UAlbany Magazine, 2007 September

With the weather still warm in upstate New York,
many of the 12,680 undergraduates and 5,064 
graduate students enrolled for the 2007-08 
academic year will enjoy studying alfresco. 
Among the new arrivals attending classes at 
UAlbany for the first time are 2,500 freshmen 
and 1,400-plus transfer students.
Mark McCarty
Contents
UAlbany
University at Albany Magazine
Fall 2007, Volume 16, Number 3
Features
6
Real Life 101
Three young alumni describe the transformation 
from student life to the “real world.” 
12 Lost No More
War and resettlement separated “Lost Boy of Sudan” Alex
Logono, B.S.’07, from his family for almost 20 years. Logono’s
successful search for his mother last spring rekindled hopes for a
family reunion in the U.S. – and reaffirmed his desire to attend
medical school so he can help the people of his native land.
16
You Can Get There from Here
Designed by regional planning master’s students and faculty, the
Purple Path and Golden Grid planning studios are beautifying
the uptown campus, making it safer and easier to navigate, and
strengthening UAlbany’s ties with its neighbors.
24
All in a Half-Century’s Work
Tina Badi has worked at the University for 50 of her 
90 years – and the word “retire” isn’t in her vocabulary.
25
More than 138,000 Strong
All UAlbany graduates are now members of the 
University at Albany Alumni Association.
29
Circle K: Touching Lives, Enriching the World
Through Circle K, a Kiwanis service organization, 
UAlbany student volunteers reach out beyond the 
campus to make the world a better place.  
Departments
2
From the Podium and Beyond
14
Out and About
19
Vital Volunteers
20
Gifts at Work
22
Ask Geoff
30
Paw Prints (Sports)
33
Alumni News and Notes
52
The Last Word
Page 16
Page 12
Gary Gold, B.S. ’70
Alex Logono, B.S. ’07
UALBANY MAGAZINE
2
Berman, Faerman Are Distinguished
Teaching Professors
The State University of New York Board of Trustees elevated
Professor of English Jeffrey Berman and Vice Provost for
Undergraduate Education Sue Faerman to the rank of
Distinguished Teaching Professor in June. 
Berman, who joined the UAlbany faculty 
in 1973, received both the University at
Albany’s President’s Award for Excellence in
Teaching and Advising and the Chancellor’s
Award for Excellence in Teaching. During
his career, he has taught 30 courses at every
level. Berman is also the author of such
books as Empathic Teaching: Education for
Life (2004) and Dying to Teach: A Memoir 
of Love, Loss and Learning (2007). 
Faerman has been a member of the University faculty since 1987,
when she joined the Department of Public
Administration and Policy. A recipient of
the President’s Award for Excellence in
Academic Service and the President’s and
Chancellor’s awards for Excellence in
Teaching, she is also a Collins Fellow.
Faerman has served as dean of
Undergraduate Studies since 1999 and as
vice provost since 2005. She continues to
teach at least two courses each year.
The Distinguished Teaching Professor designation recognizes 
consistently superior teaching, scholarship and professional 
growth, as well as service to students and adherence to rigorous
academic standards.
12 UAlbany Students Receive 
Chancellor’s Awards
A dozen UAlbany seniors were recognized with 2007 Chancellor’s
Awards for Student Excellence last spring. 
In all, 283 students throughout the State University of New York 
system were honored. The UAlbany honorees, hailing from home-
towns throughout New York State and representing a range 
of academic disciplines, were Amina Ayad; Nicholas Chiuchiolo;
Amanda Garris; Kelly Kressner; Alyssa Lotmore; Sandra
MacGregor; Stacey Martin; Kelly Maynes; Ian Pickus; Robert 
Reus; Joshua Sisskind; and Jason Zogg.
New Biotech Facility Rises at East Campus
Taconic, the largest tenant at UAlbany’s East Campus, will soon
occupy even more space: a $13.2 million, 23,000-square-foot
biotechnology building scheduled for completion this fall.
The University at Albany Foundation is providing $4.1 million for
site work and shell construction; a portion of that contribution will
come from a $1.9 million capital appropriation earmarked for
future East Campus upgrading and expansion, and made possible
through the efforts of New York State Senate Majority Leader
Joseph Bruno. Taconic will provide the remaining $9.1 million
needed to equip the breeding facility. The Empire State
Development Corporation has also awarded the firm a $175,000
grant to support the construction project. 
Founded 55 years ago, Taconic is one of the largest laboratory
rodent providers in the world.
From the Podium   And Beyond
By Carol Olechowski
Photos by Mark Schmidt
University at Albany Foundation President George R. Hearst III, Taconic President Todd Little, UAlbany Officer in Charge 
and Provost Susan Herbst, and New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno are pictured with 
an artist’s rendering of Taconic’s new biotech facility. Construction on the building will be completed shortly.
FALL 2007
3
Byron Hits Another High Note
Donald E. Byron, a visiting associate professor of music at UAlbany,
has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
A clarinetist, composer, arranger and social critic, Byron was Down
Beat magazine’s Jazz Artist of the Year in 1992. He has performed and
recorded with numerous artists, including the Duke Ellington Orchestra and the Atlanta
Symphony, and teaches theory, saxophone, improvisation and composition at UAlbany. “Ivey-
Divey” (Blue Note Records), his 2004 début recording on tenor saxophone, earned a Grammy
nomination and received Album of the Year honors from Jazz Times magazine that same year.
Byron was one of just 189 honorees, from a field of 2,800 applicants, to receive a 
Guggenheim Fellowship this year.
Heikoff Publishes Poetry
Professor Emeritus of Public Administration and Policy Joseph M. Heikoff has published a new
book. Conversations with Myself (Pure Heart Press) is a collection of poems that “came to me
beginning in middle age seemingly out of nowhere.” In the preface, he explains: “I had no
preparation for this kind of writing. Because I was not confident enough to write for anyone
else, I just wrote for myself.” The poems include “Futility,” “Blessings” and “Late Autumn.”
Heikoff and his wife, Helen, support a number of UAlbany initiatives, including an endowment
in their names that annually provides a $2,000 scholarship to an outstanding public adminis-
tration student, and a trust that will support the endowment.
On Top of the World  
Joseph Fazioli and Christopher Keefe spent part of their spring break doing something
unusual: They scaled the highest peak in the continental United States and raised money
for a good cause at the same time.
Fazioli, a junior, and Keefe, a senior, each raised $3,500 for the Summit for Someone
Program, which benefits Big City Mountaineers (BCM), an organization that supports 
at-risk inner-city youth. They reached the summit of Mount Whitney, which towers near-
ly 15,000 feet above California’s Death Valley, with seven other climbers and three guides. 
Levy, Messner Are
Named Collins
Fellows 
Daniel Levy and Steven Messner
were honored as 2007 Collins
Fellows at UAlbany’s 163rd 
commencement last May.
Levy, a Distinguished Professor
of Educational
Administration
and Policy
Studies, joined
the University
faculty in 1981.
He is also jointly
appointed to the
departments of
Latin American,
Caribbean and
U.S. Latino Studies; Political
Science; and Public Policy and
served for a year as interim direc-
tor of the Center for Jewish
Studies.  
Messner, who came to UAlbany
in 1982, is a Distinguished
Teaching Professor of Sociology.
In addition to
chairing the soci-
ology department
and numerous
departmental
committees, he 
has served on var-
ious University
Senate councils
and committees
for more than 20 years. He
chaired three University Senate
councils and the entire Senate 
in 2005-06. 
The Collins Fellowships, named
for the University’s ninth presi-
dent, Evan Revere Collins, recog-
nize teaching faculty who exem-
plify extraordinary devotion to
UAlbany, institutional commit-
ment and service. To date, 46
other faculty members have 
also been designated Collins
Fellows; a list of the honorees 
is available online at
http://www.albany.edu/
directory/collins.html.
A 1962 photograph on page 20 
of the Spring 2007 UAlbany
identified the mayor of Albany 
as Erastus Corning III. 
He was Erastus Corning 2nd.
Photo submitted
Ben Long
UAlbany
Magazine
Fall 2007, Volume 16, Number 3
UAlbany magazine is published three times a year for 
alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends of the University 
at Albany, State University of New York. Our objective in 
producing UAlbany is to provide lively, informative content 
that will stimulate pride and interest in our University.
Director of Development Operations
and Assistant to the Vice President
Cecilia Lauenstein
Editorial Staff
Executive Editor
Carol Olechowski
colechowski@uamail.albany.edu
Art Director/Designer
Mary Sciancalepore
Writers
Brian DePasquale; Christine Doyle, M.B.A.’04; 
Cindi Schmalz, B.A.’07; Geoffrey Williams
Photographers
Colleen Brescia; Lorenzo Ciniglio; Bob Ewell; 
Gary Gold, B.S.’70; Mark McCarty; Gina Muscato;
Mark Schmidt
Researchers
Daniel Doyle, B.A.’97, M.A.’04; Deborah Forand; 
Agostino Futia, B.A.’01; Geoffrey Williams
Mailing and Distribution Coordinators
Diane Bouchard; Alan Topal, B.A.’83; 
Kimberly Verhoff, B.A.’00
Business Manager
Lillian Lee
The Carillon
Editor
Melissa Samuels
msamuels@uamail.albany.edu
“Alumni News and Notes” Editor
Kathleen Gaddis
kgaddis@uamail.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 undergraduate and graduate education, 
research and public service engages more than 17,000 
diverse students in 10 schools and colleges. For more 
information about this internationally ranked institution, 
please visit www.albany.edu.
Cover photos: Lorenzo Ciniglio and Gary Gold, B.S.’70
UAlbany, Moscow State 
Mark 30th Anniversary 
of Partnership
Before glasnost, before perestroika, there
was the agreement between the University
at Albany and Moscow State University
(MSU) to promote faculty and student
exchanges. Representatives of the two
institutions gathered at UAlbany last 
May 15 to celebrate the pact, which 
was forged during the Cold War.
Over the years, UAlbany has hosted
more than 300 faculty, graduate student
and undergraduate exchange partici-
pants from MSU. Each semester, four
to eight students – some from UAlbany; some from other institutions – travel to Moscow to
study at MSU. Together, UAlbany and MSU’s Faculty (School) of Foreign Languages oper-
ate a language program. There are also faculty links and joint research in business, comput-
er science and mathematics. Rockefeller College Dean Jeffrey Straussman is renewing
Moscow State’s interest in the college, which hosted approximately a third of the MSU fac-
ulty exchange participants in the program’s first 15 years.
¡Felicidades!
Associate Professor of English and acclaimed novelist Edward Schwarzschild has added
another credit to his list of achievements: Fulbright Teaching Fellow.
With support from the Fulbright Scholar program, which is sponsored by the U.S.
Department of State and administered by the Council for International Exchange of
Scholars, Schwarzschild is spending the 2007-08 academic year in Spain. He will teach
courses in contemporary literature and American writing and visual arts at the University
of Zaragoza. Schwarzschild, who also holds a joint appointment with the New York State
Writers Institute, is the author of the well-received novel Responsible Men. His second 
book, The Family Diamond, is being published this fall.
After 50 Years at UAlbany, Daly Retires
Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Chemistry Lawrence Daly, a 1952 New 
York State College for Teachers graduate who returned to his alma mater to teach, 
retired June 13.
Daly was hired at UAlbany in 1957, shortly after he earned a doctorate from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute. For much of his career, he taught or advised nearly every student 
taking chemistry at the University, noted department chair John Welch. Daly was, Welch
added, “a terrific colleague” who “always put the students and the department first.” 
In retirement, Daly will continue to indulge in one of his favorite pastimes, reading; he 
particularly enjoys history and mysteries. He also looks forward to putting his carpentry,
plumbing and electrical skills to work at home.
Cook Receives Hollings Scholarship
Sophomore atmospheric science major David Cook has received a National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hollings Scholarship. 
Cook, a Presidential Scholar who plans to research such severe weather events
as tornadoes and tropical systems, also captured first place among undergraduates last
spring in the WxChallenge, a national collegiate forecasting competition.
UALBANY MAGAZINE
4
Moscow State Rector Viktor Sadovnichy and Olga Zinovieva,
manager of SUNY’s Center on Russia and the United States,
were among the guests celebrating Moscow State’s 
longstanding partnership with UAlbany last spring.
FALL 2007
5
From the Podium
And Beyond
Stone Exhibit Opens 
A permanent exhibit featuring the work of internationally
renowned architect Edward Durell Stone, who designed
UAlbany’s uptown campus in the early 1960s, is now open 
at University Hall.
Hicks Stone, who was a boy when his father unveiled the archi-
tectural plan for the campus and is now himself an architect,
was the guest of honor at the May 9 opening ceremony. The
exhibit features framed photos of the uptown campus at 
various stages of construction, as well as pictures of some 
of Stone’s many other architectural wonders, including the
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India. 
Edward Durell Stone passed away in 1978.
Chancellor Honors UAlbany 
Faculty and Staff
Nine UAlbany faculty and staff representing a variety of disci-
plines and departments were among the 235-plus recipients
honored this summer with State University of New York
Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence.
The University at Albany honorees included Associate
Professor Diane Dewar (School of Public Health); Professor
Jeryl Mumpower (Public Administration and Policy);
Monographic Cataloger Sharona Wachs (University Libraries);
Student Support Services Coordinator Christopher Fernando
(Academic Support Services); Personal Safety and Off-Campus
Affairs Coordinator Thomas Gebhardt (University Police
Department); Assistant to the Dean of Student Services
JoAnne Malatesta (School of Criminal Justice); Associate
Professor Lotfi Sayahi (Languages, Literatures and Cultures);
Associate Professor Kevin J. Williams (Psychology); and
Associate Professor Alissa Pollitz Worden (School of 
Criminal Justice). 
Africana Studies Program Ranks Second 
For a third straight year, UAlbany’s master’s program in
Africana studies has maintained its No. 2 ranking among 
similar academic programs in the U.S., according to Diverse
Issues in Higher Education magazine. 
Temple University’s program placed first in the top 10. Also
included on the list were the graduate programs at Yale, Cornell,
and Columbia.
The University at Albany is the only school in the State University
of New York system to offer the master’s in Africana studies.
University Welcomes
New Administrators
A cancer researcher; a specialist in diversity, affirmative action
and equity issues; and an expert on Eastern European and 
Jewish history recently joined the University staff. 
Philip Nasca, who taught epidemiology at the University of
Massachusetts-Amherst and served as associate dean for research
at its School of Nursing, became dean of UAlbany’s School of
Public Health in June. Known for his research in cancers of the
breast and female reproductive organs and in childhood cancer,
Nasca succeeds Mary Applegate, who served in the post on an
interim basis after former dean Peter Levin retired in 2006.
Tamra Minor has been serving as assistant vice president and
director of Diversity and Affirmative Action since August. 
Minor came to UAlbany from the University of North Carolina 
at Wilmington, where she was associate vice chancellor for
Institutional Diversity. Her previous experience includes various
administrative posts with The Ohio State University, where 
she also earned advanced degrees, including a doctorate in 
consumer/family economics.
Olga Litvak, a former assistant professor of modern Jewish 
history at Princeton University, was appointed director of the
Center for Jewish Studies effective Sept. 1, succeeding founding
director Mark Raider and interim director Daniel Levy. Litvak,
who is also a faculty member in UAlbany’s Department of Judaic
Studies, is working on several projects, including a study of the
central role Jewish artists, critics, patrons and dealers played 
in the development of Russian art in the late 1800s and the 
early 1900s. 
UALBANY MAGAZINE
6
Three young graduates – 
Lisa Fund, B.S.’05; Kristin Cappon,
B.A.’04; and Mike Tamas, B.S.’04 –
reflect on the transition from 
student days to life after UAlbany.
Still a Champion  
Lisa Fund initially thought about becoming a math
teacher when she enrolled at UAlbany. But the
Massapequa, N.Y., native, whose parents were education
professionals, decided “there were other things I could
do,” and a few weeks after earning her bachelor’s degree in
mathematics, she went to work as an analyst in Goldman
Sachs’ Jersey City, N.J., office.
At the University, Fund completed minors in business
administration and education, and participated in a whirl-
wind of extracurricular activities.
She was captain of the women’s
tennis team, earning the Most
Valuable Player designation and
the Coach’s Award. She served as
secretary of both the Presidential
Honors Society and Kappa Delta
Pi, a national honor society for
education, and was a member of
the national leadership honor
society, Omicron Delta Kappa.
Fund also served on the
Student Athlete Advisory
Board (SAAB) for Athletics, 
a committee that organized
events for the University’s stu-
dent-athletes “and gave us a
chance to voice any concerns
or questions we had.”
For Fund, who lived on campus 
all four years and had a partial
sports scholarship, a typical day at
UAlbany “depended on our tennis
schedule. Sometimes we would run
in the morning, go to class late
morning to afternoon, and then come back for practice on
the courts. Afterward, I would have time to do my home-
work and go to meetings for the organizations I partici-
pated in. It was a challenge getting everything done, but 
it was fun, too!” In fact, she cites “time management and
multi-tasking” as “two of the most valuable skills” she
acquired as an undergraduate.  Fund uses those skills now
at Goldman Sachs, “so it was not difficult to transition
from the University to the workplace.” 
Looking back, Fund is impressed by her former profes-
sors’ “dedication to their students. Even though UAlbany
has a large student body, every professor is there to help
you, and to make sure that you are doing your best and
working to your fullest potential.” School of Business
Assistant Dean John Levato and Professor of Mathematics
Timothy Lance were among the “many people who helped
me finalize my résumé and pushed me to go to various
job interviews. I still keep in touch with them on a regular
basis and see John at various alumni events. The Career
Development Center was a great help; the people there
helped me to create my résumé in my sophomore and
junior years,” Fund notes.
She began working at Goldman Sachs in July 2005. Her
parents helped her to find the Hoboken, N.J., apartment
where she still lives. She has a car there – and did from
sophomore year on at the University – but uses the 
subway to get to and from work. 
“Every workday is a little different,” Fund observes. “My
team, the Prime Brokerage Custody Management division,
works to mitigate risk for Goldman Sachs. I attend classes
there; some are required for analysts, but others are 
courses I thought would be useful to take.”
Although “schoolwork, classes and sports have been
replaced by work, going to the gym weekdays and com-
peting with the Goldman Sachs Tennis Team,” Fund, now
23, made a smooth transition from student life to “real
life” – thanks to her experience at the University. She 
101
real life
Pictured above during her
years as a UAlbany tennis
standout, Fund now plays
on the Goldman Sachs
Tennis Team.
During a business trip to India, 
Fund visited the Mysore Palace.
Lisa Fund, an analyst at Goldman Sachs,
stands outside the firm’s Jersey City office. 
FALL 2007
7
UALBANY MAGAZINE
8
Kristin Cappon gets into character for a role with the 
Black Door Theatre Company. She and the troupe’s other 
young founders write and produce original material. 
Cappon (second from right)
and her co-stars perform in the
drama “Climbing Up Walls.”
FALL 2007
9
professes to missing “my former teammates, playing
tennis on a daily basis and spending time with friends”
from her undergraduate years but credits UAlbany with
helping her to “grow and mature.” Adds Fund: “When I
arrived there, I did not ever think that I could be the
captain of a Division I tennis team or serve on the
boards of different organizations! UAlbany really 
did prepare me for the ‘real world.’”
Ready for Her Close-up
Sports, arts and crafts, and 4-H were some of the 
activities Kristin Cappon enjoyed as a child in
Watertown, N.Y. But a trip to see “A Raisin in the Sun” at
the Syracuse Civic Center directed her toward a dual
major in theatre and English at UAlbany, and influenced
her choice of career. “I remember sitting in the front row
and being so amazed by what these people were doing
right in front of me,” the 24-year-old actress recalls.
Cappon started doing some community theatre around
age 11 and got more involved with acting in high school.
When she was considering colleges, “I looked at all the
state schools, and I really liked UAlbany’s theatre
department. I got a very warm welcome there. Also,
since I was from a small town, I didn’t want to jump
into the big ocean of New York City. I wanted to take 
a step up from where I had grown up, but not throw
myself in and drown. Albany was bigger than
Watertown, but not huge, and it also offered 
cultural opportunities.”
At UAlbany, Cappon found that “the department’s well-
rounded approach prepared us to do a lot of different
things. Tech labs were required for the major; each
week, we’d have to go and work in the scene shop or
help with set design. Through the labs, we experienced
different elements of the same major,” she explains.
Cappon lived on campus all four years; “I was very stu-
dious, and I liked the safe environment and the way the
campus was set up. It was a two-minute walk to
rehearsals and the Performing Arts Center. Starting
sophomore year, I did have a car, but parking was
always an issue.” In New
York, she gets around by
subway. “It’s too expensive 
to have a car, and I don’t like
to drive here, anyway.”
She took her UAlbany support system with her, howev-
er. She would e-mail Department of Theatre faculty
members J. Kevin Doolen and Mark Dalton, and Eileen
Schuyler, a lecturer while Cappon was a student, with
questions she felt she couldn’t ask anyone else: “What
do I do? I’m so lost; there are so many people here!”  
“A casting director has called me for a look-and-see.
What’s that? I don’t want to ask and look foolish.” 
She’s grateful not only to her mentors, but to Schuyler’s
husband, Joseph Schuyler; “he took my
first headshot for nice and cheap,
because I needed it!” 
In Manhattan, Cappon and former
classmate Victoria Chiaro, B.A.’04,
moved in together. She lives alone
now but remains close to Chiaro,
who majored in English at UAlbany
and currently works for Serious
Thinking, a television 
production company. 
Cappon’s own English degree also
helped to pay the rent: She took
temporary typing and proofreading
assignments for law firms, publish-
ers and the like. Since late 2004,
she’s been a receptionist and hostess 
at Wolfgang’s, a well-known Park Avenue
steakhouse. She reads trade newspapers 
so she can stay informed about the acting
industry and chat with guests like Denzel
Washington and Hugh Laurie. At the
restaurant’s TriBeCa location, Cappon met
Robert DeNiro, who “was very nice.” She
likes the job; “the money is good, and I have
health insurance.”
Wolfgang’s flexible hours allow time for audi-
tions. Cappon, who took lessons at the prestigious
Schreiber Studio, has done commercials, including one
for Target; television (“Law & Order”); and some inde-
pendent movies. But the stage is still her first love. She
and several other young actors from the studio formed
the non-profit Black Door Theatre Company, where
they write and produce original works. Their latest,
“Climbing Up Walls,” a collaboration with writer Nick
Sanzo, focuses on five former high school classmates
reuniting in their hometown and coming to terms 
with various personal challenges.
Although work keeps her busy, Cappon makes time to
socialize. New York is a great place for museums “and 
a lot of free stuff to do.” She
and her friends often go out
to theatres where other pals
are performing “to offer
them support,” adds 
the actress, who launched her own Web site, 
kristincappon.com, in July.
The biggest change in Cappon’s life since graduation
was having to “become my own motivation. The
University’s great structure was hard to lose. 
Now I have to keep the drive going myself. I’m very 
passionate about acting, and when you’re passionate
about what you do, that’s a huge part of being able 
to keep up that drive.”
Top: Chris Rickett 
and Cappon act out 
a scene from the
University’s 2004 
production of 
“All in the Timing.”
Bottom: Cappon and
Victoria Chiaro, a
friend from UAlbany,
are pictured during
their hunt for an
apartment in New
York. They signed a
lease the weekend 
this photo was taken.
real life 101
A Sunny Outlook 
Long before he even knew where Albany, N.Y., was, the
seeds of Mike Tamas’ career had been planted. “The
two things needed to become a good
broadcast meteorologist are the ability
to talk and a love of the weather,” the
Massachusetts native observes. “I had
both down pat before I was even in
junior high school. I talked so much
my mom called me ‘Motormouth,’
and I used to watch The Weather
Channel so often, my brothers 
called me a geek.” 
When it was time for college, 
Tamas took his two greatest talents
to UAlbany, where he majored in
atmospheric science with a minor
in broadcast meteorology. His
favorite course was Severe Weather
Analysis and Forecasting, taught by
Technical Specialist Mike Landin.
“I enjoyed hands-on
work more than
theory, and this
class was all about
looking at maps
and figuring out
where and what
kind of severe
weather would
occur. [Disting-
uished Professor]
Lance Bosart was
probably my favorite
teacher; the guy is 
a walking vault of
knowledge. He’s the
type of guy you’re
almost afraid to 
talk to for fear of 
saying something stupid; therefore, I mostly stuck 
to conversations about the Red Sox and their chances
of winning the World Series. However, we learned so
much from him.” 
A Presidential Scholar who lived on campus all four
years and completed an internship at the Capital
Region Fox television affiliate, WXXA, Tamas says the
key to successful preparation for classes was “spreading
the work out over a period of time and not letting it all
wait till the day before.” He also left time to play soccer,
basketball and other intramural sports with friends.  
While still a senior, Tamas was hired for the position 
he now holds at WRGB, the CBS-TV affiliate in
Niskayuna, N.Y. “At first, I just did the Saturday 
shows from 7 to 8 a.m. As I got more comfortable 
in front of the camera, I started filling in a little bit 
on weekday evening or noon broadcasts. I now do
Saturday and Sunday morning shows, which have been
expanded to two hours each, and the noon shows
Monday and Tuesday.” 
Tamas arrives at the studio about three hours before
the start time of the newscast, and looks at “all the data,
including surface and upper-level maps, radars and
satellites. Then it’s on to the models. Forecasting takes
about 90 minutes or so; then I spend the next 20 min-
utes updating the station’s Web site and the weather-
phone. During the last hour, I make all the graphics 
I’ll need during the shows.” One of the graphics he 
created “shows a shot of Albany or Schenectady with
the weather expected [closer to air time]; then it flips
over and shows another scene with the weather 
forecast for a later time.”
The job is perfect for him; “I refused to be stuck in a
cubicle, in a lab or or at a desk all day long,” he says.
Tamas also refuses to be stuck in one living space: He
has lived in four different Albany-area apartments since
graduating, and “needless to say, I look forward to a
time when I own a house.” He already owns a car – 
or, more accurately, “my parents and I own it.” Tamas
recently finished making the payments on the Honda
Civic his parents purchased the summer after he gradu-
ated, when the Chrysler LHS they had given him soph-
omore year – “a boat that ran smoothly and had plush
leather seats” – started having “some real issues, like
shutting off in the middle of driving.” 
What Tamas misses most about college is “the ‘carefree-
ness’ of it. I was lucky; I was responsible for school-
work, and that was about it. My parents and student
loans paid for everything; I really had no bills. And
there were 10,000 kids my own age living around me. 
It was great to be able to walk downstairs and hang out
with my friends, and even live with them. Now every-
one has jobs in different cities or states, and it takes a
lot of effort and planning to hang out.” (Lately, Tamas
has been seeing a bit more of one old friend: Joel
Wurtzel, B.S.’04, who roomed with him all four years at
UAlbany, was an usher at his Aug. 31 wedding to Katie
Lenz, “the woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life
with and have a family with.” In December, Tamas will
return the favor when Wurtzel, a MetLife actuary now
living in Manhattan, weds.) 
Still, “it’s nice to be responsible for yourself and have
only yourself to answer to,” Tamas concedes. “I’ve
always wanted to get married, have a family and play
catch with my kid in the front yard. So to finally get 
out of school meant it was all possible, and that was
exciting for me. My life had begun.”
– Carol Olechowski
Top: Tamas and
Katie Lenz struck 
a casual pose for
their engagement
photo. The couple
married Aug. 31.
Bottom: At the 
studio, Tamas 
consults with his 
colleague – and 
fellow UAlbany alum
– Mike Augustyniak,
B.S.’00.
UALBANY MAGAZINE
10
real life 101
Meteorologist Mike Tamas prepares for a
broadcast at WRGB’s Niskayuna studio.  
FALL 2007
11
UALBANY MAGAZINE
12
E
ach spring, thousands of new college graduates set off for
Europe, Asia and other exotic locales, eager to experience a bit
of the world before settling into jobs or continuing their stud-
ies. Alex Logono’s post-graduation trip completed a journey begun
nearly two decades before – and culminated in a brief reunion with
his mother, Lona Sitti, whom he hadn’t seen since fleeing his war-
torn homeland as a child. 
Logono left Albany May 21 and traversed two hemispheres by air,
truck and foot – only to discover that Sitti was living in another vil-
lage, near Sudan’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
After another long truck ride, “I finally found my mom,” he recount-
ed. “We greeted and started talking. My escort asked whether she
knew me; she said no. He told her I was her son. We started crying,
crying, crying, and she hugged me. ‘I prayed and prayed for you,’ she
said. I told her all the stories about how I survived.”
In 1989, the Christians in southern Sudan were battling the Arab
rulers who demanded they convert to Islam, and the fighting soon
reached Lanyi. At age 9, Logono became sep-
arated from his family and fled, along with
25,000 other displaced youngsters who
came to be known as the “Lost Boys of
Sudan.” Their journey was a perilous one;
the boys braved fear, hunger, wild animals
and other horrors. The luckier children sur-
vived the terrifying days and nights in the
bush and reached Ethiopia, where the gov-
ernment, at the request of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
permitted them to establish a refugee camp.
The unlucky ones succumbed along the way
“because they ate poisonous fruits, or they
were bitten by snakes or scorpions, or eaten
by hyenas or lions,” recalled the soft-spoken
Logono, now 28. 
The Ethiopian gov-
ernment was over-
thrown in 1992 by
rebels, who “started shooting peo-
ple in the camp.” The “Lost Boys” ran back
toward Sudan. But the Gilo River, border-
ing the two countries, was deep and swift,
and unseen dangers, like crocodiles, lurked
there. Again, “many kids died.”
Prevented from re-entering their country
because of ongoing attacks by government
troops, the boys ran again, this time to Kenya. There, Logono said,
“the International Red Cross heard about our plight and started
dropping food. The U.N. High Commissioner opened a camp,
Kakuma. There was a lot of sand; sometimes it covered our eyes, and
we couldn’t see. There were respiratory diseases, and problems with
the water; it was just for drinking. We showered in the rain.”
Schools were built at Kakuma, and Logono attended classes until
1999. He later taught English and Swahili, and volunteered at the
camp hospital, where he was trained to “examine patients, prescribe
medications, and give health education and treatment.”
Years later, “a group of people from the United States came. I did not
know where the United States was. They saw the huts where we lived,
and interviewed us. They went back to the U.S. and asked Congress
to take some of us, then came back to Kakuma and took pictures of
us. After the pictures, nothing happened, and we started forgetting,”
Logono noted.
But the visitors remembered the “Lost Boys,” and “started transporting
us from Kakuma to Nairobi, then to different states.” Logono’s own
trip to the U.S., sponsored by the Lutheran Church Federation, was
delayed by two weeks following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
UALBANY MAGAZINE
12
Last May, Alex Logono, B.S.’07 – one of the 
‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ – found the mom he 
was separated from in 1989. Now, he’s hoping 
for a long-term reunion in the U.S., a career 
in medicine and a return to his homeland.
Alex Logono embraces his
mother, Lona Sitti, for the
first time since 1989. Sitti
is wearing a dress her son
brought her as a gift.
By Carol Olechowski
Alex Logono, B.S.’07 
FALL 2007
13
“I was brought to Utica, N.Y,” he said. “It was the first time for me to
see a city, use a flushing toilet, see a kitchen – everything was new for
me. I went to orientations to learn how to use stuff.” Logono also
attended English classes, but had learned the language at a more
advanced level at Kakuma. He asked about college and was told he
would have to find work first. The food stamps and housing
allowance he had received to assist in his resettlement were cut off,
but Logono did not lose hope. “I became closer
to God. My faith helped me believe that nothing
would happen to me. If I did not die in Sudan, I
was not going to die here. I prayed to God to
help me find a job.” 
His prayers were answered. Hired at St.
Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica as a nurse’s
aide, Logono was promoted to nursing techni-
cian within a few months. While he worked, he
took classes at Mohawk Valley Community
College. “I also sent money to friends in the
camp. I don’t forget them,” he added.
After completing science and mathematics stud-
ies at MVCC in 2004, Logono decided to contin-
ue his education. “I want to become a doctor,
and go back and help people in southern
Sudan,” he said. “A lot of people are dying there
because of a lack of medical assistance. There are
no schools, no health facilities.” Logono applied
to the SUNY schools at Binghamton, Geneseo
and Buffalo, and “all of them accepted me. I
chose UAlbany; it has nice pre-med and research programs.”
Logono majored in biology and found a job at St. Peter’s Hospital in
Albany. “I work weekends doing EKGs, drawing blood, doing vitals
and general patient care.” He will take the Medical College
Admission Test (MCAT) next year and plans to attend medical
school “wherever I am accepted.”
Prior to returning to Africa last spring, Logono had learned that Sitti
was ill. He took her to Uganda for treatment; “my mom has a block-
age in an artery and a kidney problem. The doctor can’t do anything
about the blockage, which causes sweating and chills
and other symptoms, but he gave her some medication
for the kidney infection.” Released from the hospital
over the summer, she continues to take medication
and follow up with the doctor. 
Logono hopes to bring Sitti to the U.S. for treatment.
While still a student at MVCC, “I filled out family
reunification forms two times, but I have not heard
what is happening. I was told because I am a Sudanese,
it is going to take longer,” recalled Logono, who
became a U.S. citizen last March. His family includes
the brother he was reunited with last spring, and three
sisters. “My mom does not speak English, so they can
be her best companions,” he observed.
“I really love my mom, though I am away from her,”
said Logono, his face lighting up at the memory of
their brief reunion. “I would like to spend time
together with her.”
As he waits to reunite his family, Logono continues to
focus on his studies. “If God helps me and I get into medical school,”
he vowed, “I will go back to Lanyi and open a free clinic for the 
people. I will provide medical services and health education. That 
is my goal.”
At their reunion, Logono’s mom donned the cap and gown 
he’d worn at commencement a few weeks earlier. Sitti and 
two other villagers hold pumpkin flowers, which “express 
joy, welcome and congratulations,” according to Logono.
Logono, who majored in biology
at UAlbany, is preparing for a
career as a physician. Ultimately,
he’d like to return to Sudan to
establish a medical clinic.
Mark Schmidt
Alex Logono, B.S.’07 
UALBANY MAGAZINE
14
Out and About
By Christine Doyle, M.B.A. ’04
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS METRO NY ALUMNI RECEPTION
School of Business Dean Paul A. Leonard, ’75, ’76, posed with graduates from the classes of 2000-2007 at an April 19 
reception at Sardi’s restaurant in Manhattan. These young alumni, who won the “Decades Challenge” and received UAlbany
prizes for the highest attendance among graduates from any one decade, are also pictured on a plaque in the dean’s office!
SPRING COMMENCEMENT (right): Over 2,800 new graduates joined
the University at Albany alumni family Commencement Weekend. Pictured
here are students who participated in the main undergraduate ceremony,
held outdoors on the Science Library lawn May 20.
BURTON LECTURE (center): More than 100 guests watched May 8 
as New York State Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson, featured speaker for the 22nd
annual John E. Burton Lecture, received the Burton Medallion from Officer
in Charge Susan Herbst. Sharon S. Dawes ’72, ’91; John C. Egan; Mary Ann
T. Fish; and David Kaczynski were
awarded Distinguished Public Service
Awards at a ceremony following 
the lecture.  
ALUMNI WEEKEND (far right): 
Ben Lindeman and Sheila Bamberger
proudly accepted the Attendance Cup
on behalf of the Class of ’57, which
had the most members in attendance
at Alumni Weekend 2007 in June.
Mark Schmidt
Mark Schmidt
Mark Schmidt
Lorenzo Ciniglio
FALL 2007
15
BOSTON’S CULINARY EXTRAVAGANZA (above): Kimberly
Welsh ’89 and her husband, renowned Boston-area chef Kenji Freedman,
welcomed more than two dozen alumni and friends to a culinary extrava-
ganza June 21 at their Winchester, Mass., home. Pictured, front row, from
left, are: Darren De Genarro ’99; Janell De Genarro; William Roller ’80, ’82;
Sara Altman; and Susanne Shavelson. Middle row: Dan Webster ’75; Carol
Webster ’72, ’75; Kimberly Welsh ’89; Rebecca Caponi ’72, ’86; and Jeff
Leopold ’85. Back row: Kenji Freedman; Michael Boots; Jon Katz ’92;
Stuart Altman ’81; Gene Caponi ’87; Todd Burger ’77; Deborah Burger;
Don Weintraub ’66; and Linda Sacks. 
COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC OUTREACH BREAKFAST
(left): Emad A. Zikry ’72, president and CEO of Vanderbilt Capital
Advisors and winner of this year’s Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award,
discussed the volatility of the financial markets and its correlation with
world politics at the Council for Economic Outreach breakfast forum June 1.
1844 SOCIETY DONOR APPRECIATION RECEPTION (left and
below): Following the spring meeting of The University at Albany Foundation
Board of Directors June 20, more than 120 UAlbany supporters gathered at the
1844 Society Donor Appreciation Reception in the Life Sciences Research
Building courtyard. Posing for photos,
from left, were Frances George ’38;
George Hearst III; Edward George ’38;
and Ted Anderson ’82.  
J. Spencer and Patricia Standish were 
all smiles as their picture was taken.
Michael Boots
Colleen Brescia
Mark Schmidt
Mark Schmidt
UALBANY MAGAZINE
16
FALL 2007
17
R
oute 66 and the Yellow Brick Road don’t intersect on any  
map, of course. But the best aspects of both – practicality
and wonder – will soon overlap at UAlbany along the Purple
Path and the Golden Grid.
The new pathways grew out of planning studios conducted in
2005 and 2006 by Adjunct Professor Jeffrey Olson and several
of his master’s in regional planning (M.R.P.) students. Their
creativity and vision resulted in designs for byways that will
transform the uptown
campus into a safer,
more inviting place 
for pedestrians and 
bicyclists alike.   
Olson, a faculty 
member in UAlbany’s
Department of
Geography and
Planning for more
than a decade, grew up
in Bergen County, N.J.,
where “all the farms
and open spaces were
turned into suburban
sprawl by the time I
graduated high school.
It was a tragedy. But
even then, I helped my
neighbors save the 
last remaining piece 
of woods. R.O.W.D.
(Residents Opposed 
to Wetlands
Development) set me on a career path toward making the
world a better place,” notes the partner with Alta Planning, a
national firm specializing in “green infrastructure solutions.” 
Bethlehem, N.Y., native Michael Alba, Graduate Student
Planning Association president and an intern with the
Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC), 
is interested in “the mobility needs of the disabled, 
elderly and children.” The son of UAlbany professors of 
sociology Gwen Moore and Richard Alba finds that regional
planning “weaves together a wide range of disciplines in the
search for improving the human state.” 
Like Alba, Ross Farrell was born and raised in the Albany
area. He left his home in Kinderhook to study for a B.A. in
urban studies and sociology at the University of Pittsburgh,
“but I knew I wanted a career in the Capital Region because
I love it here, so getting my graduate degree at UAlbany was
a logical first step.” The planning studios have “helped me
use my ability to understand what infrastructure and policy
changes are needed to give people incentives to get out of
their cars and walk, bike, or take mass transit to their desti-
nations,” says Farrell, who recently left his job in the
University’s Office of Space Management and Campus
Preservation to accept a position as senior planner with the
Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA). 
The Purple Path and the Golden Grid, Olson explains, “link 
to the idea of making UAlbany a more sustainable, safe and
enjoyable place to be. They grew out of a planning exercise 
in my Bicycling, Walking and Trails: Innovations in Transpor-
tation class – the first course of its kind in the U.S. when we
started it in 1996. 
I ask the students to
design their own com-
munity. [The late
University at Albany]
President [Kermit] Hall
was very supportive of
creating a higher quality
of life here and became a
champion of the Purple
Path, a proposed 5-kilo-
meter loop trail for
walking, running and
bicycling along
University Drive, 
the perimeter of the
uptown campus.” 
The Golden Grid, 
meanwhile, was
designed at the request
of Vice President for
Finance and Business
Kathryn Lowery. That
project, Olson says,
“identifies pedestrian and bikeway connections that comple-
ment the Purple Path, turning the spaces between the quads
and the podium back into ‘village greens’ and transforming
the dirt paths on campus into landscaped pathways.” 
This aerial view shows the route of the Purple Path. The area circled 
in white indicates the first section of the project to be completed.
University officials endorsed the students’ 
proposal and encouraged its implementation.
UALBANY MAGAZINE
18
Lowery’s office, which
earmarked $5,000 in
support for each plan-
ning studio, is one of 
a number of entities
bringing the projects 
to life. Through the
Institute for Healthy
Infrastructure (iHi), the New York State Department of
Health’s Healthy Heart Program contributed another
$5,000 toward the Purple Path. The Office of Architecture,
Engineering & Construction Management is coordinating
improvements to a roadway near Dutch Quad and 
a Purple Path walkway this year, according to Engineer/
Project Manager Elena McCormick. And Parking and
Mass Transit Services is helping to implement the Golden
Grid, which Alba describes as “the skeleton that supports
the Purple Path and connects it to the podium.”
Another form of affirmation came in September 2006,
when the New York Upstate Chapter of the American
Planning Association presented Farrell, Alba and fellow
graduate students Aaron Bustow, Dekka Michael, Xiaofeng
(Iris) Ge, Valeria Ivan, Emily Richardson and Joshua
Poppel an Outstanding Student Project award for the
Purple Path initiative. 
For Poppel, executive director of the New York Bicycling
Coalition (NYBC) since 2005, participating in the Purple
Path studio “really helped synthesize the advocacy work I
do with the real-world implementation of planning.” In
addition, “the M.R.P. program expanded my knowledge 
of the planning process and has enabled me to be a more
effective advocate for bicycle and pedestrian initiatives.”
Graduate Student Organization President Maria Chau sees
the Purple Path and Golden Grid as “team efforts” that
“brought together the different aspects of the community.”
A participant in the Golden Grid planning studio, she is
grateful to the University’s neighbors for supporting the
projects. “A lot of people in the community use the cam-
pus. In many ways, they see it as an asset; it’s a quieter
place to jog, and there’s different scenery. It’s very impor-
tant to think of creative ways to keep the unique charac-
teristics that make us who we are but make UAlbany a 
better place,” remarks Chau, a candidate for graduation 
in December.
McKownville Improvement Association member Laura
Whalen echoes Chau’s sentiments. The Purple Path and
Golden Grid projects promote “walkability,” one of her
organization’s highest priorities. “Good signage and 
walking paths are wonderful benefits to neighbors of the
University. Walking is healthy. You can meet and greet 
students and your neighbors, and see the beauties of the
campus: trillium in bloom, a blue heron, the goslings that
hatch in the spring, a pileated woodpecker flying over-
head. When people are walking, they see things they 
don’t ordinarily.” 
Whalen urges UAlbany to “preserve open space on the
campus in order to keep our neighborhood as green as
possible. I would love to see a transportation management
plan that works to reduce the car traffic the University
brings to our neighborhood. Getting people walking 
is a start.”
The planners anticipate that future projects will continue
to strengthen the University’s neighborhood connections.
Currently, says Olson, “we are discussing the possibility of
extending these ideas into a studio project for the down-
town campus.” 
[To read about the Institute for Healthy Infrastructure
and the Purple Path planning studio, please link to
http://www.albany.edu/~ihi/.] 
Whalen urges UAlbany to 
“preserve open space on 
the campus in order to 
keep our neighborhood 
as green as possible.”
Poppel and Alba discuss the planning studio as 
they walk along an unpaved pathway at UAlbany.
FALL 2007
19
A
lthough his mother wasn’t 
a UAlbany alumna,
Nolan Altman honored her
memory and her contribu-
tions to secondary education
after her passing in 1996 by
establishing the Martha
Bealler Altman Scholarship
Fund to benefit undergradu-
ate business majors at the
University.
“I thought it would make
sense to start a scholarship
fund based on academic abil-
ity, as well as on economic
need,” said Altman, who
returns occasionally to
UAlbany in his role as
University at Albany
Foundation director and to present scholarships at the annual
School of Business luncheon. A business and secretarial studies
teacher at Maxwell Vocational High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., and 
a Hunter College graduate, Mrs. Altman viewed education as a 
way out of poverty for her students. Through the Future Business
Leaders of America, an organization she introduced to Maxwell,
she helped the young women in her classes to make contacts that
could benefit them in the business world. “She would take them to
conferences, one of which was in Albany,” Nolan Altman remem-
bered. “Most of her students had never left Brooklyn.”  
When Altman himself left his native Queens, he headed for the
University at Albany, where he discovered “a feel for accounting.
There was an emphasis on doing something in college that would
give you a career when you came out; business seemed like a logical
path.” Today, he heads his own firm, NTA Consulting, which is
based in Oceanside, N.Y. Having been a partner in a public
accounting firm’s financial services group for 16 years, then
employed as chief fiscal officer
for an international hedge fund
and money management prac-
tice for eight years, Altman cur-
rently serves as an independent
director of hedge funds and 
consults to investment managers
and their boards.
In 2000, when his father passed
away, Altman established the
Morris Altman Research Fund
at UAlbany with an additional
$30,000 gift. “My father was a
TV repairman and a very affable
kind of guy. He was thrilled by
what I’d done for my mother at
the University. After my moth-
er’s death, I discovered the fasci-
nating and addictive field of
genealogy. My father gave me the basic information to continue to
research and document our family’s history. It came as a complete
surprise to me to discover that an entire branch of his family was
lost during the Holocaust.” The fund named for Altman’s father
supports undergraduate research projects within the Department
of Judaic Studies.
When not working in the financial services industry, Altman 
continues his involvement with genealogy – an interest sparked by
a cache of photos and documents his mother left behind. “I spend 
a significant amount of time coordinating JewishGen.org’s
Holocaust Database, which partners with the Holocaust Museum
in Washington, D.C. and Yad Vashem in Israel. I’ve taught
Introduction to Genealogy to the Holocaust Studies class at the
University on two occasions; I also teach the course at adult and
continuing education venues at high schools, colleges, libraries and
community groups. It has been very satisfying,” added Altman, who
met his wife, the former Susan Diamond, B.S.’77, at the University.
Vital Volunteers
By Carol Olechowski
Photo by Mark Schmidt
Nolan Altman, B.S.’77 
Honoring His Parents by Helping Students
UAlbany volunteer Nolan Altman presented a scholarship to student 
Stephanie Sutherland at the School of Business luncheon last May. 
UALBANY MAGAZINE
20
Biodiversity Program Benefits from 
Alumni, Faculty Support
More financial support will be available soon for students
enrolled in UAlbany’s Biodiversity, Conservation and Policy
Program, thanks to the generosity of several donors, including
the late alumna whose initial gift established the course of 
study in 1996.
A bequest from Harriet Dyer Adams, M.L.S.’60, and gifts and
estate commitments from Helga Karker, M.S.’75; Anna May Lee,
B.S.’65, M.S.’66; the late Edward L. Osborn, B.A.’31; and the 
late Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita of Biology
Margaret Stewart, make available to the program an additional 
$1.1 million to fund scholarships and student research. 
Adams, who died in 2005, founded the Charles C. Adams 
and Harriet Dyer Adams Biodiversity, Conservation and Public
Policy Fund more than a decade ago to honor her late father, 
a pioneer in the field of ecology. Stewart, a beloved UAlbany
faculty member for more than 40 years, returned to the
University after her retirement in 1997 to help develop the 
program. She passed away last year. Osborn, a retired school
administrator who died in 1993, established an endowment 
to support student environmental field study.
Lee’s bequest will establish the Lee Family Biodiversity
Endowment and recognize her mother, Suey Lon Lee. Karker,
who spent 33 years as a teacher and school psychologist before
retiring in 1988, designated the proceeds of her gift annuity to a
scholarship fund she established for students in the Biodiversity,
Conservation and Policy Program. 
Getty Foundation to Help Preserve 
Uptown Campus
A $180,000 grant from the Getty Foundation’s Campus
Heritage Initiative will fund the University’s development of a
long-term plan to preserve and enhance the uptown campus. 
Designed in the early 1960s by renowned architect Edward
Durell Stone, the campus is a striking example of global mod-
ernist architecture. Its towers, domes, fountains and colonnades
are all Stone hallmarks.
The Getty Foundation has provided support for preservation
planning to 86 colleges and universities since the Campus
Heritage Initiative began in 2002. In 2007, the final year of the
program, the foundation made more than $2 million available
to a total of 15 institutions. Other schools receiving the grants
included Miami University (Ohio); the University of California,
San Diego; and the University of Hawaii.
Gifts at Work
By Carol Olechowski
Harold Gould Donates Papers 
to University Libraries 
Veteran actor Harold Gould B.A.’47, who has delight-
ed two generations of television, movie and theatre 
audiences, has donated his papers to the University
at Albany.
Housed in the Science Library’s M.E. Grenander
Department of Special Collections and Archives, the
Gould Collection includes 10,000 scripts, letters, pho-
tos, news clippings and interviews that document the
popular actor’s career since its beginnings in the early
1960s. Also included are examinations Gould took
while earning his undergraduate degree at the New
York State College for Teachers, now UAlbany. 
Gould is well known for his work on television series
(“Rhoda,” “The Golden Girls”), in films (“The Sting,”
“Freaky Friday”) and on the stage (“The House of
Blue Leaves,” “Freud,” “Incommunicado”). In 2005-06,
he appeared in 13 U.S. cities in the highly acclaimed
play “Tuesdays with Morrie,” based on the best-selling
book by Mitch Albom. Currently, Gould is touring in
the comedy “Viagara Falls.”
Actor Harold Gould shines in one of his favorite roles: 
UAlbany donor. The popular performer presented his 
collection of papers to the University in June. 
Gina Muscato
FALL 2007
21
Freshmen dining at
Indian Quad in late April were
treated to the usual fare of salads, entrées,
desserts and beverages. For a couple of evenings, howev-
er, there was something new on the menu: $2 bills donated by
the late Morris “Marty” Silverman, a well-known philanthropist
and UAlbany benefactor.
Silverman, who passed away in January 2006 at age 93, used 
to distribute $2 bills labeled on the reverse with his personal
motto: “If it is to be, it is up to me!” He included the University
in that custom, as well, as a means of encouraging students 
to help others.
Unfamiliar with the currency, many of the freshmen examined 
it carefully. The students held the bills up to the light, stroked
them – and even sniffed at them to gauge their authenticity. 
“I guess [the bill] is supposed to be a symbol of starting some-
thing from nothing,” mused Kim Moonan of Trumbull, Conn.
“It was nice of him [Silverman] to donate these to students,”
added her friend, Rina Rotunno, who hails from Yorktown, N.Y.
Michael Zucker was impressed. “It’s cool, because who has 
$2 bills anymore?” the New City, N.Y., native asked. “How 
did he get so many?”
Travis Weir of Long Island posed another question. “Do they have any $100 bills?” he inquired hopefully. 
Paying It Forward
Freshmen Jennifer Jasmia and Nkechi Amadi display the $2 bills 
they received last April. The currency is imprinted on the 
reverse with the personal motto of the late philanthropist 
Marty Silverman: “If it is to be, it is up to me!”
Vice President for Student Success James Anderson (left)
accepts a check representing the proceeds of the senior class 
gift from Student Association President Nick Chiuchiolo.
Forty-one Class of 2007 members and several parents 
gave their favorite Adirondack retreat, Dippikill, a gift last
spring: $13,000 to be used to upgrade the getaway while
preserving its rustic beauty.
Purchased in 1956 by the Student Association, Dippikill – 
the name, from the Dutch, means “small stream” – is locat-
ed on 850 acres in Thurman, N.Y., and is the largest stu-
dent-owned retreat in the nation. Its cabins are available
for overnight visits by students, alumni, faculty and staff. 
Many UAlbany graduates reserve space at Dippikill 
each year for informal reunions.
The funds collected through the senior class’s Dippikill
Fundraising Initiative will partially support construction 
of the new Garnet Lodge, which will become the first 
100-percent federally certified “green” building in the 
State University of New York system.  
Mark Schmidt
Mark Schmidt
Class of ’07 Senior Gift Will Update Dippikill
UALBANY MAGAZINE
22
Ask Geoff
By Geoffrey Williams, 
University at Albany Archivist
Q.  What can you tell me about the Minerva statue?
Why does Minerva have a snake at her feet?  
A. My colleague Katie Mullen, collections conservator in the
University Libraries’ Preservation Department, posed these
questions. Katie also asked about the nature of the restorations
performed on the statue.
Minerva was the Roman goddess of dawn, the home, rustic life
and wisdom. Later associated with Athena, the Greek goddess of
war – hence the breastplate and spear – Minerva was revered as
a patron of the arts, crafts and guilds, and medicine, and as the
inventor of musical instruments. She was also linked with birds
and animals, particularly the owl and the snake. The snake at
Minerva’s feet is associated with the Greek myth of
Erichthonius, regarded as the hero and helper of Athens, and
often portrayed, at Athena’s side, as a snake. Our Minerva is an
exact copy of the Vatican’s “Athena Giustiniani,” which can be
viewed at http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/S8.9.html. 
Anna E. Pierce, New York State Normal School Class of 1884
and faculty member from 1885-1933, noted that the statue was
purchased in 1888 with $1 fines students paid for make-up
exams. Since Minerva was plaster, she could be easily moved – 
a fact that enabled janitor Charles Wurthman to save her from
the fire that destroyed the school’s Willett Street building in
1906. Later installed at the entrance to what is now Draper Hall,
on the Western Avenue campus, she became a popular meeting
site; “Meetcha at Minnie” was a common expression until
Minerva moved to the uptown campus five decades later.
According to tradition, freshmen could not walk in front of 
her until after freshman-sophomore Rivalry ended. 
Minerva’s mobility landed her in some interesting predica-
ments. In the 1920s, she was sometimes found in the men’s
room; on one occasion in the early ’30s, she was smeared with
red paint – allegedly by basketball rivals from RPI. (The janitor
of that time, fearful of being fired for not having guarded her
well enough, stayed up all night cleaning her with paint thin-
ner.) By the 1960s, Minerva was often discovered sporting 
various articles of clothing.
The pranks took a physical toll on Minerva. However, the Class
of 1967 and its president, Henry Madej, stepped in to restore
her in preparation for her move to the new uptown campus. 
At the suggestion of the art department’s Ed Cowley, who had
assisted in past restorations, a new spearhead was made; the
class also replaced the statue’s old wooden base with a new
Vermont marble base. The rejuvenated Minerva was located
under the stairs at the Campus Center entrance, then trans-
ferred to various locations inside the University Library. After
more “cosmetic surgery” in 1986-87, she was returned to the
Library entrance – minus the marble base, which disappeared
while the repairs were made. In 1999, Minerva took up resi-
dence in the Science Library atrium, where she remains today.  
Minerva’s first photo, taken at Draper Hall, was published in the
1911 student yearbook. From 1918-52, she was featured on both
the College catalogue cover and the school’s official seal. She
achieved national “cover girl” status in 1962, when the Saturday
Review used her picture to illustrate a David Boroff article on
the College-to-University transition.  
For half a century, Minerva was a 
popular meeting place for students. 
This group gathered at the goddess’ 
feet in the late 1950s.
Henry Madej, B.A.'67, M.P.A.'68
University at Albany Achives
FALL 2007
23
Minerva continued to be prominently displayed on 
memorabilia and on the University seal but was downplayed 
for a number of years on official publications. In the 1990s,
then-President H. Patrick Swygert reintroduced her as the
University’s official symbol.  
Q. What was the wording on your diploma, and
when did you receive it?
A. I asked that question in the Spring 2007 UAlbany, and 43 
alumni responded. Many of them indicated they were confused
by the University’s frequent name changes, particularly in the
period 1958-62.
Since about 1949, I learned, the phrase following 
State University of New York on diplomas has read:
College for Teachers at Albany (about 1949-59)
College of Education at Albany (1960-61)
College at Albany (1962)
State University at Albany (1963-75)
University at Albany (1976-approximately 1983)
University Center at Albany (about 1987-98)
University at Albany (1999-present)
A few alumni reported wording that did not match that noted
by other classmates; until the recent use of electronic signatures
by printers, a replacement diploma carried the University name
used at the time the replacement was issued – not the name
used at the time the diploma was originally presented. For
example, Charlie Self, B.A.’70, reported that his diploma reads
University Center at Albany under State University of New York;
other respondents from his class noted that their diplomas were
imprinted State University at Albany. Charlie confirmed that 
his was a replacement issued in the late 1980s. 
Mysteries remain, however. New York State College for Teachers
appeared on diplomas issued between about 1914 and 1947.
When did the term State University of New York, College for
Teachers at Albany, first appear? SUNY was created in 1948, but
the College didn’t become part of the university system until
1949, so I suspect that 1949 is when College for Teachers at
Albany was first used on diplomas. Graduates from 1948 could
confirm this by letting me know what wording appears on their
diplomas. Another mystery: When was University at Albany,
used consistently from 1976-83, dropped in favor of University
Center at Albany, and why was this change made? What wording
appears on diplomas for class years 1984, ’85 and ’86?
Different names were also used at commencement. Esther
Heilmann Sheppard, M.S.’66, pointed out that her leather diplo-
ma case was inscribed State University of New York at Albany,
but State University of New York, State University at Albany, was
imprinted on the diploma. Larry Yother, M.L.S.’71, M.S.’73,
C.A.S.’74, told me that his degrees denoted State University at
Albany, while his teaching certificate contained the familiar
State University of New York on the first line and at Albany on
the second. Larry recalled that most people used Albany State
in general conversation; Donna Guyette Farquhar, B.A.’65, and
Matt Kirschenbaum, B.A.’92, said they commonly used the term
SUNY Albany when referring to the school. University letter-
head during 1976 was imprinted State University of New York at
Albany or The University at Albany, according to Deborah Beza,
M.P.A. ’76, who prefers “the latest and greatest” appellation: 
“the informal UAlbany.”
To submit a question for “Ask Geoff,” 
e-mail gwilliams@uamail.albany.edu. 
Mark Schmidt
Our oldest existing diploma, that of George H. Dunham, Class of 1847, 
was signed by our first Executive Committee (Board of Trustees). 
University at Albany Achives
Five days a week, Tina Badi drives to work
at the University at Albany to help staff the
Indian Quad dining hall. That might not
seem unusual – until you consider the
Chartwells employee is 90 years old and
celebrated her 50th anniversary at UAlbany
last March 17.
Badi began her tenure at the downtown
campus before the uptown campus even
existed. She has worked nearly everywhere
at UAlbany and in many different jobs: line
woman, manager, breakfast cook, cashier.
In 1971, she chose to work on Indian Quad
because her grandmother was full-blooded
American Indian. She has been there 
ever since.
Indian Quad has been Badi’s favorite place
to work because she enjoys meeting stu-
dents. They obviously enjoy seeing her,
too. She stands at her station, ready to
swipe SUNYCards for breakfast or lunch
and greeting the freshmen with a twinkle
in her eye. Badi warmly welcomes them,
making them feel as if they were entering
their grandmother’s kitchen instead of a
residence hall dining room.
As she swipes a card, she says, “Hello, how
are you?” “Hi, Tina,” or “Good afternoon,”
they reply as they read the pin of the day
on her sweater. Today, the pin reads, “My
other body is in the shop.” Badi chats
briefly about the weather and offers some
advice: “Dress warm tomorrow. It’s going
to be very cold.” She likes to talk and
says that being a cashier gives her an
opportunity to interact with the stu-
dents. Badi adds that she cannot
remember names – she sees more
than 800 freshmen a day – but she
does remember faces. Even after
students move from Indian Quad,
some return to visit her, perhaps
because of her philosophy: She
treats them like adults, not children.
Last winter, students and staff threw Badi a
90th birthday celebration, complete with a
cake and balloons.
Asked if she plans to retire soon, Badi
smiles and responds politely, “That word 
is not in my vocabulary.”
A native of Keene, N.H., Badi moved to
New York as a child. She married in the
1940s and has three children, eight grand-
children, 13 great-grandchildren and two
great-great grandchildren. Badi did not
plan to work at the University for five
decades, but after her husband passed away
in the 1970s, she decided that she would
keep working so she would not have to sit
at home alone all day. On the job 35 hours
a week, she says that she enjoys her work
and does not notice that she has been
working at UAlbany for 50 years. 
But others have taken notice. Those who
see Badi every day appreciate her sense of
humor, her kindness – and her hard work.
Cindi Schmalz, who earned a degree in
English last May, interned in the University’s
Office of Media and Marketing during the
Spring 2007 semester.
UALBANY MAGAZINE
24
All in a Half-Century’s Work
Tina Badi has been a UAlbany employee for 50 years – 
and she has no plans to retire.
By Cindi Schmalz, B.A.’07
Mark Schmidt
Tina Badi poses with some of the 
freshmen at Indian Quad. 
Gina Muscato
FALL 2007
29
M
ake the world a better place. Touch
another person’s life. Bring a smile to a
child’s face. At UAlbany, more than 50 Circle
K club members are doing exactly these
things – and enriching the University, the
Capital Region community and the world
beyond simultaneously.
Formed in the 1930s, Circle K International
has evolved into a collegiate service organiza-
tion that promotes fellowship, leadership and
service. Today, more than 12,000 college stu-
dents on 507 campuses in 15 nations collec-
tively perform more
than one million hours
of service through
Circle K.
UAlbany Circle K mem-
bers, who represent a
range of ages, back-
grounds and majors,
gather weekly to create
and promote service
projects that will benefit
their neighbors. They
serve meals to the
homeless at the Albany
Soup Kitchen and the
Capital City Rescue
Mission, mentor chil-
dren at the Arbor Hill Community Center
After-School Program, and participate in
walk-a-thons and other fundraisers for vari-
ous charities. Along the way, they develop life-
long friendships and critical leadership skills.
Five elected officers – all women – currently
lead the UAlbany club. Lauren Combs, presi-
dent; Liz Reinhardt, vice president; Nicole
Kennedy, treasurer; Rachel Krongelb, secre-
tary; and Michal Yehezkel, editor, expertly
juggle classes, homework and extracurricular
activities while determining the club’s 
meeting schedule, dues structure and 
service activities.  
Those activities range from hands-on disaster
relief efforts to fundraising. Last January,
eight Circle K members traveled to New
Orleans to gut houses not touched since
Hurricane Katrina in an effort to salvage
them. “You never quite look at the world the
same way again after you have seen it at its
worst,” observes Kennedy, who will earn her
bachelor’s degree in accounting in May 2008
and her master’s the following year.
In April, club members participated in anoth-
er meaningful, yet demanding, experience:
organizing Circle K’s first-ever benefit con-
cert. Krongelb, a communication major slated
to graduate next May, recalls, “We booked
bands, had bands cancel, booked other bands,
and arrived to a roomful of chairs without a
stage during a Nor’easter!” The proceeds,
more than $350, 
were donated to the
American Heart
Association in memory
of Kermit L. Hall, the
late University at Albany
president. 
Members of UAlbany’s
Circle K also coordinate
projects with their 
peers at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute,
Russell Sage, Adirondack
Community College and
The College of Saint
Rose. In addition, they
attend conventions that
bring together all New York State clubs, dis-
tricts and Kiwanians. 
Over the years, the Circle K club at UAlbany
has been recognized by other clubs through-
out the state and by its local sponsor, the
Delmar Kiwanis, for its efforts in increasing
membership and raising money for such
organizations as the Make-A-Wish
Foundation. Its members, however, are mod-
est about their contributions to bettering the
lives of others. Asked how she expects to ben-
efit from her service in Circle K, Krongelb
sums up the club’s philosophy: “This isn’t
about me. It’s about helping others.”   
Christine A. Doyle, M.B.A.’04, was a Circle K
member as an undergraduate at SUNY
Oswego. Now the adviser for UAlbany’s Circle
K, she invites club alumni with ideas for service
projects to contact her at (518) 591-8626 or
cdoyle@uamail.albany.edu.
The Circle K Family
Circle K International is just
one in a family of Kiwanis
service organizations geared
toward all ages. 
• Kiwanis International: a
worldwide service organiza-
tion comprised of individuals
working to improve their
communities 
• Key Club: a coeducational
international service 
organization for high 
school students 
• Builders Club: a service pro-
gram providing young people
aged 12 to 15 the opportuni-
ty to help their school and
community, while building a
positive future for themselves
• Kiwanis Kids: a combination
of three programs – Terrific
Kids, Bring Up Grades and
K-Kids – providing elemen-
tary-school students oppor-
tunities to grow into capable,
competent and caring leaders
• Aktion Club: a service 
program that provides life
experiences for adults with
developmental disabilities 
to encourage them to hone 
their leadership abilities 
and citizenship skills
Circle K: Touching Lives,
Enriching the World
By Christine A. Doyle, M.B.A. ’04 
Circle K was recognized as Outstanding Community
Service Club at the Student Association Awards 
Banquet May 9. Rachel Krongelb, adviser Christine
Doyle and Outstanding Executive Board Member 
Award recipient Nicole Kennedy (left to right) 
were on hand for the ceremony. 
These Circle K members spent part of their 
winter break in New Orleans, gutting homes
damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Spring 2007
Merit Medals: Ashley DeNeal, Kate Fontana and Ryan Chrobak
were honored at the seventh annual Great Dane Awards with 
ECAC Merit Medals as the University’s top senior male and female 
student-athletes. DeNeal, the 2006 America East Conference
Championship’s Most Outstanding Player in volleyball, posted a
3.61 cumulative grade point average in a dual major of criminal
justice and psychology. Fontana, a four-time all-conference mid-
fielder in women’s lacrosse, had a 3.71 GPA in criminal justice.
Chrobak, who had a 3.56 GPA as an undergraduate, is currently
enrolled in UAlbany’s criminal justice graduate program. He was
voted the football program’s top defensive back for the third
straight year.
Softball
The Great Danes captured their third consecutive America East
championship. UAlbany (35-17) became the first No. 4 seed to 
win the conference’s postseason tournament. Head coach Chris
Cannata guided her squad to the first NCAA Division I
Tournament wins by a UAlbany women’s program en route to
reaching the Hempstead Regional final. Casey Halloran, who had 
a 19-10 record on the mound, was named the America East cham-
pionship’s most outstanding player for the second year in a row.
Third baseman Kelly Ogden, the program’s all-time leader in home
runs and total hits, was picked to the all-region squad. The Great
Danes have won 30 or more games in six straight seasons.
Baseball
UAlbany registered its first-ever America East Conference 
championship by upsetting top-seed and regular-season champion
Binghamton twice in tournament play. Head coach Jon Mueller
directed the program to an NCAA Tournament berth for the first
time at any divisional level in the program’s history. UAlbany 
(29-29) played a pair of national top-20 teams in Arkansas and
Creighton in the Fayetteville Regional. Third baseman Steve
Wyland, third on the all-time hits list with 211, and reliever
Alexander Beaulieu (10 saves) were named to the All-Northeast
Region second team. Catcher Tom Hill became the fifth 
UAlbany player to be chosen in the Major League Draft 
(Kansas City, 34th round).
UALBANY MAGAZINE
30
Paw Prints
By Brian DePasquale
Men’s Lacrosse
UAlbany put together its most celebrated season by 
winning the program’s fourth America East championship 
in the last five years. The Great Danes, who were ranked 
No. 2 nationally for six consecutive weeks, posted the first
NCAA Division I Tournament victory in the athletic pro-
gram’s history in a first-round win over Loyola. UAlbany
(15-3) was edged in overtime by top-ranked Cornell in 
the NCAA quarterfinals. Scott Marr was named the 2007
USILA National Coach of the Year for leading his team to
seven top-20 wins, the most ever in a Division I campaign.
Frank Resetarits, the America East player of the year, 
was named to the USILA All-America first team. Jordan 
Levine (second team), Merrick Thomson (third team) 
and Brett Queener (honorable mention) joined him on
the national squad.
Frank Resetarits
Greg Wall
FALL 2007
31
Men’s Outdoor Track
UAlbany won its fourth America East championship in the last five
years. The Great Danes, who established a league record with 268
points, had six individual
champions, including Gered
Burns in the 800-meter run.
Junior Burnett, who won
the 100-meter dash, received
the Coaches’ Award after
accounting for 23 points at
the meet. Joe Greene, the
championship’s most out-
standing track performer,
and Marc Pallozzi earned
All-America recognition for
the second consecutive year.
Greene was fourth in the
400-hurdles at the NCAA
Championships, the highest
finish by a UAlbany athlete.
Pallozzi was eighth in the
javelin. Freshman John Moore made the U.S. roster for the Pan
American Juniors in Brazil and came home with the 800-meters’
bronze medal.
Women’s Outdoor Track
The Great Danes finished first at the America East championship
for the second straight year by coming from behind on the final
day to defeat New Hampshire for the title. Jessica Ortman (1,500),
Adanna Andrews (800), Jenn Gurrant (long jump) and Brenna
Militello (high jump) won individual championships. UAlbany also
showed competitive balance, with six athletes placing second in
their respective events. Ortman, one of five women to qualify for
the NCAA East Regional, placed seventh in the 800-meter run and
set a school record in qualifying.
Women’s Lacrosse
UAlbany made its first-ever appearance in the America East cham-
pionship final after upending top-seed Stony Brook in the semifi-
nals. Goalkeeper Jen Daly, the school’s career saves leader, stopped
24 shots in the postseason and was voted to the all-championship
team. Kate Fontana, Katelyn Primomo and Sarah Spillett were
selected first-team all-conference. Fontana, who was named 
second-team All-Northeast Region, finished her career as the 
program’s all-time scorer with 192 points (156 goals, 36 assists).  
She led this year’s team with 38 goals and ranked seventh 
nationally in caused turnovers (2.71 pg). 
Women’s Tennis
Kim Weltman posted a straight-set victory at first singles 
as UAlbany won the fifth-place match at the America East
Championships. Weltman finished with a 16-7 overall singles
record and posted eight wins in doubles play.
Women’s Golf
The Great Danes finished third at the America East championship.
Freshman Jessica Signorelli placed sixth among the individual
golfers with rounds of 85 and 87 at The Links at Hiawatha 
Landing course.
Football
Defensive back Rashad Barksdale was taken in the sixth round of
the 2007 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Barksdale is the 
second UAlbany football player to be selected in the draft.
Defensive end Andre Coleman
(San Diego) and offensive line-
man Jacob Hobbs (Philadelphia)
signed as free agents.
NCAA Scholarships
Track & field’s Alyssa Lotmore
and men’s soccer’s Stephan 
Hall were awarded NCAA
Postgraduate Scholarships. 
The NCAA awards a national
total of 174 postgraduate 
scholarships annually – 87 
for men and 87 for women.
2007
2007 UAlbany 
Football Schedule
Sept. 1
(Sat.) at Colgate
1 p.m. 
Sept. 8
(Sat.) at Fordham
6 p.m.
Sept. 15
(Sat.) Hofstra
6 p.m.
Sept. 22
(Sat.) at Montana
3:05 p.m.
Oct. 6
(Sat.) Stony Brook
4 p.m.
Oct. 13
(Sat.) Sacred Heart* (HC)
4 p.m.
Oct. 20
(Sat.) at St. Francis, Pa.*
1 p.m.
Oct. 27
(Sat.) at Wagner*
1 p.m.
Nov. 3
(Sat.) Robert Morris*
1 p.m.
Nov. 10
(Sat.) at Monmouth*
1 p.m.
Nov. 17
(Sat.) at Central Conn. State* 12 p.m.
*Northeast Conference Opponent
(HC) Homecoming/Family Weekend
Home games are in boldfaced type  
All Times Eastern
Joe Greene
Alyssa Lotmore
Bob Ewell
Bob Ewell
A
shlee Reed, B.S.’06, learned a lot at UAlbany. The Austin,
Texas, native found that “going away from home” helped
her “grow up.” So did participating in sports. “I don’t know what
my college experience would have been like without sports,” says
Reed, who majored in both human biology and psychology.
“Being on a team helped me
with time management and
people skills. With 14 people
on a team, you have so many
different personalities.
Especially as team captain, I
had to learn how to make us
work as a unit. When you’re on
the court, nothing else matters.
You do everything you can to
help the team win.”
Reed’s winning attitude
brought her numerous honors.
Recruited to play volleyball at
UAlbany on a full four-year
scholarship, she helped to lead
the Great Danes to America
East Conference regular-season
titles in 2004 and 2005 and the
conference championship in
2004. Her efforts earned her
the 2005 Most Valuable Player
Award, which she shared with
teammate and co-captain Blair
Buchanan; the 2006 America
East Woman of the Year Award;
the ECAC Merit Award; and
Chancellor’s Awards for
Student Excellence and
Athletics. 
Shortly after graduation, Reed returned to UAlbany’s athletics
department to accept a part-time assistantship. She spends 
part of each week at SEFCU Arena, helping athletes to 
condition themselves for competition – and treating the 
injuries of those unfortunate enough to pull muscles 
and sprain ankles. Reed has been on the other side of 
the splint, so to speak: In her senior year, she played with an
injured ankle that she didn’t realize was broken.  
Her own experiences with sports-related injuries have made
Reed sympathetic to her patients both at the University and at
the Albany-area orthopedic center
where she also works. “As a med-
ical assistant, I’ve learned that you
have to be personable. Even if I’m
not happy that day, I put a smile
on my face. I realize that the
patient is feeling worse than I am,”
observes Reed, who is studying for
the MCAT and plans to apply for
admission to medical school. 
The academic experience at
UAlbany prepared her well for
future study. “I really thrived,”
Reed notes. “The University is a
great place to learn.” Her favorite
faculty member was Associate
Professor of Anthopology David
Strait. “I really like classes that are
challenging. His class made me pay
attention, and by the end of the
semester, I really felt I had learned
everything and retained it. I had
Dr. Strait for two other classes,
including human biology.”
For her work with the University’s
300 athletes, Reed receives a mod-
est stipend – and the satisfaction
of helping the staff who were there
for her when she was a student.
Working two jobs provides “a nice
balance. It breaks up my days; I get
to see my patients at the other job, then I see most of my friends
here. I’m definitely never bored. I’m always busy.
“I really like interacting with people. The athletes here – all 
of them – are my friends. When I have a bad day, I go talk to
them. Without them, and the coaching staff, my life wouldn’t 
be the same.” 
UALBANY MAGAZINE
32
Paw Prints
Ashlee Reed, B.S.’06
Team Player
By Carol Olechowski
Future physician Ashlee Reed tapes an 
injured ankle at SEFCU Arena.
Mark Schmidt
Dorothy James Olson, 96,
reports that she is living in a beautiful
retirement community in New Hampshire
near her family. Dorothy has many fond
memories of college life at Albany and
would love to hear from fellow 
’31 alumni.
Betty Simmons Shapiro is
presently residing in a nursing home;
she is 93 and no longer able to travel.
Evelyn Lowenberg Pronin passed
away Dec. 25, 2006, at the age of 93.
Throughout her life, Evelyn enjoyed her
passions of education, learning and
reading through both her volunteer work
and professional career. She is survived
by her son, Leslie, and his wife Denise;
her beloved grandchildren, Arthur and
Stephanie; her sister-in-law Rhoda
Golob; and many nieces and nephews.
Evelyn touched the lives of many and
will be greatly missed.
The Class of 1935 donated an
oak bench to the Dewey Library. Co-
councilor Zaven Mahdesian reports
that several class members have been
staying connected. They include Edith
Estabrooks Wilson, Loraine Loder
Constable, Lazetta Gehm Bragelli
and Carleton Coulter. Also keeping in
touch are two class members by mar-
riage, Florence Van Leuvan, wife of Dan,
and Connie Allard, wife of Bill. All are
doing well.
A note from class 
councilor Carolyn Fonda Viall:
Dr. Herbert Bailey attended our
reunion luncheon. His address is 6103
Singletree Lane, Dayton, OH 45459-
2425. I heard from Peg Hof Martinko.
A friend gets Peg, who is in a wheel-
chair, to meetings of a teachers’ organi-
zation that raises money for scholarships
for young women going into the field of
education. Co-councilor Harold
Shapiro is at 5240 S. Shalom Circle,
Apt. 3215, Aurora, CO 80015-2270.
35
36
33
31
FALL 2007
33
Carillon
Alumni News and Notes
the
Some time ago, a college professor of mine taught me about lead-
ership. She said there were three key aspects of connection with an
organization. First, you need to be a member. As an alum, you are
now automatically a member of the UAlbany Alumni Association.
(See the special supplement in this issue for more details.) The next
step is to get involved in some basic way and third, to lead and give
back. Thankfully, those are the same principles that new Alumni
Association President Robert Burstein and Vice President Bill
McCann choose to live by. Each has been a longstanding member
of the Alumni Association and a dedicated volunteer. Now, they are
continuing in leadership positions.
So you can ask, “What does that mean for me?” Their involve-
ment means that alumni have a voice and an opportunity. A voice
because your representative body, the Alumni Association board of
directors, has at its helm men and women who are dedicated to rep-
resenting your needs to the University community and to helping
alumni stay connected. An opportunity because the Association
provides so many ways you can help make UAlbany stronger. As Bill
recently stated, being involved with the University “is a way to give
back to a place which has given much to each alumnus. It allows
alumni to give back to students, which strengthens the total college
experience.” There also is an opportunity to provide financial sup-
port to the institution. He went on to say that “donating to the
UAlbany Fund allows me to support University programs and to
give something back to one of the leading influences in my life.”
So please join Robert and Bill, who not only participate but truly
are leaders in the University community. Alumni participation is
essential to the success of the modern-day University. Everyone 
cannot be the president of the Alumni Association or contribute 
$1 million, but as the founder of the
modern-day Olympic movement, Pierre
de Coubertin, wrote, the important
thing is to take part. 
Lee Serravillo, Executive Director
Left to right: Alumni Association Vice President Bill McCann, 
Executive Director Lee Serravillo and President Robert Burstein.
A Voice, An Opportunity 
Harriett Green Cogger
enjoyed traveling to Sicily and the
European Lowland countries this past
year. Lu Alessandrini Fudger has a
new address: Kingsway Manor, 357
Kings Road, Schenectady, NY 12304.
Les Wiley has passed away.
Vin Gillen and wife Peg have
been traveling locally. Last summer, they
enjoyed a family reunion celebrating 
Peg’s 90th birthday and continued their
annual June outing to Woodloch Pines
in the Poconos with the bridge club girls
and their husbands. Vin asks members
of the Class of 1941 to send him materi-
al for the “Class Notes” section of the
magazine.
Margaret Hotaling
Westervelt reports that she is doing
well and keeping busy with various proj-
ects near her home in Boca Raton, Fla.
A note from class 
councilor Helen Brucker Martin:
Gertrude Bove Purcell was named
honorary chair of the 150th anniversary
celebration of the Vale Cemetery in
Schenectady, N.Y. The Vale Cemetery
Association chose to honor Gertrude “in
recognition of her dedicated service to
the improvement of the Vale neighbor-
hood.” Reporters from four Capital
District television stations visited co-
councilor Eunice Baird Whittlesey,
former Republican National
Committeewoman, at her home. Eunice
shared memories of the late President
Gerald Ford, whom she had the opportu-
nity to work with during her career. Bert
Kiley reported in a recent letter that he
and wife Jean are doing well. Helen
Scislowsky Skiba and husband John
traveled by car last summer from their
home in Westerville, Ohio, to visit
Helen’s sister and family in Kansas. Kit
Herdman Wilson of Shelburne, Vt., is
planning a second trip to Italy with her 
42
41
39
UALBANY MAGAZINE
34
John F. Malitzis
Sharon E. Carpinello
Gerard S. Citera
Emad A. Zikry
Randy Cohen
Nam Soon Huh
Carl Florio
Nicholas Ladany
Alu mni Association
Recognizes Outstanding
Achievements 
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI 
Honors an alumnus or alumna who exhibits sustained outstanding achieve-
ment in a chosen profession or field of endeavor and outstanding service 
to society or the community
Sharon S. Dawes, B.A.’72, Ph.D.’91, director of the Center for Technology 
in Government (CTG) at the University at Albany
CITIZEN OF THE UNIVERSITY 
Recognizes outstanding contributions to the University by 
a non-alumnus or non-alumna through leadership, 
service or a special gift
Bob Ford, University at Albany varsity football head coach
EXCELLENCE IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP 
Recognizes the accomplishments of an individual who 
has contributed to our University, region and economy 
by demonstrating the spirit, leadership and drive of 
an entrepreneur
Emad A. Zikry, B.S.’72, founder, president and chief executive officer 
of Vanderbilt Capital Advisors
Sharon S. Dawes
The University at Albany Alumni Association honored 17 alumni and friends of
the University for their outstanding achievements and service to the University
and the community during its 2007 Excellence Awards Gala June 1.
Bob Ford
44
daughter. Edith T. Aney Davidson
recently spent some months recuperat-
ing in Florida. Her visit was “so mar-
velous” she has made her reservations
for the coming winter.
On May 8, 2007, the Science
Library’s Standish Room was the scene
for the celebration of “The Greatest
Generation,” honoring all alumni from
1940-49. Gari Deliganis
Paticopoulos, Charlotte Goldstein
Koblenz, Adrienne Iorio Caruso, 
Arthur Collins and Eleanor Holbig
Alland represented the Class of ’48.
Arthur led the tribute, and all joined in
sharing memories and “telling stories.”
He also represented the Alumni
Association at the opening of the 2007
Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region
Juried Exhibition at the Albany
International Airport Gallery in May. Also
in May, at a benefit gala for the Lenox
Library in Lenox, Mass., Arthur played
the role of Isaiah Berlin in the short play
“Pasternak’s Boots.” He continues to
record weekly for Recordings for the
Blind and Dyslexic and serves as secre-
tary to the board of managers at his New
York condo. Charlotte Goldstein
Koblenz has sold her home in Albany
and plans to move to San Diego to be
near her two children. Edna Long
Wylie lost her husband last December
and is planning to move to Westchester,
Pa., near family. Clare Creeden
McCracken writes that she loves travel-
ing and has recently returned from Costa
Rica, where her daughter has a home.
She takes each of her grandchildren to
Europe when they graduate from high
school. This year, she is taking two 18-
year-olds, starting in London and flying
from there. Mary Larson Fedorka
plans to take her family of nine on an
11-day cruise down the Danube River,
visiting such cities as Budapest, Vienna,
Passau and Nuremberg. Please contact
your class councilors if you are willing
to help plan for the class’s 60th reunion,
and also please inform them of any
changes in address.
48
FALL 2007
35
OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNI
Recognizes early outstanding achievements 
in a chosen profession or field and/or service 
to the community
Joshua A. Shaw, B.S.’97, co-founder and 
former president and chief operating officer,
GoSMILE, Inc.
EXCELLENCE IN ALUMNI SERVICE
Recognizes sustained leadership and service to the
Alumni Association and the University by alumni
John F. Malitzis, B.A.’89, senior vice president in
the Market Surveillance Division of the New York
Stock Exchange
Gerard S. Citera, B.A.’77, counsel, Chadbourne 
& Parke International Law Firm
EXCELLENCE IN ARTS & LETTERS
Celebrates alumni for distinction in arts and letters
Randy Cohen, B.A.’71, author and writer of 
the column “The Ethicist” in the The New York 
Times Magazine
EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESS
Pays tribute to alumni for distinction in business
for profit
Carl Florio, B.S.’71, counsel to the president/
chief executive officer, First Niagara Financial
Group Inc.
EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION 
Honors alumni for extraordinary distinction in the
field of education, including pre-K through post-
secondary classroom teaching, school services and
administration/supervision
Nicholas Ladany, Ph.D.’92, professor and chair 
of the Department of Education and Human
Services, Lehigh University
Stephen North, D.A.’79, Distinguished Professor
of English, University at Albany
Custer R. Quick, B.S.’55, M.S.’56, Ed.D.’72 & 
Doris M. Quick, B.A.’55, M.A.’64, D.A.’83,
consultants for the International Center for
Leadership in Education
EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC SERVICE 
Recognizes alumni for outstanding achievement 
in public service
Sharon E. Carpinello, R.N., Ph.D.’89, former 
commissioner of the New York State Office 
of Mental Health (OMH)
Nam Soon Huh, Ph.D.’97, developer of the Social
Welfare Department and dean of the Graduate
School of Social Work, Hallym University, Korea
Bert Jablon, B.S.’52, M.A.’55, former president 
of the New York State Public Health Association,
Nassau-Suffolk Region
EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCE & 
TECHNOLOGY
Pays tribute to alumni for distinction in 
science and/or technology
Sandeep Kumar Shukla, M.S.’95, Ph.D.’97,
assistant professor, electrical and computer 
engineering department, Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University
BERTHA E. BRIMMER MEDAL
Celebrates an alum for excellence in teaching 
K-12 and dedication to the profession
Valarie Ann Scott, M.S.’97, principal, Yates Arts 
in Education Magnet School, Schenectady, N.Y.
MAKE YOUR NOMINATION FOR 2008:
If you are interested in nominating someone 
for a 2008 Excellence Award, contact the 
Alumni Association at (518) 442-3080 
or alumni@uamail.albany.edu. 
The deadline is Oct. 26, 2007. Visit
www.albany.edu/alumni/Awards.htm 
for more details.
Bert Jablon
Sandeep Kumar Shukla
Valarie Ann Scott
Stephen North
Joshua A. Shaw
Custer R. Quick & Doris M. Quick
UALBANY MAGAZINE
36
ALUMNI NEWS AND NOTES
Alumni News and Notes
Julian DeLyser ’51, husband
of Annette Gardiner DeLyser, passed
away after a lengthy illness. Virginia
Keller Hayes died in May after a 20-
month struggle against lung cancer.
Virginia is survived by her husband,
three daughters and three granddaugh-
ters. She was active in her church choir,
and for 49 years was active in the
American Association of University
Women at the local, state and associa-
tion level. She also maintained strong
contacts over the years with some mem-
bers of her class. Jean Ineson Ebbert
and husband Leigh were in a tragic auto-
mobile accident in February. Leigh died
as a result of the accident and Jean sus-
tained numerous broken bones. As of
June, she was still in a rehabilitation
center, needing a respirator to assist her
in breathing. Don Dickinson reports
that he has been working for the past 10
years as the volunteer librarian for his
church in Tucson, Ariz. Don’s short arti-
cle, “The Little Book Cart That Could,”
was published by Libraries Alive, the
newsletter of the National Church Library
Association. In May, Bonnie Totten
Adkins and husband Lee spent two
marvelous weeks abroad in Ireland and
England. They were able to work one day
with their Volunteer in Mission team in
Belfast. Bonnie reports the good news
that the participants of Forthspring, the
reconciliation project she and Lee have
worked with for two years, were jubilant
about the political breakthrough that
occurred in May in Northern Ireland. The
rest of their vacation time was spent in
England, visiting friends in
Bournemonth, Rustington and York.
Included was a trip to the once-in-a-life-
time exhibit at the British Library. Larry
Appleby reports that he was busy this
summer preparing for an open house
during a festival held in Warsaw, N.Y., at
the end of July. Leslie Hervey O’Heir
enjoyed a three-week trip to Australia,
New Zealand and Fiji in the spring.
Among the highlights were swimming at
the Great Barrier Reef, spending a night
with a family in New Zealand and partici-
pating in a native ceremony in Fiji. Upon
her return, she discovered her husband
Dick had planned a surprise 25th wed-
ding anniversary celebration. In August,
Leslie and Dick plan to go to the Outer
Banks of North Carolina to celebrate
Leslie’s 80th birthday with all their chil-
dren, their children’s spouses and their
grandchildren. In May, they attended a
grandson’s graduation from Clemson
University. Doris Hoenninger
Anderson reports that she and husband
Dan have three grandchildren and one
great-grandson. Doris and Dan visited
Ruth Leier Fishburn and her hus-
band, Barclay, in Kissimmee, Fla. They
saw another Inter-Varsity Christian
Fellowship friend, Muriel Owens
Everts and her husband, Paul, from
Plantation, Fla., in May, when the
Evertses visited family in Grand Rapids,
Mich. They enjoyed the most visited
tourist attraction in Michigan – the
Meijer Sculpture and Floral Gardens –
which Doris highly recommends. In
June, Doris and Dan attended Dan’s 
60th reunion at Union College. Bob
Kittredge reports that he and wife
Diana have decided to move to southern
California to live closer to their 
daughter and family, residents of the
Poway/Rancho Bernardo area. Bob and
49
• Explore this spellbinding country from the cos-
mopolitan capital of Dublin. Learn about its lit-
erary heritage with a visit to the Writers’
Museum, stop at Trinity College to see the
famous Book of Kells and delight in some of the
sights in Dublin’s West End. 
• Discover Irish history with a journey to the
Neolithic monument of Newgrange; the Hill of
Tara, the coronation site of 142 High Kings; and
Slane, where St. Patrick lit the Pascal Fire. 
• Marvel at the beauty of the Irish countryside as
you travel to Belfast and its impressive squares
and buildings. 
• Admire the lovely Powerscourt Gardens and
drive through Wicklow Mountains and Gap,
which boast some of the most breathtaking
panoramas in Ireland.
For additional information, contact the Alumni
Association at 1-800-836-ALUM or visit on the
Web at www.albany.edu/alumni/travel.
Dublin in an Irish Castle
Explore the wonders of Ireland with fellow alumni on this 
exciting trip sponsored by your Alumni Association
SEPTEMBER 15-23, 2008
Diana’s tour of Ireland turned out to be
fabulous; it included a half-mile elephant
ride, as well as a ride in a colorful
parade on carts drawn by oxen through
the streets of a small village. Since his
retirement from CSU Fresno several
years ago, Bob has been involved in
helping a large Vietnamese refugee com-
munity in Fresno, Calif. In June, he was
honored by the Central California Forum
on Refugee Affairs at a Refugee
Recognition Day. At the ceremony, Bob
received Certificates of Recognition from
the Central California Forum on
Refugees, the State of California
Assembly and Senate, and the City of
Fresno. Congratulations, Bob! Tom
Lisker, your sophomore class presi-
dent, received his master’s degree from
Columbia University at night while work-
ing in an auto garage during the day.
Tom has worked in both the education
and business fields, and currently owns
his own advertising/marketing firm. He
has had seven books for teenagers pub-
lished and has just finished his first
novel. Tom also reports that he and wife
Liz are in “pretty good shape”; two years
ago, they climbed down the Grand
Canyon, then enjoyed a two-night stay at
the Phantom Ranch. They currently live
in Yonkers, N.Y., and enjoy a great view
of their beloved Hudson River. Abe Trop
reports that since his return from
Morocco, things have been somewhat
quiet. Abe taught a short winter program
in Arizona, and since then, his Habitat
for Humanity group finished two houses
in the Bakersfield, Calif., area, with plans
to begin another close by in Delano,
Calif. Abe expects to be a part of the
team on the Jimmy Carter project in the
Los Angeles area in October. Arline
Zeilengold Dinhoff and sister Horty
Zeilengold Schmierer attended the
celebration of Albany’s Greatest
Generation Fund for the Libraries in May
at the Science Library. The celebration
honored all 1940-49 alumni. Special
guests were Art Collins ’48 and Hal
Gould ’47. Arline reports there was a lot
of reminiscing about Agnes Futterer
and the drama department. Gloria
Meiselman Herkowitz is still working
and doing well as a senior real estate
specialist and reports selling six houses
in May. Gloria and husband Allan had a
wonderful time this spring. They enjoyed
a New England cruise; attended their
oldest grandson’s wedding; and, in May,
attended the newlyweds’ graduation. In
March, Joe Zanchelli and wife Joyce
’52 attended an Elderhostel program in
Charleston, S.C. The topic was
“Charleston: A Gem of a City – Its
History, Culture, and Gardens.” Joe
encourages all ’49 alums to keep 
reporting their class notes.
A note from class 
councilors Jacquelyn Gavryck and
Robert Umholtz: Goldie Brenner
Swartz and husband Howard donated
$300,000 to the University’s Inaugural
Scholarship Fund to establish the Goldie
Brenner Swartz ’51 and Howard Swartz
Scholarship to aid visually handicapped
students in achieving their educational
aspirations. The first scholarship will be
awarded in Fall 2007. Marilyn
Strehlow Miller and husband Jay
enjoyed a visit from their three daughters
and two grandchildren last Christmas
and have visited their son in Hawaii a
few times. Mary Eade Bett, Joan Ahr
Robertson and Susan Panek Coffey
have all lost their husbands. Mary’s hus-
band Tom passed away three years ago.
She remains very active with AAUW and
other organizations while also enjoying
the activities of her 10 grandchildren.
Joan Robertson lost husband
Hammond just before Christmas last 
year. She has decided to remain in their
Adirondack home. Sue keeps busy trav-
eling; she has visited every continent
except Antarctica, but still hopes to visit
that destination. Jeanette Zelanis
Sweringen and husband Bruce have
moved to California. Paul Buchman
and wife Sunny now live in a senior
retirement community that offers many
group activities. Mary Fenzel Lopian
and husband Harry have 12 grandchil-
dren and one great-grandchild and
recently attended one grandson’s
Bermuda beach wedding. Charlotte
Skolnick Arnold recently recuperated
from a fractured shoulder. Caroline
Williams Rickerson was recently wid-
owed and has since moved to a retire-
ment development in Mt. Airy, Md.,
where she is involved with a book club
and a writing group. Ann Beirly Elliott
recently moved to Millsboro, Del.
Leona Richter Toppal has moved to
an active retiree community in
Jacksonville, Fla., where she enjoys ten-
nis, swimming, dancing and many other
activities. Don and Martha Spencer
Ely have been doing some recreational
traveling to places such as Croatia,
Slovenia and Venice. They also traveled
recently with their son to the Outer 
51
FALL 2007
37
Alumni News and Notes
The Alumni Association sponsored a number of events this past academic year to give students a 
chance to learn about the Association. Here, students enjoy some sunshine on the Alumni House deck. 
UALBANY MAGAZINE
38
Banks of North Carolina. Jackie Mann
Gavryck enjoyed lunch with Joe Purdy’s
widow, Joan, a ’45 Milne graduate.
A note from class 
councilor Joyce Leavitt Zanchelli:
The class’s 55th reunion during Alumni
Weekend in June was a success, with 51
people (including spouses) representing
the class. Congratulations! Also, con-
gratulations to Marilyn Johnson
VanDyke, who has replaced Don
Putterman as class president. Bob
Lanni remains as treasurer, and Joan
Barron and Joyce Leavitt Zanchelli
as co-councilors. Shirley Serviss
Fioravanti sends her greetings to
everyone and reports that she was
unable to attend the reunion because
Oneonta, where she taught, was having
its reunion the same weekend. Jack
Smithler enjoyed a voyage to the South
Sea Islands and hoped to get in touch
with Dave Shepard in San Diego on
his return, but was unable to do so as he
contracted an upper respiratory infection.
Aileen O’Brien Minor reports she is
very busy with her antique shows; she
hosted one in New York and one in
Philadelphia this spring. Marion Rutz
Reda is planning to go back to work in
her daughter’s office. Vicki Baldino
Driver is very involved in programs
promoting intercultural understanding
and has attended conferences on world
religions. Vicki and husband Joe have
moved back to Albany and now live near
The College of Saint Rose. Midge and
Bill Englehart are kept very busy, visit-
ing their five children and six grandchil-
dren and traveling. Midge and Bill
recently enjoyed a tour of the national
parks, including the Grand Canyon,
Mount Rushmore, Bryce, Zion and
Yellowstone. Midge loves to play mah-
jongg, and Bill is on the board of direc-
tors of both their country club and the
Chincoteague National Preserve. Al
Stephenson is still working full time at
John Carroll University in Cleveland and 
recently has been asked to write the
third edition of his textbook, which
should be out in the fall. Al owns
one of the largest private collections
of historic documents; it includes 75
documents from the American
Revolution and 600-700 from other
historic periods. He was happy to
come east to Marilyn Johnson
VanDyke’s historical society. Marilyn
herself recently was named Woman of
Distinction by the Adirondack Girl Scout
Council. She was one of five women
honored, as an example and a model for
women. Phyllis and Bob Hausner are
in the process of moving to Salem, Va.,
in order to be closer to their daughter.
Phyllis and Bob have four grandchildren,
ages 26, 23, 12 and 10, and a new Cairn
Terrier puppy. Mary Anne Lanni is still
working with the State Education
Department, reading essays for the
General Education Development
Diploma. Mary Anne and Bob are always
loyal attendees at ’52 reunions. Joan
Bennett Kelly and husband Charlie
continue to divide their time between
Vermont and Florida, while still finding
time to attend many of their grandchil-
dren’s events. One of Joan’s grand-
daughters, who has appeared in many
theatrical productions and had the lead
role this year in the play “Once Upon a
Mattress,” will be attending Marymount
College next year. Sara, another grand-
daughter, won her local sectionals in the
pentathlon and will be competing at the
state level. Joan saw Nancy Frey
Pettinelli but, she reports, cannot
remember how many children Nancy
has. Jeanne Seymour Earle contin-
ues to lead a busy life teaching and sub-
stituting as a librarian. Jeanne’s latest
stint had her teaching Latin, which she
enjoyed very much. Jeanne led the class
in the alma mater at the reunion and
showed she still has that fabulous voice.
Tom Holman spends only four months
of the year at his home in Long Island,
N.Y., and the rest of the year in either
Naples, Fla.; St. Maarten; or visiting his
sister, nieces and nephews. Madeline
Weitlauf Huchro and husband Walter
spend six months in Westport, N.Y., and
six months in Florida. Their daughter is
a physical education teacher in
Ticonderoga, N.Y., and their son lives in
Charlotte, N.C. Madeline is an avid 
bridge player who plays every week and
hosts benefit bridge parties in her home.
Doris Vater Ward attended the dedica-
tion of the Booneville Black River Canal
Museum in the Adirondacks, where a
replica of the old canal barge has been
built. Doris’ ancestors were superintend-
ents of this canal, which boasts 71 locks
in 35 miles. Pat Devitt Kavanaugh is
the proud mother of four sons and three
grandsons, with a new grandchild
expected soon. Pat is very involved in
church activities and last year celebrated
a grandson’s birthday in Ireland. Joe
Dolan and wife Marlene have lived in
their house in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for 39
years. Joe and Marlene made a trip to
the Umbria region of Italy, where they
visited ruins of the home of Marlene’s
grandfather. The town they visited has a
total population of only 13. Bill Wiley
and wife Jane remain in Hilton Head
Island, S.C., and very much enjoy their
six grandchildren, ages 4-21. When Bill
is not busy with his duties as president
of the Rotary Club and the local Town
Homes Organization, he and Jane travel
extensively. They especially enjoyed their
trips to China and Hawaii. Helen
Pilcher Terrill and husband Bill are
busy keeping track of their 12 grandchil-
dren. The three weeks preceding the
reunion in June found them attending
three graduations and a wedding, and
they left the reunion early for their annu-
al visit to Nantucket. Joyce Leavitt
Zanchelli and husband Joe ’49 con-
tinue to enjoy Elderhostels, having com-
pleted their 10th at the Art Institute of
Chicago and their 11th in Charleston,
S.C. Joyce and Joe love living near
Saratoga Springs and take full advantage
of the many things that city has to offer.
Kathryn Shirn Peet was determined to
make it to this past reunion, but once
again had to go to Scotland. Kathryn
sends best wishes to all and thanks
Joan Barron for all she has done for 
52
Alumni News and Notes
Doreen ’66 and Daniel ’64 Smith enjoy time together in April at a 
Richmond, Va., UAlbany happy hour sponsored by the Alumni Association. 
THANKS!
The members of the
West Coast Florida
Chapter have con-
tributed funds to the 
Ira and Elsie Freeman
Scholarship Fund. Our
thanks to all the chap-
ter volunteers for their
many years of service
and support.
the class. She also reports that she
attended Columbia after Albany and
taught many years at the University of
Victoria and in workshops in Great
Britain. She continues to live in Victoria,
B.C. Your councilors thank you all for
keeping in touch and, as Joyce says,
“We all enjoy reading about our class-
mates, so send the news!”
John Centra is retired from
his professorship at Syracuse University.
During the past year, John has been
developing a Web-based compendium of
techniques and approaches for improv-
ing college teaching. John Jackson
has retired from his teaching career, and
has since been traveling with wife
Cynthia ’56; both taught in Japan.
John and Cynthia also enjoy canal boat-
ing, which they have done in the United
States, Canada, Britain, France and the
Netherlands. Joan Hartman received
an outstanding volunteer award from the
Staten Island Inter-Agency Council for
the Aging in recognition of her work in
the Prejudice Reduction Program. Marv
Chernoff, retired professor of counsel-
ing and educational psychology, is still
active part-time in his private psy-
chotherapy practice. In recent years,
Marv has traveled to China, Paris,
Mexico, Canada and many places in the
United States, despite being diagnosed
with Parkinson’s disease in 2001. He
also leads a local writing group and is
currently working on his second novel, a
follow up to the first. The world premier
of his play “The Howie Monologues,” a
semi-autobiographical account that
includes his college years at Albany,
opened in Los Angeles in April. Sally
Gerig MacLachlan reports that she
appreciates the joys and advantages of
this decade of life; she enjoys friends
and family and the new younger genera-
tion of the family. Sally presently serves
as area director for the Gideon Auxiliary
for Northeastern New York and continues
to teach at a shelter. She also serves as
ombudsman to residents in a health care
facility and works in the Gideon outreach
program. She spent two weeks in Italy
last September and has planned a trip to
France this year, along with a tour of the
Grand Tetons and western national
parks. Jim Thompson was in Texas
last spring for his granddaughter’s high
54
39
FALL 2007
C
uriosity about foreign peoples and
lands influenced Jeffrey Loree’s edu-
cation and his career: In his 30s, he
gave up teaching to become a Foreign Service
officer with the U.S Department of State.
As a teenager, the Lewiston, N.Y., native
became interested in East Asia. He studied in
Busan, South Korea, during his senior year of
high school and subsequently enrolled at
UAlbany, “the only SUNY campus to offer an
undergraduate degree in Chinese at the
time.” In the 1980s, “China was not yet the
important business destination and U.S.
trading partner it is today. I wish I could say
that I was a visionary who saw the rising
importance of China, but I was just curious
about how other people live and what they
think. The language fascinated me.”
Loree spent the 1988-89 academic year at
Peking University. In Beijing’s Tiananmen
Square June 4, 1989, a peaceful protest led by
college students and other citizens calling for
democratic reforms in their communist
nation turned violent; the Chinese army
opened fire, killing many hundreds of
demonstrators. Loree left Beijing with “a
need to better understand China and a clear
sense of the importance of the rule of law.” 
He returned to the United States, did gradu-
ate work in modern Chinese literature at
UCLA and later taught at Georgetown
University. While suggesting overseas careers
to his students, Loree took and passed the
State Department’s Foreign Service examina-
tion and was offered a posting as assistant
cultural affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in
Beijing (2004-06). This fall, he begins a two-
year assignment he and his wife, art conser-
vator Hiroko Kariya, chose together: political
and economic officer at the U.S. Consulate
General in Surabaya, Indonesia. Loree, who
also speaks Japanese and French, finished an
intensive course in Indonesian last spring to
prepare for that posting but feels that “the
ability to listen is the most important skill a
diplomat can have.” 
Surabaya presents “the potential for chal-
lenging work.” Indonesia “is the largest
Muslim democracy in the world. There will
be national elections in 2009; the first free
national elections in almost 40 years
occurred in 2004. I look forward to helping
U.S. policymakers understand how things are
going in the run-up to this important event
in Indonesian political history.” 
Loree enjoys “having the opportunity to
share with foreign publics what makes
America work – and how we are continually
trying to fix what doesn’t. Confronting mis-
conceptions about our country and making
sure that we get a fair hearing is a real honor.”
– Carol Olechowski 
Jeffrey Loree, B.A.’89
Diplomatically Speaking 
– and Listening 
Jeffrey Loree (left) speaks to 
students at the American Center
for Educational Exchange.
UALBANY MAGAZINE
40
Alumni News and Notes
school graduation. Jim’s son, Scott,
daughter-in-law Karen, and their three
children are back from Italy, where Scott
performed two years of Navy service.
Scott’s new command is chief Navy JAG
corps officer for the southeastern United
States. Jim attended the change of com-
mand ceremony in July, then returned to
his home in Albany. Louise Button
Eggleton and husband Don are enjoy-
ing their great-grandson and have
recently taken some short trips. Louise
has also been busy helping her town’s
library recover from last year’s flood.
Rose Mary Zongrone had her second
knee replacement surgery in March, put-
ting her, as she states, in the “bionic
woman” class. John Zongrone is still
working at his insurance agency, along
with son John and daughter Gale. The
grandchildren’s activities keep both Rose
Mary and John on a very busy schedule
of concerts, plays and assorted athletic
events. John gets season’s tickets to
Albany’s basketball games so children
and grandchildren can go to “Grandpa’s
games.” Diane Wheeler Ozkum has
lived and taught at a girls’ college in
Istanbul, Turkey. When Diane returned to
the United States, she attended art
school and sold portraits that she paint-
ed. She later became a financial consult-
ant for Merrill Lynch. Diane is also a
genealogist; she has researched her fam-
ily history back to the 12th century and
is a member of the Daughters of the
American Revolution. She has three chil-
dren, two of them doctors and one a
game master, and has recently moved to
California in order to be closer to her
grandchildren. Phyl MacCormack
Weaver traveled with a small group to
Istanbul, Turkey, for three weeks earlier
this year. Marie Sejersen and husband
Jon report that they have slowed down
considerably, but traveled to North
Carolina to visit with family in December,
made a trip to New Orleans in February
and went to Atlantic City in April. The
rest of their time is spent maintaining
their health and home in Florida. Sven
Sloth reports, with great sadness, that
his wife Ingrid passed away in their
home last December from a very aggres-
sive form of cancer. Pat Byrne
Manning is still reviewing children’s
books for the School Library Journal and
volunteering at the Clearwater Public
Library, and is a new volunteer with The
Hospice of the Florida Suncoast. Last
The Alumni Association voted
in five new members to the
board of directors June 2.
KEVIN ANDREW CHAMBERS
graduated from UAlbany in
1997 with degrees in accounting
and English and earned his juris
doctor in 2004 from Yale Law
School. Currently, Kevin is com-
pleting a one-year appointment
as a judicial clerk to the
Honorable Harry T. Edwards,
senior circuit judge on the
United States Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia
Circuit. Previously, he worked
for Toyota Motor Sales (USA) as
a business process consultant
and in the Washington, D.C.,
office of Wilmer, Cutler,
Pickering, Hale and Dorr LLP as
an associate in the firm’s securi-
ties and litigation practices. 
CHRISTOPHER HAHN is a
1994 graduate of UAlbany and a
1999 graduate of St. John’s
University School of Law. He
joined United Way of Long
Island as president and chief
operating officer in March 2007.
Previously, he served as the chief
deputy county executive for
Nassau County, where he
directed and managed the daily
administration, communica-
tions and operations of Nassau
County government, which
consists of a $2.6 billion 
budget, 8,700 employees and 
47 departments. 
DIANE HODURSKI-FOLEY
has more than 15 years’ experi-
ence in program management
and coordinating, developing,
and delivering training and staff
development programs in pub-
lic and non-profit organiza-
tions. She received a master of
public administration from
UAlbany’s Nelson A. Rockefeller
Graduate School of Public
Affairs and Policy in 1995, as
well as a bachelor of arts in the-
atre and English in 1993. 
TIMOTHY P. MURPHY was
appointed executive vice presi-
dent and chief operating offi-
cer of the University at Albany
Research Foundation in June
1999. Tim is responsible for
the day-to-day management of
the foundation and for over-
seeing the implementation of
many new initiatives, including
the installation of Oracle
Corpor-ation’s suite of grants
management software applica-
tions and the expansion of the
foundation’s activities in the
areas of federal and state rela-
tions, technology transfer and
philanthropic giving. He holds a
master’s 
degree 
in 
public
administration from UAlbany
and a bachelor’s degree from the
State University College at
Oswego.
DAVID P. SCHAFFER graduat-
ed from UAlbany in 1983 with a
bachelor’s degree in political
science. He obtained his juris
doctor from Pace University
Law School in 1987 and has
been practicing as a civil litiga-
tor specializing in defending
corporations sued in product
liability and toxic tort exposure
cases for almost 20 years. He
currently is senior counsel with
Malaby, Carlisle & Bradley, a
mid-sized law firm located in
New York City. 
Kevin Andrew Chambers
Christopher Hahn
Diane Hodurski-Foley
Timothy P. Murphy
David P. Schaffer
Alumni Association Welcomes New Board Members
fall, Pat took a three-week trip to Rome.
She is planning a five-week return trip to
Italy, to visit Venice, Florence and Rome,
where she will be staying in convents;
she will also be renting an apartment in
Rome. In May, she took a trip to
Connecticut to visit her grandchildren,
spending a week at the beach in North
Carolina on her way and making many
other stops to see family and friends.
John Parsons reports that he will be
visiting friends in New York and family
in the D.C. area in September. John also
maintains casual contact with Caroline
Gazulis Johnson ’53. Ken
Schoonmaker traveled to Hawaii last
November and took skiing trips to Utah
and Colorado in March. Joan Mackey
Stronach reports that she is getting
around again after having two knee
replacements and is doing well. Joan
enjoyed a cruise with Isabel Martin
Tagliabue around the horn of South
America, which she describes as “a very
interesting part of the world.” She plans
to spend some time in Spain this
November. Donald Voellinger is living
in New York, attending the opera and
theatre and enjoying retirement. Donald
had planned to go to Savannah and
Charleston this past summer. Peg
Livingstone Gilfillan and husband
Bob are retired but have been busy trav-
eling to Spain, Portugal, Scotland,
Switzerland and Alaska. They will spend
some time in Ireland in September.
While they still live in Nashville, Peg and
Bob spend six months of the year in
Venice, Fla., and would like to know if
there are any alums living in that area.
Kay Oberst Mcmanus passed away in
January at her home in Niskayuna. She
is survived by her husband of 50 years,
Peter McManus, and their five sons
and their families, including 11 grand-
children and one great-grandchild. John
Dengler, liaison from the New York
State Council Knights of Columbus, was
a guest at the banquet of the New York
State Columbiettes convention banquet
in June. John Cooper has retired from
teaching English at Portland State
University after 29 years but continues to
give guest lectures. In his retirement,
John and his wife, who also is retired,
have traveled extensively in Germany,
Italy, England and France, as well as the
United States and Canada. They have
bought a vacation condo apartment on
the Oregon coast, where John has been
elected president of the Homeowners
Association. He has had two articles on
English poetry published, the most
recent in the 2005 issue of the Ben
Jonson Journal, and is working on get-
ting a book published. John also occa-
sionally serves as a spokesperson for
the Oregon Food Bank.
In his retirement, Bob
Ashfield is part of the Service Corps
of Retired Executives of the Greater
Houston Area, helping small business
owners and entrepreneurs develop busi-
ness plans and strategies. Bob also
works with the Prisoner Entrepreneur
Program, teaching post-release business
skills to short-term, non-violent inmates.
He and wife Jane celebrated their 50th
anniversary last year during a tour of
Italy. Jean Morris has transformed her
vintage jewelry hobby into a business
from her home in Hudson, N.Y.
Marjorie Ashley, now 91, has given
up her home in Kerrville, Texas, for an
assisted-living facility. She reports being
delighted with her new home. Nancy
Bush welcomed her first great-grand-
child in 2006. The National Organization
of Competitive Running has elected Don
Lein, longtime award-winning senior
runner and IBM executive, to direct a
team whose charge it is to make the
sport of running more attractive to par-
ticipants. Over the next few years, the
task will take him to competitions
throughout the world, including the track
and field events at the 2008 Olympics in
Beijing. In March, Kay Johnston 
Harvey spent two weeks in Peru touring
the sites of the Inca civilization. In 2005,
the Sarasota, Fla., Dattoli Cancer
Foundation, which provides support and
information to prostate cancer patients
and survivors, honored Ron Koster by
creating The Ron Koster Library, “in
honor of his shining and sharing spirit.”
Before passing away in 2005, Ron had
worked tirelessly for 13 years to improve
the lives of other victims of the disease.
Laura Chestnut is the 2007 recipient
of the Class of 1955 Award. Laura is
enrolled in the two-year master of sci-
ence program in special education and
literacy, and expects to graduate in the
summer of 2008.
Joan Fuller Allen and hus-
band Don celebrated their 50th anniver-
sary last August at the Jersey shore.
Niki Loehr-Belleville and husband
Dick spent a month in France last year.
Claudette Rudolph Bolakas and
husband Bill continue to enjoy their
summers in Shelter Island Heights, N.Y. 
Merldene Fox Friel traveled to
London and enjoyed many activities the
city had to offer. Jane Ide Hutchins
and husband Jack welcomed their 10th
grandchild, Harriet Jane, last October.
Jane enjoys reading, gardening, travel-
ing, cooking and practicing the violin.
She continues to actively fund raise for
the Class of 1956 Scholarship Fund for
prospective teachers. Joyce Tannatta
Keating and husband Jim spent their
Christmas in Italy for a family reunion
and enjoy traveling to visit their children
and grandchildren. Matthew A.
McMahon Jr. has written an essay
titled “Breaking Seventy.” Carole
Hughes Summer and husband Bill
continue to be involved in church min-
istry, and Carole is now a children’s vio-
lin teacher. Judy Vimmerstedt
Morrell and husband John celebrated
their 50th anniversary last year and
returned to the Capital District. Judy and
John’s Thanksgiving was spent with fam-
ily at Disneyland in California. David
Greenberg has retired from teaching 
56
55
FALL 2007
41
Harold Lohner '80, '82, '84 stands next to his piece “Tattoos 1.” Lohner is the
winner of the 2007 Alumni Association Purchase Award, given to a UAlbany
alum in the Artists of the Mohawk Hudson Region Juried Exhibition. After the
exhibit, the piece will become part of the University at Albany art collection.
ARE YOU CONNECTED?
Did you know you have more than 100,000
alumni contacts right at your finger tips? The
UAlbany Alumni Online Community gives
you access to an impressive network of alum-
ni across the globe. This password-protected
site opens up a new world of possibilities. 
Online Community features include:
• An alumni directory that lets you find 
fellow graduates fast
• Career Center information that brings 
qualified people and great jobs together
• Permanent e-mail addresses that never
change and that permit forwarding of your 
e-mail to you no matter how many times
you change Internet access providers
• Yellow Pages that allow you to advertise your
goods or services or shop for services offered
by other alumni
It’s all on the Internet, accessible only to
UAlbany alumni. Log on to our Web page 
at www.albany.edu/alumni and click on the
UAlbany Connections link to get connected!
UALBANY MAGAZINE
42
French after 43 years. David now works
out regularly with wife Anita Joy, sings
in the Temple Israel Choir, and partici-
pates in Bible study groups and Hebrew
classes. Michael Humphrey, retired
high school guidance counselor, now
enjoys golf, reading, rooting for the
Boston Red Sox and visiting his 12
grandchildren. Mary Elizabeth
“Betty” Murray Hunt spends winters
in Jensen Beach, Fla. Betty enjoys play-
ing bridge, reading, traveling and serv-
ing as president of a woman’s investment
club. Marion Dean Gilchrist Inglis is
now retired and enjoys reading, traveling
and playing tennis. Marion is also active
in a book group and a children’s pro-
gram at her local library. Gil Jackofsky
works as a psychologist in the San
Diego area; in his leisure time, he enjoys
reading, writing, traveling and staying fit.
Morton Katz works as an adjunct facul-
ty member teaching chemistry at
Columbus State Community College in
Columbus, Ohio. Arlene Gingold
King is retired and enjoys traveling, the-
ater, music, exercise and playing mah-
jongg. Arlene also participates in a book
club and is currently enrolled in continu-
ing education courses.
A note from class 
councilor Sheila Lister Bamberger
and Ben Lindeman: “More than 60
classmates, along with spouses, guests,
and faculty members, enjoyed a variety
of activities to celebrate 50 years since
our graduation. Breakfast as guests of
the library, lunch in a tent in front of
Page Hall, banquet and brunch at the
Holiday Inn gave us lots of opportunities
to get reacquainted, chat and ‘catch up’
with each other. We’re sorry some could-
n’t join and hope that next time you will
be able to be with us.” Mort Hess and
wife Ellie will be taking a second honey-
moon, a Hawaiian cruise, immediately
before attending their son’s wedding on
the island of Maui. Sandy Bernstein
and wife Nancy ’62 celebrated their
45th anniversary in Hawaii in March.
Sandy still officiates at high school soc-
cer and basketball, plays some golf and
takes classes at Marist College through
the Continuing Life Study Program.
Sandy and Nancy have three daughters
and five grandsons. Bobbi Hungerford
Leahy lives in Sedona, Ariz., where she
continues her theatre work as director of
the Sedona Showstoppers, a performing
troupe of men and women over 50.
Bobbi has five children and 16 grand-
children. Helen Hagenah Umstead
taught for many years, has five children
and eight grandchildren and lives in
Pennsylvania. Ann Kinsler Dame is a
retired business teacher. Clyde Payne
and wife Connie have three children and
two grandchildren. Clyde and Connie
still live on Long Island, N.Y., where
Clyde is dean of the School of Education
at Dowling College. Marilyn Chenfeld
Cohen received the 2007 NYSAEYC
“Champion for Children” award. Marilyn
and husband Ken ’54 live in New
Jersey. Carol Bell Annacone is a
retired English teacher. Carol and hus-
band Tom ’60 live in Yorktown Heights,
N.Y. Carol Keyser lives in New York
City and enjoys all the Big Apple has to
offer while also traveling extensively and
volunteering as a docent at the American
Folk Art Museum. Bernie Robbins
lives in Truro, Mass., and is a retired
math teacher. Tom Hoppey will soon
count nine grandchildren. Tom is retired
and living in Port Jervis, N.Y. Clint
Carpenter has retired from the physics
department at Mohawk Valley
Community College. Judy Larson
DiMario has been a legislator in the
Vermont House of Representatives.
Nancy Louprette Knowlton and hus-
band Arthur welcomed their first grand-
child, a boy, this year. Rev. Robert J.
Reuss, after 34 years of ordained parish
ministry, has retired. Bob still does many
parish interims and offers continued
assistance through volunteer work at
churches, along with wife Pat. He also
enjoys traveling and reading. Ben and
Sheila hope more class members will
send them information: “We’ve had fun
trying to maintain contact with one 
and all and look forward to continuing 
to do so.”
Shirley Blowers
Weiermiller and husband Everett ’57
spent two months in Bradenton, Fla., last
winter. The Culinary Support Building at
Miami University of Ohio has been
named for Edward J. Demske, retired
senior vice president for Finance and
University Services. In his retirement,
Edward and wife Elizabeth ’61 split
their time between Ohio and Tucson,
Ariz. Marilyn Leach Causey spends
her time traveling with Marilyn De
Santa Lorenzo ’57; she also visits her
son and his family in Maine. Sheila
Sullivan Cerwonka continues to enjoy
skiing and kayaking. She also teaches
lifeguarding and attends biology semi-
nars. Dukene Zervas Brady has
retired from the New York State
Department of Correctional Services.
She and husband Jim ’61 have been
enjoying time on their boat, and they
spend the winter at Hilton Head Island,
S.C. This spring, they took a six-week
trip through Italy, Austria and France.
Pat Corcoran Ryan lives in a suburb
of Boulder, Colo., and works for
McKesson Pharmaceuticals. Pat enjoys
traveling to exotic locations. Dave Call
has retired from Fort Ann Central School
District but continues to teach as an
adjunct professor of mathematics at
Adirondack Community College. Dick
Bartholomew has retired from teaching
French after 34 years and now volun-
teers as a docent at the Hyde Collection
Art Museum in Glens Falls, N.Y. Dick
also is a teacher and committee member
at the Academy for Learning in 
58
57
Check out the new online Alumni Store! 
We’ve added new items and great deals at 
www.albany.edu/alumni/store. Go, Great Danes!
CareerSearch Provides Key Information
on Potential Employers
UAlbany alumni can now access CareerSearch, an Internet tool
that provides fast, up-to-date information on potential employ-
ers in a variety of industries and fields both nationally and inter-
nationally. CareerSearch also offers a helpful salary wizard. 
CareerSearch provides quick Web access to almost 10 million
key contacts, including company descriptions, addresses, names,
titles and many e-mail addresses. It offers an intuitive Web-
based interface that lets users specify a broad range of search cri-
teria to find valuable potential opportunities. To speed and sim-
plify the search and contact process, CareerSearch results are
downloadable in a format that works with almost every leading
word processor, database or contact management program.
To access CareerSearch, alumni must first register online 
for MonsterTRAK. If you are already registered, simply sign 
in to MonsterTRAK. You will be brought directly to a page 
with the CareerSearch link. If you have not registered, visit
www.albany.edu/alumni/Jobseekers.htm#careersearch for regis-
tration directions. 
Calendar
October 
4
Fifth Annual Metro-NY Great Danes 
Scholarship Golf Classic, Bethpage State Park 
12-13
Sigma Lambda Sigma Reunion
12-14
Homecoming/Family Weekend & Reunion 
13
Legacy Families Reception
27
Defensive Driving Class, Capital Region Chapter
27
“Wicked” in Boston and Meet Author 
Gregory Maguire '76
November
12
Culinary Institute of America Tour and Dinner,
Capital Region Chapter
Retirement in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 
His travels include most of Europe and
Russia. Anne Wager has retired from
teaching English in the Binghamton City
School District and now corrects state
exams for the Susquehanna Central
School District. Anne enjoys traveling
with friends, attending Broadway plays
and spending time with her two grand-
children. Since retiring from Hudson
Falls Central School District, Warren
Dunham volunteers his time to install
Lifeline Units. Warren currently enjoys
working out, as well as playing tennis
three times a week. He also travels to
Florida, where he tours and visits his
son on Amelia Island. Ron Alexander
divides his time between his home in
Dryden, N.Y., and Florida, where his
property experienced hurricane damage
earlier this year. Sue Russell
Williams has retired for the second
time from public school teaching, but
still serves as adjunct faculty member for
UAlbany mentoring. She enjoys reading;
volunteers at SPAC and the Little
Theater; and is active as an administrator
with Delta Kappa Gamma Society
International, an organization for 
women educators.
Steve Myslinski retired from
his associate professor’s position at
Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I.
Steve, a retired naval commander, taught
English for more than 40 years at the
secondary and college levels. He and
wife Ursula have relocated to Charlotte,
N.C., near family. Susan Blank, a San
Francisco resident since graduation, is
secretary of her synagogue, still works in
her conservatorship business and
reports that her next travels will be to
Israel, Turkey and Cuba. Elena
Rabine-Halady attended her niece’s
graduation from Penn State University;
Lil Skadberg Upcraft ’60 and Lee
Upcraft ’60 joined the family for the
celebration dinner. Elena is planning a
trip this fall to Southeast Asia, where her
niece is teaching.
Richard Kelly and wife Piret
spent the winter in Florida. They also
visited family in New Mexico.
Judy Koblintz Madnick and
65
63
62
43
A
s a teenager, David Kahan doodled “sneak
er designs and sketches of warm-up suits”
on his notebooks. “At the time, I had no idea
there was an actual industry” behind sports-
wear design, recalls the Brooklyn, N.Y., native.
Today, he knows better: As the new president
of Reebok USA, Kahan is one of the titans of
the athletic wear industry. Recruited to join
the Reebok management team as senior vice
president five years ago, he is responsible for
“all United States operations of the brand –
footwear, apparel and accessories. Most of my
time is spent working with the largest retailers,
such as Foot Locker, Nordstrom, Kohl’s and
J.C. Penney, to create exciting new products
and marketing initiatives that connect with
their consumers.”
Kahan enrolled at UAlbany in the late 1970s. “I
knew the excellent reputation of the business
school, and I figured that accounting would
give me the broadest background and the best
preparation for my future. At the time, my
highest aspiration may have been to work at a
small accounting firm, or maybe to own a
neighborhood sporting
goods store.”
His interests in sports,
clothing 
and 
fashion
merged with the retail
business when Kahan
“worked a few summers
on Macy’s selling floor.
Every day was different,
and it wasn’t the typical
‘office’ job. After gradua-
tion, I passed on a few job offers from Big 8
accounting firms and decided to begin my
career in Macy’s executive training program,
the pinnacle of retail training. Even today,
many senior-level execs at the leading fashion
brands are Macy’s alumni,” Kahan notes.
In the mid-1980s, with “the athletic category
just really coming into the national conscious-
ness,” Kahan was chosen to create a brand-
new department. “The
Macy’s Athletic Club,”
which featured “clerks
outfitted in uniforms,
neon 
stadium-type
signs and appearances
by star athletes, proved
to be a huge success.”
Kahan later worked for Nike, Fila USA and
Russell Athletic, then moved on to Reebok,
“the official brand of the NFL, NHL and
MLB.” In 2006, Reebok merged with Adidas –
the largest merger in the history of the sports
and fitness industry. “We are now part of a $12
billion global organization that also includes
Rockport, Adidas, TaylorMade Golf and CCM
Hockey,” says Kahan, who resides in Sharon,
Mass., with his wife, Jessica, and sons, Daniel,
16, an aspiring actor, and Matthew, 9, “a base-
ball and basketball fanatic.”
UAlbany, Kahan observes, “prepared me
incredibly well for my career. The education
was first rate, and the competitiveness of the
accounting program was tremendous. I am
continually impressed
when I see what our
graduates are up to and
how successful they have
been in the wide range of
careers they have chosen.
[Assistant Dean] John
Levato was a great
sounding board; he gave
me and surely thousands
of others through the
years a tremendous level of encouragement as
we made our way through the business school
and onto our career paths.”
Kahan advises students trying to discern their
own career paths to “find your passion and
follow it. When you work in what you really
enjoy, despite the pressure, long hours, travel,
etc., it really isn’t work.”
– Carol Olechowski
FALL 2007
Alumni News and Notes
When you work in 
what you really enjoy 
… it really isn’t work.
David Kahan, B.S.’82
Reebok’s Titan 
of Athletic Wear
husband Stuart have moved from their
home in Albany to a new community in
Jacksonville, Fla. Dave Simons was
installed as commander March 2 for a
one-year tour of duty with the Raleigh
Sail & Power Squadron, a unit of the
United States Power Squadrons.
Joe Blackman teaches third
and fourth graders at the University of
Denver’s Ricks Center; he is also a part-
ner in a small home-building company.
Bonnie Ferrari Shannon is enjoying
retirement. She is active as president of
the Friends of the Kinderhook Memorial
Library and as a member of the
Kinderhook Planning Board. Cathy
Armao Yaffa has taught English in
Albany, Schenectady, and at the lab
school at Salem State College in
Massachusetts, and served as an editor
for a textbook publisher. Cathy has now
joined her husband in a small advertis-
ing and communications company he
founded in the Boston area. She reports
they are still going strong. Gary
Spielmann has retired after 37 years
working in state government in the New
York State Assembly, SUNY, the
Department of Environmental
Conservation and the Office of Mental
Health. He lives in Kinderhook, N.Y., and
remains active in the local library and on
the zoning board, and does safety con-
sulting for the New York State Bridge
Authority and Thruway Authority. As
class councilor, Gary welcomes any and
all news from his classmates!
A note from class 
councilor Kay Hotaling: The Class of
1967 celebrated its 40th reunion during
Alumni Weekend in June. Ruth
Silverman Bald traveled the greatest
distance to celebrate the reunion, visiting
from France for her first stay in the
Capital Region in 15 years. Deborah
Friedman retired as chief municipal
personnel consultant from the New York
State Department of Civil Service. Joan
Currier Schatz continues to teach
mathematics at the Academy of the Holy
Names in Albany; she is also an adjunct
professor at The College of Saint Rose.
Henry Madej continues his leadership
of the Pine Hills Neighborhood
Association in Albany, N.Y.
Thomas O’Connor, professor
71
67
66
B
y the time he was a high school freshman,
David J. Novak knew he wanted to be a
lawyer. So the 14-year-old Clinton, N.Y.,
native consulted an attorney for advice. “He told
me it didn’t matter what my major was. It was
more important to get into the best school, do
what I enjoyed and get good grades. The
University at Albany was one of the best schools
in New York.” Since Albany was also the center of
New York State government, the attorney suggest-
ed that Novak “could use internships as a way of
getting involved in government and politics. So 
I went to Albany.” 
He made the most of
his undergraduate
years and today credits
the University with
“launching me into
the world.” Through
the Study Abroad
Program, the history
major had “the experi-
ence of a lifetime” at
the University of
Copenhagen. The next
year, he interned for
then-New York State
Assemblyman Mark
Alan Siegel, joined
Siegel’s staff after
graduation and subse-
quently worked for
Assembly representa-
tives Melvin Miller
and Helene Weinstein.  
After earning his J.D.
at Albany Law School
and working as a Wall
Street trial attorney,
Novak set off to
“become
‘International
Business Guy.’ I gave
away most of my suits
and all my furniture,
and bought a one-way
ticket to Barcelona.
My friends thought I
was crazy, but I want-
ed to change my life
and my career,” he
recalls.
Novak arrived in Spain, immersed himself in the
language and landed a job, but was barred from
the building his first day on the job. Apparently,
his new employers thought he had working
papers, but “I thought they were going to enable
me to obtain the papers.” He returned to the U.S.
“to try to recreate myself.” In the early 1990s,
when his father suffered a heart attack, Novak
moved to Florida to help his parents. There, he
met Jerry Fox, who “had worked for four presi-
dents and was Wernher von Braun’s right-hand
man in putting a man on the moon. He showed
me the importance of technology and how it
could be used to make the world a better place.” 
Other fortuitous meetings followed. During a
semester at England’s Manchester Business
School, Novak met Fredrik Synnerstad, the
Stockholm-based business partner with whom he
transfers Swedish and Russian technology to the
U.S. A move to Cincinnati, Ohio, connected
Novak with engineers Gregg Steinhauer, Steve
Adams and Brian Tent, his partners in Inventis
Group, a technology-
transfer firm that
develops new tech-
nologies with com-
mercial applications.
One recent nanotech-
nology application,
Novak explains, will
make it possible “to
miniaturize cell
phones even further,
to the size of a wrist-
watch,” yet allow
accessibility to the
consumer’s “MP3,
PDA, wallet, and
house and car keys,”
as well.
Inventis’ “technology
pipeline,” Novak
adds, “is strong and
growing. We repre-
sent the University of
Dayton, which has
750 scientists and
engineers – 150 of
them located at
Wright-Patterson 
Air Force Base – 
and ranks second 
in material science
research, according to
the National Science
Foundation.” 
In addition, the
Inventis team repre-
sents the Institute for
the Development and
Commercialization of Advanced Sensor
Technologies (IDCAST), which consists of six
Ohio universities; two Air Force research labs;
and about 15 industry members, including
Boeing and General Dynamics. “We also mentor
Small Business Innovation Research program
companies awarded Phase I grants by the NSF,”
says Novak, who is establishing a not-for-profit,
Discover Your Gift, as “a mechanism to give back
and change children’s lives on every continent.” 
– Carol Olechowski
David J. Novak, B.A.’81, J.D., M.B.A.
Transferring Technology 
and Changing Lives
UALBANY MAGAZINE
44
of Spanish at Binghamton University,
has been promoted to distinguished pro-
fessor, a tenured ranking that is con-
ferred for consistently extraordinary
accomplishment. Thomas has achieved
both national and international recogni-
tion for excellence in the field of Spanish
Golden Age studies and has been a
major force in furthering and enriching
the study of Spanish classical theater.
The School Administrators Association
of New York State (SAANYS) named
Thomas Brooks, principal of Arlington
High School in the Arlington Central
School District, the 2007 New York State
High School Principal of the Year. This
award is given annually to a SAANYS
member who has been a secondary prin-
cipal for at least five years and has set
the pace, character and quality of educa-
tion for the children in his or her school.
Maria G. Diana, retired high school
educator and counselor, was recently
appointed by former New York State
Governor George E. Pataki to the SUNY
Orange board of trustees. Maria’s term
will conclude June 30, 2013. Bob
Rosenblum has been appointed direc-
tor/manager of the Albany Tennis Club.
Michael W. Twomey has been named
Charles A. Dana Professor of Humanities
at Ithaca College. Michael, who has been
teaching at Ithaca since 1980, special-
izes in medieval literature, the English
language, the Bible and Latin. Evan R.
Meltzer has been welcomed as a mem-
ber of the board of trustees at Northern
Dutchess Hospital, a 68-bed, not-for-
profit, acute care hospital located in
Rhinebeck, N.Y. Susan J. Fishbein,
Ed.D., is in her third year as assistant
superintendent for student services in
the Comsewogue School District, Port
Jefferson Station, N.Y., marking her 33rd
year in education. Susan is looking for-
ward to a busy “retirement” in which she
plans to teach, do interim work and con-
tinue her research. Jill Kanin-Lovers,
named one of the top 50 human
resource leaders in the world by HR
World magazine, has been appointed to
the board of directors for BearingPoint,
one of the world’s largest management
and technology consulting firms.
Charlotte A.
Biblow, partner at the
Farrell Fritz law firm and
leader of the firm’s envi-
ronmental practice
group, received Long
Island Business News' “Top 50 Most
Influential Women in Business” award in
May. The program recognizes Long
Island’s top women professionals for
business acumen, mentoring and com-
munity involvement.
Marijo Dougherty has been
appointed interim director of The Hyde
Collection in Glens Falls while the
museum searches for a permanent
replacement to the position. Marijo
served as director of the University at
Albany Art Museum from 1994-2003.
Catherine Krill Halakan, senior vice
president for human resources at Albany
Medical Center, was named a Woman of
Excellence by the Albany-Colonie
Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Catherine and the seven other honorees
were recognized at a luncheon in June.
John Condeelis, Ph.D., has
been elected a Fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of
Science for his distin-
guished contributions
to the advancement of
science and its appli-
cations. John is co-
chair and professor of
anatomy and structural
biology at the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine of Yeshiva University in New
York City. Ed Reinfurt, who has served
as vice president of the Business
Council of New York State since 1980,
has been nominated to serve as execu-
tive director of the New York State
Foundation for Science, Technology and
Innovation. The foundation’s principal
goal is to encourage and expand high-
technology academic research and eco-
nomic development in New York.
Carol Chamberlain
is the new assistant director at
the Amesbury Public Library in
Amesbury, Mass. She came to
Amesbury from her position as
librarian at Campbell High
School in Litchfield, N.H., and
was previously an employee of
the library of Northeastern
University. Donna Ann Harris
is the principal of Heritage
Consulting Inc., a Chicago-
based consulting firm. Recently, Donna
became a Certified Main Street Manager
through the National Trust Main Street
Center. Nate Salant has been appoint-
ed to the NCAA D-II National Baseball
Committee and serves as the South
Central region chair. Nate writes: “The
Class of ’76 Scholarship Fund is running
a bit low and we would like to see some
of our members add to the principle.
This scholarship is awarded annually to
one or more undergraduate students with
significant athletic and/or extracurricular
participation, with consideration of aca-
demic credentials and financial need. In
the past we were able to award as much 
as $2,000 per year, but now we are down
to just one $500 grant. This scholarship
is our Legacy Gift to the University and
we really want it to grow.”
William H. Greene has been
appointed senior vice president/commer-
cial loan officer at Fitchburg Savings
Bank in Fitchburg, Mass. Joe Uva has
been appointed chief executive officer of
Univision, the leading Spanish-language
media company in the United States.
Bruce Sostek has been elected to serve
on Thompson & Knight LLP’s
Management Committee for 2007. Bruce
is practice leader of the firm’s Intellectual 
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FALL 2007
45
Alumni News and Notes
Charlotte Biblow
John Condeelis
Call to Action: Regional Volunteers
Would you like to bring a slice of UAlbany to your community? 
By becoming a regional volunteer through the Alumni Association, 
you can! 
There are many great reasons to volunteer. You’ll strengthen your own
connection with your alma mater – and strengthen the University, too
– by representing UAlbany in the area where you live. You’ll be a central
contact for the Alumni Association, as well as for parents, prospective
students and new graduates of the University. You’ll assist in planning
occasional informal district events and determining the best locations
for UAlbany regional functions. In addition, you may have the oppor-
tunity to serve as an ambassador at University events.
Best of all, you’ll stay in touch with fellow alumni in your area. As a
regional volunteer, you’ll personally invite them to attend University
events, or assist those who may be relocating to your area. Overall,
you’ll enjoy a positive, rewarding experience that will keep you and
other graduates connected with UAlbany. “My first experience as a
regional volunteer was to host viewing parties for the men’s basketball
team,” said Peter Brusoe ’03, volunteer for the D.C. Metro area. “There
is nothing better than having an entire D.C. restaurant start cheering
for your Great Danes.”
Becoming a regional volunteer is a great way to give back to 
UAlbany, no matter where you live. The Alumni
Association’s goal is to have several volunteers
from each region and from all class years. 
To apply, or to request additional information,
contact the Alumni Association at (518) 442-3080
or alumniassociation@uamail.albany.edu.
Peter Brusoe '03, Metro D.C. regional volunteer,
displays the T-shirt distributed at the NCAA
men’s basketball viewing party in March.
Property Practice Group in
the Dallas, Texas, office.
Anne Totten Doyle of
Norwich, Conn., was elected
to the Executive Council of
the American Association of
University Professors, a non-
profit organization which acts as the col-
lective bargaining agent for the
University of Connecticut. Stuart P.
Gelberg, a board-certified specialist in
business and consumer bankruptcy law,
spoke on “The Effect of the 2005 BAPC-
PA Amendments to the Bankruptcy
Code” in a two-part radio segment that
aired in May from Garden City, N.Y.
Gerard Citera has joined the New York
office of Chadbourne &
Parke LLP as counsel in the
firm's securities litigation
and regulatory enforcement
practice. Bob Krenitsky has
been appointed chief infor-
mation officer for the Buffalo
and Rochester regions of Lifetime Health
Medical Group, one of the largest 
primary care practices in Western 
New York.
Meryl Zausner, chief 
financial officer of Novartis Oncology,
has been elected Healthcare
Businesswomen’s Association 2007
Woman of the Year for her work in the
pharmaceutical industry. Kathy Moore
has been elected San Ramon Valley
Unified School District’s 2007 Teacher of
the Year. Kathy, who currently works as a
“teacher on special assignment” for the
district, will move on to represent San
Ramon Valley in the Contra Costa
County Teacher of the Year competition
in California.
Ira Goldstein, managing
coordinator for emerging technology
with BOCES Northeastern Regional 
Information Center, was selected in
February by the School Administrators
Association of New York State (SAANYS)
to receive the annual SAANYS
Leadership and Support Award. Marcia
Silvermetz’s 2003 children’s book,
Gertrude the Albino Frog and Her Friend
Rupert the Turtle, is now a musical per-
formed by high school students for a
younger audience. National law firm
Bryan Cave LLP has added four lawyers,
including Counsel Tanya Harvey, to
establish a private client practice for its
Washington, D.C., office. Col. Jimmy
L. Pollard has retired from the United
States Air Force after 27 years of out-
standing service. Jimmy is a Master
Navigator; he has more than 2,900 flying
hours, including 30 combat and combat
support missions. He has received
numerous medals and awards 
throughout his career, including 
the Legion of Merit.
In April, Laura Waters,
Ph.D., was elected president of the
Lawrence Township Public Schools
Board of Education in Mercer County, N.J.
Joseph S. Brosnan has
become the 12th president of Delaware
Valley College in Doylestown, Pa.
Joseph formerly served as vice president
for strategic planning and external affairs
at Teachers College at Columbia
University. David J. Novak, technology
transfer specialist and intellectual prop-
erty attorney, was one of four partners to
start the technology development firm
Inventis Group, Ltd. in 2005; he is now
CEO. The Ohio-based firm presented its
latest start-up company, Analog Bridge,
Inc., at the World’s Best Technologies
Showcase (WBT) in Texas and at the
TechConnect Summit in California, both
held in May. David is now involved with 
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Alumni News and Notes
Bob Krenitsky
Anne Doyle
W
ith 60 branches, 1,100 employees, 10 million clients, 1.1 million
cardholders, and 39,000 programs offered each year to 725,000
attendees, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is the fifth-largest library system in
the U.S. But for Dionne Mack-Harvin, who became BPL’s first African-
American executive director last March, it’s much more: an opportunity to
provide “lifelong learning” to the people of her community.     
“So much of what we do is social work,” said Mack-Harvin, who earned 
a B.A. in history and African-American studies at SUNY Brockport.
She credits UAlbany, where she received master’s degrees in
Africana studies and library science, with introducing her to
librarianship as a career. “One of the reasons I fell in love
with our University Libraries was the cutting-edge tech-
nology,” she noted.
When she began working at BPL’s Crown Heights
Branch in 1996, however, “we had no public-access 
computers,” the longtime New York City resident
recalled. “We had one rotary phone. I’ve been able to see
the evolution of technology and its impact on my career.”
Computer access and connectivity have also had a great
impact on the community Mack-Harvin and her staff serve.
Today, the public library is “really a community center. Libraries
have reinvented themselves in terms of how they stay relevant to their
communities. We allow our clients to decide what our services should be. I
don’t believe that’s very different from academic libraries. When I was in
graduate school, there was a librarian assigned to our department.
“Brooklyn is such a changing borough,” she observed. While “more than 
40 percent of our residents do not speak English as their first language,” 
over 30 other languages, including Chinese and Spanish, are commonly 
spoken there.  
One of her greatest “challenges and goals” is to offer as many services as
possible in as many languages as possible. Currently, BPL staff – who have
“really great ideas” about how to afford library users the services they want –
provide assistance to customers in seven languages. “We keep in touch with
the busy lifestyles of people in Brooklyn. They don’t expect to stand in line
or keep bankers’ hours.” Mack-Harvin and her staff make every attempt to
bring the library to the people, offering services to residents of “the city 
that never sleeps” in satellite libraries set up “in supermarkets or trendy
locations.” 
But that isn’t the extent of BPL’s outreach. The library has
something for literally everyone – no matter how young or
old. Brooklyn Reads to Babies encourages parents to read to
their children from birth. Free online homework assistance
is available, in two languages, for youngsters. BPL offers
games, dance and an internship program for teenagers.
Students enjoy the Summer Reading Program that drew
60,000 participants last year. For adults, offerings include
pre-GED and job training skills sessions; career counseling
and placement; the Business Library, which “prepares entre-
preneurs to become small business owners”; and special serv-
ices for the aging. “High-level cultural programs that invite
participation” in chamber music and New York City Opera per-
formances and book discussion groups reflect “the multicultural
dynamic of the city.” 
Mack-Harvin is delighted that a recent “generous budget increase” from the
city allowed BPL to expand its hours in July and “make an even bigger dif-
ference in the lives of Brooklynites so they can get what they need, when
they need it.” Librarianship, she added, “is such a rewarding career. It’s not
focused on books. It’s focused on people.”
– Carol Olechowski
Dionne Mack-Harvin, M.A.’95, M.L.S.’96
LIBRARIAN IN “THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS”
the $28 million state-wide technology
initiative called IDCAST,  Institute for
Development and Commercialization of
Advanced Sensor Technology. (See
David’s profile on page 44.) Sharon
Sobel was promoted to full professor 
in the Department of Theatre at the
University of Nebraska at Omaha, where
she serves as department chair. In
March, Corinna Ripps Schaming,
associate director and curator of the
University Art Museum at the University
at Albany, helped to organize the muse-
um’s “Mr. President” exhibition, which
featured nontraditional portraits of our
nation’s presidents. The show included
60 portraits by 30 artists dating from the
1970s through 2006. Mike Arcuri has
been elected to serve as Democratic
Congressman for New York State’s 24th
congressional district. 
Laura K. Chabe was elected
superintendent of Amherst Central
Schools in Amherst, N.Y. Mark Rasch
has joined FTI Consulting, a global busi-
ness advisory firm, as a managing direc-
tor in the firm’s technology segment.
John Lasher, former associate dean of
Academic Affairs at Herkimer County
Community College, is the new campus
registrar at SUNY-IT. Kathleen L.
Godfrey, president of Godfrey Financial
Associates, was named a Woman of
Excellence by the Albany-Colonie
Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Kathleen and the seven other honorees
were recognized at a luncheon in June.
State Police Major Patricia
Groeber has been appointed command-
er of Troop G. She is the first woman in
New York State to lead a State Police
troop. Gregg Wildemann made Who’s
Who for his poem “Fifty Cents” and is
working with an organization called The
Society for Life and Spare Change.
David Ross, formerly New
York State Medicaid inspector general,
has joined the O’Connell and Aronowitz
law firm in Albany. John D. Porcari
was sworn in as cabinet secretary of the
Maryland Department of Transportation
in March. Joe Heithaus, associate pro-
fessor and chair of English at DePauw
University, was one of four winners of 
the 2007 “Discovery”/The Nation poetry
contest. Joe received a cash prize, had
his work published in The Nation maga-
zine and was invited to read his winning
work at the Poetry Center in May. 
Craig S. Lowenthal has joined
NYMAGIC, Inc., a specialty insurance
provider, and the MMO Group of
Companies as senior vice president and
chief information officer. Michael Olin
was elected president of the New York
Oracle Users Group, Inc. Michael has
been involved with the group since
founding his consulting firm, Systematic
Solutions, Inc., 20 years ago. Matthew
Hasson is vice president of The
Computer Co., which
he and wife Eileen
’87 launched in 1996.
In May, Gary Bettan
was elected to serve
on the Plainview-Old
Bethpage Board of
Education of Long Island, N.Y. Gary is
also the founder of pobmath.com, a Web
site for parents who are concerned about
the district's new math curriculum.
Howard S. Krooks, Esq.,
recently received an
award for his work as
the co-chair of the
Compact Working
Group of the New York
State Bar Association
Elder Law Section for 
advocacy work he performed prior to and
since relocating to Florida in September
2005. Howard is now a
partner in the law firm
of Elder Law
Associates PA.
Edward O’Connor
has been appointed
dean of the School of
Health Sciences at Quinnipiac University
in Hamden, Conn. Erica Reinholtz
Olin has become the first teacher in the
Ossining Union Free School District to
earn national board certification and is
one of fewer than 700 board-certified
teachers in New York State. Erica earned
her certification in mathematics. James
F. Jones, head basketball coach at Yale
University and longest tenured coach in
the Ivy League, has been selected by the
USA Basketball Men’s Collegiate
Committee to be assistant coach of the
2007 USA Basketball Men’s Pan
American Games Team. Nino Schiano
graduated in May from Sacred Heart
University with a doctorate in physical
therapy. Nino is currently senior staff
therapist at Pascack Valley Hospital in
Westwood, N.J.
Debra Rosenberg Mondoil
received a master’s degree in physical
therapy in 1989 from Hahnemann
University in Philadelphia, Pa. Since
then, Debra has worked as a physical 
therapist in New York, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania, and is currently the direc-
tor of rehabilitation at the Visiting Nurse
Association of Greater Philadelphia.
Neil Wilensky is a research director
for The Walt Disney Company and lives
in New York City with
wife Robin ’92.
Chris Haynor has
been appointed vice
president of United
States Sales of the
Sanako Corporation,
operating from the headquarters in
Brewster, N.Y. Eileen Chen Hasson is
president of The Computer Co., which
she and husband Michael ’85
launched in 1996. The company, based
in West Hartford, Conn., offers a wide
range of computer services
and will soon be moving to
Cromwell, Conn.
Susan R. Katzoff
has been promoted to partner
at the Syracuse, N.Y., office of
Hiscock & Barclay, LLP.
Rapid Solutions
Group appointed Thomas
Ferber vice president of digi-
tal operations. He will manage
the firm’s digital production
facilities in New York, California, Illinois
and Missouri. Jeffrey B. Kolodny has
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FALL 2007
47
Alumni News and Notes
Varsity Club members and friends gathered to cheer their Great Danes at the men’s America East Conference 
championship lacrosse game in May. Left to right: Tom Doody ’69, Michael Judge ’70, William Brown, 
Carole Doody ’71, Sandra Judge and Ross Adams ’97. 
Gary Bettan
Howard Krooks
Edward O’Connor
Chris Haynor
Susan Katzoff
Jeffrey Kolodny
UALBANY MAGAZINE
48
been elected to partnership at the inter-
national law firm Phillips Nizer LLP,
where he practices domestic and interna-
tional estate planning and administra-
tion, the representation of not-for-profit
organizations and business succession
planning. John DeMaro, a partner at
the full-service business law firm Ruskin
Moscou Faltischek, P.C., chairs its intel-
lectual property group. He is also a
member of the litigation department.
Bryan Temmer has moved to Land O'
Lakes, Fla., where he is happily married
to fellow alum Robin Gootblatt
Temmer ’89. They have two sons, age
9 and 14. Bryan is working on develop-
ing the first alien theme park in the
United States, Alien Apex Resort, which
is planned to open in Roswell, N.M.,
home of the supposed 1947 UFO 
crash and the annual UFO Festival 
(www.alienapexresort.com).
Jeanette Rodriguez-Morick
has joined the law firm of Thompson
Hine as an associate in the Competition,
Antitrust and White-Collar Crime and
Business Litigation practice groups. 
Gerard Porter, former associate pro-
fessor and assistant
dean in the School of
Education at SUNY
Oswego, has been
named the new dean
of the School of
Education at SUNY
Cortland. Samantha Rider has recent-
ly joined Gilman Ciocia,
a Poughkeepsie, N.Y.,
tax and financial plan-
ning services firm,
where she serves as
director of public 
relations.
James Gibbs II, of Burns
Middle School in Brandon, Fla., was one
of 10 finalists for Hillsborough County's
Teacher of the Year. He has been at
Burns for five years and teaches eighth-
grade basic and advanced mathematics
and algebra.
Robin Goldfarb Wilensky
is a solutions architect for Sun 
Microsystems and lives in New York City
with husband Neil. Morris (Moe)
Auster was promoted to counsel of the
Division of Governmental Affairs of the
Medical Society of the State of New
York, a physician advocacy organization.
First Niagara Financial Group, the hold-
ing company for First Niagara Bank,
named Albany and New York State bank-
ing industry veteran Thomas Amell
Eastern New York regional president.
Polivina J. Gauuan serves as assis-
tant director for medicinal chemistry at
Albany Molecular Research. Polivina
played a lead role in establishing the
company’s Singapore Research Centre,
an endeavor that began two years ago.
Rob Bunnell has accepted an
appointment as a Foreign Service Officer
with the U.S. State Department. Rob’s
initial overseas post was assigned 
during training in 
early 2007. 
Michael
Schaeffer has joined
Senior Whole Health of 
New York, a voluntary health care bene-
fits plan for low-income seniors who are
eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid,
as director of Client Services. Leon
Feingold signed a professional contract
with the Israel Baseball League. Leon
pitched in Israel from June through
August and is among the first profes-
sional baseball players of that country. If
the league succeeds, members expect to
have a team participate in the 2008
World Baseball
Classic. Kathleen
Sweener, director of
student development
at Hudson Valley
Community College,
has received the pres-
tigious State University of New York
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence for
2007, recognizing exceptional contribu-
tions to the university by dedicated pro-
fessionals. Lou Tobacco was elected
62nd District New York State
Assemblyman in March. 
Luke McLaren is the newest
member of the Life Insurance Legal
Department at Genworth Financial, 
serving as associate general counsel.
Dionne Mack-Harvin has been
appointed executive director of Brooklyn
Public Library, making her the first
African-American woman in the state to
lead a major public library system. (See
Dionne’s profile on page 46.) Joseph
Jones, former dean of the School of
Education and Social Sciences at
Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., was
named provost of North Park University
in Chicago, Ill., in May. Joseph told the
search committee that the college’s com-
mitment to integrating the Christian faith
in addressing public concerns, including
urban and multicultural issues, attracted
him to the position. Former Sigma Phi
Epsilon fraternity brothers of Sgt. Kyu
H. Chay and other friends from
UAlbany have established a memorial
fund for the education of his young chil-
dren, Jason and Kelly. Donations may be
sent to: Sgt. Kyu Chay Memorial Fund,
350 W. 42nd Street Unit #18-B, New
York, NY 10036. Kyu was killed in action
while serving with the United States
Army in Afghanistan last October.
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Alumni News and Notes
Kathleen Sweener
Gerard Porter
Samantha Rider
Michael Schaeffer
Daren Pon, who received the Alumni Association’s 2007 Legacy Scholarship, looks through an old 
yearbook with Scholarship Committee Chair Christine Bouchard ’73, ’87.
James Schukal is vice presi-
dent at The Northern Trust Company and
also owner/retailer at Burlounge.com. He
is an officer for the University at Albany
Alumni Association New York City
Chapter and encourages alums living in
the tri-state area to join the network. Ted
Nicholas Ingram graduated in May
from Indiana University with a Ph.D. in
higher education and student affairs
administration. Ted plans to secure an
administrative position at a college or
university on the East Coast. Amy L.
Rezak took two years off after graduat-
ing to work as a volunteer firefighter and
emergency medical technician before
attending medical school. She graduated
this summer and began a fellowship in
trauma and critical care at Boston’s
Brigham and Women’s Hospital. 
Children’s author Nancy
Castaldo recently has been appointed
to the Sierra Club’s National Education
Committee. Class councilor Jennifer
Ciavirella writes: “Class of 1997… can
you believe it has been 10 years? It is
time to celebrate our 10-year reunion!
We will be officially celebrating it
Homecoming Weekend in October 2007.
If you are interested in assisting with
event planning, hospitality, or fundrais-
ing, please contact me at jenniferci-
avirella@hotmailcom.”
Sangsu Baek, Ph.D., has
been hired as an assistant professor of
Early Childhood and Special Education
in the Teacher Education division of
Robert Wesleyan College in Rochester,
N.Y. Sangsu currently lives in 
Ogden, N.Y.
Patricia Putman was pro-
moted to senior vice president/treasurer
and controller at Ulster Savings Bank 
of Ulster, N.Y.
Marsha
Forman, senior
embryologist and fer-
tility lab supervisor,
was honored as the
2006 Employee of the
Year at AlbanyIVF, which earned her a
week’s all-expenses paid vacation to the
destination of her choice. Garrett J.
Lynch, former state representative and
mayor of Westfield, Mass., currently
serves as vice president of
Administration and Finance at 
Westfield State College.
Michael Phillips obtained
his CPA license in North Carolina last
January. He is now employed as an
accountant for the state of North
Carolina. Jennifer Givner, former
spokeswoman for the New York City
Department of Buildings, is now a press
officer in the New York City office of
Governor Eliot Spitzer.
Joseph Randall Grippe has
accepted a position with a law firm in
Cheshire, Conn. Joseph was also recent-
ly licensed and admitted to practice law
in New York State. Emil Bove, who was
co-captain of the UAlbany lacrosse team
from 2002-03, is now a second year law
student at the Georgetown University
Law Center. He was recently appointed
editor-in-chief of the Law Review’s
Annual Review of Criminal Procedure
and was a finalist in the ABA’s National
Appellate Advocacy Competition. Emil
worked at the Manhattan office of the law
firm Sullivan & Cromwell this summer.
Marisa A. Sotomayor, a member of
the advisory council for the Program in
Financial Market Regulation of the
Rockefeller College, graduated from
Fordham University School of Law in
May. While at Fordham, she was a mem-
ber of the Moot Court Editorial Board,
and a member of the Urban Law Journal.
Marisa joined the global law firm of
White & Case, LLP, in September as a
New York associate in its corporate prac-
tice. Brendan Brader and John
Reyes are the founders of Via Talk LLC,
an Internet phone business, and
HostRocket.com, which hosts Web sites
for businesses and individuals. Via Talk
does business in 2,200 markets and all
50 states, while HostRocket.com,
launched by the pair in 1999, now hosts
100,000 Web sites. Brendan is chief
executive of the companies; John serves
as chief technology officer.
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Alumni News and Notes
Marsha Forman
FALL 2007
49
From top: Neil Wilensky '87
and Robin Goldfarb '92;
Aaron Russel '95 and
Pattiann McAdams; 
Ethan Plummer; 
Jack and Thomas Cannon
1987 – Neil Wilensky and Robin 
Goldfarb '92, Sept. 10, 2006
1995 – Aaron Russel and Pattiann
McAdams, April 16, 2007
1996 – Mark S. McCambley and 
Ann Marie Wyatt, Aug. 11, 2007
2000 – Susan R. Foley and Christopher 
A. Stevens, May 12, 2007
2002 – Tara Zollo and Eric Andrews, 
July 22, 2006
Michelle Doto and Marc Micheli,
Oct. 7, 2006
2003 – Gina Talarico and Rocco Giruzzi, 
Oct. 14, 2006
2004 – Rebecca Kron and Eric Montijo,
March 17, 2007
Lisa M. Burline and Grant N.
Roser, Sept. 1, 2007
2005 – Edmond Gurdo and Heidi Dobler,
July 1, 2006
Births
1985 – Paul W. Neuhedel and wife
Rebecca, adopted son, Alexander,
Nov. 19, 2005 
Gregory Hart and Patricia Dorn
Hart, sixth son, Zachary Richard
Michael Hart, April 22, 2007
Geneen Gambello Valentine
and husband Edward, a daughter,
Elizabeth Joann, May 1, 2007
1993 – Pamela Magram Plummer and 
husband Simon, a son, Ethan Harry,
Jan. 2, 2007
1996 – Tracy Balaban and Marc Miniman, 
a daughter, Rachel Kara, 
July 18, 2005
1998 – Allison Keating Cannon and hus-
band Tom, twin boys, Jack Thomas
and Kevin Thomas, Sept. 1, 2006
Weddings 
Authors and Editors
UALBANY MAGAZINE
50
Sally Valentine Steinmiller,
B.S.’71, published her first chil-
dren’s novel, The Ghost of the
Charlotte Lighthouse, in October
2006. Set in a real lighthouse in
Rochester, N.Y., this 100-page
novel for students in grades
four-six gives a fictional account
of the refurbishing of the light-
house. It incorporates some
local and Great Lakes history
into an entertaining story. Sally
is a retired teacher from the
Rochester City School District.
For more information, visit
www.RochesterAuthor.com.
Donna Ann Harris, B.A.’76,
is the author of New Solutions
for House Museums, which con-
tains a dozen case studies of
house museums in the United
States and Canada that have
successfully transitioned to a
new use or user to assure the
building’s preservation for
future generations. Donna 
is the principal of Heritage
Consulting, a Chicago-based
consulting firm, and has more
than 20 years’ experience in the
historic preservation field.
Frankie Bailey, M.A.’79,
Ph.D.’86, has published her
fourth mystery book, You
Should Have Died on Monday.
The latest entry in the Lizzie
Stuart Mystery series weaves a
story rich in history: an investi-
gation into the paternity of its
protagonist, criminal justice
professor Lizabeth Stuart, 
and of her long-lost mother’s
checkered past.
Peter B. Griggs, B.A.’83, pub-
lished his first novel, No Pink
Concept. The 168-page work of
fiction was released in October
2002 and is available at
xlibris.com.
Erica Verillo ’84, launched the
first novel of her trilogy,
Phoenix Rising, this summer.
Elissa’s Quest, a middle-reader
fantasy adventure, was released
by Random House in 
June 2007. Erica lives in
Massachusetts with her 
two children.
Lior Kahane, M.D., B.A.’84, is
the author of How to Become a
Professional Bachelor. The book
offers readers advice designed 
to promote optimal success as 
a bachelor, including how to
attract women, how to act on a
date, what to say and not say,
and more. Kahane is also the
author of the new e-book, How
to Avoid a Professional Bachelor.
For more information, visit
www.Probachelorbook.com.
David Makofske, B.A.’92, has
co-authored two computer net-
work programming books,
TCP/IP Sockets in C# (2004)
and Multicast Sockets (2002).
Both books are part of the
Practical Guide for
Programmers series and 
provide tutorial-based 
instruction on Internet 
programming for developers.
For more information, visit
http://books.elsevier.com/us/mk
/us/subindex.asp.
Phil Brown, M.A.’96, is the 
editor of Bob Marshall in the
Adirondacks: Writings of a
Pioneer Peak-Bagger, Pond-
Hopper, and Wilderness
Preservationist. This anthology
collects nearly 40 articles by
Bob Marshall, one of the
nation’s leading advocates for
wilderness preservation. The
collection is richly illustrated 
by more than 60 photos. It also
contains excerpts of an unpub-
lished novel set partly in the
Adirondacks and supplemen-
tary articles by George
Marshall, Bob’s younger broth-
er; Paul Schaefer, legendary
Adirondack conservationist; 
Philip Terrie, Adirondack histo-
rian; and Phil. Phil is the editor
of the Adirondack Explorer, a
regional newsmagazine focusing
on outdoor recreation and 
environmental issues. He is an
accomplished climber of the
High Peaks and also wrote a
guidebook for the Adirondacks.
Jim Foglio, M.A.’03, M.S.’04,
has published his first book, 
a travel memoir, Travels With
Aspen. The book, a snapshot
into post-911 attitudes towards
race, ethnicity, environment 
and love, is available online 
at jimfoglio.com.
Dave Hart, B.A.’04, M.S.S.E.’05,
has published a new book, 
Dark Day of the Soul. The book
merges elements of convention-
al literary fiction with occasion-
al, unconventional use of media
interplay to carry the reader
through an inspiring story of
friendship and compassion. 
It is available online or at local
bookstores, or you may pick 
up an autographed copy 
directly from the author: 
davehart@darkdayofthesoul.com.
Dave is a New York-certified
English teacher living in the
Albany area.
Deaths
30s
Maxine Robinson Lunn '31, 
July 31, 2006
Helen MacGregor Cropsey '32, 
Oct. 19, 2003
Geraldine Peters McDonald '34, 
June 29, 2004
Wilfred P. Allard '35, Oct. 5, 2005
John E. Bills '35, March 24, 2002
Mary Lam Bills '37, Dec. 6, 2004
Matilda Bauer Stutz '37, Feb. 7, 2007
Jane Crawford Scheiner '39, 
Nov. 30, 2006
Ruth Dillon Strattner '39, 
Nov. 21, 2006
40s
Mary Rooney '40, Dec. 8, 2006
Margaret Collins Sullivan '40, 
May 11, 2007
Eugene J. Agnello '41, Sept. 27, 2006
Joan Loveland Mengel '41, 
Sept. 14, 2006
William Sewell '41, Dec. 12, 2006
Virginia G. Polhemus Carney '42,
May 26, 2001
Mary Susan Wing Cobb '42, 
March 7, 2006
Robert H. Evens '43, March 25, 2005
Helen Omilin Frament '43, Jan. 22, 2007
Ira Freedman '43, Nov. 6, 2006
Jane Waldbillig Fowler '45, 
July 24, 2003
Mary C. Curran O'Connor '45, 
Sept. 1, 2006
Joan S. Smith Owen '45, Aug. 7, 2006
Sam Freeman '47, Dec. 8, 2006
Morris Ripps '47, Dec. 6, 2006
Vivian H. Hillier Thorne '48, 
Dec. 10, 2005
Virginia Keller Hayes '49, May 9, 2007
Lucy A. Lytle Merrill '49, Dec. 4, 2006
50s
Richard Feathers '50, June 24, 2000
Lynn G. Kent '50, Dec. 25, 2006
Louise Klingman Wheeler '50, 
Aug. 15, 2006
Julian Deliver '51, May 27, 2007
Daniel A. Robinson '53, Jan. 31, 2007
Barbara Ryan Dunham '54, 
Nov. 5, 2006
Kathleen Oberst McManus '54, 
Jan. 26, 2007
Sherman E. Hunt '57, March 8, 2006
Kenneth R. Kimball, Jr. '57, 
Nov. 3, 2006
Phyllis Roberts Pfeiffer '57, 
Feb. 6, 2006
William Swenson '57, Jan. 10, 2006
Ruth I. Larson Harris '58, 
Dec. 26, 2006
Rosemarie Abraham Devoe '59, 
Nov. 20, 2006
Jean Nicolai Pardee '59, 
Feb. 28, 2007
60s
Ethel A. Avery '60, Dec. 11, 2006
Matthew B. Carnicelli '60, 
Jan. 23, 2007
Ralph W. Wesselmann '60, 
Jan. 14, 2005
Lewis Carosella '61, April 25, 2001
Marilyn Scharfeld Carroll '61, 
Jan. 5, 2007
R. Thomas Flemming '64, 
July 15, 1999
Harry W. Paige '67, Sept. 10, 2003
Brian T. Hart '68, Sept. 19, 2002
Kathleen L. Hornichek Torino '68,
Nov. 19, 2006
70s
Dell S. Oliphant '70, Feb. 3, 2007
Ruth M. Sheehan '70, Aug. 27, 2006
Joseph A. Fleszar '71, Dec. 13, 2006
Theodore J. Vickery '71, May 6, 2007
Barbara E. Plecan '73, Feb. 5, 2005
David J. Bigda '74, March 4, 1997
Kathy A. Burno Murphy '76, 
June 14, 2006
Shirley A. Rigney '77, Dec. 10, 2006
80s
Dorothy Zalmanoff Berliner '81, 
April 15, 2007
Elizabeth J. Thayer '84, 
April 24, 2006
Nancy C. Fraser '86, Nov. 20, 2006
Lynne M. Greenberg '86, 
Jan. 31, 2007
90s
Renee Padilla '93, Aug. 2, 1999
John E. Kitinoja '95, May 3, 2007
David C. Brinkerhoff '99, 
April 25, 2007
00s
Joe P. Dudley '00, May 17, 2006
Faculty and 
Staff
Charles W. Colman, Technical
Specialist, Office of International
Education, 1964-1985, Dec. 13, 2006
Raymond Forer, Lecturer, Sociology
1966-1987, May 13, 2004
Anthony M. Gisolfi, Associate
Professor, Hispanic & Italian Studies
1964-1976, March 4, 1992
Louis R. Salkever, Professor,
Economics, 1965-1982; Vice President 
for Research/Dean of Graduate Studies,
1971-79, July 1, 1995
Robert A. Stierer, Assistant Vice
President for Business Affairs, Finance &
Business, 1967-1980, March 15, 1999
FALL 2007
51
UAlbany
Here are the best ways to reach us!
ADDRESS, E-MAIL, PHONE OR JOB CHANGES
E-mail: rtrinci@uamail.albany.edu
Mail: Rita Trinci
Office of Development Services
UAB 209 
University at Albany
1400 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12222
ALUMNI NEWS AND NOTES
E-mail: alumniassociation@uamail.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@uamail.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
In the Spring 2007 UAlbany magazine, the
name of Professor Emeritus Joseph Norton
was erroneously listed in the “Deaths” col-
umn. As you can see from the photograph
here, the professor, who resides in Albany,
N.Y., is alive and well. 
Alumni News and Notes
UALBANY MAGAZINE
52
The Last Word
I
get quite a thrill when I see pictures of UAlbany’s Great Danes in their purple
and gold. I also get a buzz from seeing the mascot, a guy (or girl) in a droopy
dog costume. This is more than the average fan or graduate feels: You see, I’m
the one who came up with the idea for the Great Dane name in 1965. I won 
$25 for my “Great Dane” entry in the “Name the Mascot” contest.
The “Great Danes” name was not popular with the student body in the fall of
1965, and I kept a low profile. The sports editor of the ASP (Albany Student
Press), Ray McCloat, “outed” me in an Oct. 29, 1965, editorial with a scathing
attack on the new name. “To be entirely fair,” he wrote, “we do think that con-
test winner Kathy Earle did present excellent credentials for the Great Dane in
submitting her entry. She claimed the dog was ‘typically American, bred for size,
weight, strength, character, courage, speed, and stamina.’ If it were running for
office in the ASPCA, the animal would win in a landslide.”
I was a new transfer to Albany, from Cornell University, in January 1965. Albany
seemed like just the right place for me, and it was. I graduated in January 1967
with 60 credits from Cornell and 60 from Albany, and am considered an alum-
na of both. I later got an M.S.W. from Albany and a Ph.D. in social welfare from
the Rockefeller College of the University. 
In early 1966, I won the award that mattered most to me, the Shields McIlwain
Poetry Award, which was given the first time that year. The ceremony was the
morning of the day the clocks were turned ahead, and I missed it. When I got to
Page Hall at what I thought was a half-hour before the awards ceremony, it was
eerily quiet. I went in, and the usher asked me if I was Kathy Earle. When I
answered that I was, he said, “They called your name a few minutes ago.”
Afterward, I went downstairs with the dignitaries to commiserate with my
favorite professor, Carl Odenkirchen. He introduced me to the guest speaker
and told him that I had missed the ceremony because of the time change.
“Well,” said the gentleman, “I’m glad you 
didn’t get the science award.”
So, my two greatest accomplishments at Albany
both missed. For the naming of the mascot, I
was supposed to be anonymous and was quite
willing to be, given the mood of the student
body. And I missed perhaps my greatest
moment, the poetry award, because I was not
aware that the clocks had been turned ahead. 
But my real best moment came much later
when, in May 1996, I was hooded by my new
favorite professor, Jan Hagen of the School of
Social Welfare. And I was on time.
Hey Everybody, 
I Named the Great Danes!
By Kathleen Earle Fox, B.A.’67, M.S.W.’76, Ph.D.’96
Kathleen Earle Fox, the mom of
“three wonderful kids, aged 37, 27
and 17,” has been a poet, a writer,
a professor and a researcher. Now
an artist, she resides in Tenants
Harbor, Maine, with her husband,
Stan, and finds inspiration in “the
people, boats, harbors, animals,
landscapes, flowers, birds and
buildings” of the surrounding St.
George area. Fox invites her fellow
UAlbany alumni to visit her Web
site, www.mainewatercolors.biz.
www.albany.edu/giving
Stay Connected. Make UAlbany Stronger.
1400 Washington Avenue
Division of University Development
University Hall, Room 305
Albany, NY 12222
Non Profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Burlington, VT
Permit No. 378
www.albany.edu
Homecoming/Family 
Weekend & Reunion
October 12-14, 2007
UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY
• Gatherings for the School of Social Welfare and
Residential Life
• Sigma Lambda Sigma Reunion
• Touchdown Tailgate, Football vs. Sacred Heart, Comedy
Night, Honors College presentation and more
• Reaching Higher, Achieving More Luncheon
• Legacy families are invited to a special reception 
with University Officer in Charge and Provost 
Susan Herbst and Alumni Association President 
Robert Burstein ‘72
Reunion Classes …
Homecoming 2007 features reunions for classes 1972,
1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2002. Don’t miss out
on your opportunity to celebrate UAlbany’s past and present
with special reunion activities, in addition to the traditional
Homecoming weekend events. For more information on
class activities or to get involved in planning your reunion,
contact the Alumni Association at (518) 442-3080.
For more information, visit:
www.albany.edu/alumni/homecoming07.htm 
or call 1-800-836-ALUM