Fall 2008 - Western Connecticut State University
Transcription
Fall 2008 - Western Connecticut State University
AlumniNews The magazine for alumni and friends of Western Connecticut State University Vol. 10, No 1 Fall 2008 Rolandas Kiaulevicius ’06: Illustrator and entertainer Fairfield Hall reopens! See page 10. Fall 2008 AlumniNews Alumni Association Board of Directors Elisa Beckett ’05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .New Fairfield Joan Boughton ’89, ’95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Danbury Virginia Crowley ’69, ’74 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Danbury Lois Crucitti ’71, ’98 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Woodbury Tom Crucitti ’69 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Woodbury William Druschell ’04 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Danbury Terry Eberhard-Asch ’64, ’72 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Danbury Sharon Fusco ’67 (Life member) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Danbury Jeffrey Heyel ’90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bethel Jan Maria Jagush ’75, ’81 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Woodbury Ray Lubus ’80 (Life member) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .New Fairfield Lillian “Sissy” McKee ’04 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brookfield Monica Perry ’04 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Danbury Jack Quinlan ’67, ’93 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Newtown Daniel “Josh” Reilly ’00, ’05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .New Milford Elizabeth Salame ’82 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Danbury Elaine Salem ’64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .New Milford Breina Schain ’05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Waterbury Kay Schreiber ’79 (Life member) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Danbury Robert Scribner ’95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brookfield Richard Stabile ’89 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brookfield Neil Wagner ’52 (Life member) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Danbury Eric Wellman ’64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Newtown John Wrenn ’74, ’80 (Life member) . . . . . . . . . . . .New Milford Fall 2008 6 7 8 10 11 13 Executive Committee President: Richard Stabile ’89 Vice President: Jan Maria Jagush ’75, ’81 Treasurer: Eric Wellman ’64 Secretary: Elaine Salem ’64 Immediate Past President: Tom Crucitti ’69 Director, Alumni Relations: Tammy Hammershoy ’97 14 AlumniNews Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Irene Sherlock ’84, ’91 Associate Director, University Publications & Design Associate Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sherri Hill Associate Director, University Relations Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .G. Koryoe Anim-Wright, Ph.D. Vice President, Institutional Advancement Paul Steinmetz ’07 Director, University Relations Copy Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Connie Conway ’96 University Publications & Design Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Robin DeMerell University Relations Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jason Davis ’97 Table of Contents 3 Director, University Publications & Design Contents: ©2008 Western Connecticut State University. Opinions expressed in AlumniNews are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of its editors or policies of Western Connecticut State University. Postmaster: Send address corrections to Office of Alumni Relations, WCSU, 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810. • Intercollegiate • Nutmeg athletics Games come to town 10 Fairfield Hall reopens Escape to Tuscany: Twenty-Second Annual University Ball 11 WestConn emerita Dean Claire Trisch Geddes 5 How planned giving can benefit you and your alma mater 12 Homecoming 2008 6 Traveling through life — on air Rolandas Kiaulevicius ’06 13 Met & Married Al and Joan Mead Made for each other 7 Patrica Bowen ’58 Dancing up a storm 14 WXCI celebrates 35 years 8 The happiest of all lives Dr. Alice Carolan ’67, ’71, ’77 15 Class Notes 18 Calendar of events Campus Photographer, University Publications & Design Change of address: Send change of address to Office of Alumni Relations, WCSU, 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810, or e-mail [email protected]. For duplicate mailings, send both mailing labels to the address above. 9 4 Assistant Director, University Publications & Design AlumniNews is an official bulletin of Western Connecticut State University and is published twice a year, spring and fall, by Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT 06810. The magazine is distributed free of charge to alumni, friends, faculty and staff. Periodical postage paid at Danbury, Conn., and additional mailing offices. Edgett Scholarship message from the Alumni Association president •A Layout & Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Frederica Paine Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Peggy Stewart ’97 • Mary Congratulations to everyone involved with the Fall ’07 issue of the AlumniNews, most notably graphic designer Frederica Paine, on winning the silver medal in the Admissions Marketing Report’s annual design contest. An Exciting Season! Richard A. Stabile ’89 Alumni Association president Mary Edgett Scholarship to honor beloved teacher By Irene Sherlock In 2001, during WestConn’s centennial celebration, Mary Edgett ’24, a life-long Danbury educator and the university’s oldest living alumna, was among those who received the Centennial Award for Excellence. Later that year, at WestConn’s Commencement ceremony, she received the Alumni Award. Now, in 2008, a scholarship is being established in her name. The Mary Edgett Scholarship will be awarded to a WestConn elementary education major. “Mary is one of the most beloved teachers in Danbury,” notes Dr. G. Koryoe Anim-Wright, WCSU vice president for Institutional Advancement. “What better way to immortalize her than with a scholarship that supports the work to which she devoted her entire life?” A reception in Edgett’s honor is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 8, from 5 to 7:30 p.m., Westside Campus Center Grand Ballroom, on the Westside campus. “I am so honored to be recognized in this way by my alma mater,” says this proud alumna. At 105 years of age, Edgett reports she feels “pretty good.” She adds, “I hope this award encourages more students to go into teaching.” The scholarship is being established in part because of the huge response received after a profile on Edgett was published in the spring 2008 issue of AlumniNews. “Many readers wanted to reconnect with their former teacher,” explains Anim-Wright. “That led to talk about forming a scholarship. We think it’s a fitting tribute to her.” For more than a half century, Edgett fostered a love for education, living and teaching middle school primarily in the Danbury area. Many of those she taught went on to become luminaries in their field. Edgett received a teaching certificate from the Danbury Normal School and later earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the Teacher’s College of Connecticut in New Britain (now Central Connecticut State University). Afterwards, she did graduate work at the University of Hawaii. Mary Edgett Scholarship committee member Guido J. Tino ’64, a former student of Edgett’s, has donated the first $1,000 to this fund. Other committee members include: G. Koryoe Anim-Wright, Tammy Hammershoy '97, Paul Steinmetz '07 and David Halek. To donate to the Mary Edgett Scholarship, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at (203) 837-8290. Make checks payable to the WCSU Foundation Mary Edgett Scholarship. This summer, the Alumni Association has been busy planning various projects that we hope will benefit alumni and their families in the upcoming year. We take great pride in our growing number of offerings and welcome any suggestions –– and any help! –– you wish to offer. I want to thank the Alumni Association for electing me to a second term as president. The entire 16-member board was voted back this year, in addition to a new member, Bob Scribner. Your executive board members –– Vice President Jan Maria Jagush, Treasurer Eric Welman and Secretary Elaine Salem –– all look forward to continuing the forward momentum of these past few years. One of the year’s highlights will be our annual golf tournament on Sept. 29, held once again at Danbury’s Richter Park, a “top-25” public golf course. This outing affords business owners the opportunity to reach the greater Danbury community with their company’s message and logo. Also, please join us for Homecoming Day on Saturday, Oct. 18. If you have attended Homecoming in the past, you know about the great football, food, refreshments and fun for all family members. Bring the kids. It is a terrific way to spend a Saturday. The Alumni Association is co-sponsoring several trips this year, including a jaunt to The Culinary Institute of America on Oct. 25. And we’ve planned a fantastic excursion to Italy for the week of Nov. 3 – 10, not to mention our Dec. 6 – 7 holiday trip to the Brandywine Valley of Pennsylvania and Delaware, where the region’s architecture and centuries-old traditions are showcased. I would like to extend a special invitation to alumni across the country and overseas to help solidify the framework of our Alumni Ambassadors Program. The program’s focus is to contact and cultivate alumni membership and we’d like you to consider hosting an alumni get-together in your area. If you’d like to help out or need more information about any event, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at (203) 837-8290. Have a great fall season. 3 Institutional Advancement Escape to Tuscany: Twenty-second Annual University Ball by Robin DeMerell “Escape to Tuscany,” Western Connecticut State University’s 22nd annual ball, was held on May 3 in the Feldman Arena at the William O’Neill Convocation Center on the university’s Westside campus. About 250 people attended the black tie event in an elaborate setting that had the look and feel of Tuscany. Cocktail hour was held in a garden with the façade of a Tuscan village — complete with water fountains, pergola and exotic foliage. The dining room was spectacular in Tuscan colors of burnt orange and harvest yellow with wall sconces and scrolled iron décor. The event featured dinner and dancing, a silent auction and a raffle for a trip to Italy. Anthony and Roberta Caraluzzi were honored for their strong support of WCSU and our community. Longtime university benefactors, the Caraluzzis, 4 respected owners of Bethel Food Market, Georgetown Market and Nutmeg Liquors, have supported the WCSU Foundation Inc. and the Caraluzzi Scholarship Foundation along with many other charitable causes. Isabelle T. Farrington, an alumna from the Class of 1943, also was recognized for making a difference every day in the lives of WestConn students and for supporting their academic success through the scholarships she has provided. Wayne Sheppard, Danbury’s director of economic development, was the Honorary Chair of the event. Mary Jean Rebeiro, president of The NY CONN Corporation, and a WCSU Foundation Board member, was the winner of the raffle for a trip for two to Italy, provided by the Caraluzzis and valued at $6,000. To make a donation to the WCSU Foundation, go to www.wcsu.edu/IA, click on “Give Now.” Photos clockwise: Representing the WCSU Foundation, WestConn President James W. Schmotter (center) presented a plaque and expressed appreciation to honorees Anthony and Roberta Caraluzzi for their continued support of WCSU. (l-r) Caitlin Clarkson ‘07 is introduced by Vice President for Institutional Advancement Dr. G. Koryoe Anim-Wright to Isabelle Farrington ’43. Clarkson received the Isabelle Farrington Award in her senior year. Honorary Chair Wayne Sheppard chats with Mary Jean Rebeiro ’87 at the event. (l-r): Alumni Board Members Lois ’71, ’98 and Tom ’69 Crucitti with Terry Eberhard-Asch ’64, ’72. Institutional Advancement How planned giving can benefit you and your alma mater The programs at Western Connecticut State University depend upon your good will. There are many easy giving options from which you can choose — strategies that will enhance your personal well-being as well as WCSU. We know your connection to WestConn is strong. And if you’re a WestConn Sweetheart, not only did you receive a great education here, but this also is the place where you met the love of your life. Leave a legacy with your … • House, land or other property Now you can commemorate both of these important milestones in a unique and memorable way. WestConn’s Met and Married program allows WestConn Sweethearts to personalize bricks, benches, trees and light posts –– a purchase that affirms the flourishing relationship between you and your spouse and highlights your place on the timeline of your alma mater. • Bequest in your will Go to www.wcsu.edu/IA and click on “Giving Opportunities.” Our “Build Your Gift” planner will help you make decisions about the type of charitable gift you would like to make. By answering a few basic questions, this interactive tool steps you through the process of narrowing your choices. It’s easy to use! • Trusts that provide you with life income • Life insurance • Stocks, bonds and more If you already have gift options in mind, click on “Compare Gifts” to see how your choices match up or click on “eBrochures” to request specific information about a planning option. Be a part of WestConn’s Sweethearts Program Brick $100 • Tree $500 Bench $1,000 • Light Post $2,500 For more information about this tax-deductible program, call Tammy Hammershoy at (203) 837-8290. To place your order using the order form below, check the WestConn Sweethearts box. For more information about planned giving, contact Dr. G. Koryoe Anim-Wright at (203) 837-8279 or e-mail [email protected] with any questions. Join the Alumni & Friends Circle Check one ❑ Alumni & Friends Circle ❑ WestConn Sweethearts Indicate how you would like to contribute to WestConn (select one): Ordered by: ❑ WCSU Alumni Association ❑ Ancell School of Business ❑ School of Arts and Sciences ❑ School of Professional Studies ❑ School of Visual and Performing Arts ❑ Unrestricted ❑ Other Name Address City State Phone E-mail ZIP Your phone number may be needed to verify the engraving. ❑ MasterCard ❑ Visa Card number Make check payable to: WCSU Annual Fund/Foundation. Mail completed form and check to WCSU Annual Fund/Foundation, 181 White St., Danbury, CT 06810. For more information, please call (203) 837-8279. Expiration date Total enclosed $ Print the message you wish to engrave below. Use all capital letters. Indicate the quantity next to the item you are ordering. Item Bricks can accommodate up to three lines with 16 characters per line; spaces, punctuation and symbols count as a character. Trees, benches and light posts have double the space: use a separate piece of paper. 4” x 8” engraved brick ($100 each) 20’ tree with engraved marker in ground ($500 each) Park bench with engraved brass plate ($1,000 each) Bricks Quantity Light post with engraved brass plate ($2,500 each) 5 Traveling through life — on air “I learned early on that art can give one’s life meaning,” Kiaulevicius says. Which includes making the artist himself smile a lot. “Yes, I look at my animals and I smile,” he says.“I laugh and I hope others do the same. I want to have fun and entertain people.” Entertain he does, with whimsically detailed drawings that delight readers of all ages. “Rolandas is super-talented,” says WestConn Professor of Art Abe Echevarria, who taught Kiaulevicius illustration in the M.F.A. program. “He’s a vibrant individual who enjoys life, and an energy source that just won’t quit. He’ll do very well in the art world.” But it was also his capacity for hard work and perseverance that served Kiaulevicius when he and Laura arrived in the United States after she was offered an au pair position in Connecticut. Laura’s employers took the couple under their wing, helping them acclimate to their new home. Kiaulevicius enrolled in a language immersion program at Yale but art always beckoned on the horizon. Rolandas Kiaulevicius By Irene Sherlock It hardly seems reasonable to characterize the extraordinarily talented Rolandas Kiaulevicius simply as a fine artist when he is amazingly good at so many things. In 2006, the WestConn Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Art graduate published “Zoolidays,” a children’s book he illustrated for a text by Bruce Glassman. A finalist for the prestigious Tassey Walden Award, the book was published by Red Cygnet Press and tells an “art imitating life” story in which animals create art after observing students painting at the zoo. Young readers are challenged to consider what is “human” and what is “animal” in this realm of creativity. In addition to his fabulous illustrating, Kiaulevicius is a member of the Hartford-based Lithuanian folk dancing group, Berzelis. Before coming to the United States, he danced with the Saulegroup at Siaulius University in Lithuania. The experience encouraged another passion: travel. 6 In time, he learned English and enrolled at the Paier College of Art. In addition to his native Lithuanian, Kiaulevicius also speaks Russian, Polish and German. His expanding art portfolio ultimately gained him admission to WestConn’s M.F.A. program. Next, he anticipates earning Connecticut certification to teach art at the high-school level. After graduating with a B.A. in Fine Arts and Woodworking, Kiaulevicius and his fellow troupe members high-stepped their way across Belgium, Poland, Latvia, England, Scotland, Denmark, Germany and parts of the United States. He ultimately settled in New Haven, Conn., with his wife, Laura, an elementary school teacher. But he still hits the road on a regular basis, most recently to entertain California audiences with fellow Lithuanian ex-pat Gintaras Jocius. Their act is called GIRO, formed by the first letters of their names. Performances often involve improvisational painting and dancing — sometimes on stilts! “Art was always important to me,” Kiaulevicius says, adding that his ballroom dancing parents encouraged him. In addition to painting and dancing, Kiaulevicius is a woodworker, fashion designer and photographer, and teaches art at a variety of venues in Connecticut. He also credits his uncle, Vytautas Dabrukas, a well-known artist, who urged him to be serious about his craft. A man with the creative sensibility to interpret art through the eyes of zoo animals clearly has the capacity to expand his talents to almost any area of experience. “I’ve had so many opportunities in America,” explains Kiaulevicius, showing his serious side. “Yes, I miss my family in Lithuania. But I want to raise my children here. There is so much you can do in this country. I am grateful to be here.” For more information about Kiaulevicius, visit www.rolandasart.com. Dancing up a storm Patricia Bowen ’58 By Irene Sherlock It’s difficult to consider Patricia Bowen retired. After a 26-year career at Danbury’s welfare department –– 24 years as assistant director and the last year as director –– Bowen felt she was ready to move on to another stage of her life. “I spent a month with my brother in Florida,” she says about those first free days. “I wanted to get my bearings and consider how I would spend the rest of my life.” And what a life it is. Bowen, who graduated with a B.S. in Elementary Education from what was then Danbury State Teacher’s College, remains invested in the people she loves and in a variety of causes about which she is equally passionate. At the top of her list are her seven children and 14 grandchildren, a sizable clan that would keep many retirees happily busy. But Bowen also is devoted to raising awareness about the plight of the homeless, as well as pursuing issues of gender, race and civil rights. At the moment, it’s the civil rights of immigrants in her Danbury hometown that has much of her interest. She’s among those who rallied at the capital in support of the “Danbury Eleven,” a group of undocumented immigrants arrested in a sting operation. Bowen says she supports the dignity of human beings as well as her own right to protest government actions in a democracy –– which she often does with a picket sign. Every Saturday, she’s one of a faithful contingent that continues to protest the war in Iraq. “I’ve been an activist for most of my life. I’m not about to change now,” she says. Bowen regards this current period of her life as an opportunity to beef up her already impressive civic resume, which includes a stint as a member of Volunteers In Service To America, better known as VISTA, the domestic arm of the Peace Corps. “I comanaged a very successful, low-income credit-union program,” she says. “The intent was to give our members economic leverage by providing financial services that would otherwise not be available to them.” Active in city and state politics for most of her life In addition to Bowen (center), other family members who dance at the AOH include (l-r) daughter Ellen Krafick ’87, ’95 and grandson Andrew Krafick Wittman. More Irish dancing grandchildren (not pictured) include Kari Krafick, Kendall Krafick and Marissa Volpe. and supportive of dozens of initiatives involving aiding, educating and empowering the poor, Bowen’s most impactful achievement began with a graduate course she took in educational law at WestConn in the early ’70s. “We were discussing the educational amendments of 1972. I became fully aware of Title IX, which was slated to go into effect in Danbury by 1975.” It wasn’t long before she had rallied city officials to form a Title IX advisory board, of which she was made chair. Title IX is the controversal law that made sports accessible to everyone, regardless of gender. “It protects individuals against gender discrimination on every level, from salaries to employment opportunities,” says Bowen. The Title IX advisory board ensured that Danbury’s educational tax dollars were equitably divided to aid both male and female students. “For the first time, schools had to offer all students the opportunity to participate in any class they wished. Girls could take shop; boys could take cooking. Girls were finally offered a real choice of sport opportunities.” she claims to be ‘retired’ from much of the political and civic limelight, Bowen is still an active member of WestConn’s Alumni Association, the WestConn Society and the Gaelic-American Club, among other organizations. She also does Irish set dancing three times a week. One venue is at the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), in Danbury. “I’m their most loyal nonmember,” she says with a grin. Her friend Maureen Leopold smiles when she hears about Bowen’s initial –– but short-lived –– retirement concerns. “Patricia will never quit,” Leopold predicts. “She’s passionate and loyal and still totally committed to the Danbury community. Every city should be so lucky.” Friday nights at the AOH, Irish dancers kick up their heels. (l-r): Bowen and Cathal Whelan. For much of her life, Bowen has been a member of numerous commissions and organizations, including the Community Action Committee of Danbury, the Homeless Task Force of 1981, the Danbury Council on Education and the Commission on Equal Rights and Opportunities, of which she was chair. Though 7 The happiest all lives of By Irene Sherlock Aristotle famously said, “Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach.” He seems to have neglected the fact that, in some rare individuals, those two capacities are wonderfully combined. Dr. Alice Carolan is just such a person. A three-time WestConn alumna, Carolan has known and loved teaching all her adult life. And over her extraordinary career as an educator, she has successfully imparted both the art and the science of teaching to her students. Dr. Alice Carolan ’67, ’71, ’77 “Teaching is the happiest of all lives,” she says of the classroom experience that currently occupies most of her workdays. Having been fully engaged in research, instruction and administering to the world of students in one way or another all her professional life, she counts the ability to work directly with them as the most gratifying. “You see the fruits of your labor when you teach,” she explains. She also taught in graduate programs at Sacred Heart University, Eastern Connecticut State University 8 Currently married to Hugh Carolan and living in Brookfield, Conn., Carolan also is a member of the Connecticut State Board of Education, a position for which she was recommended by the governor and appointed to by the House and Senate. She also sits on the Brookfield Board of Ethics and, when she can, volunteers in the Praxair Cancer Center for Danbury Hospital, which she calls a “place of hope.” ‘‘ favorite courses to teach … For one thing, it’s especially important to be talking about human rights during these ’’ turbulent times. “I enjoyed it,” she says of that important work. “But I’m glad to be back in the classroom. It’s what I love.” “School law is one of my favorite courses to teach,” Carolan says. The subject has always intrigued her. “For one thing, it’s especially important to be talking about human rights during these turbulent times.” Schramm has worked with Carolan on a number of professional endeavors and says that she illustrates qualities of excellence, professionalism and integrity that characterize the best of WestConn’s alumni. “Alice has a great humanitarian viewpoint,” he explains. “It allows her to relate to people on the most honest and sincere level.” Carolan herself says she will be forever grateful for her WestConn education: “It gave me everything I needed to succeed.” School law is one of my Before retiring in 2001, Carolan was superintendent of Naugatuck Public Schools, a district of almost 6,000 students. Previous to that, she was assistant superintendent for five years. So much so that she often drives across the state to the University of Bridgeport where one of the courses she teaches is in the doctorate of education leadership program. Her own Ph.D. in Educational Administration and School Law was from the University of Connecticut; before that, she’d earned a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education –– English, a Master of Arts in English, and a Sixth Year Certificate in Education –– all from WestConn. The loss initiated a dark time in her life, during which Carolan raised their young son alone. Despite the difficulties, she managed well: her son, Patrick Tufts, is currently an expert in artificial intelligence who lives and works in Berkeley, Calif. and Southern Connecticut State University. A doctoral adviser at the University of Connecticut, she cochaired that school’s summer legal institute. “Alice has changed many, many lives for the better,” says friend and colleague Dr. Harry Schramm, WestConn professor emeritus of justice and law who had been a student of Carolan’s late husband, WestConn Professor of English Dr. John Tufts (see sidebar), who taught here for more than 30 years. “He was a scholar who really loved teaching,” Carolan says. “He was devoted to this university.” The John Tufts Prize for writing was established in his memory. Harry Schramm remembers former teacher and mentor Dr. John Tufts: “In my view, John was the model teacher. Kind and knowledgeable, he was truly a committed teacher who was able to give his students a sense of wonder and appreciation for literature. I studied with him as an undergraduate and found him to be a gifted communicator and an inspiration for someone who wanted to go into teaching as a career. John became our ‘Mr. Chips.’ He is still revered by former students who were led to teaching because of him and who carry on his ideals in their own work.” Go Colonials! by Richard Gregory ’97 Spring was a season to shine for the student-athletes at WestConn, as two teams –– the softball team and the men’s lacrosse team –– qualified for their respective National Collegiate Athletic Tournament (NCAA) Division III national tournaments and many of the Colonials’ stars were awarded for their efforts on the field. The softball team capped a remarkable season by earning the program’s ninth trip to the NCAA tournament. The Colonials chalked up three wins in the NCAA East Regionals before being eliminated. They posted a 31-15 overall record and reached the 30-win plateau for the sixth time in program history. Pitcher Shelby Slie led the way, going 17-8 with three saves, a 1.34 earned run average and 171 strikeouts in 162 innings. She was named the Little East Conference (LEC) Pitcher of the Year for the second straight year and was an All-Conference first team pick as well. The Colonials also featured plenty of powerful offensive weapons. Kristen Lugovich led the way, batting .398 with 20 runs batted in and 27 stolen bases; she started all 46 games this spring. Stacey DiMaggio batted .356 with five homers and 36 RBIs and Loren Angiolillo batted .320 with eight triples, one homer and 35 RBIs. Cortney Romyns batted .348 with five home runs and 28 RBIs and was a perfect 26-for-26 on stolen-base attempts. Romyns also posted a 7-3 record as a pitcher with a 2.21 ERA. Amy Hartman and Meghan Mammone led the Colonials with six homers apiece. Hartman batted .344 with 29 RBIs and was an All-Conference first team pick. The men’s lacrosse team, meanwhile, won its first LEC tournament title and qualified for the national tournament before suffering a season-ending loss to Western New England College in the first round of the NCAAs. Colonials coach Jason Ouellet was named the LEC’s Coach of the Year after guiding his team to a 13-7 overall record. Adam Lanehart led the Colonials on offense with 56 goals and nine assists for 65 points. Dennis Skarda had 16 goals and 41 assists for 57 points and A.J. Barbieri added 36 goals and 14 assists for 50 points. Face-off specialist Terry Stroz won a remarkable 243 of his 380 draws (almost 64 percent). Lanehart, Skarda and defenseman Gary Schultz all earned All-Conference first team honors. The women’s lacrosse team didn’t fare quite as well as the men, going 4-14 overall, but the Colonials did win four straight games after losing their first 12. Kara Kruczkiewicz led the Colonials with 54 goals and eight assists for 62 points, while Ashley Caruso added 41 goals and 11 assists for 52 points. Kruczkiewicz was a first team All-Conference selection. On the baseball diamond, the Colonials posted a 17-25 overall record in a season that featured a sixgame winning streak that followed a six-game losing streak. Bill Armstrong led the Colonials’ pitchers with a 4-3 record, a 2.93 ERA and 49 strikeouts. Dan Baccaro batted .383 with four homers and 29 RBIs and Nick Ross batted .366. Matt Gardiner started 41 of 42 games and batted .362 with eight homers and 40 RBIs. As a reward for his efforts, Gardiner was chosen to play in the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association’s All-Star Game at Fenway Park in Boston on June 14. On the tennis courts, freshman phenom Pat Matysek won the LEC championship at No. 4 singles to cap a solid season. The Colonials went 6-4 overall and finished sixth in the LEC team tournament. softball and men’s lacrosse teams shine Nutmeg Games come to town! WestConn’s Westside Athletic Complex hosted hundreds of young athletes at the end of July when the 20th Annual Nutmeg Games were held at numerous Danbury-area locations, including WestConn. Chris Smith ’03, captain of the Danbury Mad Hatters, runs with the ball, leading his rugby team to gold metal victory in the Nutmeg Games, some of which were held at WestConn this summer. Hosted by Housatonic Valley Sports and the City of Danbury, the games have been staged for the past 20 years around the state but this is the first time they have been played in Danbury. Basketball players competed in the Feldman Arena at the O’Neill Center, with rugby and soccer players battling on the field at the WCSU stadium. The Nutmeg State Games is a multi-sport festival of Olympic-style competition offering 24 different sports for Connecticut’s amateur athletes. The games are endorsed by the Governor’s Committee on Physical Fitness & Health, governed by the National Congress of State Games and recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the Official State Games of Connecticut. Game organizers chose Danbury because of the topflight facilities available in the city and surrounding towns. 9 1927 - 2008 By Paul Steinmetz After two years of reconstruction, WestConn’s venerable Fairfield Hall –– the university’s first residence hall –– is back in service. While every room was gutted and reconfigured, the charm of the building, which includes the turn-ofthe-century grand lobby, has been retained. To accommodate WestConn’s thriving growth, Fairfield Hall will become coed for only the second time in the building’s history. Except for one year in the 1960s, the residence hall has been reserved for female students. Starting this fall, the main part of the building will house female students and the newer “annex” will be reserved for males. Fairfield Hall Reopens Before the renovation, said Dr. Walter Bernstein, vice president of Student Affairs, rooms in Fairfield Hall often went empty because of the relatively small number of female students who wanted to live in a women’s only dorm. At the same time, a large number of male students requested campus housing. “The demand for housing has so far outstripped our demand for beds, especially among males, that we found ourselves with 40 to 50 men on the waiting list every fall,” Bernstein said. A Fairfield Hall Tea and Tour will take place on Friday, Oct. 17, to commemorate the reopening of this grand residence hall. To R.S.V.P., call (203) 837-8290 or e-mail [email protected]. “I remember singing at meals with the music students. Irene Romaniello Tyrrell and I were the only ones in our class who were roommates for the full four years. It was a happy, fun-filled time in our lives.” Myrna Campbell Spencer ’60 “Yes, I did live in Fairfield Hall in 196465 when it was a men’s residence hall. I was delighted when my daughter, Beth, moved into the hall 25 years later.” Jack Sikora ’65 Top: Exterior of Fairfield Hall today. Bottom (l-r): Fairfield Hall circa 1940s; Fairfield Hall near the completion of renovations. Former coordinator of disability services and adjunct lecturer for social sciences dept. 1927 1946 1948 1957 1964 1977 2000 2008 Fairfield Hall opens, housing 86 women Claire Geddes is appointed dean of women Do-Day Activity: Navy vet Thomas Curley stumps and loses fight to become dean of women 46-room expansion increases dorm capacity by 53 percent Fairfield Hall goes coed for a year while Litchfield and Newbury Halls are being constructed $250,000 in renovations are made Mike Brumbaugh becomes Fairfield Hall’s first male resident director Newly-refurbished Fairfield Hall reopens, coed once more 10 WestConn emerita Dean Claire Trisch Geddes remembers Fairfield Hall By Irene Sherlock Former assistant professor of physical education Claire Trisch Geddes was WestConn's first — and only — dean of women, and to this day she clearly recalls the experience of living and working in Fairfield Hall. “My room was on the first floor, right off the lounge,” Geddes says. Back then, WestConn’s only dorm housed 85 students. “We had a phone in the office and a pay phone where students could make and receive calls. Can you imagine what today’s students would think of that?” In 1946, when she was appointed dean by thenpresident Dr. Ruth A. Haas, Danbury Teacher’s College, as WestConn was then known, ran quite a lean machine. “We were pretty hard working,” Geddes says of the faculty. She taught physical education before becoming dean. “But we were young and I for one was thrilled to be doing the job I was given.” It was a different time then, she reflects. “Lots of dorm rules. Most of which would seem archaic today. But our student council ably enforced them because they were standard at most colleges.” In those days there was no Office of Financial Aid or Student Affairs. “We wore a lot of hats,” Geddes says, referring to her colleagues, including her late husband, Associate Professor of Physical Education Alfred Geddes, who was dean of men while she was dean of women. The two were friends and colleagues long before their relationship turned romantic. They wed in 1958 and remained happily married for 43 years until his death in 2001. Geddes holds a B.S. in Education from New College, Teachers College at Columbia University and an M.S. in Education from the University of Michigan. Further graduate work was done at Teachers College, Columbia University. Geddes remembers the cultural changes of the ’60s and how they gradually made their way on to WestConn’s campus. Then in1974, the legal drinking age was changed from 21 to 18. (Though in 1984, the Federal Minimum Drinking Age Act reestablished 21 as the minimum age for a person to purchase and have public possession of alcohol.) “By the ’70s, co-ed dorms were becoming commonplace.” Geddes says, adding that she was among the first to support apartment-style living for WestConn students. “Students no longer had to have their parents’ permission to drink or to do anything, really,” she says. “It was a huge shift for us in higher education.” Now 89, Geddes describes how she keeps fit, mentally and physically, through daily swimming and by maintaining her strong affiliation with the Catholic Church. She also stays devoted to WestConn, from which she retired in 1975. As always, she’ll be attending the Golden Circle luncheon on Friday, Sept. 13, which will focus on this year’s reopening of Fairfield Hall. “We had some great traditions there,” Geddes says, musing back to her days at Fairfield Hall. “One of them I actually started. We would sing in the dining hall and when it came time, seniors would ‘hand over’ these songs to the juniors. It was and still remains a powerful memory for me.” 11 • 1978 • 1983 • 1988 • 1993 • 1998 Homecoming 2008 Featuring the classes of 1958 • 1963 • 1968 • 1973 Monday, Oct. 13 Alumni Art Show (through Oct. 19). Open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., First Floor, Warner Hall. Free and open to the public. Reception on Friday, Oct. 17, from 3:30 to 6 p.m. WCSU Women’s Tennis vs. Salem State. 3:30 p.m., Westside campus. Tuesday, Oct. 14 The History of the Westside Campus. Join us for a discussion led by Mitch Wagener, associate professor and chair of the biological and environmental sciences department. 5:30 p.m., Westside Campus Center Grand Ballroom, Westside campus. Refreshments provided. Free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. Wednesday, Oct. 15 Financial Planning Seminar. 5:30 p.m., First floor, Warner Hall, Midtown campus. Refreshments provided. Free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. Film Screening and Discussion: “Chak De! India.” Danbury Library Director Mark Hasskarl will lead the discussion. 7 p.m., Student Center Theater, Midtown campus. Free and open to the public. Thursday, Oct. 16 Student/Donor Reception and Scholarship Ceremony. 6:30 p.m., Westside Campus Center Grand Ballroom, Westside campus. Free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. WCSU Faculty Jazz Concert. 7 p.m., Ives Concert Hall, White Hall, Midtown campus. Free and open to the public. Friday, Oct. 17 Fairfield Hall Tea & Tour. 1 p.m., Fairfield Hall, Midtown campus. Refreshments provided. Free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. Alumni Art Show and Reception. 3:30 p.m., Warner Hall, Midtown campus. Refreshments provided. Free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. Class Reunion Gala. A special welcome to the reunion classes of 1958, 1963, 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993 and 1998. 6 p.m., Westside Campus Center Grand Ballroom, Westside campus. Cost. Invitation only. R.S.V.P. to (203) 837-8290. Carlos Alazraqui and Cedric Yarbrough from the Hit Show “Reno 911.” 8 p.m., Ives Concert Hall, White Hall, Midtown campus. $5/students; $20/general admission. Open to WCSU alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. Saturday, Oct. 18 WCSU Athletic Hall of Fame. Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Hall of Fame, front of O'Neill Center, Westside campus. Free and open to the public. Alumni & Friends Circle Rededication. 9:30 a.m., Alumni & Friends Circle (brick circle outside Old Main), Midtown campus. Free and open to the public. Homecoming Tailgate Party. 10 a.m., O’Neill Center parking lot, Westside campus. Open to the public. Must be 21 years or older. Homecoming Football Game: Colonials vs. Cortland State. Noon, Westside Athletic Complex, Westside campus. $6/general admission; $4/55 or older and children under 12. Open to the public. Alumni Hospitality Tent. (Across from Westside Athletic Complex.) 2 p.m., Westside campus. Cost. Open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. Must be 21 years or older. Alumni Business Showcase. (Next to Alumni Hospitality Tent.) Meet alumni business owners. 2 p.m., Westside campus. Free and open to alumni, faculty, staff, students and parents. Street Fair. 2 p.m., Westside campus. Free and open to the public. Sunday, Oct. 19 5K Road Race. 8 a.m. Begins at the Westside campus and ends at Midtown campus. Cost. Open to the public. For more information, call race coordinator Amy Shanks at (203) 837-8609. 12 Events subject to change. For more information, visit www.wcsu.edu/alumni. The couple pursued careers that engaged them fully. Al was an eighth-grade math teacher for 29 years in Carmel, N.Y., while Joan was a full-time homemaker who would later go on to other career interests as her children Amanda, now 43, and Joseph, 42 grew. By Connie Conway Al ’67, ’69 and Joan ’68 Mead tell a great story about how they met as undergraduates at WestConn. “I substitute-taught and was a proofreader for the News-Times,” she says. “Then for a few years I was a partner in a restaurant business. Doing different things appealed to me. I even managed Union Carbide’s audio-visual department until they moved. After that, I was an editor until I retired.” “Some buddies and I were having a silly conversation in the coffee shop at the old Student Union,” remembers Danbury-born-and-raised Al. “One fellow said something was ‘irrevelent.’ At the next table, Joan — ever the English education major — just put her foot down.” The two “retired” Meads seem anything but that. Still strongly connected to their alma mater, they attend Homecoming and football games, and are dedicated supporters of the WCSU Foundation. “I told him the word was ‘irrelevant’,” says Joan, who originally hailed from Pennsylvania. “I had to correct a mistake like that.” “Meantime, I’m looking at her attractive face,” Al recalls with a twinkle. “And thinking, ‘hmmm, here’s an interesting woman.’” Joan laughs, protesting it was her roommate who “convinced me to go out with him.” “We were married a year later, between semesters,” Al says. In college and throughout life, it’s clear the Meads have always been thoroughly involved people. As an undergraduate, Al, a secondary-education/mathematics major who interrupted college with a four-year stint in the Air Force, managed the basketball team. Joan sang in class productions that were regularly presented to the school at large. Al and Joan Mead Made for Each Other “But I love to tell about the first time I actually saw Al, before we’d ever met,” Joan says. “He was up on a ladder, trying to fix a basketball net. He told someone to toss him a ball, which they did … ” “And I missed it!” Al chuckles. “Which left me with quite an impression,” concludes his wife of 44 years. “Currently I’m on WestConn’s Annual Golf Tournament committee,” explains Al. “And I get to as many Colonials basketball games as I can.” WestConn has grown so much since they were students, notes Joan. “We’re delighted that our daughterin-law, Laura, is enrolled in WestConn’s new doctoral program in educational leadership.” Grandparents to three who live just down the road, the Meads also keep busy with civic concerns. Al serves as chairman of the Richter Park Authority and Joan is currently on Danbury’s Charter Revision Commission. Share your Met & Married story with us. E-mail alumni @wcsu.edu. Save these dates! Alumni Golf Tournament Holiday Wine Tasting Alumni Dinner Theatre Monday, Sept. 29 Sunday, Nov. 2 • 4-7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7 Gather your friends for some fun at Richter Park Golf Course. Everyone enjoys Grand Ballroom • Westside Campus Center $50/person • Proceeds to benefit the Caraluzzi Scholarship Fund. this great golf outing that helps raise money for WestConn student scholarships. • 8:30 a.m. Check-in and continental breakfast • 10 a.m. Shotgun start (scramble format) • 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Lunch on the Turn • 3 p.m. Awards reception at Cafe on the Green • $700/foursome ($175/person). Sponsorships are available. Open to the public. To register, call (203) 837-8290. Activate your membership to the WCSU Alumni Association! Active members save on goods and services at many businesses in the Greater Danbury area (www.wcsu.edu/alumni/usave.asp). Also, membership entitles you to university privileges. Call (203) 837-8290 or e-mail [email protected]. Dinner: 5:30 p.m • Warner Hall Show: 8 p.m • Berkshire Theatre WCSU Midtown campus • Price: TBA Alumni, lend us your expertise! Volunteer your time and talent by: Giving a classroom lecture; delivering special talks to alumni and students; hosting an event for alumni and/or new students in your community. Call the Office of Alumni Relations at (203) 837-8290. 13 35 Years (l-r): Radio consultant Tom Zarecki ’87, Channel 3’s Kevin Hogan, Greg Wencek and former Danbury Mayor James Dyer ’72 reminisce during WXCI’s 35th anniversary reunion. WXCI celebrates 35 years By Robin DeMerell When Kevin Hogan — now a Channel 3 Eyewitness News anchor — was a WestConn freshman reporting for WCSU radio station WXCI, his voice was overheard by the general manager of a local radio station — and he was offered a job on the spot. Jim Clarke, on-air personality for Greater Danbury’s WRKI I-95, says Hogan is one of many WXCI alumni who have made careers based on their college radio experience. A number of WXCI grads now are in the recording industry, advertising and corporate media. “I went there exclusively for the radio station,” says Clarke, also a former DJ on WXCI, who can be heard on I-95 weeknights from 6 p.m. to midnight. In February, Clarke, along with dozens of alumni of 91.7 FM WXCI, celebrated the station’s 35th anniversary and reminisced about life as a college DJ. Every year on the anniversary — which is celebrated the last Saturday of February — from noon to midnight the station is turned over to former students who get to relive their college days by playing their favorite tunes and interviewing old friends and colleagues. WXCI is a student-run college radio station located on WestConn’s Midtown campus. Started in 1973, WXCI has remained the second largest college radio Scholarship Dinner At the Scholarship Dinner last April, the Alumni Association awarded $11,000 in scholarships to deserving WestConn students for the 2008-09 academic year. Students in attendance included: Anthony LaBruno, Laura Muller, Lissette Rivas and Jeffrey Reichard who received Alumni Association Scholarships. Allison Soto received the Graduate Award and Stephanie Bisson received the May Sherwood Scholarship. 14 station in Connecticut and broadcasts at 3,000 watts. The station plays everything from hip-hop, metal, indie-rock, classic rock, jazz, punk, electro clash, ambient, ska, grindcore and more. It also features weekly topical talk shows including the Sports Jam and WestConn Happenings and, on the weekends, broadcasts WCSU sports events, including football, basketball and hockey games. WXCI was one of the first stations to play alternative rock in the 1980s — now a focus of many college stations. The station began back in the early 1970s with small stature — some even say it was in a broom closet. But before too long, at least before Professor of Communication Dr. Hugh McCarney came along in 1977 as the station’s adviser, it was moved to the second floor of the Student Center where it’s been ever since. McCarney, who is still adviser to the students, also organized the first reunion which celebrated the station’s 25th year. “It’s an opportunity for people to reconnect and network,” he says. “The fact that these people want to come back shows how important it was.” Alumnus Tom Zarecki, now a radio consultant and principal of an internet radio and television streaming company, says WXCI was a great stepping stone. There in the station’s beginning years, Zarecki helped create the station. He says within the first couple of years of the station’s inception at least a dozen students were working in communications-related jobs outside the university. He credits WXCI’s professionalism under the guidance of McCarney with turning out such qualified candidates. “We created a commercial-sounding format,” Zarecki says. “We didn’t sound like a college radio station.” The radio station is mostly paid for through student activity fees, although the students can raise funds or get grants and the Alumni Association helps with sports broadcasting. The format is laid out by an executive board that “sets parameters of what can be played,” McCarney says. “You won’t hear country & western.” The focus instead is on new music and breaking groups, and quite often what WXCI students select for the local airwaves will eventually make the Top 40 list the following year. The station has three gold and platinum records of groups they helped break into the business by being among the first radio stations to play their songs. And while the students have lots of fun expressing their inner DJ, they are careful about guidelines and McCarney makes sure of that. The students research the music to make sure it follows the format and there’s nothing objectionable to their 14- to 30-year-old audience. “Everybody who spends time there grows,” he says. “There’s a certain ego satisfaction having potentially thousands of people listening … but they often find they want to improve things and take on positions of responsibility. That way they really get to shape what goes on there.” Class Notes Wedding bells Adriana Busch ’02 and Jason Brooks, Aug. 4, 2007 In memoriam, cont’d. Robert T. Burke ’76, Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Amy Danka ’80 and John Donnelly, July 1, 2007 Lynn A. Carey ’87, Dover, N.H. Heather Hauck ’07 and Christopher Symes, Aug. 26, 2007 William J. Cooper ’64, Wellfleet, Mass., Dec. 7, 2007 Jennifer Kosanke ’96 and Bradley Camp, Oct. 20, 2007 Eileen M. (Lucas) Corbett ’82, Southbury, Conn., Dec. 26, 2007 WestConn Sweethearts Amy Gardner ’06 and Mark Kotach ’02, May 18, 2008 Diana J. Emerson ’69, Madison, Conn., March 28, 2008 Heather Smarz ’03 and Chad Gatesman, Sept. 14, 2007 Enid S. Emmons ’40, Mountain Home, Ariz. And baby makes … John Brodacki ’00 and wife Stephanie welcomed their first child, Madison Paige, on April 28, 2008. Louise (Hertz) Farris ’53, Norwalk, Conn., April 18, 2007 WestConn Sweethearts Wendy Slie ’00 and Joseph Carrafiello ’99 welcomed the birth of their first children, twin sons, Robert and Joseph, on April 13, 2007. Assunta DeLuca ’02 and Erich Bachman celebrated the birth of their son, Preston Anthony, on June 23, 2006. Winona “Dona” L. Gillotte ’59, Danbury, Conn., Jan. 19, 2008 Elizabeth T. Grinwalsky ’35, Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 20, 2007 Olga (Bella) Heck ’28, Oviedo, Fla. Norman G. Kaback ’50, Danbury, Conn., April 1, 2003 Stella (Wozny) Kowalski ’40, Greenwich, Conn., Jan. 11, 2008 WestConn Sweethearts Yvonne Montemayor ’01 and Kevin M. Fitzgerald ’95 welcomed their first child, Ryan McHugh, on Sept. 20, 2007. Doris J. (Day) Kuhn ’35, Ebeemee Township, Maine Melissa Grossman ’04 and Scott Rockafellow welcomed the birth of their first son, Jacob Reese, on Nov. 14, 2007. A. Joyce Mallery ’72, Oneonta, N.Y. Tatum Lakowksy ’06 and Charles Sherwood III welcomed the birth of their son, Darien, on Sept. 9, 2007. Linda Ann (Reynolds) Maxwell ’83, Brookfield, Conn., June 13, 2008 WestConn Sweethearts Shawn Krystopa ’94, ’01 and Richard Morse ’97 celebrated the birth of their third child, Matthew Thomas, on Feb. 17, 2007. He joins bothers Nicholas Glenn, 6, and Kyle Lucian, 4. Frances D. Lynch ’55, Naugatuck, Conn. Douglas J. Marchesi ’87, Norwalk, Conn., Dec. 17, 2006 Joyce (Rigby) McGinn ’49, Long Beach, N.Y. Karyn L. Patasuis-Ferreira ’99, Woodbury, Conn., Feb. 9, 2008 Mary B. Pokrywka ’34, Roxbury, Conn. WestConn Sweethearts Laura Tittemore ’91, ’94 and Edward Piechota ’92, ’02 welcomed the birth of their first child, Jenna Lynn, on Jan. 7, 2008. Vincent A. Ponzo ’72, Wallingford, Conn., Jan. 3, 2008 Amy Proulx ’98 and Brian Shanks welcomed the birth of their first child, Austin Edward, on April 29, 2008. Joan F. (Feuerstein) Setaro ’53, Milford, N.H. Karin Tyrian ’98 and Robert Miller welcomed son, Landon Chase, on June 5, 2008. He joins big brother, Aidan. Dawn E. Whaley ’76, Bethel, Conn., May 17, 2008 Donna Vitrone ’02 and husband Jesse celebrated the birth of their son, Michael, on June 23, 2006. Douglas Wawrzynski ’04 and Sarah Bradford welcomed the birth of their first child, Luke Thomas, on June 1, 2008. In memoriam Sally L. (Heck) Barendse ’61, Brookfield, Conn., Dec. 23, 2007 Deborah A. Quinn ’90, West Redding, Conn., April 25, 2008 Albert E. Swanson ’52, Marbledale, Conn., July 20, 2002 WestConn Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Humanistic Studies Dr. H. Jonothan Greenwald, Newtown, Conn., Friday, Oct. 1, 2007 WestConn Professor Emeritus of Marketing Dr. John S. Kakalik, Southbury, Conn., April 26, 2008 WestConn Professor Emeritus of Marketing James Retter, Naples, Fla., April 20, 2008 Robert G. Bolander ’88, Danbury, Conn., March 4, 2008 WestConn Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Mary Martha (Stacey) Wahl, Ridgefield, Conn., Nov. 9, 2007 Elizabeth J. (Rall) Boyd ’74, Carmel, N.Y. Marion L. Bria ’31, Vero Beach, Fla., Oct. 28, 2007 Tell us about yourself ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name (maiden, if applicable) Graduation year Spouse’s name (maiden, if applicable) Spouse’s graduation year ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Employer Spouse’s employer ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Home address E-mail ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Information for class notes ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Use additional paper if necessary. Please print or type and return to Office of Alumni Relations, WCSU, 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810. ❑ Yes! I want information about the Alumni Association Board and its volunteer committees. ❑ Yes! I want to help organize an event in my area. ❑ Yes! I would be interested in sponsoring an internship with my company. 15 Class Notes 1940s Helen Marie (Pearson) Close ’40 retired from teaching in 1982 and enjoys caring for her grandson, substitute teaching and traveling to western Europe, the British Isles, Alaska and southern Canada. Peter Anthony Barbieri ’73 earned a Master of Music and a Doctor of Music Composition from the University of Colorado, Boulder. His post-doctoral studies were with Luciano Berio in Florence, Italy, in 1990-91. Robert Young ’81, a board-certified trial attorney, was nominated and confirmed as a Connecticut Superior Court judge in March. A life member of WXCI, Young lives with his wife, Mary, and their three sons in Glastonbury, Conn. For five years, Pamela W. Watkins ’86 has worked in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) at the University of Maryland Medical Center Shock Trauma Center, the preeminent center for trauma in Maryland. Jean O. Cooper ’46 retired in 1989 after 32 years of teaching. She has three children and two grandsons. She and her late husband were always grateful to WestConn for their education and the rewarding jobs they were able to secure as a result. Cooper enjoyed reading about former eighth-grade teacher Mary Edgett ’24 in the most recent issue of the AlumniNews. Charlotte Cuneo ’74 earned a Master of Science in Nursing from Boston College and works full time in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) at Boston Medical Center. Geoffrey Herald ’82 is the new fire chief of Danbury, Conn. WestConn Sweethearts Jacqueline Burtnick ’87 and Wayne ’86 Andersen celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary on June 11, 2008. 1950s Mary (Lopedota) Urban ’53 and husband George are enjoying retirement. While both attended WestConn together, George left school in his sophomore year to serve in the Korean War. 1960s Barbara L. Talarico ’64 retired from teaching first grade after 22 years. Daphne J. Yobaggy ’65 is enjoying her retirement and traveling, most recently to Alaska in June 2007. She spends the winter months in Melbourne, Fla. Daniel DeRosa Jr. ’67, ’74 just started a new job after retiring from teaching in school systems in New York and Connecticut. Recently widowed, Charles W. Ward ’67 has retired from teaching high school and college. He also is a former Methodist minister. Diane Tyrrell Lesniak ’68 retired in 2007 after teaching elementary school in Broward County, Fla., for 37 years. She and her husband, Chet, have a daughter, Leigh, a senior in college. In June, the Lesniaks relocated to Summerfield, N.C. 1970s Wendy Thatcher-Hall ’71 has been happily remarried for 15 years and enjoys spending time with her four children, three step-children, 10 granddaughters and three grandsons. She remains passionate about teaching music. 16 Evelynne Stone Adams ’76 has three children and two grandchildren and resides in Danbury, Conn. Patrice Waltz ’76 is employed at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Conn. Her daughter Laura, a high school junior, is considering nursing as a major and will be applying to WestConn in the fall. Waltz says colleagues have nothing but great things to say about WestConn’s nursing program. Gretchen Schmidlin Kennedy ’78 immigrated to Australia and obtained dual citizenship. She met and married her husband, Luke, there. Presently, she is an editor for the Queensland State Government and studying at Deakin University pursuing a Master of Arts in Writing and Literature. Employed at Connecticut State Trade High School in Stamford, Conn., Marilyn Fuller ’79 resides in New Milford, Conn. Over the years, she has worked in many facets of the nursing profession, including intensive care, home care, case management, hospice care and holistic care. 1980s Caroline Hartman ’80 has relocated to Rochester, Minn., and is currently employed as an RN in the PACU at the Mayo Clinic. She remains grateful to WestConn for her education and fondly remembers her professors, particularly Dr. Aggie Brown and her gold stars for correct EKG rhythm strip interpretation. Karen Cooper ’81 is the author of “Spirited Encounters,” published by Altamira, which chronicles American Indian protests of museum policies and practices. Lisa K. Thompson ’82 retired from the State of Conn. Department of Labor. After undergoing extensive physical therapy for a traumatic brain injury, she is now able to walk again. Denise Black ’83 enjoys working with adolescents and has been employed as a case manager for the Chatham County Department of Family and Children Services in Savannah, Ga., for 16 years. She is currently working on a master’s degree in professional counseling. Rev. Carole Johannsen ’83 continues her work as director of pastoral care at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. Dr. Deborah Sampson ’83 earned a Master of Science in Nursing from Yale University, a post master’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a tenure-track assistant professor at the University of Michigan. She loved her time at WestConn, where she received a wonderful education. She fondly remembers Dr. Ruth Kohl. Stacy Michelle Mueller ’84 has been employed by AT&T for more than 23 years. Patrick H. Mulhall ’85 relocated from Connecticut to Bermuda and is a senior vice president for Axis Capital Holdings. Sharon Dellinger (Blankenburg) ’86 has many fond memories of WestConn and still keeps in touch with former classmates. When comparing her skills to nurse graduates from other schools, she believes she had a definite “leg up” with her WestConn education. She looks forward to visiting campus to see all the new changes. Carol P. Lubus ’86 is the associate director of Human Resources at Mann Kind Corp. Previously, she worked at Boehringer Ingelheim for 24 years. Cheryl Scriven ’87 received a Master in Social Work from Rutgers University and has been employed as a school social worker on a child study team for the past 12 years. She celebrated her 28th wedding anniversary with husband, Ilia, with whom she has three children. She credits professors Beatrice Nemzer and Patty Ivry for their leadership in the social work program at WestConn. After working on a cardiology stepdown unit at Yale New Haven Hospital, Irene Stukshis ’88, developed a love for cardiac nursing. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing from Yale University and pursued a post master’s degree in geriatric nursing there as well. Married in 1998, she gave birth to her first child in 2000. Presently, she lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she is a full-time mother. Nancy D. (Barchi) Corrigan ’89 enjoys her career with the U.S. Department of Justice as an industry operations investigator with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Hartford, Conn. Donald J. LaFerriere ’89 was promoted to senior vice president, medical segment commercial leader at GE Healthcare Financial Services. Cynthia Moschitta ’89 has worked at New Milford Hospital in New Milford, Conn., since graduation and is a staff nurse in the PACU. She has been married to husband, Ken, since 1989 and the couple have a daughter, Amelia, 7. She believes WestConn is a great place. Class Notes Nancy L. Norton ’89 taught cancer prevention, nutrition, drug education and sex education in Danbury, Conn., and worked as a nutrition coordinator of a federally-funded food program in Waterbury, Conn. She recently retired from the American Red Cross, but remains active as a national disaster volunteer. Norton sits on the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross. Having lived abroad for more than 15 years, Stephen Saracco ’89 is presently vice president and asset and project manager of Citi in Budapest, Hungary. He earned a Bachelor of Art in Mathematics from WestConn, where he also minored in music, philosophy and history. He and his partner, Noemi, have three children: Lucio, 5, Alessandro, 4, and Sophia, 1. 1990s Thomas Gregory ’90 is a senior analyst in the European Renewable Energy Advisory Group of Emerging Energy Research (EER). An expert in business/strategic development, Gregory has more than 10 years experience as a mergers and acquisitions analyst and financial consultant in central and eastern Europe, and has produced market research for European photovoltaic and wind energy companies. In addition to a B.A. in English from WestConn, Gregory holds a master of international affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University. Gregory, who has lived abroad for 15 years, is based out of EER’s Barcelona, Spain, office. David Jolly ’90 recently had a page one story in The New York Times on the trading scandal at Société Générale. He shared a byline with his wife, Nicola Clark. Their son Luke, 3, at nursery school that day, was unable to contribute to the story. Jolly has lived in Paris, France, for seven years. Debra Suzanne Snearly ’90 was elected secretary to the Connecticut Bar Association and inducted as a fellow of the American Bar Association, a distinction determined by peers and granted to the top one percent of attorneys in the country. Barbara Powers ’91 retired to Maine and currently contributes to church-related projects. She also enjoys traveling. Jalna Jaeger ’92 works as a school nurse in Norwalk, Conn. In 2003, she had surgery for a benign brain tumor and made a full recovery. She loves working with children and is very thankful for her nursing degree from WestConn. Angelle M. Roussel ’92 was appointed vice president and assistant treasurer of Parsons Corporation, in Pasadena Calif. In her new position, she oversees the company’s global treasury function. In addition to a Bachelor of Business Administration from WestConn, Roussel earned a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University. Susan McNerney ’93 has been busy raising her four children and conducting home studies for international adoption for three private agencies. She is pursuing employment as a school social worker. Major Christopher Paige ’93 joined the United States Air Force after graduation and has lived in Virginia; South Carolina; Colorado; Washington, D.C.; and Germany. Paige earned a master’s in nursing from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Paige resides in Alabama with his wife Colleen, and three children, Danny, Stephen and Bettie. Along with her husband, a medical doctor, Tara Elizabeth McLaughlin ’94, has left the medical field to study the Bible at Crown College and Seminary. Kerry Bender ’95 works full time in the ICU at Danbury Hospital. She and her husband, Robert, have a son, Jack,1 ½. Brenda Swetz ’95 recently began a master’s degree program at Fordham University, which she is enjoying very much. For 10 years, she has been busy raising her three sons and is now happy to be back in the world of social work. Andrew Santamauro ’96 left both his home state and the field of parish ministry and is now a university chaplain at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Diane Hardt ’97 has worked since 1998 at St. Mary’s Hospital, where she is manager of education. Hardt says that her Master of Science in Nursing from WestConn has opened many professional doors for her and she is very grateful to her alma mater. Colette Norton ’97 is a licensed clinical social worker at Wellpath Behavioral Health in Waterbury, Conn. She’s also a supervisor for Intensive In-home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Service. Norton has two children, Garrett, 8, and Cheyenne, 6. Jennifer (Parisi) Poole ’98 has been married for seven years and has two beautiful daughters, Amanda, 6, and Alexandra, 2. She resides in Washingtonville, N.Y., and is working full time as a social worker at St. Dominic’s Home in Goshen, N.Y. She often thinks of Professors Patty Ivry and Marjorie Steinberg, and is thankful for the wisdom and knowledge these and other teachers provided. Timothy C. Abbott ’99 met his wife, Parinita, in an organic chemistry class. They have three children: Oliver, 6, Simon, 4, and Jena, 7 months. Abbott graduated from medical school in 2006 and is an anesthesia resident at Baystate Health. Sara Knox Brinckerhoff ’99, a retail manager for Limited Too in Las Vegas, N.V., teaches retail management for the Art Institute of Las Vegas. 2000s Donna M. Vitrone ’02 is a second grade teacher. Stephen Andrew Cowf ’03 resides in Ocala, Fla., and has three daughters, Niesey, Gabriella and Alexa. Donna M. Albano ’04 is currently teaching health at Joel Barlow High School in Redding, Conn., and is looking forward to beginning graduate studies within the year. WestConn Sweethearts Douglas Wawrzynski ’04 and wife Sarah Bradford, who met in a pre-calculus class at WestConn, moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2005 when Doug took a job with Fidelity Investments. In the fall of 2007, he left Fidelity to attend S. J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, where he is now a student. Joann Korniluk ’05, ’07 is currently working on a Master of Business Administration degree with a focus on global wealth management. She works full time at People’s United Bank as an automated clearing house product analyst. Korniluk also teaches history at Naugatuck Valley Community College and Norwalk Community College. Kristina L. Nigro ’05 is proud that her youngest sister, Megan, is attending WestConn and following in her footsteps. Katie Ayotte ’06 works as a medical oncology nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, Conn. Currently, she is enrolled in WestConn’s graduate nursing program. Nicole Melious-Dwyer ’06 works as a case manager at Arbor House in Brewster, N.Y. She is a student in the Adelphi Advanced Standing program and will graduate with a Master of Social Work in May 2009. Aaron Fallon ’07 is employed at Bradley International Airport. He continues to use his degree in Spanish by speaking the language and continuing to learn about Spanish history and culture. After teaching as an adjunct for a semester and a half at State University of New York (SUNY) Delhi in the business and hospitality department, Robert Braathe ’07 accepted a full-time teaching position at SUNY’s Schenectady campus. Robert earned a distinguished alumni award from the Ancell School of Business in 2007. Samuel Eugene Kwapong ’07 is so thankful to the entire WestConn community for his wonderful education. He is employed at Azusa Pacific University and is the Graduate Center’s transcript coordinator. He recently became engaged. 17 Hit the road and take a trip! Gourmet Lunch at the Culinary Institute of America! Brandywine Valley of Pennsylvania & Delaware Southern Charm Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008 Dec. 6-7, 2008 April 5-11, 2009 Join the WCSU Alumni Association for an afternoon of elegant dining. Enjoy a four-course luncheon at the elegant Escoffier Join us for this relaxing, entertaining and lively holiday trip to Winterthur, a museum Restaurant followed by a tour of Locust Grove, the Samuel Morse Historic Site in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (www.lgny.org). $89/per person includes lunch, gratuity, tour and transportation via motor coach. Please R.S.V.P. by Sept. 25. To access a reservation form or for more information, visit www.wcsu.edu/alumni or call (203) 837-8298. and American country estate, and Longwood Gardens, a country garden, with overnight accommodations at the elegant Mendenhall Inn. For details on this excursion, visit www.wcsu.edu/alumni, or call (203) 790-8342 or e-mail [email protected]. Experience the charm of the South. Join us for this trip! Highlights include Historic Charleston, Boone Hall Plantation, Beaufort, Savannah, Factors Walk, Jekyll Island, St. Simons Island. Rates begin at $1,969/per person. For more information, call Kay Schreiber ’79 at (203) 790-8342. Calendar of events WCSU Diversity Lecture Series Wednesday, Oct. 22, 5 p.m. Loung Ung, author of “First They Killed My Father: a Daughter of Cambodia Remembers,” discusses her account of surviving the Khmer Rouge In Cambodia. Midtown Student Center Theater. Midtown campus. For more information, call (203) 837-8486. One Book, One Community Wednesday, Nov. 5, 6:30 p.m. Meet the author: Jhumpa Lahiri, author of “The Namesake” Ives Concert Hall, White Hall, Midtown campus. Free and open to the public. For more information call, Betsy McDonough at (203) 837-8754. Ives Family Fair Sunday, Sept. 21 Ives Concert Park Free and open to the public Sunday, Nov. 2 Wine Tasting 4 to 7 p.m., Westside Campus Center Grand Ballroom, Westside campus. $50/per person. Monday, Nov. 3 Reflections of Italy trip See below information on this page. For more information and reservations, call Kay Schreiber at (203) 790-8342. Sunday, Sept. 21 Ives Concert Park Family Fair Free daylong family events at Ives Concert Park. Westside campus. Visit www.ivesconcertpark.com or call (203) 837-9227. Friday, Nov. 7 Alumni Dinner Theatre Dinner. 5:30 p.m., Warner Hall, Midtown campus. Show 8 p.m., Berkshire Hall, Midtown campus. Price: TBA. Monday, Sept. 29 Alumni Association Golf Outing, See page 15 for details. For more information, call (203) 837-8290. Dec. 6-7 Brandywine Valley and Delaware Trip See above information on this page. For more information and reservations, call Kay Schreiber at (203) 790-8342. Wednesday, Oct. 8 Mary Edgett Scholarship Reception See page 3 for details. Monday, Oct. 11 to Sunday, Oct. 19 Homecoming Week See page 12 for details.. Saturday, Oct. 25 Bus Trip to Culinary Institute of America for a gourmet lunch See above information on this page. For more information and reservations, call (203) 837-8298. Oct. 31, Nov. 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16 Theatre Production – “Cabaret” Presented by the theatre arts department 8 p.m., Berkshire Theatre, Midtown campus. Tickets: $17; $12 for seniors and students; WCSU students free with valid I.D. Box office: (203) 837-8732. Alumni Trip Join us for 10 days! Reflections of Italy! Departure date: Nov. 3, 2008 For more information, call Kay Schreiber ’79 at (203) 790-8342. September 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 October 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 November 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 18 Marketplace G H D A K J M1 F L1 A B M2 L2 L3 C E I L4 M3 (l-r): Laura (Tittemore) Piechota ’91, ’94; Jenna Piechota (parents: Laura ’91, ’94 & Edward ’92, ’02); Melissa (Ortiz) Stephens ’98, ’08; Justin Stephens (mom: Melissa Stephens ’98, ’08); Emelie Myhill (mom: Ellen ’90, ’01); Ellen (Dannatt) Myhill ’90, ’01; Mark Pisano ’04. A. WestConn Alumni Hat: $15.98 (Cobra). Available in navy or khaki. B. WestConn Alumni Crewneck Sweatshirt: $ 24.98 (Champion) S-2X. Available in navy only. C. WestConn Infant Tee-shirt: $14.98 (College Kids) 6m, 12m, 18m. Available in white, pink or gray. D. WCSU Alumni Tee-shirt: $14.98 (Champion) S-XL. Available in gray only. E. WestConn Sweatpants: $24.98 (Champion) S-2X. Available in blue or gray. F. WCSU Zip-hood Toddler Sweatshirt: $29.98 (College Kids) 2T-5/6. Available in pink, white or gray. G. WestConn Toddler Tee-shirt: $14.98 (College Kids) 2T-5/6. Available in white or gray. H. WestConn Alumni Hooded Sweatshirt: $34.98 (Champion) S-2X. Available in navy only. I. WCSU Alumni Tee-shirt: $14.98 (Gildan) S-2X. Available in navy only. J. WCSU Alumni License Plate Holder, $16.98. K. WCSU men’s and women’s watches $79.95 each (Quartz). Time and day. Brown leather band. Comes in high-gloss cherry-finish jewelry box. L. WCSU Alumni Desk Accessories, seal and school name with “Alumni” engraved on black and gold. Masterpiece medallion. L1: Desk set: $49.95. Attached solid brass business card holder and ball point pen. 10” x 1/2" x 3/4" (base) L2: Desk box: $44.95 Black suede lining and magnetic closure. 9" x 6" x 2 1/2" L3: Letter sorter: $34.95. Keep your mail organized. 10" x 3" x 4" L4: Paperweight: $22.95. Genuine marble. 3" x 3" x 7/8" Personalization is available on desk set and desk box for additional $4.95. Shipping is $6.95 for paperweight and $8.95 for all other pieces. M. Diploma frames: M1: 23K jewelry-quality medallion, black and gold museum matting, gold embossed WCSU, cherry, $137.95. M2 & M3: Regency or Gallery style frames: $114.95, seal and school name gold embossed on black and gold museum-quality matting. M2: Gallery: cherry. M3: Regency: mahogany. Both: gold inner lip. Signature style frame. M4: Campus Scene Edition showcases a beautiful panoramic photo of Fairfield Hall mounted above diploma with seal and school name gold embossed on black and gold museum-quality matting and features a high-gloss Galleria cherry moulding, $144.95. Please specify M1, M2, M3 or M4. For pre-1998 styles, call the Office of Alumni Relations at (203) 837-8290. Photo frames are also available in the above styles for $44.95 (your choice: vertical or horizontal). For detailed photos, descriptions and other available styles, visit: www.diplomaframe.com. N.—O. WCSU Rocker, Standard Chair and Heritage Lamp (not shown). Can be personalized at an additional charge. Visit www.wcsu.edu/alumni for more information and photos. Call (203) 837-8298 to order. N. WCSU Boston Rocker or Standard Chair: classic solid maple hardwoods and satin black finish with laser engraved WCSU seal, $360. O. WCSU Heritage Lamp: classic solid maple hardwoods and satin black finish with laser engraved WCSU seal. Shade is black parchment with gold trim, $210. M4 N Marketplace order form Name ______________________________________________________ Address ____________________________________________________ City, state, ZIP ______________________________________________ Daytime phone no. w/area code________________________________ E-mail address _______________________________________________ Active alumni discount no. _____________ Delivery in four weeks or less. Proceeds generated from Marketplace sales help fund alumni programs, events and initiatives. For more information, call (203) 837-8290. (The number on your Alumni Association membership card) Item (letter) Color Price Description (use additional sheet for more items) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________, Item total - 10% active alumni discount $________________ $________________ Tax (6% Conn.) $________________ Subtotal $________________ Shipping* $________________ Total $________________ *Shipping Costs: wearable merchandise: $6.95 first item and $1.95 each additional item; diploma frame: $17.95; paperweight: $6.95; photo frame, desk set, desk box, and letter sorter: $8.95 each. Make checks payable to and send orders to: WCSU Alumni Marketplace 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810 1) WestConn music alumni chatted during a reception held in their honor after the 63rd annual Connecticut Music Educators Association In-Service Conference and All State Music Festival held in April 2008. 2) Alumnae, faculty, students, staff and friends helped raise both awareness and funds for cancer research at the “Think Pink” alumnae basketball game held in February 2008. 3) A graduate from the Ancell School of Business (ASB) mingled with other alumni and faculty during Ancell Alumni Night in April 2008. 4) Alumni and friends enjoyed dinner in Warner Hall before WestConn’s theatre performance (pictured) of The Who’s “Tommy,” presented by WestConn’s Department of Theatre Arts. 1 5 2 6 3 7 4 8 5) In April, the Alumni Nursing Society held a reception for nursing alumni and soon-to-be graduates of WestConn’s nursing program. 6) A happy graduate smiles in anticipation of receiving his diploma at Commencement 2008. 7) Recent inductees to WestConn’s Hall of Fame include (l-r): Patrick Hackett ’87 (football); Nicholas Mongillo ’85 (football); Professor of Health Promotion and Exercise Sciences Jody Rajcula (Women’s head basketball coach); Leon Stolle (supporter); and Philip Bergen ’92 (soccer). 8) (l-r) WestConn Director of Career Development Center Maureen Gernert chats with ASB Dean Dr. Allen Morton and Vice President for Human Resources for Boehringer Ingelheim Corp. David Nurnberger ’72 during an alumni reception for those employed at Boehringer Ingelheim in Ridgefield, Conn. Non-Profit Org US Postage Paid Danbury, CT Permit No. 111 181 White Street Danbury, CT 06810 Address Service Requested Parents: If the address label lists a son or daughter who no longer lives at this address, please notify the Office of Alumni Relations of the correct address. Send to: Office of Alumni Relations, WCSU, 181 White Street, Danbury, CT 06810 or e-mail [email protected].