Binghamton University - Fall 2020

Binghamton FALL

U NI V ER S I T Y

2020

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Contents

Binghamton U N I V E R S I T Y

M A G A Z I N E

VOLUME 16, ISSUE2, FALL 2020

Volume 16, Issue 2 Fall 2020

EDITORIAL UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE EDITOR

Eric Coker ALUMNI EDITOR

Steve Seepersaud DESIGN AND PRODUCTION

David Skyrca ’85, Katie Honas ’14, Burt Myers UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHER

Jonathan Cohen COPY EDITORS

John Brhel, Katie Ellis, Lori Fuller, Steve Seepersaud ADMINISTRATION

COPING WITH COVID

VICE PRESIDENT FOR UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

8 Restarting Binghamton

Greg Delviscio EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI

ENGAGEMENT

Kimberly Faber

University develops comprehensive plan to bring students and faculty back to campus for fall semester.

14 Research innovations

HOW TO CONTACT US

Letters, news and story ideas Telephone: 607-777-6441 Email: magazine@binghamton.edu

Binghamton faculty members in disciplines ranging from biomedical engineering to physics to pharmacy take action against coronavirus.

18 Making a difference

Change of address Office of Alumni Engagement PO Box 6000 Binghamton, NY 13902-6000 Email: alumni@binghamton.edu

From photographing high school seniors to caring for the caregivers, alumni offer support during the pandemic.

26 Game over?

Class Notes Submit them by visiting bconnectalumni.binghamton.edu

Student-athletes deal with the cancellations of the spring sports seasons.

FEATURES

28 Q&A with Karen A. Jones

34 Remembering ‘The Golden 13’

JONATHAN COHEN

Binghamton University Magazine is published twice a year by the Division of Communications and Marketing, Binghamton University, State University of New York, and is mailed free of charge: circulation 70,000. © 2020 Binghamton University, ISSN 19367066. Current and past issues of the magazine are online at Binghamton.edu/magazine. The views presented are not necessarily those of the editors or the official policies of Binghamton University. The University does not endorse products or services referenced in these pages.

Meet Binghamton University’s first vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Alumnus Dan Goldberg’s book tells the story of the first Black U.S. Naval officers.

38 Al Vos says farewell

English faculty member and Hinman collegiate professor spent a half century on campus.

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 B – LINES FOLLOW-UP

Whittingham named to ‘Great Immigrants’ list  M. Stanley Whittingham, a 2019 Nobel Laureate and distinguished professor at Binghamton University, has been named to the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s 2020 list of “Great Immigrants, Great Americans.”

ACCOLADES

Nzegwu is ‘professor extraordinarius’

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A ‘leader campus’ for student-voters  Binghamton University has been recognized by The Andrew Goodman Foundation (AGF) as one of just five Leader Campuses within the national, nonpartisan Andrew Goodman Vote Everywhere Network that includes more than 70 college campuses across the United States.

The Andrew Goodman Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to increase student-voter participation on college and university campuses across the nation.

The University was recognized for its long-term commitment to student political engagement demonstrated by increasing the student-voting rate on its campus. According to Tufts University’s National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement, between 2014 and 2018, Binghamton increased its eligible student voting rate from 8.7% to 32%, led by the Center for Civic Engagement.

JONATHAN COHEN

The Carnegie Corporation of New York honored 38 naturalized citizens who have enriched and strengthened the nation and its democracy through their contributions and actions. The 2020 Great Immigrants represent 35 countries of origin and a wide range of contributions to American life, from human rights and computer science to art, business, education, journalism, music, politics, religion, research and sports.

Whittingham won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering research leading to the development of the lithium-ion battery.

“I came to America to pursue my research interests, and I’m happy that I found myself working at organizations and institutions that empowered me to conduct research that felt impactful,” Whittingham says. “I am honored to be included in a group of such outstanding American immigrants.”

 Nkiru Nzegwu, a SUNY distinguished professor of Africana studies at Binghamton University, has received a three-year appointment to the professor extraordinarius position in the School of Transdisciplinary Research and Graduate Studies at the University of South Africa (UNISA).

The Nigerian-born Nzegwu was invited in May 2019 to give the second keynote lecture for UNISA’s African Intellectual Project, engage with various colleges within the university, and meet with UNISA Council members and senior management.

UNISA is the largest university of its type on the African continent and among the largest in the world, with more than 400,000 students from 130 countries.

Headquartered in Pretoria, it has seven regional centers, various colleges and institutes, as well as a distance education program.

B - LINES  WATSON

Srihari to continue as dean  Originally expected to step down in June, Krishnaswami (Hari) Srihari will remain as dean of the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science for the indefinite future.

Binghamton University launched a search for his successor, but it was suspended as the University adopted a hiring hold to address financial challenges. The search resumed in 2019, but could not be completed due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am honored and humbled to continue to serve as the dean of Watson College,” Srihari says. “It is a great opportunity. Both in Watson and across campus, I work with wonderful colleagues who are outstanding professionals. Watson has a superb student body. The commitment of our alumni to their alma mater speaks volumes.

Our external partners, from those in industry to our collaborators around the world, also help elevate the work we do.”

The Watson School became Watson College in August after receiving approval earlier in the year from the Faculty Senate. The change will allow Watson’s academic departments to become schools and “grow with excellence,” Srihari says.

Three faculty members earn CAREER awards  Three faculty members in the Computer Science Department received NSF CAREER awards, the agency’s most prestigious grant for early-career faculty.

It is the first time in recent memory that three people in the same Binghamton University department received the award.

Yifan Zhang’s work focuses on edge computing, while Yao Liu’s research has applications related to immersive media. Guanhua Yan is interested in cybersecurity in networked or distributed systems.

They each received five-year grants of just under $500,000.

RESEARCH

JONATHAN COHEN; BAE SYSTEMS

Economics graduate wins NSF fellowship  Yonglin Liang ’17 is the first Binghamton economics major to win the highly competitive National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship, which supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines.

At Binghamton, Liang worked with Plamen Nikolov, an assistant professor of economics. Nikolov’s lab developed a randomized experiment that tested a seminal theory in behavioral economics: To what extent do bad decisions result because of conditions of scarcity?

Liang collaborated with Nikolov on the experiment’s design and the research proposal.

She now attends Stanford University as a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Business, where she will focus on financial economics.

Professor’s work could make electric buses more viable  Pritam Das, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received a $175,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to develop extra-fastcharging (XFC) systems utilizing extended-lifetime batteries for electric buses.

Offering a matching $175,000 worth of resources are BAE Systems, a leading manufacturer of hybrid buses; and C4V, a startup company based in Binghamton. Also assisting in the research are BC Transit, the regional public transportation provider in the Binghamton region, and Consolidated Edison, Inc., the electric power provider for New York City.

The XFC technology would be developed at Binghamton and tested at BAE before being installed for some New York City bus routes. The all-electric system would remove 500,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year from the NYC metro area. b i n g h a m t o n . e d u /m a g a z i n e

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 B – LINES

THE OTHER SIDE

 Seven years ago Tammy Burger

needed a change.

A certified nurse-midwife at UHS Wilson Medical Center for 15 years, Burger was struggling with healthcare policies that kept her from spending as much time with her patients as she wanted to.

“Quite frankly,” she says, “I was getting a little burned out.”

That’s when Burger made two lifealtering decisions. First, she left practice and accepted a full-time position as a clinical instructor at the Decker School of Nursing (she had been serving as an adjunct instructor for one semester).

Second, she began making soap.

“I’ve always loved doing anything with my hands. I sew, I quilt, I knit, but I had never made soap,” she says. “But, I felt like I needed to do something I had never done before because I felt so burned out. I needed to learn a new skill.”

After watching YouTube tutorials and scouring how-to sites, Burger began acquiring soap-making skills. Not long after, she was producing bars of soap in fragrances such as black vanilla raspberry,

lemongrass, sandalwood and lavender.

“One thing led to another and pretty soon friends wanted to buy my soaps,” Burger says. “And then, other people wanted to buy them, too.”

As demand for her soap increased, Burger opened a business, Simplify, and grew her product line, all while continuing as an instructor in Decker’s family and adult-gerontological nurse practitioner programs.

Today, Burger offers a signature line of soap bars, plus seasonal soaps created for summer, fall and Christmas. She also offers a wide range of additional products, including lotions, sugar scrubs, foot scrubs, candles, laundry detergent, stain sticks, shampoo bars, conditioner bars and more. Burger sells her products through an Etsy shop (SimplifyProducts), as well as in gift shops in nearby Owego and Greene, N.Y. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Burger added hand sanitizer and face masks to her product line, and didn’t produce a summer 2020 seasonal array of soap bars.

Business has been slow, but Burger is

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optimistic based on positive customer feedback.

“People say my soaps last a long time and they love my fragrances,” she says.

“But, most of the time they’re surprised their skin doesn’t feel dry like it does with commercial soaps.”

One aspect of Simplify that sets Burger apart is her commitment to creating products that are environmentally friendly. For example, she produces soap, shampoo and conditioner bars that don’t use bottles and are instead wrapped in a 100% biodegradable film.

For products that do require the use of bottles or jars, Burger uses only those created from polyethylene terephthalate (polyester), which is completely recyclable and the most recycled plastic in the United States and worldwide.

She also makes candles using soy and coconut oils to eliminate paraffin wax emissions, a common air pollutant.

“I am concerned about the environment,” Burger says, “so it has been my goal to produce a quality product, but to keep it environmentally sound.”

— Natalie Blando-George

JONATHAN COHEN

Decker instructor finds new outlet in soap making

B - LINES î Ž

Tammy Burger, a clinical instructor at the Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences, shows some of the soaps she makes at her Binghamton home.

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 THE PRESIDENT  FROM B – LINES

A safe return to campus  Looking back over the past several months, it’s hard to believe how

Planning to Restart Binghamton this semester took thousands of hours and was accomplished with a commitment from all divisions and people across campus, working collaboratively. With the oversight of our 18-member Crisis Management Team and our sevenmember Public Health Advisory Group, 15 subcommittees were assigned to address all aspects of the campus.

We literally had hundreds of people helping us make decisions on how best to welcome our students back to campus. We knew that students would learn better and have a better college experience if they physically returned to Binghamton and the campus.

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As our Physical Facilities staff removed furniture from locations all across campus to enable reduced density, our communications team developed signage for offices to use to better manage traffic once students and employees returned. As we moved our New Student Orientation online, we also planned for as many in-person activities in the fall as possible to engage our students and offer them a college experience as close to normal as we could.

The first major test of our plan came when we began allowing researchers to return to their labs in the summer. The successful reopening of our research

JONATHAN COHEN

much has transpired since mid-March when we moved to remote learning so quickly. We’ve learned a lot about the coronavirus since then, but we’ve also learned a lot about Binghamton University and what we are capable of.

B - LINES 

activities has now put about 700 of our brightest minds back to work doing what they love.

The next major hurdle for Binghamton was to prepare for the return of students. I admit it was overwhelming to think about. It seemed that each day we, as a campus, had to make major decisions about next steps — often with a lack of information. But we persevered and, I believe, had one of the most successful move-in weeks of any campus in the country.

We modified our academic calendar for the fall semester, eliminating any holidays or breaks so our students can return home at Thanksgiving and remain there to complete the final week of their semester remotely. This was a very difficult decision, but has enabled us to better control the comings and goings of students and thus limit any potential spread of the virus while also reducing costs for our on-campus-living students.

We also spread our move-in process over a full week to lessen density at any one time, and we made the biggest decision of all — to test all on-campus residing students before they moved into their rooms. It was a monumental task, dependent upon having enough rapid-result tests, analyzers and volunteers. And we did it! We tested 6,232 students and only 28 were positive. Those students were immediately isolated, but, by finding them before they moved into their halls, we contained any possible on-campus outbreak at the start of the semester. Of the 28, 24 returned home to isolate for 14 days before returning to campus.

In early October, however, our positive test results trended upward toward the threshold of 100 set by New York state that would require us to transition to fully remote classes for two weeks. We were proactive and reverted to fully remote instruction when we reached

88 positive cases to help us reverse the upward trend. We continue to conduct surveillance testing of our students, faculty and staff, as well as test the wastewater effluent from each residence hall, to identify any problem areas or hotspots for spread of COVID-19.

And though COVID-19 has occupied much of our time and effort, we also did not ignore what is happening nationally since the death of George Floyd. We established the George Floyd Scholarship for Social Change, began the formation of a Campus Citizen Review Board to analyze our University Police policies, and brought on board our first vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion — Karen A. Jones — who is a whirlwind of activity and has already provided a foundation for the campus to move forward in a manner that is inclusive and welcoming for all.

We also had our first-ever common reading for first-year students called “Diversity, Unity and Justice — Building a Bearcat Perspective Together,” facilitated by our collegiate professors with assistance from our Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Students read Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

by Bryan Stevenson, the true story of Walter McMillian, whom Stevenson represented when he was unjustly convicted and sentenced to death row.

Students also watched the documentary 13th by Ava DuVernay, which explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, focusing on how the nation’s prisons are disproportionately filled with African Americans. Our alumni book club also read Just Mercy, and sponsored a presentation by Anthony Ray Hinton, who was wrongly convicted of murder and served 30 years on death row before he was released due to Stevenson’s representation.

So, it has been an active and intense journey since March. But I’m proud of what we have accomplished as a campus, thankful for everyone’s hard work and support, and hopeful that we will continue to hold the coronavirus at bay.

Together, we will continue on our path as a premier public university.

Thank you,

Harvey G. Stenger

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COVID-19

RESTARTING

BINGHAMTON

Plan helped safeguard campus community while enabling University to meet academic mission

By Eric Coker and Katie Ellis

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I

JONATHAN COHEN

Colin Lyons, an assistant professor in the Department of Art and Design, teaches his Printmaking class in the Fine Arts Building as students sit 6 feet apart with masks on.

deas and feedback from hundreds of faculty, staff, students and administrators.

Guidance and support from New York state government and public health officials.

Input and assistance from Broome County, the City of Binghamton and municipalities.

It took Binghamton University more than three months of teamwork to develop and implement its Restarting Binghamton plan. The COVID-19 response plan, approved by the State University of New York on July 1, enabled students to receive onsite instruction and residential experiences on a campus that is safe for living and learning.

“More complex than the initial shift to remote learning in March, the overriding concern in developing the plan has been to protect the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff,” President Harvey Stenger said in a letter to the campus community. “The result is a detailed plan that lays out the process by which the University could, to the fullest extent possible, return to its educational, research and outreach missions.”

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• Maximize the value of education by maintaining access for all students admitted to the University regardless of economic means, and maximize the success of all students to enhance their lives and futures.

• Sustain the research activities of the University to the greatest extent possible.

• Contribute to the economic recovery of the region.

In August, nearly five months to the day from when classes shifted online and most students were sent home for the spring semester, Binghamton University brought students and faculty back to campus.

THE CLASSES The Restarting Binghamton plan provided students with more options for how they attend class.

School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences student Brian Kam, right, tests COVID-19 samples at the Events Center during Move-In Week. With Kam are Mehnaz Alam and Timothy Stock.

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“Our faculty did an exceptional job switching so quickly from in-person to online education this past semester,” says Donald Nieman, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost.

“We’re working to give our faculty the tools they need to engage our students whether they are in a socially distanced classroom setting or participating in classes from a remote location.

One of the formats we are instituting is called Bingflex, which provides students with options for attending class.”

Bingflex courses combine both in-person instruction with real-time (synchronous) videoconferencing, so students can interact with the instructor and other students whether they attend the class in person or participate remotely.

Students in Bingflex courses will determine which mode of instruction they will participate in for the entire semester. Some will prefer in-person; others will select synchronous online.

For students attending in person, there will never be a situation where there are more students

Physical Facilities cleaner Misty Lou Finch readies Broome Hall at Newing College for students returning for the fall semester.

JONATHAN COHEN

The principles of the plan are: • Protect the health and safety of everyone associated with the University: students, faculty, staff and community members.

| RESTARTING BINGHA MTON |

than can be acceptable under social distancing guidelines. Most large lecture classes remain online-only.

“The whole part of Bingflex is that it is flexible,” says Andrea MacArgel, director of instructional design services for the University. “If in the middle of the semester a student gets sick, that student can go online. Everything is flexible in that sense.”

The academic calendar was also tweaked, so students will not return to campus after the Thanksgiving break. Instead, classes will be held exclusively online from Nov. 30 to Dec. 7, with an assessment period of Dec. 8-11.

THE COVID-19 TESTING The University welcomed new students to campus with a week-long move-in period that required initial COVID-19 testing in the Events Center. More than 6,200 incoming students were tested between Aug. 19 and Aug. 25. Only 28 tested positive. Of those, the majority returned home to

isolate, with four isolating on campus in a dedicated area and one isolating off campus.

David Hubeny, executive director of the University’s Office of Emergency Management, credits his team and campus volunteers for the testing success.

“Although nothing about a testing process as complex as this was easy, it was the volunteers and staff that made everything as easy as it possibly could have been,” he says. “They worked tirelessly to provide the highest level of professionalism and customer service that they possibly could. The volunteers and staff required very little oversight from managers because they were self-motivated and highly focused throughout each of the seven testing days.”

Surveillance testing then continued through the fall semester. The testing looks at samples of the campus population, rather than testing everyone, to try to identify problem areas or potential hotspots for spreading the virus. Students, faculty or staff members selected for testing are being

Alexandra Tabora, of Yonkers, unpacks her belongings in her Roosevelt Hall room at Hinman College.

Masked students sit 6 feet apart during a Native American Culture and History class taught by Distinguished Professor of Anthropology Randall McGuire.

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Student Jacinta Addo-Badu sanitizes bowling balls while working at the bowling alley in the Undergrounds at the University Union.

First-year students line up for COVID-19 testing at the Events Center during the first day of Move-In Week in August. Testing instructions can be seen on the scoreboard.

notified 48 hours in advance and asked to register for a two-hour time slot that is convenient for them at Old Union Hall.

Updated test results can be found at the University’s COVID-19 dashboard at www. binghamton.edu/restarting-binghamton/covid19-dashboard.html.

• Binghamton University Dining Services changes include limited seating, serving all meals in carryout containers, vegan options, prepackaging meals to speed delivery and minimize wait times in lines, adding touchless payment processes and increasing sanitation in all facilities.

OTHER MEASURES

• The campus is not hosting in-person events that are open to the public during the fall semester. Co-curricular gatherings and meetings of student organizations occur only with appropriate social distancing (at least 6 feet of space between people) and will require participants to wear masks (unless outside and appropriately physically distanced). There will be no plays, concerts, musical performances or film screenings with in-person audiences.

• Campus-community members must wear face coverings or masks that cover the nose and mouth at all times while in a Binghamton University or University-affiliated space. This includes all University buildings, grounds, classrooms, shared lab areas, conference rooms, restrooms, elevators, parking structures, etc. It doesn’t include instances when someone is alone in a private room, office or vehicle; cubicle space when appropriate social distancing can be maintained; in an isolated area with no other people in proximity; or when exercising outside when appropriate social distancing can be maintained.

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• In July, the America East Conference postponed fall athletic competition through the end of the semester. Affected sports at Binghamton University are: men’s and women’s soccer; men’s and women’s cross country; volleyball; and golf.

| RESTARTING BINGHA MTON |

Members of the Binghamton Ballroom Dance Association hold a (socially distanced) workshop near the Pegasus statue at Harpur Quad.

First-year student Alexa Gutterson takes part in lecturer Steve Murphy’s General Chemistry class in the University Union on the first day of fall classes.

FIGHTING THE PANDEMIC A list of initiatives that have taken place at Binghamton University since the end of the spring semester: • Continually sourced and distributed personal protective equipment (PPE) so that faculty, staff and students have all the safety supplies they need.

• Improved air circulation in all of the buildings and upgraded filters throughout campus.

• Distributed personal hand sanitizer, face masks and microfiber cloths to all faculty, staff and students.

• Installed QR codes in various rooms on campus so students can sign in and out to assist with potential contact tracing.

• Hung thousands of signs and directional aids all over campus.

• Created a daily symptomtracking system to be able to identify potential cases early and provide contact information for symptomatic faculty, staff and students.

• Optimized the ability to work and teach with minimal contact.

• Installed hand-sanitizing stations in all buildings on campus.

JONATHAN COHEN

• Installed paper towel dispensers in all bathrooms on campus.

• Lowered the campus density in offices, public spaces and classrooms and also removed furniture across campus to reduce the ability of people to congregate in groups.

• Established a system for testing all on-campus students as they arrive.

• Partnered with the City of Binghamton on a new ordinance to reduce large gatherings.

• Installed Wi-Fi coverage in Lot M and Lot G1.

• Collaborated with Broome County to increase capabilities to contacttrace.

• Simulated campus pedestrian traffic virtually.

• Communicated regularly with the entire campus community using the Restarting Binghamton website, including frequently asked questions, as well as through direct messaging to students, faculty and staff.

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COVID-19

C

RESEARCHERS TAKE AIM AT

VID-19

Binghamton faculty members work to understand the virus, develop treatments and tools

By Rachel Coker

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W

hen the pandemic began, many Binghamton researchers hit back at it the way they knew best: They went into their labs or sat down at their computers and started thinking.

They asked big questions and they dove into scenarios few had considered previously. Can we build a face mask that diagnoses disease? Could nurses and doctors decontaminate their own protective gear?

Do posts on social media offer a way to predict virus hotspots? What if we used drones to disinfect urban streets?

The resulting innovations span a number of disciplines, from materials science to pharmacy and beyond. Several faculty members described their latest ideas and how they hope to make a difference as the world continues its fight against COVID-19.

SHINING A LIGHT ON STERILIZATION

SHUTTERSTOCK

A team of Binghamton engineers led by Kaiming Ye came up with a way to disinfect and safely reuse personal protective equipment (PPE), which continues to be in short supply.

They devised stations with large ultraviolet lightbulbs and foil, and by mid-April, they had deployed the equipment at area hospitals.

At certain wavelengths, Ye says, ultraviolet light will kill the coronavirus. UV-C, the highest energy portion of the UV radiation spectrum, destroys the virus’ genome.

However, the precise dosage required to do the job is unclear. The health effects of human exposure to various amounts of this light are also unknown.

Ye, professor and chair of biomedical

engineering, and Guy German, associate professor of biomedical engineering, received a one-year grant of nearly $200,000 through the National Science Foundation’s Rapid Response Research funding mechanism to answer these questions.

UV-C can sterilize PPE in small or large batches.

It can even be used to disinfect an entire room, Ye says. He envisions providing medical professionals with a tool that will allow them to manage their own PPE sterilization and reuse.

“It’s the size of a refrigerator,” Ye says. “Every doctor’s office can have one of these systems. Masks, gowns, face shields can go into it. It’s very handy.

They can sterilize anything they want to.”

Once people hear that UV-C light can kill the virus, it makes sense to think about using it on a much larger scale. Picture installing overhead lights in railway stations or airports, for example, or in classrooms.

“It sounds wonderful, right?” German says.

There’s one major problem: No one knows how harmful UV-C light is for humans, especially for our skin and eyes. It may not be carcinogenic, but that’s not the same thing as saying it’s safe for people to be exposed to a lot of it.

“If you were to put these lights up in an airport, you wouldn’t have any SARS-CoV-2 around,” German says. “But you’d have lots of people with cracked, broken skin and a lot of infections.”

The Binghamton study will help to determine a safe and effective UV-C wavelength for use in clinical settings and in open spaces such as waiting rooms or subway stations. It might even establish an industry standard. Right now, it’s hard to know if UV cleaning devices sold online and in stores are safe or effective.

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1.

2.

1. Guy German, left, associate professor of biomedical engineering, and Kaiming Ye, professor and chair of biomedical engineering, received a National Science Foundation grant to develop a system that uses ultraviolet light to sterilize personal protective equipment.

2. Jeffrey Mativetsky, associate professor of physics, and Ahyeon Koh, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, are developing a prototype of an inexpensive face mask that can provide real-time monitoring of respiratory diseases such as COVID-19.

3. Kanneboyina “Raju” Nagaraju, left, founding chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Nathan Tumey, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences, are examining ways to treat the symptoms of COVID-19 rather than the virus itself.

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“The fundamental question,” German says, “is can we put these bulbs in the ceiling, or do we need to have robots and remove every human from the room to disinfect?”

Ye says answering that question will help people get back to life as we knew it before the pandemic.

MASKS THAT CAN DIAGNOSE DISEASE What if the mask you have to wear in public could also tell you whether you’re getting sick or if there’s an increased risk of catching the SARS-CoV-2 virus from people nearby? That’s the goal of an interdisciplinary team that received seed funding from the Research Foundation of SUNY. Jeffrey Mativetsky, associate professor of physics, usually focuses on organic electronics. Ahyeon Koh, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, has previously developed flexible and stretchable platforms for biosensors. The two Binghamton colleagues are working with Zhanpeng Jin, a computer scientist at SUNY Buffalo with expertise in artificial intelligence-based biometric analysis.

The team plans to develop an inexpensive, disposable mask with a sensor that analyzes respiratory patterns and identifies breathing signatures associated with respiratory disease. Data from the sensor would be sent to a smartphone, allowing users and healthcare providers to access information without special training.

“We’re focusing on low-cost materials that can be printed, much like a newspaper,” Mativetsky says. “There’s also a need for virus spread monitoring that goes beyond contact tracing. To address this, we will be collecting diagnostic information as well as location information to alert users about virus risk levels in their immediate surroundings.”

BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE

The group’s preliminary work on respiratory sensors shows that a thin layer of a soft gel material can be used to track breathing patterns. The scientists plan to print the gel onto mask materials.

The AI can already differentiate between events such as coughing and talking in studies with a lab-bench prototype of the mask. Larger-scale experiments should enable the team to train the AI to diagnose specific respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19 as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and sleep apnea, based on breathing patterns.

Mativetsky sees the mask as a tool that would enable individuals to make better decisions about their own day-to-day activities.

“I think it’s very important for people to know when it’s OK to go to out,” he says. “We’re all wearing masks all the time. If you’re wearing this mask and it’s telling you when you’re starting to get some subtle signatures in your breathing that are looking problematic, that will allow you to make real-time decisions. Maybe you’ll stay home tonight or for a couple of days.”

In addition to people seeing their own information, data could be made available to healthcare providers to enhance telemedicine appointments.

On a larger scale, if everyone in a hospital waiting room had a mask like this, the data might allow nurses and doctors to triage patients more efficiently.

BUYING TIME FOR PATIENTS “Can we keep COVID-19 patients alive longer so that their adaptive immune system kicks in and can resolve the infection?” asks Nathan Tumey, an assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences.

| VIRUS RESEARC H |

JONATHAN COHEN

3.

That’s the pandemic research goal he set for himself along with Kanneboyina “Raju” Nagaraju, founding chair of pharmaceutical sciences.

Tumey’s background is in chemistry, while Nagaraju is an immunologist by training. Both have years of experience in drug development.

In fact, Tumey worked in the pharmaceutical industry for about 15 years before joining Binghamton’s faculty. Along the way, he developed an expertise and interest in a particular drug-delivery technology. Thus far that technology has been useful for treating cancer, and Tumey hopes that it may have applications in immunology as well.

Antibody drug conjugates, or ADCs, serve as a kind of homing device. They take a molecule that’s too toxic to be delivered systemically and bring it directly to certain cells. Seven ADCs have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as cancer therapeutics.

Lung inflammation is ultimately the major cause of death for COVID-19 patients, Tumey says. One way to address that inflammation is to suppress Janus kinases, or JAKs, which are enzymes just downstream from a number of important cytokines that are being released in response to the lung infection.

Tumey and Nagaraju aim to shut down the JAK pathway in order to suppress inflammation.

It’s a strategy that is already used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, as well as other inflammatory diseases. The problem is that JAK inhibitors block adaptive immunity, our body’s ability to mount an immune response. That’s why they’re not typically used when a patient has an active viral infection.

Can JAK inhibitors be delivered to lung tissue while avoiding systemic exposure? The

Binghamton team thinks it can be done, using an ADC to release the JAK inhibitors. They have seed funding from the Research Foundation of SUNY to explore the possibilities.

This is an early-stage idea, but people are already studying JAK inhibitors for a variety of inflammatory conditions and they are approved for some inflammatory conditions, Tumey says.

“This is not a pie-in-the-sky sort of thing.”

RETURN TO RESEARCH Most Binghamton University research facilities closed March 21 to activities that were not deemed essential, though coronavirus-related projects continued.

Principal investigators were able to apply to go back to campus beginning in mid-May. Most projects had resumed at least some activities before the fall semester began.

The Division of Research held a series of town hall meetings via Zoom beginning in April. These offered faculty and staff members an opportunity to ask questions and share concerns. By early May, a Return to Research subcommittee with significant faculty participation began meeting. That group, in consultation with Environmental Health and Safety experts and the Public Health Advisory Committee, created protocols that continue to govern Binghamton’s return to research, including a maximum occupancy of one person per 200 square feet.

By early September, about 220 applications and modification forms from nearly 150 faculty members had been reviewed, according to Nancy Lewis, assistant vice president for research compliance. More than 670 faculty and staff members as well as students from 42 departments were able to return to laboratories and other research spaces.

“We are taking precautions to keep people safe while they work on campus,” says Bahgat Sammakia, vice president of research. He notes that research grant applications and committed funds are up significantly year over year.

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COVID-19

SURAFEL AND KIRUBEL LEMMA

SAMANTHA KAUT

HENRY HOAGLAND

ANNABELLE BOWMAN

Matt Mendelsohn’s photographs document hopes, heartbreaks of Virginia high school seniors during pandemic

By Jen Miller

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MATT MENDELSOHN ’85 didn’t know what to do when COVID-19 shut down much of the United States in March. The photographer, who is based in Arlington, Va., saw his full slate of portrait and event work “evaporate.”

“We do a lot of big events here in Washington, D.C., and everything was just canceled,” he says.

Mendelsohn did what a lot of people did that first month of the pandemic: hunkered down, got into puzzles and watched The Office for the whoknows-what-number time.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

INTIMATE PORTRAITS

TARA HALL

JACKSON POPE

CHARLOTTE BAXTER

PIUS ATUBIRE

CAMILLE ASHE

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I FALL 2020 19

In the first week of April, his daughter had a suggestion. She was then a junior at Yorktown High School in Arlington, and knew that the school’s Spring Fling would be canceled. So she asked if he would take a picture of her in her dress.

“It was a melancholy moment. She was really looking forward to it, and I felt bad,” Mendelsohn says. Even though bigger and more far-reaching losses were happening at the same time, that bad feeling stuck with him. He couldn’t sleep that night. Then, at about 2 a.m., he got an idea of something he could do: take portraits of Yorktown High School seniors.

With canceled proms and graduations, Mendelsohn felt students weren’t having the typical end-of-high-school experience.

“It’s not life or death, but a completely different kind of loss that no one was paying attention to at the time,” he says.

THE PHOTO SUBJECTS

Matt Mendelsohn took portraits of about 400 members of the Yorktown (Va.) High School senior class in the spring of 2020.

20

With the help of a neighbor, and a fellow high school parent who also happens to have her own public relations firm, he was able to reach out to and take pictures of about 400 of the school’s 509 seniors. These weren’t typical high school photos, either. Mendelsohn started his career as a photojournalist, covering subjects from war zones to the White House for United Press International and USA Today.

He brought that mentality into the picture sessions: he set up a backdrop outside the students’ homes, asked them to hold or wear

BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE

something that meant a lot to them, and took a few shots with a long lens while wearing gloves and a mask. He made sure to stand far enough away that he wasn’t putting himself or the students (or their families, who sometimes helped out) at risk. He used natural light to further cut down on what he needed to carry, and set up.

“I stood in my driveway for my photoshoot, and Mr. Mendelsohn mainly took the photos standing on the street, regularly checking to make sure that there were no cars coming through!” says Jackson Pope, who was photographed playing his violin while wearing his performance shirt, jacket and tie, and jeans.

Pope is now majoring in violin performance at Boston University. “We weren’t able to get the backdrop to stand on its own since it was particularly windy that day and our driveway is sloped, so my parents stood behind the backdrop to hold it up,” he says.

The entire process took about 15 to 20 minutes per student. Annabelle Bowman, a freshman studying dance performance and dance education at Rutgers University, recalls the sessions as “fast and furious.”

“It was clear that Matt wanted to get to know each student and personalize their photo in a way that was meaningful. He also had to balance that against the practical reality of having over 400 seniors to photograph,” she says. Picking what to do in her photo was easy: “I have been dancing my whole life,” she says, mostly ballet. So in her photo, she’s doing a piqué turn.

Tara Hall, now a freshman studying physics at Franklin & Marshall College, wore her prom dress and carried a battle-ax, which she’d made herself for a costume she wore to Katsucon, an anime fan convention held in Washington, D.C. (she dressed as Scarlet from Fire Emblem, which also required making armor).

“I already had the dress, and since prom isn’t really a thing anymore, I may as well put it to good use,” she says. Her mother helped her pick out what to hold. “We figured the contrast between the big battle-ax and the soft, flowy prom dress would be cool to look at.”

Henry Hoagland chose to wear his Junior ROTC uniform because of how much the experience meant to him in high school. He was the second in command at the Arlington County JROTC unit.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

| PO RT R AI T P R OJ E C T |

Matt Mendelsohn, a photographer based in Arlington, Va., has worked for news organizations such as USA Today and United Press International.

“My unit became like a second family to me, as I was generally spending three to five hours a day with them, and I knew I had to show that in Mr. Mendelsohn’s project,” says Hoagland, now in the Navy ROTC at Virginia Tech, majoring in chemical engineering.

WORLDWIDE FOCUS What started out as a small volunteer project for Yorktown High School’s pictures didn’t stay local for long. At first, Mendelsohn posted the photos to his own Instagram account, then created instagram.com/yorktownseniors_2020 for the project. He’d ask students to answer three questions (What did you do? Where are you headed? And what do you love?), and post the answers with the pictures.

It went viral. News outlets from NBC’s Today to The Washington Post and NPR to the BBC covered the project. A German television station

even called. “I’m getting emails from people in Australia saying they’ve heard about the Yorktown seniors,” he says.

While Mendelsohn was surprised by the attention, he says publicity isn’t why he took on the project.

“It was a fun way to do something for these seniors who were getting lost in the shuffle,” he says.

As for what’s next, Mendelsohn says he doesn’t know. Events haven’t come back to the level they nearly were, but he says that the Yorktown High project has introduced him to hundreds of people in his community who will need a photograph at some point.

It’s also given him a shake-up — in a good way.

“I had more fun doing (the project) than in the last 10 years of weddings and portraits,” he says.

“We were doing something important to these seniors, and I’ve found that I’m being creative in ways I hadn’t been for a long time.” b i n g h a m t o n . e d u /m a g a z i n e

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COVID-19

TAWANNA GILFORD

Tawanna Gilford: Calm amid the storm Psychologist steadies the healers responding to a public health crisis

HARLEM HOSPITAL CENTER saw the very start of Tawanna Gilford’s life. Through the years, NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem has provided care to friends, loved ones and fellow community members, and the Harlem-born psychologist returned in 2017 to take a position there.

Harlem has been a center of African-American life since the Great Migration of the 1920s and it was the epicenter of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. It was the birthplace of many influential figures, including noted American author and activist James Baldwin, born in the same hospital as Gilford herself.

But in 2020, coronavirus scythed through the New York City metro area and nationwide, with Black communities particularly hard-hit. Healthcare workers in Harlem and elsewhere found themselves in the eye of the storm, confronting a rising tide of cases, seeing loved ones perish and risking the disease themselves as they provided essential care.

Gilford joined her colleagues on the frontlines, providing “battlefield mental health” to everyone from doctors and nurses to the registration desk,

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transport workers, environmental services, facilities and more in an approach spearheaded by the military.

“You go to where your responders are and offer them emotional support there,” explains the 2002 Binghamton University alumna. “People can’t leave the frontlines, so you go to the frontlines. That’s what we did. That helped significantly because we were able to offer mental health support to individuals rather than having them take time off from work.”

The head of a hospital-wide initiative called Helping Healers Heal (H3), Gilford and her team of volunteers offer emotional support to employees experiencing compassion fatigue, burnout or mental health symptoms related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures include one-on-one meetings and group debriefings, as well as innovative, culturally informed strategies to support emotional wellness, including creative art therapy, meditative practices, mindfulness and breathing exercises.

When adverse events happen, H3 will enter the affected department and provide a safe space to

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

By Jennifer Micale

ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

process the situation together. Its members also visit units and conduct wellness checks before problems start. Sometimes a simple conversation can plant the seed for self-care, such as asking individuals about their weekend plans and encouraging them to consider their options.

“It helps people to know that they’re not alone.

It helps support the feeling of camaraderie,” Gilford says. “It creates a safe space for people to process emotionally.”

The pandemic can have devastating effects on mental well-being, ranging from depression, anxiety and guilt from losing patients or loved ones, to frustration if an employee catches the virus on the job, even suicide. And coronavirus was far from the only societal stressor this year; Gilford points to political and civil unrest, massive unemployment and concerns about job security, all of which can take a toll.

Healthcare workers facing long hours, frightening times and risks to their own health may wonder if their sacrifice was worth it.

“My role is to reinforce that it was worth it, and to encourage people that they did the right

thing, and to get them past feelings of remorse and guilt,” she says.

‘THIS IS IT!’ To return home as a healer for her community, Gilford first had to journey outward. She learned about Binghamton University from a fellow cashier at the grocery store where she worked as a high school student. Her co-worker was a proud Binghamton student, chatting with Gilford about the University experience when she picked up work shifts during semester breaks and encouraging her younger colleague to pursue academic excellence. Then she invited Gilford to Binghamton for a weekend visit.

“There was the sense of home I felt when I visited the University. I was fortunate to go during a very interesting weekend; I was able to get a wide range of experiences and I attended classes with her,” Gilford recalls. “I told my family: ‘This is it!’ My heart and mind were set on Binghamton.”

While she initially intended to major in

An exterior view of NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem (also known as Harlem Hospital Center), where Binghamton University alumna and psychologist Tawanna Gilford has led an effort to provide support to her colleagues at the facility.

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| C AR I N G FO R C A R E G IVE R S |

of psychology. “You aim to make things better than the way you found them.”

Three professors made a major impact on her Binghamton experience and her future path: Associate Professor of German and Russian Studies Rosmarie Morewedge, Associate Professor of Psychology Jane Connor and Professor of Human Development Leo Wilton.

Gilford worked as a teaching assistant for all three and also worked in Connor’s multicultural psychology lab, conducting research on how race influences the interactions between campus police and students. Through Connor’s lab, Gilford and a classmate organized a campus forum moderated by the Broome-Tioga NAACP, with the aim of encouraging students to talk about their experiences, similar to the conversations on equity and policing that are occurring today.

Wilton, who remains a mentor, helped Gilford find her identity as a Black psychologist. Public perception more commonly associates Black

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professionals with social work, Gilford acknowledges, and Black psychologists are still rare.

In 2015, 86% of U.S. psychologists in the workforce were white, while 5% were Asian, another 5% Latinx, 4% Black and 1% multiracial or from other racial or ethnic groups, according to a 2018 report from the American Psychological Association.

Wilton also encouraged Gilford to apply to Columbia University, even though she doubted herself at the time.

“The field needs people like you,” he told her.

His advice and the research experience from Connor’s lab propelled her academic future: She completed her master’s at Columbia, followed by her PhD at the University at Buffalo. The two have remained in touch, and Wilton continues to encourage his former student.

Wilton describes Gilford as one of the most talented students he has taught during his years at Binghamton. She understands the ways in which people and systems interact in addressing the complexity of the structural inequities behind exclusion and marginalization, and has developed a cutting-edge conceptual model for mental health care that makes a substantial contribution to the field.

“This work has been critical — particularly at this moment — in addressing socio-cultural and structural barriers in mental health care for Black communities that experience multi-layered marginalization and structural disenfranchisement,” he says.

DIAL DOWN THE PANDEMIC STRESS Stressed out over the pandemic? You’re not alone.

Tawanna Gilford offers these two tips to help you ramp down COVID-19-related tension.

• Worried that you may have been exposed to coronavirus? Get tested. Uncertainty can be a major stressor, and knowing whether or not you have the virus may help.

• Avoid overconsumption of the news. While it’s good to stay informed, information overload is connected with rising levels of stress, Gilford says. Schedule a brief time of the day to read, listen to or watch the news, but limit yourself to that time.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Tawanna Gilford, far left, and her team of volunteers provided support to healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients at Harlem Hospital Center.

biology, her interest shifted after she took her first psychology class. The field drew her, and tapped into both her curiosity and her inner drive to help others. A dual major in psychology and sociology, her studies combined the study of the mind with the larger societal forces that shape individuals.

“It’s very results-oriented. You start off with an issue and work your way with a process,” she says

COVID-19

LISSY SZALKIEWICZ

On the frontline with Lissy Szalkiewicz For two months, Manhattan doctor cared only for coronavirus patients

By Steve Seepersaud

AFTER A NEARLY TWO-MONTH SPAN in which physician Elissa “Lissy” Szalkiewicz ’08 saw hundreds of patients, her mind can easily flash back to outcomes on both ends of the spectrum. There were patients who FaceTimed with relatives just before dying and there were patients who went home after a short hospital stay. During the peak of the coronavirus in New York City, Szalkiewicz saw a bit of everything.

Szalkiewicz works at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in Manhattan, taking care of patients admitted from the emergency room.

Normally, she sees patients with a variety of conditions. In March and April, however, it was nothing but coronavirus cases.

“This was very difficult for providers, patients and families because we had to deal with something we had never seen before,” Szalkiewicz says. “Initially we weren’t sure if the patients were going to get better or worse. It’s never a good feeling when you go in to see a patient, and they’re looking good, but you’re not sure what will happen over the next few hours.

“If we were able to send them home, we didn’t

know if they would need to come back or would pass away in their homes. There were times when I felt helpless.”

Szalkiewicz leaned on her medical school training and residency experience, which required her to work long hours and handle a large patient load.

She also said her Binghamton University experience — she was a math major and avid co-rec player — helped her think through situations logically, anticipating what would come next and working as part of a team.

The Columbia staff was very nimble, she says, increasing the number of floors taking only coronavirus patients, expanding intensive care units (ICU) and making use of all available space.

“By coming up with unique and ingenious ideas, we were able to properly care for our patients,” Szalkiewicz says. “We had a tent outside the Emergency Department capturing patients on their way to the department. We’d see if they had coronavirus symptoms, check their vital signs and determine if they had to be admitted or if they were stable enough to return home with virtual follow-up. We rapidly recognized patterns concerning the disease presentation and course, and frequently adapted our treatments based on the newest information.

We spent many hours supporting our patients and connecting them virtually with their family members who were stranded at home.”

By May, there were fewer admissions to Columbia’s hospital, more patients were being discharged and some of the recently added ICUs closed. The darkest time had passed.

“It was definitely a scary, unfathomable time for everyone, but we saw the best of people,” Szalkiewicz says. “Every night at 7, people would clap for us. The hospital got a lot of food and supply donations. When we were scared that we’d run out of PPE, companies quickly donated PPE. New Yorkers did their part in helping to stop the spread and stayed home, social distanced and wore masks.

We, as healthcare professionals, really appreciate all the support.” b i n g h a m t o n . e d u /m a g a z i n e

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COVID-19

DASHED DREA DRE DASH Student-athletes deal with sudden end of sports seasons

Greg Satriale ’20

F

or Binghamton University lacrosse team captain Dan Mottes ’20, one word describes the days before COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the spring sports seasons: ominous.

“I think most people had a sense that the season would not be played out in its fullest, but that we would at least have one or two more games,” Mottes says. “There’s always something different about going into a game knowing it could be your last and the emotions associated with it. We thought that we would have the chance to play out our last game on our terms — unfortunately the circumstances didn’t allow for that.”

Mottes was one of many Binghamton University student-athletes whose collegiate careers came to an end in March when the America East Conference stopped play in baseball, softball, tennis, golf, lacrosse, and track and field. The conference also postponed all fall sports; it has not been determined if and when they will take place.

Baseball player Greg Satriale ’20 recalls being in “disbelief” at the spring-sports decision.

“Reality didn’t kick in until everyone was packing up their rooms and guys started heading home,” says Satriale, who pitched and played

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the infield during his four seasons with the Bearcats. “That was when I realized: ‘Wow, I’m never going to play another baseball game again for Binghamton.’ To the same effect, I realized that I was not going to be able to spend time with my team any longer. That is really what hit the most.”

Shortly after the season cancellations, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to student-athletes in spring sports. Softball catcher Sara Herskowitz ’20 jumped at the opportunity, as she had already been accepted into the Master of Public Health program at Binghamton University’s Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Herskowitz is one of 10 student-athletes to return to Binghamton for an additional spring season.

“It seemed like we had so much going for us one day, and the next day we were stripped of the life we were accustomed to living during the time period we were in,” she says. “It hit me that we wouldn’t get a final game on our home field or get a chance to host the America East tournament. … Luckily, I have gotten the opportunity to have one more year playing softball at Binghamton.”

Satriale and Mottes, meanwhile, had accepted post-graduation jobs with Bank of America and PJT Partners, respectively.

JONATHAN COHEN

By Eric Coker

EAMS AMS HED DREAMS Lou DePrez

Dan Mottes ’20

Sara Herskowitz ’20

“By the time seniors were granted eligibility, my decision was already made,” Satriale says. “As badly as I would have wanted to come back to be with my teammates and coaches for another year, I knew that I could not pass up on the opportunity to begin my career.”

Mottes, an America East 2020 Presidential Scholar-Athlete who played in all 50 Bearcat games over the past four seasons, admits that it was hard to step away from lacrosse.

“I’ve encountered incredible coaches and teammates along the way that have taught me unforgettable lessons about integrity, loyalty, leadership and competition,” he says. “I thought that it was the right time to take those lessons and apply them to a career.”

COVID-19 did not just affect spring studentathletes, though. Redshirt sophomore Lou DePrez was preparing for the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Minneapolis when the tournament was canceled.

DePrez had just captured the 184-pound title in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships and was seeded fourth in the NCAA event.

“I wasn’t surprised, but I was just bummed out I didn’t complete the season on my terms,” says DePrez, who was looking to become the

University’s first Division I wrestling champion.

“The national championship is the reason why everyone wrestles to begin with. For it to be cut short when we put in so much hard work during the season is very disappointing.”

DePrez is optimistic and prepared to make history in the upcoming season.

“I’ve been blessed with the life I have been given,” he says. “I’m healthy, have a loving family and a great team at my back. As for the 2020–21 season, I will be ready to win a national title.”

Herskowitz, Satriale and Mottes all emphasized the importance of team camaraderie on and off the field during their time at Binghamton University.

“Over four years you end up playing with different teammates, all from different backgrounds, with different experiences that bring different perspectives and skills to the table,” Mottes says. “I always enjoyed serving alongside my teammates and being put in those stressful situations where you’re forced to rely on each other to get the job done. The relationships I’ve developed with some of the people I’ve played with are a direct result of having to struggle through hardship by locking arms with each other and pushing through whatever situation we faced.” b i n g h a m t o n . e d u /m a g a z i n e

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‘We’re acting as if

DIVERSITY is new for us, but it’s not’

Karen A. Jones leads the effort to make Binghamton University a welcoming place for all

By Chris Kocher

CASEY STAFF

F

or Karen A. Jones, two guiding

principles can lead the way

to greater diversity at Binghamton

University: opportunity and community.

As the University’s first vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, Jones brings a wealth of experience from both academia and the private sector. Most recently, she was the chief diversity officer at her alma mater, SUNY Buffalo State College; the executive director for equity and access at Virginia Tech; and the corporate director for diversity at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

Diversity and social justice issues once again moved to the forefront this summer after the death of George Floyd during a police arrest in Minneapolis — and the worldwide protests that followed — but Jones sees embracing our differences as a necessary foundation for higher education and society as a whole.

“If we think about the founding of SUNY and Binghamton University, it was to create access. That’s who we are,” she says. “More importantly, we need to continue to capitalize on the strength of diversity. That’s the founding of our country.

“We’re the state of New York, the home of Ellis Island — we’re acting as if diversity is new for us, but it’s not. First and foremost, we’re a country of immigrants, and I think sometimes we forget that.”

Q: What do you see as the role of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion?

A: Our role is to help with setting the strategic direction of the diversity initiatives taking place on campus, which includes the recruitment of faculty and staff as well as students. But beyond that is helping to create an environment where everyone who comes to our community can feel welcome. b i n g h a m t o n . e d u /m a g a z i n e

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Q: What initiatives do you see as your main focus in your first year at Binghamton?

A: I’m doing meet-and-greets across campus with divisional vice presidents, deans and students. One priority would be, for example, to bring the divisional/college diversity officers all together to strategize, to move the institution forward and to make certain that the work someone is doing in engineering is reflective of what’s going on in nursing, even though they have different content areas. Another is to examine our campus climate.

Q: What do you feel are the biggest lessons that you bring to Binghamton from previous roles that you’ve had in your career?

A: Sometimes we have hidden jewels sitting right in front of us, but we’re too used to seeing them. Someone new can recognize the beauty of the work that’s going on. We take things for granted because we’ve just been doing them for a while, but someone like myself, who has

years of experience in other institutions and the corporate world, recognizes that the work we’re doing here isn’t the norm.

If you look at our SUNY peers, you’ll see that not every institution has divisional or college diversity directors. We have many graduate scholarships and the new George Floyd Scholarship for Social Change. Nationally speaking, we’re leading the way in relation to our peers.

What makes us similar to other institutions is that we’re all grappling with the same concerns about how we make certain that we’re not only recruiting but retaining diverse talent. How do we make certain that those folks who we invite into our community have a sense of welcoming?

I think about it like refrigerator rights.

When you invite someone into your home, you tell them, “Make yourself at home.” One of the elements of “making yourself at home” is allowing them to go into your refrigerator without asking for permission. That’s symbolic of what we need to do as it relates to a community.

Recent diversity initiatives

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Starting in academic year 2020–21, selected students will receive at least $5,000 per year, for up to three years. Also, to attract and support underrepresented graduate students, the University is reallocating funds to add $200,000 to the annual budget for the Clifford D. Clark Diversity Fellowships for Graduate Students on campus.

• In 2019, the Harriet Tubman Center for the Study of Freedom and Equity was created at Binghamton University.

The center, directed by History Professor Anne Bailey, was established to conduct interdisciplinary research on the legacy of slavery and freedom in American history and public policy. The center’s latest project will establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission that will look at issues of race on

2018–19 Presidential Diversity Research Grant recipients with President Harvey Stenger the Binghamton University campus and make recommendations for the University’s future.

• Awarded for the first time in 2018, Presidential Diversity Research Grants enable assistant professors who are members of historically underrepresented minority groups to succeed in their research and scholarship.

Grant funds are designed to support research efforts toward tenure and promotion requirements. To date, 14 early career faculty have received these grants.

JONATHAN COHEN

I

n June 2020, Binghamton University responded to the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor by establishing two diversity initiatives.

“As a premier educational institution, our goal must be to make our campus a place where everyone feels that they belong and are supported in their efforts to excel,” President Harvey Stenger said in a letter to the campus community.

• The Campus Citizen Review Board is charged with reviewing and improving the Binghamton University Police Department’s policies, procedures and practices. The board is composed of students, faculty and staff.

The University is also shifting funds initially designated for the University Police to other campus offices that respond to emergencies, such as for mental health support.

• The George Floyd Scholarship for Social Change will support future Black leaders who seek racial justice and endeavor to make a positive impact on the world. An endowment of $1.5 million is being used to provide financial support to deserving students.

| MEET KAREN A. JONES |

Committed to student-diversity programs

D

edicated to diversifying its student population, Binghamton offers a variety of student support programs.

The University also has a Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion that encompasses a Multicultural Resource Center and the Q Center.

Bridges to the Baccalaureate: Gives community college students from underrepresented groups the opportunity to conduct research with Binghamton University faculty in biology, chemistry and psychology.

Clifford D. Clark Diversity Fellowship: Awards a highly competitive, merit-based fellowship to qualified students who have been newly admitted for full-time study in a graduate degree program.

Diversifying Coding: Seeks to diversify computer science and computer engineering at Watson College via professional development, hands-on learning experiences, mentoring and networking opportunities, while also providing financial support.

Diversity Visitation Experience: Invites third- and fourth-year undergraduates who are hoping to pursue graduate degrees to Binghamton for discussions, tours and networking; travel and accommodations are provided.

Educational Opportunity Program (EOP): Provides support and advocacy, helps students build academic skills and fosters personal development. Binghamton’s EOP focuses on academic excellence, cultural awareness and social responsibility.

Educational Talent Search: Provides academic, career and financial counseling to high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds and encourages them to graduate and continue to the post-secondary institution of their choice.

Graduate Opportunity Program: Provides partial tuition scholarships to qualified students enrolled in a graduate degree program.

Liberty Partnerships Program: Works to maximize the transition of middle and high school students who are at risk of dropping out of school into graduates who are prepared for higher education and the workplace.

Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation: Assists universities and colleges in diversifying the nation’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) workforce by increasing the number of STEM bachelor’s and graduate degrees awarded to populations historically underrepresented in those disciplines; focuses on student development and retention through mentoring and financial aid.

The National GEM Consortium: Enables students from underrepresented communities to pursue graduate education through support from a network of corporations, government laboratories, universities and research institutions.

Research Experience for Undergraduates: Provides a 10-week summer program of individualized research experience through Watson College’s Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Students in the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation and the Summer Training Experience in Engineering Research present their research at a poster session on campus.

Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program (McNair Scholars): Helps low-income, firstgeneration and underrepresented minority students on their path to earning a PhD by providing

Dhamar Blanco, left, a student in the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, and Alexcia Pugh of the Summer Training Experience in Engineering Research work in a laboratory in the Biotechnology Building.

research opportunities for undergraduates and assistance through the graduate school application process.

Science and Technology Entry Program: Works to increase the number of middle and high school students from the Johnson City School District who attend college and major in mathematics, science, technology, healthrelated fields and the licensed professions.

Student Support Services: Promotes academic success and personal growth for first-generation students, income-eligible students and students with disabilities at Binghamton.

Summer Training Experience in Engineering Research: Provides experience in research labs to eligible students who have completed two or more years of college or are entering their first year of graduate work.

Upward Bound: Serves high school students from income-eligible families and families in which neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree; prepares participants for high school graduation and to increase the rate at which they enroll, attend and graduate from colleges and universities.

Upward Bound Math-Science: Encourages Binghamton High School students to attend college and major in STEM disciplines.

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Q: What do you see as some of the obstacles to overcome to bring a richer diversity to campus?

A: A dear friend wrote a book called Only Wet Babies Like Change. Going through change is challenging because it stretches us beyond our normal comfort levels. It’s asking us to trust the process — and the process, more often than not, is unknown. There’s this sense of vulnerability because we’re not in control.

I tell folks: If you allow yourself to go through the process and be flexible, oftentimes you’ll find that change is good. And if you concentrate again on the mission of the institution, rather than “me” as the individual, we’ll be good if “we” get “me” out the way.

Q: Are there strategies to recruit not just more underrepresented students, but also faculty members?

A: First, we have to recognize that, nationally, everyone is struggling with recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and staff. We have to create a pipeline that encourages folks to not only graduate high school, go to college, complete college, go on to a master’s degree, and complete a master’s degree and doctoral program, but also to recognize that not everyone

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who completes a PhD wants to teach. Teaching is a gift. Not everyone has that gift.

The second thing is that those who are interested in joining the teaching ranks are a hot commodity. If there’s one offer from a college or university, there are probably two or three offers sitting on the table for one person of an underrepresented population. A lot depends on the institution and whether or not it has the resources to recruit and retain faculty.

If the environment is not supportive of diverse faculty and staff — or any faculty and staff — that’s also counterproductive to what we’re trying to do. We need to understand and examine the cultural nuances of our institution to say: What is the experience here? How are we treating our colleagues, and are we creating a sense of welcoming?

Even when we think about our student population, students are retained in part because they have great relationships with faculty and staff. They feel a sense of welcome. Students feel as if their advisors or faculty members are invested in them when they hear, “Hey, great paper — have you thought about going to grad school?” Or, “Have you thought about presenting at a national conference?” These are the things that encourage students to persist.

We have to invest in our faculty and our students so they understand that we see something special about them.

Q: How can alumni help us improve diversity at Binghamton?

A: Since joining the Binghamton community, friends have reached out and said, “Oh my gosh, Karen, I’m an alum of Binghamton.” One of the first things I do is ask, “Are you a member of our Alumni Association? Are you contributing to the institution? Because there’s funding that’s needed. And please encourage your kids to come here.”

If they’re not in a position to fund financially, they can fund through their time and their energy as mentors to our students or other roles.

Q: It’s fair to say that you’re stepping into this role at a less-than-optimal time, because of COVID-19. What are some of the extra challenges?

A: I think of it as reinventing ourselves. I can’t meet students or faculty and staff in person, so how do I create that sense of relationship

JONATHAN COHEN

Karen A. Jones leads the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in her Library South office. Jones arrived at Binghamton University in July after serving as chief diversity officer at SUNY Buffalo State College.

| MEET KAREN A. JONES | through the screen? How do I convey who I am through two dimensions? My entire interview process for this job was through Zoom. I physically have met [President] Harvey [Stenger] maybe two to three times because of this.

I’m someone who’s very affective — I’m relational, I’m student-centered and I come from a very strong student affairs background.

Having opening week of the fall semester and

not being engaged in saying hi to the students and their parents is strange to me.

Nonetheless, there’s still this excitement about the students returning to campus. As different as it is, it’s also creating an opportunity for us to rethink the ways in which we deliver programs.

One of my conversations with folks is how to transmit a sense of authenticity and warmth in just two dimensions, and part of it is creating a conversation.

Aiming to hire diverse faculty

A

s an undergraduate, Miya Carey never imagined a career as a historian until she took her first history course from a Black female professor.

Now a Presidential Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow, Carey received mentorship throughout her education from Black women in the history field. Without them, she said, it’s unlikely that she would be teaching at Binghamton University today.

Public universities are diverse spaces, drawing students from a wide range of backgrounds in terms of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, ability and more. But in the State University of New York (SUNY) system, a major gap yawns between the diversity of the student body and the faculty who instruct them.

In fall 2018, 28.5% of SUNY students came from underrepresented minorities, compared to just 8.6% of faculty. That gap is only expected to worsen unless campuses take measures to overhaul their hiring processes, according to SUNY. To address the situation, in 2019 SUNY unveiled Promoting Recruitment, Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion and Growth (PRODiG), which aims to hire 1,000 professors from underrepresented groups by 2030. These historically underrepresented groups include Blacks, Latinx, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives and Pacific Islanders in all fields, as well as women of all races and ethnicities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

To encourage the hiring of diverse faculty, former Harpur College of Arts and Sciences Dean Elizabeth Chilton proposed a cluster hire centered on “Critical Studies in Race and Inequality,” with a particular emphasis

on scholars who are deeply connected to and integrated into the communities they study. As a practice, cluster hires seek out prospective faculty members based on their involvement in and shared commitment to a multidisciplinary research area that is meaningful to communities of color and likely to attract a diverse pool of candidates.

Initially, Harpur searched for three positions in sociology, English and psychology, hiring Miya Carey, a Presidential Diversity Postdoctoral Fellow at Leigh-Anna Hidalgo for the Binghamton University, will become an assistant professor of history when her fellowship expires in 2021. first slot. Searches for the other positions were cut short due to give underrepresented groups ‘a seat at the the constraints on travel and table,’ that’s just the first step,” Carey says. interviewing brought about by the coronavirus “The life experiences and perspectives that pandemic. A search for the psychology position, underrepresented faculty bring to the table have which will be shared with Africana studies, will the power to highlight and influence institutional move forward this year. change, which is necessary for true equity for Harpur will also appoint Carey to an all.” assistant professorship when her fellowship Hidalgo is proud to be the first faculty expires in 2021. The postdoctoral fellowship, member hired under the cluster hire initiative, which can lead to a tenure-track position, which she hopes will expand. As a public allows Binghamton to recruit highly qualified university system, SUNY must have a candidates for research and scholarship in commitment to diversity in all its manifestations, disciplines that have found it difficult to she says. attract a diverse faculty. Presidential Diversity “Public universities need to reflect the public.

Postdoctoral Fellows for 2020–21 include Everyone is putting money into the pot to make Kuwanna Dyer-Pietras in geological sciences these public universities happen,” Hidalgo says. and Mateo Duque in philosophy.

“When we have initiatives like this, we have the “There is great value in having students potential to bring in new types of knowledge from underrepresented groups see someone and that’s the ultimate goal for the University.” who looks like them standing at the front of — Jennifer Micale the classroom. And while it’s important to

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REMEMBERING Alumnus Dan Goldberg’s new book restores first Black Naval officers to their place in history

By Eric Coker

D

an Goldberg ’05 was searching the internet when he came across an obituary for Frank Sublett, one of the 13 Black men who integrated the U.S. Navy officers corps in 1944.

“I thought: ‘That’s an interesting story. I’ve never heard of these guys,’” he says. “How did the U.S. Navy go from not allowing Black men to so much as be trained as electricians or quartermasters after Pearl Harbor to deciding to train them as officers two years later in the middle of a war? It seemed like a fascinating story with the backdrop of the men’s heroism and characters.”

Goldberg said to himself: “There’s a book here. Someone should give it a full-length treatment.”

Nine years later, that someone is Goldberg — an award-winning healthcare reporter for Politico. The Golden Thirteen: How Black Men Won the Right to Wear Navy Gold, released in May by Beacon Press, combines oral histories, interviews with family members and seven years of research

by Goldberg to bring a largely forgotten story back to life.

The men (Jesse Arbor, Phil Barnes, Sam Barnes, Dalton Baugh, George Cooper, Reginald Goodwin, James Hair, Charles Lear,

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Graham Martin, Dennis Nelson, John Reagan, Frank Sublett and William Sylvester White) not only endured racism after enlisting in the Navy, but were often disrespected when they became officers: Living quarters were subpar, scorn and epithets were common, white sailors refused to salute them and officers’ clubs emptied when they entered.

The Golden 13 could not be simply adequate.

They had to quietly show superior leadership, temperament and ability. In the end, the men had the best class average in Naval history, but were not allowed into battle. It would take the Navy more than 30 years to celebrate the pioneers.

The journey to publication In early 2011, Goldberg decided to contact family members of the Golden 13. By this time, all of the members were deceased and tracking down loved ones was not easy. Goldberg first located Hair’s son, James Jr., through a wedding announcement and had coffee with him in the spring of 2011.

“He agreed this was a good story and gave me the confidence to say ‘Let’s keep gathering string on this,’” Goldberg says. “Let’s keep researching and see how many wives and kids will talk to me. Let’s see how much I can find from archival research.”

Over the next several years, Goldberg talked

Sam Barnes, left, who became one of the “Golden 13,” accompanies Marva Louis, wife of heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, during her visit to the Great Lakes training center in Illinois.

Frank Sublett

James Hair

with relatives from nine of the 13 families.

“I was ecstatic every time one of them picked up the phone!” Goldberg says. “They were happy someone was writing this book. I think some were confused why they were getting calls from a 30-year-old white kid after the story had been gone for so long. I’m pleased that they’ve all said nice things about the book. That makes me happy.”

The family members shared memories of their loved ones.

“It could be something small, like Dalton Baugh’s wife said that when he was in thought he had arms akimbo,” Goldberg says. “It’s a tiny detail that makes one sentence in the book. But it gives you a picture of Baugh. James Hair’s daughter told me that when her father laughed, he bent over at the waist. You get a picture of what they looked like in their 20s and 30s. It was like finding treasure.”

Goldberg also benefited from an oral history of the Golden 13 conducted by Naval historian Paul Stillwell.

“Because he served in the Navy, I could email him questions,” Goldberg says. “He was always willing to answer. He read three drafts of the

manuscript and hand-wrote notes in the margins of every page. For example, in the Navy, it’s a hat, not a cap. He could not have been more gracious.

This book wouldn’t have happened without him.”

Doubt and rejection Even while spending his weekends researching the 1940s, interviewing family members and getting advice from Stillwell, Goldberg had doubts “every day” about if he was the right person to tell the Golden 13 story.

“I was never in the military,” he says. “I’m not Black. I certainly wasn’t alive in the 1940s. I was conscious of what I wasn’t, so I tried as much as I could to not have my own voice in the book. The last thing the world needs is a 30-somethingyear-old white guy saying what Black people in the 1940s must’ve felt like. … I definitely had self-doubt and wondered: Is anyone going to read this?”

The book proposal was rejected by several publishers in 2017. Goldberg believes they did not want to take a chance on a first-time author and they were turned off by the fact that none of the 13 fought in battle.

“There’s no ‘scene’ when they are on the b i n g h a m t o n . e d u /m a g a z i n e

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deck of a warship getting fired at,” he says. “I pitched the book with a newspaper mentality: It’s a good story and people will want to read it.

But there is a business side to publishing and a lot of publishers are thinking: Who will Denzel Washington play in the movie? Where is the sex scene we can write in? They have to think about that side and I understand that, too.”

The racial perspective Beacon Press, which is distributed by Penguin Random House, agreed to take on the book in 2017. Goldberg spent the next 18 months finalizing the writing. The story weaves from telling the backgrounds of the Golden 13 to how President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Secretary of the

Navy Frank Knox and others debated whether to institute the officer training. Along the way, the book offers details about life in the Navy for a Black man in the 1940s.

Goldberg also highlights the importance of civil rights organizations and the Black newspapers of the era. Both groups were instrumental in exerting pressure on the government to see that equality was needed in the military.

“There are major civil rights figures who have been looked over,” Goldberg says. “I wanted to bring back Walter White and A. Phillip Randolph and talk about how people were at the White House challenging the president in the middle of the war. That’s important for what comes later.

I

n a tumultuous year that has seen the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police to protests and marches across the country, Binghamton University Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Donald Nieman brings a historical perspective to today’s racial issues with an updated edition of his 1991 book, Promises to Keep: African Americans and the Constitutional Order, 1776 to the Present.

The second edition, released in the spring by Oxford University Press, examines the history of the Constitution and U.S. laws through the African-American lens and experience.

The book takes readers on a journey from Revolutionary-era race debates and Reconstruction after the Civil War to the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century and modern topics such as police brutality and voter suppression.

“This is what my scholarship has focused on — issues of law and race in U.S. history,” Nieman says. “It has occupied my scholarship since I was in graduate school. It grew out of

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coming of age during the time of the civil rights movement and being struck and moved by issues of race and the use of protest, civil disobedience, and the political and legal processes to advance the cause of racial equality.”

The 2014 racial unrest in Ferguson, Mo., along with the election of President Trump and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, provided the motivation to revise the existing chapters and add a new chapter to discover “what has happened since 1990.”

The latest chapter (“The Color-Blind Challenge to Civil Rights”) examines the affirmative-action debate, mass incarceration, the War on Drugs and police violence against African Americans.

Nieman hopes readers finish

Promises to Keep with an understanding that “racism is deeply woven into the fabric of American life.”

“It’s not something we escaped when we passed The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and The Voting Rights Act of 1965,” he says. “We did not overcome in the civil rights movement. But if we recognize the reality and try to come to terms with it, that’s the only way we are going to root out the systemic injustice that exists in our society.”

— Eric Coker

JONATHAN COHEN

PROVOST’S BOOK EXAMINES RACE AND THE CONSTITUTION

| THE GOLDEN 13 | Chief Specialist R.W. Wallis, in khakis, demonstrates the proper way to wear a Navy hat in 1942.

The Binghamton benefit

John Reagan, right, along with fellow electrician mates Nathaniel Dyson and Richard Hubbard, listens as Chief Electrician’s Mate John E. Taylor explains the inner workings of a power system on the USS Mason. Reagan later became one of the “Golden 13.”

Civil rights didn’t start in the 1950s with Rosa Parks.”

The pervasiveness of racism in the 1940s is also illustrated throughout the book, such as when a group of Black soldiers were told at a Kansas lunch counter that they could not be served, while a few feet away a group of German prisoners of war sat eating.

Goldberg admits he did not realize how apathetic some members of the Black community were at the beginning of World War II. To some, the war wasn’t worth the fight.

“In school, you are taught that Nazis are bad and the Japanese bombed us at Pearl Harbor,” he says. “Democracy vs. Hitler. Good vs. evil.

It never occurred to me that people may have thought (sarcastically): ‘Oh, Germany thinks it’s a superior race’ or there was a belief that America was engaging in a hypocrisy. It certainly wasn’t taught to me.”

Lessons for today While Goldberg’s book has restored the members of the Golden 13 to their rightful place in history, racial progress still needs to be made

in the military. In the Navy, for example, there were 3,916 Black officers in 2019. More than 42,000 officers were white.

Goldberg sees a parallel between the struggles of the Golden 13 and those seeking civil rights in the 1940s with today’s battles against police violence and systemic racism.

“I hope that if you read this book, you can see that people were engaged in the same fight 80 years ago,” he says. “On the one hand, that is terribly depressing. It wasn’t until [recently] that the chief of naval operations said maybe the Navy should get rid of Confederate flags. On the other hand, there were protests and marches that led to the breakdown of the color barrier in the U.S. Navy officers’ ranks.

“I can say — through my research, not feelings — that in 1941–42, some people thought things would never change or get better. They would have been justified feeling that way. Then something did change. There is a lesson in persistence. These movements matter. You may not see it in the moment, but the arc does bend toward justice. I hope this story is an example of that.”

Dan Goldberg graduated from Binghamton University in 2005 with a degree in rhetoric.

College internships with Stuff magazine and the Binghamton Mets, along with writing for The Binghamton Review, helped him develop a journalism career.

He spent more than six years in newspapers before joining Politico, which covers politics and policy in the United States and abroad, as a national healthcare reporter.

Goldberg still recalls the advice he gained during a class with Michael Sharp, an English lecturer.

“I turned in a paper and he gave me a good grade,” Goldberg says.

“But he scribbled on the top: ‘You could do a lot better than this.’ It was an important lesson. To have somebody who says: ‘I know you are capable of more’ and to have a professor who believes in you is something I remember now and will remember 15 years from now.”

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SERVICE LEADERSHIP TRADITION FAMILY PRIDE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPIRIT

Al Vos works with student Michelle Berry ’88 in 1987.

The heart of Hinman

Al Vos, collegiate professor and English scholar, says goodbye to Binghamton University after a half century of service

By Eric Coker

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JONATHAN COHEN

AL VOS had never heard of Binghamton when he applied for a teaching position at the SUNY school in early 1970.

“In my imagination, Binghamton was indistinguishable from New York City,” he says. “They were both in unknown, distant New York.”

Vos, who was born and raised in rural Iowa, retired in August from Binghamton University, having mentored thousands of students for half a century as both an English professor and Hinman College (residential community) collegiate professor.

“With a grin, I sometimes say to my students: ‘If you want to know how weird I am, consider this — I’m married to my first wife (53 years), I’m living in my first house (purchased in 1974), I’m working in my first job and I’m old enough to retire. Do you know anyone else who can say this?’ Of course they don’t,” Vos says. “I go on to explain that I’m a person who puts down roots, and draws strength from those deep roots.”

Those roots in Binghamton University and the community earned Vos two Chancellor’s Awards and the Liberty Bell Award from the Broome County Bar Association. He also created Hinman’s Public Service Learning Community, chaired the University’s Faculty Senate and served in the SUNY Faculty Senate.

“Binghamton was as unknown and as foreign to me as Iowa is now to my students from New York City and Long Island!” says Vos, who received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Calvin College in Michigan and the University of Chicago, respectively. “Yet Binghamton has become home, and I have invested my time and energy in it.”

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IN HIS OWN WORDS, HERE IS VOS’ 50-YEAR BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY STORY:

Al Vos greets Deedi Boland Brown ’14 during the 2017 Homecoming.

I asked my University of Chicago professors what they knew about (what was then SUNY Binghamton). I always consider their answer prophetic: It’s an up-and-coming school.

In my early years at this University, the humanities were its strength. The division’s medievalists were its most renowned members — perhaps the most renowned of any professors on campus. They shaped not only the English Department’s curriculum, but that of Harpur College as a whole. My first course was LIT and COMP 101, which included the classics from Homer to Dante. The first choice I had to make: Would I teach The Odyssey or The Iliad?

Classes were small. I came in 1970 without any teaching experience — the University of Chicago considered us grad students to be scholars in training, and we’d learn on our own how to teach — and together my students and I, each of us energized by the cultural ferment of the 1960s, figured out what to make of these old classics.

When I arrived, Harpur College still had the vibe of Glenn Bartle’s “Public Swarthmore.”

It was equally true that the University was growing rapidly, and the English Department had begun to offer a PhD only five years before

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I arrived. I was lucky to come near the end of a hiring spurt occasioned by our relatively new status as a University Center. Still, when I arrived, there was no engineering school; the business school was small. The English major was the biggest major in the school, and remained so for many years.

The biggest changes (over 50 years) involve not simply the increase in size, but also the increase in the range and diversity of the programs the University offers — which involves, of course, the creation of additional campuses. Harpur College, once the soul of the institution, now has to compete for its place in the sun, and the English major is a small niche in the gallery of options.

The arc of my career bends toward students.

I began as a fledging, untutored professor with an office in the basement of the (Bartle) Library. Thirteen years later, my best friend and colleague said: “You should become the undergrad director in the English Department.” I went for it, and learned the joys and satisfactions of working with students outside the classroom, advising them on schedules and requirements, troubleshooting the crises in their lives and guiding them on their journeys.

I didn’t know it at the time, but the dozen years I spent as undergrad director in English prepared me to become collegiate professor in Hinman.

My role in Hinman gave me the freedom to literally meet students where they live, cheering them on, offering advice, blessing them with my supportive presence. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my students grow into leaders, and to be their admiring cheerleader. Nothing makes me happier than hearing students say that they feel like they belong, and that “Hinman is home.”

That almost always happens outside of class in odd and unexpected, yet extremely fulfilling, moments. Over the years I have learned that as collegiate professor I’m not just an instructor: I’m a community developer, a creator of culture, a spirit-leader.

My favorite class? The one I was teaching at the moment.

This may seem to be an artful dodge, but it contains a deep truth: I don’t teach well if I don’t have a passion for what I’m teaching. I have learned over the years that I teach not only with my head, but also with my heart. The latter counts at least as much as the former.

Having said that, I’m happiest with a rhythm

| LY M E |

JONATHAN COHEN

Al Vos stands in front of Hinman College, where he served as collegiate professor.

that I’ve had for almost 20 years: “Literacies of Power” as a small class in the fall for first-year students living in Hinman, and Shakespeare in the spring as a large lecture for English majors and others.

I love hearing students tell how their resistance or fear changed into respect and admiration for Shakespeare’s work. Even in a large class I pour myself into the lecture, and every student has seen me choked up with emotion at one time or another. And on the final day of class, I surprise them by dressing up as Shakespeare, impersonating him as I interpret The Tempest not only as his farewell to the stage, but also as his meditation on the arduous process of learning how to live wisely and well. I get choked up one more time as I, along with Shakespeare, say goodbye: “Gentle breath of yours my sails/ Must fill, or else my project fails,/ Which was to please.”

What will I miss the most? Everything!

Mostly I will miss the unique opportunities and unique joys we collegiate professors have. In our professional lives, our students are gifts to us, and that truth has grown on me over the years as I, no less than my students, discovered my talents, and found my spiritual home in Hinman. The collegiate structure, with a dedicated professor woven into the life of each residential community, is the genius of Binghamton’s undergraduate program. But, alas, too few of the faculty have any idea, and as the University gets bigger and more multifaceted, it’s harder and harder to keep that fact front and center in the minds of students and direction-setters at the University. I’m so grateful that my career at Binghamton culminated with my service as collegiate professor of Hinman. b i n g h a m t o n . e d u /m a g a z i n e

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For the love of reading Alumni Book Club launches with The Power of Habit and Just Mercy

W

hen the pandemic started, and people had to shelter in place, the Alumni Association needed to quickly give thought to an activity its members could enjoy together without leaving home. The answer: reading!

In late spring, more than 1,200 alumni and friends were part of the Binghamton Virtual Alumni Book Club launch.

Members read a best-seller keeping at a similar pace with each other, taking about two months to complete the book. Using an online platform created by PBC Guru, club members share thoughts about the book in a discussion forum.

The initial book was The Power of Habit, a psychology, self-help book

by Charles Duhigg. The second was Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, a true story about the Equal Justice Initiative; the book was made into a 2019 movie. It’s also a Common Read for Binghamton students living on campus this fall.

“The response to our book club has been phenomenal,” says Kim Faber, executive director of alumni engagement. “We had planned to launch in the fall, but this became a key way to engage our alumni in place of traditional, in-person events. The book club has kept us connected to our closest supporters and helped us reach alumni who were not yet involved with us.”

To join the Book Club and learn how it works, go to pbc.guru/ binghamton. — Steve Seepersaud

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“ Joining this book club gave me a chance to connect with other alumni. We all had interesting ideas to share and learned about each other. I also learned a whole lot on an interesting topic. I am looking forward to discussing our next read.”

Deborah Torres ’89

Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to the sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential.

“ You might be shy at a cocktail party. Or you might be a tad nervous at a tailgate event. But if you went to Binghamton, you are smart. You definitely won’t be shy in our alumni book club. Join us, connect with other alumni and discover a new book. It’s the ultimate win-win.”

Elizabeth Napp ’87, MAT ’89

A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice — from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.

Now a major motion picture starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx.

“ I really enjoyed the first book choice!

I liked the pace because I was also reading another book on my own at the same time. I thought the emails that were sent out were nice discussion starters and also promoted deeper thought into the chapters on my own.”

Felicia Moreira ’01, MA ’02

“ The response to our book club has been phenomenal.”

JONATHAN COHEN

—Kim Faber

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- CONNECTED

Alumni News & Class Notes

Desire to serve keeps Monica Martinez going  For Monica Martinez ’99, the journey to the state capitol in Albany was as straight as the blade of a saw. As she progressed in her career, she moved into positions where she could help an increasing number of people, and says her jagged path toward becoming a state senator fulfilled a destiny for herself and the people she encountered along the way.

After nearly four years of service as a county legislator, Martinez was elected to the New York State Senate in 2018, taking a vacated seat in the 3rd Senate District covering parts of the towns of Islip and Brookhaven in Suffolk County, Long Island. She never intended to go into politics and when asked if she did anything in the political realm during her time as a student at Binghamton University, the answer was, “Absolutely not!”

Her initial career was as an educator. Martinez taught at her alma mater, Brentwood High School, before earning advanced degrees and becoming an assistant principal at the Brentwood Union Free School District’s middle school. She was satisfied with being a school administrator, but her frustration with county government led her 44

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State Sen. Monica Martinez ’99 works in the legislative chamber.

to answer the call to run for the Suffolk County Legislature.

“It took me a few weeks to decide if I wanted to run because I was leaving a profession I enjoyed very much,” Martinez says. “My decision was based on something that happened at school.

I had a young girl who didn’t want to go home as she did not have heat or food at her house. I tried calling Social Services and was told I couldn’t do anything for them and that the family had to visit the department themselves. I felt hopeless as the family didn’t speak English and I felt I had failed them because of all the red tape. When asked one last time if I’d run, I said ‘yes.’ I thought I could help more people navigate the bureaucracy if I was in government.”

Martinez defeated a 10-year incumbent to win a seat in the county legislature. She attributed her victory to a community feeling its concerns were unheard, especially following a string of murders that occurred in 2013. As chair of the public safety committee, Martinez established gang prevention programs and helped provide county police with additional tools to fight the growing gang problem.

During her third term, Martinez received another call: this one from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. He asked if she would run for the New York State Senate. She didn’t like the idea of leaving her community, so she said “no” the first two times he asked.

“How many times can you say ‘no’

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to the governor?” Martinez says. “He asked me three times. I felt I wasn’t done helping the community I live in.

Eventually, I was asked one last time and I took the leap when he said I could help many more individuals. I won and became the first female to serve the [3rd Senate District].”

Martinez, who is seeking a second term in November, is making an impact at the state level. The first bill she sponsored — the state’s law criminalizing the dissemination of intimate images without consent — passed and was signed in spring 2019.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she successfully advocated for the state to suspend penalties imposed when people claim unemployment insurance and the state determines they shouldn’t have.

The penalty blocks those individuals from receiving future benefits to which they’re entitled.

“That was a major victory for workers during the pandemic,” Martinez says.

“You had people going weeks without

a paycheck and they didn’t know when they’d feed their families, pay bills or buy medication. Government has to be proactive to solve the problems we’re encountering.”

Martinez arrived in the United States from El Salvador at the age of 3.

Her mother came to America on her own, worked for several years to get established, then sent for the family to relocate on Long Island. Martinez hopes her life journey will inspire others from similar humble beginnings to pursue the American dream.

“Whenever I talk to young kids, I tell them about my background,” she says.

“My mom made such a huge sacrifice.

She would say that when she ate food, it had no taste, because she didn’t have her kids with her. Our grandmother took good care of us. My parents worked hard to build a life for us in the United States, and I’m so thankful. Everything I do is for my mom and my dad, and I could never disappoint them.”

— Steve Seepersaud

Class Notes Fall 2020

Wedding

Award

Baby

Book Published

It’s not every day that two Binghamton University alumni end up on opposite sides of a court case — one as prosecutor and the other as defense attorney. That’s what happened when Ferron A. Lien ’04, assistant district attorney of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, prosecuted a felony assault case in Suffolk County Supreme Court, in Riverhead, N.Y., in February. Michael J. Brown ’89, of Michael J. Brown P.C. in Central Islip, represented the defendant and received a “not guilty” verdict. Brown is a former Suffolk County prosecutor, but never worked with Lien in the district attorney’s office. It was the first time they argued against each other at trial.

David B. Wexler ’61 received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who. In 2019, he was the recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award from the Binghamton University Alumni Association.

Richard Martin ’72 published the poetry book Ceremony of the Unknown (Spuyten Duyvil, 2020). He has produced several books of poetry, and is a past recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship for Poetry.

He founded The Big Horror Poetry Series (Binghamton 1983–86).

What’s your news?

New job • New spouse • New baby • New business • New adventure Share your news with more than 123,000 fellow alumni by visiting B-Connected, the online community exclusively for alumni, at bconnectalumni.binghamton.edu.

Monica Martinez, who has been an animal lover her whole life, has four cats and three dogs.

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Class Notes Fall 2020

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Peter Lorenzi ’73, MA ’75, retired in June 2019 after 50 years in higher education, and left Maryland for Wisconsin to be near his in-laws. He travels to visit his daughters; one works in Milwaukee and the other studies at UCLA.

Mentor Match enables alumni to support current students

Donald Pollock ’75 retired from the University of La Verne in Los Angeles after 28 years of teaching film production, history and theory, and serving as head of the broadcast TV/film program for much of that time. He was awarded the distinction of professor emeritus and continues to run his production company, Adelita Productions, in Claremont, Calif.

He can be reached at dpollock@laverne. edu.

Terrence Tierney ’75 produced the poetry collection The Poet’s Garage (Unsolicited Press, 2020). More at terrytierney.com.

Marc D. Abrams ’76, professor of forest ecology and physiology and Steimer Professor of Agricultural Sciences in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, received a Lifetime Achievement Award. The Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers & Scientists announced the award at its sixth annual Fire in Eastern Oak Forests Conference in State College, Pa. Abrams was honored for his dedication to fire ecology and management, and recognized for having a great influence on scientists in the field.

Thomas Ohl ’79 received the Alfred Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award last year. He has been employed as a school counselor at Hillside Children’s Center-Finger Lakes Campus School in Auburn, N.Y., for the past 27 years.

The “Seneca 6” held its biennial gathering at the home of Stephanie Adler Greenstein in Fort Myers, Fla., in November 2019. Pictured are Heidi Laska Butcher, Michelle Kleinman Reiff, Adler Greenstein, Annie Kniffin-Savchak, Lynn Lesser Nutis and Ruth Katz Stromberg, all ’80.

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 Where should I go to law school? What should I specialize in? Carisa McKillop ’20 needed help as she sorted through these big questions. She took the advice students often receive from the University’s career staff: Reach out to the alumni network.

“I gained so much support from my mentors,” says McKillop, who was a legal writing intern last summer and will attend law school next fall. “I learned about additional LSAT prep courses, what different law schools had to offer and internship opportunities. Because of my mentors, I will be more prepared for my law school journey.”

It’s not easy for students to obtain support like this because alumni are scattered around the world and busy with their careers. McKillop took advantage of Mentor Match, a platform offered by the Alumni Association and the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development.

Mentor Match is open to all Binghamton students and connects them to alumni mentors in a variety of fields.

Communication happens online within the platform, so alumni can participate from anywhere at a time they find convenient. Phone calls or in-person meet-ups are possible if the mentee and mentor mutually agree.

Mentor Match started as a pilot for Harpur Edge, an academic and professional development program offered in Harpur College. After subsequent trial runs for the School of Management and Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science students, Mentor Match expanded University-wide

Header

Carisa McKillop

last spring, and has more than 600 students and 1,200 alumni participating.

McKillop connected with Elizabeth Robins ’12, associate counsel for the New York State Senate Majority Counsel and Program. Robins got involved with Mentor Match because she remembers what it was like going from campus — where she felt a strong sense of belonging — to an uncertain real world.

She shared with McKillop that law school is a learning curve for everyone — no one should be expected to know legal writing or case law going in — and to embrace it as a time of discovery.

“I was happy to get involved because our students are trying to cope with all the uncertainty I had to deal with, but we’re in a global pandemic where nothing is normal,” Robins says. “Other alumni should take time to lend a helping hand. Current students should know that uncertainty is OK, and we all have faith they’re going to make it!”

— Steve Seepersaud Want to help a current student?

Join Mentor Match at binghamton.edu/ programs/mentor-match.

Class Notes Fall 2020

Ozge Ersoy develops public art programs  Ozge Ersoy ’07 is an example of a Binghamton University education that can cut across national and cultural boundaries. The native of Turkey came to Binghamton to study in the dual-diploma program with Boğaziçi University. The experience helped her launch a career as an international art curator.

“My dream initially was to become a diplomat or work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Ersoy says. “I came to realize there were different forms of research and discussion. I was intrigued by the difference between scholarly and artistic research, and I wanted to learn more about how artists did research, presented ideas and how exhibitions were places where art met the public.”

Ersoy is based in Hong Kong, where she’s led public programs at Asia Art Archive (AAA), a library, archive and research institution documenting the history of contemporary Asian art. Ersoy says AAA has one of the world’s most valuable collections of physical and digital materials about newer artworks in Asia. AAA is not a traditional archive in that it’s more digital than physical in nature, plus it provides interpretations on its collections.

“We make exhibitions, develop talks and workshops, and organize symposia in collaboration with artists, curators, researchers and like-minded organizations,” says Ersoy, who joined AAA in 2017. “We look for connections. I work closely with our researchers as well as artists, arts professionals, scholars and other organizations to develop programs — it’s always a collaborative endeavor.

“This work is important because we need research, scholarship and critical

Robin Barbara Salsberg ’81 was promoted to senior vice president, chief human resources officer of HealthCare Partners, MSO (HCP), based in Garden City, N.Y. Joining HCP in 2015, Salsberg leads and drives key initiatives on the HCP Executive Leadership Team. Robin and Mark Salsberg ’81 met in the Endicott Hall laundry room in 1979 and celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary in August.

Merrill Douglas, MA ’82, produced a collection of poems, Parking Meters into Mermaids, which was published as a chapbook (Finishing Line Press, 2020).

Her poems are rich with transformation: daughter to mother, body to spirit, domestic to global.

thinking about less visible histories in Asia and beyond,” she says. “The recent hype about contemporary art from Asia is mostly shaped by the market and the national agendas. For us, it’s crucial to have an independent institution that makes primary materials about lesserknown histories accessible and that offers a different perspective. We can help rewrite existing histories that rely on traditional Western narratives.”

Before moving to Hong Kong and joining AAA, Ersoy worked at various nonprofit organizations and foundations in New York, Istanbul and Cairo. She was curator and program manager of collectorspace, a Turkish nonprofit initiative that opened private contemporary art collections to the public and stimulated discussions through exhibitions, public programs and publications.

“Binghamton was instrumental in all of this,” Ersoy says. “I started writing about art exhibitions for the [Binghamton] Free Press, which I’m very thankful for. I was accepted to my first internships in New York thanks to these writings and I’m grateful for the editorial guidance and motivation to experiment with a writing style that was new for me.

My professors motivated me to develop critical thinking and to study how arts and culture give us tools to imagine new readings of the past and to speculate for the future.”

— Steve Seepersaud

Richard Solomon ’82 has interviewed numerous well-known musicians from the 1960s and 1970s on his radio show. More at thesolomonchannel.com.

Vernell Wilks ’83 is a published author of three books: Messy Mia, Leaving the Nest and Moments in Time (Lulu, 2019). More at wilkswrites.com.

Dianne Guarino ’84 retired in December 2019 after 33 years of working in college admissions, 30 of which were at Nassau Community College.

Craig Joseph ’84 is executive director, head of application and user experience in the Enterprise and Industrial Automation Research Lab in Nokia Bell Labs.

Jon Devendorf ’87, partner at the law firm Barclay Damon, was listed as a notable practitioner in the 2020 Chambers USA directory. Devendorf is part of the Litigation: General Commercial practice.

Richard R. Jones ’87 was appointed chair of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) by the Financial Accounting Foundation, the independent, privatesector, nonprofit organization responsible for the oversight, administration, financing and appointment of the FASB and Governmental Accounting Standards Board. Both boards establish and improve Generally Accepted Accounting Practices.

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Michal Katz ’87 joined Mizuho Americas in 2019 as head of the banking division, where she is responsible for all investment and corporate banking activities throughout the U.S., Canada and Latin America. She was recognized by American Banker as one of the Most Powerful Women in Finance in 2019, and named as one of the Notable Women in Banking & Finance by Crain’s New York Business for the past two years.

Jessica Presedo helps feed the hungry in NYC

David Bessey, MS ’88, was promoted to vice president of corporate business development at SRC, Inc. Bessey directs the corporate business development team, setting policy and growing SRC’s pipeline of business opportunities. Bessey has worked with SRC for 14 years, most recently serving as assistant vice president for Counter-UAS Business Development.

He is a member of the board of directors for the Northern New York Fort Drum Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army.

Lisa Denicourt ’89 spent 21 years in pharmaceutical manufacturing, then took a seven-year mini-retirement while moving from Virginia to West Virginia to Florida and finally to the Minneapolis area for her husband’s career in pharma.

She became a founding partner of Emris International, which falls directly in line with her passion for fitness and wellness.

The company operates in the U.S. and South Africa and is part of the booming hemp/CBD industry.

 Volunteering at a Johnson City soup kitchen set Jessica Presedo ’12 on a path that’s unusual for a math and Spanish major.

“One of the dining service workers from my residence hall was there to receive food,” Presedo says. “It reinforced that you never know who is struggling to afford food. Many people are working full time but need help. That made me want to be in the nonprofit sector helping people from all walks of life.”

Presedo is the associate director of corporate service and engagement for the Food Bank for New York City, building and maintaining relationships with more than 300 businesses citywide.

Presedo assists with on-site volunteer programs as well as pop-up food banks set up at various company offices where employees are able to take an hour off to pack pantry boxes.

The on-site volunteer program went on hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Although we suspended in-person

Christine Hamm, MA ’89, was awarded the Tenth Gate Prize by Word Works Publishing for her manuscript Gorilla. The Tenth Gate Prize is given annually to mid-career poets who write in English and have previously published at least two poetry collections.

Margot Lebenberg Carter ’89 made the list of 2019 Most Influential Corporate Directors compiled by WomenInc., a leading magazine dedicated to comprehensive coverage of women’s achievement in business. Carter is president of Living Mountain Capital and serves on the boards for Eagle Materials Inc. and Installed Building Products, Inc.

Jessica Presedo ’12 sits on the back of a Food Bank for New York City truck.

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volunteering, we shifted to more remote means of support,” Presedo says. “We encouraged fundraising drives and have a ‘Dear New York’ letter-writing campaign where volunteers can work individually or get together on a video call and write letters of hope and cheer for community members receiving pantry bags.”

The mass business shutdown and resulting job losses from the pandemic translated into a drastically increased need for food. For example, at a popup distribution center at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, 41,700 pounds of food was distributed to nearly 1,000 households, feeding more than 5,500 people. Presedo’s organization not only saw more people coming in; it saw more first-timers.

“One of the most important things we do when working with volunteers or interfacing with the public is dispelling the myth that the Food Bank only serves homeless people,” Presedo says. “Most of the people we serve are working — single mothers and the elderly.”

Presedo enjoys being on site when food is distributed because she’s able to see clients’ reactions. Toward the end of the year, people are thankful to receive a turkey voucher because they “can have a holiday like everyone else.”

At the Barclays distribution site, Presedo had the unenviable task of telling people at the back of a long food line that there might not be anything when they reach the front.

“Out of 100 people in that line, maybe two gave up and left,” Presedo says.

“Almost everyone stayed. The hope that they could get something was worth waiting for an hour. It hammered home that the need in New York City is so real, and our efforts go a long way.

The relief you see on people’s faces when they walk away with food makes everything worth it.” — Steve Seepersaud

Class Notes Fall 2020

Emin Israfil offers smarter cleanup solution

 Emin Israfil ’09 says the idea behind running apps and the ways we engage virtually can create cleaner communities.

With longtime friend Elena Guberman, Israfil launched the app Rubbish.

The San Francisco-based venture uses technology to understand litter trends.

The Rubbish beam — a hand-held litter-grabbing claw — is a key part of the equation. Download the Rubbish app, put your smartphone on the beam, sync via Bluetooth and you’re ready to go. Each time a piece of litter is picked up, a picture is taken in the app. Data is analyzed to highlight areas of a city that need attention.

For example, Rubbish installed a cigarette disposal bin in a part of San Francisco that, according to the company’s data, had a tremendous amount of cigarette butts. The result: a 50% reduction in cigarette butts on the ground.

“One of the most valuable things about Rubbish is that our data helps local leaders develop smarter public policy,” Israfil says. “We go to the city and say: ‘A particular street is dirty after three cleanups, so let’s do something about it.’ We’ve also integrated the app with 311 [non-emergency municipal

services], so if you see something that’s too big or dangerous to deal with, submit it through the app and the city takes care of it.”

Israfil pursued a pre-med track at Binghamton — majoring in molecular biology and genetics — but decided against going to medical school. His creation turned out to be helpful during a global health crisis.

“When the coronavirus had us under lockdown, all our cleanup events were canceled, but it opened up other opportunities,” Israfil says.

“We were able to work with business improvement districts tracking their cleaning efforts to make sure all areas were being cleaned.”

Rubbish doesn’t need a pandemic or huge cleaning teams to show its value, Israfil says. An individual using the app can make a difference by being consistent and persistent.

“We encourage people to start [cleaning up] where they live,” Israfil says. “If you start local, you see and experience the difference. You see it in the data and experience it with your eyes. [Over time], you’ll notice you’re picking up significantly less. It doesn’t take long to impact your neighborhood.”

— Steve Seepersaud

David S. Feather ’90 was selected to the 2019 New York Metro Super Lawyers List, an honor given to only 5% of attorneys.

Feather Law Firm, P.C. is a boutique law firm based in Garden City, N.Y., and focuses exclusively in the areas of employment and labor law, as well as commercial litigation.

James Tofte ’91 is site civil engineer for Cornell University in Facilities and Campus Services, where he is charged with the design, maintenance and vision of the Ithaca campus hardscapes. He is married, has three sons, had a 20-year career as a professional and college hockey referee, and has been active in a number of community organizations in the Binghamton area, including board president of the Newman House at Binghamton University.

Leah Burdick ’94 is chief growth officer at PRIDE Industries, an organization that creates jobs for people with disabilities and empowers them for long-term success.

Kerry Ann McDonald-Cady ’94 was appointed by Vermont Gov. Phil Scott as a Superior Court Judge assigned to the state’s trial court consisting of the civil, criminal, family and environmental divisions.

Homer B. Ramsey ’94 was elected to the board of directors of the international law firm of Herzfeld & Rubin, P.C., where he concentrates his practice on complex civil litigation including class actions, multi-district litigation and multifaceted individual litigation matters.

Rosemarie Castellano ’95 played violin in the University Orchestra and has continued playing as a hobby. Because New Rochelle, N.Y., was hard hit by COVID-19, she has been playing the violin from her balcony in the evening to the delight of her neighbors and frontline workers. More at facebook.com/ balconyballads.

Esther Dittler ’95 returned to the Office of General Counsel of the National Indian Gaming Commission. She re-joined the organization after working as general counsel for the Seneca Nation’s Tribal Gaming Commission.

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Class Notes Fall 2020

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Jason Rohr ’96, MAT ’97, PhD ’02, is the Ludmilla F., Stephen J. and Robert T. Galla College Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame. He submitted one of the highestscoring proposals in the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s 100 & Change competition for a single $100 million grant to help solve one of the world’s most critical social challenges.

Rohr’s proposal, “Disease, Food, Energy, and Water Solutions: Defusing a Global Crisis,” offers a sustainable, local solution to reduce schistosomiasis while at the same time addressing food, energy and water shortages afflicting marginalized populations.

Warren Sager’s company offers alternative to cash payments

Jason Charkow ’98 joined the law firm Goldberg Segalla. He is a legal strategist and patent litigator with 16 years of experience overseeing international patent prosecution, post-grant proceedings, monetization, licensing, portfolio mining and diligence for Am Law 50 firms and publicly traded companies.

Elizabeth J. (Rodriguez) Sandonato ’98 was promoted to partner at Martin Clearwater and Bell, LLP, where she specializes in medical malpractice and nursing home defense litigation.

Sandonato received her juris doctor degree from St. John’s University School of Law in 2001. She resides in Westbury, N.Y., with her husband, Steven, and their two children.

Jared Siegel ’98 joined Barings, an international investment management firm with more than $338 billion in assets under management, as director of social media content. He was previously director of digital content at The Madison Square Garden Company.

Seth Liebenstein ’99 joined Blank Rome LLP, where he practices in the firm’s New York office as Of Counsel in the real estate group. He focuses his practice on transactional real estate law, including acquisitions, dispositions, financing, commercial leasing, and cooperative and condominium representation, both locally and across the United States.

Jeffrey Sanders, MAT ’99, earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Maine. He lives in Orono, Maine, with his two children.

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 Businesses that are able to survive the COVID-19 pandemic will need a new and more nimble way to operate going forward. Warren Sager ’91 and his partners at Moxey believe their national network of barter communities is the solution.

A forward-thinking entrepreneur, Sager connected with a local barter community in Baton Rouge, La., nearly 20 years ago. Not only did he see benefit to participating in the network, he saw its growth potential and became an investor.

Today, Moxey is active in 15 Southeastern communities with more than 4,000 members. As of last year, Moxey had processed more than $100 million in transactional volume, making money through commissions.

“This is only the tip of the iceberg,” Sager says. “Moxey might be the most significant new tool to emerge in the small-business community in our lifetime.”

Moxey does two main things for local businesses: helps get new, high-value, recurring customers and improves their valuable cash flow.

Here’s how it works: When Business A joins the Moxey network, it instantly receives an interest-free credit line.

“Day-one buying power has always been a selling point in our communities, but it has never been more valuable than it is now,” Sager says.

If Business A, in its first Moxey transaction, purchases $500 of goods and services from another member of the network, the account balance becomes –$500, with the expectation that Business A will make future sales to cross the break-even point and hopefully be on the plus side.

The network’s managers and brokers leap into action, designing ads and promoting Business A to others in the network. This helps generate sales

that move Business A’s Moxey account balance into the black.

“Moxey is responsive to the needs of the small-business community,” Sager says. “You can use it on anything: printers, restaurants, mechanics, graphic designers, painters, you name it.

What’s awesome is that once businesses join Moxey, they love it and they always try to spend their Moxey dollars over cash.”

Businesses can also use Moxey to work together and give each other supplies and services they need to ensure survival when cash is tight.

“There was certainly a time when business owners were leery of signing up to trade away their products,” Sager says. “The concept was foreign and the learning curve was long. That time has certainly passed. Business owners today must be adventurous and agile.”

— Steve Seepersaud MORE AT MoxeyUSA.com

Class Notes Fall 2020

Christopher Knight wins Pulitzer for art commentaries  It wasn’t necessarily the $750 million price tag that made Christopher Knight, MA ’76, shake his head at the renovation of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He felt the project’s proponents were focused on the new design at the expense of the artworks the building was intended to house.

As art critic for the Los Angeles Times, Knight used his column inches to make that point, creating a series of commentaries that helped him win the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.

“The project had been underway for more than a decade, and almost all the attention was focused on the [building’s] aesthetics,” Knight says.

“What had emerged, however, was that the plan would also radically alter the art museum’s established program.

That feature of the project, which I think is most important, had received almost no public scrutiny. I was thrilled the Pulitzer citation says my columns demonstrated ‘extraordinary community service by a critic.’”

The museum, which opened in 1965, is encyclopedic, collecting art from all global cultures, ancient to modern.

Knight says the virtue of such a design is that it joins the cultures in one place, reflecting the urban environment in which the museum is situated.

The campus is being demolished and the new building, Knight says, won’t allow the museum to grow as its collection expands. Going forward, the main collection would be the basis for constantly changing exhibitions. Satellite locations would open around the city, breaking the collection up. Through his columns, Knight wanted to change the conversation about the project and have

Patricia Donahue ’01 is director of financial aid operations at Binghamton University. In 2018, she received the New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association’s Robin Jaycox Service Award for outstanding regional service.

David A. Landman ’01 is a partner at the law firm Ulmer & Berne LLP, working in the business litigation practice group. He focuses on complex commercial litigation, dividing his time between Ulmer’s New York and Cleveland offices.

the public see all the potential impacts.

“I knew that changing the conversation would not be easy, because a museum program is an abstract idea while the aesthetics of the building are shown in renderings that draw attention,” he says. “I had written three or four things over a number of years before this group of pieces, and demolition day for the project was fast approaching. But the controversial building design kept getting all the attention. So I realized it would be necessary to ‘flood the zone’ if the conversation was going to be changed.

I decided to watch events closely and write off of the unfolding news.”

Knight had been nominated for a Pulitzer three other times, and this was the first time he won. The award recognizes Knight for his work on the museum commentaries as well as several exhibition reviews. Art critics rarely win a Pulitzer, and it’s even rarer for someone outside the Northeast to win the criticism category.

“We all know the old jokes about Los Angeles,” Knight says. “Tinseltown, where culture only exists in yogurt. So it’s a bonus to have that old-fashioned cliché challenged. In the 1980s, I was recruited by The New York Times and Newsweek in Manhattan, but I’m glad I stayed here in Los Angeles. Growing with the art world here, which is now a global powerhouse, has been a blast.”

— Steve Seepersaud

Victor Matthews ’01 has joined the law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP as partner. He represents mortgage lenders, servicers and other financial services companies in a wide array of litigation matters, including consumer financial services, real estate and general commercial litigation. He received his juris doctor degree from Wake Forest University School of Law. Desiree H. Melton, MA ’02, PhD ’06, is an associate chair of the liberal arts department at Savannah College of Art and Design, where she oversees 20 faculty members and is a professor of philosophy.

Erica Pagnozzi Zippo ’03 is president of the New York Tri-State Chapter of the American Nursing Informatics Association (ANIA). After receiving her master’s degree in nursing/healthcare informatics, she worked with colleagues to form a local chapter of ANIA. She has served on the founding board as president for the last two years.

Bill Stubbs ’04 received the 2020 Long Island Business News 40-Under-40 Most Promising Business People Award.

Rory S. Clark ’05 was named to the 2020 REALTRENDS America’s Best Agent List, and was the No. 1 agent in the Halstead Village Office and the No. 4 agent companywide based on individual agent sales volume in his role as a residential real estate agent in New York City. He lectured at a virtual CLE hosted by the National Law Institute on the topic of “Sales Boot Camp for Attorneys.” Clark and his wife, Devon, welcomed a son, Harrison Dean, on July 2, 2020. He joins big sister Noa and aspires to be a Bearcat one day.

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Peter M. Eraca ’05, MA ’07, is director of admissions for the School of Law at the University of California, Irvine.

Gaitree Singh ’05 married Kenroy Ricknauth at the Hindu Temple Society of North America community center in Queens, on Aug. 17, 2018. Carlene Miller and Jennifer Frazier, both ’05, were bridesmaids; Victoria Liou ’05 attended.

Brandon M. Draper ’06, with the Harris County Attorney’s Office, has been elected to membership in the Fellows of the Texas Bar Foundation. Fellows are selected for their outstanding professional achievements and demonstrated commitment to the improvement of the justice system throughout the state.

Eldridge McNair, MA ’06, welcomed a daughter, Evelyn Jo, on April 29, 2020.

Mom, dad and baby girl are all settled in at home.

Jordan Peck ’06 is vice president of Physician Practice Operations at Southern Maine Health Care. He was previously senior director of the MaineHealth Center for Performance Improvement.

John R. Rahn ’06 published The UNBEATABLE Mindset, a tool for goal setting, motivation and routine building.

Keith LaScalea takes unique journey throughout America

Brent Gotsch ’07, MPA ’10, was elected town justice for the Town of Neversink in Sullivan County, N.Y. He was also elected to serve on the board of the New York State Floodplain and Stormwater Managers Association.

Erica Opitz ’07 is a shareholder at the Atlanta law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka and was included among Super Lawyers for 2020. She was named as a Georgia Rising Star. Opitz assists clients with corporate governance, commercial contract, mergers and acquisitions, and privately-held securities matters. She earned her law degree from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law.

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 Riding in a pink limousine to Graceland. Visiting an elephant sanctuary outside Little Rock, Ark. Seeing a man in a tutu with a magic wand offering free wishes for faster running times in Vegas.

Keith LaScalea ’94 had these experiences — and many more — on his journey throughout America that few are able or willing to take. In January, he completed the Maui Oceanfront Marathon in Hawaii, which made him part of an elite club of runners who have successfully completed marathons in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C.

“[Hawaii] was an amazing experience as 40 of my family and friends came to support me in this milestone moment,” LaScalea says. Among the crowd were longtime Binghamton friends Mitchell Katz and Kate Solomon, both ’95. “In retrospect, I am very happy all of us were able to celebrate together in this stunning location before the pandemic began.”

As a student at Binghamton, LaScalea would occasionally run on campus or in the Nature Preserve. But he didn’t pick up long-distance running until years later. A physician for Weill Cornell

Class Notes Fall 2020

Medicine in New York City, he lives in Manhattan along the city’s iconic marathon route and that’s where he ran his first marathon, in 2003. He subsequently ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., and the Chicago Marathon. And each time he completed a race, he got the bug to sign up for another one.

“I saw a guy wearing a shirt that said ‘50+D.C.’ and I asked what it meant,” LaScalea says. “It was a challenge to do a marathon in every state. Somewhere

around 2007, I thought this would be a good goal to have. I hadn’t traveled much growing up, and I thought it would be a great way to see the country.”

Along the way, LaScalea went through a stretch where he ran a marathon every month. Why? He says each marathon was a training run for the next. Some races were memorable for good reasons; others just reminded him that running 26.2 miles is always tough.

He thought a Wisconsin marathon would be fairly easy, offering miles of flat Midwestern terrain. Instead it delivered brutal hills, earning the name “extreme marathon.” He was bitten in the face by a yellow jacket during the Akron Marathon in Ohio. At the 2006 Chicago Marathon, he surprised himself by running his personal best time of 3:12:53 — fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

“The conditions were perfect,” LaScalea says. “Cool, with a light drizzle, and I was well-trained.

Getting into Boston wasn’t really a goal for me. I don’t pay too much attention to the clock because the marathon always has a way of disappointing you. But that was a very good day!”

LaScalea’s story is included in Tales from the Trails: Runners’ Stories that Inspire and Transform (Glitterati Editions, 2019). With a 50+D.C. shirt of his own now, where does he go from here? He plans to hit the world’s major marathons, including London and Tokyo, once it’s safe enough to travel again.

“As a physician, you can be working all the time, unless you specifically choose to stay fit,” LaScalea says.

“Early on, I had decided that I wanted to stay active. [The 50+D.C.] challenge was a great way to have something continuously on my calendar to keep me motivated.” — Steve Seepersaud

David Belsky ’08 founded the public relations agency Good Rebellion. It is focused on purpose-driven clients, including nonprofit, philanthropy, education, healthcare, politics, government and corporate social responsibility. More at goodrebellion.com.

Before Good Rebellion, Belsky served in senior leadership positions for nearly a decade at SUNY System Administration, and was a senior communications officer at the NYC Department of Education and managing director at a branding agency in Manhattan.

Yohansa Fernandez ’08 married Edwin Torres ’10, MS ’14, on Nov. 20, 2019, in New York City. After nearly nine years of courting and a quiet initial proposal, Torres re-proposed to Fernandez during a question-and-answer session following her presentation at a national public health conference in Philadelphia. Both are EOP alumni and Alumni Association Medal of Distinguished Service recipients.

Craig M. Goldwasser ’08 is a partner at Pillinger Miller Tarallo, LLP. He has about 10 years of experience handling a wide variety of complex and high-exposure general liability, dram shop liability, pharmaceutical malpractice, medical malpractice and automobile liability matters from inception through trial in the New York tri-state area. Since 2015, he has annually been named by Super Lawyers as a New York “rising star.”

Holly M. Wendt, PhD ’09, was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor of English at Lebanon Valley College. Wendt is director of creative writing and has fiction forthcoming from Shenandoah literary magazine.

Kyle Seeley ’11 married Colleen Callahan ’12, MBA ’14, on Nov. 30, 2019.

There were too many Binghamton alumni (and one faculty member!) in attendance to count.

Nicole Khalouian ’15 was promoted to associate at Morrison Mahoney LLP. Her law practice is focused on products, tort and general liability litigation, life science, insurance coverage litigation and arbitrations.

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Class Notes Fall 2020 Thomas R. LeRoy ’18 was promoted to Engineer II at Barton & Loguidice (B&L), a Northeast regional engineering, planning, environmental and landscape architecture firm. LeRoy is a member of B&L’s facilities practice area.

NEW RELEASES BOOKS

IN MEMORIAM Evelyn (Heiyen) Buckalew ’57, of State College, Pa., died Nov. 17, 2019, at the age of 84. She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Ronald; her daughter, Dana; her son, Stephen; and four granddaughters.

Buckalew worked for many years at Penn State University as an instructor and a publications editor. She will be remembered for her generous spirit, as well as her grace in coping with Parkinson’s disease.

James S. Friend ’64, died Jan. 7, 2020, at the age of 76, following a long illness.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Joan; his sons, Adam and Kevin; and his grandsons, Zachary, Jared and Alex.

Douglas Grady ’72 died May 9, 2020.

Richard Levin ’72 died Feb. 4, 2020, at the age of 70, following a valiant battle with leukemia. His influence on everyone he came in contact with is impossible to overestimate. During his 30 years of teaching at Guilford (Conn.) High School, his tireless efforts on behalf of his students resulted in countless success stories.

Scott Gollop ’78 of Delmar, N.Y., died April 7, 2019, of an aortic dissection. He was the beloved husband of Sandra Golde Gollop ’79, and father of Emily Gollop Comack ’09 and Benjamin Gollop.

Benjamin Dragon ’79 died Feb. 27, 2020, at the age of 62. He fought and beat aggressive lymphoma into two remissions with the courage and humor with which he lived his life. His final weeks were spent at home surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Diane, his daughter Laura, son Tom, and numerous relatives and good friends.

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The Religious Right and American Politics (4th edition) Glenn H. Utter ’67 Grey House Publishing, 2019

This edition updates and expands its examination of the religious right and its influence on American government, citizens, society and politics.

The religious right is continuing to make its voice heard in the public sphere through efforts to outlaw the teaching of Darwin’s theory of evolution and advocacy for the outlawing of abortion. Utter’s latest book includes chapters on the religious right and science, electoral politics and voting, cultural issues, economic issues, and American international policy.

Utter is distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Political Science at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.

From Enlightenment to Rebellion: Essays in Honor of Christopher Fox

The Bentley Guide to Poets & Poetry in English: Chaucer to Brodsky

James G. Buickerood ’81 (editor) Bucknell University Press, 2018

Daril Bentley ’81 Outskirts Press, 2019

This collection of essays has been gathered to celebrate the scholarly and administrative career of Christopher B. Fox, MA ’74, PhD ’78, co-founder of the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies and professor of English at the University of Notre Dame. It includes discussions of Fox’s role in contemporary global Irish studies, and new research on many points of Irish culture in medieval, early modern and modern history, literature, folklore and philosophy.

Supplementing more than a dozen scholarly contributions are a short story by contemporary Irish novelist Patrick McCabe, and an account of the award-winning documentary series, 1916: The Irish Rebellion, of which Fox was executive producer.

Bentley, an established poet and poetry scholar, presents a book that was 40 years in the making. His reference is intended for all poetry lovers. Though the book does not contain poetry, it recommends poets and poetry by way of several criteria. Readers will find biographies of hundreds of poets from Chaucer (b. 1340) to Brodsky (b. 1940).

Bentley also provides lists of “Best Poets,” “Best Poems by Individual Poet” and “Best Poems Historically.” He made selections based on what regular people would be most likely to enjoy, not on what academics would treasure. Bentley studied with the late Milton Kessler, poet, professor and founder of Binghamton’s creative writing program.

Living Zen: A Practical Guide to a Balanced Existence Seth Segall ’69 Rockridge Press, 2020

The Zen priest and retired clinical psychologist offers a book for people who may be interested in Zen but know very little about it.

Segall helps readers bring the practice of Zen into their lives with scenarios inspired by real people using Zen strategies to overcome challenges.

Segall also released Buddhism and Human Flourishing: A Modern Western Perspective (Palgrave MacMillan, 2020), a philosophical investigation of how ideas regarding well-being derived from the Aristotelian tradition are impacting the way modern Western Buddhists engage in and understand Buddhist practice.

Segall has been a practicing Buddhist for 25 years. His blog, The Existential Buddhist, provides insights on Buddhist philosophy, practice, ethics, history, art and social engagement.

Nimble Tongues: Studies in Literary Translingualism Steven Kellman ’67 Purdue University Press, 2020

Kellman, a professor of comparative literature at the University of Texas at San Antonio, provides a collection of essays that continues his work in translingualism, focusing on the phenomenon of switching languages.

Nimble Tongues is a series of investigations and reflections rather than a single thesis.

The topics that Kellman covers in his newest book include the significance of translingualism; translation and its challenges; immigrant memoirs; the autobiographies that Ariel Dorfman wrote in English and Spanish, respectively; Francesca Marciano, an Italian who writes in English; Jhumpa Lahiri, who has abandoned English for Italian; Ilan Stavans, a prominent translingual author and scholar; Hugo Hamilton, a writer who grew up torn among Irish, German and English; Antonio Ruiz-Camacho, a Mexican who writes in English; and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a multilingual text.

In the World Enormous Tomer Inbar ’88 Barrytown/Station Hill Press, Inc., 2018

The poems in Inbar’s book are a form of thinking out loud about the preciousness of life and the cycles of passing and starting again. Inbar’s work focuses on a period starting just before his mother died, and ending soon after the birth of his twin daughters.

The poems are engaged in transition, conversation and everything that falls in between.

“These poems like their movement,” Inbar says. “I like how these poems move.

Apart from the definitional, I find comfort in being present as things move.

With sibilance. On their own volition. Taking the qualities of their construction along.”

Inbar was born in Jerusalem and raised in Brooklyn. He founded and edited Camellia, an experimental literary journal from 1989 to 1997, and has published translations of Saibara, a genre of Japanese folk song. He’s an attorney at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, representing nonprofit organizations.

The President and the Supreme Court Paul Collins, MA ’03, PhD ’05, with Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha Cambridge University Press, 2019

In this book, Collins and Eshbaugh-Soha argue that presidents discuss the Supreme Court’s decisions to demonstrate responsiveness to important issues in public policy and to steer how the decisions are implemented. Presidents view the court’s rulings as occasions to promote their policy goals, campaign for re-election, shape their historical legacies and try to affect the impact of court decisions on government bureaucracy, the media and the American people.

Collins is professor of legal studies and political science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His research and commentary have appeared in a host of popular media outlets, including CNN, The New York Times, National Public Radio, Time, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

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Class Notes Fall 2020

Bari Lewis ’83 died May 18, 2020. She was a Social Security, disability and workers’ compensation lawyer on Long Island for 34 years. She is survived by her husband, Martin Danowitz, and her two daughters, Melinda Danowitz and Carly Gruber ’17.

NEW RELEASES

Margaret Mary Stackhouse ’83, MS ’97, of Chenango Forks, died June 30, 2020, after a courageous battle with her fourth bout of cancer in the past 30 years.

“Margie” is survived and mourned by numerous relatives and friends. She was a nurse at Lourdes Hospital for more than 30 years, and was dedicated to her patients and colleagues. She enjoyed many outdoor activities, such as climbing Carrauntoohil, the highest peak in Ireland, for her 60th birthday.

Charles Stinson, MBA ’84, died April 20, 2020, following a nine-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was a kind person who was always willing to help others. He is survived by his loving wife of 29 years, Susan, and his two children, Michael and Sarah.

Mark Frezzo, MA ’99, PhD ’03, died May 11, 2020. He spent his whole life learning, and much of his life teaching, serving as an assistant professor of sociology at Florida Atlantic University (2003–10) and associate professor of sociology at the University of Mississippi (2010–20). As a scholar and author, Frezzo’s interests included the sociology of human rights.

He is survived by many relatives and friends.

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Thinking About Teaching: A Rural Social Studies Teacher’s Path to Strive for Excellence Casey Jakubowski, MA ’04 EduMatch, 2020

Teaching can push you to the limit emotionally, intellectually and physically. At the same time, it can be one of the most rewarding careers. In Thinking About Teaching, Jakubowski shares his thoughts on a wide range of educationrelated topics. In particular, he wants to give a voice to educators in rural areas. Reflecting on a wide variety of experience and research, Jakubowski offers all educators a reflective voice to channel their own experiences against and with on their journey. He is a consultant, educator and coach for people who want to move from OK to outstanding.

Seeds of Justice: Organizing Your Church to Transform the World Alex Tindal Wiesendanger ’05 Orbis Books, 2020

Wiesendanger draws on his extensive experience working with churches and faith-based communities to offer a book that translates a commitment to social justice into action. His hope is that churches can actually change policies and laws that violate the teachings of Christ. Wiesendanger wants his book to help readers move from being activists to agents of transformation both within the church and out in the world.

The author worked with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, lived in a Catholic Worker community, served as director of organizing for the Community Renewal Society and was associate director of Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing.

Censored Caroline Bobick ’09 Amazon.com Services LLC, 2020

What began as a citywide teacher protest escalated to a silencing of government dissenters.

Censored follows a family’s journey as it tries to navigate a changing political landscape.

Through the viewpoint of a 13-year-old girl, readers will see how suppressing freedom of speech and the media can have real effects on people.

Censored is Bobick’s debut novel. After earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and law from Binghamton University, she pursued a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University, and she worked in Turkey, Honduras and Nicaragua. Bobick works in governmental relations for the New York State School Boards Association.

BACKSTORY 

The University Union: The center of campus activity for 60 years  The University Union has been a hub of student activity since opening in early 1960. The Union expanded in 2001, adding what is known as University Union West. In 2014, an $8 million renovation provided more food choices and gathering places for students. Today, the Union is home to everything from classrooms, club-meeting spaces and recreational activities to the University Bookstore, the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, the Student Association and the Center for Civic Engagement.

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1 The University Union is seen shortly after its opening in spring 1960. 2 Known for many years as the “student center,” a University Union sign is posted outside the building in 1973. 3 Students sit on the steps inside the Union in 1978. 4 Students gather for orientation at the Union in 1979. 5 Members of the campus community walk to and from the University Union near the Engineering Building in 1980.

6 Large rooms in the Union such as the Mandela Room and Old Union Hall play host to events such as Law Day (seen here in 1993). 7 The exterior of the MarketPlace, which opened in 2014 and added additional food options and seating to the Union. 8 The Undergrounds, located in the basement of the Union, was renovated in early 2020. Stephanie Opara, Eniola Aderonmu, Nylah Godoy and Chantel Ramos play foosball after arriving on campus in August.

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NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY

PO Box 6000 Binghamton, NY ı 3902-6000

WE CAN STILL BE TOGETHER ... VIRTUALLY! Yes, it would be great to hold alumni events in person. One day, we’ll be there again! In the meantime, come together with alumni through virtual events. Learn something new in a webinar or demo, get your blood pumping with a 5K or spin class, or join alumni hosts on “insider” tours of cool places. Autumn Loke ’10, MSW ’17, above, prepared a roasted salsa dish from a cooking demo by chef Mike Stites of Dos Rios Cantina restaurant in downtown Binghamton. The cooking demo was offered to Binghamton alumni as a virtual event.

The fun is at bconnectalumni.binghamton.edu.

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