2013
Barbara Bowker Butler ’43, Jan. 15, 2013
Paula Nosal Rouffa ’47, Oct. 27, 2012
Evelyn Stephan Foley ’48, May 3, 2009
Lawrence Appleby ’49, May 31, 2013
Jeanne Valachovic Carpenter ’49, Jan. 24, 2013
Annette Gardiner DeLyser ’49, June 15, 2013
Elsie Landau Finkelstein ’49, Jan. 21, 2013
George Frank ’49, Feb. 2, 2013
Joyce Dickerson Horsman ’49, Aug. 4, 2010
1950s
Pauline Thompson Hill ’50, Nov. 27, 2012
Gerard R. Brophy ’51, Feb. 7, 2013
Robert W. Bell ’52, March 24, 2013
Elizabeth Conklin Possemato ’52, Dec. 17, 2012
Jeanne Corigliano McCarthy ’53, March 6, 2011
Robert C. Taber ’53, April 29, 2009
Barbara Coretty Feibke ’56, May 8, 2013
Robert E. Jennings ’56, Jan. 10, 2008
David L. Kenyon ’57, Jan. 11, 2012
Margaret Kraus Todd ’58, Aug. 31, 2009
Thomas H. Watthews ’58, March 12, 2013
Frank A. Burdick ’59, Jan. 19, 2013
David J. Pitkin ’59, Feb. 13, 2013
1960s
Charles H. Bollenbach ’60, May 2, 2013
Terri Boyd ’60, May 24, 2012
Nellie Hemingway Brewster ’60, May 22, 2011
Jeannette S. Lafayette ’61, Nov. 29, 2010
Carol Clifton Turner ’62, May 9, 2012
Gladys Barnes ’63, May 5, 2013
Margaret Sorenson Shafer ’64, April 30, 2013
Lorraine A. Underwood ’64, April 14, 2013
Linda King Aukett ’66, March 1, 2013
Francis Collins ’67, Dec. 6, 2012
William H. Frueh ’67, Feb. 9, 2013
Sondra B. Grady ’68, Jan. 1, 2013
Barbara J. Pedersen Page ’68, Nov. 28, 2012
Elaine Tuccillo ’68, Nov. 16, 2012
John D. Leuallen ’69, July 5, 2012
John Longo ’69, Dec. 3, 2012
Alan F. McBrien ’69, March 12, 2012
Kevin M. McClune ’69, March 7, 2013
1970s
Mildred S. Resnick ’70, March 1, 2013
Dorothy E. Danner ’71, Feb. 8, 2013
Eva S. Greene ’71, Feb. 15, 2013
Euphemia Virden Hall ’71, July 6, 2012
Frank S. Winoski ’71, May 13, 2012
Joseph Bowman, Jr. ’72, April 10, 2013 
Pamela Beninati Derrick ’72, Oct. 21, 2012
Carl E. Pope ’72, July 25, 2009
James F. Blackwell ’73, Jan. 24, 2012
Susan Hanson Fisher ’73, June 21, 2011
Robert M. Mirett ’73, Oct. 4, 2012
James R. Williams ’73, May 9, 2013
Mark A. Zelinger ’73, June 7, 2012
Krish Lakshmi Kanthan ’74, May 29, 2011
Joyce Savage ’74, March 19, 2013
Pamela Reid Olson ’75, May 10, 2010
Mary Kupic Walsh ’75, Nov. 18, 2012
John H. Deane ’76, March 3, 2010
Ernestine V. Herring ’76, Feb. 5, 2013
Michael K. Ringo ’76, Jan. 28, 2007
Andrew F. Britt ’77, April 16, 2013
Thomas C. Castellano, Ph.D. ’77, Sept. 9, 2009
Marcella L. Stewart ’77, April 29, 2012
Heide U. Brandes ’78, Oct. 13, 2012
Marion J. Burke ’78, April 15, 2013
Sydney Schwartz Katz ’78, June 9, 2012
Kenneth B. Kochmann ’78, March 8, 2013
August Sellitto ’78, March 21, 2008
Charles R. Hancock ’79, Oct. 29, 2012
1980s
Michael P. Duffy ’81, March 7, 2013
Henry J. Chaya ’82, Jan. 29, 2013
Andrew R. Fairhall ’82, April 2, 2013
Margaret Kavanaugh Scarey ’82, Oct. 14, 2008
Katherine L. Skigen ’82, Aug. 28, 2012
Ernest T. Friers ’88, Jan. 16, 2013
1990s
Daniel J. Rice ’90, May 21, 2013
Angelo W. Casabianca ’92, Nov. 13, 2009
Gregory J. McGarry ’93, Feb. 10, 2013
Aaron P. Brown ’97, Sept. 21, 2012
2000s
Michelle Martineau Lake ’00, Jan. 19, 2013
Tracy M. Laverty ’07, March 6, 2013
Faculty/Staff
Joseph Bowman Jr., B.A.’72, M.L.S.’74, M.A.’75, 
Service Associate Professor, Department of Educational 
Theory and Practice, and Chair, Center for Urban Youth 
and Technology, 1994-2013, April 11, 2013 
Edward D. Davis, Professor, Mathematics and 
Statistics, 1968-1998, Feb. 8, 2013
Andrew R. Haas, Associate Professor, Computer 
Science Department, 1989-2013, Jan. 23, 2013
Veronica Henighan, Business Manager, Alumni 
Association, 1988-2013, May 2, 2013 
Walter Knotts, Professor, English Department, 1953-
1991, Feb. 23, 2013
Ross M. Miller, Assistant Professor, Finance 
Department, 2004-2013, May 20, 2013
Gordon S. Purrington, Assistant Professor, 
Educational Administration and Policy Department, 
1972-2001, April 27, 2012
Elisabeth Hollister (Holly) Sims, Professor, 
Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, 1989-
2013, May 5, 2013
John E. Tucker, Professor, Psychology Department, 
and Director, University Counseling Center, 1963-1987, 
June 4, 2013
Alumni News & Notes
Annette Gardiner DeLyser ’49, ’55,  
a member of the UAlbany Alumni Association board from  
1991-2002, passed away June 15. Annette served as class 
councilor (1984-2010), Class Council vice chair (1989-91),  
and alumni representative to The University at Albany 
Foundation (2000-03). Annette was a UAlbany Benevolent 
Association board member (1985-2010) and president  
(2001-2003), and in 2010 was named the first “Eunice Baird 
Whittlesey Director Emeritus” of the association. A past 
president of the UAlbany Phi Delta Alumnae Sorority and a 
member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International,  
she received the University’s Excellence in Alumni Service 
Award in 1994. The Alumni Association is grateful for  
Annette’s many years of service to UAlbany. 
www.albany.edu
45
UAlbany
Here are the best ways to reach us!
ADDRESS, E-MAIL, PHONE  
OR JOB CHANGES
E-mail: proyce@albany.edu
Mail: Pushpa Royce  
Office of Development Services, UAB 209 
University at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12222
ALUMNI NEWS AND NOTES
E-mail: alumniassociation@albany.edu
Lee Serravillo, Executive Director
Mail: Alumni Association
Alumni House
University at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12222
Ph: (518) 442-3080 
Fax: (518) 442-3207
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
E-mail: colechowski@albany.edu
Mail: Carol Olechowski
Editor, UAlbany Magazine
University Development, UAB 214
University at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12222
Ph: (518) 437-4992 
Fax: (518) 437-4957
2003 – Amanda 
Brazee and husband 
Guy De Launière,  
a son, Dominic,  
May 2, 2012 
2007 – Matthew 
Rozea and  
Lindsay Booth,  
May 18, 2013
2006 – Creighton Navins and 
Margot Kearney, May 4, 2013 
1990 – Steven Balet and  
Mindy Borisoff, March 23, 2013
1976 – Robert Kulikowski and 
Christopher Collins, Feb. 7, 2013
Weddings
Births
1996 – Daniel  
Olden and wife 
Kerrey, a daughter, 
Claire,  
Jan. 24, 2013 
1990 – Randi Cohan Giambruno  
and husband Peter, a daughter, Ava,  
May 6, 2011, and a son, Zak, Jan. 3, 2013
1990 – Keri Reitman and  
husband Brian Schnapper, 
a son, Alexander, Sept. 6, 2012
46
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
Authors and Editors
Carl Cusato, B.A. ’66, recently 
released his second book, Lifestones, 
a science-fiction romantic comedy. 
Cusato’s book is a hybrid between a 
novel and screenplay; he has called 
it a “movel.” Lifestones centers on a 
male nano-physicist whose wife and 
child were killed in a car accident. The 
movel is a quick read for ambitious 
urban professionals. More information:  
http://amzn.to/12wwXCj.
Lawrence Epstein, B.A. ’67, M.A. ’68, Ph.D. ’76, is 
the author of a new book, The Basic Beliefs of Judaism: A 
Twenty-First-Century Guide to a Timeless Tradition. The novel 
provides an organized explanation and 
analysis of the central Jewish articles of 
faith. Subjects covered include the nature 
of God; the natural world; the Jewish 
people; why good people suffer; the 
Jewish ethical foundations of living; love 
and marriage in the Jewish community; 
and death and the afterlife, among others. 
Richard Matturro, B.A. ’68, M.A. ’69, Ph.D. ’73, has 
published Janey, the completion and central novel in his 
tri-city trilogy. The novels, set in the 
neighboring upstate New York cities 
of Albany, Schenectady and Troy, 
are about three women who share 
an aversion to all things feminine, 
especially motherhood. These women 
face unexpected detours that bring 
them to a place where myth and reality 
collide. More information:  
www.richardmatturro.com.  
Richard Morgan, B.S. ’69, recently 
composed a book of poems entitled  
Sea Glass Soul. His third book of poetry, 
it also includes art drawn by Pat Morgan. 
The poems were inspired by the  
authors living on an island off the  
Jersey shore. More information:  
http://amzn.to/104NYrg.
Peter Pollak, M.A. ’70, Ph.D. ’78, has released his third 
novel, Last Stop on Desolation Ridge. The novel begins with 
the main character waking up in a small hospital in upstate 
New York unable to remember who he is or how he ended 
up near death. The remainder of the book explores the main 
character’s attempts to figure out who tried to kill him and 
why. More information: http://amzn.to/165SXdU.
Sherry Penney, Ph.D. ’72, has published three books; the 
latest is Next Generation Leadership: Insights from Emerging 
Leaders. Co-authored with Patricia Neilson, the book deals 
with 21st-century leadership and how generations X and Y 
view leadership and what kind of leaders they want to aspire 
to be. Penney’s other books are A Very Dangerous Woman: 
Martha Wright and Woman’s Rights and Patrician in Politics: 
Daniel Dewey Barnard of New York. More information:  
http://amzn.to/YjBdai.
John Amodeo, M.A. ’73, has a new book on Amazon.  
The Captain’s Coin tells the story of an immigrant 13-year-
old escaping the web of starvation and 
death in his native County Cork, Ireland, 
during the potato famine. Michael Brady, 
young, naive and afraid, sets foot in a 
strange city, intent on survival. His story 
will resonate with anyone who has had to 
re-examine the direction of his or her life 
while readjusting to the realities of life’s 
challenges. More information:  
http://amzn.to/105lkX4.
Susan Katz, B.A. ’75, is the author of Start Your Career:  
5 Steps to Finding the Right Job after College. This book 
provides a guide, through a series of steps and tips, for 
college students seeking to begin professional careers.  
In five steps, Katz demonstrates how to turn a college  
degree into a personally satisfying career. The book’s  
advice ranges from identifying skill sets to creating a  
network and preparing for job interviews.  
More information: www.fivestepstotherightjob.com.
Ed Moser, B.A. ’77, author of seven published books, has 
written a new book on American history. A Patriot’s America 
from A to Z is a riveting primer for everyone interested in this 
nation’s past, featuring heroic events and creative individuals 
who surmounted great difficulties to accomplish great  
things: traveling to the moon, defeating the Nazis, wiring  
the planet, setting the first large democratic republic and 
largely banishing starvation overseas. More information:  
http://amzn.to/15r30KW.
www.albany.edu
47
Bassey Essien, M.S. ’77, Ed.D. ’81, has written a memoir 
titled Voice from the Mangrove Swamps. 
The book describes Essien’s early 
struggles working with his mother in 
the village farms; canoe fishing with 
his father on the ocean; laboring in 
Nigeria’s mangrove swamps; working in 
Lagos as an apprentice photographer; 
and later pursuing an education in 
America. More information:  
www.dorrancebookstore.com.
Johannes Froebel-Parker, B.A. ’79, M.A. ’82, M.S. ’85, 
is the author of The First Kindergarten, the third novel in his 
Ahnentafel series. In this historical 
novel, which includes a great deal of 
biographical information, Froebel-
Parker joins through literature the 
lives and contributions of two of 
the world’s greatest proponents 
of children’s education. More 
information: http://bit.ly/YJMXmI.
Patricia Nugent, M.S. ’80, offers 
300 vignettes about caregiving 
and loss in her book They Live On: Saying Goodbye to Mom 
and Dad. The book, published in 2010, offers vignettes 
portraying the stages of caring for and saying goodbye  
to a loved one, as seen through the eyes of a daughter  
and her terminally ill parents. More information:  
www.journalartspress.com.
Teresa Sutton, B.A. ’80, has published her first book of 
poems, They’re Gone, with The Finishing Line Press.  
It is about the loss of both of her brothers in 1980  
from cardiomyopathy. More information:  
http://amzn.to/14tEEN2. 
Sharon Sobel, B.A. ’81, had a 
book, Draping Period Costumes: 
Classical Greek to Victorian, 
published by the Focal Press 
in March. More information: 
http://bit.ly/ZLmkyw.
Vince Aiello, B.A. ’81, is the author 
of Legal Detriment. In this novel – a 
thriller involving a San Diego law firm 
– a robbery, a murder and a descent 
into madness all come together with 
a shocking outcome. It is published 
by Sareth Publishing House. More 
information: www.vinceaiello.com. 
Denise Garofalo, B.A. ’81, M.L.S. ’82, has had a 
book chapter published in Robots in Academic Libraries: 
Advancements in Library Automation. Her chapter is titled 
“Empires of the Future: Libraries, Technology and the 
Academic Environment.” More information:  
http://bit.ly/13vyxZd. 
Jeff Laing, Ph.D. ’82, has written Bud Fowler: Baseball’s 
First Black Professional, the first full-length biography of the 
first African American to play in organized baseball. After 
the color line became impregnable in the 1890s, Fowler also 
organized and managed numerous all-black touring teams. 
His 35-year-long career in the national pastime mirrored the 
social, political and cultural turbulence of the Gilded Age. 
Daniel Guyton, B.A. ’00, has recently been published. His 
new play Mrs. Claus Gets Menopause, was selected by ArtAge 
Publications’ Senior Theatre Resource Center from over  
300 submissions, and is featured in ArtAge’s newly released  
2014 catalog. 
Lisa Bundrick, M.S.W. ’04, has had 
another children’s book published. 
Wonderful Words is written to help 
enhance a child’s self-esteem by 
teaching him/her the meaning of 
selected “wonderful words” and 
encouraging the child to think about 
how these “wonderful words” may  
apply to him/her. 
Jean Chodkowski, M.A. ’05, is the 
author of The Anatomy of Horse Race 
Handicapping: Or How to Have Fun at 
the Track. The book, based on cognitive 
psychology research concerning decision-
making, is written for people who enjoy 
horse racing, whether it be following 
the Kentucky Derby or simply going 
to the races on a regular basis. More 
information: www.fun-at-the-track.com. 
Harry Dancler, B.A. ’09, is the author of A Father’s Journey. 
From now until December 31, Dancler will be donating 100 
percent of the proceeds from the sales of his debut novel 
to The One Fund Boston. The compelling contemporary 
story of unparalleled love, personal conflict, forgiveness and 
self-discovery examines the consequences for his family of 
a man’s long absence from his Newport home. The book is 
available in paperback and e-book formats from numerous 
distributors.
48
UAlbany Magazine  •  Fall 2013
Last Look
By Christine J. Binney, B.A.’05, M.A.’07   
Photos By Mark Schmidt
For its 169th undergraduate commencement on May 19, UAlbany welcomed Republic Records founders  
Monte Lipman, B.A.’86, and Avery Lipman, B.A.’88, back to campus to deliver the keynote address.  
From their humble beginnings booking campus concerts and working at the campus radio station, the  
Lipman brothers went on to build Republic Records into one of the largest music labels in the country.   
As a surprise for the 2,250 students at the ceremony, the Lipman brothers brought Cassadee Pope,  
Season 3 winner of “The Voice,” onstage to perform two songs.
Clockwise, from left: Cassadee Pope greets the crowd; Monte Lipman ’86, UAlbany President Robert J. Jones and Avery Lipman ’88 
are robed and ready for commencement to begin; graduates celebrate their big day.
At the May 18 graduate ceremony, 683 master’s degrees,  
153 doctoral degrees and 30 graduate certificates were 
conferred. The graduates 
represented 22 states and 27 
countries, including Argentina, 
Bangladesh, France, Israel, 
Mongolia, Romania and Taiwan. 
Photos: Island Photography
Three months after the December 1844 founding of 
the New York State Normal School, known today as the 
University at Albany, developer and philanthropist James 
Wadsworth left a bequest of $300 designated for the 
school’s first library. Today, Wadsworth’s generous legacy 
lives on in UAlbany’s three state-of-the-art libraries, 
which collectively house more than 2 million volumes.
Like James Wadsworth, you can  
invest in UAlbany’s future.
For information about including the University  
at Albany in your estate plans, please contact  
Lori Matt-Murphy  
Office of Gift Planning  
University at Albany, UAB 226  
1400 Washington Avenue, Albany NY 12222  
(518) 437-5090 or  
(888) 226-5600, toll free.    
UAlbany’s very first 
benefactor made a gift 
with lasting impact. 
You can, too.
1400 Washington Avenue
Division of University Development
University Administration Building 209
Albany, NY 12222
Non Profit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Burlington, VT 05401
Permit No. 378
www.albany.edu
Homecoming 2013
Family & Reunion Weekend ~ Oct. 18-20
We’re just a month away from the biggest annual 
gathering at UAlbany! Bring your Great Danes 
spirit, and we’ll do the rest. Take in the vibrant 
autumn colors as you enjoy the weekend’s 
festivities: Wine-Tasting Reception – 5K Race – 
Alumni Breakfast – Great Dane Pregame with food 
and entertainment – Football vs. Towson Tigers – 
Sorority Coffee Hours – G.O.L.D. Reunion – Legacy 
Reception – Great Danes Great Bash at WT’s.
Bring family, friends and classmates,  
and share a weekend of memories, fun  
and excitement! For details,  
visit www.albany.edu/alumni/homecoming13.php.