Eastern Magazine Winter 2005

Volume 3, Issue 1

Winter 2005

In This Issue: Investing in Eastern

Harry Sukman

Dr. Rhona Free U.S. Professor of the Year Master’s Universities and Colleges

Staff and Contributors

Table of Contents In This Issue The President’s Perspective U.S. Professor of the Year A Long Time Coming ConnCAP Program Recognized From Around the Globe World Travelers On a Mission Do the Math!

The Hall is an Instrument 2003-04 Annual Report of Donors Make a Wish A Master of Music Features Philanthropy Alumni News Campus News Athletics Class Notes Final Thoughts

Editor

Ed Osborn Production Manager

Kevin Paquin

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Writers/Contributors

Dwight Bachman Christopher Carollo Joy Goff Susan Hejlik Andres Hidalgo Robert Molta Lana Pontbriant Kyle Verona Melanie Williams Photos

Nick Lacy Ken Sayers (Thanks to members of the faculty who contributed travel photos) Proofreading

Betty Seaver

Dr. David T. Chase (left) and Eastern President David G. Carter (center) present the Chase Medallion to Harry Gray, distinguished Connecticut industrialist and philanthropist.

he theme for this issue of EASTERN magazine is “giving back.” In the following pages you will read how alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and students are contributing to make Eastern Connecticut State University a vibrant campus and an outstanding educational institution. From contributing innovative ideas, to donating family treasures, to volunteering time for campus projects, the stories you read will remind you of why members of the Eastern family give back to the University. In the center of the magazine you also will find a special section that lists all of the individuals, businesses, and organizations who contributed financial support to the University in 2003-04.

In this issue, you also will read about Eastern’s connections to the world at large. Students, faculty, and staff take pride in serving others, working on community issues, and reaching out to the world beyond our campus. And sometimes, the world comes to us, as the story on international students describes.

Certainly Eastern has grown considerably in the past decade and a half, with new academic programs, enrollment growth, and new facilities. At the same time, Eastern faculty and staff have worked diligently to raise academic standards. In June 2004, Eastern was accepted as the twenty-first member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. This past September, Eastern celebrated the accreditation of the University’s education unit and initial certification-level teacher preparation programs by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). These are just two signs that Eastern is reaching high as Connecticut’s liberal arts university.

I am especially pleased to share our cover story with you. Professor of Economics Rhona Free was recognized in November as U.S. Professor of the Year among master’s-level universities by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. This well-deserved award is an honor for everyone associated with Eastern.

Every day at Eastern, Dr. Free and her colleagues give back their expertise, time, and commitment to our students to promote learning. Such dedication is a true inspiration to Eastern supporters, who continue to help keep the University strong, vital, and growing.

To our students, who give us hope; to our faculty, who inspire us to stretch beyond our imaginations; and to Eastern’s supporters, who are moved to give back to their University in countless ways, I thank you. Eastern aspires to be great — because of you.

David G. Carter President

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Eastern Economics Professor

Rhona Free 2004 Professor of the Year

by Susan Hejlik

Take some poetry, add snippets from movies such as It’s a Wonderful Life and A Beautiful Mind, include a PBS documentary and a trip to the local grocery store, and you get a glimpse of the teaching tools used by Rhona Free, economics professor at Eastern Connecticut State University.

Because of her use of these nontraditional teaching aids in the classroom and her other outstanding work at Eastern, Free recently garnered the honor of being named a 2004 U.S. Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Free is one of four national winners, receiving her recognition in the Master’s Universities and Colleges category.

Free was chosen from a field of more than 300 distinguished professors representing the most respected institutions of higher education in the United States. She received the award at a luncheon on Nov. 18, 2004, at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, DC. “What makes Rhona Campbell Free unique is the creative and open approach she brings to teaching,” says John Lippincott, president of CASE, the organization that instituted the award in 1981. In 1994, CASE renamed the award after the Carnegie Foundation because of its financial support. “While Dr. Free is deeply committed to her discipline of economics, she enthusiastically uses pedagogical approaches and tools more common to other disciplines to reach and motivate students.”

Free says that being at Eastern has influenced her teaching. “There’s a culture at Eastern that emphasizes teaching as the most important thing we do. You are rewarded for teaching, so you always have to figure out how you can be better. Plus, the small classes allow you to do things you couldn’t do in a large class.

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“Besides having remarkably talented students, we also have students at Eastern who are just as capable, but they don’t really know how to be good students yet,” Free adds. “So, as a teacher, you have to use a lot of teaching methods and approaches to make sure you are providing an education that challenges the advanced students, while making it possible for the less prepared students to learn as well.

“At Eastern, the thinking is: A rising tide raises all ships,” she says. “There’s no feeling of competition, even with this award. Whatever you want to do, there are people here at Eastern who are supportive and provide good advice. We welcome colleagues’ successes. It’s the culture here. Just like the belief that the most important thing we are here to do is to educate students.”

Free says she learned her teaching style from her economics professor, Frank Roosevelt, a grandson of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY. “He taught economics in such a way that he wasn’t teaching through numbers or to just manipulate data,” Free recalls. “He taught with the objective of

workshops, taking exercise classes. For example, she uses scenes from the movie It’s a Wonderful Life to illustrate what happens when there’s a run on a bank. While at a supermarket one day, she noticed some senior citizens sitting on a bench at the store, waiting for their shuttle back to elderly housing. It occurred to her that they would be a great resource for her students when they studied the Great Depression. She had the students interview elderly persons about their memories of that depression, how it affected their lives, and what they think caused it.

John Lippincott, president of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (left), and Lee S. Shulman, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, present Dr. Rhona Free with the 2004 U.S. Professor of the Year Award.

helping you understand your place in the world and the way the world works. It was clear he wasn’t just teaching me how to solve a specific set of number problems. He was teaching a worldview, making me a critical thinker.

He was really interested in helping students develop a perspective on big issues: inequality, fairness, justice, value, and power.”

After graduating from Sarah Lawrence in 1978, Free received her master’s degree and doctorate in economics at the University of Notre Dame in 1980 and 1983.

When she started teaching at Eastern 21 years ago, Free says she spent a good deal of time using a different colored spiral notebook for each course and transferring the information written there onto the chalkboard. But she began experimenting in response to specific realities: a blind student; a student-athlete who was drafted professionally but wanted to finish a course while at spring training; and the realization that she didn’t have the patience to read 85 essays on the same topic.

“I have a very short attention span; I get bored easily,” Free readily concedes. “I enjoy experimenting. I don’t really worry too much if something will work. I figure a new mistake is better than making the same mistake again. I really do care about how much my students learn.

I’m always happy to try something if I think it will help them learn. That’s what you do as a teacher: you look for new ways to help your students.” Free finds these new ways everywhere: during a trip to the grocery store, reading fiction and poetry, watching television, going to

Poetry and economics generally aren’t considered related topics, but Free has found a link. “In one of the classes I teach about labor; part of it is about our view of work. Is what we do our identity? Where does that come from? We know that earnings vary by race, gender, and ethnicity, but is part of that the result of a difference in people’s view of work? How important is it?” She uses poems by people from different cultures that reflect a view of work to create class discussions.

But it’s not all fun and shopping on eBay in Free’s classroom. Students who are reluctant to participate have no place here. Free has her students watching Donald Trump’s The Apprentice to get ideas on how to stand up for themselves and take chances when answering questions. “Those are the behaviors I want for my students in class. I don’t want them to sit back and be passive.”

Free says she has no plans to continue her career anywhere else. “I’ve had other offers to teach elsewhere, but there has never been an opportunity where I was even close to thinking about leaving. Being here at Eastern is terrific.

There’s nothing here that keeps you from doing whatever it is you want to do.”

a Long Time were no academic departments and J. Eugene Smith was college president. About 600 students attended that year.

by Susan Hejlik

“I’ve been here 40 years, so I think I’m the current There’s no place like home — senior person,” the 68-year-old Ferguson says. “At the academic home that is one time we had a small-school mentality. Now Eastern Connecticut State we’re on par with any school.”

University, according to five In 1966–67, Downing, Swanson, and Salter joined long-time faculty members.

Timothy Swanson the faculty of about 90. Downing was hired as Nancy Salter, interim dean of assistant professor of music. Swanson was hired as the School of Arts and Sciences; instructor of physics. Salter came on board as an adjunct Eldon Downing, professor of music; R. Max Ferguson, faculty member to teach English. Searle Charles, former professor of chemistry; Timothy Swanson, associate prodean of the college, was named president. fessor of physics and chair of the Department of Physical Science; and Bill Holowaty, professor of health and physi“A lot of faculty joined that year,” Downing, 75, comcal education, as well as head baseball coach. Each has ments. “About 90 percent of the 750–800 students were served on the Eastern faculty for 35 years or longer. studying elementary education. I took an ambitious They have seen Eastern grow as never before. When they started teaching at Willimantic State College in the 1960s, Shafer Hall housed all administrative offices; the library; Shafer Auditorium; the Office of Student Affairs; the Little Theatre; all the classrooms; an art unit; the music “suite”; a science unit; and physical education offices, locker and shower rooms, and the gym (now the Harry Hope Theatre).

In 1965, when Ferguson began teaching at Eastern, he joined a faculty of about 50 who met to decide school policies. There

approach even though there was no music major. Every four years we would present Handel’s ‘Messiah.’ That way, every student had an opportunity to perform in it.”

Downing, who will celebrate a half century in teaching next year, directed the University’s choral groups for 35 years before stepping down in 2002.

Salter, 64, thinks back to the lack of resources teachers had in the early days: “Today we have a better understanding of what tools faculty members need to do their educational work. When I was hired, I had to share a desk. It took me about 10 years to get a phone of my own.”

Forget cell phones. At the helm of the Eastern college switchboard was Irmgard Gilmartin, the operator whom Salter describes as “the voice of Eastern.” “Children would call and ask for mommy or daddy. She’d know who the parent was and put the call through. I didn’t have an old-fashioned phone very long before I had to figure out the new system, which, by the way, is the current phone system.”

Bill Holowaty

Coming Nancy Salter

All five faculty members — Salter, Downing, Ferguson, Swanson, and Holowaty — agree that they stayed at Eastern because the University’s small size allows more interaction between students and faculty; the emphasis is on teaching; and faculty are given autonomy.

Eldon Downing

Swanson, 62, was the first person hired to teach physics. All the sciences were taught in three rooms on the second floor of Shafer Hall. In the spring of 1967, Goddard Hall opened, and Swanson moved there. He hasn’t moved since. “Our department has had a lot of longevity. It’s really just within the last four or five years that we’ve added three faculty positions to the department. Basically, we’ve had the same people for more than 20 years.”

“Eastern is special,” Ferguson says. “It has a physical environment that is constant and supportive. It’s always improving. I have to give credit to President David Carter for being creative and always looking to the future. He’s friendly and supportive, but he always wants your best.”

None of the five thinks of retiring in the near future. The influx of students, new course materials, and changing roles in departments keep them fresh.

“I think part of my job as a teacher is being a guide to life, Downing says. “Part of getting older and staying on is that you realize you have many things to impart.”

In 1968–69, Willimantic State College became Eastern Connecticut State College. When Holowaty, 59, came to Eastern a year later, he thought he’d teach for a couple of years before becoming a big-time basketball coach.

Instead, in his 37 years, Holowaty has introduced coaching, officiating, and first aid classes, and has created a baseball dynasty at Eastern.

“When I got here, there were fewer than 1,000 students; now there are more than 5,000,” Holowaty recounts. “This year, we had 88 kids try out for the baseball team from all over the East Coast; 35 are from out of state. One thing I’m very proud of is that I’ve had more than 25 sets of brothers play baseball for me.

I think that speaks more of the program than of winning ballgames. We’re developing human beings.”

R. Max Ferguson

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ConnCAP: Cultivating a Culture of Excellence

by Melanie Williams

Angelina Gardner of New London and her son, Adrian, are excited — and for good reason. Adrian has learned to appreciate the value of hard work and higher education.

And Angelina is delighted that Adrian, only in middle school, is focused on college and later pursuing a career that combines math and music. She credits Eastern Connecticut State University’s ConnCAP program for making her son “a better student and a better citizen as well.”

(left to right) Bruce Cole, chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities; Floyd Bagwell, ConnCap Executive Director; Monica Lasenberry, ConnCAP student; and First Lady Laura Bush.

On Dec. 14, the ConnCAP program, designed to increase college awareness among urban youth, was named a national winner of a 2004 Coming Up Taller Award. The President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH), the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services confer the award annually. First Lady Laura Bush, honorary chair of the PCAH, was on hand for the award celebration, presenting Eastern with a beautiful plaque

and a $10,000 check for having one of the best programs in the country. Eastern’s program was one of 17 national finalists.

“I congratulate this year’s Coming Up Taller Award recipients for the exemplary work they are doing and the outstanding opportunities they are providing to enrich the lives of young people,” said Mrs. Bush.

Eastern’s ConnCAP program offers students in grades 7–12 from Windham, New London, and Norwich intensive summer courses and professional tutoring, and uses the arts, math, English, civics, study skills, and the sciences and humanities to prepare teenagers from lowperforming schools for college. Activities are built around core themes each summer. In 2004, approximately 100 participants in the summer component of the program enrolled in courses for college credit at Eastern Connecticut State University.

“We are truly honored by this recognition,” commented Eastern’s President David G. Carter. “For many years, Floyd Bagwell and his staff have given area high school students the kind of role modeling and one-on-one attention the children need to learn the value of a college education, and what it takes to make their dreams happen. The Coming Up Taller Award tells us we are on the right track.”

Bagwell, executive director of ConnCAP and director of Eastern’s Learning Center, called the Coming Up Taller

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ConnCAP 2004 was a collaboration with The Writer’s Block InK, a program that uses theatrical production to allow students to express their learning and their personal experiences. Working with Clarissa Beyah-Taylor, founder of the The Writers Block InK and director of global communications for Pfizer, Inc., ConnCAP students wrote a script from their own experiences, and developed a play, “Chastity’s Choice,” which dealt with the issue of teenage pregnancy and promiscuity. The students were responsible for all aspects of the production, including lighting, set design, acting, and promotion.

Andy Gobiel, Washington DC-based reporter for WFSB-TV, interviews ConnCAP parent Gwen Boyd at the December 2004 Coming Up Taller Award ceremony.

“What excites me about partnering with ConnCAP is the realization that we must find creative, new ways to reach youth and demonstrate the benefits of academic excellence while addressing serious social issues,” said Beyah-Taylor.

“Throughout this process, the students taught one another, directed one another, learned to take criticism, gave feedback, and worked as members of a team.”

Award “a remarkable honor” for the program, which has been a part of the University for more than eight years.

“Excellence is a culture that we are trying to advance with our students. Being the best and perceiving yourself as being the best are challenging but realistic goals for young people.” Bagwell says ConnCAP grounds students in the basics — “To think critically, compute accurately and read and write well. These are the keys to their success.”

As evidenced by the direct impact of the program on children’s continuing education, ConnCAP is making a tangible difference in participants’ lives. Many students are in their fourth year with the program. In Windham, more than half of the active high school participants made the honor roll in a recent marking period, and more than half of the middle school students earned a C or better in core courses. Participants have gone on to become class presidents and published poets and writers.

Bagwell is pleased with parental involvement in ConnCAP. “It’s important for them to understand the process by which their sons and daughters grow.”

Witnessing that has compelled some of the parents to invest in their own future. “I tell them, ‘Go for it! Live your dreams!’ Some have already enrolled at Eastern.”

ConnCAP students pick up on Bagwell’s own definition of success. He says, “It is not about money, big cars, fancy clothes, and diamonds. Those are all superficial. For me, integrity is the key. Being able to provide for yourself and your family, having a faith and exercising your belief in that faith, being a good citizen in your town, state, and country — that’s what success is to me. That’s what ‘coming up taller’ means to me.”

Bagwell looks forward to the upcoming summer, when “one big family” will continue the Eastern tradition of cultivating a culture of excellence.

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Bringing the World to Eastern

by Ed Osborn

At Eastern Connecticut State University, members of the campus community are working diligently to become better global citizens.

“It’s exciting when a student from Plainfield, Montville, or Hartford rooms with a student from Sweden or Sri Lanka.

This is part of our mission — to provide students with a global experience,” says Kimberly Crone, director of admissions and enrollment management.

Eastern has actively recruited international students for years. Following the events of 9/11, universities throughout the United States saw a dramatic decrease in international student enrollments. Over the past few years, the University has reinvigorated its efforts to encourage students from other countries to come to Eastern.

One way is to expand outreach to targeted countries, and Crone has visited Sweden, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the past year to recruit students.

Helping Crone are newly designated alumni ambassadors in the three countries. The ambassadors serve as a direct contact for prospective students, and are invaluable to Eastern’s recruitment efforts.

Natasha Husain ’01 is the alumni ambassador in the UAE; Dilini Gunasekera ’92 is filling that role in Sri Lanka.

Poyan Shojaiyan ’04 is Eastern’s alumni ambassador in Sweden. Named a Barnard Scholar in April, Shojaiyan is now studying biomedicine at the Goteborg Graduate School in his adopted country, having moved to Sweden in 1987 from Shariz, Iraq during the Iraq-Iran War.

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“Very few of my classmates have the lab experience that I have,” says Shojaiyan. He believes he is “proof that Eastern’s biology department can compete, not only regionally and nationally, but also internationally.”

Crone also mentions two other initiatives — a new associate director of admissions focused on recruiting international students and expanded articulation agreements in countries such as Singapore — as additional strategies the University has in place to increase the presence of international students at Eastern.

On campus, the Office of International Programs supports international students by advising on immigration and related regulations, such as dealing with visa restrictions or assisting with internship applications. The office also helps students adjust to cultural and geographic differences.

Currently, there are 32 international students attending the University from 19 countries. Six are from Nigeria, three are from Sweden, and others are from Brazil, Ukraine, France, and other countries.

Ibiyemi Ayeni is a second-semester sophomore majoring in accounting. She and her older brother, Temitope, who is also an Eastern student, are from Lagos, Nigeria.

“I arrived in January 2004,” says Ibiyemi, “and it was so cold, I thought I was going to freeze to death.” While the climate has been an adjustment, she says she has enjoyed being on Eastern’s campus.

Cyril Alix of France and Nino Amazonas of Brazil, (left) and Shweta Chhetri of Nepal (below) enjoy themselves at Professor Horrock’s world-famous lasagna dinner. (right) Members of the International Student Club, which supports Eastern’s international students in a number of ways, including planning events and cultural trips. (left to right) Joy Dafe ’05, business administration, from Sweden; Ibiyemi Ayeni ’06, accounting, from Nigeria; Saron Zeru ’08, music, from Sweden; Danait Haile ’08, music, from Sweden; and Club Secretary John Rhone ’06, biochemistry, from Jamaica.

“It’s small enough that everyone knows everybody, and it’s easier to fit in here than at a larger campus,” Ibiyemi explains. “The people are friendly, and my professors are always ready to lend a hand.” She also appreciates the efforts of faculty and staff to encourage a “sense of family” at Eastern.

Andryi Maksymovych is an exchange student from Ivan Franko National University in L’viv, Ukraine. One of Eastern Europe’s oldest institutions, IFNU opened its doors in 1661! Maksymovych will graduate back in the Ukraine this June, and plans to continue on for a graduate degree in international economics and finance. He has visited Boston, enjoying the museums and libraries there, and also has traveled frequently to New York City.

Maksymovych says he has met some wonderful people during his short time in Willimantic, including Ray Aramini, founder of Bike for Bread, who has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Connecticut food banks and soup kitchens. He also took a class at Eastern with Kenneth Parzych, professor of economics.

“Dr. Parzych is one of the best professors I have had,” says Maksymovych. “He has so much energy, and he shares it with everyone. He has inspired me to study harder.”

“There is a lot of enthusiasm here,” agrees Cyril Alix, who

is in the fourth year of a five-year program in business administration. Alix is also an exchange student, visiting Eastern from Université Catholique de Lyon in France.

“I’ve learned a great deal from Professor Ron Lowy and others,” says Alix. “I already knew the basics — accounting, management concepts, business planning. What you learn at Eastern is how it all fits together. That’s the beauty of an interdisciplinary approach.”

Both Alix and Maksymovych recall with amazement a party at a pizza shop held soon after their arrival.

“President Carter sat right there with us, eating pizza,” recalls Alix. “You just don’t see that personal touch elsewhere.” And Maksymovych chuckles thinking of the email he received last August from Professor Robert Horrocks while still in Ukraine.

“The email said, ‘Don’t miss my world famous lasagna dinner!’ And I didn’t.”

Eastern partners with Kano State, Nigeria

Eastern President David G. Carter signs an agreement of cooperation with Ibrahim Shekarau, the Executive Governor of Kano State in Nigeria. The agreement will open up educational opportunities in that country for Eastern faculty and students, while also providing exchange opportunities for Nigerian students and faculty here at Eastern.

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Pack your bags and see the Going abroad to study is a time-honored tradition at Eastern Connecticut State University. The past months have seen Eastern students and guides once again trekking the globe in search of enhanced knowledge in their chosen academic fields and a better understanding of other cultures.

by Ed Osborn

Ellen Brodie, professor of performing arts and director of the theatre program at Eastern, makes the Atlantic crossing twice a year to give her theatre students a taste of England. This past summer, she and her students visited the ruins at Old Sarum Castle in Wiltshire, met British historian Sean Brady, and toured Hampton Court Palace in London (shown above). Of course, they found time to take in some classic British theatre, including performances by Eastern’s British guest artists James Simmons, in Trevor Nunn’s Hamlet at the Old Vic, and Christopher Ettridge in Democracy on the West End. 1

Professor Branko Cavarkapa, chair of the Department of Business Administration, was busy last summer. So were nine of his students, whom he accompanied on a two-week trip to Europe. The main reason for the trip was the three-credit International Marketing course they took at Eastern’s partner school in Lyon, France — the Université Catholique de Lyon. Students received instruction in English in the morning from Cavarkapa and other guest professors; afternoons were spent visiting companies and engaging in local cultural activities. Some of the companies visited included the Credit Lyonaisse Bank and Atari, Inc. of PACMAN and .mp3 fame.

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world!

The students also met with Secretary General Ron Noble of Interpol, the international police agency. Noble, the first person from the United States to lead Interpol, gave students useful advice on career and education choices.

“The Atari visit was impressive,” according to Cavarkapa.

“They were planning the worldwide release of Drive 3, their new video game, and gave our students a two-hour sneak preview of the promotional campaign they were about to implement for the new product launch. You can’t learn that in a classroom.”

Eastern’s students also spent two days in Paris visiting that city’s major historical attractions — the Louvre (shown here), the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and a riverboat cruise on the Seine. They also visited Geneva, Switzerland and Lake Annecy in the French Alps.

After the student portion of the trip was completed, Cavarkapa went to Athens, Greece to present his paper at the second International Conference on Business, Economics, Management & Marketing.

In May 2004, Health and Physical Education (HPE) students Lauren Proniewych ’05, Colleen Devine ’06, and Tom Hardy ’04, joined Neil Williams, professor of 3

Environmental earth science students Amie Leandro ’05 and Todd Ostrowski ’05 joined Drew Hyatt, associate professor of environmental earth science, on a 12-day field experience in Georgia this past June. Research focused on collecting lake sediment cores from Lake Louise, a sinkhole lake near Valdosta and taking core samples from the bottom of a spectacular erosional gully in Providence Canyon State Park in west-central Georgia.

Leandro and Ostrowski spent this past fall analyzing sediment samples from both sites as part of an independent study research project supervised by Hyatt. (Below, Leandro and Hyatt collect video from the rim of Providence Canyon State Park.)

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health and physical education, on a two-week study tour of the Lake District of England.

Proniewych, Devine, and Hardy participated in outdoor adventure programming, attended lectures, and took practica at the host teachers college; presented current U.S. and English physical education research at special seminars; taught physical education classes in local schools; visited historic sites; and engaged in a three-day trek covering 35 miles over England’s highest peaks. (See them above climbing Fairfield Horseshoe.)

In addition, there were trips to Edinburgh and other localities in Scotland, and Liverpool (to “study” the history of the Beatles); local hikes; meals at hosts’ homes; and lessons in local history and culture.

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This study tour is part of an ongoing series of reciprocal student and faculty exchanges — 26 to date — first implemented between Eastern and St. Martin’s College, Ambleside, England, in 1991.

This past May, a dozen biology students joined Professors Phillip Elliott and Charles Booth on Belize’s barrier reef, the longest in the Western Hemisphere. They were literally immersed in their Tropical Biology course, which has been offered since 1968 — 36 years and counting! In addition to spending a week on the barrier reef, the students and faculty also explored a tropical rainforest in the Belize interior.

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The four-credit Tropical Biology course is serious business.

It includes a one-credit seminar that must be taken earlier in the year to qualify for the trip to the Caribbean. Scuba divers also must be precertified. (Ian Ostrover ’04 is shown diving above a garden of soft corals.)

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Professor Eric Martin, Department of Business Administration, was in Mostar, Bosnia, this past summer to speak at a conference on development assistance, at the time the newly rebuilt Mostar Bridge (see above) was dedicated. The original bridge was destroyed during the Bosnian conflict. Joining Martin on a panel was the mayor of Mostar and the head of the Bosnian NGO Foundation (Non-Governmental Organizations), part of an international human rights coalition.

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Eighteen students from the Connecticut State University (CSU) System and three of their CSU professors were in Ireland from May 27 to June 22 for field courses in biology and art. Ron Todd, art professor, and Sylvia Halkin, biology professor, both from Central Connecticut State University, joined Eastern’s Muriel Miller, adjunct professor in art.

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The first three days of the trip were spent in Dublin.

Students and faculty visited Trinity College, the Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Art. On the third day, the group flew on to Shannon and stayed in the small seacoast village of Doolin for the next eight days.

(Students and faculty are shown above on the Doolin seacoast studying biology and art.)

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Eastern faculty are already planning a trip to Australia from May 23 to June 18, 2005. If you are interested in joining the tour, contact Miller at Millermu@easternct.edu; Halkin at HalkinS@ccsu.edu; or Nancy Weissman or Lisa Bigelow at the CCSU Center for International Education (860) 832-2040.

In July, Marsha Davis, chair of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, and Hari Koirala, associate professor in the Department of Education, presented a paper at the 10th International Congress on Mathematical Education in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their presentation, “Development and Implementation of a Competency-based Performance Assessment to Measure High School Mathematics Preservice Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions,” was one of eight chosen from an international pool of proposals for a thematic session on assessment. (Davis is shown below in Copenhagen, with the Danish Parliament building in the background.)

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Flying to Manchester, England, the travelers visited the National Parks Lake District for the last two weeks of the program. Settling themselves in the small town of Grasmere, the party visited the homes of John Ruskin, Beatrix Potter, and William Wordsworth.

“Traveling and studying abroad is a wonderful opportunity to grow as a person and earn educational credits,” says Miller. “Our teaching team has successfully introduced many students to the rewards of international learning.”

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On a Mission

By Brian Girasoli (article excerpted, courtesy of Norwich Bulletin, Nov. 16, 2004)

For Bill Holowaty, this was a baseball clinic unlike any other.

The longtime baseball coach at Eastern Connecticut State University recently spent three weeks in South Africa, giving 26 clinics over 16 days on the fine art of pitching.

Holowaty gave clinics in some of the bigger South African cities, such as East London, Durban, and Capetown. He also visited poorer townships, where one in two people were infected with HIV, and towns where there was a 45 percent unemployment rate.

“People would build these tin cities, like shantytowns. Not 10 of them, but thousands,” he said. “I went to one town that had 500,000 people and you’d see these light poles along the street, and there would be 100 wires off the poles. People were stealing electricity.

“I went to schools that had just started baseball one month ago,” he recounted. “They want the

“I helped with developing their pitchers — what to do to make a better national team,” Holowaty said. “They are more throwers than pitchers. For them, it’s fastball, fastball, fastball — no changeups, no breaking balls.

“For them, baseball is an unbelievable passion.”

In the five cities he visited, Holowaty spoke at schools during the morning and afternoon, and to club teams in the evening. A film crew came during this time to film a Bill Holowaty demonstrates the proper way to throw a pitch during one of the 26 clinics he held in South Africa.

game, but they have so many problems outside of baseball, it’s scary how people live.

“But the people couldn’t have been nicer. The kids wanted to learn and they loved the game.”

Children are given balls, gloves, and helmets from the Baseball Federation of South Africa, as well as Major League Baseball. Many times schools would share the equipment.

baseball show — think “This Week in Baseball” — which Holowaty said was the first of its kind in South Africa.

Each trip was an eye-opening experience for him: “I went to all these schools where we’d have 100 kids, and some didn’t have shoes,” he said. “I would give a clinic and most of the time, I would be where you and I would think a cow pasture was. There were cows going by us on the field. And there would be glass and rocks everywhere.”

“Some school systems are just getting into baseball and they don’t have enough equipment for the game,” he said.

“Kids are thrilled about it.”

During those three weeks, Holowaty learned a deeper appreciation for his home country. “Everyone told me how much they would love to come to America. Everyone asked me ‘How’s Fenway Park? How’s Yankee Stadium?’” he said. “I went to these townships and schools, and I felt bad because some of them can’t get out of there.”

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From Eastern

to Griswold High

by Andres Hidalgo and Susan Hejlik

Life after college can lead to many different places, but for four Eastern graduates, a teaching career in math brought them to the same place — Griswold High School. Deborah Herrick ’74, Sharon Parker ’85, Dana Cooke ’00, and Shayne Stedman ’98 make up the majority of the seven-person mathematics department at Griswold High.

Herrick is the senior member of the group. Her courses at Griswold range from geometry to honors algebra. Teaching math had been her career goal since her freshman year in high school. “I had never been taught math in such a clear way before; I decided I wanted to have the opportunity to do the same with a class of my own,” she says. She attended Eastern because of its reputation as a good teaching college and its low cost.

Parker, a May 1985 graduate, started teaching at Griswold that fall. She was able to work on her master’s degree at Eastern while teaching, and completed it in 1990.

Sharon Parker

Stedman and Cooke both went to Killingly High School, where they were on the wrestling team together. Later they studied in Eastern’s Department of Mathematics, graduating in 1998 and 2000, respectively. Despite these past connections, it was sheer coincidence that the two ended up teaching down the hall from each other at Griswold.

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Deborah Herrick

Dana Cooke

“I have roots here and I felt more comfortable teaching kids from my neck of the woods,” explains Cooke, who teaches geometry for grades 9–12 and coaches wrestling and girl’s volleyball. “I didn’t even know the others were teaching here until I arrived.”

Stedman has been teaching at Griswold since his college graduation. In addition to rotating between teaching precalculus, algebra, and geometry, he coaches girls cross country, and boys and girls indoor and outdoor track. He says the changes at Eastern are striking. “Whenever I visit Eastern, I continue to be surprised by how much it has changed in the few years since I graduated. I remember when our baseball field was in the middle of the library lawn. Now the baseball team has its own amazing stadium.”

Shayne Stedman

excellence, teaching styles, and subject knowledge.

Herrick fondly recalls Professor Steve Kenton’s class.

“I had him during his first semester at Eastern, so his students were learning along with him. We still remain close. I’ve been to his house and met his wife, Faith, and we recently worked together to organize the 20year alumni reunion for math majors.”

Stedman also remembers Kenton’s class. “He really knew how to prepare a lesson and make it relevant not only in math but in real life. His great sense of humor really made class interesting and fun.”

“Most of the math students became a close-knit group,” Herrick says. “We worked together on projects and class work. We really helped one another understand concepts.”

“What I really liked about Eastern was that you really got to know many students with the same major,” Cooke remarks. “I commuted to school, so class was really the only time I could meet new people there, and it turned out great!”

The four Griswold High instructors offer advice to Eastern students heading toward a teaching career.

“Teaching is a great profession,” Parker says. “Even though it is a lot of hard work, the rewards are endless. It’s very gratifying.”

Although Herrick notes, “College is still college and students are there to learn and prepare themselves for their future,” she goes on to say, “The campus itself has changed dramatically. It’s starting to look like a big-time institution.”

All four praise the math faculty at Eastern for their

“Learn how to manage a classroom,” Cooke advises.

“I went through the alternate route to certification instead of Eastern’s program. I needed to finish quickly; I received only three weeks of student teaching. I have learned a lot since I started at Griswold.

Structure, structure, structure.”

Herrick believes that the most important aspect of being a teacher is being able to communicate with students and to develop a mutual, respectful relationship with them. “You need to truly like kids and to enjoy teaching to be successful.”

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“The Hall Itself is an Instrument” The Eastern Connecticut State University Concert Chorale had the opportunity of a lifetime on Sunday, Nov. 21, when it performed at the mecca for all musicians: the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The auditorium’s renowned acoustics have made it a favorite of audiences and performers alike. The late Isaac Stern, for whom the auditorium was renamed in 1996, once said, “The hall itself is an instrument.”

“Carnegie Hall is a glorious place. It is absolutely breathtaking,” exclaimed Erin Dutton, a senior. “It was amazing to stand onstage and realize how many famous people have performed there.”

The Concert Chorale, comprising 19 students, 6 faculty and staff members, and 5 members of the community, joined four university choirs to sing Mozart’s “Coronation Mass.” There were about 250 singers on stage, according to David Belles, director of the Concert Chorale and vocal studies at Eastern. “The performance was terrific. I think everyone was very well prepared.”

The invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall came in February 2004 from conductor Earl Rivers, professor of music, head of the division of ensembles and conducting, and director of choral studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Belles studied under Rivers for his master’s degree. “Dr. Rivers invited

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some of his former students to attend because of our association with him and the reputation of the schools.

He knew the singers would perform at the level that is appropriate at Carnegie Hall,” Belles explained.

Chorale members came to five rehearsals over the summer to get a head start learning the music. They then met one night a week for several hours in the fall. In New York City, the full choir had four-hour rehearsals on both Friday and Saturday.

“You think you’re doing something well, but then you’re exposed to someone else performing the art form, you have something else to reach for. It’s a cooperative learning experience, not a competition,” Belles said. “Already I notice a difference in the way the students are listening to choral music. I think it’s really going to precipitate the learning process. It’s going to allow us to excel at a much faster rate.”

Many believe performing at Carnegie Hall happens once in a lifetime. Unable to take advantage of a similar invitation when she was younger, Patricia Banach, director of the J. Eugene Smith Library, got a second chance. “I never expected another opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall,” Banach said. “During the performance, I looked out at the crowd and thought, ‘Savor this moment.’ It was a thrilling experience.”

by Ed Osborn

...it can come true at Eastern. Determination and a sense of purpose paid off for Monica (Gallagher) Lamoureux ’99 when she led the successful creation of the Make a Wish fountain and established the Make a Wish tradition at Eastern six years ago.

Lamoureux, a public policy and government major, was active on campus during her time at Eastern, serving as an area supervisor during her junior year. As senior class president, she wanted to ensure that the senior class gift was memorable.

“Eastern opened in 1889,” she says, “so it’s been here for more than 100 years. But I felt we could use more traditions.”

Lamoureux says that although the Student Center was a popular spot for students because of the many activities taking place in it, there was no visual focal point outside it.

Her plan was simple: no matter where commencement ceremonies were held, a walk from the Foster Clock Tower to a (to-be-built) fountain could be included. The “make a wish” walk, complete with a coin toss into the fountain,

could become a tradition for first-year students at convocation, with a final, return walk during commencement.

“The class officers thought it was a great idea,” recalls Lamoureux. “So then I got nervous. ‘How are we going to get this done in time?’ We didn’t start building the fountain until three weeks before commencement, and it wasn’t finished until the Friday before Sunday’s graduation.”

She remembers that “Dr. Carter was our biggest fan.

He kept telling me, ‘You’ll get it done. I’m not worried about it.’ He reminded me of that adage, ‘When fate shuts the door, come in through the window.’ ” Six years later, the Make a Wish fountain still flows strong, and the penny jars are still emptied, refilled, and stored for each entering class to complete their circle at commencement as seniors.

And how is the person who came up with this tradition doing? “I can’t say enough about Eastern,” says Lamoureux, who is now in the marketing field. “It taught me so much, and not just academics. It prepared me for life.”

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Eastern scores big with Music Treasure

by Susan Hejlik

Safely ensconced in a fourth-floor room of the J. Eugene Smith Library at Eastern Connecticut State University is a collection of music scores that inspired one man to compose Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning songs.

The Harry Sukman Masters of Music Collection was donated in May 2004 to Eastern by Sukman’s daughter, Susan Sukman McCray.

The collection contains music scores from well-known composers Franz Liszt, George Gershwin, Brahms, and Beethoven, as well as from such lesser known composers as Dmitri Kabalevsky, Aram Khachaturian, and Joaquin Turina.

(above) Susan Sukman McCray, during a visit to campus in March 2004. (right) The Harry Sukman Masters of Music Collection on display in the J. Eugene Smith Library.

Who was Harry Sukman, the man behind this diverse collection? He was a talented pianist who loved music more than anything, according to his daughter.

In his heart, classical music ruled. “He found the greatest inspiration in listening to it,” says McCray. “Through the years, he gathered music in his collection and referred to his library often as he composed songs for movies and television. I decided the collection should be saved and shared with others.”

Born in Chicago in 1912, Sukman was dedicated to music even as a child. “My father told me he would choose to practice the piano rather than play with the neighborhood children,” McCray says. His dedication paid off. Sukman started playing at age 5 and by age 11, served as piano accompanist for some of the world’s greatest opera artists.

In 1946, Sukman, his wife, Francesca, also a gifted musician, and daughter Susan moved to California, where he joined Paramount Pictures as a staff pianist. There, he

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renewed his friendship with composer conductor Victor Young and started composing for movies and television.

The music kept flowing at home, too. He kept a pencil and paper on his nightstand to take notes, literally. “He’d wake up and write out music,” McCray recalls. “I used to wake up to concerts with my parents playing the Steinways that were dove-tailed in one room. My mother was a great help and complement to my father.”

Sukman was prolific in his work. In 1954 he wrote his first film score. By 1962 he had scored 19 films; that year he won an Academy Award for his adaptation of Liszt music and his composition for the background score of Song Without End (the story of Franz Liszt). He received Oscar nominations in 1962 and 1963 for composing the film scores for Fanny and The Singing Nun, respectively.

These movies didn’t fare too well with critics, but Sukman’s music did.

“My father loved creating and composing music, the two went hand-in-hand. It gave him great joy to play what he

In the 1960s, Sukman composed music mostly for television, including scores for more than 200 episodes of Dr. Kildare, Bonanza, Gentle Ben, and more. His compositions for The High Chaparral garnered an Emmy nomination. Sukman even wrote the music for the 1979 miniseries Salem’s Lot. Although he may have stayed indoors as a child to practice the piano, as an adult he was very outgoing. “He loved to tell jokes,” McCray reminisces. “As a member of the Friar’s Club, he’d jot down notes to remember the jokes by.

He was a very good friend to a lot of famous people.”

On Dec. 2, 1984, Sukman was guest soloist at a fund-raiser in Palm Springs, CA. He had just finished performing Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in

Harry Sukman (note Oscar at his elbow) at the Steinway in his home, where he wrote much of his music.

wrote,” McCray remembers. “He heard harmony differently. He appreciated music more than most people and he had perfect pitch. He also enjoyed conducting and, because he was also a performer, his fellow musicians respected him.”

Big-name performers like Frank Sinatra respected him, too. Sukman and Sinatra became friends after the two worked together on the movie The Naked Runner. Even though Sukman was an acclaimed pianist, he shared with Sinatra how nervous he was before he performed. Sinatra told him it was “a sign of how good you are. You care.”

How good a pianist was he? One of his first compositions, “Pixie Holiday,” was recorded in 1953 with Sukman on the piano and Young conducting the orchestra. The song was recorded on the first take. Sukman subsequently wrote the sheet music for the piano. Listening to the piece, it sounds impossible that only two hands are on the keyboard. McCray comments that no one has yet taken on the challenge to play it in public. She used the original recording when she recently produced a tribute CD. “He had great touch on the piano, great feeling,” she says.

Blue,” when he stood to a standing ovation and collapsed of a heart attack. His death came on his 72nd birthday.

“My father used to say, ‘Music is sound, but not all sound is music,’” McCray said. “To him, each film and television project was a labor of love, and it deserved its own personal sound. That is why no two compositions sound the same. Each score stands alone and was recognized, appreciated, and acclaimed on its own merit.”

The music that inspired Sukman is now at Eastern, here to inspire students, staff, faculty, and friends of the university.

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philanthropy

Eastern Presents 2004 ECSU Alumni Association Awards Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ’01, Ruth Rosebrooks ’54, and Charles and Virginia Prewitt received Eastern’s 2004 ECSU Alumni Association Awards at the President’s Leadership Dinner Gala on Oct. 21 at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. More than 80 alumni, faculty, staff, and friends gathered to celebrate the ECSU Foundation’s philanthropic mission.

Adichie was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award. She was raised in Nsukka, Nigeria, and came to the United States at the age of 19. Adichie has published more than a dozen short stories and nonfiction articles, mostly about Nigeria. Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, garnered rave reviews from literary critics around the world. Her accomplishments include winning the O. Henry Prize and the PEN Center USA’s David T. Wong International Short Story Prize.

Rosebrooks received the Distinguished Service Award.

She taught fourth and fifth grade in Granby Public Schools for 37 years. An active member of Eastern’s Alumni Association, Rosebrook supports the University by contributing to the ECSU Foundation and advocating for the importance of student scholarships. Her community

Alumni Association award winners Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Charles Prewitt, Sr., and Ruth Rosebrooks enjoy themselves at the President’s Dinner Gala.

service includes a half century of service to the Red Cross blood drive, volunteering at a nursing home since 1991, helping out at the Granby Drummer, and working at the local food bank.

Prewitt and his wife, Virginia, received the Hermann Beckert Friends of the University Award. Prewitt, who accepted the award on behalf of himself and his wife, taught at Eastern for many years before retiring in 1979.

The Prewitts have established the Peace and Human Rights Studies Endowment to fund materials for classes in peace and human rights and for student scholarships.

After the dinner, political satirists The Capitol Steps topped off the elegant evening with a performance in the Maxwell and Ruth Belding Theater.

Eastern Adds Color to the Holidays

More than 25 Eastern students and staff gathered on Nov. 20 to decorate 100 holiday wreaths for sale to the campus and local community. Sponsored by the ECSU Foundation, the sale benefited a local soup kitchen and Toys for Tots.

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philanthropy

Nominations Welcome!

The ECSU Alumni Association invites you to submit names of alumni, colleagues, or friends of the University to the Alumni Association Board for consideration for the 2005 ECSU Alumni Association Awards for Excellence.

The awards include:

• The Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes outstanding achievements by Eastern graduates who have demonstrated courageous leadership or have achieved professional success or distinction;

• The Distinguished Service Award, which is presented to a graduate or former student who has rendered meaningful service to Eastern and/or his or her local community and has a demonstrated record of involvement with the University; and

• The Hermann Beckert “Friends of the University” Award, which is presented to any friend(s)* of the University who has/have rendered service to Eastern and the local, state, or national communities. *“Friend(s)” means an individual; parent of a current and/or former student; organization; corporation; or member of Eastern’s faculty or staff.

Annual Fund Gears Up For Prosperous 2005 The Annual Fund for Fiscal Year 2004-2005 is right on schedule with one full-scale mail campaign having been completed this past fall and one more scheduled for spring, each followed by a phonathon staffed by student volunteers. The ECSU Alumni Association is encouraging Annual Fund donations rather than the dues program it did away with last January, so this year promises to see a rise in both participation and donation levels.

The faculty/staff Annual Fund drive started in mid-January, and will be followed by a Parents Fund appeal. Outright unrestricted gifts made to the Annual Fund through the ECSU Foundation are highly valued because they have an immediate impact on students, faculty, and programs.

To make a gift to the Annual Fund, please contact the ECSU Foundation at (860) 465-5531.

To request a nomination form, please contact the Office of Alumni Affairs, Gelsi-Young Hall, Room 137, Eastern Connecticut State University, 83 Windham Street, Willimantic, CT 06226, or call (860) 465-5238.

ECSU Foundation Golf Tournament The ECSU Foundation is once again hosting its fun-filled annual golf tournament, scheduled for Tuesday, July 19, 2005, at Tunxis Plantation Country Club in Farmington. The tournament will begin with registration at 8:30 a.m., followed by a shotgun start at 10 a.m. Proceeds for the event support Eastern’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and the E-Club.

This yearly golf tournament is an opportunity to support the vital work of Eastern’s intercollegiate athletics programs. Eastern has more than 325 student athletes in 17 varsity sports benefiting from the University’s athletics programs, which provide important character-building, leadership-training, and physical-fitness opportunities. Last year’s tournament drew 108 participants and raised more than $26,000.

For more information, please contact Christopher Carollo, development officer, (860) 465-4513. We look forward to seeing you on the course.

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alumni news

Newsmakers RT Image, a national magazine distributed to radiology technology professionals, recently featured Eastern business administration major Kathy Smith, who is the assistant director of radiology at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford.

The article described her efforts to address a significant budget issue facing the hospital. According to RT Image, Smith “has done the impossible.” From October 2003 through June 2004, she oversaw a savings of $124,474.

Smith’s business administration classes helped her recognize that her department was over-purchasing supplies and letting items in stock pass their expiration date. She discovered a clinical inventory management software tool that allowed the St. Francis Radiology Department to scan product bar codes, resulting in real-time inventory control.

Dr. Cheryl Mecca, DDS, an Eastern biology major who graduated in 1986, was featured in the October 2004 issue of Bay Area Houston magazine. Dr. Mecca graduated from Baylor Dental College in 1992, and specializes in “spa dentistry.” This holistic approach to dental medicine combines traditional dental medicine with everything from hand-waxing treatments to aromatherapy, health snacks, “dental dieting,” and even video games for her younger patients.

Faith Ann (Burris) Rudick, is the new principal at Heritage Elementary School in Palm Beach, FL. She was the subject of a Nov. 17, 2004, article in the Palm Beach Post. Rudick started out as a nursing student at the University of Southern California but discovered a joy in teaching youngsters about health issues. She moved back to Connecticut, and after graduating from Eastern in 1994, moved to Florida. After five years as a middle school teacher, she moved into administration. Rudick makes sure she finds time for her daughter, Amy, who is two and half years old.

A recent issue of the Bloomfield Journal detailed the football (that’s right!) career of Tammy Sue Schondelmayer, BS’90. Schondelmayer is the director of athletics at Bloomfield High School but finds time to play middle linebacker for the Albany Ambush of the Women’s Professional Football League. Other Eastern alums might remember Schondelmayer as the starting shortstop for Eastern’s 1986 national Division III softball champions.

Fox Sports Network reported on Dec. 20, 2004 that Greg Andrulis ’81, head coach of the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer (MLS), has agreed to a new contract with the club. Since graduating from Eastern with a psychology degree, Connecticut native Andrulis has experienced great success as a soccer coach. He was named the 2004 MLS Coach of the Year after leading Columbus to a 12-5-13 record, the club’s first Eastern Conference regular-season title, and its first Supporters’ Shield for the best overall record in the league.

Parents Association Serves as Vital Link The Eastern Connecticut State University Parents Association was out in force on Oct. 3, 2004 for the New Student Family Day picnic.

Parents of sophomores, along with staff members from the Office of Institutional Advancement, helped welcome new Eastern families by answering questions and sharing experiences. The association, two hundred families strong, provides the vital link between families and the University through volunteerism, networking, and communication.

For more information, or to become a member, please call the Alumni Office at (860) 465-5238 or email alumni@easternct.edu.

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Andrulis joined The Crew as assistant coach in its inaugural 1996 season, becoming head coach in 2001. He spent 12 seasons (1985-96) as the head coach at Wright State University in Dayton, OH, overseeing the program’s move from Division II to Division I in 1987 and compiling a 134-72-28 record. He had previous coaching experience at Eastern, Springfield College, and Clemson University, where he helped lead the Tigers to an NCAA Division I National Championship in 1984.

alumni news

Sri Lankan Alums in Middle of Tsunami Relief Efforts A number of Eastern alumni have been working diligently in their home country of Sri Lanka to assist in relief efforts following the deadly tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean region on Dec. 26, 2004. At this time, it appears no Eastern alumni perished in the catastrophe.

Dilini Gunasekera ’92 is Eastern’s Alumni Ambassador in Sri Lanka. She has been working through the Lions Club of Senkadagala to coordinate support of relief efforts in the Kandy, Sri Lanka area.

Tharanga Gunaratne ’92, Nalin Karunatileka ’92, and other members of the Rotary Club of Colombo Regency are working to distribute medicines, clothing, food, and other needed supplies.

Azard Mahamoon sits with medical supplies, clothes, and money he raised for victims of the tsunami in

“It has been 12 years since we his native country. graduated... (but) we still have ‘sweet’ memories of Eastern,” writes Gunaratne.

“Some of us got together in 2002 and formed a new Rotary Club. Eastern has made us closer and we do charity work jointly as well.”

In addition to the efforts of Eastern alumni, current student Azard Mahamoon, a senior from Sri Lanka majoring in biochemistry, led an on-campus effort in January to

All that Jazz!

collect and send relief supplies to tsunami victims.

Mahamoon raised more than $2,000 during a three-day vigil in the sports lobby to collect relief aid.

“I was totally surprised by the amount of aid that was donated, especially since no students were here during intersession. I am very thankful for everyone’s love, kindness, and prayers.”

Poncho Sanchez – Thursday, April 7, 2005 • 7 p.m., Shafer Auditorium The 2004 – 2005 Arts & Lecture Series closes with a bang — a concert by Poncho Sanchez, a leader in the Bedrock style of jazz for more than two decades. “Our main goal is always to keep Latin jazz alive, growing and moving, while being authentic to the music that we love,” says the Grammy Award-winning musician.

Sanchez’s 21 albums and numerous international tours testify to his standing as one of the most important and influential jazz artists of the day. Sanchez’s latest album, Out of Sight, was released in September 2003 and has met with widespread acclaim.

Ticket Information: Call Margie Ouimette at (860) 465-4693 or email tickets@easternct.edu.

Tickets are free for ECSU faculty, staff, and students, and $10 for the general public.

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campus news

Eastern Celebrates NCATE Accreditation Eastern Connecticut State University has received full accreditation of its teacher preparation programs by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

“We hold Eastern in very high esteem,” said Frances Rabinowitz, associate commissioner for the Connecticut State Department of Education, speaking at a Sept. 21 reception held in honor of Eastern’s educational unit. “Dean Patricia Kleine and her faculty are doing a wonderful job of educating future teachers.”

Noting that more than 50 percent of current teachers in Connecticut will be reaching retirement age in the next 5–10 years, and that 18 percent of current teaching positions in the state are being filled by noncertified teachers, Rabinowiz urged Eastern to expand its preservice programs to graduate even more teachers.

The reception took place a year after an on-site visit Sept. 21-23, 2003, by a team of the NCATE Board of Examiners, who visited Eastern’s campus to review and assess the University’s education unit and its teacher preparation programs.

As part of the accreditation process, each specialization within the education unit — ranging from Early Childhood Education to discipline areas such as Science, Mathematics, and Physical Education and Health — was reviewed by specialized professional associations.

Eastern’s initial certification programs are the first among higher education institutions in Connecticut to receive full accreditation on the first attempt. “We are gratified by this important achievement,” said Eastern President David G. Carter.

“Since its beginnings as a normal school in 1889, this institution had been committed to preparing Connecticut teachers. Receiving NCATE accreditation tells our faculty they are doing a fine job; it assures prospective students that they are in good hands if they choose Eastern; and it should reassure the people of Connecticut that we take teacher preparation seriously.”

The NCATE accreditation system is a voluntary peerreview process, with an on-site review team using a set of research-based performance standards in the areas of curriculum design, assessment of candidate performance, faculty qualifications, supervision of clinical experiences, and faculty resources.

Building Eastern’s Future Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell headed a list of state and local dignitaries who joined the Eastern Connecticut State University community on Oct. 14 to celebrate the new Child and Family Development Resource Center being built on Eastern’s North Campus. Due to the wet weather, more than 125 guests sat under tents on the construction site to hear words of encouragement and congratulations from Governor Rell; Connecticut Department of Public Works (DPW) Commissioner James The state-of-the-art Child and Family Resource Development Center is scheduled to open in June 2005.

Fleming; Connecticut Department of Higher Education Commissioner Valerie Lewis; and includes a three-story classroom building for early Lawrence McHugh, chairman of the Connecticut State childhood teacher training and a one-floor child care University Board of Trustees; and William Cibes, Jr., center for serving infants and children up to age five.

CSU chancellor. Eastern President David Carter also Covering 40,276 square feet of space, the facility will have joined the dignitaries on the dais. Dimitrios Pachis, vice state-of-the-art communications and information technolpresident for academic affairs, was master of ceremonies. ogy equipment allowing for distance learning, and will The $12 million facility will be finished in summer 2005, also house supportive social service agencies.

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campus news Improving teacher quality, expanding partnerships among agencies committed to early childhood education, and supporting professional development opportunities for preschool teachers throughout the Northeast region are some of the goals of this model program.

“My administration is committed to creating an early childhood education system that is the best in the country,” said Governor Rell. “Eastern’s new Child and Family Development Resource Center is consistent with this vision.”

As the ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony that followed the formal remarks concluded, the clouds continued to rain, and the celebration shifted to the Paul E. Johnson, Sr. Community Conference Room in the J. Eugene Smith Library. There, David O’Hearn, DPW deputy commissioner, helped dedicate the South Residential Village’s new residence hall. He declared, “It has been a delight working closely with Eastern as we continue the remarkable progress being made by this administration to modernize and expand this outstanding university.”

The South Residential Village will consist of three separate buildings. The first building is 69,000 square feet and houses 250 students in suite-style living quarters. The

South Residential Village Building 1 opened in August 2004.

facility also features computer/study lounges, meeting rooms, and other common areas.

Eastern Announces Endowed Chair Fred Loxsom has been appointed professor at Eastern Connecticut State University in the newly created endowed chair in Sustainable Energy Studies.

Loxsom, who has a bachelor’s degree in physics from Bowdoin College and a doctorate in physics from Dartmouth College, joins the faculty in the Department of Environmental Earth Science. He will focus on teaching and research related to renewable energy resources and sustainable energy policy. The chair in Sustainable Energy Studies is Eastern’s first endowed chair.

“We look forward to Dr. Loxsom’s leadership in the critical field of sustainable energy,” said Eastern President David G. Carter in announcing the appointment.

“Students in the Environmental Earth Science program and in other disciplines will greatly benefit from his expertise. In addition, his appointment opens up new opportunities for collaboration with the University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy.”

Loxsom comes to Eastern from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX, where he taught in the physics department,

Professor Fred Loxsom explains to his class the importance of solar energy.

eventually becoming department chairperson. His most recent position at Trinity was as associate vice president of academic affairs.

During his career of more than 30 years, Loxsom has conducted research at London Polytechnic, Oxford University, the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory facilities in Mexico City, and at the Associated Colleges of the South Sustainable Development Program in Costa Rica.

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campus news

Author David McCullough Finds his Muse in History Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough spoke to an audience of more than 500 on Nov. 9 in the Betty R. Tipton Room. McCullough, 71, is considered one of the most celebrated authors in the United States.

McCullough’s books, which he writes on a manual Royal typewriter, have been commended for their outstanding narrative sweep, their literary

David McCullough

distinction, and their scholarship and insight into American life.

McCullough told his listeners that historians of the future will have difficulty finding personal information about people who lived in the twenty-first century. Today, because of technology, we no longer compose letters or keep diaries as did our ancestors, who provided in correspondence and personal journals the kind of information McCullough uses in writing his books.

His most recent volume, John Adams, hit the New York Times best-seller list at the top and has remained on the list for more than a year. McCullough’s next work, 1776, is scheduled to be released in May.

Eastern Joins College Elite as COPLAC Member Eastern Connecticut State University has been accepted into the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC). COPLAC made the decision at its annual meeting June 19–21, 2004, in Charleston, SC. “I am pleased and honored by COPLAC’s decision,” said Eastern President David G. Carter. “It is a tribute to the talent, hard work, and dedication of our faculty, staff, and students. COPLAC membership is a firm indication that Eastern’s commitment to an affordable, accessible liberal arts education is on the right track.”

In recommending Eastern’s membership to COPLAC, the organization’s Membership Committee said Eastern “has deliberately entered upon a path of intentional change to become a public liberal arts university with a distinctive mission within the Connecticut system.”

The committee noted the significant progress Eastern has made over the past few years, including a major expansion of campus facilities; enhanced academic programs, as evidenced by such benchmarks as the recent accreditation of Eastern’s teacher preparation programs by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE); increased hiring of full-time faculty; and a commitment to residential and campus life.

The committee also recognized Eastern for its moderate size, student/faculty ratio, focus on undergraduate

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education, selective admissions, commitment to diversity, and dedication to the liberal arts.

In addition, COPLAC commented on the active, engaged dynamic between Eastern faculty and students: “The institution intentionally tries to foster strong student-faculty interactions through a growing student/faculty research program.”

Eastern is among elite company — there are only 20 other COPLAC institutions in the United States: College of Charleston; Evergreen State College; Fort Lewis College; Georgia College and State University; Henderson State University; Keene State College; Mary Washington College; Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; New College of Florida; Ramapo College of New Jersey; St. Mary’s College of Maryland; Sonoma State University; Southern Oregon University; SUNY College at Geneseo; Truman State University; University of Maine at Farmington; University of Minnesota, Morris; University of Montevallo; University of North Carolina at Asheville; and University of Wisconsin-Superior.

COPLAC is committed to supporting public liberal arts education of “superior quality.” The organization also seeks to influence public policy so as to ensure accessible, affordable liberal arts education.

campus news

Virginia’s Governor Feted Eastern President David G. Carter conferred the Chase Medallion on Gov. Mark Warner of the Commonwealth of Virginia during a ceremony on Sept. 20 in the Paul E. Johnson, Sr. Community Conference Room in the J. Eugene Smith Library.

David T. Chase, longtime Connecticut industrialist and benefactor of the David T. Chase Free Enterprise Institute, joined President Carter in presenting the medallion.

Besides Chase and his wife, Rhoda, other dignitaries and guests included Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell; State Rep. Claire Janowski, D-56th District; George Jepson, Connecticut Democratic Party chairman; Lawrence McHugh, chairman of the Connecticut State University Board of Trustees; and CSU Trustee Ronald Pugliese.

Earlier in the day, Warner, a 1973 Rockville High School graduate, spoke to a packed audience in the Betty R. Tipton Room as part of the David T. Chase Free Enterprise Institute’s Distinguished Lecture Series. He told the story of his own business beginnings. After graduating from Harvard Law School, he launched two unsuccessful companies. “Don’t be afraid to fail,” he told the students in the audience.

In 1982, Warner met for 20 minutes with David Chase, who listened to Warner’s impassioned vision of wireless communications. Chase heard enough to invest $1 million in support of the start-up company that later became Nextel, Inc. “He took an extraordinary chance on me,” said Warner, in recognizing the man who had helped him turn his

Governor Mark Warner of the Commonwealth of Virginia describes the impact David T. Chase had in his business career.

fortunes around. “I am honored to receive this medallion today in his name.”

As governor of Virginia, Warner has focused his energies on educational reform, including partnerships with historically black colleges and universities, and a new emphasis on technology. “Technology is the driver of change today,” he remarked. “In the knowledge economy, it is imperative that everyone learn high tech skills.” Warner said he especially wanted to give children of rural Virginia greater educational opportunities.

The governor also had something to say about partisan politics. He has been recognized for bringing together both political parties in Virginia to resolve his state’s budget problems. “We no longer can afford a partisan debate. We need to embrace the value of oneness.”

Cancer Survivors Walk for Relay for Life Participants in the Windham Area Relay for Life paused for the singing of “The Star Spangled Banner” before starting the 24hour event. The relay, held Oct. 16 – Oct. 17, benefited the American Cancer Society. Eastern Connecticut State University was again the host. The money raised from the relay will help support cancer research, education, advocacy, and patient-service programs.

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athletics

Hall of Fame Inducts Record Class The largest induction class in history was honored at the 12th ECSU/E-Club Hall of Fame induction ceremonies before a sellout crowd of more than 300 on Oct. 17, 2004.

In addition to the eight Hall of Fame inductees, six individuals were recognized as Eastern Pioneers, and one individual was presented with the Michael A. Atkind Exceptional Service Award.

This year’s induction class was unique in that it included two sets of former teammates — basketball teammates William M. Hickey ’76 and Michael A. Turgeon ’78, and softball classmates Ginny Adler ’88 and Mariann Shumbo ’88.

Additional honorees included Orest Bishko ’71 (men’s soccer), Steven John Plesz ’83 (men’s basketball), Wendy A. Rogers ’92 (women’s basketball), and Carla D. Thompson ’88 (women’s cross-country/track and field).

Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national tournament teams in 1973 and 1975 to gain induction.

Turgeon was a switch-hitting shortstop who played three seasons (1975–77) before being taken in the sixth round of the professional draft in 1977.

Ginny Adler, from Shelton, and Mariann Shumbo, a native of Moodus, were four-year starters who led the Warriors to two national championships in 1985 and 1986 and to two more regional titles in 1987 and 1988.

Each was a Division III All-America selection as a senior.

The six Pioneers honored for their contributions to Eastern’s Department of Athletics were Dana Clark, Paul Duchow, John Keleher, Bill McArthur, Jack Selavka, and Trenton Wright.

Faculty member Stephen A. Kenton received the Michael A. Atkind Exceptional Service Inductees (left to right) Bill Hickey ‘76, Mariann Shumbo ‘88, Ginny Adler ‘88 and Mike Turgeon ’78.

Award for 25 years of service to athletics. A professor of matheBishko, a native of Broadalbin, NY, was a four-year startmatics and computer science, Kenton serves as ing midfielder from 1967 through 1971. He enrolled at faculty athletics representative and was formerly on Eastern after a one-year tour of duty in Vietnam and the ECSU/E-Club Hall of Fame Committee and helped his alma mater enjoy back-to-back undefeated regE-Club Board. ular seasons and berths in the NAIA national tournament in 1968 and 1969.

“Our Hall of Fame banquet is a significant occasion and is certainly a memorable event,” noted Hall of Fame Willimantic native Steve Plesz led Eastern’s men’s basketChairman David G. Yeo. “Eastern has a proud tradition ball team to a record of 31-20 and to the only consecutive of successful athletics programs, and we are privileged to seasons of winning percentages over .600 in the past 32 thank some of those key individuals with this program.” years. A 5’ 11” guard, Plesz scored 1,172 points.

William M. Hickey, a native of East Hartford, and In her final two seasons, Newtown, MA, native Wendy Michael A. Turgeon, a Groton native, were teammates on Rogers led the women’s basketball team to sectional Eastern baseball teams in 1975 and 1976. Hickey played championships and berths in the NCAA Division III for four years (1973–1976) as a third baseman and second Final Four. In her three-year career, Rogers totaled 1,006 baseman and becomes the first member of both National points, 426 rebounds, 452 assists, 214 steals, and 98

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athletics

Inductees (left to right) Steven Plesz ’83, Carla Thompson ’88, Wendy Rogers ’92, Orest Bishko ‘71.

track and field program to varsity status in 1975. As a member of the math faculty, Paul Duchow developed statistical software packages for soccer and baseball and served as a statistician and scorekeeper for the soccer, baseball, and basketball programs for nearly 20 years through 1981. three-pointers. As a senior, she was named ECAC Division III New England Player-of-the-Year and All-America honorable mention.

Bill McArthur served as a team manager and Jack Selavka as a player under head coach Carl A. Troester on Eastern’s first men’s basketball team in 1941–42, a team that went undefeated. Selavka played on back-to-back conference-title teams before World War II, then returned to the team after the war and played with his brother Mike, who was honored as a Pioneer in 2002.

Carla Thompson, originally from Groton, is the only All-America performer in 58 seasons of men’s and women’s cross-country at Eastern. Also a track and field national qualifier as an undergraduate, Thompson finished among the Top 25 in her first Little East Conference Honors 19 Eastern Fall Athletes season at the NCAA Division III National Cross-Country Nineteen Eastern Connecticut State University student athletes — 10 more than a year ago — have been recognized by the Little East Conference (LEC) with Championship in 1985 and season-ending awards in men’s and women’s soccer, field hockey, and volleyball. repeated that performance in her final season in 1987.

A group of Pioneers were recognized at the Hall of Fame induction for the second time.

Dana Clark was a member of the Health and Physical Education Department between 1967 and 1981, serving as director of physical education and director of athletics between 1967 and 1974.

John Keleher was the first cross-country/track and field coach in program history.

Trenton Wright was a runner on those teams and an advocate of promoting the

Player

Sport

Team

Class

Position

Hometown

Jay Barney** Meghann Booth (2) Caitlin Buzzell Marianna Capomolla Mo Deegan (4) Jen Ferrari* (4) Matt Fitzgerald Zac Griffin Amanda Jassen (2) Melissa Lambert Jessica Leifert (2) Derek Miles Jenn Orme Erika Profenno Chrissie Siranko Emma Sousa Nicole Tassone Megan Taylor (3) Megan Williamson

MS WS WS VB FH WS MS MS VB WS VB MS WS FH VB VB VB WS WS

2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd 1st 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd

Fr. Jr. Jr. So. Sr. Sr. So. Sr. Sr. So. Sr. So. Jr. Jr. Jr. Fr. Jr. Sr. Sr.

Keeper Midfield Forward Libero Midfield Midfield Back Midfield Outside Hitter Back Outside Hitter Back Midfield Back R-Side Hitter Middle Hitter Middle Hitter Midfield Back

Mansfield Windsor Locks Manchester Stamford Westport Coventry, RI Marlborough Manchester Winsted Montville Winsted Newtown Centereach, NY South Portland, ME Danbury Coventry East Patchogue, NY Manchester Patchogue, NY

*Offensive Player-of-the-Year **Rookie-of-the-Year Number in parentheses indicates number of times on all-conference team.

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class notes 1954 Ruth Rosebrooks was presented with the Granby Grange Community Service Award on June 17, 2004. At the Grange ceremony she also received an award for 50 years of service with the Red Cross Blood Drive and flowers in recognition of her work at a nursing home where she has volunteered since 1991. Ruth also received the ECSU Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award on Oct. 21, 2004 at the President’s Leadership Dinner Gala hosted by the ECSU Foundation at the Bushnell in Hartford.

1967 Mitch Pietras was recently promoted to the rank of associate professor within the counseling department at Daytona Beach Community College in Florida. Mitch has received gatekeeper training, which allows him to conduct training workshops for groups, organizations, and educators who want to learn about suicide, preventative measures, and available support. Mitch also visits the homes of loved ones who have lost members of their family due to suicide.

1979

Tom DeNoto has been named the new town assessor of Newtown. He resides in Bristol with his wife, Christine, and two daughters.

2000

1989

2001

Maria (Papa) Jacobson-Gross works as a senior executive in charge of the Vocational Rehabilitation Division at the International Center for the Disabled in New York, NY. She obtained her master’s degree from Hunter College School of Social Work, also in New York City. Maria and her husband, Warren, reside in New Rochelle, NY.

Chimamanda Adichie received the Eastern Connecticut State University Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award at the President’s Leadership Dinner Gala on Oct. 21, 2004, hosted by the ECSU Foundation at the Bushnell in Hartford.

1991 Air Force Major James C. Dewey has assumed command of the 311th Recruiting Squadron in Canonsburg, PA. Tim Salem has been appointed assistant principal at Danbury High School. He joins three other assistant principals and an associate principal to make up the leadership team of the nearly 3,000-student school.

1994

Anne Iezzi graduated cum laude from Quinnipiac Law School and has been admitted to the Connecticut Bar. Anne works as compliance director for The Hartford Insurance. She lives in Cheshire with her husband, Michael.

Chris Bastein was promoted to director of mall marketing at the Emerald Square Mall in North Attleboro, MA. His responsibilities include public relations and advertising, event coordination, and managing the customer service department.

1982

1995

Peter Massey is a professor of forensics at the Henry Lee Institute of Forensic Science at the University of New Haven. Peter is also a member of the Cheshire Board of Education and a former Hamden police officer.

Peter D. Catania was recently hired as an attorney for Carter Mario Injury Lawyers. He will work out of the Milford and Hartford offices in the firm’s prelitigation department. He resides in Marlborough.

Kevin O’Leary has been named Xavier High School varsity hockey coach for the 2004–2005 season. He is employed at the Hartford Financial Services Group in Hartford as a director of information technologies.

1997

1998

1984 Jeff Kitching has accepted the position of assistant superintendent of Glastonbury Public Schools in Glastonbury.

1987 Peter J. Decker is a senior vice president and senior fiduciary planning manager in the Connecticut Wealth Management Group in U.S. Trust’s Essex office. He also heads the Family Wealth Management Group in Connecticut, which specializes in wealth management services to family offices. Peter volunteers at numerous youth sports programs in Essex, where he resides with his wife, Maria, and their three children.

1988 Robert R. Buckley has been promoted to credit administration officer for Eastern Federal Bank.

Robert also serves as the director and treasurer for both the Norwich Youth Lacrosse Association and the Westbrook Fishing Club.

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Rob Nieto has been named television producer for the nationally syndicated television show Inside Edition.

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Kevin Paquin was promoted to coordinator of design and publications at Eastern. He will oversee all of the design for Eastern’s publications. Kevin previously was the graphic design specialist at the University.

Nancy Torok has been hired by the Connecticut Audubon Society as a full-time development assistant. She will be responsible for providing support to both the development and membership departments.

1999 Chad Johnson M’99 is teaching science at Norwich Free Academy in Norwich.

Charles Carney, III, has joined the Plainfield Police Department.

Scott Czerwinskia has accepted the position of baseball coach at Tolland High School.

Joan Culpin M’00 has been hired as a third-grade teacher in Columbia.

Diana Kimiatek M’01 resides with her family in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she is working at St. John English School.

2002 Matthew Burbine was elected president of the Alumni Association at Three Rivers Community College. He graduated from Three Rivers with high honors in 1999, receiving an associate’s degree in general studies and a certificate in computer applications. He transferred to Eastern and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science degree. Matthew now works and teaches at Three Rivers Community College. He is the coordinator of tutoring for the college’s Thames Valley Campus, as well as the online tutoring coordinator for the entire college. In addition, he is an adjunct instructor of mathematics.

Misty Rae Martin reached the finals of the Miss Connecticut scholarship pageant on June 26, 2004, at the Garde Arts Center in New London.

Misty was selected as third runner-up.

Mary Schleofer has been appointed to a teaching position in the English Department at H. H. Ellis Technical High School in Danielson.

Erin Twomey has been appointed director of the Commons residence hall at Quinnipiac University. She will oversee the Commons, coordinate social and educational residential life activities, and promote leadership among her staff of 12 resident assistants.

Kim Kenney is currently teaching 9th–12th grade mathematics at Ella T. Grasso Technical School in Groton.

2003 Cary Langley is teaching biology at Norwich Free Academy.

Katherine Brown has taken a position at Cheshire High School teaching English.

2004 Suzette Gibson has joined McLaughlin, DelVecchio, and Casey, an advertising, marketing, and public relations firm located in New Haven.

She will be an assistant account executive.

David Carter has been appointed to a math teacher position at Windham Vocational Technical High School.

class notes MARRIAGES

1995

1993 Christopher Angell and Kimberly Kerr ’98; July 31, 1998

Jackie (Gallivan) Liapes and her husband, Costas, announce the birth of their son, Niko Liapes, born on June 15, 2003.

Jennifer Jude Belcon and Jason Kenneth Zakrewski; May 1, 2004

1996

1997

Melissa (Rego) Abbott and her husband, Shaun, announce the birth of their son, Nicholas Graham, born on Sept. 20, 2004.

Vicki Chapman and Scott Poirier; May 22, 2004

1997

Victoria Smith and David Johnson; June 6, 2004

Rob Nieto and his wife, Kristin, announce the birth of their daughter, Kathryn Elizabeth, born on Feb. 11, 2004.

2000 Lisa Ann Santa Maria and Lee W. Silva; June 19, 2004

2002

Melissa Oehler and William H. Towers Jr.; June 29, 2004

Lynn (Jewett) Norris and her husband, Charles, announce the birth of their son on Jan. 20, 2004.

2001 Melissa Ann Giannino and Guy Raymond DeMaio; June 5, 2004

IN MEMORIAM

Sarah Sullivan Hills and Marc Penna; Aug. 9, 2003

Dorothy Mcveigh Bennett ’27 (1908–2004)

2002

Esther Friedland Kaplan ’40 (1919–2004)

Meghan Wols and Mark Goletz; Dec. 19, 2003

Dorothea T. Keroack ’41 (1919–2004)

Eric Tokarzewski and Joanne Chlastawa; Sept. 13, 2003

Charles William Oliver ’58 (1928–2004)

2003

Lillian K. Brooks ’69 (1905–2004)

Megan Alicia Person and Mark Steven Perkins, Jr.; April 10, 2004

Jeannette Hall ’73 (1922–2004) Jan Wilcox Korab ’74 (1938–2004)

2004 Jonathan Calder Dunlap and Caroline J. Goodale; April 30, 2004

Phyllis W. Dolph ’76 (1922–2004) David Soutter Mills ’78 (1912–2004)

BIRTHS

Diane Heineman Beaudry ’81 (1959–2004)

1984

Claudia Gregory Chamberlain ’89 (1940–2004)

Philip G. Mitchell and his wife, Stephanie, announce the birth of their second child, a daughter, Olivia Rachele, on Feb. 4, 2004.

Vincenzo Vitaliano ’98 (1975–2004)

Eastern Friends, Faculty, and Staff

1990

Paul H. Kaplitz, supporter and benefactor (1914–2004)

Laura (Sapia) Valzania and her husband, David, announce the birth of their first child, John “Jack” David Valzania on March 21, 2004.

Virginia Bradford Darrow, five-year chairman of the F.R. Noble School Day Care Center (1929–2004)

1993 Christopher Angell and his wife, Kimberly (Kerr) Angell ’98, announce the birth of their son, Ethan Thomas, on April 19, 2003. Ethan joins his sister, Emma Louise, born on Sept. 2, 2001.

The CSA Wants You!

Do you know of a fellow Eastern alumnus/a or student serving in the U.S. Armed Forces who has been deployed overseas?

The Council of Student Alumni is corresponding with currently deployed Eastern alumni and students to show its support. If you know an Eastern alumnus/a or student who might like hearing from the CSA, please ask them to email their address and contact information to the Office of Alumni Affairs at alumni@easternct.edu or mail their contact information to: Eastern Connecticut State University Office of Alumni Affairs 83 Windham Street Willimantic, CT 06226

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final thoughts

I hope that as you have read this issue of EASTERN magazine, you have been inspired by the academic excellence and growing traditions at Connecticut’s public liberal arts university.

Beyond the accomplishments of Eastern’s people, I hope you also have been touched by the basic humanity that brings them together in common purpose. All of the good things at Eastern are due to the hard work of people committed to building an educated citizenry, a stronger community, and a better world.

Eastern started as a two-year normal school more than 115 years ago, with 13 women on one floor of a downtown Willimantic building . . . all preparing to be schoolteachers.

Today, it is not unusual to hear visitors new to campus expressing amazement at the University’s growth and achievements. Alumni visit and smile with pride. The path taken to get to this point was paved by faculty, staff, students, alumni, administrators and trustees who believed in Eastern.

The same faith will pave our future.

As you have witnessed in these pages, the spirit of Eastern inspires support from throughout the University family — alumni, students, faculty, staff, administrators, and friends.

Our new Parents Association is one example. The impressive attendance at campus events by alumni and emeriti faculty is another. Contributing to the ECSU Foundation in support of student scholarships and campus programs is still one more way in which the Eastern family supports the University. You can be part of this effort.

Whether you are creating a family legacy, making an investment in Connecticut’s future workforce, or helping a student fulfill his or her personal dream, your contributions strengthen the University.

For those of you who have been pathfinders all along, I thank you. For those of you considering ways to leave your own mark on Eastern, our state, and the region, know that the contributions you make are important and appreciated. Every investment in the University enhances the credentials of those who have come before and expands the opportunities for those who will follow.

Thank you.

Kenneth J. DeLisa Vice President for Institutional Advancement

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Comments?

Attention Alumni:

Please send any story ideas, “letters to the editor,� or questions to:

Have you moved, did you get married, have you taken a new job, or have you had an addition to your family? Please send your information to:

Edward Osborn, Director Office of University Relations Eastern Connecticut State University 83 Windham Street Willimantic, CT 06226 phone: (860) 465-5735 email: osborne@easternct.edu

Joy Goff, Director Office of Alumni Affairs Eastern Connecticut State University 83 Windham Street Willimantic, CT 06226 email: alumni@easternct.edu

Join us on Saturday, June 18, 2005 for a spectacular alumni reunion. We hope that all alumni will join us as we honor classmates in years ending in “5” or “0.” A truly special event has been planned.

Attention Alumni!

Alumni Reunion Celebration Saturday, June 18, 2005

Come back to “Club Eastern,” as we re-create the sophisticated atmosphere evocative of the famous New York City/Manhattan supper clubs of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Dance to the music of a great swing band spiced up with a little Latin music. Too shy to take to the dance floor? Enjoy the festive supper club dinner as you reminisce with your fellow alumni. Need accommodations? Stay overnight at a very reasonable price in Eastern’s new residence hall featuring accommodations with bath.

Club Eastern opens its doors to welcome you at 5:30 p.m. for friendly libations and a social hour, with dinner and dancing to follow. Make your reservation today by calling Alumni Affairs at 800-631-2070 or 860-465-5238 or email us at alumni@easternct.edu You can also catch up on Eastern’s progress by attending the ECSU Alumni Association’s Annual Meeting at 4 p.m. in Gelsi-Young Hall just prior to the reunion celebration.

Like to help us plan this celebration? Please contact the Office of Alumni Affairs. (see above for contact information.)

Watch the ECSU Alumni Association web-site www.easternct.edu/alumni for more details.

EASTERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY 83 WINDHAM STREET WILLIMANTIC, CT 06226

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