Manhattan Magazine | The 2020 Issue

M A N H AT TA N CO L L EG E 2020

THE COLLEGE IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

M A N H AT TA N CO L L EG E 2020 VO LUM E 47 • N UM B E R 1

EDITOR Kristen Cuppek DESIGNER Kat Lepak

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Several professors earn grants, new trustees join the board, Manhattan goes test-optional, the College is a top

ASSISTANT EDITOR Cecilia Donohoe CONTRIBUTORS Patrice Athanasidy John Dove Christine Loughran Barry Moskowitz Tom Pedulla Kevin Ross Amy Surak INTERNS Nora Nugent Madison Smith

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producer of Fulbright students, cosmetic engineers get an industrylevel lab, and so much more.

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SPORTS Manhattan looks back at its 40-year partnership with the MAAC, plus news and fun facts from the previous year.

32 IN THE TIME OF COVID-19 Faced with unprecedented challenges, Manhattan College responds to the COVID-19 pandemic with proficiency,

PHOTOGRAPHERS Brian Asare Josh Cuppek (cover) Deirdre Heavey Camryn Holly Emma McDonald Kania Pollock Joe Vericker Published by the office of Marketing and Communication Manhattan College Riverdale, NY 10471 magazine@manhattan.edu Lydia Gray Assistant Vice President, College Advancement and Executive Director, Marketing and Communication

innovation and Lasallian values.

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DEVELOPMENT Last year's De La Salle Dinner raises record-breaking funds, and meet a student scholarship recipient.

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ALUMNI Hall of Fame, alumnotes, Jasper profiles, and reminiscences about a long-lost tradition.

56 OBITUARIES In memoriam, Kenneth Kelly, James Morgan, John Tomer, William Czander, Sister Patricia McGowan, SC, Nicholas DeLillo, Brother Timothy Murphy, FSC,

ON THE COVER The campus looks a bit different in the COVID-19 pandemic. Students, wearing masks, sit in socially distant rows, in classrooms with strict capacity limits. Signage serves as a reminder to maintain safe spacing.

Kevin Brooks and John McCabe

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NIH Award Funds Faculty Member’s Pioneering MRI Research

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NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH) AWARDED ANGEL PINEDA, associate professor of mathematics, a three-year $395,000 grant last spring, in support of his project, “Optimizing Acquisition and Reconstruction of Under-sampled MRI for Signal Detection.” Fast forward a semester, and his team is preparing to present its first series of findings in February as research continues in more depth.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is known as a versatile imaging modality, but it suffers from slow acquisition times. By reducing the time patients need to be in the scanner, accelerating MRI would benefit patients and improve public health by reducing time and cost. This research project advances a larger scientific effort to accelerate MRI while maintaining the diagnostic quality by optimizing the performance of constrained reconstruction and deep learning on detecting subtle signals in accelerated MRI. “The grant provides research funding, scope and collaborations for our undergraduate and graduate students, which are typically only accessible at major research universities,” Pineda says. “The students are working on research that is at the forefront of understanding the applications of constrained reconstruction and deep learning to medical imaging. The grant combines mathematics, statistics, MRI and vision research to optimize MRI using signal detection by human observers.”

Pineda, the project’s principal investigator, earned his doctorate in applied mathematics from the University of Arizona. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in radiology at Stanford University. He has been awarded a number of grants since 2008, including those from the NIH and the National Science Foundation. For this grant, he is collaborating with researchers from the University of Iowa, which is participating as a sub-grantee, as well as undergraduates at Manhattan College.

As part of the partnership, Iowa researchers provide support with MRI reconstruction.

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Mathematics professor Angel Pineda is aiming to innovate the MRI process with the help of a few students that value the interdisciplinary approach of the project. The team is preparing to share their findings thus far at a conference in February.

Consultants at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Santa Barbara provide advice on MRI and vision research, respectively.

“Being part of such a collaboration creates a rare interdisciplinary experience for our students while maintaining the personal attention that characterizes Manhattan College,” Pineda explains.

Alexandra O’Neill ’22, who is double-majoring in mathematics and psychology, has been conducting MRI research remotely since the summer along with Pineda and mathematics major Emely Valdez ’21.

O’Neill will virtually present the team’s research thus far at the SPIE (International Society for Optics and Photonics) Medical Imaging Conference in February 2021. The research focuses on image quality assessment of undersampled MRI using mathematical model observers. The team created the mathematical models based on how a human would detect a tumor in an image and validated these models with experimental human data. To their knowledge, this is the first

time that model observers have been applied to tracking human performance in undersampled MRI. “I am grateful that I got the opportunity to work with Dr. Pineda for this grant,” O’Neill says. “I really value the experience that I have had with him. He is a wonderful research adviser … You can tell he really enjoys working with students. This project is really interesting to me because it combines math with human perception and some psychology, all of which I love studying.”

And, in return, Pineda is grateful for the opportunities the College has provided for him and his students.

“For years, the College has been supporting my scholarly activity with a faculty development plan, summer grants, and School of Science Scholar research funding for my students,” Pineda says. “The research that led to this grant being funded is a result of the investment by the College, and I am glad that it has resulted in resources coming back.”

Grant Helps Professor Teach Mathematics Through Modeling of Real-Life Scenarios

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ATRICE TIFFANY, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS, is working on an initiative to use a modeling-first approach to support students and faculty in the learning and teaching of differential equations. And the National Science Foundation (NSF) is helping her to achieve that initiative with a $450,000, threeyear grant to promote the use of modeling in motivating and teaching differential equations.

The grant originally was awarded to SIMIODE (Systemic Initiative for Modeling Investigations and Opportunities with Differential Equations), a nonprofit organization committed to forming a community of support for a modeling-first approach in the teaching of differential equations. The idea is to teach the subject by modeling a real-life problem, then discovering how to use differential equations and technology to solve that problem. In its second year, the grant was

transferred to Manhattan College, with Tiffany as a co-principal investigator.

The NSF grant supports intensive weeklong faculty developer workshops and practitioner workshops for three summers. The practitioner workshops are designed for those who are teaching and want to use modeling in their differential equations courses, while the developer workshops are for faculty who want to develop modeling material for peer-reviewed, online publication at SIMIODE. SIMIODE has hundreds of scenarios that teachers can use in the classroom, all using open source data.

An offshoot of the grant is the international student competition SCUDEM (SIMIODE Challenge Using Differential Equation Modeling). A team of students from Manhattan College have participated in this competition now for three years: at Columbia University, at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York, and at Manhattan College. The team chooses

one of three modeling problems, works on it for a week, and then presents their solutions in person at the competition with other area schools. This year’s competition will be virtual, with the hope to expand geographically next year.

New York 811 Provides Jaspers with Scholarships NEW YORK 811 HAS AWARDED TEN $1,008.11 SCHOLARSHIPS to 10 Manhattan College students in the School of Engineering. New York 811 announced the scholarships on Tuesday, August 11 as part of its 811 Day campaign, which seeks to raise awareness about safe digging in New York City and Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

This is the third year that the organization has given scholarships to college students who live in New York City and Long Island. But for the first time this year, New York 811 exclusively partnered with Manhattan College on the scholarship program.

The students, who are all civil engineering majors, are: Brandon Alvarez ’21; Jeremy Capuder ’21; Robert Del Prete ’21; David Levi ’21; Emil Mamedov ’21; Quinten Murphy ’23; Kaltrina Novaj ’22; Matthew Sweeney ’21; Leonardo Vega ’21; and Dashna Zephirin ’21.

New York 811 is a nonprofit organization that acts as a communications link between utility companies and individuals planning any digging activity in the five boroughs of New York City and Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island.

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Manhattan College is Test-Optional for Fall 2021 Incoming Class

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N AN EFFORT TO EASE THE APPLICATION process for prospective students, those applying to Manhattan College for admission in the fall of 2021 are not required to submit SAT or ACT scores with their application materials. The test-optional policy will be in place for one year, after which it will be reviewed.

“In light of the test cancellations during the pandemic, we want to ensure that we reduce any potential barriers and provide flexibility for all students who wish to be considered for admission to Manhattan College,” says Colette Geary, vice president of enrollment management.

Manhattan College is not alone in this decision. Hundreds of colleges across the country — from big to small and all selectivity levels — have decided to become test-optional in the past year.

The College is providing students the opportunity to demonstrate their potential in a holistic application review that weighs various factors in the admissions decision, with or without the inclusion of ACT or SAT scores. Students may submit standardized test scores if they wish to have them considered in the application review process.

In addition to the high school transcript, the personal essay and record of extracurricular activities, including leadership experiences, are important factors. Letters of recommendation are also valuable, as they provide a fuller picture of each student.

Applicants to the School of Engineering are encouraged to submit test scores to guide appropriate placement into first-year courses, such as physics, chemistry and calculus, even when they choose not to have the test scores be considered in their application for admission.

Also, international students whose native language is not English still must demonstrate proficiency by taking the TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English tests.

“We are seeking qualified and motivated students who will contribute to the richness of our academic community,” Geary says. “Getting to know each student, and his or her unique potential to be successful, has always been the ultimate goal of our admissions process.”

Micro-Internships Help Students Gain Career Experience Remotely A TURBULENT ECONOMY AND STAY-AT-HOME ORDERS have caused many U.S. companies to cut back on staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. For a number of Manhattan College students, this translated to canceled summer internships. To mitigate the loss, the Center for Career Development launched a micro-internship program to connect students with shorter term experiences relevant to their intended fields.

“Though many students lost their summer internships, we knew that many companies still needed their skills and expertise,” says Rachel Cirelli, director of career development. “Through the Manhattan College micro-internship program, we gave employers the option to create smaller, project-based opportunities for our students, which for many, was easier to accommodate. Best yet, our students were still able to have a summer experience and learning opportunity.”

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Nine students were placed with micro-internships. Depending on their major, assignments included website design, social media content creation, Excel, accounting, finance and Computer Aided Design (CAD) software and Revit drawings for engineers.

All micro-internships were fewer than 120 hours, which were determined by the time necessary to complete a specific project.

For example, posting to social media or writing a newsletter might have a student logging seven to eight hours per week through the summer, whereas a lengthy data report might require 30-40 hours during a two-week period.

To supplement the full internship experience that students would have normally received in an office, the Center for Career Development offered weekly virtual professional development seminars.

New Trustees Join Manhattan’s Board

MANHATTAN COLLEGE WELCOMED NEW MEMBERS TO ITS BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Mary Ann Avella, Patrick Boyle ’75, ’82 (MBA), Terence Gaffney ’74, who joins as president of the Alumni Society, and General Maryanne Miller. John Banks ’85 has been appointed vice chair of the board.

MARY ANN AVELLA is president of Doyle & Roth Manufacturing Co., a company that manufactures and installs shell and tube heat exchangers and pressure vessels.

Doyle & Roth Manufacturing has served the chemical and process industries since 1932.

The company has offices in New York and manufacturing facilities in Pennsylvania.

In 1996, she established the John V. Avella ’64 Memorial Scholarship in memory of her brother, John V. Avella ’64 (1942-1995), a chemical engineering graduate from the College, who was then president of Doyle & Roth. The scholarship provides tuition assistance to deserving students enrolled in the chemical engineering program.

PATRICK BOYLE ’75, ’82 (MBA) served as a trustee from October 2004 until June 2019 and is the retired executive vice president of New York Life Investment Management LLC (NYLIM). Under his direction, NYLIM Guaranteed Products emerged as a market leader in providing fixed-income investment solutions to domestic and international institutional investors.

Joining New York Life in 1976, Boyle served on the executive committee of New York Life Investment Management LLC, the NYLIM Investment Committee, and on the board of directors of New York Life Trust Company and Madison Capital Funding LLC. During his

tenure at NYLIM, he also was a director of the MBL Life Assurance Corporation, Quorum Capital Management in London, England, and the Mainstay Mutual Funds.

Boyle holds a Bachelor of Science in marketing and an MBA from Manhattan. He presently serves as an independent director of Jackson National Life Insurance Company of New York and on its Audit, Compensation and Risk Management Committee.

TERENCE GAFFNEY ’74 began his career in home textiles at F. Schumacher & Co. under the tutelage of Lou Fleming ’38. Five years later, he became an independent sales agent before going on to form the aptly named Integrated Textile Resources Inc., along with his partners. Gaffney retired from the home furnishings industry in 2008 and subsequently joined New York Life Insurance Company, where he worked until retiring in 2016.

He is chairman of the Darien Monuments and Ceremonies Commission, and chairman of the Memorial Day Parade Committee.

He is an active volunteer with Wreaths Across America, and has worked as an adult volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America since 1996.

Gaffney is one of eight members of his family to receive a degree from Manhattan College. He graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts in urban studies.

GENERAL MARYANNE MILLER recently retired as the Commander, Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

As the air component commander for U.S. Transportation Command, General Miller was responsible for directing global air mobility operations in support of national objectives.

She was the highest ranking woman in the Defense Department until her retirement.

General Miller was commissioned in 1981 as a distinguished graduate of the ROTC program at Ohio State University. She is a command pilot with more than 4,800 flying hours in numerous aircrafts.

The general has commanded two wings and held numerous staff leadership positions on the Air Staff and the Joint Staff. Prior to her current assignment, she was the chief of Air Force Reserve, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Arlington, Virginia, and commander, Air Force Reserve Command, Robins AFB, Georgia.

She received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Manhattan College at its 2018 Undergraduate Commencement.

JOHN BANKS III ’85 has served on the Manhattan board since 2008. He recently retired as president of the Real Estate Board of New York, the city’s leading trade association. During his tenure, Banks advocated for the enactment of the Affordable New York Housing Program, the approval of the Greater East Midtown Rezoning, and legislation to address critical issues ranging from sustainability and illegal short-term rentals. He established the Residential Listing Service Syndication, which provides up-to-date information for consumers and the real estate industry.

Previously, Banks was vice president of government relations at Consolidated Edison Inc. for 13 years. He also was vice chairman of the New York City Charter Revision Commission in 2010 and worked on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s transition in 2013.

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Rankings and Awards U.S. News & World Report In its annual roundup of best colleges and universities across the country, U.S. News & World Report has placed Manhattan College as the 13th ranked institution among regional universities in the North. It is the fifth consecutive year that Manhattan College has been ranked in the top 15 of that category, and the 14th consecutive year that it has placed in the top 20.

The College’s faculty and its veterans programs were also recognized by U.S. News. Manhattan was ranked sixth among the best colleges for veterans in the region, and placed seventh in the undergraduate teaching category.

The School of Engineering was ranked among the top 50 undergraduate engineering programs in the nation that do not offer a doctorate, coming in at No. 46. Manhattan College also was included among the top 100 colleges in social mobility.

The 2021 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges provides data on more than 1,800 colleges and universities, with rankings for more than 1,400 institutions.

Money In Money’s annual Best Colleges report, Manhattan College was listed among the top 10 most transformative colleges for the second consecutive year.

Checking in at No. 8, Manhattan College students have a $16,200 earnings premium over their peers after graduating. Money says that the College’s “Bronx location helps students snag internships and jobs in New York City, which likely helps explain that its average alumni salaries are also above average.”

Money’s most transformative colleges list highlights those schools that do the best at getting comparable student populations to graduation and into decent-paying jobs.

The Princeton Review Manhattan is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduates to earn their college degree, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company profiles and recommends Manhattan College in the 2021 edition of its annual college guide, The Best 386 Colleges.

Only about 14% of America’s 2,800 four-year colleges are profiled in the book, which is one of The Princeton Review’s most popular publications. The company chooses the colleges based on data it annually collects from administrators at hundreds of colleges about their institutions’ academic offerings. The Princeton Review also considers data it gathers from its surveys of college students who rate and report on various aspects of their campus and community experiences for this project.

In the profile, The Princeton Review praises the College for “its location — the last stop on the 1 train — which can’t be beat for ease into the more bustling parts of the city” and features quotes from Manhattan students the company surveyed for the book.

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Catholic Volunteer Network Manhattan College has been named a top school for service by the Catholic Volunteer Network. The distinction highlights the work of Campus Ministry and Social Action, specifically in connecting college students with post-grad service opportunities nationally. It factored in placements for post-grad service opportunities, as well as results from a Catholic Volunteer Network survey that asks volunteers which college or university they attended.

The Catholic Volunteer Network fosters and promotes fulltime domestic and international faith-based volunteer service opportunities for people of all ages, backgrounds and skills. In the past, Manhattan graduates have served with the Lasallian Volunteers and Jesuit Volunteer Corps, among many other service-based organizations.

ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge Voter turnout from Manhattan College students increased 14 percentage points in the 2018 federal midterm elections, compared to 2014, earning Jaspers a Bronze Award from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge last year.

Campuses with 20-29% voter participation in the 2018 midterm elections, when voter turnout is historically lower than presidential elections, received a Bronze Award from the ALL IN Challenge. Twentytwo percent of Manhattan College students voted in the 2018 elections, compared to 8% who voted in 2014.

Manhattan College’s voter turnout in the 2016 presidential election was 44.9%, and the College has set a goal of 55% turnout in this past year’s presidential election.

Sponsored by the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, an initiative of Tufts University’s Institute for Democracy & Higher Education, the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge is a nonpartisan, national initiative recognizing and supporting campuses as they work to increase engagement and full student voter participation. The Challenge encourages higher education institutions to help students form the habits of active and informed citizens and make democratic participation a core value on their campuses.

Military Friendly Schools For the sixth consecutive year, the College is on the Military Friendly Schools list, and has received a silver designation.

Now in its 10th year, the Military Friendly Schools list has come to set the standard for higher education institutions to provide the best opportunities for veterans and their spouses. This prestigious list provides a comprehensive guide for veterans and their families using data sources from federal agencies and proprietary survey information from participating organizations.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation are evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey completed by the school. More than 1,000 schools participated in the 2020-2021 survey, with 625 schools earning the designation from every state in the country.

Eight Engineers Receive ACEC New York Scholarships

Military Times For the second consecutive year, Manhattan College is included in the Military Times’ Best for Vets: Colleges 2020 list.

The rankings are based on the results of Military Times’ annual survey to higher education institutions about their operations involving current and former service members and their families.

Manhattan College has a number of programs designed for student veterans’ success and to ease the transition into civilian life. The College’s Veterans Success Center opened on campus in the fall of 2017 and has developed into a hub of activity for student veterans to bond socially and academically.

The Veterans at Ease program has been adapted as part of the Nature and Experience of Religion course required of all incoming students. Its goal is to introduce mindfulness activities that help new student veterans successfully move from the military to civilian/academic life.

To create the rankings, Military Times evaluated colleges’ survey responses based on what veterans have said is important to them, as well as on their own editorial judgment. Institutions were evaluated in five categories: university culture, student support, academic policies, academic outcomes/quality and cost and financial aid.

JustPeace JustPeace, a Manhattan College student group, has received the Don Shaffer Student Peacemaker Award from Peace Action New York State (PANYS). The award recognizes an outstanding student chapter on its work and leadership in peace education and activism within its community and among its peers.

JustPeace is a student chapter of Peace Action New York State.

The co-presidents of the club are student organizers for PANYS and participate in regular meetings and an annual conference.

Students in JustPeace organize the annual Period Project, where they collect free menstrual products to donate to local shelters. They also host events on different topics depending on current events and membership interest, as well as collaborate with other organizations on and off campus. Event topics range from mental health to modern-day slavery and climate justice.

CONSISTENTLY RECOGNIZED for their academic accomplishments, a group of budding civil engineers have collected a few more accolades this past year.

Eight civil engineering students have been awarded scholarships from member firms and regions of the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC New York).

The scholarship amounts range from $2,500 to $10,000 Nadia Itani ’21 and are awarded based on the students’ cumulative GPA, college activities, work experience and essays.

Nadia Itani ’21, a native of Emerson, New Jersey, received a $10,000 ACEC New York Award of Merit Scholarship. A resident assistant and vice president for academic affairs for the Student Government Association, Itani is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Muslim Student Association, and the Society of Women Engineers. In the fall of 2018, she worked on a research project in which she collected data from tsunami strikes that could be used to update building codes in affected areas. Itani plans to pursue a master’s degree and a career in structural design and development.

“Receiving the ACEC New York Merit Scholarship in recognition of the Engineering News-Record has opened my eyes to the wide variety of careers that I may not have previously considered,” she says. “ACEC has made a world of a difference for me and my career, and I am honored to have been recognized by such a respected group.”

Jeremy Capuder ’21 was named the recipient of a $5,000 STV Group Scholarship. In addition, the following six students received $2,500 scholarships: Grace Stackowitz ’21 (ACEC Long Island Region Scholarship); Rachel Foertch ’21 (ACEC New York Western Region Scholarship); Alyssa Hirani ’21 (Hazen and Sawyer Scholarship); Kerry Brosnan ’21 (HDR Scholarship); Robert Del Prete ’21 (Sam Schwartz Engineering Scholarship); and Danielle DeSimone ’21 (Stantec Scholarship).

The ACEC scholarship program was launched in 2002 to support up-and-coming engineers and ensure a strong future for the profession in New York State.

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LASALLIANLOOK

Through Peer Ministry, Students Explore Faith and “Big Questions” MEGGIE OSORIO ’21 has been involved with Campus Ministry and Social Action’s LIFT (Lasallians in Faith Together) retreat program since her freshman year at Manhattan. The art history and English major has participated in the Kairos, Social Justice Leadership and Spring Hiking retreats, and has served as a leader for the New Student Retreat. However, she realized that she missed the communal, reflective aspects of her retreat experiences when she returned to her ordinary academic routines.

A peer ministry group struck her as a way to capture and continue the essence of a retreat on campus.

During the past year, Osorio and a likeminded classmate, Jeremy Capuder ’21, have worked with the Rev. Thomas Franks, OFM, Cap., chaplain, and Conor Reidy, campus minister, to design and launch a peer ministry group at Manhattan. They’ve modeled it on successful programs that exist at other colleges.

“Many studies show that between the ages of 18 and 22, your understanding of self becomes solidified,” Reidy says. “It’s really important on a college campus to provide those spaces for students to explore the big questions like: ‘Who do I want to be?’ ‘How do I take what’s happened to me and interpret it in a larger scope?’ ‘How do I use these lessons to direct me forward?’”

Starting in fall 2019, the group has met biweekly in the homelike setting of Cornerstone in Miguel Hall. With Osorio and Capuder as leaders, 10 students gather to pray, share successes and struggles, and reflect on faith and spirituality in their lives.

Open to students of all faiths and belief systems, the group’s early meetings focused on the theme of personal identity, which helped to foster connections between members. Successive topics covered relationships with others, relationships with God, spirituality and vulnerability.

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“There are people who maybe don’t have a religion but are spiritual,” Osorio explains.

“We’re all interested in delving into those deeper meanings in life. It enriches the conversation when people don’t agree on certain aspects … It’s interesting to hear what other people believe.”

Each meeting lasts 90 minutes and opens with a prayer. Members then take turns sharing the “roses and thorns” of the past week — the highlights and challenges that they experienced.

“That’s a really helpful thing for you to reflect to yourself, and you end up learning a lot about other people,” Osorio observes.

The group will then do a reading or watch a video that explores the week’s theme. A few quiet minutes are spent on journaling or reflection, followed by a discussion centered on questions that Capuder and Osorio have prepared. Not every question is necessarily addressed; the conversation develops in organic and unexpected ways. The meeting closes with a prayer, poem or quote that any member may choose to share.

In off weeks, when the group doesn’t gather, members are paired up as coffee companions. They will take an hour to meet for coffee, take a walk or grab dinner. It

provides an opportunity to get to know one another better and offers continuity for the group between meetings.

Mechanical engineering major Peter Anthony Raftopoulos ’22 says participating in the peer ministry group has helped him to go beyond “surface-level interactions” with his classmates. “It’s enjoyable to listen to everyone’s experiences and have that sense of community,” he notes.

A commuter student, Raftopoulos says that since joining the group, he’s gained a greater sense of connection to the College.

He appreciates the fact that each member’s contributions are valued.

“Peer ministry is about what everyone brings to the table,” he says.

As interest in peer ministry spreads, more groups will be established.

“I hope it’s something that will continue,” Osorio says. “I know it’s something that I wish was here when I started at Manhattan. I think it would be really amazing.”

Even when the pandemic closed campus in the spring and students returned to their homes, the group continued to meet virtually, providing spiritual support to one another through a uniquely trying time.

Fr. Tom notes that in addition to being an inclusive community, peer ministry exemplifies the Lasallian core principle of faith in the presence of God. “It’s the idea of finding a way to be aware of how faith plays out in daily life beyond formal celebration of Mass or sacraments,” he says. “Finding that there’s something they can build for themselves in a regular and enduring way in their daily life by making connections with each other and by being afforded a chance to be a bit more conscious of what’s happening day to day.”

COURSE SPOTLIGHT

Principles of Epidemiology (PHP 410) Course Description: IN OUR MODERN AGE OF COVID-19, quarantines and social distancing, it seems as if information on infectious diseases is everywhere we turn. Many of us have learned new details about viruses that we’ve never known before, and this fall, Principles of Epidemiology (PHP 410) students had a front-row seat to expand this knowledge even further. This course addresses how diseases and injuries are distributed throughout particular populations, the risk factors for certain groups, and how to apply current events and case studies to the discipline of epidemiology.

As part of the new public health major being offered at Manhattan College, students take an in-depth look into different epidemiological designs in order to determine health issues in certain populations. Through case study analysis of these designs, students learn and gain insight into factors that may make certain individuals more susceptible to disease. Due to the hybrid nature of this past and current semester, Principles of Epidemiology is conducted through both in-person and online class sessions, quizzes, exams, and a small project.

Upon completion of this course, students will have a firm understanding of epidemiology, its various study designs, and how they can utilize their knowledge of epidemiology to connect current events with the transmission of diseases such as COVID-19.

Text: Aschengrau, A., & Seage, G. R., Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health, 4th Edition (2017) Lectures: Mondays and Thursdays, 4:40–6:35 p.m.

Professor: Rani Roy About the Professor: Rani Roy is an assistant professor of public health and the associate provost at Manhattan College.

She has been at the College for eight years and obtained both a B.S. and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Columbia University and Cornell University, respectively. Roy also participated in a postdoctoral fellowship, in which she conducted mineralized tissue research, at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Prior to teaching Principles of Epidemiology, she co-taught the pre-health seminar.

Principles in Epidemiology is a new course offering.

Manhattan College is a Top Producer of Fulbright Students EACH YEAR, THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE’S BUREAU of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces the topproducing institutions for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. This past year, the College was proud to learn that it had been included on the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most Fulbright U.S. students.

Natalia Alvarez ’19, Alia Flanigan ’19 and Emily Hay ’19 earned Fulbright English Teaching Assistant awards during the 2019-20 academic year. Alvarez is currently teaching English in Brazil, and both Flanigan and Hay are teaching English in Malaysia. It was the first time that more than one Manhattan College student has received a Fulbright award during an academic year.

“We are delighted to see that the colleges and universities we are honoring as 2019-2020 Fulbright top producing institutions reflect the geographic and institutional diversity of higher education in the United States,” says Marie Royce, assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs. “We are committed to the Fulbright Program’s goals of creating lasting professional and personal connections by sending passionate and accomplished U.S. students of all backgrounds to study, research or teach English in communities throughout the world.”

The Fulbright competition is administered at Manhattan College through the Center for Graduate and Fellowship Advisement. The Center helps to provide preparation and support to graduating students and alumni who are interested in applying to graduate schools, professional schools or external fellowships.

“The students at Manhattan College show excellent drive and the potential for competitive fellowships like the U.S. Fulbright Student Program,” says Brother Daniel Gardner, FSC, assistant director of graduate and fellowship advisement. “Through a rigorous committee process, our students are poised for Fulbright success and to bring the values of a Manhattan College education around the world.”

More than 2,200 U.S. students and 900 U.S. college and university faculty and administrators are annually awarded Fulbright grants. In addition, some 4,000 Fulbright foreign students and visiting scholars come to the United States to study, lecture, conduct research or teach their native language.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has given more than 390,000 passionate and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to important international problems. The global network of Fulbrighters fosters a mutual understanding between the United States and partner nations, advances knowledge across communities, and improves lives around the globe.

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Civil Engineers Use Predictive Models to Help Solve Subway Delays people would hold the doors of the train,” Cao explains. “To further investigate the problem, I spoke to subway conductors to understand the train cars better.”

Their data was then analyzed using predictive models in collaboration with Matthew Volovski, assistant professor of civil engineering, and John-Paul O’Loughlin ’18, ’20 (M.S.). Their results naturally confirmed that holding the subway door for other passengers has a compounding effect on the overall delay of the subway. What they may not have been able to predict was how much of a delay that holding doors caused.

The data showed that An engineering professor and student duo use predictive models to take on an issue to which most New Yorkers can relate: dreadthere was a 1.3% delay in the ed subway delays. Focusing on the No. 1 train, the College’s lifeline to Manhattan, they investigated commuter and train activity. projected timing of the train from individuals holding the subway SUBWAY DELAYS IN NEW YORK CITY have been frustrating doors. If the train was delayed by more than two seconds, the overall passengers on their morning commutes for decades. delay was increased by an additional three seconds on average. If the Evangelia Ieronymaki, assistant professor of civil and subway doors were held for less than two seconds, this would make environmental engineering, and Cara Cao ’20, a civil engineering the train leave 1.8 seconds faster than it normally does. major, used predictive models to establish how human behavior When looking at these findings, Ieronymaki thinks that their causes subway delays. Their data focused on tracking how often research can change the way the MTA operates. individuals hold the subway doors and those effects on arrival times.

“With this data on how human behavior affects delays, the The project idea came to Ieronymaki when she was waiting for the MTA could schedule train rides more effectively,” Ieronymaki says. subway, watching passengers delay the train by blocking the doors.

“They could also potentially increase the frequency of trains or fix “I saw a problem, and I wanted to investigate it,” Ieronymaki says technical issues that occur when someone holds the door.” of her days on the No. 1 train. “Everyone in New York City can relate Ieronymaki and Cao then presented their research at the annual to this. I wanted to see if the data was quantifiable.”

Transportation Research Board in Washington, D.C., last January.

Three days a week in the spring and summer of 2019, Cao The meeting, known as the world’s largest transportation research monitored commuter and train activity, spending two to three hours conference, covers all transportation issues, with 5,000 presentations each day at different stops along the 1 train route that runs from in more than 800 sessions.

Manhattan College to South Ferry at the southern end of Manhattan.

For Ieronymaki, there is still more work to do for this research to In order to produce sufficient data, Cao would travel to the 191st, develop.

116th, 50th and 42nd Street subway stops on the 1 train. The 116th “We can investigate different trains at different times of the year and 42nd Street stations served as high-traffic areas, while the 191st and track more subway stops,” she says. That additional data will and 50th Street stops provided lower-volume samples. give the researchers a clearer picture of train speeds and potentially “I sat and watched how people interacted with the train. I watched assist NYC Transit decision-makers and commuters alike. how the train would react to human behavior and how often

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In Wartime and in Peace, the Brothers Serve Those in Need

Burying the dead after the battle at Buzenval.

Drawn by Paul D. Philippoteaux and engraved

by Charles La Plante, 1872.

TODAY, MORE THAN EVER, do we recognize the risk some take to keep others safe.

One hundred and fifty years ago, amid the bloody conflict of the Franco-Prussian War, the Christian Brothers showed compassion, caring and sacrifice.

The Franco-Prussian War, also called the French-German War or the War of 1870, was a hard-fought struggle between the French and Prussians that took place in France during several months, from 1870-71. According to accounts, the Christian Brothers served as negotiators, medics and advocates for the people of France. They collected money and food for the soldiers and often forfeited their own supplies to help those in need.

But one of their primary activities was tending to the wounded — both the French and the Prussians. The Brothers transformed their houses and schools into hospitals to receive the wounded and served as medics on the battlefield, as well. They buried the bodies of dead villagers and soldiers and carried away the wounded. Unfortunately, some Brothers also became victims of the war themselves.

CVS Health Foundation Grant Gives Students Tools to Prevent E-Cigarette Usage ADDING TO ITS BREADTH OF WELLNESSRELATED COURSES and initiatives, the Kinesiology department has been awarded a grant from the CVS Health Foundation to implement its recently launched e-cigarette prevention program, CATCH My Breath.

CATCH My Breath, an acronym for Coordinated Approach to Child Health, is an e-cigarette and JUUL prevention program that aims to provide middle and high school students with the skills to resist peer pressure and media influences to try e-cigarettes.

“Vaping has become a public health problem that has impacted communities all over the country,” says Tekeyah Sears, assistant professor of kinesiology and public health program director. “Through the resources of the CVS grant, we are afforded to educate and address this issue within a classroom setting.”

Faculty in the Kinesiology department will facilitate training sessions for physical education student teachers, and health and physical education teachers.

“By having our student-teachers involved in the grant, it gives them an opportunity to become more knowledgeable about e-cigarettes and practice teaching younger students,” says Shawn Ladda, professor of kinesiology.

Throughout the 2019-20 academic year, students who prepared to complete student teaching or health field experiences received CATCH My Breath training.

“Teaching high school students about e-cigarettes allowed me to inform students about the consequences of their decisions, and the unpredictable side effects of their use in the future,” says Caitlin DeMuro ’20, a physical education major.

According to NYC Health, more than one in six high school students reported using e-cigarettes, and adolescent use of e-cigarettes is more than double the current smoking rate, 15.9% compared with 5.8%. The same report states that the candy and fruit flavors are one of the top reasons young people use e-cigarette and JUUL products.

“The Bronx ranked as the unhealthiest county in New York State, in which tobacco usage ranked as one of the leading contributors,” says Christie Gonzalez-Toro, assistant professor of kinesiology. “As educators, we have a responsibility to educate youth about the dangers of e-cigarettes.”

This initiative is one of many steps the College is taking toward a proactive approach to public health. Manhattan introduced a new public health major in the School of Education and Health this past fall, which aims to protect and promote the health of all people and their communities (see page 18 to read more).

The CVS Health Foundation is investing $50 million and working with the nation’s leading anti-tobacco and youth organizations to support comprehensive education, advocacy, tobacco control and healthy behavior programming to help those who smoke quit and and to ensure those who don’t smoke never start.

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School of Engineering Debuts Cutting-Edge Cosmetics Lab

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NEW LABORATORY IS PREPARING cosmetic engineering graduate students for top jobs in the industry at companies such as Estée Lauder and L’Oréal USA. “We’ve been completely revamping the Cosmetic Engineering program, both in terms of the curriculum, as well as in terms of experimental and research capability,” says Samiul Amin, associate professor of chemical engineering. “What we’ve done is introduce new courses, which are going to be relevant for students entering into industrial jobs.”

The Chemical Engineering program features industry-relevant equipment and advanced characterization techniques that also are being used by graduate students carrying out research within the department’s new biopharmaceutical engineering option.

Amin, who has worked across multiple sectors in research and development, and innovation/open innovation management in global multinational companies such as Unilever and L’Oréal in Europe and the U.S., has a thorough understanding of how students should be taught now in order to assist them later on in their industrial careers.

“Our curriculum is probably the most unique curriculum in cosmetics in the U.S., primarily because we don’t only do formulations, but we also do the processing and engineering side of things,” he says. “The course and overall curriculum we have developed not only prepares our students for the cosmetic industry but equally prepares them for successful entry into other consumer goods industries, such as home care, foods, paints, inks and coatings.”

The lab itself has the equipment and instrumentation necessary for cosmetic and biopharmaceutical engineering practices. For instance, it includes an automation formulation platform. This type of equipment is generally not found in any academic or university labs, and therefore, attracts students from other institutions, such as Columbia, Yale and Princeton universities.

“We are quickly becoming a global leader in cosmetic engineering, and our efforts are being recognized through multiple awards and grants,” Amin notes.

Students in the program have earned a Society of Cosmetic Chemists student first place poster prize in 2018, an American Chemical Society 2020 Primarily Undergraduate Institution runner-up award, and a New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists education grant award, among many others.

“As a grad student, you’re supposed to learn on your own and combine with your own research, so there were a lot of great ideas that were generated just within the classes, and it was really fun for me personally,” Denice Xu ’19 (M.S.) says.

Xu also had the opportunity to publish her research in the Journal of Cosmetic Science, and presented her findings at the International Technology Showcase, where she nabbed first prize for her project.

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(Left to right) Adeline Benhur ’20 and Constantina Drakontis ’20, who both earned master’s degrees in chemical engineering with a concentration in cosmetic engineering, gain industry-level skills in the new cosmetics lab.

Katie Liu ’15, ’18 (M.S.), another alumna of the Cosmetic Engineering graduate program, details how the interpersonal relationships between students and professors is especially beneficial with regard to this particular kind of engineering.

“Whenever you have questions, you can just pop into a professor’s office and ask them. We saw them as friends rather than professors,” Liu remembers.

Aina Davies ’20 (M.S.) was a professional makeup artist before beginning the cosmetic graduate program. In the future, she hopes to combine these interests to discover her true passions.

“It’s about putting your passion into something that you’d want to work with for the rest of your life,” she says.

The Cosmetic Engineering graduate program also offers students the opportunity to gain industry-level experience through site visits to companies and guest lectures.

“We’re always on the lookout for when students can actually go to companies to learn and attend seminars at company sites, and when we can bring in guest lecturers from global cosmetic and consumer companies,” Amin says. “That helps them build networks and get the latest information about market trends.”

Amin is proud of the progress made by the Cosmetic Engineering graduate program and its lab and hopes to see this success increase in the near future. In the past three years, recent graduates of the program have held internships and jobs at companies such as L’Oréal, Estée Lauder and Celgene.

“If you look around, people struggle to get one industrial collaboration going, and we have had multiple ones,” Amin says. “Our students are going to be true experts in cosmetic engineering and will be great assets for the cosmetic and consumer goods industry.”

Mathematics Professor Wins Distinguished Teaching Award ALREADY AN ESTEEMED PROFESSOR at Manhattan College, Helene Tyler, associate professor of mathematics, has been recognized with the Distinguished Teaching Award by the New York Metro section of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), the world’s largest association of mathematicians, students and mathematics enthusiasts.

Tyler, who has a Ph.D. in representation theory from Syracuse University, has been a member of the Manhattan College faculty since 2002. Her main research interest is in the representation theory of finite dimensional algebras. Known for her dynamic, interactive lectures and substantive assignments that require students to expand their skills, she provides opportunities for both mathematics and non-mathematics majors to shine.

Tyler makes it a practice to nurture talent and encourage students from other disciplines to take more mathematics courses while supporting their individual growth. On several occasions, she has recruited students to give presentations

at mathematics conferences. Thanks in large part to Tyler’s efforts, the number of students pursuing the Applied Mathematics concentration has increased substantially.

Committed to social justice through education, Tyler has served three times as a volunteer lecturer at the Royal University in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, through a program sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences that brings faculty from other countries to teach graduate classes in mathematics. She was invited to present a workshop at the ninth International Conference on Mathematics in Developing Countries in 2016.

She also was named Manhattan’s Lasallian Educator of the Year in 2015. Her former students have gone on to pursue Ph.D. degrees in mathematics at institutions including Brandeis University, Wesleyan University and the École Normal in Paris.

Enumerating the praise for Tyler that was received in support of her nomination from colleagues and former students, the MAA citation noted, “They made the selection committee’s deliberation process easy.”

“I am so proud to be a member of the Mathematics department at Manhattan College, with such wonderful students and colleagues,” Tyler says. “It has been the perfect place for me to develop as a professional and to share my enthusiasm for the beauty and utility of mathematics.

Learning that people I respect so much feel the same way fills me with gratitude.”

Mary Elizabeth Pizzimenti ’21 Awarded Italian Language Fellowship ONE OF 15 COLLEGE STUDENTS NATIONWIDE, Mary Elizabeth Pizzimenti ’21 received a National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) Fellowship for the 2019-20 academic year.

An Italian minor, Pizzimenti enjoys the personal attention students receive within the program.

“Students are able to take an independent study course where the professors make connections with the students in order to focus on

their strengths and interests,” she explains. “It is this relationship that convinced me that a minor in Italian would be fun and expand my horizons.”

The NIAF on-campus fellowship program is intended for future leaders who self-identify as active in the Italian-American community through their choice of study, participation in on-campus Italian Clubs, and grassroots efforts. As a fellowship recipient, Pizzimenti has had access to networking opportunities.

In addition, the NIAF provided a $1,000 grant to Manhattan College’s Italian Club to host two educational events during the academic year.

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Grant-Funded Initiative Brings Fun and Games to Financial Literacy

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HO’D HAVE GUESSED THAT A HANDFUL OF SKITTLES could help teach young people budgeting concepts? Or that an online quiz could convey the ins and outs of student loans and banking? Amira Annabi and Aileen Farrelly ’95, both faculty in the O’Malley School of Business, are employing games-based workshops in their quest to educate high school and college students on the basics of personal finance.

Their interest in the topic has its roots in a survey of Manhattan College students that Annabi, an assistant professor of economics and finance, conducted with colleagues to determine their levels of financial knowledge.

“We found a gender gap and a race gap,” Annabi says. They also found that first-generation students have a lower level of financial knowledge. Their paper, which was published in the Journal of Financial Education, recommended personal finance classes for nonbusiness students, especially for minorities, women, first-generation students, and those with student loans.

“I personally think we can do something about it,” she continues.

“Maybe college is not too late for students to learn how to manage their finances.”

Annabi and Farrelly, assistant dean and assistant professor of accounting, CIS and law, then researched how Lasallian Catholic institutions can help to alleviate deficits in financial literacy. From there, they applied for and were awarded a Collaboration, Growth and Innovation grant from New American Colleges and Universities 14 N 2020

(NAC&U), which funded their work with Ryan Decker, an assistant professor of economics and finance and director of the Center for Financial Literacy at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.

Through the grant, the faculty members shared ideas and best practices around financial literacy initiatives. Annabi attended a workshop that Decker presented to local scouting troops and returned to Riverdale with inspiration for running similar sessions.

The first was held early in 2020 in the Kelly Commons. Attracting a mix of Manhattan students along with local high school students and their parents, the workshop incorporated games designed to increase understanding of personal finance. A budgeting exercise required each participant to apportion 20 Skittles to various categories including recreation, personal care, food, transportation and savings. Then Farrelly announced that four Skittles (representing taxes) would have to be taken away. Just as in real life, that necessitated tough choices and discernment between needs and wants.

Next, participants used their smartphones to engage in online quiz competitions on student loans and banking using Kahoot!, a gamesbased learning website. In reviewing the correct answers, Annabi and Farrelly, with assistance from volunteers from the business honor society Beta Alpha Psi, explained concepts like overdraft protection, the distinction between grants and scholarships, and federal versus private student loans. As part of the banking exercise, students also practiced how to write a check.

The event concluded with a panel of young alumni who gave advice and shared insights based on their own financial experiences, both as college students and as young professionals.

Elvis Rodriguez ’19 noted that programs like the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) and Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge (SEEK) are helpful for lower-income students. “Look into taking college-credit classes while you’re in high school,” he advised.

“It will save you a great deal of money.”

Amanda Butler ’16 recommended repaying student loans while still in college. “That way, when you’re finished school, it’s not a huge block of money you have to pay back,” she explained.

At the conclusion of the workshop, participants attested to its effectiveness. “I like how everything was set up as a game, so it’s easier for me to understand,” said Melina Chiulli, a sophomore at Sacred

Christian Brothers Contribute to College During COVID-19

Heart High School in Yonkers, New York. “It was very helpful to learn about student loans and how to save more. It will help me when I think about colleges.”

“I think financial literacy is very important for kids,” Melina’s father, Ugo Chiulli said. “I don’t think my kids know the choices I make for them and the choices they’re going to have to make at some point. They don’t always want to hear it from their parents, so I thought a neutral venue would be interesting.”

Abdullah Bruce attended the event with his daughter Chase, a sophomore at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx.

“When I was in high school, it would have been helpful to have a course like this and realize, ‘You know what, I do need to save up; I do need to talk to a financial adviser,’” Bruce said. “It’s an eye-opener.”

Annabi and Farrelly hope to eventually expand the initiative to reach more young people, with plans to hold a virtual Financial Literacy Day in early 2021.

(Opposite page) Chase Bruce, a student at Cardinal Spellman High School, attended Financial Literacy Day with her father, Abdullah. The two joined several families who took the opportunity to learn about finances in a fun and friendly environment. (Above) In the afternoon session, Aileen Farrelly ’95, assistant professor of accounting, CIS and law, led a series of Kahoot! quizzes designed to highlight financial concepts relevant to young people interested in financing their college education, including college savings, budgeting and student loans.

THE BROTHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS District of Eastern North America (DENA) has provided Manhattan College with $200,000 in assistance for the 2020-21 academic year, in the face of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are grateful for the District of Eastern North America’s substantial grant during this extraordinary time,” says President Brennan O’Donnell. “This assistance — and the District’s forgiveness of our annual institutional assessment — is an excellent example of the strong association between the College and the District. The funds will help to ease the burden that our students, faculty and staff are bearing as we work to return to full operations.”

DENA provided grants to help each of its 34 ministries respond to emergency and unanticipated costs connected to the current pandemic, including but not limited to added costs in order to have facilities ready to receive students or financial assistance to students in need.

“Recognizing that our Lasallian ministries do so much to provide for young people in need, we knew it was necessary to assist our institutions in these challenging times,” says Brother Dennis Lee, FSC, Provincial/Visitor for the District of Eastern North America.

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Entrepreneurial Ideas Shine at Virtual Innovation Challenge

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HE VIRTUAL FORMAT MAY HAVE BEEN NEW, but the levels of competition and audience interest were as high as ever in April, when the O’Malley School of Business hosted its annual Innovation Challenge on Facebook Live. Living up to its name in both content and presentation, the contest between eight student teams showcased the rigor and collaboration that are Manhattan College hallmarks.

In what Donald Gibson, dean of the O’Malley School of Business and host of the event, termed “Shark Tank, Manhattan style,” budding entrepreneurs from the business school and School of Engineering pitched their business ideas to a panel of alumni, friend and faculty judges for prizes totaling $6,500 in startup cash. Via webcam technology, the team members were allotted screen time to discuss their ideas and show presentation slides, as well as answer questions from the judges. Meanwhile, Facebook Live viewers from as far away as France contributed a steady stream of likes and supportive comments.

Marketing majors Jeffrey Bartlett ’21 and Desmond Cole ’21 took first place for their digital media company DYFRENT at the College’s Innovation Challenge. Cole virtually pitched their concept to the panel of judges: Winston Peters ’02, founding partner, MyUberLife Consulting Group; Frank Pietrantonio ’80, senior counsel, Cooley LLC; Ed Dintrone ’83, founder, Select-A-Sign Inc.; Mike Kelly ’80, managing partner, Yellow Thread Adventures; Patricia Sigmon, founder and CEO, LPS Consulting; and Sara Wheeler-Smith, assistant professor of management and marketing.

Digital Media Audits Are a Foot in the Door Marketing majors Jeffrey Bartlett ’21 and Desmond Cole ’21 were awarded first prize of $3,000 for their company DYFRENT, a digital media consulting service that provides clients with social media design and management, lead generation, targeted outreach and web design. The market has a need for their services, Cole explained during their presentation. “It’s an unavoidable mandate to have a quality digital brand experience in 2020 and going forward,” he said.

DYFRENT’s strategy for building the business is to perform complimentary digital media audits for prospective clients that pinpoint the brand’s strengths and highlight areas in need of improvement. Even with a conservative estimated conversion rate of 4%, Bartlett and Cole project profitability and a share of New York City’s entertainment, arts and social spending. Their mission statement is, “Where the best come together to do their best.”

Praising the team, judge Patricia Sigmon said: “You have a great skill set, the timing is right, you have great marketability and a plan of action with specific tasks. I think that the audit is perfect as a starter for meeting clients … Your biggest challenge is that you’re going to get more clients than you think you are.” Sigmon founded a software development and implementation firm and served as its CEO for 30 years.

A Wealth of Entrepreneurial Ideas Marketing major Joseue Encarnacion ’20 and business analytics major Adrian DeJesus ’21 took home second prize of $2,000 for their product, Baythoven, which is aimed at the sizable population of pet owners. The team proposes to sell a health-monitoring chip for pets 16 N 2020

through retailers, wholesalers, veterinarian offices and animal shelters for a cost of $20–$30 per chip and small fee to implant the chip. An additional low-fee monthly subscription would allow customers to track their pet’s health and thus, avoid costly vet bills.

In third place, economics major Laurent Span ’21 nabbed $1,000 for his social media sharing app, WeGoal. In this model, app users can announce their goals and receive support from fellow users through posts, tokens and follows. Points accrued allow their profiles to gain increased visibility on the app. WeGoal’s mission is to create a positive social media space devoted to building strong relationships and a sense of unity through common purpose.

This year’s competition also awarded an audience favorite, with votes cast through the Facebook Live chat feature. Computer engineering majors Angel Gutierrez ’22 and Anik Rashid ’22 along with electrical engineering majors Eliana Montealegre ’22 and Charles Wrizar ’22 won $500 for their app, Que (pronounced “queue”). A clientele management system for barber shops and nail salons, Que moves the in-person waiting system to an online platform that will cut customer wait times, as well as provide reviews and payment services.

“The Innovation Challenge is a chance for students to show their entrepreneurial ideas and inspirations to a panel of very knowledgeable entrepreneur judges,” Gibson says. “The mix of business and engineering students on the teams really represents how innovation comes about: with a range of technical and product knowledge to solve critical problems. It was so exciting to see these budding entrepreneurs in action! This virtual event was a terrific demonstration of the resilience and grit of Manhattan College students.”

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Supports E3MC Program

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HE ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION has provided a $30,000 grant to the College’s Engaging, Empowering, Educating Means Change (E3MC) program, a religious studies course in which traditional undergraduate students and incarcerated students take the course together within a correctional facility.

The Sloan Foundation funded E3MC as part of its New York City Program, created to support city-based projects that advance the foundation’s mission to assist research and education in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and economics. The grant has allowed Manhattan College to hire a part-time social worker to work with the E3MC program, conducting program research and serving as a resource for current E3MC students.

“We are proud to support this important economic initiative that provides offenders with a realistic transition to civilian life through a college-level education, financial scholarship and mentorship,” says Paula Olsiewski, the foundation’s program director.

Managed by Andrew Skotnicki, professor of religious studies, the E3MC program

encourages transformative learning for both student groups through a weekly course for a semester. The goals are for the outside students to learn about criminal justice and social concerns, and for the inside students to realize their potential to succeed in college.

One hundred and sixty colleges and universities in seven countries, including institutions in 34 states and the District of Columbia in the United States, have adopted similar programs to provide a postsecondary education to the incarcerated.

“To me, this was an opportunity to learn and experience the reality of the criminal justice system, firsthand, from people within it,” Maya Tirone-Goehring ’22 says. “I wanted to take the knowledge and experiences I gained and share it with my peers, so they’ll also understand the injustices and many complexities the criminal justice system unfortunately possesses.”

Schubert Coll, a former inmate who was part of the E3MC program while incarcerated at Rikers Island, took two additional classes at Manhattan College after being released.

Now 51, married, and living and working in

Rachel Roca ’21 Receives Goldwater Scholarship RACHEL ROCA ’21, a mathematics major, is one of 396 students across the United States to receive a prestigious Goldwater scholarship.

Roca, who also is working toward minors in computer science and Spanish, recently studied abroad in Budapest, Hungary. She has been on the Dean’s List four times and is a member of the National Mathematics Honor Society, Phi Beta Kappa, and the National Hispanic Honor Society.

During the summer of 2019, she participated in a Research Experience for Undergraduates, funded by the National Science Foundation, and researched random sample voting.

Roca is the second Manhattan College student in two years to receive the Goldwater scholarship. Miguel Diaz ’20 was a recipient of the award in 2019.

“Rachel is an extraordinary student and has already shown incredible promise for creating impactful mathematics,” says Robert Suzzi Valli, assistant professor of mathematics and Roca’s faculty

Former inmate and E3MC program alumnus Schubert Coll joins religious studies professor Andrew Skotnicki in celebrating his success and that of the program, which received an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant for $30,000.

California, Coll credits the progress he’s made in his life to Skotnicki and the E3MC program.

“What I enjoyed most was they gave us the opportunity to succeed,” Coll says. “That’s why that class was so impactful to me. It put the drive in me to be a better human being.”

The E3MC program has run for 15 semesters at various jails on Rikers Island.

adviser. “Her strong desire to use her mathematical talent to promote social justice in our world makes Rachel an exemplary Lasallian.”

From an estimated pool of more than 5,000 college sophomores and juniors, 1,343 natural science, engineering and mathematics students were nominated by 461 academic institutions to compete for the 2020 Goldwater scholarships.

Goldwater Scholars have impressive academic and research credentials that have garnered the attention of prestigious postgraduate fellowship programs, including the awarding of 93 Rhodes Scholarships, 146 Marshall Scholarships, 170 Churchill Scholarships, 109 Hertz Fellowships, and numerous others.

The scholarship program honoring Senator Barry Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics.

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Additions to the Curriculum also acquire the geographic analysis skills that are useful in a variety of research and professional positions in which spatial information analysis is required. These skills include fluency in map-reading, basic cartography and geographic information systems (GIS) software.

Public Health Major The College has introduced a new public health major this past fall.

The program’s mission is to educate students on the core principles of public health to address health outcomes of the population through equity, policy and action. Students have the choice of two tracks: community health and health care administration.

Community health majors may be interested in understanding the health of a specific population and how the community plays a valuable role in promoting a healthy life. The population can be a specific city, neighborhood or geographical region. Health care administration majors are typically interested in the leadership and management of health care organizations. This can take place within hospitals, medical facilities, local and state health departments and public and private health care organizations.

After graduating with their degrees in public health, students that want to continue their education can enroll in graduate school to pursue a Master of Public Health (MPH) or dual programs such as an MPH/ MBA, or even dental or nursing school. The degree is also a good base for careers as social and community service managers, health educators, nutritionists or health care administration coordinators.

Geography Minor The Sociology department is now offering a minor in geography.

Students learn how geographers think about the complex problems facing our planet: poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, climate change and more. The theoretical foundation of human geography gives students a critical lens to approach human-environment interactions. For instance, students enrolled in geography classes this fall have been studying the link between geography and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The geography minor provides an interdisciplinary approach that helps students to develop highly sought-after skills in digital tools and data-analytic methods that employers value. Courses explore the convergence between humanistic and science, technology, engineering and mathematics approaches. Students with geography minors gain skills in data analytics, digital media and computer programming. They 18 N 2020

Real Estate Minor The O’Malley School of Business has launched a new minor in real estate, preparing business students for careers in real estate acquisitions and development, property management, asset management and financial analysis.

The skills students are learning in the real estate minor include design and planning, construction management, asset and property management, and financial structuring, fundraising and valuation. Related business programs also include economics and finance, management, marketing and accounting. The minor can be taken as a complement to any major in the O’Malley School of Business.

MBA Concentrations In response to student demand for programs targeted to specific career areas, the O’Malley School of Business MBA Program has added concentrations that provide in-depth knowledge in some of the economy’s fastest-growing sectors: business analytics, finance and economics, and organizations, markets and sustainability. These concentrations are available to all MBA students.

The business analytics concentration exposes students to the challenging world of big data-driven analyses to support business planning decisions. It enables them to master advanced skills and techniques in computing (such as Python, R, Tableau, PowerBI); apply statistical knowledge, as well as operations research methods, to multifaceted data-rich business problems; and gain further knowledge of database management techniques in storing, manipulating, retrieving and maintaining data (by using SQL-based platforms).

The finance and economics concentration is designed for students seeking to deepen their understanding of financial markets. Courses cover equity markets, corporate finance, valuation, environmental economics, global economic policies and relevant internships and research subjects. This concentration helps to prepare students for highimpact positions in banking, government, fintech, financial analysis, equity and fixed-income research, and company research. In addition, the curriculum will help prepare them for the CFA Level II examination.

The organizations, markets and sustainability concentration draws on management and marketing fundamentals to expose students to cutting-edge thinking on how teams and organizations can be strategically managed locally and globally for long-term sustainable outcomes. The focus on sustainability examines how organizational design, structures and practices can meet future needs profitably while allowing both humans and the planet to flourish. It also prepares students to be skillful leaders able to address business challenges with a commitment to the protection and promotion of environmental justice, dignity and human well-being.

Shoe Strike for Climate Change Highlights Community Efforts

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N A CHILLY FALL DAY, the steps of Smith Auditorium were lined with dozens of pairs of shoes as part of the College’s first-ever “shoe strike” for climate change.

The event, modeled on similar strikes in Europe, was designed to create awareness about environmental issues while maintaining social distancing, and to remind the community, through the empty pairs of shoes, of the lives that have been lost due to the effects of climate change. Part of Climate Week NYC, the largest climate summit this year, the strike was co-sponsored by Season of Creation, an ecumenical Christian movement dedicated to forming a united front in combating climate change.

“Since in-person events are so rare in the time of COVID-19, it was great to have such an event on the Quad,” says Pamela Chasek, professor and chair of the political science department.

The shoe strike featured Jessica Haller, a candidate for New York City Council; Alexandria Villaseñor, the co-founder of Earth Uprising International; Jim White, a member

of Bronx Climate Justice North; and Chelo Hernandez, a climate activist from the Church of the Mediator, as guest speakers. The Rev. Thomas Franks, O.F.M., Cap., the College’s chaplain, also spoke at the socially distanced event, with approximately 30 students in attendance.

In her remarks, Hernandez shared her passion for permaculture. “Permaculture is a system of ecological design — a way of thinking — as well as a global movement of practitioners, educators, researchers and organizers, bound by three core ethics: care for the earth, care for the people, and fair share,” she said.

“It is a harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter and other material and nonmaterial needs in a sustainable way,” she continued.

“The philosophy of permaculture is one of working with, rather than against, nature.”

Haller discussed the need for climate change initiatives in order to ensure that low-income communities are not being disproportionately affected by the negative side effects.

Nicholas Rogalewski ’20 Earns New Con Edison Scholarship NICHOLAS ROGALEWSKI ’20 is the first recipient of the Con Edison Endowed Scholarship, which was initially announced at the 2019 De La Salle Medal Dinner by honoree John McAvoy ’80, chairman of the Board of Directors of Con Edison and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Con Edison of New York.

Rogalewski is majoring in electrical engineering with a minor in mathematics. A native of the Bronx, Rogalewski has earned a spot on the Dean’s List five times and is a member of the Epsilon Sigma Pi honor society.

During the summer of 2019, Rogalewski interned at the Hudson Yards project on the West Side of Manhattan and worked at Bed Bath & Beyond during his first three years of college.

“Con Edison has been a strong supporter of Manhattan College for decades,” says Tim Ward, dean of Manhattan College’s School of Engineering. “With the endowed scholarship, Con Edison has once

“It is the environmental injustices of the past that are the reason we are sitting here with these empty shoes today,” Haller said.

“The way I like to talk about [climate] is with three words: through equity, resilience and sustainability.”

Rachel Roca ’21, co-president of JustPeace and student moderator for the event, felt that the shoe strike helped to increase awareness of the climate crisis on campus, and highlighted the need for community engagement in order to promote change.

“I think the shoe strike was an important reminder to the Jasper community of how crucial climate justice is, that there are people and groups on campus passionate about it, and the different ways we can all make a difference,” Roca says.

again shown its commitment to Manhattan College via an outstanding award to a qualified student in Nicholas Rogalewski.

On behalf of the students in the School, I thank Con Edison for its exemplary generosity.”

The $5,000 scholarship has been established through Con Edison to provide support, based on financial need, for undergraduate students who major in a field of science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

The Con Edison Scholars Network is designed to continue supporting the development of a diverse technical career pipeline.

All of Con Edison’s scholarship recipients are invited to professional development workshops with Con Edison employee mentors to talk about topics such as fostering workplace relationships, networking and building a strong LinkedIn presence.

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Film Studies Students Collect Awards for Short Films Created During Quarantine

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ITH CREATORS USING NEW TECHNIQUES to produce artistic content from home, five Manhattan College film studies students were inspired to create their short films, New Day, New You and Captor to showcase their talent and express their creativity while in quarantine.

Regan Alejo ’22, Nick Chiofalo ’21, Sharon Egan ’22, Angela Ramoni ’23 and Teresa Ramoni ’20 participated in both the FilmOneFest 24 Hour Film Slam and the New York City Quarantine Film Festival, winning notable prizes in both competitions.

Their film Captor won Best Horror Film in the New York City Quarantine Film Festival, competing against more than 100 other short films. New Day, New You won the People’s Choice Award in the FilmOneFest 24 Hour Film Slam, which held its event virtually this year for the first time ever.

All five students are members of the Manhattan College Film Society. They began working together while producing their first film, The Confession, which won second place at FilmOneFest’s 24 Hour Film Slam in 2019.

“I am so proud of them, not just for creating an affecting and visually compelling film but also for uniting during the pandemic and finding a way to surmount the challenges of making a film together while physically apart,” notes Margaret Toth, professor of English and film studies and adviser for the Film Society, who introduced the students to these competitions. “What they’ve accomplished is truly astonishing.”

After their first win last year, the five students were inspired to create New Day, New You while taking classes remotely from their homes.

“We really weren’t sure how we’d make a film while being physically separated from another,” says Teresa Ramoni. “During our first experience, we all worked on practically every aspect of the film together: writing, cinematography, editing, sound design, etc. We were all together pretty much every step of the process.”

Entrants in the FilmOneFest competition were required to adhere to three criteria when creating their respective films: a prop (shoe), a setting (bathroom), and a line of dialogue (“Has anyone seen my snack?”). Additionally, entrants must write, film and edit their film within 24 hours, and it must not be longer than two minutes.

“To get around some of these challenges for New Day, New You, we had Google Meet planning meetings. Since my sister [Angela Ramoni] and I are quarantined together, we decided that she would act, and I would film,” adds Teresa Ramoni.

“I had never shot a film before, so Regan helped me a great deal by remotely directing — FaceTiming me and helping me achieve the types of shots and camera angles she envisioned for the film. She even filmed a few of the shots on her phone and sent me recordings, so I could replicate them,” she notes.

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Studying remotely didn’t stop a few film studies students from entering and winning at some local film festivals this past spring. Five Jaspers captured Best Horror Film for their short film, Captor, at the New York City Quarantine Film Festival, as well as the People’s Choice Award for their production, New Day, New You, at the FilmOneFest 24 Hour Film Slam.

“Once we got the filming done, editing came into play. What was most impressive though was Jake’s work on the score. It changed the game and really pulled everything together,” Alejo says. “We each have different talents to bring to the table and plenty of passion to fuel us, so we got into a rhythm fairly quickly.”

“For our first film competition, we were together all day while making the film,” Egan notes. “This time, it was a bit of a struggle having the whole team ‘on standby’ all day to work through any problems and make decisions about shots and little things. I think we’ve really learned about the importance of communicating.”

FilmOneFest was created by the Atlantic Highlands Arts Council in order to showcase filmmakers from New Jersey and across the world.

Typically held in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, the FilmOneFest 24 Hour Film Slam was conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sponsored by Inwood Art Works, the New York City Quarantine Film Festival was created in order to promote creativity and the art of filmmaking during the pandemic.

Schreiner Joins College as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs

STEVEN SCHREINER, P.E., joined Manhattan College as provost and vice president of academic affairs in July. Schreiner had previously served as dean of the School of Engineering at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) since 2008.

“I am honored to have been chosen as the next provost and vice president for academic affairs for Manhattan College,” Schreiner says.

“The College’s focus on academic excellence founded in the Lasallian tradition creates an authentic educational environment where the search for truth is unfettered. I am impressed with Manhattan College’s mission and culture.”

During his academic career, Schreiner developed several new and accelerated academic programs in his roles as dean and department chair. Working closely with TCNJ’s School of Education, he oversaw the creation of a new Master of Education in integrative-STEM for in-service teachers that uses online and blended modalities. In consultation with TCNJ’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences, his team also created a public policy option within the undergraduate engineering science degree program that offers interested students the opportunity to combine political science and engineering while

gaining internship experience through a partnership with The Washington Center.

Schreiner also spearheaded the development of new facilities, including a 76,000-square-foot STEM building. He oversaw design for major renovations of laboratory, classroom and support spaces at both TCNJ and Western New England University, where he was founding chair of biomedical engineering, and chair of the engineering undergraduate admissions committee from 2001 to 2008.

“Steven Schreiner brings to Manhattan an extensive record of accomplishment as an educator and administrator,” says Brennan O’Donnell, president of Manhattan College. “He has a deep understanding of the ways in which liberal arts education and professional preparation complement one another, and a demonstrated ability to lead strategically in a complex environment.”

During his time at TCNJ, annual donations to the School of Engineering increased by more than 60%, and applications increased by more than 80%. Schreiner prioritized undergraduate research and scholarship as a strategic priority, and led a task force of corporate and faculty advisers in creating proper incentives and intellectual property policies that encouraged industry-college partnerships and research contracts. At TCNJ, he also supported a National Science Foundation Advance Grant aimed at increasing the participation and advancement of women in academic careers in science and engineering.

He received his B.S. in electrical engineering from Western New England University and earned an M.S. and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Vanderbilt University. He was also a National Institute of Health postdoctoral researcher in radiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Schreiner takes the reins from William Clyde, provost and executive vice president, who has returned to full-time teaching and research.

“The College’s focus on academic excellence founded in the Lasallian tradition creates an authentic educational environment where the search for truth is unfettered.”

— Steven Schreiner

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Student Engagement Lectures (Virtually) Bring Major Figures to Campus

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HE NINTH ANNUAL STUDENT ENGAGEMENT LECTURE SERIES may have looked a bit different this year due to the virtual format. Despite the format change, a trio of speakers were still able to reach students in an impactful way.

The series began in September with a lecture by Tony Award winner and star of the musical Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. He spoke to a Google Meet audience that included many members of Manhattan’s Singers and Players about his history as a performer and his path to Broadway and beyond. He reminded young performers that success is not always immediate, and that simply waiting for success is not enough.

“What did you do in the absence of a ringing phone?” he asked.

“What did you do for yourself?” Odom recalled that he used to wait for the phone to ring with offers of acting jobs and for opportunities to come to him. He soon realized that he had to work on his own projects and develop his skills. Since having this epiphany nine years ago, he has not stopped working.

Odom continues to work while in quarantine. With the possibility of live performances in the near future uncertain, he took on a role for the Freeform channel’s Love in the Time of Corona.

He reminded students, “Art is part of how we process our trauma, grief and confusion,” before closing the lecture by performing the song Wait for It from Hamilton.

The virtual series continued with a lecture by U.S. women’s soccer legend, Abby Wambach.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA World Cup champion, Wambach has become a champion for women’s equality — in sports and other arenas. Since her retirement from soccer in 2015, Wambach has dedicated her time to empowering women and fighting for pay equity, as well as true equality. In 2019, she published her book WOLFPACK: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game, which details the fights women face for equality not only in sports but also in their workplaces.

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“Instead of just accepting things as being the way they are, and always have been, we have to think about why things are the way that they are, and start unlearning the sexist belief systems we have been taught to be true,” Wambach told the audience, which included members of the women’s soccer team. Her remarkable athletic career has given her the platform to mentor others.

“I hope that you can see yourself in some of my story,” she continued. “But if you want to understand how true success works, the most basic equation I can give you is to always find elements of leveling up in every circumstance.”

The third and final lecture featured award-winning writer Rebecca Skloot, author of The New York Times bestselling book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The book tells the true story of how Lacks’ cancer cells were used without her consent to start the immortal cell line, HeLa, which has been used extensively in medical research since 1951.

“It is really a story of multiple generations used in research without consent,” Skloot said, noting that Lacks’ children were also used in the study. In 2010, Skloot founded the Henrietta Lacks Foundation to help individuals and families who, like Lacks, have made important contributions to medical research without receiving any benefit, and often without their knowledge or consent.

“I felt very strongly that I did not want to be another person who benefitted from this without doing something for the family,” she said.

(Left, top to bottom) Leslie Odom Jr., Tony Award-winning actor and star of the musical Hamilton, and Abby Wambach, two-time Olympic gold medalist for Team U.S. Soccer and women’s equality advocate, along with Rebecca Skloot (top), The New York Times bestselling author, headlined the Student Engagement Lecture Series this fall.

The trio virtually offered students their tips for success, while sharing the personal journeys that shaped who they have become today.

LECTURE CIRCUIT

Sister Norma Pimentel Advocates for Asylum Seekers at the Border

THE NATIONAL DISCUSSION AROUND THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER has drawn interest from across the political spectrum. In February, Sister Norma Pimentel, MJ, who has been called “one of the immigration crisis’s indispensable leaders,” visited Manhattan College and shared her compassionate, firsthand account of the lives of asylum seekers with students, faculty and members of the local community in a packed Kelly Commons.

A sister with the Missionaries of Jesus and executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, Sister Norma provides oversight of ministries and services in the areas of emergency assistance, homelessness prevention, disaster relief, clinical counseling, pregnancy care and food programs, as well as a humanitarian respite center.

The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Sister Norma was born in Brownsville, Texas, a border city deep in the tip of Texas, and grew up in an era when travel from Mexico to the United States was easy and unremarkable. She earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Pan American University and was planning to return to college to study architectural design when a friend invited her to a prayer group.

“After going to the prayer group meetings, I felt the scales fall off my eyes,” Sister Norma said. “I wanted to see more about God and enter religious life. I started to see life in a different way.”

In 1978, at the age of 24, Sister Norma entered a convent to deepen her relationship with God and expand her understanding of the Catholic faith. For more than three decades, she has worked with

migrants coming through the Rio Grande Valley. She oversees the charitable arm of the Diocese of Brownsville, which opened a shelter, Casa Oscar Romero, to rehabilitate families after their journeys to the United States.

“I would provide medical assistance to migrants, participate in counseling sessions, and fill out asylum papers,” she said. “It is important to be present for those who need us and help them have a voice.”

Sister Norma has noticed that the conditions at the border have changed during the past few years.

“I have seen fewer families coming because of political policies,” she said. “We have a humanitarian crisis at the border, and the government swept it under the rug. The conditions are dehumanizing, and we are turning immigrants away.”

She believes that the message about immigration should change.

“The migrants are human beings and treating them this way will help us reclaim our humanity,” she said. “The people I see coming through the border are here to work and provide for their family. Our job as Catholics is to respond by caring for them, raising our voices and spreading the message of faith, hope and love for all.”

Following the lecture, the more than 450 attendees were eager to ask their questions. One student asked how Sister Norma was able to continue her efforts for so many years.

“My day starts and ends with God,” Sister Norma said. “This is not about Sister Norma, it’s about the message. I do it for the people who fight every day to provide for their family.”

“We need to speak up, be strong, and have a prophetic voice to denounce what is wrong,” she added. “Reach out to the immigrants of your own community and help them with what they need. This will make you a part of the action necessary to provide justice for all.”

At the conclusion of the event, Kevin Ahern, professor of religious studies, and Lois Harr, director of campus ministry and social action and professor of religious studies, awarded Sister Norma with the Manhattan College Peace and Justice Medal.

“We were pleased and honored to present Sister Norma with the Manhattan College Peace and Justice Medal in recognition of her life and work at the border,” Harr says. “The asylum seekers who encounter Sister Norma are treated with compassion and respect because she sees the face of God in every one of them. She reminds us to do the same.”

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LECTURE CIRCUIT

A Social Justice View of the COVID-19 Pandemic

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HE COVID-19 PANDEMIC has already proven to be one of the most significant events in modern history, one that has called for the United States to reexamine, among many issues, its healthcare system and aid for vulnerable communities. This fall, Campus Ministry and Social Action hosted a virtual lecture on this topic as part of its Slice of Social Justice series, The Pandemic, the Protests, and Racial Justice: How Disasters Shape Social Change.

Jordan Pascoe, associate professor of philosophy, critical race and ethnicity studies, and Mitch Stripling, national director for emergency preparedness and response for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and former assistant commissioner for agency preparedness/response at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, presented on the ongoing pandemic and how it has shaped protests for racial justice in the United States.

Stripling recalled that when the pandemic began to affect the country in March, the outcomes of the disease seemed to disproportionately affect people based on age, preexisting health conditions, race and ethnicity. He noted that the pandemic had

greater affects on the Black and indigienous communities because they have “less access to healthcare and less of a public health infrastructure in the areas where they live.”

As COVID-19 worsened in the country, civil unrest grew. The country began to see mass protests in late May, after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer. Stripling contended that although the unrest was “built on a legacy of protests against unfair treatment by police that had been growing since Ferguson and before that, it was also infected by this energy from the pandemic response itself.” He urged that the mass protests be seen within the context of the pandemic, citing public health research that “the more affected you were

by COVID-19, the more likely you were to protest.”

While institutions working on disaster relief often push for a return to normality, the affected communities often have a more progressive view.

“Part of what is built into our vision of normal is this racialized patriarchal nostalgia,” Pascoe noted. “This is a kind of collective willingness to recreate the world according to nostalgic logics, and part of

what we want to argue is that the work of aspirational solidarity is the work of resisting this.”

Regarding the significant support for protests during the pandemic, Pascoe said: “You have this map of the ways in which existing resistant community organizations bring their aspirational visions to disaster response. The question that Mitch and I are trying to ask about disasters through this social, political and epistemological analysis is how do we understand disasters as this ‘now’ that breeds futures.”

The event closed with an opportunity for students to ask the speakers about their research, and what the future might look like in light of the pandemic and civil unrest.

Stripling compared the social changes resulting from the pandemic to a forest fire.

“You don’t want to burn down the entire forest when you change it,” he said. “You want to, with intention, know what to keep and what to let go of. Reshaping the imaginary in intentional ways is what is important here.”

Mitch Stripling, national director for emergency preparedness and response for Planned Parenthood, and Jordan Pascoe, associate professor of philosophy, critical race and ethnicity studies, brought some of this year’s most prevalent national discussions to campus virtually in their lecture, The Pandemic, the Protests, and Racial Justice: How Disasters Shape Social Change as part of Campus Ministry and Social Action’s Slice of Social Justice series this fall.

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LECTURE CIRCUIT

Lecture Examines Legacy of Dorothy Day’s Work With Thomas Merton

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ULIE PYCIOR, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF HISTORY AND AUTHOR OF THE NEW BOOK, Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton and the Greatest Commandment: Radical Love in Times of Crisis (Paulist Press, 2020), presented the annual Dorothy Day Lecture to students and faculty in November.

The virtual lecture took place on Day’s birthday and was presented by the Peace and Justice Studies department and Campus Ministry and Social Action, and was cosponsored by Paulist Press.

One of the main topics discussed was Pope Francis’ spotlight of Day and Merton, two instrumental figures in the Catholic Church, in his 2015 Congressional address.

Pycior also outlined how Day and Merton influenced each other, the larger religious landscape, and generations that followed.

“Day and Merton together bore witness to the crises of the 1960s,” she said, recalling the issues of the Vietnam War, assassinations and conflicts in the streets.

“This tells us how to bear witness in our own unbelievably challenging times.”

Day had a personal spiritual epiphany in 1933, during the height of the Great Depression. She was in Washington, D.C., at the time, reporting on the marches by frustrated, unemployed citizens.

“She was struck by the selflessness of the organizers,” Pycior shared. “She was upset that the Catholics were not marching alongside them.”

Day envisioned a society in which it’s easier for people to be good, and to that end, began publishing her own newspaper, The Catholic Worker. However, her pieces garnered backlash from Catholics for their commentaries, and at the height of the Cold War, many accused her of being a communist.

Conversely, Merton was a Trappist monk whom Catholics revered for his religious work as a writer, poet, scholar and activist. Most notably, Merton was

famous for his advocacy and authorship of various pieces regarding spirituality, nonviolent movements and the controversy surrounding nuclear weapons. In 1959, he felt a calling to work alongside Day. He wrote a letter to her expressing his interest in helping the poor and disenfranchised, and sent his essay The Root of War, which explores fear as the true root cause of war. The pair began working actively on social justice causes, including civil rights, anti-racism and gender equality.

Many of Day and Merton’s teachings have lived on, and their current followers often engage in nonviolent acts of civil disobedience in advocating for issues such as eliminating nuclear weapons.

Pycior discussed the role she played in suggesting Day and Merton’s work to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, who further raised the point to Pope Francis for his Congressional address in 2015.

“In these times when social concerns are so important, I cannot fail to mention the Servant of God Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement. Her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed, were inspired by the Gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints,” Pope Francis said of Day in his 2015 speech.

Similarly, Pope Francis recognized Merton as “a source of spiritual inspiration and a guide for many people” in his Congressional address. He stated: “Merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker who challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for the Church. He was also a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples and religions.”

The spirit of Day and Merton’s work, Pycior said, was that “we have to work on changing our own hearts and attitudes in our neighborhoods. Love is often the only answer.”

Today, Day and Merton’s teachings are reflected in the actions of their followers, and their influence is present in our current social justice concepts.

“History doesn’t repeat itself — it rhymes,” Pycior said. “How are we to bear witness to the overwhelming problems facing us in this overwhelming time of crisis? Humanity itself is at risk.”

“We will not be saved by starry-eyed optimism,” she continued. “Not even by the effects of calculating our good deeds. Our real-life journey is interior.”

Pycior emphasized the need to approach our present circumstances with love and understanding.

“When we’re confused and down, go out to the margins and try to understand people who are less respected by society and try to help them, which can lead to an epiphany,” she said. “Remember that everyone is beloved, including the people we are tempted to hate.”

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MANHATTAN

AND THE

MAAC

BY TOM PEDULLA ’78 MANHATTAN HAS FELT VERY MUCH AT HOME in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference since it became one of six charter members of the MAAC, as it’s known, in 1980. The College’s “perfect fit” in the league has only become more evident with the evolution and expansion of the MAAC during the past four decades.

The MAAC was born of necessity. With the Big East already formed, other schools in the region realized that conference play was their only path to securing an automatic bid to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, which brings significant revenue and invaluable exposure.

“If you wanted to make the NCAA Tournament, you’d better have a conference. And that was the beginning of the MAAC,” says Jack Powers ’58, Manhattan’s athletic director at the time and one of the driving forces in having Army, Fairfield, Fordham, Iona and St. Peter’s join the Jaspers in the new venture.

“It was a perfect fit: education, philosophies, facilities,” Powers continues.

That continues to hold true with Manhattan as a mainstay in the current 11-team alignment, along with Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Marist, Monmouth, Niagara, Quinnipiac, Rider, St. Peter’s and Siena.

“It’s a lot of schools that are very similar,” says Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Marianne Reilly ’82. “Some private, some Catholic, all within the footprint of competition that is a bus ride away.”

The importance of that proximity cannot be overstated, for it helps student-athletes maintain a difficult balance.

“It’s a passion and you want to keep it that way where student-athletes are enjoying the experience,” Reilly says.

Time saved on travel when compared to conferences more national in scope allows MAAC schools to emphasize community service. Manhattan is at the forefront of that effort, leading the conference in community-service hours for the past academic year.

Men’s lacrosse ranked fourth nationally, and women’s basketball was fifth, while women’s lacrosse, rowing

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and men’s cross country/track and field all finished sixth in their respective sports.

Richard Ensor, in his 33rd year as MAAC commissioner, noted how integral a role Manhattan has played in the conference’s success.

“It’s provided a strong, stable influence on league operations because of its history and the individuals it’s had running its programs, whether it’s a president like Dr. Brennan O’Donnell today or Brother Tom Scanlan or athletic directors like Marianne today or Jack Powers back in the day,” Ensor says.

Ensor also notes that Manhattan is literally positioned for excellence with its location in a massive media market. “Young coaches want to coach in New York City because they recognize that if they have success, they will have a chance to move up,” he says.

The following is a look at Manhattan’s remarkable individual and team accomplishments since the MAAC’s inception.

BASEBALL The 2006 Jaspers recorded a tremendous upset when they traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, for the College’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1957. Unflappable left-hander Chris Cody ’07 outdueled future Yankees standout Joba Chamberlain and national No. 6 seed University of Nebraska, 4-1. Matt Rizzotti ’13 and John Fitzpatrick ’06 rocked Chamberlain with consecutive second-inning homers to back Cody’s masterpiece.

“We saw 10,000 fans dressed in red, and they were loud,” recalls Cody, now a Manhattan assistant coach. “You talk about adrenaline!”

A two-run single by Nick Derba ’07 then keyed a 6-4 win against the University of San Francisco in the second round. The upstart Jaspers led powerhouse Miami University, 4-3, after five innings before bowing, 10-4, in the third round, to close a school-record 34-win season.

“We had a bunch of local New York City kids, and we kind of prided ourselves on being tough,” says current head coach Mike Cole, then an assistant.

MEN’S BASKETBALL “Flores over Florida: The little team from the Big Apple was every bit as good as promised against the Gators.”

So read the ESPN headline above an article detailing how Luis Flores ’04, whose 26 points paced 12th-seeded Manhattan’s shocking 75-60 rout against the University of Florida to open the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

The Jaspers exerted tremendous defensive pressure in building a 36-29 halftime margin against Florida and never relented.

“When the game was over, we were like, ‘Wow, we just did that!’” says Steve Masiello, head coach, who was then an assistant coach.

Manhattan came incredibly close to a Sweet 16 berth before dropping an 84-80 decision to Wake Forest. The swarming Jaspers outscored their Atlantic Coast Conference foe 45-36 in the second half and drew to within 82-80 on two free throws from Dave Holmes ’04 with 44.2 seconds left.

“We really thought if we could have won that game,” Masiello says, “who knows what could have happened?”

Flores needed only three seasons to become Manhattan’s all-time leading scorer (2,046 points). He says of his time at Manhattan: “It helped me become a man. In a nice way, they hold you responsible.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL During a recent virtual reunion, members of the 200203 team were asked what factors helped them to win 13 consecutive games and 17 of 18 en route to Manhattan’s fourth MAAC title. All agreed it was an unusually powerful sense of team combined with a laser focus on winning.

“We were going to work as hard as we could to ensure we won each game, one game at a time,” says Rosalee Mason ’04, the College’s all-time rebounding leader (1,217).

That consistency was rewarded when Manhattan added the MAAC Tournament to its regular-season crown, defeating Siena, 65-57, behind tournament MVP Siobhan Kilkenny ’03. The Jaspers secured the win with an 8-2 run that provided their 17th victory in 18 games and raised their record to 20-9.

Mason went on to a professional playing career abroad, and points to her years at Manhattan as the time she treasures most.

“I hope our story made a mark in helping to build women’s sports at Manhattan,” she says.

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Jake Freeman ’04 relished his underdog status when he represented Manhattan in the NCAA Championships.

“It definitely put a little chip on your shoulder,” he says. “Manhattan

doesn’t have these huge sports programs, but still we make do.”

Freeman won the NCAA title in the 2003 indoor weight throw (21.70 meters) and flexed his considerable muscle in the outdoor hammer throw (70.77 meters) in 2004. He closed his brilliant career as the only eight-time All-American in the program’s rich history and was voted the College’s Athlete of the Decade.

“It was an amazing experience,” Freeman says.

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD Aliann Pompey ’99 credits coach Joe Ryan’s motivation for her emergence as the first woman in Manhattan history to win a national championship. She dashed to the 400-meter crown at the 2000 NCAA Indoor Championships. “I went into it thinking it was my race to lose,” she says, “and everyone else was thinking I was not a factor.”

Born in Georgetown, Guyana, Pompey arrived in the United States at age 14. It was Manhattan’s good fortune that she eventually made her way to Riverdale. She set seven records at the College and represented her homeland in four Summer Olympics (2000-12).

She continues to make her mark as an adjunct professor in the kinesiology department at Manhattan. The establishment of the Aliann Pompey Invitational, the premier international track and field competition in Guyana, reflects her enduring commitment to her home country. In its first year, the invitational hosted 11 athletes who went on to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. “She cares about the sport and bringing all that it brought to her to others,” Reilly says.

VOLLEYBALL Goedele “Luka” Van Cauteren ’04 followed her childhood dream of wanting to enjoy the “city that never sleeps” when the Belgium native transferred to Manhattan. In doing so, she lifted the Jaspers to their first two MAAC Championships (2002, 2003) in volleyball.

She was named the conference’s Player of the Year in both seasons, registering more than 1,000 kills during that span. Her 610 kills in 2003 remain a school record.

Van Cauteren now works in marketing in New Zealand and, like so many Jasper athletes who benefited from the competition they faced in the MAAC, believes that she learned equally from failure and success while at Manhattan. “It made me a much more resilient person,” she says.

SPORTS

SPORTSSHORTS JASPERS CONTINUE TO EXCEL IN THE CLASSROOM Manhattan College student-athletes again stood out in the classroom during the 2020 spring semester, with all 19 teams earning a GPA of at least 3.1 for the semester, and 18 registering at least a 3.2.

Dean’s List status (3.4 GPA or greater) was attained by 68.2% of Jaspers, while 91.1% achieved at least a 3.0 for the term.

LAPOINTE IS NAMED TO NCAA STUDENT-ATHLETE ENGAGEMENT GROUP The reigning MAAC Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year, Emily LaPointe ’23, has been named the MAAC representative to the newly formed NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete Engagement Group, which will serve as an amplifying voice for women’s basketball on key initiatives, legislation and various issues.

The group, which was formed in collaboration with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), is the first of its kind at the NCAA and will have a direct connection to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, while also serving as a conduit of information to and from the WBCA. The Student-Athlete Engagement Group consists of current NCAA Division I women’s basketball student-athletes from all 32 conferences.

The members are nominated through the WBCA NCAA Division I Conference Captains program, which includes a head coach or captain in each conference with whom the WBCA communicates regularly on important issues. Each captain submitted the name of a player from their team or conference whom they believed would be a good representative for all women’s basketball players in their conference.

The term of service for each student-athlete will coincide with athletics eligibility for competition.

This past March, LaPointe became the third Jasper to earn MAAC Rookie of the Year honors and the first unanimous selection in Manhattan women’s basketball history. She was also a unanimous selection to the MAAC All-Rookie Team after leading the Jaspers in scoring with 12.5 points per game this season and ranking 13th in the league.

BORISENKO IS DRAFTED BY NATIONAL LACROSSE LEAGUE Kelson Borisenko ’20 was drafted by the Saskatchewan Rush, based in Saskatoon, Canada, in the fourth round of the 2020 National Lacrosse League Draft.

Borisenko was the 64th player selected in the six-round event, and one of seven tabbed by the Rush.

He has been one of the top defenders in the MAAC since his arrival on campus, and last year paced a Jasper unit that yielded a MAAC-low 9.33 goals per game while ranking 10th nationally. He also was a key member of Manhattan’s man-down defense that led all of Division I in both 2018 (80%) and 2019 (81.6%).

During his time with Manhattan, Borisenko has played in 47 games and made 34 starts, while also adding a pair of goals and six assists.

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TWO JASPERS ARE NOMINATED FOR NCAA WOMAN OF THE YEAR Softball’s Adriana Gambino ’20 and women’s basketball’s Pamela Miceus ’20 were nominated by Manhattan for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year award. This year, a record 605 female college athletes were nominated for the prestigious award.

Rooted in Title IX, the NCAA Woman of the Year Award was established in 1991 to recognize graduating female student-athletes that have distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

A softball team captain this past season, Gambino was named one of 30 candidates for the softball Senior CLASS Award and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team honors. She is a member of Manhattan’s College-wide honor society, Epsilon Sigma Pi; the national honor society for students in engineering, Tau Beta Pi; and the national honor society for students in civil engineering, Chi Epsilon. In May, Gambino won the Brother Azarias Michael Medal for civil engineering and was named as a finalist for the Joseph J. Gunn Alumni Medal, the College’s highest undergraduate honor.

A three-year member of the women’s basketball team, Miceus was a finalist for both the Gunn Medal and the College’s valedictory medal this past spring. She was awarded the Brother Aubert Medal for mechanical engineering and is a member of Epsilon Sigma Pi, Tau Beta Pi and Pi Tau Sigma, the national honor society for mechanical engineering. Active in the local community, Miceus helped the Jaspers to a fifth-place finish in total community service hours for all of Division I women’s basketball this past academic year by volunteering at local schools, nursing homes and the Riverdale Y. At the annual Jasper Academic and Sports Performance Yearly Showcase (JASPYS) celebration in April, she was named Ms. Jasper, an award that recognizes the female student-athlete who best exemplifies what it means to be a Jasper, both in and out of competition. Initially enrolled at Manhattan with an academic scholarship, Miceus joined the program as a sophomore walk-on in 2017. A year later, she received a starting role and a full athletic scholarship.

ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME CLASS IS ANNOUNCED Eight individuals have been elected to the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2020, with one team selected for special recognition.

This year’s honorees are John Bruckner ’74 (football), Mary DudekSerre ’05 (women’s lacrosse), Carey Edwards ’93 (men’s basketball), Milan Jotanovic ’09 (men’s track and field), Walter Olsewski ’68 (men’s and women’s swimming and diving), Mike Parisi ’13 (baseball), Joe Ryan ’81 (men’s and women’s track and field) and Michael Ward ’91 (men’s and women’s rowing).

Additionally, the 1977 men’s soccer team will be honored for its outstanding achievement. The annual induction ceremony and dinner has been postponed for this year. The next event is scheduled to take place on campus in November 2021. (To read more, see page 42.)

James McHugh JAMES E. MCHUGH, track and field coach at Manhattan College from 1962 to 1969, died on Oct. 16, 2020.

He was 94.

McHugh was the successor to legendary head coach George Eastment. He continued the strong Jasper tradition, leading his teams to win nine Metropolitan intercollegiate titles, including two in cross country, four in indoor, and three in outdoor.

To date, 11 of his mentees have been inducted into the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame. By the end of his coaching career, McHugh’s teams had shattered 17 of the 26 Manhattan College track and field team records. He was inducted into the Manhattan College Hall of Fame a decade ago. He is also honored with a scholarship in his name at St. Francis Preparatory School, the James E. McHugh Scholarship Fund, which is a perpetual athletic/academic scholarship, and Manhattan College’s Coach Jim McHugh Scholarship, which supports members of the track and field team.

Prior to coaching at Manhattan, McHugh racked up a number of championships coaching at St. Francis Prep in Queens, New York. His teams took five Championship of America titles at the prestigious Penn Relays and set national records in the 1-mile and 2-mile races. He was inducted into the Catholic High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame.

“Though a hard-working and demanding coach, he was a gentleman who brought out the best in all of us as teenagers striving to succeed in life and sport,” says Ed Kennedy ’61, who was a member of McHugh’s teams at both the Prep and Manhattan. “Many have said he was a major influence in their lives ... He was admired by everyone for how he lived his personal life, as well as his dedicated coaching ability.”

A native of Brooklyn, McHugh served in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II and participated in the air offensive against Japan during his tour. He was a graduate of St. Francis College and earned his master’s degree at New York University.

McHugh is survived by his sister, Ann Gordon, as well as his niece, Eileen Leahy. He was predeceased by his wife, Bernice McHugh.

FUNFACTS 3.49

Overall Manhattan student-athlete GPA for the 2020 spring semester

16

100%

1

The women’s basketball team was slated to finish first in the annual MAAC preseason poll

Student-athletes from spring sport teams that elected to return to campus for a fifth year

Manhattan’s 19 programs reached their goal of 100% voter registration of eligible studentathletes ahead of the 2020 U.S. election.

8

Weekly MAAC Rookie of the Week awards for unanimous Rookie of the Year Emily LaPointe ’23 (women’s basketball)

.476

3

The batting average for Annie Moore ’22 in last year’s truncated softball season

Student-athletes that were finalists for the College’s prestigious Gunn Medal: Adriana Gambino ’20 (softball), Luke Hanson ’20 (men’s lacrosse), Pamela Miceus ’20 (women’s basketball)

2

17.36 9

Individual wins on the golf course last year, as Preston Shortell ’20 won the MET Intercollegiate Championship, and Sam Taraian ’22 claimed top honors at the Red Storm Invitational His throw of 17.36 meters won Anu Awonusi ’21 gold in the shot put at the 2020 MAAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, as well as Most Outstanding Field Performer honors

Assists for Luke Hanson ’20 during the men’s lacrosse team’s win over Wagner, which is a MAAC record

MANHATTAN.EDU N 29

SPORTS

SPORTSSHORTS THE COLLEGE STANDS OUT IN ANNUAL APR REPORT Twelve Manhattan College intercollegiate athletic teams (out of 19) exceeded the national multiyear average in the Academic Progress Rate (APR) report for the 2018-19 academic year.

The golf and softball teams each recorded a perfect multiyear score of 1,000, while the women’s rowing (996), women’s indoor/outdoor track and field (996), women’s lacrosse (995), men’s lacrosse (994), women’s soccer (994), men’s soccer (993), women’s cross country (992), baseball (991) and volleyball (989) teams all exceeded the national multiyear average of 983.

The APR rating system is a real-time measure of eligibility, retention and graduation of student-athletes. The most recent APRs are multiyear scores based on the last four reported academic years (2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19).

MANHATTAN HOSTS VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY PANEL DISCUSSION AND MEET To commemorate what would have been the 48th annual Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 10, several of the New York City area’s greatest names in running came together for a virtual live panel discussion hosted by Kevin Monaghan ’77.

Former U.S. National Team member Marty Liquori and Division I AllAmerican Gene McCarthy headlined the distinguished panel, which also included Matt Centrowitz, Manhattan’s director of cross country, track and field; Kerri Gallagher, cross country head coach; and school-record holder Lisa Fajardo ’19. For more than an hour, the group discussed the legacy of Invitational founder, the late Ed Bowes ’64, as well as the history of the meet, New York City’s historic running tradition, the storied Van Cortlandt Park course, and much more. The segment originally aired live on BronxNet’s TV, web and social platforms.

In addition, 34 people participated in a virtual 5K, which was won by Peter Harrison ’11.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HOLDS BLM VIGIL The Manhattan women’s basketball team hosted a candlelight vigil in October, to honor the Black Lives Matter movement and those who have lost their lives to racism and violence.

The event, which took place on the Quadrangle, was sponsored by the College’s Black Student Union, Jaspers Vote, office of Diversity and Equity, Political Science department, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and Student Engagement.

Open to the entire campus community, the vigil featured speakers who recognized victims by reading their names aloud and holding moments of silence. Participants also gave speeches of solidarity and shared experiences with an eye toward inspiring change.

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CONTINUED

DOUGLAS-STANLEY AND NELSON EARN NCAA HARDSHIP WAIVERS Junior transfers Jason Douglas-Stanley ’22 and Anthony Nelson ’22 have received NCAA legislative relief waivers and are both eligible for the men’s basketball 2020-21 season.

Douglas-Stanley spent his first years at George Mason and helped lead the Patriots to 35 victories during his time in Fairfax, Virginia. A graduate of Mount Vernon High School, he was named Mr. Basketball for the New York Section 1 as a senior after averaging 28.7 points per game. Douglas-Stanley also guided the Knights to a 23-3 record, a Sectional Championship and a spot in the New York State Final Four.

Nelson began his career at Seton Hall and helped the Pirates to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, the 2020 Big East Co-Regular Season Championship and 41 victories over his two seasons in South Orange, New Jersey. Last season, he handed out at least four assists on 10 occasions, while posting a 1.6 assist/turnover ratio, and scored 10 points with four assists and two steals in a win over No. 7 Maryland.

MAAC IS UNITED FOR JUSTICE The MAAC announced the commencement of its United for Justice campaign. The announcement follows the MAAC Council of Presidents’ June statement on racism, which stated in part: “The MAAC is committed to work with others in college sports to seek ways to foster understanding and achieve permanent change to reverse the legacy of racial injustice and discrimination in our country.”

In the 2020-21 season, the MAAC will work both internally at the conference office and with all 11 member institutions to advance and execute strategies to combat racial injustices within our society.

The MAAC and its member institutions will work to address the longstanding history of systemic racism and inequality that minorities in this country have and still currently face, with a goal to educate those around us and to create substantial change in our communities.

The MAAC basketball programs have united to focus their messaging platform for the upcoming season on Black Lives Matter. Specifically, the coaches will be showcasing the Black Lives Matter messaging on warm-up shirts and uniform patches.

Moving forward, the MAAC and its member institutions will continue to make conscious efforts to promote education and raise awareness of social issues. Elements of the MAAC United for Justice campaign will be found on school campuses, MAAC live game broadcasts, as well as online and on social media. With the input of student-athletes, coaches and administrators, new ideas will continuously be welcomed. The MAAC and all its members are committed to making lasting change in our society.

Ed Bowes ’64

JASPER HALL OF FAMER ED BOWES ’64, a legendary high school track and field coach and founder of the Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational, passed away on July 31 at the age of 78.

Bowes’ own competitive running career included a 1960 IC4A Cross Country Championship for the Jaspers.

He also gained fame in the distance community at the 1972 New York City Marathon, emerging as the race leader after 23 miles before dehydration ended his bid for the title. Following his time as a member of Manhattan’s cross country and track and field teams, Bowes began his coaching career at Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn.

His enduring legacy is seen best in the Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational, the nation’s largest, one-day high school meet. As president of Manhattan’s Spiked Shoe Club, Bowes resurrected the scholastic competition in 1973, with the goal of creating a local meet for high school runners of all ages and abilities to compete, named after his alma mater. The event now attracts 10,000 runners from across North America to Van Cortlandt Park each fall and offers 40 intermediate- to varsity-level races throughout the day of competition.

Bowes last visited the College in 2019 for the running of the 47th annual invitational. Shortly before the Girls Eastern State Championship, which is named in his honor, Bowes was presented a replica of a new finish-line plaque that named the meet’s final stretch “Ed Bowes Way.”

MANHATTAN.EDU N 31

M A N H AT TA N

IN THE TIME

O F COV I D -1 9 Through Selflessness and (Lots of) Planning, Jaspers Make it Work If ever the hallmark Lasallian call to work “together and by association” was put to the test at Manhattan College, it has been during the past year, as the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way Jaspers teach, learn, work and socialize. Compelled to reimagine Manhattan’s educational model (though not its core mission) for the sake of the health and safety of the College community, Jaspers have not only risen to the occasion but also discovered innumerable ways to grow in knowledge and understanding, strengthen bonds of faith and friendship, and forge ahead in uncertain times.

BY CECILIA DONOHOE

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“OVER THE PAST 10 MONTHS, I have been continually amazed and inspired by the energy, adaptability and creativity of our community in finding new ways to do our work,” says President Brennan O’Donnell. “Our faculty have worked tirelessly to convert their courses, adapt their pedagogy, and find new ways to connect with students.”

O’Donnell credits administrators and staff with completely reinventing structures for supporting students and handling day-to-day operations while creating new processes to keep the Manhattan family safe. “And,” he notes, “our students rose to the challenge of the One Manhattan pledge, acting responsibly in taking care of themselves and of one another.”

A SUDDEN DEPA RTURE It was March 2020, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were beginning to reverberate throughout the New York metropolitan area and the world. The phrase “social distancing” had recently entered the lexicon, and new developments on the spread of the coronavirus made the news each day. On the first of the month, the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in New York State. On March 7, the governor declared a state of emergency, and the next day, New York City travelers were advised to avoid densely packed subways and buses.

In this environment, and with much still unknown about the coronavirus that caused the disease, Manhattan College suspended in-person classes on Monday, March 9, out of an abundance of caution. The following day would be spent gathering necessary materials and setting up teaching-learning-study-office spaces, with online instruction commencing on Wednesday, March 11. This model was planned to continue through March 29, a period that included the College’s scheduled spring break.

Most resident students left campus by Friday, March 13. Alexandra Xuan ’21, an economics major from the San Francisco Bay area, initially planned to stay in campus housing during the online period but grew concerned that additional restrictions might prevent her from traveling and ultimately decided to fly home. Chemical engineering major Meghan Walker ’21 went home to Franklinville, New Jersey. Although disconcerted by the sudden switch, Walker remembers, “I think everyone expected that ‘this is short-term — a fun little break and totally new learning experience.’”

That new learning experience would prove to be a much longerlived one than anticipated. On March 17, in the face of mounting coronavirus cases in New York and following guidance from federal, state and local authorities, College leaders made the painful but necessary decision to suspend all in-person instruction in favor of a remote format for the remainder of the spring semester. College employees able to work from home were requested to do so, and resident students remaining on campus, aside from a few exceptions, returned to their hometowns.

“Residence Life staff realized that flexibility was the only option for a successful move-out process,” says Sharon Phelan, assistant director of operations for dean of students and residence life. “Students had to plan their move out based on safe travel to and from campus, health and safety concerns for their immediate family, and

Practically overnight, the bustling Manhattan campus grew uncharacteristically quiet. Classrooms stood empty, residence halls were silent, the Quad and Draddy Gym were devoid of movement. It was, as has often been said of these times, unprecedented. the financial burden they might be facing. We structured move-out options that kept all these concerns in mind.” Students not able to return to campus from spring break in order to move out were given the option to work with one of the College’s storage partners to pack up and store their belongings until the fall.

Practically overnight, the bustling Manhattan campus grew uncharacteristically quiet. Classrooms stood empty, residence halls were silent, the Quad and Draddy Gym were devoid of movement. It was, as has often been said of these times, unprecedented.

A TR ANSITION TO REMOTE EDUCATION Meanwhile, at kitchen tables and coffee tables and in bedrooms, basements and spare corners, Manhattan’s faculty, students and staff quickly regrouped and embarked upon an uncharted educational endeavor.

With all instruction web-based and most offices now operating remotely, the most immediate issues that needed to be addressed were technological ones. These ranged from troubleshooting Wi-Fi and bandwidth issues, to sourcing laptops for students who needed them, to arranging for staff and faculty to remotely access important databases and specialized software. Luckily, the office of Information Technology Services (ITS) had not been caught unawares.

They had been rebalancing the College’s IT security measures and remote capabilities prior to the pandemic.

“Part of our job is to be prepared, so we do a lot of work as far as risk mitigation,” says Jake Holmquist ’01, chief information officer.

“For the last 20 years, we’ve been making sure there was a plan B in place in the event of a disaster. We were very fortunate that we were able to take a lot of projects that were already underway and accelerate the rollout.”

ITS also partnered with faculty library staff members Kimberly Woodruff, director of instructional design, and Blair Goodlin, instructional designer, who identified tools to invest in, such as document cameras and writing tablets, that would assist faculty in instruction. Woodruff and Goodlin were also the “go-to” experts for faculty as they became more reliant on Moodle, an open-source learning management system, and the video communication service Google Meet.

“The instructional designers had a meeting with us to give us prep on how to use the hardware, how to use Google Meet, how to record our classes,” recalls John Leylegian, associate professor of mechanical engineering and chair of the department. “Enough of the basics for us to at least go off and start to prepare on our own.”

Robert Suzzi Valli ’06, assistant professor of mathematics, had MANHATTAN.EDU N 33

(This page, top to bottom) Robert Suzzi Valli ’06, assistant professor of mathematics, and Khoa Dinh, visiting assistant professor of mathematics, hosted several virtual community-building events for students, including watching the movie Hidden Figures and (pictured) a “derivative bee” using Kahoot!, a game-based learning platform.

Meghan Walker ’21 shares her screen during a chemical engineering senior design group presentation at the end of the fall semester. Kelly Daggett-Namesh, director of chemistry labs, used her cell phone to record laboratory experiments, providing students with the data needed to complete their chemistry lab assignments. (Opposite page) Jimena González, assistant professor of economics and finance, snapped a selfie while teaching Intro to Environmental Economics in dual mode. Michael Grabowski, associate professor of communication, provides remote instruction on how to edit a fiction scene in Avid Media Composer for his Field and Postproduction class.

32 N 2020 34 fall 2015

recently begun using an iPad as a teaching tool, which proved helpful when transitioning to online instruction. One of the biggest challenges he encountered was converting paper-based tests to an electronic format that would be fair and equitable for all. Recognizing that students needed additional one-on-one time to review material and ask questions, he added extra office hours each week.

“I feel like students in general were good sports about the transition,” Suzzi Valli says. “I could see my classes getting tired near the end, but they were still in good spirits.”

Remote instruction required ingenuity and resourcefulness on the part of faculty, especially when it came to lab-based and hands-on courses. Kelly DaggettNamesh, director of chemistry labs, who teaches the General Chemistry I and II labs, used her last day on campus to record herself conducting the remaining experiments for the semester — on her cellphone.

“The students would watch the video and record the data as if they were in the lab,” she explains. “For some, I actually did it multiple times to give different students different sets of data, so that not everyone was getting the same thing.”

To encourage communication and a sense of community in her classes, Jimena González, assistant professor of economics and finance, utilized the messaging app Slack so that students could chat with her and one another.

“I think that really helped me get to know students better, so they could message me at any time,” she says. “It helped me assist them if they had questions or were working on a problem set.”

Michael Grabowski, associate professor of communication and chair of the department, set up a home studio, complete with a green screen. He emphasized to students that their adjustment to remote instruction is also reflected in the industries where they hope to one day work.

“A lot of television production companies have had to incorporate remote elements into their productions,” Grabowski says. “We’ve been having students produce various Zoom-style interviews and then incorporating those into their broadcasts.”

There were hurdles, too, as faculty and students adjusted to the new instructional format while contending with the practicalities of studying and working at home, compounded by the fears and uncertainties of the coronavirus era. Flexibility, understanding and a willingness to embrace trial and error were often called for.

“The transition was challenging as it was unexpected, requiring familiarity with technology and an appropriate teaching/studying environment at home,” González says. “On top of that, many students were dealing with personal and economic hardships at home. Students had to face the reality that their college experience had drastically changed.”

“I found it really challenging to go one second from regular school, as we’ve known it our whole lives, to online,” acknowledges Aidan Gormley ’21, an eco-

CREATING A ROA DMA P TO RETURN

nomics major who was studying from his home in Worchester, Massachusetts. “But I think by the end of the semester, I kind of found the rhythm of online learning.”

“I think all the professors developed their own style of how they were going to get the material across in a way that has never been done before,” Walker says. “There was definitely some trial and error in the beginning, but they were very understanding and open to feedback about what was working and what wasn’t.”

In California, Xuan contended with a three-hour time difference, which meant logging in to her computer at 6 a.m. for a class held at 9 a.m. in New York. “That was probably one of the biggest challenges,” she says. “As well as being at home all of a sudden with family and being afraid of the virus. It was definitely difficult.”

Rather than dwelling on those difficulties, Xuan channeled her creativity into a weekly email newsletter, [She]donist District, that she distributed to fellow Manhattan students, as well as students at other colleges and friends working full time. Focused on womancentered news, “It was a passion project at the time to make people feel more positive amid all the terrible news,” she says.

Looking back, Walker views those early days of remote learning as “some of my favorite times, in a weird way.” She continues: “There was an understanding from both sides that this is something we’re going to have to work on, and get used to, and get through together.

There was a lot of comradery in that and just figuring out how to make it work.”

Of necessity, Manhattan’s switch to remote operations in the spring semester had been undertaken rapidly, with many decisions made in response to ever-shifting concerns about the pandemic. Once the semester concluded, however, the focus turned to longer-term planning with one major goal in mind: how to bring students back to campus for fall 2020. To that end, in May, O’Donnell announced a college-wide Return to Campus Task Force, charged with developing a comprehensive blueprint. And, to help inform and guide the College’s efforts from a broad range of perspectives and professional experience, an Advisory Council comprised of industry experts and leaders drawn from the ranks of alumni and friends was assembled.

“Planning for a timely and safe return to campus this fall will not be easy,” O’Donnell noted in his announcement. “It will require us to draw extensively on the knowledge, expertise, creativity and wisdom of our community in order to anticipate a broad range of possible scenarios and provide for the many changes in our operations and interactions that will be required of us.”

William Clyde, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, Richard Satterlee, vice president for student life, and Tamara Britt, then-general counsel for the College, were appointed as cochairs of the three major planning committees: Academic Affairs; Student Affairs; and Management, Policy, Compliance and Campus Operations. And, even before officially stepping in as the new provost and vice president of academic affairs on July 6, Steven Schreiner was heavily involved in the work of the Task Force.

Each committee was comprised of faculty, staff, administrators and students representing every conceivable aspect of College life, from Health Services to Facilities and from Athletics to Commuter Affairs. Within the planning committees were smaller groups centered on areas including teaching, student support and success, global engagement, residence life, food service, employee engagement, and many more.

“The question wasn’t ‘Can we come back?’ but ‘How do we?’” says Britt, who was promoted to vice president for external and legal affairs and chief of staff, president’s office, this fall. “I thought it made sense to include all campus sectors, so they had a seat at the table.”

Operating within the framework of many unknowns, the Task Force contemplated three main scenarios for in-person and virtual instruction and, within those, a number of permutations that, together, took into account all foreseeable circumstances. Considerations included the need to screen, contain and contact trace COVID-19 cases, the need for reduced density in campus spaces, and the need to offer classes in dual or hybrid mode.

“A comprehensive approach to how we would shape student behavior and student expectations was clearly important,” Satterlee says. “It was going to look like a whole lot of regulations, from mask wearing to social distancing, to staggered arrival back in the residence halls. Early on, we knew that we couldn’t just have a set of rules, we also had to build trust and a sense of a social compact with the students that were going to be returning to campus — social responsibilities that we had for caring for one another.”

MANHATTAN.EDU N 35

(Top) Plentiful signage throughout the Manhattan campus reminds community members to adhere to health and safety protocols. (Bottom) Tamara Britt, vice president for external and legal affairs and chief of staff, president’s office, leads a Return to Campus planning meeting. Britt marshaled the administrative and academic departments as they developed a comprehensive plan that allowed for a safe on-campus fall semester.

“... we couldn’t just have a set of rules, we also had to build trust and a sense of a social compact with the students that were going to be returning to campus — social responsibilities that we had for caring for one another.”

Richard Satterlee, vice president for student life

30 N 2020 36 spring 2017

Lisa Juncaj, director for business systems, lent her efforts to the Management, Policy, Compliance and Campus Operations planning committee. “We looked at the business continuity plans of each area of the College to make sure they were prepared to transition through different phases of the pandemic,” she says. “For example, in student service areas, making sure that offices that handle large volumes of students, such as Financial Aid, Student Accounts and the Registrar’s office, could operate safely and with social distancing in place … It was a wide range of looking at the most ground-level detail and also at the 10,000-foot level.”

Like so many during these times, Juncaj soldiered on while dealing with personal loss: her mother passed away in May. Holmquist worked on a cross-functional team that envisioned and built a daily symptom tracker and, later, the online public dashboard to track cases of COVID-19 on campus. Uniting staff and administrators from ITS, Health Services, the newly-established contact tracing team and others, the team benefited from the varied expertise of each of its members.

“Tamara [Britt] has been a major driver of these things and shown tremendous leadership,” Holmquist notes. “[Associate Provost and Assistant Professor of Public Health] Rani Roy has both technical and functional ability — she’s a great person to translate content for IT. [Director of Health Services] Anne Mavor asks the best questions in all of these meetings as far as how we need to move things forward.”

Mavor adds that Health Services played a large role in establishing the One Manhattan Office of Campus Health and Safety, which created policy and coordinated efforts in planning for the fall.

“Health Services and One Manhattan led the development of the Return to Campus plan using the guidelines for institutions of higher education set by the Centers for Disease Control and the New York Department of Health,” she says. “Health Services was supported by the ITS department and One Manhattan to create best practices to monitor the health and risk of our community. The health of the community allows for all other parts of the College experience to be successful.”

After a month of meetings and planning sessions, the Task Force made its final report, the Roadmap for Return to Campus in June. Reflecting the forethought, compassion and care of all involved, the report included a comprehensive list of action items for the College to undertake for the rest of the summer. In addition to innumerable preparations for the safe resumption of in-person classes and residential life, action items included procuring adequate disinfecting supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE); providing academic support services; developing and coordinating health and safety training materials; training a sufficient number of contact tracers; drafting work-from-home and related policies for employees; and finding medical partners to conduct on-campus COVID-19 testing.

Task Force outcomes also included the launch of a Return to Campus website and communications plan by the office of Marketing and Communication, dedicated to sharing information and the latest developments. The One Manhattan office was tasked with overseeing logistics and coordinating the implementation of policies, procedures, health and safety guidelines. One Manhattan also supervised a new Campus Ambassador program, through which volunteers would educate the community and encourage the practice of healthy measures.

“Joining the Return to Campus planning as a new member of the Manhattan College family, I was amazed and very pleased to see how everyone on campus came together to wade through the myriad of complexities and uncertainty to create plans to return to campus,” Schreiner

(Left) Computer engineering major Frenki-Samuel Lulgjuraj ’24 is a One Manhattan campus ambassador — a program that stations student and employee volunteers at prominent locations throughout campus to answer questions and remind people to wear face coverings, maintain physical distancing, and adhere to the health and safety guidelines administered by the College and the CDC. They also supply face masks and hand sanitizer to community members as needed. (Right) The Admissions office reconfigured its Welcome Center to greet visitors outside the O’Malley Library and provide safe, socially distanced information sessions and campus tours.

says. “Whenever things were looking insurmountable, we always returned to the basic premise that, whatever we do, we must help ensure that our students make progress toward their degrees during the pandemic. Even though we are all affected, we can be certain that One Manhattan is not just a catchphrase, it is a mark of our identity, deeply rooted in our Lasallian Catholic tradition.”

Task Force members were never in the same room together throughout the entire process, as all communications took place over Google Meet, on conference calls, through email, and document sharing. No matter. The spirit that defines Jaspers shone through in its work.

“I can’t say enough great things about the partnerships within the College,” Roy reflects. “We already had those relationships, and we were able to rely on them and strengthen them.”

WITH SA FETY PROTOCOLS IN PLACE, CAMPUS LIFE SPRINGS BACK For three months, the Task Force and subsequent preparations for the return to campus were carried out with the goal of safely beginning the fall semester on Aug. 31. By implementing steps that included a virtual new student Orientation; staggered move-in to residence halls; distanced options for dining; and a mix of in-person, remote and hybrid classes, the College accomplished that goal.

Starting in mid-August, Manhattan College began welcoming back and was enlivened by, once again, its students.

They returned to a campus that fully embraced the requirements of life under COVID-19. Faculty, staff and students were encouraged to take the One Manhattan Pledge, a promise to protect the health and safety of themselves, others and community members. Move-in to residence halls was staggered during a two-week period to avoid crowding, and only one person was permitted per student to assist with the process. There was plentiful new signage to remind people

to socially distance. Entry to campus required a green pass on the daily symptom tracker. Rooms were set aside in Horan Hall for students that were required to quarantine. Tented dining areas were set up on Walsh Plaza and next to the Kelly Commons. Compliance with the mask-wearing mandate was universal.

There were losses, too, that made campus life different than ever before. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) canceled fall sports competition, with the possibility of rescheduling them in the spring. The men’s and women’s basketball schedules were left largely intact, though fans were not allowed to attend games. Large gatherings for concerts and lectures were, of course, not permitted.

Perhaps most disappointingly, Commencement and Reunion Weekend were postponed.

Nevertheless, some traditions held, albeit with a twist. The Fall Honors Convocation, traditionally hosted in the Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers, became a virtual event that entailed much planning to ensure that inductees felt celebrated and appreciated.

The Admissions office transformed its recruitment efforts, as well. A Welcome Center was set up outside the O’Malley Library to serve as a hub for scaled-down campus visits that were carefully orchestrated to ensure the well-being of staff and visitors. Partnering closely with the office of Marketing and Communication, they created engaging and successful virtual experiences, including Accepted Student Days in the spring and two Open Houses in the fall. The Open Houses, which attracted more than 800 prospective students, featured breakout sessions with deans, academic departments and clubs, and provided ample opportunities for attendees to ask questions and connect with faculty, administrators and current students.

Campus tours and information sessions were offered in both virtual and socially distanced, in-person formats.

“Virtual Open House was extremely successful because the entire community of faculty, staff and students was committed to deliverMANHATTAN.EDU N 37

The office of Student Engagement offered a variety of remote and in-person events this past fall. Students were able to gather on the Quad for socially distanced movie nights and yoga (left). Martial arts classes and an activities and clubs fair (right) were held on Jasper Lawn, outside of Jasper Hall.

ing that same warm and personal Jasper welcome this year to our future students and their families,” notes Colette Geary, vice president for enrollment management. “We were pleasantly surprised to see the authentic personal engagement that was able to happen using well-planned technology. A silver lining to the virtual experience was the participation of so many international students who were able to be part of Open House for the first time.”

The office of Campus Ministry and Social Action took to social media, especially the MC_CMSA Instagram account, to keep students apprised of opportunities to engage with social justice movements — and with each other. For instance, the monthly Agape Latte speaker series moved to Instagram TV and became weekly Caffeinated Cyber Conversations: 10-minute talks on subjects including community, gratitude, justice and spirituality in the age of social distancing.

The Alumni Relations team also worked to keep Jasper bonds strong. They held a well-attended Construction Industry Golf Outing at the Leewood Golf Club in Eastchester, New York, in July and went on to reimagine a roster of events to suit the virtual environment. More than 50 virtual engagements were hosted via Google Meet, including a virtual Alumni Author Series and virtual Meditation Wednesdays with Brother Ralph Bucci, FSC. The Alumni Society Board Gunn Medal and Hall of Fame committees also met virtually to select the 2020 Gunn Medal recipient and Class of 2020 Hall of Fame inductees.

For Gormley, the opportunity to live on campus, take some inperson classes, and see a close group of friends and roommates outweighed the inconveniences imposed by the restrictions.

“We found ways to responsibly gather or meet online,” he says.

“Our circles are small this year for sure. I’m on the rowing team, and 38 N 2020

we had to wear masks for every practice, which was tough. But I think everybody still got to carry out a relatively normal and exciting semester within the guidelines.”

Most campus clubs and organizations continued to meet and hold events, either distanced or virtually. The Quadrangle reported the news, the Singers and Players gave virtual performances, and the sports media production program was able to produce basketball games for ESPN by adding plexiglass dividers in the production truck and spacing camera people farther apart in Draddy Gym. John Bennett ’03, executive director of student engagement, was impressed by the students’ creativity.

“Our student leaders were flexible when it came to the changes we made to their typical, annual events, and understanding in how they treated one another,” he says. “In the end, some of the new formats that we’ve now undertaken, such as pivoting our annual Student Engagement Lecture Series to a virtual one, might even be here to stay for the long run. These events have been so highly attended and more interactive than ever, it’s become more than just the new normal, it’s something the students are asking for more of for the spring semester.”

Gormley is vice president of the Real Estate Club, which hosted online events, including a career chat with alumni who are real estate brokers. “They were challenging to organize but pretty rewarding with the turnout,” he says. “It’s a lot easier to get people to come to events when they don’t have to dress up and take a trip. And it was easier to get speakers to come in because they don’t have to travel to the school.”

As president of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Walker’s goal was to achieve a high level of engagement in the organization’s activities. “We decided that all our events were going to be remote,” she says. “Not only because it would be impractical to find space to accommodate people but we also wanted to make it so that students who chose to be full-time remote were not left out.”

Having gained experience with remote instruction in the spring, many faculty members felt more prepared for teaching dual mode classes, for which some students were present in the classroom and some were participating remotely. However, challenges remained.

“I still struggle with having to teach to two audiences at the same time,” González notes. “It’s a lot to coordinate. I kept reminding myself, ‘Am I sharing my screen?’ Because I want to make sure I’m not forgetting the students that are remote versus the ones on campus.”

Xuan decided to finish her senior year remotely from California.

From there, she continued working on her Jasper Summer Research project on reverse innovation in the beauty industry with Grishma Shah, associate professor of management and marketing.

“She really cares and engages her students,” Xuan says. “I love how she applied business strategies into the whole new COVID-19 era.

I was able to apply what I’ve learned from her in a recent interview where I was asked about shipping in Africa. I was more informed on the topic than candidates from Cornell, Stanford and Berkeley.”

A SA FE AND SUCCESSFUL FA LL SEMESTER CONCLUDES

(Top) The move-in process for residence halls was staggered over a two-week period in August. Students living in the same room or suite are considered a “pod” and may remove their masks only in their living quarters.

(Bottom) For all in-person classes, faculty and students maintained physical distance and wore face coverings per CDC guidelines.

Dart Westphal, program director of Environmental Studies, teaches a Political Communication class in dual mode, with some students in the classroom and some participating remotely.

Grabowski notes that he missed the immediate feedback from students when teaching remotely. “I have some students who are signing into a class from the bathroom because that’s the only room in the family’s house to have some peace and quiet,” he says. To compensate, he made sure to check in with the class and ask if they understood the material. He also found himself answering emails from students at all hours.

“There have to be changes in pedagogy in order for [remote teaching] to be successful,” he says. “The idea that I stand in front of a camera instead of the classroom — that just doesn’t work.”

Suzzi Valli, who taught his mathematics classes both in-person and remotely, also strived to keep remote learners engaged in lessons. “When you’re in the zone of things, by default you’re going to talk to the people in front of you for the most part. So I stop and say, ‘This question is for the remote students.’” He praises the mathematics department’s efforts to support students and replicate the community feeling of the common area in the Research and Learning Center by hosting a virtual weekly seminar.

“We had some research talks geared so that undergraduates could get something out of it, and a former colleague who works at Google spoke to students about the application process,” he recalls.

“Another time, an origami expert gave an interactive presentation.

Having the seminars once a week was really wonderful and wellattended by freshmen, as well.”

Throughout the semester, the College conducted random testing to screen for COVID-19 and kept the testing dashboard updated. The One Manhattan office sent periodic updates and reminders that kept the community apprised of developments and health requirements. While caseloads in New York City were low for the majority of the semester, the positivity rate on campus was even lower. For example, on Nov. 19, as the student body prepared to depart for Thanksgiving break, the steering committee co-chairs reported a 14-day positivity rate for the College as 1.1%. “As a point of comparison,” they noted “the seven-day positive test average for New York City was 2.5% on Tuesday, Nov. 17.”

After Thanksgiving, students remained at home, and instruction switched to fully remote to prevent the spread of the virus within communities. Through strict adherence to the guidelines, Manhattan was able to remain open for the entire semester and was never required to pause classes. As the semester wound down and students completed their final exams online, the magnitude of this achievement began to sink in.

“I never had an issue with anyone in a classroom not wearing a mask or being irresponsible in that way,” Gormley notes. “I was really proud that we made it through the end of the semester. A lot of my friends had to be sent home from other schools because they couldn’t keep themselves from going out and gathering.”

Walker agrees. She believes the defining quality of the fall semester has been “selflessness.”

“I appreciated that the school was very transparent with testing and reporting cases and providing updates,” she says. “It was good to see how well we were doing. That was a driving force of, ‘Keep it up. We’re doing great. We can keep doing this.’ It prompted the community aspect of protecting people living on campus and our commuters, coming together to make sure we protect one another.”

Reflecting on all that has transpired since March 2020, Britt concludes: “Our faith, sense of fellowship, and fears have been tested.

This shift brought about hybrid courses, testing, quarantines, dashboards, and a host of new policies and protocols. It also highlighted the resiliency, resourcefulness and flexibility of employees who had to take on new roles in the day of COVID-19.”

She continues: “While we are still working through some obstacles and challenging situations, the good news is we made it through arguably the most significant existential threat the College has ever experienced and remain steadfast in our determination to continue our mission. We’ll take the lessons that we learned to enhance the Manhattan College experience for all. Together, we are One Manhattan.”

MANHATTAN.EDU N 39

DEVELOPMENT

Annual De La Salle Dinner Raises a Record $2.6 Million COMPARING HIS EDUCATION TO A KEY OPENING DOORS to vast opportunities, Anthony Fernicola ’78, ’82 (MBA), president and chief customer officer at Salesforce, accepted the 2020 De La Salle Medal at a celebratory dinner that raised a record-breaking $2.6 million for scholarships and other forms of student assistance.

“I was the first in my family to attend college,” the double Manhattan alumnus said upon receiving the medal. “I had no idea at the time that Manhattan would have such a profound impact on my life.”

Close to 800 guests attended the De La Salle Dinner last February at the Grand Hyatt New York. Established in 1951, the annual gala recognizes corporate leaders who exemplify Lasallian Catholic values and raises unrestricted funds for scholarships and other forms of student aid. Such support “has a huge impact” on today’s Jaspers, said dinner chair Stephen Squeri ’81, ’86 (MBA). The chair and chief executive officer of American Express, Squeri was the 2017 honoree.

Mary Beth McDade ’93, an Emmy Award-winning news anchor at KTLA 5 in Los Angeles, served as emcee. Fernicola’s colleagues and friends filled the Grand Hyatt’s Empire Room. His 85-year-old father was among the many family members who also joined the celebration. Keith Block, former co-CEO of Salesforce, conveyed his congratulations on video, as did Fernicola’s young grandchildren.

Squeri noted the qualities that make Fernicola an ideal medal recipient. “Whether it’s in business or in life, Tony puts people first,” he said. “His dedication to helping others is what truly sets him apart — and this is exactly what the De La Salle Medal stands for.”

“When I look at your career and all you’ve accomplished, I can see clearly the signs of your being a Jasper,” observed President Brennan O’Donnell, who presented the award. “You gained from Manhattan not just the skills to be successful but also the deepening of personal and spiritual values that give meaning and purpose to life.”

O’Donnell also thanked participants for making this year’s dinner an unprecedented success. “On behalf of the many students these funds benefit, we are truly grateful for this outpouring of generosity,” he said.

Speaking for today’s young Jaspers, finance major Eva Vredenburgh ’21 expressed appreciation for that support.

“Thank you all for your generosity,” said the Presidential Scholarship recipient. “I consider myself so fortunate to attend a school with such strong Lasallian values. I will keep them with me wherever I go.”

Those values, Fernicola added, helped to shape his success. He grew up in a working-class neighborhood in the Bronx. “My mom and dad sacrificed everything to provide a better life for me and my two sisters,” he said. At Manhattan, he earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and economics and an MBA in computer science.

40 N 2020

(Top) Chair of the College’s Board of Trustees Kenneth Rathgeber ’70, honoree Anthony Fernicola ’78, ’82, emcee Mary Beth McDade ’93, President Brennan O’Donnell and Dinner Chair Stephen Squeri ’81, ’86 join in celebration at the De La Salle Dinner in February 2020. (Bottom) Eva Vrendenburgh ’21, who served as the student speaker, thanked attendees for their support.

The “first member of my family to go to work with a suit and tie,” Fernicola began his career at Unisys, where he quickly ascended the corporate ranks in sales and product management. While there, he also met his wife, Debbie.

After 16 years, Fernicola left for Oracle. A succession of top positions followed, including senior vice president of strategic accounts; general manager and senior vice president of Financial Services Licensing and Consulting Services; group vice president for the North American Financial Services Business Unit; and senior vice president of the North American Technology Organization.

In 2013, Fernicola was named president of global enterprise sales at software giant Salesforce. The company pioneered the “1-1-1” model of corporate philanthropy — donating 1% of its product, 1% of its equity, and 1% of employees’ time to charitable causes.

“I’m proud to be part of a company that practices the values instilled at Manhattan,” he said. “The training and education I received there provided the guiding light in always conducting business with the upmost integrity.”

For Business Student, Scholarship Links His Italian Heritage with Academic Goals

G

ROWING UP IN AN ITALIAN HOUSEHOLD in Valhalla, New York, Lorenzo Luciano ’21 was often told about the importance of three things: family, health and education.

His parents, who immigrated to the U.S. from southern Italy and had to leave school at a young age, wanted Luciano and his two brothers to appreciate the value of those attributes for a successful future.

“They believed that if their children had a better education, they would end up with better lives, not struggling to find food for the table like they did when they were kids,” Luciano says. But, while he intuitively appreciated his family and health, it wasn’t until his senior year in high school that he made his own education a priority.

“I thought back to my mother telling me about the importance of education my whole life, and how it will lead to further happiness and success down the road,” he says. “Now, keeping a 3.5 [GPA] is a big goal.”

Luciano has found the supportive environment at Manhattan key to achieving that goal. In addition to pursuing a double major in economics and finance, he is minoring in math and completed an honors track in calculus. Under the tutelage of Ira Gerhardt, assistant professor of mathematics, he was able to master the rigorous curriculum.

“Dr. Gerhardt encouraged students in a way I hadn’t seen before,” he says. “I didn’t really understand [the material] at first, but he would push me to come to office hours for extra help. To have one professor who wants to see you succeed, for me was a blessing.”

Another factor that’s positively impacted his time at Manhattan has been the financial support he receives from the Band of Italian American Brothers Scholarship. It was established by business graduates from the classes of 1979 and 1981 as a memorial and tribute to deceased classmates.

“The scholarship has helped me pace myself academically,” Luciano says. “It covered the cost of a winter class, which helps ease my course load and will hopefully help me graduate early or on time.”

Extracurriculars also keep Luciano hustling. He’s the director of finance for Beta Alpha Psi, the business honor society, and a member of the Investment Club. Through the Investment Club, he is learning how to use a Bloomberg Terminal to monitor and analyze financial market data.

“I’m able to apply what I’m doing in classes to real-world situations,” he says. “For example, in the Investment Club, I use a lot of cash-flow models and ratios to be able to identify the valuation of a stock.”

His time at Manhattan has also introduced Luciano to a new sport: rowing. He decided to try out for the crew team his sophomore year.

“The first day, I had no idea what to do,” he recalls. “But we had a race coming up, and I had to learn. Two weeks in, I got the hang of it. I fell in love with it after that. Being on the water at five in the morning, it’s like you’re out there in the middle of the night — it’s just beautiful.”

Looking ahead, Luciano aims to put his degree to work in advisory services, helping others to grow their wealth.

“Without the financial system of intermediaries and loans, people wouldn’t be able to live their dreams, start a business, own a house, start a family,” he says. “So you’re creating wealth for people to better their lives.”

Which brings him full circle to his family’s Italian roots, his scholarship, and a story his mother often told him.

“There was an earthquake in her hometown and her house was destroyed,” he recounts. “Her father would go into the woods and pick up branches to build a shed that they lived in until he was able to rebuild the house.”

Luciano sees parallels between his grandfather’s hard work and the financial support he’s received from the scholarship, which, he says, both provide the “stepping stones to getting back to where you were. You can always fall down, but it’s about how you get back up and how you continue moving forward.”

In concluding, he says, “It makes me proud to be recognized by fellow Italians.”

MANHATTAN.EDU N 41

ALUMNI

Hall of Fame Inducts New All-Stars EIGHT INDIVIDUALS HAVE BEEN ELECTED to the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2020, and the 1977 men’s soccer team has been selected for special recognition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual induction ceremony and dinner has been postponed and rescheduled to take place on campus in November 2021.

JOHN BRUCKNER ’74 was a four-year starter for the football team and the defensive leader of the 1972 team that matched the program record with six victories. A two-way player, he suited up at linebacker on defense and guard on offense, and was a three-year defensive captain. Bruckner was named Manhattan’s Best Offensive Lineman as a sophomore in 1971, and the Best Defensive Player one year later. He would go on to serve as team captain as a senior. A longtime member of the FDNY, Bruckner retired as a battalion chief in 2002 and was named the 2011 FDNY Holy Name Society Man of the Year.

MARY DUDEK-SERRE ’05 is one of the most accomplished players in the history of the women’s lacrosse program. She helped Manhattan to back-to-back MAAC Championships in 2004 and 2005, and is the only three-time MAAC All-Tournament team selection in school history. A First Team All-MAAC selection as a sophomore in 2003, Dudek-Serre earned Second Team honors in 2004 thanks to a career-high 33 goals in leading Manhattan to a school-record 11 wins. At the time of her graduation, she was second in program history in both goals (114) and points (148).

CAREY EDWARDS ’93 was one of the cornerstones of Manhattan’s outstanding men’s basketball teams during the Steve Lappas and Fran Fraschilla eras. He scored 1,139 career points while helping the program to 79 wins during his four years, highlighted by three-straight trips to the postseason. As a redshirt sophomore in 1991-92, Edwards and fellow Jaspers earned a then school-record 25 victories and a berth in the NIT, while setting the table for a historic season in 1992-93. He had a breakout year as a redshirt junior; earning All-MAAC Second Team honors and aver42 N 2020

aging 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, as Manhattan secured its first-ever MAAC Championship along with a date in the NCAA Tournament against Virginia. As a graduate student in 1993-94, Edwards again was slated to the All-MAAC Second Team after notching 13.1 points per game as the Jaspers qualified for the NIT. He later served as an assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts.

MILAN JOTANOVIC ’09 is one of the top throwers in the history of the men’s track and field program. A five-time All-American in the shot put, he finished third at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The first-ever Jasper to register a toss of 20 meters or better, he holds the outdoor school mark with a throw of 20.04, to go along with an indoor record of 19.87. A five-year standout for the program, he redshirted the 2008 outdoor season and qualified for the Serbian Olympic team.

Jotanovic then took advantage of his final season of eligibility in placing fourth at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. A seven-time NCAA Championship participant, seven-time Met Champion and six-time IC4A Champion, he also won Penn Relays and NCAA Preliminary titles.

WALTER OLSEWSKI ’68 served as the head of the swimming and diving program for 20 seasons and was instrumental in resurrecting the men’s team. During his 20 years, he guided the women’s team to a 155-124 record (.556), and led both squads to a combined 200 victories. Olsewski also served 11 seasons as the Jaspers’ golf coach. A standout swimmer in his own right, after graduation he worked for more than 30 years in the Central Islip Public School District.

MIKE PARISI ’13 was an outstanding pitcher for the baseball program, winning 14 games with 272 strikeouts and a 4.03 ERA over 243.2 innings of action. Following his junior year, he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the ninth round of the 2004 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Parisi quickly rose to the major leagues in 2008, playing a total of

12 games for the Cardinals. At Manhattan, he had burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2002, going 7-4 with 81 strikeouts and a 2.83 ERA in 86 innings, while helping the Jaspers to a then school-record 32 victories. Parisi earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American honors, and capped his three-year Jasper career with a then school-record 104 strikeouts in just 81.0 innings as a junior in 2004.

He would also play minor league baseball for the Cubs and Dodgers before retiring in 2013.

After returning to College to earn his degree, Parisi has served as a physical education teacher and little league coach in Greenwich, Connecticut.

JOE RYAN ’81 has had a tremendous impact in the long and illustrious history of the track and field program, serving as a coach for 30 years following a solid career as a student-athlete. Ryan, who was named the 2003 AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year, coached a number of College recordholders and numerous All-East performers in both the IC4A and ECAC Championships. A total of 62 MAAC Championships, 39 Metropolitan Championships, and one IC4A Team Championship were won during his time on the sidelines. In 2000, Ryan helped to guide Aliann Pompey ’99, Manhattan’s first female All-American, to both the NCAA indoor 400-meter title and a national collegiate record in the 500-meters. In addition to his coaching duties at Manhattan, he has served as the head track and field coach for Guyana at the 2008 Beijing and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic games. Ryan was a member of the Jaspers’ record outdoor sprint medley relay team and competed nationally for Ireland.

MICHAEL WARD ’91 is one of the elite oarsmen in the long and successful history of the rowing program, before also making an impact as a coach. He joined the team as a junior in 1988-89 and was a member of a successful lightweight eight and four. During his tenure, Manhattan medaled at numerous local races including the New York State and Metropolitan Championships. He continued to compete as a member of the New York Athletic Club following his graduation. Like many alumni before him, Ward coached at Manhattan from 1991-97 and again from 2003-13. In 2017, Ward and his wife, Karla, returned once again to coach at Manhattan. When he is not coaching the men’s club team, he works as the engineering manager for Capitol Fire Sprinkler Inc.

FROM THE COLLEGE’S ARCHIVES

What Ever Happened to ... the College’s Sisters Educational Division?

I

T WAS AN UNLIKELY SCENE at the all-male College campus on that warm June day in 1956. Young men in black robes and mortarboards excitedly anticipating Commencement stood Nuns from the College’s Sisters Educational Division attend Manhattan’s Commencement in 1951 (top) and 1952 (bottom). alongside dozens of nuns in their neatly aligned wimples. Coeducation would not be introduced at Manhattan for about another 20 years, so what were all these pious young women doing at the ceremony? They, too, were graduating from Manhattan College.

In the late 1920s, various mother superiors of women’s religious orders recognized the need to establish an educational system for training growing numbers of young sisters but found themselves hard-pressed economically to do so. They consulted the Christian Brothers about the possibility of creating a program for the sisters similar to that of the Brothers under the auspices of Manhattan College.

(Around 1922, the College had established an undergraduate extension program for young Brothers who wished to obtain a bachelor’s degree by continuing their studies during the summer months. These Brothers were primarily

young scholasticates or new teachers already working in schools.) An arrangement was negotiated, and in February 1928, the first classes in the Sisters Educational Division of Manhattan College were conducted at Saint Michael’s High School, at West 33rd Street. Held on Saturday mornings, the classes were attended by 48 sisters. A summer program was arranged thereafter.

Each year through the late 1930s, the number of students in the Sisters Educational Division rose steadily, with 300 to 400 sisters regularly attending. By 1950, attendance grew to more than 500. At first, sisters mostly resided in the New York Archdiocese and the Diocese of Brooklyn, with a few traveling from New Jersey and Connecticut. They soon came from farther afield. The division provided education to all 42 communities of sisters that served dioceses as distant as Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and even Halifax, Canada. The Sisters Division, therefore, served many dioceses across the country, for the enrolled sisters were often transferred to locales throughout the United States. More than 4,000 sisters enrolled in the program, and about 1,000 of them graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Manhattan College.

Despite its great work throughout the years, by the early 1950s, the division had drawn the attention of the New York State Department of Education, the Middle States Accreditation Committee, and New York’s Archdiocesan Office of Education, prompting necessary changes to the curriculum programs. The archdiocese, in particular, requested that the College establish a new, four-year teacher training curriculum for elementary schools that would lead to a Bachelor of Science in education. The program would need to be coordinated with existing normal school programs established by religious communities. These requests had serious budgetary implications and represented a fundamental challenge to the College. After an exhaustive re-examination, Manhattan decided to close the undergraduate Religious Division, and the final Commencement was held on June 12, 1956.

In its 27 years of existence, the Sisters Educational Division contributed significantly to Catholic education in general, and most importantly, to the relief of women’s religious congregations confronted with the responsibility of educating large numbers. Manhattan College helped prepare countless nuns for the teaching profession, who in turn educated hundreds of thousands of young Catholic students; thereby, leaving an indelible mark on parochial school education in America.

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ALUMNI

ALUMNOTES 1925

William Holohan is featured in a book, Operation Chrysler: Stolen Valor Behind Enemy Lines During World War II, written

by Pate McMichael. The book discusses Holohan’s life and military service during World War II, which ended in his disappearance in 1944.

1951

Father Ed Pietrucha, C.S.P., was recently featured on Paulist.org for his service as a priest for the past 60 years. Fr. Pietrucha was ordained on May 11, 1957, and has served as a priest across the United States and the world.

1954

Nicholas Bartilucci was honored with the dedication of the Nicholas J. Bartilucci Administration Building Operations Complex in Syosset, New York. It was dedicated by the Jericho Water District, where Bartilucci worked as a commissioner for more than four decades.

Robert Farrell was featured in an article on GuruFocus.com, in which he shares 10 tips for navigating the stock market. He previously worked at Merrill Lynch for five decades before retiring in 2004.

1955

John Paluszek wrote an article regarding the importance of protecting journalists and members of the media in our modern age for STRIVE, an online magazine.

Paluszek has had a long and successful career in the public relations and communications field, and is currently the executive editor of BusinessInSociety.net.

1956

John Downing was featured in a Buffalo News article detailing his extensive career in public service and civil engineering that benefited the city of Buffalo. Downing passed away on April 26, 2020.

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Larry Raymond has been honored with the Health Achievement in Occupational Medicine Award from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Raymond is the medical director of occupational and environmental medicine at Atrium Health Employer Solutions in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has enjoyed a successful career as a physician and professional engineer.

1958

Paul Loong was featured in a 2012 documentary, Every Day Is a Holiday, focusing on his relationship with his daughter and his experience fighting in World War II. The film was subsequently screened on Vimeo on Sept. 25 in recognition of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. A prisoner of war for three years, Loong became an American citizen after the war, graduated from Manhattan and went on to become a doctor at a veterans’ affairs hospital.

1960

Joseph Campos has been awarded the Distinguished Scientific Contribution to the Study of Human Infancy Award by the International Congress of Infant Studies.

The Rev. Monsignor Peter Finn was honored at the Project Hospitality Harvest Gala at the Hilton Garden Inn in Staten Island, for his outstanding community service work.

Finn is currently the pastor emeritus of Blessed Sacrament Church on Staten Island.

1962

Paul Mariani wrote an article for America magazine about his experience in Lasallian education and cited his time at Manhattan College. Mariani is a poet and an English professor at Boston College.

Jim McHugh was recently inducted into the Lancer Hall of Fame at St. Augustine Diocesan High School in Brooklyn. He worked for the New York City Board of Education for 37 years.

1963

Charles Martin Jr. has been nominated to serve as the national treasurer on the board of directors for the Air Force Association (AFA). He has been a lifetime member of the AFA since 1977.

Richard Sartore recently participated in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) technical tour. The group traveled for 10 days from Houston to Dallas and visited various technical sites. Sartore is an IEEE life member, along with his brother Edward ’62.

1965

George Conrad is proudly celebrating the start of his oldest granddaughter’s professional ballet career. She recently began dancing for the Cincinnati Ballet.

Frederic Salerno continues in his role as the lead independent director at Intercontinental Exchange Inc., which he has held since 2002. He has enjoyed an extensive career in business administration, serving on the board of directors for various corporations, including Madison Square Garden Inc.

1968

Al Thompson recently retired from a successful career as a structural engineer with STV. He was with the company for more than 50 years and worked with various clients, such as the New York Housing Authority and NASA.

1969

James Patterson is the recipient of the 2019 National Humanities Medal from the National Endowment for the Humanities “for being one of the most successful American authors in our time.”

1970

G.A. Binninger has been named the special adviser to the American Lithium Board of Directors and Advisers. He will work specifically on strategy for the TLC Lithium

JASPER BOOKSHELF Donagh Bracken ’58 co-wrote In Their Own Words (History Publishing Company, 2020) with Terry Turchie, former FBI deputy assistant director of the counterterrorism division.

In Their Own Words explores the modern trajectory of American politics and the effect of bipartisanship on legislation. Bracken is a historian specializing in American Civil War history and served in the U.S. Army. He is also the publisher of History Publishing Company.

In Their Own Words is Bracken’s second book.

Paul Mariani ’62 published his eighth collection of poems, Ordinary Time: Poems (Slant Books, 2020). The major themes throughout this collection include the everyday struggles that many face, and how to alleviate said hardships with the support of loved ones. Mariani intends his poetry to bring readers together by recognizing shared life experiences.

Among his many books, he also wrote The Mystery of It All: The Vocation of Poetry in the Twilight of Modernity (Paraclete Press, 2019), a collection of his works of prose.

Christine Shields Corrigan ’88 released a memoir entitled, Again: Surviving Cancer Twice with Love and Lists (Köehler Books, 2020), which details her journey with cancer throughout her life. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma when she was a teenager, and was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. In light of this, her book discusses hope, resilience, strength and insight for cancer survivors and loved ones alike.

She graduated from the Fordham University School of Law and worked as a labor and employment lawyer before becoming a full-time writer.

Project. Binninger also received an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Richard Colarco was a member of the U.S. Air Force as a navigator, electronic warfare officer, intelligence officer and space officer for many years. Upon retiring in 1994, he worked as a program manager in aerospace. He currently teaches math to undergraduate students, and has two children and three grandchildren.

1971

Daniel Sullivan has been named to the New York Planning Federation Board of Directors.

He is the chair of the Town of Richfield Planning Board. In addition, Sullivan was inducted into the Manhattan College Athletic Hall of Fame.

1972

Thomas McGowan wrote an article entitled “Troubleshoot Combustion and Air Pollution Control Equipment” for Chemical Engineering Progress magazine. He is the president and founder of TMTS Associates.

1973

Mark Jackson was named director of donor relations for The Christophers, a New Yorkbased philanthropic religious organization dedicated to leaving a positive impact on the world.

Walter Wujcik is now semi-retired and working part time. He also serves as a member of two community boards: the Conservancy Board and the Municipal Authority in East Goshen Township, Pennsylvania.

1974

Joseph Bassi has been awarded a fellowship with the Royal Astronomical Society in the United Kingdom. He was recently named a lifetime member of Clare Hall at Cambridge University, U.K. Joseph Fioraliso was honored as a Water Environment Federation Life Member by the New York Water Environment Association Inc. He works as a senior associate for D&B Engineers and Architects P.C. Robert Mazzarese co-wrote an article

entitled “Chromatography Data Systems: Perspectives, Principles and Trends” for LCGC North America magazine.

Thomas Pepe was elected board chair of the County College of Morris in Randolph, New Jersey.

1975

Thomas Costabile, executive director/CEO of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), recently wrote an article regarding the importance of ASME’s volunteers for the January 2020 issue of Mechanical Engineering magazine.

J. Steven Dowd serves as the United States director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He previously served as the U.S. executive director of the African Development Bank.

Jim Lauria wrote an article about the importance of removing iron from waterpumping equipment for Pumps & Systems magazine.

1976

Leonard Camporeale was named the national wholesale director with Approved Wholesale Group. He previously worked with Hess and TAC Energy.

Pete Krupp, after 42 years, has retired from his work in investigating Medicaid provider fraud for the New York and North Carolina attorney generals. During his retirement, he plans to travel with his wife, Kathy, and spend time with his granddaughters.

Stephen Lemanski is the president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division 11, in Hampton Bays, New York.

William Tramontano moderated the Queens College Business Forum Breakfast, entitled High Tech Meets Higher Ed, in September.

Tramontano is serving as interim president of Queens College.

1977

Thomas Gibbs has been named the interim CEO of Soft-Tex International Inc. Before his appointment to this new position, Gibbs MANHATTAN.EDU N 45

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served as the CFO of the company.

Herb Litts has been re-elected as Ulster County, New York, District 9 legislator, which oversees the towns of Lloyd and Plattekill.

This is his fourth two-year term, and he ran unopposed.

Michael O’Connor wrote a novel, The Wild West Meets the Big Apple, which explores one of his ideas of iconic Western literary characters experiencing the borough of Manhattan at some point in their journeys.

O’Connor currently lives in Cornwall, New York, and has been a practicing lawyer for the past 32 years.

Jorge Suarez, P.E., has been named vice president and technical director of national bridge practice at STV Inc. He has worked on a variety of bridge design projects across the country and is a registered professional engineer in eight states. Suarez is also a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

1978

John Viola has been granted a two-anda-half year extension of his contract as general manager for the Ocean Pines Board of Directors in Ocean Pines, Maryland. The board voted unanimously on this decision.

1979

Robert Cotter was named a trustee to the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley corporate board. Before his retirement, he worked as an executive for IBM in Poughkeepsie, New York, for more than 30 years.

Robert Hoatson was inducted into the Essex Catholic High School Hall of Fame in November. While a student at Essex Catholic, Hoatson was a member of the debate and speech team, the drama club, the choir, and the golf team. Out of his many accomplishments, he’s most proud of founding the Road to Recovery, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting victims of clergy sexual abuse.

Karl Hughes was honored by the Essex County, New Jersey, Board of Chosen Freeholders for his work advocating for career development and options for the

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trades. Hughes has been a carpenter for more than 40 years.

Jeremiah Lynch has been appointed managing director of tax services in the New York office of Crowe LLP, an accounting, technology and consulting firm.

Richard Poccia was named to the board of directors of The Shubert Organization and also serves on the board for The Shubert Foundation. Poccia has worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers for 40 years and became a partner in 1988.

Joe Reilly serves as the president of National Drug Screening Inc. He has been in the drug testing business for more than 25 years. He was recently inducted into the Power Memorial Academy Hall of Fame.

Bob Rella, P.E., has been appointed as the diversion, processing and facilities practice leader with HDR’s waste program in Charlotte, North Carolina.

1980

John McAvoy has been named to City & State New York’s Energy & Environment Power 50 list, which highlights individuals who are making significant strides with regard to energy policy-making in New York.

He is chairman of the Board of Directors of Con Edison and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Con Edison of New York.

Eileen Murray was recently featured in Irish America magazine’s Annual Wall Street 50, which recognizes Irish Americans working in finance. She is currently the chair of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

In spring 2020, Murray was named to the boards of directors of Compass, a real estate and technology corporation, and the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. She is the first alumna to receive Manhattan College’s De La Salle Medal.

1981

Robert Costantini wrote an article exploring the potential challenges that accompany new trends for job sites in the construction industry for ConstructionBusinessOwner.com. He wrote a second article for Occupational Health & Safety addressing safety and risk in the

construction industry due to COVID-19. He serves as the CEO and the president of Triax Technologies.

Brian Fenelon has retired from Southwest Airlines after 19 years as a pilot. Prior to working with Southwest, Fenelon was a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force for 20 years. He was also a member of the Air Force ROTC during his undergraduate career at Manhattan College.

Stephen Mandracchia has been named to the Hudson Technologies Inc. Board of Directors. A founder of the company, Mandracchia previously served as the vice president, legal and regulatory, and as secretary.

Frank Moore wrote a book, America the Exceptional: Restoring a Wayward Nation’s Greatness, in 2019, inspired by his successful career in the FDNY. Milo Riverso, P.E., has been appointed chairman of the Design Professionals Coalition, which is composed of executives and senior-level professionals who work in design and engineering throughout the country. He is a member of the Manhattan College Board of Trustees.

Joseph Ryan received a Distinguished Service Award from the Kinesiology department at Manhattan. He was a member of the College’s track team and helped coach the award-winning team from 1989 to 2019. Ryan is a math teacher and the chair of the math department at Nanuet High School in New York.

1982

Anthony Fabiano has been named a director of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. and its subsidiary, Metropolitan Commercial Bank.

He previously served as the executive vice president and chief financial officer of the organization, and retired in September 2020.

Jim Graham is the vice president of research and development and quality assurance for Applegate Natural & Organic Meats.

1983

William Bender is the strategic account executive for government relations at Leidos, a science and technology

JASPER LEADS FBI MULTIMILLIONDOLLAR FRAUD INVESTIGATION FBI SPECIAL AGENT FRANK GASPER ’83 received the Attorney General’s Award for Fraud Prevention in Washington, D.C. The award — the firstever presented to the District of North Dakota — recognizes Gasper for his exceptional dedication and effort to combat fraud against the elderly and most vulnerable.

Gasper, who majored in history and economics at Manhattan, was the lead investigator of a seven-year operation targeting a telemarketing scheme with more than 100 victims and reported losses of more than $6 million.

Gasper initiated the investigation in July 2012, after he worked with a woman from North Dakota who fell victim to a telemarketing scheme. He suspected that this case was the tip of the iceberg. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Clare Hochhalter granted him clearance to open the operation, which was dubbed Operation Hard Copy. It targeted a transnational telemarketing advance-fee fraud scheme designed to prey on elderly victims, many of whom sent their life savings to scammers operating overseas. Gasper supervised a team of attorneys, paralegal specialists and U.S. marshals.

The case resulted in the extradition of 14 Jamaican nationals and the successful prosecution of 31 defendants in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota. Nationwide, the number of victims targeted by scammers is estimated to have annual losses in excess of $1 billion.

Gasper, who joined the FBI in 1995 and has led numerous criminal cases, is quick to credit his colleagues for Operation Hard Copy’s success.

“I owe this to the work put in by the team,” he says. “This case was a benchmark to let the public, as well as law enforcement, know how big of a problem this is on a national scale.”

solutions and services leader, and is responsible for providing and maintaining relationships with public sector clients. He previously served as a lieutenant general in the U.S. Air Force.

Vince Forte has been named the director of operations at MORRE-TEC Industries Inc. Andrew Hlushko was appointed president of Collado Engineering, an MEP consulting firm in White Plains, New York. For the past 15 years, he has served on the College’s Electrical Engineering Board of Advisors.

Brian Kane has joined the Catholic Health Association of the United States as senior director of ethics. He previously was a professor in healthcare ethics, head of the division of liberal arts and social sciences, and the director of international academic affairs at DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania.

Moira Kilcoyne has been named to the board of directors of Arch Capital Group Ltd. She also is a member of the Manhattan College Board of Trustees.

Kevin Lavin was named CEO of Ankura, an international consulting firm, last year.

Denise Menelly serves as the executive vice president and head of technology and operations at CIT Bank, which is headquartered in Pasadena, California.

Chi-Cherng Wang recently wrote an article entitled “Reflections 70 Years After Leaving China for the U.S.” for TheDiplomat.com. In the article, he looks back on his time in the United States, the diplomacy work he’s done, and the changes in relations between the U.S. and China. Wang is the president of the U.S.-China Policy Foundation.

1984

Bill Coen has been named chair of the IFRS Advisory Council. He has worked for the Board of Governors for the Federal Reserve and was the secretary general of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Richard Conway recently stepped down from his role as police chief in Port Chester, New York, a position that he held for 34 years. An article about his service appeared in the Westmore News.

Paul Kirchgraber has been promoted to CEO of Covance, a division of LabCorp. He MANHATTAN.EDU N 47

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was the senior vice president and head of Covance’s clinical trial testing solutions.

Paul LeMire was named a director of Alkido Pharma Inc., based in Delaware.

Michael Murray has been hired as an intellectual property litigation partner at FisherBroyles LLP in its New York City practice. He previously served as a partner at Winston & Strawn.

1985

John Banks has retired from his position as president of the Real Estate Board of New York. He also serves on the Manhattan College Board of Trustees.

Vincent Buffa has been named the CEO of Micross Components Inc., a portfolio company of Behrman Capital. He previously was the chairman of Micross and was a Behrman Capital operating partner.

Hector Gonzalez has been appointed as a judge to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He is a partner at Dechert LLP in New York, and serves as chair of Dechert’s international litigation group. Gonzalez also was a Manhattan trustee from 2004 to 2009.

Judy O’Malley realized her lifelong dream by receiving her J.D. from Rutgers Law School in May 2018. She was inspired to study law

ever since she took Logic, Constitutional Law and Business Law at Manhattan College.

Since earning her J.D., O’Malley has clerked in the New Jersey Superior Court for the assignment judge of Monmouth Vicinage, the Honorable Lisa P. Thornton, A.J.S.C., and recently passed the New Jersey Bar Exam.

O’Malley hopes to practice law near her home in Manasquan, New Jersey.

Helene Rutledge spoke at a panel presentation at WeWork Now in New York City. The panel was sponsored by her company, UPGRAID, which is an organic and fully plant-based collection of various products. Rutledge, who co-founded

ALUMNA REFLECTS ON HER PHILANTHROPY WORK FOR THE MILITARY COMMUNITY SERVICE TO HER COMMUNITY has always been an integral part of life for Gabrielle Puglia ’10. While majoring in communication at Manhattan, Puglia was actively involved on campus as a member of Lambda Pi Eta honor society, a deejay for the College’s WRCM radio station, and cofounder of the Communications Club.

After graduation, Puglia worked in a variety of fields, including broadcast media, banking and event planning. However, Puglia is proudest of her work with The Hero’s Benefit, a nonprofit fundraising initiative that organizes events to celebrate and raises money for members of the U.S. military and their families. She was inspired to begin the organization in 2011 after learning about a helicopter crash that killed 30 American and Iraqi special ops personnel in Afghanistan.

She describes The Hero’s Benefit as a day full of celebration, love and appreciation for those who serve. The event, which usually takes place in October, has grown exponentially since its inception.

“We started with 50 people in a small bar raising $5,000, and to date, we have raised $40,000 and organized care drives to send things to military personnel overseas,” she says. “We have more of a social media presence right now, and there were around 200 people at our last event.”

Due to the current circumstances with COVID-19, The Hero’s Benefit is sticking to online donations and fundraising this year, and relying on its Instagram account, @theherosbenefitbk, for publicity.

“We are still selling merchandise and collecting donations through Venmo and PayPal, through which all proceeds will be donated,” Puglia notes. “We’re thinking of doing a virtual raffle or a small event, but people’s safety is our number one priority.”

Her passion for helping military personnel has been recognized

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by the Community News Group, which presented Puglia with the Brooklyn Woman of Distinction Award in May 2018. The distinction is bestowed on women who have made significant philanthropic strides in their communities.

Puglia just finished her graduate degree in December with the hopes of becoming a speech language pathologist and of continuing to give back to the military community. And she’s newly engaged.

“Where you intend to start isn’t necessarily where you end up, and where you end up can be somewhere so much greater than you thought,” she says.

As for the future of The Hero’s Benefit, Puglia hopes to see the organization grow in the coming years to become bigger than just an event.

“I love that my one little drop of ‘let’s throw an event in response to this tragic incident’ turned into a ripple of love, appreciation, gratitude and community,” she says. “Putting out one drop of kindness can turn into something so much bigger, and I really think the world needs that message now more than ever.”

UPGRAID, was also featured in an April article in Authority Magazine and a June article in Thrive Global.

Thomas Zoppo, FSC, was named president of Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Florida.

1986

Susan George has been appointed as the head of asset management for White Oak Global Advisors LLC. Thomas O’Connor, P.E., has been named a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He currently works with the Environmental Protection Agency for the National Risk Management Research Laboratory in the Water Systems Division of the Water Resources Recovery Branch at the Edison Environmental Center in Edison, New Jersey.

John Schanz has been appointed to Stream Companies’ board of directors as an independent board member. Schanz has more than 30 years’ experience in technology development, global operations and entrepreneurship.

1987

Cyrus Izzo has been recognized in the New York Real Estate Journal’s Professional Profiles section for his work as co-president of Syska Hennessy Group.

Sanjay Mukhi was featured in Long Island Business News’ Who’s Who in Banking & Finance. Mukhi serves as the vice president and senior business banking relationship manager at City National Bank in its Melville, New York, office.

1988

Marco Lala is the senior vice president at RM Friedland, an investment property specialist in the Bronx, Manhattan and Westchester County.

Mario Martirano has been named a mortgage loan officer at the Savings Bank of Danbury in Connecticut.

Robert Mazzella has recently moved from the house he’s lived in for almost 50 years into a one-room apartment.

Michael McMaster was named senior vice president and chief compliance officer for Wedbush Securities.

1989

Honora Eskridge served as the guest facilitator for The Four Frames of Leadership, a virtual workshop for management professionals that was organized by Vanderbilt University. Eskridge is the director of the Stevenson Science and Engineering Library at Vanderbilt.

Mary Ann McCarra-Fitzpatrick has two original poems featured in Writing the Walls 2020, which is published through the Hudson Valley Museum of Contemporary Art. She’s also participating in Climbing the Walls, an assortment of video projects that depict the shared experience of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic and is published through Studio Theater and Hudson Valley MOCA. She had a collage included in Mail Art 2020, an online exhibit held this fall and organized in Vis, SplitskoDalmatinska, Croatia.

William Wollman moderated a Financial and Operational Effective Practices panel, sponsored by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). He serves as the executive vice president for the Office of Financial and Operational Risk Policy for FINRA.

1990

John Dillon has been appointed vice president and division general counsel for Kentucky American Water’s Southeast Division in Lexington, Kentucky.

Greg Ehrie has been named the vice president of law enforcement and analysis for the Anti-Defamation League. Previously, he worked at the FBI for 22 years.

Anita Mahon is the executive vice president and chief growth and strategy officer at EXL, an analytics and operations management corporation in New York City, where she was named a member of EXL’s executive committee. Mahon also received two master’s degrees from Columbia University.

Salvatore Prestano is an associate practice area director at Syska Hennessy’s New York City office.

Keith Roberts has been named a co-chair of Brach Eichler LLC, a New Jersey-based litigation practice. He also was named a New Jersey Super Lawyer in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

1991

Marvet Abbassi currently serves as the chief financial officer of Dental Associates of Connecticut.

Virginia Canty Anderson received a Distinguished Service Award from the College’s Kinesiology department. She has worked as an occupational therapist for 26 years, and is recognized for her work with the elderly and children with special needs.

Michael Mangione, P.E., has been named the national markets director for transportation at WSP, where he currently works as the national highway/bridge director.

1992

Michael Bachmann is the senior vice president and chief financial officer of Hearst Entertainment & Syndication, where he previously worked as vice president and chief finance and administrative officer.

Melinda Caltabiano serves as the director of apheresis operations for Dendreon.

1993

David Frazier has been elected to the National Federation of State High School Associations Board of Directors. He serves as the athletics director at Rutherford High School in New Jersey, and previously was the New Jersey State Interscholastic Sports Association executive committee president.

Frazier also was a member of the College’s track and field team as an undergrad.

1994

Susan Gerace-Mossey teaches at the Nancy Langlois School of Dance in Plattsburgh, New York. Her daughter, Kyra Mossey, also teaches at the studio, which is run by Susan’s mother, Nancy Langlois Gerace.

Beth Montemurro has been named a distinguished professor of sociology at Penn State Abington.

1995

Philip Adesso has joined Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty Rockville Centre in New York, as a real estate salesperson.

Jerry McKinstry has been appointed as the director of public affairs at Pace University.

He was previously the director of strategic communications at Harrison Edwards Public Relations in Armonk, New York.

MANHATTAN.EDU N 49 47

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1996

Mayda Amabile was named assistant principal of Round Hill Elementary School in Washingtonville, New York. She was previously an assistant principal at Vails Gate STEAM Academy in Newburgh, New York.

James Galleshaw co-founded his own law practice, Sullivan and Galleshaw, in 2006.

Located in Queens, the firm focuses on criminal law and personal injury cases.

James Landy is serving on the board of directors of Sterling Bancorp in Montebello, New York. He is a special liaison consultant of Hudson Valley Holding Corporation and the CEO of the New York National Bank.

Elizabeth Mendonca has been appointed as the refinery manager of Domino Sugar’s Yonkers refinery, and is the first woman to hold this position.

1997

Damian Finley has been named vice president of construction and development of Robert Martin Company, where he previously served as director of construction.

Stella Mellas runs her own successful orthodontics practice, Mellas Orthodontics, in both Basking Ridge and Long Valley, New Jersey. She is a board-certified orthodontist.

Victor Ramsey received a Distinguished Service Award from the Kinesiology department at Manhattan. He is a curriculum and training specialist in the New York City Department of Education, and has worked in the physical education and health fields since 1995.

1998

Anthony Lando has joined Julia B. Sotheby’s International Realty in Irvington, New York, as a real estate agent.

Lynn Martin recently celebrated her fiveyear anniversary as president of ICE Data Services. She earned a degree in computer science, is a member of the Manhattan College Board of Trustees, and will be the honoree at the College’s 2021 De La Salle Medal Dinner.

Alexander Napoli was named vice president of STV’s transportation and infrastructure division.

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1999

Franklin DeLaCruz has joined Fidelity National Title Agency Inc. as vice president and commercial account manager in Phoenix, Arizona.

Anthony Liparidis is the principal and senior real assets analyst at Bessemer Trust, for which he is responsible for the firm’s real assets funds.

Aliann Pompey has been elected as the president of the Panam Sports Athlete Commission from among thousands of athletes from the Panam Sports organization.

Brian Van Riper has been named the director of construction and project management at Robert Martin Company LLC.

2000

Yonesy Nunez was featured on LatinoLeadersMagazine.com in an article highlighting his career and work with cybersecurity. He currently serves as the group information security lead for Wells Fargo.

2001

Alberto Vazquez Matos was named the superintendent of Holyoke Public Schools in Massachusetts.

2002

Will Haynes has been appointed as managing director of office occupier services for Colliers International’s North Texas office.

Ettore Morelli is the senior vice president and national alternative delivery leader for transportation for WSP USA, an engineering consulting firm. Throughout his career, Morelli has worked on a variety of international engineering projects.

2003

Bryan Gilligan has been promoted to principal of Austin Road Elementary School in Mahopac, New York. He previously served as the assistant principal of the school for five years and was acting principal throughout 2019 and 2020.

Nitin Sekhri is being honored as a 2019 honoree for the Westfair Communications’ Millennial Awards. He is board certified in pain medicine and anesthesiology, and completed medical school at the Albert

Einstein College of Medicine. He works at the Westchester Medical Center and also as an assistant professor at New York Medical College.

2004

Daks Armstrong has been featured in an article for TapInto.net for speaking at the March for Civil Justice in northern Westchester County. He previously worked as a community organizer in New York City and in the nonprofit sector for several years before becoming a counselor at Yorktown High School.

Tamala Baldwin’s award-winning ninepart series Bubbly Brown Sugar will be premiering on UrbanFlix TV, a new streaming service. The first season is currently available on UrbanFlix, with Baldwin credited as the lead actress, writer and executive producer. The show also has won multiple awards at various film festivals.

Nicholas Bishop has been named the vice president of environmental health and safety for Skanska USA’s southeastern civil construction and development operations.

Bishop will be working in the Virginia Beach office and has been with Skanska for 12 years.

Fawad Nisar recently became the chief operating officer of Dalrada Financial Corporation in Henderson, Nevada.

Alec Saltikoff served as a panelist for the Renewable Energy, Sustainability and Blockchain virtual panel hosted by Amazon.

Saltikoff currently is the head of global sustainability at J.P. Morgan.

2005

Christopher Gorman has been named the director of communications and marketing at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. He also is a member of the board of consultors for Manhattan College’s School of Liberal Arts.

Charlie Marino has been recognized for his work as a co-director of energy and performance at AKF Group in New York City

by Consulting-Specifying Engineer magazine in its 40 Under 40: Building Industry Leaders feature.

MARRIAGES

2006

Joe Cox was named the head coach of the Dobbs Ferry High School football team in New York. He previously served as the defensive coordinator.

Joseph Ficarelli co-wrote an article for Fire Engineering magazine entitled, “Venting for Fire, Venting for Life.” He is a lieutenant in the FDNY. Domenic Forte was awarded a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in July 2019.

Alexandra Nigolian was honored with a 40 Under 40 feature in the Long Island Business News. She serves as the executive director of the Nassau County Police Department Foundation, the first vice chair of the Manhattan Republican Committee, and is a state committee woman and district leader on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Philip Saglimbene recently co-wrote an article for Transmission & Distribution World, entitled “NYPA Strives to Become a Digital Utility.” The article discusses new sensors used by the New York Power Authority, where he works as the director of technology programs to minimize equipment issues.

2007

Philip Caputo wrote an article for NutraceuticalsWorld.com about current flavor trends in nutritional products. He currently works for Virginia Dare, a flavor and extract company, in marketing and consumer insight development.

Matthew Dempsey joined the law firm Horn Williamson in Philadelphia.

David Mignardi has been hired by Thompson & Knight LLP in their banking and real estate practice and will serve as a real estate litigation attorney.

Nicole Legrottaglie Wohl has been appointed as a partner at Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP in the Sacramento division. She practices labor and employment law with the firm.

2008

Luis Berroteran has been named a 2020 Engineering News-Record Mountain States Top Young Professional, which recognizes high-achieving project managers, engineers, architects, constructors and virtual design experts who are making a positive impact in their industries. He is a senior project manager for Langan in Lakewood, Colorado.

Mikaela Coni has been promoted to assistant superintendent for business for the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District in Bellmore-Merrick, New York.

Michael Martello has been appointed design project manager for the Kew Gardens Interchange Infrastructure and Operational Improvement Project. He has assisted on other high-profile civil engineering projects, including the construction of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, and also works as an adjunct professor in the College’s civil engineering department.

2009

Michael Fitzpatrick completed his Master of Science degree in cybersecurity risk and strategy at New York University in May 2019. He was interviewed by Cybersecurity News about his involvement in the master’s program at NYU.

2010

Erin Lynn co-created an open-mic poetry night event, Poor Mouth Writer’s Night, at Riverdale’s An Beal Bocht Cafe, accompanied

by Melinda Wilson, a visiting professor of English at Manhattan. The open-mic event takes place once a month.

Theresa Moriarty was featured in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about her acting and modeling career.

Gabrielle Puglia got engaged to Frank Pesce on July 31, 2020.

2011

Nathaniel Burke was recently awarded a Humane Studies Fellowship from the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University. He is a doctoral student at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.

Gina Guiliano was a presenter in the Your Beauty: Simplified, Inclusive, Personalized webinar in May, for which she discussed new spring product launches from BASF Hair and Body Care, North America, where she works as an application chemist.

2012

Mahmoud Ali has joined C.A. Murren and Sons Company Inc. as a superintendent. He has worked at Skanska USA as an engineer, project lead and superintendent.

Becca Falborn has been named a senior producer at Sound Lounge, where she

1994

John McNally and Aurora Azar, 6/29/19

2012

Marina (Mauro) Fortunato and Michael Fortunato, 5/26/19 Emily MacDowell and Thomas Leyden ’13, 9/21/19

2014

Stephanie Putkowski and Ryan Augustus, 6/20/20

2015

Claire Mulgrew and Jared Boyles ’16, 11/15/19

BIRTHS

2012

Joseph Parziale and Maria Treglia-Parziale daughter, Antonietta, 11/2/20

ADVANCED DEGREES

1985

Judy O’Malley earned her J.D. from Rutgers Law School in Camden, New Jersey, in 2018, and also passed the New Jersey Bar Exam.

2003

Andrew Kocot received his CPA license in December 2019.

2009

Michael Fitzpatrick completed his Master of Science in cybersecurity risk and strategy at New York University in May 2019.

2010

Gabrielle Puglia earned an M.S. in Communication Speech Language Disorders-Speech-Language Pathology.

2016

Cathryn Callahan received her Master of Science in electrical engineering from Boston University.

Rachel Love earned a Master of Public Administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Tyler Mulvaney graduated from St. John’s University School of Law and passed the New York State Bar Exam.

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worked as a producer since 2017.

Maria Del Russo recently wrote a Refinery29 article entitled “Why I’m Happy I Haven’t Met ‘The One’ Yet.” Del Russo frequently writes for Refinery29, a global media company focused on young women.

2013

Matt Wellington has written multiple blog posts for USPIRG.org focusing on different COVID-19 responses and the effectiveness of shutdowns across the country. He currently works as the director of public health campaigns for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

2014

Katie Henry, an accomplished blues artist, toured across the West Coast last January and February.

Rhamel Brown and Tiffany Goodwin got engaged on July 12, 2020. The couple met in Horan Hall during their freshman year movein day, and they developed a close friendship and then relationship throughout college.

Stephanie Putkowski and Ryan Augustus were married on June 20, 2020. Putkowski works as an occupational therapist, and Augustus received a Bachelor of Science in management.

2015

Brianne Grant was promoted to county government public information officer in Sarasota County, Florida, and is certified in crisis communications and as a Federal Emergency Management Agency public information officer.

2016

Rachel Love graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice with a Master of Public Administration degree. She also was presented with the Carl Schreiber Memorial Award, which commemorates the M.P.A. student with the highest GPA, and was admitted to the Pi Pi Alpha honor society for public administration and affairs.

2017

Jennifer Ballingall and Thomas Colacino got engaged in August 2019. They’ve been dating

52 N 2020

since 2013 and met during their freshman year at Manhattan.

Benjamin Giese was hired as a water supply engineer at D&B Engineers and Architects.

in the New York City healthcare industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. She works at an urgent care health facility as a receptionist.

2018

2020

Kirsten Battocchio was featured in a Spectrum News segment regarding the Experiencing Veterans and Artists Collaborations (EVAC) project, in which she participated. The project is designed to help veterans tell their stories. An exhibit for the EVAC project was on display at the Flatiron Building in New York City.

Stephanie Butron co-wrote a scholarly article about room temperature terahertz quantum cascade lasers. She currently works as an applications engineer at Hamamatsu Corporation with its research innovation group.

Samantha Cachoian was featured in Construction News’ Profiles of the Industry’s New Generation. She currently works at NV5 as an assistant civil engineer in Melville, New York.

Brendan Murphy began law school at Boston College this fall.

Cheyenne Ubiera joined The Riverdale Press as a summer 2020 intern.

2019

Lily Delgado assisted with the creation of a new website for the village of Rye Brook, New York, and worked as an intern on the project.

Emily Englert completed an internship with Assemblyman Kevin Byrne of Mahopac, New York. She began graduate school at Manhattan to obtain her MBA this fall.

Matthew Gresia, founder of Canswer Sock Company, has teamed up with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine to create a special line of socks to help raise money for those affected by breast cancer.

Timothy Gress has been featured on the New York Public Library’s official website for his graduate research project, which is partially being conducted at the library. He is currently completing his master’s degree in English at New York University.

Kelsey Sullivan was featured in an East Aurora Advertiser article about her work

Rose Brennan was hired as a school and transportation reporter by The Riverdale Press, where she interned during the spring semester of her senior year. She previously worked as a special project reporter for the newspaper in June 2020.

Miguel Diaz was featured in a Riverdale Press article about being honored as the 2020 Manhattan College valedictorian.

The article also discussed his journey throughout childhood and college, along with how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted his college experience.

Bartosz Gierczak was featured in a Riverdale Press article about the recent policy on restrictions for international students who are returning to the U.S. for school in light of the pandemic.

Gierczak is a recent graduate and was an international student from Poland during his undergraduate career.

Morgan Sgarlata has been hired as an operations specialist for Birch Wealth Management.

Visionary Alum Follows Passion for Theater to (on- and off-) Broadway

R

obert Massimi ’83 has always theater owner that I needed shelter for my had a love for the arts. A longtime play, and he needed to give me shelter.” theater critic and the founder of He created Visionary Productions, a new Visionary Productions, his career began in company that will be solely focused on theatRiverdale writing for The Quadrangle sturical productions, in 2019. This company is indent newspaper. dependent of Gimme Shelter, which he plans “I was talked into writing for The Quadranon using for independent movie productions. gle by Bill Lynch ’84, our features editor. I will Recently, Massimi has produced two offalways thank Bill for that,” he says.

Broadway shows with Visionary: Life in the This wasn’t Massimi’s only contribution to Rye and Girl with the Red Hair. Both original the Manhattan College community. A triple productions, Life in the Rye centers around major in English, psychology and government, the effect of the creation of The Catcher in he was a member of Alpha Sigma Lambda the Rye on J.D. Salinger’s life, whereas Girl honor society, which recognizes outstandwith the Red Hair explores a woman’s struging adult students, won the Best All-Around gle with addiction in a psychiatric institution.

Student award at Commencement, and was “Anytime you can bring a live show to involved in the St. Thomas More Law Society. the public, it is what producing and being A native of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, creative is all about. Both shows were artistiMassimi’s passion for theater began when he cally and critically acclaimed,” he notes. was in grade school, and his drama teacher Massimi’s investment in the theater inencouraged him to begin acting. His father dustry has begun to pay off; he was invited to didn’t approve, so he decided to pursue join the Dramatists Guild of America in 2019. sports while participating in theatrical proThe organization is dedicated to professional ductions in his free time. He saved up money development and membership for playto buy theater tickets and grew further interwrights and musicians working in theater. ested upon seeing a Broadway production of “Being a member of the Dramatists Guild Deathtrap. puts me in the company of some of the great“I saw Deathtrap my sophomore year of est theater writers that ever were,” he says. college and that is what brought me back to Also in 2019, Massimi began writing for the theater. As a child, I saw many shows but Metropolitan magazine, critiquing both onhad about a seven-year lull,” he says. and off-Broadway shows. He serves as chief Massimi was asked to serve on the board drama critic for Metropolitan, which mainof the Metropolitan Playhouse of New York tains half a million readers per month. in 1992 after his extensive early career work “Writing for the Metropolitan magazine in the theater industry, where he learned put me on the biggest stage with some of what goes into show production. He went the biggest drama critics in New York City,” on to produce his first show, Shiavana, at the he notes.

Beckett Theater in New York City in 1993.

Massimi is proud to be a Jasper and cred“Shiavana was about the life of [George its the College with much of his success. He Bernard] Shaw. It was a comedy/drama that is especially grateful to the dedicated faculty gave insight into him and his family,” Massimi members. explains. “The play ran for five weeks and “When you tell people where you went to was written by Marty Martin.” school, people often straighten up and say, In 1992, Massimi founded his own produc- ‘You’re a Jasper,’” he says. “It is one of the best tion company, Gimme Shelter Productions, private schools in the country.” through which he produced dozens of shows.

Massimi’s love of writing and reading has “The name came about when I could not find been key to his success. He’s read approxia theater for Shiavana,” he recalls. “I told a mately 1,100 books and more than 300 plays

and has a love of classic writers, such as Poe and Shakespeare.

“Ted Hook, who owned [the restaurant] Ted Hook’s Backstage, said it best to me one day: ‘Any intelligent person wants to be a writer, don’t you think?’” he says.

He notes that Manhattan College is what brought him to New York City in the first place.

“I tell people that I was raised in Upper Saddle River, but I grew up in the Bronx,” he says. “Manhattan taught me the benefits of hard work.”

MANHATTAN.EDU N 53

ALUMNI

For Nuveen CEO, Success is a Process of Discovery

W

HEN JOSE MINAYA ’94 REFLECTS ON THE TRAJECTORY of his career, from his undergraduate days at Manhattan to his role as CEO of investment management company Nuveen, two crucial factors emerge: the mentorship he received, and his continual pursuit of new challenges.

“I would not be where I am today without the help of many, many people and organizations,” he says. “Sponsorship and mentorship are behind every successful human being on the planet.”

One of his earliest mentors was James Suarez, who was dean of the School of Business while Minaya was studying finance with a minor in economics.

“If I asked a question, he would follow up, and if we passed in the hall, he’d invite me to sit in his office and talk about what I was thinking,” he recalls. “Even my first discussion around business school was one I had with Dr. Suarez. I appreciate the amount of time and focus he spent more now as an adult and as a parent, and from mentoring other people myself.”

Minaya, who hails from Washington Heights, New York, and played lefty pitcher for the Jasper baseball team, found that the College’s diverse community opened his eyes to career possibilities he hadn’t considered.

“What’s great about Manhattan is that it brings in people from different parts of society,” he says. “I came from a more blue-collar, working-class family and wasn’t very well-oriented on the world of finance, and things like accounting versus finance versus economics, and the kind of jobs you can get.”

From that point on, he says, “It was always a process of discovery.”

That process is one he pursued beyond college and throughout his career, beginning with a stint at JP Morgan, where he worked in mergers and acquisitions, and on to Dartmouth University, where he earned his MBA. “I wanted to do things that I felt passionate about,” he recalls. “Not just to do something to get a degree and then get a job and ultimately do well, but really something that interested me.”

In that vein, he gained a broad range of experience in investment banking, private equity and portfolio management at Merrill Lynch and, later, AIG. When he joined financial service organization TIAACREF (now TIAA) in 2004, he recalls, “they were just beginning to want to grow more alternatives, looking to invest overseas.” Minaya seized the opportunity.

“It was another place of saying, ‘Hey, I’ll take a leap,’” he says. “‘I’ll take a risk because I could be a part of something that’s in growth mode.’”

54 N 2020

He applied that philosophy in a number of roles at the company, where he progressed from portfolio manager for TIAA global private markets to head of natural resources and infrastructure, a position he held for five years. On embarking on that role, which involved investing in farmland, orchards and vineyards, Minaya recalls: “My first thought was, ‘I’m a kid from New York City!’ But again, as someone who’s always been intrigued, I have a hard time turning away from something interesting and new.”

Minaya’s profile within TIAA grew as he assumed risks and handled setbacks. It’s a route he recommends to young people who are embarking on their careers.

“You have to embrace adversity,” he advises. “Things won’t go well from time to time, and you don’t want to be the person in the back of the line because you’re too concerned about taking the lead … It’s very hard to get ahead without taking some form of informed risk.”

In 2017, after 12 years at TIAA, he moved on to serve as president and chief investment officer of the company’s asset management business, Nuveen. At the same time, he joined the board of the Robert Toigo Foundation, which fosters career advancement and increased leadership of underrepresented talent in the financial industry.

“I spent a good part of my career being a beneficiary and always wanted to pay back multiple times every subsidized loan, every grant that I got, and prove that this is a model that works,” he says. He adds that having a diverse workforce that brings a variety of perspectives to an organization is “absolutely the prudent thing to do from a financial economic value and a profit perspective.”

In January 2020, Minaya was named chief executive officer for Nuveen. With $1.1 trillion in assets under management in 30 countries around the globe, he says, “Every dollar we earn goes to meet TIAA’s mission of putting clients before profits … I love knowing that what I do impacts people’s lives.”

Minaya feels “honored and humbled” to have journeyed so far in a dynamic industry.

“I know I’m extremely fortunate,” he reflects. “It’s not often you get to be at the start of something and see it through that journey, and then be picked to be the leader to continue it on.”

In Developing Energy-Efficient Solar Carport, Two Engineering Alumni Make a Green Team

S

mithtown High School West is buzzing with energy.

Only a few yards away from the main entrance — an area often lively with student meetups, bus drop-offs and general school-day commotion — is a solar carport capable of powering the entire district.

The 2.06-megawatt structure was completed in 2019 and made possible in large part by Kieran Moran ’91, ’93 (M.S.) and Thomas Tebbens ’94, two longtime friends with mostly divergent career paths. Moran is an account executive at the energy solutions company Johnson Controls, which devised the plan for the carport and oversaw its installation in the Long Island school district.

Tebbens owns the steel fabrication company, Tebbens Steel, which provided the structure’s physical basis and contributed significantly to its design and implementation. Both are engineering alumni of the College, and former roommates.

The two got involved professionally after Johnson Controls was approved to begin the solar installation at Smithtown. Knowing he needed a top-notch steel manufacturer, Moran looked to Tebbens first.

“I like that I can pick the contractors, and I only pick the best,” Moran says.

Tebbens Steel, a Long Island based

company founded in 1944 by Tebbens’ grandfather, has long produced steel for industry, as well as architectural and specialty metals for stairs, railings and other purposes. However, his team has recently taken on more solar projects as demand increases.

Smithtown’s solar panels hover above the massive parking lot that centers the school campus, which also includes Accompsett elementary and middle schools. They sit atop roof structures that look unassuming — but don’t be fooled.

The amount of electricity produced through the panels, which use sunlight as their source, is equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide emissions from 308 gas-powered passenger cars that would require an estimated 3,916 barrels of oil to be burned.

The carport features eight arrays of solar panels, as well as two electric car charging stations.

For reasons both financial and environmental, the structure made sense for Smithtown. Geographically, the size and location of the already existing parking lot cemented the district’s decision — it had beaming sunshine, few trees, and served as the central hub for all three schools.

“When we stepped out of our parked cars on our first visit, it had to have been 100 degrees outside, but it felt like 120 because there were only a few Scrub Oak trees that were still living in the grass islands,” Moran remembers. “You knew instantly that this was where this carport should live. It was truly the perfect spot.”

Financially, the carport has paid dividends. Launched as part of a massive cost-saving initiative that also included the addition of LED lighting fixtures, weatherization of doorways and other energy-efficient measures inside the school buildings, the structure is estimated to save the district a total of $1.26 million annually and reduces its electric utility consumption

to zero. The panels also don’t need regular cleaning and maintenance, and have a lifespan of at least 25 years.

The many benefits of solar power have made it increasingly popular during the last decade. As concerns about climate change continue to mount, transitioning to clean energy has felt more urgent, as well.

When the carport was still in development, upperclassmen from an AP Environmental Science course at Smithtown West took a “tour” of the parking lot. Citing their enthusiasm during the visit, Tebbens underscores environmental preservation as both a growing concern among young people and viable career path, as job opportunities in renewable energy continue to increase.

“The pace has really picked up on environmental issues and has gone exponential, and there’s a willingness in kids to embrace it. It’s a huge momentum swing. People understand they need to do something,” Tebbens says.

At the time of its completion, Smithtown’s carport system was the largest installed at a school in New York State. However, Tebbens and Moran may soon surpass their own milestone as they team up again on the development of a carport at the Brentwood Union Free School District, also located in Suffolk County. The carport will be six megawatts — three times bigger than Smithtown.

Rising to new challenges is a quality Tebbens finds to be common among his friends from the College — Moran included.

“The people in our friend group always want to continue growing. We always want to do something bigger to move our careers forward,” he reflects.

For Tebbens, Manhattan College also laid a foundation for continued learning, which has helped him fuel his willingness to embark on new initiatives within the steel industry.

“Manhattan College opened my eyes to see the big picture,” Tebbens says.

MANHATTAN.EDU N 55

OBITUARIES

INMEMORIAM

Manhattan College records with sorrow the deaths of the following alumni: 1939 Jerome M. Sullivan, 7/14/19

1940

Robert H. Haggerty, 10/12/19

1941

William J. Corcoran, 6/10/20

1943

Kevin G. Tubridy, 6/10/20

1944

Victor C. Garbarini, 5/7/20

1945

Kenneth A. Heaton, 6/8/20

1946

William J. Kissane Sr., 8/3/20

1948

John R. Farrell, 4/2/20 Sr. M. Pierre Koesters, 10/15/20 Joseph E. Paggi, 11/21/19 Lawrence A. Schmidt, 11/14/19

1949

George V. Boselli, 4/8/20 George R. Golterman, 3/25/20 A. Walter Lagonowicz, 9/26/19 Richard L. Ryan, 8/4/20 Alphonse J. Sistino, 7/15/20 Joseph M. Terlato, 7/25/20

1950

Charles A. Burt, 1/14/20 James F. Caravella, 10/25/19 Alfred P. Carney, 11/30/19 Philip C. Cheevers, 5/28/20 Gerard J. Ducharme, 7/13/20 Lewis H. Eslinger, 9/9/19 Andrew P. Ferry, 4/27/19 Robert M. Gray, 5/23/20 John J. Harkins, 12/26/19 Dillon J. McDermott, 8/14/19

56 N 2020

James J. McLean, 5/23/20 Nicholas J. Mueller, 3/9/20 Luke E. O’Connor, 10/26/19 Michael J. Riordan, 2/28/20 John D. Ryan, 3/27/20 Edwin C. Sagurton, 12/24/19 Charles R. Senner, 11/20/19 John J. Sheehy, 2/20/20 Joseph Vogliazzo, 4/19/20 Robert T. Williamson, 2/24/20

1951

Anthony J. Bianchini, 5/3/19 Joseph F. Bilek, 5/4/20 Albert J. Bruno, 10/13/19 Michael A. Campagna Jr., 2/17/20 Mauro P. Capurso, 4/20/20 Edward B. Codd, 8/31/19 Chester J. Damoc, 5/7/20 James T. De Luca, 8/15/20 Theodore C. Di Blasi, 9/9/20 John F. Farrington, 9/21/19 Bertram J. Fister, 2/1/20 William J. Gillman, 12/10/19 Charles L. Greiter, 6/9/20 James J. Lamb, 5/15/20 William E. McGinnis, 2/4/20 John F. Osterndorf, 12/20/19 Nicholas M. Reis Jr., 6/10/20 Frank J. Sposato, 9/28/19 James M. Sullivan, 5/3/19 Richard E. Vicenzi, 9/11/20

1952

Donald J. Clark, 2/9/19 Martin F. Cody, 10/19/19 Henry J. Franks Jr., 9/13/20 A. Paul Gardiner, 11/28/19 Patrick H. Grimes, 3/23/20 Joseph T. Liskiewicz, 5/13/20 Joseph J. Macy, 1/31/20

Gerard J. McIntyre, 5/5/20 Harry P. Rogan, 4/5/20

1953

Robert A. Bagnato, 12/15/19 J. Brien Comey, 3/24/20 Robert Staudohar, 4/16/20 Thomas J. Tymann, 5/22/20 Joseph T. Welsh, 12/20/19

1954

Vincent M. Boyle, 9/11/19 Thomas J. Brady, 10/2/19 Joseph J. Clinton, 1/25/20 Robert W. Dugan, 4/19/20 Kenneth B. Kelly, 11/3/19 James J. Morgan, 9/19/20 Leo A. Plum, 11/28/20 Salvatore J. Reale, 6/15/20 Carl W. Schaefer, 5/16/20 Roy M. Townsend, 1/12/20

1955

Robert J. Audolensky Jr., 9/9/20 Albert G. Halberstadt, 10/16/19 Kevin J. Keane, 12/18/19 John J. McNamara, 3/25/20 Richard M. Mooney, 11/16/19 Bernard J. Murphy, 6/25/20 Donald J. Stanton, 5/30/20

1956

Richard J. Borsuk, 10/1/19 Nicholas J. Delaney, 11/7/19 John F. Downing, 4/26/20 Michael E. Fleming, 11/4/19 Morgan J. Kennedy, 7/23/20 Charles A. Lynch, 10/15/19 Walter J. Marvin, 2/1/20 Roger J. McNamara, 3/3/20 James E. Reilly, 2/13/20 Albert R. Schepis, 11/26/19

Charles F. Vaccaro, 6/10/20

1957

Thomas P. Cahillane, 6/28/19 Gerald J. Cassidy, 3/3/20 Brendan H. Dooley, 5/9/20 Francis P. Fahy, 8/21/20 John R. Flanagan, 2/2/20 Lawrence J. Fitzhenry, 10/4/19 Thomas A. Fucile, 10/8/19 William A. Gillard, 1/28/20 Rev. Peter F. Gorges, 10/9/19 Albert J. Keicher, 6/12/20 John P. McCabe, 2/10/20 James R. McDonald, 7/3/20 Robert F. Mulligan, 10/20/19 Daniel M. Murphy, 6/22/20 Charles R. Pepe, 2/11/20 Quentin A. Philp, 11/20/19 John J. Sheehan, 11/23/19 Edward R. Trubac, 4/16/20

1958

Anthony D. Bradley, 12/8/19 Raymond F. Bries, 7/24/20 Edward J. Coyne, 4/14/19 Robert S. Kinnally, 8/26/20 Jean D. Larsen, 7/25/20

1959

Michael J. Burkoski, 8/27/20 Douglas H. Diamond, 5/7/20 Arnold R. Eshoo, 12/4/19 Bernard J. Gartlan, 6/6/20 John P. McCaffrey, 8/11/20 John P. McShane, 10/30/19 John T. Redding, 3/15/20 Donald F. Ryan, 9/5/20 James R. Scheers, 5/16/20

1960

Cornelius H. Conway Jr., 11/15/19 Nicholas J. DeLillo, 10/7/20

William J. Flynn, 9/9/19 Robert C. Gallagher, 9/2/20 William B. Grogan Sr., 1/5/21 Angelo J. LaVaglia, 8/7/20 James J. Maher, 6/12/20 Edward J. McEneany, 8/5/20 Joseph A. Merkert, 9/2/20 Nicholas M. Modugno, 4/28/20 James J. Woop, 2/21/20

1961

Louis F. Cole, 11/30/19 Anthony J. De Bruin, 10/15/19 Joseph W. Denneen, 10/18/19 Donald J. Loch, 1/25/20 Ronald P. Mullane, 10/17/19 Joseph A. Rini, 10/3/19 James F. Stewart, 8/12/20

1962

George J. Eckart, 5/22/19 Michael J. Gainor, 5/11/20 James J. Gianatasio, 4/10/20 John P. Healy, 10/26/19 James F. Strecansky Jr., 1/11/20 Donald J. Teale, 9/23/20 George E. Wolf, 9/21/20

1963

John J. Dugan Jr., 1/12/20 Joseph F. Fogarty, 3/29/20 Marvin B. McGuinness, 9/29/19 John R. Muccia, 10/3/19 Francis J. Persico, 11/12/19 Robert J. Prentis, 4/29/20

1964

Edward J. Bowes, 7/31/20 Edward J. Brakes, 7/3/20 George O. Brewer, 4/15/20 George R. Campbell, 2/23/20

Timothy J. Collins, 4/12/20 Kevin E. Conboy, 8/5/20 Peter F. Davey, 7/6/20 Martin A. Garvey, 3/2/20 Patrick T. Geoghegan, 8/17/20 James W. Mitchell, 8/4/19 Raymond V. Rush, 1/5/20 Richard G. Stiga, 5/8/20

1965

Bernard C. Boyle, 6/14/20 Michael B. Doherty, 4/15/20 John E. Fries, 6/12/20 James G. Hearn Jr., 6/13/20 John J. Hoffee, 4/20/20 Robert J. Irwin, 7/7/20 Patrick J. Levins, 9/14/20 Ernest R. Maler, 3/7/20 Gerald J. McGrath, 9/18/19 William F. Naughton, 4/23/20 Thomas W. Schnatz, 10/30/19 Donald J. Sena, 10/28/19 John E. Walsh, 3/29/20

1966

Kevin P. Brooks, 4/3/20 William D. Buchleitner, 9/3/20 Joseph E. Connor, 5/21/20 Timothy J. Fitzgibbon, 7/7/20 Thomas J. Krista, 3/29/20 John C. Mills, 8/9/20 Richard S. Sheridan, 2/5/20 Gerald J. Wichern, 4/27/20

1967

Sr. Janet M. Baxendale, SC, 3/31/20 Robert G. Cronin, 6/23/20 Bohdan P. Diakiwski, 8/7/20 Stephen J. DiGaudio, 12/6/19 Joseph A. Dobsovits, 5/30/20 Donald E. Ellison, 6/7/20 James F. Feehan, 10/8/19

Thomas A. Gilmartin, 4/20/20 Robert M. Kelly Jr., 12/8/19 Michael J. Queenan, 8/31/20 William P. Twomey, 12/27/19 Thomas M. Zielinski, 2/20/20

1968

Stephen W. Chan, 9/7/20 Ramon A. Fischetti, 2/25/20 Lloyd J. Looram, 11/1/19 James J. Mortimer Jr., 1/16/20 Edward M. Murray, 8/19/19 George E. Opar, 11/24/19 Francis D. O’Shaughnessy, 9/11/20 Eve M. Rouke, 6/17/19

1969

John F. Bagley, 3/4/20 John J. Cassidy IV, 5/7/20 Sr. Mary R. Caulfield, SC, 9/2/19 Ward Donovan, 6/27/20 Thomas R. McCarthy, 4/2/20 Sr. Marianne Morelli, OP, 4/9/20 Br. Timothy Murphy, FSC, 12/5/19 Sr. Mary Adrian Rahilly, RDC, 8/28/19 John P. Schwartz, 4/30/20 Anthony J. Stellone Jr., 1/18/20 Christopher W. Ward, 4/15/20

1970

Thomas M. Grenham, 3/17/20 Robert J. Murphy, 7/10/20 Sr. Patricia A. O’Brien, SC, 4/21/20 Hugh T. Quigley, 9/29/19 Marion F. Redmond, 4/23/19 James R. Rogers, 12/23/19 Gwendolyn Swertfager, 10/20/19

Rita A. Tormay, 7/24/19 Rev. Frank W. Weber, 6/27/20

1971

Brian M. Biggar, 11/22/19 Rev. James E. Burke, 10/4/19 James J. Fitzpatrick, 8/12/20 Nicholas S. Gaudino, 4/8/20 John J. McBrien, 9/4/20 James J. Nowell, 5/9/20 Sr. Clare A. Regan, SC, 5/21/20 George L. Rorke, 8/22/19 William A. Scott, 12/5/19

1972

Thomas J. Lauro, 4/22/20 George J. Leahy Jr., 5/14/20 George F. Reilly, 10/15/19 Charles J. Smyth, 7/19/20 Carl A. Zoccola, 10/29/19

1973

John J. Boylan, 1/13/20 Peter F. Brunelli, 5/16/20 Br. Ralph J. Darmento, FSC, 8/14/20 Sr. Bernadette Filter, CR, 12/19/19 Thomas W. Kearsley, 12/10/19

1974

James P. Hyland, 12/18/19 Lawrence P. McNamara, 4/2/20 Sr. Patricia A. O’Donohue, RSM, 12/5/19

1975

Constance W. Claytor, 11/1/19 Eileen M. Ericson, 11/14/19 Matthew A. Hanratty, 6/24/20

1976

Peter M. Altobelli, 8/19/20 Fernando R. Caserta, 9/12/19 Wayne R. Dumont, 1/7/19

MANHATTAN.EDU N 57

OBITUARIES

Frederick L. Fischer, 1/12/20 Francis S. Kayondo, 12/31/19

1985

1978

Gerard A. Bergeron, 11/17/19 Robert M. Ricciardelli, 9/18/19 Noreen M. Skinner, 3/24/20

Robert P. Bellini, 4/16/20 Peter M. Booth, 9/15/19 Albert A. Reo, 12/3/19

Claudia Cashman Rodriguez, 4/3/20

1977

Paul V. Guglielmo, 4/21/20

1979

Jeffrey R. Fay, 4/10/20 Maria L. Hadala, 10/21/19 James P. Kuhn, 9/18/20 Barbara S. Levine, 8/22/19 Jeremiah T. Lynch, 3/6/20 Kevin A. O’Sullivan, 12/29/19 Stephen M. Rothrock, 4/28/20

1980

Rev. Edward J. Dillon, 10/26/19 Thomas F. Moore, 1/25/20 Gregory Paterno, 5/22/20 Patricia O. Redmond, 3/11/20

1981

Joseph V. Summo, 4/23/20

1982

Joseph P. Api, 4/9/20 Mary T. Flanagan, 2/24/20

1983

Edward T. Bialecki, 3/24/20 John D. Hickey, 12/27/19 Sr. June Quinlan, OP, 2/8/20 Rev. Carlos M. Rodriguez, 12/15/19

1984

John V. Badding, 10/26/19 Panos J. Manias, 5/1/20 Rev. Christopher J. Posch, OFM, 7/5/20

58 N 2020

1986

1989

Steven Kelly, 5/30/20 Suzanne K. Morris, 5/1/20

1991

Philip M. Hecht, 11/23/19 Michael C. Polucci, 11/17/19

1992

Evan W. Bossonis, 3/19/20 Elissa De Benedictis, 9/18/19

1993

Sr. Catherine Duignan, CSJP, 12/23/19

1997

Michael P. McCauley, 9/16/19 Brigid N. Ring, 6/7/19

1999

Frank V. Romano, 1/26/20

2000

Lawrence C. Bremer, 11/25/19

2004

Christopher Tallarini, 8/30/20 Thomas M. Treacy, 12/7/19

2005

Barbara J. Maltz, 3/25/20

Kenneth Kelly ’54 KENNETH B. KELLY ’54, an active alumnus at the College who provided the vision for the College’s annual Career Fair, died on Nov. 3, 2019.

He was 87.

Under his guidance, the Career Fair grew to include more than 100 alumni participants from a wide range of businesses and industries.

Kelly also was active in establishing and promoting numerous alumni events. Joseph Dillon ’62, former vice president for advancement, adds: “Ken started the New Jersey Shore Alumni Chapter, which now has a summer luncheon attended by more than 100 alumni each year. He dedicated much of his time and energy to Manhattan College activities.”

A native of the Highbridge section of the Bronx, Kelly remained dedicated to his alma maters, All Hallows High School and Manhattan College, throughout his lifetime. His career at New York Telephone, later AT&T, spanned more than four decades. He retired as director of broadcast services.

Kelly served in the United States Air Force from 1954-57. An active volunteer, he served as commander of the American Legion in River Edge, New Jersey, and a member of the Manasquan Elks and the Sahara Club in Bogota, New Jersey.

He is survived by his wife, Madeline; his children, Karen Esposito (Paul ’83) and Thomas ’87 (Stephanie); and five grandchildren. His son, Steven ’89, died in May 2020.

Photo Credit: Caltech

James Morgan ’54 JAMES J. MORGAN ’54, ’89 (HON. PH.D.), who earned an honorary Doctor of Science from Manhattan College at its Fall Honors Convocation in 1989 and was awarded membership into the National Academy of Engineering in 1978, died on Sept. 19, 2020. He was 88.

An environmental scientist, Morgan held the distinction of being named the Marvin L. Goldberger Professor of Environmental Engineering Science, Emeritus, at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He previously served as Caltech’s dean of students and as vice president for student affairs.

“Jim’s teaching and research has had a profound effect on so many of us in the environmental engineering community,” says Kevin Farley, professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Blasland, Bouck and Lee Faculty Chair in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at Manhattan College. “For those of us that knew Jim personally, we will miss his never-ending love of life and his warm and welcoming smile.”

A native New Yorker, Morgan earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Manhattan College, where his interest in water treatment began. He accepted a fellowship at the University of Michigan, where he received a master’s degree in environmental health engineering in 1956. After three years as an instructor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, he went to Harvard University, where he obtained a Master of Arts in 1962 and a doctorate in 1964.

Morgan began his long tenure at Caltech in 1965 as an associate professor of environmental health engineering. Named Goldberger Professor in 1987, Morgan focused his research on the chemistry of aquatic environments and water treatment, particularly on the scientific bases for establishing criteria and standards for waterquality protection.

He and Harvard water chemist Werner Stumm published the textbook Aquatic Chemistry in 1970. Cited more than 25,000 times, it is still the standard reference for this area of chemistry. A prolific writer, Morgan was also a member of a number of professional organizations. He served as a consultor for many major firms, including Proctor and Gamble Co. and the California State Water Resources Control Board.

The recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize for Water Science and Technology from the National Water Research Institute, Morgan, along with Stumm, was awarded the Stockholm Water Prize in 1999 for outstanding contributions to aquatic chemistry that led to the development of techniques for the treatment of wastewater and drinking water.

He is survived by his six children: Jenny Tumas, Johanna Morgan, Eve Morgan Fletcher, Michael Joseph Morgan, Martha Morgan and Sarah Morgan-Arnold; along with 10 grandchildren; and three greatgrandchildren.

“Jim’s teaching and research has had a profound effect on so many of us in the environmental engineering community.”

—KEVIN FARLEY

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OBITUARIES

John Tomer JOHN TOMER, professor emeritus of economics who taught at the College for nearly 30 years and was a pioneer in the field of behavioral economics, died on Dec. 7, 2019. He was 77.

Before beginning his long tenure at Manhattan College, Tomer taught at Trinity College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Union College and Vassar College. While at Manhattan, he served as chair of the economics and finance department. Tomer was named the Louis F. Capalbo Professor of Business in 1997-98 and was awarded Manhattan College Summer Research Grants four times.

“John was dedicated to economics, committed to his students, a delightful colleague to other faculty members, and a wonderful husband to his wife, Doris, and father to his sons, Russell and Jeffrey, both of whom graduated from Manhattan College,” says James Suarez, former dean of the School of Business and a colleague in the Economics department.

A founding member and first president of the Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics, Tomer was a prolific writer and sought-after speaker throughout his career.

He wrote numerous professional articles and published five books, including Organizational Capital: The Path to Higher Productivity and Well-being (Praeger Publishing Co., 1987) and Advanced Introduction to Behavioral Economics (Edward Elgar Publishing Co., 2017).

In addition, Tomer served the community in a variety of ways, including coaching sports teams, teaching religious education, and working as chair and co-founder of the Community Reinvestment Committee, a coalition of people concerned with the role of financial and housing market institutions in the decline of housing conditions in the river wards of Troy, New York.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a doctorate in economics from Rutgers University. He also served in the Army as a first lieutenant.

Tomer is survived by his wife of 51 years, Doris FitzGerald Tomer; his sons Russell ’99 (Karina) and Jeffrey ’03 (Sonja); and four grandchildren.

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William Czander WILLIAM M. CZANDER, an organizational psychoanalyst and professor of organizational psychology at Manhattan College for two decades, died on Oct. 8, 2019. He was 76.

A native of New Jersey, Czander taught at a number of institutions before beginning his tenure at Manhattan College in 1981. He was named the Louis F. Capalbo Professor in the College’s School of Business and received a number of other honors throughout his career, including Adjunct Professor of the Year from Fordham University’s School of Business.

“Bill Czander was a very innovative teacher and researcher,” says Janet Rovenpor, professor of marketing and management. “I remember that he believed in lots of classroom interaction, before educators realized the importance of student engagement for greater understanding and retention of theories and concepts.”

Regularly published in scholarly journals, Czander wrote two books: The Psychodynamics of Work and Organizations in 1993 and The Death of the American Corporation in 2012.

He was also a member of a number of professional organizations, including the Association of MBA Executives, the New York Academy of Sciences and the American Psychological Association, to name a few.

He began his teaching career at Antioch University. He also taught at Yale University and Amherst College, as well as in MBA programs at various institutions for more than 35 years.

A graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University, Czander earned an Associate of Arts there before continuing on to receive a Bachelor of Arts from the City College of New York, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. During his undergraduate years, he drove a New York City taxi cab and worked in a foundry to pay for his education. Czander then earned his doctorate from New York University and completed postdoctoral training at both the Institute for Social and Policy Studies at Yale University and the Psychoanalytic Institute of the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health in New York City.

He is survived by his wife, Giovanna Czander; and daughters, Alicia Murray, Eliza Czander, Sylvia Czander and Anika Czander; along with three grandchildren.

Sister Patricia McGowan, SC “She loved her students, and they loved her. Students were always first in whatever she did ...”

—FRANCES BRODERICK

SISTER PATRICIA MCGOWAN, SC, professor emeritus of communication at the College of Mount Saint Vincent (CMSV) and a key member of the faculty to many communication students at Manhattan College during the cooperative program with CMSV, died on April 19, 2020. She was 80.

Sister Pat, as she was affectionately known, taught journalism for nearly 40 years, in addition to serving as chair during that time.

She was known for helping students secure internships in the communication field and for creating a network of communication alumni from both Manhattan College and the College of Mount Saint Vincent.

“Sister Pat was a kind, spiritual woman who was a dedicated member of the Communication department,” says Frances Broderick, associate professor emerita of communication at the College of Mount Saint Vincent. “She loved her students, and they loved her.

Students were always first in whatever she did: securing interns, mentoring, or helping with independent study. A true professor for

life, her enthusiasm for life and innovative ideas is sorely missed in the department.”

Sister Patricia entered the Sisters of Charity in 1956. A graduate of the College of Mount Saint Vincent, she also earned a master’s in education from Hunter College, a master’s in journalism from New York University, and a doctorate in higher and adult education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

She began her teaching ministry at the elementary level at St. Brigid School in Manhattan, teaching fourth grade. During the first 20 years of her ministry, Sister Patricia also taught at Our Lady of Mercy School in Port Chester, New York; Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Manhattan; and Our Lady of Angels School in the Bronx.

Sister Patricia joined the faculty at CMSV in 1981 and served as chair of the communication department from 1987-96. She taught full time until 2009, then part time for another decade before retiring in 2019. Sister Patricia was on the advisory board of Vision, the Sisters of Charity’s quarterly publication, for many years and contributed to a forthcoming book on the history of the Congregation.

In 1991, she was awarded the Sears-Roebuck Foundation Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award by CMSV. Off campus, Sister Patricia served as a volunteer at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Yonkers, New York, and at a safe house for women recently released from human trafficking. There, she helped a number of the residents earn their GEDs. She also served as a sponsor to many CMSV staff members and former students in the Associate Program of the Sisters of Charity.

Sister Patricia is survived by her sister, Nancy Kavanaugh; and several nieces and nephews.

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OBITUARIES

Nicholas DeLillo ’60 NICHOLAS JOSEPH DELILLO ’60, professor of mathematics and computer science at Manhattan College for 50 years and an industry lecturer and author, died on Oct. 7, 2020. He was 81.

A Bronx native, DeLillo wrote a number of texts still used in college classrooms around the country. He was instrumental in developing the curriculum for the computer science degree at Manhattan College as the field emerged.

“Dr. DeLillo was a prolific scholar, writing numerous textbooks, both in advanced mathematics and in computer science,” says Kathryn Weld, professor of mathematics. “He taught with gusto, relishing his interactions with his students, and over his 50-year tenure at the College, students ever sought to take his classes. His Software Engineering class functioned as a kind of informal capstone for the computer science major, and students built résumés around projects done in that course. The department remembers Nick for his enthusiasm for large family meals

on Arthur Avenue, for his students and his discipline, and for his wife, Rosalie.”

DeLillo was the author of numerous scholarly articles. His academic references included Advanced Calculus with Applications (1982), Computability with Pascal (co-author, 1984), A First Course in Computer Science with ADA (1993), ObjectOrientated Design in C++ Using the Standard Template Library (2002), Object-Orientated Design in Java Using Java.Util (2004), and Data Structures Using Java 5.0 (2006).

Valedictorian for his graduating class at Manhattan College, DeLillo earned his master’s degree from Fordham University and his doctorate from New York University.

Throughout his teaching career at Manhattan, he concurrently served as a professor and educator at Iona College, Pace University and Mercy College. of Perpetual Help Church in Pelham Manor.

DeLillo, who lived in Pelham Manor, New He is survived by his sons, Rocco ’89, York, for nearly 50 years, was an active Anthony ’90 (Patrizia), Nicholas Jr. ’94 (Vivian member of the Pelham Civic Association and ’95) and Lorenzo ’96; and eight grandchildren. served as a Eucharistic minister at Our Lady His wife, Rosalie A. DeLillo, predeceased him.

Brother Timothy Murphy ’69, FSC

BROTHER TIMOTHY MURPHY ’69, FSC, staff counselor at the Counseling Center from 2004 to 2010, died on Dec. 5, 2019. He was 78.

A native New Yorker, Brother Timothy dedicated his life to serving students as a teacher, administrator, guidance counselor

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and counselor. Most recently, he served as director of the Christian Brothers community at Manhattan College until his retirement in 2017.

Brother Timothy entered the Brothers novitiate in 1959 and professed his perpetual vows in 1966. He began his teaching career at Lincoln Hall in Lincolndale, New York, in 1964 and served as a teacher and administrator there through 1981. In the 1980s, he was both an administrator and guidance counselor at La Salle Academy in New York City, where he also was dean of discipline.

Before joining Manhattan’s Counseling Center in 2010, Brother Timothy served at La Salle School in Albany, New York; Tides Family Services in West Warwick, Rhode Island; and Saint Raymond Family Outreach Center in the Bronx.

“Brother Timothy Murphy was well-liked by the students he counseled at Manhattan College and all those he encountered during his many years of ministry in childcare work and high school education,” says Brother Charles Barbush, FSC, adjunct assistant professor in the School of Education and Health. “Brother Timothy is still very much missed at the Brothers community, but his spirit of care and concern is very evident among each of us.”

He was a graduate of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and Manhattan College, where he earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology in 1969.

He is survived by his brothers, Patrick and Dennis; and his sister, Maureen.

Kevin Brooks ’66

KEVIN P. BROOKS ’66, retired chair, president and CEO of General Star Indemnity Co., and a dedicated alumnus, died on April 3, 2020. He was 75.

From 1989 to 2006, Brooks chaired the College’s Board of Consultors of the Schools of Arts, Science and Education. Along with serving as a consultor for the School of Business, he was a founding member and longtime chair of the College’s Financial Services Advisory Council.

Brooks also was a generous supporter of many major College initiatives.

He supported annual programs such as the Annual Fund and the De La Salle Medal Dinner, and gave generously to capital projects, including the Raymond W. Kelly ’63 Student Commons and the Patricia and Cornelius J. Higgins ’62 Engineering and Science Center.

“Manhattan has never had a more faithful friend and dedicated alumnus,” says President Brennan O’Donnell. “I never met him without feeling his tremendous love for his alma mater. He was a man who always went out of his way to support the people and causes he believed in. We are forever grateful that Manhattan College and its Lasallian Catholic heritage was one of those causes.”

“His generosity with his time and resources was truly remarkable,” adds Thomas Mauriello, vice president for College Advancement. “I always found Kevin’s commitment to veterans gratifying and deeply meaningful. We have lost a remarkable friend and Jasper.”

A U.S. Marines veteran who served in Vietnam, Brooks served 30 years in the Reserves, retiring as a colonel and battalion commander in 1992.

He also dedicated more than four decades to the insurance industry, beginning as an underwriter with General Star Indemnity.

A past president of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices, Brooks received the industry’s Charles McAlear Award in 1999. In 2001, Aon Corporation tapped him to lead the specialty property and casualty unit of its Combined Specialty Corporation.

He also earned a master’s degree from the New York University Graduate School of Business Administration and attended the Executive Program at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business.

Brooks is survived by his wife, Ginny; children, Kerry Brooks Mitchell ’93, Kieran Brooks ’01 (Johanna), and Michael Brooks (Sinéad); seven grandchildren; and three siblings. His brother, John J. Brooks ’69, predeceased him.

John McCabe ’57 JOHN PATRICK MCCABE ’57, associate professor emeritus of mathematics and computer science, who served as the department chair for more than a decade, died on Feb. 10, 2020. He was 84.

McCabe was a founding member of the Computer Science program, in which he taught courses on artificial intelligence. In addition, he served as vice president of the College Senate, secretary of the Council of Faculty Affairs and as a member of the Promotion and Tenure Committee. McCabe worked with students throughout the years to participate in the national William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition and was a Putnam Fellow in his own right.

Kathryn Weld, professor of mathematics, recalls McCabe as “a gentle teacher with broad interests ranging from number theory to algebraic geometry and the history of mathematics.”

In her citation about McCabe on the occasion of his elevation to emeritus status, Weld wrote: “He enjoyed mentoring students and helped prepare a number of undergraduates to give talks at local conferences … During the last decade, John’s interest in mathematics found new support in the Algebraic Graph Theory seminar at Manhattan College. He learned a new field, encouraged and cajoled colleagues to explore questions with him, and with those colleagues published a number of interesting research papers.”

A native of the Bronx, McCabe graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School before earning his bachelor’s degree at Manhattan College. He won the National Science Foundation Award, which he used to attend Harvard University and earned his doctorate in algebraic geometry in 1967.

McCabe is survived by his wife of 49 years, Maureen; and children, Christine Calvert ’96 (John Paul) and John Brendan ’01; three grandchildren; and siblings, Bernard ’63 (Mary Anne) and Donald.

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PHOTO BY BRIAN ASARE ’22

PA R TING SHOT

Led by Matthew Sweeney ’21, Manhattan College’s Neighborhood Relations Committee hosted a community cleanup day in late October. Working with partners from Van Cortlandt Park, the volunteers, predominantly from Student Government and the men’s basketball team, pitched in to spiff up their surrounding neighborhood. The cleanup concluded with a hike in the park.

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A LASALLIAN CATHOLIC COLLEGE SINCE 1853 Published by the office of Marketing & Communication Manhattan College 4513 Manhattan College Parkway Riverdale, NY 10471

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID BURL, VT 05401 PERMIT NO. 19

A bright blue sky and a light dusting of snow perfectly encase the wintry view of the College’s Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers from Chrysostom Hall.