Who`s Who(2011) - City College Fund

THE CLASS OF 1951
WHO’S WHO & WHERE
Dr. Walter L. Arnstein, B.S.S.: I was born in Stuttgart,
Germany, but fortunately my parents, sister and I were able to
immigrate to the United States just before World War II began
and to become American citizens five years after our arrival in
New York City. There, I learned English and later graduated from
elementary school and George Washington High School. During
my CCNY years (1947-1951), I majored in History, where I also
served as President of the History Club and where I became a
loyal member of House Plan (Wittes ‘51). I was also inducted
into Phi Alpha Theta and Phi Beta Kappa and won the department’s Ward and Cromwell Prizes prior to having the B.S.S. degree conferred magna cum laude in June 1951.
My academic career was interrupted between 1951 and 1953, when a National Guard
Anti-Aircraft Battery Gun Battalion was activated. As a result, I spent varied months in
Camp Stewart, Georgia, in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and in Fort Hamilton, New York,
and ultimately a wintry half-year in Korea where the war was still going on. There followed
a year back in New York City to earn an M.A. degree (History) at Columbia University and
then two years at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) as a Ph.D. student and graduate teaching assistant. In 1956-57, I was affiliated with the University of London under
the auspices of a Fulbright Scholarship.
Even before my Ph.D. dissertation had been completed, I embarked on a ten-year
career (1957-1967) as a member of the History Department of Roosevelt University
(Chicago). I began as a lowly Visiting Assistant Professor of History and ended up as Dean
of the Graduate Division. Then I was appointed Professor of History at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I spent the next thirty years as teacher, adviser, and
administrator. Whereas at Roosevelt University I had taught courses in both European and
American History, and even in Ancient History, as well as British History, at Illinois I was
expected to focus on British History at every level from the introductory survey to the doctoral seminar. For four years I occupied the post of department chair and for four others that
of department Director of Graduate Studies. In 1987, I won an all-campus award for excellence in undergraduate teaching, and two years later I was granted an additional title, Jubilee
Professor of the Liberal Arts and Sciences. I ultimately supervised twenty-five successfully
defended Ph.D. dissertations in British History. In 1998, I formally retired as Professor
Emeritus.
In the course of my career, I ended up as the author or editor of eight books including
Britain Yesterday & Today: 1830 to the Present (1966; 8 ed., 2001), a work that for more
than three decades introduced more American and Canadian college students to modern
British history than any other such survey, and The Past Speaks: Sources and Problems in
British History Since 1688 (2 ed., 1993). The other books include The Bradlaugh Case
(1965, 1984), Protestant Versus Catholic in Mid-Victorian England (1982), which won the
American Catholic Historical Association Book Prize, and Queen Victoria (2003). My most
recent book is an annotated collection of contemporary documents, Lives of Victorian Poth
nd
-litical Figures III: Queen Victoria (2008). I am also the author of more than forty-five journal articles and of more than one hundred-and-seventy book reviews. In addition to teaching
one course or more as a visiting lecturer at CCNY, Northwestern University, and the University of Chicago, I was also granted visiting appointments as a fellow at both Cambridge
University and the University of Edinburgh, and I remain a fellow of the Royal Historical
Society. I have also served as a member of the editorial boards of The Historian, Albion,
and the American Historical Review and as president of the Midwest Victorian Studies Association (1977-1980)–which in 1990 established an annual graduate student prize in my
honor–and of both the Midwest Conference on British Studies (1980-1982) and the North
American Conference on British Studies (1995-97).
It was during my CCNY years that I twice served as a summer camp counselor in
Northeastern Ohio, and it was there that in 1950 I met a fellow counselor, Charlotte Sutphen,
who had grown up in Hamilton, Ohio. After a largely epistolary courtship, we were married
two years later in the midst of my Army career, and we have remained married ever since.
Her own education was to include a B.F.A. degree from Miami University and an M.M.
degree from the Chicago Musical College (Roosevelt University), and she was to devote
forty years to the art of piano teaching. Our children are Sylvia, a painter and interior designer who now lives in Champaign, Illinois, and Peter, a pianist, composer, and music
teacher at the St. Paul Conservatory in Minnesota. Peter’s children, now in their twenties,
are our granddaughters Katharine and Julianne.
My fondest memories of CCNY include both fellow students and the extraordinarily
good liberal arts education that I received there. I have never forgotten the superb teachers
(Oscar Janowsky, Michael Krauss, Hans Kohn, and Oscar Zeichner among them) whom I
encountered in the History Department and in others such as the Speech Department; there
I was taught how to overcome my foreign accent. Nor have I forgotten the occasion in 1991
when CCNY presented me with a Townsend Harris Medal as a Distinguished Alumnus at
a dinner that both my octogenarian parents were happily able to attend.
Home Address: 804 West Green Street
Champaign, IL 61820-5017
Home Phone: 217-352-4763
Email:
[email protected]
Herbert Bard, B.B.A., C.P.A.: studied accounting at the downtown campus, now
known as Baruch. He was also a member of House Plan–Dean ‘52. Prior to his retirement,
Herbert was a partner/consultant at Holtz Rubenstein Reminick, as well as a trustee and executor of various trusts and estates. He is a current member of the AICPA and the NYSSCPA.
Memories: “CCNY basketball at Madison Square Garden–1949, 1950. The lounge on the
9 floor. Joe King’s rathskeller. The quality of the professors.”
th
Home Address:
Email:
4 East 70th Street
New York, NY 10021
[email protected]
***
Murray W. Beaver, B.E.E., P.E. : After graduating from
high school, my family gave me the choice of going to college, or
going to work. Money was not available for me. I had interests in
electrical/electronics, and good grades in mathematics. Then, an
engineering career was my preference. What better school to
choose than The City College of New York? At that time, CCNY
was tuition-free. Only a $25 registration fee was required. I
sweated through a five hour comprehensive exam to be admitted.
I remember the one hour long subway trip I took daily from my
home in Brooklyn to the uptown City College campus. Standing
in the subway, hanging onto the subway strap with one hand while
holding my textbook to study with the other; and then, running
from the Broadway-137th Street station to Shepard Hall to make my class, was quite a daily
ordeal.
At CCNY, I engaged in interests other than academic, like the Glee Club, and membership
in the student chapters of Hillel, SDS, and IRE/AIEE societies. I recall the student strike
against Professors Davis and Knickerbocker, who were accused of racism. I and other students refrained from attending classes in support of the strike. In my junior and senior years,
I joined House Plan (Remsen ‘51) in need of a social life that I had lacked. It was difficult
to form close friendships considering the great demands of study, and the long daily commuting trip on the subway. However, I liked to write, and in my senior year, I was on the
staff of a monthly tech news publication called “The Analyzer”.
I fondly recall some of my professors, like the eccentric mathematics Professor Post, who
taught me calculus; and Professors Millman and Taub, whose textbooks on electronics I
still possess. I am indebted to all of them for giving me a sound foundation in engineering.
And for college sports, I can’t forget the proud feeling I had when the CCNY “Cinderella”
basketball team won both NCAA and NIT championships. Let’s have an ALLAGORU!
After graduating CCNY in June of 1951, I attended part-time post-graduate studies in the
evening while employed during the day. These evening courses eventually rewarded me
with an M.E.E. degree in 1961 by The Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (now The Polytechnic Institute of New York). After working for several firms from 1951 through 1965 as
an Electrical Design Engineer for defense electronic products and systems, I decided to
apply my work to non-military products. I secured several positions as a Design/Project
Engineer with medical-electronic instrument manufacturers. The highlight of such employments was when I was listed inventor for an analog device that automatically determines
the hematocrit of whole blood samples by conductivity measurements.
In 1984, during a period of unemployment, I obtained a P.E. license, which was only an
ego gratification, since I never used it in my electronic work as an employee. Periodically,
in-between employments, I worked as an independent electronic consultant. After a brief
marriage, I became the proud father of a delightful daughter who has obtained a Ph.D., and
now practices psychotherapy. I now have two grandchildren, and spend happy times with
my second wife.
On retiring from engineering in 2003, I have become a “Sunday Painter”. Along with household chores, like cooking and managing my finances, I am engrossed in art-drawing and
painting, and I don’t depend on any remuneration from it. As I look back on my engineering
career, my electronic designs and patents are now obsolete as technology advances. Were
it not for CCNY, I would not have been an engineer. But, who knows what other paths I
could have followed with even greater satisfaction and accomplishment? In life, there are
always alternatives. For me, at 82 years, I have turned to the creative fine arts–drawing and
painting, which is a delightful pastime.
Home Phone:
Email:
914-632-8939
[email protected]
Aaron Becker, B.E.E., M.S.E.E.: was an electrical engineering major at CCNY. He was also president of Gibbs ‘51
(House Plan), and co-editor in chief of the Microcosm ‘51. He was
featured in Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and
Universities, and inducted into Eta Kappa Nu and Lock & Key.
He received his Master’s degree in electrical engineering from Columbia University in 1954.
From 1951-1970, Aaron was Senior Engineer and Program Manager of the American Bosch Arma Corp. He was Plant Manager of
Bohn Benton Co. from 1970-1972. From 1973-1998, Aaron was
President of National Teaching Aids, Inc. In 1998, he retired after
serving for 25 years as a publisher and 20 years as an engineer/program manager. He is currently a member of I.E.E.E., and a proud supporter of the
Stuyvesant/CCNY Scholarship Fund.
Memories: “Too many to list. Met my wife at CCNY. Hanging out in House Plan. Carnival.
Basketball games and celebrations afterwards.”
Email:
[email protected]
***
Richard Bender, B.C.E., B. Arch.: is an Architect and
Urban Planner with extensive experience in Urban Design and
Planning. He is Professor of Architecture and Dean Emeritus of
the College of Environmental Design at the University of California at Berkeley.
Before coming to California, in 1969, Dean Bender taught at The
Cooper Union and Columbia University in New York. At Berkeley,
he was Chairman of the Department of Architecture from 19731976 and Dean of the College of Environmental Design from 19761990. Over the years, he has been a Visiting Professor of
Architecture at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University,
MIT, the Swiss Federal Technical University, and the Instituto Universitario Arquitettura
in Venice. He was named a Fellow in Architecture at the American Academy in Rome in
1980 and in 1989, he was appointed to the “GC-5” Visiting Chair in Urban Design and Planning at the University of Tokyo. He continues in that position today.
Dean Bender did his undergraduate work in Civil Engineering at the City University of New
York (B.C.E., 1951). He went on to do graduate work in Building Construction Engineering
at MIT, and in Architecture at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, where
he studied and worked with Walter Gropius, and then Jose Luis Sert.
He interrupted his studies to work with the North Atlantic Construction Company at the
Greenland Air Bases, and then for service in the U.S. Army (where he designed the ‘floats’
for the Army in the 1955 Army-Navy Game). He returned to Cambridge, where he received
the Bachelor of Architecture degree from Harvard University in 1956.
In 1956, he married Sue Rosenfeld. Now known as Sue Bender, an artist and writer, she
wrote “Plain and Simple–A Woman’s Voyage to the Amish”, which became a New York
Times best seller in 1990. They lived and worked in Europe for two years before returning
to New York, where their sons Michael and David were born in 1960 and 1961. They lived
on Tenth Street and Amagansett until the family moved to California in 1969.
In professional practice as a partner in Town Planning Associates (with Jose Luis Sert and
Paul Lester Wiener), and then as a consultant to architecture firms, institutions, and United
States and other governments, Dean Bender has been involved in the planning of largescale campus and urban development projects in North and South America, Europe, the
Middle East, and in Asia. His institutional work in this period included campus planning
and the design of buildings for: the CERN nuclear research campus in Geneva, Switzerland
(with Buro Steiger); the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel; and a new community
on the island of Cartegena, Colombia.
More recently, as principal of his own consulting firm and director of the Campus Planning
Study Group in the College of Environmental Design at Berkeley, Dean Bender has consulted extensively on campus planning, urban design, and architectural projects, including:
the University of California campuses at Berkeley, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Davis, and
Merced.
Outside of the U.S.A., Dean Bender has advised the University of Tokyo in the re-planning
of the Hongo campus (with Prof. Shigeru Itoh), Waseda University in Tokyo (with Prof.
Shigeru Satoh); in 1992, he led the Master planning for the Benesse International Center
for the Arts on the Island of Naoshima in Japan’s Inland Sea. Since 1993, Dean Bender
has been a Director and member of the planning team for “Academy Hills”, a new “In
Town University”, and the Mori Center for the Arts in the Roppongi Hills development in
Tokyo.
Since 1994, he has been Professor at the Universite Europeene de Maitrise D’Oeuvre Urbaine in Cergy-Pontoise, France, and consultant on the planning of a new town center and
technical campus in the “New Town” of Cergy-Pontoise, outside of Paris, France. In 2009,
he began to advise the Trustees of Singapore’s Nanyang Technical University on the replanning of their campus.
In 1983, Dean Bender began an advisory role to the Getty Trust: first, on the siting, planning and architecture selection of the Getty Center in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles,
and later–through 1995–on strategic planning for the Getty’s “next generation.”
In San Francisco, Dean Bender has been involved in the “Downtown Plan” for San Fran-
-cisco–as the organizer and first chair of the City Planning Commission’s Architectural Review Panel, and as advisor to the Museum of Modern Art. He has also served as a member
of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission’s Design Review
Board.
Dean Bender is a Founding Director of the non-profit Bridge Housing Corporation. He has
been a Trustee of Mills College in Oakland (1992-97), where he was Chairman of the
Trustees Campus Planning Committee. Over the years, Dean Bender has been an advisor
to the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts, and a member of the Building Research Advisory Board and the Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems of the National
Academy of Sciences.
Dean Bender has written and contributed to a number of books and publications and has
written a number of articles on campus and community planning, urban and building technology, urban infrastructure, and housing. As a practitioner, he has won awards for his campus, residential and community planning projects. He has taught and lectured on campus
and community planning in the U.S., Europe and Asia. He delivered major addresses to the
1994 and 1996 Annual Meetings of the Society for Campus and University Planning
(SCUP), and has been invited to present “Keynote” addresses at International Urban Design
Conferences in Europe, Asia, and the U.S.A.
Office Address:
Professor of Architecture and Dean Emeritus
Center for Environmental Design Research
College of Environmental Design
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-3918
Home Address:
804 Santa Barbara Road
Berkeley, CA 94707-2018
[email protected]
Email:
Sigmund Borax, B.E.E.: Along with shared memories of
campus unrest with strikes, political rallies, etc., and the highs
and lows of our basketball team, my singular memory of my
CCNY years concerned the scholastic “wall” I hit in my first
year.
After sailing through high school, I was near failure in my first
math and science classes. Thinking that maybe engineering was
not for me, I visited the guidance office to see if maybe a different course of study, like journalism, was better for me. After
taking an aptitude test, I was advised that engineering was the
career for me, and that I should stick with it. I successfully
struggled through the first year, and after that, found the aptitude test was correct...I was cut out to be an engineer.
I entered CCNY’s engineering program in a first year class of 800 plus students. Somehow,
I managed to find the time to play the clarinet in the CCNY band and concert band. I graduated in 1951 in the upper third of an engineering class of about 300.
I entered the U.S. Army in November of 1951. I remained in the U.S. at Ft. Monmouth labs
for the duration of service and was discharged in November, 1953. I became a licensed professional engineer in the states of New York and New Jersey in 1957.
Following electrical engineering work in the industry, I formed a new company (along with
an associate), called Trilectron Industries in 1970. The company engaged in the design and
manufacturing of power electronic equipment and control systems for commercial use and
defense applications.
In 1976, I became sole owner of the company, and, after 10 years at 2 locations in New Jersey, relocated to Palmetto, Florida (Sarasota/Bradenton area). By this time, the company
was primarily engaged in the design and manufacturing of aircraft ground equipment (engine driven power units, air conditioners, jet starters) for commercial and military use, with
international applications.
With significant growth over the following 10 years, I sold the company in 1996. Trilectron
Industries is currently part of Illinois Tool Works (ITW). I continued to work part-time as
a consultant for several years and fully retired in 2002. I am proud of the fact that our business started with $2,000. I borrowed from an insurance policy 40 years ago; it remains a
viable enterprise, operating under its original name, though part of a large corporation.
In retrospect, although the engineering subject matter covered during my CCNY engineering
education became virtually obsolete during my 2 years in the Army, I have always felt that
CCNY provided me with the “tools” necessary to absorb and fully utilize the new technologies in my engineering pursuits, along with the ability to manage and grow my company.
I have two sons, Brad and Craig, who each own their own companies. I have two granddaughters in college. My wife and I enjoy a comfortable retirement in Sarasota, Florida.
Home Address:
Email:
1560 Caribbean Drive
Sarasota, FL 34231
[email protected]
***
Dr. Irving Borowitz, B.S., M.A., Ph.D.: was a chemistry major at the College. He
was a member of the Baskerville Chemistry Society, Hillel, and House Plan (Downer ‘52)
before graduating cum laude. He received his Master’s degree in 1952 from Indiana University, and his Ph.D. in 1956 from Columbia University.
From 1960-1962, Irving was an instructor in the CCNY chemistry department. In the summer of 1972, he was an academic guest at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in
Zurich, Switzerland. From 1977-2002, Irving was an adjunct professor at Ramapo College.
From 1965-1977, and again from 1980-1995, he was a professor and chair of the Chemistry
Department at Yeshiva University. He was an adjunct professor in the summer sessions offered at Columbia University from 1980- 2005. Irving retired in 2005.
Irving is a current member of the American Chemical Society, Phi Beta Kappa, Temple
Beth Emeth (since 2010), and the Jewish Community Center of Ann Arbor. He is a former
member of Sigma Xi, A.A.U.P., and JCC, a senior center in Teaneck, New Jersey. He has
published 59 articles on organic chemistry, the mechanics of molecular modeling, and calcium transport agents.
Irving and his wife Grace have two daughters, Susan and Lisa; they also have two grandchildren, Eli (7), and Sammy (4). Irving’s hobbies include listening to classical music, computer modeling of chemical reactions/structures, and reading. Among the highlights of his
life, he counts raising two wonderful daughters, and now helping with two delightful grandchildren; and doing research with Grace at Ramapo College. Of his time at City College,
Irving says: “I remain grateful to CCNY for molding me into the chemistry loving professional that I became. Those were very good years!”
Memories: “Meeting my future wife, Grace Burchman ‘56, when returning to CCNY to
give a talk on my graduate research at Columbia. Professor Herb Meisligh. Music in
Lewisohn Stadium. The very helpful and friendly teachers. Professor Chester Kremer.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
827 Asa Gray Drive
Unit #455
Ann Arbor, MI 48105-3521
734-761-8247
[email protected]
***
Margaret Braxton (nee Edwards), B.S., M.S.,
M.R.E., L.H.D.: I grew up in Harlem in New York City
and went to public schools. I graduated from The High School
of Music & Art in 1947, and I attended Hunter College from
1947-48, before transferring to the City College of New York.
I was an English major at the College, and received my degree
in Education. I went on to earn my Master’s degree in Library
Service from the Columbia University School of Library Service in 1953, and my Master of Religious Education at Wesley
Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. in 1966.
From 1953-1955, I was a Reference Librarian at the Founders
Library at Howard University in Washington, D.C. I was a Cataloger at the Library of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washington from
1955-1956. From 1956-1964, I was a Cataloger at the Army Library of the Pentagon. (I attended Wesley Seminary from 1964-1966.) I served as Director of Religious Education at
All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington from 1966-1970. I was an Instructor in the Department of African and Afro-American Studies at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachussetts from 1971-1973. For ten years (1971-1981), I taught in the Summer Schools at
Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, California. From 1970-1975, I was a fulltime Educational Consultant for the Department of Education & Social Concern in the Unitarian Universalist Association, in Boston. I received a Doctor of Humane Letters in 1976
from the Starr King School for the Ministry, in Berkeley, California.
I was Executive Director of the Young Women’s Christian Association (Cambridge YWCA)
from 1975-1982. I became a Board Certified Music Therapist and worked for the Department of Rehabilitation Services at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts from 19821995. During the summers of 1996 and 1997, I taught an Expressive Therapy Course at
Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. From 2003-2010, my private practice of
music theory included work with senior citizens in assisted living facilities who suffered
from Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. I am also the author of the article “White Racism
and the American Situation”, which appeared on pages 19- 21 in the Fall, 1971 issue of The
Urban & Social Change Review. (The Review is published by the Boston College Graduate
School of Social Work.)
I have been married and divorced twice. I was first married to the late James L. Williams
in 1954. We separated in 1960 and divorced in 1964. I kept the name ‘Margaret Williams’
while single again–from 1964 until I re-married in April 1981. My second husband, Carlyle
Braxton, and I divorced in 1983; I continue to use my name from that marriage.
My lifelong avocation has been playing the piano–classical repertoire. I continue to practice
the piano and have given many solo piano recitals. I was a member of CCNY’s chorus, as
well as orchestra (played cello) while there.
My travels have included six countries in West Africa in the 1970s, two trips to Greece, including Crete, England, Bermuda, Jamaica, Guadaloupe, and Mexico City. My other interests include writing poetry, Qi-gong, alternative and complementary medicine, and playing
games online, e.g. Pogo’s Poppit!
I am very grateful to the City College of New York for providing me with an excellent undergraduate education.
Email:
[email protected]
***
Sam Burgreen, B.S.: studied microbiology at the College. He retired in 1978. He
writes:
“I grew up on the Lower East Side of New York City on Lewis Street. I went to Seward
Park High School. I was fortunate to have three marriages with three wonderful women. I
am married to Estelle Breecher Kamins, who was the widow of Jack Kamins, CCNY Class
of 1949. I have three children and eight grandchildren. My wife and I live in a retirement
community in Delray Beach, Florida.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
2490 NW 12th Street
Delray Beach, FL 33445
561-276-5473
[email protected]
William F. Cagney, B.B.A.: studied business administration at the College. Upon his
graduation, he attended the Army Special Training Program (Italian Language Study) at
Washington University—St. Louis during World War II. From 1946-1974, William was
manager of personnel administration at The American Express Co. Inc. From 1974-1989,
he was director of the industrial relations and management resources at the National Trade
Council. He retired in 1989 from his career as an international personnel administrator.
Memories: “1938-1941: these were confusing years. Followed my military service in WWII,
I returned to CCNY/Lehman College (1942-1946) for a B.B.A..”
Home Address:
103 Pearce Pky
Pearl River, NY 10965-1923
***
Bruno M. Carioti, B.C.E., M.S.E.: grew up in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Stuyvesant High School,
he studied civil engineering at City College, where math and
structural engineering were his favorite classes. He was a member of Chi Epsilon and graduated cum laude. He received his
Master’s degree from Princeton University in 1961.
Mr. Carioti went on to become a registered professional engineer with over 50 years of U.S. and international experience
on large-scale industrial, urban and military infrastructure projects. From 1979-1995, he served as chief engineer and senior
advisor to Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for Jubail and
Yanbu. This government agency has been responsible for the
development, construction and operation of the Kingdom’s two
new industrial cities, Jubail and Yanbu. The cities have become models, and are main industrial hubs for the country and the region. All of the country’s primary petrochemical and
other heavy industries are located at the two cities. The Royal Commission has received
several international awards for excellence in industrial planning, engineering and environmental protection.
From 1974 to 1979, Mr. Carioti served as program manager in Iran for its multi-billion
dollar naval base and shipyard construction projects. From 1953 to 1974, he served as an
officer in the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps. His assignments encompassed many highly
important military, R & D, civic action and space program infrastructure projects in the U.S.
and worldwide; this included a year as engineering director of the northern zone of South
Vietnam for all U.S. military construction requirements during 1968 and 1969.
Mr. Carioti is a fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers; listed in Who’s Who
guides; and is affiliated with several international professional societies and organizations.
He has received many commendations and several decorations for military, civilian and
professional accomplishments, including the Bronze Star with Combat “V” for work in
Vietnam. He ended his U.S. Navy active service with the permanent rank of Commander.
For the past ten years, he has worked in private practice as a consultant, primarily on industrial, infrastructure and investment projects in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the
U.S.
Career Highlights/Turning Points:
1.
2.
3.
Joining the U.S.N. and being an Officer in the Civil Engineering Corps for 21 years
(1953-1974).
Starting a new civilian career on multi-billion dollar projects in Iran (1974-1979)
and in Saudi Arabia (1979-1995).
Additional civilian career as a self-employed consultant (1995-present) on international engineering and investment projects in the Middle
Mr. Carioti has two adult daughters with his first wife, an Italian from Naples. They live in
Rome, Italy. He also has a 10 year old daughter with his second wife, who is English; they
live in Washington, D.C. Mr. Carioti’s hobbies and special interests are bridge, tennis, scuba
diving, and helping his 10 year old daughter grow up.
Fondest CCNY Memories: Summer concerts and learning surveying in Van Cortlandt Park,
and listening to special lectures including by D.B. Steinman.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
4238 Embassy Park Drive
Washington, D.C. 20016
202-362-2702
[email protected]
Dr. Norma Carr: I was born and raised in New York. Spanish was my first language.
I graduated from Walton High School; I took an academic course plus shorthand and typing.
I chose City College because I did not want to leave home. I went into third year Spanish–
Literature! I don’t remember exactly how I found that nurturing ‘Spanish table’ in the cafeteria. It was a real social center. I was invited to Sigma Delta Pi at the end of the sophomore
year.
My favorite teachers were Professors Becerra, Dr. William Colford, Dr. Bernard Levy, and
Dr. Luciano, with whom I studied Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. History Professor Offut
told great stories. I best remember his prophecy about peace: It will have to be forced on
the world–a PAX Americana.
Sociology with Dr. Warren Brown was intensive, examining problems in our city. I participated in a project on Puerto Ricans, interviewing social workers, factory workers, professionals, welfare recipients, and others. I was recorder, interviewer, and translator.
I worked part-time as a civil service employee in the office of Dr. Shulman and his staff.
The first semester of my senior year was spent at the National University of Mexico with
the help of a Donner Scholarship. I returned home and graduated.
While working as a bilingual secretary, I attended Teachers College CU, M.Ed. Program. I
taught English to a class of 9-17 year old boys, new arrivals from Puerto Rico. From 1953
to 1954, I taught English at Paulding J.H.S., where I met Albert B. Carr, an A.B.D. in Science Education. I finished the M.A. in May and we married in December, 1954.
The four of us, Dr. Al Carr, our two daughters, Lorrie–born in Puerto Rico—and Linda,
born in New York, and I, arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii in September, 1958. Kevin and David
were born in Honolulu.
From 1959-1960, I taught Spanish at the University of Hawaii. I joined the Hawaii Association of Language Teachers (HALT), initiated a Spanish Club for students and a tertulia
for teachers; I was President in 1963. From 1961-1965, I taught at Chaminade College. I
founded the Hawaii Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese with eager colleagues. In 1966, I joined the Puerto Rican Independent Association
and discovered that the Puerto Rican migration to Hawaii in 1900-1901 was the first organized transfer of laborers between two colonies newly acquired by the United States in
1898. More than 5, 000 arrived in Hawaii between December 23, 1900 and October 18,
1901.
I served as a board member and wrote the monthly newsletter for thirty years. In 1973, I
initiated the observance of Three Kings, still ongoing. In 1974, we initiated the Annual
Scholarship program, which is still valued and supported by the membership. In 1980, the
Bishop Museum invited the United Puerto Rican Association of Hawaii (UPRAH) to exhibit. We collected artifacts carried from Puerto Rico by the original immigrants or made
by them in the early years. It’s the first permanent museum exhibit for Hawaii’s Puerto Ri-
-cans.
I was the major contributor to the Department of Education ART MOBILE, which toured
the public schools on Hawaii and Maui for one year, and wrote the monograph titled Puerto
Rican: One Identity from a Multi-Ethnic Heritage, which was sent to every school in the
state.
In 1983, I attended the First National Conference of Puerto Rican Literature at Rutgers University. With the cooperation of the Hawaii Council of Literary Arts, UH, and UPRAH, I
have hosted seven New Yorican artists. In 1989, I completed a Ph.D. in American Studies.
My dissertation was titled “The Puerto Ricans in Hawaii: 1900-1958". I received a grant in
1977 from the New York Puerto Rican Migration Consortium, which funded my statewide
research. Dr. Oscar Alers, CC 1955, and Dr. Frank Bonilla, CC 1949, were members. The
transcriptions totaled 1, 800 pages. Thank goodness for Dr. Brown’s class at City College.
My thesis is available at every public library in Hawaii, donated by UPRAH, as well as
UH at Manoa.
I have written several newspaper and magazine articles and been interviewed many times.
I have spoken to the classes of Manuel Ramos Otero at Lehman College in 1986, and The
Sigma Delta Pi Annual Conference at UH Manoa in 1995, The International Spanish Linguistics Conference, The U. of Puerto Rico in 2009, and many more. Among my favorite
“awards” are the one presented in 1976 by The Latin American Students for the Perpetuation
of Hispanic Culture in Hawaii; The Servant of the Hispanic Community 1959-1990 by The
Hispanic Baptist Mission; The Hacer Society for Promoting Community Consciousness in
1993, and Ageless Heroes in 2000 for following my passions.
I am the author of many publications, including “Strangers in Paradise” (Hispanic, December 1989). I have also spoken at many conferences and lectures, including “Doing our
Thing: The PRs in Hawaii” for the classes of Manuel Ramos Otero for Lehman College in
1986. I have also won many awards: The Latin American Students Association for the Perpetuation of Hispanic Culture in Hawaii (1976), presented by then Mayor Frank Fasi; and
the Hawaii Hispanic News and Business Community for Community Involvement (2009).
In 1972, I found the baptismal records of Marin, an agricultural pioneer. They were in the
San Marcos Church in Jerez. At the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, it was a document
placing Marin in Hawaii. In 1999, I returned to Jerez for official copies of his parents’ wedding, his baptism, and his mother’s last will and testament. The city of Jerez named a street
after him in 2009.
After 53 years in Hawaii, I am, at 82, a widow with four grown children, and two bilingual
grandchildren. I am still a New Yorker, still a Puerto Rican with good memories of City
College, and the good work which is still ongoing.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
461 Hao Street
Honolulu, HI 96821
808-373-3263
Email:
[email protected]
***
Harold Cohen, B.S.S.: majored in economics while at the College. He was also a member of the Laugh Club (1950). From 1959-1994, Harold was partner at Morris Erber & Co,
Inc. He retired in 1994. Since 1966, Harold has been a member of the Congregation Adath
Yeshurun Bais Moshe of Flatbush.
Home Phone:
718-253-3869
Edwin D. Decker, B.M.E.: Ed was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He attended P.S.
194 and James Madison High School. Ed is a graduate of the engineering program of The
City College of New York, Class of 1951. He was then employed by the U.S. Navy as an
Ordinance Engineer for two years. Based on his education and work experience, he received
a direct commission in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. Upon completing his military service, he was employed by the Ford Instrument Division of the Sperry Corporation
as a design engineer. He progressed to the position of Director of Engineering in 1968. He
then transferred to the Sperry Gyroscope Division in 1969 as Chief Engineer of Radar Systems. He became Vice President and General Manager in 1980.
In 1984, Edwin was appointed to the position of Corporate Vice President and President of
The Defense Products Group, responsible for all four divisions in the defense business. In
1987, due to a hostile takeover of Sperry, he left to join the United Technologies Corporation
as President of The Norden Systems Division. He retired in 1990.
Ed moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 1991. He started a small business to buy
homes, which were well constructed but needed significant improvement. The idea was to
bring homes up to date and then resell them for a profit. He succeeded with his first home
and was discovered by Habitat for Humanity. He went to work for them as a volunteer supervising a work crew. After several years, he became Chairman of the Building Committee.
Ed’s building know-how comes from his experience working summers and weekends as a
teenager for a prefabricated-homes-builder. In his twenties, he was supervising the erection
of the homes.
For five years, Ed served on the Board of Directors of Environmental Concern, a not-forprofit dedicated to restoring the wetlands to improve the water quality of the Chesapeake
Bay and other such water ways.
Ed has been a member of Easter Shores SCORE for over 15 years. There, he utilizes his
expertise in strategic planning and management, working with government, construction,
and not-for-profit enterprises to council clients, or those interested in starting a new business.
Ed has been married to his wife Ruth for 58 years. They have three children—Derek, Jan,
and Jill–and four grandchildren–John, Grace, Hallie, and Hope.
Mailing Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
P.O. Box 315
Royal Oak, MD 21662
410-745-2477
[email protected]
Dan Dicker, B.C.E., Eng.Sc.D., P.E.: My most vivid recollection of CCNY is the breathtaking architecture I saw the first
time I visited the campus. Since those college days, I’ve spent
most of my time as a university professor. I married Belle
Schwartz, the girl who I took on the geology field trips and accompanied me to the college productions of Measure for Measure
and On the Town. At my senior prom at the Hotel Astor, I surprised her with a diamond engagement ring. After we married we
lived, at various times, in Utah, London, and Barbados. We had
a daughter and a son, and now are the grandparents of three
young men.
Along the way, I picked up a doctorate from Columbia. I worked
in engineering as a consultant but spent most of my career as a professor of engineering
and applied math at Stony Brook University. Belle was a career counselor and taught at a
local college. During the course of my academic career, I’ve been a visiting professor at
Imperial College in London, Harvard, MIT, and the University of the West Indies. Since
my retirement from Stony Brook, I continue to do consulting as a professional engineer.
As examples of what I did before I became an academic, I was the project engineer for the
design of the Prospect Expressway in Brooklyn, and for the construction of the Dorado
Beach Hotel and Country Club in Puerto Rico.
I still retain academic connections. I’ve been an associate member of the Middle Eastern
Institute at Columbia for about 20 years. And I continue alumni activities at both CCNY
and at Columbia; I served as president of the engineering alumni associations-at different
times-at both colleges. At City, I also served as president of the Alumni Association. CCNY
and Columbia awarded me their Alumni Service Medals, as well as awards from their engineering schools.
About 20 years ago, I and several other CCNY graduates, created the Civil Engineering
Alumni Group (CEAG) to work with and advise undergrad civil engineering students at
City. It’s been a great experience. We derive a great deal of satisfaction from the students,
who, unlike our classmates of 60 years ago–all of whom resided in NYC–come from all
over the globe. They are at least as hardworking and serious as we were and determined to
make it here. And, surprisingly, or maybe not, even kids from upstate and the Midwest
come to the city in order to attend CCNY.
I graduated summa cum laude from City and received the Beldin Award for Excellence in
Structures at commencement. In my academic life, I wrote a number of research and scholarly papers on several engineering topics and received a few honors: awarded NSF-NATO
Fellowship for research in England; elected Fellow of both the New York Academy of Science and the American Society of Civil Engineers; and for my research on the collapse of
two suspension bridges, I received the Arthur Wellington Prize and the gold medal, the
Norman Medal from the ASCE.
Having been involved in alumni activities for over 25 years, I’m happy to have witnessed
the turnaround of CCNY from the dark days of the 1970s and regaining the splendor of its
past.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
228 Forest Drive
Jericho, NY 11753
516-938-0070
[email protected]
***
Jack Driller, B.E.E.: was an electrical engineering major at
the City College of New York, where he was also a member of
House Plan-Harris ‘51. In 1964, he received his M.Sc. in math
from New York University. From 1965-1966, he was a Fellow at
The Weizmann Institute in Israel. From 1965-1966, Jack was a
Senior Research Engineer at the Riverside Research Institute in
New York City. He is currently Senior Research Associate at the
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey.
From 1982-1983, Jack served as chair of the New York/New Jersey chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club. He was a member of the club’s council from 1988-1990. He was maintenance
supervisor of the New York/New Jersey Trail Conference from
1998-2009. In 2005, Jack was a recipient of the William Hoeferlin Award, which was awarded at the conference. He has also published more than 65 technical articles on biomedical engineering in peer reviewed journals.
Memories: “Cheering on our basketball team at the Garden before the scandals.”
Email:
[email protected]
Constance L. Ellison (nee Lewis), B.S. Ed, M.A.
Ed.: was an English Education major at the College. She went
on to receive her Master’s degree in Education in 1954.
Home Address: The Wyndham East
100 Hilton Ave., Apt. 516
Garden City, NY 11530
Home Phone:
516-741-7252
Dr. Jack Feder, M.S.S., Ph.D.: studied psychology at CCNY. He went on to receive
his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from New York University in 1967. He retired in 2004
from his career as a psychologist. Since 1967, Jack has been a member of the APA.
***
Mervin H. First, B.E.E.: studied electrical engineering at
the College. He retired in 1990. Mervin is the founder and past
honoree of The Professional Group on Electromagnetic Compatibility of the I.E.E.E. He was honored by the town of Babylon, New York and Suffolk County for community service. He
was active in the town of Amityville as a former school trustee,
Deputy Mayor, and ex-captain of the Amityville Fire & Police
Company. Mervin is a current member of The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
Email:
[email protected]
Gunther Fischel, B.B.A.: studied business administration at the College. From 19651972, he was merchandise manager at Forbes & Wallace department stores. He held the
same position at Ames department stores from 1972-1986. Gunther retired in 1986. Since
1986, he has served as treasurer of the Men of Sinai. In 1994, he was given the Man of the
Year Snyder Award from the Sinai Temple in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Comments: “I prefer to work quietly behind the scenes and just see that things get done.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
71 Beekman Drive
Agawam, MA 01001
413-786-9577
***
Beverly Fischer (nee Begelman), B.B.A., M.B.A.: studied advertising at the
downtown campus. She was also a reporter for The Ticker. She received her Master’s degree
from Adelphi University. She retired from her career as a teacher in 1995.
Memories: “Walking to classes in the snow--at the Main Center on 137 & Convent Avenue-during my freshman year. Seeing and hearing Bernard Baruch speak at the Baruch
branch.”
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Abraham Fischler: I grew up in Brooklyn, in an area
called Graves End. I went to Lafayette High School, graduating
in June 1945. I chose City College because of its reputation,
its academic standing, and because it was an all-male school
except in engineering. It had an outstanding faculty and at that
time tuition only cost $3.50 per year. Once there, I played basketball and soccer during my first year but then went into the
military service from January of 1946 to December of 1947.
When I returned in January of 1948, City College had great a
basketball team and I wasn’t good enough to make the team
but I did play soccer for three years. I was a member of the Varsity Club but since I commuted to school every day from
Graves End and worked, I did not have enough time to participate in other activities. Most of the professors at City College were outstanding, especially
in the sciences. The person who helped me most at City College was Dean Gottschall, because he gave me a second chance to re-enroll at City College after my stint in the service.
After graduating from City College with a Bachelor of Social Science in Biochemistry, I attended NYU, where I received a Master of Arts in Teaching. From that point on,
my focus became science education. I continued at NYU for a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Administration, and later completed my Doctorate in Science Education from Teachers
College, Columbia University.
I began my teaching career in Ossining, New York, where I coached basketball and
track in addition to teaching science and biology. The turning point in my life was my meeting Professor Hubert Evans of Columbia University, who was a consultant to Ossining Jr.
/ Sr. High School, where I eventually became head of the science department and supervisor
of science for the district. He encouraged me to finish my education by offering me a DuPont
Scholarship to Columbia’s Teachers College. For my thesis, I wrote a monograph on the
organization of science curriculum for grades 7, 8, and 9 which was later published as textbooks.
During 1959, I gave a series of speeches at the National Science Teachers’ Association meeting, where I met Dr. Fletcher Watson of Harvard University. He attended three
of the four speeches I gave and asked me to see him for an interview. I did, and he offered
me an opportunity to join Harvard as an assistant professor in science education in a nontenured track. He was a strong mentor and taught me a great deal about the politics of higher
education while also helping me to mature. While at Harvard, I was a consultant to Lexington and Newton public school systems and taught two classes, one was a methodology
course for elementary school teachers and the other was a curriculum research course for
students at the doctoral level. Both Dr. Evans and Dr. Watson were most important in my
life.
After three years at Harvard, I was offered a position at the University of California, BerkBerkeley in the School of Education as a science educator. This gave me an opportunity to
work on a number of projects supported by the Science Foundation and thus develop a national reputation. After becoming a full professor at Berkeley and working as a Ford Foundation consultant in South America, I received a telephone call from Dr. Edward Meade, a
program officer at Ford Foundation. Since I was en route to Chile at that time, he asked me
to stop to look at the Nova Educational Complex in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I traveled there
several times. After a few trips, I decided to take a position as Dean of Graduate Studies
and Director of Education at fledgling Nova University.
The purpose of the Nova Educational Park was to invent, implement, evaluate, and
disseminate new educational opportunities. I accepted the position in 1966 and our first 13
students arrived in September of 1967. The university began with doctoral programs in the
fields of Oceanography, Physical Sciences, and Science Education. In 1969, I was asked to
assume responsibility for the university as Executive Vice President while the President
was given a terminal sabbatical. In 1970, Dr. Alexander Schure, President of New York Institute of Technology, invested a large sum of money in Nova University in return for space
on Nova’s campus for NYIT’s undergraduate programs. This gave us the economic resources to continue to build Nova University at the doctoral and master’s level and provided
an undergraduate opportunity on Nova’s campus through NYIT. I remained as President of
Nova University for 23 years, retiring from that position in 1992. I am still active within
the university as President Emeritus and University Professor. The University now is the
sixth largest independent university in the country, with approximately 29,000 students and
an operating budget of approximately $600 million dollars.
I have been married for 61 years to Shirley Balter Fischler and have three children
and two wonderful daughters-in-law, Bruce (Martha), Michael (Anita), and Lori. Thanks
to them, I have three grandchildren—Kenneth, Danielle, and Mikaela. I have had numerous
publications in science education, written many papers and articles, and am most interested
at the present time in changing the structure and organization of public education so that
we can move from the “class as the unit” to “the student as the class,” and bring our public
schools into the 21st century (see my blog at www.thestudentistheclass.com).
I have been and always will be grateful to City College for the extraordinary educational opportunity it provided, and giving for me a strong foundation for my academic
career.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Office Phone:
Email:
8640 Banyan Way
Tamarac, FL 33321
954-720-8003
954-262-5375
[email protected]
Sidney J. Fratkin, B.M.E., M.S.E.: I was born in May, 1929
in Brooklyn, New York, just before the stock market crashed. I attended P.S. 189, J.H.S 210 (John Marshal), and Boys High School
before enrolling in the mechanical engineering program at City College. I received my Master’s degree from George Washington University in 1955.
I served in the Korean War from 1950-1953, in the U.S. Army Signal Corp. 9425 TSU. I specialized in long haul ionospheric communications engineering. From 1951-1953, I was employed by the
New York Naval Shipyard, where I worked on WWII carrier fleet
modernization and first generation super-carrier design. I worked
at Vitro Laboratories from 1956-1958, where I worked on submarine wire guided weapons
and wire communications; harbor mines detection systems; and a ship-to-shore tactical nuclear weapon system. In 1959, I specialized in airborne electronic counter-measures development for Litton Industries.
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From 1960-1989, I worked in the Federal Systems Division of IBM. There, I was actively
involved with the NASA-manned space programs Mercury and Gemini; the modernization
of FAA air-route traffic control centers; national and worldwide military command and control system strategic study; AF strategic satellite operations; and Trident submarine command and control systems integration. I retired in June, 1989.
I married the lovely Marsha Hauptman of Brooklyn, New York in December, 1956. We
made a grand tour of Western European countries on our honeymoon in 1957. We celebrated
our triple Chai wedding anniversary in 2010. Our family consists of Merrill, Claudia, and
Andrew. Our grandchildren are Joshua, Zachary, Amanda, and Gabriel. We also have a
great-grandchild, Chase.
I enjoy playing tennis, race-walking, cycling, bodybuilding, and practicing Karate and Tai
Chi. My current hobbies include Jewish genealogy, stamp collecting (specializing in U.S.
and Israeli joint issues), WWI history, recycling donated computers, participating in my
local community association, and assisting seniors with technology issues.
Memories: CCNY was not my first choice for attending college. At the time of my high
school graduation, WWII had ended the previous year, and returning veterans under the
G.I. Bill were entering all available colleges. I had applied to a number of out-of-town colleges, and their admissions appeared to favor the veterans. I opted to wait and work for my
family’s business for the rest of the year. Some of my friends had already entered CCNY
and NYU. The out-of-town college admissions situation did not change, and I had to reconsider local colleges, like NYU, Columbia, and CCNY. I finally decided on CCNY because I passed the entrance exam, and I would save my parents the tuition costs. My fondest
memory was living at Army Hall dormitories during my junior and senior years. Traveling
to classes from my home in Brooklyn was beginning to wear on me and affecting my grades.
Dr. Irwin Fridovich, B.S., Ph.D.: was a chemistry and biology major at the College. He went on to receive his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Duke Medical School in 1955. He officially retired
in 2007 as a Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at Duke University, but remains active in the department. He is a former member
of the NIH Study Section. Irwin is a current member of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, as well as the
Society for Free Radical Research. He is also the author of 450 papers published in diverse peer-reviewed journals.
From 1992-94, Irwin was president of The Society for Free Radical
Research. From 1954-55, he was the recipient of a Predoctoral Research Fellowship from the NIH. The following year, the NIH gave
him a Research Career Development Award. From 1959-1969, Irwin was honored with the
Herty Award from the Georgia Section of the American Chemistry Society. In 1980, he received the Founders’ Award for Outstanding Research Contributions to Progress in Toxicology by The Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology. In December 1980, Irwin was
given the Honorary Doctorate (Docteur Honoris Causa) from L’Universite Rene Descarte
in Paris, France. In 1984, he won the Cressy A. Morrison Award in Science from the New
York Academy of Science. That same year, he earned the North Carolina Award in Science.
He was made a Senior Passano Foundation Laureate in 1986. In 1987, he received the
Townsend Harris Medal, the highest honor that the City College can bestow upon an alumnus. In 1990, he received the Elliot Cresson Medal from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. In 1997, he won the City of Medicine Award in Durham, North Carolina.
Memories: “Taking the Biochemistry course taught by Abraham Mazur and subsequently
working with Mazur at Cornell Medical School in Manhattan. I was definitely launched
onto the career I followed by CCNY and Dr. Mazur.”
Office Phone: 919-684-5122
Email:
[email protected]
Arlene Goldberg (nee Spiegel), B.S.Ed., B.S., M.A.:
was an education major at the College, where she was also a member of the Theatre Workshop and Dramsoc. She received her B.S.
in occupational therapy from York College in 1978 and her Master’s Degree in gerontology from Long Island University in 2002.
Arlene is currently an occupational therapist for Good Samaritan
Home Health and Visiting Nurses of Suffolk. She is a member of
the following: AOTA; NYSOTA; LIDOTA; Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America (RESNA); COSS (Country
Dance and Song Society); and CDNY (Country Dance NY). She
has published an article in the February 2009 issue of Home
Health Care Nurse magazine, entitled “Optimizing the Skills of
Occupational Therapists.”
Home Phone: 516-938-4407
Email:
[email protected]
Lino A. Graglia, B.A., L.L.B.: was a liberal arts major at
the College. He went on to receive his L.L.B. from Columbia
University Law School in 1954. From 1954-57, he was an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
Since 1966, he has been a Professor of Law at the University of
Texas School of Law. In 1976, Lino’s book, “Disaster by Decree:
The Supreme Court Decisions on Race in the Schools” was published by Cornell.
Home Address: 3505 Taylors Drive
Austin, TX 78703
Office Phone: 512-232-1363
Email:
[email protected]
***
Dr. Emerson Graham, B.S., M.D: studied bio-chemistry
at the College. He was also a member of the Caduceus Society,
the Jazz Club, the NAACP, Phi Beta Sigma, and secretary of the
Inter-Fraternity Council. He went on to receive his medical degree in 1955 from Meharry Medical College. From 1956-1958,
he served as Lt. Senior Grade in the United States Navy. During
his career, Emerson has served as associate professor of medicine
at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. He retired from the private practice of internal medicine in 1994.
Memories: “Basketball championships. Student Tech under
Robert Whitford in the Audio Visual Department.”
Email:
[email protected]
Larry Gralla: I got some degree of education, but also had a lot
of fun during the four years. I went to City College before graduating
in 1951. And, of course, I met a lovely girl at City College. We were
married in 1952, right after her graduation. But the rewards I have
enjoyed these past ten years, during which I have been active in developing scholarship funds for the City College of today, is far beyond anything I experienced as an undergraduate.
My main career over the years was in the magazine publishing business. I was the president and CEO of Gralla Publications, a trade
magazine publishing firm in New York. My brother Milton, City College Class of 1948, has been my lifetime business partner. My connection with that business ended in January, 2001. I chaired the 50 Reunion of the Class of
1951 that summer, and in the fall of that year, I had various thoughts about what I might
do. Somehow, I was drawn to the idea of becoming a volunteer for the City College Fund.
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I still have my high school yearbook from Stuyvesant High School for June, 1947. The
graduates were asked what college they planned to attend, and that selection was listed in
the yearbook. Of 630 graduates, 122 said they planned to attend CCNY. And that was only
a six month class. The other six month class that year also had more than 100 expecting to
go to CCNY.
But in the last four years before 2001, the number of graduates from Stuyvesant coming
into City College were 2, 0, 3, and 1.
I knew that City College had gone down quite dramatically in its academic standards in the
1970s and 1980s, but I also knew that at this time, it was coming back up very fast. So I
volunteered to start something called the Stuyvesant-CCNY Scholarship Project.
That was ten years ago. In the intervening years, I have worked with the City College Fund
to start the Stuyvesant High School Scholarship Project, the Bronx Science Scholarship
Project, the Brooklyn Tech Scholarship Project, and now working with the City College
Fund to advance the New Era Scholarship Project which offers scholarships to many other
high school graduates.
These scholarships are offered to very bright high school graduates in New York City, whose
financial circumstances simply do not permit them to consider seriously the many fine-outof-town colleges who would be most pleased to accept these very bright youngsters. Essentially, these young people are facing the same problem today that most of us faced sixty
years ago. They have the grades to go anywhere, but the family finances make most choices
impossible. At CCNY, these new scholarships give bright students the opportunity to go
through four years of education, without even having to pay tuition. For many families in
New York City, that is the only way these bright youngsters can get through school.
My personal history at City College brings back mostly happy memories. In an act of broth-
-erly love, my brother Milton passed along to me his job of being the City College sports
reporter for THE NEW YORK TIMES. City College had 16 varsity teams at that time, and
newspapers gave a great deal of space to college sports because they believed that these
college athletes were their readers of the future. So I was writing for THE NEW YORK
TIMES on a number of occasions every week. And they paid me well!
I worked for THE CAMPUS, the College newspaper. Milton had been the sports editor of
THE CAMPUS a couple of years before, and Marvin Kalb was also sports editor ahead of
me. But then I had my turn – along with Jerry Jacobson, also of our class. I was also a photographer, and got many paid assignments from the publicity department at CCNY.
I did not have a lot of heavy studying to do at City, because so much more than I wanted or
needed to know had been beaten into me at Stuyvesant High School. I had many live wire
friends at the newspaper, THE CAMPUS. These included, of course, Jerry Jacobsen, my
close partner in a lot of things we did. I especially think of Gabe Gelb, Edmond Cohen, and
Arnie Workman of our class, along with Ray Haller, Eugene Blum, and Bernie Unger. Jerry
Jacobsen and I were the ones who got Milton Luchan into the tent on Convent Avenue with
the sign that said “Milt Luchan lives here until CCNY wins a football game.”
When I was finishing City College in the spring of 1951, my brother Milton and I went into
a trade magazine feature writing business. A few years later we developed a magazine of
our own, and I have spent nearly all of the intervening years up to 2001, in the publishing
business, one way or another.
But I remember well that last spring semester of 1951 at City College. Everyone was itching
to get out. I was not. I said to my friends: “This is the best fun we will ever have. We will
all remember it that way.”
Well, it is now 60 years later. What do you think?
Edward Grant, B.S.S., M.A., Ph.D.: served in the
U.S. Navy from 1943-1946. He was active on the U.S.S. San
Jacinto (CVL 30), a light aircraft carrier, in Pacific naval
campaigns from July, 1944 until the end of the hostilities on
August 15, 1945. Edward was awarded 6 battle stars for his
service in the Asiatic-Pacific area, and 2 battle stars for his
work in the Philippine Liberation; then-president Harry Truman honored the U.S.S. San Jacinto with the Presidential
Unit Citation on July 1, 1946.
Edward was Phi Beta Kappa while at City College, where he
graduated cum laude. He went on to receive his Master’s degree in the History of Science and Medieval History in 1953
from the University of Wisconsin; he earned his Ph.D. there
as well, in 1957. As a Fulbright Scholar, Edward studied at the University of Utrecht in
the Netherlands from 1955-1956.
He began his teaching career in 1952, as a teaching assistant at the University of Wisconsin.
From 1957-1958, he was an instructor in History at the University of Maine. From 19581959, he was an instructor in History of Science at Harvard University. From 1959 to the
present, Edward has taught at Indiana University. He began as an Assistant Professor of
History in 1959; in 1992, he was named a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History and
Philosophy of Science and Professor Emeritus of History.
In 1983, he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1984. He
is also a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America. He was the president of the History
of Science Society from January 1, 1985-December 31, 1986. In 1992, he was awarded the
George Sarton Medal of the History of Science Society; this is the most prestigious award
given by the History of Science Society, and “recognizes those whose entire careers have
been devoted to the field and whose scholarship is exceptional.”Edward served as a member
of the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New
Jersey from 1965-66, March 1976, and from 1983-1984.
He has been extremely active in numerous professional societies and activities over the
course of his career. They include: the Visiting Committee for the History of Science at
Harvard University (member, 1993-1994); the Alliance of Distinguished Rank Professors
at Indiana University (Director, 1995-1996); and Chairperson-elect and Chairperson of Section L of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1984-1986).
Edward has been featured in: Who’s Who in America; Who’s Who in the Midwest; the Directory of American Scholars; Men of Achievement; the Dictionary of International Biography; the International Authors and Writer’s Who’s Who; and Who’s Who in the World.
He is the author of 13 books and about 100 articles; many of these are on the interpretations
of the physical world by medieval scholars in the 13 and 14 centuries. His work has been
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translated into several languages.
Edward and his wife have been married since 1951; they have three children.
***
David Green, B.S.Ed., M.S.Ed.: was an education major at CCNY. He went on to
earn his Master’s degree, also in education, in 1961.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
632 Harrier Drive
Monroe Township, NJ 08831
609-409-0108
[email protected]
George Greenfield, B.E.E., M.E.E.: attended Lafayette
High School in Brooklyn before enrolling at CCNY, where he studied electrical engineering. While at the College, George was managing editor of The Vector magazine, and a member of the
engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi, and the electrical engineering honor society, Eta Kappa Nu. He fondly remembers Professors
Millman, Froelich, and Morse. He received his Master’s degree,
also in electrical engineering, from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute
in 1957.
Over the course of his career, George has served as a test engineer,
principal engineer, and senior engineer at firms such as Kearfott,
Elint Systems, and Rheometrics. He retired in 2004. George is a former scouting leader,
den leader, and scoutmaster. In 1983, he was given the Scouting District Award of Merit.
George was also the committee chairman and treasurer of the Neighborhood Residential
Associations–Zoning and Planning Interests. He is a current member of I.E.E.E. He is also
active in the Sierra Club, and helping the environment through the Environmental Defense
Fund, etc. He and his wife have been married since 1954; they have a son and a daughter.
Memories: “The friendship of my fellow engineering students.”
Email:[email protected]
***
Irwin Gross, B.B.A.: was a marketing major at the College. From 1975-1984, he was
Vice President of Sony Business Products Division. He semi-retired in 1994.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
5008 NW 95th Drive
Coral Springs, FL 33076
954-340-6944
Edgar B. Gutoff, B. Ch. E., Sc.D., P.E.: still does some
consulting on coating and drying, which he started doing full-time
in 1988 when he left Polaroid as a Senior Principal Engineer after
28 years there. He also had been teaching part-time in the Chemical Engineering Department of Northeastern University (19812005) as a Lecturer and Adjunct Professor. After receiving his
B.Ch.E. from City College in New York in 1951, he went on to
MIT, where he received an S.M. in 1952 and Sc.D. in 1954, both
in chemical engineering. He then worked at Brown Company
(now closed) in Berlin, New Hampshire until 1958, and then Ionics, Inc., now in Watertown, MA, and part of GE Water and
Process Technologies, before joining Polaroid in 1960. He is a
registered Professional Engineer in New York and Massachusetts.
In 1994, he was awarded the John A. Tallmadge Award for Contributions to Coating
Technology by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). He is a Fellow of
that organization and also of the Society for Imaging Science and Technology, and is on
the Technical Advisory Panel of the Association of Industrial Metallizers, Coaters, and Laminators (AIMCAL). He organized the first of the 15 biennial International Coating Symposia
at the AIChE Spring meeting in 1982 and chaired the AIChE committee that was responsible
for those symposia. He has presented papers at many of them. He was the founding Secretary of the International Society of Coating Science and Technology that continues to sponsor them, and in 2010 received their Founders Award. He co-edited with E.D. Cohen
Modern Coating and Drying Technology (1992) and co-authored with him Coating and
Drying Defects: Troubleshooting Operating Problems (2006, 1995), and with P.J. Frost The
Application of Statistical Process Control to Roll Products (1994). In addition, Ed has over
30 papers on coating and drying, and over 20 other technical papers or patents. He has also
developed software to predict the drying of coatings and to design coating dies. He was an
Adjunct Professor in Chemical Engineering at Tufts University in 1994.
Ed has been lecturing on coating and drying since he organized the first Coating
course at the International Coating Symposium in 1990 (these courses continued until 1998),
and in alternate years from 1991-2005 at the University of Minnesota. He also organized
Coating and Drying Technology Seminars that have been given in the Boston area since
1996. The 26 will be on May 2-5, 2011.
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He has taught twice at the AIMCAL Summer School, and has given presentations
before AIMCAL, the Pressure Sensitive Tape Council, the National Coil Coating Association, and the AIChE, and ACS, and the IS&T.
Ed was born in the Bronx, spent his early years in New Jersey, and returned to the
Bronx in 1938. He attended DeWitt Clinton H.S. and then went on to City College, initially
majoring in Chemistry but then switching to Chemical Engineering at the end of his freshman year. In his last semester, he worked in the Chemical Engineering Department as a
part-time lab instructor. He was elected to Tau Beta Pi; at MIT, to Sigma Xi. At City, he
was active in and served as Treasurer of the AIChE student chapter. He remembers fondly
two of his professors in Chemical Engineering, Al Schmidt and Morris Kolodney. Ed was
also active in Hillel, and was President of IZFA (a student Zionist group). He graduated
magna cum laude.
In 1995, Ed married Hinda Oler (M.A. in Educational Psychology, ‘54), and they
have two sons. The older one is a conservative rabbi, and the younger one is a professor in
the Roger Williams U. School of Law, specializing in Admiralty Law.
In the Boston area, he has been very active in the Workmen’s Circle, serving on the
District Committee and having been District Chair, Chair of the School Committee, and
Branch Chair.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Office Phone:
194 Clark Road
Brookline, MA 02445
617-734-0656
617-734-7081
***
Bernard Haber, B.E.E., P.E., Born in Berlin, Germany emigrated to the U.S. in 1938. He attended P.S. 69 and Richmond Hill
High School both in Queens, N.Y., and received his Civil Engineering degree from CCNY in 1951. After college he served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force on active duty and in the reserves retiring
after 23 years as a Lieutenant Colonel. In addition, he has had two
outstanding simultaneous careers: his 50 year professional engineering career and his 42 year civic career. He has been honored
in both as one of the outstanding engineers and involved citizens in
the New York Metropolitan area.
Until his retirement in 2001, Mr. Haber was the Managing Partner
of Hardesty & Hanover, LLP, Consulting Engineers, N.YC. The
124 year old firm is one of the largest bridge design firms in the country. After serving in
the U.S. Air Force he joined the firm in 1953, specializing in the design, rehabilitation and
inspection of bridges, highways and transit facilities. In 1972 he became a partner, a Senior
Partner in 1981 and Managing Partner in 1995. Under his direction the firm designed, rehabilitated and inspected highways and thousands of bridges throughout the US and especially in New York and New Jersey. A few of his projects are as follows:
*Design of Interstate I-80 and the Route 19 & I-80 Interchange, Paterson, N.J.
*Triborough, Whitestone, Throgs Neck and Verrazano Bridge inspections and rehabilita-
*Design of the new Greenpoint Ave. Bascule Bridge, Brooklyn/Queens, N.Y.
*Design & Inspection of the N.Y.C. Transit Authority Linden Yard Development Program,
Brooklyn, N.Y.
*Design of the 3000 ft Grassy Sound Bridge, N.J. and the 4500 ft North Grand Island
Bridge, N.Y.
*Design of the new N.Y. Thruway Schoharie Creek Bridge after the 1987 flood and tragic
collapse killing 10
There are few New York City bridges and arterial highways that Bernard Haber was not involved with in his 48 year career. From 1975 until his retirement, he served as the Consultant to the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission which operates the International Rainbow &
Queenston-Lewiston record arch bridges, designed by his firm, and the Whirlpool Arch
Bridge. Before his retirement he was involved with the design of the bascule span for the
new $2.5 Billion Woodrow Wilson Bridge project in Alexandria,V.A.
Some of his many honors are the “Engineer of the Year” by the American Society of Civil
Engineers [Met Sect. 1981] and the NY Association of Consulting Engineers [2001]. He
was awarded the CCNY Career Achievement Medal [1989] and Townsend Harris Medal
[2004], the NY State Senate Liberty Medal [2002] and the Mayor’s Award for Excellence
in Science and Technology [2005]. He has been honored by the U.S. Congress, N.Y.S. Legislature and the N.Y.C. Council for his engineering and service to the City and State.
Mr. Haber is a life member of the American Railway Engineering & Maintenance-Of-Way
Association [AREMA], the National Society of Professional Engineers {NSPE], the American Society of Civil Engineers [ASCE], the American Council of Engineering Companies
[ACEC] and the American Road & Transportation Builders Association [ARTBA]. In all
these organization he held responsible leadership positions.
He has published more than 40 professional papers on engineering and civic issues and
helped author the book on the long range plan for New York City, “New York Ascendant”
while he was a member of the “Mayors Commission on the Year 2000” [1984 to 1988]. He
has lectured at most local engineering schools and many public forums on bridges, infrastructure rehabilitation, why bridges fail and zoning and community issues.
His second career involves New York City affairs. He was appointed to the newly established Community Board 11 [1969 to present] in his district of Northeast Queens where he
served 30 years as Chairperson until 2002. He is involved in every aspect of his community
including zoning, building variances, landmark review, initiating the NYC capital and expense budgets, parks and streets, transit, sewers, planning, libraries and capital construction.
He currently is a Director of the N.Y.C. Industrial Development Agency, N.Y.C. Capital
Resource Corporation and a member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority [MTA]
Inspector Generals Advisory Board. He co-Chairs the Queens County Traffic Safety Board
and Zoning Task Force, serves on the Board of St. Mary’s Children’s Hospital and was past
Chairperson of the N.Y. State Northeast Queens Environmental Commission.
The most important moment of his college career occurred as a senior on the Tech
Quadrangle, when he whistled at a pretty freshman, resulting in is his marriage of 58 years
to his loving wife Sheila, his two children Neal and Lisa and his 5 grandchildren.
Home Address:
Email:
326 Knollwood Avenue
Douglaston, NY 11363
[email protected]
Ernest Harburg, B.S.S., M.A., Ph.D.: studied history at CCNY, where he graduated
cum laude in 1951. He went on to receive his M.A. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin in 1956, and his Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1962. In 1963 he became the Director of the University of Michigan’s Program for Urban Health Research. Over the next 10 years he published 23 articles,
most about a 10-year research project in Detroit (1964-1970) focusing on blood pressure
correlates. This research led to a wellness program at the Ford Motor Company in the state
of Michigan. In 1973 he received joint appointments as Research Scientist in the University
of Michigan Department of Epidemiology and the Department of Psychology.
Between 1969 and 2004, Harburg was also president of the consensus-run Del Rio Bar, the
Earle Restaurant and The Bistro in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1993, he co-authored (with
Harold Meyerson) the book “Who Put the Rainbow in the Wizard of Oz?” The book focused
on lyricist Yip Harburg (his father) and was published by the University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor Press. That same year, his book with Bernard Rosenberg (CCNY Professor of Sociology), “The Broadway Musical: Collaboration in Commerce and Art,” was published by
the New York University Press. In 2009, Harburg published the book “Liberty, Equality,
Consensus and All That Jazz at the Del Rio Bar.” He is also the author of 85 peer-reviewed
journal articles which explore research showing the relationship among alcohol usage, hypertension, anger expression and economic status and the medical consequences of their
interaction, most recently, suppressed anger and mortality. Now officially retired from academia, he continues to publish journal articles. He has been President since its inception
in 1982 of the Yip Harburg Foundation which awards two annual scholarships through the
CCNY Alumni Association to deserving students-in-need.
Memories: “My first day on campus, a bearded, nervous male asked me out of the blue, as
I was sitting by myself, ‘Do you believe in God? Take either side.’”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Office Phone:
Email:
240 E. 10th Street
New York, NY 10003
212-777-8917
212-343-9668
[email protected]
Joel Harris, B.S.S.: was a social studies major and a member
of the track team. He continued his education at Long Island University and Seton Hall University. He retired from his career as a
chemist at the Picatinny Arsenal (U.S. Army) in 1995. Joel is a
former member of the Chemical Society and the Thermal Chemical Society. Joel was given an award from the Picatinny Arsenal;
in addition, he has published work on thermal analysis in ThermoChemica Acta, (a Franklin Institute’s publication on friction), and
many Picatinny Arsenal publications).
Email:
[email protected]
***
Frank J. Heymann, B.M.E., S.M.: I was born in 1927 in
Germany to an “assimilated” Jewish family, but we moved to
Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1932. After the Nazis occupied that
country in March 1939, we fortunately were able to move to England just weeks before WWII began (in September), and thus escaped the holocaust. My grandparents in Germany did not.
In London, I quit secondary school after the “5th form” in 1943,
and began work in a factory as machine operator and later draftsman, while also taking part-time courses toward an aeronautical
engineering “national certificate”.
In 1946 we emigrated to the USA and, after another year working
as a draftsman in New York City, I entered CCNY full-time in 1947 to major in Mechanical
Engineering. In part because of my previous courses, I did well and graduated magna cum
laude in 1951.
My worst experience at City: Being forced to take Public Speaking 5 (remedial English)
for three semesters to eradicate my English accent. I considered that an insult!
My best experiences: Taking additional courses in English and Social Science for fun, beyond those included in the fixed 140-credit ME curriculum.
Stimulated by a summer program of the New York Society for Ethical Culture called “Encampment for Citizenship,” which I attended in 1948, I joined CCNY CORE (Congress of
Racial Equality), and served as its chairman when we “desegregated” “John’s City College
Barbershop”. I also founded the John L. Elliott Ethical Club, which brought various speakers to the college. That was the extent of my extracurricular activities. I hoped to go on
to graduate school to pursue my interest in gas turbines, but needed an assistantship or fellowship to do so. However, such programs required security clearance, and I was not yet
a citizen. In fact, while the rest of my family got their citizenships in 1951, mine was held
up for another 3 years – we surmise because of my CORE membership!
Anyway, MIT offered me a full-time assistantship in its Lubrication Lab – not a subject of
great interest to me, but I took it because it was MIT! My academic record at MIT was
undistinguished, though I got an SM in 1953. My chief “accomplishments” – in my mind
– were founding a “Motor Sports Enthusiasts’ Club” (which organized various competitions,
including a series of sports car race meets in cooperation with other clubs), and climbing
Mt. Katahdin in Maine with an outing club. Among the most pleasant memories are summer
concerts at Tanglewood.
In 1954, I finally got my citizenship and was hired by Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Lester,
PA to work on steam turbine development. I remained with Westinghouse – even after a
relocation of the whole Division to Orlando, FL – until my retirement as a “senior engineer”
in 1990, at age 62. My Westinghouse work led me to two special interests – applied
acoustics because of turbine noise problems, and moisture erosion of metals, because of
low-pressure blade erosion. Both interests allowed me to publish, go to conferences here
and in Europe, and make contact with others working in those fields. I have derived special
satisfaction from participation in ASTM International (originally American Society for Testing and Materials), which I joined in 1964; as of 2010, I am still active as chairman of a
“task group,” with members throughout the world, now possible because of e-mail.
I married in 1969; my wife had three children from a previous marriage and I subsequently
legally adopted them. I moved to my wife’s house in Arden, DE – a unique community
founded in 1900 as a “single-tax colony”. After our relocation to Florida in 1983 and my
retirement in 1990, my wife and I remained there (we actually got to love its natural areas!)
until 2001, when we moved to a retirement community in Brunswick, Maine. That’s a
lovely small town and home of Bowdoin College, about 25 miles from Portland, Maine’s
largest city. Our children and other relatives all live in the Northeast, and it was time to return there.
Answers to some of the questions in the instructions:
Publications: About 25 papers and articles, mostly on erosion by liquids and noise control
topics, but also on technical libraries and terminology.
Professional Organizations: Currently – ASTM International and ASME (Amer. Soc. of
Mechanical Engineers). In the past – also SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), and
ASA (Acoustical Society of America). Community activities: In Philadelphia, PA – “Sports
Car Club of America” (magazine co-editor, and eventually competitor), and “Buck Ridge
Ski Club”. In Arden, DE – Arden Community Recreation Association, and Playground
Committee (I introduced regular safety inspections of playground equipment). In Winter
Springs, FL – Homeowners Association; also AARP “Tax-Aide” (counselor) and “55-Alive
Mature Driving” (classroom instructor). In Brunswick, ME – AARP “Tax-Aide” volunteer,
and various committees in “Thornton Oaks Retirement Community”.
Honors and Awards: At CCNY – election to Pi Tau Sigma and Tau Beta Pi. From ASTM
Society – Dudley Medal (1968); “Award of Merit” and rank of “Fellow” (1976). From
ASTM Technical Committee G-2 – “Frank J. Heymann Distinguished Service Award”
(2000); “Frank C. Brautigam Award” (2007).
Hobbies and Special Interests: Walking, traveling, reading, writing. (In the past also motor
sports, skiing, canoeing, sailing, hiking.)
Family: My wife, Irene, worked as chemist in research and industry and later as Chemistry
Instructor, but after brain tumor surgery in 1985 could no longer work professionally.
Daughter Leslie (born 1954) is married and has two children – Laurie (born 1984) and Jeffrey (born 1987); sons Christopher (born 1957) and Robert (born 1960) are unmarried.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
25 Thornton Way # 205
Brunswick, ME 04011-3293
207-725-7073
[email protected]
Winifred M. Howard, B.S.Ed.: earned her degree in secretarial studies at the College,
where she was also a member of the Carver Club. She retired from her career as a teacher
of stenography and typewriting in 1977.
Memories: “Attending both uptown (main) and downtown (Baruch) ‘campuses’.Cafeteria
associations uptown. Memorable student contacts.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
129 W. 147th St. Apt. 12D
New York, NY 10039
212-234-6455
***
Marvin Kalb, Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice, Emeritus, and Senior Fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the
Press, Politics and Public Policy, was the Shorenstein Center’s
Founding Director and Murrow Professor of Press and Public Policy from1987 to 1999. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at The
Nixon Center in Washington DC and writer-in-residence at the
United States Institute of Peace. His distinguished journalism career extended over 30 years, during which time he did award-winning reporting for CBS and NBC as Chief Diplomatic
Correspondent, Moscow Bureau Chief, and host of Meet the Press.
In 2006, he was awarded the Fourth Estate Award at the National
Press Club. He has authored or coauthored 10 nonfiction books
and two best-selling novels. He and his daughter, Deborah, have just finished “Haunting
Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama.” It is scheduled for
publication in May, 2011. Already considered a ground-breaking study, it focuses on the
effect of Vietnam on presidential policy and politics, concluding with Obama’s war in
Afghanistan. Kalb hosts The Kalb Report, a video discussion of media ethics and responsibility, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. He is also a commentator on NPR
and Fox Television.
Mailing Address:
Phone:
Email:
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 13
79 JFK Street
202-429-4146
[email protected]
Dr. Marvin Kaplan, B.S.S., Ph.D.: graduated from James
Monroe High School. He studied psychology at CCNY, where he
was also a member of House Plan. He went on to receive his
Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Marvin, a member of the
APA, is a Professor Emeritus at Kent State University. He has
two daughters and five grandchildren.
Memories: “Gardner Murphy. CCNY was a great and demanding
experience–life changing!”
***
Dr. Lawrence Katz, B.S.S., Ph.D.: majored in psychology at CCNY, where he was Phi Beta Kappa. He received his
Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1956. He was a
clinical psychology officer in the United States Army from 19561959. He worked on a geriatric research project at the Langley
Porter Neuropsychiatric Institute from 1959-1961. From 19611966, Lawrence was director of the Alcoholism Project for the
Salvation Army. He began his private practice in 1967 and retired
in 2001.
Lawrence is a former member of the American Psychological
Association; the San Francisco Psychological Association (of
which he served as president in 1968); and the Marin County
Psychological Association (of which he was president in 1985). He is also a former member
of Psychologists for Social Responsibility. He is the author of several journal articles on alcoholism treatment, as well as a book, A Practical Guide to Psychodiagnostic Testing
(1985).
Memories: “I continue to remember fondly and with great appreciation the high level of
instruction, throughout my five years at the College, especially my MA year. I also loved
the way most of the students were totally committed to getting a good education, and working hard to accomplish it.”
Email:
[email protected]
Dr. Burton Kendle, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.: was an English
major at the College, where he was Phi Beta Kappa. He was
honored with the Ward Medal in English Literature at graduation. He received his Master’s degree in English in 1952, and
his Ph.D. in 1961, both from the University of Wisconsin. He
served as a professor of English at Roosevelt University from
1966-1995, when he retired. Burton is a current member of
MLA (since 1962) and AAUP (since 1963). He is the author of
more than 25 articles on Renaissance and Modern Literature,
and film adaptations of literature, in professional journals and
reference books.
Memories: “Great teachers like Leffert (English) and Page (History). Impressive fellow students. The exciting political atmosphere. Despite my 3 hour
round-trip commute from Staten Island, I recall my time at City with great affection and
remain grateful for the experience.”
Home Address:
336 W. Wellington
Apt. 1004
Chicago, IL 60657
Anton J. Klein, B.S.Ed., M.S.: was an education major at the College, where he was
also a member of the Physical Education Society. He received his Master’s degree at City
College in 1953 and studied at Columbia University’s Teachers College from 1956-1960.
While at City College, Anton (Andy) ran track and played JV football.
From 1972-1982, Anton served as Director of State and Federal Programs in Community
School Districts #9 and 11. He became Deputy Superintendent of CSD #11 in 1982, and
was appointed Community Superintendent of Community School District #3 in April 1987.
He retired from that position in October 1993. In 1990, Anton was named Superintendent
of the Year by the New York City Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.
The following year, he was honored as Superintendent of the Year by the New York Association of Orthodox Jewish Teachers. From 1987-1993, he was a member of the Association
of Community Superintendents, serving on its executive board from 1990-1993. He was a
member of the New York State Council of Superintendents from 1987-1993.
Memories: “Spending time in Army Hall–studying, etc.”
Home Address:
381 Blanketflower Lane
W. Windsor, NJ 08550
***
Robert Lawrence Koppel, B.E.E., M.S.E.E.: studied
electrical engineering at the College. He went on to earn his Master’s degree in electrical engineering from USC in 1956. He is currently president of Pro Financial Group, which handles estate
planning. He has been club president of Rotary International since
1984.
Email: [email protected]
Charles Kraft, B.E.E., M.E.E.: studied electrical engineering at the College. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi, A-Kappa-Nu,
AIEE, and House Plan, before graduating cum laude. In 1957, he
received his Master’s degree in electrical engineering from New
York University. Charles practiced in New York from 1970-1997;
he is currently retired.
Home Address:
34-43 Crescent Street Apt. 3B
Astoria, NY 11106
***
Eugene L. Kramer, B.A., L.L.B.: studied psychology at the College. He received
his L.L.B. from New York University Law School in 1958. Throughout his career, Eugene
has served as an associate at a New York law firm, as well as counsel for firms in California.
He is currently a self- employed attorney.
Memories: “My brother had been an engineering major at City before he was drafted in
1943. He was discharged in 1946 and returned to City under the G.I. Bill. I was a freshman
at City in September 1947, and my favorite memory was meeting my brother for lunch or
at the library and recapturing the close relationship we had when I was much younger and
before he was drafted. Another lovely memory would be seeing my sister graduate long,
long after she had started. She was 20+ years older than me, and had been the family’s
breadwinner during the Depression. (She was probably at least 25 years older than her classmates and some of her instructors.) I was a poor student until I went to law school several
years after I was discharged from the Army. Now, I still hear my mother’s voice saying,
“Be a truck driver but get a great education,” and I realize how CCNY changed my life and
the lives of my sister and brother.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Office Phone:
Email:
1432 Pandora Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024-5165
310-474-2723
310-553-2311
[email protected]
Harold Kuperberg, B.S.S., M.S.S.: was a double major
in sociology and psychology at the College. He was also president
(twice) of House Plan, vice president, treasurer, and chairman of
the Special Functions Committee; a member of the Student Faculty Committee on Student Affairs, and a member of the Sociology Society. He was awarded with the Gold Key from the Lock
& Key Society, and featured in Who’s Who Among Students in
Colleges & Universities. In 1953, he received his Master’s degree
from the Western Reserve University (School of Applied Social
Sciences).
From 1968 to 1979, Harold was associate director of the Jewish
Community Center of Greater Washington. From 1979-1995, he
worked as a field rep for the Israel Development Corp. Harold retired in 1995 from his
career as a social service administrator. He is a former member of the National Association
of Social Workers (1955-1982), and president of the Ritchie Park Elementary School. Since
1960, he has been a member of B’nai Brith; he was president of the Maryland State Association from 1966-1967. In 1995, he was honored with the Israel Freedom Award from Israel
Bonds. He and his wife Sandra have been married for over fifty years; they have two daughters and two grandsons.
Memories: “The many hours spent in House Plan as a member and leader.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
7 Slade Ave. Apt. 413
Baltimore, MD 21208
410-486-4167
Monroe (Monty) S. Kuttner, B.S.S., M.B.A.: My life
changed when I went to Stuyvesant High School and on to
C.C.N.Y. From a lonely, unchallenged life in Queens, I became
aware of the world around me, as well as the possibilities that
lay before me. My low self-esteem was finally being overwhelmed by my newfound self-confidence.
However, my plan to become a chemist–the reason I chose
C.C.N.Y. instead of Queens College and accepted the long subway commute–was sidetracked. I became involved with Dramsoc in my freshman year. I spent insufficient time on chemistry
and found that the math involved in college chemistry was more
difficult than the study of chemistry at Stuyvesant. The guidance
counselors tested me and found that writing and journalism were my strong suits, and I
switched to a program that matched my skills.
I was also in the R.O.T.C. at City. So, immediately upon graduation, with the Korean War
in progress, I was called to active duty as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry. Two years in
the service and nine months in a combat zone turned the boy I still was into a man. I was
awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge and the Bronze Star Medal. After discharge, I
remained in the reserve for over ten years, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Right after my service in Korea, I married a woman I had met at a dance for officers here
in the States. We have been married for 57 years and have three sons, none of which
would’ve happened if I hadn’t been in the R.O.T.C. at C.C.N.Y.
There was a recession when I came home from Korea and got married. Finding a job was
difficult. Starting as a copy boy at a newspaper would not pay much for a family man.
Trying to earn a living as a writer was a huge gamble I wasn’t willing to take. I ended up
working in the insurance business for ten years, becoming a Department Manager in a large
life insurance company. I was very unhappy with the job and the pay.
Then I became a father of twin boys in addition to an older son. I enrolled in night school
at Baruch College of the City University and in 1962 received an M.B.A. degree.
I was then fortunate enough to find a position with a management consulting firm that specialized in working with insurance companies. My writing skills finally paid off. I wrote
many articles for business publications as well as a book titled “Managing the Paperwork
Pipeline: Achieving Cost- Effective Paperwork and Information Processing.” It is still in
many libraries and office management bibliographies.
The firm I had joined as a consultant was a major accounting firm: Peat Marwick Mitchell
& Co. Eight years later, I had my own firm for two years before joining the American Institute of CPAs, which, at the time, had a Management Consulting Division. My writing
skills were important there as well. I retired in 1992 as Director of the A.I.C.P.A. Manage-
-ement Consulting Division.
As a retirement project, I researched and wrote a historical novel, “The Rabbi King: David
of Khazaria.” It involves a little-known piece of history in Russia and the Middle East in
the twelfth century. It took me three years to complete. It is still available on Amazon and
was translated and published in Turkey five years ago. Copies are on the shelves of a number
of University libraries here and in Turkey.
In 2004, my wife and I moved to a very large (2,000 residents) retirement community, where
I have been able to accomplish some of my earlier goals. I was elected to the Resident Advisory Council and served a three-year term. What I really wanted to do, however, was to
write, direct and act in plays. During my years as a consultant, I was active in community
theater as a hobby. I have now founded a community theater here at my retirement community. We have a 250-seat Performing Arts Center as well as an internal TV channel. I have
written several plays for the group as well as acting and directing. My resident actors are
aged 70 to 90 and we enjoy life here. One of my plays is entitled “We’re Not Dead Yet”—
and that’s the truth!
Email:
[email protected]
***
Irwin Levenson, B.B.A.: was an accounting major at the City College. He went on to
earn his Master’s degree in math education in 1989.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
521 Piermont Ave. Apt. 201
River Vale, NJ 07675
201-358-1650
Lenore Levy (nee Hazan), B.S.Ed.: I was born in Oak
Park, Illinois in July, 1930. The family moved to New York City
when I was eight years old. My immigrant parents instilled a love
of New York City in every member of the family. New York City
is my city.
Growing up in the Bronx across the street from Poe Park, attending Evander Childs High School and CCNY helped to make me
a real New Yorker. Studying and making lifelong friends at City
College opened my eyes and mind to the greater world and political activities. Sociology, psychology, and education classes and
professors prepared me well for a career in teaching.
Meeting David Levy in an 8AM education class in Army Hall was important in my life.
We’ve been married 60 years and are lucky to have two wonderful daughters who made
good life choices and four amazing grandchildren. We are fortunate and grateful.
Travel, tennis, folk dancing, and Florida are keeping us active and busy and happy. David
and I both loved teaching–I retired in 1992—and had very positive experiences as teachers
and supervisors in Harlem and the South Bronx. Teaching is an exciting and gratifying profession. It enabled us to make a contribution to society. Teaching children taught us to value
each of our students, their parents, and our colleagues.
Memories: Professor Landy’s Art History class. Professor Hans Cohn’s Intellectual History
of the World. Margaret Mead–a lecture to remember. The Strike of 1949–Democracy in action. The Great Hall–wonderful-terrible-wonderful again. Lifelong friends. Thinking and
arguing the BIG ISSUES. Receiving my Master’s Degree in 1956. Professional Diploma
in 1980. So many more.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
395 Rutland Avenue
Teaneck, NJ 07666
201-837-1897
Dr. Abraham Sidney Linn, B.S., M.D.: was a biology
major at City College. He was also editor of Hillel News, secretary
of the Hillel Student Council, and a recipient of the German Medal.
He earned his medical degree from the State University of New
York Downstate Medical Center in 1955.
From 1962-1966, Abraham was executive director of Napa State
Hospital. Since 2004, he has served as staff psychiatrist at the Carson Center for Adults and Family. Abraham is a former member of
the Rotary (1964-1965); the Northern California Psychiatric Association (1961-1975); and the Central California Psychology Society
(1975-2003). He is a current member of the Massachusetts Pscyh.
Society (since 2003); and a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
(since 1961).
Memories: “All night sessions at Student Council. Meeting people in the cafeteria. The
strike against Knickerbocker-Davis.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
83 Stony Hill Road
Amherst, MA 01002
413-253-2721
***
Herbert A. Magnus, B.M.E.: studied Mechanical Engineering at the City College of New York.
Email:
[email protected]
Larry M. Mandel, B.A.: was an economics major while at
CCNY, where he was a member of the track team. He is currently
president of Larry Mandel Fine Food & Confections.
Memories: “1950 NIT & NCAA basketball championships.”
Email:
[email protected]
***
Walter Mankoff, B.S.S: I seem to have had an affinity for the
CCNY vicinity. When I was born, my parents lived near the school,
on St. Nicholas Terrace. I went to Music and Art High School, traveling down from the Bronx and climbing the stairs through the park.
In time, I transferred across Jasper Oval to the college.
My four undergraduate years at CCNY Uptown were without real incident, from an academic standpoint. I didn’t work too hard and got
passing grades. I did a double major in economics and psychology
and even found time to play the violin in the college orchestra.
The extracurricular front was different and more memorable. It started with the Centennial
Celebration in 1947, when I was a newcomer. In 1949, the student strike about the Knickerbocker/Davis affair erupted on campus. In 1950, the basketball team made history by capturing both the NCAA and NIT tournaments. The glow at CCNY faded quickly when the
point- shaving scandal broke shortly after. With the onset of the Korean Conflict, the campus
offered a refuge from being drafted. Finally, our graduation ceremony took place in a rain
soaked Lewisohn Stadium while purple dye ran from our caps and gowns and Jacob Javits
made an endless speech from the covered stage.
It was during this period that a new world opened its doors to me – student-alumni relations.
It was to leave its mark on me for the rest of my life. Like many freshmen, I toured the two
House Plan buildings—then on Convent Avenue— and decided that joining would help me
make friends in the vast CCNY complex. I became a member of a House called Hackett
’51. In a short time, I became an active participant in the central student organization. The
student officers met regularly with the alumni who were funding the organization and faculty
who made it possible. I could count among my new friends Deans Morton Gottschall and
Jim Peace as well as Howard Keival who moved from House Plan to take over as head of
the Alumni Association. I graduated determined to be an active alumnus and help students
who followed in my footsteps. For my work in House Plan, I received the George Goldman
Memorial Award at graduation and I was delighted when my name made the New York Times
and the New York Post.
I served many years as a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, retiring
only when forced to do so by the Board’s term limits. In 1980, I was awarded the Association’s Alumni Service Award. I was not to remain divorced long from alumni affairs. In
1982, I helped start Alumni and Friends of LaGuardia High School, the successor to Music
and Art. We have no term limits and I continue to serve and help a wonderful school and its
gifted students.
In 1951, the College offered very few opportunities for graduate work. I chose to pursue an
MBA at the Baruch School. Needing income, I took a part time job with the International
Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union collecting actuarial data for their newly created industry
pension fund. After a few months, I was taken on as a full-time economist in the union’s
Research Department.
My draft board refused to let me finish my degree and I entered the Army in July of 1953,
as the war was winding down. Although I was officially classified as a professional, I spent
2 years in Virginia and the Carolinas as a company clerk, rising to the rank of Corporal.
With a surplus of manpower on hand, I was assigned the enjoyable task of embarrassing
higher headquarters by searching for and catching their errors. I was kept very busy. The
Army was integrated but the surrounding communities were not. I had a chance to see
Southern discrimination. It was not a pretty sight. Of course, even the nastiest things sometimes have a humorous side. The Raleigh-Durham airport with its high degree of culture
from neighboring Duke and UNC did not label its washrooms “white” and “colored”, the
Southern standard. Their signs read “Women” and “Ladies”; ”Men” and “Gentlemen”.
Returning to civilian life in 1955, I resumed my work with the ILGWU. It was to become
a lifetime career. I retired in 1996 after 45 years of service. By then I had acquired two titles
– Associate Director of the Research Department and Director of the Management Engineering Department. The work had been enjoyable and ever changing. In addition to collective bargaining, my duties ranged from social insurance to finance, from zoning to foreign
trade. I had many opportunities to travel in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada and was the
U.S. delegate to an International Labor Organization Conference in Geneva in 1995.
The state and local government has recognized my expertise. In 1990, Governor Cuomo
appointed me a member of the Advisory Council on Employment and Unemployment Insurance where I served for 10 years as co-chair. For over 25 years I have had Mayoral appointments to the Board of Directors of the City’s Business Relocation Assistance
Corporation. I have also served on advisory committees to the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 1991, I was elected a member of the National Academy of Social
Insurance.
Now retired, I keep as busy as ever. I am a long time member of Manhattan Community
Board 4, which covers Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen and I have served as its chair. I am a
director and treasurer of Penn South, my cooperative housing development in Chelsea. I
am fortunate to be in reasonably good health for my age. I remain a lifelong bachelor.
***
Leonard Mendlowitz Martin, B.B.A., M.B.A.: was an accounting major at the
College. Leonard retired in 1990 from his career as a CPA and a COO.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
3037 Live Oak Court
Danville, CA 94506
925-736-3300
[email protected]
Alfonse T. Masi, B.S., M.D., M.P.H., DR. P.H.: was a premed major at the College, where he earned Second Year Honors,
was Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated magna cum laude. He went on
to receive his M.D. in 1955 from Columbia University’s College of
Physicians and Surgeons. He received his M.P.H. in 1961 from The
Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, as
well as his DR. P.H. from there in 1963.
Alfonse received the following training during the beginning of his
medical career: Osler Medical Service, Johns Hopkins Hospital (internship, 1955-1956); Epidemic Intelligence Service, USPHS
(1956-1958); Osler Medical Service, Johns Hopkins Hospital (residency, 1958-1959); UCLA Medical Center (residency, 1959-1960); NIAMD-NIH (Special
Research Fellow, 1963-1966); and The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Rheumatology Associate,
1962-1967).
From 1963-1965, Alfonse was Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at JHU-SHPH. He was
Associate Professor there from 1965-1967. For eleven years (1967-1978), he was both Professor of Medicine and Director of Rheumatology at the University of Tennessee Center
for Health Sciences. He has served as Professor of Medicine and Chief of Rheumatology
at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria since 1978.
Alfonse has authored 155 articles in refereed journals, 112 scientific refereed and published
abstracts, 72 invited articles or book chapters, 36 committee memberships, letters, or other
publications; he has also been an editor or co-editor on 6 books. He has been honored with
numerous awards and honors throughout his career. Among them: the New York State Professional Scholarship in Medicine (1951); Alpha Omega Alpha (1954); the American College of Physicians (Fellow, 1965); Russell L. Cecil Fellow of the Arthritis Foundation
(1970-1971); the American College of Epidemiology (Fellow, 1981); and the American
College of Rheumatology (Master, 2000).
Alfonse and his wife Nancy have four children–Dr. Anthony Mark, Dr. Christopher Maurice, Maria Lisa, and Amy Elizabeth–and ten grandchildren.
Office Address:
Office Phone:
Email:
University of Illinois College of Medicine-Peoria
Department of Medicine
One Illinois Drive
P.O. Box 1649
Peoria, IL 61656-1649
309-671-8428
[email protected]
Martin Moser, B.A., M.A.: was a music major at CCNY.
He was also a member of the concert band, and played 1 clarinet in the CCNY Symphony Orchestra. He received the Music
Performance Award in 1951. He was also a soloist with the
Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Professor Fritz Jahoda (Mozart-clarinet concerto). In addition, he was a soloist
with the CCNY concert band, under the direction of Professor
Walter Nallin (Weber-clarinet concerto). He went on to receive
his Master’s degree in music education from Queens College
in 1953.
st
From 1957-1982, Martin was assistant principal and chair of
the music department at De Witt Clinton High School. He was
a music lecturer at Baruch College from 1966-1969. From 1966-1985, Martin served as associate conductor of the New York City High School Band. From 1982-1985, he was chair
of the music department at Music & Performing Arts High School. He was director of the
music education program at Leonia Public Schools from 1985-1986. He retired in 2004 as
adjunct professor of music at St. Johns University. Since 1960, Martin has been a member
of the Music Education National Conference.
Memories: “Playing in the campus Dixieland Jazz Band.”
Home Phone: 212-255-7354
Email:
[email protected]
***
Sheldon Newberger, B.M.E.: was a mechanical engineering major at the College. He was also a member of House PlanGibbs ‘51, and A.S.M.E. From 1962-1967, he was Director of
Engineering at Adlen Electronics. He was Vice President and General Manager at a division of Litton Industries from 1967-1970.
For twenty-five years (1970-1995), Sheldon was President and
CEO of Graham Container Corp., the largest plastic bottle manufacturer worldwide. He retired in 1995.
Sheldon is a former president of the Jewish Community Center in
York, Pennsylvania (1985-1989). Recently widowed, he was married for 60 years. He has two children and five grandchildren.
Sheldon travels the world extensively, both alone and with his family.
Memories: “The friendships of my classmates. The learning experiences in Engineering
School.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
2792 Donnelly Drive
Apt. 2501
Lantana, FL 33462
561-965-9882
[email protected]
***
Justin Otis, B.B.A.: was an accounting major at City College. In 1987, Justin retired
from his career as Adjustment Manager at Knickerbocker Liquor Corporation (Syosset,
New York), where he had worked since 1964.
Memories: “The 1950-1951 basketball team.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
82 Derby Avenue
Greenlawn, NY 11740
631-757-8669
[email protected]
***
Harry L. Pinch, B.S., Ph.D.: majored in chemistry at the College. He was president of the Baskerville Chemical Society and
Vice President of the Intersociety Council. On his graduation, he
received the Award for Excellence in Chemistry, and the American
Institute of Chemists’ Medal for Scholastic Achievement in Chemistry. (He still has the medal!)
Harry earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Pennsylvania State University in 1955. While there, he was awarded the Allied Chemical
and Dye Corp. Fellowship for the school year 1953-1954. From
1957- 1987, he was a member of the technical staff at RCA Laboratories. He was the recipient of the RCA Laboratories Achievement Award in 1966 and
1980. He was a member of the technical staff at The Sarnoff Corp. ( the successor company
to RCA Labs) from 1987-1998. He retired in 1998.
Harry is a former member of the American Vacuum Society (1972-1998), and the Material
Research Society (1970-1986). He is a current emeritus member of the American Chemical
Society (since 1962). He is the author of twenty-four articles in referred scientific journals,
as well as nine patents.
He met his wife, Judith in graduate school. They have two children and a granddaughter.
After retirement, Judith and Harry founded and continue to help direct The Evergreen Forum
of Princeton, an organization that conducts classes for adults in Princeton. He is a member
of Community Without Walls.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
56 Clover Lane
Princeton, NJ 08540
609-921-7361
[email protected]
***
Diane Kopperman Podell: In 2011 I’ll be eighty years
old. My proudest accomplishments in the past sixty years are:
four wonderful children, seven marvelous grandchildren, and
one superb great-granddaughter. I learned a lot at CCNY and
tried to raise my family accordingly – with an emphasis on education, idealism, appreciation, responsibility – along with a
good share of love and laughter. And guess what? They all
turned out to be smart, productive, creative, concerned people,
and although their lives have gone off in many different directions, and not only geographically, they are very close to me and
to one another. It does my heart good.
As a 16-year-old Taft graduate, I was a ninety-pound weakling
scurrying up from the 145th Street station in a mouton coat that weighed almost as much
as I did. When my kids were older, I went to graduate library school and became an academic librarian of somewhat greater weight, retiring at age 76 and receiving the rank of
Professor Emerita after thirty years at Long Island University’s C.W. Post Campus. I also
taught for several years as an adjunct at the library schools at Post and Queens College,
wrote one reference book (Thematic Atlases for Public, Academic, and High School Libraries) and assisted with others. For many years, I was a co-coordinator of the Long Island
Coalition Against Censorship.
I was originally in the class of ’52, but because Larry Podell was graduating and going on
to graduate school, I managed to take enough classes to finish up in ‘51. Larry eventually
taught at City for a long time. We were married for many years and divorced for many
years; Larry happily remarried, but unfortunately died in 2006. I’m still close friends with
Janet King Spiro (now of San Diego) and we both attended our 50th CCNY reunion.***
Favorite memories: working in the Sociology Dept.; belonging to House Plan (Abby ’52);
going out on strike in 1949 for a worthy cause. Most annoying memory: the fact that the
Alumnus never saw fit to publish anything not professionally-related, so that as female
classmates married we lost track of each other, and the implication was that stay-at-home
moms like myself never had anything “of value” to report. To this day, that still fills me
with resentment, especially since a great deal of what I learned at City made me the good
parent that I was as much as it made me the professional librarian that I became.
Email:
[email protected]
***
Martin M. Prague, B.B.A., C.P.A.: was raised in the Bronx in New York City. He
graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1947. While earning his B.B.A. from the
Baruch School of Business, Martin was President of House Plan and directed Lamport Leaders. He was also a member of Reiner ‘51, a new House Plan set up in memory of Sid Reiner;
Martin graduated cum laude.
He received his C.P.A. certificate in 1954. He is a former president of both the Central
Florida Chapter of FICPA, and the Educational Foundation FICPA. Martin is also a past
president of the Florida Symphony Orchestra and PESO, predecessor of United Arts Organization. Martin is a current member and treasurer of the Park Avenue Association, the
AICPA, the NYSSCPA, and the FICPA. He is Chairman of the Local Practitioners Committee FICPA, Chairman of First Combined Accounting Show Committee (won Outstanding
Committee Award), and Editor of First Supplement of AICPA Management of Accounting
Handbook. A close friend and long-time client established an endowed scholarship in Martin’s name with the FICPA Educational Foundation, in appreciation for all he has done. Martin and his wife Ellen reside in Winter Park, Florida. They have three children and eight
grandchildren.
Memories: “The people I remember the most are Professor Max Zimering and Harry the
Elevator Operator.”
Email:
[email protected]
Frances Rabinowitz (nee Rothman), B.S.Ed., M.A.:
studied education at the College. She was also a member of the Education, History, and Sociology Societies. After twenty-five years,
Frances retired from her career as a teacher and principal at
Solomon Schechter Middle School in Northbrook, IL. Frances and
her husband Joel have lived in Highland Park, IL for forty-seven
years, where they raised their three sons, Arthur, David, and
Richard. They have seven wonderful grandchildren.
Home Address:
1760 Clifton Avenue
Highland Park, IL 60035
***
Sidney Schnall, B.B.A., M.B.A.: studied personnel management at the College,
where he was also a member of the band. He went on to earn his Master’s degree in economics from Columbia University in 1952. Sidney retired in 1998 from his career in industrial sales.
Memories: “1950 NIT & NCAA basketball championships.”
Home Address:
203 Four Seasons Drive
Wayne, NJ 07470
Seymour Serebnick, B.B.A., L.L.B.: was a credit/finance major at the College,
where he was also a member of the fraternity Phi Epsilon Pi. He received his L.L.B. from
Brooklyn Law School. Seymour, a former member of the Monmouth County Transportation
Coordinating Committee, retired from his career as an attorney in 2006. He and his wife
have been married for forty-eight years. They have two sons and five grandchildren.
Memories: “Classes in Army Hall. Concerts in Lewisohn Stadium.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
43 Banbury Lane
Jackson, NJ 08527
732-276-6436
[email protected]
***
Sydell Shayer, B.S.Ed., M.S. Pol. Sci.: I will never forget the day in 1948 when
Dean Peace announced at a freshman orientation that anyone can be president of the class
of 1952. That statement changed my life. From an introverted, shy, hesitant person, I became
a candidate for president of my class. Had I won on the first try, I would have been the first
female to become president of her class. But it took two attempts, having won the position
of secretary of the class on ‘52 in between. What fun! The rest of the class officers remain
friends to this day.
Memories of my time at City include the social activities as a member of House Plan, Hunt
‘52. So many players on the basketball team were in my biology class, and the “strike” was
an experience never to be forgotten. I loved visiting the Apollo Theater and volunteering in
a local elementary school as part of my sociology fieldwork. And then there was the academic experience which, of course, influenced who I am today.
New Jersey was the furthest I had ever been, until my marriage in 1952. Since that time,
we have lived in Delaware, Massachusetts, and St. Louis, MO.
Although I have done some teaching and consulting for not-for-profit organizations, I’ve
spent my adult career as a volunteer with community organizations, primarily the League
of Women Voters. The League is a multi-issue, non-partisan organization which encourages
the informed and active participation in government, and influences public policy through
education and advocacy. I have been a member for 53 years. During that time, I have been
Local League President, President of the League of Women Voters of Missouri, and a mem-
-ber of its National Board. In that last capacity, I chaired a nationwide two-year study on
“Meeting Basic Human Needs”. As a League member, I have chaired studies involving international relations, social policy and government and organizational management.
I particularly enjoy writing op-ed pieces on various issues of concern for local newspapers.
I have served as president of the St. Louis Chapter of the American Jewish Congress, vice
president of the Jewish Community Relations Council, and the UNA/USA local chapter. In
addition, I serve on the board of the ACLU of Eastern Missouri and the other local organizations.
I have been married to Larry Shayer, a chemical engineer and Cooper Union graduate, for
59 years. We have two children with kids of their own; two are eighteen, and the others are
ages 23, 20, and 14. One son lives in Alaska. As a result of our yearly visits there, we have
traveled on every road in the state, starting from Anchorage. We have also managed to travel
to many remote Alaskan areas. We now own works of art from Alaskan native artists, including a traditional totem pole carved with our own Alaska story. Our daughter lived in
New Zealand for five years, which gave us the opportunity to drive that country, from the
top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island.
In recent years, I have been very politically active. First, as campaign manager for my husband, who sought and won a seat on the local community college board of trustees. Then,
I served on campaign committees for several candidate races. These last few years, my husband and I have held significant fund raisers for candidates, lastly one for U.S. Senate. What
I really enjoy is advocating for issues at the local and state levels.
My husband and I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit all six continents.
My most exciting foreign experience was an hour-long visit with King Hussein in his palace
in Amman, Jordan, and shaking his hand when we entered and when we left.
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
709 Champeix Lane
St. Louis, MO 63141
314-434-5116
[email protected]
Abraham Silverzweig, B.E.E.: graduated from
Stuyvesant High School before enrolling in the College to study
electrical engineering; he graduated cum laude. He went on to
attend the University of Pennsylvania. He has a connector
patent at Elco. Abraham enjoys photography and politics.
Memories: “Mr. Truly Hardy–math. Meeting in the quadrangle
after the basketball players had been accused of ‘fixing’
games.”
Other Comments: “Major turning points in my life were moving from home to an apartment, and a minor stroke.”
Email: [email protected]
***
Martin A. Smith, B.B.A.: I followed my brothers (Irving
‘40, and Louis ‘41, both of whom graduated cum laude with
a B.B.A. degree) from Erasmus Hall High School to CCNY
in 1947. Because of the large influx of veterans, which resulted in a shortage of space at the 23 Street campus, my
freshman year was spent at the uptown campus. I also spent
two summer sessions there; I found studying with students
who had diverse interests to be a most rewarding experience.
rd
Among the faculty members I remember are: ACCOUNTANCY: Chaykin, Jacobson, Newhouse, and Saxe. LAW: Cole
and Coppolla. SPANISH: Cross, Natella, and Schneider.
PHYSICS: O’Leary. LOGIC: Magid. MATHEMATICS: Philip. ENGLISH: Haber,
Schlenoff, and Owsley. HISTORY: Pomerantz and Brandt.
I received the following honors: my B.B.A. when I graduated magna cum laude; the Class
of 1920 Awards for greatest proficiency in: Accounting Theory (1949), Auditing (1950),
and Cost Accounting (1950); the George Kent Hinds Medal in Accountancy for the highest
average in Accountancy courses; the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants Award for proficiency in Accountancy Studies; election to Beta Gamma Sigma (1949),
as were my brothers; election to Beta Alpha Psi (1949); and the New York State Regents
Scholarship (1947).
In 1952, I graduated from the Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., and was
commissioned Ensign, Supply Corps. After graduation from the Navy Supply Corps School
in Bayonne, New Jersey in 1953, I was assigned to the Office of the Comptroller of the
Navy in the Pentagon. I worked on the installation of accounting systems at ten Naval ship-
-yards on both coasts and Pearl Harbor. I attained the rank of Lieutenant (junior grade),
Supply Corps in 1954. After thirty-eight months of service, I was released from active duty
in 1955.
From 1956 to 1967, I was on the audit staff of Lybrand, Ross Bros. & Montgomery, having
passed the New York CPA exam in 1957. I was named Audit Manager in 1962. In 1967, I
joined Goldman, Sachs & Co. and was named Vice President of the Operations Department
in 1969. In 1979, I joined E.F. Hutton & Company, Inc., which subsequently merged into
Smith, Barney, Inc. After over eighteen very satisfying years of serving as financial consultant to a wide variety of clients, I retired in 1998.
My wife Theresa and I were married on September 16, 1962. Our children David, Rachel,
and Peter, and our grandchildren Kristen, Andrew, Emily, and Madeline are a source of joy
for us. Our residences have been: Staten Island (1962-1969); Summit (1969-1997); Harvey
Cedars, N.J. (shore home, 1969-1992); and Sea Girt (1997-present). My interests include
reading, music, travel, theater, running, and handball.
Home Address:
401 Philadelphia Blvd.
Sea Girt, NJ 08750
Lawrence Solow, B.A., M.A: was a history major at the
College. He received his Master’s degree in education in 1953
from Brooklyn College. During his career, Lawrence served as
District Union Chairman of the Council of Supervisors and Administrators, and a junior high school principal for the New York
City Board of Education. He retired in 1986. Lawrence is a former member of the Junior High School Principal Association.
Memories: “Lunch gatherings in the cafeteria. Winning two
basketball tournaments in 1950.”
Email:
[email protected]
***
Frank I. Stern, B.S.S., M.A.: studied economics at the College. He was also secretary,
vice president, and president of the Economics Society; managing editor of the Business &
Economics Review; registration assistant to the Library Assistant; and a member of Hillel
and the Morris Raphael Cohen Student Memorial Fund. Before graduating summa cum
laude, Frank also won the following awards and honors: Phi Beta Kappa; Phi Alpha Theta;
the Ward Medal in Economics; Lock and Key; Pick and Shovel; the Economics Department
Fellowship; placement on the Dean’s List; and the City College Award. He went on to earn
his Master’s degree in economics from Columbia University in 1952.
From 1996-2000, Frank served as Controller at Maine Plastics, from which he retired in
2000. Prior to that time, he was at various times Research Director, Systems Director, Consultant and Controller at a number of different companies. During his career, he won various
awards from the American Management Association. He is a former member of the National
Association of Business Economists, and the Glencoe School Board and No. Sub Syn Beth
El Boards of Directors and Education. Frank is a current life member of the American Economic Association. Frank is also currently a docent and speaker for the Illinois Holocaust
Museum and Education Center.
Memories: “Camaraderie with fellow students and the ability to associate with faculty.”
Email:
[email protected]
Fred Sterzer, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.: received a B.S. degree from the City College of
New York and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from New York University. His Ph.D. thesis was
on microwave spectroscopy. In 1954, he joined RCA, where he worked on the development
of traveling-wave tubes, optical components, gigabit logic, microwave solid-state devices
and circuits, and medical applications of microwaves. Dr. Sterzer’s last position at RCA
was Director of the Microwave Technology Center at the David Sarnoff Research Center,
where he led a group of more than 85 scientists, engineers, and technicians working on new
microwave technologies. At the end of 1987, Dr. Sterzer formed MMTC, Inc., a company
that specializes in the utilization of microwave technologies in industrial, medical, and military applications. Dr. Sterzer is president of MMTC, Inc.
Dr. Sterzer is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma
Xi, and the American Physical Society. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers. He received the New York University Founders Award and the IEEE
Centennial Medal. He has written over 90 papers and holds more than 60 patents.
Home Address:
4432 Province Line Road
Princeton, NJ 08540
***
Dr. Bennett Strudler, B.S.S., M.A., Ph.D.: studied both
history and philosophy at the College. He was also a member of
House Plan, the Philosophy Society, the Boxing Squad, and
Forum. He received his Master’s degree from Columbia University’s Teachers College in 1970, and his Ph.D. in 1975 from Fordham University. Bennett retired in 1995 from his career as a high
school guidance counselor and social studies teacher. He is a former member of the American Psychological Association.
Memories: “House Plan parties. The Carnival. Professors John
Collier, Ed Rosen, and Lloyd Offut.”
Home Address:
Email:
435 E. 14th Street #10F
New York, NY 10009
[email protected]
Robert J. Tovar: has retired as a director of materials management. He received the Department of Defense Meritorious
Civilian Service Award, the Alumni Association of CCNY’s
Alumni Service Award, and the Engineering Alumni Service
Award. He has served as president of the Engineering School
Alumni, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association and of the Metropolitan Chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers. Robert and his wife, Shirley, live in Glen
Cove, New York and have two children, Hal and Charles.
***
Stanley Trager, B.B.A.: was an accounting major at the College.
***
Israel S. Ungar, B.S.Ch.: studied bio-chemistry at the College.
Email:
[email protected]
Stanley Ward, B.M.E.: grew up in the Kingsbridge section
of the Bronx and attended P.S. 46, P.S. 86, and DeWitt Clinton
High School. At City, Stanley was a member of the yearbook
staff and House Plan Gibbs ‘51. He also played intramural touch
football; the team was undefeated in both 1948 and 1949.
After graduation, Stan was a mechanical engineer in Special
Weapons at Wright Paterson Air Force Base. He was a Second
Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in 1953. During 1953-1956,
Stan was a Mechanical Engineer at Bendix Corporation, working
on aircraft autopilot and control systems. From 1956-1958, he
was a Project Engineer at GPL, working on aircraft navigational
systems and research programs. From 1958-1962, he was at Hermes Electronics Corp., doing program management and plant engineering. Hermes produced communications and radar equipment. For thirty-two years (1963-1995), Stan was
Program Manager for the Army at Picatinny Arsennal. There, he oversaw the development
of helicopter weapon and flare systems and high speed automed manufacturing systems.
He authored the report “Quality Control of High Speed Small Caliber Ammunition Production”, which is available in the Library of Congress. He received an award for major
cost savings using high speed eddy current inspection of small component for cracks. Career
highlights include having the good fortune to work with the most talented people in the
forefront of new technologies and to contribute to the advancement of aircraft systems,
electronic systems, and one of the most advanced and successful high speed automated
manufacturing systems.
He currently plays softball in over-55 leagues in Jupiter, Florida and Somerset, New Jersey.
He also enjoys the theater, museums, bike riding, and playing bridge. He and his wife Nancy,
a retired pension administrator, have three sons—Marc, Eric, and Ken. Marc is a college
administrator; Eric is a jet engine design engineer, and author of a book on evolution; and
Ken is a college political science professor.
Memories: “The CCNY strike (Knickerbocker and Davis). The NCAA and NIT basketball
championships. Surviving engineering school. Seeing a World War II veteran floor a sadistic
teacher. City enabled me to assist my sons in achieving eight degrees from Drew, Yale, Columbia, Antioch, NYU, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Hartford Universities.”
Email:
[email protected]
Gerald Weinerman, B.B.A.: was an accounting major at the College, where he was
also a member of Ketcham Vets. He later took non-matriculated courses at the NYU School
of Law and Columbia University. From 1960-1969, Gerald was National Credit Manager
for Ronson Corp. From 1969-1980, he was Director of Credit at Ideal Toy Corp. From 19801992, Gerald served as Vice President of Credit for Philips Consumer Electronics Corp. He
retired in 1992. Gerald is a former Past Chair of the National Association of Credit Management; Past Chair of Toy Manufacturers of America Credit Association. National Housewares Manufacturers Credit Association, past chair.
He volunteered with The Service Corps of Retired Execs from 1992-2009 and was past
chair.
Memories: “Getting my degree from night school.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
404 Clover Fork Drive
Knoxville, TN 37934
865-966-4522
[email protected]
Dr. Irwin M. Weisbrot, B.S., M.D.: studied biology and
was a member of the Biology Society at the City College of New
York. He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year,
and graduated magna cum laude. In 1955, Irwin graduated from
the New York University School of Medicine as an M.D. From
1956 to 1958, he was a United States Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, which resulted in a number of publications in neonatal
physiology. He was also a Clinical Professor of Pathology at the
Yale University School of Medicine. He worked at Norwalk Hospital and retired from his career as a pathologist in 1995.
In 1961, Irwin was a fellow of the College of American Pathologists; he is currently an emeritus member. In 1953, he received the Wertheim Award for
Excellence in Pre-Clinical Medicine from NYU. Irwin is the author of the book, “Statistics
for the Clinical Laboratory”. Other publications include chapters in texts concerning statistics, quality control, publications in medical journals concerning anatomical pathology and
laboratory medicine.
Irwin learned to fly and owned five planes (one at a time) since 1965, the last a beautiful
Mooney 201 which he sold in a “senior moment”; but, his eyesight was dimming, and so it
was inevitable.
Memories: “My first sight of the campus and its buildings. Love at first sight. I had assumed
CCNY would be a large office-type building. I also remember the old library with its translucent floors. I spent hours finding some of the old classic publications in science no longer
kept in the new library building.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
6 Starlight Drive
Norwalk, CT 06851
203-846-1319
[email protected]
Dr. Arthur Willner, B.S., Ph.D.: studied psychology at the
City College of New York. He went on to receive his Master’s degree in 1952, and his Ph.D. in 1961 from Penn State University. He
retired in 1996 from his career as Director of Psychology at Long
Island North Shore University Hospital. Arthur is a former board
member of the A.P.A., and the Nassau County Psych. Association.
Home Address:
42 Beacon Hill Road
Port Washington, NY 11050
***
Roscoe C. Young, Jr., B.S., M.D., M.S.P.H.: At City College, he was a pre-med major and a member of the Caduceus Society. He received his M.D. from Howard University in Washington,
DC in 1957, and his M.S.P.H. in 1996 from the Meharry School of
Graduate Studies and Research in Nashville, TN.
Roscoe completed his post-graduate medical training primarily in
Washington, DC: the DC General Hospital (Rotating Internship,
1957-1958); the Freedmens Hospital (Internal Medicine Residency,
1958-1960); and the Cardiovascular Research Institute, UCSF
(Pulmonary Research Fellow, 1960- 1962). He then returned to
Howard following the fellowship and joined the medical faculty,
which lasted from 1962 until his retirement in1990. He was also a PHS Faculty Development
Fellow at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN (1993-1997).
He was a Professor of Internal Medicine and Family Medicine and Medical Education
(Meharry Medical College, 1993-2003); and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs (Meharry
Medical College, 1998-2003).
Roscoe holds medical licenses in the states of Maryland, Tennessee, and New Mexico. He
has served in various capacities in the medical field: Attending Physician (Howard University Hospital), Attending Physician (DC General Hospital), and Director (Harden Pulmonary Laboratory, all from 1962-1989); Medical Director (Washington Center for Aging
Services, 1984-1989); Medical Director (Federal Medical Center in Carville, LA, 19921993); Attending Physician (Metropolitan Nashville General Hospital, 1993-2003); House
Call Physician (Health Essentials, NM, 1995); and he is currently Chief Medical Officer
(Military Entrance Processing Station, in New Mexico).
He served in both the Korean and Gulf Wars. He authored more than 130 scientific papers
and abstracts in peer reviewed journals and book contributions.
***
Fred Zuckerberg, B.S., M.S.: was a meteorology major at
the College. He was also vice president of the Meteorological Society, and a member of House Plan. He served in the U.S. Air
Force from 1953-1957. In 1969, he received his Master’s degree
in meteorology from New York University. From 1957-1958,
Fred was a meteorologist for Trans World Airlines. From 19781980, he lectured part-time in meteorology at SUNY Maritime
College. He also lectured part-time at Stony Brook University
from 1989-1995. He served as chief of the Scientific Service Division at the National Weather Service (Eastern Region) for thirty
years (1958-1988). He retired in 1988.
In 1973, he was awarded a Unit Citation from National
Oceanic and Atmospheric. Fred is a former chair of the Atmospheric Sciences Section of
the New York Academy of Science (1984-1986); and a former chair of the American Meteorological Society-NYC/LI chapter (1980-1982). From 1977- 1980, he was a member of
the Albertson Downs Civic Association.
Fred is currently affiliated with the American Meteorological Society as a Certified Consulting Meteorologist (1988-present); he is also a member of the Lyceum Society of the
New York Academy of Science (2003 to present). He has also been a member of the Canterbury Woods Civic Association since 1994. Fred has published several articles in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, and numerous technical memoranda for the
National Weather Service.
He continues to stay fit by golfing twice a week, bike riding, swimming in the summer and
exercising at a fitness center. He has been married for 52 years to a beautiful woman—Marcia. We have two sons, David and Jeffrey. David is married and an ER physician. Jeff is
also married, and a journalist in Shanghai, China. Fred has three grandchildren–two in the
U.S. and 1 in Shanghai.
In his own words: “I grew up at the northern end of Washington Heights and used to hunt
snakes and salamanders in the undeveloped park bordering Fort George Avenue. I attended
the Bronx High School of Science and chose CCNY because of its reputation.”
Memories: “Friendships. Seeing Bernard Baruch enter Shepard Hall to mark the CCNY
Centennial. Professor Barber (math) getting key in closet after fast entry into classroom and
never missing. Professor O’ Connell (geology) describing water sloshing in a bathtub during
the NYC earthquake. The NCAA/NIT basketball championship–1950.”
Home Address:
Home Phone:
Email:
2 Glenwood Lane
Roslyn Heights, NY 11577-1411
516-621-7551
[email protected]