Expression Winter 2009

WINTER 2009

THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF EMERSON COLLEGE

Your Daily News...

With a Side of Hilarity Parody news productions like The Daily Show and The Onion dominate the media landscape

In this Issue: Report on Giving 2008 Paying it Forward How alumni lend a hand to current undergraduates

A Common Winter Skaters enjoy the ice rink on Boston Common.

Campus Digest Bensussen appointed chair of performing arts Award-winning theater director Melia Bensussen has been named chair of the Department of Performing Arts, after being selected from a group of four applicants brought to campus for interviews as part of a national search.

Bensussen had previously served as interim chair.

Bensussen said she is “most looking forward to continuing to work closely with my colleagues in Performing Arts and across

OPC Department adopts new name, leader The Department of Organizational and Political Communication has new leadership this academic year. After a national search, the College has appointed Richard West as chair of and professor in the Department.

At the same time, the Department’s name was changed to the Department of Communication Studies in order to reflect an expanded curriculum in

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communication studies that complements the wellestablished Leadership, Politics, and Social Advocacy studies tracks. Previously, West was a tenured full professor at the University of Southern Maine, where he had taught since 1991.

He served Emerson this past academic year as the interim executive director of the Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies.

the College and am excited about the possibilities for growth and connection both within our program and in our relationship to the professional theater scene.”

She adds, “As our presence in Boston increases with the opening of new theaters in the coming years, and as the L.A. campus expands, the potential for Performing Arts to engage in a larger conversation with the working professionals of the theater across the country is enormous.”

“We are excited about the vision that Melia has for this department. She has an established reputation as an Obie Award-winning director and brings that expertise along with her well established understanding of the Emerson community to this post,” said Vice President of Academic Affairs Linda Moore.

College creates partnership with major arts presenter The Celebrity Series of Boston has been awarded a $75,000 strategic planning grant from the Boston Foundation to explore potential synergistic partnership opportunities with the College, officials have announced. The Celebrity Series of Boston is New England’s leading presenter of music, dance and the performing arts from around the world. The

grant is provided by the Permanent Fund for Boston at the Boston Foundation.

The grant will be used to explore opportunities for sustaining, expanding and diversifying Celebrity Series of Boston offerings while connecting Celebrity Series programming to Emerson’s multiple performance venues, faculty and students.

The Celebrity Series and the College have launched an 18-month planning process to address these goals.

President Jacqueline Liebergott said she hopes the planning process will “identify opportunities for collaboration and partnership that will be of benefit to the Emerson College community, the arts community and the city of Boston. Working together, I believe we can accomplish much more than we can acting alone.”

Author, educator and awardwinning journalist Ted Gup has been named chair of the College’s journalism department beginning in fall 2009. He will also hold the rank of professor in the department. Gup is the author of Nation of Secrets: The Threat to Democracy and the American Way of Life (Doubleday, 2007), which won the 2008 Goldsmith Book Prize from Harvard’s Joan Shorenstein Center

on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. A former investigative reporter for The Washington Post and Time magazine, he is also the author of the bestseller, The Book of Honor: Covert Lives and Classified Deaths at the CIA (Doubleday, 2000), and is currently the Shirley Wormser professor of journalism at Case Western Reserve University. Gup has taught at Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing as a

Journalism Department names new chair Fulbright Scholar. A Pulitzer finalist, Gup has received numerous awards, including the George Polk Award, the Worth Bingham Prize, the Gerald Loeb Award, the National Conservation Achievement Award and the Book-of-the-Year Award from Investigative Reporters and Editors (for The Book of Honor).

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Former trustee Elmer “Jolly” Baker dies The College mourns the death of Elmer “Jolly” Baker, a distinguished alumnus and longtime Emerson College trustee, who died Oct. 19, 2008, in a New York City nursing home. Baker was married to the late Keora Phyllis Kono Baker, who was an alumna of the College. After studying speech, radio and drama at Emerson from 1941-1943, Baker earned his Ph.D. from New York University. He began his academic career at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and joined the faculty at New York University (NYU) in 1950. He authored or co-authored books, book chapters, articles and bibliographies in the

fields of speech education and speech therapy, and advanced from instructor to professor and went on to become the vice dean of NYU’s School of Education, Health, Nursing and Arts Professions. Baker served on the Emerson board of trustees from 1969 to 1984 and chaired the board from 1978 to 1984. He rejoined the board in 1990 and served until 1999, when he was named trustee emeritus.

“Jolly led the board with wise counsel over many years. He was committed to assisting the College assume a leadership position in arts education. We will miss his friendship and wisdom,” said President Jacqueline Liebergott.

President Jacqueline Liebergott delivered a talk at the Communication University of China (CUC) in Nanjing last fall on the topic of higher education in the United States, at a conference of administrators from a dozen other colleges and universities representing nations from around the globe. The president spoke at the International Forum

on the Survival and Strategic Development of the Private University, organized by CUC officials. The aim of the event was to provide a forum for those in higher education to share ideas on college governance, competitiveness, access (socioeconomic, etc.), accountability and other issues. Before visiting China, Liebergott stopped to visit Emerson College benefactor and College Library namesake Shoo Iwasaki and his wife, Toshiko, in Japan.

President Liebergott visits China to deliver talk at international conference

President Liebergott looks over an issue of the College’s monthly newspaper with namesake of the Emerson College Library Shoo Iwasaki (right), his wife Toshiko (far left) and his assistant, Kimi Sasaki.

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Benefactor Henry L. “Hank” Foster dies The College mourns the death of Henry L. “Hank” Foster, a noted medical research support entrepreneur and philanthropist who died Oct. 14, 2008, at his home in Boston. He was 83. He and his wife, Lois Foster ’49, endowed a professorship in contemporary art at Emerson. Foster was the

founder and chairman emeritus of Massachusettsbased Charles River Laboratories, a global provider of research models and preclinical, clinical and support services that employs 9,000 people in 15 countries. The Fosters have been major benefactors in the Greater Boston arts community, providing substantial support for the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University and the Museum of Fine

Arts, where Foster served as a trustee for 21 years and as chair from 199194. In 2003, the Fosters endowed the Henry and Lois Foster Professorship of Contemporary Art Practice and Theory at Emerson’s School of the Arts. The chair, now held by Joseph Ketner, was the College’s first endowed professorship.

Bobbi Brown ’79 and husband name college gymnasium Emerson College’s gymnasium has been named the Bobbi Brown ’79 and Steven Plofker Gym in recognition of the couple’s continuing and extraordinary generosity to the College, including a recent gift of $1 million, President Jacqueline Liebergott has announced.

Brown is an internationally renowned makeup artist and cosmetics industry entrepreneur and a member of the College’s Board of Trustees. Plofker, her husband, is a New

Jersey real estate developer and attorney. They live in Montclair, N.J., with their three sons. The couple previously funded the Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Design Technology and Makeup Studio in the Tufte Performance and Production Center.

Located in the Max Mutchnick Campus Center at 150 Boylston St., the gym hosts intercollegiate men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball competition and serves as a recreational and social gathering resource for the entire Emerson community.

“Bobbi and Steve are good friends of our College,” Liebergott said. “We deeply

appreciate their continuing and extraordinary support.

Their thoughtful and generous gift to name the gym will boost our athletic programs and enhance the visibility and luster of an outstanding sports facility that has become a focal point for student life at Emerson.”

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W hen a consortium connected with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (M.I.T.)

world-renowned Media Lab wanted to chronicle a new class project, they turned to just one school for help – Emerson. The College was recommended for the project by alumna Paula Aguilera ’99, head of video production in the Media Lab. Fourteen Emerson students from the Visual and Media Arts Department (VMA) were hired by the Next Billion Network consortium to document the innovative projects that are part of a hands-on technology design course called NextLab. In the course, students from various disciplines research, develop and deploy mobile technologies (texting technology, digital imaging, etc.) for use in developing countries.

The Meet the

CIE

Emerson students team up with their M.I.T. counterparts to document the development of new technology projects that could change the world

The seven class projects were each will be accompanying three different groups to chronicle this process. All guided by different real-world needs, seniors, Paul Moore will be going to and the M.I.T. students closely collaboMexico with the group Give Farmers a rated with nongovernmental organizations and communities at the local level, Fighting Chance, Kady Buchanan will be traveling to India with the group field practitioners and experts in working on M Commerce, and relevant fields. The Emerson students, Max Wagenblass will also be traveling embedded in each team, and armed to India with the group nextmap. with top-quality HD video cameras and VMA Program Coordinator Anna tripods supplied by M.I.T., chronicled the setbacks, successes and milestones. Feder helped arrange the partnership.

“We are proud to be the sole school Video segments were uploaded each approached to partner with M.I.T.’s week to the web.

NextLab course to document the Emerson provided the students extremely beneficial work they are with space to work and to edit, and the doing,” she said. “The students who student videographers received a were chosen to participate gained stipend for their work; four received valuable experience, made important internship credit. contacts and created an impressive Some groups with projects ready reel.” One of the Emersonians involved, to be implemented are traveling to the Nicole Prowell, adds, “I think Emerson countries receiving the technology in students are known for being reliable order to put their plans into action. and resourceful, and this partnership Specifically, three Emerson students just reaffirms that.” Prowell is a 2008 master’s graduate in documentary video.

M.I.T.’s Media Lab is an internationally prominent laboratory where top designers and scientists work to design new technology with the aim of “creating a better future.” The Lab comprises research and graduate degree programs and eschews traditional takes on the disciplines it utilizes.

“Future-obsessed product designers, nanotechnologists, data-visualization experts, industry researchers, and pioneers of computer interfaces work side by side to tirelessly invent – and reinvent – how humans experience, and can be aided by, technology,” according to the Lab’s website.

NCES

By Christopher Hennessy

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Chronicling change that matters The projects the Emersonians documented are aimed at using technology to improve conditions in developing countries. Prowell’s team documented the work of a project called Mobile Diagnostics, which seeks to develop ways in which cervical cancer can be more efficiently screened using mobile phone technology. Currently, clinics in Zambia screen patients by taking digital photos and emailing them to volunteer doctors from various parts of the world, who then diagnose the patients based on the images. However, Prowell notes, this process can take several days and in the interim the women have to travel back and forth across large distances between their homes and the clinics. “What Mobile Diagnostics hopes to improve is the work flow and turnaround time by creating a cell phone application that can take images of the patients, automatically upload them to a [web-based] Flickr-like application, and then have same-day feedback from the volunteer doctors,� Prowell explains.

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The videographers had to learn to Prowell said that one of the be alert to whenever an interesting part challenges for her team was “getting of the story was going to unfold in front any of the M.I.T. students to sit down of their cameras. During one NextLab and talk” for their cameras. “Everyone class, a visiting speaker attended and is always on the go, so sometimes you stayed to watch the nextmap group just have to pick up the camera and give its presentation. During nextmap’s chase them down the hall,” she said.

Prowell interviewed one of the students Q&A, the visitor spoke up, calling the group’s attention to a project called at a sorority house on campus, and she Ushahidi, which maps atrocities in filmed another student at his rugby Kenya. This prompted another class game. member to chime in – he was on the One of the perks for Prowell was advisory board of that very group. After being able to shoot in the famed Media class, the nextmap team discussed Lab. “There are robots and gadgets and collaborating with him. wires everywhere you turn,” she said.

Wagenblass says, “The most Kady Buchanan’s team is docucommon problem with observational menting a project called M Commerce. documentary film is capturing clear Buchanan, who is studying documenaudio. We use ‘shotgun’ mikes on the tary production, explained that M camera because we usually don’t have Commerce is working to enhance the order fulfillment process for a company the opportunity to set up lavaliere [lapel] microphones.” called United Villages (UV). The The M.I.T.-Emerson partnership company aids 2 billion villagers in Asia, is doubly worthwhile for Wagenblass.

Africa and Latin America by providing and delivering information, communi- “It’s great to be working on socially benevolent subject matter and to cation, goods and services using be paid for it,” he says. In addition, the low-cost wireless services. M Comwork will help him advance in his merce aims to improve the use of SMS chosen field. “Essentially, doing this is (texting) technology to help not only the biggest step I’ve been able to take UV’s ordering system but the needs of in achieving my career goal of doing the individual villager through adnonprofit media work. It would vanced mobile technologies. be a dream to be in this field of work Buchanan said challenges include indefinitely.” “simply balancing shooting time with For more information, visit http:// editing time, and being able to predict nextlab.mit.edu/main/. E how each shoot will be relevant and compelling for the [particular segment] we’re working on. These are things we are continuously improving.”

Max Wagenblass is documenting the project called nextmap, which involves using cellphones and cellphone GPS technology to map disasters in India to help improve response times in disaster management and relief. The project is applying the same technology and designs to a project in Vietnam, which involves mapping areas of the Vietnam forests that have been rebuilt as farmland after having been destroyed by Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

A NEW WORLD VIEW. Emerson students will travel around the globe to document the implementation of new technologies developed

by M.I.T. students to aid those in need.

BELOW: a workflow chart from one of the projects, Mobile Diagnostics, which will speed the diagnosis of cervical cancer through the use of mobile technology.

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P ying it Forward Alumni play a key role in helping Emerson students launch their careers

By Christopher Hennessy

W

hen Kevin McKeon ’07 found out he’d be working on the new Mel Gibson movie Edge of Darkness, which was filming in Boston, he turned to Emerson for student interns. “I knew I could count on Emerson students to be reliable and helpful, so I made sure that I tapped that resource,” he said. “Also, being an alum, I really just want to be able to help out any worthwhile Emerson student that comes our way.”

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In the current economic climate, graduating from college with experience in hand is becoming more important than ever, and Emerson students in droves are taking advantage of the College’s internship opportunities.

Seven Emerson interns worked alongside McKeon in the production office. “Since we were on location in Boston, we needed the extra hands to help us with various items that normally don’t come up when shooting in Los Angeles,” he said.

began work at the station in the fall of Those students are among the 2001 as an intern. Now, he hires hundreds at Emerson who take interns for the station and is producer/ advantage of internships while in head writer for the Karlson & McKenzie school. More than 450 students Show. He says he has hired every intern completed internships for academic from Emerson that has applied, credit between September 2007 and December 2008, according to the most “because they really want to [work in recent figures from the Office of Career radio]. I know this is what they want to do, so they’re going to put some effort Services, the department on campus into the internship and take it serithat oversees internships. The number of students who had internships during ously.”

Moriarty books guests, handles all that period, however, is actually higher, of the audio production, writes, and says Associate Director of Career also acts as an on-air “sidekick.”

Services Matt Cardin. “Students will do Moriarty says hard work as an intern an internship for credit, do a really earned him a paid job. And he has great job and the employer will ask never stopped advancing. “I just kept them to stay on for a second semester, working my way up: I was a ‘dub-monbut they may not apply for credit a key’, a board operator, an on-site second time,” he explains. Students remote engineer, the receptionist, who participate in internships without commercial traffic coordinator, comcredit are not tracked. mercial voice talent and a weekend/ “From my own experiences overnight jock at various overlapping working at other institutions, there’s points.” definitely a culture on campus for Moriarty is happy to provide his internships,” says Cardin. “Journalism, interns with even more opportunities public relations, marketing, theater, than he had. “Now, the interns are post-production – our students have a voicing stuff, writing bits, writing and tendency to go into those internships, singing songs for air, doing man-onamong others, and make a name for the-street interviews, and editing themselves and really build a reputa[segments] on ProTools. They’re part of tion. An internship can really help the show, and I couldn’t do it without launch their careers, especially in the them.” fields we serve.”

Rasky Baerlein Strategic CommuAt the request of Career Services, nications, a firm based in Boston and recent alumnus McKeon also offered Washington, D.C., has taken on from words of advice to a graduating senior five to seven paid interns almost every this year who was hoping to move to summer since 2000. At least one or Los Angeles in January. “I told him two of them are Emerson students. where to look for apartments and “We pride ourselves on giving our where not to look, how to make his interns real work to do on significant résumé express his capabilities better client assignments,” says Larry Rasky and the benefits of ‘sitting desk’ at an ’78, vice chairman of the College’s agency or management company,” board of trustees and chairman and McKeon said. “[At those places] you former CEO of Boston-based Rasky learn about all the major players, you Baerlein. “We feel that students need to learn script coverage” and much more, be challenged and tested to see if he said. McKeon himself has also they’re really interested in our line of served as staff assistant on the Will work. While we haven’t hired Emerson Smith film Seven Pounds, and was students directly off of internships, we assistant to the producer for the Jake have hired Emerson graduates based, Gyllenhaal film Brothers, among other in part, on the success we’ve had with jobs.

Emerson interns. Some, like Travis Braden Moriarty ’02, who works Small ’97, a former Emerson class at WZLX (100.7 FM), Boston’s ‘classic president, have risen through our ranks rock’ station, loves to receive the résumés of Emerson students. Moriarty into senior management positions.”

Alumni ‘connections’ A highly successful program called the New York Connection aims to connect current students with experienced alumni for networking and professional development. The New York Connection takes place each year during the spring semester and involves a brief trip to Manhattan.

Launched in the early 1990s, the New York Connection also offers students a snapshot of what it is like to live and work in New York. Over the last 10 years, 70 to 100 students have participated in the New York Connection each spring.

Students have enjoyed site visits to CBS arranged by Steve Baltin ’68, former producer of World News Round Up; Constance Lloyd ’79, general manager, CBS Radio News; and Judy Tygard ’80, senior producer, 48 Hours.

Students have also toured Ogilvy & Mather and visited with Kristy Evans, MA ’05, an account executive there. At ABC Studios they have met with Howie Zweig ’68, technical director for television operations, All My Children; Sue Solomon ’66, talent producer, The View; and Myrna Toledo ’96, associate producer, 20/20. Michael Trese ’82, vice president, Strategic Corporate Philanthropy, at L’Oreal USA has hosted students as has James Humphrey ’86, director of Media Relations/Advertising, Gourmet Magazine, at Conde Nast Publications.

New York Alumni Chapter president Andre Archimbaud ’94 has been an invaluable resource to students and recent graduates, helping Emersonians connect with each other, network, and find jobs, say Alumni Relations officials.

In the same vein, students recently began exploring the many career opportunities right in Emerson’s own backyard with the Boston Connection series, which kicked off last fall. It is currently in its pilot stage and offered through the Visual and Media Arts (VMA) Department in partnership with the offices of Alumni Relations and Career Services.

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The initiative’s organizers say they hope the Boston Connection will show students that they can pursue a career in their field locally by demonstrating the rich media, communication and arts landscape in Boston. In the fall 2008 semester, students visited WGBH-TV and production houses Brickyard VFX and Powderhouse Productions. At Powderhouse, students toured the entire facility, met with alumni on staff, current interns and the internship coordinator. Junior Elizabeth House said of the Powderhouse trip: “It was great. Everyone there was professional and accessible.

They all tried to answer any of our questions and really enjoyed having us visit. Seeing a real production facility was a unique experience and opened my eyes to how the industry really works.”

Carlin Corrigan, MA ’06, was Emerson’s host at Powderhouse.

“Having several Emerson alumni on

staff, we always encourage interested students to visit and ask questions to get a better picture of how we operate,” she said. “Hosting the tour also gives us a chance, from the employer side, to share our perspectives working in TV production and hopefully to inspire students and recent grads to feel connected to the growing Boston production community.”

Last fall also marked another first for Emerson’s Alumni Relations Office – its first live ‘webinar’ (a seminar streamed live via the web), entitled How to Survive in a Changing Economy: Think Like an Entrepreneur. The program, with a live audience of 25 on campus and well over 100 off-site participants, featured Karl Baehr, Emerson’s director of business & entrepreneurial studies. As part of the interactive program, off-site questions were emailed and answered as part of the live presentation.

Resources for alumni who are seeking jobs

The College’s Alumni Relations web community (www.emersonalumni. com) helps alumni with their job searches as well. The site allows users to research fellow alumni by company and industry to make their own connections. They can also post their résumés and there is a “yellow pages” section for alumni to promote their businesses. The site even features video tips on how to present oneself for a job interview.

Each year, the College offers what it calls “alumni college” during Alumni Weekend. Some of these courses can provide professional tips or insight into certain industries. This year’s roster of courses includes “The future of audio delivery and its impact on radio.”

In addition, the Career Services Office offers alumni counseling, job listings, and professional development events. The office also maintains an online job board solely for Emerson 12 Expression Winter 2009

students and alumni, called eHire.

Career Services offers alumni advice on job searches, career planning and networking in both individual and group settings. The staff also offers a résumé and cover letter critique service and mock interviews to help alumni prepare for job interviews.

The Career Advice Network, sponsored by the Career Services Office, provides opportunities for alumni to mentor peers and/or be mentored.

Alumni may also be able to share their industry knowledge with current students by volunteering to be available for informational interviews with current students and other alumni, speaking on panels, offering internship opportunities, hosting site visits and more.

To learn more or sign up, visit www.emerson.edu/career_services/ alumni/index.cfm.

Finding a mentor Additionally, a new mentoring program started by the Board of Overseers is helping students and alumni connect – the Board of Overseers Mentoring Program. “The Board of Overseers sees itself as bringing the realities of the arts and communications fields to current students,” said Al Jaffe, MS ’68, vice president of talent negotiation and production recruitment at ESPN, a member of the Emerson College board of trustees and a former member of the Emerson College board of overseers.

“Our new mentoring program will allow us to work with students early in their professional development to guide them in looking for opportunities. It’s our way of giving back to Emerson.”

Jaffe said, “It’s critical to keep bright young people in the pipeline at ESPN. As an alum, a parent of a recent graduate and a member of the board of trustees I know firsthand the quality of an Emerson education. I have hired and recommended a number of Emerson graduates for our entry-level production assistant trainee program, and I have never been disappointed with the work they did while here.”

Jaffe, who has also been part of the overseers mentor program since its inception, is now mentoring senior Zach Schiffman. “Zach interned at ESPN last summer and his work was very well received,” said Jaffe. “It’s been so gratifying seeing him grow and mature from freshman to senior year. I see only wonderful things for him as he gets ready to graduate and embark on his career.”

Last February, the Board sponsored a professional development day called “The Art and the Business of Disney’s The Lion King.” The event was a one-day on-campus symposium that highlighted the potential for career growth in the areas of arts and communication. It was hosted by Chris Montan, president of Disney Music and parent of a current Emerson student.

Alumni can also serve as mentors for the E3: Emerson Entrepreneurship Experience, headed by Karl Baehr. Each student in the E3 program is connected with a mentor in an industry relevant

to the business the student is working to create. The mentor provides guidance and shares their experience with the student, including identifying roadblocks that may exist to their business plan, which the mentor reviews at certain points during the semester. There is no class presence required of the mentor though they are welcome to visit. Past alumni mentors have included Julie Lockley ’99, CFO, Paper Slam and Platinum Design; Sid Levin ’78, president, FirstFrame Inc.; Bret Dewey ’87, president, WickedCoolStuff.com; and Margie Sullivan ’81, executive producer, Redtree Productions. Some of the most recent alumni mentors were: Diane McAveeney ’83, director of sales for North America, Moravia Worldwide; Steve Korian ’95, owner/director of post-production, IO Media; and Pearl Wible ’05, director of PR/promotions for Function Drinks, a division of MD Drinks.

Alumni interested in learning more about E3 mentorship possibilities may contact Associate Vice President and Director of Alumni Relations Barbara Rutberg at Barbara_Rutberg@ emerson.edu or (617) 824-8535.

Wild about work Emerson students in all disciplines can get exceptional experience through internships, and many spend more than one semester working at internships along with their studies, said Director of Career Services Carol Spector. “I’ve actually met with students who say to me, ‘I haven’t done an internship yet and I feel so behind,’ and they are sophomores,” said Assistant Director and Internship Coordinator Anna Umbreit. Cardin, of Career Services, says it is not uncommon to find an Emerson student with four internship experiences on his or her résumé before they graduate: “I know students who have started internships in their freshman year.”

Cardin recalls one student, Clark Crowley ’08, who had done multiple internships, eventually turning one of them into a job with a major public relations agency. Crowley had been

interning at Bell Pottinger USA during his final semester and was offered a position in April. He started two days after graduation in May of last year.

“Before I was offered my position, I met with Career Services a number of times, and they helped me find job prospects, update my résumé and portfolio and helped me hone my interview skills,” Crowley said. “After I was offered my position, I met with Matt [Cardin] to discuss the in’s and out’s of my offer.”

Crowley is just one of many students who parlayed his internship into the beginnings of a career. Senior Mark Feldman’s internship at JAMN (94.5 FM) didn’t have the most promising first day. “It was nerve wracking,” he recalls. Even after he scouted the site the day before to make sure he knew how to get to the studio, on the morning of his first day he took a wrong turn. “I ended up in Chelsea pleading with the Tobin Bridge toll guard to let me through for free. I was almost late, but I made it.”

Luckily for Feldman, his determination won out. He recently took a position as producer and on-air personality for the Pebbles and Ramiro Show at the station. “I do everything,” Feldman says. “I book guests, produce bits, set up the afternoon on-air personality, check spots, add voice for commercials, manage interns, produce podcasts, update production and more,” he says.

How did he manage to move ahead? “I came in 30 minutes earlier than anyone every single day. I booked guests like there was no tomorrow. The morning show never ended for me. It was a 24-hour job.”

Feldman is not alone among students transforming their internships into jobs. Last summer five Emerson students interned on the set of the FX comedy It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, in Culver City, Calif., and after the internships ended Executive Producer/Creator Rob McElhenney hired two of them, Daniel Borrelli ’08 and Chad Nurse ’08, as full-time production assistants. They worked on a new Fox pilot called Boldly Going Nowhere.

“As an intern, I got to sit in the actual writers room and watch them develop the pilot,” said Borrelli. As paid PA’s [production assistants], Chad and I even got to spend a day shadowing the director, who was Fred Savage [The Wonder Years].” Borrelli describes the experience as “once in a lifetime.”

Borrelli reports that he is still writing on his own as well. “I’ve turned the walls in my Oakwood apartment into note-card-cluttered collages, in much the same way as we learned to outline on the walls in [Assistant Professor James Macak’s] class.” Macak was instrumental in connecting the students with McElhenney.

The nuts and bolts The Career Services Office offers students numerous ways to find the right job. They meet with students to discuss how to begin their search and which employers might be right for them, among other issues. They also help students prepare for interviews with videotaped mock interviews and can give advice on everything from creating or improving a résumé to helping with individualized job search strategies. The office also maintains an online job board solely for Emerson students and alumni, called eHire. Last fall, well over 600 jobs and internship opportunities had been posted, and there were over 2,150 active employer accounts that students could search via the employer directory.

Of course, employers also actively seek out Emersonians for openings.

Cardin says he has received an average of 20 opportunities every day in the month of November. Also, about 10 new employers are added to the office’s database every day.

“A lot of employers come back specifically looking for more Emerson interns,” says Cardin. “They call me and leave messages begging for another Emerson intern. That’s really a testament to our students.” E

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with a Side of

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The Daily Show, The Onion and other news parodies entertain, and, yes, inform

Hilarity

By Rhea Becker

S everal years ago, the Beijing Evening News republished

translated portions of a controversial story from the United States, “Congress Threatens to Leave D.C. Unless New Capitol Is Built,” which reported on threats from members of Congress to leave Washington for Memphis, Tenn., or Charlotte, N.C., unless the government built them a new Capitol building – with a retractable dome.

“Like any good newsman, I believe that if you’re not scared, I’m not doing my job.”

Stephen Colbert Photo by Joel Jefferies

The problem was, the story was completely fabricated by the mega-popular online parody news site The Onion and inadvertently lifted by the Beijing Evening News. This particular Onion item was meant to poke fun at U.S. sports franchises’ threats to leave their home cities unless new stadiums were built. The Beijing paper later retracted the item.

Parodies of news are everywhere these days. With online sites like The Onion (which has been cheekily dubbed “The most trusted name in fake news”), iconic cable-television shows like Comedy Central’s Daily Show and Colbert Report, and films like Borat, which features a pseudo-journalist from Kazakhstan, the world is saturated with funny – and often, phony – news.

A number of Emerson alumni are poised squarely in the forefront of the fakenews entertainment revolution, including Doug Herzog ’81, former president of Comedy Central and current president of MTV Networks, and editor of The Onion, Joe Randazzo ’02.

Behind the scenes, Emerson alumni who are comedy writers have been responsible for many of the laughs on these Comedy Central hits. Eric Drysdale ’93 wrote for The Daily Show for nearly six years. He has also written for The Colbert Report, and contributed to Colbert’s bestselling book I am America (And So Can You!). Opus Moreschi ’00 is part of the writing team behind the highly rated Colbert Report.

“In South Carolina, Senator John Edwards won handily, fulfilling his promise to win every state he was born in.”

Stephen Colbert ABOVE: Actor Stephen Colbert on the set of The Colbert Report

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How news became entertainment The long-running comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live (SNL) is often cited as one of the earliest producers of news satire for a broad audience. SNL, on its very first broadcast, in 1975, introduced its now-classic “Weekend Update,” a fake news segment featuring an anchor desk and a news anchor, then played by comic Chevy Chase. In fact, “one of the

“I believe all God’s creatures have a soul... except bears, bears are Godless killing machines!”

Stephen Colbert

original inspirations for The Daily Show is Weekend Update,” says Herzog, who is credited with launching the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Daily Show as well as its spinoff, The Colbert Report.

When Herzog became president of Comedy Central in the mid-1990s, “the network was not very well known.

It wasn’t in a lot of homes. It was a little under the radar,” he recalled. Then a Comedy Central show called Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher hit big. “The week I started work at Comedy Central, I got a call from Bill Maher’s manager saying that ‘Bill has a year left on his deal and after that, we’re leaving. We’ve already signed the contract with ABC, and we’re gonna leave at the end of the year.’ So that was my welcome to

The Write Stuff The Comedy Writing Process

Emersonians form the backbone of the writing staffs of some of the most popular satirical news productions in America. Here, we take a peek behind the scenes at the work that goes into writing parody TV shows, books and online newspapers.

Opus Moreschi ’00 is a member of the 12-person writing staff of the Emmy-nominated Colbert Report.

Moreschi says that over time, the writers “figure out Stephen’s character’s response to world events, and it helps unlock all of the jokes.” Moreschi’s work week is intense. “It helps that I don’t have a life,” he says. Monday morning begins with a stack of newspapers. “I like to get in a little early and grab a cup of coffee and a newspaper,” he says. “I want to hit the ground running.” He also checks the Internet for potential fodder for that night’s show. Each morning a meeting is held in which “everyone throws ideas around for 30 to 60 minutes.” A producer eventually “separates the wheat from the chaff.”

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Comedy Central,” said Herzog with a wry smile. He had one year to figure out how to replace Maher. “I thought it was very important to replace him because we needed to give people a reason to come back every day.” Herzog came up with a “very broad idea” for The Daily Show and hired two writers to create it.

The Daily Show debuted in 1996 with Craig Kilborn behind the anchor desk. The Daily Show was (and is) shot on a set that looks very much like an actual evening news broadcast set, with post-modern design and sizzling graphics. After several years, Kilborn announced he was leaving. Herzog recalls, “We scrambled for a little bit trying to figure out what we should do and how we would replace him. We all knew Jon [Stewart] very well, but we were convinced that he wouldn’t do it.

He had just been on the Larry Sanders

The best jokes are assigned to pairs of writers, who spend the afternoon “trying to come up with as many jokes as we can about, say, Bernie Madoff.” The jokes are honed and sent off to Colbert and the producing staff. By about 7 p.m. the show is being taped before a live audience.

Although Moreschi says the show requires “the most intense work I’ve ever done,” it’s his dream job come true.

Paul Starke ’95, one of the writers behind the No. 1 New York Times best seller An Inconvenient Book (by radio and television talkmeister Glenn Beck), became part of the writing crew after

Show and had a buzz going. Anyway, we got a little heads-up that he might be interested, so we took him out to lunch and we talked about it.” Stewart signed on, and he debuted at the Daily Show anchor desk in 1999, a seat he still occupies today.

Daily Show viewership has risen each year that Stewart has been hosting.

Today, the program boasts an average audience of about 2 million viewers.

“The show completely evolved under Jon into what it is today, which is as notables like actors Dennis Hopper, magnificent, comedically,” says Herzog. Maggie Gyllenhaal and Arianna The show’s format includes a monoHuffington. The Daily Show has proved logue, an extended ‘news’ report so popular – winning 11 Emmy Awards, (including video from ‘correspondents’) 2 Peabody Awards and a host of other and guests. The roster of guests often prestigious nominations and prizes includes heavy-hitting newsmakers like – that in 2005, comedian Stephen President Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Colbert, who played a news corresponJimmy Carter and John McCain, as well dent on The Daily Show, was given his own fake news show, The Colbert Report.

By all accounts, The Colbert Report was an instant hit and its profile continues to grow.

befriending Beck during their days working at CNN together. “We struck up a good working rapport, and when he announced he was going to do this book and asked if I wanted to be a part of it, I jumped at the chance,” says Starke.

Starke describes the writing workflow: “Once we figured out the direction of the book and assigned various chapters and topics, I wrote a few of those chapters – choosing movies, parenting, blind dating.

This all came from Glenn’s point of view.

We would meet with him and he would say, ‘This is what I want to say in this chapter,’ and point us in a direction. And we would hone that and write it and maybe add in some jokes. He was very involved in the whole thing.”

Starke enjoyed the group effort. “It was a lot of fun working with Glenn and a great team. It was very collaborative. Whether you agree with Glenn or not, he’s a fantastic guy, and all the people who work with him are really, really cool. It showed in the final product, because it turned out to be very successful.”

The contents of The Onion, on the other hand, are developed through a winnowing process that begins on Monday with each staff writer and freelancer submitting 15 to 25 headlines for proposed stories. “That comes to 400 to 600 headlines,” says Randazzo. The staff attends an initial meeting on Monday morning, “where it takes two people in the room to say yes to a joke before it makes it onto the next list.

Tuesday we all sit down and [make up the actual issue], which stories we’re going to want to write. That’s half the day. The second half of the day is brainstorming these stories. Then we assign them to writers. They turn in a first draft, which we all rip apart. They turn in a second draft, which is usually slightly better. At the same time our talented graphics department is doing all the Photoshop jobs. At the point in the week when the writers are writing their first drafts, the editors are editing the second drafts from the week prior to go into the next week’s newspaper. It’s a two-week process and continually overlapping.” Randazzo admits it’s all “pretty informal.”

FAR LEFT: Paul Starke ’95 was one of the writers behind radio/TV pundit Glenn Beck’s runaway bestseller An Inconvenient Book.

LEFT: Editor-in-chief Joe Randazzo ’02 relaxes in his Onion offices. BELOW: Opus Moreschi ’00 says he is working his dream job – staff writer for The Colbert Report.

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Silly Poll How Do Students Get Their News?

In a thoroughly half-baked and unscientific poll, Expression asked a handful of randomly chosen Emerson students how they get their news. Here are their unempirical and completely inconclusive responses: Adam Walton ’11, acting The majority of the time I get my news online at the New York Times site or CNN. Stephanie Greenland ’12, broadcast journalism I get email alerts from New York Times.com and read the paper online. I also watch CNN and Fox News.

Cristal Montanez ’11, communication studies I have Yahoo as my home page and I get news there and sometimes from the New York Times site. They provide more elaborate information.

Kelly Smith ’11, writing, literature and publishing I read the Boston Globe every single day and I check Boston.com a lot. I do a lot on Google News, because it’s easier to narrow down quickly what I’m looking for, for example, stories related to college life. I watch CNN, but not as much as I should. Sometimes I live in a box and don’t get much news because I’m wrapped up in classes.

Ian McPhail ’10, interactive media Every day I use an RSS reader (an aggregator of selected links) to read political, news and technology blogs, including Salon, Politico, the L.A. Times, Pew Research Center, Media Matters, Real Clear Politics and Michelle Malkin. I listen to National Public Radio and to podcasts. I watch CNN and Fox. I read the Wall Street Journal (print edition) for a class I’m taking. The Drudge Report is my homepage.

Jared Kowalczyk ’11, film I get my news on the Internet. I tend to start at Yahoo.com. I love my sports, so I go to ESPN. com, too. Then I use Google searches. I always pick up the [Berkeley] Beacon on Thursdays, and if there’s someone handing out a Boston Metro I grab that.

18 Expression Winter 2009

Joseph Rechtman ’11, film I’m pretty uninformed. Most of the news I get is through friends and family and through The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. I also check out the news on the IMDB.com [Internet Movie Database] home page.

Tara Mastroeni ’12, writing for TV and film I usually go to CNN.com at least once a day.

Ross Hansen ’12, writing for TV and film I get my news from the BBC News website.

Kristina Ten ’11, writing, literature and publishing I try to watch the news in the morning at 7 a.m. – Fox News and CNN. I also get news from the Internet, starting at Yahoo.com. I read the [Berkeley] Beacon and sometimes pick up the Boston Metro and the Boston Herald.

Jussie Martin ’12, print journalism I don’t watch a lot of TV. I go online daily to read the New York Times and Boston.com.

When I’m home, I read my hometown daily, The Derry (N.H.) News.

Fernando Febres ’12, marketing I go online to CNN and Yahoo. I look for business news, odd news or entertainment news.

Tim Leinhart, second-year graduate student, journalism I get the New York Times every day. I also go online to the BBC. That’s my homepage. It has much better world news. I don’t have a TV. Rachel Liptz ’12, theater education I get news from the front page of Yahoo. It’s my homepage. I don’t have a TV. I used to watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. I’m from Israel, so I go online to read the daily Haaretz. If I didn’t have Yahoo as my homepage, I probably wouldn’t look for news.

Why so popular?

Many viewers who watch The Daily Show each night claim they are “addicted” to it. The Onion attracts more than 5 million online visitors per month. Even CNN has tossed its hat into the ring, launching in fall 2008 a show called D.L. Hughley Breaks the News, a weekly comedy program based on the news and hosted by Hughley.

Randazzo of The Onion believes his generation has grown up with “an eye for irony and sarcasm, a bit more skepticism and perhaps even cynicism, about politics, the media and the news.”

Further, he says “there’s a sense among some that as the news media have been gobbled up by big, multinational corporations, where you have four or five different companies that basically own most of the mainstream information that goes out, it tends toward mediocrity. So, many of these news organizations have been swept away with the idea of ‘infotainment’, or making news flashy and attractive” – which makes it ripe for satire, says Randazzo.

Paul Starke ’95, co-author of

“One more thing, and you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to. Is it true that every time I buy a bottle of ketchup, your wife gets a nickel?”

Jon Stewart, interviewing U.S. Sen. John Kerry

television and radio pundit Glenn Beck’s runaway bestseller, An Inconvenient Book, adds, “There are no walls left between public figures and the audience. It seems as if everyone has access to everything. Since the walls are going down, people feel they have a right to question, comment and participate in the process.”

An Inconvenient Book debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list. Beck’s book is formatted to parody a schoolbook. Starke, who is currently the Emmy Award-winning senior

producer of The Tyra Banks Show, says that Beck “ knew he wanted to create a parody of a textbook and to get his opinion out on a variety of topics.” The book addresses subjects as serious as child abuse, radical Islam and global climate change and as silly as dating, weekend movie rentals and tipping.

Movie audiences were treated to another brand of fake news with the debut of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2006 break-out mockumentary, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. The film created a sensation – and some enemies. Borat, a supposed globetrotting reporter from the country of Kazakhstan, draws laughs when he says or does offensive things under the guise of being from a foreign country. He naively utters all manner of insult, including sexist, homophobic and anti-Semitic remarks.

What makes it so funny?

The Onion, which predates both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, derives its comedy from “its refusal to acknowledge that it’s funny – doing everything in a dry, sober tone and taking ourselves very, very seriously,” says editor Randazzo. The Onion News Network (ONN) has translated the Onion sensibility into a video format with its “Beyond the Facts” segments. “The ONN takes its cues from Fox News or CNN and exaggerate things even more with the flashy graphics and explosions and lasers,” says Randazzo. “I think having those really high production values makes it feel even more real than the real thing. Many, many people have been fooled by watching those ONN clips on YouTube, especially because they are not seeing them in context on the Onion site.” In fact, many of the actors on the ONN reports are non-actors who have worked in journalism. “They feel authentic and they don’t play up the joke,” says Randazzo. “That’s what really sells it.”

Photo by Martin Crook

Photo by Frank Ockenfels

COMIC RELIEF. Emerson alumnus and current president of MTV Networks Doug Herzog ’81 is responsible for creating Comedy Central’s wildly popular Daily Show with Jon Stewart (left) and its spinoff, The Colbert Report, with Stephen Colbert (below).

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Diced or Sliced, As for the news parody competition, it’s a friendly rivalry. “We all really like and respect The Daily Show and Colbert Report,” says Randazzo. “I think that they’re both really funny, really smart shows. And we can all occupy the same space, because we do something slightly different. They’re really good at the 24-hour news cycle, and we take a step back and try to write stories thinking, will it be funny in five or ten years? We really try to write stuff that will stand the test of time.”

But is it news?

Several studies indicate that a portion of younger people actually get their news from fake news shows like The Daily Show rather than from genuine

“What kind of madman refuses to produce evidence that he doesn’t have what he said he didn’t? Saddam had to be taken out or who knows what else he might not have done?”

Stephen Colbert sources. “I think there’s some truth to that,” says Comedy Central’s Herzog.

“I’m very old school. I read three newspapers a day. I grew up that way. I have teenage boys, and I know they’re never going to pick up a newspaper. It’s not going to happen. They’re going to get their news in a different way.” On the other hand, Herzog says, “With The Daily Show, you kind of have to know the news to play along.” Emerson’s Journalism Department Chair Janet Kolodzy agrees: “As a Daily Show fan myself, you have to be relatively engaged with news to follow it. Otherwise, you’re not really going to understand half of the jokes.”

But it’s not as if the fake news outlets are trying to pull one over on anyone, says Herzog. “Jon Stewart will tell you, ‘I’m not a journalist, I’m not a newsman. I’m a comedian. And my first job is to make people laugh. Now 20 Expression Winter 2009

if they’re being informed while I make them laugh, then that’s great.’” Herzog adds that Comedy Central’s fake-news shows “are not out there trying to compete with CNN or Fox News or Katie Couric; we’re trying to make people laugh and we do it within the currency of news.”

Similarly, Randazzo says The Onion never pretends to be a news source: “When people go to a satirical news site, first and foremost, it’s a way to escape, to get entertained. But I think that satire has always been able to – especially now in an era when there are so many different news sources to parse through – get right to the meat of the thing.”

Still, that doesn’t mean that news parodies are not part of a well-informed viewer’s media regimen. A 2007 Pew Research Center study, which reviewed the content of The Daily Show for an entire year, revealed that regular viewers of The Daily Show – whose median age is 35 – tend to be more knowledgeable about news than audiences of other news sources.

Approximately 54% of The Daily Show viewers scored in the high knowledge range, followed by Jim Lehrer’s program at 53% and Bill O’Reilly’s program at 51%, significantly higher than the 34% of network morning show viewers.

Emerson’s Kolodzy admits that “newspapers are a tough sell” for students these days. But many students do get news – when they are online: “There’s a changing pattern for all consumers. For students online, getting their news can be catch as catch can and, like everybody else, sometimes they just don’t catch anything.”

Overall, Kolodzy says the faculty urges “our journalism students to get their news from journalistic sources.”

The Beijing Evening News is far from the only legitimate news outlet that has mistakenly reported fake news as real. And with the growing popularity of news parodies, perhaps the mantra that audiences must repeat to themselves these days is, “It’s only a joke, it’s only a joke.” E

From his salad days at Emerson, Joe Randazzo ’02 has risen to the top of The Onion empire

Imagine a workplace where laughter is not only tolerated but encouraged, an office where guffaws echo in every corridor, and where your job each day is to induce hysterics in your fellow staffers. The Onion is such a workplace.

This mega-popular satirical online ‘newspaper’, which cheekily describes itself as “America’s Finest News Source,” amuses a readership of 5,115,368 visitors per month, and Emerson alumnus Joe Randazzo ’02 is at the helm of the operation.

A broadcast journalism major while at Emerson, Randazzo today oversees a New York City-based staff of about 20, which includes editors, writers and graphic artists.

(He is not responsible for the Onion’s video component, the Onion News Network [ONN], which was launched in 2007 and has a staff of about 25.)

The Onion, for the uninitiated, takes news (both real and fabricated) and turns it on its ear. Satirical stories recently featured in

It’s Always Funny

the publication include: “American Airlines Now Charging Fees To NonPassengers” (“Watching television last night cost me $250,” said Baltimore resident Michael Peterson, one of many Americans now forced to pay high airline costs for folding their laundry and going to the ophthalmologist. “It’s ridiculous, but what can you do? I guess that’s just the price of not flying these days”) and “Man With Apple Hovering In Front Of Face Sues René Magritte’s Estate” (Michael Renfro, a 68-year-old retired CPA with an apple hovering in front of his face, announced Monday that he has filed a $15 million lawsuit against the estate of deceased Belgian artist René Magritte for unlawfully using his likeness in the 1964 painting The Son Of Man).

The Onion was founded as a print publication in 1988 by two University of Wisconsin-Madison students. In 1996 The Onion website was launched. Besides the virtual newspaper, The Onion empire includes the Onion News Network, the print edition (circulation 630,000) and an online radio division.

A journey to comedy Comedy had always intrigued Randazzo, but he found himself “far too shy to ever try out for the comedy teams” at Emerson. “They intimidated me somewhat,” he recalls. He did, however, perform standup around Boston, primarily at the Comedy Studio and the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge. “I did other small rooms now and again, including a Chinese restaurant in which I once did a whole bit about George W. Bush being pushed through his mother’s birth canal as the audience slurped on noodles. It didn’t go over well.”

In his senior year, Randazzo created a monologue show called The Official Version, which was very well received. In addition, many of his broadcast journalism news packages were comedic in nature. His work was noticed and he became the first recipient of Emerson’s Joe Murphy Comedy Award.

Randazzo’s win was based on a package of audio comedy material he submitted, including sketches and a number of fake commercials.

After graduation, he embarked on a peripatetic career journey. “I didn’t know how to go about pursuing a career in comedy. I never really had it in me to get out there and promote myself and try to meet people. That kind of stuff always made me feel uncomfortable.”

So Randazzo took a job writing news at Boston public radio station WBUR-FM. “Although I liked it a lot, I was working the 3:30 a.m. to noon shift. It was destroying me physically and spiritually.” He eventually decided to move to New York. “I thought with my NPR résumé they would just be lining up to give me jobs in public radio in New York, but I found it very difficult to break in.” So Randazzo wound up taking a day job: “Working for $6.75 an hour at cafés, slinging coffee and pastries.”

When the eatery offered to make Randazzo assistant manager, he fled.

“I knew I had to get the hell out.”

He contacted a friend who was an editor for season two of NBC’s The Apprentice, and Randazzo took a post-production job. He worked on season three as well as The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, Stewart “just dubbing tapes and logging and stuff like that.” He started to do some assistant producing, “but I realized I didn’t have the passion for the final product, to pour 100 hours a week into it. It felt like I was heading in this direction for no good reason. It took me several years to build up the confidence to decide to drop everything and start doing what I really liked, which was comedy.” He enrolled at the Magnet Theater, where he did improvisational comedy. There, he met a former editor of The Onion as well as a current editor. When the editor left to embark on a spiritual journey through India, suddenly a job opened up. One of Randazzo’s new Onion friends recommended him for the post. “I almost didn’t even test for it, because I thought there’s no way I would ever get it. But I got the job, and over the last two years, through circumstance and luck, I’ve managed to work my way up to editor in March 2006.” The rest is hysterical.

Luckily for The Onion, the satire laws in the U.S. leave them “pretty well protected. The White House sent us a cease and desist letter a couple of years ago because we were using the White House seal.” But that’s all in the line of duty for a staff of dedicated journalists, er, comedy writers.

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Notable Expressions FILM Ben Solomon ’05 and Dan Levin’s (’05) documentary film Captured premiered last year at the Rooftop Film Festival in New York to a crowd of 1,700 people, according to the filmmakers.

Most recently the film was accepted to the Woodstock Film Festival in upstate New York. The duo have also produced and directed numerous commercial and music-related projects. In 2001, while still seniors in high school, Solomon and Levin collaborated on their first film La Ciudad del Hip Hop, a short documentary shot entirely on location in Havana, Cuba.

A documentary film by Ashley Sabin ’05 and former Emerson instructor David Redmon, Intimidad (Intimacy), premiered at the South

by Southwest Film Festival

last March. The film tells the story of a couple’s dream to buy land and build a house in a Mexican border town.

Jeremiah Zagar’s (’03) documentary, In a Dream, is under consideration for an Academy Award, making it to the list of 15 feature documentaries to be considered.

The film is a study of the director’s father, mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar. Jeremiah Zagar’s films, Baby Eat Baby and The Unbelievable Truth, screened at Emerson’s 2004 L.A. Festival of Film and Video.

Todd Norwood ’01 recently finished production on the film Tricks of a Woman, starring Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos), Natasha Lyonne (American Pie), Carlos Leon (HBO’s Oz), Scott Elrod (Men in Trees) and Dennis Lemoine (Illegal Aliens). The film tells the tale of an erstwhile fashion photographer who makes a bet with a colleague that he can transform an ordinary gal into a highfashion model.

WORDS

The Art of the Video Game, a book by Josh Jenisch ’00

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Josh Jenisch ’00 has published The Art of the Video Game (Quirk Books), the first book to celebrate the video game as a medium that may define the 21st century. Jenisch, the Los Angeles Times video games reporter, writes about the artistry of today’s games with examples from the biggest design studios and game publishers in the business: SEGA,

EA Sports, Midway, Eidos, Konami and many others.

Every page features digital artwork (along with neverbefore-published sketches, models, and works-inprogress) from dozens of beloved games – everything from old-school favorites to contemporary hits.

Chris Eboch, MA ’94, is celebrating the release of her latest books, Jesse Owens: Young Record Breaker and Milton Hershey: Young Chocolatier. Both are part of Simon & Schuster’s Childhood of Famous Americans series, for ages 8-12, and written under the name M.M. Eboch. The book on Owens tells the inspiring story of the Olympic gold medalist, focusing on his childhood and how through hard work and courage the AfricanAmerican sprinter overcame racism, poverty and poor health. The other book is a biography of chocolate king Milton Hershey, who started work at an ice cream parlor at age 14.

Adam Golaski ’97 is celebrating the publication of his book of supernatural ghost stories, entitled Worse than Myself (Raw Dog Screaming Press). Readers refer to the genre he writes in as “quiet horror,” because the stories don’t focus on gore. Golaski already has a new book accepted for publication. His next book is slated to come out this year.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have named Tim Neverett ’88 as the club’s new play-byplay announcer. Neverett takes the reins from Bucs Lanny Frattare, the longtime announcer who retired last baseball season. Neverett was chosen from a pool of more than 200 play-by-play candidates, according to the team. Neverett was a collegiate baseball player during his days at Emerson. Neverett most recently worked for FOX Sports Net (FSN) Rocky Mountain, serving as a pre- and postgame analyst and part-time play-by-play announcer for Rockies games. During his four years at the station, Neverett also served as an announcer for college football, basketball, lacrosse, hockey, track and field and arena football.

Pirates president Frank Coonelly said Tim was hired because of “his passion for calling the game of baseball.”

Until she found herself searching for a subject during a nonfiction book workshop at Emerson, Laurie Edwards, MFA ’06, never considered writing about her experience with chronic disease. she said. After 20 years of hospitalization after hospitalization without a firm diagnosis of her condition, Edwards was finally diagnosed with primary ciliary dyskinesia, a rare, cystic fibrosis-like genetic respiratory disorder. She wrote Life Disrupted: Getting Real About Chronic Illnesses in Your Twenties and Thirties.

Intimidad (Intimacy), a film co-directed

by Ashley Sabin ’05 and former Emerson instructor David Redmon

An image from In a Dream, Jeremy Zagar’s (‘03) film about his father

Sports announcer Tim Neverett ’88

“Everyone’s saying, ‘This is exactly my life’,” Edwards said, referring to readers with chronic diseases. Her book is divided into three sections: the health care system, going to school or work, and relationships, and utilizes both personal experience as well as stories from six patients with a range of illnesses.

Lola Douglas (the pseudonym for Lara Zeises, MFA ’01) is the author of True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet and its sequel, More Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet. True Confessions was made into a TV movie starring multi-platinum recording artist Joanna “JoJo” Levesque and Golden Globe winner Valerie Bertinelli. It premiered recently on the Lifetime channel. Zeises is also the author of Bringing Up the Bones, an honor book for the 2001 Delacorte Press Prize Competition; Contents Under Pressure, winner of the 2006 Delaware Blue Hen Teen Book Award and a 2006 IRA Young Adult Choices selection; and Anyone But You. As series editor for The Best American Short Stories collections, Heidi Pitlor, MFA ’98, has ushered in the 2008

edition, placing Salman Rushdie as this year’s editor.

Pitlor was named series editor in 2006. The collection includes work from Allegra Goodman, A.M. Homes, Jonathan Lethem, Alice Munro, Tobias Wolff and others

TELEVISION Andrew Glassman ’79 recently spoke to the Boston Globe about producing the new reality show Momma’s Boys, for NBC. “The show features three possessive moms, their complacent sons, and 32 single women in a house together, “according to the Globe, to see if a love connection can be made.

Glassman, who is producing the show with American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, talked to the paper about how Momma’s Boys has already generated controversy because of remarks made by one of the mothers on the show. Glass told the Globe he saw the show confronting the issue of race head-on, something unusual for a reality dating series. “It was a creative risk,” he said.

Lisa Gregorian, MA ’86, has been named to The Hollywood Reporter’s 17th annual Women in Entertainment Power 100 list. This is her second consecutive year on the list, which this year is

topped by Oprah Winfrey.

Gregorian is a marketing innovator who has served as executive vice president for Worldwide Marketing at Warner Bros. Television Group since September 2005. As the second executive named to the newly created group, Gregorian interfaces with the Studio’s internal television marketing teams as well as television networks and stations worldwide to maximize and fully exploit the promotional marketing opportunities for all of the Studio’s television properties, including network, first-run, cable and animated series from Warner Bros. Television, Telepictures Productions, Warner Horizon Television, Warner Bros.

Ana Lucia Cottone ’92 has made Poder360° magazine’s first annual “20 Under 40” list of Hispanic entrepreneurs, executives, leaders and artists under 40 “who are shaping the future of the U.S. and the world.” Cottone is vice president of series development and current programming for Lifetime Television. Since her start at Rysher Entertainment, Cottone has worked with NBC Universal, USA, Sci Fi, UPN and Telemundo, and was involved with Monk, Oz, Nash Bridges, The Strip and Lifetime’s hit drama series Army Wives.

Kal-El Bogdanove ’07 and Dave Child ’07 have optioned their comic concept Will Triumph Fights Alone to ABC Family Channel as a one-hour TV show. Stephen In his first major colChristy ’07, manager of delaboration with HBO, TV velopment at Devil’s Due, is producer Norman Lear ’44 serving as executive produchas teamed with the cable er of the show. Bogdanove network for a drama series and Child came to Christy set in the world of 1970s pro to help serialize the story wrestling. The series will and make it a comic series. be a character-driven drama that revolves around a family Eventually, Christy pitched the concept to ABC Family, running a pro-wrestling which gave the go-ahead for business in New York and the purchase. The comic, peeks into the lives of the wrestlers and their fans. Ten- with art by Jon Bogdanove tatively titled Everybody Hurts, (who created the art for DC’s classic Death of Superman), it will be produced by Lear’s “follows rookie superhero Act III Communications.

Will Triumph, son of a pow-

23 Expression Winter 2009

erful superhero team known as The Dynamics who were killed in the line of duty by their arch-rival, Dr. Loricas,” reported MTV.com. The comic was originally written as a screenplay by Child and Kal-El Bogdanove. Child told MTV.com, “It started off as a feature screenplay that KalEl and I wrote [at Emerson].”

THEATER Misti B. Wills, MA ’97, directed The Pearl Merchant recently for a limited engagement at The Space at the Times Square Arts Center in New York City. The play is from Threads Theater, a New York City-based nonprofit theater company focused on producing plays that start inclusive conversations about faith and contribute to cultural renewal.

Willis is an award-winning director, actress, producer

and teacher. She is on the faculty at the New York Film Academy. The production features scenic design by April Bartlett ’04.

Bill Selby ’83 is performing with the touring company of Forbidden Broadway. He has been performing in the show since 1985, when he joined at age 23. The show is an off-Broadway satire of what is happening on Broadway, parodying not only current Broadway shows but classics such as Les Miserables and South Pacific.

Nicole Johndrow ’99 ended her run with Back in Pictures, a show that celebrates songs written for the Golden Age of Hollywood, featuring music from Casablanca, Easter Parade, A Star Is Born, Pennies From Heaven, Disney, Meet Me In St. Louis, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Wizard of Oz, among others.

Back in Pictures was presented at the Reprise Room in New York City. Following her graduation from Emerson College, she spent two years touring the U.S. and Canada with Cats.

Falls Church, Va., native Greg Corbino ’07 recently spoke to his hometown newspaper about being a part of the legendary Bread and Puppet performance troupe. He is one of just about two dozen full-time performers. Bread and Puppet is well known for its biting social commentaries, avant-garde performances and iconic counter-culture status. Most recently, Corbino was part of the troupe’s Dirt Cheap Opera in

Actor Scott R. Brill, MA ’92

24 Expression Winter 2009

Washington, D.C. Corbino told the paper that after his second year at Emerson he began to realize he wanted to shift his focus from musical theater to dramatic theory, and this led him to begin to experiment with puppetry. This was also the time when one of his Emerson drama professors introduced him to Bread and Puppet.

Scott R. Brill, MA ’92, played the lead in the production of the irreverent comedy The Santaland Diaries at the Playhouse on the Green in Bridgeport, Conn. The Santaland Diaries is based on best-selling humorist and National Public Radio commentator David Sedaris’ 1992 essay recounting his experiences working as a Macy’s “Elf” during the holiday season. While at Emerson, Brill directed Man of La Mancha, The Ruffian on the Stair, four plays by Samuel Beckett and numerous one-acts. As a performer, Brill’s roles onstage include Allan Felix in Play It Again, Sam (for which he won the Square One Theatre Subscriber’s Award for Outstanding Actor); Antony Wilding in Enchanted April (New Canaan Town Players); several roles in Shakespeare plays and more.

Camilla Ross ’85 and Emma Palzere-Rae ’84 have founded the Emerson Theater Collaborative (ETC.), which will be based in southeastern Connecticut. “The concept of ETC. is to develop and nurture emerging and professional artists by collaborating with alumni and students of Emerson, known for its outstanding theater

program, and to serve youth, underrepresented communities and artists with an emphasis on diversity,” according to the Groton Times.

Ross and Palzere-Rae each have more than 20 years of experience in many areas of professional theater.

Michael Cyril Creighton ’03 performed this fall in Cape Disappointment in New York City’s Performance Space 122. Broadway World describes the play as: “a decaying drive-in [that] comes to life with stories of lighthouses, naughty little girls and places you imagine remembering.” Creighton can also be seen as host for VH1’s Best Night Ever and I Like To Watch video podcasts and in webisodes of The Mimi & Flo Show and The Burg.

RADIO Brendan Hogan ’02 has hosted the Saturday night WGBH Radio (89.7 FM) show Blues on WGBH for five years. “It’s not sad music because it makes you feel good when you listen to it,” Hogan told the Boston Herald. In his show he features the music of Blind Willie McTell, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf and Buddy Guy. Hogan’s “forays into radio began as an Emerson student. After listening to the blues for five years, Hogan, then a junior, went to WERS 88.9 FM on a friend’s dare to try to apply his knowledge on air. Little did he imagine he’d be asked to come back that night.” Hogan hosted Bluesology on WERS until graduating in 2002.

My Turn My Weird, Wonderful Emerson Years

By Kelly Schaffer Ribeiro-de Sá ’99 I am a 31-year-old wife and mother of three. I am the editor-in-chief and artistic director of a local publication that I created with my husband, who is also an Emerson graduate. I am a homeowner and a hybrid-car driver. As an incoming freshman in September 1995, I could not have dreamed that I would be who I am 14 years later. Now that my 10-year college reunion is approaching, I feel compelled to reflect on my Emerson years and how they contributed to my current fortune.

I was a typical college student. I failed to focus enough energy on academics and directed too much attention to college life. As a first-generation Little Building resident, I primed the fluorescent-lit halls with broken rules and reckless deeds. I branched out from my high school self. I made weird friends, and I adopted weird views. I relished my relationships with students and professors who challenged me and my way – or my parents’ way – of thinking.

In the fall of 1996, I attended Emerson’s program in the Netherlands. At the Castle, my friends got weirder and so did my views. I studied and explored European architecture and was amazed at how it related to my life. As time periods shifted and buildings morphed, I began to see myself in the same multi-faceted, expandable way. I was being shaped, as the buildings once were, in tandem with my surroundings.

Through angels and gargoyles I reconciled my inner conflicts, and with one glimpse of a ceiling in Rome, I began to feverishly hope for a future where light ruled over darkness and men are touched by God. After several semesters roaming the streets of Boston and my stint in Europe, I was due for a change of weather. I attended Emerson’s Los

Angeles program during my last college semester, and I journeyed across the southern United States with my roommate. With every amazing discovery in each American town, I felt prouder of my country and blessed to be here. For the first time in my college life, I was not rebelling against my country’s politics or social structure. I began to feel distinctly American and, interestingly, proud of this fact.

By the time I reunited with the graduating class of 1999 on Tremont Street in May, I was no longer a girl with possibilities, but a woman with determinations. My cap and gown hardly displayed all I had been through, and my degree barely spoke of what I had learned. Soon I returned to Southern California to live. Palm trees, orange skies and glittering lights became the backdrop for my chance at the roles of wife, mother and career woman. In 2001, my husband and I purchased a business to support our growing family, a print and graphic design shop. We discovered the importance of community, reputation and dependability as we struggled to build and maintain a clientele. We faced business obstacles like taxes and the effect of 9/11 on the economy. At home, we experienced parenting conundrums and worried about life insurance, property taxes and the cost of education. When we had to make tough decisions in unknown territory, my husband and I often drew from lessons we learned in the classroom and through our journey at Emerson.

Sometimes our decisions earned us a positive result, other times we blew it. In due course, however, our perseverance paid off. By 2006, we’d significantly increased our company’s revenue and earned a solid reputation, which brought us a hard-to-resist offer to sell. Taking the deal, we were able to complete con-

struction on a house in my hometown of Baltimore. It is in this residence that we remain committed and inspired to teach our children traditional Emerson values like free expression, integrity and diversity of perspective.

My husband and I were not valedictorians of our high schools. We did not graduate with honors from Emerson. We earned a few incompletes, we skipped some classes along the way, and no one ever voted us “Most likely to succeed.” But I do know that somewhere in between the traveling and merriment, I must have learned how to write and edit articles and review books, and I must have learned a lot about visual art and design. I know this because 10 years later I am using these skills to help support my family.

So, as a mature woman, who cringes at my former snub at institutionalized learning, I stand humbled and grateful to my college on Boston Common. I am thankful for the Emerson philosophy, which trusts its students (even the flakey ones) to learn outside the confines of its four walls; that values experience and spirit over the memorization of dates and data; and that instills just enough spark to inspire thoughtful, original, fulfilling adult lives in its students.

Kelly Schaffer Ribeiro-de Sá ’99 graduated with a degree in writing, literature & publishing, and Eric Ribeiro-de Sá ’98 earned a degree in film.

25 Expression Winter 2009

Alumni Digest From Robert Friend ’79, president of the Alumni Association Dear Fellow Emersonian, In 2007, the Alumni Board developed a strategic plan to strengthen its commitment and reputation as a major contributor to the Emerson community. The effort sought to re-connect and re-engage alumni by creating valuable opportunities to reach the broadest possible alumni population and reconnect them to the College.

This past November, the Alumni Board, in conjunction with the Boston Chapter of the Emerson Alumni Association, hosted a professional development seminar featuring Karl Baehr, director of the Emerson Entrepreneurial Experience (E3). The program was simulcast online so that connected alumni could participate in the program on a real-time basis. Karl delivered an exhilarating view of approaching business from the perspective of an entrepreneur, and the evening served as a successful experiment in the delivery of creative programming to alumni throughout the world.

26 Expression Winter 2009

One of the key strategies discussed on the Alumni Board was related to the lack of market research associated with our alumni base. In the past, we have created alumni programs and activities in the field based on what we think we know about you.

However, we also realize that there is an enormous amount of information that we do not have about you. Both the Alumni Board and the College felt that it was time to do something about this.

An aspect of our strategic plan revolved around creating and implementing an integrated marketing and communications plan that would raise the visibility of the Alumni Association, including its Board, members, chapters and programs. Part of this initiative included the creation of a market research study to better understand the priorities, needs and interests of our alumni base.

This past fall, an ad-hoc committee of the Alumni Board, along with members of the Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations offices, embarked on creating a market research study with a professional market research firm, Eduventures. The initial survey was designed to create a conversation that might reveal how alumni perceive the College, how they are

willing to participate with the College now and in the future and where they are in their careers as it relates to the Emerson curriculum.

The survey was emailed in early November and we are awaiting the results.

By the time this article is printed, we should have full feedback and analytics describing the results of our first study. We anticipate that the findings will provide us with additional information, enabling us to deliver more valuable services and opportunities to all of our alumni. More importantly, the results will provide us with information that will spawn additional research communications to our alumni base.

Your thoughts and ideas are important to us. So, please drop me a note (rf@alumni. emerson.edu) or give us a call in the Alumni Relations office (617 824-8275). As always, I look forward to seeing you at Alumni Weekend or another alumni event.

Robert Friend ’79 President

Boston

Los Angeles Two hundred alumni, parents and industry friends attended Class of 1980 alumnus Richard LaGravenese’s presentation, “Finding Your Voice,” in November at the Steven J. Ross Theater at Warner Bros. in Burbank.

LaGravenese shared his personal and professional journey as a screenwriter, director and producer and is this semester’s Jane and Terry Semel Chair in Screenwriting.

In 1992, LaGravenese received an Oscar nomination for his original screenplay, The Fisher

Flanking President Jacqueline Liebergott are (from left) College trustees Gary Grossman ’70, Terry Semel and Max Mutchnick ’87.

King. Other screenplays he has penned include The Ref (with Emerson classmate Denis Leary), A Little Princess, The Bridges of Madison County, The Mirror Has Two Faces, The Horse Whisperer and Beloved.

The Boston chapter of the Alumni Association hosted “How to Survive in a Changing Economy: Think Like an Entrepreneur,” a webinar presentation by Karl Baehr, director of Business & Entrepreneurial Studies at Emerson College.

Twenty-five Boston chapter members attended the live presentation at Emerson in November, with more than 100 others logging on from off-site. Visit emerson.edu/ alumni/webinar.cfm to view the archived presentation.

Richard LaGravenese ’80 and classmate Donzaleigh Abernathy ’80

Boston Robert Pflugfelder ‘89 (in lab coat), with staff and students at the College’s television facilities.

Pflugfelder, also known as “Science Bob,” was on campus in December at the Vin Di Bona TV Studios to tape segments of his home experiments, which will be released on his website, www.sciencebob.com.

27 Expression Winter 2009

First homecoming weekend attracts alumni participants

By Chris Pineo Emerson held its first-ever homecoming weekend last fall, called Emerson Homecoming: Athletes Come Home. Athletes and former athletes energized the campus as they cheered each other on.

Emerson Director of Athletics Kristin Parnell is leading her department to promote more alumni participation on campus. The homecoming weekend kicked off this move.

“Alumni, staff and faculty, and current student-athletes

participated,” Parnell said.

“There were between 75 and 100 alumni that took part in at least one of the activities or attended events over the course of the weekend.”

The festivities began at TD Banknorth Garden for a Boston Celtics game, complete with Ball Park franks, compliments of the Athletic Department and Alumni Relations. Derek Deluties ’91 attended with a group of his fraternity brothers from Rho Delta Omega. “We had a blast hanging out with other Emersonians that were

Heather Drobiarz ’07 (facing camera) and Lindsay DeStefano ’08

28 Expression Winter 2009

involved with the Athletics program from past to present,” he said. “The game was terrific, apart from the score,” said Robert Sands ’68, who added, “I liked the venue. It was a nice idea having it in an area where we could mingle.”

The next day, events began with a slow-pitch softball game, pitting the regal Lions of yesteryear against the young upstarts of more recent classes. Baseball Coach Dave Hanley coached the upstarts, alumni from 2003-08. Phil McElroy, the current head coach of the women’s softball team, coached the line-up of Lions who graduated in or before 2002. The elder Lions pulled off a 14-8 win, with a ninth- inning suicide squeeze off the bat of Joy Tashjian ’02.

“HomecomingBoston Common is one of the best places to play softball,” said McElroy. “I was really impressed with the players, and I’m thinking of inviting them back to play my girls in the spring.”

At the same time as the softball game, an alumni basketball game was being played in the Emerson gymnasium. Former volleyball player Nicole Witkov ’03, now assistant director for enrollment, attended. “It was great to catch up with past friends and teammates, reminisce and feel a sense of pride in where the organization has gone and how dramatically it has changed and grown.”

Many alumni then walked from campus to Rotch

Field for the next event, a double header of women’s and men’s soccer games.

The women finished off their competitor, Emmanuel College, with a shut-out victory under head coach Katelyn Haggerty. “Playing such a big game on our homecoming weekend was great for us,” she said. “We have never had more fans at one of our games, and we couldn’t have needed them more than we did on Saturday.

The Athletics Department did a great job reaching out to families and alumni, and the tailgate between games seemed to be a great success.”

“We feel that this was a great first step,” Athletics Director Parnell said at the event’s close. “We hope that the word-of-mouth communication among alumni that were here, and their friends and teammates who were not, will help us continue to grow the homecoming concept at Emerson.”

“It’s amazing how much more the Athletics program has to offer since we went to Emerson,” said alumnus Deluties. “Before, students went to Emerson for multimedia. Athletics was just something you were psyched you could get involved with while attending Emerson. Now students go to Emerson for the Athletics program.”

Chris Pineo is a journalism graduate student.

At the Saturday morning alumni slow-pitch softball game on Boston Common Kent Anderson ’08 swings for the fences.

At the Saturday afternoon tailgate party at Rotch Field were (from left): Bryan Fennessey ’08 (baseball), Men’s Basketball Coach Hank Smith (back to camera), Zachary Wintrow ’08 (baseball), Ken Gold ’08 (baseball) and Benjamin Chase ’08 (basketball).

An Emerson reception took place during the Celtics vs. Knicks pre-season game at TD Banknorth Garden.

From left are Leah Tobin ’00 (soccer, basketball, and softball), Heather Mauer Seibel ’01 (softball), Molly Zahr ’01 (basketball and softball) and Tiffany Kozuki ’02 (volleyball and softball).

Boston

Boston

The Boston Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) group hosted its 4th Annual Halloween Happy Hour at The Living Room, in Boston. Theresa Melito ’05 and Eddie Mejia ’96 are pictured.

Linda Arnold ’95, her husband, John, and family attended a luncheon and performance at the Cutler Majestic Theatre of The Hundred Dresses, hosted by the Office of Alumni Relations. The luncheon was held in the Piano Row gymnasium with more than 250 families from the Emerson community. The Hundred Dresses was an Emerson Stage production.

29 Expression Winter 2009

Boston The 2008-09 Alumni Board of Directors held their first meeting last October on the Emerson campus.

The alumni directors met with the Student Alumni Association, heard presentations from various administrators and set their working agenda for the year. They will focus on mentoring students, involving alumni with Career Services for job and internship opportunities, raising funds for the Alumni Association Scholarship and Emerson Fund, supporting regional alumni events, completing an alumni attitude survey and enhancing Emerson’s connection with alumni through marketing and communication initiatives.

2008-09 Alumni Board of Directors

Miami

Connecticut Barbara “Turk” Paskoff ’66 on the set of CSI: Miami for her walk-on part, which she won in the College’s Alumni Association Scholarship Auction. The show was broadcast in December. From left, Michael Paskoff (Barbara’s husband), Barbara Paskoff and actor David Caruso (CSI: Miami). The auction item was donated by John Wentworth ’81, executive VP of communications for CBS Paramount Network Television.

New York More than 100 alumni exchanged career tips and job leads during the second annual Speed Networking Fall Party hosted at Vento in New York City in October.

Pictured here, promoting their upcoming theatrical shows, clockwise from front left, are Cynthia Crane ’57, Rachel Parenta ’99, Lee Bergman ’75 and Elizabeth Soychak ’91.

30 Expression Winter 2009

A pair of alumni frolicked in an apple orchard last fall along with other alums who traveled from various parts of Connecticut and New York City to enjoy the fresh air and reconnect with other Emersonians while picking apples and dining out in Bethel, Conn. Among the participants were Melinda Doyle ’03, Dennis Blader ’75, MS ’79, and Ann Testa ’06.

Nashville An Emerson College reception was hosted by Whitney Clay Diller ’79 for Nashville, Tenn.area alumni and parents at the Park Café in October. Janis Andersen, dean of the School of Communication, spoke about Emerson’s new programs, initiatives, student profile and strategic plans for the future.

Nashville alumni were happy to meet each other and are hoping to plan other events during the year to keep alumni connected with each other and Emerson.

Alumni: Get

Alumni are invited to join the official Emerson College Alumni group on the professional networking site LinkedIn. The group is a free resource for new or experienced graduates who want to accelerate their careers, enhance business through referrals from other group members, or learn more about their fellow alumni by reading professional profiles.

For more information about joining the LinkedIn group, contact Mary Ann Cicala, Associate Director of Alumni Relations, at 617-824-8273 or visit http://tinyurl.com/ECLinkedIn

San Diego School of Communication Dean Janis Andersen hosted a Mexican fiesta reception to welcome the new chair of Communication Studies, Richard West, near San Diego, Calif. The reception was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, in San Diego. Pictured are Emerson alumni, current students, faculty and parents who attended the reception.

Correction Fred Strassman ’53 was misidentified in the fall 2008 issue of Expression as Richard Libertini ‘58. Pictured at right is Richard Libertini.

Expression regrets the error.

Denver Musician Eric Hutchinson ’02 met with other alumni before he performed at Denver’s intimate Bluebird Theater last fall. From left are Eric Hutchinson ’02, Elana Jacobs ’91 and Ron Bostwick ’81. Eric was recently featured on VH1’s You Oughta Know: Artists On The Rise.

31 Expression Winter 2009

Class Notes 1951 Joan Ostroff writes, “There was nothing in my life during college other than theater. But life does sometimes have other ideas!

I leapt into a business career instead, although my (now former) husband and I did start our own theater in pre-casino Atlantic City in 1972. Since then, I’ve been active in various community theater groups in New York City. And I’m still working in business, as a consultant in gifts and collectibles, including writing a quarterly column in a major magazine.

Life is good!”

1953 H. Golightly Perlo recently completed eight night shoots portraying a wealthy Italian wedding guest for a Disney film.

1958 William Bordy just finished singing and dancing in the

Sarasota Senior Theatre’s production of Around the World in 80 Minutes. It was just like his “old days” at Emerson. He also shot a feature film in Santa Barbara, playing the villain, in Edgar Allan Poe’s Annabel Lee. 50th Reunion

1959 Robert McHaffey appeared last fall as Kit Carson in William Saroyan’s The Time of Your Life at the St. Jean’s Playhouse in Manhattan.

Steven Stillman ’77 has been working in the Communications Division of Multiplan Corp. for many years in Waltham, Mass. He is blessed with his first grandchild, Isabelle Ann.

1961

Emerson years were some of the best of my life. Please write, ye who remember me, at bubbelg@aol.com.”

Linda (Greenbaum) Green writes, “Brought up two daughters and a son on Long Island while teaching creative drama in schools and lovingly doing community theater. Kids grew and so did I. Advertising and public relations in New York City, property management in Florida. Now retired and able to enjoy nine grandkids; traveling to see some of the ones now living in Israel.

Daly H. Enstrom ’60, PhD, CCC/SLP (pictured here with husband Ronald), has received the ASHA Specialty Board on Child Language certificate. Her selection signifies that she has distinguished herself as having demonstrated “advanced knowledge, skills and experiences in the area of child language.” Daly is a fellow of ASHA and was recognized by ASHA as the New Jersey State awardee for Outstanding Clinical Practice. She is the managing member of Happy Talkers, LLC.

32 Expression Winter 2009

1962

45th Reunion

1964 Warren Rhodes had a ministroke last March, but he reports he is recovering well.

Anthony DiFruscia was recently re-elected to a sixth term as a New Hampshire state representative. He was assisted in his campaign by legal assistant Sandi (Davis) Hamlett ’85.

1967

1963

Lee (Uttmark) Wicks has started a small press in Montague, Mass., with the mission of helping emerging authors, independent bookstores and local nonprofits. A novel, Some Measure of Happiness, was published in October.

Because the book features two dogs and a 22-pound cat with attitude, the profits will go to the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society.

Nate Custer retired in 2005 after more than 40 years in TV and radio news reporting. Nate is now a public information officer at FEMA, dealing with print and broadcast reporters.

Since joining FEMA early last year, Nate has been deployed to disasters in Oklahoma, New Jersey, Kansas, Arkansas, Wisconsin and Florida.

Bruce Jaranian has been codirector of career services for 35 years at Boston University’s Center for Digital Imaging Arts.

1968 Dallas W. Mayr says the fourth film adaptation of one of his novels, Offspring, is in post-production and slated for release early this year. The other three – The Girl Next Door, The Lost, and Red – are all available on DVD. Offspring was produced and directed by Andrew van den Houten ’02.

40th Reunion

1969 Ardene Lyons lives on the west coast of Florida and recently reconnected with Debbie (Lentz) Douden ’69, who also lives in Florida.

Ardene has a son, Brandon, 35, who is autistic and brain injured. Ardene was a freelance journalist for nearly 25 years and at age 40 changed careers to nursing.

She would love to reconnect with some Emersonians.

She’s at ardene2000@ comcast.net.

1970 Susan Wallach Shevlin was featured in Travel and Leisure magazine’s September 2008 issue.

1971 John Harrison is in London finishing up his latest theatrical feature, an adaptation he wrote based on Clive Barker’s short stories Book of Blood.

Stephanie Stein Zerden just retired from her “love of a lifetime” job at Savannah Speech and Hearing Center after 26 years of nonprofit bliss. She will be able to dedicate even more time to her grandchildren and to community projects.

1972 Bob Mackler writes: “I’m married (Laura) with three kids, Alyson, 18; Kelsey, 14; and Kevin, 9. My home is in Marlboro, N.J. I’ve been a post-production editor for the 50-year-old soap As the World Turns for the last 20 years. This year I have again been nominated for an Emmy in the Sound category. I loved my time at Emerson. I learned a great deal from the people who taught there.”

Neal Rubinstein is doing sound for the off-Broadway show Sessions.

Carlton P. Smith has been a private and public high school drama and English teacher in Connecticut and Vermont. He has continued to do community theater as an actor and director since 1973. Carlton has been with the Vermont Theatre Company and Actors Theatre Playhouse of Vermont for 25 years and does commercial theater work when he has time. His daughter Erin is a professional actress in New York City and daughter Aislinn is a costume designer and rugby player, also in New York.

Patricia Gavin ’80 has just published her first novel, Cashin’s Castles, a British comedy with an American twist.

1973 & 1975 Gary Misch and Rose Lyn (Jacob) Jacob were married Oct. 30, 2007, in Alexandria, Va. They live in Syria, Va. 35th Reunion

1974 Nan Gilbert is manager of the 424-seat Mandell Theater at Drexel University in Pennsylvania. Nan says hello to “all my pals from the Class of ’74.”

Jim Stern ’81 is a senior business development strategist at Exhibitgroup/ Giltspur, a leading experiential marketing agency known for creating meaningful and memorable brand experiences.

H. Rosen works at Splintertek LLC in Mount Laurel, N.J., as interactive courseware consultant, and was recently employed at Booz Allen Hamilton as an associate.

1976 Elise (Baker) Hughes is a law enforcement administrative assistant at the Bloomsburg Police Department in Bloomsburg, Pa. “All that

33 Expression Winter 2009

In Memoriam 1934 1939 1944 1944 1945 1945 1945 1945 1948 1952 1952 1954 1961 1962 1965 1970 1974 1974 1979 1986 1992 1996 2002 2007 2011

Geraldine Leveille Seldon Barbara Romano Reardon Albert Platt Carolyn Wilson Dr. Elmer E. Baker Jr., Hon. ’69 Marjorie McCarty Sahs Dorothy Blanch Mabel Edman Dimitroff Helen Marie Ryan, MA Patrick Visgilio Theodore Doucette Janet Sobel Bookspan John McCarthy Walter Page Robert Jeronimo Bart Lee Jonathan Krom Teresa Deborah Naumann Lauren Dombrowski Lauren Chapin, MA Scott Ames Dr. Henry Foster, Hon. ’96 Gerald Schoenfeld, Hon. ’02 Dominic Mallary Bryan Gay

great resident assistant training at Emerson in the 1970s qualified me to be an assistant to the chief of police!

Seriously, I am recently divorced and needed a better job. Bloomsburg is a great small college town.”

David Pultz writes: “After 30 years I have left DuArt Film Lab and am working for a company called PostWorks New York. This transition happened last summer.

Also, after having lived in Manhattan’s East Village for the same number of years, my wife, Elizabeth, and I are now in the process of looking for a new home in Manhattan.”

34 Expression Winter 2009

1978

Rick Taplin was elected to the office of vice president/ president-elect of the New England Library Association.

“This is a prestigious accomplishment for me given that I’ve been involved in libraries one way or another since my days at Emerson, when I ran the Media Center for the library from 1975 to 1978. I then worked for the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners for 25 years, training librarians around the state in computers and software. I’ve been the systems administrator for the Minuteman Library Network in Natick, Mass., for the last four years.”

Angela (Potter) Bowman is teaching high school in Newark, N.J. “I use the skills I learned at Emerson and Brooklyn College to work in the public schools teaching my favorite subjects – dance and theater.” She also works as an adjunct instructor at a Christian college. “When I am not at work … I am especially busy and committed to my church in Lower Manhattan, where I serve as minister of worshipping arts. It is my passion to inspire people in using and developing their creative gifts for God.” 30th Reunion

1979 1981 Jerry Martin of Grass Valley, Calif., has won a national award for his unique program, Saluting New Readers (SNR).

Every year the National Retired Teachers Association, a division of AARP, gives this award to three individuals from across the U.S. who have made significant contributions while volunteering with children.

1982 Cheryl Evans is completing her tenth year as a tenured professor of teacher education at Bloomfield College. She was named chair of the Education Division and is also serving as chair of the Faculty Council, “the first AfricanAmerican to be elected to that position,” she writes.

Jessica Handler has written a memoir called Invisible Sisters to be published by Public Affairs Books in April. She lives in Atlanta.

Julie Hinden is finally the journalist/writer she always intended to be. She spent 25 years in the cable industry, where she worked at MTV, HBO and Showtime, and

Father and daugher duo Bart ’86 and Chelsea Phillips ’08 run a company that produced a major awards show for BET last fall.

Here they are pictured with Emerson’s William Smith (center), executive director of the Center for Diversity in the Communication Industries.

1986 Lauren (Beresner) Kesten has been working at NBC30 in Hartford, Conn., as a videotape news editor for the early evening news and lead editor for the 11 p.m. news since October 2002. In addition to her editing duties, she also operates the robotic cameras during public affairs programming. She recently received two Ovation Awards through NBC/Universal.

Bryan Keeling ’93 was nominated for an Emmy Award for animating the main title sequence for the Fox show New Amsterdam.

1987 has now happily transitioned into her new career as a freelance journalist reporting for local, statewide and national publications using her professional name, Julia Torres Barden.

25th Reunion

1984 James Nussbaum is putting together a concert to raise awareness about white-noise syndrome, which is killing large numbers of bats.

Joe Toto and his events company, Groove Entertainment and Lighting, have just been named the exclusive entertainment, lighting, photography and videography company of the Taj Hotel in Boston.

1985 David Mazzaferro recently had roles on One Life to Live as an ICU orderly and on As the World Turns as a hotel doorman.

Russell Granet married David Beach, after 20 years together, in Big Sur, Calif., on Aug. 3. They have a daughter, Sadie Kate. Russell is the founder of Arts Education Resource. They divide their time between New York City and a farmhouse in upstate New York.

1988 Susan (Christiansen) Roberts is marketing coordinator and on the music faculty at Creative Arts in Reading, Mass. Her 6-year-old son, Max, has been playing violin for two years and started traditional piano lessons this summer. She runs the box office for Black Nativity in Boston. She and her husband, David, have been married 20 years.

Email her at Marketing@ WeTeachCreativeArts.org.

Jason Dugre ’96 was married to Cesha Ventre ’96 last year and is “finally getting around to submitting the info to Expression.”

Teresa Stores, MFA ’93, has been promoted to associate professor at the University of Hartford, where she directs the creative writing program. Her third novel, Backslide, was recently published

by Spinsters Ink.

20th Reunion

35 Expression Winter 2009

Tricia (Kelly) Elliott ’97 and David Elliott are proud to announce the birth of a baby girl, Zoe Elizabeth, on Oct. 17, 2007, in Portland, Ore. “I am proud to say that having a baby has changed our lives. We love every minute of it.

Now if we could just get a little sleep, life would be grand.”

20th Reunion

1989 1990 David Alan Basche, actor on USA Network’s The Starter Wife, and his wife, Alysia Reiner, had a daughter, Livia Charles Basche, on Dec. 5. He writes, “I’m up to my neck in diapers.”

1991 Joe Celli received an Emmy at the 2008 ceremony. He was the art director on the 80th Annual Academy Awards and won for Best Art Direction of a Variety or Music Special.

1992 Josh Fisher was recently promoted to senior VP of content and executive producer for Brandissimo, a company that produces youthoriented content for TV, DVD and the web. He also won his first Emmy in June for a series he produced called I Got a Rocket.

Michelline Dufort, MA ’92, has been named vice president of advancement at New England College. Previously, she had been president of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association and executive director of the Anthony Spinazzola Foundation in Boston.

Melissa Liton ’99 is an account director at Communique PR, a boutique public relations firm in Seattle. A PR veteran of 10 years, Melissa has lent her expertise to clients such as Alaska Airlines, Seattle Children’s Hospital, mSpot and Microsoft.

1993 Jonathan Hanst and his wife, Kirsten Bailey, have adopted a son, Oliver, from Guatemala.

He joins his sister, Zuzu, who is 5, and three dogs. Jonathan is full-time voice talent and an audio producer with his own company in Boulder, Colo.

Marc Anthony Nelson, working under the stage name Marcus Kyd, is artistic director and co-founder of Taffety Punk Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., which received the very first John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company at the Helen Hayes Awards last April.

Dan Flaherty ’97 recently celebrated with his wife, Julia, the birth of their second child, Anna Catherine Flaherty, born Sept. 8, 2008. Anna joins big brother Nate, 2 years old, as the stars of babyflahertyblog. blogspot.com, a running, mostly up-to-date account of the comings and goings of all things Flaherty.

36 Expression Winter 2009

15th Reunion

1994 Sonja Mortensen Morrell and husband Mark welcomed their first child, Ashley Elizabeth, on May 26. Ashley already loves to watch Red Sox games with her parents and older half-sister Britni.

Sonja just celebrated her 12th anniversary at WNOR, Norfolk, Va., where she is the midday on-air personality, assistant program director and music director. She would love to hear from fellow WERS alumni and Kasteel Well classmates (Fall ’92) at hisonja@yahoo.com.

1995 Michelle Monti, MA ’95, played the role of Mollie Ralston in the Mansfield Music and Arts Society’s production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap in Mansfield, Mass., last fall.

Patrick Zeller ’99 and Emily Lefren-Brown ‘01 were married in an outdoor ceremony in Quechee, Vt., on Oct. 18, 2008. Emersonians participating in or attending the wedding included Liz Blocker ‘02, Jessica Trimble ‘99, Emily and Patrick, Tim Doyle (attended ‘95-’97), Ken Nero ‘98, Beth Zeller ‘01; Sarah (Powers) Baumann ‘01, Julie Christeas ‘99, Gillian (Miller) Blain ‘02, Tara WinterdiGirolamo ‘02, Allen Vietzke (professor of Fundamentals of Speech Communication) and his wife, Emily Ullman (attended ‘97-’98). The newlyweds are in the process of moving to Los Angeles, where Emily will continue her career as a massage therapist and Patrick will continue his as an actor. They would love to hear from old friends at ZelfrenBreller@gmail.com.

1996 Rachel Latta has received her Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Boston College. She has started a postdoctoral fellowship in psychosocial rehabilitation at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Medical Center in Bedford, Mass. She and husband Dana Giuliana ’96 have two children, Zachary Otis (born March 2005) and Linus Joshua (born November 2007). Dana is design director at Boston.com.

1997 Genevieve Ellison is working on several ongoing photography projects, including a book of true-life hero stories.

Niki Wilson is writing her dissertation on “Reading The Sopranos: A Multiperspectival Analysis of Gender and Ethnicity.” She works at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton in the Center for Excellence in Writing.

10th Reunion

1999 MaryAnn Bagnoli has been promoted to marketing and media strategist for the Boston Bruins and TD Banknorth Garden. She joined the Garden in 2005 as an event marketing coordinator. She was promoted to marketing manager in 2006. MaryAnn lives in Medford, Mass.

Grace (Hsin-hui) Wang is a freelance journalist, mainly for an Italian newspaper Il Sole-24 Ore. She is based in Shanghai. Upon graduation, she worked in translation in New York City. In 2003, Grace went to France and attended Institut Catholique de Paris in Paris. In 2006 she went to Shanghai to pursue writing, and as China is the new land of opportunity, by chance, she stepped into the field of journalism.

Katie Johnston ’00 is the lighting designer for Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy, which opened on Broadway in June 2008 at the Broadway Theatre, and closed in August. She’s currently traveling with the international tour of the show.

2000 & 2002 Joe Moser ’00 and Jen Heller ’02 have returned to the Boston area. Joe has completed his Ph.D. in English at UT/Austin and is joining the faculty of Fitchburg State College. Jen earned her M.A. in foreign language education from UT/Austin and is teaching middle-school Spanish in Medford, Mass.

2001 Terra Cusack has a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from Emerson. She has joined the TRiO/SSS staff at Montana State University, where she will be responsible for conducting intake meetings, providing academic counseling and one-on-one study skills with students.

Terra most recently served as the learning skills specialist for students at Georgetown University.

Meredith (Kallinikos) DeCarlo and Steve DeCarlo ’01 have a son, Colin Emerson Steven, born June 22, 2007.

Adam Diliberto will be entering his fifth year teaching and third year as academic coordinator of the Bridge Program at Wellesley High School. He has been accepted to an Ed.D. program at Cambridge College in educational leadership and special education administration.

Amanda (Langlinais) Pepper and Scott Pepper are proud to announce the arrival of Evangeline Joy, born Sept.

3, 2008, joining brother Alexander, 3.

Shera Rosenthal received an M.F.A. in theater management from California State University, Long Beach, in May 2008, and is working in San Diego.

10th Reunion

37 Expression Winter 2009

David Twomey, MA ’06, met Secretary Condoleezza Rice at the swearing in of his uncle as ambassador to Costa Rica. He is deputy chief and operations manager for digital media services, Office of Public Affairs, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

Jennifer Scharf recently wrote and produced her first independent feature-length film.

has taught courses, including theater education, acting, directing, theater history and play analysis.

2002

2003

Patrick Daly, MFA ’02, married Marisa Klaus on Jan. 3, 2009, in New Jersey.

Jennifer (Gibbons) Baxter, MA ’03, who graduated with a master’s in integrated marketing communication, had her second baby, Reagan Lane Baxter, on Aug. 22, 2008. She joins her big brother, Aidan Alexander Baxter, born Jan. 31, 2007.

Jesse Linhares joined ESPN as a production assistant in 2002 and has worked on College Gameday Basketball for the past three seasons, rising through the ranks. He has been promoted to highlight supervisor. He also works on SportsCenter.

John N. Mansella is an attorney with Harmon Law Offices in Needham, Mass., and practices in the area of default-side real estate law. He represents banks and mortgage lenders in post-foreclosure evictions in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Scott Malia, MA ’02, has been appointed a faculty member at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., via a Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship. He is a teacher of theater and

38 Expression Winter 2009

Mathias Doutreleau started to work as special event manager for Quail Lodge Resort & Golf Club, in Carmel, Calif., and has successively been promoted to special event director and now director of events for the hotel company. “I have created and developed multiple high-end events, including a classic car rally, a motorcycle tour, culinary events and dog agility shows. Life is good, and I can’t be thankful enough to Emerson’s faculty for the amazing knowledge they brought me, in particular Doug Quintal and Nancy Puccinelli.”

Tom O’Connor is a senior account executive at Situation Marketing.

Debra Yourman ’02 is engaged to Greg Luna.

They are planning a fall 2010 wedding.

5th Reunion

2004 Frances Bordlee writes: “I had an adventurous stay in New York City this fall. Did lots of auditions and even had a fun N.Y.C. singing debut with New York Musical Theatre Festival’s Next Broadway Sensation.” She will do Annie at Casa Mañana Theater in Fort Worth, Texas, and will go to New Orleans to do Belle in Beauty and the Beast at Jefferson Performing Arts Society. “Turner, my beau, will be doing the role of Beast!”

While working part time at a jewelry store to support her acting career, Jane Elliott singlehandedly stopped a thief from getting away with $200K worth of diamond jewelry. While she is not receiving a reward, she wanted to “share the excitement.”

Jessie Reilly was studying with a master marionette craftsman on the Isle of Man when she was swept into a volunteer archaeological dig and unearthed what she says may be proof needed of a new Celtic language.

Mona Fox started working in 2005 as a promotion assistant at KTVU TV2 in Oakland, Calif., and she is now a producer of the news there as well as a writer in the creative services department.

2005 Leah Labrecque and Christian O’Neill were married on Aug. 7, 2004, in East Greenwich, R.I. They live in Brooklyn, N.Y. Lori Savageau attended and Lisa Wright served as maid of honor. The couple honeymooned on a Disney cruise to the Bahamas.

Maxim Vorobiev founded Best Friend NYC, an environmentally conscious canine lifestyle company.

2006 Leslie Guyton wants to let everyone know about the Movement Workshop Group, the dance theater company that she and Liza HostetlerIngalls co-founded.

Nathan Peters is working for Authentic TV as tape vault manager in post-production.

Ace of Cakes, Flipping Out and Cities of the Underworld are among the shows he has worked on.

Report on Giving 2008 A Note About This Year’s Report We’re taking a new approach to publishing the 2008 Report on Giving.

As you can see, it is now part of Expression, which helps us reach thousands more alumni and friends of the College.

This year’s report is also different because we’re prudently cutting costs (and being friendlier to the environment) by eliminating some of the paper that a separate publication requires.

We’ve also reduced the number of pages by listing most donors only once, and by listing only those whose gifts reached $100 or more from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008.

Be assured that all gifts are valued and appreciated; however, to save printing costs, the listing of donors of less than $100 will be featured on the College’s website (www.emerson.edu).

Parents, friends, faculty, staff and institutional donors are listed as in previous reports. Rather than listing graduate alumni separately, they will find themselves with other alumni in their degree year. And when individuals have joined together in honor or in memory of someone special to them, we’ve listed the honorees rather than the donors.

If you believe there is an error in our listings, please notify Leona Burgess, director of advancement services (Leona_ Burgess@emerson.edu), so we can correct our records. And please accept our sincere apology; we make every effort to ensure our listings are correct, because we honor, respect and salute the many donors who have come together to make Emerson College one of the country’s fastest rising small colleges.

Robert Ashton Vice President for Institutional Advancement

40 Expression Winter 2009

Our

Emerson

M ore than 4,300 alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends—each of whom feels a special connection to Emerson College—can be congratulated this year. Together, we reached a significant milestone— surpassing the $1 million mark in gifts to the Annual Fund—in addition to receiving many other extraordinarily generous donations of financial support.

By Christopher Donohue, MA ’94

As alumni, we cherish our experience as students. Both grateful for the opportunities we had and thankful for the knowledge we gained, which helped to shape our lives; grateful for the self-confidence and creative inspiration; for tools of the trade and for insights that stay with us for years. We give so that others will be able to have similar Emerson experiences, or even greater ones.

As parents, we have witnessed our children pursue their dreams, grow into talented, creative adults and express an inspiring eagerness to contribute to society. We give so that their Emerson experience is as rich and full as possible, and so that all such young people, regardless of their means, may have similar opportunities to blossom personally and to contribute to the world.

As friends—individuals and organizations, public and private—we are engaged by the mission of Emerson, drawn to its pursuit of excellence and its core values of respecting and encouraging the diversity of perspectives. We value the teaching of communication in a liberal arts setting and understand the importance of ensuring there is substance to the form and content to the communication. When we give, we know that by supporting the College, we, too, are investing in the future of our communities.

Some of us share a common bond as faculty or staff. Through our work together, committing our time, talent and our hearts to each new generation of students, we help the College fulfill its promise. We give as an additional commitment and a reaffirmation.

Each of Our Emerson connections is different and so are the many reasons that we give. But what we have in common is the impact of our gifts.

Together, our support continues to expand the Campus on the Common, further developing facilities and maintaining state-of-theart technology. Our gifts make it possible to attract the best students and the most qualified faculty and staff, broadening opportunity and recognizing their distinguished achievements.

That’s why every gift is a Gift That Matters. This 2008 Report on Giving is one way of recognizing that together, each of our special connections to Emerson is part of a strong network, a whole greater than the sum of its parts, whose end results are as real as the individuals and organizations listed on these pages whose generosity, individually and collectively, has brought real meaning to Our Emerson.

41 Expression Winter 2009

Report on Giving 2008

Your

My Emerson, Emerson…

Building the

Future

on the Legacy of the Past

By Christopher Donohue, MA ’94

42 Expression Winter 2009

Ineighborhood—Boston’s n the rich soil of Emerson’s adopted historic

Theatre District—the College continues to thrive as it contributes to the revitalization of the area. As the College transplanted itself, it brought new life to several historic and architecturallysignificant buildings. Creating stateof-the-art facilities, it blended the new with the old, building upon a rich past with an eye toward an ever-brighter future.

Emerson’s newest facility, the Paramount Center, does all of that…and more. It will house students, helping us further develop the sense of community that we know enriches the educational experience. The theaters, sound stages, rehearsal studios and a variety of other facilities for performance development will enhance the creativity of the minds that will be working within them. The Center will also breathe new life into Washington Street, a main boulevard of Boston’s entertainment industry whose theaters played a prominent role in the beginnings of vaudeville, motion pictures and, more recently, have again come on line as important live-performance venues.

When Kevin Bright ’76, an Emerson alumnus and currently a Trustee and Artist-in-Residence, first came to the College as a junior transfer student in 1974, he understood that studying film and television was a discipline that relied heavily on the right facilities, equipment and technology. He came to Emerson for that, but also for the faculty whose collective reputation was solidly established.

Kevin Bright ’76

43 Expression Winter 2009

Report on Giving 2008

Gifts that help the College develop and expand facilities are regarded by many as having the most tangible kind of results.

We can easily see their impact on students and faculty because these new, expanded or updated facilities allow Emerson to continue to provide an optimal educational environment for disciplines that rely heavily on equipment, space and technology.

At the same time, these gifts make it possible for Emerson to demonstrate further the College’s leadership in Boston’s arts community and, in turn, to contribute significantly to the vitality of one of Boston’s most vibrant neighborhoods, enriching the cultural life of the city.

“It was the right combination of talented teachers, the equipment and technology we needed and the energy and atmosphere created by the students,” Bright remembers. Noting the dramatic increase in the equipment and technology the Paramount Center represents, Kevin is pleased that the opportunities for today’s students and faculty will be all the more expansive.

“But for me there was something more. For me, what really made a difference was Professor Dan Lounsbery, who took me under his wing, took an interest in me personally. He believed that I had talent and made me believe I could have a career in television.”

Kevin, whose Emmy Award-winning series Friends is regarded as one of the most successful television comedies in history, returned to Emerson to teach as one way of giving back. “I’ve come full

Ted Sowa, assistant construction manager, and Anita Walker, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, peruse the plans for the Paramount Center.

44 Expression Winter 2009

circle. Once you reach a modicum of success at a certain point in life, you have to ask, ‘How did I get here? Should I thank someone?’ And I’m here now, teaching and hoping to give my students that same kind of mentoring that I was so fortunate to receive.”

Aside from Kevin’s understanding of the importance that top-notch facilities and technology play in the Emerson experience, the Paramount Center also has a special, personal meaning for Kevin, which is another reason why he made a leadership gift to the Center. As he was making a decision to return to Emerson to teach, the construction project was just being launched. When he shared this news with his dad, another great influence in his life, the rightness of his decision was reinforced and a serendipitous coincidence surfaced.

“My father, Jackie Bright, was a vaudeville performer known as The Krazy Auctioneer. He played in a number of Boston’s theaters and he remembered the Paramount fondly. He was thrilled that it

was going to be restored and feature live entertainment,” Kevin tells us. But for Kevin and his late father, while restoring the building and developing the other facilities is important, there is more to it than that.

“My father’s legacy and the true legacy of vaudeville, which many of these pioneers felt became a forgotten form, is the contribution it made to the early days of American television; a great contribution that built a solid foundation for a lot of show business today. Every gift that makes the Paramount Center possible helps us to pay tribute to this important legacy, lets us share in its traditions and preserves it for those who will come after us.” E

“The Commonwealth is proud to be an investor in Emerson College’s Paramount Center through the Cultural Facilities Fund,” explains Anita Walker, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

“This restoration will bring new life to a historic gem and help revitalize a key part of downtown Boston.”

Report on Giving 2008

The Paramount Theatre, whose façade and marquee will finally be restored to their original 1932 splendor, was the first theater built in Boston specifically for “talkies,” motion pictures with sound, and is the centerpiece of the project. A major grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund is making it possible for Emerson to recreate the art deco interior, including installing replicas of the artwork that adorned the walls. As part of the Paramount Center, the theater will be reconfigured and reopen to Emerson and the public in 2009 as a new, mid-sized, 575-seat live-performance venue, which Boston currently lacks.

45 Expression Winter 2009

T

en years ago, just before newborn screening became a matter of course, Mark and Julia Dunning gave birth to their first child, a daughter they named Bella.

In one way, they were fortunate that Bella underwent the postnatal tests that are commonplace today; however, the tests revealed a situation that would change their lives—they were stunned when they were told that Bella had a profound hearing loss.

Making a

Difference

in the Youngest of Lives

Student clinician and scholarship recipient Karissa Drumm ’09 working with 2-year-old Xioliz Pimentel in the Thayer Lindsley FamilyCentered Program.

By Christopher Donohue, MA ’94

46 Expression Winter 2009

Karissa’s early interest in American Sign Language (ASL) led to her desire to work with deaf and hearing impaired children. When she was researching colleges, she discovered Emerson and its leadership in the field of speech pathology.

After she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2007 at Emerson, she made the decision to continue her studies and enter the graduate program.

“In my first semester, I was placed in the Family-Centered Program working as a classroom clinician in a group setting and I fell in love with it,” Karissa remembers.

“When I spent my spring semester in a program in Wilmington, working with more and more children, meeting a lot of people in the field, that’s what clinched it for me.”

At the time of this report, Karissa is helping five toddlers twice a week in the clinic and working with infants and their parents to sort out the decisions they are making, teaching sign, play skills and helping them recognize the developmental milestones their children are reaching.

“The Dunning’s generosity meant a great deal to me,” says Karissa. “Personally, it meant that I was recognized for my commitment, and I guess, my ability to work in this important field. Professionally,

meeting them has given me a lot of connections and their support of Emerson’s work in this area has allowed us to expand the clinical internships at the Center.”

Karissa is now also working in Concord in the early intervention program.

Bella Dunning, now a charming and well-spoken 10-year-old, recently visited the Robbins Center with her parents and her little brother, Jack, in tow. Almost immediately, and without any urging, they were both quickly immersed in the dizzying group activity of the children playing in the Toddler Group activity room. Bella, with the obvious confidence of an older sibling and displaying a budding leadership quality among the younger ones, assumed the posture of her favorite play role—teacher.

It’s a role one can easily imagine she has learned from her mother’s example.

“I think she’s great for other parents to see,” says Mark. “When you have a child that is born with a hearing impairment, it is very hard not to trim down your expectations, pruning your dreams for them, and to start defining your child by the limitation.

When you witness these kids at play signing away, they’re normal kids, communicating differently but with the same energy. It’s uplifting and easier to imagine the success they can ultimately achieve.” E

photos by David Leifer

Julia and Mark Dunning, creators of the Decibels Foundation Scholarship, observing a session on a recent visit to the Robbins Center.

47 Expression Winter 2009

Report on Giving 2008

“No one in our family was deaf, so when you’re told something like this, your first reaction is to question the test. The doctors must be misinterpreting it, you think, or it’s probably just fluid or blockage,” Mark admits. “You think anything so as not to face the possibility that your baby is not perfectly normal.”

Ultimately, they sought the help of Emerson College’s Robbins Speech, Language and Hearing Center, where Emerson Professor Emeritus David Luterman and the student clinicians of the Thayer Lindsley Family-Centered Program had been working with other parents facing similar challenges.

“Like 90 percent of the families that face this, we had no experience,” Julia remembers. “Children begin acquiring language and communication skills so very early. The Center and the other parents participating in the programs made it possible for us to face the issues we were presented with.” The Dunning’s experience had a profound impact on their lives, and ultimately that impact led them to think about ways to help others.

“Our experience at the Center began to feel like we were taking, taking, taking all the time and after awhile we felt an increasing desire to give back,” Mark says.

Julia, who had given up her teaching career to be a full-time mother, decided it was time to use her skills in a new way; teaching baby sign language. “I had planned my role as wife and mother to include a lot of shopping,” she jokes. “We made the contributions to support the Center that we could afford, but we came up with another way to help.”

They established the Decibels Foundation, which is dedicated to raising money to support the Robbins Center along with other programs. The Foundation also provides families and school systems with advice, based in part on their own experience and utilizing a network of professionals and the interested organizations.

In 2008, the Decibels Foundation found another way to help when. It granted the first Decibels Scholar Award to Karissa Drumm ’09, an Emerson graduate student of high academic standing who works in the Thayer Lindsley Family-Centered Program.

W

Gap5

Filling a

hen seniors in college begin to wind down their studies and look forward to the new challenges they’ll face, they also tend to glance back toward their shared experiences and seek ways to memorialize their time at Emerson. They hope, as a group, to leave something behind for those who will follow.

Often, because they are all too familiar with the expense of education, they pool their limited resources to help support scholarships.

But last year, the Class of 2007 left its mark in a different way, becoming the first to make a gift to support an academic space—a faculty office in the Paramount Center.

and Spanning D e c a d e s of Class Spirit

48 Expression Winter 2009

By Christopher Donohue, MA ’94

where everyone could socialize, especially transfer students and commuters who didn’t live on campus. We wanted to adapt some space to replace it.”

“The new campus spaces are terrific, of course,” MacFadgen adds, “but, for example, the dorm common areas are not easily accessible to commuting students, and even though there are certainly a lot of other spaces on campus, we felt that we needed to have a lounge, where, quite frankly, we didn’t have to be quiet.”

According to Heather Marie Vitale ’08, a political communication major who headed up the fundraising effort, “We knew that our idea for a gift was something that would appeal to other students—both givers and receivers—and would fill a gap we felt existed among the places on campus.”

The overflow seating area outside the cafeteria in the Max Mutchnick Campus Center, somewhat underutilized, was just the spot to be transformed into a new student lounge.

photos by David Leifer

Report on Giving 2008

This year, the Class of 2008 was equally creative and its gift is different in a couple of ways. First, it satisfied a need that could only have been recognized by the students themselves and, secondly, they used the skills and knowledge they learned at Emerson to maximize the effectiveness of their fundraising.

“When I first came to Emerson, one of the things that excited me most was the strong sense of community that the students shared,” explains Class President Jason MacFadgen ’08. “We wanted to give something that would really contribute to that spirit.” As a marketing communication major, MacFadgen knew that a survey would be a good way to involve everyone in the process and determine what kind of gift the majority of students would really get behind.

“We came up with several choices and the winning suggestion was something that would really satisfy a need that had surfaced after the Beacon Street Student Union closed in our sophomore year—a place

49 Expression Winter 2009

The Class of 2008 saw the opportunity to make it more of a fun space by adding two game tables—bubble hockey and foosball, which they purchased as the Class Gift—along with a donation toward the installation of a large plasma screen feeding campus information into the lounge.

The marketing efforts were mapped out in a strategy that included using traditional printed appeals, letters, electronic communication through websites and events like the “Fifty Days to Graduation” party, featuring a raffle of Emerson collectibles and gift certificates from area businesses.

Due in part to their spot-on marketing communication efforts, nearly twice as many members of the Senior Class participated in this year’s gift. For the very first time, students surpassed the generosity of their parents, giving more than 50 percent of the total.

Sharing a class spirit and contributing as a group is a tradition at Emerson that remains strong way beyond graduation.

This past year, for example, the Class of 1968 had record attendance for its 40th anniversary year and raised a large sum for the Annual Fund in the process.

Karen North ’68 explains her reasons for continuing to support the Annual Fund as a way to recognize what Emerson gave to her and to the class. “I know people usually say this about their firstborn and their grandchildren, but I felt that our class was the greatest. Emerson left an indelible mark on our lives in a profound way. There isn’t a single place I’ve gone—and I have worked

in some of the top corporations—that I don’t rely on what I learned at Emerson. We learned to speak extemporaneously, which is something key to demonstrating leadership.

That’s our secret, and Emerson’s secret.”

At the reunion, Karen tells us, it was as if not a single day had gone by. Walking into the celebration was like returning to the time when she and her classmates would meet at “The Wall,” their outdoor “student lounge” located in front of 130 Beacon Street. “It was where we met, socialized, talked—caught up with one another. The brownstone wall and steps were where we interacted and shared ideas.”

Karen is protective of that legacy and gives each year to ensure that it is passed on. “I don’t want anything to happen to the heart of Emerson. Any institution that is dependent on this kind of support is always at risk, and I’m certainly not alone in cherishing what Emerson gave to me,” she says. “People from all over the country came last year from Florida, California and the big square states out west. Part of the success of the reunion was that more of the class was involved, volunteering time to call around and make sure that everyone knew that it was an opportunity to see one another again—that class spirit is very much alive today.”

“It may have been just our sheer number that we were able to raise so much this year,” Karen modestly says about the reunion support. “When we looked at how the school has evolved—Evolution of Expression, isn’t that part of the core of

In the 1960s, Emerson students gathered at their outdoor student lounge— “The Wall”—at 130 Beacon Street.

50 Expression Winter 2009

Emerson? When we see it now, the College has lived up to its promise. It can compete with anyone.”

For Vivian Shoolman ’53, whose class celebrated its 55th anniversary last year, the meeting place on Beacon Street was just “out front.” She’s witnessed the changes and she continues to give to her alma mater.

“Emerson was the right school for me and I have enjoyed watching it grow and continue to grow into the college it is now,” she says.

“Why wouldn’t I support a college that has meant so much to me? Doesn’t everyone?” E

2008 Honor Roll 1931 Century Society $100 to $249 Mrs. Jeannette K. Whitmer 1935 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mrs. Phyllis Adams McCullough 1937 Century Society $100 to $249 Mrs. Marguerite Morgan Broman 1938 Century Society $100 to $249 Mrs. Beatrice H. Barron 1940 Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Mrs. Evelyn Shapiro Chernis Deans Society $500 to $999 Miss Berniece Currie w’44 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mrs. Madeline L. Grillo 1943 Century Society $100 to $249 Mrs. Virginia Brown Bergeron Mrs. Shirley Newman Heifetz Mrs. Barbara G. Roberts 1944 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Dr. Norman M. Lear H’68 1945 Century Society $100 to $249 Mrs. Isabelle S. Bateman Ms. Phyllis W. Masback Miss Rita M. Sherman w 1947 Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Lee Wheeler Elston Mrs. Patricia Robinson Natowich 1948 Century Society $100 to $249 Mrs. Mary Hodgson Curtin Mrs. Joy Werner Melman Mrs. Lorraine Crystal Weinstein

David Leifer

1949 Century Society $100 to $249 Mrs. Cleo Nash Dennis Mrs. Janice Harvey Fitts Mrs. Frances Flaherty Perry Mr. Walter Stelkovis

1950 Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Mrs. Mary Geddes Avery Rev. Mary Jean B. Metzger Mr. George J. Troubetaris Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Robert C. Tull Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Frank M. McNamara Mrs. Helen A. McNamara Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Frank W. German Jr. Dr. Charles J. Klim w’53  Mr. James Green Nolan Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Raymond P. Alexander Mr. Howard Atlee Dr. David M. Brooks Mrs. Beatrice Coulouris Davis Mr. Duane O. Fitts Mrs. Mary Ann Courtney Gasser Mr. Montague G. Ozan Dr. Louis Stoia Mrs. Elizabeth Marion Wartell Mr. Russell G. Whaley Mr. Richard Woodies

1953 Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Mrs. Vivian Marlowe Shoolman Deans Society $500 to $999 Mrs. Mary-Louise A. Coffin Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mrs. Mildred Seltzer Radlauer Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Fred MacIntyre Dixon Dr. Susan Douglas Fleming Ms. Judith Pierce Friedman w’57 Mrs. Betty Carlson Jackel Dr. Bernadette M. MacPherson w’62 Mr. Leslie McAllister  Mrs. Pat Collins McMorrow Ms. Saralie R. Slonsky

1951 Colonial Society $50,000 to $99,999 Mr. Ted Cutler (Trustee) Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Dr. Rod Parker H’77 P’80 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. John J. P. Weir Deans Society $500 to $999 Mrs. Carol Kessler Lampke Mr. Willard P. Smith Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mrs. Helen Scott Klim Century Society $100 to $249 Mrs. Jane Dean Mr. Ambrose G. Hock Mrs. Eleanor Kleban Levin Mrs. Libby Barolsky Libo Mr. James A. Stafford

1955 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mrs. Helaine A. Miller Dr. Richard J. O’Connor Deans Society $500 to $999 Mrs. Marjorie E. Altschuler Mr. Robert D. Corey w’58

1952 Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Ms. Dorothy L. Lappin Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mrs. Winifred Marston Flanagan Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mrs. Doranne Shapiro Smith w’56 Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Dorothy Morrison Allen Mrs. Alice Cowley Gallo Mrs. Gladys G. Greenberg w Mrs. Anne S. Lewis

1954 Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. John Q. Adams Jr. w’56 Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Jerry Finn Mrs. Charlotte L. Grantham Mr. Andrew MacMillan Rev. Paul N. Marsteller w Mrs. Sondra Goldring Stamen w’70

w H P  n

graduate degree honorary degree parent faculty or staff deceased

Century Society $100 to $249 Dr. Kenneth C. Crannell Sr. w’57  Mr. Daniel R. Gillette Sr. Ms. Diane G. Purdy-Theriault 1956 Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Mrs. H. Lee Levins Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. William E. C. Hennessey Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. John Nadeau Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Diane W. Warkow w’78 continued on page 54

51 Expression Winter 2009

Report on Giving 2008

Undergraduate and Graduate Alumni

C hristine Schwarzman, an Emerson parent, and her husband

Stephen are donors who are focused on the impact of their giving and share the College’s values around the importance of communication and the liberal arts. This year, as part of the Parents Leadership Council, they’re confident that their gift will have an impact.

INTERNATIONAL

INFLUENCE, INTERNATIONAL

EXPERIENCE, DIVERSITY OF

VIEWPOINT AND DOING WHAT

YOU LOVE

By Christopher Donohue, MA ’94

teachers met for an hour that day mapping out her next semester, or a counselor took time to give her advice on what she might do during the summer. That extra interest and that kind of commitment from the faculty—mentoring, really—is far beyond anything we’ve seen before. We’re giving so that more students can benefit from that.”

For Jeff and Nancy Serkes, the importance of scholarships is something they both know firsthand. “Nancy and I were fortunate enough to receive scholarships, Nancy in nursing school and me when I went for my MBA,” Jeff remembers.

“Neither of us has ever forgotten how relieved and grateful we were. Now, we’re in a position to give back.”

The Serkes visited five schools with their son Andrew, who plans to have a career in musical theater, a goal that surfaced when he made his stage debut at age eight.

“At Emerson, he turned to us and said, ‘I know where I want to go... this is it,’” Jeff says. “Andrew is always filled with excitement when he tells us about his acting, dance, voice and other classes, and we are thrilled that he is so happy at Emerson. We look forward to seeing him perform there, just as we hope our son Ryan, who attends Bentley University, achieves success in business.”

“We want our sons to pursue their interests and we try to support each of them in their different pursuits,” Nancy explains.

“That said, it’s also important that Andrew understands the business side of the world and that Ryan understands the arts.” To that end, Andrew has interned at his father’s investment management firm, Palisade Capital Management, and Ryan, who is a talented dancer, has been asked to try out for a dance team at his school.

“The main thing is that they are both pursing what they love,” the Serkes tell us, “because, if you love what you do for a living, it doesn’t feel like a job.”

The Serkes also contribute time to the Emerson College Parents Leadership Council. “While I try to make it to at least one meeting a year, Nancy is really the person who goes out of her way to make things happen...I just go along for the ride,” Jeff suggests. “Nancy did all of the work preparing for the barbeque [we hosted] this past summer. At it, we both did what we do

best, and that is talking to the parents of the incoming students about how happy Andrew is. When your son or daughter is happy, it makes it easy to find time to help to support what they love.”

Norman Knight, a longtime friend of the College, supported students in a very special way in 2008, adding to their international exposure and experience.

Through his generous gift to cover travel expenses, Norman made it possible for 33 Emerson students and newly-minted graduates to serve as reporters and media liaisons at the Beijing Summer Olympics.

Emerson College was one of just six U.S. colleges invited to participate in the Olympic News Service (ONS) program.

When asked what he hoped his gift would achieve, Mr. Knight explained, “It was an opportunity to expose a large number of Emerson students to the real day-to-day activities of a major international event and hopefully, in turn, they could bring a sense of reality not just to the reporting on the Olympics, but also to their future news and production capabilities. It was a privilege to have a modest part in sending these bright students to China and I wish each of them great success in the industry. I am very confident that the Chinese experience will be very helpful [to them] in the future.”

If one of the participating students, Jennie Palluzzi ’08, is any indication, Mr. Knight’s generosity has already made its mark. “In Beijing, I learned that being a journalist is hard work. You have long days, long nights and you deal mostly with people who don’t want to deal with you. You have to get your work done, even if it seems like there is no way to do the interviews you

53 Expression Winter 2009

Report on Giving 2008

“When we visited, we were impressed with the facilities and got a real sense that the College invests its resources very efficiently.

That was one of the reasons we felt that Emerson was so deserving; we were confident that our donation would be used wisely,” explains Mrs. Schwarzman.

“And last year, when President Liebergott emphasized how many students have difficulty affording finishing their undergraduate and graduate degrees, even before the financial crisis was upon us, we decided supporting scholarships was a meaningful way we could support. Now, with student loans becoming even more difficult to obtain, it becomes all the more important.”

Tough economic times will always have a negative impact on individuals’ and families’ access to education, but the Schwarzmans feel that access to an Emerson education is important in a special way. They recognize the importance of nurturing the creativity and talents of young people going into communication and entertainment because it strengthens immeasurably the quality of American culture—and that has always been one of the most powerful forces around the world.

You might say American culture is one of our most important exports.

Mrs. Schwarzman is also impressed by something else about Emerson—something that hits very close to home—her sophomore daughter’s personal experience.

“Our daughter derives enormous satisfaction from attending Emerson, and is getting a great deal of guidance. From time to time, she’ll tell us that she and one of her

2008 Honor Roll need, get the information you want or find all the people you [need] to check facts with.

You’re always on deadline; when you finish one thing, you’re on to the next….And yet, I loved it, and I can’t wait to do something as wonderful again.”

Edmund Ansin’s motivation to support Emerson College began when he witnessed firsthand the talents and skill of Emersonians in the newsroom of Channel 7, WHDH-TV, the Boston television station he purchased in 1993—a station that he soon turned into a formidable competitor and, eventually, a leader in the market. The Ansin building, which bears his name, was the first building of what has become the Campus on the Common.

Ansin recognizes the importance of good facilities and keeping up on the latest technology, because both made it possible for his television stations in Boston and Miami to thrive, but he also recognizes and values high-quality professional training and has witnessed what the Emerson experience has added to someone aiming for a career in broadcasting.

“We have employed a number of very talented Emerson grads,” Ansin explains. “I felt it was important to get involved with an institution that has provided so many hardworking professionals, first to the success of Channel 7 and, subsequently, to Channel 56.”

This year, he established a scholarship fund—the Ansin Endowed Diversity Scholarship Fund—another dimension of his generosity, which will have a significant impact on the College and the industry.

Ansin, like Emerson, values diversity of perspective and cultural awareness—two things that will ensure the continued success of Emerson graduates in television and journalism in an increasingly globallyfocused world.

For him, it is also an opportunity to connect Emerson with another institution he has long supported, the Boston Boys and Girls Clubs, whose members will be given preference in applicant selection. Every year, income from the Ansin Endowed Diversity Scholarship Fund will provide up to full

54 Expression Winter 2009

tuition for two incoming first-year students, renewable annually as long as students maintain satisfactory grades.

“Making this gift was important to me.

I wanted to encourage students of diversity from the Boston area to apply to Emerson College,” Ansin says. “Many of the young people at the Clubs have diverse ethnic and racial heritages, they come from economically disadvantaged situations and with this help may be the first in their families to go to college. All these backgrounds are currently underrepresented at Emerson.”

Elizabeth Torres ’12, who is the first in her family to go to college and is proud of her Puerto Rican heritage, said receiving the scholarship made that possible. “This scholarship was the deciding factor,” she says. “And it is even more important now that I am on my own, paying for everything myself.” Though she no longer needs to work two jobs, Elizabeth will continue to work at The Boston Globe but will also be able to participate in school clubs and other opportunities at Emerson. She hopes someday to inspire others and tells us, “The Ansin Scholarship was a huge help.”

Louisa Irele ’12, another Ansin Scholar, is a first-generation American whose parents were born in Nigeria. Brought up in Cambridge, she has learned to appreciate diversity and when she was looking at colleges, both her father, a professor at Harvard, and a high school friend who is now a sophomore at Emerson encouraged her to apply. “Emerson is big on acceptance and diversity, not just in backgrounds, but in ideas and beliefs,” she says. “I knew I wanted to go somewhere like that.” E

continued from page 51 1957 Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Ronald P. Allardn Mr. Edward S. Blotner Ms. Cynthia Crane Mrs. Patricia R. Crannell Mr. Donald Perkins Ms. Theresa M. Romano Mr. Richard Russell Mrs. Emily Faldetta Sullivann w Mrs. Diane Berger Ziman 1958 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. William J. Bordy Mr. Joseph P. Famolare Mrs. Myra Moskowitz Weiser Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Richard L. Hamilton Century Society $100 to $249 Mrs. Marjorie Whiting Ahlin Ms. June August Mr. Gerald Blume Mr. Joseph M. Clementi Mrs. Anne C. Desmarais Mrs. Nancy Holden Gear Mr. Bernard F. Gregoire Mr. Nelson A. Hershman Mr. Donald W. MacKenzie Ms. Rhoda Hurvitz Marks Ms. Pamela A. Merrill Mrs. Cynthia Hutchinson Provost Mrs. Meredith P. Shapiro Mrs. Alexandra H. Wildey Mr. George E. Wildey 1959 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Dr. Gayle N. Carson (Overseer) Deans Society $500 to $999 Mrs. Anita Kaplan Verbeke Mr. Julian Wolinsky Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mrs. Nancy Dickinson Costello Mrs. Joan M. Levenson Mr. Harry W. Morgan w’65  Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Raymond J. Dempsey Dr. Laura-Jean Gilbert Mr. Andrew N. Guthrie Mrs. Joanne Rodman Lusskin w’80 Mrs. Dorothy Geotis MacLean w’66 Mrs. Annette Barron McCarthy 1960 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Michelle Solomon Shrair Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Mary Jo Stonie w’75 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Dr. Daly H. Enstrom w’64 Dr. Lynne Lalock Svenning Century Society $100 to $249 Dr. Philip P. Amato w’61 P’91 P’94  Mr. Paul J. Austin Ms. Chrisanne D. Gregoire Ms. Judith Zwerdling Love Dr. Barrett J. Mandel

1961 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Susan Namm Spencer P’87 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Barbara Morgan P’84 Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Sara-Ann Rosner Auerbach Ms. Roberta Aungst Mr. Richard H. Burton Sr. Ms. Bonnie Cantor Dr. Maidie Cohen Dr. Judith C. Espinola w’63 Mr. Gerald C. Grassman Mr. Robert S. Greenman Ms. Anne Cavanaugh Keeler Mr. Francis L. O’Mara w’65 Mr. David E. Parnigoni Ms. Rosemary Parnigoni Ms. Patricia Davidson Reef Ms. Donna L. Silverman Ms. Charity Fletcher Smith Mr. Peter Keith Whitten 1962 Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Neal P. Cortell Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Robert D. Cassidy Ms. Nancy Wildstein Curtis w’63 Ms. Rosemary Good w Mr. Stewart H. Robinovitz 1963 Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Ms. Wendy Schaffer Appel w’67 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Donald L. Alsedek Ms. Linda Kades Rosenblatt Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Liz Bruce Ms. Marcia McCombe Davis w’67 Mr. John R. Hill Mr. Willard H. Hodgkins Ms. Leslie Victor Kates Ms. Adele S. Lewis Ms. Madeline Belitz Shapiro Dr. Robert W. Welch w’67 1964 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. James Deaderick P’94 Mr. Robert D. Gatti Mr. Warren Rhodes Mary Sweig Wilson, PhD w (Overseer) Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Marilyn J. Feinberg Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Carol Amato w’65 P’91 P’94 Ms. Felicia M. Balicer, LCSW-R Ms. Nancy Kogos Beckman w’61 Ms. Deanne Paris Chenitz Ms. Linda Goldman Ms. Leslie Grossman Janowitz Dr. Bernard M. O’Keefe w’70 Ms. Deena S. Sharp Ms. Barbara Vescera Sheahan

1965 Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Mr. Anthony Goldman (Trustee) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Jill Koenigsberg Miller Ms. Kathie Berlin Valeriani Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Alan C. Brill Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Joan Kates Cowlan Dr. Philip M. Ericson w’67 Ms. Gail Ellen Gold w’68 Dr. Donald W. Ilko Ms. Sandra Katz Mr. David R. Long w’70 Mr. Harold R. Lubin Mr. Ron Ritchell w’70 1966 Paramount Society $100,000 to $499,999 Mr. Vincent J. Di Bona H’94 P’94 (Trustee) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Carl H. Buck w’69 Ms. Rhoda D. Cutler Ms. Joan Schlesinger Felder w’69 Ms. Judith R. Kletter P’96 Mr. Michael Kletter P’96 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Steven Bell Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Ronnie Friedman-Barone Ms. Irene Gaer Brugg Ms. Ruth Stafford Duesing Ms. Nancy E. Hintlian Mr. Edward McSharry w’69 Ms. Margaret McSharry Mr. John L. Elliott Rigrod Ms. Carol Swedish Robinson Mr. Thomas L. Smith w’69  Ms. Joan Meurisse Smola Ms. Patricia Elliott Torrance Ms. Judith Cohen Wisnia Ms. Marlene A. Young 1967 Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Ms. Evelyn L. Horowitz-Malinowitz Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Ms. Linda Schwartz (Trustee) Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Mr. Skip Daum Ms. Lois I. McNair Ms. Irma Fisher Mann Stearns H’92 (Trustee Emeritus) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Rev. Dr. Peter R. K. Brenner P’01 (Alumni Board) Ms. Virginia A. Di Bona P’94 Ms. Myrna Margolis Gross Mr. Alvin B. Kupperman Deans Society $500 to $999 Dr. Judythe A. Isserlis w’68 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Dr. Edward Gage Conture w’68 Ms. Barbara Grosso Peterson Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Lionel C. Adams Ms. Maureen Honan Breckenridge, Esq.

Mr. William H. White III (Alumni Board) Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Bruce Jaranian Mr. George B. Karfiol Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Kenneth R. Beauchene Mr. John J. Belliveau Mr. Randolph W. Brooksbank Ms. Ellen Resnikoff Carr w’71 Ms. Bonnie Cypen Epstein Ms. Frances Schofield Godine w Mr. Richard L. Jones Ms. Mary E. Lavin Ms. DebraJane Douden Lentz Mr. Lawrence H. Lentz Ms. Jane S. Lerner Mrs. Wendy W. Lisbon w’72 Mr. E. Gustav Malm Mr. Dennis F. Martin Ms. Jean Walker Miller Mr. David M. Neigher w’70 Mr. Richard K. Poole Ms. Shelley Harris Rochester Ms. Carol E. Roston Ms. Janice Rudy w’71 Ms. Judith E. Siegel-Baum w Mr. David Sitek Mr. Jon J. Stierwalt w’70

Ms. Kathleen Collins Cuddy Ms. Susan Fisher Fels Mr. Edward W. Folb Ms. Phyllis V. Fotinos Mr. David S. Herz Ms. Leslie Ann Kahn Ms. Ellen Shub Ratner w’68 Anthony P. Salvatore, PhD w’69 Ms. Barbara Pisaruk Sevigney Mr. Stephen Smoller 1968 Majestic Society $25,000 to $49,999 Mr. Charles E. Rosen The Honorable Robert Sands, OSMGC Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Mr. Jeffrey D. Greenhawt (Trustee) Mr. Al Jaffe P’07 (Trustee) Mr. Richard C. Levy Ms. Sheryl Slate Levy (Trustee) Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Ms. Barbara Segal Rutberg  Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Mr. Howard M. Liberman (Overseer) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. C. Thomas Bauer (Overseer) Mr. Leonard I. Karp Ms. Susan Spekin MacNelly Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Diane Klein Kullen P’95 Ms. Barbara Hering Lieu Mr. Steven H. Rosenthal P’09 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. J. E. Hollingworth  w Ms. Karen North w’77 Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Jack Arslanian Mr. Steven M. Baltin Ms. Jane Berkowitz Brandwein Ms. Evelyn K. Breslow Ms. Iris Gorman Burnett w’70 P’08 Ms. Clara Corcoran w’80 Ms. Emily Kaplan Epstein Ms. Gene A. Fein Ms. Marilyn Sabini Gansel w’71 Ms. Lynn Bartmon Gumper Ms. Caryl Nussman Hurwitz Ms. Ellen Marder McShera Ms. Betsy Gimpel Mena Ms. Glenda Wish Mirmelli w’72 Ms. Linda Nickerson w’76 P’00 Dr. Nancy Gross Polow Ms. Janet Rosenblatt-Pailet Dr. Stephen E. Snow Mr. Joe Thompson w Ms. Nancy Faulkner Wilson w’69

1970 Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Mr. Peter G. Meade H’05 (Trustee) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. C. Chapin Cutler Jr. Mr. David Glodt Dr. Myra Greenberg Gutin w’71 Mr. Barry J. O’Brien (Overseer) Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Gaynelle Griffin Jones (Alumni Board) Ms. Marilyn Reich Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Andrea C. Liftman

w H P  n

1969 Majestic Society $25,000 to $49,999 Ms. Judy S. Huret w (Trustee) Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Ms. Jan Greenhawt (Overseer) Ms. Cindy Ross Gruber Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Ms. Randy Kalikow Ketive (Alumni Board) Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Thomas A. Guganig w’87 

graduate degree honorary degree parent faculty or staff deceased

Ms. Linda Shaio Mr. James Shevlin Ms. Susan Shevlin Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Susan Beauchene Ms. Janet Blaustein Dr. Kathleen M. Braverman w Mr. Charles H. Bures Ms. Olive Boston Davidson Ms. Laurie Kozinn Dolsky w’71 Ms. Fern E. Hahn Ms. Toby Blumenfeld Holtzman Ms. Joan Ginsburg Katzeff Mr. William Ludel Ms. Gale Ann Merle w’71 Mr. Michael S. Messinger Ms. Andrea Berliner Shoham

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Report on Giving 2008

Dr. Robert W. Mullen w’62 Mr. Vincent M. Musto Ms. Charlotte L. Smith

2008 Honor Roll Mr. Peter O. Swanson Ms. Helen Horowitz Wexler Ms. Melissa Zeller 1971 Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Dr. Marcia Robbins-Wilf Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Ira Harvey Goldstone (Overseer) Mr. John Sidney Harrison Ms. Susan R. Toochin Mr. Steven G. Pollak Mr. David B. Woolfson w’72 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Dr. Maris Hoodkiss Krasnow Mr. Alberto Shaio Rev. K. Dennis Winslow Jr.

“

I want to thank you for awarding me the Ansin Diversity Scholarship… it has allowed me to see my dreams through as the first in my family to go to college.”

Elizabeth Torres ’12 Ansin Diversity Scholarship

Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Marlene Halpern Bergart Mr. Jeffrey J. Chafitz Ms. Karen Rosen Friedenberg Ms. Lois Kam Heymann Ms. Kristine J. Holtvedt Ms. Judith A. Jaffe Mr. Philip G. Levine Mr. Peter A. Mobilia Jr. Mr. Sidney M. Myer Ms. Jennifer A. Cover Payne w’73 Ms. Roberta Jan Safire Dr. Susan D. Siroty w Mr. Edward W. Sulzberger Ms. Rona E. Wexler w’73 Mr. Paul Alan Yenofsky w’72 Ms. Stephanie Stein Zerden 1972 Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Ms. Jeanne M. Brodeur

56 Expression Winter 2009

Mr. Howard L. Lapides (Overseer) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Neil Davin w’79  Dr. Marjorie Chalfin Feinstein Ms. Barbaree Heaster w Ms. Donna E. Walcovy w’77 Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Jerry C. Ade Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. James E. Lydon Mr. Mark Sackler Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Mary Ellen Adams  w Dr. Howard J. Baker Mr. B. Thomas Bates Ms. Beth Bronfman Mr. Alexander M. Chanler w’75 Ms. Laura L. Dennison w Ms. Paula Dickerman Ms. Joan Kalejta Heimbach Mr. Evan L. Jones Mr. Laurence H. Lowe w’81 Ms. Beverly V. Mallinson Ms. Linda B. Needle-Mandell Mr. Steven H. Ostrow Mr. Neal S. Rubinstein Ms. Marsha Rose Seidman w Mr. Denis L. Tanney 1973 Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Mr. Barney T. Bishop III (Overseer) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Maxine B. Baker Mr. Douglas W. Rendell w’76 Ms. Irene Berzak Schoen Ms. Elizabeth Solender w’75 (Overseer) Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. William R. Buck Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. David M. Ehrmann Ms. Karen E. Fass Ms. Patricia M. Gates Ms. Susan Goldberg Ms. Jane Guterman Mr. Alan Arthur Hemberger Ms. Robin Staver Hoffman Ms. Penny Peyser Mr. Stephen L. Posey Ms. Amy S. Rubinsohn Ms. Robin Herbert Scheiner Mr. Alan Shibley Mr. Simon I. Singer Dr. Cheryl A. Smith-Gabig w Dr. Marc E. Winer w 1974 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Deborah White Degnan w’74 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Jennifer Hershey Ms. Sharon Jacobson Ms. Carolynn H. Levy Mr. Stephen J. Paymer Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Ira S. Bigeleisen Mr. W. Jack Buckley

Ms. Nadine G. Essency w’76 Mr. Frank Paul Falzett Mr. Gary P. Fontaine Ms. Lisa Sanders Harwin w’76 Mr. Brent Jennings Mr. Robert A. Kwartler Ms. Hope S. Linderman Ms. Susan Smith Malecky w’76 Ms. Cindy Davis Maroni Ms. Susan Field Nelson Ms. Nancy Rothman Ms. Vanessa Bargnes Scinta w’75 Ms. Amy L. Settles Ms. Tracy Gochberg Wilkes 1975 Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Candus S. Thomson Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Lee William Bergman Ms. Louise Maria Claps Ms. Catherine V. Collins Ms. Deborah C. Cutler Ms. Laurie P. Diamond Mr. Stephen Wayne Farrier Ms. Frances Ann Graham-Jones w Ms. Margaret A. Ings  Ms. Sari J. Miller Mr. James W. Reynolds Mr. Charles Wittekind Schram Mr. Pearce Henry Shanks Jr. w 1976 Chair of the Board Society $1,000,000 and above Mr. Kevin Scott Bright (Trustee) Majestic Society $25,000 to $49,999 Mr. Douglas V. Holloway (Trustee) Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Jeff Arch Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Alicia Denise Brown w’80 P’08 (Overseer) Mr. Steven Sakson (Alumni Board) Ms. Madeline Ann Yusna (Alumni Board) Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Abigail C. Duff w’78 Mr. Robert V. Edney (Alumni Board) Mr. Barry Mehrman (Alumni Board) Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Paul S. Lamb Mr. David Chandler Miller Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Patricia Lee Dignan Mr. Thomas S. Myers Jr., Esq. Mr. Robert Piantedosi Ms. Wendy Rotella Mr. Joel Schwelling P’08 Ms. Jacki Deena Tutelman-Bender 1977 Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Mr. Robert Rudnick (Overseer) Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Ms. Harriett Guin-Kittner Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Todd Dimston Ms. Arleen F. Sorkin

Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. John G. Hanc Ms. Cecelia Yvette Rose Mr. Mark A. Spano Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Jody Zeman Allen Mr. Robert Owen Allen Mr. Ronald M. Comeau Ms. Paula Fleming w’95 Ms. Joan M. Izen P’08 Mr. Richard Keller P’10 Mr. William Klayer Mr. Hal M. Lewis Mr. Mark Stewart, Esq. Ms. Karen Ellen Sullivan 1978 Majestic Society $25,000 to $49,999 Mr. Lawrence B. Rasky Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Mr. Eric Alexander (Trustee) (Overseer) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. David Granville Breen (Alumni Board) Ms. Sandra L. Goldfarb (Alumni Board) Ms. Susan Strassberg P’11 (Alumni Board) Mr. Jim Vescera Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Barbara Meyer Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Deborah Scaglione Irwin w’83 Ms. Andrea Mangino Montoni Ms. Betty Sugerman Weintraub Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Phyllis Anne Degen w Ms. Jean Drelich Ms. Eileen Savage Friedman Mr. John A. Levy Mr. Robert Elmer Noll Jr. Mr. Clifton C. Powell Edwin N. Rowley, PhD w Ms. Jennifer A. Sage Mr. Conrad N. Smith Ms. Carol B. Weintraub P’11 1979 Majestic Society $25,000 to $49,999 Ms. Whitney Clay Diller Mr. Denis Michael Leary H’05 P’12 Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Ms. Bobbi Brown Plofker (Trustee) Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Mr. Robert B. Friend (Trustee) (Alumni Board) Mr. Richard Charles Willis P’08 P’12 (Overseer) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Cornelia Deaderick P’94 Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Paul Bernard Gattuso Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Philip Adler Ms. Karyn M. Altman Ms. Cara Houlihan Blazier Mr. Fernando Caramazana Ms. Carole Noreen Charnow-Grainger Dr. Marie Annette Chesnick w Ms. Leslie Rubin Colby P’06 P’08 w Mr. Thomas A. Goslin Mr. Alan A. Lampert Mr. John David Lewinski

1980 Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Mr. Richard LaGravenese Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. David M. Gwizdowski P’09 (Alumni Board) Ms. Judith A. Tygard Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Eddie R. Brill Ms. Julie Paris Seltzer Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Richard T. Baker Jr. Mr. Thomas A. Carr Mr. William Jack Cates Mr. Jaime H. Cohen P’12 Mr. David A. Dickinson Ms. Suzanne Louise Donahue Ms. Erin L. Foley Mr. Lance J. Hilfman Ms. Katharine B. Lord w’82 Mr. Michael J. Mulvey Mr. Scott C. Schmid Ms. Dana W. Sparks 1981 Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Ms. Noreen A. Farrell-Herzog Mr. Doug A. Herzog (Trustee) Mr. G. Michael Mara Jr. (Overseer) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Craig D. Anderson Ms. Kate L. Boutilier (Overseer) Ms. Linda Corradina Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Maura Gattuso (Alumni Board) Ms. Margaret Sullivan Kaplan (Alumni Board) Mr. Hugh J. Munoz Mr. Todd E. Skillin Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Matthew J. Edelman Ms. Lori Goldman Grover Ms. Karen F. Hershberg Mr. Robert B. Hess Mr. Edward P. Joyce Ms. Kiki J. Steele Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Georgi-Ann Bargamian Ms. Charlyn T. Bonk Mr. Patrick J. Cantwell Mr. Edward H. Cardoza w Ms. Rosemarie M. Corrigan Ms. Julie M. Coulter Ms. Julie A. Fately Mr. Brian E. Feldman Mr. Gary A. Lister Mr. Bruce B. Neumann Mr. Joseph Anthony Rocco Mr. Fred J. Rogers Ms. Anita M. Rowe

1982 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Daniel Timothy Amorello Ms. Terri Del Giorno McGraw (Overseer) Mr. Mark Quenzel Mr. Steven Shaw P’11 (Overseer) Mr. Thomas Andrew Sonnabend Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Maxwell Felder (Alumni Board) Ms. Kathleen J. Ryan-Felder Mr. Jon Vesey Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Deborah Kate Axel Ms. Janet K. Cocchiaro w Ms. Rachel Spielvogel 1983 Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Mr. Raj Sharma w Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Richard M. Arlook P’10 P’12 Ms. Shelley Biener Derby Ms. Lisa A. Gregorian w’86 Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Paul R. Marte Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Carl J. Doebler Mr. Marc A. Solomon w Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Eric C. Andrus Mr. Ted Canova Ms. Celia Couture w Mr. Paul F. D’Adamo w Ms. Sandra M. Larkin Mr. Michael D. Mazzarella Ms. Diane McAveeney Ms. Susane K. Newell Ms. Paula J. Reid 1984 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Jennifer H. Cline Ms. Patricia A. Peyton (Alumni Board) Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Celina Griffin Tamposi Ms. Merri Sugarman Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Michelle J. Keating Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Greg Barbero Mr. Jon Boroshok  Ms. Denise A. Bourcier Ms. Deborah Fountain Ms. Debra E. Guston w Mr. James Nussbaum Ms. Monique M. Williams 1985 Majestic Society $25,000 to $49,999 Ms. Ann Lembeck Leary P’12 Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Ms. Maria T. D’Arcangelo-Lapides (Overseer) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Denise Kaigler (Overseer) Ms. Anne Kenny (Alumni Board) Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Frances R. Berrick Ms. Deborah Komarow

Ms. Camilla D. Ross Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Jonathan Burkhart Ms. Vera Heide Eberhardt w Mr. Richard P. Everitt w Ms. Tammy Galleshaw Forgue P’12 Ms. Marianne Sarazen Lonati w’98 Mr. Jeffrey T. Overman Mr. David Waller Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Robert August Mr. John Beaulieu Mr. Kenneth W. Brady Ms. Roberta de Plano Mr. David A. Griffin w’93  Ms. Janet F. Held Mr. John R. Lamb, APR w Ms. Nancy B. Pierson w Ms. Sandra M. Price w Ms. Kelly Gammon White

Ms. Susan Hester Pendleton Mr. Michael L. Sale Ms. Susan Salk Mr. Israel S. Smith Ms. Rachel Somer-Formela Ms. Cornelia W. Sullivan

1986 Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Mr. Michael J. MacWade w (Alumni Board) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Marc Douthit Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. AnneMarie DeFreest Ms. Catherine M. McCracken Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Morgan Baker w Mr. Richard M. Banks w’91 Mr. John Bouffard Mr. Thomas P. Cohan w Dr. Lynn M. Disbrow w Mr. William Kelly Mr. Gene P. Lavanchy Ms. Jennifer A. Parisella Mr. Robert Schofield Mr. Robert A. Stone Mr. Christopher J. Torino w Mr. Eric George Woods 1987 Paramount Society $100,000 to $499,999 Mr. Max N. Mutchnick (Trustee) Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Mr. Jay Bienstock Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Joseph Derrico P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Laura K. Douglas Mr. Peter Loge (Alumni Board) Deans Society $500 to $999 Cantor Jacqueline Grad Rawiszer Mr. John Scott Winship Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Alice Hager Holbrook Ms. Paula A. Lubas Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Michael J. Boothroyd Mr. Brett Dewey Ms. Rebecca E. Draznin Ms. Carol E. Emerson w Ms. Charlo J. Maurer w Ms. Martha A. Menchinger w Ms. Monica M. Murphy Ms. Robyn Leuthe Norris

1988 Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Jamie L. Hanna Ms. Diane Kounalakis w Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Ayesha Bulchandani-Mathrani Mr. Thomas P. Jennings Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Lisa Poleschner Boehm w Ms. Marilyn J. Gallin Mr. S. Geoffrey Hart w Ms. Laura Heavilin Hill Mr. Thomas M. Kivett w Ms. Catherine MacDonald Leader w Mr. John Maliszewski Mr. David Piacitelli Mr. Todd D. Pierce Mr. Gary S. Sagendorf Ms. Kelly Way 1989 Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Holly Bario Mr. Kevin A. Eldridge w Mr. Thomas J. Mahar Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Colette M. Bachand-Wood Ms. Robin L. Mayhew w Ms. Elaine M. Seeley w Ms. Maria N. Stephanos w’93 Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Sara-Jeanne Gulley Mr. Reese M. Jenkins Mr. Jose A. Martinez Ms. Susan Kay Parker

w H P  n

graduate degree honorary degree parent faculty or staff deceased

Mr. Gregory T. Peverill-Conti Ms. Anne Rothenberg Roberts 1990 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Marcie Goodman Gottlieb Mr. Stephen A. Koumantzelis Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Samantha S. Berkowitz Ms. Katherine T. Buhler Ms. Anne M. Doyle  w Ms. Kristin Torgen Flannery Mr. Brent Heindl Ms. Elizabeth M. Janik w Ms. Donna Stokes Ms. Elizabeth J. Walker Mr. Timothy R. Wright

57 Expression Winter 2009

Report on Giving 2008

Ms. Barbara Ann Lovely-Lin Ms. Anne Marroni Ms. Marlene D. McCurtis Ms. Deborah Noll Ms. Linda Plukas Mr. Mark Allan Plukas Mr. Michael J. Ross Ms. Gayle S. Stoll w Mr. Oliver W. Woodruff H’79  Mr. Henry W. Zappala w’80 

2008 Honor Roll 1991 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Derrick K. DeLuties Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Marco Bario Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Kira Phillips Copperman Mr. Russell E. Wood w Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Joseph Antoun w Ms. Stephanie Varco Collins Mr. Marc Dube Mr. Mark J. Hetherington w Ms. Susan D. Hauben w Mr. Nikolas H. Klakow Mr. David A. Lipper Mr. Tim S. Parker Mr. Livio Sanchez Ms. Patrice L. Sullivan w Mr. John Wolfarth w 1992 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Bonnie Buckley Curtis Ms. Tory Johnson (Alumni Board) Mr. Eduardo G. Samame (Overseer) Mr. Michael A. Weil Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Daniel G. Bigman (Alumni Board) Mr. Neal Roscoe Mr. Steve R. Welch Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Scott A. Laliberte Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Kimberly Leahy Beaudet Mr. Michael R. Beaudet Dr. Jennifer Mann Berman Ms. Leah Gambal Ms. Deborah Gross Ms. Karen Heindl Mr. Thomas M. Kennedy w Ms. Anne-Marie Kline Mr. Michael J. Massaro Mr. William J. McCandless Mr. Sean Meredith Mr. Robert J. Solomon 1993 Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Roni Boyles Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Tara M. Bradley w Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Lisa Chan Ms. Michelle Shea Donatelli w Ms. Laura E. Dutil Ms. Kirstie M. Field Ms. Rebecca A. Gilkey Mr. Jonathan H. Hanst Ms. Susan A. Piazza Ms. Miriam Reddicliffe w Mr. Paul A. Restuccia w Mr. Dean Warren Slotar 1994 Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Ms. Bonnie A. Comley w (Overseer)

58 Expression Winter 2009

Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Andre Archimbaud Ms. Jennifer Rose Mullin Mr. Dan Sher Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Aaron T. Ryder Ms. Christine Sibona w Ms. Cara Di Bona Swartz Mr. Martin J. Talty Jr. Ms. Donna Lee Ubertalli w Mr. Tripp Whetsell 1995 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Jacquelyn Borck w Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. Bradford B. Buckley Mr. Anthony R. Wyzzard Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Sybil H. Cafiero Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Lucien P. Brodeur Ms. Wendy Leigh Campbell Mr. Brett A. Moss Mr. Sean P. O’Brien w Mr. Joseph D. Reno w’95 Mr. Steven R. Scott w’98 1996 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. William Avery Smith Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Elissa Schaen Adler w Mr. Shawn K. Budd Ms. Andrea Paolillo Dopierala Mr. Michael R. French Ms. Natalia Garcia w Mr. Shawn A. Gauthier Ms. Cynthia Hatch Ms. Jonalyn P. Morris Ms. Julia Quigley Bender Ms. Myrna A. Toledo Mr. Randall Trager 1997 Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. James R. Aleski (Alumni Board) Mr. Travis Small (Alumni Board) Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Natalie F. Gold Ms. Amy Lampert Greenberg w Mr. Harvey Havel w Ms. Jennifer L. Shea Mr. William J. Siegrist Mr. William R. Stevers Ms. Kristen Wixted w 1998 Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Mr. Alex R. Tse Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Dr. Jon Derek Croteau (Alumni Board) Boylston 10 Society $500 to $999 Mr. Jacob A. Rosenberg Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Eric Ribeiro-de Sa Ms. Danielle E. Slawsby

“

For me, one of the highlights of being at Emerson is a Community Involvement class, giving me the opportunity to work with elementary school children near Chinatown. It has opened my eyes quite a bit. There is always someone who needs help. Now, I find myself being the ‘helpee’ instead of the helper and I would like to thank you for your generosity.”

Andrea Rodriguez ’10 Parents Leadership Council Scholarship

Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Sally Arnold Ms. Helen C. France Ms. Caroline Kerpen Ms. Megan Laughlin Mrs. Delia Goncalves Perry Ms. Serena E. Saitas w Mr. Matthew W. VanderMay 1999 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Brie P. Williams w (Alumni Board) Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Ms. Kelly Ribeiro-de Sa Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Mary Ann Cicala  Ms. Kimberly S. Davis w Ms. Allison Dolan Ms. Michelle N. Hantman Ms. Tara M. Sapienza 2000 Boylston 10 Society $500 to $999 Mr. Thomas P. Arria Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Ara G. Gelenian w Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Marc J. Cocchiola Ms. Tiffany Corso Conlon Mr. Ryan DeJoy Ms. Rebecca Q. Dornin Ms. Marsha MacEachern-Murphy w’02 Mr. Andrew N. Potter w Ms. Danielle Reddy Mr. Daniel R. Shutte Mr. Christopher Wight Ms. Michelle Ziomek  2001 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Richard Glesmann Mr. John P. Murphy w

Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Marvin Barnes Mr. Paul K. Largoza w Mrs. Colleen Bradley MacArthur Mr. Anthony McNeal Ms. Ligimat Daniela Perez w Mr. Taylor McClintock Toole 2002 Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Leona Burgess  Mr. Scott E. Colbert w Mr. Christopher V. Dall w 2003 Majestic Society $25,000 to $49,999 Ms. Julia H. Owens (Alumni Board) Boylston 10 Society $250 to $999 Ms. Eleanor Moore Century Society $100 to $249 Yen-Ying Lee Ms. Geraldine McGowan  w Ms. Katherine A. Peters w Ms. Megan Q. Raynor Mr. Roman Robert Seipel Sturgis Mr. Nathan Towne w 2004 Boylston 10 Society $250 to $999 Mr. Chad Jacob George Gessin Ms. Sue Redman Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. Oliver John Alcantara Mr. Richard G. Carson w Ms. Alexis Jane Landau w Ms. Mary E. O’Neil w Ms. Hannah Dockweiler Stiefel Mr. Aaron Matthew Young 2005 Century Society $100 to $249 Mr. David Thomas Hobbes Ms. Stephanie L. Jewell

2007 Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Pamela F. Jaffe Mr. Christopher Michaels 2008 Boylston 10 Society $250 to $999 Mr. Charles R. Thieriot Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Leah Dolan-Kelley Ms. Melissa H. Eddy Mr. Scott M. Fleishman Mr. Maxwell Everett Foster Mr. Jason MacFadgen Mr. Angel A. Perez Ms. Emily Piper w Mr. John C. Pratt III Mr. Nicholas T. Stefanovich Ms. Lauren von Hagel

Parents Paramount Society $100,000 to $499,999 Mr. Vincent J. Di Bona ’66 H’94 P’94 (Trustee) Ms. Kathy and Mr. Tom Freston P’07 (Trustee) Colonial Society $50,000 to $99,999 Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Schwarzman P’11 Majestic Society $25,000 to $49,999 Ms. Glorianne Gargano and Mr. John Ashton Powell P’05 P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Lacerte P’10 Ms. Ann Lembeck Leary ’85 and Mr. Denis Michael Leary ’79 H’05 P’12 Mr. and Mrs. Steve Soboroff P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Anonymous (1) Dr. Gerald Berke and Dr. Karen Duvall P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Jane Nunes and Mr. Frank Campolo III P’07 P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. Robert and Ms. Linda Gersh P’10 (Trustee) (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Kathleen and Mr. Al Jaffe ’68 P’07 (Trustee) Ms. Luci and Mr. Richard Janssen P’03 (Trustee) Ms. Marie and Mr. Armand Marciano P’11 Ms. Hilary and Mr. Robert Nelson Jacobs P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Dr. Rod Parker ’51 H’77 P’80 Ms. Kaye Scoggin and Mr. Lewis LeClair P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Serkes P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Ms. Jan and Mr. Daniel H. Black P’07 (Overseer) Ms. Helene Seifer and Mr. Gary H. Grossman ’70 P’09 (Trustee) (Parents Leadership Council)

Mr. and Mrs. James Malcolm P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Chris Montan P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Robert Penfield P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Richard Wahl P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Mr. Tom Bergeron and Ms. Lois Harmon P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Mark Blank P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mrs. Jean Cain P’79 Mr. and Mrs. R. James Del Grosso P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. David Feinberg P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Frome P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Mathew Lonberg P’11 Ms. Lyn V. McKeaney P’09 Mr. and Mrs. William Parker P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Don Starr P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Ann Stookey and Mr. Joe Waz P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Susan and Mr. Richard Charles Willis ’79 P’08 P’12 (Overseer) Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Ms. Orly and Mr. Andrew Adelson P’10 (Overseer) Mr. Ahmed Agrama P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Amato P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Francis An P’10 Mr. Richard M. Arlook ’83 P’10 P’12 Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Bank P’08 Ms. Deborah and Mr. William H. Berman P’89 (Overseer) Peter Brenner ’67 P’01 (Alumni Board) Ms. Alicia Denise Brown ’76 w’80 P’08 (Overseer) Mr. and Mrs. Philip Cavaretta P’03 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Conti P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. James ’64 and Ms. Cornelia Deaderick ’79 P’94 Mr. and Mrs. David DeCaprio P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Derrico ’87 P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Virginia A. Di Bona ’67 P’94 Mr. and Mrs. James Digilio P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. David A. Ellis P’10  Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Fieschko P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Edward A. Fleiss P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Jo-Anne Kaplan and Mr. Michael Gershman P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Glass P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Howard Grace P’10 Mr. Robert Gottlieb P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Barry S. Halperin P’01 Ms. Donna Bolding and Mr. Roger C. Hamilton P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Sandra Hammons P’11 (Parents Leadership Council)

Ms. Fanny Hanono P’09 Ms. Marka V. Hansen and Mr. Joseph F. Brubaker P’04 Ms. Alyse Levine Holstein (Parents Leadership Council) and Mr. Philip Lester Holstein P’07 (Overseer) Mr. and Mrs. Gary Hunt P’10 Drs. Mary Anne and Jay Jackson P’04 Mr. and Mrs. Yeong Sung Kim P’08 Ms. Judith ’66 and Mr. Michael Kletter ’66 P’96 Ms. Lilly Lee-Maatta and Mr. John Maatta P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Irwin Levin P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Nancy Lifter-Wolin P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Francis Lunger P’03 Ms. Paula B. Mackin P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Jamie and Mr. Robert Madden P’04 Mr. and Mrs. Edward Mardigian P’01 Dr. and Mrs. Bryan Marshall P’10 Ms. Michele Martin P’01 Mr. Winthrop L. McCormack P’09 (Overseer) Mr. and Mrs. Lee Mercer P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Miller P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. Luc Moyen and Ms. Jennifer Moyen-Logan P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Murphy P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. David Oleshansky P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. Laurence O’Reilly P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Eric Orlemans P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Pasquale Paolo P’09 Drs. Anna and Michael Parsons P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Ron Petty P’10 Ms. Bonnie Fox Pletcher P’04 Mr. and Mrs. Monte N. Redman P’04 Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Rudman P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Diane Wolff Rushing P’97 Ms. Carrie and Mr. Steven Shaw ’82 P’11 (Overseer) Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Shearon P’09 Nancy and Richard Sher P’94 Ms. Mary-Francis Snow and Mr. David M. Gwizdowski ’80 P’09 (Alumni Board) Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Solender P’73 Mr. Edward J. Sparks P’97 Ms. Susan Namm Spencer ’61 P’87 Mr. David Steinberg and Ms. Brynn Thayer P’01 Mr. Ugur Kaytmaz and Ms. Susan A. Strassberg ’78 P’11 (Alumni Board) Mr. and Mrs. Peter Vaughn P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Marc Wertheimer P’10 Mr. and Mrs. David Wexler P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Jeffery P. Wiegand P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Dorothy Wise P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Warren Wishart P’11 Ms. Doreen Wright P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. David Zizik P’10 (Parents Leadership Council)

Deans Society $500 to $999 Mr. and Mrs. William Abeles P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Gil Berkovich P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Mauricio Brener P’11 Mr. and Mrs. James Brooks P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Jose A. Casal P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Childs P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Cohen P’10 Ms. Amy Eberling P’09 Ms. Jeanne Ellen Raya and Mr. Humberto Flores P’06 Ms. Elizabeth Aralia and Mr. Nicholas Graetz P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Guttilla Sr. P’11 Ms. Louise Fili and Mr. Steven Heller P’11 Ms. Diane Klein Kullen ’68 P’95 Mr. Dennis H. Leibowitz P’06 Ms. Lian-Hua Yang and Mr. Yunjin Li P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Donald M. MacLeod P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Bill McCrory P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Dr. and Mrs. Douglas M. Moore P’03 Mr. and Mrs. Mario A. Mosse P’09 Mr. Michael J. Mularczyk P’72 Mr. Jorg Pape P’05 Dr. and Mrs. Jonathan A. Parker P’08 Ms. Nadine Ann Pileggi P’10 Dr. and Mrs. W. Ian Rogers P’10 Mr. Steven H. Rosenthal ’68 P’09 Ms. Paulette Schlotman P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Seidel P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Paul R. Smollar P’09 Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Barrett P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Begin P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey C. Bell P’09 Mr. and Mrs. James J. Bjelajac P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Gerry W. Boylan P’08 P’12 Ms. Cathy Brokaw P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Bryan P’06

w H P  n

graduate degree honorary degree parent faculty or staff deceased

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lawrence Buckley P’04 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Bunyea P’10 Ms. Patty Burnett and Mr. Robert W. Burdick P’04 Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Cacioppo P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Campagna P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Howard Congress P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Paul J. Cormier P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Steven Coughlin P’08 Mr. and Mrs. David D’Anna P’11 Mr. Ray Dillon P’10 Mr. and Mrs. David John Fischer P’09 Ms. Tammy Galleshaw Forgue and Mr. Jeffrey Forgue ’85 P’12 Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Geaman P’11

59 Expression Winter 2009

Report on Giving 2008

2006 Boylston 10 Society $250 to $999 Ms. Carolyn Jasinski  w Ms. Kathleen Sherwin Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Ellen R. Berenson Mr. Lee Doerr III

2008 Honor Roll Mr. and Mrs. Barry Groce P’10 Dr. and Mrs. David William Haas P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hamar P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Jennifer H. Hanson P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Harris P’08 Mr. and Mrs. William Hawkins P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Hudecek P’08 Mr. and Mrs. David Hutchings P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Kevin LaCount P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Donna Land P’08 Ms. Leslie Lang P’10 Ms. Michele Lippin P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. Kenneth Loss P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Douglas R. Lynch P’09 Mr. and Mrs. John Mankiewicz P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Carlo Marano P’11 Mr. and Mrs. John Martorana P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Candace Elaine McCann P’01 Ms. Eileen Hoffman and Mr. Robert Michaelson P’08 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Barbara and Mr. Harry W. Morgan ’61 P’84 Ms. Nancy E. Navin P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Edmund H. Nicklin Jr. P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Steve Nison P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Rau P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey N. Reeder P’04 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Samson P’04 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Scanlon P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Scheinert P’09 Mr. Mike Schmidt P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Mario M. Sertich P’07 Mr. and Mrs. John Sheehan P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Tomoki Shimizu P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Bill Singer P’09 Dr. Samuel Smith P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Jason Smolen P’11 Mr. Kenneth Steere P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Richard K. Sturges P’09 Mr. Charles Thieriot Sr. P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Felipe Valls P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Edward Webster P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Willem Weijer P’09 Century Society $100 to $249 Ms. Fanny Acosta and Mr. Oscar Perez P’10 Ms. Robin Adair and Mr. David Lucius P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Anthony G. Aiuvalasit P’08 Mrs. Carol Amato ’64 and Dr. Philip P. Amato ’64 w’65 P’91 P’94 Mr. and Mrs. Kirk Anderson P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Anderson P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Aymong P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Barry Michael Baldeck P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan L. Bashein P’99 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bedus P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bernhardt P’01 Ms. Linda and Mr. Robert N. Bernier P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Bernier P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Beswick P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Barbara Ann Biggers P’09 Dr. Richard Blasband P’11

60 Expression Winter 2009

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Bloom P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Steven A. Boisvert P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Boland Jr. P’10 Capt. and Mrs. Hebert Bolles P’91 Dr. and Mrs. Robert Bornstein P’81 Mr. and Mrs. Larry D. Boucher P’05 Ms. Wendy Bowes P’11 Dr. and Ms. Paul Boyle P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Norman Bridwell P’89 Ms. Janet Bronstein P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Brophy P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Bryant P’08 Mr. Peter D. Burgdorff P’08 Mr. David and Ms. Iris Burnett ’68 w’70 P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Burnett P’07 P’11 Mr. and Mrs. David T. Burnham P’97 Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Byrnes P’03 Mr. and Mrs. Dominick Cardoso P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Richard Carey P’11 Mr. Robert Carleo Jr. P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Gregory R. Caron P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Ceccarelli P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Chand P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Cary Chaney P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Chase P’08 Ms. Margaret Chew P’08 Ms. Carol Chipman P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Peter Chisick P’08 Ms. Chippy M. Cianci P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Alan Citron P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Clark P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Clark P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Dave Clay P’08 Mr. and Mrs. John Coakley P’09 Ms. Lynn and Mr. Jaime H. Cohen ’80 P’12 Mr. and Mrs. John Colbert P’10 Dr. Robert Colby and Ms. Leslie Rubin Colby w’79 P’06 P’08 Dr. and Mrs. Robert Colby P’06 P’08 Mr. and Mrs. John Cole P’08 Mr. and Mrs. James Coogan P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Francis Coombs P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cordaro P’10 Ms. Robin Correll P’09 Mr. and Mrs. John Cosgrove P’11 Ms. Liz Covert P’06 Dr. Kenneth Crannell Sr. ’55  and Mrs. Patricia Crannell ’57 P’91 Mr. and Mrs. Gerald B. Crean P’08 Mr. and Mrs. James H. Cronander P’08 Mr. Clark J. Crowley Sr. P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Crugnale P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Abelardo R. Cuevas P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cuneo P’05 Mr. and Mrs. John R. Damron P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Gregory D’Arbonne P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Deborah J. Davis P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Davis P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Roger Day P’11 Mr. and Mrs. James Del Balzo P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Demarco P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Francis P. DeVine P’06 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Devlin P’10 Mr. Brian DeVriese P’97

Dr. and Ms. Robert Diamond P’11 Mr. and Mrs. James Diederich P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Dieter P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Dietrick P’11 Mr. and Mrs. John Dillaway P’09 Ms. B. J. Dockweiler and Mr. Frank Stiefel P’04 Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Doiron P’11 Ms. Nancy Dolan P’09 Mr. Robert Donahue P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Steven R. Donahue P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Marianito D. Doromal P’08 Mr. and Mrs. William Egan P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Eis P’10 Mr. John Ballantyne Elder P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Louis H. Estey P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Ezell P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Farago P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Vincent John Fatato Sr. P’01 P’05 Mr. and Mrs. John Fay P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Fennessey P’08 Mr. and Mrs. John P. Fiala P’95 Mr. and Mrs. John Fischel P’09 Ms. Lisa Fishman P’10 Ms. Patrice M. Fitzgerald P’09 Ms. Diana Flagg P’09 Mr. and Mrs. David Ford P’10 Mr. and Mrs. James W. Ford P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Spencer Fox P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Scott Frame P’05 Mr. and Mrs. Don Frost P’04 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Futernick P’02 Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Gallagher P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Rodney N. Gamache P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Neal Ganon P’09 Dr. and Mrs. James Cameron Garbutt P’04 Drs. Jennifer Bell and Martin Gardy P’94 Mr. and Mrs. Donald Gibavic P’06 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Giles P’05 Mr. and Mrs. Denis Gleeson P’10 Ms. Ai-Kin Goh P’09

Ms. Maria Gotay P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Gottlieb P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Green P’03 Mr. and Mrs. Harold J. Greer P’10 Ms. Joyce Griffin and Mr. Gordon Brawn P’10 Ms. Mary Griffith P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Philip Gross P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Guthrey P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Kensuke Haga P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Ted Wharton Hall P’09 Mr. D. Mark Hamlet P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Masanori Harada P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Richard Harrell P’08 Ms. Gale Hattan P’10 Ms. Juanna Hayes P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Patrick F. Hayes P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Donald J. Hendler P’99 Dr. John J. Hennessy P’04 Ms. Jill Herman and Mr. Harold Swenson P’11 Ms. Mary Hughes and Mr. Christopher Donovan P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. William Q. Hurley P’11 Mr. and Mrs. David Hurwitz P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Mark Inglis P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Elvin Irizarry P’11 Ms. Joan M. Izen ’77 and Mr. Joel Schwelling ’76 P’08 Mr. and Mrs. William H. James III P’05 Mr. and Mrs. Scott Janice P’11 Mr. and Mrs. David R. Jeffers P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Albert Jensen P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Douglas John P’05 Mr. Ross Jones P’00 Mr. and Mrs. William Jones P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Soo Chang Jung P’11 Ms. Leslie Kandell P’95 Mr. Richard Keller ’77 P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Kendzia P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kerzner P’09

Ms. Catherine D. Orrok and Mr. Howard Daniel Noble P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Alan Olsen P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Owens P’03 Ms. Leila Paje-Manalo and Mr. Alberto Manalo P’07 Ms. Colleen Pappas P’00 Mr. and Mrs. Wesley F. Patterson P’08 Ms. Virginia T. Paul P’08 Col. and Mrs. Anthony R. Pauroso P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Pease P’07 Mr. and Mrs. James Pelletier P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Peluso P’10 Ms. Maria C. Perez de Milla P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Petrie P’09 P’11 Mr. and Mrs. John Phaneuf P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Pizzi Jr. P’07 Ms. Meri Pohutsky P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Albert Poliseno P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Christopher A. Poth P’09 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Denis Pratt P’11 Mr. and Mrs. John C. Pratt Jr. P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Francis Raineau P’09 Dr. and Mrs. Mark Randall P’08 Mr. Neil Raynor P’11 Mr. Eric T. Reenstierna P’99 Mr. and Mrs. James Reilly P’10 Mr. and Mrs. John Reynolds P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Roger Rhodes P’10 Mr. Dennis Richling P’09 Ms. Anne C. Riddell P’95 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Rainer Rissland P’07 Ms. Holly Ross and Mr. Timothy Hartung P’09 Mr. and Mrs. John Rosso P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Roth P’11 P’12 Mr. and Mrs. Carmine Ruberto P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Rudnitsky P’10 Mr. and Mrs. John V. Ruggeri P’05 Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Sadler P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Lee Sage P’04 Mr. and Mrs. Steven Salomone P’07 P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Henry Scheer P’10 Mr. James Schreiber P’09 Ms. Marilyn Schreiber P’09 Mr. and Mrs. George H. D. Schulz P’99 Mr. and Mrs. Roger Schwall P’05 Mr. Phil Scoggin P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Searles P’09 Ms. Teresa Sebastian and Mr. Steve Tunis P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Seigal P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Selfridge P’02 P’09 Dr. and Mrs. Jamshid Shafai P’05 Mr. and Mrs. Hal Shane P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Barbara Shapiro and Mr. Dan Fleishman P’08 Ms. Cathy Marie Shidlovsky P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Phil Shuman P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Sloane P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Daniel O. Smith P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Steven Smith P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Richard Jay Sokoler P’09 Dr. Jo Marie Solet and Mr. Maxwell Solet P’02 Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Stambaugh P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Stankus P’11

Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Stauffer P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Andre Stefanovich P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Stenning P’10 Mr. and Mrs. David Stepansky P’09 Judge Joseph G. and Ms. Mary Stewart P’77 Ms. Donna Stia P’11 Mr. and Mrs. George Stone P’09 Mr. and Mrs. John Strickland P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Luke L. Suda P’07 Ms. Anne Szafranowicz P’99 Ms. Bella Taylor P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Carey Terrat P’11 Ms. Barbara Thiele P’11 Dr. David Thiele P’11 Mr. Joe Thompson w’68 P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Richard Thompson P’09 Mr. William Tobia P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Terry Todorovic P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Eric Tollar Sr. P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Richard James Toole P’01 Mr. and Mrs. Cheuk Chow Tsang P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Charles Tufts P’10 Mr. Hans Ullmann and The Reverend Clair Fibert-Ullmann P’03 Mr. and Mrs. Gary Leslie Upchurch P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth William Vadnais P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Vail P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Charles Valone P’09 Ms. Donna and Mr. John Van Zile P’06 Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Vieira P’99 Ms. Mary Vieira P’06 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Gregory von Hagel P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Vossekuil P’09 Ms. Susan Walker P’97 Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Waters P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Paul Watsky P’10 Ms. Jean A. Webber P’09 Dr. and Mrs. Robert Weinberger P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Karl Weinrich P’03 Ms. Carol and Mr. Joseph Weintraub ’78 P’11 Ms. Pamela Weiss and Mr. David Klahr P’07 Dr. and Mrs. William O. Whetsell Jr. P’94 Mr. and Mrs. Richard Whipple P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Wickens P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Clayton M. Williams P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Elliott Williams P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Witte P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Michael Wohl P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Jack Wool P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Louis J. Woolf P’10 Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Zaborowski P’04 Mr. and Mrs. John D. Zaffiro P’07 Dr. and Mrs. Allen Zagoren P’03 Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Ziedses des Plantes P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Zisa P’11

Gifts in Honor of: Dr. Philip P. Amato ’60 w’61 P’91 P’94  Mr. Brian J. Baldeck ’08 Ms. Jacqueline F. Bryant ’08 Ms. Jordan K. Burnett ’08 Mr. Jonathan W. Colby ’08 Dr. Kenneth C. Crannell Sr. ’55 w’57  Dr. Marsha Della-Giustina 

Mr. Vincent J. Di Bona ’66 H’94 P’94 (Trustee) Ms. Leah Dolan-Kelley ’08 Ms. Sandra L. Goldfarb ’78 Ms. Lauren C. Halperin ’01 Ms. Maree J. Hamilton ’09 Mr. Wade Henry Mendel Mrs. Marcia Jones Feeney ’54 Mr. Tom Kershaw Miss Shana Kiley Talmon Ms. Stephanie D. Lebow ’07 Mr. Walter A. Littlefield  Dr. David Luterman  Mrs. Vivian Marlowe Shoolman ’53 Dr. Linda Moore Mr. Idan Nishlis ’07 The Nunes Campolo Family Mr. Nicholas Nunes Campolo ’07 Mr. David Orgel and Ms. Marilyn Reich ’70 Phi Alpha Tau Mr. George Quenzel  Ms. Barbara Segal Rutberg ’68  Ms. Mary-Alice Williams

Gifts in Memory of: Mr. Eric M. Algren ’96 Ms. Leona Rothstein Beal Ms. Sheryl A. Blair Mr. David Brudnoy H’96 Mr. Jesse Cain H’96 P’79 Mr. Ricardo Camacho ’82 Ms. Claudette Carter Mr. Arthur Chandler Mr. Robert H. Clarke, MBA ’72 Mr. Jess Ilias Clavelli Mr. Norman DeVecht Ms. Nicole M. duFresne ’99 Ms. Elinore A. Greene ’49 Mr. Al Kaplan Mr. H. Roy Kosakow ’52 Dr. Gerald W. Kroeger  w H P  n

graduate degree honorary degree parent faculty or staff deceased

Ms. Kristin Elizabeth Lake ’72 Ms. Shelley A. Martin w’01 Mr. Frank McNair Ms. Jeanne McNulty Cresse Ms. Sylvia Miller Slomoff ’68 Mr. David M. Panzer Ms. Rena V. Shapiro ’81 Ms. Doris Shershow Ms. Lois Jaffe Simmons ’62 Ms. Toni Siskin ’70 Ms. Victoria Evelyn Snelgrove ’06 Mr. William Snyder Mrs. Ruth Pedrick Solenski ’36 Mrs. Roslyn Spielvogel P’82 Mr. Marvin R. Tabolsky ’59 Mrs. Toby Mendelson Vitale ’58 Mr. Jeffrey S. Wise

61 Expression Winter 2009

Report on Giving 2008

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan King P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Richard King P’03 Mr. and Mrs. James Kinkaid P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Shawn Kinnare P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kipfer P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. Daniel Ko P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Kolb P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Justina Krasinski P’11 Mr. and Mrs. William R. La Rosa P’07 Ms. Ann Lahr P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Carson Thomas Lake P’08 Dr. and Mrs. James LaMorgese P’98 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Leathers P’11 Mr. Paul Leavis P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Ernie Lederer P’11 Ms. Vivian and Mr. Berton Lerner P’81 Mr. and Mrs. Mitchel Levy P’06 Mr. and Mrs. Arne Lewis P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Eugene L. Lischynsky P’05 Ms. Kathleen Lockhart and Mr. Jackson King Jr. P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Long P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lord P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Martin Luby P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Dimitrios Lymberis P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Neil Bruce MacArthur P’00 Mr. and Mrs. Timothy MacDonald P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Walter MacFadgen P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth R. Mackin P’09 Mrs. Amy Malin P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Venk Mani P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Richard Maniatis Jr. P’05 Ms. Judith Marlow P’08 Mr. Timothy Martin P’10 Ms. Christine Whelan and Mr. Ron Mastrangelo P’10 Mr. Jack McCoy P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Steve McDonald P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Mark McIsaac P’08 Mr. and Mrs. David McMahon P’02 Ms. Mary Ellen McNulty and Mr. David Kantor P’10 Ms. Mary-Frances Meade P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Melius P’03 Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Menzie P’00 Mrs. Monica Meunier P’97 Ms. Sarah Miller P’07 Mr. and Mrs. Donald Milligan P’04 Mr. and Mrs. Ricky Milnarik P’08 Ms. Valerie Mond and Mr. Edward Nowak P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Sheila Moran P’98 Mr. and Mrs. David Moravick P’06 Mr. and Mrs. Charles Morgan P’09 Mr. and Mrs. William H. Mulligan Jr. P’01 Mr. and Mrs. Arlan Murata P’10 Mr. and Mrs. Terry Murphy P’11 Mr. and Mrs. Nolan Myerson P’09 Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Napoli P’11 Mr. and Mrs. John M. Newman P’08 Ms. Linda Nickerson ’68 w’76 P’00 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Nolan P’11 Mrs. Evelyn O’Brien P’79 Mr. and Mrs. Michael O’Leary P’10

2008 Honor Roll Friends Paramount Society $100,000 to $499,999 Mr. Edmund N. Ansin H’01 and Family Dr. and Mrs. Shoo Iwasaki H’97 Colonial Society $50,000 to $99,999 Mr. Bruce A. Beal Mr. Robert Beal Majestic Society $25,000 to $49,999 Mr. Norman Knight Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Mr. James Aloisi Jr. (Trustee) Ms. Rosanne Bacon Meade Mr. Michael Carson (Trustee) Ms. Nancy Ryan (Trustee) Ms. Lucille S. Salhany H’92 (Trustee) Mr. Steven Samuels (Trustee) Ms. Marillyn Zacharis (Trustee) Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Mr. Leland Ackerley Ms. Janet Langhart Cohen and Mr. William Cohen Dr. William C. Corea Mr. Thomas R. Kautz Dr. and Mrs. Robert A. Silverman Ms. Elinor Epstein Svenson Innovators Society $2,500 to $4,999 Mr. Justin P. Croteau Mr. and Mrs. Edward Fredkin Ms. Constance Gonzy and Dr. Steven Reich Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Ron Ansin Mr. Craig Banaszewski Mrs. Gertrude Carpenter Ms. Wendy Coke Mr. John Charles Ford (Overseer Emeritus) Kai-Ju Han Roger and Randene Hardy Ms. Tracy Keegan Anne S. Kelley and Eileen K. Moriarty Ms. Jane Kitchell Mr. and Mrs. Peter S. Lynch Mr. John A. McCullough Ms. Barbara Nash and Mr. Ted Ansbacher Mr. Gerald D. Rosen Dr. Jerrold Ross H’97 Ms. Robin and Dr. Enrique F. Senior H’94 Ms. Diana Shoolman Ms. Alicin Williamson (Overseer) Mrs. Muriel Kagan Zager (Overseer) Deans Society $500 to $999 Ms. Dorothy and Mr. William Achor Ms. Heather Del Gallo Ms. Mary Dot Klock and Mr. Joe Klock Mr. and Mrs. Steven Grossman Ms. Daren Chentow and Mr. Cleve Killingsworth Ms. Bayu LaPrade Ms. Judith P. Lawrie Dr. Michael Palmer Mr. Albert Skinner Estate of Winifred Sperry Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Anonymous (1) Mr. Jonathan Abbott Ms. Kathleen Achor

62 Expression Winter 2009

Mr. Robert F. Christmas Karen and Mark Cohen Cercone Brown Curtis Mr. and Mrs. John Ford Ms. Patricia Hames Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Kreisel Mr. Chris Rifkin Mr. Gerald Schoenfeld H’02 Mr. Eric Svenson Tim and Mary Witoski Century Society $100 to $249 Anonymous (1) Ms. Daria Axelrod and Mr. Scott Marmer Mr. George Bartley Mr. Thomas Battersby Mr. David Belfort Drs. Georges and Marlene Belfort Ms. Adele Bissonnette Ms. Alison Bornstein Mr. Donald J. Boyko Ms. Mary J. Broussard Mr. and Mrs. Stephen W. Carr Mr. William R. Corrigan Mr. Patrick S. Cheng Ms. Anita Cohen and Mr. Alex Vogel Ms. Julie and Mr. Mike Cupick Ms. Helen Dolan Ms. Eileen P. Duffin Mr. and Mrs. George DuPaul Mr. Brian Eaton Ms. Rosalind and Mr. Mervin Gray Ms. Rachel Florman and Mr. Jonathan Greenberg Mr. Patrick J. Haswell Ms. Hope and Mr. Grant Hilliard Ms. Louise and Mr. Bruce Holland Dr. Conny Huthstein Ms. Gail Kaplan Mr. Lawrence E. Kaplan Ms. Deborah Katz Mr. Matthew Kusminsky Ms. Barbara Lamont Mr. Josh Leichtner Mr. Andrew Levitt Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Luger Mr. Lawrence P. McCarthy Ms. Anita and Mr. Charles Murphy Mr. Robert Muse Mr. Frederic N. Phinney Ms. Esther Prepas Ms. Susan D. Prindle Ms. Angela and Mr. Leon Puppi Mr. Tim Quirk Ms. Susan R. Reich Ms. Barbara J. Roche Mr. William Rouvalis Mr. Benjamin Slomoff Mr. Sheldon Small Mr. Bruce Solenski Ms. Catherine Spahr Ms. Debbie Swerdlow Ms. Roberta Ann Tabolsky The Larner Family Ms. Wanda Ward Mr. and Mrs. Dean Yarbrough Ms. Linda Zilber

Faculty and Staff

Gifts-in-Kind

Griffin Society $10,000 to $24,999 Dr. Jacqueline W. Liebergott (Trustee) Beacon Society $5,000 to $9,999 Ms. Barbara Segal Rutberg ’68 Boylston Society $1,000 to $2,499 Mr. Richard Chapin H’72 P’88 Mr. Neil Davin ’72 w’79 Mr. David A. Ellis P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) Dr. Charlotte H. Lindgren H’67 Mr. Donald Main Dr. Linda Moore Boylston 10 Society $250 to $999 Ms. Carolyn Jasinski w’06 Deans Society $500 to $999 Dr. Thomas W. Cooper Ms. Cheryl W. Crounse Mr. Thomas A. Guganig ’69 w’87 Ms. Pamela Painter Ambassadors Society $250 to $499 Mr. Robert Ashton Mr. Peter J. Chvany P’93 P’95 Mr. Robert J. Fleming Mr. Thomas T. Hanold Mr. J. E. Hollingworth w’68 Dr. Charles J. Klim ’50 w’53 Ms. MJ Knoll-Finn Mr. Harry W. Morgan ’59 w’65 Mr. James C. Peckham Mr. Paul Twist Century Society $100 to $249 Anonymous (1) Ms. Mary Ellen Adams G’72 Dr. Philip P. Amato ’59 w’61 P’91 P’94 Dr. Janis Andersen Mr. Jon Boroshok ’84 Ms. Leona Burgess ’02 Ms. Mary Ann Cicala ’99 Dr. Robert Colby P’06 P’08 Dr. Kenneth C. Crannell Sr. ’55 w’57 Mr. William DeWolf Ms. Anne M. Doyle w’90 Mr. John Donohoe Mr. David A. Griffin ’85 w’93 Mr. Marc Hamilton Ms. Margaret A. Ings ’75 Mr. Neal A. Lespasio Jr. Dr. Ron Ludman Mr. David Mackin Mr. Leslie McAllister ’53 Ms. Geraldine McGowan w’03 Ms. Amy B. Meyers Mr. Lance D. Olson P’12 Ms. Sara Ramirez Mr. David Rosen Mr. James Rowean Jr. Mr. John Skoyles P’08 Mr. Doug Smith Mr. Thomas L. Smith ’66 w’69 Mr. Oliver W. Woodruff H’79 Ms. Marlena Yannetti Mr. Henry W. Zappala ’79 w’80

Mr. and Mrs. Eric Alexander ’78 (Trustee) (Overseer) Aramark Corporation Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Aymong P’11 Mr. Bob Barner Barnes and Noble at Emerson College Mr. Tom Bergeron and Ms. Lois Harmon P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Ms. Kate L. Boutilier ’81 (Overseer) The Brattle Bookshop Mr. David Granville Breen ’78 (Alumni Board) Ms. Claudia Bright and Mr. Kevin Scott Bright ’76 (Trustee) Mr. Eddie R. Brill ’80 Brookline Liquor Mart Ms. Iris and Mr. David Burnett ’68 w’70 P’08 Callanan & Klein Dr. John Michael Casey ’69  Mr. Stewart Lane and Ms. Bonnie Comley w’94 (Overseer) Mr. Art Herman and Ms. Rhoda D. Cutler ’66 Mr. Thomas H. Dahill Jr. H’67  Ms. Maria T. D’Arcangelo-Lapides ’85 (Overseer) and Mr. Howard L. Lapides ’72 (Overseer) Ms. Noreen Farrell-Herzog ’81 and Mr. Doug Herzog ’81 (Trustee) Finer Consigner Mr. and Mrs. Steven Foster The Four Seasons Ms. Patricia Friend P’79 Mr. Joshua Galitsky w’96 Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Gardner P’93 Mr. Paul Bernard Gattuso ’81 Mr. Robert and Ms. Linda Gersh P’10 (Trustee) (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. Anthony Goldman ’65 (Trustee) Mr. Jason S. Gondek ’93 Ms. Jennifer Greer-Morrissey  Ms. Helene Seifer and Mr. Gary H. Grossman ’70 P’09 (Trustee) (Parents Leadership Council) Mr. Alan F. Gwizdowski ’09 Mr. Robert and Ms. Judy S. Huret (Trustee) Hyatt Regency ICA Boston Intercontinental Hotel Ms. Kathleen and Mr. Al Jaffe ’68 P’07 (Trustee) Mr. John and Ms. Margaret Sullivan Kaplan (Alumni Board) Mr. Richard LaGravenese ’80 Lala Rokh Ms. Ann Lembeck Leary ’85 and Mr. Denis Michael Leary ’79 H’05 P’12 Mr. Sid Levin ’78 Ms. Heather A. Levy ’90 Liberty Hotel Dr. Harvey Liebergott and Dr. Jacqueline W. Liebergott (Trustee) Mrs. Colleen Bradley MacArthur ’01 and Timothy S. MacArthur ’00 Ms. Crystal Margolis Mr. Charles Masson P’06 Mr. James Peters and Ms. Terri Del Giorno McGraw (Overseer)

Katherine Burdwood ’09 Parents Leadership Council Scholarship

Ms. Roseanne Bacon Meade and Mr. Peter G. Meade H’05 (Trustee) Ms. Judith E. Mitchell ’85 Museum of Science, Boston OKW Boutique Mr. David Palladino and Ms. Diane Arnold P’08 Mr. and Mrs. Lenny Parrow P’11 Ms. Bobbi Brown Plofker ’79 (Trustee) Prince and the Pauper Restaurant Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Richards P’11 (Parents Leadership Council) Ritz-Carlton Boston Common Ms. Nancy Ryan and Mr. Barry J. O’Brien (Overseer) Ms. Lucille S. Salhany H’92 (Trustee) Mr. Paul Santinelli Jr. ’91 Miss Maxine E. Schreiber ’67 Lieutenant Colonel Cynthia E. Scott-Johnson, USAFR ’78 Ms. Lauren Shaw  Shreve, Crump & Low Mr. Mark A. Spano ’77 Mr. Edward J. Sparks P’97 St. John’s Boston Dr. Norman Stearns and Ms. Irma Fisher Mann Stearns ’67 H’92 (Trustee Emeritus) Mr. Ugur Kaytmaz and Ms. Susan A. Strassberg ’78 P’11 (Alumni Board) Studio Center Total Productions Ms. Shannon C. Sullivan ’76 Ms. Karen A. Switzenbaum ’99 Mr. George Trumbour Mr. G. Craig Vachon ’86 w’87 Ms. Ann Stookey and Mr. Joe Waz P’10 (Parents Leadership Council) WGBH Mr. and Mrs. Henry F. Winkler ’67 H’78 Ms. Nicole Witkov-Rooney ’03 and Mr. Patrick Francis Rooney ’04

Organizations A & E Mechanical, Inc. A. A. Will Corporation Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Aetna Ambac Financial Group, Inc. American Cleaning Co., Inc. American Insurance Association American International Group, Inc. Aqua Laboratories, Inc. Aramark Corporation Axiom Partners, Inc. Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation Bank of America Bank of America Charitable Foundation Barclays Capital Barnes and Noble at Emerson College Blouin & Company, Inc. Bond Brothers Bonsignore & Brewer Bookbuilders of Boston, Inc. Boston Light Supply, Inc. Dr. Cheney Calkins Trust Campbell Soup Foundation CAPCO Steel CDI Commercial Development Chevron Matching Gift Program Chey’s Foundation for Kids in the Arts Citizens Financial Group, Inc. Corp. for Maintaining Editorial Diversity in America Darlow Christ Architects Decibels Foundation Delta Beckwith Electric Co. Delta Dental Delta Elevator Service Corporation The Walt Disney Company Foundation The Domini Foundation Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Drywall Ltd. E. M. Duggan, Inc. Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP Elaine Construction Company, Inc.

Elkus Manfredi Architects Ltd. ExxonMobil Foundation Federated Department Stores, Inc. Fidelity Foundation Matching Gifts to Education The Freddie Mac Foundation The Gap Foundation GE Foundation The George B. Henderson Foundation Ghilani Electric Inc. GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Global Impact Goodwin Procter LLP Gorton’s Seafoods Grosvenor Park Media LP The H & R Block Foundation Haley & Aldrich, Inc. Houghton Mifflin Company HSBC Matching Gift Program Hughes Associates, Inc. Huntington Controls, Inc. IBM Corporation J & M Professional Painting JC Cannistraro, LLC Johnson & Johnson Knapp Schenck & Company Insurance Agency, Inc. The Levy—Sharaf Fund Liberty Mutual Agnes M. Lindsay Trust Lockheed Martin Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc. McDonald’s Corporation Mellon Trust of New England, N.A. The Meredith Corporation Foundation MetroRadio System Microsoft Corporation Mulkern Mechanical, Inc. The Neiman Marcus Group NSTAR Foundation Open Student Television Network, Inc. Pfizer, Inc. Phi Alpha Tau Philips PACE Procter & Gamble The Putnam Investments Foundation Reebok International Ltd. R. G. Vanderweil Engineers LLP Rhode Island School of Design The Rowe Foundation R&R Sales, Inc. The Schibel Group Securitas Security Pearce Henry Shanks Jr. Charitable Trust Simplex Products Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. State Electric Corporation Subaru of New England, Inc. Suffolk Construction Company, Inc. SunTrust Bank The UPS Foundation Tyco Electronics Ultra Services, Inc. Verizon Foundation Viacom, Inc. Village Reflections Wachovia Foundation Matching Gifts Program

Walsh Movers WCVB-TV Boston Channel 5 Wells Fargo Foundation Wyeth

The 1880 Society The following individuals have chosen to support Emerson College by establishing a planned gift or by naming the College in their estate plans.

The 1880 Society was created to honor these thoughtful individuals who champion future generations of Emersonians. We are pleased to recognize them and hope they inspire others to consider planned giving to Emerson College.

Mrs. Mary Geddes Avery ’50 Mr. and Ms. Barney T. Bishop III ’73 Mrs. Eleanor Corkum Boyd w’38 Ms. Martha MacDowell Carpenter ’50 Ms. Joan Kates Cowlan ’65 Ms. Rhoda D. Cutler ’66 Mr. Theodore D. Foster Mr. James Murphy and Ms. Sandra L. Goldfarb ’78 Ira Harvey Goldstone ’71 Ms. Angela T. Lifsey ’79 Dr. Charlotte H. Lindgren H’67  Mr. Michael J. MacWade w’86 (Alumni Board) Mr. and Mrs. Michael Murphy P’10 Mr. James Nussbaum ’84 Ms. Theresa M. Romano ’57 Mr. Charles E. Rosen ’68 Mr. Gary S. Sagendorf ’88 The Honorable Robert Sands, OSMGC ’68 Dr. Carl Schmider ’60 w’63 Ms. Honey Waldman ’46 Ms. Evelyn D. Woolston-May ’47

w H P  n

63 Expression Winter 2009

graduate degree honorary degree parent faculty or staff deceased

Report on Giving 2008

“

From the moment I stepped on campus at the beginning of my freshman year, I knew Emerson was the ideal environment in which I could reach my full creative potential. Through scholarships, grants and loans, I am able to remain at the school I love.”

A

“…and we’d like to

thank the Academy.”

T

scripts—short stories, novels and even wenty years ago, Emerson College cousin who attended Emerson who first let nonfiction, looking for ideas.” demonstrated its pioneering spirit when it Chris in on what the College had to offer.

Jenny worked as a freelance film became the first East Coast school to give “He told me, ‘You have to come to Boston— journalist before coming to Emerson and students the opportunity to study and work there are people here like you, and you get tutored writing and English as a Second as interns in the heart of the film and to learn how to make movies.’”

Language for other students in the College’s entertainment capital—Los Angeles.

Today, Chris interns at After Dark Writing and Academic Resource Center.

This past year, Emerson joined the Films, a niche studio in Los Angeles that “That led to an opportunity to teach in ranks of 23 schools honored by the focuses exclusively on the horror genre.

Emerson’s Young Writers Program in the Academy Foundation, the educational and Chris chose this smaller studio because he summer, which was my first experience to preservation wing of the Academy of is really interested in the genre, but also see things from a teacher’s perspective,” she Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Emerson because he thought he’d have the opporturecalls. “Any money is really helpful right received six grants for students participatnity to wear a lot of different hats and now and I realize the next big challenge is ing in film industry internships in Los perhaps play a more significant role in looking for a paying job.”

Angeles. production than he might have in a larger The grant was a surprise, too, for “The Academy Foundation’s Institucompany. The opportunity to have an Maria Toce ’10. Maria also recognizes the tional Grants Committee recognizes the impact reminds him of his experience added value of the professional perspective importance of encouraging the next being a part of the Emerson television she’s been given by faculty who have been generation of talent in our industry and con- series, Saturdays, working alongside in the film industry and now, working with siders internships to be an invaluable Emerson Artist-in-Residence Kevin Bright. educational experience,” explains Shawn “Unlike a completely student-run production, professionals in Los Angeles has enriched her education even more. Maria chose to Guthrie, grants program coordinator. “In the opportunity to learn from such an work in a larger studio, Village Roadshow awarding Emerson College a grant, the accomplished professional, his sharing his Pictures, and is excited to be reading scripts committee showed its high regard for the expertise gave everyone an incredible and writing the synopses that are used in school’s ability to produce well-qualified hands-on experience. He was a mentor, and discussions among producers. graduates who go on to have a lasting even with his busy schedule, he made time “I’m learning what makes a good script, impact on all areas of the industry.” for us, encouraged us to ask questions and one that has a better chance of being For the Fall 2008 semester, Academy challenge ourselves.” produced, because I’m able to discuss with Internship Grants were given to three For graduate student Jenny Halper professionals what makes a good movie and Emerson students who are each following ’09, who’ll complete her MFA at Emerson, what does not; what they would change their individual interests and honing their receiving the grant was a total surprise. Like about a script to make it better,” says Maria. particular skills in film production.

Chris, Jenny chose a small production “This grant was a total surprise, and I am For Christopher Cularri ’08, the company, Denver and Delilah Productions, really grateful because I rely on financial aid, Academy grant meant some relief from started by Oscar-winning actress Charlize so it’s a great help. And it means a lot more adding to his debt and helped him concenTheron (and named after her pet dogs). because it came from the Academy trate on pursuing a dream that began to What Jenny thought was most important Foundation. So even without earning a take shape when he picked up his first video about her choice was that she would be gold-plated brass statuette, getting dressed camera in Hershey, Pennsylvania, at the given the opportunity to do research and up and standing in front of millions of tender age of seven. potentially uncover material that could be people, I get to say ‘I’d like to thank the “I thought you needed to be born into adapted for the screen and might expand Academy!’’’ the film industry, to grow up in it. It wasn’t film roles for women. until I was in high school that I found out “My undergraduate degree was in that there were schools where you could theater and fiction writing,” she tells us. learn filmmaking,” Chris says. It was a “Although I am given the opportunity to read scripts in this internship, I am also researching a lot of material beyond

64 Expression Winter 2009

Gifts that Matter

Deven Blethen ’09 Deven Blethen, a native of Falmouth, Maine, is a Viacom Diversity Scholar studying film at Emerson. Thus far in his college career, he has joined the student film organization Frames Per Second, taken a semester abroad at the College’s Kasteel Well in the Netherlands and mentored Boston teens through the College’s Center for Diversity in the Communication Industries.

What are the special moments you’ve enjoyed at Emerson?

During the 2007-08 year I did more work than I have ever done in my life. In the fall I participated in the program run by the College’s Center for Diversity designed to encourage students from Boston high schools to pursue their interests in the arts. As an associate, I was paired with sophomores and juniors from TechBoston Academy. I chaperoned them to events held at Emerson, including a riveting lecture on diversity delivered by actor and social activist Edward James Olmos. The experience of mentoring these students was the first of its kind for me, and I have never been put in a position of leadership quite like it. I also went abroad to Kasteel Well in the Netherlands last spring. For one full semester, 80 students and I lived on the grounds of a castle in a small Dutch village.

Having never traveled to Europe before, I was surprised at how incorrect my preconceived notions about the continent proved to be. To be honest, I had somewhat ignorantly decided that since many nations of Europe are wealthy, the characteristics of their industrial, Caucasian-majority societies must mirror those of ours. My travels proved otherwise, and I was shocked to learn how unique each society was.

What are your career goals?

Of all the processes of filmmaking I’ve participated in, I am most passionate about the writing aspect. My time spent working with other student writers and editing their work has definitely enhanced my own writing abilities. I love all film genres, but if I had to choose, it would be comedy. I think when comedy really works, it works better than any other genre.

What has surprised you most about Emerson?

I think the thing that surprised me most is how different Emerson is from other schools. I feel that Emerson is much more reflective of the demands of the real world once you get out of college. Emerson students take their different areas very seriously, despite all the playfulness.

And that’s good.

Photo by David Leifer

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