Binghamton
HARPUR COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Perspective U N I V E R S I T Y
M AG A Z I N E
H A R P U R
FALL 2020
A LOOK BACK AT 70 YEARS OF HARPUR COLLEGE
A chat with DreamWorks president Margie Cohn ’78
Harpur responds to global pandemic
Why Africana studies matter in today’s world
THE LIBERAL ARTS AND FINDING HOPE
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he 2020 issue of the Harpur Perspective magazine comes during a period of reflection as all of us deal with COVID-19 and its devastating effects on our families, our communities, the economy and our sense of safety in the world. We struggle as well with the long-standing suffering caused by structural racism and racial violence. The events of 2020 ask us to grapple with many of life’s most profound and urgent questions — the questions that are at the heart of the liberal arts: questions about our responsibility to each other, the truths of our nation’s history, the role of government, the values we place on life and death. In all of this, there is great pain. There are also moments of great hope. That hope may come when we hear music that touches our soul, read a novel or a poem that provides respite from pain, or see a film or play that lifts us up or tells our story. There is the hope that comes from understanding the complexities of our nation’s history or understanding the psychological effects of trauma and racism — the hope that grappling with these complex truths will help us to do better. There is the hope that comes from knowing that scientists around the world are spending day and night in their laboratories in a race to understand the virus, to develop treatments and vaccines. There is hope that comes from learning what it means to live successfully in the world so that everyone is free to live their best lives. There is hope in all that is found in the classrooms, laboratories, libraries and studios in Harpur College. The value of a liberal arts education couldn’t be clearer right now, in its ability to transform our students’ lives, and, in turn, in the ability of our students and alumni to transform the world. This year marks Harpur’s 70th anniversary. Although many of our anniversary events had to be put on hold, know that you are a vital part of the Harpur community and we welcome your involvement. We look forward to welcoming you back on campus someday soon. Until then, stay in touch.
Perspective H A R P U R
HARPUR COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES INTERIM DEAN
Celia M. Klin DIRECTOR OF CONSTITUENT RELATIONS
Leah Joggerst ’02 CREATIVE MEDIA COORDINATOR
Evan Henderson ’09 HARPUR PERSPECTIVE EDITOR
Jennifer Micale ART DIRECTOR
Burt Myers PHOTOGRAPHER
Jonathan Cohen VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING
Greg Delviscio DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE SERVICES
Gerald Hovancik Jr. COPY EDITORS
On the cover: At left, Harpur College students Brooke Pagano and Hephzibah Oluwanusi walk near the Admissions Center. At right, two students photographed for a Parents Weekend brochure cover in 1962.
HARPUR PERSPECTIVE
JONATHAN COHEN
Celia M. Klin, interim dean, Harpur College
Eric Coker Katie Ellis Lori Fuller
Contents FALL 2020 | VOLUME 9
2 Harpur at 70
From Triple Cities College to the heart of a University.
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Coronavirus response
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On the big screen
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Creating equity
Harpur rises to the challenge of a global pandemic.
A conversation with DreamWorks President Margie Cohn ’78.
Associate Professor Titilayo Okoror on the importance of Africana studies.
20 Life-saving research 22
An edge on your future
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Student spotlight
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“O Hail to Harpur”
Harpur Edge gives students academic, career and mentorship opportunities.
Jacob Kerr’s Harpur experience is uniquely his own.
Strike up the band for Harpur’s alma mater.
JONATHAN COHEN
MARC NEWTON
This multidisciplinary project may lead to earlier detection of lung cancer.
The Glenn G. Bartle Library tower was lit blue to show support and gratitude to healthcare workers on the frontline fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Thursday, April 9. Buildings across the SUNY system and all over the U.S. were lit in solidarity.
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By Jennifer Micale
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eventy years ago, the liberal arts were almost solely the province of private colleges, and all too often the wealthy. The State University of New York system was in its infancy when Harpur College’s founding president, Glenn Gardner Bartle, dared to imagine something different: a public liberal arts college with rigorous academics and yet affordable to all. With the aid of local officials and dedicated faculty members, Bartle transformed Triple Cities College — a two-year branch of Syracuse University — into one of the first liberal arts colleges within SUNY. He was backed by the Southern Tier State University Committee — a powerhouse group also known as the Committee of 175, which included such luminaries as IBM’s Thomas J. Watson, Endicott-Johnson’s Charles F. Johnson Jr. and prominent local businessman Edgar Couper. The plan faced opposition from both Cornell and Colgate, which feared the impact on private college enrollment, but Harpur College prevailed and joined SUNY on Aug. 1, 1950. Bartle Harpur was technically the second liberal arts college in SUNY; Champlain College was the first, but shuttered in 1952 after its land was requisitioned for an Air Force base. That left Harpur, with its distinctive academic program that combined humanities, core sciences and social sciences. From its founding, Harpur has drawn smart, curious students and a strong and creative faculty, notes Interim Dean Celia Klin. And while it has evolved significantly since its humble start, Harpur remains committed to its core values of excellence in teaching and research — and to the liberal arts, which remain just as important today as they were 70 years ago. “In 2020, there is more of a need than ever for an education in the liberal arts,” Klin says. “We know that a liberal arts education gives Harpur students the skills that employers want and prepares them for the rapidly changing job market that they will experience in their lives. It also equips our students with the ability to participate in an increasingly global world, to enjoy and create art, and to think deeply and critically about the world around them.”
Photos and information for this story provided by Binghamton University Archives.
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Students gather outside Triple Cities College’s Colonial Hall c. 1950. Located in Endicott, Triple Cities was the precursor to Harpur College.
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The Harpur College campus is constructed on former pastureland along the Vestal Parkway in 1958.
H Above: Students at Triple Cities College in Endicott carry their chairs from the Casino Building across the street to Colonial Hall, 1946. Below: English class on the lawn outside Colonial Hall, 1948.
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arpur’s early years featured rather Spartan accommodations. Triple Cities College, which opened in 1946, used whatever classroom space it could find in the Endicott area, from church basements to the local skating rink until it set up shop in Colonial Hall, now the Endicott Visitor Center. Still, Harpur drew dedicated professors who were inspired by its academic B. Huppé mission. In 1954, Professors Bernard Huppé and Robert Rafuse authored a “manifesto” on the value of a liberal arts education, coining Harpur’s motto: “From breadth through depth to perspective.” Themes from their pamphlet resonate even today: the importance of learning how to think, reason and communicate, the value of exposure to a wide range of topics, the lure of intellectual challenge. That same year, bulldozers began preparing the ground of the future campus, located on 300 acres of pasture along the Vestal Parkway. The construction process was lengthy, with the college’s first building — today’s East Gym — opening in 1959.
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
BUILDING A CAMPUS
| CELEBRATING 70 Y EA RS |
By 1961 — the year David Wexler graduated — campus included two dormitory groupings, a classroom and administration building, the student center, the library and the first science building. Wexler entered Harpur in 1957 at the age of 16, part of a small class that ultimately graduated 135 Wexler students. The Vestal campus was still under construction during much of his time there, and most of his classes were at Colonial Hall until his senior year. The library consisted of a Quonset hut next door. Initially interested in biology, Wexler soon found himself captivated by classes in philosophy and logic, political science, criminology, anthropology and microeconomics. He ultimately ended up majoring in sociology, and went directly into New York University’s law school after graduating in 1961. Known for founding the therapeutic jurisprudence movement, he is currently a law professor at the University of Puerto Rico. “They had a real interest in students who had a real interest,” he says of his professors, some of whom inspired his own teaching years later.
Above: The campus bookstore in 1954, when the campus was located in Endicott. Below: The library on the Triple Cities College campus, seen here in 1946, was much smaller than the current library.
Below: Members of the International Relations Club (l-r) Ronald Bayer ’64, Lesley Krauss ’64 and Robert Poczik ’64 escort Eleanor Roosevelt upon her arrival in Binghamton to address the student body in January 1962.
HARPUR WHO? HARPUR COLLEGE’S NAMESAKE WAS COLONIAL EDUCATOR ROBERT HARPUR, who taught at King’s College, the predecessor of Columbia University. He helped write the state constitution and is believed to have bestowed many of Central New York’s classical town names. After retirement, he settled in what is now Harpursville.
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BECOMING A UNIVERSITY
resident Bartle — a geologist and veteran of both the first and second World Wars — headed Harpur until retiring in 1964. A year later, the campus became one of the SUNY university centers with the addition of graduate education. This prompted a name change for the entire institution to SUNY Binghamton; Harpur College remained the designation for its liberal arts college. Even early on, Harpur drew talented faculty members, including Art Department founder Kenneth C. Lindsay, one of the “Monuments Men” during World War II who restored artwork and cultural objects stolen by the Nazis to their owners. The son of Bernard Huppé and a Harpur alumnus himself, Alex Huppé ’69 credits Bartle, whom he A. Huppé remembers as both genteel and “a force,” for his ability to attract top scholars to the college. “My father was devoted to the liberal arts and high-quality scholarship, and he saw here a potential he couldn’t achieve at Princeton,” says Alex Huppé, who went on to pursue a career in higher education and public relations. He still gives back to the college, serving on the Harpur Advocacy Council and the Binghamton University Foundation board of directors. Harpur professors also have a long reputation for cutting-edge research. Among the earliest was Harry B. Lincoln, a music professor who developed techniques for using the computer as a research tool in his field in 1964, and spent 30 years creating a thematic index of opening melodies for 16th century madrigals. In 1971, Chemistry Professor Bruce McDuffie made headline news after he tested a tin of tuna from his kitchen and found dangerously high levels of mercury, spawning nationwide recalls. Two years later, Associate Professor of Psychology Andrew Strouthes showed
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES, JONATHAN COHEN (PHOTOS IN CIRCLES)
Above: View of the library tower from South side of campus. Below: Students outside the Union, 1970. Bottom: Commencement in 1964, the last before Harpur College became part of the newly designated State University of New York at Binghamton.
that saccharin could be harmful to laboratory rats. Faculty members continue to change the world with research in many fields — including Distinguished Professor of Chemistry M. Stanley Whittingham, who won the Nobel Prize in 2019 for his groundbreaking work on lithium-ion batteries. “From its inception, Harpur College has been a destination for world-class faculty who are internationally known for research, discovery, scholarship and creative work and who are deeply committed to engaging the talented students that Harpur recruits,” says Provost Donald Nieman, who served as Harpur dean from 2008 to 2012. “It’s that synergy between world-class faculty and bright, curious students that makes Harpur the heartbeat of a great University.” The longest-serving Harpur faculty member, Comparative Literature Professor Zoja Pavlovskis-Petit, joined the college in 1962 PavlovskisPetit after finishing her PhD at Cornell. She has seen firsthand the development of Binghamton University, the rise and fall of initiatives such as the trimester and changing social conditions — including the treatment of women on campus. In those early years, faculty women weren’t treated with the same respect as their male counterparts — and not just at Harpur. Some universities of the day — including Harvard, where Pavlovskis-Petit landed a fellowship she later declined — refused to grant women graduate degrees or job interviews. The faculty women’s association she encountered wasn’t for female professors, but the wives of male professors. But there were bright spots, too. The students themselves were a consistent inspiration — despite the changes that swirled on around them, both on campus and in the larger world. “The students we’ve had here have invariably been very bright. That has been a great satisfaction,” she says.
Above: The Stepping on the Coat ceremony, shown here in 1987, was started by students in 1962 to celebrate the end of winter. Below: Cars parked in front of Rafuse-Dickinson College, 1970.
THE PEGASUS THE PEGASUS BECAME A SYMBOL FOR HARPUR COLLEGE EARLY IN ITS HISTORY. The aluminum sculpture by artist Nathaniel Kaz was installed on the Classroom-Administration Building — now the Fine Arts Building — in 1960. Robert Bertoia created the more abstract Pegasus statue that sits outside Glenn G. Bartle Library. Carved from teak, it was a gift from the Class of 1985.
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SHAPING LIVES
t Harpur College, students unearthed hidden interests, found their life paths and, occasionally, even their life partners. Undergraduates reigned supreme in the 1960s, and science majors took classes alongside history and theater arts majors, remembers Terry Kwan ’67. While new and quite small, campus presented a dazzling array of opportunities: students could attend concerts by the Guarneri Quartet, who were artists in residence, for just 50 cents. Theater productions were diverse and included one-act and student-produced works that welcomed participation from students of all majors. Residence halls were few with a single dining hall, and you could walk across campus in 10 to 15 minutes — if you were careful where you stepped, remember Richard and Sandra Alpern, who met on campus and recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. “The whole place was boards and mud!” quips Sandra Alpern ’70, referring Sandra and Richard to the era’s substantial building boom. Alpern Times change, but the liberal arts have kept a steady course. The strength — and occasionally the frustration — of Harpur’s academic mission stems from requirements that expose students to a wide range of courses outside of their chosen field, sometimes with surprising results. Take Ronald Ehrenberg ’66, a mathematics major. The humanities requirement gave him a choice between art history, music history and theater arts. He chose the art history class, which turned out to be the only one he shared with his future See more historical photos at bit.ly/bing-history-pics wife, Randy ’67, an English major who went on to
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a successful career as an educator and school superintendent. That art history class also proved beneficial years later, when he supervised the Randy and Ronald Johnson Art Museum during Ehrenberg his three years as a Cornell vice president. Now the Irving M. Ives Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and Economics at Cornell, Ehrenberg received an honorary doctorate from Binghamton in 2008 and also served on the SUNY Board of Trustees. “I am fond of telling my students that I made a mistake: I should have taken all three classes because each would have greatly enhanced my ability to enjoy and appreciate the subject as an adult,” he says. Many students don’t know their career goals when they arrive at college, and the liberal arts give them the opportunity to experience many paths. That proved the case for the Alperns. Richard Alpern ’69 majored in psychology, but opted to go to New York University’s law school after graduation; he went on to a successful law career and founded the Harpur Law Council. Sandra, who entered Harpur at the age of 16, opted for sociology, thinking she would follow in her mother’s footsteps as a social worker. A summer experience in a daycare setting sparked an interest in education, and she attended the Bank Street College of Education after graduation and ultimately became a librarian. A broad liberal arts background also benefited Kwan, who earned a bachelor’s degree in science and mathematics, with a concentration in biology.
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES, CASEY STAFF (EHRENBERGS), JONATHAN COHEN (KWAN)
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Far left: The campus community marches against the Vietnam War in 1970. Below left: students on the steps outside CIW, 1983. Below right: Students in a dining hall, 1970s. Bottom: Harpo the burro in front of West Hall.
She originally thought she would become a medical doctor, and opted for Harpur as a good way to prepare for medical school at minimum expense. She changed her mind about her career path and, on the advice of chemistry instructor Bruce Norcross, decided to try her hand at teaching. After earning her master’s Kwan in education from Hofstra University, she followed a diverse career path as an educator, author, consultant and residential real estate broker. Drawing on her strong liberal arts background, she also spent six years in linguistic software development, including the creation of one of the first English-language spelling correctors. An accumulating body of evidence shows that by mid-career, liberal arts graduates do as well or better than their counterparts who attended narrower professional undergraduate degree programs, Ehrenberg says. If anything, a liberal arts education may be even more important today, when few individuals stay with a single employer or even a single career path over their lifetime. From its revolutionary origins to its position today as the largest of Binghamton University’s six schools, Harpur College’s story continues to unfold, solidly grounded in the liberal arts tradition. “A liberal arts education is so important for people’s critical thinking for work and in life,” Richard Alpern says. “It prepares you. It broadens your horizons. We believe in the value of a liberal arts education and we believe it’s important that it stays as affordable as it can be.”
THE HARPUR DONKEY BEFORE THERE WAS BAXTER, HARPUR HAD HARPO — an ill-tempered burro that served as the college’s four-legged mascot from 1955 to 1957. The student body picked the mascot from a field that included an eagle, a wolfhound and a Great Dane, ostensibly for the donkey’s “intelligence, endurance, loyalty and friendship.” There was only one problem: Harpo was mean. Or in the words of President Glenn Bartle: “He would bite the girls and kick the boys.” During his two years as mascot, Harpo was trotted out to basketball games and other events, and spent his downtime tied to the entrance of West Hall on the Endicott campus. He spent summer vacation on Bartle’s Town of Maine farm, only to jump the fence. Much to Bartle’s dismay, a neighbor brought him back. That fall, the president ordered the business administrator to banish Harpo. Tales of his ultimate fate vary. Some say that he was taken to a car dealership as a trade-in, others that he was sold to a farmer.
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President Harvey Stenger and Cait Crisman ’18, emergency management coordinator in the Office of Emergency Management, greet New York Army National Guard Col. Robert Mitchell ’95 as he arrives to tour the COVID-19 testing site on campus.
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A year
like no other Harpur College responds to pandemic with generosity, research and hope
By Jennifer Micale
JONATHAN COHEN
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hroughout its 70-year history, Harpur College has weathered the challenges and change that are part of the American story, from the social upheavals of the Vietnam War period to 9/11 and economic downturns. From its start, the coronavirus pandemic presented challenges of a different caliber, as Binghamton University worked to prevent the spread of the virus while still providing an unparalleled education. In March, the University quickly transitioned to an all-online class format for spring and postponed Commencement. It also permitted students in most programs to take up to 12 credits of pass-fail courses — and to make that decision after seeing their letter grades. “We understood that the social and economic consequences of the pandemic, combined with the transition to online instruction, would create challenges for many students,” says Donald Nieman, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. Many professors taught from their homes, connecting to students through the Zoom videoconferencing platform. Adapting in-person classes to a digital environment on short notice is no small feat, but Harpur College instructors were up to the challenge. Even in normal times, MATH 330 is tough. It’s a prerequisite course on number systems that teaches students how to discover and write proofs, and gives them an introductory look at how theory is built in pure mathematics.
“Students can easily shut down, even in a physical classroom,” says Riley Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences Vaidehee Thatte, a postdoctoral fellow. “Online, they miss the human element. I tried to think about that as much as possible.” To keep students engaged, she introduced whimsical elements, such as a stuffed toy crab that became the class mascot, and encouraged students to talk about their pets and interests. She also scheduled group work using Zoom’s breakout room feature, formed three study groups led by the students themselves and included breaks during the 90-minute lectures,
Andrea Kastner, art and design lecturer, critiques her students’ oil paintings online from the attic of her Binghamton home. Kastner and other Binghamton University faculty converted their classes to an online format because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Diana Knoell, a senior environmental studies major, collects leaf litter for research in the Nature Preserve this spring. Knoell chose to finish her semester in the Binghamton area rather than going home to Long Island, where COVID-19 was more widespread.
allowing students to share messages on the virtual whiteboard. For all its challenges, online learning did have some benefits. Students who are typically reluctant to speak up in the physical classroom participated more readily in the online format, Thatte says. Other components of the Harpur experience also moved to Zoom, from art shows and Research Day presentations to a tour of the E.W. Heier Teaching Greenhouse, and even a musical performance of “What’s Your Story, Morning Glory?” by the Harpur Studio Jazz Band. Student services went virtual too, with Harpur Edge, Harpur Academic Advising, the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development and others offering appointments and access to resources via Zoom, telephone and email. The Institute for Child Development, which serves children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, shifted its entire 330-minute school day to the digital sphere. The interactive lessons used a parent coaching model, and families also connected with school staff through regular classroom meetings, Ask an Expert sessions and a dedicated parent portal. The Psychological Clinic also moved to Zoom, adopting a telehealth model with safeguards put in
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place to increase security and client confidentiality. “It’s times like these that show how truly resilient people can be,” says Craig Polizzi, a doctoral student in clinical psychology who provides services at the clinic. “The pandemic helps people reflect on themselves, their lives and their reactions to adversity.” Campus remained open during the spring semester, although fewer than 320 students chose to remain in the residence halls and were spaced out in single rooms with private bathrooms to maintain social distancing. They included international students such as mathematical sciences major Wencong “Jacky” Qin, who hails from northeastern China. Returning home would make it difficult to take courses online, so he decided to remain — an experience that was lonely at times, and made him appreciate his connections with others. “Social ties are quite important in times like these. For me, at least,” Qin says. For seniors, the pandemic also meant forgoing some of the hallmarks of their final semester, and finding new ways to connect. A member of the community service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, environmental studies major Diana Knoell found other ways to meet with her peers: from group chats to Netflix party extensions and even prompts for creative projects. Rather than returning home to Long Island, she
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stayed in her Binghamton apartment for the semester, heading out to the University’s Nature Preserve to help conduct research there. “I understand that there are a lot of things that had to stop. But it was sad,” she says. “It hit me that I was missing out on a lot of those ‘last time’ kind of things. Commencement being pushed off — it’s a bummer. But as long as everyone is safe and healthy, it will all be OK.”
HARPUR HELPS OUT
JONATHAN COHEN
When healthcare facilities and governments put out a call for help, Harpur faculty and staff quickly mobilized and donated needed supplies. They offered up masks, plastic face shields and other protective gear, as well as tissues, cleaning supplies, sterile surgical implements and the use of specialized equipment, including 3D printers. They also volunteered their skills, from lab testing to manufacturing. Others have found different ways to share their talents in a time of crisis, such as English Professor Liz Rosenberg, who conducted public readings on Facebook twice a day for both children and adults. Tommy Iafrate, director of musical theater, and partner John Cockerill, an assistant conductor at Tri-Cities Opera, held Sunday mini-concerts on their Binghamton street to lift the neighborhood’s spirits. Their neighbor, head tennis coach Nick Zieziula, sparked the idea when he asked Iafrate to play Easter hymns for his family, which was unable to attend Mass in person. “It felt so wonderful to gather together and enjoy a shared experience that John and I decided to keep it up by playing a 15- to 20-minute concert every Sunday at noon,” Iafrate says. “Since we’re on a dead end at the Susquehanna River, the environment is beautiful and allows for neighbors to gather in a socially distant way.” The coronavirus also sparked research, funded in part by the SUNY Research Seed Grant Program and drawing faculty members from chemistry, math, physics and economics.
Projects include the development of a rapid screening detector for coronavirus and other biological agents, mathematical predictions of the pandemic’s spread and respiratory monitoring for detection and tracking, as well as a look at the factors influencing whether individuals adhere to social distancing guidelines. Distinguished Professor of Psychology Steven Jay Lynn and “ THIS IS THE BEST OF THE Polizzi partnered with ARTS AND SCIENCES — Andrew Perry, retired GIFTS OF SURGICAL MASKS from SUNY Oneonta’s AND GIFTS OF POETRY!” James M. Milne Library, —Celia Klin for “Stress and Coping in the time of COVID-19: Pathways to Resilience and Recovery,” an article published in a special issue of the academic journal Clinical Neuropsychiatry. “It is no surprise that the Harpur College faculty and staff have been so generous — and so creative — in their response to this crisis. This is the best of the arts and sciences — gifts of surgical masks and gifts of poetry!” Interim Dean Celia Klin says. “This is what makes Harpur College such a special place.”
Many Harpur College professors taught from home during the spring 2020 semester. They include Political Science Professor Jonathan Krasno, shown here giving a lecture from his Binghamton home.
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From Binghamton to Hollywood As DreamWorks Animation president, Margie Cohn ’78 is among the most powerful entertainment executives today
By Chris Kocher
PHOTOS PROVIDED
ver more than three decades in the entertainment business, Margie Cohn ’78 has climbed the ladder to become one of Hollywood’s most powerful and respected executives. During her 26 years at the cable network Nickelodeon, she oversaw animated and live-action hits such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, iCarly and the Kids’ Choice Awards. Media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg recruited Cohn in 2013 to launch DreamWorks Animation’s television division, creating programming inspired by DreamWorks and Universal Pictures films as well as original series. Since then, DreamWorks Animation has won 25 Emmy Awards for shows such as Trollhunters, The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Spirit Riding Free, The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny. Just don’t ask her to name her favorite project — that’s like picking a favorite child. “Sometimes there are magical moments when things come together and everyone’s on fire,” she says. “You love it, you know you’re making something great and people are having fun doing it. Then sometimes you go through hell and everything’s difficult. You still love that project because you’ve worked so hard to make it great.”
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Margie Cohn back in her college days. She transferred from SUNY Albany to Binghamton, where she majored in English and fine arts.
ohn is a member of both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In 2019, she was inducted into the Variety Hall of Fame and named to the Power 100 list in The Hollywood Reporter’s “Women in Entertainment” issue. Her ties to Binghamton remain strong: In 2017, the University presented Cohn with an Alumni Achievement Award. In an interview, she discussed her time at Binghamton — where she earned a bachelor of arts in fine art and English — as well as her journey to the Tinseltown stratosphere. Q: How did you first become interested in art?
A: I grew up in Mount Vernon, N.Y., and I always amused myself by drawing and got a lot of positive feedback on my art. When I got to college, I realized how much better everybody was. I didn’t really draw representationally — I had a knack, but it wasn’t a deep natural talent. As I result, I had a lot of work to do. Q: How did you end up at Binghamton?
A: I graduated from high school after my junior year. It was a tumultuous time, and a lot of people
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did it. I decided to go to SUNY Albany even though I had never seen it; I just wanted a fresh start. I think the SUNY system is wonderful, but Albany was definitely not for me. It felt like people were all on these very serious career tracks and I wanted to be creative and explore and enjoy life — to really get a sense of liberal arts without buckling down to one specific thing. After my sophomore year, I left and earned money and then did a junior year abroad. I met somebody there who convinced me to come back and go to Binghamton. I did, and I loved it. I was sorry I hadn’t started there freshman year. I was very, very happy once I got there and found teachers who gave me some lessons that I took forward, because I still had the intention of being an artist at that point. I use them in my career even now. I found teachers who inspired me and taught me fundamentals about an approach to work and its place in one’s life that I still draw upon today. Q: How did you go from Binghamton to the entertainment industry?
A: I had this loose idea that maybe I could be an art professor, but I knew I’d have to build a portfolio. So, I worked for a year after graduation; I was able to rent a studio, and I painted and I drew. Then that same friend who brought me to Binghamton and I saved our money, and we lived in Italy for a year. I drew and painted and did all sorts of things. The time there made me realize I was a social person and I thrived in a collaborative setting. I didn’t think I was going to make it as a fine artist. I landed a job for an art and antiques auction on public television, and they let me produce the travelogues for trip packages. I thought, “Oh my
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God — storytelling, visual excitement, community collaboration. This is where I was meant to be.” I freelanced for another year and ended up at Nickelodeon. My career took off because I was on the ground floor of a growing business and they wanted smart, creative people. If you had a great idea, they would be happy to produce it. I stayed there for 26 years, learned an enormous amount and made some fun content that touched a generation of kids.
it prepared me to take on the whole studio and be producing movies now.
Q: What inspired the move to DreamWorks Animation?
A: I do think that Jeffrey was “gender agnostic.” He loved people who could get it done, and so he was drawn to talent. I’m a woman, and I’ve hired other women. I’ve also hired men. What became important to us was to mentor the next generation of producers, artists and storytellers. A lot of them were young women, and we tried to put them into positions where they got mentored and could succeed, because without feeling like they’re supported, it’s very hard to get to the next level.
A: The opportunity was impossible to turn down — the idea that I could build an animation studio from scratch and pick all the people I wanted to work with. To build the studio and then try to sell individual shows was difficult, but we had a three-year runway of commitments from Netflix. It was an incredible deal. DreamWorks was a brand that I always respected. It stood for quality and innovation, and the idea that we could create a library of shows that stand proudly alongside the movies was a challenge that felt irresistible.
PHOTOS PROVIDED
Q: In 2013, it was still a new concept to have exclusive streaming content on a platform like Netflix.
A: Totally. It changed how we approached creative decisions. For the first time, we didn’t have to worry about our lead-in and whether it was going to be compatible. We didn’t have commercials, so we didn’t have to worry that we were doing a show for all kids and then halfway through there’d be a doll commercial that would have the boys running to the hills. We could make things for just animation lovers, for people who loved storytelling — the same people who went to DreamWorks movies. So, it was unbelievably liberating. We had to shake off all the things that we knew about creating kids’ and family programming and evolve to another standard. That was so much fun, and
Q: It seems that DreamWorks Animation is a friendly place for creative women, from executives like you as well as writers, directors and artists. Does that come from when Jeffrey Katzenberg was building the team? [Katzenberg left the company in 2016, when NBCUniversal acquired DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion.]
Q: What was it like taking over the entire animation division last year?
A: It was both exhilarating and terrifying. I had to build my team and gain credibility super-quickly because we have to keep the movie pipeline running. There are so many talented people at DreamWorks, and they were very generous with me. We are also experiencing seismic change in our industry, but we are coming through it together. Q: Do you have a proudest moment in your life?
A: One of the proudest moments was getting named president of DreamWorks Animation. I also was inducted into the Variety Hall of Fame — my kids and my husband came. I kept thinking: This is not the dream I had for myself, but here I am. My kids were so proud of me. Over my career, I stayed true to myself. I’ve done great creative work with very interesting people, and I’ve always protected my personal life. I feel that I’ve been very lucky.
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‘ Be comfortable with being uncomfortable’ Titilayo Okoror on cultural context, equity and the
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inghamton University’s Department of Africana Studies owes its origins to the student activism of the 1960s. While many universities began similar programs then, Binghamton decided at the outset to create a department — among the first in the nation in 1969. That foundation drew Associate Professor and Africana Studies Department Chair Titilayo Okoror to Harpur College in 2012; she also serves on the Master of Public Health program board. Originally from Nigeria, her research focuses on global public health and the role of context and culture in disease expression, health behaviors and decisions. How do cultural context and health decisions intersect? She pointed to “ WE MUST BE WILLING TO research she conducted at SAY WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID, AND LOOK FOR WAYS Purdue University on what constitutes a good sexual TO CREATE EQUITY.” experience among college —Titilayo Okoror students, part of a larger study on the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. Unlike white men and women, who respectively focused on anticipation and physical pleasure, Black women emphasized the need for emotional connection. They were less likely to leave their partners if sex wasn’t satisfactory, instead weighing factors such as the availability of eligible Black men. The emphasis on emotional connection may date back to slavery, which thwarted the prospects of marriage for many Black couples, Okoror explains. Sexual pleasure wasn’t part of the deal, leaving emotional connection as the core of the bond. “That legacy has influenced how people define good sexual encounters. It’s culture and context,
By Jennifer Micale
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values and morals, how history and institutions impact people’s choices and behaviors,” she says. Okoror’s research has a global scope, with ongoing projects in Ghana and Nigeria, particularly exploring the cultural context of HIV stigma and treatment. Coronavirus has sparked a new project: a look at the pandemic experience of African immigrants and refugees, who are often reluctant to admit that they may have a virus, unlike African Americans. It’s an example of how cultural context can lead to different experiences of the same disease, Okoror says. “I am fascinated by the question: Why do people do what they do?” she says.
CREATING EQUITY A mentor in her Pennsylvania State University graduate program in biobehavioral health offered advice that she now gives to her own students: “You must be comfortable with being uncomfortable.” The core lesson behind cultural competency is to put assumptions aside and consider the larger picture. Take, for example, the consumption of fast food in low-income communities. These individuals know fast food isn’t a healthy choice, but often it’s the only option available, Okoror points out. In a similar vein, consider college students, who are more likely to participate in research studies for pizza at the end of the semester. Why? They run out of money by then and need to eat — a scenario familiar to many low-income communities. “Change is never easy, but change is inevitable. We must be ready to face how the system has favored some of us over others, and what that has translated into over time,” she says. “We must be willing to say what needs to be said, and look for ways to create equity.”
JONATHAN COHEN
importance of Africana studies
Equity, she says, isn’t the same as equality; the latter focuses on everyone getting the same thing. When you consider the weight of American history, Black lives haven’t been accorded equal value, a legacy that has implications from policing to healthcare. Okoror sees hope when she considers today’s young people, who are at the forefront of Black Lives Matter protests. She sees the thirst for change in Binghamton students as well, such as a white biomedical engineering major who took an Africana studies course several years ago. While canvassing a neighborhood for an energy company, he didn’t understand why his Black coworker was reluctant to knock on doors until someone in the neighborhood called police and his colleague ended up in handcuffs. When the student objected to his partner’s treatment, the police threatened to arrest him, too. “Please don’t say anything,” his coworker pleaded. “I want to make it home tonight.” Recounting the experience, the student wept in Okoror’s office. Africana studies give such students the tools they need to create change. That’s why Okoror recommends making Africana Studies 101 a required course for first-year students. It would be a step toward equity and set Binghamton apart from other universities — much like the formation of the department itself more than 50 years ago. “Our students are yearning for direction. Our students are yearning for change. Our students are yearning for hope. We can give them direction by informing them, by providing the knowledge, by providing the hope they want,” she reflects. “That, at least, can be our legacy.” binghamton.edu/harpur
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Breath of life Multidisciplinary research project builds a screening tool for lung cancer
By Jennifer Micale
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ung cancer kills more people than any other cancer type because it sneaks in silently, often presenting few symptoms until the disease is too advanced to cure. Only 16% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at any early stage and more than half of people who receive a diagnosis die within a year, according to the American Lung Association. Those are statistics that Chemistry Professor Chuan-Jian “CJ” Zhong would like to change. Zhong is an expert on sensors, super-small devices that can detect external molecules. He has worked in the sensor field for around 15 years, focused on a variety of uses, from detecting the chemicals in air pollution to health indicators. For the past six years, he and his research team have been working to develop a sensor that can detect the biomarkers from cancer from human
HARPUR PERSPECTIVE
breath. That could lead to an early screening tool in a medical setting — potentially saving lives. The multidisciplinary project, which also involves Systems Science and Industrial Engineering Professor Susan Lu from the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science, received seed funding from the Harpur College Advocacy Council Faculty Research Grant Endowment and the Watson-UHS Collaboration Seed Grant. “Typically, cancer is discovered at too late a stage,” Zhong says. “Early detection can lead to a higher survival rate.”
CLUES IN THE BREATH Human breath contains volatile organic compounds that provide clues to the inner workings of the body. For example, diabetic patients can release acetones in their breath, indicating high
glucose levels and a potentially life-threatening condition called ketoacidosis. Other compounds are associated with conditions such as cancer. “A sensor is basically a transducer that sends chemical information to something readable,” Zhong explains. The sensors are an example of nanotechnology that involve particles so small that they cannot be seen by the human eye. In fact, that’s the key to how they work: On the nanoscale, metal particles act like
“ TYPICALLY, CANCER IS DISCOVERED AT TOO LATE A STAGE. EARLY DETECTION CAN LEAD TO A HIGHER SURVIVAL RATE.”
JONATHAN COHEN
—Chuan-Jian “CJ” Zhong
semiconductors, extremely sensitive to any change. You can use sensors in a variety of ways, such as detecting biomarkers in a blood sample. Zhong’s cancer-detection prototype operates like a whistle: The patient blows into the device, sending the breath’s volatile compounds across the sensors. If the biomarker is detected, it creates an electrical signal that can be read on a portable handheld device.
In addition to the sensor, hardware and electronics, the system also requires a database of information that the system can read. On that end, Zhong’s research team is collaborating with Lu, an expert in database pattern recognition. Along with building a bank of information for the device to read, this part of the project involves using artificial intelligence to analyze the data. “The human breath is very complex. It’s affected by age, whether you’re a smoker or not, your medical
history; there are many aspects to it. That’s why we need a database to do the analysis,” Zhong explains. For its research, the team is currently using lab molecules that simulate human breath. A clinical research team at Broome Oncology LLC collaborated with the Binghamton University team and provided the project with data from limited cancer patients so that construction of the database could begin. A much larger pool of patients is needed to bring the project to fruition, however. “The medical signal is complicated,” Zhong says. “Some patients may have an early stage, some a later stage, or they might be on different medications, but the database will allow us to analyze the data for cancer screening. We have the portable device; what’s missing is the data we can collect from patients. We hope to get more funding and expand this.”
Chemistry Professor ChuanJian Zhong and Systems Science and Industrial Engineering Professor Susan Lu are working together on a biosensor project that could enable the early detection of lung cancer. Shown are Zhong and Lu with graduate students Guojun Shang (left photo, center), Shan Wang (left photo, left), Behnaz Malaei (right photo, center) and Dong Dinh (right photo, right) in Zhong’s laboratory in the Innovative Technologies Complex’s Smart Energy Building.
binghamton.edu/harpur
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Sharpening skills, expanding horizons
By Steve Seepersaud
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illian Kenah ’20 is an example of what Harpur Edge wants to accomplish: providing students in Harpur College of Arts and Sciences with a jumpstart on their future by connecting them with alumni and sponsoring services for their personal, professional and academic development.
“ HARPUR EDGE WORKS TIRELESSLY SO STUDENTS CAN HAVE PLENTY OF CAREER AND MENTOR OPPORTUNITIES AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.” —Gillian Kenah
Kenah, who received bachelor’s degrees in English and Spanish, participated in initiatives such as Alumni Lunch and Learn programs and the Liberal Arts to Careers Externship (LACE) job shadowing program. Both helped her develop a career plan, she says. The Port Jefferson, N.Y., native also received the Ellyn Uram Kaschak ’65 Summer Research Grant, supported by the internationally recognized and award-winning academic researcher, psychologist and professor. The grant supported
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Kenah’s work on her honors thesis, which focused on women’s online self-representation relating to social justice for women and girls. She was also able to network with Kaschak. “To connect with her is an honor and I hope to learn more about academia and research through her insight, perhaps leading to my pursuit of a PhD in sociology after completing my master’s in English at Binghamton,” Kenah says. “Harpur Edge works tirelessly so students can have plenty of career and mentor opportunities and I really appreciate it.” Since Harpur Edge launched in 2014, it has engaged nearly 5,000 students, “helping them dream big and take risks,” according to Erin Cody, who became director in January. New initiatives will focus on deepening students’ professional development, and expanding its reach throughout Binghamton University’s largest college. In the next decade, Cody would like to reach every undergraduate and graduate student in Harpur College — a lofty 10,000-plus goal. That number is within reach, she says, because of the solid foundation she inherited from Wendy Neuberger ’81, MBA ’84, previous director of Harpur Edge who has moved into the associate director role. “We cannot do it without the support of Harpur alumni. They keep us operating and growing with financial investment and volunteer engagement,” Cody says. “We’re grateful every day for all they add to the Harpur student experience.”
PROVIDED
Harpur Edge gives students an edge on academic, career development
JONATHAN COHEN, BILL TRUNSLOW (NEEDLE)
Erin Cody
Harpur Edge signature offerings include the Harpur High-Impact Student Learning Endowment, LACE, the Physician Mentor Program, Public Interest Law summer internship, the Bonzani Memorial Law Lecture, crash courses on skills such as Python coding and Tableau data visualization, and the Kaschak grant. “As I came into the director role, I heard from across campus that Harpur Edge has a great foundation but needs to expand,” Cody says. “So, right away, I started collaborating to offer a new Harpur College Graduate Professional Development Series for graduate students in the college whom we hadn’t yet served. The feedback and engagement from our graduate students reinforced our decision when we saw the hunger they have for our support.” Prior to Harpur Edge, Cody spent more than 13 years in the University’s Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development. As associate director of employer and alumni engagement, she worked with employers who wanted to hire new Harpur alumni, and she counseled students on what recruiters were seeking and how to find high-impact learning experiences to support their success. Harpur Edge will more deeply collaborate with the Fleishman Center, the Office of Alumni Engagement, School of Management Career Services and Watson Career and Alumni Connections through initiatives such as the CONNECT programs in New York City, Washington, D.C., and California’s Silicon Valley that Harpur Edge co-hosts. Cody also plans to deepen relationships across campus
to more seamlessly serve Harpur students. “Harpur students don’t often see a direct correlation between their major and a career. There doesn’t always have to be one,” says Cody, noting that internships, campus jobs, leadership roles and other experiences can offer unexpected connections to the skills that students are learning about in the classroom. “We’re a space where Harpur students can feel at home in the college and find themselves by going outside their comfort zones.”
Why I give to support
Harpur Edge “I have had the pleasure of hearing presentations from the Harpur Fellows, and the amount they can accomplish with modest amounts of money is inspirational. The internship and mentoring programs are a huge benefit that did not exist in the late ’70s when I was a student.”
— Michael N. Needle ’81, chief medical officer, AVEO Oncology binghamton.edu/harpur
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Paying it forward Senior Jacob Kerr creates a unique college experience and gives back along the way
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hen Jacob Kerr gets stressed, he cleans. Hoping to scale back on how many clothes he owned, Kerr was left with a pile of items he wanted to rehome. Instead of trying to sell them to a secondhand clothing store, Kerr decided to start a “thrift store” and donate the funds to the Binghamton University Nature Preserve. Now a senior, Kerr’s plan was not the first unique idea he’s had at Binghamton University. Born in Milwaukee, but raised in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Kerr decided to attend Binghamton after taking a gap year in New Zealand upon gradu“ COLLEGE IS A TIME TO LEARN WHO YOU ARE, AND BINGHAMTON ating from high school. “I learned there that HAS ALLOWED ME TO DO THAT.” you only need food, —Jacob Kerr water and shelter to survive. Everything else is extra,” he says. “So why not spend that extra on things you’re passionate about?” Kerr was able to combine his passion for science and writing in Harpur College’s Individualized Major Program (IMP), which essentially allows students to design their own major. Beyond the unique curriculum, Kerr became involved with a number of organizations and offices around campus. He’s the kind of person who thrives on activity, and not one to “sit around,” he acknowledges. He filled his schedule with an internship in the Office of Research Advancement and a job with Harpur Edge. He also joined Pipe Dream, working his way up to news editor during his junior year. Meeting Binghamton’s Nobel laureate, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry M. Stanley Whittingham, was an experience Kerr will never
By Allen Wengert
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forget. He interviewed Whittingham for an episode of Meet Blank, Pipe Dream’s podcast that Kerr helped create. “Being at a University where you have access to a Nobel Prize winner — that’s the dream of an aspiring science journalist,” Kerr says. “There are so many cool personalities and people on this campus.” Kerr, also a photographer, often found himself in the Nature Preserve. He wanted to find a way to help out, but had limited time to volunteer due to his already packed schedule. It was then that the thrift store idea clicked. With help and donations from friends and fellow Hinman College residents, he set up their first shop in the Hinman Commons, selling used clothes for low prices. “I was hoping we’d make $500, but even that felt ambitious,” he recalls. “But when I counted up the money, I realized we had doubled that. It made me very emotional. I felt like that amount could actually make a difference.” Kerr has run the thrift store a number of times since, with proceeds continuing to go to the Nature Preserve. He’s working with University officials to find a way to make it a permanent staple, even after he leaves Binghamton. As he works through his final year at Binghamton, Kerr has no regrets in crafting a college experience unique to his passions. “College is a time to learn who you are, and Binghamton has allowed me to do that,” he says.
‘ May honor crown thy heritage’ The ‘Harpur Alma Mater’ plays on
JONATHAN COHEN
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he Harpur College alma mater has gained new life 70 years after it was written. Once consigned to the pages of Binghamton University history books, the song is now showcased at the Harpur College Commencement ceremonies each spring. Universities, colleges and high schools typically have an alma mater, either an original composition or a familiar tune that’s easy to sing along with, notes Daniel Fabricius, a music faculty member and conductor of the University Wind Symphony. The “Harpur Alma Mater” was written in 1950 by J. Alex Gilfillan, a HARPUR ALMA MATER founding faculty member, head and initially the sole J. Alex Gilfillan member of the Music O hail to Harpur — hail to thee! Department. His song May honor crown thy heritage. urges the community Endow us with a noble spirit of the young liberal arts In heart and mind and deed. school to “hail thee Harpur In years to come we’ll honor thee alma mater” as “the hills For all the golden memories. re-echo thy name.” The For friendships made and victory won same heights would later Oh Harpur hail to thee. serve as the foundation of Binghamton UniverChorus: sity’s official alma mater: Oh hail thee Harpur Alma Mater. “In the Rolling Hills of The hills re-echo thy dear name. Binghamton” (written by With pride we pledge ourselves to thee David Engel ’86). For all eternity. After Fabricius became University Wind Symphony conductor in 2012, he was told that Commencement ceremonies would soon be split by schools and that Harpur College would incorporate its own alma mater.
By Eric Coker
“The good news was that I was able to find the music — what we would call a piano/vocal version of it,” he recalls. “I don’t think there was a band arrangement at that time. If there was, I knew I had to rewrite some things. That’s how the current arrangement came into being.” A key to the updated “Harpur Alma Mater” arrangement, Fabricius says, was finding the best way to highlight the student musicians. Essentially, the band provides the accompaniment and otherwise stays out of the way. Trumpet fanfare and other creative elements can be incorporated when the words present an opening. In 2018 and 2019, Fabricius turned to Kelsey Watts ’20 to deliver the song’s vocals. Watts, who is now pursuing her Master of Music in Opera at Binghamton University, Fabricius has also sung the “Harpur Alma Mater” during the college’s 70th anniversary kickoff celebration at the 2019 Homecoming. “It’s funny being one of the only people who sings this song or even knows that it exists,” she says. “A lot of my friends who graduate tell me that they didn’t even know we have an alma mater, and especially not two of them! Performing it at the Commencement ceremonies makes the song more exciting because I get to sing with (the Wind Symphony) and for a massive audience. I’ve done it many times, but it’s still nerve-racking.” For Fabricius, the fact that the alma mater is still part of Harpur College is a credit to Gilfillan, who retired from the University in 1969 and died at his Florida home in 1987 at the age of 82. “There are some schools where the musical end of (the alma mater) is less than you would want. But that’s not the case for Harpur,” he says. “It has served us well for 70 years and I’m sure it’s going to go on a lot longer.” binghamton.edu/harpur
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Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Binghamton, NY Permit No. 61 Harpur College of Arts and Sciences
JONATHAN COHEN
PO Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000
LIFTING SPIRITS
Tommy Iafrate, director of musical theater; John Cockerill, pianist and Tri-Cities Opera assistant conductor; Gina Moscato, MM ’18, soprano; and Kevin Bryant, tenor, perform a socially distanced concert at the end of their Binghamton street.
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